Module 12 video review blog

Questions and Topics for Your Blog Posting:

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I chose, “Andy Warhol: Images of an Image”, because my best friend has always been obsessed with Warhol’s work. I knew of a few pieces he had done, but I didn’t know anything about him as a person or how he got to the point he has. I was very curious about his history and motives.
I also chose, “Uncertainty: Modernity and Art”, because during the art gallery visit assignments, I always wondered about “modern art” and what the difference is to regular art.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Andy Warhol: his fascination with—and his indifference to—celebrities as objects no less commodified than a simple can of soup. Also, his use of the silk screen which gave him the ability to make several prints of art to meet his clients demand, where he could continue putting out art, and gaining more revenue.
Uncertainty: I did not know how the Nazis tried to eradicate modern art’s uncertainties with some crushing certainties of their own; and shows how modern art’s relationship with modern life changed.

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos are a great way to understand the book information better. I am more of a visual learner, and seeing it and hearing it is much easier to take in information rather than just reading. I noticed the modernity of art was mentioned in both, and Andy Warhol is obviously a very well know artist everywhere.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

The videos always help me understand information better, and I catch things in the videos that may not have been mentioned, or I passed by in the book readings.

Module 11 Video Blog review

Questions and Topics for Your Blog Posting:
1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.
I chose 'Expressionism" because I know art is a main method of self expression, though I don't know much about it.
I chose "

Dance at the Moulin de la Galette" because I love french as a language, and it just grabbed my attention more than any of the others.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.
An outgrowth of Fauvism, Expressionism emphasized color's emotional properties while demonstrating far less concern than the Fauves had with the formal and structural composition of color. The artist wanted to show living human beings who can experience love...not landscapes or people reading. His thought process was the only thing that I learned or was interested in from this video.
The 2nd video contrasts the artist’s idealism with the realities of poverty and left-wing radicalism that pervaded the locale. Also, that the painting is one of the most controversial in the whole world, and is called the most beautiful painting of the 19th century.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?
Videos given for this class almost always emphasize the readings from the test. As usual, it is just an easier visual learning method, than just reading.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?
Yes, they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts. The Expressionism video was pretty hard to watch, you could tell it was old, and the man's voice was a little too monotone for me.  The Dance at the Moulin de la Galette video was more interesting than the first one, it was more up beat and easier to watch and retain information from it.

Art Gallery visit # 2

The Burchfield Penney Art Center: Art Gallery visit # 2 (11/10/12)

Step 1: The Exhibition
 Questions about the exhibit:

1. What is the title of the exhibit?
There were a few exhibits being shown here, such as "Spain: Rock, Roll, Rumbles, Rebels & Revolution", and "McCallum Tarry: Intersections".

2. What is the theme of the exhibition?

The main theme seemed to be Martin Luther King Jr., and a lot of racially charged art in the advertised exhibits.

Step 2: The Gallery
 Questions about the physical space:
1. What type of lighting is used?
The lighting was mainly recessed, and significantly dim considering it was a gallery. Obviously there were spot lights where needed to help emphasize art.
2. What colors are used on the walls?
The gallery is primarily all white, some areas of the art center was grey and dark grey.
3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space?
There were light colored hard wood floors, black base boards, which brought out the primarily white walls. Very typical white paint on drywall art gallery scene.
4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?
Since I had never visited this gallery before, it was sort of like a white maze to me at first, like most other galleries, different rooms lead to different rooms and hallways. Everything was very spaced out, which appeared to me as a way to cleanse the pallet of your mind before moving onto the next piece.




Step 3: The Artwork
 Questions about the artwork:

1. How are the artworks organized?

The art was perfectly spaced out, and there was enough space between them where you could definitely concentrate on one piece without having you eyes want to wander to what was next.

2. How are the artworks similar?

They had close to matching frames, and similar matte was used.

3. How are the artworks different?

Every piece of art is different! Thats the beauty of it, other that the themed exhibits, once you move from one piece of art to the next, it was 100% different than the one before it.

4. How are the artworks framed?

There was large mattes used for the most part (unless a huge oil on canvas piece), and the frames used were primarily golds, blacks, silvers, and woods.

