Monday, March 1, 2010

Michael Craig-Martin- Erin

Last class we saw some work by contemporary artist Michael Craig-Martin. I found his work to be extremely eye catching because of the bright colors and unique concepts he uses. Upon visiting his own web site I viewed some of his current works, installations, paintings, and prints. Although all of these pieces were different they still followed a similar theme of bright colors and very cartoon-ish drawings of various different everyday items. While some may question Craig-Martin’s credibility as his artist due to the simplicity of his work, I disagree strongly. It takes a great deal of creative genius to even come up with the idea to make art inspired by unadorned items such as sunglasses, fire extinguishers, and headphones.

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The installation that I found to be most fascinating was created in 2000 in Valencia, Spain. I really loved how his contemporary work was showcased in what seems to be a very traditionally designed space. The marble arches, ornate moldings, and beautiful columns scream tradition and are almost brought to life by the bright colors used by the artist. The juxtaposition of his contemporary work to the classical architecture is quite the duo. Also, I found it to be very creative of Craig-Martin to paint his own windows into the windowless space. Lastly, the bright green, purples, yellows, and numerous other colors used are probably my favorite part. He clearly has no fear when it comes to using color and it really brightens up the space, which is very exciting for any viewer’s eye. Overall, I have a great deal of respect for Michael Craig-Martin’s style. He keeps things interesting while showcasing simple items, which is not an easy task in my opinion.

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