Alchemy

This image to me is a really definite example of Alchemy. It demonstrates clearly the definition between good and evil, pure and used, heaven and hell, male and female - not saying that males are bad but the picture demonstrates a female and male form. This picture clearly shows that alchemy is the combining of opposites. Bringing together, things that wouldnt usually be represented as one.

Year 12 ALCHEMY

Well... with what we have learnt so far, in class and from Ms Hampton, i am really drawn to this unit. I can't wait to start the practical side of this unit. I think it is a really interesting focus and feel that i have really grasped the concept. I feel many ideas, and emotions being evoked from this topic, which i can't wait to put of a page, shoot through a camera or create on the computer.

Firstly, the definition of alchemy classified by the dictionary is:


1. A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity.
2. A seemingly magical power or process of transmuting:

A medieval philosophy and early form of chemistry whose aims were the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of a cure for all diseases, and the preparation of a potion that gives eternal youth. The imagined substance capable of turning other metals into gold was called the philosophers' stone.

A Closer Look Because their goals were so unrealistic, and because they had so little success in achieving them, the practitioners of alchemy in the Middle Ages got a reputation as fakers and con artists. But this reputation is not fully deserved. While they never succeeded in turning lead into gold (one of their main goals), they did make discoveries that helped to shape modern chemistry. Alchemists invented early forms of some of the laboratory equipment used today, including beakers, crucibles, filters, and stirring rods. They also discovered and purified a number of chemical elements, including mercury, sulfur, and arsenic. And the methods they developed to separate mixtures and purify compounds by distillation and extraction are still important.

I BELIEVE THAT ONE DEFINITION CANNOT COMPLETELY CLASSIFY THE MEANING OF SOMETHING. I LIKE TO EXPLORE THE MEANING IN MORE THAN ONE WAY, HAVE EXAMPLES AND WAYS IN WHICH IT IS APPLIED. I UNDERSTAND MORE CLEARLY THE EXPLANATION OF SOMETHING WHEN IT IS EXPLAINED IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THIS IS WHY I HAVE POSTED A FEW DIFFERENT EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS IN WHICH ALCHEMY IS DEFINED.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alchemy

2010

I remembered my password!

this shall be an interesting year.... i hope
looking forward to it!

----- JAMES GUPPY -----

JAMES GUPPY'S WORKS















Some Information about James Guppy...

James Guppy is a contemporary Australian artist living in the small coastal town of Byron Bay in northern NSW. His medium of choice varies from painting to assemblage. His narratives use the traditions of western figurative painting to explore contemporary issues with a surreal and absurdist twist. These dramatic paintings and art works examine social issues through the lens of western art history. The paintings reference artists and traditions such as J.M. Turner, Piero della Francesca, Dutch Baroque painting and the Pre-Raphaelites. James Guppy is intent on examining our secret inner lives. His relentless gaze will fix on the domestic, love and power, the body and our physical identity, gender, sexuality and taboos. His art ranges widely across the private dreams and nightmares of life in the twenty first century. The artwork of James Guppy does not fit easily into the categories of western art. He is a figurative painter, a flower painter, a magic realist, but his paintings are postmodern and fetishistic. He is a surrealist and an absurdist, who deconstructs the traditions of western art to create intelligent engaging artwork that can haunt and transform the way we subsequently see the world around us.



MY thoughts on James Guppy...

James Guppy seems like strange person. His artworks are very impressive and I like his works. His meanings for his pieces, however, are a bit scary. His intentions are to make art that will stay with us and haunt us. I like his pieces but I dont feel this sensation. Guppy is very talented and challenges the society's views and expectations through art. His paintings are post-modern but he intends to embrace old meanings and motivations.

TYPES OF VANITAS

THIS IS THE VANITAS PAINTING THAT I AM GOING TO USE FOR MY PIECE.














There are no requirements in Vanitas paintings. Every Vanitas painting is different and they each include different objects. Many vanitas paintings use skulls. The skull represents both life and death. The life being that once thst skull was a living person, and the death meaning that that person has dies and all that is left is their skull. Vanitas represent time and how it passes, thats why a lot of symbols, like living objects and clocks, are used commonly.

^^^^`^^^^ VANITAS ^^^^^`^^^^^

Vanitas - Latin for vanity, refers to a type of still life consisting of a collection of objects that symbolize death — the brevity of human life and the transience of earthly pleasures and achievements.

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/uv/vanitas.html



VANITAS

Vanitas is a type of Symbolic still life painting commonly used by Northern European painters in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The term Vanitas refers to the arts, learning and time. the word originates from latin and means emptiness. It is loosly translates to the meaningless of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity. Paintings executed in the vanitas style are meant as a reminder of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, encouraging a sombre world view.

Common vanitas symbols include skulls, which are a reminder of the certainty of death
rotten fruit, which symbolizes decay like ageing
bubbles, which symbolize the brevity of life and suddenness of death
smoke, watches, and hourglasses, which symbolize how time passes quickly
and musical instruments, which symbolize brevity and the ephemeral nature of life.

VANITAS ######

This term we have started a new topic which is Vanitas paintings.

Coooooooooool :)