week 14 and 15 video post

1)  From The Lowdown on Lowbrow:  West Coast Pop Art video I liked seeing the Zap comic works of art.  These comic books are very well drawn in my opinion and fun to look at.  In the Displaying Modern Art:  The Tate Approach video I learned that the museum was very popular and that they did not charge for admission.  After opening, about 4 million people had visited the museum in the first year.  With the Bones of Contention:  Native American Archaeology video I found it interesting how much these collections of bones really affected people.  It really does seem that we did not have any regard to any other human life than our own.  In the last video George Eastman House:  Picture Perfect I learned that the George Eastman collection has about 14,000 photographers displayed. 

2)  All of these videos relate to our project.  Each one has a main subject that they focus on and they can back up with sources.  These collections are much larger than the one that we will be making but this is a great start to help us in our ideas.

3)  By getting different perspectives we learn a lot more about the subject.  They also give us other ideas that we can us in our project.  We are not setting up the project for display but rather putting it in a PowerPoint.  I noticed that the display of the works is also a huge aspect on how one relates to them.  These videos were very beneficial to me while creating my project.

week 13 video post

1)  I decided to watch the Abstract Expressionism and Pop:  Art of ‘50s and ‘60’s video because I find this time period in the world to be interesting and wanted to learn more.  The second video I chose to watch was the The Power of Art:  Rothko video.  This is because I found the title unique and was wondering what the power of art could be and was hoping to find out.   The next video I watched was Hockney on Photography.  I chose this because photography is very versatile and can be used so many ways.  The final video I watched was Andy Warhol:  Images of an Image.  I chose this video because I find Warhol interesting.

2)  In the Abstract Expresionism and Pop:  Art of the ‘50s and ‘60s video I realized I still have difficulty understanding abstract art.  However listening to the speaker helps me to understand works much better.  One work that sticks out to me is De Koonigs’s work titled “Morning:  The Springs”.  In the The Power of Art:  Rothko video I found it interesting that when commissioned to provide paintings for a restaurant it would be worth $2.5 million today. In the Hockney on Photography video I found the collage to be very good works of art.  In Andy Warhol:  Images of an Image video I enjoyed watching and learning more about the process of silk screening.

3)  All of the videos that I watched were very similar to our readings for this week.  All of these videos elaborated well on the topics discussed in our textbook.  Some provided very good view points on the topics that were not discussed in our readings.

4)  By getting different perspectives we learn a lot more about the subject.  You cannot rely on one source for all of your opinions on topics because your ideas will end up being biased.  Sometimes if you rely on just one source that source may be incorrect and that would make your conclusions incorrect.  That is why having the videos in our week are essential to our learning.

Burchfield Penney art gallery visit

1)      The exhibition

a.       The title of the exhibit is Artists/Veterans Art Collaborative:  Coming home, Connecting Families.

b.      The theme of the exhibit is war and veterans expressing themselves either during times of war or after they return.

2)      The Gallery

a.       The type of lighting to use is track lighting.  There are individual lights on each work so that one can clearly see what they are looking at.

b.      The walls are a plain white.  This helps to make take the emphasis off of the walls and onto the works that are displayed on it.

c.       The architecture of the inside of the building is made of drywall and glass.  They are bland and they help to focus ones attention towards the artworks.

d.      The walls and structures in the building help to funnel people in a certain direction.  There are limited openings that show the person who is inside the gallery the “correct” way to walk.

3)      The artwork

a.       The artworks to me seem to go from abstract works to more reality based recreations.  However I did see some exceptions while I was walking around.

b.      The artworks are similar in that they are about the same size and have similar colors.

c.       All of the artworks though have different frames or borders.  Also there are multiple artists with different styles.

d.      Most of the artworks are framed almost like any household picture some even protected by glass.

e.      The artworks are labeled by artist, title, material used, who or where the work came from, and the background of the work.  Some works have all of these labels and some have only a few.

f.        Most of the artworks are located close to each other but not too close to overshadow one another.  I would say that most of the works are about three feet apart and at eye level.

4)      Art criticism exercise

a.       The first artwork I chose to describe is Untitled.  This work was created by James Becker in 1994 and is of charcoal and chalk on toned paper.  The description provided stated that it is attempting to deconstruct gender roles and vulnerability.  This work shows a male who is unclothed but still has firearms near him.  His head is hanging and there are several people around him.  The lighting of the picture emphasizes the male in the center of the work with the background being darker.  The men in the background are standing in trench coats perhaps to symbolize high ranking government people overseeing this man.  I feel that that the artist was trying to say that some of the military people even though they are given guns they feel exposed and are over seen by the government but that there is nothing that they can do to defend themselves.

