Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch artist who was born March 7, 1872. He died Feb. 1, 1944. He is most famous for his non-representational paintings. Learn more about one by watching this short video.

Norman Rockwell

The artist I want you to learn more about for February is Norman Rockwell, an American illustrator and artist. He was born on February 3, 1894 in his parent’s Upper West Side Manhattan apartment in New York City. I found these two videos for you to watch. They not only show you a tremendous amount of his artwork, but also give you valuable information about both the artist and the changes taking place in the United States during his lifetime.


What do you think about his artwork?
Why don't you try to make an illustration showing an activity or an event in your life that was important to you?

Claes Oldenburg

Spoonbridge and Cherry 1985-1988
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
aluminum, stainless steel, paint
354 x 618 x 162 in.

It is time for me to select an artist for January. I just love the sculptures by Claes Oldenberg. After several years of working alone, he now works with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen to create some really, really big sculptures of everyday objects.

Here is some background information on him. Claes Oldenburg was born January 28, 1929 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of a Swedish diplomat. As a child he and his family moved to United States in 1936, first to New York then to Chicago. His nationality is Swedish-American. He is best known for his large public Pop Art sculptures.


Corridor Pin, Blue, 1999
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
Stainless steel and aluminum painted with polyurethane enamel, edition 3/3;
21 ft. 3 in. x 21 ft. 2 in. x 1 ft. 4 in.

Pop Art was an art movement and style that began in England in the 1950s and then really got going in the United States during the 1960s. Pop artists focused their attention on familiar images and popular culture such as billboards, comic strips, magazine advertisements, supermarket products, famous icons, or everyday objects.


Shuttlecocks
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
In July 1994, this outdoor sculpture was commissioned for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and was installed in the Kansas City Sculpture Park.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen (from the Netherlands) started working together during the 1970s. They have made more than 40 large-scale sculptures around the world. Now they live in the United States.

They take ordinary everyday objects for their sculptures but do them on a really large scale.

Clothespin
Center Square Plaza, Philadelphia, PA
Claes Oldenburg
1976, Cor-Ten and stainless steel
45 ft. x 12 ft. 3 in. x 4 ft. 6 in.

Georges Seurat

Georges-Pierre Seurat was born in Paris, France on December 2,1859 and died on March 29,1891 at the age of 31. He was a painter who spent his life studying color theories. He developed a style of painting known as Pointillism. Pointillism is a form of painting in which tiny dots of primary-colors are used to generate secondary colors. His magnificent pointillist pieces are what made him the famous artist that he is today.


One of his large works, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” is his most famous painting. It catches a moment in time. The result is all of Paris out on a stroll - 48 people, 8 boats, 3 dogs, one monkey - and if you can catch it, a butterfly.

Seurat made more than 50 studies before completing the painting that took two years to finish. This painting altered the direction of modern art by initiating an art period known as Neo-impressionism, and it is one of the icons of 19th century painting. You can see it at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Georgia O'Keeffe

Red Poppy

My choice for our November artist is Georgia Totto O’Keeffe. She painted flowers, rocks, shells, animal bones and landscapes. She often turned her compositions into large bold abstract images.

She was born on a farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on November 15, 1887. She was the second of seven children and as a child received art lessons at home. Georgia decided at an early age to become an artist.


Autumn Leaves

She went to art school in Chicago and New York and moved to Texas to teach in the public schools there. Later she taught at a college in South Carolina. Georgia began painting landscapes and one of her paintings caught the attention of internationally known photographer, Alfred Stieglitz. He invited Georgia to come and paint in New York City. He displayed her work in his gallery. Georgia later married Alfred. She later moved to New Mexico and spent her remaining days there. Georgia O’Keeffe died in 1986 at the age of 98. She is considered one of America's greatest painters.




Cow's Skull: Red, White and blue

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso is the artist I have chosen for October. He was born on October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain. He began drawing at an early age. His style developed from his Blue Period (1901–04) to his Rose Period (1905) and to Cubism (just to name a few). Picasso also made the first collage. He designed jewelry, did paintings, created sculptures, and made posters and pottery. He created such an amazing volume of work that I think he is the most influential artist of his time.
Picasso continued his prolific work in painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture until his death on April 8, 1973.

An example from his Blue Period.


An example from his Rose Period.


An example of Cubism.


A Sculpture


A piece of Ceramics


I also like this symbol of peace he created.

If you want to create a portrait in the style of Picasso during his Cubism click:
Make a Picasso head
and have fun!

Romare Bearden

The artist I have chosen as our September artist is Romare Bearden. He was born on September 2, 1911, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and died in New York City on March 12, 1988, at the age of 76. When he was young, his family moved to Harlem in New York City. Here he learned to appreciate jazz music. He experimented with many different mediums but is best known for his collages. Collages are pictures or designs created by pasting flat elements such as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text, illustrations, photographs, cloth, string, and painted or drawn pictures to a flat surface.
The Metropolitian Museum of Art has a great Interactive Romare Bearden Page called "Let's Walk the Block". Here you can learn about the artist, the history and inspiration behind "The Block", and examine this large scale collage more closely. You can also follow the directions to make your own collage about your own neighborhood.
If you want a quick preview of Romare Bearden's life and works click here.
At the MOMA you can watch a short video showing Romare Bearden discussing how he came up with his ideas and created his collages and paintings. Just click on:
Romare Bearden.