Afzal Ibrahim

Hope II by Gustav Klimt – The Subject of Pregnant Women in Art

Afzal Ibrahim — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 06:27:38 +0000

A woman bows her head, eyes shut, praying over her bulging womb. Peeping out from the rim of her swollen belly is a skull’s head, an omen hovering over the unborn.

At her feet, three women with bowed heads raise their hands in prayer—their sobriety implies mourning as if they foresaw the child’s fate.

This is one of the greatest Gustav Klimt paintings ever made in the pre-modern era

Gustav Klimt Hope II painting

This prophetic painting is titled “Hope, II.”

Why would “Hope” apply to a scene of expectant fatalism? There’s a method to Gustav Klimt’s paradoxical aesthetic.

“Hope, II” recalls his earlier, related painting of a pregnant woman “Hope.” By association with its predecessor, this was Hope, II, revealing Klimt’s pattern of pregnant women and the weight of hope they carried in their wombs.

The unborn child here is the embodiment of the nominal hope, but it has death looming over it.

Hope, a great attribute of Gustav Klimt paintings

In this atmosphere of maternal anxiety, Klimt displays a Freudian flavor to manifest Sigmund Freud’s explorations of the child within every adult persona.

Klimt lived and worked in the turn-of-the-century Vienna, home to Freud, and thus was in proximity of this psychoanalytic inspiration.

Gustav Klimt’s paintings often investigate formative drives, like sex and death, mirrors Freud’s studies of the psyche. Through the Freudian lens, what does the child within the woman reveal?

Pregnant women in art are seldom visible

Women and children make appearances in many historical portraits, but the pregnant mothers, as well as the notion of pregnancy, are curiously invisible and exist outside the artistic consciousness.

Why Hope II is special?

By featuring this expectant mother to the center-stage, Klimt parades the splendor of hope about to emerge.

But by giving her death as a companion, Klimt forces us to confront the reality of birth and death within the same frame.

The woman is entrapped in the irony between the commencement and the endgame of life, poised beneath the possibility of a ‘healthy birth’ or the ‘tragic premature demise’ of her child.

To balance out the solemn gravity, Klimt adorns this woman in a stark richness.

The woman’s gold-patterned robe—drawn flat, as clothes are in Russian icons, although her skin is rounded and dimensional—has an extraordinary decorative beauty.

Gustav Klimt paintings are another great example of great convergence of technique, pattern, and colors

Devoted to his craftwork, Klimt was among the many artists of his time who united old-fashioned traditions—like his Byzantine gold leaf painting—with a modern psychological subject.

In Hope II, Klimt revisits this theme but makes some notable changes:

More Abstract

The pregnant woman in Hope II is more abstract, with her face barely visible. Her body is covered in a richly patterned, ornamental garment, and her figure is surrounded by vibrant golden colors.

Less Death Imagery

Although Hope II retains some darker undertones, it focuses more on ornamental beauty and less on explicit symbols of death, giving it a more positive, serene mood.

Both Hope I and Hope II reflect Klimt’s fascination with the cycles of life and death, conveyed through his unique blend of sensuality, symbolism, and vibrant ornamentation.

Birth and death exist side-by-side, suspended in equilibrium, collaborators in the appetite of living. The Power of art and a curious subject like – pregnant women in art – truly executed by Klimt. Respect!

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What is Art? Why is Art Important?

Afzal Ibrahim — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 12:45:00 +0000

What is art? – The dictionary definition of art says that it is “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination, especially in the production of aesthetic objects” (Merriam-Webster). Art is essential to society as it stimulates creativity, reflects culture, fosters empathy, provokes thought, and offers a medium for expression. It enhances society’s intellectual and emotional understanding of the world.

But the thing about art is that it’s so diverse that there are as many ways to understand it as there are people.

That’s why there are scholars who give their special definition of the word, such as the one penned by this famous Russian novelist, which goes:

“Art is the activity by which a person, having experienced an emotion, intentionally transmits it to others” – Leo Tolstoy

During his life, Tolstoy was known to write based on his life experiences, such as his most famous work, “War and Peace,” which used much of his experience during the Crimean War.

Whether or not his definition of art is the best, the point is that people look at art based on how they have experienced it.

What is Art?

There are many common definitions of art as per many books by famous artists and authors. Few to quote:

Art is

any creative work of a human being
a form of expressing oneself
resides in the quality of doing; the process is not magic
an act of making something visually entertaining
an activity that manifests beauty (What is Beauty in Art?)
the mastery, an ideal way of doing things
not a thing — it is a way (Elbert Hubbard)
the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known
discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use (Frank Lloyd Wright)

Why is Art Important?

Probably, the most prominent theory which best explains – Why is art important – is from Van Jones, which subtly provides a great response to What is art?

Van Jones presented a graph that accurately represents the interaction between the four aspects of society and its different members.

Consequently, Vones depicts why art is important to our society.

The graph (below) represents our society.

Society is driven by the powerful elites, the dependent masses, the government, cultural producers, and artists

Van Jones Graph

On the left, you have action, and on the right, ideas; elites are at the top, and the masses are below. There’s an inside act and an outside act.

On the inside, there’s big money: elites are spending millions of dollars to influence politicians and policymakers. The inside act has the power to influence policy creators.

On the outside, we at the grassroots set our expectations and needs so that the elected candidates pass laws that give us power. Masses reflect what society wants (heart)

The left side, “action,” often means quantifiable policy changes. The right side, “ideas,” can be harder to see. We are not necessarily talking about concrete things here, but rather, a “headspace.”

Academic institutions and think tanks, which are not always involved in the immediate policy wins, are significant in creating a culture of thought

While the left side, “action,” continues to produce quantifiable policy changes and new laws, the right side, “ideas,” can be hard to quantify its outcome. Although “head” talks about theories and academics, it fails to contribute significantly to policymakers.

Artists come into the play here at this moment

Artists are represented here on the side of ideas, in the “heart space.”

Art is uniquely positioned to move people—inspiring us, inciting new questions, and provoking curiosity, excitement, and outrage.

Artists can strengthen the will and push people to act. They do not think like policymakers or academics people.

Artists think from their heart – big, revolutionary, and visionary ideas.

This is why artists are able to move people to action, thus creates a significant cultural and political contributions.

This is what makes art powerful.

Impact of Art on Politics, Culture, and People

Art is essential in society because it is an essential ingredient in empowering people’s hearts.

When activists show images of children suffering from poverty or oppression in their campaigns, this is the art of pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite and powerful to make changes.

Similarly, when photographers publish photos of war-torn areas, it catches the attention of the masses whose hearts reach out to those who need help.

When an artist creates great music and movies, it entertains people worldwide. This is art, making a difference in society.

A very modern example of art in action is street art. When the famous Italian street artist Blu created the mural in Kreuzberg, it sparked a lot of solid and different reactions rooted deeply in the differences between East and West Berlin.

Who would have thought that a wall painting depicting two masked figures trying to unmask each other could elicit such strong reactions?

Now, the issue behind this mural is a different matter to discuss. But whether or not the effect of the mural was good, it cannot be denied how a well-crafted piece of art can have a significant impact on society.

Art is also a remarkable mode of depicting culture from all over the world

When you see a Zen garden in Sydney or San Francisco, you know that it’s a practice that originated from China.

Likewise, when you see paper swans swarming a beautiful wedding ceremony, you know that this is origami, an art from Japan.

When you see films featuring Bollywood music and dancing, you know that it’s a movie from India. Art can take cultural practices from their origins and transport and integrate them into different parts of the world without losing their identity.

There, these art forms can entertain, create awareness, and even inspire foreigners to accept these cultures, no matter how strange or alien they may seem.

And that’s precisely what John Dewey implies in Art as an Experience:

“Barriers are dissolved; limiting prejudices melt away when we enter into the spirit of Negro or Polynesian Art. This insensible melting is far more efficacious than the change effected by reasoning, because it enters directly into attitude.”

This is especially important in our highly globalized world.

Art has played an essential role in helping fight against intolerance of different cultures, racism, and other forms of unjust societal segregation.

With immigration becoming a trend, the world’s countries are expected to be more tolerant and accepting of those who enter their borders.

Art helps make that happen by making sure that identities and their cultures are given due recognition around the world.

Art stimulates creativity and innovation.

Art inspires creativity and innovation beyond boundaries, encouraging imagination, lateral thinking, and risk-taking. The process of creating art involves experimentation and novel ideas, which can influence progress in various industries.

Art also challenges perceptions and assumptions, encouraging critical thinking and open-mindedness, which are essential for innovation. By presenting alternative realities or questioning the status quo, art inspires individuals to think differently and to approach problems from unique angles.

Furthermore, the aesthetic experience of art can lead to epiphanies and insights.

The beauty or emotional impact of a piece of art can trigger ideas and spark the imagination in ways that logical reasoning alone may not. This can lead to breakthroughs in creative and scientific endeavors, as individuals draw inspiration from the emotions evoked by art.

Art plays a subtle yet significant role in our daily lives.

For instance, when a child takes part in a school art project, they are given a variety of materials to create a collage. As they construct a 3D model of an imaginary winged vehicle with multiple wheels, the textures and shapes inspire them. This hands-on exploration of materials and forms sparks the child’s interest in engineering and design, planting the seeds for future innovation.

The above example illustrates how art can engage young minds, encouraging them to think creatively and envision innovative solutions beyond conventional boundaries.

In essence, art fuels the creative fire, providing the sparks that can ignite the next wave of innovation in society.

Great Art elicits powerful sentiments and tells meaningful stories

Art can take the form of film, music, theatre, and pop culture, all of which aim to entertain and make people happy. But when films, songs, or plays are made for a specific audience or purpose, the art begins to diversify.

Films, for example, can be made to spread awareness or cultural appreciation. Songs can also be composed in a way that brings out certain emotions, give inspiration, or boost the morale of people.

During the Victorian period in England, women started to make a name for themselves with classic artworks such as Elizabeth Sirani’s “Portia Wounding Her Thigh”, a painting that signifies the message that a woman is now willing to distance herself from gender biasedness.

Portia wounding her thigh, by Elisabetta Sirani.

