Ally Thomas

#ConArtInSitu

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

That’s a wrap!! Thank you to @RafaelFajardo for such valuable lessons, I really enjoyed taking your class :) And thank you to all of my peers for everything I learned from y’all. Have a great spring break everyone!

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

@MDeublerART Hi Mathew, I like this piece a lot too. The use of only one color is visually satisfying and brings a sense of cohesion. Jenn is my friend and such a talented artist!! :)

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

@bellad2023 Hi Bella, I love how Ore-Giron’s creativity comes through in this piece by adding fantasy to a realistic situation. I wish I could see the original picture to comprare!

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I would like to take a moment to celebrate this Ukrainian-American artist Louise Nevelson. This piece, “Sky Gate’s Curtain” (1973) has so much dimension even though it’s painted completely black, which can often make works look flat. It reminds me of organ pipes also.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

Checking out the Myhren gallery for the first time today!! #ConArtInSitu

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I chuckled to myself when I saw that this piece is titled “Still Life with Tea Pot” by Michael Goldberg bc that’s not what I saw at all! I saw a grimacing face that almost looks like a cartoon character (circled). I have to study it further now w the artist’s intention in mind.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

You can see so much texture in “Untitled” by Hans Hoffman (‘61) from the oil paint. The use of primary colors & paint splatters almost seems elementary to me (no shade), but it’s way more complex & I gotta give the artist more credit than that. Kinda looks like a rocket blastoff!

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

These pieces, “Africa Suite 5” and “Africa Suite 2” by Robert Motherwell (1970) remind me of the Rorschach test inkblots, but maybe that’s just because as a STEM major science is always on the mind…

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

“Lookout” by Pat Passlof (‘59) reminds me of Monet & I’m not sure why, but it’s the 1st thing that came to mind. Possibly bc of the similar color palette? This work is super abstract & definitely not impressionist, but to me it connects to “Un Bras de la Seine près de Vétheuil”

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

This piece, “Gray, White, & Pink” by Vance Kirkland (1955) reminds me of geodes and layers of rock. It almost looks like a crystal I have at home. I wonder if other people looking at this piece would interpret these shapes similarly or differently.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

Looking forward to learning more about post-war abstraction today. I like this piece, “Black Nebula” by Vance Kirkland (‘59) because to me it looks like two faces in a heated argument (the two largest black blobs, upper right/lower left).

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I loved the freedom we had in this class, with the exploration of any and all ideas strongly encouraged. I also loved getting out of the classroom and getting to spend time with the art face-to-face after so much time of distance learning in the pandemic.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I've gotten so much out of this class this quarter. When we started, I had trouble distinguishing contemporary art from modern art and never understood the importance of art criticism.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

What I love most about contemporary art is that there are no rules. An artist has the freedom to create anything that moves them. Con art can be expressed in so many ways, even in a virtual showroom, and there are no limitations. #ConArtInSitu

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

Most of all, I've learned that art can be anything you want it to be! It can be a video game (ReVisión), a lounge chair (By Design), a garage door (Disruption), or a pantsuit (Empowered).

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I learned about the significance of whitewashing in the art industry and how the colonizer mentality heavily impacts the works of BIPOC artists even today.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I learned the methodology behind art criticism and art curation. I still have a ways to go in terms of my art critic persona, but it really made me look at art through a very different lens than I have done in the past in a very multidimensional way.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I've learned that purchasing a membership to the @DenverArtMuseum is well worth it!!! They have so many intriguing exhibits that are so carefully curated. I will definitely make visiting DAM a part of my routine after this quarter is over.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I've learned more about the importance of collaboration, not only in the art but in the classroom as well as in other professional fields. I've switched my mentality from seeing one work of art as an individual piece to considering the broader meaning of a whole collection.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I learned that the art world is making a big shift towards BIPOC artists and exploring their identities/cultural history through their art. This is really significant to the field because BIPOC art has been overlooked for centuries. I hope that this upward trend continues.

[Ally Thomas @ally22t]

I learned that there is a benefit to exhausting your time with a piece in order to delve deeper into it and that art that is the most popular isn't always the best art (i.e. the Mona Lisa).