Sunday, May 11, 2014

End of Course Review

1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met?
I came into this course with little expectations as someone who is not really 'into' the art world. But this course ended up being quite interesting and even broadened my interests a bit in regards to art. 
2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your initial posting?
In the original discussion board I defined art as "The creation of beauty and life through artwork, words, film, music, or what have you" and I still stand by that definition. 
3. Who was your favorite artist in your original posting and who is your favorite visual artist now? If there is a difference, why do you think so? If you have the same favorite artist, why do you think so?
 I did not have on in my original post, and I don't know if I have one still. Perhaps Dali just because I enjoy surrealism so much and when we discussed the topic in class I grew to love it even more. 
4. Now that you've completed this course, how do you feel about taking an online course? Is your answer the same as it was in your first posting? How is it the same or different?
I've taken online courses before and this one won't be my last. I feel the same now as I did at the beginning of the course - I am fine with taking courses online! It may take more discipline but it's very convenient. 

Friday, May 9, 2014

Project #4: Art Curator Exhibition Slideshow

For this project, it took me a little while to think of a good theme. I ended up looking through different works of art and decided I found the images of the world, landscapes in particular, were what I found the most beautiful. From there I went through and found works that really caught my eye and brought out an emotional response from me. 

When it came to putting together the power point/'gallery' I really wanted to keep everything very 'Earth-y'. I wanted to use Earth tones in the slides and keep everything very green and nature like. I wanted to stick to my theme of beauty on Earth. 

I also wanted to build on my theme with the idea that there is beauty everywhere in the World. It is not just in nature scenes or images free of one element or another. I wanted to show life in a variety of places, in nature and with people and in cities and towns. I wanted to show beauty lies everywhere. 

The message I really wanted to send with my theme and my 'gallery' was that beauty can be found absolutely everywhere, and that the most simple of scenes can be the most beautiful. 

My presentation can be seen here:


And all the works used in my 'gallery' can be found here

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Art Gallery Visit #3: Self-Portraits Art Making/Material Exploration

For this project I used the Google Art Project site and explored the Korean Art Museum Association section. Here are the images I selected: 

Untitled by Jung Wook Kim,
Painting (Korean ink and color on Korean paper)
1115 x 7620 cm
2008

Untitled by Jung Wook Kim
Painting (Korean ink and color on Korean paper)
630 x 940 cm
1999

Untitled by Jung Wook Kim
Painting (Korean ink and color on Korean paper)
430 x 340 cm
2004
Now for this project we also had to look at a photograph of ourselves and draw ourselves. This is what I came up with:


Questions about the project:

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?
I really liked these self portraits that I’ve chosen because they were different, odd even. They had exaggerated features and obviously it wasn’t a dead on work that looked exactly like the artist. I really liked them because I have very low artistic ability when it comes to physical art. I feel like using examples that are more exaggerated and different to draw my own portrait would help me feel better about how mine comes out – not looking like a photograph but like a different kind of depiction of myself. 

2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?
I’m not an artist as I’ve mentioned, and I’m very comfortable with pencils – that is all I use to write with. So I felt that would be the best choice of medium.

3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge was really just getting the piece started. Drawing intimidates me as I have very little skill with it, and merely staring at a blank sheet of paper had me worried. But once I just started sketching and reminding myself I’m not creating a picture perfect image of me it got easier.

4. How does this piece represent you?
I think this image I’ve created represents me in that it’s low key, simple even, but you can almost sense the attitude within it. I also purposely did not include my eyes in the image because as a very shy person, I have a hard time making eye contact or keeping my eyes on people, and felt the odd image could be added to without such a major part of someone’s face

5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?
This is a difficult question, but I feel I utilized the element of shapes in my work, as well as the principle of balance.

6. Did you enjoy working on this project?
I did find this project rather enjoyable. It was fun but also interesting to see what I could create when looking at myself.

7. What do you think of your final artwork?
I think it came out better than I was expecting. I was honestly expecting my work to come out terrible but it really came out interestingly, and I like the thought I put behind it, it was again more than I was expecting to come out of it. 

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Art Exhibits Video Reviews

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.
In the first video, The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art, some of the key concepts discussed was the idea of Pop Art and how unique it is, as well as how being high brow and low brow relates to it. This is a very individualized art in that the artists of pop art seem to feel themselves different or better than the ‘high brow’ or even snotty artists/people of art galleries. Talking about lowbrow art, this kind of artists seems to be considered less civilized than those of higher brow artists in art galleries and such. The second video, Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach, was all about modern art and how it’s part of/effected art galleries around the world. It spoke of the resistance against some modern art in galleries, but ultimately they helped give new shape to the art world. In the last video, An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan, it talked all about Philippe de Montebello who was the director of the Metropolitan museum for more than three decades, where he greatly increased the museum’s collection and changed the way it looked at the works. His work helped make the museum so incredibly successful.
2. Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.
I think all three of these videos could relate to my art exhibition project. It has given me some great ideas about what kind of exhibit to create and work with. I will certainly be coming back to these videos when I finish my project.
3. What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project?
I think the videos were good, some of the most interesting ones we’ve watched all semester if I really think about it. I think I will definitely call back to the concepts learned in these videos when I complete my project. 