The painting’s subject depicts an act of a woman possessing the same strength as that of a man. “Portia” represents surrender because she isn’t the same type of woman known in society as weak and prone to gossip.

One of the revolutionary works in history that ultimately opened the doors of art to women in general showed the power of women in art

There are also works of art that illicit intellectual solid discourse – the kind that can question norms and change the behavior of society.

Sometimes, still, art is there to reach out to a person who shares the same thoughts, feelings, and experiences as the artist.

The truth is that art is more than just a practice – it is a way of life. Art is more than just a skill – it is a passion. Art is more than just an image – each one tells a story.

The fact that art is quite connected to human experience makes it unsurprising that we have always made it part of our ways of living.

This is why ancient and present-day indigenous groups from all over the world have a knack for mixing art and their traditional artifacts or rituals without them knowing, which in fact one of the fundamental reasons why art is essential.

Why is Art so Powerful? Why is art important to human society?

Perhaps the most straightforward answer to this question is that art touches us emotionally.

Art is influential because it can potentially influence our culture, politics, and even the economy. When we see a powerful work of art, we feel it touching deep within our core, giving us the power to make real-life changes.

In the words of Leo Tolstoy:

“The activity of art is based on the capacity of people to infect others with their own emotions and to be infected by the emotions of others. Strong emotions, weak emotions, important emotions or irrelevant emotions, good emotions or bad emotions – if they contaminate the reader, the spectator, or the listener – it attains the function of art.”

In sum, art can be considered powerful because of the following reasons, among others:

It has the power to educate people about almost anything. It can create awareness and present information in a way that could be absorbed by many quickly. In a world where some don’t even have access to good education, art makes education an even greater equalizer of society.
It promotes cultural appreciation among a generation that’s currently preoccupied with their technology. It can be said that if it weren’t for art, our history, culture, and traditions would be in more danger of being forgotten than they already are.
It breaks cultural, social, and economic barriers. While art can’t solve poverty or promote social justice alone, it can be a leveled playing field for discourse and expression. The reason why everyone can relate to art is that everyone has emotions and personal experiences. Therefore, anyone can learn to appreciate art regardless of social background, economic standing, or political affiliation.
It accesses higher orders of thinking. Art doesn’t just make you absorb information. Instead, it makes you think about current ideas and inspire you to make your own. This is why creativity is a form of intelligence – it is a unique ability that unlocks the potential of the human mind. Studies have shown that exposure to art can improve you in other fields of knowledge.

The truth is that people have recognized how influential art can be.

Many times in history, I have heard of people being criticized, threatened, censored, and even killed because of their artwork.

Those responsible for these reactions, whether a belligerent government or a dissident group, take these measures against artists, knowing how much their works can affect the politics in a given area.

In the hands of good people, however, art can be used to give back hope or instill courage in a society that’s undergoing a lot of hardships.

The Transformative Power Of AI Generated Art

AI-generated art is powerful due to its speed, creativity, accessibility, and ability to augment human creativity.

AI can generate complex images quickly, allowing for rapid experimentation and iteration, which fosters innovation.

By learning from vast datasets, AI can blend and mimic styles, creating entirely new artistic expressions. This technology democratizes art creation, enabling even those without traditional artistic skills to produce visually compelling images.

AI’s ability to customize and generate an infinite variety of images makes it invaluable in industries like advertising, gaming, and entertainment, where unique content is in constant demand.

Rather than replacing human artists, AI often enhances their creativity, acting as a tool for inspiration and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

The scalability and collaborative potential of AI further amplify its power, making it a transformative force in the modern creative landscape.

Art is a powerful form of therapy.

Some say art is boring. But the fact remains that art has the power to take cultural practices from where they are from and then transport and integrate them into different parts of the world without losing their identity.

There, these art forms can entertain, create awareness, and even inspire foreigners to accept these cultures, no matter how strange or alien they may seem.

This is especially important in our highly globalized world.

Art has played an essential role in helping fight against intolerance of different cultures, racism, and other forms of unjust societal segregation.

With immigration becoming a trend, the world’s countries are expected to be more tolerant and accepting of those who enter their borders.

Art helps make that happen by making sure that identities and their cultures are given due recognition around the world. Thus, it is essential to reflect upon – Why art is critical – which, in fact, provides you the answer to – What is art?

This is why we at The Artist believe that art is a form of creative human expression, a way of enriching the human experience.

NFTs: The Future of Art

Now, the world of art is shifting towards a digital and alternative world. And NFT is becoming a game-changing variable in the future of art.

What is NFT artwork?

An NFT, which stands for “non-fungible token” can be defined as a digital file that can be simply and easily transferred across a blockchain network.

Many people around the world are seeking out these digital assets to sell and trade in their everyday market trading, since these items are able to be traced, have value and oftentimes also have considerable rarity for collectors.

While artistic works are certainly a part of the NFT market, a variety of different players are getting involved through gaming systems, avatars, and even entire virtual worlds.

Such tokens have a wide variety of usage and while for many these are out of reach, for serious investors NFTs can prove to be a profitable source of income.

The Intersection of Art and Generative AI: Transforming Creativity

The intersection of art and generative AI is redefining the boundaries of creativity in unprecedented ways. By leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, generative AI can analyze vast datasets of existing art, recognize patterns, and produce entirely new works that push the limits of human imagination. This collaboration between human creativity and machine precision allows for the exploration of artistic possibilities that were previously unattainable. Artists can now experiment with different styles, forms, and concepts in a more fluid and dynamic manner, leading to the creation of hybrid art forms that blend tradition with innovation.

Moreover, generative AI is democratizing the art world by making high-level artistic creation accessible to a broader audience. Individuals without formal training in art can use AI tools to generate compelling and intricate pieces, thus breaking down traditional barriers to entry. This democratization fosters a more diverse and inclusive art community, where various perspectives and ideas can flourish. As AI continues to evolve, it is likely to further transform the creative process, enabling new forms of expression and offering artists unique opportunities to engage with their audiences in more interactive and immersive ways.

Conclusion

Art plays a significant role in society by acting as an educational equalizer, fostering cultural appreciation, bridging cultural and social divides, and stimulating higher orders of thinking and creativity.

Art and its definition will always be controversial.

There will always be debates about what art is and what is not.

But no matter what the definition may be, it has been around us for as long as humans have existed (i.e. cave paintings, hieroglyphics).

Whether or not we are aware of it, we allow art to affect our lives one way or another, and the reasons why we make art are many!

AI art is now as important as traditional art in today’s society.

It expands the definition of creativity and challenges our understanding of artistic expression.

As conventional art reflects the culture, emotions, and ideas of its time, AI art captures the technological advancements and digital experiences of the modern era.

It allows for exploring new styles, mediums, and concepts that might be inaccessible through conventional means.

AI art also democratizes the creative process, making art creation more inclusive and accessible to people who might not have traditional artistic skills.

In a society increasingly shaped by technology, AI art serves as a bridge between the human experience and the digital world, offering fresh perspectives and contributing to the ongoing evolution of art.

We use the arts for our entertainment, cultural appreciation, aesthetics, personal improvement, and even social change. We use the arts to thrive in this world.

So, share your thoughts – What does art mean to you? Art plays a subtle yet significant role in our daily lives. For instance, when a child takes part in a school art project, they are given a variety of materials to create a collage. As they construct a 3D model of an imaginary winged vehicle with multiple wheels, the textures and shapes inspire them. This hands-on exploration of materials and forms sparks the child’s interest in engineering and design, planting the seeds for future innovation. This example illustrates how art can engage young minds, encouraging them to think creatively and envision innovative solutions beyond conventional boundaries.

The article contains sponsored affiliate links from Amazon to valuable resources.

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How to Assess the Value of an NFT?

Afzal Ibrahim — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 06:21:27 +0000

Around the globe, non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are coming more and more into everyday usage.

A variety of different research firms, such as L’Atelier BNP Paribas and NonFungible.com, examined the NFT market and discovered that throughout 2020, NFTs controlled a 250 million dollar market, with rises in investments by up to 299% year to year.

Naturally, since the market for such items is growing quickly and can be quite a profitable source of income, many investors seek to cash in on the craze and make a lot of money.

Perhaps part of the reason why the craze has taken off is the benefits of NFTs.

For artists, NFTs bring freedom of expression. Since they don’t follow the same conventions as canvas art, it can be attractive for artists to create their work digitally.

Both investor and creator alike are drawn to the lack of a middleman or a gallery, where no money is lost to the person working in-between the two.

For many, it’s also an alternative kind of investment, with many diverse items available. The game rules are far different from the conventional way of doing things.

Fungible means any unit which can be exchanged, such as money.

$10 notes can be seen as the equivalent of two $5 notes or five $2 notes. In terms of our everyday terms, a non-fungible item could not be exchanged for something of a similar value.

Everyone would agree that the Mona Lisa is priceless. The house you live in is unique and different from all the other houses. Your furniture, computer, and a rare and unique Pokemon card are non-fungible assets.

Originally just a fringe activity, NFTs have catapulted into mainstream cryptocurrency activities as just another playground for those with significant money.

These tokens can be traded digitally as a collectible digital asset through the blockchain network. They are all one-of-a-kind, unique items owned by individuals on an incorruptible database.

Popular among artists and art collectors, gamers, and big business brands, NFTs can be anything from artwork to memes, video game skins or characters, videos, social media posts, trading cards, or GIFs. The possibilities and the scope are endless.

It gives new meaning and purpose to those who create incredible digital works of art and opens a lot of potential for both artists and investors alike. The cost is just as high for many of these items as any other artwork in a gallery or a museum.

So, as we continue, we will delve more into the world of non-fungible tokens and explore exactly what makes these digital items so very valuable.

The Emerging Trust economy

When considered socially, trust has a variety of different meanings and connotations.

Trust will normally refer to situations that are characterized by two different aspects. First, one party trusts the other party. They are prepared to rely on their actions and believe they will do as they say. The second is when the situation is directed towards meeting a certain objective.

Even without delving into all the controversies surrounding the world of cryptocurrency, part of the most promising deliverables of the economic system is the entirely brand-new sense of trust that it offers to people.

