OGEE - the Beautiful Human Art Topic

[Sam]

This is a topic for beautiful things, beautiful art.

Your submissions can be anything as long as they are

a) beautiful.
b) not a photo of a human being. This isn't just a 'fit guys/girls' topic.
c) a high-resolution image of whatever it is. No small, grainy images please.
(pro-tip: change the size setting on Google Image search to 'large')

This is a topic for sublime art. It can be any format, including painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, pottery or any other artistic form. But we don't just want something a 14-year-old has posted on DeviantArt. Truly great works please. And I'd rather not have photos of beautiful bits of nature, this is a topic for things that have been crafted by the hand of man.

The idea is that maybe someone on the forum will see something that touches their life in a meaningful way, that resonates with them, and that they would never otherwise have seen.

Topic is named after OGEE, Nick Guest's magazine of beautiful art in Hollinghurt's The Line of Beauty.

My first contributions:

(photo from 1900)

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany, built in 1869.

'The Kiss' (1907) by Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918)

'View of Delft' (1660 - 1661) by Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675)

De La Warr Pavilion (1935), Bexhill, designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff.

The Adoration of the Trinity (1511) by Albrecht Dürer (1471 - 1528)

Your turn, show us what you think is beautiful.

Edit: should have put 'in b4 someone hilariously posts a photo of Nemesis/Blue Fire/Mamba' *yawn*

 

[Stelios]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

Might as well get the non-serious business out of the way first.

Does this count?

 

[Ted]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

One picture that I found on Google which I love:

Skyline of South London taken from the area of the Shard (London Bridge). I think it's a Beautiful photo Because I love seeing my local area at night.

Here's Another one:

This is Crystal Palace park. Sometimes go here when I'm stressed or down and makes me feel relaxed when it's quiet. Love the place

 

[Adam]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

I'm quite like paintings of mountains and forests, but I especially love this one by the late Bob Ross:

 

[Danny]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

I probably haven't found the right photos to do the place justice, but Media City is potentially where I will be studying at university starting next year. And just look at the place at night!

 

[Sam]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

I love this Raphael (1483 - 1520) painting, 'Saint Catherine of Alexandria' (1507)

I like the s-curve of her body. It kinda reminds me of Hogarth's line of beauty. She looks very realistic, and has a fluid shape to her body. She seems so innocent, almost sexually so. But she also seems to transcend her quaint surroundings and arrest your eyes. I also kinda like her harsh, powerful fingers on her left hand.

Feel free to say what you love about what you post!

 

[Alastair]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

Truly stunning...

 

[Sam]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

Just a friendly reminder: this isn't meant to be a desktop wallpaper topic.

While I love the contributions, it'd be great if you could stick to photographs that either have some sort of artistic value in and of themselves, or are just plain photos of some sort of physical work of art (buildings, sculpture). Photos of single buildings that you find beautiful are fine, but try and find the plainest photo of that building possible, to let it speak for itself.

As much as the Tumblr-esque photos of landscapes and cityscapes are all very nice, they're not really what I had in mind with a topic about human-created works of art.

Please, if you don't mind, no more 'desktop wallpaper' posts. And please no photos of pretty natural scenes, maybe that could have its own topic?

 

[Meat Pie]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

The interesting discussion to be had is whether beauty itself is a measurable value which is entirely objective and an unquestionable absolute truth (like the opinion of Roger Scruton); or whether it is subjective with variation in aesthetic appreciation playing a significant role in the idea of 'beauty'

I myself, I find the objective viewpoint very narrow minded as it would have some of my personal tastes branded as 'ugly'. For example one of the most beautiful paintings that I feel has ever been made is Francis Bacon's 'Three Studies For Figures At The Base Of A Crucifixion' as pictured here:

Admittedly not a conventional pick, but this painting was the first piece of art to have ever truly captivated me. Before seeing this in the Tate gallery, my younger self had little interest in the creative world. I even found Galleries a bore, but after seeing this powerful personification of raw emotion and pain in these tragic figures, my heart swelled with both excitement, a touch of fear, but most of all a sympathy for these lost characters. To me, this piece is feels far more human then any vision in the history of painting and it is truly beautiful.


Moving on from that, a random assortment of other beautiful things:

This never-used magazine logo concept designed by Herb Lubalin:

Using the ampersand as the baby in the womb was an inspired but simple idea which is both formally effective but beautifully communicates it in a very tender and warm fashion.


The 1970's dystopian future film, 'Soylent Green' directed by Richard Fleischer:

Soylent Green is dark and often quite depressing, but there are scenes in this film that have left an everlasting mark in my mind, not because of the horrors of the film's plot/situation but because of the never patronising honesty of the filmmakers. The stand out performance in this film has to be Edward G. Robinson who played his last ever role in this film before his death, something he was aware of at the time of filming, and it seems to have given the film's emotional impact even more intensity. This pick is really quite hard to explain but this film is beautiful to me.


