Contemporary art during painting workshop in Italy

Just finished another Studio Italia. Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of our last painting workshop in Tuscany (near Montepulciano) was the making of an installation around the famous Chianina cow breed.

For the celebration of the annual Festival Arte Chianina, the Contessa Giuliana approached us to paint on canvas cows in the field. But for Walk the Arts, this is too literal. We chose instead to do a contemporary art installation reflecting today’s trends. In 48 hours we managed to have 8 three-dimensional cows cut in wood and put around Bernardo, a real bull of the region, on which I painted a landscape (a “landscape on the cow”, not “the cow in a landscape”), thanks to Jaffe and Ricardo who made sure that the huge animal stayed calm and happy.

On every wooden cow, each workshop participant painted the representation (signifier) of an idiom (signified) relating to the word “cow” such as the “Sacred cow”, “Holy Cow, “Oh la vache!”. Of course, beforehand, we had a lecture on “Semantic-Semiology” (also on Duchamp) making sure that everyone apprehended the concept very well. And they all did as these two photographs show.

Now we are now in France for our upcoming painting workshop in Provence. The group will arrive in less than 36 hours and we are ready.

by Yves M. Larocque (Ph.D.) | Jul 4, 2014 | Art History, Inspiration |Thoughts, Painting

1 Comment

Zaza on July 5, 2014 at 4:45 am

A wonderful time ! and Bernardo, the bull, was very happy from the caresses of the brush !
What are you going to do in Provence ? We are waiting for the next newsletter ! Have a nice workshop in France !

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We all make art! It is part of culture. It is deeply rooted in human nature as a way of communicating with others. We all need to tell our stories because it is stories that link us all. We are all one, one creative mind! Though, all unique and equipped with unique ways of expressing ourselves. We live in constant search of that unique liberating voice. At Walk the Arts we aim to facilitate our art makers to explore new territories. Our painting classes and art history trips on three continents are meant to be rounded art experiences among small groups of like-minded adults. We offer an environment that fosters creativity. As we always say, art as religion is just a matter of faith. This blog is about living fully the experience of art, about finding our single artistic path, about the joy of art-making. We believe that making art accessible to all will lead to a betterment of our society.

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