Tate Britain

My aesthetic characterizations have to do with my inner and most personal feelings. If I can relate to it or if it brings me back to a memory than the piece/painting/photograph interests me. I tend to be drawn into paintings that let me think of it in my mind and draw me into it. It makes me feel like I am in the painting. That is my main characteristic of an aesthetic. I like to have a simple and creative type of aesthetic piece to simply create a story of my own. These characteristics of my aesthetics offer me a story to tell and feelings to ponder. Sometimes it’s a realization of my reality.
Rothko’s paintings are very abstract and simple but it doesn’t clearly tell you what its meaning. The meaning is up to you and your mind. Rothko leads me into a world of my own with his creative and simple paintings. I feel as though my aesthetic criteria are the same as Rothko’s. It is simple with a deeper thought to it once you are in the zone. He makes me picture myself in his paintings and he freely gives me access to translate his creativity to my own story. Turner’s aesthetic focuses on a scenery view and landscape. His aesthetic is very captivating in details. From the many types of landscapes he drew, I assume he loves the view of nature. In almost every painting, there are trees and flowers. His colors are more pastel and earthy. When I look at his paintings, I get happy vibes but in his grey scenery portraits, I get gloomy feelings. I picture myself over looking the views he paint
Rothko and Turner’s are similar but also different. They are both modern artists. They both keep the details simple. Turner’s has a lot more going on in his paintings but when I looked at it closely, it seems very straightforward and uncomplicated. It is just simple details cluttered together. Rothko’s details are more abstract but again simple. In all honesty, the comparison between the two is misleading. A man name Gowing who presented Turner as an abstract artist was misunderstood. Turner’s painting had a lot more to do with history, art, literature, and philosophy. So when Rothko said, “ This man Turner, learned a lot from me.” He meant it as a joke. A joke as in their work of art is very different but categorize the same way.

Tas

Tas is a Turkish restaurant that seems to always be busy. The environment and the setting were quite charming. The waiters are well uniformed with satisfying service. I had a taste of all the appetizers and the hummus turned out to be the best and rich to a perfect point. It was mixed with lemon juice and garlic. Zeytin Yagli Patlican consists of aubergine, tomatoes, garlic, and chickpeas. This appetizer was very unusual for my likings, but I am sure others might like it. Tubule is an appetizer that looks like a Mexican salsa salad but better! It consists of parsley, lemon juice, onions, and tomatoes. Quite refreshing! Manca is with spinach and yoghurt. The taste was minty. It did not taste like spinach at all. Zepzeli Kopte (Falafel)is a ground chickpea dish that was also quite interesting. The peas tasted fresh but again not my type of taste. My main course was the Mousakka. It consists layers of minced lamb, aubergine, potatoes, and cheese. The savor sauce was quite satisfying but the potatoes were room temperature. That threw me off guard. The aubergine goes well with the lamb and the layer of cheese was too much. I had rounds of wine throughout the dinner also. The white wine was a bit bitter, but better than most wine I have tried. Overall, I give Tas a 7 out of a 10.

Canal Infrastructure

Q: What was the canal used for in the earlier decades compared to the use for it now?

A: The canal was used as an industrial transport in the earlier decades. It was not only faster but also safer to hold large volume of manufactured goods and raw materials. The use for it now is more of a leisure activity and a historical landscape. It’s used as an aesthetic and leisure site. For example, there are restaurants on boats, a classroom on a boat that passes me by, and we can also rent a day or two on a getaway boat. It also looks like they use it for tours too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canals_of_the_United_Kingdom

City's Wall on London

The Romans built the London City wall during 200AD. Throughout

 the centuries, parts of the wall were demolished or covered. 

Then later recovered and has kept parts of the wall intact since.

 The city of London went through abandonment before the 

Romans founded it. The wall has pivotal impact on London’s history

 through the many centuries it survived. After the Roman times, it

 perseveres through the Medieval and Tudor centuries. The London City 

wall still exist as an historical wall through the 21st century.

Roman London. (2009, April 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:28, April 22, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_London&oldid=282114130

The White Chapel gallery had unique type of arts. The only 

portrait that was interesting was by Picasso. Everything else 

looks as if it was made by kids in preschool to fourth grade. 

There were many pieces that looks as though thrown 

together and decided to display the mess as art.

My trip to the National Gallery became one of my favorite

 galleries. It took me a while to narrow one painting down,

but because I have to, it is The Aronolfino Portrait. The 

intrinsic detail of the two people seen only in the mirror 

made me fall in love with this piece. Arnolfini seems to be 

greeting someone. It was not painted to be literally seen but

 more as a portrait to be analyzed. With a deeper depth of

 analyzation, you can see the subliminal message the artist 

had left. It indicates his name in Latin, "Jan Van Eych was

 here 1434,"The Arnolfini Portrait shows a story I feel as 

though I can read. It also shows that the couple has a cat as

 a pet. Even though the wife is not pregnant in this picture,

 I can tell she wants a family. The cat symbolizes 

the only thing she cares for.

My Intimate Appeal for Saatchi

My 3 favorite pieces

I have to say the hidden portraits were the cleverest piece. Not only did it catch my eye but it also kept me there in ponder. I had questions like, “What the story is behind these faces and whose faces could it be?” When I went up to the little tagging of the portraits they were hidden faces of prisoners, dolls, goddesses and victims. I portray these pictures as a way to present their tragic story without showing who they really are. As for the hidden doll, it might have been the kid’s favorite toy until something tragic happened.

The male prostitute portraits also pulled me toward its direction. It showed another level of prostitution by a portrayal of how average men prostitutes would look like. As I recall to the debriefing in class, I must admit that I can now see why Dr. Manley sees it as an act. I now see it as an act with a feminist prospective. Besides the hairy chest and beards, I thought it was strange that their bottom half was not hairy nor had men ‘parts.’ It was more of women’s parts. I found this very feminist.

My last look at Saatchi was at the bottom floor. At first, I thought there was a bunch of retired, old people in wheelchairs here for a field trip. Then, I realize they were the objects of the gallery. I have never seen such a piece in all my 19 years of life. I have to say it really amazed me. This made me feel sympathy for these heartless objects. It gave me a thought of how miserable it is to be old. It showed me that I will eventually become old and it is better to explore and do what I can now while I am young.

A Whole Quarter in London

Not only am I a CPP student studying in London for a quarter. 

I am a Geocacher and a Reviewer of Art.