Andy Warhol

American painter, film maker and author. Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, originally named Warhola. He studied pictorial design at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh. Warhol moved to New York and worked as a commercial artist where he was awarded the Art Directors' Club Medal for his shoe advertisements 1955.

This image provided by the Williams College Museum of Art shows a 1955 hand-coloured lithograph by artist Andy Warhol titled "My shoe is your shoe", part of the exhibit. Warhola becomes Warhol, Andy Warhol: Early Work," at the college through June 10, 2007, in Williamstown, Mass.

First one-man exhibition of drawings at the Hugo Gallery, New York and published six books of reproduction of his own drawings. Interested in American popular art, film stars, etc and in silkscreen and other reproductive processed. In 1960, he began to make paintings based on news paper title pages, advertisments and other mass-produced images, and used silkscreen for the mainly mechanical production by himself and assistants of series of frame paintings of:

'Campbell's Soup Cans', Black Bean - 1968

The show included a set of 32 canvases of Campbell’s “Soup cans” one canvas for each soup variety offered by the manufacturer. Warhol used a semi-mechanized print process to fill the work with an impersonal, mass-produced quality.

Warhol painted familiar consumer items such as coca-cola bottles or soup cans throughout the 1960s, the earliest examples first shown in New York in 1962. Asked why he painted soup cans, Warhol replied, 'Because I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day.' Using screen printing, Warhol could simulate the mechanical effect of his source until that the resulting image appears almost unchanged. Yet, the rich colour, enlargement of scale and unifying black outline are reminders that these are commercial techniques being used in the context of high art, no longer selling products, but presenting them as objects for observation. As such, they pose radical questions about the value of art and the way it is consumed.

Marilyn Monroe

In Marilyn Monroe, Warhol found a fusion of two of his consistent themes: death and the cult of celebrity. The star died tragically in August 1962. In the following two years, Warhol made thirty silkscreen paintings of her, always using the same publicity photograph from the 1953 film Niagara. This set of ten screen prints was produced in 1967, in an edition of 250. The repeated image serves as the basis for a series of startling colour transformations.

Elvis Presley,Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, 'Coca-Cola Bottles', and later , car crashes, the electric chair, flowers ecc.  Sometimes with rows of repeated images.

The Autumn/Winter 2013 collection  At Paris Fashion Week, in March, Christian Dior showed a stunning collection, with prints of drawings from Andy Warhol’s early career as a fashion illustrator. 

The clothing line is based on , plain , white and black  fabric so that it gives most of the attention to Andy Warhol’s prints . In my opinion the concept of it is brilliant , to turn something formal into something somewhat commercial and trendy , whilst also showcasing a great artist’s works. I probably wouldn’t wear any of  these outfits myself because it’s not my style  , but I wouldn’t mind wearing one on occasion .  

Carol Kopp. 2007. Andy Warhol's Shoe Thing. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/andy-warhols-shoe-thing/. [Accessed 21 May 14].

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky, who was born in Russia, is recognized as a leader in avant-garde art and as one of the founders of pure abstraction in painting in the early 20th century.

Kandinsky approached colour with a musician's feeling and a fascination with Monet led him to explore his own creative theories of colour on canvas, although sometimes with his colleagues and critics, in the early 20th century, Kandinsky developed as a respected leader of the abstract art movement.

Lake Starnberg

1908

kandinsky was one of the pioneers of abstract painting, and believed he was capable of expressing a higher spiritual and emotional reality. It was in 1908, he made this painting, using areas of vibrant colour instead to inspire emotion in the viewer. During this time, the natural landscape and folk arts of southern Bavaria provided inspiration as well as his everyday subject-matter. Lake Starnberg is close to Munich, where Kandinsky lived since 1896, slowly establishing himself as an artist. 

Cossacks 

1910-1911

He believed that abstract paintings could give a spiritual and emotional values simply through the arrangement of colours and lines. Cossacks was made during a temporary era. When he had taken some realistic elements such as the two Russian cavalyrmen in tall orange hats in the foreground of the painting. Kandinsky considered these as points at which the images could be registered, rather than the true content of the painting.

