Art

One of the most celebrated work of Pablo Picasso, Guernica was painted with the artists experiences in the 1930s. The era of 1930 is surrounded by the different political turmoil of that time. In this work of Picasso, Guernica, art no longer became an ornamental to peoples life style but rather an instrument of war that can bring and manifest changes. The Guernica is inspired primarily by the atrocities perpetrated by Franco in the Spanish citizens. It also shows the destruction of a Basque village bombarded by Nazi planes which left the place burning for three days with over a thousand of people dead. (Public Broadcasting Service Lazzari  Schleiser 296)

Though the painting can be as dynamic depending on the viewer, some of its primary elements and characters are universal and specific. In Guernica, the bull represented the fascist Spain which was meant to suffer slow and inevitable death. The gored and dying horse represented the Spanish republic. It also shows a mutilated hand holding a sword which was considered to represent the resistance to this atrocities by the people in power.  The painting also showed numerous people who witness this kind of doom and corruption that reached Spain. (Public Broadcasting Service Lazzari  Schleiser 296)

The image below (See Appendix 1) is courtesy of the cover of the Time Magazine, March 1991 Issue. It shows an American soldier holding an anti-tank gun in the dessert of Kuwait. This is in relation to the Americas defensive stance when  Iraq invaded the smaller country of Kuwait in the early 1990s. Here, Iraqi forces lead by Saddam Hussein aimed to destroy Kuwait completely by torching its oil wells and the execution of Kuwaitis.

The image from Time magazine portrays a more positive side of the war when compared to the negativity of war in the work of Pablo Picasso in Guernica. The soldier is portrayed as a hero considering he left his family and own country to defend someone else country and families. It also shows the sophisticated and advance American weaponry and well trained soldiers of the United States.

One of the most significant differences of this cover image from Time and Picassos Guernica is its subject. The Guernica focused almost entirely to the victims of war including the state and the citizens rather than the peripheries and arms of the war mechanism. There is also a big difference in the overall emotion and theme of two images. The Guernica is surrounded by misery and suffering of the people and the state itself. On the other hand, the image of time is more inclined to show the spirit of pride and heroism brought by their well equipped soldiers and their sacrifice for the people of other country.

The two images from Time Magazine and Pablo Picasso had shown us the two sides of the war. However, despite its difference in emotions expressed and the overall theme of the image, it can be aimed toward a single goal and aim   a call for unity. Whether it is the show or misery that was shown or the heroism and pride of a nation is portrayed, it could have the same effect to its viewers or readers, to unite and fight oppression.

One day while walking in Central Park in New York in 1962, Diane Arbus happened upon a little boy playing in the park.  She asked if she could take pictures of the boy.  He agreed.  While she was preparing, the boy got impatient and posed angrily for the first shot.  But the succeeding shots were normal casual poses of the boy.  But that one photo of the collection became the more famous, defining photograph that would be used as a representative of Arbus work.   It became immortalized with the title Boy with Toy Hand Grenade.

As part of the progress of artistic photography into post-modernism and current styles, photographs no longer focus merely on joyous or contrived occasions.  They go along with the trends in literature and arts to portray the inner turmoil of human life.  Images along this line try to convey the brooding emotions and the internal conflict within a person.  In other words, photography has become more psychological.  And this is done by photographs that try to show more than what is seen by the eyes.  The photograph now invites the viewer to make another interpretation, and find out the real message behind the image.

Biography of Arbus 
Diane Arbus was born to the Jewish Nemerov family in 1923.  Her brother was United States Poet Laureate Howard Nemerov.  They were generally an affluent family.  She married at age 18 her childhood friend Allan Arbus.  They have two daughters.  The Arbuses separated in 1958 and divorced in 1969.  Diane Arbus committed suicide in 1971.

Arbus was also known for black and white photos that focused on unusual people.  Her works included twins, giants, dwarfs, transvestites and sometimes ordinary people in unusual poses.  She was dubbed a photographer of freaks, an appellation she disliked.  However, most of her photographs show the subjects in a relaxed or easy manner.  Yet these photographs show some shocking or disturbing element that otherwise contradicts the attitude of the subjects.

Arbus intentionally sought out people on the fringes of society to reveal the abnormality that seethes within the curtain on seeming normality (Haber 2005).  It should also be noted that her photos were always in black and white, owing in part to color photography only starting to become more common.  While the picture has an archaic feel because of the black and white tones, it also tends to give a sense of eeriness and mystery.  Strangeness tends to look even stranger in black and while. But it also was perhaps of the choice of subjects, the angles and the actual final product that Arbus came out with in the end.

The Photo
The boy in the picture was Colin Wood, son of tennis player Sidney Wood.  Knowing about the photograph at age 14, he began to hate it.  But when he learned of the artistic value and fame of the photograph during his adulthood, he began to see it as a good conversation starter.  Wood sees the photo as a demonstration of the loneliness that everyone felt.  He also believes that this was the loneliness that Arbus herself felt.  The photo was displayed in many places posthumously after Arbus had died and her work was circulating many museums.  It now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Arbus photo shows a boy standing and looking sullenly at the camera.  The left strap of his jumper is hanging down his shoulder.  His arms are long and thin, and they hang by his side with clawed hand.   His right hand is clenching a toy grenade.  His facial expression betrays annoyance, based on the story of how Arbus took the picture.  But it could also be interpreted as an angry expression.

Aside from the boy, there is the tree in the distance right behind him.  Also behind him is the profile of a woman, partially blocked by his head.  The woman is turned away from him.  To the right is another woman holding a childs hand, looking like they are walking towards the boy.  To the left is a pair of children, barely visible in the distance, and they are probably playing a game.  All the people in the background are distant and fuzzy.  Around them are the trees, clearly outlined and monstrously distinct.  They almost look like monsters coming out of the darkness.

The lighting of this picture is the brightest in the contact print. However, as the other photos show, that part of the park where Wood was photographed was dark, and Arbus used a flash to enhance the lighting.  The brightness, aside from illuminating the subject, created a contrast between the subject and the remaining background.  The ground beneath Wood was bright, and it emphasized barrenness.  The barren ground can symbolize the barren life of the boy, and explains his expression and reaction.

The background in the distance was out of focus, as expected in a photo that emphasized the foreground subject.  But that contrast was somewhat eerie, since it served to make the environment around the boy irrelevant and uninvolved  like ghosts.  They have nothing to do with boy, and they do not care about him.  The shadow of the trees, while beautiful, loom over him to emphasize more of the barrenness of the soil beneath.

Balance of Elements
Compared to all the other photos in the print, the Boy with Toy Hand Grenade photo stands out considerably, not just in the subject, but in many elements, including the background. All of the elements seen in the photo were interpreted as a symbol of loneliness within the ordinary world.  Of course, we know about Colin Woods annoyance with the delay in photographing that caused his expression as seen in the photo.  Yet this expression on the subject melded with the environment that complemented his expression.  His expression of anger combined with the barren and uncaring environment to convey a message that is not obvious upon first sight of the photo.  This was the message that ordinary people can be lonely, even during the seemingly happiest moments of life.

When seen in the context of the contact sheet, the Boy with Toy Hand Grenade photo can be considered an aberration within its group.  The rest of the prints shows Colin Wood being happier and posing eagerly for the camera.  There is a stark contrast between these photos and the single odd one.  Most of them show the boy nearer other objects noticed in the first photo, with less of the isolation and loneliness.  Some have even interpreted the photo as a representation of violence the seething violence coming out of the child is a complete opposite of the peaceful-looking surroundings.

The Boy with Toy Hand Grenade photo demonstrates how a picture can contain more than what is actually seen in the image.  In a sense, it can be a result of the interpretation of the viewer.  It can even be the opposite of what the picture shows visually.  Arbus photo also is perhaps one of the symbols of the growing existentialist and iconoclast movements of the time.  The 1960s was a time of turmoil, and more expressions of dissent and iconoclasm were coming out.  The photo perhaps captures the time when the childhood innocence of society was disappearing, and the harsh realities of adulthood were coming.

