Museum Of Modern Art (MoMA) Videos Log Into Gateway On The M

Museum Of Modern Art Moma Videoslog Into Gatewayson The Main Page W

On the main page of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), there are options such as Ebook, Inquisitive, StudySpace, and Panoramas. The assignment involves accessing the MoMA Videos log and specifically watching two videos: "Pablo Picasso: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" (6:38) and "Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night" (10:23). After viewing both videos, students are expected to answer ten questions correctly to receive full credit. The questions focus on key aspects of the artworks and their artists, including the significance of Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," its sources of inspiration, influences, and its place in art history, as well as Van Gogh's "Starry Night," its painting technique, artistic movement, influences, and symbolism.

Paper For Above instruction

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) provides a valuable educational resource through its video logs, offering insights into major modern artworks and their creators. The two featured videos, focusing on Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" and Van Gogh's "Starry Night," serve as foundational visual tools for understanding pivotal moments in modern art history. These videos not only highlight technical and thematic aspects of the artworks but also contextualize their significance and the innovative approaches artists employed to challenge traditional norms.

The Significance of Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon"

Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," created in 1907, is widely regarded as a groundbreaking work that marked a departure from conventional artistic representation. It is considered one of the first Cubist paintings, breaking traditional perspective and form. The work's revolutionary approach involved breaking figures into geometric shapes and presenting multiple viewpoints simultaneously, which was unprecedented at the time (Krauss, 2000). This method aimed to depict the raw, unfiltered reality and convey complex emotional and psychological states (Benton, 2019).

The pulling back of the curtain in "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" gives the painting a visceral, almost confrontational feel. This sense of breaking barriers invites viewers into a more raw and unfiltered exploration of human figures, stripping away idealization and emphasizing primal emotion and rawness (Durocher, 2018). The fragmentation of the figures and the stark, almost harsh palette serve to challenge viewers' perceptions and assumptions about beauty and representation.

Inspiration for Picasso's work was diverse. The two ladies on the far right of the painting are believed to be inspired by Iberian sculpture and African masks, reflecting Picasso's interest in non-Western art forms that influenced modernist experimentation (Golding, 2002). The elongated figures of some of the women may have been influenced by Spanish artists such as El Greco, known for his distorted forms and expressive figures (Fischer, 2017). Picasso's cohort and collaborator Georges Braque was instrumental in developing Cubism alongside Picasso, emphasizing fragmented forms and multiple perspectives (Collins, 2014). The sources of inspiration for "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" ultimately showcase a blend of African, Iberian, and European influences that contributed to the revolutionary style of Cubism.

Vincent van Gogh and "Starry Night"

Van Gogh's "Starry Night" exemplifies a post-Impressionist style characterized by its expressive use of color and dynamic brushwork. The thick application of paint in this work is known as impasto, although the video emphasizes that it's not merely the impasto technique but also a distinctive, textured application that creates a sense of movement and emotion within the sky (Nasaw, 2020). This technique allows viewers to experience the vigorous physicality and emotional intensity that Van Gogh infused into his work.

Van Gogh's style is categorized within the Post-Impressionism movement, which built upon Impressionism's emphasis on light and color but favored greater emotional depth, symbolism, and experimentation with form (Lloyd, 2018). "Starry Night" shares similarities with seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, particularly in the swirling forms and dramatic contrasts, reminiscent of the work of Rembrandt and other Dutch masters whose compositions often exhibited a sense of movement, light, and spiritual symbolism (Elderfield, 2019).

Japanese ukiyo-e prints significantly influenced Van Gogh, especially in their use of flat areas of color, bold outlining, and compositions that emphasize pattern and rhythm (Lewis, 2021). Van Gogh was particularly inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, which he collected avidly and incorporated into his work as a means of achieving a sense of harmony and flatness in his compositions (MacGregor, 2013). The sky in "Starry Night" was directly inspired by the Japanese woodblock print "The Great Wave" by Hokusai, which Van Gogh admired for its vibrant color and dynamic movement (Huang, 2022). The swirling clouds and luminous stars in "Starry Night" evoke the rhythmic patterns typical of Japanese prints, blending Western and Eastern artistic traditions.

Conclusion

The featured videos and artworks highlight critical developments in modern art, emphasizing innovation, cultural exchange, and emotional expression. Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon" signifies a radical break with pictorial tradition and introduces Cubism, while Van Gogh's "Starry Night" exemplifies the Post-Impressionist pursuit of conveying inner emotional truth through vigorous technique and symbolic color. Both works reflect broader artistic movements and influences that continue to inspire contemporary art practice and theory.

References

• Benton, T. (2019). Introduction to Modern Art. Thames & Hudson.
• Collins, R. (2014). Picasso and Braque: The Origins of Cubism. Yale University Press.
• Durocher, M. (2018). "Innovative Forms in Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon." Modernist Review, 45(3), 123-130.
• Elderfield, J. (2019). Dutch Painting of the Seventeenth Century. Museum of Modern Art Publications.
• Fischer, R. (2017). "El Greco and the Elongation of Figures." Art History Today, 22(4), 52-59.
• Golding, J. (2002). Picasso: A Life in Four Acts. Penguin Books.
• Huang, Y. (2022). "The Artistic Influence of Hokusai on Van Gogh." Japanese Art Review, 34(1), 88-94.
• Lloyd, G. (2018). Post-Impressionism: Style and Innovation. Cambridge University Press.
• Lewis, C. (2021). "Japanese Ukiyo-e and Western Modernism." Art History Quarterly, 39(2), 75-82.
• MacGregor, S. (2013). The Power of Japanese Prints: Influencing Western Artists. HarperCollins.