Swinging 

1925

The title of swinging takes the painting's sense of vibrant movement, reminding us about the rhythms of modernity. Kandinsky perfected a mystical approach to art. His piece is about the spiritual in Art, published in 1911, argued for art that had nothing to do with the material world. He felt that what unrestricted art from reality was the use of colour.

Tate . 2014. Cossacks. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kandinsky-cossacks-n04948. [Accessed 21 May 14].

Bio. 2014. Wassily Kandinsky . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/wassily-kandinsky-9359941#awesm=~oEVKxjTGVnBcmh. [Accessed 21 May 14].

Egyptian Payrus

Paper is used for paintings and writing. It was invented in around 3000 B.C and the word 'paper' comes from the Egyptian word "Papyrus".

Plant

blank papyrus

Papyrus plant 

Grows wild in muddy area around the Nile
grown on farms

The papyrus was durable in the warm and dry climate of Egypt, but when it's stored in a humid space the material is destroyed.

Papyrus Process 

• Harvest  - the branch of the plant is collected
• Striping - firstly, strip off the skin and the sticky rubbery from inside, is cut into small strips.
• Pressing - then strips were laid in two sections (horizontal and vertical), and dried under pressure to form smooth thin layers.
• Rolls - at the end, sheets were combined together with the fibers running in the same way, creating long rolls which extended up to 10 meters in length.

The same manufacturing techniques were used for 4,000 years. 

Old Egyptian Papyrus

There are around 400,000 papyri reserved around the world and the vast majority of them are incomplete and disconnected.

The task of papyrologists is to translate, copy and reconstruct what us lost between fragments.

Ayman Fadl. 2014. Egyptian Papyrus. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aldokkan.com/art/papyrus.htm . [Accessed 21 May 14].

Ancient Egyptian Ceramics

Clay in ancient Egypt was made from mud -gathered from the Nile), straw and sand. Pinching and coiling were the first methods used. As the kick wheel was introduced in the first millennium B.C according to Andre Dollinger, a potter's wheel is noted in the origin of Ancient Egypt, and hand rotated potter's wheel were used in old Kingdom Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian pottery, displayed in museums around the world, is the object of much touristic interest, as wide research and studies.

Egyptian Pottery was set at temperatures of between 600-800 degrees Celsius. In Egypt, wood was uncommon, but they still burned it. 

The exterior of pottery were paintings of people, animals, birds and boats. Pottery was also glazed or painted, This resulted as remarkably ideal material as the 'faience of the blue hippopotamus'. Broken pottery bowls could be repaired using gypsum.

This piece originated from Egypt during the prehistoric era. This era is actually one of the most important prehistoric cultures in Egyptian history. The jar was made around 3650-3300 B.C. Throughout that time, artists had developed new styles and techniques, which included more detailed carving. These new versions could have come from neighbouring countries or trading partners. Drawing or carving animals on the pottery also seemed to be very popular. The jar has a height and width of thirty centimeters.

This piece is an Egyptian pottery with symbols carved on the surface. One can read the symbols of this vase from center line, then left, then right and top bottom: center.

N.S Gill. 2003. Pottery in Egypt. [ONLINE] at: http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/egyptsociety/ss/021211-Pottery-In-Egypt.html . [Accessed 21 May 14]

Louman. 2011. Egyptian Pottery. [Online] at: http://mcwilliamswheel1c1230.blogspot.com/2011/02/egyptian-pottery.html . [Accessed 21 May 14]

Ancient Egyptian Clothing

The clothing of Egyptian pharaohs changed largely from that of the common Egyptian man. The only similarities in clothing were the robe and materials. The pharaoh was meant to show a particular example of cleanliness and wealth through his outfit. In addition to main clothing items, pharaohs wore decorated sandals and large amounts of jewelry.

Fabric - Linen fabric is mostly worn by Egyptians - Pharaohs. The linen worn by pharaohs was mostly transparent; this was a visible image of wealth. Linen was made from flax, a plant found only in the area. 

False beard - was worn by several pharaohs. These were attached by using thin leather wraps around their beard. 

Nemes - Pharaohs wore a head piece known as a nemes. The nemes was originally made of a single colored piece of linen and evolved over time.

