Reno Artwork.

Matthew Brown
 Candace Nicol
 Art 160

Reno Artwork.

            If you walk around Reno, Nevada you can find various art pieces all around town. Many are made as one formulated piece, like sculptures and murals. Others were added onto preexisting structures. I found an electrical box that was painted to liven up the downtown look. Instead of the classic green look, this box was painted with different cards and symbols that are relating to what Reno does best, gambling. There is beautiful reds, greens and blues that pop as you look at the piece. This makes it fun and enjoyable to look at. It definitely gives the once dull look of downtown Reno a much more festive feel and invites many people to come and enjoy the surroundings.    





Drift Project.

Matthew Brown
 Candace Nicol
 Art 160

Drift Project.

            When I started my drift around Reno I began to wonder what would look good. Me being the person I am started to try and create high class photography with my iPhone. Fortunately for me and this project, I have a keen eye for what looks good. I used the fundamentals of photography to create the best shots to use later and help me with my project. I was looking for images with good texture, form, lighting, line, structure and just overall great qualities of picture making. I feel I pulled this off to the best of my ability and wish to share what I found with you. Take a look and let me know what you think of my work and the artistic side of Reno, Nevada.     



Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge Discussion.

Matthew Brown
 Candace Nicol
 Art 160

Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge Discussion.

            In my humble opinion, “Treaty Signing at Medicine Creek Lodge” by John Taylor is much more representational while the painting by Howling Wolf is obviously an abstract. In form, these paintings differ from the way they were painted to the colors used. The landscape is different when it comes to the grass, dead trees and the river. Howling Wolf took a different approach to his art piece in that it is more childlike and uses bright colors. John Taylor shows the treaty signing as just a big crowded place with little room left to even move around, while Wolf depicts a wide open area to showcase the abundance of space. The fact that Taylors painting leads the viewer’s eyes to the center of the piece proves that he is classical style artist. They use a vanishing point in their art to show the size, scope and give a feeling of depth to the work. Whereas Wolf is purely abstract in his form and is all over the place. He has a horse that is as tall as the humans and trees. In Taylor’s piece the Natives are not very distinguishable. There were many different tribes at the event and yet Taylor makes it seem as if they are all the same type of people. It is even hard to tell who the chiefs in his piece are. It is a very stereotypical and even ethnocentric approach to art in that fashion. Also, the role of women and how they were portrayed is vastly different in these two art works. Wolf shows women and their importance to life and the community, while Taylor shows no women at all, just tribal men. This goes to show how Christian people of that time viewed women and Native Americans status. Wolf has a more holistic approach in the way he makes his art. This is not only because of his style of art but also has a lot to do with his culture and spiritual beliefs.      

Artist Role #4 Discussion.

Matthew Brown
 Candace Nicol
 Art 160

Artist Role #4 Discussion.

            While flipping through the pages of “A World of Art” I came across a particular painting that struck my eye. While keeping artist role #4 in mind I started examining “The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. This painting was completed in 1889 and now resides in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Van Gogh’s use of line is so loose and free that it fringes on the thought of being out of control. Yet, it is truly consistent and is almost like an autograph of sorts. The painting itself is classic Van Gogh artistry. No one can do it like he did. Therefore this piece is unmistakable.

            Everything from the moon in the sky, to the wind, the mountains, down to the city below, all seem to flow together in a style that evokes deep emotion. Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, saying, “Is it not emotion, the sincerity of one’s feeling for nature, that draws us?” Such art masterpieces force the world to evolve and draw out numerous amounts of different feelings. Though there were many before, and many to follow, Vincent Van Gogh will go down in history as one of the greatest artists the world has ever had the pleasure of knowing.   

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Not far away, yet still worlds apart.

Matthew Brown

Candace Nicol

Art 160

09/17/10

Not far away, yet still worlds apart.

            While walking through a gallery I happened to stumble upon a certain painting. The artwork is entitled “Worlds Apart.” This piece seemed to draw me in and had an immediate impact in my minds eye. The plaque on the wall said it was painted by Chester Arnold in 1995 on linen. Looking back to the piece I see two dark cliff faces with green grass, trees and quaint little houses on the top. It looks fresh and new with bright blue sky's above and lush greenery abound. You can even see a new little house being constructed. Yet this painting takes a dramatic turn as your eyes scale downward. The cliff tops seem to be “divided by a deep chasm crumbling beneath them” (Piece Description). In the dark rocks you can see broken pipes draining liquid and sewage out into the deep gorge. When you look very closely you can even see little skeletons hidden within the rocks. The way this painting was constructed leads the viewers eyes downward from a brightly colored and cheerful top into the depths of an extremely shady chasm where you see a “bustling metropolis” at the bottom. The stark difference is that this little smog filled city in the distance is not pristine, in fact, it seems to be the polar opposite of the fresh country houses you see on the grassy cliff tops above.

            To even begin to try and understand the painting, we must first do our best to try and understand the artist. “For Chester Arnold, painting is as much about social responsibility as it is about crafting luscious large-scale oil paintings in the tradition of 19th-century European artists. Since he began painting over three decades ago, Arnold has cleverly confronted a range of challenging subjects ranging from land use and environmental issues to the global impacts of human and industrial consumption, accumulation, and waste. The paintings united in this exhibition ask viewers to consider the implications of unchecked economic development and industrialized growth on the natural environment” (Nevada Museum of Art).

            When I really took a step back and thought about the art piece I started to understand it a little more clearly. In my opinion, it was trying to imply that life is a fragile thing. It was trying to show how we have such a wonderful, natural and beautiful world. Yet with our deep seeded issues and disregard / disrespect for our own world, we get led downward into a dark place filled with congestion, filth, pain and even death. I believe this painting could be a metaphor and / or a reason to change the path we as a world are headed down. It sheds light on how the simpler times were a much cleaner and safer place to live. To be honest, I deeply enjoyed the exhibit, this painting and Chester Arnold's vision as an artist.

Work Cited

"Chester Arnold - On Earth as It Is in Heaven."
          Nevada Museum of Art (2010): Web. 17 Sep 2010.  
          <http://www.nevadaart.org/exhibitions/detail?eid=157>.