Module 12

1) Out of all the videos the two that I chose were “Uncertainty: Modernity and Art” and “Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the ‘50s and 60s.The reason I chose these chapters is because it was one area in the text that I was very interested in. I am interested in modern art and I felt the first video would greatly expand on this also pop art has always intrigued me and since it started in the 50s that is why I chose the second video. 2) In the first video the sculpture of the bricks I found to go along great with the true description of modern art. It was incredible. The sculptor put the bricks down and let their true meaning define the work. This sculptor wanted to make a statement to the world that anything can be art. In the second video the definition of pop art was the main focus. The video talked about how pop art came to fruition. When the narrator began to talk about the movement, I found it to be really interesting. One interesting fact that the narrator stated was that this particular movement was filmed and documented better than any other movement before and after it’s time! 3) I believe the videos relate to the text very well. I feel this because a lot of the information that was stated in the book was stated in the videos. One example would be modern art and stating that anything can be art. Another example would be describing pop art in full and giving us complete examples such as Andy Warhol. The video tended to focus more so a particular pieces of work while the book provided us with more examples (I feel that is normal though). Both the video and text talked about how art began to thrive in New York and eventually left Paris in the dust. 4) I felt these videos had a lot more information than previous videos. I always enjoy the videos because they add a greater visual to what we learned in the reading. I was expecting to learn a greater deal on modern art in the videos however; I feel I learned more about this particular topic in the reading than in the video.

Second art gallery visit

Above are pictures from my second visit to the art gallery. Step 1: The Exhibition Questions about the exhibit: 1. What is the title of the exhibit? The title of this exhibit was Kelly Richardson 2. What is the theme of the exhibition? The theme of the exhibition was nature Step 2: The Gallery Questions about the physical space: 1. What type of lighting is used? The type of lighting that is used is darkness. That might sound odd but this particular exhibit was projections. 2. What colors are used on the walls? The walls are all mainly dark 3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space? The only materials that are used are screens, projectors, and a sound system 4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space? The movement is very smooth and open to the viewer Step 3: The Artworce Questions about the artwork: 1. How are the artworks organized? The artworks are each in separate rooms 2. How are the artworks similar? The artworks are similar because they all represent some aspect of nature 3. How are the artworks different? The artworks are different because they have different sounds and represent different scenes in nature. The added sounds help the viewer to become one with the artwork 4. How are the artworks framed? The artworks are not framed but merely projected onto screens 5. How are the artworks identified and labeled? The artworks are identified and labeled on boards that have very little light shinning on them at the opposite side of the room so the light does not disturb the artwork 6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other? The artwork is near to each other however, they are in separate rooms.As previously stated the artworks share a relationship with each other through various themes of nature, but nature nonetheless. Overall, I did enjoy visiting the gallery. I live in Buffalo and I never go to art galleries. However, I did not enjoy the fact that I had to pay a total of $13 (admission and parking) each time I visited. However, the next time I go to a gallery I know I will have more knowledge than when I first began this course because I taught it me the importance of space, lighting and other various elements. I feel I will be able to appreciate artwork better.

Expressionism

1) Out of all the videos, I chose “The Mystical North: Spanish Art from the 19th Century to the Present” and “Expressionism”. The reason I chose the first video is because I felt intrigued to learn about how the 19th century affected the way Spanish artist did their work. Due to my great knowledge in history, I also wanted to watch this video to see if any of the wars that were going on at this time affected what artists painted or created. In the second video titled “Expressionism” I remember reading about the term in the text and I wanted to understand it more and have a better visual of what the text was talking about. 2) “The Mystical North: Spanish Art from the 19th Century to the Present” carried very relevant and important information. One piece of information I found significant was the story behind Goya. His artwork in the beginning was happy and carefree but when he suffered an illness that left him deaf his paintings took a drastic turn. Goya began to express himself through darkness. His paintings became eerie and almost unpleasant. He seemed to forevermore have a negative view on life. One piece that I believe describes his dark side was when he painted women and children either being raped of murdered. This was during the time of the Spanish and French war, so he was able to show the true devastation of this time. As I watched “Expressionism”, Edvard Munch’s painting titled “After the Fall” greatly caught my attention. I found this piece to be interesting because it had to deal with the sexuality between men and women. This painting created great controversy when it was in an art gallery in Norway. The painting depicted the facial expressions of a woman after expressing her feelings to a man. However, this lead to her feeling lonely and empty (like her innocence was taken from her). Munch represents her pain through the colors white, black and red. 3) I believe both of the videos related very well to the chapter in the book. I feel this way because the book also went into detail on Spanish art and artists (how their works were affected by their time period), and also the meaning of “Expressionism” and what art or movements fell under this term. I feel the videos went into more detail and also made it easier to understand. I feel the videos were easier to understand because they gave a great amount of visuals to express the meanings talked about in the book. 4) As previously mentioned, I believe the videos were more helpful. The videos went into more detail than the book did. The videos talked about specific artists and went into detail about their life and struggles they encountered.

