Art Inquiry

Course Reflection  1.  As a graphic designer, I was looking forward to discover how artists use various methods and tools to communicate their ideas, since communication is a big part of graphic design during this course. My expectations were met. The videos within this course were informative and helpful, especially the ones in the last two modules. 2. I consider art to be the result of expressing oneself by creating meaningful work by combining technical skill and imagination. The result can take many forms such as: paintings, sculptures, music, and photography among others. 3. Andy Warhol was initially my favorite artist. As of right now, I would say my answer hasn't changed. I just love Andy Warhol's background in communication arts. His shoe illustrations for magazines and product display boards were the foundation of his career as a fine artist. I find that shift in his life fascinating.  4. I enjoyed taking...

Project 5 Pablo Picasso  Guernica 1937 Oil on canvas 349 x 776 cm Source   1. This painting depicts a horse, bull, and six human figures who seem to be in agony or dying. The overlapping and lack of space between each figure in this tiny room creates frantic movement. The left side depicts a screaming woman grieving the death of the baby in her arms. The head of a large white bull, the only calm figure in the painting, floats above the woman's head. Directly below this, a man lays on the ground with a mutated arm. A contrasting white light bulb bursts with light on the ceiling to the right of the bull. The light shines on a horse screaming in pain.  The right side of the painting has the most action and movement due to the contrasting grays of the light shining down. The light shines on three more figures. One holds their head up to the stark light bulb, one leans through a window, and the last one screams ...

Self Portrait  Inspo From MoMa's Collection  Andy Warhol  Self-Portrait  1966 Silkscreen ink on polymer paint on nine canvases  Each canvas 57.2 x 57.2 cm, overall 171.7 x 171.7 cm Source Robert Mapplethorpe  Triptych: Self-Portrait  1972 Screenprint  Composition 86.1 x 59.4 cm; sheet 89.4 x 69.8 cm Source Stephen Shore   Self-Portrait, New York, New York, March 20, 1976 1976 Chromogenic color print, printed 2013 43.2 x 55.2 cm Source

Art Curation Exhibition Process What's a Girl to Do? The title of my art exhibition is What's a Girl to Do?. I love the the art pop era and the work that was made during that time. I wanted my exhibition to focus mainly around that period. At first glance my exhibition depicts surreal cinematic images of women. However, upon closer investigation their beauty counteracts the ugly reality in which they face.  This exhibition aggressively confronts a darker theme of American pop culture's portrayal of women. I started with artworks by Miles Aldridge. I love his work, it relates to my theme and it was a good branching off point. I then looked into other pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, and Rosalyn Drexler. I had a fun time looking for artworks to use for this project. My main goal was to include modern day pieces, which I did. The hardest part of this project was initially coming up with my theme. I had an idea o...

Video Reviews  Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art  Art curators help explain works of art and place them in a specific context of time and place. Philippe de Montebello was the art director of The MET for 31 years until 2008. The museum opened with 174 European paintings. However, under his leadership the museum's collection grew to represent all cultures and eras over the years.  Q&A with MoMA Curator Anne Umland  MoMA was founded in 1929 on the belief that the art of the present is just as worthy of the attention of famous works of the past. I learned multiple aspects of art curation in this video such as: A monographic, or retrospective, exhibition solely contain works from a single individual. They are often used today to highlight the career of a deceased artist Major historical exhibitions generally take 2-3 years to open to the public  A core group of 20 people are usually involved in developing an exhibition...

Video Reviews  Jacob Lawrence  The Harlem Renaissance was essentially an intellectual and artistic explosion during the 1920's. It had such a positive impact on people that left great legacies for black communities worldwide. Lawrence goes into detail about how important community involvement was.  Faith Ringgold   Grew up during the Great Depression in Harlem. She developed a new art form, story quilts. Her first one revolved around the story of Aunt Jemima. She then went and got involved with women's issues. Ringgold would paint eggs black and write "50" on them to symbolize a desire for an equal split of men and women to be included in prestigious art awards during protests. She also informs that there's no time to sit around and wait for someone else to say who you are. One must do it for that's where the art comes from. Romare Bearden  Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and later went on to tell the story of what was happening ...

MASP MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand São Paulo, Brazil I've never heard of this museum before. Its photo on Google Art Project intrigued me since I've never seen a gallery set up like this before. You can find their website here . The Gallery  I took a virtual tour of their "Picture Gallery in Transformation" exhibition. The space seems to be light by track lighting mounted on the ceiling. The space is quite long with multiple rows of this lighting. Floor to ceiling windows make up the walls of the entire gallery. All of the windows have shades that are down, but light still filters in. The only color from the space itself comes from the floor, which consists of black square tiles, and the ceiling which is just painted a bright white. The viewer is meant to start from one end of the gallery and make their way to the far end. Works of art are scattered on easels throughout the floor.   The Artwork  Artworks are arran...

