Hopper and McGahern

The author John McGahern writing about his inspiration said "I think the ordinary is the most precious in life.I think that life is of no value or of absolute value,and I think it is of absolute value.And I think in that sense a woman combing her hair or a man eating an egg is as an important an act as any other'This quote came to mind to day when reading a book on the artist Edward Hopper.Hopper paints the ordinary and the common place,but makes us see it for the first time,in a glorious silence,we are made to see how splendid is the sight of sunlight on a wall in early morning or ,a man sweeping a step.I believe the artist is able to show us that great art is often made from such ordinary life,because of his artistic philosophy,to quote Hopper "Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist,and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.I myself believe this inner world can only be cultivated by a careful observation of the outer world,especially in its ordinary and common place manifestations.

Peter Howson.

Peter Howson is a Scottish artist whose subject matter is more often than not the people who exist at the very fringes of modern urban society such as the homeless ,drug addicts etc.Howson depicts his individuals in a kind of heroic hopelessness,in which a host of characters are helplessly driven by their paranoid and aggressive mental states.Howson subjects are a composite of many individuals that the artist has met in his travels around Glasgow.His characters are social constructs that are un romantically portrayed in exaggerated characterisation.

Francis Bacon

With out a doubt one of the most important figures in 20th century British painting. Bacons main subject matter is the human condition in an existentialist context. Bacons figures are isolated from their environment and struggle with the the fact of their existence. Bacon uses distortion and a sense of tension in his images,to create a strong impact on the visual senses first,before the viewer is given the opportunity to undertake an intellectual analysis of the image. It is interesting that Bacon used secondary sources eg photographs to create such vibrant paintings.

Conclusion to weathering.

Conclusion to weathering investigation started on 28. 12. 2012.

Personal reflection on K Kobro

The following quote from Katarzyna Kobro in 1937 has influenced my perception and observations of the architecture of Limerick and other cities..."The task of a spatial composition,is the shaping of forms,which can be translated into life. The spatial composition is a laboratory experiment that will define the architecture of future cities. "Photos taken during journeys around Limerick city.

Robert Rauschenberg combines

Read a description of this artists,artistic intension to day...."to fill in the gap between life and art". Questioning the distinction between art and every day life,in the manner of Duchamp's Fountain. Rauschenberg also challenges us to question the role of the artist as creator in creating arts meaning. Rauschenberg in his sculptural practise uses found objects and more importantly found images,these are changed by the context in which the artist employes them and they are transformed into something new. I believe a working knowledge of this artists practise is of great importance in gaining an understanding of the concepts explored in contemporary art.

Felice Varini further research.