inspiration Masks

I chose these three masks because I believe they show a great deal of texture , form, space and emotion. The one mask shows more texture than the others because of the brown hair protruding from the mask. Also all the masks that I chose express space. The position of a mouth, nose, hair or any other facial feature that jumps out from the mask expresses space usage. The color used in a few masks show us that color was very important to that specific culture. Below are the pictures of the masks that I chose. Honestly creating the mask I thought was very irritating. I did not enjoy this particular project. I am not an "artsy" person and I do not intend to be. The fact that we have to keep buying materials in order to create our projects is not what I imagined for this course. Anyways, I found it to be difficult and almost to the point of impossible. Space is important when trying to make 3D objects. As I tried to use space, I began to become very frustrated. Pieces that I tried to pop up would not stay. I did use color to attempt to make some areas seem to have more depth. This was not a project I enjoyed at all.

Japanese Art

The videos I chose to watch were "The Great Wave" and "Buddhism". In "The Great Wave" it talked about how waves have become an artistic icon in Japanese culture. The wave symbol is now found in cartoons and politics as well as other various forms of life. In the second video the history of Buddhism is explored. The video goes into detail on how Buddhism relates to the art world. The reason I was drawn to choose these videos is because I am Christian and I wanted to see how Buddhism is reflected in art. Also, the wave symbol is often seen in Japanese art, and I wanted to understand the reason behind this. To further my knowledge behind the icon of the waves, the video stated that it originated as just a sketch. However, it did not go into detail on why. In the drawing M. Fuji we see a great expression of waves. Certain individuals believed the monks and Buddhists were part of a cult. The Buddhism video went along very well with the reading. It described in further detail the history of Buddhism. Both of the videos relate to the reading. In the text the history of Japanese art culture and Buddhism were covered. The videos were helpful because they put into visual perspective why was read about in the text. I did enjoy both of these videos more so than the text. I felt the videos went into more detail as I previously stated that the text. I also believe the videos were easier to follow. I believe the videos provided us with more examples than the book did.

My Hands

1. I felt using my hand as a subject of drawing was difficult. When I was little I always traced over my hand with crayons or pencils, however, sketching an actual image was hard. I did not feel comfortable with it. This could be because I am not an artist and struggle with drawing anything; it could also be because your hand has many curves and characteristics. Trying to get the image just right gave me much stress. 2. I chose a pencil to sketch my hands. I chose a pencil because charcoal tends to smear more so than a pencil. A pencil I feel is easy to correct your mistakes. Since I developed a great deal of stress over this sketch, I knew I would make a number of mistakes so a pencil seemed to be the better choice for me. 3. Drawing with my non-dominant hand wasn’t as much of a struggle as I thought. I am left handed and live in a world made for right handed individuals. I have had to teach myself how to use various instruments that are made for right handed people throughout life. So drawing with my right hand was not too much of a struggle for me. 4. My first drawing was a mess compared to my last drawing. I was very shakey and very uncomfortable. However, as I started to draw more and more I believe I improved from my first attempt. My first drawing and last drawing are both not perfect because as I have said before, I am not an artist these drawings aren’t perfect but they are the best I can do 5. In the future I would not consider using my non-dominant hand for any type of artwork. I am still too comfortable with my left hand. Even though in the future I most likely won’t do art work past this class, I can not see myself wanting to continue to do art just because of my right hand.

Module 9 Videos

1. The first video I chose was Albrecht Durer: Image of a Master. The second video I chose was Velazquez. I chose the first video because he was in our reading from last week and I wanted to be further educated in his work. I chose the second video because I have heard of Velazquez before from an art history I took back in high school. I enjoyed his works of art and I thought it would be interesting to learn more 2. The first video explained to us who Albrecht Durer was. He was a traveling craftsman and sold his work. He traveled to Italy and he became intrigued by landscape. He became known as the first true landscape artist in Europe. He was also known for producing excellent portraits of either himself or others. The second video explained to us who Velazquez. He was from Spain, and became a court room painter for King Phillip IIII. He was seen as noble by the king. In Italy, Velazquez studied Italian artists such as Raphael. He copied many of the well-known Italian artists art. He was never in a hurry for painting. Unlike most artists that work continuously on a piece of work, Velazquez would work on a piece, stop and take a break then come back to the painting a few days later. 3.The first video relates to the text because we are shown his famous works of art shown in a church. This also relates to the Baroque style of art. Baroque art is often bright colors and seen in churches and resembles a story being told as if to an audience. A perfect example of this is his painting “The virgin and Child”. The second video relates to the reading because of the time era Velazquez is born into. It seems to relate to the high Renaissance. He also seems to paint in Rocco era style A great deal of his paintings that we were shown I the video tend to be that of pastel color. He did not use bright colors in his paintings, and most of his paintings were hung in houses of kings. He also has very little interest in color. Most of his paintings were seen to have just plain and simple colors. 4.I believe the films give us a great visual to what the book has been teaching us. They put what we learn into great perspective. It was interesting how both of the videos talked about woodcut because we learned about woodcut earlier in this semester.