The span of Alfred Stieglitzs life from 1864 to 1946 was witness to the most intense transformations surrounding industrialization and urbanization ever to occur in the scene of American society and culture.  Stieglitz observed New Yorks conversion from a sleeping giant of cobblestone streets and horse drawn trolleys to a vivacious symbol of the contemporary metropolis, with towering skyscrapers becoming visible icons of a new era.  Stieglitzs photographs and the wide influence of his ideas and activity on photographers, artists, writers and art institutions in the first four decades of the century characterize him as a shaping force for a new American vision of the arts and culture (AM, 2010).  One of his most famous striking and representative images is a photograph which was captured in 1907, The Steerage, part of collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and what was termed as his first modernist photograph, as Stieglitz moved away from Symbolist subjects and began capturing straightforward depictions of daily life during American industrialization (The Getty, 2010, HTAH, 2010, LACMA, 2010).

Objective Photograph Description
In order to gain a full sense of Stieglitzs photograph from an objective perspective, it is necessary to view the artwork as a concrete image aside from personal interpretation.  The photograph was captured by Stieglitz in 1907 in a New York harbor by use of a 4 x 5 inch hand held camera (AM, 2010).  It was developed with Photogravure on Vellum and is 12 1116 x 10 316 inches in size.  Four years after its creation, it was published for the first time in a 1911 issue of Camera Work, along with a Cubist drawing by Picasso (HTAH, 2010).  Geometric elements are prominent within Stieglitzs photograph, with the rectangle of the drawbridge and mast, the lines of the railings and stairs, the cylindrical funnel, the circular machinery, a circular straw hat, crisscrossed suspenders, the triangles created by the edges of the photograph.  In addition to the mechanical aspects of the photograph, there are stark contrasts between the people on the upper and lower decks of the steamer.  The upper deck is known to have been reserved for higher class passengers, while lower class passengers were relegated to the lower deck, and this is obviously true of the people aboard the trip.  On first glace, it appears as if there are more men situated on the upper deck than the lower, while more women and children are stationed below.  Also, the upper accommodations and passengers appear to be more open and comfortable, whereas the lower deck is darker and crowded with machinery.  The people on the upper deck seem to be more fashionably dressed, while the people on the lower deck are dressed more shabbily.  As far as tone and focus are concerned, there is always a nice contrast in black and white photography, with the grey tones adding definition to each element of the photograph, and the lens focus is drawn to the foreground and lower deck.  Although the passengers on upper deck are hanging out in the sun, they are clothed in darker colors.  The passengers on the shadowy lower deck are generally dressed in lighter colors, perhaps because some of them are without coats and appear to be draped in white sheets or blankets.  The drawbridge across to the upper deck is light with sunshine, and the stairs leading down to the lower deck are shadowed.

Research Based Subjective Description
By delving into the thoughts of subjective viewers, it is possible to see the photograph in a variety of different ways through the eyes of others, primarily through the perspective of the artist himself.  Stieglitz was quoted as describing his experience on the scene and capturing the photograph in the following passage, after leaving the upper first class mob of the rich and wandering down into the lower steerage area

There were men, women and children on the lower level of the steerage....The scene fascinated me A round straw hat the funnel leaning left, the stairway leaning right the white drawbridge, its railings made of chain white suspenders crossed on the back of a man below circular iron machinery a mast that cut into the sky, completing a triangle. I stood spellbound for a while. I saw shapes related to one another -- a picture of shapes, and underlying it, a new vision that held me...
(The Getty, 2010)

From this quote, it appears as if Stieglitz viewed his work from the perspective of seeing geometric shapes, the element of modern mechanic Cubism, as well as perceiving the class differences which were being formed by modern urbanization.  The definition between rich and poor was just as contrasting as the definition between lines and curves, and the picture was viewed by Stieglitz, in a way, as extremist and multicultural, in regard to its sharp tones, defined lines, and variety.

Personal Subjective Description
One of the most intriguing aspects of Stieglitzs photograph is the people sitting in the lower steerage area.  The title of the work itself points the viewer in the direction of viewing the passengers in the lower class area with a particular sense of urgency.  It is obvious that the viewer is being shown two halves of modern society, with the lower class and the upper class working together in some kind of industrial struggle.  The energy emanating from this time of powerful urbanization is directly related to how the rich were working in dichotomy with the poor, not unlike the dichotomy between dark and light, black and white, curve and line.  Within this photograph, it appears as if Stieglitz wanted to capture all of this wild metropolitan diversity within one shot and was perhaps also questioning whether or not the new world order, so reliant on diverging classes, was truly the most ethical direction for human culture and society.

Within every image is a central meaning, and Stieglitz attempts to draw viewers into his artwork in order to perceive a new modern vision.  Right or wrong, this vision is inclusive of a wide range of shapes, perspectives, tones, and characters, on an inanimate level as well as an animate one.  The parts of the steamer are moving in a mechanized fashion, the people are moving about together in tight quarters, and the diversity of this harbor scene is defined by an exploration of the parts, shapes, moods, and attitudes of the time.  It is difficult to discern the exact feelings of the people on the steamer, yet it appears as if the mood on the upper level is confident and lighthearted, while the mood on the lower steerage deck is more sullen and despairing.  In a sense, the bright light on the upper deck does justice in illuminating the riches of upper classes, and the dark shadows of the lower deck do justice in highlighting the poverty of the lower classes.  Generally speaking, The Steerage captures the image of the slave class which supports the elite, and Stieglitz brings this industrial scene to the viewer at the birth of capitalist America.  Morally speaking, there is extreme sadness wrongly generated in the lives of the people who labor at low wages, and, at this expense, there is extreme comfort wrongly generated in the lives of the people lounging in the upper classes of the new American society.

Resale Rights, known as droit de suite, provide an artist or his heirs with a small royalty, usually less than 5 percent, each time the artists work is resold. This allows the visual artists to share the increase in value of their works. All of the European Union, including the United Kingdom have adopted the law. There is no federal resale royalty law in the United States except California. Despite the wide acceptance of the law in other nations, the U.S. should not adopt the law because it is harmful for those in the art industry including the artists.

The law will actually prevent a visual artist from profiting commercially. An artists income could be decreased because the artists may be expected to receive less money during the first sale. Considering the future royalties at resale, dealers or collectors might request a discount on the price. If the piece is resold several times, and royalties are enough to make up for the initial loss, the artists can get financial benefits from the resale rights. However, such possibility is very low. The increase in value seldom happens, and the majority of artworks rarely sell more than once.

Resale rights are remote beneficial for most artists. Far from providing benefits to younger or emerging artists, a small number of well-established artists get the benefits. The British lobby group, Artists Against Droit de Suite, which includes David Hockney, Karel Appel, and Emma Sargeant, says that the scheme, while designed to benefit the artists, creates an inequality between famous artists and struggling artists. Most contemporary art is not resold at all since there is barely any market for it. The artists whose works are resold are generally hot or commercially successful. According to a research conducted in the UK, the top 20 artists received 40 of the total collected resale royalties, and the top 10 of artists shared 80
royalties.

The art industry can be weakened by the resale rights. The law is a disincentive for anyone buying or selling the artworks, thereby, deterring those collectors buying the artworks. Having a speculative motivation, collectors will see buying art as less attractive, if more expenses are needed to sell art. In addition, the registration of transfer of works will violate the owners right to maintain the ownership and privacy. Rational sellers or buyers will naturally search for a way to evade payment and maximize profits. They will transfer the artwork to non-royalty countries, such as Switzerland or Hong Kong and prefer underground sale of artworks, which means damage to the art market in the U.S. It cannot be underestimated that Sothebys terminated its operations in Los Angeles after the introduction of royalties in California.

A number of practical problems exist. The administrative costs and burdens associated with the resale of royalties are significantly generated. Administering the collection and distribution of royalties require an extensive infrastructure to work properly and effectively. Besides, the monitoring of payments is also demanding. It is difficult to track the further sale of artworks, especially, in the case of private sale. Some countries levy resale rights only on public sales, but this is against equity.

