Self portrait project

                           Selfish Portrait

                          Picture

                     
                          Ramon Mati Alsina, Self portrait  1875
                          MNAC  Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
                         

                           Paul Cezanne, Self Portrait with felt hat  1890
                           Bridgestone Museum of Art Ishibashi




                          
          I  chose the three pieces for individual reasons, starting with the one you don't see, "Yawning"  by Joseph Ducreux 1783, (file picture was to big to load). A picture of a stout man dressed in a red suit, think British soldier  in revolutionary war, arms stretched in a yawn, a wonderful variation on a portrait.  
         Paul Cezanne's self portrait was telling, an unassuming old man in a non-descript suit with a gaze that asks 'what are you looking at'.
         The most inspiring was by Ramon Mati Alsina, the look, the eyes and the incredible detail of the face was inspirational although it made my try incredibly simplistic.

         Pencil was the easiest medium it allowed erasing.

         The challenges, attempting to draw. Trying to overcome.

         My representation was not what you would want to use for a missing persons sketch.

         I used lines to represent the face and attempted to use shade of light to give depth to the image.
         
         There was some enjoyment in the process and the final product, which was at least not completely horrible, but I need a lot more practice to be satisfied with any self portrait.
        

             
        
                  

Mod 13-14 Curator project

            For my curator project I chose to show a brief history of landscape paintings and scenes. Beginning with the Romans, which were some of the earliest to be found by internet search, landscape scenes were merely a backdrop, often for depictions of various gods.  East Asian landscape art ,done frequently on scrolls or silk, tended to represent the best scenes of nature not necessarily any particular view.  European landscapes, post roman to pre renaissance seemed to be realistic in nature, but still a backdrop for the figures of the story.  The renaissance artists altered the perception of what a landscape could be by putting a greater focus on the landscape itself and how we view nature. The Hudson School style of capturing the beauty of nature I found appealing and is well represented in American folk art.  Christina's World was my last selection and it seemed to be a bridge between the beauty of landscape art and the appeal of a greater meaning to a work of art.    

Mod 13

1)  I watched two of the three videos, one as unavailable for viewing. These videos were the required videos and so there was no discretion.

 2) The first video on "LowBrow" art of the west coast was interesting for I did not know that there was such a genre.  I was however familiar with the style and some of the images in fact my neighbor practices this style and I will have to ask him if he is aware of its origin. The main concept of that video was that art is what it is not just what some whom have studied declare art is.
     The second video's theme was how much effort is put forth by some curators to present the art that is I guess considered '"HighBrow"  in a cohesive fashion and display in for the general public to view and enjoy.  

 4)  It was a good idea for the west coast to revolt against the elitism of the established art culture as many artists had to do in the past , such as creating their own salons for displaying pieces not considered worthy by the established schools and curators.  I believe it is true that some art work that is considered prized now was rejected when it had been created. Some would I am sure love to have some of the monies that are now paid for their pieces. 

Module 12

  1)   I chose the videos the Power of Art, Rothko and Hockney on Photography.  I was not aware of them or their influence on art so I wanted to check them out as modern artists. And always looking for ways to improve my photography.

  2)   The main focus of Hockney was how to use photos as a tool to produce pictures and art pieces. His use of multiple frames to produce a full size art piece was unique and very interesting. 
        Rothko took his art to a new level, producing pieces that were in need of discovery and study by the viewer to appreciate.  His stance against painting the murals for the Four Seasons restaurant gave him credibility and was a stand against the popular and excepted desire for patrons.

  3)   The videos were an extension of the concept of modern art, showing how the artists were trying to break out of the molds that they felt were harnessing them.


 4)  Both videos were interesting to view and gave incite to the working and mindset of the artists.  The works that they produced obviously had a great impact on the art world opened the doors to many artists as they seek acceptance of their own works.  

2nd Museum Visit the Burchfield Penny

1) There several exhibitions going on the main non permanent was the Portraits by Philip Burke.  This used up the majority of the exhibition space. The theme was bright water color portraits of famous or familiar people done in a fashion representative of the personality of the subject.


