A Presentation about Georges Braque - Essay Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. 1. Introduction 2 2. The Tate Modern 2 Customer Profile 2 Display of Georges Braque’s Work in Tate Modern 3 3. Georges Braque and Cubism 3 4. Development of My Art Work for Merchandizing 4 5. Recommendation 6 6. Conclusion 6 PRESENTATION Introduction: My presentation was about Georges Braque (1882-1963), a Cubism pioneer from France. The product was a ring placed on the Eiffel Tower, denoting the French nationality of the artist chosen. The feedback that I received at the presentation was positive, and confirmed my choice of product. In this report, I will be presenting well-researched information about the Tate Modern, the selected Artist and artwork; and will discuss my choice of product and rationale for the choice, as well as development of my piece of art for merchandising. The Tate Modern: This is Europe’s most successful and largest contemporary art gallery, which was converted in the year 2000 from a disused power station, at Southwark, London. The vast turbine hall makes a dramatic entrance space, and the two-storeyed glass box added to the roof works as an aesthetic beacon when lit up at night. (Hughes, et al 2004 p.160). Danforth Prince and Darwin Porter (2004) state that the Tate Modern is viewer-friendly with eye-level hangings.(p.166). The national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day, as well as international modern art from 1900 are displayed. The collection is spread over five floors, and encompasses art in all its forms. The works are displayed thematically rather than chronologically. The Tate Modern is famous for its special exhibitions. (Berry; Else 2005 p.109). In some rooms, paintings, sculptures and installations are placed adjacent to each other. Olson et al (2004) feel that the thematic display concept is challenging, “but they often seem spurious, lacking the quirky spirit of a mixed private collection where one person’s taste is the guide.” (p. 405). Customer Profile: Every year the Tate Modern works with a market research company to find out more about its visitors. Some of the findings of Tate Audience Research 2005-2006, at the art gallery by the BDRC: Business Development Research Consultants, are presented1: Nationality: Visitors from all over the world visit Tate Modern, from which a third are from Europe, most of whom live in London, others in the South East and in the rest of UK. 43% of visitors are male and 57% female. Frequency: At Tate Modern, an average of 45% of visitors are on their first visit, 43% have visited in the last 12 months and 12% have been over a year ago. Age-group: More than a third of the visitors at Tate Modern are in the age group of 25-34. The next largest age group is 17-24, followed by the group 45-59 years old, and only 9% are 60+ in age. Display of Braque’s Work in Tate Modern: The entire range of Braque’s work is on display. Having trained in Art, in 1906 Braque began painting landscapes in the ‘Fauve’ style. But in 1907-1908, he started to use a more restrained palette of greens, browns and greys, simplified his forms and painted his first cubist pictures. Close friendship with Picasso 1909-1914, led to the joint creation of analytical and synthetic Cubism and Collage. His later compositions included still lifes and interiors with contrasting patterns and more complex effects of space2. Georges Braque and Cubism: Art is an intuitive, non-verbal, visual medium. The most important part of a work of art, according to Georges Braque, was the small part that could not be explained.(Gayford; Wright 2000 p.xvii). In Cubism, the geometric aspect was rendered with great purity. Cubism essentially pertains to the volume and form of objects, but is not restricted to these concepts. “I want to expose the Absolute”: stated Georges Braque.(Taylor 1992 p.49). Cubism works to perfect the mind by relentlessly exploring the transformed relationship between the painted image and reality. According to Georges Braque, “ The senses deform, the mind forms. Work to perfect the mind, there is no certitude, but in what the mind conceives.” (p.58). Gantefuhrer-Trier 2004 states that Georges Braque used colour as an aid in shaping and organizing light and dark. The colour was not meant to realistically represent the object. Picasso was a close associate of Georges Braque. In Picasso’s words, “Cubism was never anything other than this: painting for painting’s sake, while excluding all concepts of unimportant reality. Colour plays a role in helping to depict volumes.”(p.11). Both Georges Braque and Picasso are considered as the great founders of Cubism. Both artists had made immense contributions to the art from 1908 onwards.(p.12). After 1912, the Cubists’ artistic techniques changed immensely. The pictures again became more readable. Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, etc started with abstract picture elements and composed these into new motifs.(p.18). From 1914, paper, newspaper, wallpaper, imitation wood grain, sawdust, sand and similar materials appeared in Cubist art. The boundaries flowed freely together between painted and real subjects. The pictures worked in this way acquired a tangible material character, that created a new pictorial reality, and were called ‘papier colle’ or collage.