The laws inalienability is also problematic. Though this was intended to reconcile an artists weak bargaining power, it negates the artists ability to waive this right. It opposes the common law tradition of free alienability of property. Artists in other creative industries are capable of waiving their rights.

Some people suggest that resale rights be required for an artist, but this reasoning is illogical. Firstly, the original intention of resale rights is no longer meaningful. Proponents of resale rights often invoke the example of Vincent Van Gogh. In fact, there are no more starving artists today. Artists can earn the same amount of money as other workers who have gone through similar training process. And todays artists become more socially attention-getting than the past. Secondly, there are diverse factors affecting the appreciation of artworks. It is true that the more famous an artist becomes, the more valuable a painting becomes. However, dealers, collectors, critics, or other players can influence the value of an artwork as well. Dealers in primary market support the artists by promoting the reputation of the artists. Sellers and buyers also support the artists. When collectors acquire a work, they become an integral part of an artists career. Sometimes, a prominent provenance, itself, may significantly drive up the price of a work. Thirdly, the analogy of copyright is false. Proponents argue that compared to other artists, such as authors, composers and actors, the visual artists are not able to benefit from the continuing commercial use of their works. However, in practice, the visual artists typically generate income from one-time transactions on durable goods whereas, novelists and songwriters are more likely to get income from further sales. Moreover, the visual artists already have a copyright about their artworks and can earn royalties from licensed reproductions, such as postcards, posters, and prints.

The first government mandated artists resale right (droit de suite) was put into effect in France in 1920.

Picture 1
The use of Photoshop here is preposterous. Like Jaime noted, the drop shadow on the ground does not match with the image itself. Instead of dropping directly at the back of the image, it should b have been a little to the side. It represents two different perspectives and it is too fake to be believed.

Picture 2
A terrible use of Photoshop. In an attempt to beautify a picture, we see here that the picture has been turned into what can never be real. The modification on the skin is way too much. Apart from this, it looks as if we have two left arms. The editing on the arm facing us is absurd. It waist is thinner than the body and the front perspective cant be distinguished from the back perspective. I am still wondering what the picture is trying to portray.

Picture 3
A description of this picture is unbelievable. Their head is bigger than their body. It looks like a comic strip in a newspaper. Their hands has been disproportionally edited to the extent that the does not fit a description of a hand. Their body seems disjointed and the overall picture lacks accuracy.

Picture 4
The picture is too blurred. There are irregularities in the picture are appalling. The leg of the lady to the left is irregular in the right leg. The tape strip is not edited equally. The right hand of the lady being measured is also longer than the left. The lighting effect is also irregular.

Picture 5
Thin waist, irregular arms, unequal legs are the first thing noticeable in the picture.  The visible hand has also been butchered to the extent that a glimpse tells it all  fake. The head is not even with the body and there are obvious lighting effect problems with the picture. Terrible use of Photoshop.

Picture 6
Wow Clean, detailed and believable. I agree that this is a good example of how Photoshop should be used. The picture is well edited with errors lacking. The positioning of the dragon, clasped around the fingers is perfect.

Picture 7
Great work. Although I dont understand what the picture means, I appreciate the energy infused into the work. Great work in the detailing aspect, resolution and lighting. On the whole, it looks pretty believable.

Picture 8
Another great Job in the use of Photoshop. The two images are brought together with ease and the definition of the picture is superb. There is no over-editing in the picture and the picture look so real.

Picture 9
The artist must have painstakingly designed this picture because of the balance in the definition of the picture. The dimension of the two pictures brought together is perfect. The picture managed the proportionately merge the man and the jar. A believable piece and a good use of Photoshop too.

Picture 10
Although the shadow on the ground does not tally with the image displayed, it still appeals to me as a good work. The editing was done without butchering the image of the apple. A good use of Photoshop altogether.

Roland Barthes is an outstanding French researcher, who wrote a number of investigative works, which deal with creative activity, imagery, texts and music. He was the one who dealt with rhetoric of image and signified that the author, who is the real father of any piece of art, is also closely connected to the historical background and many other figures The Death of Author, however, demonstrates that an author is not simply a person but a socially and historically constituted subject. Following Marxs crucial insight that it is history that makes man, and not, as Hegel supposed, man that makes history, Barthes emphasizes that an author does not exist prior to or outside of language. In other words, it is writing that makes an author and not vice versa (Christopher Keep, Tim McLaughlin, Robin Parmar, 2000). Another significant creation by Roland Barthes is Rhetoric of Image and he is the one who seek for the inner message in the imagery characteristic of the advertising, for example. The aim of this essay is to examine comparatively a piece of advertising (due to the works of the Roland Barthes this would be an advertisement of Panzani) and certain piece of arts (I have chosen text Friedrich Nietzsche Morality is Anti-Nature). The aim of this essay is to examine how imagery characteristics and so called the Death of Author are realized within the pages of a book and through the image in the advertisement.

Every image has a certain symbolism and provides some hints for the viewer to understand what the key message of the advertisement is or helps to create associative row with a certain culture, for example.
Now we concentrate on Panzani advertisement 2 packs of pasta, sausage, parmesan, tomatoes, onions, a mushroom and paprika  all these could be seen from the open string bag.  The whole picture is in yellow-green colors, the background of it is red (Barthes Roland, 1977). That is advertisement of Panzani analyzed by Roland Barthes. The present day imagery of Panzani has become more concrete yellow pasta, red tomatoes, green leaves of basil, and everything is placed on the white background. The two black and white pictures show people sitting around the table and enjoying pasta and cooks in the process of its preparation.  The messages sent to the reader as in the Barthes variant, as well as in contemporary one could easily signified with the help of analysis.

The first message is without any doubts of linguistic origin. It is formed with the help of the different pieces of language, which are mainly Italian. The messages on the bottom of the web page include well known Italian trademarks, it goes without saying that they all of Italian origin. In the Barthes times advertisement there were the names of different products written Italian, which signified linguistic message to the reader. The similarity between the two advertisements of different time is in the word Panzani, which is due to its linguistic form signifies not only the brand name but also the Italianism of the of the advertisement. Barthes signifies the linguistic message of this particular advertisement is of denotative and connotative character (Barthes Roland, 1977).

If we shift our attention away from the linguistic message, then we see the image as it is (including the messages on the products depicted). There we could find a whole row of discrete signs. At first, they cause a feeling of visiting a market, and this association cause existence of two emotionally valuable perceptions  the fresh meals and homemade cooking. The meaning is provided with the help of the bag, which is like a horn of plenty causes these associations (Barthes Roland, 1977). In the present day world advertisement of Panzani we see people around the table with already prepared meals, alongside with the cooks on the next photo is associated with eating out or quick and tasty preparation of pasta at home and it does not take a lot of time. The contemporary vision of the homemade meals has significantly changed. Now we prefer to order already made food in the restaurants or something that is cooked very quickly. Contemporary people do not spend much time at the kitchen and that is significant difference from the Roland Barthes times. We see that advertisement has significantly changed from the times it was analyzed by Mr. Barthes, hence the same discrete images are used to create associations, with tasty and quick dinner, with fresh products (we do not forget that on the background is ripe tomato and fresh green leaves of basil) either homemade or ordered in the restaurant.

The second sign is also lying on the surface its denotative is the tomatoes, paprika and pasta, three colored (yellow-green-red) advertising picture of Panzani, being more concrete on Italian manner. This sign is overwhelming compared to the connotative sign of linguistic message (Italian sound of the word Panzani). The knowledge this sign requires is more specific it is more foreign as the Italians themselves could hardly feel the connotative color of the word Panzani, as well as Italian taste of the tomatoes and paprika, which suppose knowledge of certain tourist stereotypes (Barthes Roland, 1977).  The contemporary presentation of the Italian sign is showed on background, which is why it is more concrete. On the white background we observe red tomatoes, green leaves of basil and yellow pasta. The association with the three-colored Italian flag is obvious, and the whole tourism stereotype is becoming more concrete. The people depicted on the both pictures have Southern type of appearance they seem to be the representatives of this sunny Southern country. The associative rows are observed in the whole image and its parts separately, but as Roland Barthes mentioned these signs are designed for the foreign target group, making it more recognizable among the representatives of the other nations.