 2)  The gallery was an interesting use of the space and I believe well designed.  Upon entering the main hall you are immediately drawn to the dark grey wall ahead but to the left and the lighting that highlighted the picture and text on the wall, even though there are large watercolors of bright colors on the adjacent wall, a good use of  contrast drawing a viewer to the dark wall when everything else  is of  much sharper and brighter. There were different lighting schemes in different parts of the gallery depending on the exhibition, for the main area with the portraits the lighting was general to the space although directed at the walls.  In contrast the lighting for the Burchfield exhibit was much more focused on individual pieces.
       The color of the walls was a light grey and the ceiling white making it a very bright atmosphere.  That is why the dark grey wall stood as such a contrast.  The flooring was for the most part was white oak, with one carpeted area. The space did incorporate some brick work as a contrast to the ubiquitous drywall, and in that area the ceiling opened up to around a 40 ft ceiling leading you from the entry way to the main hall.
      

  3)   All the artwork was organized into groups of sub themes.  The sub themes of the portrait exhibit were of the fields of work the subjects were known for, such as musician, actor, politician, etc. the other minor exhibitions were given their own intimate spaces and broken in groups of similar themes, such as Burchfield's paintings were grouped together apart from his drawings and sketches on music.     
        The portrait's were not framed, just canvas on its wood frame, there were other pieces that had various types of frames depending on the artist. 
        In general for the gallery there were different types and interpretations of art works. The portraits were all similar in design, but the smaller viewing rooms had pieces as different as reverse glass paintings and sketch's depicting sound.

Chosen pieces

    Philip Burke, 2007 Rush Limbaugh, oil on canvas.

          I love this rendition of Rush, fire emitting from his swollen head.  The color of the flames are in contrast to the dark colors of his clothes and the placement of the cigar in front, a traditional symbol of power, reflects how the artist wants you to view his subject. A egotistical little man's enjoyment of starting fires, by the smile, with his small fist clenched at his side.

 

 Charles E Burchfield, Haunted Twilight, 1954-1962, water color and charcoal on paper.

         This is an example of Burchfield's impressionism.  The contrast of what could be a happy landscape portrait, the color scheme and shadows very much add feeling of being haunted. It does seem a little in contrast to the artist who relishes the outdoors and nature. In this perhaps he is reminding us that our casual destruction of natural places may result in this.     

 

 Philip Burke, self portrait, 2001, oil on canvas.

      An interesting portrayal of the artist by the artist, in contrast to the earlier self portaits that ere also on display.  The earlier portraits were life like, if distorted.  In this piece he appears as his most distorted subject perhaps the upper eye sees more with his brain than just with his eyes. The color use and the crocked paint brush draw your eyes to his, is he painting you. 

mod 11

 

1)  I chose to watch the "Mystic North" Spanish Art from the 19th century to present, because it was not a era or location that I new much about, although I found that I new some of them already.
     Expressionism was my second choice, again because I thought I knew little of this style and this time I was correct, most of their names I was not familiar with.


 2)  The key concepts of both films were similar, artists were experimenting and breaking away from status quo of the old masters.  Led by Goya in Spain paintings began depicting its subject's in a different light, such as true agony in his religious paintings and the horror of war from the point of view e everyday person lived and died through.  Artists such as Picasso and Dali took different paths but also broke away from there traditional training to produce their art with more impressionism than the earlier masters.
       In expressionism the artists seem to be giving more thought to how the piece effected your emotions using colors and distortions of the subjects than staying true to traditional notions of technique.  Both videos showed how artists were even more, the activist, showing the true results of war and the ills of the society of the time in a new way.


 3)  The videos gave a more in depth at the artist's in their time, such as when Goya lost his hearing to illness that he became a recluse and painted the walls of compound in black and depicted morose scenes on them.  The video on expressionism gave a much greater explanation to the work of those artists and their motivation for  expanding the realm of art in the way that they did.


 4)   Both videos were entertaining, the Expressionism video was a great introduction to works I had never seen before and also historical giving context to the work from the time.  The Mystic North reminded or informed me of how many great or famous Spanish artists there are and filled in the gaps of what these famous artists were famous for.