Societies of our day and age operate based on trust in the systems we have throughout the government and economic processes, be it state power, judiciary processes, or money. As time has progressed, new types of trust developed in different systems, which has led to more decentralized models, offering much more security, transparency, and efficiency in managing the trust.

This means opening the internet.

The idea of the open internet is incredibly powerful. In some ways, NFTs place a limit and a scarcity on items that typically are not lacking in circulation.

There’s some opposition to the reasoning why people would want to make something more scarce and more difficult to find if people want it. Nobel Prize-winning economist, Elinor Ostrom, suggests that the ways communities manage resources with or without governments and that overconsumption hurts the entirety of society has something to do with it.

What is value?

There are two main definitions of the meaning of value.

First and foremost, value is a principle or standard, as of behavior, that is important or desirable. Secondly, value rates or evaluates something according to a relative estimate of worth or desirability.

In economics especially, an object or service’s value is typically defined as the price that it would bring on an open, fair, and competitive marketplace.

The marketplace price determination is identified based on the object’s relative supply and demand in society.

How to Assess the Value of an NFT?

The value of a non-fungible token is based on three different variables. These are known as the subjective quotient, utility, and provenance.

1. Subjective Quotient

Often, the value is defined based on either the subjective or objective value of an item.

An objective value is where someone’s belief, perception, or preference doesn’t impact the real importance.

Objectively, the value remains the value, no matter what you say or do.

The objective theory of value, in contrast to both the above, holds that the good is,

“…neither an attribute of “things in themselves” nor of man’s emotional states, but an evaluation of the facts of reality by man’s consciousness according to a rational standard of value…The objective theory holds that the good is an aspect of reality in relation to man—and that it must be discovered, not invented, by man.”

Peikoff, Leonard. Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, p.242

In contrast, subjective value can change and be altered based on the whims of the individual.

Subjective is the idea that an item’s value depends entirely on that person’s beliefs, preferences, choices, or ideas.

For example, a person attending a soccer game might spend thousands of dollars for premium seats because they are huge soccer fans, and it has incredible value.

For those who are not soccer fans, thousands of dollars on a premium seat are a huge waste of money and worthless for us.

A vintage car lover may be willing to spend millions of dollars to own a vintage car and many more dollars in upkeep. This, however, is very uninteresting to anyone who views cars to get from A to B.

The purchase of an ultra-rare Pokemon card, while meaningless for most of the population, is a literal goldmine for certain buyers.

Across any marketplace, whether online or in your local town, all objects and commodities are assigned a value based on the target consumer, their likes, and their desires.

It is based on them subjectively. Some who enter an art gallery will be impressed by certain art pieces and place subjective value on them. Some of those who enter won’t consider the same.

This is the same with NFT art and items.

The $69 million-dollar Beeple’s sale at Christie’s is one of the costliest non-fungible token sales that has ever taken place in NFT’s short history. The artwork sold, “Every day’s – The First 5000 Days,” was able to find a customer who understood and perceived the subjective cost of such incredible work.

The customer understood the piece was worth a whopping 69 million dollars and was willing to pay.

Therefore, this subjectivity of the customer and the subjective quotient are foundational to defining the actual value that an NFT holds. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

2. Provenance

Another issue that is regularly raised regarding NFTs is that of provenance.

Most NFTs exist digitally and online, which makes it quite difficult in some respects compared to something such as a house.

While some NFTs can be used to show ownership of physical objects, now, in the digital world, some consumers are showing the value of owning original and valuable digital media and objects upon validating their provenance.

So, what exactly is provenance?

Provenance is the history of a valued object or work’s ownership over its history.

Provenance is important since it can conclusively prove just how authentic a work of art is and, therefore, can greatly increase its value.

In history, provenance was viewed as the best methodology for verifying just how authentic an item was.

Provenance has always been a valuable tool in the marketplace for expensive items and is applicable in art, luxury, and collectibles markets.

Likewise, the same process can be applied to NFTs.

In the NFT world, the value of an object, artwork, or collectible is directly linked to who the owner is or who initiated it, an individual artist, a major luxury brand, or a major sporting brand.

Non-fungible tokens that have a significant ownership value are normally those which were created or issued by world-famous artists or worldwide companies that maintain a strong brand.

For example, luxury fashion such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton seeks to work in NFTs and gaming to further promote their luxury brands, capitalizing on the worldwide interest in digital art and NFTs.

Those observing the current trend in NFTs can see three things happening.

Firstly, many artists cooperate with big brand companies worldwide to create and issue NFT artworks.

Secondly, some very influential people have created entirely new wealth classes through NFTs.

Thirdly, mass resells of non-fungible tokens previously owned by influential people have occurred.

Thanks to the incredible blockchain technology, the provenance of all these digital items, the brands, and the influential people they came from can be accurately traced and tracked, with platforms such as Opensea, Raible, and others seeking to develop into this scene.

The blockchain certificate that comes with digital items on the blockchain technology guarantees their provenance, previous ownership, and total authenticity as a sellable items.

Because of the way it is added to the blockchain, this blockchain certificate can be viewed by almost everyone, but there is no ability to change or alter the certificate.

It can be distributed without losing ownership of a design or an artwork, and its value is assured.

3. Utility

The utility value of an NFT is wholly dependent on how the NFT can be used.

Gaming platforms, systems, and items are one of the more practical and real-world examples of utility in NFT form.

Across the NFT market, there are many ways that NFTs can be applied, from gaming to digital property ownership to ownership of avatars and the like. The options are endless, and many developers will capitalize on as many ways as possible to produce income for their companies.

Games form many different NFTs that can be used by players within games. These could be swords to fight an enemy, skins to change the look of their character, art, or furniture to decorate their homes or fashion for their person.

Whatever the purpose, being able to make and use items such as these in a game creates value across the entire game.

Players can use whatever valuable assets they want and sell them off to other players if they wish.

With purchases, game creators can make more items, improve the game, pay their people, and program a contract into the NFTs that grants a small commission on future buys. In addition to the normal and traditional methodology of in-app purchases, non-fungible tokens provide a whole new avenue for developers to earn more income.

Another such dimension of the utility of an NFT is the ability to see or use the NFT in any context or application.

This means it is independent of the ecosystem where it was purchased and can be operated anywhere by nature.

Some developers will do partnerships to provide such utility for developers.

For example, Dapper Labs can cooperate with non-fungible token event organizers to create a discount for owners of CryptoKitties. By forming technologies such as AlphaWallet’s tokenScript, cooperation is very efficient, and the issuer of the owner of NFTs can be easily authenticated.

In this way, those who organize events don’t need to do much to partner with other organizations. It’s a simple, easy, win-win process for those companies seeking to work together.

Examples

Genies, a virtual identity platform, recently decided to host a large fundraiser to create digital avatars and wearable goods.
The largest game on Ethereum, Axie Infinity, is modeled as a Pokemon-Esque monster collecting game, where players battle and breed for glory and profit. All these NFT items can be traded and sold. In addition to this, it is also one of Ethereum’s most used applications.
Yet another game on the Ethereum ecosystem is Gods Unchained, a trading card game similar to the game Magic: The Gathering. In Gods Unchained, those who play form decks of cards of different fantasy beings and battle them with others. The winner takes renowned and tokenized prizes on the blockchain network.
As many people know, virtual reality has been a reality for several years now. Ethereum is the first technology that truly allows virtual reality projects to make their real estate items scarce and easily tradable around the world. For all these reasons, the virtual reality projects lead to a new sort of internet, defined by virtual worlds, called a metaverse.
An example of one such virtual reality system is that of Cryptovoxels. This project on Ethereum has formed its name through taking good care of its development team and creating an enjoyable system for users. Within this virtual reality project, users can buy parcels as an NFT and then develop and build digital installations at the top of them, such as an art gallery.
A fashion platform, RTFKT, made $3 million dollars in revenue in only seven minutes. They were selling virtual sneakers.
In another virtual reality world, Somnium Space, the user can own land or is able to produce sellable avatars. From land to avatars to digital art pieces, every single item purchased is a non-fungible token.

Conclusion

NFTs, as we can see, are truly valuable commodities.

They impose scarcity on items that, by nature, are not scarce and, as a result, can fetch incredible value on the market. As with many items, non-fungible tokens are priced quite subjectively; their price depends on the people buying them.

The provenance of such items is easily tracked, with previous owners identified and better increasing the value of these items.

For all NFTs, their utility will only increase their value, and the ability to be used in many ways and locations is a bonus for any NFT owner. Naturally, all of these things add up to increase the value of NFTs, and as a toy for the rich and the collector of arts, designs, gaming items, avatars, and all sorts of different digital bits and bobs, NFTs are going to be a part of all crypto ecosystems in the future.

Also, check out What is NFT Art.

This Article contains Amazon affiliates link.

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Creativity Definition – How To Be More Creative?

Afzal Ibrahim — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:01:00 +0000

“We’re all creative, it’s just some of us earn our living by being so.” ― John Hegarty, Hegarty on Advertising

People often wonder where creativity comes from.

Creativity Definition – What is Creativity?

How can an ordinary person become a creative one?

Creativity isn’t about a new age, hipster, or beatnik look or lifestyle; you don’t have to don a new personality or even learn a fine art to be creative.

Creativity is inherent in all of us, from the dentist that designs a perfect new smile to the house movers that know just where to put furniture to make a room beautiful.

Creativity is simply the expression of self through creation. All you have to do to be creative is to create. It could be fine art, but it could also be something that entertains people or something that simplifies life or makes it better or more interesting. It could be the creation of something that defines new ways of doing or thinking about things.

Making just a few simple changes to your outlook and adding a few simple practices can radically bring out your creative side.

1. Stop thinking and start feeling

When you get caught up in your head overthinking an idea you can kill it by worrying about the ifs and buts too much.

While thinking is necessary for exploring the idea and seeing it in the right context and arriving at the best conclusion for how to express it, it is equally, or sometimes even more important to listen to your heart and gut.

Humans respond more deeply to emotion than to logic. This is what makes us human

The Lovers by Rene Magritte

That is true for you as the creator and for your audience as the viewers and appreciators of your work.

If you listen to your heart and let your emotions guide you, you may end up with an end product that is better than you first imagined.