We see that more than 30 years have passed the concept of Panzani advertisement has changed but it still has the same messages as it had earlier. When Roland Barthes analyzed it the author masterfully showed the mainstream ideas used in advertisement. But in the present day world homemade cooking is not so acute, that is why Panzani as contemporary and popular brand name has made a shift to be more attractive for the target group. That is probably the most significant difference of the present and the past models. But the core ideas were left still the same.

The following part of my essay is devoted to another critical work by Roland Barthes The Death of the Author that signifies that not the author forms text but the text forms the author. I have chosen Friedrich Nietzsche as one of the most contradictory philosophers of the Modern Era, but it goes without saying that his contribution in the number of philosophical questions is one of the most significant.

Speaking about his essay Morality Is Anti-Nature, I would like to make a stress on the fact, that the author provides strong and supportive evidence to the fact that the question of morality has certain demands to the individuals. It has historical background to the times Nietzsche lived. It was the time of significant changes and shifts.  And the same time it was demanding to refuse from certain essential needs such as passion Anti-natural morality  that is, almost every morality which has so far been taught, revered, and preached  turns, conversely, against the instincts of life it is condemnation of these instincts, now secret, now outspoken and impudent. When it says, God looks at the heart, it says No to both the lowest and the highest desires of life, and posits God as the enemy of life. The saint in whom God delights is the ideal eunuch. Life has come to an end where the kingdom of God begins (Nietzsche, 1895). It would be essential to note that this quotation perfectly illustrates whom Nietzsche considered to be the core propagandist of the Anti-Natural Morality. The influence of church at his times was very significant and this essay made Nietzsche rebel among those who followed religious dogmas as he was strongly associated with his creative works. According to Roland Barthes it was one of the core mistakes.

Let us finally consider how naive it is altogether to say Man ought to be such and such Reality shows us an enchanting wealth of types, the abundance of a lavish play and change of forms  and some wretched loafer of a moralist comments No Man ought to be different. He even knows what man should be like, this wretched bigot and prig he paints himself on the wall and comments, Ecce homo But even when the moralist addresses himself only to the single human being and says to him, You ought to be such and such he does not cease to make himself ridiculous (Nietzsche, 1895). He proclaimed freedom of choice. This particular text made him one step higher than the human masses, who blindly followed the oppressive norms and dogmas of morality, despising and blaming for essential things. This particular piece of writing could hardly correspond to the average image of the German citizen at the end of the 19th century. Speaking about parochialism, Nietzsche put himself out of the oppressive norms.

Nowadays the norms of morality went far beyond the church and every one of us could personally decide what is good and what is evil. Each of us understands the necessity of science and physiological processes, which could be regarded as immoral from the church point of view.  Nietzsches thoughts and ideas are the propaganda of so called freedom of will. I think he meant that humanity has developed so far that it does not already need an institution such as church. We teach ourselves how to live and what is good and what is not, we have already grown up higher than the institution is and every one of us could have different system of evaluation. We have different opinion on the different subjects. It has become norm of our life we have gone far from the norms of dogmatic morality of the church which oppressed people by certain rules and norms that did not correspond to the norms of life.

Speaking about the Death of the Author theory I would like to make a stress that the Nietzsches theory is an individualist theory.  Describing the current state of things and analyzing the Bible, he reveals the inner sacred meaning, hidden  we do not need oppressive norms, rules and dogmas anymore.  We have grown up and went much more father than the institution dictating the norms of morality, especially observing the fact that some of them confront to the essential needs of every one of us. These dogmatic moralities confronts to the physiological and psychological needs of contemporary individual. Nietzsche calls those who reject the understanding and perception of dogmatic morality  immoralists and my mates agree with him and so do I, as the reduce of the set norms was considered to be immoral. Hence I could hardly agree to the fact of immorality in the present day world. The attitude to the subject has changes as Nietzsche predicted. The number of immoralists has grown so far that they provide personal view and understanding of such contradictory question of morality. Someone could say that Nietzsches ideas are not already acute, but I could not agree with this statement as the basis of contemporary norms of morality and attitude to the question of dogmatic morality of church was formed due to the Nietzsches reduce the oppressive influence of the church on morality question and its denying of the essential parts of human life calling them immoral.
Every word of this essay, revealing the authors position and the same time kills author by the significance of the discussed problem.  More than a hundred years passed but the problem of oppressive morality is still acute. The author died, but his literary heritage is left. Every word of this essay, a burning word of protest to oppressive morality, which sentenced essential things to be heresy and sins, now reduced.  The same time the reader should remember that the author and his essay are two separates. Reflecting his protest, the author continues his path, the work is left behind hence it could be left attractive.  Criticizing the current state of things Nietzsche aimed on social attraction, to the question, but not to his person.  His rebel thoughts revealed in this essay, does not characterize him as revolutionary activist, but philosopher who was not indifferent to the destiny of his nation.

There are three main different types of art, namely visual arts, performing arts and literary arts. All these three are distinct and each of them has different categories under it. Literary arts cover the area of poetry, novels, short stories and so forth performing arts include all genres of music and theatre and visual arts covers the area of paintings, sculptures, textile arts among others (Tilman 6).

This paper focuses on a type of visual art known as pop art. The paper will answer the question how does pop art celebrate or critique popular culture It will give relevant examples on whether pop art celebrates or criticizes popular culture. If it does both, then supporting examples will be given to illustrate how it has achieved both.

What is Pop Art
The concept of pop art was first used in the early 1950s in Britain but later on spread to other parts of Europe and the world (Tilman 6). Tilman further points out that pop art is not a one type of art style like poetry rather, it is a combination of various styles of visual arts whose main theme is about lifestyle and culture. Unlike abstract art, which appeared lifeless but with full of hidden meanings, pop art is realist. It expresses emotions with the scholarly and theoretical strategy. Pop arts take a cultural and imagery approach some examples include Japanese pop art, American pop art, and British pop art (Esaak, 2010).

Japanese pop art blends traditional aspects (art and animation) with modern features borrowed from American and British pop art. It also incorporates comic books, consumer products and popular cultures (Visual-art-cork). Just like the Japanese pop art, the British pop art draws its themes and techniques from fashionable mass culture. However, the difference between these two forms of pop arts is that whereas the Japanese form of pop art incorporates traditional aspects, British Pop art does not.

The American pop art mainly features commercial printmaking techniques like screen printing. It is a more inclusive form of art than the traditional art which was mainly abstract and also incorporated mass culture (Visual-art-cork). The difference between the American and British pop art is that the concept of British pop art came about after a group of artists opposed the modernist art, design and architecture in the 1950s. They were formally members of the Independent Group (IP). On the contrary, American pop art used visual details to express the face of the American culture (Massey).

Does Pop Art Celebrate or Critique Popular Culture
The invention of pop art has changed the way of business advertising. Most pop arts come in forms of bill board advertisements and television commercials which are fun to look at and informative at the same time.

Pop Artists and the American Culture
Auctions point out that most American pop art does not criticize the popular culture, but rather celebrates it. He sites Wayne Thiebaud as one of the artists who uses food stuffs like pies and sandwiches as well as toys and beauty products to portray the picture of the American society as well as celebrate it. This helped him earn a National Medal of Arts in 2001 from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (A.A.I.A.L) (106). His works are still being celebrated in various museums and exhibitions in America. Apart from Wayne Thiebaud, another famous American pop artist is Andy Warhol, who is remembered for his artistic quote In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes (Esaak).

Andy Warhol celebrated American culture by developing the concept of printing (projecting) photographic images to a silk screen. In addition to that, he invented the concept of using common objects (tins, bottles, scrap metals) to portray art. One of his pieces, Green Car Crash, earned more than   36.3 Million when it was put on display (Esaak).

Stuart Davis is another pop artist who incorporated the use of modern materials like cigarette packets and spark plug advertisement to come up with a new form of pop art known as proto-pop art. Other great American pop artists are Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Johns and Tom Wesselmann. They designed art that drew upon symbols and images found in the media (Esaak).

To the Americans, pop art is a reflection of their lifestyle therefore, pop art has helped the American to tell the rest of the world about the culture and way of living.

