Critical Issues in Contemporary Art (ARTH3101 - FA25)

I, once again, listened to The Lonely Palette for this blog post. I listened to episode 65. about Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus . This painting depicts the birth of the goddess, Venus (I know, shocking, right?). She stands, naked, atop a large seashell in the center of the painting. Her hair blows to the right as she grabs a handful, covering her bottom privates. There are two Gods on the left and one on the right, helping frame Venus as the center-piece of the artwork. A forest begins to present itself behind the God on the right as the ocean expands from the center and leftward. The narrator for this episode spends most of the time trying to describe what makes the painting so famous. Perhaps it’s the beauty in the painting? The eloquence of the figures stature with her red hair flowing across the blue sky and open ocean. Maybe it’s what the painting represents? The neoplatonic form of beauty, standing in the middle of a giant seashell to grant us her beauty. Is it the cros...

     From the year of 2022 to 2025, Indian-American artist Sangram Majumdar painted 13 oil paintings and a wall drawing that are centered around the intrapersonal relationship to his nationality and identity as part of The Sleep of Reason exhibition in Natalie Karg Gallery. Originally born from India, Majumdar later moved to the United States with his family when he was 13, and throughout his life he ended up being both  familiar to the Indian culture his heritage was from and the American cultural environment he grew up in, but at the same time is also a stranger to either sides of the respective cultures in a sense.  This feeling would serve as a source of inspiration and reoccurring theme of his works where he explores around the space between both of his identity. One of the examples being "The Meeting" painting he made in 2022. The painting depicts a self portrait of the artist himself standing in the middle with his left hand outstretched from where his c...

The Lonely Palette Podcast Episode 70 Norman Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech The podcast starts off with the host, Tamara, introducing the guest, Bernard Avishai, who is her dad. In the interview Tamara has Bernard talk about her childhood home that featured replicas of Norman Rockwell’s freedom paintings. Bernard then talks about why the American freedom scene resonated with him so much. He says that America is “the ideal of individual rights, of individual idiosyncrasy, of tolerance.” (Avishai, 2:45) Bernard then talks about the idea of educating people about their right to democracy. Finally he talks about the defense of freedom of speech even for people he might disagree with and how this painting, despite what the real life people were talking about in this time, is still a catalyst for that. Regardless of the topic, Bernard still feels as though we still have that right to speak on said topic. He mentions the dignity on the face of the subject and how it represents the dignity of a ...

    Frida Kahlo is a very recognizable artists of the twentieth century. She is famous for her striking self-portraits and her touching way of turning pain into art. The podcast The Lonely Palette , episode 40, takes us back to a quieter moment in her career. The podcast focused on the 1928 double portrait Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia) . The story behind this painting helps one truly understand how Kahlo’s early experience and the complicated questions about identity that followed her all of her life shaped her art.        Kahlo’s background is full of many traumas and events that someone should never have to live through. She was born in Mexico in 1907 to a German father and mestiza mother who was part European and part Indigenous. As a child, she was very sick and often times bedridden. Later in life, she became an athletic tomboy. Her original plan in life was to become a doctor, but after getting hit by a bus as a teen and having extensive inj...

Street Art/Graffiti Street art and graffiti are among the most visible forms of artistic expression in the world. Usually found on the sides of buildings, underpasses, alleyways, and trains, these works are created to communicate with the public, conveying a message, or visual experience. Some are politically charged, some are deeply personal to the creator, serving as commentary on social justice, capitalism, race, or identity. Their presence in public spaces raise ongoing questions about it being art or vandalism? The tension between street art and graffiti lies not only in legality, but also in their purpose. One is sanctioned, the other defiant but both can hold deep meaning. Governments tend to treat graffiti as a public nuisance, scrubbing it away as fast as it appears. Ironically, some of the same works, created by famous artists and later sold at auction. For example, Banksy, a notorious graffiti artist, has had their work ripped from walls and commodified by private collectors...

Banksy. "Royal Courts Of Justice. London." (2025), paint stenciled on marble. On 08 September 2025, a mural appeared on a building at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Rendered by the street artist Banksy, the mural depicts a wigged judge beating a fallen protester with a gavel. The artwork in stark black and white stencil with a spatter of blood red appeared two days after 890 people were arrested at a free speech protest against the ban on the group Palestine Action under the United Kingdom's Terrorist Act.  Almost immediately the mural was covered up. Efforts made to remove it from the government building were only partially successful resulting in a shadow of the original image. Banksy. "Royal Courts Of Justice. London." (2025), paint stenciled on marble. Damaged by attempt to remove artwork. As the street art was being removed, a spokesperson for the HM Courts and Tribunals Service said the service was obligated to maintain the "original character...

Shaping Art History as Women            Why have there been no great women artists? Linda Nochlin asked this question in 1971, though not in the way you may think. When we think of greatness, we tend to think of the talent that comes from each individual artist. The question Nochlin asks isn’t ‘why aren’t women good at art’, though, because that isn’t truly what is meant by the word greatness. Greatness in the art world “...overlooks the institutional and systematic barriers that have historically excluded women from artistic education, practice, and recognition” (Nochlin). She goes on to explain that women have been denied art education, and even recognition when it comes to their art since the beginning of time. The ‘great artist’ is a myth, she says, one that is normally painted as a loner male artist who had access to whatever education he pleased, as well as recognition. Women’s roles throughout history have been strictly set i...