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5 Interesting Facts About Watercolor
Make 5 fascinating discoveries about the history, composition and uses of watercolor
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Everything from classical to street art: the latest highlights and the international art scene
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What Are NFTs, and How Are They Transforming Digital Art?
Discover the fascinating universe of NFTs, how they benefit the art world, the risks they pose, and why people are concerned about their environmental impact NFTs have taken the creative world by storm in recent weeks and prompted many questions. To fully get our head around this new technology, we need to put the current conversation into context. In February this year, the Nyan Cat meme sold for $600,000. On March 1, visual artist and musician Grimes sold some videos for $6 million. And on March 11, a single jpeg file sold for $69 million. Aside from receiving a lot of attention over recent weeks, the creator of this jpeg–digital artist Mike Winkelmann, best known as Beeple–has become a record holder: 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' is the third most expensive artwork to be sold by a living artist. What do all of these works have in common? Well, they don't exist in the physical world and have conquered the mainstream.
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What is Contemporary Art?
Discover what characterizes contemporary art, and how it differs from modern art Given that there is no approach or style that makes a work of contemporary art easily identifiable, contemporary art is perhaps best defined by how difficult it is to define. Often conflated or confused with "modern art", the term “contemporary art” is sometimes misused. In this post, we explain the difference between modern and contemporary art and look back on the evolution of the latter up until the present day.
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The Louvre Shares a New Digital Database Compiling More Than 480,000 Artworks
“Collections” is the French museum's new initiative to digitize its 200-year history If you head to the Louvre's website right now, you will encounter the following message, "The Musée du Louvre remains closed until further notice." But while the French museum has closed its doors in the real world, it has thrown them wide open online. Since March 26th, this year, people all over the world have been granted access to a digital database compiling over 480,000 artworks, known as the “Collections” initiative. A revolutionary move that helps to make art history more accessible to all. While it was already possible to visit the museum virtually, the newly configured louvre.fr site now gives you first-hand access to all of the documentation compiled by the Louvre's curators for each piece. This means having access to 480,000 entries, including the images and objective details.
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Superflat: How Murakami’s Popular Art Movement Emerged
Pop art is experiencing a revival in Japan thanks to Takashi Murakami Takashi Murakami is a celebrated contemporary Japanese artist. In the early 90s, he rejected modern Japanese art, claiming it was boring and elitist. Instead, he took an interest in post-war Japanese pop culture, in particular the subculture known as Otaku, which also refers to people with a passion for anime, manga, and cosplay. Over a decade, Murakami researched this culture, learning about its relationship with mid-20th century Pop Art and traditional Japanese art, and coined a term that referred to the flat (2D) form associated with Asian graphics, fine arts, and pop culture, as well as Japan’s cultural aesthetic: Superflat. This postmodern art movement was created by a generation of artists born after World War II. It draws on external influences that are reinterpreted to connect with Japanese identity.
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How Can Artists Tokenize Their Work and Enter the New Crypto Art Market?
Digital artists share their experiences selling NFT artworks on the new digital art market Over the last month, you have probably heard a lot about the possibility of tokenizing your art. Doing this means turning your work into an NFT (non-fungible token), which allows you to verify the originality of the piece and therefore access a huge emerging market. The emergence of new digital art galleries–or marketplaces–that permit you to buy and sell original digital artworks has greatly aroused the interest of digital artists around the world. But what are NFTs, how are they created, and above all, how do you access these galleries? Three artists from the Domestika community who have ventured into the world of crypto art answer all of our questions and share their own experiences.
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Discover Inuit Artist Kenojuak Ashevak
We celebrate the enchanted art and life of this remarkable female artist Kenojuak Ashevak was born in an igloo in an Inuit camp in 1927. She became one of Canada's most celebrated graphic artists, collecting multiple honors and achievements until she died in 2013. The daughter of an Inuit hunter and fur trader, she grew up traveling from camp to camp in Arctic Quebec. When she was 19, she married Johnniebo Ashevak, a local Inuit hunter who developed artistic talents in his own right and sometimes collaborated with her on projects. In the late 1950s, both Kenojuak and Johnniebo experimented with carving and drawing.
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How to Start Your Own Art Collection at Home
Everything you always wanted to know about amateur art collecting from illustrator Manuel Bueno You might think that art collectors are people with huge bank accounts who live in big mansions and buy their art at auctions just to pass the time. But art is not just for the one-percenters, nor should it be limited to museums. You can also turn your personal space into a place where all kinds of art fit right in. That's why we spoke with the graphic designer, printmaker, and illustrator Manuel Bueno Botello (@buenobueno), who has experience in the world of collecting, both for professional and personal purposes.
