Name: Liao Xiangting Jasmine

ID: A01294935

Date: 2 May 2012

Contemporary Arts & Society

TEC-MARCO Library Art Exhibit
After countless times of passing by the art exhibit at the library, I finally stopped to take a look at the pieces, albeit with an assignment on hand. It dawned upon me that this is exactly the way Art is in todays globalizing society. People are so busy with their daily lives, they hardly stop to smell the flowers and appreciate the beauty around them. After taking this course, I feel that I am in a much better position to judge the beauty of Art in technical terms and to reflect upon the context that produces such compelling artwork. A huge painting caught my eye the moment I reached Level 2 the art piece by Ramiro Martinez. Another similarly theme also caught my eye. And in this essay, I will be evaluating these two pieces with first a formal analysis, followed by a content analysis.

THE RACE

Ramiro Martinez Plasencia The Race 2009 Mexico

Formal Analysis Line: Extremely descriptive, thin Form: Flat and extremely realistic Color: Monochromatic Tonal value: Sharp contrast

CRANEO HIPOPOTAMO

Claudio Bravo Crneo Hipoptamo 2007 Lithograph 29 1/2 x 41 3/4 inches

Formal Analysis Line: Extremely descriptive, thin Form: Flat and realistic Color: Monochromatic Tonal value: Sharp contrast CONTENT ANALYSIS Both pieces are similar in techniques, are hyperrealistic and extremely detailed in their paintings. Further, there is similarity in their themes. Both pieces are about animals, Martinezs piece about a cow and Bravos piece about a hippopotamus. Despite the similarities, the The Races theme is to capture an impression of a girl running away from a cow. The title itself is ironic, in a sense that there is in fact no race. The cow is stationery and merely watching the little girl who was running away. Bravos piece is a stationery piece about death. This piece truly tests the drawing techniques as the lines are extremely intricate. PERSONAL REFLECTION I personally really love these two pieces as Ive always been fascinated with hyperrealism works and these two artists have encapsulated the essence of such techniques. After some research about Bravos work, I believe Bravo had drawn the piece with the intention of nationalism. Craneo Hipopotamo is one of the native animals found in Morocco and is not a common animal in other places. This is similar to The Race as it depicts the ranch life in Mexico. Further The Race speaks to me as it reminds me of my visit to San Luis Potosi where I visited a farm and I shouted at one

of the cows. When the cow looked at me, I ran away immediately like a coward but the cow merely stood there completely cool and stared at me. This piece really reminded me of that incident. In conclusion, these two pieces, I believe, is nationalist in nature and are fantastic in their techniques of realism.