Graphic Novel/Picture Book, 'The Arrival', 'written' and illustrated by Shaun Tan:

This book is a prized possession of mine. It sensitively tells the story of an immigrant moving to a strange and foreign land as he struggles to come to grips to living without his family and coping with a dramatic life change. What's brilliant about this book is that there is not a single word written and the story is entirely communicated through a series of images. You would think that this would be a limiting factor and make the narrative hard to follow, but it doesn't whatsoever, and has the added benefit of giving the 'readers' a little insight to what it would be like to move to a country where you cannot speak or read the native language. On top of all of that, the illustrations are just stunningly detailed.

That's all for now.

 

[Fredward]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

Firstly, I think you should get rid of all those rules Sam.

Art shouldn't require rules, have a beautiful Art thread, Inspiring art, that can be a picture of a person or a photograph of mother nature. Otherwise this thread just comes across as pretentious, as if you just want to have a thread to make yourself appear cultured. No rif raf here boys.

I know thats not what you are trying to convey in this thread but that's what I almost interpreted as I read the first paragraph

also some "14 year old" on Deviant Art can produce better art then modern artist's of today.

Just my two cents.


For my Beautiful thing I will give examples of games art, as it's my favourite art form and one that's most often overlooked, art in games is never taken seriously, they are just games apparently...

Portal 2:

I absolutely love this piece of concept art. Titled Aperture Requiem. I always find concept art the most beautiful art of modern day, this may be bias on my part as I am a student for games art and hope to create pieces as stunning as this at some point in my life!

The art reflects the disused bowels of the Aperture facility, the sense of loneliness bearing down on our protagonist Chell while being constantly watched by the Antagonist AI GLaDOS. I can only guess this art was drawn to portray one of the more serious moments of the game. Where jokes take a step aside and the fact that you are alone in this place. Maybe amongst AI and recorded voices. But alone. There is a 'hidden' song written by The National which you can find in a "Rattmans den" really portrays this emotion you can feel in this moment of the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Vg2YS-sFE

I could give you many other artwork from Portal 2 as it is one of the most art inspiring games I've played, The serious side to the jokes and hilarity the game gives. Hence why I am such a fanboy for the game. But I'll leave you with that as it's one of my favourite pieces and I have a signed and numbered lithograph of it on my wall!



Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

A world where Human Augmentations are possible, people are modifying there bodies beyond what they would naturally be capable of. You spend most of the game city level, amongst the people. In order to keep the augmentations from being rejected a person needs to keep taking a highly addictive drug. Rich and famous end up on the street begging, just to get this drug. Then there's the side of the story of military and gangs using this technology as weapons.

Short video setting the scene even if it's a fictional concept it still evokes emotion. I highly advise taking a gander!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akaos1U8Rto

The Witcher 2:

A stunning game, very beautiful and requires a ridiculous computer to run it at it's full beauty!

Games like The Witcher 2 really amazes me, just because every thing you see in game, all this "natural" beauty was created by men. It isn't there when the architects started all was sculpted by the artists on computer, it's not mother nature that created it and the fact you can explore these worlds, interact with these worlds from the comfort of your computer is astounding.

All of those 'photos' except the first promo art was taken in game on probably a very high end computer. If you have interest in gaming and the technology behind it, that in my opinion is a startling feat as these shots look pre rendered out of game. The technology that we can explore these detailed worlds seamlessly is beyond me.

I have to many more examples. But I have a feeling I've blabbered on about an art form I love, and don't want to annoy people who couldn't give a damn about it!

Hope you enjoyed my short essay and hope it's inspired some to look up other forms of games art!

 

[Sam]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

Both the main rules are there for a good reason.

a) because there are already topics on the forum for the posting of photos of aesthetically and sexually attractive men and women.
b) because, with respect, as the topic starter, I am entitled to a reasonable degree of control over the purpose of the topic, as I set out in the first post. This is an art topic, as in art crafted by people, and nature (even if it is beautiful) isn't crafted by people. If we included nature's random formations, it wouldn't be an art topic anymore. If you want to start your own topic about the random beauty of nature, feel free.

tl;dr: mother nature itself isn't art, because it's random and hasn't been created by conscious beings. This is a topic for art.

Meat Pie, my idea of beauty (in regards to this thread anyway) is relative, not absolute. If people think something is beautiful, then post it, as long as it meets the rules above. They're pretty loose rules.

I was going to post Francis Bacon next! I agree with you, his paintings are some of the most beautiful ever created. Which is a bit weird, as they're often also grotesque, disgusting and harrowing.

Another good Bacon, 'Triptych, May–June 1973'. It's about the suicide of his lover George. It's so horrible but so beautiful.

