Author: Barbara Nwosu

Title: “Wearable Art”

Series: The Aesthetic Pleasures of Contemporary Art

Publisher: Wholistic Lifestyle Consultants (2007)

Date of completion or publication: 9/21/2007

Word Count of Text: 386

Brief Description: Art as Fashion

“Wearable Art”

Custom made prints, photos and pottery are easily acknowledged by most as art.  Jewelry is normally considered at best, an accessory. “The Montana WOW® Awards show selects around 150 garment entries designed by a national and international array of artists, designers and inventors and celebrates them in a totally unique environment. Each year the Awards performance combines unique sections into a distinctive two hour theatrical extravaganza showcasing incredible garments, stunning sets, dance, music, lighting and choreography.

This original concept promotes New Zealand as an extraordinary, exuberant and creative place and showcases this creativity to the world. WOW® ‘takes art off the wall and onto the moving body’™ and enables works of art to perform onstage in the ultimate arts competition.

Mt. Clemens High School students were challenged to create something completely

original from fabrics and notions donated to Down To Earth Community Outreach Center.  For some young designers, this was a dream come true. The show was a well earned success for Michigan Works, Anton Art Center, and everyone who played a role in the “Hanging On By A Thread” project.

“A New Phaze” Drill/Dance collective provided a “colorful fusion of dance, music, garments and performance”. This show displayed contemporary visual at it best!  After the show, donations of fabric, sewing machines and other materials started pouring in.   I am extremely proud of the way that this contemporary visual arts project brought the entire community together. It was a true indulgence for all senses.

The Art Center is committed to the advancement of the arts through quality exhibitions,

advocacy and educational programs for Macomb County and its surrounding areas. The mission of The Art Center is primarily educational: to foster and develop interest in the arts among people of all ages and backgrounds, whether that interest is in the creation or appreciation of the arts.

Since its inception in 1969, The Art Center has been housed in the historic Carnegie Library Building in downtown Mount Clemens.  It is the only facility of its kind in Macomb County. The neoclassical structure is listed in the State of Michigan Historic Register. The Art Center presents two annual events and is located in beautiful downtown Mt. Clemens, Michigan.

Visit the Art Center Gift Shop

125 Macomb Place

Mount Clemens, MI 48043

Phone: (586)469-8666

Email: mgielniak@theartcenter.org

http://www.theartcenter.org

Author: Barbara Nwosu

Title: “The Power of Visual Media – Art and Self Esteem”

Series: The Aesthetic Pleasures of Contemporary Art

Publisher: Wholistic Lifestyle Consultants (2007)

Date of completion or publication: 9/21/2007

Word Count of Text: 528

Brief Description: The Effects of Contemporary Visual Art on Self Esteem

“The Power of Visual Media – Art and Self Esteem”

Gorgeous, smart, rich and never make mistakes? The internet and mass media shrunk the world into our living rooms. If you spend a lot of time watching TV, going to movies and reading the daily propaganda, it seems as if everyone is rich, smart, beautiful has perfect lives and never makes mistakes. This is the power of visual media to shape our concepts of ourselves and the world.

Advertising is the most profitable form of contemporary visual art today. Television shows and movies have gotten us turned all around and twisted. It’s a miracle anyone smiles nowadays. Everywhere we go, beautiful people are on billboards, magazines, newspapers and on buildings selling us the idea of being and looking like them.

I’m not judging the ads or the strategy, it works! Visual images sell us lots of everything.  Here’s why: Studies show that babies as young as six months old respond more positively to people who are beautiful. It is human nature to want to look at beautiful people and beautiful things. We want to be like those people in the ads. However, if we don’t feel that we measure up to the unrealistic standards, we often condemn ourselves.

Contemporary visual art forms such as paintings, sculpture, and crafts are considered by many to be boring and not relevant. Many people believe that if they have problems, they can be solved in an hour or less no matter what went wrong. That is, unless you watch Jerry Springer.

Then you tend to believe that everyone alive is related by no more than three generations back. If you buy into these images, no real people go to art galleries, museums, theaters or are interested in visual art today.