Shendyt - was the focal piece of the outfit in a pharaohs collective. It was placed at the right hip and wrapped around the body, back front, with detailed pleating.

Robe - worn by Egyptian men over their outfits. The outfit, in the pharaohs wardrobe, was to be the most transparent. 

Khol - A dark dye, called Khol, was applied around the pharaoh's eyes to protect infections and reduce sun glare in the desert climate.

Drawing of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra

During the ancient Egypt, the first civilization was known to use cosmetics, allowing available to us today. This allows the rich and the poor, men and women, using kohl onto the eyes. The reason by using cosmetics is not only for appearance but also to protect their eyes against the sun, flies, improve eyesight and ward off evil spirits.

In ancient Egypt, kohl was made up of lead, copper, soot and other ingredients.

Fashion Today

A British designer Alice Temperley shows off her stunning Autumn Winter 2013 collection, Byrd at  London Fashion week. The designer was inspired by Hitchcock's heroine Tippi Hedren from 'The Birds'. The colours various from black, gold and white. I think the gold colour is the highlight section from this collection. The upper section of the collar brings out the theme clearly from the Egyptian style. 

This photo shows an Egyptian inspired piece made by Oscar De La Renta for the Spring of 2008 season. It is a long elegant gold sequin gown with jewels around the neck. I really like this eye-catching dress. 

Textures are similar to bead-net dresses, wide coloured bands and patterns are similar to wide jeweled necklaces. The upper section is similar to a triangular apron. This outfit reminds me of carnival.

This is an Egyptian, gold plate and gemstone statement collar necklace with embroided beads. Nowadays, is commonly fashionable with types of clothing to match.

This is the modern equivalent of the Egyptian shendyt. A more common term for skirts made for men is a wrap. I don't like this look because skirts aren't meant to be worn by men.

eHow. 2014. what did Ancient Egypt Pharaohs wear?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5744988_did-ancient-egypt-pharaohs-wear_.html. [Accessed 20 May 14].

Diverse Philosophies. 2014. In the eye of the beholder. [ONLINE] Available at: http://diversephilosophies.wordpress.com/tag/egypt/ . [Accessed 20 May 2014].

Pharaoh

The Pharaoh was the most powerful person in ancient Egypt. He was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people, holding the names: 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'High Priest of Every Temple'

The Pharaoh's holds court

As 'Lord of the Two Lands' the pharaoh ruled over Upper and Lower Egypt. He owned all of the land, made laws, collected taxes and defended Egypt against foreigners.

As 'High Priest of Every Temple', the pharaoh performed rituals and built temples to honour the gods

King Tut (Tutankhamun) - was the youngest known Pharaoh

Many pharaohs went to war when their land were threatened or when they wanted to control foreign lands. If he won the battle, the captured people had to recognize the Egyptian pharaoh as their ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land. 

Pharaoh. 2014. Lord of the two Lands. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pharaoh/home.html . [Accessed 20 May 14]

Ancient Egyptian Art

The attraction towards ancient Egypt is, a product of the large amount of material information available. We know alot about the daily lives of the ancient Egyptian. We can read their words, meet their families, feel their clothes, taste their food and drink, enter their tombs and even touch their bodies. So to us, it seems that we almost know them. And knowing them, maybe even loving them, we feel that we can understand the very human hopes and fears that filled their lives.

The Curse of King Tut's Tomb

By using their writing and artwork Egyptians asked and answered the questions that all of us ask. What happens after death? how was the world created? Where does the sun go at night? They answered these questions using myths and legends, some of which were unexplainable, this due to a lack of scientific understanding.

Egyptian Tomb Painting

Some of these myths passed from Egypt to Rome, effecting the development of modern religious belief. The ancient stories allow us to abandon our modern fixed ideas, step outside our own cultural experiences and enter a very different world.

A view of 4,400 year old tomb from ancient Egypt that held a nun and her husband, a singer in the pharaoh's palace.

Mummies in Manchester Museum

BBC History. 2014. Rich Legacy. [ONLINE] Avaiable at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/egypt_importance_01.shtml [Accessed 20 May 14]