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Zelda Fitzgerald: The Writer Who Was Plagiarized and Silenced by Her Husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Discover the story of Zelda Fitzgerald, the "muse" and writer who was plagiarized by her celebrated husband Many simply know her as "the wife of the famous novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald," but Zelda Fitzgerald was special in her own right. An icon of the 1920s and one of the most relevant figures of the so-called Jazz Age, she was one of the first American flappers. Flappers were a generation of young women who defied the norms and showed a blatant disregard for what was considered "acceptable behavior" at the time. They didn’t wear corsets, wore knee-length skirts (a scandal in those days), cut their hair into bobs, listened to jazz, and drank in public. However, above everything else, Zelda was an artist. She was a dancer, a painter, and, most importantly, a writer. What many people don't know–perhaps because history has gone to great lengths to hide the truth–is that F. Scott Fitzgerald owes much of his success as a writer to Zelda. Not only did he use her as his muse, but he also unscrupulously stole her ideas and writing. Discover her story below:
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Mary Shelley: the Young Woman who Created Frankenstein and Modern Science Fiction
Discover the story of the young woman who created Frankenstein, the first modern science fiction novel Frankenstein belongs in the pantheon of classic monsters that make up the images we associate with the horror genre. Made even more famous by Boris Karloff's portrayal in the James Whale-directed film adaptation, this creature is the protagonist of the novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, considered one of the first modern science fiction novels, both for its plot and for the themes it explores. But it is not just its plot that made an impression on 19th-century society and continues to make an impression today. It’s the person responsible for its creation: 18-year-old Mary Shelley. Discover her fascinating story below:
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7 Inspirational Films About Art and Artists
If you love creativity and the arts, find inspiration in these incredible films
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8 Incredible Women Artists who Changed the History of Art
Thousands of women have left their mark on art history. This is the story of eight of them.
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10 Black American Female Fiction Writers and Poets You Should Know
From the first African-American novelist to the 22-year-old poet who performed at the 2021 presidential inauguration This March, we are celebrating the outstanding achievements of female creatives throughout history. Stories help us understand the world and see it through another’s eyes. They can be an escape, teach us empathy, and inspire change. We have compiled a list of ten Black American female fiction writers and poets who have made their mark over two centuries and continue to shape and inspire generations. Harriet E. Wilson (1825–1900) Harriet E. Wilson is considered the first African American to publish a novel in the United States. Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black was published anonymously in 1859, later discovered to be Wilson's work by the scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr in 1982.
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What was the Harlem Renaissance?
Learn about this cultural boom in African American history The Harlem Renaissance was a golden age of African American culture that took place during the early 20th century. It had a lasting impact both at home and overseas and set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s in the United States. This cultural boom was fuelled by Black pride; Black artists’ determination to have authority over how the Black American experience was portrayed; and the belief that Black literature, Black art, Black theater, and Black music were forms of activism that promoted progressive politics and integration. Names often linked to this movement include Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, W. E. B. Du Bois, Josephine Baker, and Louis Armstrong.
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6 Interesting Facts about Color Theory
6 surprising facts about colors that you might not have known We are surrounded by colors. They are one of the first things we learn to identify and name. We all have a favorite one, and use them as tools to represent both cultural and artistic identities. But what do we really know about them? Do you know why the Pantone color classification system exists, how the color pink affects us, or why orange didn't exist before the 15th century? Find out in this video.
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Did You Know Vincent van Gogh Loved Japanese Art?
Learn about the influence of traditional Japanese prints on the painter's art The fascination of the western world for eastern tradition is not new. At the end of the XIX century, the western art community showed a growing interest in anything oriental. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a great lover of Japan's aesthetic and traditional art, which had a big influence on his work.
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4 Hoaxes That Shook the Modern Art World
Is modern art really art? Learn how chimpanzees, teenagers, and fake artists tried to challenge it Modern art has many supporters, as well as detractors. When Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's piece 'Comedian' was unveiled at the Art Basel exhibition in Miami in 2019 and was sold for 120,000 dollars, modern art became the object of disapproval, ridicule, and even anger. The reason for all the fuss was that the artwork consisted of a fresh banana stuck on a wall with duct tape. Even the most popular banana brands joined in on the joke, and the parodies lasted a considerable time.
