Creating Art

            Artists have been creating art for longer than the recorded history of man.  Art is creating something such as paintings or sculpture or anything done with any medium.  There are an infinite number of styles of art and may mean different things when interpreted by different people.  Only the artist can know what they were feeling, thinking, or fully understand the true meaning of exactly what they have crafted.

            A very popular mean of art is painting.  From the cavemen who did the cave drawings to the newest person who picks up a brush, each person conveys a message.  This message could be as simple as “I saw this rock today” to as complex as an abstract dream.  There are several types of paints used today, each of them bring a unique aspect to art.  Different colors, light, textures, and the use of different perspectives are some of the things the artist can utilize to display their message.

            Michelangelo’s famous mural, The Creation of Adam, located on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel shows God creating man.  In this epic painting Michelangelo uses many colors and shades to make a realistic reproduction of the event that no one on Earth ever saw.  Michelangelo painted God using his finger to create Adam, as opposed to breathing into him as the Bible says it happened, probably because it might have appeared god was kissing Adam.  Michelangelo’s message is not too hard to see in this painting he wanted to show that God created Adam and that is how we were put on to this Earth.

            Another great work of art is Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.  In The Last Supper all focus of the painting is on Jesus.  Da Vinci achieved this effect by putting Jesus in the exact center of the painting and using a single point full front perspective system.  With this effect you can clearly see that the walls and ceilings are drawn toward the top of Jesus’ head, causing the viewer to immediately look at Jesus first then the rest of the picture.  Da Vinci also used the contrast of light and dark to give the sense of a room lit by the windows and maybe an unseen candle.  Da Vinci also put all of the men on one side of the table.  The reason that this important is because normally people eat on both sides.  This goes to show that the painting is not an exact reenactment of the last supper of Jesus Christ but an interpretation of the event that shows all the men’s faces.  

            All artists have a message embedded into their work.  They use as many or as little elements as they desire to complete their masterpieces.  Art doesn’t have to be anything that looks like anything it just has to be.  Anything that someone creates can be considered a work of art.  With this it can be said that art has always been and will always be.