PRESENTATION OUTLINE
TRANSCENDENTAL ART COLLECTION
This engraving represents the transcendental theme of nonconformity. It shows the people of Boston fighting or not conforming to British rule during the very beginning of the revolutionary war.
Paul Revere himself drew and made this iconic engraving during the Revolutionary War. He posted it in his newspaper, as propaganda, with an article about the Bloody Massacre titled: "The Bloody Massacre Perpetuated in King Street".
This sculpture was done by Andy Goldsworthy. It is a big ball of stacked whale bones that fit seemingly together. It was "sculpted" by Goldsworthy in 2001 and is featured in the National Museum of Scotland.
This sculpture represents the transcendental theme of free thought. The beautiful ball can be a seen and interpreted in so many different ways, and every angle creates a new picture. It truly promotes and encourages the common eye to see it in any way it wants. It's open to free thought!
This is a photograph in black and white taken by Ansel Adams in 1941. It is of a corn field on an Indian farm near Tuba City, Arizona.
This photograph relates to the transcendental theme of the importance of nature. The photo shows either dead, or very small rows of corn. The picture is dull and depressing. Even with the beautiful mountain backdrop, it still seems boring. With more greenery, nature, and life the photo would be much more happy. Nature is so important because without it, all you have is dull, lifeless, depressing scenes.
"Mount Rainer" by Albert Bierstadt is a beautiful oil painting. The painting is of a gorgeous river that leads to a big, strong mountain. The tremendous detail with the oil creates a very well done painting.
This oil painting really portrays the transcendental theme of confidence. To be confident you have to be strong, willing, big, and somewhat intimidating. The mountain in this picture represents confidence to me because of its strength, size, and power over everything below.
"BUFFALO CHASE WITH BOWS AND LANCES"
This painting was done by George Caitlin, with oil on canvas in 1833. It displays the chase and hunt of a buffalo by two Indian men.
This transcendental painting is representative of the theme self-reliance. In the setting of the photo, the Indians had to hunt and kill their own dinner and could not rely on a grocery store or delivery service like today. Everyone had to be very self-reliant in that time to get the necessities they need to survive.
"Strawberrying" is an oil painting of a beautiful scene with a girl picking strawberries and some cows grazing and drinking water from a river. It is a breath-taking picture with lots of life and nature.
This painting really shows the true transcendental theme of importance of nature. Nature is a part of life that can create serenity and peacefulness, which is depicted in this painting. Without nature, this picture would be almost nothing and not nearly as pretty. Nature helps the cows to live and the girl to love and creates a happy, peaceful environment that could not have been achieved without it.
This is a very simple but powerful sculpture by Robert Smithson that portrays the transcendental theme of nonconformity. It is just an upside down tree in dirt but it sends a bigger message to be yourself no matter how everyone else seems to be. Do not conform to what others want and call "normal".
"ODYSSEUS DERIDING POLYPHEMUS"
This is an oil painting of a ship cruising down an ocean under the sunset. It shows the story of Odysseus going to deride Polyphemus.
The big ship cruising down the vast, open sea shows such great confidence, the transcendental theme in this painting. You can only imagine the strong, willing attitude Odysseus must have had while going to ridicule Polyphemus. Everything about this picture(the boat, the sky, the water, the rocks) truly depicts the feeling and look of confidence.
"The River of Light" is a oil painting that truly is a river of light. The painting is of a gorgeous river in what seems to be a forrest of some sort.
The oil painting makes me think of the transcendental theme of free thought. You can never step in the same river twice because the water is always flowing, changing, and moving. The river represents free thoughts because like a river, free thoughts can always be changing, flowing, and moving. It is never constricted or bound to a certain way.
This an extremely iconic poster that was made by J. Howard Miller in World War 2. It is of a woman, known as Rosie the Riveter, saying,"We Can Do It!." This was made as propaganda to promote women, who had very little rights at the time, to join the fight and help the war.
This poster is representative of the transcendental theme of self-reliance. In that time, women needed to stand up for themselves and start being more self-reliant to get the rights they needed and deserved. The poster is promoting women to take a stand, help in the fight, and show men that women are useful and reliable too.