Jean-Daniel On Lissade

Art is defined by the artist; usually it grows from common and uncommon insights, experiences and feelings. There are many different types of art, and ways to create a piece of art. Representational art is a depiction of what artists see in the physical world and Non-Representational art is the opposite, using forms that no one has ever seen. What an artist believes to be art is individual and creativity is comes from within. Kerry James Marshall is an African American artist that uses dark figures in his paintings to reclaim the image of blackness as an emblem of power.

His work is inspired by experiences growing up as a black man during the civil rights movements in America.

Marshall’s driving factor that led him to become an artist was his kindergarten teacher’s use of a special scrapbook. The scrapbook contained different cards, advertisements and cutouts from magazines. The reason it was so ‘special’ was because the best-behaved student of the day could read the scrapbook while the other kids napped after recess.

As Marshall recalls, the day he was able to examine the scrapbook, it changed his life forever. Marshall’s goal after that experience was to evoke emotions through art just as he had been touched that day in his young life. According to NPR.org, “His paintings depict daily life — people planting gardens, picnicking and getting haircuts.”, all of them showing the reality of black people existing in the nineteen hundreds. He creates vivid paintings which are not hard to understand once you know the meaning of the distinct charcoal skin.

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Maya Lin is by far the most interesting artist depicted in the video. I find her to be half artist half architect, as her work focuses on creating within natural landscapes. She states in the video that sometimes she gets too invested in the architecture side of creating her art because she is so talented at it. Born on October 5th, 1959, she grew up in Athens, Ohio where she eventually moved to Connecticut and attended Yale to receive her bachelor’s degree. She is best known for creating the Vietnam Veteran war memorial in Washington D.C. Maya Lin entered her minimalistic Vietnam Memorial design into a national contest during her senior semester of college and was selected as the winner. According to theartstory.org, “As an artist, Lin strikes an unusual balance between open-ended concepts, and scientific precision. Her stated aim is for her work to become a private conversation for each person who views it.”. Lin was a contributor to the minimalistic art movement and her main influences were Nancy Holt, Richard Serra and Michael Heizer.

Bruce Nauman was born on December 6, 1941, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Growing up, Nauman’s interests were reading and playing instruments. Although he is a respected artist now, he was not exposed to visual art until he got to college. In college, Nauman was not very good at some subjects so he decided to become an artist. He found a great joy in creating his art and even in his older age, still has multiple projects that he works on in his personal studio. One thing that Nauman mentioned in the PBS video which I find interesting is “A stairway is work of art, because I said so.”, which reminds me of the Dada movement led by Marcel Duchamp. During the Dada movement, people started to question what traditional art was and who can define what art is or is not; Often artists stating, “art is art because I say it is.”. Nauman is well known for creating art using neon signs and lights; one of his most famous works of art being The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths.

In conclusion, these artists all are different people with different backgrounds and have different creative processes of making their art. We can see the extremely successful Kerry Marshall as a vivid painter, depicting his memories throughout his life through the power of the brush. Also, Maya Lin, also a remarkable artist and architect that uses the beauty of the natural landscapes to create her art. Finally, we have Bruce Nauman, a conceptual art mastermind who often uses sculptures and signs to express his creativity. These influential artists have left their mark on the art world and their work will be immortalized for generations to come.

Works Cited

1. Fiesel, Laura. “Maya Lin Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-lin-maya.htm.
2. Butler, Anne Marie. “Bruce Nauman Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-nauman-bruce.htm.
3. PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/video/art21-identity/.
4. Stamberg, Susan. “Kerry James Marshall: A Black Presence In The Art World Is ‘Not Negotiable’.” NPR, NPR, 28 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/03/28/521683667/kerry-james-marshall-a-black-presence-in-the-art-world-is-not-negotiable.