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What’s in a name? The element of a piece of work that gets the most attention is usually the image itself. However, there is another auxiliary element to it – the title. It can mean different things to different artists and get varying responses from those who read it or hear it spoken. Sometimes the title may be an afterthought for an artist. Other works are untitled, perhaps as an attempt of the artist to isolate and only use one medium to influence the viewer. It could be that the artist feels the image should evoke emotion without having words:

Untitled by David Collins on Zatista.com

Some artists describe exactly what the work is; the title becoming an informative description:

Royal Palace, Turin, Italy by Massimo Listri on Zatista.com

Yet to other artists, the title is an element of the piece. Sometimes it may even come first, before the work is completed. In these instances it is contributing to the imagery, influencing thoughts by relationship, or bringing in outside feelings. It can be slightly subtler such as bringing in additional context in a work such as:

Morning Drive by Richard Szkutnik on Zatista.com

The title can also be a complete and dominant element of the piece such as, “An Oak Tree”, seen below:

An Oak Tree by Michael Craig-Martin. 1973 image: wikipedia

Other titles are famous and transcend the image itself – the words spread further. Some may recognize the name the Mona Lisa or Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, but perhaps couldn’t recall specific details aside from their general appearance. If you feel inclined, next time you are buying a piece of art, take a glance at the title. How does it make you feel? What might the artist have been thinking of when he or she named the piece?

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci image: wikipedia

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh image: wikipedia

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Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows by John Constable 1829 on Tate.org

In art, as in other disciplines, study is essential. But practice makes perfect. For painters, often this means painting the same subject again and again, learning by doing, until they achieve both the mastery of technique and refinement of observation to create a fully realized work.

Salisbury cathedral from the Meadows, 1831 by John Constable on Nationalgallery.org

Even accomplished painters may still return to the practice of creating preliminary sketches or studies of a subject in order to work out the details and solve possible problems before tackling the final piece. Certainly, there are favorite themes or scenes artists tend to revisit that will recur in their body of work.

The Japanese Bridge by Claude Monet 1896 on Wikipaintings.org

There are also cases throughout art history where artists become so enamored of a subject, perhaps even obsessed, that repetition becomes an end and not a means.  Whether it is Constable with his depictions of Salisbury Cathedral in all possible lighting conditions, sometimes viewed at the exact same distance through a break in the tree branches, or Monet’s series of Giverny garden, Rouen Cathedral, and haystacks, these artists produced series of paintings that were more than just studies, but also never quite the final word on the subject.

The Japanese Bridge (The Water Lilly Pond) by Claude Monet 1899 on Wikipaintings.org

One wonders at the reasons behind such dedication and devotion. Were these artists stubborn perfectionists bringing us along on their private endless journey of discovery? Or, did these artists intend to demonstrate that there is no definitive view of any subject, that it takes multiple images considered together to do it justice?

Wheatstacks (End of Summer) by Claude Monet 1890-91 on Wikipedia.org

Whatever the reason, thanks to the art of repetition we have series that are not simply gatherings of alternate versions, but of highly focused and carefully rendered individual works that can stand alone, or be taken together, and still leave us wanting more.

Brian Sylvester is a guest blogger on WallSpin, and an artist on Zatista.

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Campbell's Soup Cans Andy Warhol, 1962 Image: MoMA

The time has come, you have the means, now you too can have a Warhol. Just grab your wallet and head down to Target to get one, or two, or three.

Campbell’s Soup is tapping Andy Warhol for another 15 minutes of fame. The world’s biggest soup maker plans to introduce special-edition cans of its condensed tomato soup bearing labels reminiscent of the pop artist’s paintings at Target stores starting Sunday. The 1.2 million cans will cost .75 cents each, reports the UK’s Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail further states:
“The Campbell Soup Co.’s embrace of Warhol’s iconic imagery is a switch from its initial reaction [decades ago], when the company considered taking legal action before deciding to see how the paintings were received by the public. In 1964, however, the company realized the paintings were becoming a phenomenon and embraced the depictions. Campbell’s marketing manager even sent Warhol a letter expressing admiration for his work.”

Campbell's Publicity Picture

“Later that same year, Campbell commissioned Warhol to do a painting of a can of Campbell’s tomato soup as a gift for its retiring board chairman, Oliver G. Willits; Warhol was paid $2,000 for the work. Campbell also invited the artist to visit its headquarters in Camden, N.J., although Thorn said there’s no indication a visit ever took place. There was no contact after that until 1985, when the company commissioned Warhol to paint packages of its new dry soup mixes for advertisements. Warhol died about two years later.”