Pop Artists and the British Culture
British pop art was first put into practice in the early 1950s and since then it has been a dynamic form of art with new improvements coming up as years progress. The list of British pop artists who celebrate or criticize the popular culture is endless, and some of the great artists are highlighted next.

Lawrence Alloway As an art critic of different cultures, Lawrence Alloway helped in the development of both the British and American Pop arts in the early and late 1950s. He gave a positive criticism of the works of the great Paollozi and William Turnbull among others. Years after he left the Independent Group and passed on in1990, his reviews and criticism articles on various pop art works continue to be read (Massey).
David Hockney This British pop artist is famed for his popular pop canvas pieces of art like the Malibu (1986), Pool with Two Figures (1971) and Pearblossom (1986) among others. He mainly expresses his pop art using the canvas as the main surface and he has perfected this skill. As an artist, he has used pop art to celebrate the various cultural aspects of British culture and lifestyle. He has worked with the experienced Andy Warhol and this contribution to the pop art world has been great (Hockney). David is also an accomplished photographer and costume designer.

Another legend British pop artist was Richard Hamilton. As a member of the Independent Group, he bridged the gap between science and art in the organization. He is celebrated for the many exhibitions and his critics on pop art and also his Man, Machine and Motion exhibition he organized in 1955, which was as a result of his fascination of speed and travel (Massey).

During the invention of pop in Britain, the British were all over the world colonizing other nations however they successfully managed to use pop art to show their positive side. This helped them earn admirers in Europe as well as other nations around the world.

Apart from British and American pop artists, there are also artists from other cultures. For instance, Takashi Murakami specializes in Japanese culture especially animation and sculptures. One of his most celebrated works is the Otaku which is science fiction based. As a result, he chose to use animations as a way of expressing it (Murakami). It is good to note that Japanese pop art mainly focused on the cultural aspect of the Japanese, the artists strived to show case the Japanese culture that many people did not know and they have managed to do this.

Modern Pop Art
The evolution of pop art from 1950s has been progressing steadily. In modern world, pop art is mass culture and mass culture is pop art. The two are inseparable. This is referred to as media pop art. Some of media pop artists include Nicky Carvell, Adham Faramway and Nathan James (Praxmarer).

It is however important to note that there are different types of modern day (media) pop art cultures commercial, political and social. Each of these forms of pop art cultures when used by the curator conveys a different message to the public (Praxmarer). Praxmarer further observes that unlike the early years when the main centers of pop art exhibitions were museums and art galleries, the modern day pop art exhibitions can be visited in different ways. There are the Internet based exhibitions which include YouTube and other websites, and pop music concerts which provide entertainment and at the same time display pop art pieces.
The modern day exhibitions have enabled curators display their products without the need of moving them from one location to the other.  The change of pop art is as a result of innovations in technology (Praxmarer).
Advantages of Media Pop Art

Praxmarer states that the modern pop art has simplified the way ideas are expressed in comparison to the past. Some of the advantages of pop art include the fact that a media pop art curator is able to display a single piece of art to millions of people all over the world. This has been made possible by the use of Internet as a channel of communication. Secondly, the modern day technology can help the curator to modify or alter his works and come up with new variations of the same piece. Thirdly, it is easy and faster for the curator to sell his pieces through online bidding and paying. Finally, the media pop art has helped in creation of harmony between different cultures American, British, Japanese and so on.  Curators have been able to use the relevant techniques to come up with pieces of art that combine all these cultures and many more.

Limitations of Media Pop Art
The media pop art has its limitations too (Praxmarer). Some of which include the pint that conservative curators and pop art critics believe some of the pieces of work are undeveloped and shallow. This has been one of the main limitations facing media pop artists. In addition, there is also an increase in counterfeit pop art products in the market. This has hindered some curators from displaying and marketing their products since most counterfeit pieces of art are sold at cheap prices. This is mostly done by young, aspiring but inexperienced curators.

Impact of Media Pop Art on the Society
Apart from the advantages that pop art confers on the curators, the public and advertisers have also greatly benefited from these great inventions. Media pop art has helped in the growth and development of the entertainment and advertising industry since it is through the media that most curators are able to market their pieces (Massey).  The public on the other hand has had an easier time to view several artifacts on display, and for those who wish to purchase them, they can do so online.

The media pop art has played a great role in the creation of job opportunities. Unlike before where creating a pop art was based on talent and ability to paint and use the canvas or other medium, media pop art is based on computer knowledge and ability to use specific pop art making programs like Photoshop (Massey). This has enabled young creative entrepreneurs to come up with unique designs of artifacts. They are also able to convert the ancient hard copies of pop art into soft copy. This has enabled most art lovers to be able to view the pop artifacts that they would never have imagined seeing. However, most of them are just for viewing and cannot be purchased.

Pop artists and curators have also experienced some obstacles in their life of duty (Esaak). Lack of creativity is one thing that has watered down this process. Most artists design pieces that are flat and do not have the emotional touch. Most visual artist also cannot transform one idea into the other, that is, visual artists who have specialized in photography are not able to transform the photography into a physical model or pop art. This narrows down their client base.

Pop art has evolved from Andy Warhol to Nathan James. The impact of pop art has been felt in many quarters of the society.  Through pop art, different cultures have been integrated into one, the Japanese and the British have come together because of art.

Pop art has celebrated all these cultures for many years, although it has criticized some substandard pieces of art.  With the invention of new technologies and equipment, the future of pop art looks bright. Artists though need to be more creative and come up with ordinal ideas and pieces of work since imitation of someone elses work kills the core meaning of art  creativity and innovation.

If a still image can speak, it will tell you stories that will capture your imagination. It can describe how the photographer feels when taking the shot it can also explain the emotions by the subjects to which the photograph has been taken, what the ambience of the location was and what the main feelings are during the poses. Even if the subject of the picture is not a living thing, that subject can be brought to life by the amazing shot captured by the master photographer. Composition and lighting have also contributed to the message the image wants us to understand. But then again still images cannot speak...

Which leaves us the viewers create our own perception on what might the photo means. This has led to often wrong conclusions for those uninitiated by what the art offers. An image after being viewed can have different meanings, from different people some are quite far from the truth and others almost grasping it. The one, who really knows it and even feels the work, is the person at the back of the lens.

One artist who really understands and definitely has passion for her work is Nancy Goldin, popularly known as Nan Goldin, she is an epitome of an artist who works at the most intimate level her life is her work and her work, her life. It is nearly impossible to talk about Goldins photographs without referring to their subjects by name, as though the people pictured were ones own family and friends. It is this intimate and raw style for which Goldin has become internationally renowned. Her snapshot-esque images of her friends -- drag queens, drug addicts, lovers and family -- are intense, searing portraits that, together, make a document of Goldins life (Anon 2002).

Biography
Born on the capital city of the US,  Washington DC on the 12th of September 1953 (Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. 1994-2008). She left home at 14 as she lived in foster homes and attended an alternative school in Lincoln, Massachusets. On an article Jerry Saltz (n.d.) for Artnet Magazine, Nan Goldin explained that during the time she get out from home she has found her own family.On 1964 she wanted a alternate family for her own blood relations, this was after her notions of the existence of romantic love between the sexes and the sadness that enveloped her during the mourning of the death of a sister who committed suicide.She was fostered by a variety of families and soon she have found a family by becoming part of a group of isolated young men and women who were deeply involved with lifestyle of sex, drugs and violence (Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. 1994-2008).

Starting Photography
Nan Goldin who have been probably influenced by the work of American photographer Larry Clark- known for his photo documentary illustrating his young friends drug use in black and white(Hilgenfeld 2005).Goldin took up photography after a teacher introduced her to the camera in 1968 in Boston (donalfall n.d.).She also decided to study photography in order to preserve her sisters memories, in which basically set the tone for much of her life and work(same donalfall n.d.) . Together with friends, Goldin explored the aesthetics of fashion photography, her first published works in 1973 were black-and-white images of transvestites and transsexuals (Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. 1994-2008). Goldin admired these people for their truthfulness and special confidence that is why she strove for a documentary and objective depiction of them. Later Goldin brought her pictures from this scene together in her book The Other Side. After studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Tufts University in Boston, she moved on to color photography and has worked mostly with Cibachrome prints (Coote 1978).