Ceremonial Mask module 10

  1)  I selected the first piece because I liked the smiling and laughing face that the Korean artist captured in this wooden mask. There were many happy faced Korean masks but the artist though the use of line patterns brought out the texture of the face giving the piece the look of real skin wrinkled by a smile.
       The second piece is from South America and I chose because of the quirky smile that has a whimsical appeal for a possibly not so serious of ceremony.  The artist maintains summitry in the mask by using appropriate scale from the face at normal and the side of the face with the crooked smile seem in proportion.  Also the color and shadow scheme give the face texture and depth.
       The third mask is also from South America and I chose because I liked the use of color.  Unlike some of the masks the colors used seem more organic not the garishness of the carnival masks, but a sense of rhythm and pattern.  The use of representative lines for the outline of the face and its overall structure allowed the artist to fill in the spaces with color yet still be viewed as obviously a face.

  Creating the mask was an interesting experience as a non art major it was a bit intimidating but I used the paint from a previous project and things  seemed to go alright.  I tried to use color give the mask its shape of a face and have a pattern to represent all the appropriate parts. The lines on the forehead try to give the mask more depth and character.  The hair gives the mask its 3-D effect and adds texture and the look of a ceremonial mask.

Module 10

1)  I chose the videos Islamic art in "Africa and Central Asia" and "Hinduism". I viewed these because they seemed to be two areas not popularly covered.  Art and Hinduism don't seem to be brought up in the same sentence and  wanted to see Islam's effect on African art.


2)  In the video on Islamic art one of the major concepts was how different the art was to European art of the Christian religion.  There were no scenes from the bible obviously but actually no scenes of people at all.  The focus of the design and architecture was a creation of a beautiful paradise on earth as interpreted from the Koran and I must say that the mosaics that were produced were simply fantastic, the mosaic used on the roof of the Timur mosque's were incredible it a shame that some have fallen into such disrepair and that the efforts to restore them are not progressing well. Another concept was how he buildings were built not just to compete but out do the Christian architecture and make it there own.  
      The art of Hinduism seems more organic, the rock carvings and statues blend into and incorporate the settings that they are set into the art.  A major concept of the art of the Hindus was its inclusion of the everyday figures along with the cosmic and that inclusion was a major theme.   


 3)  he videos contained greater detail of the works that were covered in the text, and gave insight into the cultures that had produced them.


 4)  My opinion of the videos was that they were very interesting to watch and gave a lot of context to the production of the Mosques.  The more interesting points for me of the videos were how elaborate the tile work was and its symbolic nature of paradise, there were no sinners being ravished by fire for not conforming but a garden of flowers portrayed in color. Except the mud mosques of Africa which are renewed each spring with he rains.  
      The two things from the Hindu video I find most memorable were the productions of temples by the Ratlas brothers carved from one solid rock, they were truly amazing. And I am very happy that the Kandariya Mandev Temple survived the ravishes of the invading muslims and what a find to behold in the middle of the forest, for I am sure that some overly pious individuals would for sure find the nudes offensive.

Hand Drawing

     1) It was a very interesting exercise to use my hand as a subject for is project.  Staring at my hand and trying to draw the lines in my fingers and palm made me think of the models, my hand, who were posing for the portraits in the videos and the artists making the drawings, myself.

     2) I used pencil for the drawings I did not have charcoal available.

     3) It took some getting used to sketching with my left hand, I certainly did not have the same control as my right. However I did find that my left handed pencil strokes had a different style than my right and so created a different texture.

     4) The dominant hand drawing is certainly more defined and trying to make the cross hatches was much easier than with my left hand.  My comparison of the two is that my dominate hand produced that of a monkey and my non-dominant hand made the wolf man's.

     5)  Using my non-dominant hand would probably not be my first choice. But perhaps it would offer a different perspective and as I stated earlier the pencil strokes were different and would maybe add a distinctive look to a piece of art.

Module 9

   1)     I enjoyed the ' The Drawings of Michelangelo'  and the ' Power of Art -Caravaggio ' .  I chose the video on Michelangelo's drawings because I thought it would be helpful for the art assignment.  I chose the Caravaggio video because I had not heard of him before. 


