CK ART F200x

In our post-modern society, very few things play an as influential role as consumerism does. The products we purchase are infused with greater significance than their primary function. "Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns."(Lebow, 1955)       As keen observers of society, artists have responded to consumerism in various ways. They point out its driving forces: capitalism, an unlimited market, mass overconsumption, and money spending. Art has become a commodity that can be created by consumerism, bought and sold, and reflected upon everyday popular objects. In this week's blog, I would like to present three artists inspired by consumerism and reflecting on it in distinct ways.  1

I want to apologize for any confusion my blog may have caused. In my effort to complete it over the Spring Break, I unfortunately overlooked the date of the art period given by the Professor. Therefore, two of my introduced Artists, Anna Atkins and Camille Pissarro, and their artworks don't meet the time frame requirements. In this week's Early Modern Blog, I would like to present the development of art following innovations in science and technology. The innovation in technology in this blog will be photography.  The first successful photographic experiment was a Daguerreotype, created by Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre in 1837. In late 1839, daguerreotypes that engraved images in silver-coated copper plates became popular and were produced in many nations. In early 1840, the first photography studios started appearing in the UK. Photography offered the possibility of an instant portrait that was affordable to all societal classes. Photography created a new media that was also us

In my Romantic Era Blog, I would like to compare Romanticism and Art Nouveau styles. The first artwork that I would like to introduce is the painting  The Cornfield  by the famous romantic tradition painter John Constable(1776-1837) and the art nouveau genre painting  The Seasons (Summer)  by Alphonse Mucha(1860-1939).  The painting  The Cornfields  was created in 1826 in John Constable's studio in London in oil on canvas, measuring 143x122 cm. It is in the main collection of the National Gallery London, UK. The painting depicts a cornfield on Fen Lane that Constable frequented in his childhood on the way to his school in Dedham. "Constable exhibited the painting at the Royal Academy in 1826. Despite receiving critical praise, it failed to sell, either at the Royal Academy or at any of the four other exhibitions to which Constable sent it."(the cornfield, n.d.) The artwork depicts a rural scene on a hot summer day with a little shepherd boy thirstily drinking cold water o