Early Works
A documentation and reinterpretation of intimate moments between her friends and those she has chosen as her replacement family was basically Goldins early works. During this time she embarked on an enormous portrait of her life, making hundreds of colour transparencies of herself and her friends lying or sitting in bed, engaged in sexual play, recovering from physical violence against them, or injecting themselves with drugs (Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. 1994-2008)

Her work related to her relationships
Its just not about the picture Nan Goldin takes, but on how she uses those pictures to create a story and provide is viewers a glimpse of her reality. Her photographs are her lifes records capturing every moment represented on her world. During the 80s she set herself on moving to New York, living in a loft on the Bowery, she immersed herself n that citys underground club and music scene(Garratt 2002). Goldin documented everything drunken parties, relationships good and bad, evidence of beatings, all of which created an intense portrait of a close-knit group of friends Only a few galleries at that time ever showed photography, and Nan had modest expectation of earning her bread from her art. She lived cheaply and earned money working in a bar, exhibiting her pictures in underground venues as slide shows set to music(same as Garratt 2002).One of her, if not the most legendary work which was first shown in the clubs of New Yorks artistic society,  is The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1979-2001). In this Goldins work, she has explained in her introduction the problem of bridging the gender divide, when both male and female are incapable of unconditional love and honest communication (Goldin et al.1986). It is a illustrative diary chronicling the hardships for intimacy and comprehension between friends and lovers collectively described by Nan Goldin as her tribe.(Koriin n.d.) Pivotal to this piece of work was her own destructive and dependent relationship with a man named Brian(Art Institute Chicago 2006).Photos of Brian shows a character straight out of central casting, the perfect shuffle-footed prison drama junkie punk (Gottschalk 1996). It was also known that Brian would eventually beat her so bad that ended up leaving him (same as Gottschalk 1996). In an interview with Sheryl Garratt, Nan has said it was really very hard for her to live knowing that the person you loved had tried to kill you, so she constantly snorted drugs and was always on the road, showing her slide show all over the world and consequently making enemies everywhere(Goldin 2002) The book version of The Ballad (1986) explores relationships and includes such revealing images as Self-Portrait with Brian Having Sex, Nan and Brian in Bed, and Nan One Month after Being Battered (Nordstrm n.d.).

Rehab
During the years from 1986 to 1988, Goldin described  that those were one of the darkest years in her life, after being nearly battered to death in a hotel room in Berlin by his former lover Brian in which she needed  major surgery in her left eye (same as Gottschalk 1996).She barely took any pictures during that time  and ended up isolated in the Bower loft she lived in with another cruel and sadistic  man, in which she also stated that he was not her lover but a fellow comrade  in drugs who makes her life more miserable (same as Gottschalk 1996).

Feeling in despair, she admitted herself in rehab losing her beloved camera and a copy of her famous work the Ballad as it was taken away from her upon admission to the facility. She felt devastated and thought that she might never took pictures again as she felt her the camera and her work was being tossed away and a part of her life was lost.In her own statement during an interview with Sheryl Garratt, Nan stated People whove had a long history with drugs, after rehab they get very involved in staying sober, and many of them dont work again as artists. They believe the mythology that drugs were their inspiration, and people will feed that, too. When you get clean, theyll tell you that youre boring and you cant work any more because they cant live off you any more, they cant suck your blood, they cant expect you to provide them with their vicarious life. I was very hurt that way.(same as Garratt 2002).

But rehab helped Nan see a new light, before she usually photographs with any available light  and most of the time in dark hotel rooms and underground clubs, but upon her sobriety she begin to have a fresh perspective with the new light. The Natural light in which reflects a different side of Nan Goldin as this she rebuild herself with her camera and shifts her life to a more placid yet outstanding time.It is in this facility she created many images of herself. Photographs such as My Bedroom at the Lodge, Self-portrait in front of clinic, and Self-portrait with milagro reveal an introspective Goldin, somewhat humbled by her experiences at the hospital.

New Light
It was not just the detoxification clinic that have changed Nans focus, it was also the moment that here friends were struggling with their battle of an infamous disease AIDS. Perhaps most important of these friends was Cookie Mueller, a friend since 1976, the year in which Goldin started photographing her. Goldins series, entitled The Cookie Portfolio, is comprised of 15 portraits of Cookie, ranging from those taken at the parties of their youth to those from Cookies funeral in 1989 (The Art Institute of Chicago 2006). During the next few years, Goldin continued to photograph her slowly dwindling circle of friends, many of whom were afflicted with AIDS ( same as Anon 2002). She showed these photographs in many group exhibitions across the country and around the world and spent a year in Berlin on a DAAD grant, sponsored by a German organization that brings artists to Berlin ( Art Directory n.d.).  Her photographs now are focused on investigating issues of Drug addiction and recovery, the effects of AIDS, and the reconstruction of personal identity and community (Naggar 1992).

Nan Goldins photographs act as a diary in which she records specific times in her life, from the exploration of aesthetics of fashion photography for Drag queens and their activities, through the passing of dark point in her life living in New York as a battered woman with drug addiction, her self-portraits of her transformation to sobriety in the detoxification clinic and the part of her life when friends she loved the most has been taken away by AIDS.There is no artist, and certainly no photographer, of this era has created a more symbiotic relationship between life and art than Nan Goldin ( The Art Institute of Chicago 2006). For 35 years she provided as with real life accounts of not only other people, but her own life as well.To Nan, her camera is a mirror, the pictures are a diary through which she change. Her pictures reverberate with multiple truths.While they challenge our assumptions their premise is always hope. She gives the images power by providing a authenticity of emotion than on formal composition. The viewer simply as if peering into someone elses diary, feels drawn in, becoming one of Nans subject. One of her friends (same as Naggar 1992).

Egyptian Art

Roman Period, 1st Century B.C.

The sculptor has combined line elements, to create an impressive sculpture. From the top of the papier-mch-like helmet we can observe thick dotted vertical lines that spread gracefully as it passes meeting a different contour down and ended there. The rest of the similar lines within the helmet go thinner as it emphasizes the form of the subjects face. Hieroglyphs written at the bottom of the chin of this image is sculpted horizontally to look more stable, and probably diverting the viewers eyes from the active vertical lines of the helmet from the face onto the writings. The hieroglyphs written on the bottom of the chin was transcribed by the author by using transparent lines and just enough weight on it to occupy the space, and not overlap the line edges of the entire helmet.

Mass
We could notice the combination of using cross-contour lines, and defining each by gradually increasing Line widths throughout the subject. The face of the subject if we will view this sideways we can see that it seems embossed as it protrudes from the helmet itself, this is done by the sculptor by using curvilinear lines that outlines the entire face and is separated by the edge of the contour of the helmet and the contour of the face. We can also observe that strands of hair appears to be in a mixture of red and black, in which the sculptor used cross-hatching lines to create areas of a darker value. The visual effect of dimensionality from the hem of the helmet was caused by using dynamic lines of different techniques of shading, which created an embossed circular shape that hangs beautifully at the base of the image.

Linear Perspective
Using the one point perspective looking from the top view, we can see the orthogonals receding from the vanishing point which is the centre piece on top. Looking at the front on the face of the subject the artist might have used the three point perspective as we can see that the figure has a combination of both vertical and horizontal lines that rarely if ever overlap one another, to provide a perfectly proportioned ensemble. The vanishing points up front could possibly be at the opposite edges of the whole structure.

Shape
The majority type of shapes used by the artist here is Geometric and objective shapes, the individual shapes of the face and the helmet by using different colours and value. There are a couple of implied shapes as well, the hieroglyphs on the base of the chin, and from the body as well, these shapes have their own similar and formal properties,the ones below the chin, are transparent figures transcribed through a horizontal plane, whilst the ones outside which can also be called volumes due to the amount of space taken are placed n both a vertical and horizontal plane, which explains the balance of the whole image. We can also notice an almost rectangular form of closure from the images shoulders to the base of the sculpture. Another remarkable detail in terms of shape here is the creation of the flower objects at the hem of the headdress, this we can signify that probably the face on this piece is a female, due to the feminine attributes of a flower.