There is a school of thought that says that when you have done all of the preparations for an endeavor, if you put it aside for a while, your subconscious will continue to work on it for you so that when you come back to it, you will have better ideas and be able to finish it with ease.

This brings to mind what the famous writer, James Stephens, said: “What the heart knows today, the head will understand tomorrow.”

2. Tell a Story

One thing that is unique to human ability is storytelling. A good story can bring out our emotions: anger, fear, laughter, love, and pride.

Telling stories entertain us with benefits.

Through well-told stories, we learn how to empathize and think, how to act, to learn, to socialize, and many other things that improve us.

Oath of the Horatii by Jacques Louis David

Every vocation in this world, whether it is professional or personal, is often enhanced through storytelling.

A good storyteller advances fast in their chosen endeavors. A politician doesn’t rise quickly to the top through the policies and actions he actually makes, he rises fast through the stories in his speeches; by manipulating the heartstrings of his constituents.

Maybe that is a negative example, but it’s an easily recognizable one.

For a positive example, let’s look at the architects of Dubai, the people that created the world’s tallest building as not just a feat of engineering, but as a work of art – Burj Khalifa. The creators of this magnificent and beautiful structure built not just a building but told a story – creating history with bricks, metal, and cement.

Mr. Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties which owns the building, said: “Burj Khalifa goes beyond its imposing physical specifications. In Burj Khalifa, we see the triumph of Dubai’s vision of attaining the seemingly impossible and setting new benchmarks. It is a source of inspiration for every one of us in Emaar. The project is a declaration of the emirate’s capabilities and of the resolve of its leaders and people to work hand in hand on truly awe-inspiring projects.”

3. Leave Cynicism Behind

Cynicism may protect you from being naïve or from putting up with what you shouldn’t, but it is of no use in the creative process.

Imagine your idea as a simple dot. When new ideas come into your head about your project, whether they’re going to be used or not, that dot begins to grow; you begin to innovate.

Don’t be a cynic during this process and don’t think about constraints. You don’t want to put jagged edges and holes onto your growing circle of ingenuity.

H.L. Menken defined a cynic as “a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.”

Yes, during the creative process you will find that some of your ideas will work well and some won’t, but think of it as an organization – don’t judge the ideas that you leave behind harshly. Even though they didn’t work, they helped you fully form your final idea.

4. Explore things outside your usual sphere of influence

We often get caught up in our own worlds and don’t notice and think about other aspects of life outside of our own interests. Observe the world around you and the world at large

The next time you’re roaming around a gallery or are viewing some other event or element of creativity, look closely at the other worlds you are being mentally and emotionally exposed to.

Fauvism and Expressionism

You could take it one step further and do this purposefully. Say you’re a scientist – explore a cathedral or other center of religion and consider the reverence people have for the unknown. An economist might listen to a symphony and listen to the musical side of mathematics.

Explore things outside your usual sphere of influence. Keep delving into things you are unfamiliar with so that you round out your experiences and move in the direction of a holistic world view.

Staying abreast of what is happening in the world around us gives us connections to many ideas and the people that create them or create from them. This will only enhance your own creativity.

5. Reflect

Do you take a moment each day, consciously or unconsciously, to daydream or reflect?

Each of us has guiding principles and philosophies that shape our outlook on life.

These principles and philosophies help us answer questions about our happiness and what excites us.

If your principles or philosophies are unformed or are lacking, take steps to fill them out and help them take shape. It may happen that in the process of creation, you will have epiphanies and a new viewpoint will be born out of it.

Assessing the value of what we have done or what we are now doing gives us insight into how we or our creations help ourselves, help others, and help the world. Taking a moment out of our fast and busy lives to assess the value of our viewpoints and our creations is important.

6. Brush up on your skills

Maybe you’ve become bogged down by day to day life and you haven’t picked up the tools of creation for a few months, years, or decades.

Sometimes when this happens we are hesitant to create again, thinking that we just don’t have what we used to so it’s useless to begin again.

Don’t let such an attitude hinder you from creation. Pick it back up and practice.

They say practice makes perfect, and it’s true. Perfection doesn’t have to be a nearly photorealistic representation of something real – many people think that Van Gogh’s A Starry Night is perfection, yet he left bits of canvas showing through.

The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Present day high school art teachers would have a fit if one of their students did that, but it’s one of the most beloved images of all time.

Perfection is the beautiful representation of what made the artist’s heartbeat with emotion.

While you’re brushing up on skills you have or once had, go ahead and learn something new.

Tiptoe out of your comfort zone and experiment. If you’ve always sculpted ballerinas with clay, try something radical like entering a beachside sand sculpting contest. If you learned classical piano as a child, experiment with the chords and beats used in rock music.

Try something different.

7. Use your hands whenever you can

Our hands don’t get much use in this modern world.

We have dishwashers that take away the slippery soapy experience of cleaning dishes, keyboards that have replaced the familiar scratch of pencil on paper, and some people don’t even have to move their wrist to brush their teeth now that electric toothbrushes are available at home.

Have you ever heard of body memory? It’s the phenomenon by which you turn toward home while driving without even thinking or how you can get lost in thought while doing mundane tasks but still perform them perfectly without thinking.

Using your hands to do things also does something else to your brain.

It’s been shown that the act of putting words on paper with a pen or pencil makes your brain think that you’ve actually spoken the words aloud to a person.

Street Art Has A Remarkable Attitude, Satire, And Creativity

Therapists use this trick of the mind to help people cope with their personal issues with others by writing letters they won’t send. The mind gets the same release it would if the words were actually spoken to the other person.

Both of these strange oddities of the mind can be used to make you more creative if you use your hands to do familiar or new things. When you’re doodling or writing in a diary, do something a little different each time. You’re practicing the body memory you already have and you also creating new ones.

Use doodling, writing, or any hand use-dependent art to express your inner thoughts and feelings.

This doesn’t have to be for show, it can be just for yourself, but you’ll be surprised at how much satisfaction you’ll get out of seeing your ideas form in the tangible world.

Even playing in the dirt, finger painting, or the way you wash your car can be outlets of playing with creativity through the use of your hands.

8. Collaborate

Getting together with another person to create something will expand your creative horizons.

Sharing ideas, methods, and materials will give you the opportunity to work in ways you haven’t before and each of your thoughts will spark great ideas in each other’s minds.

You can mix and match your life experiences, knowledge, and talents to create a great story.

9. Stay positive

Don’t let your ego sway you.

There are two ways your own perception of self can hinder you. Either your ego says to you that you’re not good enough, which could keep you from expanding your talents, or your ego to say to you that you’re the best, which could cause you do not want to expand your abilities.

The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese

Either way – don’t let it control you. Stay positive about the creative process, but don’t get too carried away.

10. Keep it simple

Complexity can destroy the very essence of your ideas.

Imagine that a florist is going to put together a bouquet of roses together. Now imagine that she uses 12 different colors of rose and then puts them in a vase covered in a complicated geometric pattern of various colors.

It’s overkill.

Trust the idea to form itself with your help and don’t overthink it.

Expanding your experiences will encourage you to embrace life and live it fully. These ten acts will not only enhance what you create, but they will also help you to create a life that resonates with vitality and inspiration.

What do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts

The post Creativity Definition – How To Be More Creative? appeared first on The Artist.

Titian Paintings Are Truly Stunning, Brings Brightness and Lustre To His Works Through Brilliant Colors

Afzal Ibrahim — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:01:57 +0000

While Titian, an Italian-born painter of the 16^th century, was no master sculptor or architect like the infamous Michelangelo, nor was he renowned for his scientific and inventor skills as was Leonardo, but he is known as the Shakespeare of painting.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]Titian was well known in the High Renaissance art era as the ‘man of colour’ and so was aptly named the ‘Venetian Master of Colour’.[/quote_colored]

Colors add right mood, temperature, and structure to your work. To a sensitive soul, the impact of a perfect color combination is deeper and intensely moving

The magic he produced with paint and colour was a wonder to be reckoned with. He was most definitely not shy of colour and used it to bring his characters to life in a most brilliant and astonishing manner. And his love of colour never faded throughout his long life.

Titian – Pic Courtesy: National Gallery

His command of the brush was phenomenal and he told stories through his masterpieces, mythological stories, based on, well, myths and legends from days gone by.

While most artists focus on one or another, Titian was a pro in both landscapes and portraits. His fame was not only following his death, like most great artists of that time, but also whilst he was alive. This spoke volumes for his profound skill.

Titian Paintings – Color, Life and Lustre

Bacchus and Ariadne, one of his most famous paintings, tells the story of Ariadne, daughter of King Menos of Crete, who had subsequently been left on an island by her lover Theseus. Bacchus, god of the grape harvest finds her, leading a band of merrymakers with cheetahs pulling her in a chariot. In his wisdom, he flies down and attempts to save her from possible death.

Bacchus and Ariadne

The scene, at first glance, seems somewhat chaotic, but if you look closely, you will see some defining areas that tell the story clearly.

Bacchus and Ariadne are separated from the group of revellers and brought into focus with the blue of the sky behind them. While Bacchus is still partially pinned close to his companions, you can see his heart wishes to be with Ariadne. Later, we learn that he marries her and gives her immortality.

Another iconic piece from Titian is ‘Venus and Adonis’, a tale of desperate longing. Adonis is pictured leaving Venus, with his dogs, whilst she fiercely clings to him, trying to make him stay. Some say the call for the hunt mimics the everyday pull and responsibilities that force most men to leave their families behind

Venus and Adonis painting – Pic courtesy by MetMuseum

As with all his paintings, but especially with Venus and Adonis, Titian brings brightness and lustre in a myriad of colours. The story is told perfectly through the lines and curves. In contrast, the ominous clouds creeping in from the right seal in Venus’s plight in a magnificent and brilliant contrast.

Without words or song, Titian was able to communicate the many agonizing and exhilarating emotions of humans through this art. Whether it was comedy, anger, tragedy or sadness, Titian could splash some paint across a canvas and bring all these brutally into the light.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]Titian was a true writer on canvas, a true Shakespeare of art.[/quote_colored]

Besides being able to portray various emotions so clearly in his works; and many saw him as a master of human psychology, he had the uncanny ability to bring about an accurate likeness of many famous people. Pope Paul the third was one of his first and he didn’t only paint him once. Charles the fifth was another royalty he painted in almost photographic quality.