Campbell's Soup Image: Associated Press

“In 1993, the company bought a Warhol painting of one of its tomato soup cans to hang in the boardroom of its headquarters. Campbell has sold Warhol-inspired cans on two other occasions, although on much smaller scales. In 2004, the company sold 75,000 four-packs of Warhol-inspired cans at Giant Eagle, a Pittsburgh-based supermarket operator. During the holiday season in 2006, the company sold 12,000 units at Barney’s in New York.”

Campbell's Soup Image: Associated Press

“The latest promotion comes as Campbell looks to turn around its struggling soup business after years of declining sales; the company plans to introduce dozens of new products this year. The cans to be sold at Target will come in four color schemes, with famed Warhol quote such as, ‘In the future everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes.’

The red-and-white Campbell label made its debut in 1898. Significant changes to the front of the can have been made only a handful of times since then. – Daily Mail

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Art and nature have long been bedfellows. Stepping outside it’s easy to see why. Taking one step further and escaping into the wilderness unveils a veritable buffet of inspiration to feed off of. If you can honestly capture even a fraction of the essence of what’s right in front of you, often that’s enough to make a great artwork.

Trees In The North by Lawren Harris

As a setting for creating art, nature has not gone unnoticed by many great artists who have chosen to live and create within it. Inspiration comes both from nature’s peaceful and tranquil emotions – such as the calm of the water on the lake before dawn – as well as it its raw intensity such as in bouts of merciless weather or the powerful, dynamic interaction of animals.

The Little Falls by J. E. H. MacDonald

Many artists have become transfixed with nature, making it the main focus of their careers. A Canadian group of landscape painters called The Group of Seven were one such cohort. Otherwise known as the Algonquin School, they painted throughout the 1920’s and into the early 1930’s. Primarily painting the Canadian landscape, these artists left us with iconic images of one of Canada’s greatest assets – the land itself.

Fred Varley - Stormy Weather Georgian Bay

Mirror Lake by Franklin Carmichael

Berry Patch, 1920 by Frank Johnston

Brink Of Falls Moon River,1930 by Arthur Lismer

Maple And Birches by A.Y. Jackson

In 2010, ‘’Bylot Island I’’, an oil-on-canvas by Group of Seven Artist Lawren Harris sold for $ 2,808,000. It was the second Harris piece to sell for over $1 million at that auction, and one of the most expensive works ever sold by a Canadian artist.

"Bylot Island I," by Canadian artist Lawren Harris

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A natural sequel to my last blog post on art created BY Olympians is art created to inspire Olympians. The words above were written by Pierre Coubertin in his “Ode to Sport” which won a gold medal in literature at the 1912 Olympics. Coubertin (the father of the modern Olympics) wanted the Olympics to be more than technique. This was made manifest in the artistic representations of the ideals of the games.

Anniversary-of-the-Reintroduction-of-the-Olympic-Games-1914 by Edouard Elzingre

In 1914, Coubertin commissioned Edouard Elzingre to create a souvenir
poster for the 20th anniversary of the reintroduction of the Olympic games.
Elzingre’s lithograph shown above depicts a victorious athlete, wearing his olive
wreath (as in the original Greek games, a symbol of peace and victory),
returning home as a hero.

Other artistic symbols perpetuated Coubertin’s ideals of the
internationality of athletic competition with human values of both body
and spirit being paramount.

Nikephoros Lytras, one of the most renowned Greek artists of his time,
designed the 1896 medal. One side shows the phoenix rising from the ashes
with a figure representing Greece holding the wreath:

Souvenir-Medal-of-the-first-modern-Olympic-Games-in-1896

David Watkins designed the London 2012 medal. It continues the tradition
of the Greek figure of Nike (Winged Goddess of Victory) with the Panathinaiko
Stadium in the background. On the reverse there is a tribute to the host
country, with the River Thames and the London Games logo:

Olympic Gold Medal London 2012

Olympic rings photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Olympic rings symbol instantly stirs emotions at the most ordinary of
times. The Olympic rings in Olympic Park have apparently stirred enough
emotion to produce more rings – there have been at least 25 marriage
proposals in the park by romantic sports fans.

The Olympic rings revealed on London's Tower Bridge photo: Getty Images

Imagine the sensation as these London rings – 25 metres wide and 11.5
metres tall – were lowered into place on the Tower Bridge. The rings,
which weigh three tons, cost £259,817 (approximately $407,562) to produce. Installation
is estimated to have cost £53,000, approximately $83,139.

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