Texas History: Cowboy CultureAn integral part of the story of America, the cowboy is a national icon, a romantic, rugged metaphor for America's frontier past, Westward expansion and creation myths. Sensationalized by Hollywood and by real-life bad boys, the heroic, hard-working, hard-riding, free-thinking cowboy is inseparable from American history itself.
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Early 1800s - the Vaquero Age
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America's first cowboys came from Mexico. Of course, in California the cattle business emerged with settlement itself. But to the east, beginning in the 1500s, vaqueros -- the Spanish term for "cowboy" -- were hired by ranchers to drive and tend to livestock between Mexico and what is now New Mexico and Texas. During the early 1800s, and leading up to Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, the number of English speaking settlers in the area increased. These American settlers took their cues from the vaquero culture, borrowing clothing styles and vocabulary and learning how to drive their cattle in the same way.
The vaquero influence persisted throughout the 1800s. Cowboys came from a variety of backgrounds, and included European immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans and Midwestern and Southern settlers. In the nineteenth century, one out of three American cowboys in the south was Mexican and one out of four was African American. From PBS - independent lens |
The Modern Cowboy |
On the ranch, the cowboy is responsible for feeding the livestock, branding and earmarking cattle (horses also are branded on many ranches), plus tending to animal injuries and other needs. The working cowboy usually is in charge of a small group or "string" of horses and is required to routinely patrol the rangeland in all weather conditions checking for damaged fences, evidence of predation, water problems, and any other issue of concern. They also move the livestock to different pasture locations, or herd them into corrals and onto trucks for transport. In addition, cowboys may do many other jobs, depending on the size of the "outfit" or ranch, the terrain, and the number of livestock.
In addition to cowboys working on ranches, in stockyards, and as staff or competitors at rodeos, the category includes farmhands working with other types of livestock (sheep, goats, hogs, chickens, etc.). About one-third of cowboys are listed in the subcategory of Spectator Sports which includes rodeos, circuses, and theaters needing livestock handlers. |
Fauvism
Fauvism was the first of the avant-garde movements that flourished in France in the early years of the twentieth century. The paintings of the Fauves (translated roughly "wild beasts") were characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors, while their subject matter had a high degree of simplification and abstraction. Fauvism can be classified as an extreme development of Van Gogh's Post-Impressionism fused with the pointillism of Seurat and other Neo-Impressionist painters, in particular Paul Signac. Other key influences were Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin, whose employment of areas of saturated color—notably in paintings from Tahiti—strongly influenced future artists. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm
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Fauvist Western Art
Objective: Develop a drawing of livestock using the Fauvist style. Focus on Color, Value, Variety and Balance.
Due December 18th, 2015
Vocabulary
Fauvism-- is the style of les Fauves (French for "the wild beasts"), a loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism.
Impressionism--Impressionism was an art movement in France at the end of the 19th century. The Impressionists were a group of artists renowned for their innovative painting techniques and approach to using color in art.
Post-Impressionism-- encompasses a wide range of distinct artistic styles that all share the common motivation of responding to the opticality of the Impressionist movement. The stylistic variations assembled under the general banner of Post-Impressionism range from the scientifically oriented Neo-Impressionism of Georges Seurat to the lush Symbolism of Paul Gauguin, but all concentrated on the subjective vision of the artist.
Neo-Impressionists--applied scientific optical principles of light and color to create strictly formalized compositions in opposition to Impressionist painters who spontaneously recorded nature in terms of the fugitive effects of color and light.
Value--lightness and darkness
Contrast--differences between elements in a composition (created through size, shape, value)
Primary--red, blue, yellow
Secondary--green, violet, orange; made by mixing 2 primary colors
Tertiary--red-orange, yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green; made by mixing a primary and a secondary
Complementary--colors opposite each other on the color wheel
Split-complementary--1 color and the colors on either side of the complement
Analagous--3-4 colors that sit directly next to each other on the color wheel
Warm--reds, oranges, yellow; colors that appear to be in the forefront
Cool--blues, violets, greens; colors that tend to recede to the background
Achromatic-- using no color. Neutral grays, white and black are used to establish Value
Monochromatic--1 color and all of its values
Hue--a pure color
Fauvism-- is the style of les Fauves (French for "the wild beasts"), a loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism.
Impressionism--Impressionism was an art movement in France at the end of the 19th century. The Impressionists were a group of artists renowned for their innovative painting techniques and approach to using color in art.
Post-Impressionism-- encompasses a wide range of distinct artistic styles that all share the common motivation of responding to the opticality of the Impressionist movement. The stylistic variations assembled under the general banner of Post-Impressionism range from the scientifically oriented Neo-Impressionism of Georges Seurat to the lush Symbolism of Paul Gauguin, but all concentrated on the subjective vision of the artist.
Neo-Impressionists--applied scientific optical principles of light and color to create strictly formalized compositions in opposition to Impressionist painters who spontaneously recorded nature in terms of the fugitive effects of color and light.
Value--lightness and darkness
Contrast--differences between elements in a composition (created through size, shape, value)
Primary--red, blue, yellow
Secondary--green, violet, orange; made by mixing 2 primary colors
Tertiary--red-orange, yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green; made by mixing a primary and a secondary
Complementary--colors opposite each other on the color wheel
Split-complementary--1 color and the colors on either side of the complement
Analagous--3-4 colors that sit directly next to each other on the color wheel
Warm--reds, oranges, yellow; colors that appear to be in the forefront
Cool--blues, violets, greens; colors that tend to recede to the background
Achromatic-- using no color. Neutral grays, white and black are used to establish Value
Monochromatic--1 color and all of its values
Hue--a pure color
Process
1. Use your own livestock photo or one from the class resources Google drive folder.
2. Reference the works of the Fauvist artists before beginning your final piece-- complete 2 sketches in color
3. Enlarge your image with the grid technique. Use the "analogous values" approach to render your picture in pencil.
4. Apply color based on your research and practice sketches in the Fauvist manner.
2. Reference the works of the Fauvist artists before beginning your final piece-- complete 2 sketches in color
3. Enlarge your image with the grid technique. Use the "analogous values" approach to render your picture in pencil.
4. Apply color based on your research and practice sketches in the Fauvist manner.
Requirements:
• Complete shading practice exercises.
• 2 sketches of livestock
• Final color drawing
•Self assessment
Materials:
Paper, oil pastel
• Complete shading practice exercises.
• 2 sketches of livestock
• Final color drawing
•Self assessment
Materials:
Paper, oil pastel