b.      The next artwork that I chose to describe is Mournful Partings.  This work is by Sam Sacco and was made in 2011.  This work is made from black and white photograph on metallic paper.  This work shows a man with his head hanging low sitting near his dog.  The lighting in the photograph emphasizes the person and the dog and their emotions.  I did notice that the dog showed was a boxer perhaps showing how the military must fight all the time.  I believe that this work is saying that leaving for war hurts everyone equally human or not.

c.       The last work that I chose to use was from James Becker titled Shatt.  This work was created in 2011 and is of oil on canvas.  This work shows a male smoking in his military gear while there is a war going on behind him.  There seems to be an emphasis on the man’s emotion.  I did notice that there was a flower in the man’s helmet perhaps showing that he is thinking only of peace.  I feel that this work is showing that war goes on even if someone’s mind is somewhere else but ultimately they must keep going.

5)      I feel that this art gallery was very interesting to visit.  The building was very clean and seemed very updated.  There was almost no one there when I went the only person I really saw was a person asking why I was taking notes at the Exhibit.  After speaking with this party, who was a person who helped to get the exhibit at the gallery, I found out that they really like to have notes or messages left for the people who created the work because they love the feedback.  Looking at the gallery in a physical perspective is quite different than looking solely at the works themselves.  I found this trip more enjoyable than my last actually.  There were several signs stating no photography permitted which I also agree with.  I was unable to find any photo's of the artwork that I chose to describe the only photo that I have to put in here is a flyer that I picked up near the exhibit.

week 12 video post

1)  I decided to watch the Matisse and Picasso video because I find Picasso’s work intriguing and sometimes difficult to understand.  I was hoping this would help me to better understand some of his work.  The second video I chose to watch was the Dada and Surrealism video.  This is because these two movements I discussed in my posting of the chapter questions.   The next video I watched was Expressionism.  I did not discuss Expressionism in my chapter question posting but I found this interesting in the book and wanted to learn more.  The final video I watched was The impact of Cubism.  I chose this video because it too goes along with the Picasso interest I have.

2)  In the Matisse and Picasso video I found it interesting that Gertude Stein was one of the first people who were able to recognize Matisse and Picasso’s work.  In the Dada and Surrealism video I found it interesting how George Grosz left Berlin before the Nazis arrived but his works of art did not make it. In the Expressionism video I found the work of Ashes very good.  This work focuses on the relationship between a man and women.  In The impact of Cubism video I found the large amount works that were discussed nice.  The more works you look at the more an idea can be learned.

3)  All of the videos that I watched were very similar to our readings for this week.  I did learn a bit more about Picasso which helped me to understand his works.  All of these videos elaborated well on the topics discussed in our textbook.

4)  By getting different perspectives we learn a lot more about the subject.  You cannot rely on one source for all of your opinions on topics because your ideas will end up being biased.  Sometimes if you rely on just one source that source may be incorrect and that would make your conclusions incorrect.  That is why having the videos in our week are essential to our learning.

Mask making

This mask is very simple and is made of stone.  The eyes and mouth are proportionate and everything is simple.

This picture has many lines.  Both sides are balanced and reflective of each other.  Even though the mask appears large in size it is necessary for this culture and what it stands for.

This mask has a lot of lines.  Each line is colored and as you look at the lines the colors repeat.  This is a simple mask which will be like the one that I am going to make.

Here is my mask and the sketches leading up to it.  As you can see I used the elements and principles of line, repetition, and reflection to name a few.  Overall I found this experience quite enjoyable.  I am not the best painter, cutter, or designer but as I said I enjoyed this experience.  The sketch is faint but if you look close you can see it.

week eleven videos

1)  The first video that I chose to view was the African Art video.  I chose this video because I found the African art in our book to be very intriguing.  The second video I watched was the Buddhism video.  I find different religions and believes interesting.  This reason also applies to the next video that I watched which was the Hinduism video.  The final video that I watched was the Chinese Art: Treasures of the National Palace Museum.  I chose this video because I wanted to learn a little bit more about Chinese art.

2)  In the African Art video I found it interesting that African art influenced people like Picasso so much.  In the Buddhism video I found the idea of “Tanha” unique.  Being able to put all desires aside and avoid feeding your ego is difficult but must be able to be obtained.  In the Hinduism video I found the whole ceremony of “Aarti”, where the god or Brahma is honored, to be interesting.  In the Chinese Art: Treasures of the National Palace Museum video I found all of the vases or vessels to be interesting.  The amount of detail on them and what they represent are truly unique to that culture.

3)  All of the videos that I watched were very similar to our readings for this week.  The Islamic, African, and various religious cultures are discussed very well in both the readings and the videos.

4)  By getting different perspectives we learn a lot more about the subject.  You cannot rely on one source for all of your opinions on topics because your ideas will end up being biased.  That is why having the videos in our week are essential to our learning.