Dear Students,
We created work that was inspired by Picasso and Matisse, and because we think of them as being modern, were surprised by the visual connections we found with traditional indigenous masks. Here are some sketches students made of First Nations and Inuit masks, displayed near our Cubist Self Portraits:
To inspire our own work with clay last week, we then looked at some Inuit sculpture by a variety of artists, both modern and traditional. We looked at some work available online from museums https://marionscottgallery.com/portfolio-item/modern-masters-northern-quebec/
and work by contemporary artists like David Ruben Piqtoukun: https://davidruben.com/
and Karoo Ashevak: https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/iad/artist/Karoo-Ashevak
This week, we will continue to compare and contrast these with the forms and shapes used in modern art, particularly by Henry Moore.
First a video to give us some sense of his overall style (the background musical choice is strangely ominous):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AHF2EPxZ6A&t=60s
We'll discuss what we see, particularly thinking about how negative space plays into these sculptures, then look at an overview of Moore's work displayed worldwide:
At the Tate Museum in London:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/henry-moore-om-ch-1659/henry-moores-sculptures
And from the Henry Moore foundation's catalogue of his work:
http://catalogue.henry-moore.org/advancedsearch/Objects/classifications%3ASculpture%3Bdepartment%3ASculptures%3BmediaExistence%3Atrue
Finally, if we have time in class or you are curious to learn more, this is a good short backgrounder on Moore and some of his influences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWIB_rPtTvM&t=187s