Periods in Art History  Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the 50's & 60's The video starts off with first generation abstract expressionist artists such as: Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning. This movement was all about raw emotion. Artists moved away from European traditions by using abstraction to convey strong expressive content. First Generation Abstract Expressionism  Franz Kline's signature broad black brush strokes were used on a large scale. His powerful gestures across the canvas create evoke an immediate response. Willem de Kooning is known for his use of cross layering brushstrokes, and intensified colors. In his 1952 painting,  Woman I,  we again see broad brushstrokes used to showcase the expressiveness of de Kooning's fragmented figure of a woman. Second Generation Abstract Expressionism  Helen Frankenthaler, a second generation abstract expressionist, influenced a new generation of artists, the color field painters, ...

Mask Exploration  Inspo: Funerary Mask This mask dates back to the 9th-11th century in the Lambayeque region in Peru. The mask depicts a face with upturned eyes, a prominent nose and ornaments on the ears and below the nose. The gold seems to have been hammered due to various indents which create a bumpy texture all throughout the face. The raised elevation of the nose and the shadow below it emphasizes the center the face. War Mask This mask dates back to the 14th-16th century. The Tibetan mask uses color and pattern to frame the face. The flame like designs in gold are used symmetrically and act as eyebrows above the eyes. Areas of silver metal peek through the aged, bronze color on the cheeks and bridge of the nose, which emphasize those areas. Mask (Kavat) This mask created by Central Baining peoples was used for a night time performance lit by firelight. Compared to the other two, this one is quite long. The use of the red and black pigment creat...

Video Reviews Olmec Mask A small mask was found buried as an offering in an Aztec temple. However, this mask was from a far older culture than the Aztecs. It was actually from the Olmec culture which thrived more than 1500 years before the Aztecs. The Aztecs collected artifacts from ancient cultures before them. Feathered Headdress  Costume was a significant part of life to the Aztecs. The replica of the headdress featured in the video contained over 450 quetzal tail feathers. These feathers are a long, almost metallic green that only come from the male bird. This bird is found in Central America and they usually have about three tail feathers. Bundu / Sowei Helmet Mask  The Helmet Mask for Sande Society was actually meant to be worn on top of the head while raffia hung down and essentially covered the face. Their ritual is unique because women wore the mask. The entire ritual was made and performed by women. It was made to help young girls go through initiation...

Video Reviews  The Great Wave  I found Katsushika Hokusai's signatures on Fisherman (1849) and Woodcutter (1849) unique. Hokusai wrote about his desire to live up until he was 110. He created those paintings during the end of his career. Both of his signatures record his age and translate to "old man aged 90." "Mangi" was written below that which was a name that he went by later in life. The reading states he went by many different names. Beneath all of that text is a seal in red. It means 100 and is meant that Hokusai has more years to live since he was 90 when those paintings were completed. Early Photography: Making Daguerreotypes   Joseph Nicephore's invention of a light sensitive surface was the foundation for the basic principle of photography. However, his photographs required long exposure times which lasted about eight hours. There was also no way to stop light from further exposing the final image. The video describes how Louis Jac...

Video Reviews 1. I chose the Renaissance and Baroque videos to help gain a better understanding within each movement. I studied the Renaissance in previous classes, but I wanted to refresh my knowledge. On the other hand, I've never went into depth, beyond a few artworks, about the Baroque movement. I wanted to learn about its architecture. Florence: Heart of the Renaissance The first great dome of the Renaissance was built in Europe by Filippo Brunelleschi. This dome combined with the art on the facade of the Florence Cathedral defined the first century of the Renaissance. Once completed in the fifteenth century, the duomo was the largest anywhere in the world. Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise can be seen across form the Florence Cathedral. His use of perspective gave the bronze panels depth. The scenes depicted on the doors of the Baptistery had a clear foreground, middle ground, and background. Understanding Art: Baroque Part I The Baroque movement doesn...

Exploring Line  1. It was fun using my hand as the subject matter for this drawing. I was able to study them and really focus on all of the different creases and wrinkles. 2. I decided to use pencil for this drawing. I've used charcoal in the past, but I wasn't successful at capturing small details using that media. 3. The upper hand was done using my non-dominant hand. I don't use my left hand for anything making it hard to get even strokes. I had to draw slower, but that caused me to shake more often. 4. I think these drawings are a good base study. I wanted to focus and capture the outlines of both hands.  5. I most likely won't be using my non dominant-hand to create future artworks. My left hand is so sad and shaky. 