'Self Portrait' (1973)

The threat and tension of violence, dismemberment and claustrophobia is almost unbearable if you look at his paintings too much. It feels like his scenes are just on the knife-edge of an eruption of physical violence. Looking at some of his more disfigured paintings makes me extremely uneasy.

 

[Fredward]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

The problem with those rules is

A) not all photos of men and woman are for sexual or aesthetic pleasure.

B) although you did create the thread and are entitled to create the 'rules' as it were, doesn't mean I can't disagree with them.

Don't try and define art. Nature can be art, and art does not need to be created my man its all in the eye of the beholder.

Someone can have a different view of what art is then you and you should embrace those views.

I think having a photo of a mountain or a person is fine as long as the person can explain why this is art to them. That way we can learn.

Instead of seeing the similar old pictures with the same old reasoning why they are there.

But that's my two cents. You don't have to agree.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[Sam]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

You're welcome to disagree, but then feel free to go and start your own thread, rather than deliberately undermining mine.

Nature on its own cannot be art.

Words can't just mean whatever you want them to mean, otherwise they're meaningless. This rocking chair isn't a potato, and nature isn't art.

1 [mass noun] the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power:

2 human skill and work as opposed to nature.

2. the exercise of human skill (as distinguished from nature)

Every respected dictionary definition of art defines it as either being a human expression of creativity, or at least a deliberate and conscious expression of creativity, beauty or emotions.

Sorry, but words can't just mean literally whatever you want them to mean. Nature is not included in the definition of art as it's not a deliberate expression. I'm not being 'elitist' for saying this, the word simply doesn't mean that.

 

[Sazzle]

Re: OGEE - the Beautiful Things Topic

Sam, with all due respect, and with me speaking with my team badge off, must you nit pick?

Nature is incredibly beautiful, and I find it a little off key that you've instilled a 'rule' in this topic to say people can't post 'desktop backgrounds' because YOU said its YOUR topic.

I don't like paintings, I like photography. I don't like architecture, I like nature.

That doesn't mean I can't appreciate a stunning Kandinsky masterpiece when I see one, nor recognise a breathtaking building.

I just don't prefer it!

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

 

[Sazzle]

And while I'm at it. Your topic title says beautiful things.

Nature in all mediums and night time cityscapes are all beautiful.


>>> LOL. You've edited the topic title. Whatever suits, dear.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

 

[Sam]

>>> LOL. You've edited the topic title. Whatever suits, dear.

I edited it before either of your posts, as I thought it wasn't clear enough.

I think people are being a little unfair. This topic is a topic for art. I think that's a pretty broad definition. It's not a topic about nature. I think art is quite broad enough, there is no danger of this topic becoming too narrow.

Anyone else who starts a topic, such as a forum game, is allowed to pick the 'rules' of their topic. Why shouldn't I? This topic is about human-created art, so anything else is off-topic.

For example, Simon is allowed to make a 'rule' in this topic. How come none of the mods are trying to deliberately undermine his thread, for having the sheer nerve to try and actually express some sort of wish over the content of his own topic? I created this topic about human-created art, and I was clear about that from the beginning.

This doesn't seem fair at all.

 

[Ben]

To compare a topic about rude place names and one about art is a stretch. Simons is a general sillyness topic, yours is about something much more passionate and interesting - you only need to look at the response you have already had to see how passionate people are about their interpretations of art.

Can't it just be open to everyone and be respected for their individual interests and passions?

 

[Sam]

But this topic is about art, and nature isn't art. It's literally not what the word means, at all.

It'd be like me posting naked men in the 'boobs' topic. It's totally off-topic. I don't see why that's so complicated?

 

[Ben]

I disagree nature can be art, a brief stroll around the National Sculpture Park certainly enforces that, and some if it is man made using nature too - I certainly wouldnt want to argue with the artist their work isnt valid due to it being nature too.

I dont understand why you can't accept peoples different interpretations on something that is such a grand scale and also deeply personal.
Im finding this thread exasperating - it should be about beautiful things, not arguing over who perceives what as beauty and rules. Surely a big part of art is to break the rules and not conform?

 

[Sam]

I presume you're talking about the Yorkshire Sculpture Park? But the sculptures their are art, because they've been created by humans! Even if they use natural materials, such as wood works by David Nash, they've had an artistic process applied to them by humans.

This is not a topic title about beautiful things, sorry if the initial topic title was misleading. But I thought the first post was clear enough. This is a topic about beautiful art.

If anyone else wants to start a topic about general beauty, or beautiful things or places, feel free. But this is a topic about beautiful art, always has been, and anything else is off-topic just like in any other topic. Isn't the job of the mods to make sure threads don't go off-topic, rather than the exact opposite, as has happened here? :