FigureGround
The image is defined on a two dimensional surface as we can see the collection of shapes throughout the piece. The sculptor use of deep lines like the facevase concept here to give emphasis on the face of the mummy. We can see that the face per se is the negative space and the artist added curving contours to create the eyes and used extra width for the outline of both the eyes and eyebrows as it explains the style of how does ancient Egyptians look.

Composition
The artist in this piece created a lot of points of interest for viewers like us, but the first that I have noticed, is the mummys helmets intricate design. From the way the vertical lines are grouped together forming the contour leads all eyes first on the focal point of the mummys helmet, from there you can notice other points of interest like the udjat eye which symbolized the eye of Horus, which also is a symbol of protection and rejuvenation. We can also notice from this piece that moving from one point of interest to another creates a pause from our eyes natural movement, the artist may have deliberately created this for us to pay attention to each minute detail of  the whole figure.

Actual Texture
It is difficult to analyze the actual texture of this piece, if you cannot touch it or feel it surface, we can only assume that definitely the actual texture have been changed through time and other factors that may have left an indelible mark on its texture. Material composition or better yet its physical properties can be best described if it has been felt.From a distant vantage point though we could see it surface have probably abundant tactile qualities especially from all the carving of this material done by the artist.

Visual Texture
Since we cannot touch the artifact, it is hard to describe its actual texture, what we can however is to analyze its visual texture. I can imagine the artist painstakingly by hand carved every important detail of this piece. From the hieroglyphs, the images hair, the necklace worn and the ornate headdress communicates the message on how the artist is somewhat a perfectionist as he used simulation to have the feel of the works texture.

Pattern
The most significant pattern we could see here is from the mummy head cover itself, which is the vertical stripe pattern that sis placed side by side starting from the top until it reaches the hem, it has created a sense of glamour on the ornate piece. There is also the minor patter used on the hair which is the repeated us of the spiral patter to create it.

Light
As light projected on this image we can see the variety of dominant colors,  Starting from Gold as the base color, red and Green throughout the headdress and body.The entire piece probably doesnt have an additive or subtractive color due to its natural components.

Color
The pattern use of colors here are pretty much basic, as we can see that hue is the dominant trait , the variations of colors from light to dark could be incidental due to the length of time this piece have endured. But definitely the colors Gold, green and red are much significant and can be clearly seen.

Expressive Qualities
With the abundance of primary colors such as red and somehow yellowish or orange-like Gold, I consider my piece as warm.All the natural colors can just be observed as it advance in the picture plane.The natural colors even as we can observe some discoloration, has still retained a sense of regalia in it.

Optical Effects
The combination of colors here is just simply remarkable, especially a piece like this which is created centuries ago, each elemental part of this piece has its own designated color by the artist, mixed together equates to a vibrant masterpiece even unto this day.Perhaps theres no optical iilusion here, but the way the colors are perfectly mixed, keeps true to the message of the artist on indentifying exact details and appreciating its effect. Besides the complex headdress we can also notice the intricate nuances of the hieroglyphs at the base part of the image. The detail on it is quite truly remarkable. Including the hem of the headdress in which the center of each flower has its own yellow color to signify its liveliness.

Brief History about our piece
Our work of art is called the Mummy head cover, it was estimated to be as old as the Roman Period on 1st century BC.Early Egyptian Art was used exclusively from tombs and graves, which definitely has no purpose of decoration ( Fiero, n.d.)  However as time  passes the Egyptians have  created numerous tools for calculation  which leads to creation of a certain piece.  An example of that is a Module  in which is a standard of measurement of the Egyptians and used to determine proportions of the Human body ( same as Fiero, n.d.). From this they created hieroglyphs which immortalize ideas, examples of such is the conjunction of images and words ( same as Fiero n.d.).

The use of face coverings for the dead continued in Egypt for as long as mummification was practiced in Egypt. Regional preferences included cartonnage and plaster masks, both of equal popularity during the Ptolemaic (Greek) period. The cartonnage masks became actually only one part of a complete set of separate cartonnage pieces that covered the wrapped body. This set included a separate cartonnage breastplate and foot case. During the Roman period, plaster masks exhibit Greco-Roman influence only in their coiffures, which were patterned from styles current at the imperial court. This included both beards and mustaches for males, and elaborate coiffures on women, all highly molded in relief (Anon n.d.)

However, during the Roman period there were alternatives to the cartonnage or plaster mask. Introduced during this period were the so-called Fayoum portraits, which were initially unearthed from cemeteries in the Fayoum and first archaeologically excavated in 1888 and between 1910 and 1911 by Flinders Petrie at Hawara (same as Anon n.d.)

From the artifact we have noticed the hieroglyphs, the symbol flowers, the necklace, the ornate headdress and probably the most controversial of all the Eye of Horus, all of these elements are combined by the artists to depict possibly the identification of the mummy, by  first defining its gender through symbols ( flowers), defining its class, hieroglyphs and necklace and finally its own culture and belief, with the Eye of Horus.

The layer of covering for the head of a mummy portrays a highly idealized portrait of a lady donning a heavy wig. The front sections of her hair are braided and ornamented with golden beads and rosettes. The fringe of the womans own hair appears as curls along her forehead. She wears a locket like ornament in the form of the hieroglyph for heart. Her chest is covered with the representation of a wide collar made of rows of floral and geometric ornaments. This lower margin is decorated with a scene of Osiris seated on his throne, flanked by a pair of protective deities, and an image of the deceased (shown kneeling) followed by the so-called four sons of Horus, who were associated with the protection of the vital organs of the mummy. Isis and Nephthys, the divine sisters of Osiris who act as mourners for the deceased, appear on the shoulders. These head coverings provide a substitute for the vital facilities of the head, but the gilt-covered surface of the mask also served to identify the deceased with the sun god Re, whom the Egyptians described as having skin of gold (The Art institute of Chicago 1998.)

Egyptian funerary Art has an inseparable connection to the belief that life continues after Death. Hence , to make the voyage between the previous life to the next, portraits and other record of things should be preserved (same as Fiero n.d.)

Yayoi Kusama can be described as one of the most dominant artists in Japan in the 2960s and also in the modern era. She was born in Matsumo in 1929. Her desire for drawing and painting led her to plot her escape from Japan with the help of art magazine after entering the black market American embassy into the seams of her clothes. She then latter arrived the united states in New York City in the year 1958.  There is when she began to develop her career as an artist (Malcolm, 2003). Her artwork was experienced when she infiltrated the Museum of the Modern arts sculpture garden with a bunch of naked co-conspirators to perform her so called Grand Orgy to Awaken the Dead.

In the United States she showed a lot of large paintings, soft sculptures and environmental sculptures by using electric lights and mirrors. In the late 1960s she had showed some many happenings that included body painting festivals, fashion shows and anti-war demonstrations. Then she launched some of her media related activities such as film production and news paper publications. In the year 1968 she produced a film titled the kusamas self-operation that had won the Second Meryland Film Festival and also won the Ann Ardor Festival (Farris, 1998).

She returned to Japan in the year 1973. There she produced a number of novels and anthologies while still continuing with her work of producing and showing the art works. She wrote a novel that won the Tenth Literary Award for the New Writers from the monthly magazine of Yasei Jidai (Pamela, 1999). The title of the novel was  The hustlers Grotto of Christopher Street.

She began to create open-air sculptures in 1994. This is the time that she went on and produced the Fukuoka Municipal Museum of Art, the Kirishima Open-Air museum, Matsumoto City Museum of Art, the Bunka-mura on the Benesse of Art, and finally the Fukuoka Municipal Museum of Art. In the 1966 she began to show her works at the main galleries in New York. There was a solo show that was held in the same year that won the Best Gallaries show in 199596 and the Best Gallery show in the year 199697 from the international Association of Art Critics in the year 1996 (Lumpkin, 2000).