Monday, April 21, 2014

Modern/Postmodern Video Review

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.
I chose the Hockney on Photography video as I’ve always found myself interested in photography, and I chose the Andy Warhol: Images of an Image video simply because I know who Andy Warhol is, even if I do not like him.
2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.
From the Photography video, I found it interesting that – as we’ve learned in class – photography is much older than one would think. The camera wasn’t invented in the 19th century, but the chemical process of developing photos was. For the Warhol video, this informed me more on his unique style. He utilized the idea of pop art, which was taking everyday items and making art from the image. He also liked to paint celebrities and he would do so but making copies of images from newspapers and such in order to do so.
3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text
4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?
Once again, these videos gave a good visual representation to some of what was discussed in the text book. It gave more specific details and understanding that built upon what we’d read this week for class. I enjoyed the videos well enough. They were an interesting way to build on what we’re learning, and kept my attention – they were less dry/boring than some of the videos we’ve watched in the past so I enjoyed that. 

Friday, April 18, 2014

Video Reviews on Matisse/Picasso and Dada/Surrealism

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.
I selected Matisse and Picasso and Dada and Surrealism because I’m aware of Matisse and Picasso and am interested to learn much more about them as they are two of the few artists I’m aware of. I chose the Dada and Surrealism as I’m very interested in Surrealism so I’d be interested to learn more about it.
2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.
For the Matisse and Picasso video, I learned that Matisse and Picasso had a relationship I was unaware of. The video spoke of their similarities and their differences in their works. In the Dada and Surrealism video they spoke of the major artists in these fields. Specifically I was struck by the discussion of George Grosz. The video spoke all about his interactions with the Nazis and how they actually burned most of his works since he had a tendency to poke fun at his enemies in his works.
3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?
4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

Once again these videos are a nice visual representation of what was discussed in the book and it allowed for a more in-depth view of specific items, ideas, and people. They paired very well in my learning of the topic and were definitely helpful in my understanding of the topics at hand. 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Art Gallery Visit #2: Burchfield Penney Art Center

The Exhibition

1. What is the title of the exhibit?
The over-arching title of the different themed exhibitions was Water.

2. What is the theme of the exhibition?
As the title suggests, the theme of the exhibition(s) was water, more specifically “Water is the source of life.”

The Gallery

1. What type of lighting is used?
The lighting in the exhibit I focused one was dark, spotlights shining on the works that lined the walls. In other parts of the gallery the lights were very bright though.

2. What colors are used on the walls?
In the exhibit I focused on the walls were a dark gray and shades of white. In the rest of the gallery, it was all white.

3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space?
In the exhibit I focused on it was mostly bare excluding the art on the wooden walls and the wood floors. There was a small plain metal bench in the middle of it all. In other parts of the gallery it was similar, plain walls with artwork set uniformly along them. There was furniture and seats around the gallery as well.

4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?
It was very open in the whole gallery. It was rather free-flowing, very wide and open with small doorways leading to different areas. It was very open to the viewer’s own wandering.

The Artwork

1. How are the artworks organized?
As I mentioned above, the artwork was very uniformly organized on the walls. There were different exhibitions set up, relating to the theme of Water, and they were organized in different themes that way (ie, there was a room about boats, a room about fly fishing, etc.).

2. How are the artrworks similar?
As mentioned above, the different rooms, all following the theme of water, had different themes to them, the room I focused on had the theme of boats/ships.

3. How are the artworks different?
They were all unique in their own way, many related specifically to Buffalo but they were individual in that they were different waterfronts or ships in Buffalo.

4. How are the artworks framed?
Most had simple frames if they had one at all, the few that had more elaborate frames were clearly older works that were originally framed that way.

5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?
Each had simple labels beside the work giving the title, artist, and media.

6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?
There was at least one foot of space between each work, for many it was more than that.

Art Criticism Exercise
Select three of the artworks from the show and describe (Describe what you see.  (subject matter)), analyze (What principles and elements were used and how are they used?), bracket (Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?), and interpret (What do you think the artist was trying to say? ) the work using the 5-step Art Criticism Process described. 


1. Paul Nicholson (1977- ), Boat, 2007; acrylic on canvas, 48 x 47 1/2 2008.022.000; 2008
This work appears as a view of a boat from under the water. There is clearly plants and such floating atop the water beside the visual of the bottom of the boat and the ends of the ores that rest in the water. Emphasis is clearly utilized here, with the plant life surrounding and framing the boat. Space is utilized as well, allowing for focus on the single item. This work looks like the boat is to be swallowed whole by the black plants surrounding it, a sort of metaphor for though things pile on and seem ready to consume you, you need to keep paddling on. I feel the artist could have been trying to say something very similar. 


2. Burr H. Nicholls (1848-1915), Ellicott Creek with Two Boats, undated; oil on canvas, 21 3/4 x 29 3/4 inches; 2009
This work is an image of two aged boats resting in a lake in a wooded area. Color is very much so utilized in this work, the brownish hues giving a very real nature feel to the image. The image makes me think of the image I spoke of directly about this one, but from a different perspective. The boats look worn and used, resting against the shore. This could speak to the idea similar to that of the above, though from a different perspective - even if one must keep pushing forwards and paddeling on, even if one gets worn and discolored, time to rest and dock is important as well. The artist could have been trying to say something similar. 


3. John L. Garretson (1885-1948), Untitled, undated; bromoil photograph, 12 1/2 X 15 1/2 inches; 1989
In this image, we see two boats tugging along in foggy waters. I think movement is utilized in this work, as you can clearly see the boats pushing forward through the water. I would say proportion is also being used in that the small boat is surrounded by the larger boat behind it. This could be a metaphor for size and capacity not being a marker for ability, as both boats are working with similar agility and ability. Perhaps the artist was thinking something similar. 


Final 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.?

It was a rather interesting way to take in the gallery. Usually when wandering a museum or gallery I’m so focused on the content I don’t even really look around it. It was a different experience to take in the world housing the art as opposed to just the art itself. I know from now on I’ll be looked at the set up on different exhibits.