Abstract expressionism

In the 1940s New York became the centre of the western art world, a role normally attached to Paris. All thanks to post World War II art movement in American painting called Abstract Expressionism. 

 The term describes  a variety of artists and works which have a few features in common.
It is around 1950, do you remember what the U.S. has been going through during the last two decades? Not really pleasant  period with The Great Depression and then WWII.
Abstract expressionisms  is an expressive art of profound emotion and universal themes, most  shaped by the legacy of Surrealism, a movement that they translated into a new style fitted to the post-war mood of anxiety and trauma. 

Autumn Rhythm No. 30 Jackson Pollock (1950)

Pollock painted through "actions": an energetic technique of dripping and pouring paint on a canvas that is placed directly on the floor.



In Abstract art  paintings are the most popular, however, the milieu of Abstract Expressionism united also sculptors as well as photographers.
Having matured as artists at a time when America suffered economically and felt culturally isolated and provincial, the Abstract Expressionists were later welcomed as the first authentically American avant-garde. Their art was championed for being emphatically American in spirit - monumental in scale, romantic in mood, and expressive in individual's freedom and experience. 
A painting itself was seen as a struggle between self-expression and the chaos of the unconscious. Although it is true that spontaneity or the impression of spontaneity characterized many of the abstract expressionists works, most of these paintings involved careful planning due to its large size.

Woman V Willem de Kooning (1952)

Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110 Robert Motherwell (1971)

Onement 1 Barnett Newman (1948)

Newman was most well known for his colour field paintings and use of "zips." Zips are the strips of colour running vertically on his painting and were made with a variety of techniques using tape to block off parts of the painting to make the stripes.














Task
Find out what is the other name of Abstract Expressionism and why Pollock's works are so recognizable and appreciated

You can find the answers here :)

Blitzkrieg Bop

Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone and Tommy Ramone these are names of the members of one of probably the most influentail and energetic band formed in the USA in 20th century - Ramones. The band was found in 1974 in New York and theye were touring almost non-stop for 22 years.

The group is considered among with Sex Pistols(UK) to be the first band which played Punk Rock and defined the genre. They also have a big role in forming the final picture of Punk subculture in the United States. 

Although, the band didn't reach the comercial success(it wasn't their aim anyway) they were appreciated  by music critics and called one of the most important bands in the Rock music history. 

They have 26th place in the Rolling Stone Magazine list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and 17th in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".On March 18, 2002, the original four members and Tommy's replacement on drums, Marky Ramone, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Task:

List at least 3 bands which performed similar music in the 1970's.

Love me Tender

You can ask anyone but it is certain that you would NOT found anybody who have never heard "Blue Seude Shoes" or "Jailhouse Rock". These are songs made and performed by the one true King of Rock'n'Roll - Elvis Presley. Born on the 8th of January 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi.

His music career began in Memphis, where he earlier moved with his family, in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. His film debiut took place in November 1956 in "Love me Tender". Only two years later he was drafted into military service, he spent there 2 years and leaved the military with the rank of Sergeant.

He was early popularizer of rockabilly, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues and of course rock and roll.

Presley's Death

In November, 1973, Elvis was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, pleurisy, hepatitis, and an enlarged colon. Despite of his problems with health, weight and drugs he was still trying to perform.

Elvis Presley died on 16th of August 1977, at the age of 42. The official cause of his death is a heart attack, however, it is suspected that the attack itself was caused by an overdose of prescription drugs.

Task: How many albums did the Elvis Presley publish?

It ain't nothin' but the BLUES

Blues is a music genre which originated by African Americans in the Deep South of the USA. Its coming out is dated around the e

nd of 19th century. The genre have its roots in African American work songs and European American folk-music.

Lyrics of Blues describes the emotions between men and women: passion, love,
jealousy, loneliness, betrayal. The artists sing also about getting over a hard luck, keeping one's chin up, however there are also motives of regret and helplessness. One of Blues' main assumptions is that the music should allow the artist to express him or herself through it and to allow the musician to feel the relief after hard times.

Most commonly used instruments in Blues music nowadays are guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and harmonica. However, the instruments which were used at first were more primitive. In the beginnings of Blues there were jew's-harp and bells.

Blues Artists

"Ma" Rainey (Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett)

B.B. King (Riley B. King)

Task

Which are main similarities and differences between Blues and Jazz?

Pop art

Today I'll be writing about something we all know, as pop art is still popular in western and global culture. 
We can easily distinguish it from different art movements. Let's look deeper into the origins, artist and characteristics that make it stand out. 

Andy Warhol Campbells Soup Cans

American pop art flourished during the 60s,a bit later than its British brother. One of the first exhibitions took place in late 1950s in New York, and then in Los Angeles where the famous Andy Warhol's soup can painting was sold.

Pop art in the U.S. had more serious tone than the British movement. It was a response to the world of advertising and commersialism in which America sank after World War II .
It also aimed to blur the boundaries between "high" art and "low" culture and to show that there is no hierarchy of culture and that art may borrow from any source.




 Artists were inspired also by comics, a lot of works looks as if it was a comic scene.Roy Lichtenstein  was well known because of that as his work borrowed heavily from the art in American comic books. He used  parody in a soft manner to show the modern world. His work features thick outlines, bold colors dots to represent certain colors, as if created by photographic reproduction.His greatest works were made with the use of oil and Magna paint (acrylic paint).

Here's some puzzle for you 45 Mural

Rogue One - the opportunity of "Star Wars Stories"

With the new Disney launch of the Star Wars cinematic universe, there was much speculation as to how they will handle production of the movies. Now it's clear that there will be a new trilogy every few years and in between there will be these "stories" interwoven into the narrative. It is pretty much a dream for a die hard Star Wars fan to see great storytelling not bound by the current trilogy's constraints. The first example of that is Rogue One, trying to tell the tale of those who have stolen the Death Star plans essential to the Episode IV's climax.

