How to Look at a Mark Rothko Painting The Conspiracy of Art 2022-09-27 | What do Rothko’s paintings mean? Where did they come from? Mark Rothko wanted to make art that could stir the most basic human emotions. He spent his entire career exploring the primal language of abstract painting in pursuit of a spiritual, near-religious experience. He accomplished what few artists have ever done, he made something the world has never seen before. Rothko believed art was a sacred space to communicate big ideas. He created a huge body of color field paintings that have become some of the most beloved works of the abstract expressionist movement.Credits:3D Render by Julia KimCOLLECTION PEGGY GUGGENHEIMPBS.OrgMoma.orgtate.org.ukRothko: A Biography by James BreslinReductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the Two Cultures by Eric KandelNew Art City by Jed Perl
Jackson Pollock: Demystifying Americas Most Influential Painter The Conspiracy of Art 2022-09-27 | Understanding the painting of Jackson Pollock, an artist who shook the art world and came to symbolize the American spirit and even freedom itself. Jackson Pollock is a difficult artist for many to appreciate. Understanding his influences & artistic process is key to understanding and enjoyment. Pollock was an artist fascinated with myth, and poetically, became a myth himself. In his seminal essay, The American Action Painters, art critic Harold Rosenberg described the abstract expressionist as a “vanguard painter [who] took to the white expanse of the canvas as Melville’s Ishmael took to the sea.” In the public consciousness, abstract expressionism came to represent pure possibility. And no one benefited more from this myth-making than Jackson Pollock. Who cares if Rosenberg didn't have Pollock in mind when he wrote American Action Painters, or that Rosenberg disliked the mass media culture surrounding Pollock. Rosenberg gave the abstract expressionist a soul. He defined a will to power. Jackson Pollock's painting was now a heroic act. References & Credits:New Art City by Jed PerlThe Free World by Louis MenandMOMA.orgNew YorkerAlliedworks.comWikipediaThomas GrieselMusic:Singing Bowl Meditation: Humans WinClassical Noble Strings: Bobby ColeFilm Theme: Spencer Rabin Miles to Go: Gary FranksLike Miles: Unknown AuthorJazz: Paul WhittleAmbient Space Meditation: Malkovich Studio
The Myth of Picasso The Conspiracy of Art 2022-09-26 | There was no artist bigger than Pablo Picasso for much of the 20th century. He radiated the mythic aura of creative genius, becoming the richest and arguably most influential artist in modern times – achieving fame, glory, and infamy. His public persona is now inseparable from his art.References: Art ForumThe New York TimesThe New Yorker“The Success and Failure of Picasso” by John Berger“Picasso and the Painting that Shocked the World” by Miles J. Unger“A Life of Picasso Volume II” by John Richardson“Life with Picasso" by Françoise Gilot“Picasso My Grandfather" by Marina Picasso
The World of Jean-Michel Basquiat The Conspiracy of Art 2022-05-27 | A look at the life, work, controversies, and iconic mystique of Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist who conquered the art world, defined a generation of 1980's expressionist painting, and became a celebrity doing it.Basquiat was an artist with preternatural talent who created art inspired by Jazz, Beat poets, Cy Twombly, Leonardo da Vinci, graffiti, hip-hop, and nearly everything else under the sun. He took on racism, politics, and art history itself in his short but exceptional career.Chapters:0:00 Intro2:06 Hollywood Africans4:17 Basquiat & Art Museums5:17 Great Jones St. Studio & 1980's New York6:49 Childhood and Teenage years8:58 SAMO Graffiti 11:20 Influences 17:29 The Death of Michael Stewart19:21 Profit I Breakdown20:54 The Problem with Critics22:19 Abidjan, Ivory Coast22:57 Conclusion 22:53 Untitled (Skull)24:26 OutroCredits and References:ArtforumNew YorkerNew York TimesEsquire MagazineThe GuardianRene RicardGlenn O'brienJordana Moore SaggesePeter SchjeldahlGreg TateBasquiat: A Quick Killing in Art by Phoebe Hoban The Estate of Jean-Michel BasquiatThe WhitneyMOMACharlie RoseThe Joe Rogan Experience (Rob Zombie interview)
Salvador Dalis Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) The Conspiracy of Art 2022-02-20 | Salvador Dali called himself the first painter of the atomic age. In Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus), Dali explores his obsession with nuclear science, mysticism, and sacred geometry of the Renaissance. Dali created his cross using a four dimension cube, called a hypercube or tesseract. Dali claimed his surrealism period was merely a stepping stone, and that in his nuclear phase, he would be able to solve the mysteries of the universe.Carl Sagan's explanation of a hypercube is the best I've found: youtube.com/watch?v=UnURElCzGc0Credits & References:Salvador Dali FoundationThe Mystical ManifestoThe Secret Life of Salvador DaliThe Life and Masterworks of Salvador DaliThe Shameful Life of Salvador DaliSalvador Dali by Robert Descharnes & Gilles NeretNew York Times Archives
