Lesson 4 - Lecture

Growing up in North New Jersey, in a middle class family, my home was filled with both art and technology - thanks, in large part it seems, to the industrial revolution.  In the 1970's, my mother, a stay-at-home mom, painted in her leisure time, while my father, an electrical engineer, brought home computers and taught us to embrace the digital revolution.

I remember a painting my mother had created (& oh, how I wish I had a photograph of her work), a mural on the wall of our basement rec room, of the New York City skyline, similar to the one below:

I always loved the simplicity of the painting, no details of buildings, but merely the silhouette of the city - in essence, an abstract creation.  I remember playing, as a child, in front of the painting, pretending I lived in the city.  Vivid details were not necessary to communicate the message of strength and beauty.  For me, the painting was alive.

I am looking forward to this week's venture into the works of impressionist painters.  As well as the history behind the artists.  The idea that the machines (creating machines, creating other machines) changed people's lives and changed artist's lives is quite intriguing.  The works of art to be unveiled are an entirely different record of history.  As Nathan Peck stated: "... the document in this case isn't necessarily about the idea of creating a factual, realistic truth.  This is finally art".

My skyline view has changed dramatically since I moved out to the Midwest some 20 years ago.  Even though my childhood memories remain, my view on the world around me has also changed.  Let's see what the simplification of abstraction can add to that...