   2)    A major concept of the Michelangelo video was how much preparation in sketching and drawing he did to try and make his final works perfect.  Another interesting concept revealed in the video was how protective of his drawings he was, lest someone see his trials and the thoughts he had before the final production.
          In watching the video on Caravaggio two major themes were discussed one I would describe as the 'fighting painter' generally great artists were I thought more of the sensitive lot, tolerant and liberal, Caravaggio moved from fist fights to the canvass and back as if made him a better artist.  The other major theme was how he showed a different point of view of the classic interpretations the bible scenes, maybe the violence  in his life allowed him to show the great emotions and despair of the regular people in his paintings.


 3) The videos give a more intimate account of the lives and struggles of these two artists and allowed a greater understanding of what it took to create such art.


 4) I enjoyed both of the videos very much. Michelangelo was obviously a very talented artist I hope someday to actually see the Sistine Chapel the work he did, to produce such a thing on plaster on walls and ceilings is such an incredible accomplishment. I also have discovered how good Michelangelo was at the cross- hatching technique, how even trained artists have great difficulty in reproducing, and his ability to show contour on a flat surface.  The Caravaggio video explained a lot about the subjects of some paintings I have seen, it was a good historical interpretation of the stages of paintings that I had for the most part grouped together.  And what a wild ride he had in his life, it was like the life of some rock-n-roll stars.            

module 8

 1)  I chose the video,  Beyond the Classical Byzantine and Later Greek Art because it sounded different than the others and I have no prior knowledge of this period of art. 

 2)  There were a couple of concepts that I found interesting in More Human Than Human.  Sometimes you wonder about what inspired humans to do what they did, it is always self serving or else it wouldn't get done, like creating images of the gods to be seen and worshipped. Another key concept is how the bodies in Greek sculpture's progressed to perfection and then when they got there decided that fantasy was better. 
     
       During the Byzantine period much of the art work reflected what was going on in society like who was ruling now.  Paintings depicted who was winning the wars the Greeks or the Turks.

 3)  The videos fill in some of the details that the text doesn't have room for.  Like that trade between Greece and Egypt allowed techniques to be shared, giving the Greeks the skills to life size their statues.  The Beyond video gave insight into the context of the artwork from its region and time period. 

 4) Both videos were good,  its was interesting to have noted that we humans seem to prefer exaggeration to reality.  Not surprising I guess.  It is nice to know that we haven't become so much less fit than our ancestors, they didn't look that way either. The videos do give a lot of context to the art we see, why things are presented as they are and what they represented in that era.

Architecture

1)  The " Science of Design " had a general focus of describing how the advances in concrete design or mixtures along with the advent of steel manufacturing, gave architects the ability to build out side the box.  Reinforced concrete allowed the span of greater areas than the post and lintel method. Structural steel made the foot print of a sky scraper fit into a urban area.

      The  " Prairie House " was Frank Lloyd Wright and how he changed the concept of home design. Most previous homes designs tended to be the Victorian design or some other form of box with small rooms separated by doors and walls.  Wrights designs opened up the floor plan and tried to create a harmonious flow through the home.  He also embraced the space in which the home was placed and tried to make it fit as naturally as possible.

2)  The videos helped to elaborate on the construction methods touched on in the text.  It showed how architecture methods evolved to allow the building of some of the iconic structures shown in the text.
  In the science video it was back to the silica playing a large role in the creation of objects,  and how common natural elements are used to create new.  In the Wright video it goes beyond just that the style was appealing but what it did for the way people lived in their homes.

 3)  I enjoyed both videos,  the science of design did jump around a little but was effective in getting its message across.  I learned in the prairie house video a lot more about what the design was and why it was considered so radical in the design world. Wright seems to have given thought and reasoning to all concepts of his design, even parts that many never considered. One part I really enjoyed was the house in Vancouver, It wasn't designed by Wright but driven by his concept of building a home that reflects its surroundings'.

 4) I chose the science video so that I could get a better understanding of materials and the process of large construction.  I chose the Wright video because I had some knowledge of his work, I have even been to his school and work studio outside Phoenix Az and seen the Darwin Martin house.  My house was designed in the prairie style during our remodel years back, its common place to me now, I did not realize how different it was once considered.  

Peer Reviews

  #2)  I reviewed both Kayla's and Lili's  blogs and their slide shows for project #1 Elements and Principles Both did an excellent job in their representations, there selections of photos were significantly different from one another as would have mine been had I completed it, but representative just the same.
 
