Reflections

My expectation for this course was for it to be informative, exciting, and intriguing. That expectation was absolutely met and more! It wss informative in that I learned the elements and principles of art, various artists, various styles and techniques, and the history of art. It was exciting and intriguing because I got to create a mask, draw a self portrait, create a logo, and so much more fun stuff that I wouldn't do on a regular basis. From this course, I have also learned what art truly is. My original thought of it was that art is a from of expression. That is very true but this course has taught me so much more. It's an aesthetic experience and can be whatever you want it to be. However, all art has some elements and principles included in it. As long as it has those, it is art. I didn't have a favorite artist at the beginning of this course and I still wouldn't say I have a favorite. I've enjoyed so many of the artists I've learned about in this course that I couldn't just choose one. I do love Frank Lloyd Wrights architecture work, he stands out the most to me because of the video I watched. His buildings and house designs and whole concept was beautiful. He has stuck with me the most. Andy Warhol stands out to just because of how weird yet fascinating he was as well as his pop art and the fact that he shot celebrities. I feel the same way I did before about taking an online course. I don't take them for granted just because they are online. It wa still a lot of work and I still learned a lot. 

Self Portrait

Since I was not able to physically attend an art gallery, I used Google Art Project and virtually visited  Museo Dolores Olmedo, a museum in Mexico City.

Portrait of Dona Rosita Morillo

Frida Kahlo

1944 

oil on Canvas

76 x 60.5 cm

Portrait of Dolores Olmedo (La Tehuana)

Diego Rivera

1955

oil painting

Young man with a fountain pen

Diego Rivera

1914

Oil on canvas

79.5 x 63.5 cm

Original self-portrait 

Self-portrait 

1. When I was looking through the virtual gallery, these three images stood out to me the most. Frida Kahlos painting is so realistic and reminded me of my grandmother because she loves to knit and is of similar skin color. Both of Diego Rivera's paintings are so unique. I loved how abstract the one portrait is because it shows that a self portrait doesn't have to simply be exactly what your face looks like. I like his second one because it's a full body which was cool.

2. Personally, watercolors and charcoal is too messy for me so I stuck with colored pencils and paper.

3. Drawing my outline was the easy part, but drawing my eyes and facial features was difficult. It's especially hard when drawing the specifics like the bulge I have under my eyes, my chubby cheeks, and the defined lines and curves that appear when I smile. That was difficult to portray. 

4. It represents me not just because it's a drawing of me, but because of the smirk depicted, and the large, bright eyes. Those are characteristics  of me that I really tried to draw well and accurately. 

5. I started out with tons of lines and shapes. Then as I erased and redrew, I tried to add the symmetry found in the original potrait. I knew that my colored pencils weren't going to show the colors that well, so the portrait turned out a little dull with not many hues, and not that intense. I made sure to add the space around my face so that the portrait is emphasized. 

6. I really enjoyed drawing myself. I normally don't just sit down, look at pictures of me, and then try to draw them. I usually draw other things, so this was really enjoyable. 

7. I think my final portrait looks similar to the original, but not an exact replica. I don't know if people would realize this was me by looking at it, but overall, I'm happy with it and I gave my best. 

Module 13, 14 video review

1. In Video about Lowbrow, I learned that Lowbrow represents art that nobody knows how to categorize or label. It's reactionary and anybody can play, sort of speak. It's a very inclusive style of art. In the Tate Approach video, I learned about the different things art curators have to consider in putting together an exhibition. They map out everything. They consider how many floors they want the exhibit to be, what years to string together and then how to separate them thematically. It can go from impression to surrealism to pop art. It can be from the 1900s to present day. They focus on the progression of artistic  movements. In the last video on the former director of the MET, Phillipe de Montebello, I learned so much. I learned how much hard work goes into making an art exhibit. Art curators sure have a huge job. There is measuring, moving, lots of hands, building, buying materials, and etc, involved in making an exhibit. Phillipe said that in creating an exhibit, you don't want to just fill gaps, he would rather have empty space than a invalid representation of something. Every piece should be outstanding. 

2. I didn't really see a clear connection between the first video on Lowbrow with our art project. It talked a little about art curators and the process in creating collections, but this style of art was way different then my focus and theme for the project. The last two videos definitely related to our project because they discussed what actually goes on in making an exhibition. They talked about how exhibits can be small, large, broad, focused, about an artist, culture, millennium, or moment in time. 

3. I didn't like the first video because of all the nude displays. I mean I understand Lowbrow art isn't really defined, but as previously known, they should call it nudebrow. The last two videos really helped me to see what an art curators job entails. 

Reflection Blog

Thinking of a theme was relatively easy. Once I got that, the next big task was finding artwork. At first, I tried looking on Google images thinking that would be easiest. It wasn't! I followed my professors advice and looked on Artstor which has a huge collection of artwork from centuries ago. That website allows you to look at specific artwork from different countries. So I started with the first country on the list and went down to find various street paintings for my theme. I found ten that I really liked and thought fit well. What's nice about Artstor is that it gives you the media, artist, year, and etc for the artwork so I was able to collect all of that information and put it aside. Then I started creating my PowerPoint. Since my theme dealt with streets, I wanted my background to look like a street, the closest I could get was a cement type texture that reminded me of it. All of the paintings I chose were sort of similar in terms of color and balance. So I didn't want my background to be too bright, but I wanted it to fit in with a lot of the warm colors of the paintings. I chose black  as my font because it was the most visible color that showed through the cement background. For the most part, each  painting  had its own slide ,except a few which had two on them. The ones with the two paintings on a slide I thought really compared and contrasted so I put them together. Overall, creating this PowerPoint was fun and it was exciting to be an art curator!