Titian was commissioned many times to paint and this is where he found his love of mythology. A true genius of his time, Titian painted until his death in 1576, where it was believed he died of the plague.

He will forever be remembered as the Venetian Master of Colour and an iconic part of art history.

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The Power of Pop Art

Afzal Ibrahim — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 17:00:30 +0000

Popular culture was shrouding everything in the 1950’s and 60’s in America, and maintaining the status quo became more important than ever. The power of pop art has been emerging since then and continuously breaking all conformist perspectives of art

The post-war era seems old fashioned to us now, but at that time, humanity was experiencing life in ways that adults of the time could not have even conceived of as children. With a new world, came new perspectives, new attitudes, and new lingo. How else to describe the visual expression of the era than to use that lingo?

Lawrence Alloway, a British art critic, did just that when he coined the term POP- art in reference to art that mimicked consumerism and popular culture.

The world had become so super conformist that every house, yard, and even personal appearance looked the same.

Advertising was pervasive and marketed to the public false images of lives they were trying so hard to emulate but never could. The result was an undercurrent running through most of the households that were resulting in increased alcoholism in men and nervous breakdowns and dependence on pills in women.

Adults of the era had grown up on hard work and very little comfort during the depression but now they had machines that did work for them and convenience products that seemed to come from abundance they didn’t know what to do with.

Famous Pop Art

The avant-garde thinkers, the beatniks, and social activists in the nation’s cultural hubs took notice of the hypocrisy of idealized images, television programs, and adored celebrities that the public was trying so hard to imitate. They saw current trends as homogenization and suffocation of humanity, innovation, and creativity. They began to attempt to expose the absurdity of conformity.

Pop Art Simplified

Artists, primarily from Britain and America, started creating art using the very items and mediums that pop culture had been using to manipulate the masses into complacency and mass consumerism. The bold primary colors and simple graphics of the era’s packaging designs, and often the packages themselves, were used to create pieces that are well known today, such as Brillo boxes and Campbell’s Soup cans. It was a complete departure and almost the very opposite of the other giant art movement of the day – Abstract Expressionism.

Whereas abstract artists sought to let the medium control the image, such as in Pollock’s drops of paint, Pop Artists went beyond realism into reality.

While abstract expressionists used their work to draw out of the viewer an acknowledgment of the tragedies of the post-war, post-depression era, pop artists were revealing the effects of the trauma of recent decades in the trends of the current time. The effect was poignant, revolutionary, and exposed the fragility of emotional façade.

Pop artists worked in imitation, using the graphic styles of the era, the format of popular comics, and the expressions of popular fashion models and celebrities to convey their messages. Though it was an imitation, it was not collage – these were seasoned artists whose talents for more detailed work were previously known. They achieved the look of these works with silk screening and even paint.

As pop artist Roy Lichtenstein put it, “Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something; it looks like the thing itself.” The first pop artist, Richard Hamilton, defined pop art in the irony and wit of pop art itself: “Pop Art is: popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business.

Pop-art pieces were not mere reproductions of objects and advertisements. Each piece was infused with clever wit, irony, and a subtle message that became apparent to the observer. Sometimes it was revealed through the isolation of the item from its usual environment, and sometimes it was more obvious with text or contextual clues.

TAKKA TAKKA

The essence and complete elements of pop art are found in Roy Lichtenstein’s TAKKA TAKKA; a piece done in the style of a cartoon with the sound effect “takka takka” resonating with the firing of a machine gun.

Cartoons of the time, especially in this style, were meant to be either funny or swashbuckling and heroic. By using this backdrop to convey his message, Lichtenstein has the advantage of juxtaposition to make the effect more jarring and thought-provoking.

Takka Takka

The limited palette and the absence of the soldiers mentioned make them up the close placement of the violent booming of the gun jolting to the viewer. The effect is that the viewer, having read the text, is left wondering about the feelings of not only the soldiers but of the victims.

The post-war era had lifted up America as heroic and the war efforts as “the right thing to do” but it had ignored the individual soldier and the effects of war on bodily health and the psyche of often very young soldiers. A pat on the back, a firm handshake, and “Good job, Son” were often given as an acknowledgement of manhood and loyalty, but brushed under the rug shell shock, moral dilemma, and the questioning of authority. This work brings all of this into focus and hints at an unseen character in the painting: the establishment that created the scenario – the governments that made it happen for these individuals, both soldier and victim.

In this, Lichtenstein achieves the major essence of pop art itself in exposing the very most conformist society – the military, in which there are not supposed to be any individuals, where free thought and expression are not only not allowed but are suppressed through control and domination. This painting was created in 1962 – the eve of America’s involvement in Viet Nam, just when people were beginning to wonder about the purpose of war and to question the morality of it.

Add to this the colors the artist chose – colors that evoke violence, uniformity, and cold steel ambivalence toward the atrocities of war. The sound effect text laid out in the color of blood, screaming “TAKKA TAKKA” and the captioned text that mimics the hero-worshipping and patriotized rhetoric of a news media that glossed over the terrifying and devastating scenes of real battle.

Power of Pop Art

Critics point to an alternative, additional perspective on the story told in this painting, one that brings focus to the fact that with no gunner visible, there is no humanity in war, nothing to give the story portrayed an ounce of emotional thought. In this alternative, it is victims that are center stage in the mind, that do not share in the heroics of the battering charge of the takka takka bullet barrage.

No matter which of the two perspectives the viewer experiences, or any other perspective, Lichtenstein achieves the power of pop art in this piece. A simple image, in spare colors and lines, reminiscent of the benign templates of popular culture very simply and effectively creates a story in the viewer’s mind that reaches a complexity far beyond what is painted on the canvas.

Pop Art Popular in the New Millennium

Since the 1950’s and 60’s when pop art emerged, people have been trying to retain and even advance their own individuality. Unfortunately, governments, businesses, and media have worked to discourage the need for personal expression and we are still surrounded by popular imagery, mass consumerism, and homogenized thought.

This battle between the individual and the establishment has made the continuation of pop art more relevant than ever. The movement evolves with the times and the messages are braver and rendered more boldly than ever before.

Through an increased array of mediums, especially digital, and with a wider global audience, current pop art inspires and encourages thought in modern viewers with the same bright energy it began with. Viewers today are encouraged by artists such as Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Naraserve, and the ever-innovative Banksy, to think about how they are affected by the conformity of culture and to recognize and retain their own identity against all consumerist odds.

We love Pop Art!

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What Is the Metaverse, and Why It Matters?

Afzal Ibrahim — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 08:27:00 +0000

Over the years, the concepts of communication and collaboration have continuously evolved and changed. The methodologies and technologies are essential for globalization and the realization of an interconnected, one-world concept.

The ancient world utilized smoke signals and carrier pigeons. As technology progressed, the discovery of telex, telegraphs, telephones, video calling, and even telepathy technology is revolutionizing the way in which we communicate.

If you simply look back over the last ten years, humanity has primarily utilized the internet for communication, from making new friends, to form new associations and businesses.

Social media and messaging applications have only managed to enrich our communication, even supplanting the use of SMS and phone calls. It’s possible to share documents, videos, messages, and even make video conference calls with more than one hundred people.

Now, we are entering into a new world – The metaverse.

Humans are seeking out more immersive experiences, where the idea is to create entirely new digital spaces where our communications become life-like, like our in-person communication experiences.

In this new world, it’s not simply about engaging in a conversation like we do in video calls already but interacting with others within the metaverse.

This is where this entire concept comes into play. All thanks to the technology of our day and age, as well as the concepts of a decentralized economy, all the changes necessary to bring the metaverse to life can happen seamlessly.

What is the Metaverse?

What even is the metaverse? What does metaverse mean?

Metaverse is a world that can only be found virtually. It can be explored using technology, from computers, gaming consoles, or mobiles, where the user experiences 3D graphics and sound as they explore. These aspects make you feel present in the metaverse, despite being grounded in the physical.

It includes a huge combination of various elements of technological advancement, from virtual reality, to augmented reality to video, where the players or users live within the digital universe.

Those who envision and support the concept of a metaverse envision its users working, playing, and staying interconnected with friends across distances and through everything from concerts to conferences to virtual trips around the world.

Facebook, recently renamed Meta, is one of the largest technology companies staking itself on a metaverse. The company describes it more simply, saying that “The ‘metaverse’ is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.”

The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, estimates that it will take five to ten years before the key features and ideas of the metaverse to become mainstream and mainstays for society. Indeed, aspects of the metaverse do currently exist, such as ultra-fast broadband speeds, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and many different, persistent online worlds are already in operation, though they may not always be simple to access for people.

The technologies making up the metaverse can certainly include virtual reality, as many of the systems in the metaverse are characterized by virtual worlds that will continue to exist even when you are not participating.

This doesn’t mean that you require VR or augmented reality (AR) hardware to access such a virtual universe, as it could also mean accessing it from a phone, app, or desktop PC.

A virtual universe, with aspects such as Fortnite, MMORPGs, or social games accessed through computers, consoles, and phones could also be metaversal in scope.

The author of the extensive Metaverse Primer, Matthew Ball noted that

“The Metaverse is an expansive network of persistent, real-time rendered 3D worlds and simulations that support continuity of identity, objects, history, payments, and entitlements, and can be experienced synchronously by an effectively unlimited number of users, each with an individual sense of presence.”

Idealistically, there are several things that can be expected from any iteration of the metaverse.

Virtual Reality – Many expect that a virtual reality headset of some kind would be a necessity for this. While not necessarily important, a VR headset is designed to make you feel more present and involved in the virtual world, until you bump something physical while stumbling around in your blissful blindness.
People – It is designed to be social, and as such other people must be present. Lots of people and avatars will be present, and while some of them will not be real, you can spend time with real people and even do things together.
Persistence – The virtual world must always be online and persist even when you are not there. Every single minor change a person makes must remain when that person goes offline, from objects to buildings. The system relies entirely on individuals making and building content, so this is one of the most crucial factors of any online world.

In most cases, the virtual world will be a direct copy or representation of the real world. Using a drone in the metaverse for example or traveling to see a famous landmark that you could never find the opportunity to see in real life could be ways this is utilized.

