Graffiti in the USA and Ukraine

The session of the Gabfest Club in Dnipro Window on America center started with the introductions of the first-timers who   explained why they decided to join the Club.
To warm up the group shared their experiences of the Ukraine’s Independence week-end with our foreign guest Mr. Nathan. Some people travelled, some people stayed in town or at home. But everyone enjoyed the celebration of the Independence Day.
 

The official topic of the session was “Graffiti in the USA and in Ukraine”. We have watched several videos about the place of graffiti in the modern American art. Some people think it is vandalism. The graffiti artists think it’s art. The group had to watch a video about street art festival in Dnipro city and render into English for Mr. Nathan the fun facts about graffiti artists and vandals.
Participants number – 21 persons.

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The Art of Photography

Summer – is a time for  trips with your camera.
The "Window on America" Center Dnipropetrovsk presented to the patrons a new book display "The Art of Photography".

The showcased books and albums present the American view on the art of photography. Each visitor can look through these books and get the tips that will help to make better photos.

The highlights of the book display:  a colorful album "America 24/7" and original photo booklets – gifts from the American photographer Yanos Enyedi  who works  in the genre of industrial photo collage.
Summer has started. Get ready for summer!

Art of Kitsch

Within the framework of the "U.S. Art Residence in Dnipropetrovsk” project today’s session of the WOA’s Gabfest club (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was devoted to the topic “Art of Kitsch”. After an illustrative video the group tried to give their own definitions of this genre of popular art.
According to Walter Benjamin, kitsch "offers instantaneous emotional gratification without intellectual effort, without the requirement of distance, without sublimation".
Once the idea of kitsch art was presented the group was introduced to the works of Jeff Koons. He is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects - such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in New York City. His works have sold for substantial sums of money, including at least one world record auction price for a work by a living artist. Critics are sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch: crass and based on cynical self-merchandising.
 

As today’s Gabfest session was attended by our American guest Mr. Brian the group was given a task to tell him about Ukrainian kitsch. The majority of the examples were from the popular music field. The introduction of the so called “village glam” style allowed the group to tell Brian fun facts about Ukrainian history and culture. The examples of the Soviet times’ kitsch allowed the group to pick up some new vocabulary.
The session was difficult, but educational for all participants.
Number of participants – 19 persons.
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ESC - Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol

Today’s session of the English Speaking Club was dedicated to the topic of “Art and Humanities” which was initiated by the President B.Obama in his October, 3, 2011 Proclamation.
 

We have presented to the club members a couple of prominent American artists.
President Obama’s proclamation mentioned the social artwork by the famous US illustrator Norman Rockwell.
The picture “The Problem We All Live With” was introduced and its history explained. At present the picture is on display in the White House outside the Oval Office.
The article dealing with Rockwell’s work was read and translated.
Another article gave an example of the picture’s description with details unknown to the Ukrainian viewer. “The picture strikes directly at the heart and exemplifies Rockwell’s hallmark approach – strong horizontals, close foregrounds and telling details which draw the viewer into concluding a narrative, one orchestrated to move him.
The perceptive viewer notes not only the confident posture and countenance of the young girl.
Her escorts are cropped and anonymous agents of the law.
But the writ in the pocket of the advancing guard, the contrast of the schoolbooks with the graffiti on the wall, the smashed tomato (the least of projectiles launched in those times).
It is the approach common to centuries of art – emblematic and immediate.
But Rockwell stirs a decent empathy, a quietly powerful outrage.”
After that the club members were asked to divide into teams. Each team was given a picture by N. Rockwell and asked to describe the artwork in their  own words. Once all the teams presented their descriptions they were given an art expert’s descriptions of the same pictures for comparison. The quality of the teams’ descriptions left much to be desired. All the participants realized that describing art is a complicated task even without special vocabulary.

Another artist presented by the speaker Vadym was Andy Warhol  – commercial illustrator and a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art.
Before the session beginning and after its ending, the recently donated gadgets (iPad and Kindle) were presented. The club members were given the opportunity to practice the devices and their software.
The number of participants – 22 persons.

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Book Display: «American Art»

A display “American Art” was presented at WOA Dnipropetrovsk. 

It includes 20  colorful books about American and world artists. It immediately draw the attention of the patrons. The highlight of the display is the Thames and Hudson Multimedia Dictionary of Modern Art.