Art of Faith Series  Islam Video Various significant Islamic mosques were examined. This video started out by describing the first great masterpiece of Islamic art built in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock. I'm familiar with both this mosque and the Hagia Sophia, but I've never heard of the other mosques listed in the video before. The Great Mosque of Kairouan immediately caught my attention. The amount of columns in the prayer room is remarkable. It was said that the intended propose of these series of columns was to create a sort of forest to block the view between those who pray and the imam. It was also dim, faintly light by countless chandeliers, in the prayer hall to help people focus on their prayers. In Islam, the relationship between people who pray and god is direct. Hinduism Video   The Kailashanatha Temple, Kandariya Temple, and the Temple of Vishnu of Angkor Wat stood out to me. It was amazing to see the Kailashanatha Temple carved out from a...

M6 Video Review Question 1: The three videos gave great examples of Greek architecture. The first video went into detail about one of the most iconic buildings ever made. The Parthenon is considered to be one of the greatest structures associated with western civilization. It also features one of the earliest uses of the Doric order, which is the most basic of the three Classical Greek orders. The second video goes into more detail about the Parthenon. The structure has been through earthquakes, wars and fires since construction started. However a more recent problem arose with the introduction of cars. Pollution has been eating away at the marble. Since 1975, it has been undergoing preservation work. The third video then described the site in which the Olympic Games were held in Olympia, 150 miles from Athens. Olympia was a complex of temples, dwellings and public buildings. These games became popular due to the obsession with the male body. The athletes, men only since wom...

Blog Reviews  Kimberlin's Blog Project 1 Project 2 Autumn's Blog Project 1 Project 2 Question 1: I agree with both of the above artists choices on their elements and principles assignment. Kimberlin used fun travel photos that she took in various locations. It made the project interesting. I also like Autumn's choices. In both of them, they had multiple photos that overlap into different categories. Question 2:  I didn't use the same photos as my classmates. Since this project was based around personal photographs that we had to take for ourselves, we went to different locations. Question 3: I love the travel photographs that Kimberlin used. She used a photo of the window from inside a plane and photos of an aquarium. She combined them with photos that were taken around campus. By doing that she made her project visually interesting. Question 4: I absolutely loved reading the comments on my blog! It was fun to interact ...

The Andy Warhol Museum Jon Gould at the Beach. 1986 Gelatin silver prints sewn with thread    Flowers. 1964 Offset lithograph  These artworks made a lasting impression on me. I love both of their compositions, especially the gelatin silver prints. The idea to take a single image and sew multiple different exposures together is a great idea. It shows your process and gives the photo a greater presence rather than just one print. Screen Test: Edie Sedgwick Folding Screens. 1950's Tempera on cardboard and wooden screen I find Warhol's relationship with Edie Sedgwick interesting. He made her "The Girl of the Year" after she starred in his short films during the early 1960's until their relationship imploded a few years later. The rise and fall of Edie was quite tragic. I also love the window displays Warhol made for Tiffany's in 1950's. As a graphic designer, I always find this blurred line between art and advertis...

1.  I thought it was pretty cool to see the secondary colors develop just from mixing together the primary colors. 2. I prefer working with the acrylic paint rather than the graphite pencils. Acrylic paint is forgiving if you make a mistake. It's easily fixable by adding more of a certain color and mixing. The graphite value scale was harder to fix if I made a mistake.  3. It gave me a deeper understanding of subtle changes in value and how to achieve them. 4. I thought the information in the videos was well presented. It was fun to see my color wheel develop. As a graphic designer I'm aware of CMYK, the four basic colors for printing. However, it was still cool to see these subtractive colors get darker as you mixed them together. 

1.  Color is an element of art that is produced when light strikes an object and is reflected to the eye. It can be determined visually by measurements of hue, value, and intensity. Colors shape how we feel. Blue and yellow were the earliest colors that humans learned. As a result, we have hard wired emotional connections to these colors. Blue dives into our earliest evolutionary responses. It tends to provide a sense of calmness while yellow gives off energy. Our associations with red and green had to be learned. Red evokes conflicting emotions such as love and danger. Green is usually associated with balance, harmony, and peace. 2.  I'm interested in how color and light can regulate your circadian rhythm. The video explained that a cell in the eye, the photosensitive ganglion, plays a vital role in regulating your body clock. This is the cell that sends a signal to the brain telling it to wake up and it's sensitive to just one wavelength of light. Blue light tricks the ...

Space Color Forms Value Texture Shapes Line Emphasis  Pattern Movement Proportion Unity Balance Contrast Google Photos Animation My Creative & Technical Process All of these photos were shot in the same dimension to create unity through the various elements and principles of design. I immediately began to take photographs for this project. I would capture a composition of what I thought best represented each element and principle. I then reviewed the photo and let my eye wander through it. I wanted to see where I was drawn to and how I moved through each image. With that being said, I labeled them accordingly.