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Celebrate Black History Month with Over 2,000 Free Images
The Smithsonian National Museum collections offer public domain resources for you to use The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the most important museum dedicated to African American history, life, and culture. With over 36 thousand artifacts, it provides an exciting opportunity to explore through interactive exhibitions. As a public institution in the US, and part of the Smithsonian National Museum, it’s open to collaborations and participation from the public.
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What Is Pop Art and How Did It Revolutionize the Art World?
Discover the art movement that flourished in the 1960s Today, we recognize both the artistic and commercial value of works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and David Hockney. In November 2013, Warhol’s serigraph, Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), sold for $105 million, setting a new record for the artist’s work. Warhol is considered one of the fathers of the Pop Art movement. Lichtenstein’s Masterpiece was auctioned for an even higher price in 2017: $165 million. While these pieces have been auctioned for millions of dollars in the 21st century, this movement has not always been held in such high regard. When Pop Art first emerged, critics described it as vulgar, sensationalist, and "a joke." Intrigued to learn more about its history? In this article, we will delve into the story of a movement that not only revolutionized the art world in the 50s and 60s, but raised questions about the true meaning of art in an ever-changing world.
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3 Steps to Become a Happy Full-Time Artist by Claudia Sahuquillo
Visual artist and business mentor Clauda Sahuquillo shares the four steps We all have dreams we’re working towards, but without commitment and consistency it’s all too easy for our big ideas to simply fade away. Not for Claudia Sahuquillo, however. Claudia first caught public attention with her #SkinIsTheNewCanvas campaign where she painted patterns and shapes on naked women’s bodies. Now, an owner of three businesses, a mentor for young creatives, and a thriving full time artist herself, she is living her constantly evolving dream and is determined to show others how they can do the same.
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Glossary: Different Types of Paint and Painting Materials
Learn all about the most popular tools and types of paint If you’re about to start painting for the first time, you might be feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the different materials you can choose from. Or, maybe you simply want to learn a little more about the tools you already use. Whichever category you fall under, this glossary of basic painting terms will serve you well. Acrylics Acrylics were developed during the first half of the 20th century due to a need for a type of paint that would stay vibrant outdoors. It is made by mixing pigment with acrylic resin. Being water-soluble, acrylic paint dries quickly (drying occurs when water evaporates). If you want to slow down the drying process, you can add a retarder.
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Explore Escher's Engravings in High Resolution
The Boston Public Library has digitized several dozens of Escher prints Enigmatic and brilliant, the work of M. C. Escher is worthy of admiration. That's why institutions that keep some of his engravings safe often exhibit them publicly so that we all can enjoy them. One of these institutions is the Boston Public Library — the largest municipal library in the United States — who has digitized almost a hundred of his engravings. Anyone who accesses its archives can explore them in great detail and get to know all the nooks and crannies of the impossible constructions that Escher devised and drew throughout his career.
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5 Socially-conscious Artists Creating Art Out of Waste
Turning waste into works of art: meet inspiring artists from around the world For centuries, humans have exploited nature. The monstrous amount of waste we produce is an issue that socially-conscious individuals have turned their attention to. Today, creative people around the world are making art out of waste. This choice of material causes us to reflect on what items we discard and push as far away from our lives as possible. In this sense, an artist's decision to put these items into a museum as part of exhibitions is very provocative. We have selected five artists whose work you ought to explore: Vik Muniz Brazilian artist Vik Muniz is one of the most well-known artists working with waste, with his work having been exhibited in MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York. In the documentary, Lixo extraordinario (Extraordinary Garbage), Muniz recreated masterpieces from art history, such as the Mona Lisa, with peanut butter and jelly. He used leftovers from a macarronada (a typical Venezuelan dish) to recreate Medusa’s panicked face in Caravaggio's famous painting, and used scrap metal to create a world map. The pieces are full of irony, forcing the spectator to question what can be labeled “sophisticated” art.
