So if you live on the East Coast, you saw a ton of snow this spring. And apparently, it's not over. The weather gurus are now predicting 3-6" on Monday,.... That's St. Patrick's Day! Crazy right? Maybe we can pretend the snow is a real life representation of how he drove all the snakes away? Cause I don't think we'll see any slitherers out if there's snow on the ground.
Anywho, with all the snow, I decided to get creative with a few of the storms and I decided to do "A Study in Snow; Modern Art Series." I'm lucky enough to live near DC and some AMAZING Smithsonian Art museums. Of course the big player in the game is the National Gallery of Art, both the East and West Wing (the West Wing is so large as to require multiple trips or a LOT of time) but the smaller more focused museums like the National Portrait Gallery, the Freer, the Sackler, etc. are great, in particular I love the Hirschhorn, I even follow the museum on twitter!
So I decided to create tributes to some famous modern artists through food coloring, Gatorade, some filters, a can of soup, and of course: SNOW!
Here are the tributes I came up with:
One: Jackson Pollock
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| A Study in Snow; Modern Art Series One: Jackson Pollock. (2014) Food Coloring on Snow. |
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| Jackson Pollock, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist),1950, National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1976.37.1 |
Known for his unique "dribble" technique (and dribble is totally the curator-approved term), Jackson Pollock's pieces are instantly recognizable. If you want to know more about the man behind the splatter, go see the biopic with Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harding, it's great! You can also create your own "Pollock" just wiggle the mouse below (click for new colors):
Two: Mark Rothko
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| A Study in Snow; Modern Art Series Two: Mark Rothko (2014). Gatorade on Snow, Digital Color Filter |
| 12 (Black on Dark Sienna on Purple) |
Known for his HUGE canvases and emotional depth he could portray with just a few shapes and colors (or "bands of ambient colors" as the critics put it), Rothko might not be as well known as the other artists but his was one of the first exhibits I saw that began my love of modern art. You don't have to fully "get it" to experience it, and people can walk away with different meanings and interpretations and therein lies the fun.
Three: Andy Warhol
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| A Study in Snow; Modern Art Series Three: Andy Warhol (2014). Mixed Media Collage in Snow, Post-Photo Digital Filters |
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| Andy Warhol. Campbell's Soup Cans. 1962 |
This instantly recognizable pop artist is what many people think of when they think of modern art. The man, his art, and his legacy can be quite polarizing, people love or hate it. Apparently, in 2012, Campbell's Soup sold special tribute cans of soup in honor of the piece's 50th anniversary:
What artist would you do a snow tribute to? What other materials would you use? Do you have a favorite art movement or period? How'd your "Pollock" piece turn out? Tell me in the comments below or via twitter @itzbizr