(p.19). Braque mainly used the concept of broken planes and large areas of colour in his works. Initially Cubism was not accepted by art-lovers and the public. According to Taylor 1992 (p.58), the dictum of the post-Impressionist, “profoundly realistic” artist Paul Cezanne was that slowly this genre of art gained acceptance. “All the shapes of nature can be traced back to the sphere, the cone and the cylinder. But the Cubists did not depict their motifs in the way the eye sees them, from one particular perspective. They broke up their pictures into frontal views, profiles, views from below, above and from the sides, views into the interior, and all this at the same time.” The Cubist painter can give the effect of three dimensions. Development of My Art Work for Merchandising: My presentation was about Georges Braque, French artist of the Cubism art genre, whose background and artwork I have discussed above. The product I chose was a ring placed on the Eiffel Tower, as the monument signified France, the home country of the chosen artist. In order to merchandise my piece of art work, I had three avenues: art gallery, art fair or online selling at e-Bay. I chose to display it for sale at a gallery. The planning and execution of the art product was done meticulously, for best results. The circular figure of the ring contrasted with the angular dimensions and straight lines of the Eiffel Tower, arresting the attention of even a casual viewer. Cubism was predominant, with its multiple planes and three-dimensional effect. At the Presentation, I got a positive response from the viewers, to my product displayed. According to Pfalzer 1994 (p.15), the art of self-promotion was essential. It was important to select a gallery where my genre of art work were displayed. I took into consideration also the location of the art gallery, and the clientele. Research was carried out on the customer profile of all the visitors at the gallery, and my chances of successfully merchandizing my art work were evaluated. I distributed promotional pamphlets about the work, to customers at the gallery. According to Becker 1984 (pp.131-132), Critics apply aesthetic systems to specific art works. They arrive at judgments about their worth and explications of what gives them that worth. Those judgments produce reputations for works and artists. The distributors and clientele take reputations into account when they decide what to support emotionally and financially. That consequently affects the resources available to artists to continue their work. There may be specific criteria for evaluation in a particular institution. Hence I considered it important to initially familiarize myself with the art gallery’s works, what were the pieces that were critically appraised as good, and what were the factors taken into account, for judgment. Becker 1984 (p.95) reveals that art world often has more than one distribution system operating at the same time. Distribution systems with their built-in professional biases affect opinion about what constitutes great or important art. I also took care to present my art work in the best way possible, with a protective clear glass front, and an exclusive frame. For evaluating and pricing: the labour and material costs, the size of the work and pricing of similar art works in the market, were used as criteria. Recommendation: Among the three potential avenues: art gallery, art fair or on-line selling at e-Bay, I would recommend an art gallery for merchandizing one’s art. I chose to show-case my piece at the art gallery of my choice for various reasons. Firstly, I could ensure that it would be presented for viewing by the public until such time it was selected for purchase by an art lover. Secondly, it would remain in a permanently located place, unlike an art fair, which would be on the move. And thirdly, I could select the genre of art work where I wanted to display my piece: that is: Cubism art work; which I could not do had I chosen e-Bay. Conclusion: Since art is personal and subjective, I was reassured by the positive feedback I had received for my product at my Presentation of George Braque, Cubism pioneer’s works. This empowered me to develop my art work for merchandizing. The entire process has been interesting and informative. The concept of having my own art exhibition has taken root, and I will strive to fulfill this dream sometime in the near future. --------------------------------------- REFERENCES Becker, Howard (1984), Art Worlds, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, and London, England. Berry, Oliver; Else, David (2005), England, Publisher: Lonely Planet, London. Gantefuhrer-Trier, Anne; (Ed.)Grosenick, Uta, (2004), Cubism, Publisher: Taschen, London. Gayford, Martin; Wright, Karen (2000), The Grove Book of Art Writing: Brilliant Words on Art from Pliny the Elder to Damien Hirst, Grove Press, New York. Hughes, Martin; Masters, Tom; Johnstone, Sarah (2004), London, Lonely Planet. Olson, Donald; et al (2004), Frommer’s Europe by Rail, Publisher: Frommer’s, New Jersey. Pfalzgraf, Jenny (1993), Artist’s Market 1994: Where and How to Sell Your Illustration, Fine Art and Graphic Design, Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books. Prince, Danforth; Porter, Darwin (2004), Frommer’s England 2005, Publisher: Frommer’s, New Jersey. Taylor, Mark C. (1992), Disfiguring, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Read More