Some refer to the metaverse as the digital twin of the physical world.

There are some other names for the Metaverse, such as the ‘mirror world,’ or the ‘spacial internet,’ or even the ‘AR cloud.’

The metaverse also quite easily translates into a digital economy, where users can develop, buy, sell, and trade goods.

In more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it can be operated across multiple virtual realities, where users can take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to a different one. In the real world, similar to how you can buy a shirt from the mall and then wear it out to a movie cinema.

Even right at this moment, many online platforms host virtual identities, avatars, and inventories tied to just one platform. A metaversal system on the other hand could allow an individual to create a persona taken everywhere across the network, as easily as you can copy a profile picture from one social network to another.

The DNA of Metaverse

The metaverse must have three distinct layers to ensure that it operates successfully.

Layer 1: The Experience

The expression of the metaverse itself will be built through lived experiences.

This will be through community-encompassing games, social interactions as you would in real life, education, and even live sporting events and concerts for the enjoyment of users.

The goal of the metaverse, therefore, is to develop and build an enjoyable and immersive experience that will eventually supplant the mobile internet we have become accustomed to.

Whether the metaverse is used to meet others, work, play, learn at school or university, or even shop, the metaverse will be all about enjoying content in real-time through virtual reality experiences. It represents a shift from a place to share experiences, like social media, to a place of shared experiences together with others.

Layer 2: The Underlying Economics

Currently, all the talk of the metaverse is centered around a creator economy, non-fungible tokens (NFT), and the ledger-based exchanges that allow people to buy, trade, and sell items.

The NFT market volume is trading at over $700 million dollars and the OpenSea platform is to be valued at $100 billion dollars soon enough. Indeed, Ethereum blockchain marketplaces have proven to be a beneficial and strategic infrastructure when it comes to metaverse economics, but there is still something missing from the equation.

Digital goods are already being traded and as there is currently not so much to do with the things own, it is an investors market. For economies to function efficiently on the metaverse, owners need to be able to do something with their purchased items.

The promises that come with ledger-based exchanges and the creation of alternative coin options that power these allow the transfer of purchased items and their values will be simpler.

Layer 3: The Technology

These things include the necessary online infrastructure and tools required for producing the metaverse, such as network connectivity, computer systems, well-developed user interfaces, and the virtual environment that they inhabit.

This universe involves a 3D environment and geospatial mapping to form the virtual reality fabric, with a combination of both AR and VR.

Metaverse: What can it do?

As technology has been developing and evolving, pop culture has also been evolving.

Typically, the pop culture world has been interested in entire cinematic universes and the metaversal concept fits the bill to satisfy the desires of pop culture.

Eventually, the metaverse will be able to be used and relatable for everyone, not just a select few interested people in our current day.

The metaverse is an immersive universe, boasting real estate and alter-ego avatars of humans engaging with other humans in a variety of different contexts.

All of it comes down to a virtual community, a digital and fully immersive experience of life in the community.

Users can purchase real estate, build an abode, and make friends, which is only further enhanced through the commercial experience where you can buy clothes, shoes, accessories, and many more items you desire.

Nike is just one example of a big-name brand involved in the metaverse, and recently announced the purchase of a company to produce non-fungible sneakers. If it can, Nike wants to ensure that all avatars will be wearing their shoes and not waiting to see the involvement of other companies. It is capitalizing on a good and beneficial investment early before its competitors.

Somnium Space is an example of a world that allows the ownership and trade of virtual real estate. It consists of virtual reality and is built upon the blockchain and even has its own in-game currency known as Somnium cubes, which can be used to purchase items.

The primary funding of the Somnium Space platform stems from the purchase of this virtual real estate, which can be used for things such as social networking, e-commerce, gaming, and even events.

This demonstrates that technology and systems are evolving in a way that lends itself to the metaverse.

This virtual world, for example, can have spaces developed as virtual malls of rentable properties. Should Louis Vuitton wish to set up a shop and sell a virtual product of their items to avatars, they could do so.

Many supporters of the technology see a world where they can rent storefronts to companies who want to sell merchandise but not maintain real estate themselves, rent out virtual homes or even go as far as to design and build custom houses for rich and famous individuals who want to add their presence into the metaverse.

Certainly, playing games is one of the most immediate practical applications, and some games have already begun entering the concept of a metaverse.

Many massively multiplayer online games contain all the aspects which ground the metaverse, and many of the non-fungible token creators have begun working on metaversal tokens and games that can be played across the blockchain.

Games such as Roblox and Fortnite are well on the way towards the metaverse, where their worlds and objects, avatars, and socialization persist even when the player logs off. Fortnite hosted an online Ariana Grande concert which was attended by millions of people, which is just a small taste of the capabilities that a metaverse could hold.

Another example of a video game with metaversal ideals is Eve Online, the massively multiplayer online game set in space.

The persistent world, socialization of the players, and their freedom to make choices impacts everything that happens across the video game.

Some Eve Online players made a bank, such as one that exists in the real world, issued loans, paid interest, and had a CEO, a board, and an excellent organization.

The CEO ended up robbing the bank of two hundred billion of the in-game currency, the equivalent of $6000AUD. The economy of the game functions well, organized by a team of economists with unlimited market potential and driven by players, supply and demand systems, and many different opportunities.

Metaverse: An extension to alter ego

One of the most intriguing ideas to arise during considerations about the metaverse is the propensity of humans to seek out ways to live that are simply not possible in their real life. This could be due to their geographical location, regulatory impositions, or ordinary everyday constraints.

Indeed, the idea of an alter-ego is exciting for many people.

The idea of an immersive world where you can be someone you are not, interact with people you would never meet in real life, and develop yourself however you wish without the constraints of the physical world is an attractive concept.

You can cultivate a personality online that is entirely different from the real you if you wish.

It will be entirely possible for us, as digital avatars, to be smarter, funnier, braver, more talented, and even better looking than we are in real life. It will revolutionize the economy, through aspects such as advertisement, and world culture due to the amalgamation of cultures and people interacting.

Shopping and how companies do business will be changed forever, as some will seek to try things out through the virtual world and purchase items for their characters. Even entertainment, such as the Arianna Grande concert hosted through Fortnite, will never be the same.

The extension of our human lives into a virtual zone has many endless possibilities. The vision at the core is human interaction and it’s not all about gaming systems, although this is one popular usage of virtual reality systems.

A fan of the late Michael Jackson, for example, who was unable to meet him in real life could meet him in the metaverse. They could have a conversation with him, go to one of his concerts they never got the chance to, or buy a house in the neighborhood where he used to live in real life.

One of the largest and most profitable pop culture items in the last ten years has been superheroes, and there are certainly times when humans have felt the desire to be one.

It’s natural for us to avoid these attempts in real life due to fear or worry, but in the metaverse, there is nothing to be concerned about. We could extend our real lives into a virtual world to do things we could only ever dream about doing in our everyday reality.

Workplaces could go virtual, especially during coronavirus times, and have their workplace set up on the metaverse. They could offer their goods and services virtually, meet their colleagues in meeting spaces and discuss as if they were present in person.

There is a lot of traction behind this and the excitement that comes with being able to live and interact with people in a persistent, extensive virtual reality has many people looking forward to the future of technology.

Conclusion

When we go even deeper, the metaverse is built upon a decentralized economic model. While our modern societies exist and function around trust in centralized systems of power, law systems, and economics, all these new forms of trust mechanisms are evolving. These decentralized models offer a much better way of building a metaverse and managing the implicit trust required, in a much more secure, transparent, and efficient way.

Many different communities, organizations, and enterprises around the world have already begun to explore and experiment with these decentralized economic models and as more is understood of this new model of economics, the implications for the future and the way these technologies will be used are exciting.

There are a plethora of opportunities and manners of metaverse use that can be utilized and developed for the good of humanity.

Modern technologies, such as virtual and augmented realities, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and creators are all essential in further developing these economic models into a function Metaverse.

Many providers are working on such things, in a race to see who can create the best, all in the shadow of the decentralized economic model.

Many movies and books have warned of a dystopian nightmare, but we ought to consider the positive outlooks of such a move.

All the technologies developed over many years, from blockchain to VR to AR, sensors, cameras and even 5G are coming together into a cohesive whole.

Now, most of this is centered around the creator economy of NFTs, smart contracts, and trades and the Metaverse is still missing a lot of pieces, such as utilities and economics.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that soon enough the real world uses will come to fruition, and as technology continues to develop and build on this incredible concept, we will have a lot more to follow in the years to come.

The post What Is the Metaverse, and Why It Matters? appeared first on The Artist.

25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings

Afzal Ibrahim — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 19:17:27 +0000

The definition of art remains controversial and multifarious, but the diverse functions of art get better once you allow your conscience to absorb and understand diverse perspectives that art offers.

The purposes, motivations, intentions, and inspirations behind the art are endless.

Being one of the most creative ways of expressing human experience, we have used art as a means of telling stories.

May it be the story of a single person, of a community, or of a nation, art has in many ways contributed to the beautiful way these stories are told.

We’ve put together a list of 25 functions of art based on the viewpoints from renowned artists and philosophers for you to reflect upon

1. Art as an Expression

Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one person consciously, by certain external signs, conveys to others feelings he has experienced, and other people are affected by these feelings and live them over in themselves.” – Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s famous “Expression Theory” centered on the idea that art elicits and provokes emotion in the viewer.

Out of many styles of expression, Abstract Expressionism is one great example where artists are empowered with the liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means.

The prominent function of art always drawn toward the expression theory.

Artists like Jackson Pollock believed that it was the viewer (and not the artist) who defines and interprets the meaning of the abstract expressionist artwork thus, there is no relevance on what the artist thinks or conveys while producing the work.

Convergence by Jackson Pollock is one of the initial art pieces of abstract expressionism and considered as the bravest action paintings ever made

The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating” – Jackson Pollock

2. Art empowers our faith in the nobility of man (Humanism)

“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand” – Pablo Picasso

One of the most powerful shifts resulted from the Renaissance period is that the Church was never a responsible source for their behavior and beliefs towards God and fellow men and that they themselves are responsible for the actions. One of the key aspects of what makes us human is revolving around our faith in religion, art, and culture

The School of Athens by Raphael remains one of the powerful representation of this shift in human history and also embodies the classical spirit of Renaissance

3. The creation of beauty is art

“Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art” – Ralph Waldo

When it comes to art, some may say that not all art is beautiful, that, in fact, it should not be beautiful, always.

