Art of the Kentucky Derby Hats
Derby day is about more than horse racing, betting, and mint juleps – it’s also about fashion, most notably in the form of hats. It’s an occasion where race-goers can show off true pieces of art, and where the artists, or milliners, behind these hats can showcase their creations on an ever-popular stage.
These days, there aren’t many occasions that call for the grandness that are exhibited by Derby hats, and the tradition of the Derby hat is one of the most alluring facets of wearing these art forms.
Many times, Derby hats are passed down from generation to generation, known as valued family heirlooms that have a story all their own; some even end up on display at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs. These one-of-a-kind hats are known for their glamour, whimsy, and detail, and are the icing on the cake when it comes to Derby Day fashion.
Gary Stevens riding out onto the track at the 2005 Kentucky Derby race on Noble Causeway (trained by Nick Zito) at 12-1. He would lose to Mike Smith aboard Giacamo (50-1) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Boasting such details as feathers, silk bows, and flowers, Derby hats range from mysterious wide-brimmed creations that sweep across the face to stylish fascinators that perch atop the head. What’s behind the creation of these works of art? Hours and hours of master craftsmanship for clients that have one thing on their mind: wowing the crowd on Derby day. These hats can cost thousands of dollars, depending on the materials, design, and level of craftsmanship.
Most Derby day clients buy a new hat every year, as many race-goers would never wear the same hat twice. Milliners frequently create custom hats for clients they never meet, exchanging e-mails, pictures of outfits, and swatches of material with which to match the hat. Some milliners even feature online features that enable clients to “try on” their Derby hats virtually, or show the progress behind the creation of that client’s hat.
Many hats are created to suit the personality of their owners, which can prove to be an inspiring, exciting process. On Derby day, the Derby hat is not just an accessory, but a true extension of its wearer, mirroring confidence, attitude, and style.
The Art of the Woodblock: A Look at Hokusai
A Protean genius, known for his creative and daring work, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) embodies the spirituality and the soul of Japan. “Mad drawing” (gakyôjin) as he likes to call himself, was endowed with insatiable artistic curiosity and a creative impulse that was long-lasting and fruitful throughout a prolific career of 70 long years served by an extraordinary capacity for work. It leaves a monumental production, including thousands of works notable for their aesthetic quality as well as their stylistic variety: paintings, drawings, prints, illustrated books and textbooks. He practiced all the traditional genres – portraits of geishas, actors of kabuki and sumo wrestlers, scenes of everyday life, greeting cards and illustrations of novels and poems – but it is in the 1830’s with the publication of his great series of landscapes where he gives a boost to Japanese prints.
The Dragon of Smoke Escaping from Mt Fuji, Hokusai (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Of the one hundred and twenty artist names and aliases used by Hokusai, six major stylistic periods punctuate the most important parts of his work and correspond to the six major phases of his career:
• 1779 to 1794, Katsukawa Shunrô (“Splendor of Spring”). At the age of eighteen, he entered the studio of Katsukawa Shunshô (1726-1793), the eminent portrait of kabuki theater actors. During the training period, he made portraits of courtesans, actors, commercial prints and illustrated many popular novels.
• 1795-1798, Sori II (name taken from the death of one of his teachers, Tawaraya Sori). He left school and invents a personal style marked by lyricism, while enduring Chinese and Western influences.
• 1799-1810: Hokusai (“Workshop of the North”). He is establishing himself as an independent artist and more renowned by the moment, prompting students and imitators to copy his work. He chose the name that made him famous, in homage to the Buddhist Myôken, incarnation of the North Star, which they worship as an individual.
• 1811-1819: Taito (name also linked to the worship of the stars, referring to the Ursa Minor). He focuses on picture books, textbooks and notebooks models and publishes the first ten volumes of the Manga.
• 1820-1835: Litsu (“old again one year”, the first year of the new astrological cycle of 60 years). The 1830s marked the height of his career. He masters the art of landscape while revealing the majestic beauty of nature.
• 1834-1849: Manji (“Ten thousand years”). He published at that time the Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (1834-1840), carefully printed in three volumes in delicate shades of gray and two famous series depicting classic poetry anthologies. In 1839 a fire destroys all his equipment, his sketches and drawings. In the 1840s, like many artists, he loses interest in printmaking and devotes himself mainly to painting.
A truly gifted and innovative artist, Hokusai is still a well-loved and celebrated artist, and many of his works are still famous to this day.
The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus, an iconic painting done by Sandro Bottecelli in 1486, shows the goddess Venus as she emerges from the water as a full grown woman. While there is no documentation that describes exactly what the symbolism of the painting is, scholars believe there are several interpretations.
One interpretation was put forth by Plato who believed there were two aspects to Venus – an earthy goddess that aroused humans to physical love or the heavenly goddess that inspired intellectual love. Those who follow Plato’s teachings believed that to simply contemplate Venus’s physical beauty allows an individual’s mind to understand and therefore appreciate spiritual beauty.