Duchamps Fountain: How a Urinal Became the Most Influential Artwork of the 20th Century The Conspiracy of Art 2021-12-28 | The story of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain. A signed urinal that changed art forever. Duchamp today is known as the inventor of the readymade and conceptual art, but in 1917, his ideas were just too radical for much of the world to stomach.Marcel Duchamp’s attitude towards art was born out of a need for total freedom. Not just artistic freedom, but freedom of thought. Freedom of ideas. Freedom from tradition. He was looking for a new attitude, a new state of mind, towards art and towards life. He relentlessly unbound himself from convention and categories, even from art movements and other artists. He rejected boundaries unlike any artist before him. You can like or hate Duchamp, but you can't ignore him.Credits and References:The writings and interviews of Calvin Tomkins, Francis Naumann, William Camfield, and Thierry de Duve.-Art Forum- New Yorker-New York Times-Dialogues With Marcel Duchamp by Pierre Cabanne
Andy Warhols Nixon Poster: “Vote McGovern” The Conspiracy of Art 2021-08-09 | Andy Warhol was not known for being political. His brief foray into American politics may have cost him. The story of Warhol's political poster in support of the 1972 Democratic nominee for President, George McGovern. Image Credits & Resources:The Andy Warhol DiariesLibrary of CongressThe Andy Warhol MuseumMuseum of Modern ArtCBS NewsPBS NewsSurfline.comNewsweekMusic: Habanera from Bizet's Carmen for Flutes and Strings
Gold Buckle of Sutton Hoo (A Masterpiece of Medieval Art) | 4k The Conspiracy of Art 2021-07-27 | A quick breakdown of the 7th century Anglo Saxon relic. The gold buckle found at Sutton Hoo is one of the great treasures of early medieval Europe. The buckle was found among a trove of Anglo Saxon treasures buried in a royal grave in Suffolk, England in 1939.
Andy Warhols Gold Marilyn Monroe: The Sacred & the Profane The Conspiracy of Art 2021-07-27 | Analysis of Warhol's mystifying piece of pop iconography. Andy Warhol's Byzantine Catholic upbringing gave him an early education in art. In 1962, he made Gold Marilyn Monroe, an icon of 20th century pop culture. There are many sides to Warhol. He was a commercial artist, an experimental artist and filmmaker, a an openly gay man, a socialite, and a devout Catholic. His art reflects all these facets of his personality. But the rich history of Byzantine art plays an outsized role in Gold Marilyn Monroe – Art history meets 1950's Hollywood.
Anglo Saxon Helmet of Sutton Hoo | 4k (Condensed Version) The Conspiracy of Art 2021-06-13 | The discovery at Sutton Hoo unlocked the darkest medieval age in Europe. The 1400 year old helmet was discovered in 1939 by Basil Brown on the estate of Edith Pretty in Suffolk, England. The helmet was buried in a vast Anglo Saxon grave from the 7th century.This art history video discusses the impact the Sutton Hoo discovery had on our understanding of Anglo Saxon culture and provides a description of the helmet’s construction and symbolism.
The Death of Marat: The Propaganda of Jacques-Louis David | French Revolution The Conspiracy of Art 2021-06-12 | Jacques-Louis David was a court painter turned radical revolutionary. David used his artistic powers in the name of terror and revolution. Jacques-Louis David was the leading painter in France working in the neoclassical style. His paintings would become emblems of the French Revolution, representing both the high ideals and the carnage. "The Death of Marat (La Mort de Marat)" is painting made for the modern world.Opening Song: Les Enfants de L'autodestruction by Gwawl
How the CIA Secretly Used Jackson Pollock to Fight the Cold War The Conspiracy of Art 2021-04-09 | Jackson Pollock and the Abstract Expressionists made New York City the center of the art world after World War II. The CIA made them weapons of the Cold War.This video explores the ideas that animated post-war American abstract painting and how these ideas were exploited by the CIA to combat Soviet propaganda.References:Art Forum: "ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, WEAPON OF THE COLD WAR" by Eva CockcroftNew Yorker: "Unpopular Front" by Louis MenandNew Art City by Jed Perl