5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?

There were the generic white index cards with a black matte behind it to show professionalization and consistency. 

6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?

There was usually about 2-3 feet between artworks horizontally, then were obviously mounted closer together if there were more than one piece to go together to make one final artwork.

Step 4: Art Criticism Exercise
Select three of the artworks from the show and use the Art Criticism worksheet to desribe, analyze, bracket and interpret the work using the 5-step Art Criticism Process described. 

1) The artist is Thomas Kegler, the title is "Kaaterskill Falls Dawn" from 2011. The media is oil on linen. The size is not listed but was about 3ftX2ft. The piece caught my eye immediately, it is a beautiful painting of a waterfall at sunrise. The elements used are, color, texture, rhythm, and form(s).  Since there is a proverb listed after the title, I'm assuming the artist was trying to show a scene depicted in the bible.

2) The artist is Charles E. Burchfield, from (1893-1967). The first is called "Ulrich's Envelope from June 8th, 1964, while the other two are 'Untitled'. The media was graphite on commercially printed paper/envelopes. The size is obviously average size business envelopes. The elements used are, form, emphasis, and rhythm. This piece reminded me of what my mother does while she is on the phone...doodles on envelopes laying on the table. Some pieces of art really amaze me that they are considered something special, because in a lot of cases, something like this is done one a daily/weekly basis by someone who knows nothing of art. 

3) This again, is a piece by Charles E. Burchfield, from (1893-1967). It is titled "Solitude" from 1918, and is watercolor and charcoal on paper. The size was quite large, unlisted, but about 4ftX3ft.  This piece attracted me because I love staring into different landscape pieces, trying to see everything at once, and think about the motive behind it.  The elements used are, proportion, rhythm, and forms.  This piece at first reminded me of a still scene that may have been painted after the lord of the rings series. The landscape is similar to what is explained in the books and movies. Showing caves, and cliffs with who knows what is above or behind them.  Judging by the title of the piece, I would say the artist was trying to convey a simple sense of solitude, or serenity...maybe thinking that everyone needs to get away every once and a while, and appreciate nature.

Step 5: Document Your Visit
Take some pictures (no flash) if it is accepted at the Gallery you are visiting.
Bring home brochures and other materials for reference.

4. Answer this question: What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc.?
Looking at the gallery from the standpoint of concentrating on the space as a whole instead of just pieces of art inside of the gallery made me think at first, how huge of a building this is, and SO much open space. With how plain the walls and floors are I definitely realized that it is purposely made to emphasize the art, opposite of what this assignment is asking, so that you DON'T concentrate on other things such as the architecture, and physical appearance of the space.  This gallery I think I actually liked a little more than Albright Knox, it is smaller, and the staff was very nice and helpful. It brings a bit of a modern theme to the art gallery, (the entrance way).

Module 10 video review blog

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I chose Buddhism because that religion itself has always interested me. Their views on religion while incorporating devotion, yoga, and meditation also have caught my interest in the past.
I chose Chinese Art, because I wanted to see if it incorporated anything related to Buddhism because they are located in Asia.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

I don’t think I realized that Buddhism started in India, and spread to other lands, where it flourished.  Also I didn’t know anything about specific architectural works, such as the Mahabodhi Temple, in Bodh Gaya.
The Chinese Art video showed me 33 works of Chinese art, seldom ever seen outside of the National Palace Museum. There is SO much detail involved in these works, and the meanings behind them are even more interesting.

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos relate to the readings in the test regarding the history of these topics. The videos give a more in depth view on the cultures, by also giving you a visual version of the same information, which for me, makes you understand more by actually seeing and hearing rather than just reading.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

Buddhism has always caught my eye because of the relaxation, monks, etc. The video gave a much deeper understanding of the culture incorporating art and architecture.
The Chinese Art video was a little challenging to keep track of the chronological order of things…history has never been my forte, but overall, the incredible detail involved in these pieces made me realize how different Western art is from Eastern.

