My trip to the Cantor

That's me, Jon Guenther out in front of the Cantor Art Museum. This was my first trip ever to the Cantor Museum, so I really wasn't sure what I should expect. Upon entering the museum I was taken back by the high ceilings and the balconeys above you. It gave me a feelings of a large open, inviting space. After walking through a few doorways I found myself in an Area dedicated to the Stanford Family. This area was full of artifacts from the Stanford family as well as damily paintings. To make a long story short I really did enjoy this visit to the museum. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much if I wasn't in this art class. I found myself walking around looking at pictures and sculptures in a new light, reading the info to see materials used and date. That made it fun for me.

This was a piece of work that I saw in the museum that reminded me of some of the work we had been reading about for class. This is a bronze sculpture called "amazon breaking a savage horse." This sculpture clearly is a man trying to tame a wild horse. You can really see the emotion of the piece by the way the masn body is positioned on the horse, as well as the horse itself. You can see that the horse is fighting by the way it is on its hind legs trying to buck off the man. The plaque next to this work spoke of the Romanticism in the sculpture. That is the exact same thought I had when I saw the sculpture. It reminded me of the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius that we read about in chapter 6.

Blog #3

This is a picture of the Church of San Vitale. This church was built and dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Vitalis. The design is a central- domed octagon extended by exetralike semicircular bays, surrounded in turn by an ambulatory and gallery, all covered by vaults. When someone would enter the church they would walk through large opening with arched ceilings. Giving the building a large and open feeling. All along the interior there were beautiful mosaics ranging from Christ enthroned to the Emperor Justinian and the Empress Theodora.

This is a picture of the interior of the Capital of Wisconsin located in Madison, Wisconsin. I grew up in Madison so when I first saw a picture of the Church of San Viatale it made me think of the inside of the capital building. When you enter the capital you enter through large arched hall ways, much like the Church of San Vitale. Also, the walls are decorated with large mosaics marking all the directions of North, South, East and West. More then anything else it makes me think about how beautiful both of these building are and what they are meant for. Both buildings are places where people tend to congregate. Both buildings are large, with an open floor plans.

Undirected #2

Take a look at these 2 images.. I find both of them very close in a lot of aspects. Both theaters, both have raised stadium seating. Both are mainly made from stone or hard materials. Now let me ask you a question. Which of these images is found here in California? and which one is located in Greece and is from the 4th century? If you said that the first image was from Greece, you are correct. This is a picture of the Theater at Epidauros. This theater served important not only for entertainment, but was also the vehicle for communal expression through the community.

The second image is the Greek Theater located in Berkley, California. I find it fascinating how similar these 2 venues are. Both have served big roles in the com unity in which they are located. How many of you have seen a show at the Greek Theater in Berkley? I know I have and it was an amazing experience for me. Could you imagine the 4th century? Seeing a play at a venue like that? I would have loved to see it!

Undirected Blog #1

This piece of art is the Stele of Narim-Sin. This is a 6 1/2 foot tall stone slab ( called a stele) that memorializes one of Naram-Sin's military victories. When you are looking at the carving you can notice that the size of Naram-Sin is much larger then any other person found on the work of art. This is because Naram-Sin was a god son, making him much more important then any other being on the carving. In ancient art size was associated with importance. Thus, making Naram-Sin the centerpiece in the carving.

This is a picture of a modern day example of the importance of size being depicted in art. This is Mount Rushmore, and was carved out of the side of a mountain. Serving as a monument to the past presidents of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Jefferson and Washington. The size of the monument really shows the importance of these presidents much like the stele of Naram-Sin.

About Me

This is actually a picture of me in net while playing in my glory days with the University of Wisconsin. I always felt that playing goalie in hockey really depicted me well. It was always a challenge, everyone on the other team had one goal, to put one past you, to catch me sleeping and one up me. In this image I have a screen set in front of me, which makes me sink lower to the ice so I can look past this player to see what was going on in front of him. This is true with me as well, there will always be something in me way trying to keep me from my ultimate goal, but it is about what I do to look past these distractions to see the bigger picture.

Besides my love and passion for the game of golf I think this picture really represents part of my personality well. If you are a golfer you know that this is the 7th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, to anyone else, you can tell by looking at the picture that this is a difficult hole on a golf course. Small green, guarded by may bunkers, surrounded by bunkers, and to top it all off, the hole is down hill. A good shot here requires execution, some thoughtfulness and maybe, a little bit of luck. That is a good chunk of my personality, I always try to think things through and believe that there is always a solution to every problem in life, no matter how hard it is. Things may not come easy, but with hard work, dedication and execution one can make it through anything. Luck doesn't hurt either.

Here we go..

So here is my blog for ART 1A online.. Be nice to me on your comments...