Beauty is what you make of it, what your preference is, what calls to your heart, soul, and mind.

What is beauty in art? – Beauty is what we see as characteristic and harmonious.

Whatever different reactions art will about inside you, it is clear that the explanation is complicated and definitive.

Every piece of art, whether a painting, a vase or a statue, will have different colors, lines, and textures that will appeal to your soul and heart.

4. Know Thyself

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art.’ Creative with strategy is called advertising” – Jef Richards, educator

Art is a form of expressing oneself

Consciously or unconsciously artists are following Socrates’ command – Know thyself.

During this process, artists are exploring their subject, medium, and material, rebalancing the spiritual value of those elements, thereby experiencing the subtle preciousness of their awareness.

This interaction is beautiful which in fact leads to the inevitable desire for outward expression.

Art is born here.

5. Art is freedom in every sense

“Art is meant to disturb. Science reassures” – Georges Braque, painter

One decides to express the imagination is brave. The value of freedom in our creative expression cannot be overstated.

What about aestheticizing violence? What about creating art in gigantic forms?

What about choosing topics that are controversial? Different expressive media have a tendency to attract different personalities.

Phillipe Perrin, known for his huge artworks revolving around the subjects of evil and crime, chooses subjects that have the power to instill immediate shock and presents them in a bold way that ensures they do.

One of Perrin’s famous works, Bloodymary, blends the line between theatre, sculpture, and performance art through the lens of murder.

The artist uses unconventional medium and subject to place the viewer face to face with images inexorably tied to modern violence, subtly aestheticizing the violence in art.

The true meaning of art can be multifarious, but the purpose of art is met when such artists like Perrin uses art in innovative and unconventional ways.

6. Art sends strong messages from the sidewalk to the world at large

“Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint” – Bansky

Street art has proven itself to be a truly expressive art form.

It is not an inferior form of political outcry nor is it the indifferent rebellion of disaffected youth.

Street art thinks, feels, and evokes thoughts and emotions in the people that view it with an open mind.

Using iconic imagery that is often recognizable regardless of language, the street artist is able to speak his opinions and solutions to a global audience, making this a rapidly advancing form of art the world over.

7. Art is the most intense mode of individualism

“Art is either plagiarism or revolution” – Paul Gauguin, painter

Famous artist Paul Gauguin once written – “One must always feel the plane, the wall; tapestries need no perspective”

Paul Gauguin’s art, style, and legacy reflected strongly in his artworks and often dismantled the traditional perspectives of art.

Gauguin was once of a few ordinary men that were able to leave mundane life to realize and fulfill a dream – to become an artist.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul Gauguin is a great example of individualism where Gauguin said to read from right to left instead of from left to right – which in fact provides an entirely different perspective to the reader, which itself shows the true power and meaning of art

8. Art shifts realism into reality

“Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something; it looks like the thing itself.” – Roy Lichtenstein

We’re living in a time where our beliefs and messages must be braver and rendered more boldly than ever before.

Popular culture was shrouding everything in the 1950’s and 60’s in America, and maintaining the status quo became more important than ever.

The power of pop art has been emerging since then and continuously breaking all conformist perspectives and definitions of art

Whereas abstract artists sought to let the medium control the image, such as in Pollock’s drops of paint.

Pop Artists went beyond realism into reality.

9. Great art tells meaningful stories

“Art does not reproduce what is visible; it makes things visible.” Paul Klee, artist

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau – One of the most perceptible modern pieces of art, currently resides in MoMA Newyork, has been considered as one of the many inspiring works by poets and musicians and also frequently parodied.

In this masterpiece, both, lion and woman display a calm demeanor on this artwork, but actually, both are on the alert warning that the trust between two worlds may get violated anytime.

10. Art validates our sorrows

“Art grows from joy and sorrow, but mostly from sorrow. It grows from human lives” – Edvard Munch

Art helps us see that sorrow can be beautiful and noble and still be one aspect of a good life.

Art also helps us to suffer alone without the input of society so that we can show a dignified face to the world in our public sorrow.

The true meaning of art lies in the emotion, considering sorrow is one prominent expression that we embody, art always validates our sorrows. “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t.

I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” said Frida Kahlo, a great artist who infused her canvas with her native Mexican birthright and the historical epochs of her life.

11. Art is a personal act of courage

“Art is a personal act of courage” – Seth Godin

Courage is more important than creativity. Great art comes from the heart, doesn’t come from doing what you’re told. The mesmerizing charm of a great work of art doesn’t come from what is painted on the canvas. Rather, it comes from what was in the artist’s heart while he was painting. Franz Krueger’s The Parade auf Opernplatzis a great example of that. Krueger shows us that true art can be created only through courage, the strength of character, and determination. The meaning of art implies a personal and open proliferation of your thoughts.

12. Art is the signature of civilizations

“Art is the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Humanity advances on the great foundations built by ancestors. We transform the heritage of the past, learn the social aspects, identify new opportunities and invent new ways of life. In this journey, the past lives remain as a reference point as a subtle guide to build great things in this modern world.

At Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, you will be amazed by the galleries of “The art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia” section, where you will experience some of the finest masterpieces from the Islamic world, moreover enables you to understand the artistic and scientific heritage of an entire civilization. Rightly said by Roger Seruton, the culture of civilization is the art and literature through which it rises to the consciousness of itself and defines the vision of the world – after all the definition of culture derives from greater civilizations

13. Art embodies power and of color

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment” – Claude Monet

Colors are powerful. Doesn’t matter what you might be creating now – a painting, or a powerpoint presentation, or an illustration – your eyes must be straying over a palette, splashed with many colors, choosing the right one to add to your work. To a sensitive soul, the impact of a perfect color combination is deeper and intensely moving.

Visual art always played an important role for artists to convey the life, lustre, and power of life through colors

14. Art is Attitude

“Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics”- Victor Pinchuk

Art has taken a different dimension to think, feel and evoke thoughts in the people that view it with an open mind. Art represents the attitude either of an artist or of a belief system. Street art is often considered as vandalism, but it is executed with purpose, design, technique and intention. Street art heightens our experience of the visual landscape outside museum walls.

15. Art is the highest form of hope

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” Elbert Hubbard, artist

Art can move us to tears. Beautiful art can bring tears of joy when we see a painting, sculpture or photograph of people or creatures experiencing things we want to experience. Experiencing such heart-warming feelings about it encourages us to hope for the same thing for ourselves.

Mutiny of Colours, A Project of Love, Peace, and Unity by Iranian Street Artists is one great example. The powerful messages of peace, love, and hope in a country torn apart by internal conflicts are represented by Iranian street artists through their art, and mostly these works grow in all endless direction, both metaphorically, conceptually and physically.

16. Art is about two things – Life and Death

“The goal of all life is death” – Sigmund Freud

Many artists have used death as a theme for art.

By giving death as a central theme, artists force us to confront the reality of birth and death within the same frame. Hope II by Gustav Klimt is one great art – represents a pregnant woman and the weight of hope the protagonist carried in her womb. The function of art lies around the diverse perspectives of life and death

Birth and death exist side-by-side, suspended in equilibrium, collaborators in the appetite of living.

17. Art rebalances our life

“Art is like soup. There will be some vegetables you don’t like but as long as you get some soup down you it doesn’t matter.” George Wyllie, Sculptor

Viewing art that depicts situations and feelings outside of what we normally experience on a daily basis helps us attain balance in our emotions by filling those voids.

We gain balance through art by taking a moment to observe, judge, and appreciate things we don’t normally see and our responses to them.

18. Art can be surreal

“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos” – Stephen Sondheim

Surrealism – a philosophical and artistic movement that explored the unconscious mind – reveals human emotions and desires in an irrational, powerful, poetic and revolutionary way. The concept has a greater relevance considering it brought out the repressed inner worlds of sexuality, violence, dream, and desire.

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali shows us a few seemingly soft or melted pocket watches lying about in open land. Dali’s message was to show that time and space are relative and that we, in fact, live in a universe of complete disorder.

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

19. Art is You

“Art is anything you can get away with”- Andy Warhol

Art helps us to complete our own unformed thoughts and ideas. We have an ‘aha’ moment when we see a piece of art that perfectly captures a feeling or thought we have had that we couldn’t express. When this happens, we have gained a piece of new knowledge through the art that we can now communicate to ourselves and to others.

This why the best possible function of art operates via YOU.

20. Art is discovery and exploration

“Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use”- Frank Lloyd Wright

Is it not more remarkable when a natural talent emerges from nothingness to produce a work of art with an organic honesty that might have been wiped out by years of training in established structures, conventions, and accepted wisdom?

One such unlikely place was a tax collector’s office in Paris, and its unlikely talent came in the form of a Lavalborn son of a plumber named Henri Rousseau. The majority of Rousseau’s life is somewhat cloudy, and with good reason—it is wholly unexceptional.

The Snake Charmer by Henri Rousseau is a dreamlike depiction of mysterious human and animal forms in a jungle scene. This work is a testament to the attention Rousseau received from prominent artists during his time.

21. Art empowers the heart of people

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

When activists are showing images of children suffering from poverty or oppression in their campaigns, this is the art pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite and powerful to make changes. Such moments – using art to raise awareness – truly validate the existence and definition of art

When photographers publish the photos of war-torn areas, it catches the attention of masses whose hearts reach out for those who need help. When the artist creates great music and movies, it entertains people around the world. This is art, making a difference in society.

22. Culture is a great friend of art

“Art speaks the soul of its culture” – Abby Willowroot

Art is also a remarkable mode of depicting culture from all over the world, art and culture complement each other very well.

When you see a Zen garden in Sydney or San Francisco, you know that it’s a practice that originated from China. When you see paper swans swarming a beautiful wedding ceremony, you know that this is origami, an art that came from Japan. When you see films featuring Bollywood music and dancing, you know that it’s a movie from India.