Module 10 Mask project

I chose these three pictures of masks as inspiration for mine.  As you can see it is a simple combination of black, white, and feathers. Do to financial reasons I obviously can't make one so perfect as these, but I did choose to try a 3-dimensional mask. The pictured masks above all show a series of elements; texture, because the feathers obviously give you the feeling of wanting to touch them, balance, because they are pretty symmetrical for the most part, and emphasis, because feathers around the top or near the eyes are there to accentuate certain facial features. 

My mask is 3-dimensional, although the photo quality is not the best.  I found this project much more difficult than I had originally thought.  The process started with a plain, white 3-D mask I bought at a craft store. I decided to try and cover it with black felt (instead of the obvious....painting it), which involved unsuccessful gluing, followed by staples. The staples were later covered on the front with the white feathers, who were also covered by more NON-stapled black felt, to hide the sharp ends of the feathers.  To hide the staples along the bottom of the mask, I glued mini black pom-poms along the whole edge, and also under the eyes a little creating a tear duct look while also hiding staples.  The last photo shows the back side, obviously covered in staples, but you cannot see one on the front side.  This did not turn out as good as I wanted it to, the effort was there, it took at least a few hours a day since saturday morning.  I also wanted to get this project done considering we might be in trouble with power outages everywhere, and my "backup plan" might not have power either. 

Mod 9 Blog on Line-Hand drawings

1. What was it like using your hand as subject matter for a drawing?

It was a lot harder than it seemed when I first read the assignment. I'm not going to lie, I drew about 4 sketches before these ones and they barely looked like hands...

2. What media did you select - pencil or charcoal? Why?

I chose pencil because I can shade enough with pencil using my finger, and charcoal gets a little messy sometimes....especially in this case, I would have had it all over both hands.

3. How did it feel to create a drawing with your non-dominant hand?

It surprisingly turned out pretty well? The assignment never said that no corrections could be made with the non-dominent hand, so lets just say, for a sub par drawing, it took about 5X as long as the dominant.

4. Compare and contrast your final drawings. Do you think they are successful studies?

I definitely thinks this assignment shows how reliant you really are on one hand, especially for art.  It really made me wonder how I would even manage if I were to break my right arm or something for example....maybe its not a bad idea to practice things with both hands.

5. Would you consider using your non-dominant hand to create artwork in the future?

Not unless it was a requirement.  I appreciate this assignment, but it was SO much easier doing it with my right hand, and was close to frustrating with my left, because lines were coming out darker than I wanted them for example because I am completely not used to drawing with my non-dominant hand, and the levels of applying pressure to the pencil was nearly an impossible task.

Module 9 video review blog

Albrecht Durer: Image of a Master
Velázquez

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I selected the videos because of the length of time, actually. To be completely honest, I absorb more from shorter videos. I get bored quickly with long ones, and none of them really caught my eye this week, so I went for length of time, to try to get as much out of them as I could.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Albrecht Durer: Image of a Master
Albrecht Dürer, arguably the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance, was the primary conduit through whom Italian Renaissance forms and ideas were introduced into a Germany still dominated by the Gothic tradition. And, Martin Luther proudly presented 4 apostles painting, 2 of them with their own writings to the Nuremburg council.
Velázquez
A portrait of the extraordinary painter who chronicled the life and times of his friend King Philip the Fourth, who built the core of the Prado collection (which today houses almost all of his work), and who, with El Greco, Goya, and Picasso, comprises the quartet of the greatest painters of Spain. And Elas invenderas, was a mannerist piece, about the myth of Manerva and Iraqni. Dispute between the human and the goddess. Who could weave the finer cloth, The jealous Goddess Manerva transformed her into a spider and condemning her to an eternity of weaving.

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

Both videos show a lot of specific examples of art in Europe.  Artists during the Renaissance and Boroque times inspired many artists in the future.  Much art is based off of Renaissance styles since it was the time of “rebirth”, when art and architecture were coming out much greater during these times.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

Both videos, although short were very, very hard to pay attention to. Usually I don’t mind relaxing and watching a few videos for classes, but these in particular were very dry. I can’t say I learned much, it made me go back to the book a lot to try and understand things, which is okay, as long as I learned something from this week. Regardless, they were still very educational, and not all of them can be fun and interesting.