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Hilma af Klint: The Fascinating Story of an Abstract Art Pioneer
Ahead of her time, this artist created hundreds of enigmatic paintings where the invisible became visible. Unseen for many years, her work has now vindicated her as one of the pioneers of abstract art It was 1935, and Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky wrote a letter to his New York gallery owner, where he claimed the authorship of his first abstract painting: a piece painted in 1911. “Without doubt, it is the first abstract painting in the world (...) it is, in other words, a historical painting”, said the letter. Nonetheless, in Sweden, in 1906, a woman called Hilma af Klint had already been painting abstract compositions in which line, color, and geometrical shapes had been the main subjects. However, her story and her contribution to abstract art remained unknown until the 1980s, when an exhibition taking place at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) finally vindicated her role. Why doesn’t her name resonate when we think of this art movement? What happened that kept her prolific production unknown, unlike Mondrian, Malevich, or Kandinsky’s works? Here is the fascinating story behind one of the pioneers of abstraction.
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Why Is No One Smiling in Classic Portraits and Photographs?
Learn why smiling was so uncommon in paintings and early photographs "Smile!" We listen to this phrase practically every time we pose for a photograph. Nowadays, smiles are almost a requirement in photos and selfies, a reflex action: when we see a camera pointing at us or somebody asks to take our picture, our first instinct is to smile. But that has not always been the case. For most of recorded history, smiles have not been prevalent. Smiles are rarely present in paintings or old photographs. Why? A matter of vanity? One of the hypotheses that could explain this enigmatic phenomenon is the vanity of the subjects portrayed. Due to the lack of personal hygiene in past centuries, teeth condition left much to be desired. Subjects would keep their lips firmly closed when posing for posterity to avoid showing their teeth. But that is not the truth, for a simple reason: bad teeth were so widespread that they did not inspire shame in the subjects or their painters.
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Domestika Diary: Naíma Almeida
Visual artist Naíma Almeida sheds light on her creative routine during lockdown and her experience experimenting with augmented reality Our creative processes are unique. They are influenced by different circumstances; they are a result of our cultural references, the feelings we have at the time, the tools we have available, and of course, the environment in which we find ourselves. We can’t escape these elements, not even in lockdown. In this Domestika Diary, visual artist Naíma Almeida shares her routine, creative processes, thoughts, and creations during lockdown. Discover more below:
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The Art Institute of Chicago Is Sharing Thousands of Free Images
The Art Institute of Chicago’s digital library contains over 40,000 files that you can download for free The Art Institute of Chicago has a collection of over 300,000 works of art and a history spanning back to the 19th century (having been founded by George Armour in 1879). It is one of the most important and relevant art institutions across both the United States and the world–up there with New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. The collection includes works by local and international artists from early and modern times. Standout pieces include those by artists from Italian, Flemish, Dutch, and Spanish schools. While many museums and galleries had already digitized part, if not all, of their permanent collections, The Art Institute of Chicago only made this leap more recently. Its digital library allows users to explore and download high-quality images of artworks from their collection.
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7 Tips to Find Inspiration When Writing
Alberto Chimal’s best tips on finding inspiration for writing memorable stories You may think that inspiration comes spontaneously and lets authors write incredible stories without interruptions or hesitation, but this is not the case. To write well, you have to practice, and to find the inspiration, you must know where to find it. Author Alberto Chimal (@albertochimal) reveals some of his best tips to find inspiration when writing, and exploit your narrative potential. 1. Set aside time to write Aim to write a little every day, every week, or at least set yourself a realistic goal—that you must keep to and complete—something you can fulfill whenever it is possible. The most important thing is that you respect the time dedicated to writing and make sure others also respect it. 2. Look for the perfect space Find a space where you can write: at home, in your study, or even in a public place or café. It needn’t be a place you use specifically for writing, but it should be comfortable for you to concentrate and develop your stories.
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7 Books for Creative Writing Inspiration
Writer Shaun Levin shares a list of seven books written by established authors to inspire your next writing project
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Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Virtual Tour
You can now explore the Brant Foundation’s 2019 Basquiat exhibition online Connect to the internet and be transported to New York City. The Brant Foundation has created an immersive virtual tour of the inaugural exhibition of their East Village space. The exhibition, titled Jean-Michel Basquiat, comprises four floors filled with 70 works–created from 1980 to 1987–by the radical underground graffiti artist who went on to become a global sensation. Born in 1960 to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Jean-Michel Basquiat grew up in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, Basquiat frequented the city’s museums and galleries and was encouraged by his mother to create his own works. When Basquiat was hit by a car aged eight, his mother brought a copy of Gray's Anatomy to the hospital. From that moment on, her son developed a fascination with anatomy, inspiring the bodily imagery–in particular skulls, sinew, and guts–that would feature heavily in his work.