A definition of depilated Beauty: The Birth of Venus (1486), by Sandro Botticelli. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As a further exploration of the painting, Plato believed that individuals who contemplated only the physical beauty of Venus and allowing it to cause a physical reaction would help lift their minds “toward the Creator.”
Questions have also been raised around Neoplatonism in which scholars have determined new ways to interpret the painting, some of which include believing it to be a symbol of marriage and that the painting depicts behaviors for brides and grooms as they come together in the marital bed.
Books have been authored on the subject of the painting and its historical significance and meaning. Author Charles R. Mack believed the painting is an “Allegory extolling the virtues of Lorenzo de’ Medici.” There have also been pagan interpretations of the Birth of Venus that state that Venus’s nudity is a suggestion of Eve before her Fall in the Garden of Eden; others believe that because Venus was revered as a goddess her donning of earthly garb depicts her mortal sin.
Whatever the meaning, The Birth of Venus remains a well-loved and famous piece of art and will most likely continue to inspire interpretation for years to come.
Symbols of the Saints in Art
Particular symbols are assigned to each Catholic saint through artistic tradition. The symbols each saint is assigned are representative of the circumstances of the saint’s life, miracles or martyrdom. The saints are often identified through these symbols and a saint’s actions and spiritual ideals are often better remembered with use of these symbols.
Christian art utilizes these symbols along with other context to link a saint’s definitions under the Christian symbolism. Many of the saints are considered invented or legendary in their existence and circumstance. Thus, many spiritual teachings use the stories as metaphors.
Some examples of saints and their symbols include St. Agnes, a martyr. In her symbolism, she carries a lamb to represent the virginity that she died with in order to protect. She is also seen depicted with covered in hair. This symbolizes a covering, which protected the virgin saint from being savaged by her executioners.
Another popular image containing symbolism is that of St. George. St. George killed a terrifying dragon in order to rescue the king’s maiden daughter. He is typically depicted wearing the dress of a knight while battling a dragon. On occasion, he is shown sitting with a leg on each side of a unicorn. The unicorn symbolizes purity. St. George’s lance is usually shown broken, the metaphor being St. George struggling with the dragon of a person’s sinful nature to rescue the soul.
While aiding numerous people across an engorged river, St. Christopher, unbeknownst to him, carried the Christ Child across. Because of this, his depictions are of him bearing a little child through water, equipped with a palm-tree staff.
There are many saints that have their own symbolism in art, including well-known saints to minor martyrs. The best way to identify each saint is to note what they are holding, wearing, or doing, and do some research from there. Often you can find comprehensive lists online or in religious art history books.
- Photo Credit: http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/74036/saintchristopher
About Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock was an abstract expressionist during the modern art movement, a movement that swept across America post World War II. This era put New York at the center of the art world and
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through the end of World War II to the 1960s, abstract expressionism remained strong in the art world. A key player in this art movement, and well loved even to this day, was Jackson Pollock.
The main focus of abstract expressionism is more on the actual act of the painting and the characteristics of the paint itself. Vast canvasses are generally used in this type of painting and paint is applied quite quickly, sometimes with force. Paint can be thrown onto the canvas or applied with jumbo brushes. Although this type of painting often appears accidental, it actually involves much planning.
Abstract expressionism carries a strong emotional presence with it. Jackson Pollock often used the method of attaching a canvas to floor so that he could manipulate the paint in various ways. He explained that this allowed him to be closer to the painting via various angles, which allowed for him to be more an emotional part of the painting.
Pollock made use of many types of tools when applying his paint. Some examples include knives, pouring paint, trowels, sticks and knives. He would also add texture to the paint by mixing in such materials as sand or glass.
Jackson Pollock has been called the commander of the Abstract Expressionist Movement and he has been credited with leading other artists into this type of action painting. His drip paintings of
1947 are the main support for this claim. Pollock also began The New York School, with eleven other popular artists of Abstract Expressionists. This school was really an informal group, created for artists to draw inspiration from one another.
To this day Jackson Pollock is still best known for his drip paintings, continues to inspire, and is even a household name for many.
The Earliest Paintings: Lascaux
In Southwestern France, near a village of Montignac and the department of Dordogne, a complex of caves well-known for their upper Paleolithic art are still found to this day and are, by many, considered one of the first examples of art in human culture. With an estimated age of 17,300 years, it is no surprise that the images are primitive. Most depictions are of large animals that, through fossil evidence, are proven to have lived in the immediate area at the time.
In 1940, the cave was discovered by a group of four teenagers and by 1948, the caves were opened to the public. A popular destination, it wasn’t until 1955 that damage to the paintings, in the form of carbon dioxide from the tourists, was first noticed. This resulted in the caves being closed in 1963 so that no further damage was done to this priceless collection of art.
After the caves were closed, the paintings were restored to match their original condition. In 1983, Lascaux II, which is a replica of a couple of the cave walls was opened just 200 meters from its original. Other reproductions still exist in France today.