When Yayoi Kusama arrived in New York, she realized that she had to market herself. That is the time that she reclined nude on the beds of the phalluses for the photographers, but hers was just a mere self-promotion. Therefore, her relentless work was able to replace the self that she could not control with a new self as she describes it this tortured her nameless dreads and the hallucinations (Mario, 2001). So whenever she worked in her artwork she used to photograph them throughout her works.

Though she had spent some time in Europe for a decade and that she was seemingly forgotten in the United States, she later moved to The Hague in 1973. After this she returned to Japan where she committed herself voluntarily to a psychiatric hospital where she continued living there while commuting herself to Tokyo.
In 1989, her appearance in the Venice Biennale brought about the rise in the interest in her college and installation work, especially in America where a number of young artists were influenced by her works.
In the Kusamas sculptures, the qualities of her paintings were expressed in three dimensions. Some of the household furniture, womens clothes, and high-heeled shoes of the women were covered by the bristling fields of the fiber-stuffed phallic forms that are painted in monochrome white, silver, or bronze. The other objects are covered with macaroni pasta and also painted with gold (Farris, 1998).

Among Yayoi Kusamas works is the infinitely net painting. She described it as the paintings that are without the beginning, end or the center. These nets represent the accumulation of the connected, though individually applied, crescent-shaped brush strokes of a think paint. The marks show a curving in the same direction that is gradually shifting up, down, left and right. They arrange themselves into a congregation that enlarge and go out across the painting. The comparison that is close to their structure can be found in nature where the visible matter clusters around the invisible points of gravity.

The result is a design that is not random or systematic (Malcolm, 2003). A clear view of the Kusama paintings is that one of a river in which the rise, fall, and direction of the glistering surface is being made by the riverbeds topography.

In close examination of the painting is the diffusion of the opulent monochrome paint that is interrupted systematically by openings in the net that are very small, the organic variations of the circles and ovals through which there is the canvas underlying. On the other hand the accurate and perceptual exchange that occurs between the materiality of the painted net and the pictorial space is the heart of the infinity nets.

It therefore follows that the effects of the infinity nets by Kusama are complex and also simple. This is because it is essentially produced by the combination of two parallel lines that are somehow close to one another and that also there are some points that merge at the surface plane and others that emerge diverge at a slight distance from the surface place. Therefore, this interaction between the background and the net causes her work to be alternating between the infinity of the pictorial space and the presence of the material surface (Lumpkin, 2000).

The Kusamas infinity net painting is described as aesthetic and spiritual affinities that have abstraction expressionism. These paintings and gestures are grand, boisterous and directional and also they are unpretentious and repetitive without relinquishing their individuality. The infinity nets move to a more direct perceptual experience from pictorialism which is a painting that suggests a vicarious experience.

Therefore, this is a black-on-black painting that boldly interprets all the pictorial spaces and that confronts the viewer with an abundant opticality and a trapped materiality of the paint itself.  The paint shows its iconic stillness by using the square format. In addition to that by considering the fact that the impasto of each brush mark, that takes both the light, of which is both natural and artificial, makes us to read the painting as something that is having an expanse of darkness (Pamela, 1999). The various aspects of the paintings surface will assert themselves when the light condition changes over a given duration of time.

Another painting that was done by Yayoi Kusama is that one of the Women Waiting for Spring. This showed a series of white silkscreen print canvases that are fifty in number, each which is being printed in an edition of five. These images are seen to be moving between the abstraction and the figuration that include the female faces, child like bodies and the long-lashed eyes that appear in the profile. This painting showed a grid like presentation of the of a salon style method of display that emphasizes about the enormity of the series of labor and also the labor intensity of these womens practice.

This image shows a large number of black and white canvases that are displayed evenly. In other words she said that that means the environment which is an attempt to create a world by showing the canvases that are rectangular-shaped (Farris, 1998). In her painting of the Women Waiting for Spring she layered a multiple of feminine profiles that appear not to have the differentiating features such as the colored hair, dimples, or even the eye brows. Instead of including these, she instead filled the profile with heavily patterned and densely accumulated eyes that form a blanket covers the faces suggesting a universal female identity. When doing all her paintings she first of all used a marker pen and then the works are then transferred to the silkscreen for printing. She did this in order to make the paintings durable and conservable.

Yayoi Kusama had a diversified range of paintings in which she did. Among the most influential painting of them is the painting of the Whilst Walking Piece.  This image shows Kusama traversing the streets of New York in the traditional Japanese dress. Her original work was documented in a 24 color slides that are having images of the unfolding performance (Mario, 2001).

Here she draws the attention of her own isolation by being able to contrast the exotic, colorful kimono that were opposing the faded streets, bullrings, and the suburb of the city of New York in the United States. From this picture drawing, there have also been some highlights of the issues of gender and race which were the aspects of identity that led to an increasingly difficulty in her success in the art world.

Therefore the Whilst Walking Piece is well understood as an insight into what was felt by the artist as isolation and also can be considered as a commentary on a cultural stereotype. Here Kusama had taken the role of the exotic, oriented woman in the work and from her femininity she is seen to be around the streets and under an umbrella cover of flowers (Lumpkin, 2000). This practice uses satire to bring about the role of a feminine character and also on the other hand uses it to promote herself as an artist and also mainly in the promotion of her artwork.

On the image she brings about a distinction between a grocery shop front of the various advertisements and what she embodies as a delicate foreign woman, here her character is bought about to be against the mass grid that can produced in the supermarket  advertising. In addition to that there is another still that she appears to be crying hence covering her face with the sleeves of the Kimono that she leans against a harsh and grided brick wall (Pamela, 1999).

The Waking Piece moreover, shows how her personality and the identity as becoming as an integral part in the art practice that has on the other hand continued to be explored throughout her various performances and happenings and also her career. From her artistic works she is seen to be an example of an artist that deals with the successive struggles of the living and working in the foreign country and environment at the same time successfully examining the role of the artist in the provision of the social and commentary.

Though Yayoi Kasuma might be getting older she is deemed to be enthusiastic about the creation of the artwork. Her consistent approach to the work of art has extended a great influence on the art of work in the United States and the European artists, as well as other artists. Her ever inexhaustible energies continue to evolve throughout her lifetime beyond the limit of her body as she says (Malcolm, 2003). The incredible beauty beyond humanity for which she says love forever had been struggling thought her life with an everlasting language.

Kusama describes herself as being an obsessive artist this is because her work shows a fixation with the repetition, pattern and accumulation. Apart from holding an integral and complex role in the art history and also in the society, she has been highly influential to the society and other artists and designers (Farris, 1998). From her peculiar perception, originality and uncompromising vision has brought about her respect as the most acclaimed contemporary artist today.

Yayol Kusamas passion for the dots does not arise from the pop influence but from the sensitive observation she had developed for the world. Her ink drawing that was executed before she arrived in the US shows a random black dot on the sheet of a yellow paper and marks the origin of the infinitely net that inspired the memories of the a red flower pattern  dissolving and accumulating, profiteering and separating.

There is that perspective that Yayoi Kusama is being fanatical with sex and that the rounded, conical forms that comes from the surface are arbitrary phallic. This is less expected from a female artist as it is being viewed as the male art critics writing. There is a great effort to show her as the Pop artist, a sixties icon that involves love with things that are synthetic (Pamela, 1999).

In the 1960s the media accused her committing the artistic charlatanry. This is because that her happenings a combination of body paintings, nude dressings and orgiastic confusion. The vocabulary that she might have appropriately described was not yet available. The fact that the numerous public actions in which the artist was involved, the relentless expense of her own resources had been argued to have led to the emotional breakdown in the early 1970s. This physical breakdown and the emotional effort that was required by the performance artists did not command the respect it deserved.

There have been some critics about her work as being mnimalistic, feminism, obsessive, surrealism, art brut, and abstract expressed. In reference to this her work has not been with any close association with the entoptics till the present time (Mario, 2001). It is though bard to be able to imagine that there is any other explanation that is brings any evident reasons for between her paintings and the genre.

She is therefore, one of the female artists that have motivated the society and also influencing women in the utilization of their talents.