This movie had a lot to prove, as the anticipation was at very high levels. Would it ruin the Episode IV or complement it in a nice, gracious way? I think that it did neither - fans will definitely be thrilled, but some concepts and cameos can turn off the viewer. It did address a particular problem in the IV's script, but at the same time attacked with unnecessary quotes and characters that made no sense, in order to please long-time fans. But they did not want that! I myself were cringing through some of the scenes where characters reference something from the original trilogy and try to play it off as something normal. You could almost hear the stock sitcom laughs and that's a problem if you have the most serious Star Wars movie on your hands.

You can say that I'm bashing the movie, but in reality I really liked it. It's just that a movie you had a lot of fun watching doesn't have to be perfect and pointing out it's shortcomings is a sane thing to do. Let's talk about some of the positives - and there were many. This is Disney's peak achievement when it comes to technical execution of a movie. Numerous talented people from Lucas Films and other places, combined with never ending stream of cash resulted in a cinematic marvel and an eye candy. Special Effects nomination is a must here, as there were so many scenes and shots where I simply went still in awe. This is how you do space battles, not to mention terrific action scenes on the ground.

Look at that charming smile!

Recreating Grand Moff Tarkin required extensive computer
mapping and prosthetics on an actor with similar face structure and voice.

It features very good practical effects, which are blended with CGI to form a good looking and well balanced image. There are, however, some areas where the amount of money got someone on the decision-making chain drunk. Bringing back characters from the original trilogy is fine, but at what cost? Recreation of the Grand Moff Tarkin was the single most expensive CGI undertaking in the cinema history. To what effect? He looks acceptable, but still takes the viewer out of the experience. The same thing happens to Princess Leia and I cannot help it but think that it was a bad idea. Still, it was better than the crappy Tarkin we got at the end of Revenge of the Sith, so there's that.

This guy was funny. Alan Tudyk, who voiced him, is also known for a fan-favourite show Firefly.

So what's the future of Star Wars Stories? I must say that it looks bright, as there are a lot of great talents working on them, backed by enormous amounts of money. After several of them closely related to known characters and events from the trilogies (for example young Han Solo, which I'm not particularly looking for), there will come time for some crazy ideas and exactly those will expand the universe in the best way, at least in my opinion.

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the other Star Wars Stories projects in the works right now? Are you excited for any of them?

2. Do you like the idea of a new Star Wars movie coming out every year?

Harlem Shake

Previously, I have written about the Lindy Hop dance, however I think it's worth trying something new. You all probably remember the Harlem Shake dance trend, which appeared in 2013. However, the history of this dance is much more complex and deeper than we think.

So what actually is Harlem Shake? The dance originated in 1981. It was introduced by "Al B", a resident of Harlem and derives its origins from the Ethiopian dance, Eskista. The dance has spread really fast though beyond the neighbourhood and the dance changed its name. Harlem Shake became mainstream when G.Dep featured it in his music video "Let's Get It".

In spite of the fact that Harlem Shake had its origins in Ethiopia, Al B said that dance comes from Egypt and it was performed by mummies. It was this way because they were all wrapped up, couldn't really move and the only thing they could do was to shake. Moreover, Al B is remembered for saying that the dance is "a drunken shake that will make you die if you ever attempt it, and you could easily go to jail anyway. It's a dirt bag troll that is really hardcore and will make you have seizures but it's fantastic. Everybody appreciates it." 

In popular culture

Besides its appearance in "Let's Get It" the dance was also present in the outro to Missy Elliott's "Hit it".The dance is also connected to another dance "Chicken Noodle Soup" and it became especially popular when DJ Webstar and Young B brought it to mainstream in 2006. 

Links

G Dep feat P Diddy & Black Rob Let's Get It - YouTube
The Real Harlem Shake Dance (The Harlem Shake Original) - YouTube
Harlem Shake (Original Army Edition) - YouTube
The Harlem Shake [BEST ONES!] - YouTube
Baauer - Harlem Shake [Official Audio] - YouTube

Sources

Harlem Shake videos and lessons, learn Albee at DanceJam.com

InsideHoops.com - Harlem Shake

EXCLUSIVE: G. Dep Comments On "Harlem Shake" Craze; "It Ain't Defining Harlem" - Exclusive Hip Hop News, Interviews, Rumors, Rap & Music Videos | Allhiphop

Back to the spider

It is hard to deny that the universe of Marvel is very wide and rich in plot twists or surprising events. One of the most interesting ones takes place in a comic book called The Superior Spider-Man which I am going to briefly introduce below.

The Superior Spider-Man is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics, running from January 2013 to June 2014. It was written by Dan Slott, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli (that is a lot of guys doing the work - absolutely worth it). The comic book features a reformed Otto Octavius, more commonly known as Doctor Octopus, who has taken over Peter Parker's body and being affected by Peter's memories, Otto is determined to become a better (superior) Spider-Man and actually a good person.

The very first issue of a storyline currently easy to purchase in our country (Ostatnie Życzenie). It includes the events from the last issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, so the reader isn't straight up thrown into the messy world of  new Spider-Man not really knowing what's happening, but the plot is very comprehensible and easily understandable from the beginning so you won't get lost no matter how complicated it seems before starting reading.


As usual, I don't want to spoil anything more than what I've already mentioned but I can assure you that this comic book will not disappoint any Spider-Man fan.

Task for you: What would you do if you'd every find yourself in a similar situation to Peter? Who would you tell that you are not in your own body anymore? Would anyone actually believe you?

See you in the next post!