Mark Kostabi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rIp0R49vSw

Firstly a quick YouTube video about the work of Kostabi.

Mark Kostabi

Mark Kostabi (artist and musician) was born in 1960 to Estonian Immigrants. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton.

In 1982 he moved to New York and by 1984 he became a leading figure of the East Village art scene.

During that time he also developed a provocative media persona by publishing self-interviews which commented on the commodification of contemporary art.

ARTIST

By 1987 his works were widely exhibited in New York galleries and prominently throughout the United States, in Japan, Germany and Australia.

In 1988, inspiring extensive international press coverage, he founded Kostabi World - his large New York studio known for openly employing numerous painting assistants and idea people.

Artist Cont.

Kostabi is not only a visual artist, but is a musician. He has performed with and alongside many famous musicians, and with many orchestras. He has also written a number of books, about his life and his works.

He is a man of many talents.

Artist cont.

Kostabi’s uses the elements of design throughout his artwork, focusing particularly on line, tone and shape. The majority of his works are human like figures painted in a way that encapsulates the strange shape of the ‘person’ with the bizarre images or pattern surrounding this character.

Artwork

Attenuated and Marooned

Kostabi gives structure, purpose and meaning to his paintings through shape. He frequently creates his shapes in 3D, by using tone, line or colour to do so. Kostabi also uses colour to create this particular 3D look in his work.

Colour is also used throughout his work. Colour helps to create emotion and to portray the meaning of that particular work.

Look at the images on the next slide, decipher how colour, tone, line and shape are used and discuss as a class.

Artwork cont.

Artwork cont.

Kostabi’s work focuses on people, their feelings and their connections to others, objects and the world. Thus his audience is an array of people. His work is not specifically targeted at one particular group but many would enjoy his works through the outlook they take.

Kostabi shows his values and interests through his art, which makes it easy to observe and understand.

Audience

Kostabi is internationally known for his works, with many of them housed in countries such as America, Australia, Germany and Japan. This shows that his work is culturally accepted throughout the globe, due to its human like nature.

Every human can relate to some small aspect of his work because of this.

World

Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced since World War II.

Contemporary art is exhibited by commercial contemporary art galleries, private collectors, corporations, publicly funded arts organizations, contemporary art museums or by artists themselves. Contemporary artists are supported by grants, awards and prizes as well as by direct sales of their work.

Contemporary art

When looking at an artwork, we are able to develop our knowledge and awareness of it by asking ourselves a few questions. These could include:

1. What images are used?2. What are the main shapes you can distinguish?3. How has the artist applied the paint?4. How has line been used?5. How has shape been used?6. How has colour been used?7. What is the artist trying to tell the audience?

Looking at an artwork

Look at these images. Describe how both images as a whole, and how they makes you feel in one paragraph each.

In you paragraph did you discuss any of the following:• Line• Shape• Tone• Texture• Colour• Size• Harmony• Contrast• Balance• Proportion• Unity

Looking at an artwork

When analysing or appreciating an artwork, visual elements and visual relationships. Use all of these aspects and choose one of the following three images. Describe the image using technical and non technical terminology in more than 3 sentences.

1. Escape within (2007)

2. Perishable pose (date unknown)

3.I work for tips (2007)

All true artists, whether they know it or not,

create from a place of no-mind, from inner

stillness.

Kostabi, M. (2000). Kostabi.com. Retrieved January

28, 2010, from Kostabi.com:http://id3480.securedata.net/kostabi/index.html All images and information about Mark

Kostabi was found on his website.Roberts, C. (2009, July). Visual Arts Journal.

Wollongong. All information about artwork, appreciating

artwork was found in the visual arts journal.

Reference List