So today’s tip, if you can follow it, is to tone down on the tube. This may be harder to do than giving up smoking. Artistic works or objects are commonly accepted as a reproduction, image or interpretation of an idea and not real. Even to most popular media is not “real” even if the word “reality” is in the description. Most of the people are chosen to be on those shows more for their looks than their abilities.

This destructive form of contemporary visual art is crafted to literally exploit our misconceptions that we aren’t as good or as worthy as the people who appear to have dream lives.  Wearing the same clothes as everyone else might get you accepted, and that can be very important. Having the “bling” is nice, but when you do these things only to impress others, you are setting yourself up for problems. All that stuff matters less to those who walk to their own beat.

 When I studied artists throughout history and artists living today, I found that the things that contributed most to actual self esteem and self value are things like integrity, honesty, a solid work ethic, honor, being kind to others, perseverance, taking care of your body and mind, continual learning, optimism, how you use your money, a sense of purpose and being surrounded by aesthetically beautiful or inspirational visual art forms. 

Author: Barbara Nwosu

Title: “Flames of Life – No Ordinary Bowl of Fruit!”

Series: The Aesthetic Pleasures of Contemporary Art

Publisher: Wholistic Lifestyle Consultants (2007)

Date of completion or publication: 9/21/2007

Word Count of Text: 616

Brief Description: The Objective Value of Contemporary Visual Art

“Flames of Life – No Ordinary Bowl of Fruit!”

It is commonly believed that a person’s response to contemporary visual art, music, literature or performing arts is a mystical or spiritual experience.

Since art can reflect powerfully emotional values to the beholder, art can be loved, appreciated, and enjoyed for those values. The art work itself, however, is an extension of the artist and thus can never be spiritually possessed or owned by anyone else, even though the physical ownership and copyrights can be transferred or sold.

Today, there are more media forms such as digital music, photos and video. Digital and other new technology has made our lives more visually and musically centered. A lot of this is due to feelings of insecurity in an increasingly insecure world.

Television is the common visual hypnotist today.  Another form of escapism penetrating our society is video games.  Virtual reality products are used to avoid the personal responsibility for creating our own personal world.  This particular form of contemporary art is used to escape into a false or artificial world.

Adding Pleasures to Life

The enjoyment of the aesthetics of contemporary visual arts is a rational pursuit.  Adding pleasures to life is a gift.  A positive or negative response to contemporary visual art generally reflects a person’s deepest, most important values.

For example, destructive people can respond positively to art that reflects neurotic values or even value destruction.  I believe that the reason that there are so many electronic toys today is that society is addicted to external feedback and distractions.  

Aesthetics reflect a person’s most important values in a concrete way, providing powerful emotional fuel to seek ever greater personal growth and achievements.

Aesthetic pleasures are important to the growth and development of one’s psychological, social and emotional well-being and health.  The psychological pleasure derived from an art work comes from the similarity of the artist’s values and sense of life to one’s own values.  Each person has a unique perspective.

Values, especially aesthetic ones can be either objective or subjective, neurotic values.  Contemporary visual art forms (sometimes urban) is thought provoking and is often meant to be just that.  With sufficient knowledge, all art can be judged by precise, objective standards.

Objective evaluation can include sense of life, the subject or theme chosen by the artist, the manner and skill in which the artist produced the presentation. Societal and personal issues and events influence the way we perceive aesthetics.  When one looks at contemporary visual art that they feel has no basis in reality and serves no practical purpose, there is still an emotional and psychological response to the object or the theme.

“The Flame”

Admiration of a piece of art comes from the viewer’s evaluation of the artist’s skill, technique, style, or integrity.  When an individual looks at a piece or collection of visual art, they can dislike the values, the sense of life, or the theme of an art work, but still appreciate the artist’s skill or style.

When nontraditional contemporary art is displayed in public places, lively thought provoking conversations often occur.  Where I live, the entire city is a work of art.  There are contemporary visual artwork “landmarks”.

The false belief that all art is entirely subjective and cannot be evaluated on an objective basis is apparent when experiencing Prince Monyo’s sculptured bronze “Flames of Life”.  The bronze hammered sculpture in the center of the city is quite remarkable.  The manner in which the artist presented this work illuminates the patience, thought, skill and awe that it takes to have a value producing society.  The sculpture somehow draws you in to slow down and enjoy life for the sake of life itself.