lincoln in dalivision
salvador dali

step back from the screen. see the picture? its really good ol abe lincoln's head. cool, eh? dali was the master of surrealism, and he loved women. he incorporated both here. its cool, its smart, and i want a big one for my wall. [hint hint] some interpretations contend that the woman is looking through the window for god, or her soul or something else. i don't buy it. dali liked naked women and abe lincoln, so he painted them...
 

two

guernica
pablo picasso

there has never been a more interpreted piece of art than this one. the premise behind the piece is the bombing of guernica in spain. it depicts life, death, and absolute fear. among the things you will find upon a little more studying: a dead bull, satan, a mother and her dead child, a warrior being killed in battle, and the light bulb on top represents a bomb going off, not a light bulb. :] want to know more? do a quick web search for picasso's guernica..you might get smarter due to a piece of art. [oh the horror!]

study for chinese summerhall
richard rauschenberg
 

there isnt anything to special about this one, its just cool. as you can tell, it is a preliminary image from a suite by rauschenberg called chinese summerhall. i like the colors of silk, and the kind of sadness in the potato-famish kind of quality here. these fine pieces of silk hang, waiting to be bought, but the simple man who sells them cannot afford to buy them. its very sad, yet quite intriguing. this one exists at the university of south florida contemporary art museum.
 

four

self portrait [the allegory of painting]
artemesia gentileschi

nothing special right? nope. artemesia was the first female master painter, and one of the only female artists to paint a self portrait. painters always painted themselves in fine clothes and jewelry, and perhaps a bit more physically attractive than they actually were. artemisia basically rebelled, and painted herself as she was- a hard worker in simple clothes, and a little overweight. the painting community was so outraged by this that artemesia suffered personal attacks, and was even raped. she brought the man who committed the crime to trial, but he was of course found to be innocent, but quietly exiled from the area. artemesia became somewhat of a woman's rights activist, and also continued to paint.
 

five

lavender mist
jackson pollock
 

what is it? it doesn't matter. it was the actual action of painting the piece that is important. pollock poured his entire being into this work. he laid the enormous canvas on the floor and splattered paint on it, then he danced and rolled and jumped and frolicked in it until physical exhaustion. sounds like fun, eh? art isn't so bad. just look at this piece, and imagine a 40 year old bald guy rolling around on top of it, covered in paint. it creates a cool thought and an even cooler image. but why is it called 'lavender mist'? i don't see any lavender...