Video Reviews Chap 21.

I chose Dada and Surrealism because the Dada style makes me laugh.  The film examined many artists and their relation to the anti-art of the Dada movement (following World War I) and surrealism.  I like Dali's melting clocks!  In addition, I found surrealism, the style I knew less about, very interesting as well - the concept of tapping into the unconscious mind is definitely fascinating.

I chose to watch the Expressionism video because Claude Monet is one of my favorite artists.  I learned that symbolism through color, not necessarily through perfection, is a very important factor in this style.  For example, the bright palettes and "smudgy" techniques found throughout most of Monet's work help to show a sensation or impression of a scene, rather than every actual detail.  This film helped reinforce what I learned about impressionism from the book.

I chose to watch Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (Renior) because the title sounded interesting.  Renoir's painting represents two different types of people in France, the upper class men and poor women.  Despite being a fan of impressionism and the artists who paint in that style, I had never heard of this painting, despite it being "quintessential" to the period.  I thought this film was rather interesting because it talked about the various nuances between different styles of art - since there were so many this chapter, it was nice to be able to differentiate between them a bit more.

I chose A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884 (Seurat) because I actually have never liked this painting and I wanted to try to change my feelings about it. I didn't realize that there were so many enigmas surrounding the painting, such as the monkey on the woman's shoulder.  I also didn't know that the park depicted in the painting was a place to find prostitutes, which may indicate that the women in the painting were trying to find a few clients. Though I still don't really care for the painting, I at least know that there are a few controversial secrets surrounding its existence now!