Module 12

1. I chose the Isamu Noguchi:the sculpture of spaces video because the title sounded interesting. The second video I chose was Andy Warhol: images of an image because I have always heard of this man, but never knew who he was or what he did. So I was curious about him. 

2. I learned that the earth can be viewed as this huge sculpture. Noguchi created these sculptural gardens that's were beautiful. I learned about Noguchis personal life and how his father didn't even want to recognize him. He was close to his mother and she is the one who instilled in him an appreciation for Japanese gardens. I liked  how he said an artist needs to be a dictator and shouldn't have to meet the requirements of a community, art has to do with the peculiarities that are hidden or the discovery and differences makes the art interesting. In the second video, I learned  in order to transfer an image to a silk screen, you have to first enlarge it several times. Then the contrast can be heightened or turned down. You apply silk to a frame then place the image on it and add light. The screen is then rinsed in water, the black unexposed parts dissolve, the white parts hardened and you get a negative. Ink is then rubbed on screen and forces the ink thorough the screen to create a positive image. I also learned how obsessed Warhol was with celebrities and the whole concept of celebrity. 

3. The first video related to the readings because chapter 23 examined different sculptural works. The video on Andy Warhol related to chapter 22 because it had a whole artists page on him.

4. I really liked the first video and how Noguchi viewed art. The second video was cool in that it showed how pop art is made. Any Warhol was a weird, yet interesting person. 

Art Gallery Visit 2

Step 1

1. The title of the exhibit is Imperfections by Chance:Paul Feeley Retrospective, 1954-1966.

2. The theme of this exhibit was based on a creative mindset that thrived on intuitive discoveries or abstract expressionism. 

Step 2

1. There were regular ceiling lights used and they weren't too bright, but it made the room and paintings visible. 

2. The walls were regular white/tan walls.

3. Architecturally, the rooms were just open space. They had a few benches and chairs, but they didn't get in the way of any of the paintings. 

4. It was a little overwhelming when I first walked in because there were three, smaller rooms I saw with more of his artwork besides the one big one that I first walked into. Other than that, the movement around the exhibit was pretty simple. I first observed the larger art pieces in the main room, then went in the back, came out and then in to the side room with the very small paintings, and finally, went into the last room. 

Step 3

1. All of the artworks were pinned on the walls and evenly and appropriately placed.

2. The artworks were similar because they all sort of looked alike. It's like he painted the same design, but flipped, turned, inverted, streched, and squeezed each one.

3. The colors were different, but the same colors were used in all of his paintings. Some of the shapes, though, were different than the rest. 

4. They were all in skinny frames, so the painting was really emphasized.

5. As like every label in the Albright gallery, each painting had a small, sliver like post on the wall next to each painting, describing the artwork. 

6. All of the artwork was in the same area, just with multiple rooms. 

Step 4

The public was not allowed to take pics of this exhibit so I looked online for them. My source was www.garthgreenan.com

1. Paul Feeley, Cassius, oil based enamel on canvas,1959, 80x56 inches

I liked the Orange and blue colors together. That's what caught my eye first. It looks like a bridge and then again looks like arches. I see the green, blue, and orange hues. It's repetitive and contrasting.  There are also lines used. This painting reminds me so much of that famous piece  of architecture in Europe that looks like a bridge. I'm not sure what the artist was trying to say. 

2. Paul Feeley, Arcturus, oil based enamel on canvas, 1963, 60x60 inches

This shade of blue is my favorite color. I see 6 closed loops that form this flowerlike design. It has a small yellow , almost similar design, shape in the middle of it. It's symmetric and geometric. It reminds of a flower. I think he was just trying to show the simplicity of a flower, abstractly. 

3. Paul Feely, Untitled, oil based enamel on canvas, 1958, 45x28 inches

This painting has my favorite colors in it. I see a big, blue, bean-type shape with a small tube meeting the end of the canvas. There is yellow surrounding it. The big blue shape takes up most of the space and is emphasized. It looks like it belongs in your body, like your stomach area. Since it doesn't have a title, I'm not sure he even knew what the piece meant. 

Step 5

I really enjoyed looking at this exhibit and all the exhibits. I really like the Lucas Samara reflections exhibit and being able to walk into the mirrored room. Paul Feeleys exhibit was different, but interesting. I really enjoyed the bright colors he uses and I think noticing the space and color of the walls is important because that's what made his paintings catch your eye. Looking at what goes into creating an exhibit is just important as the artwork 

Module 11

1.  Chose the Imapct of Cubism video because it was the most fascinating movement that chapter 21 talked about and I knew it was about Picasso who is a legend. I chose the expressionism video because I also liked reading about this movement in the textbook.

2. In the Cubism video, I learned that it's about starting with abstraction and ending with real objects or something that's concrete. It also involves light and creating space by showing multiple perspectives. Art is not made from a single view. 

In the expressionism video, I learned how colors are symbolically used in this movement. They can evoke an emotional response . I alos learned how expressionism can clarify life.

3. Both videos directly relate to the chapter because it talks about cubism and Picasso developments in the 20th century. It also talks about expressionism in the 20th century. 

4. I thought both videos were a little dull, maybe because of the narrator. However, they did give me lots of examples, through the paintings in the galleries, of each movement.