Destinations like Newyork, Berlin, Prague, Sao Paulo, UAE, etc. are on a helm of cultural revolution to uplift their cities with art, design, and imagination – after all culture is the collective term for human behaviors

23. Art is activism

“Art resides in the quality of doing, the process is not magic.” – Charles Eames

Art has been used many times to represent the isolation, claustrophobia, and anxiety of our society due to the tough political times that we’re living at present. Tetsuya Ishida, a Japanese artist, portrayed the Japanese life about the social, economic and academic educational structures. Many of his works exposed the Japanese people’s trials in trying to acclimate to the changes involving social and technological contemporary life. Read – Tetsuya Ishida – Saving the World With A Brushstroke

Similarly, a lot of street art has an obvious, or sometimes very subtle, anti-establishment hint in it. The very mediums it uses, owned by states or corporations, are protected by law from the artist but are used without regard or in spite of it. That illegality is often a part of the message

24. Art is harmony

“Art is harmony” – George Seaurat

The power of art lies neither in the image nor the emotions it arouses in the viewer, rather its greatness is derived from understanding the creative forces which inspired the masterpiece. Harmony is a subjective concept, rather it emerges within a context that many factors come together. Goya’s black paintings series is a great example that proves this theory. Today, although we are exposed to images of gore, misery, and grief, much of it is sanitized and censored. Goya, on the other hand, unabashedly captures human trauma and sorrow in the paint.

25. Art as Therapy

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”- Thomas Merton

In the famous book Art as Therapy, the authors have outlined seven functions of art and explain how art helps us grow and evolve in our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the world we live in. Taking your time to mindfully observe artwork can be of true value to your emotional well-being.

Conclusion: The functions of art remain incomprehensible

‘What is art?’— one question continuously steers educators, performers, practitioners, and philosophers to engage in deep analysis. But no matter what the function of art may be, the experience it delivers finally matters, and probably one reason it has been around us for as long as humans have existed. Whether or not we are aware of it, we allow art to affect our lives one way or another.

You may not know it, but your daily existence can be much more colorful with the presence and influence of art, and it only gets better once you allow your own creativity and imagination to take a turn for good.

So go ahead and open yourself up to art. It will be worth the change.

The post 25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings appeared first on The Artist.

What Is Beauty in Art?

Afzal Ibrahim — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 11:25:50 +0000

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A popular quote from the 3^rd century and true to anything you happen to be beholding.

Literary genius Shakespeare expressed this perfectly in his play Loves Labours Lost of 1588 –

Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean,
Needs not the painted flourish of your praise:
Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye,
Not uttered by base sale of chapmen’s tongues

When it comes to art, some may say that not all art is beautiful, that it should not be beautiful, always.

As with many aspects of life, such as peace, faith, love, and happiness, one man’s view is vastly different from another.

It is, then, one’s opinion. Or not?

What is peace?

A nice quiet day spent with family or a day without bombs exploding around you?

What is faith?

Does faith believe in something so deeply that nothing else matters, or will you have a wonderful day today?

The options are vast, and the interpretations are many.

And that is, perhaps, what it comes down to – interpretation.

From a subjective stance, beauty is what you make of it, what your preference is, what calls to your heart, soul and mind.

Nach Der Schule by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller – depicts a variety of emotions from playfulness to displeasure, aggression to tenderness and offers the viewers plenty of opportunity to reflect upon

Objectively, the harshest of views, and not necessarily the truest, beauty means perfection, absolute precision and the essence of purity. Object views are often what society has decided is so.

The debate can continue until the cows come home.

But maybe we can look into history to decide what beauty is and whether art is, in fact, beautiful.

Famous definitions – What is Beauty?

Leo Tolstoy, a Great Russian author, coined this phrase, which sums up art beautifully –

“The activity of art is based on the capacity of people to infect others with their own emotions and to be infected by the emotions of others. Strong emotions, weak emotions, important emotions or irrelevant emotions, good emotions or bad emotions – if they contaminate the reader, the spectator, or the listener – it attains the function of art.”

So, if we take these words to heart, it would appear that art should evoke a feeling inside of us. Whether it is a bad feeling or good, it must bring about a change of being.

What is Beauty in Art?

Art can be so powerful an influence that we could be inspired to produce a work of art ourselves.

Art as a therapy could instil a sense of well-being for some and not only relax them but allow them to think clearly about troubling matters.

Some art may have the opposite effect.

An art piece may have us building up feelings of anger or pure rage, and we may react differently to people after being subjected to those graphics.

But isn’t that also the beauty of art.

If something can arouse such powerful emotions within us, cause us to behave in a certain manner and perhaps say things that we normally would not say, then surely this makes art is a beautiful expression of our inner emotions

Winckelmann, a German Art Historian, claimed that beauty boiled down to three key factors.

The beauty of form
The beauty of an idea
The beauty of expression,, he says, is only possible in the presence of the first two factors.

So then, beauty must be the highest form of expression and in turn, the highest aim of art.

Jungle watercolor by Maja

Another visionary, Victor Cherbuliez, saw art as an activity which

satisfies our innate love of images
introduces ideas into these images
And gives pleasure simultaneously to our senses, heart, and reason. Beauty is just an illusion, there is nothing called absolute beauty, but we think beauty is characteristic and harmonious.

By his interpretation of art, beauty is then just an illusion. Beauty, possibly, doesn’t exist, and there is no absolute beauty in this world.

Beauty is what we see as characteristic and harmonious.

Art is beautiful

When we look at famous artworks such as Starry Night, Mona Lisa, Persistence of Memory, and The Birth of Venus, how do people find beauty in these pictures?The beauty of art lies in its ability to evoke diverse reactions and interpretations, allowing each viewer to find their own unique appreciation and understanding of the artwork. Whatever you believe art to be, and many art pieces will bring about different reactions in you, it is clear that the explanation is complicated and not definitive.

Every piece of art, whether a painting, a vase, or a statue, will have different colors, lines, and textures that will appeal to your soul and heart.

What feelings these art pieces bring about in you will help you decide whether the art is beautiful. The future of art beholds the beauty of art.

The post What Is Beauty in Art? appeared first on The Artist.

Henri Matisse, The Beast on the Loose

Afzal Ibrahim — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 11:34:25 +0000

According to Matisse’s artistic enemies, he was a “raging animal” mocking their comfortable realism with bright colors and unconventional forms. Henri Matisse paintings always carried a personality of an unconventional artist

In later years, visitors to his home and studio were surprised to find a mild-mannered gentleman in spectacles and a well-tailored suit. The maniac he was labeled as had never existed, but perhaps it was his creative intensity that was mistakenly perceived as insanity. The challenge, then, was to utilize this passion as a means to achieve the serenity he really wanted out of life.

Green Stripe by Henri Matisse

It’s been said that from the moment he held a box of colors in his hand, Matisse knew he was destined to be an artist. After his first attempt at copying a lithograph, he wasted no time in enrolling at a local art academy. However, his insatiable creative appetite would not allow him to stop there – after a long and arduous battle with his father, Henri Matisse arrived in Paris in October, 1891.

Taming the Beast

After years of struggling to find his authentic voice as a painter, Matisse finally experienced a breakthrough with his 1905 portrait of Amelie.

Henri Matisse Painting

Depicted in a soft pink dress rendered with blocks of lavender and sienna, the subject’s face and clothing also contained strokes of green in contrast to these warm tones. Rather than an accurate representation of Amelie’s face, or a metaphorical statement suggesting some kind of jealousy in her expression, the artist’s use of an inaccurate color was an attempt at utilizing the complementary relationship of red and green. As opposites on the color wheel, the two pigments produce a jarring contrast when placed next to each other in a composition.

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

Matisse was fascinated by this interaction of color and saw the opportunity to achieve a new kind of harmony in his work.

Unfortunately, his audience failed to see the genius in this unconventional innovation. At the Salon d’Automne that year, the portrait was placed next to an academic sculpture that had been dubbed “a Donatello among the wild beasts”, scornfully dismissing the early Impressionist’s freedom of color and its application on the canvas.

Definition of Art: 25 Diverse Perspectives To Understand Art Better

The 10 Greatest Modern Art Paintings

Origins of Modern Art, how it differs from contemporary art?

Like wildfire, the comment spread, and reviews soon depicted Matisse as a talentless brute attempting to negate the understood artistic conventions of his time. He began to despair, sure that he had made a mistake in his attempt to capture harmony through contrasting colors. But through the saving grace of daring collectors and the support of other avant-garde artists, Matisse was able to push through these feelings of doubt and continue growing as a painter.

The Dance by Henri Matisse

In one of his most famous works, titled “The Dance”, Henri drew on the memory of Catalan fisherman he had once seen dancing on the Mediterranean coast.

The bright red figures holding hands, twirling and swaying against a sharp blue-green horizon in the background. The simplicity of its composition and the five sinewy bodies in motion captures a primal energy, the colors pulsing against one another.

It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.

Critics called his painting bestial and primitive, and its commissioner nearly backed out of the deal.

Some hundred years later, “The Dance” is one of Matisse’s most recognizable works. He is now regarded as one of art history’s most influential pioneers of Modernism and a pivotal member of the Impressionist movement in painting.

His dedication to the free use of color and the refusal to adhere to his time period’s artistic conventions immortalize Henri Matisse not as an untamed beast, but the unsung hero of any creative soul who’s been told their work is too different to be good.

Sacred Profanity and the Eternal Flame

Henri Matisse is one of many solar flares in the narrative of art history who was underappreciated for his entire life.

Who knows how many creative careers have been cut short, due to the difference of opinion that places value on the work of some artists and condemns the attempts of others. In such cases, it is only the passion of the artist that makes his or her creative process worth such trouble.

Toward the end of his life, Matisse longed to create something monumental that would serve as his legacy. He was profoundly disappointed when nobody asked him to design a state building or museum, as was his dream.

When the opportunity arose to create the Rosaria Chapel, Matisse wasted no time in accepting the commission. This was to the surprise of his friends, who knew him as a steadfast atheist.

A baffled Pablo Picasso inquired, “Why not paint a brothel, Matisse?” To which the artist replied, “No one asked me to.”

Read about the origins of Fauvism and Expressionism

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