The caves were not in the clear yet, however. A black mold was found in the caves in 1998. Scientists attribute its growth to the many visitors, high-powered lighting and a new air conditioning system which had been installed. Scientists continue to work presently to keep the black mold away from the paintings.
Almost 2,000 figures can be found in the caves. The paintings are of animals, abstract signs and human figures, while landscapes and surrounding vegetation are not found in the paintings. Stone or mineral pigments were used to draw the figures. Some figures have deteriorated entirely, and others are too faint to make out.
Despite the damage, however, the Lascaux cave paintings are still some of the earliest form of art on record, and continue to fascinate art scholars to this day.
The Life of Rembrandt
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Born in Leiden, Netherlands in 1606, Rembrandt grew up in a middle class family before being sent to work as a painter’s apprentice. By the age of 18, he opened his own art studio and accepted students to work under his tutelage.
Rembrandt has been acclaimed as one of the greatest painters that ever lived and was hailed for his artistic abilities while he was still alive – unlike many of his contemporaries who received acclaim after they were dead. While Rembrandt reached acclaim and was successful when he was young, he failed to recover from his debts later in life and died destitute.
Once Rembrandt married in 1635, Saskia Van Uylenburg, his life and his art began to suffer. The couple watched three of their four children die and only one made it to adulthood. Rembrandt then watched his wife die of tuberculosis. Rembrandt then took his wife’s nurse – his son’s nanny – as his lover.
The nanny, Gerrtje Dircx, eventually sued Rembrandt for breach of promises made, won the case and he was forced to pay her 200 guilders annually. He sought revenge on her by having her committed to an asylum after accusing her of stealing and pawning his late wife’s jewelry.
In addition to the money owed to Dircx, art historians say that the mortgaging of the family home let to Rembrandt’s financial downward spiral. He spent money as quickly as he earned it and had no savings. While many painters have a style for which they are known, Rembrandt was mercurial and his style changed throughout his career.
A Look at Andy Warhol
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The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night, is one of the most famous art works of all time. In fact, many critics consider this effort to be Van Gogh’s best creation. Based on a very similar painting he did just one year before, in 1888, The Starry
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Night depicts the French village of Saint-Remy. What many do not know is that Van Gogh actually painted the work the day after seeing that night sky, purely from memory. He was initially disappointed with the work, telling his brother
Theo, in a letter, that the lines were “warped” and the the painting contained “nothing at all good.”
Perhaps because of its universal depiction of the night sky, or some deeper revelation, The Starry Night slowly gained in popularity after the artist’s death. While many of Van Gogh’s works are among the most popular paintings of all history, this particular one has captured the attention of viewers from the late 1800s right up to today.
Van Gogh lived from 1853 until his suicide in 1890, when he was 37 years old. Long a victim of various forms of mental illness, the artist had significant bouts of clearheaded sanity, during which he was quite productive. An obsession with the night sky and similar scenes were a prime theme of his artistry. His last words were, “The sadness will last forever.” Even that utterance, like so much else that sprang from the life of the genius, has become
famous.
Just before World War II, the painting was purchased by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where it sits today. Various theories exist about the painting’s appeal. Some compare it to a recent photo of a faraway celestial formation by the
Hubble telescope. Those of a psychological bent have found “hidden” images in the work, among them a frightening ghost’s face, from the film “Scary Movie.” Whatever the reason, The Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh, has intrigued people for decades, and likely will continue to mystify the masses for centuries to come.
A Brief History of Cubism
An avant–garde art movement, known as Cubism, was pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in 1907. This movement revolutionized 20th century paintings and sculptures in Europe and followed the inspiration in architecture, literature and music.
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Artwork of the Cubist movement will host objects which have been broken up, scrutinized, and then re-assembled in an abstract form, often seen from many differing viewpoints. This differs from the typical artwork of representing an object from one viewpoint. The coherent sense of depth is often missing as surfaces and planes will intersect with one another. This is particularly true with background objects.
The second movement of Cubism developed by Picasso, Braque and Juan Gris was Synthetic Cubism. This subsequent main movement came between 1912 and 1919. Introduced in this movement was the use of differing surfaces, textures, papier colle’ elements of collage, along with a vast assortment of fused subject matter. This was the start of fine art work encompassing collage materials.
Sculpture brought the varying perspectives of Cubism to three dimensional art. Sources differ in opinion as to the first Cubism sculpture. Whether this historical title goes to the sculpture created by Picasso as the 1909 bronze Head of a Woman or Aotto Gufreund’s Anxiety in 1912, has been argued for centuries, though none can deny that both works are as fascinating today as they were back then.
Countless contemporary artist today are still influenced by the Cubism movement. Representations of objects from varying viewpoints within the same piece have fascinated viewers for centuries. Pushing the traditional perspective of image production appeals to many artists, as is the thought and examination which goes into such an artwork.