   #3)  None of my choices corresponded with Kayla or Lili. People focused on different pockets of the museum.  I tend to like realistic paintings, what some people can paint to seem real is incredible.

  #4)  Body and Soul was a popular choice and they both did like it and I certainly remember staring at it for some time, but the Café Dancer was a great painting which I did enjoy, but not choose.

  #5)  It was very helpful reading other peoples comments and perspectives it can be hard to get going sometimes and they help with direction and format.

  #6)  I did not complete and submit the first project so I do not meet the criteria and have not been reviewed for this assignment.

Albrightknox visit

      The first piece that had an impact was  "The Wild Cherry Tree" by John Henry Twachtman  ca. 1900, oil on canvas. 
        I had a very interesting perspective in that the focal point, which is the cherry tree, is in the foreground of the painting. It as if you are looking through the branches of the tree at the rural scene in the background which is obscured.   It seems in contrast from most paintings I have seen which led you to the subject this one is right up front in your face.

   The second is the "Symphony Orchestra"  by Man Ray ca. 1916  oil on canvas
       I liked how the instruments are represented abstractly, you search for the forms you know.  Also the colors are like the variations of sounds that would be performed by the orchestra. It was one of the abstracts that I did really enjoy.

  The piece of art that I felt the greatest connection to was "The Marina Piccola, Capri"  by Albert Bierstadt ca. 1859  oil on canvas
      This was my favorite painting, it is as simple scene of fisherman and woman going about daily life,  repairing nets and launching and retrieving their boats.  I enjoy how realistic the nature scenes are in the painting, looking closely it as if the waves are moving and carrying the boats along with them.  I also enjoyed the sun breaking through the clouds in the background of the picture and the shadows cast on the boats and people on shore.  The painting continues off to the left with additional buildings that appear in the mountains.

   "Street Music" by Norman Wilfred Lewis a. 1950  oil on canvas.
         This is a painting that I would hang on my wall.  The people and instruments are so intertwined that you can find surprises each time you look at it.  The colors just worked well together the orange accented the lines and the black gave body to the figures and instruments.

     The artwork that I would like to know about were the "Untitled" #418 by Gerhard Richter ca. 1977  oil on canvas.
       This painting has the look of a photograph that is out of focus.  The painting may be of a plank or piece of wood that broke in half, perhaps the breaking is what causes the picture to be out of focus.  Interesting to paint and be able to paint something perfectly out of focus.

      "Karma" by Do Ho Suh ca. 2010  Metal sculpture on Delaware Stairs
    This metal statue stands atop the pedestal marking the creation of the art museum.  It faces Delaware park, from a distance it looks like a spire upon a closer look the spire is actually a spine. The vertebra or links of the spine are men sitting on top of each other getting progressively smaller.  The man on top is covering up the man bellows eyes with his hands.  The only one that can see is the man standing, perhaps he sees no evil.

Logo development

     What I about creating a logo.  At first I thought that all I would have to do is put down a name or initials and some form of art and you should have a logo.  So that's what I did about 30 times.  I tried circles and squares for the name, full name then initials and all combinations that I could think of, and that was the easy part.  The hard part was trying to discover what represented me,  I went around in circles literally and figuratively, finally settling on a rectangle of blue for the sky and water with the lettering in green for the earth.  It at least has some of the natural symbols that I thought would be the most appropriate for me.  

      The discovery that was most important about trying to create a logo was trying to represent yourself or anything else as a symbol, is much more difficult than you would assume.

      The videos where the process was real and the outcome of great significance to the companies involved, we got an inside look into the time consuming process of producing a logo.  The design team also went around in circles trying to represent a progressive company with  letters and some art and sometimes you don't if the results you achieved hit the mark or not until you put it out there for the public to see or in the case of the squeeze bottle use.

module 4 art techniques

Creating a value scale with a pencil was a very good exercise showing the varied use of how one medium such as the pencil can create many different looks and shades.  When I was making the scale I found that I had to work from both sides of the scale in order to tell what shade I needed in the center squares.  I don't have a lot f experience working with different types of paint but I found that the acrylic paint dried quickly and it was best to move along. But in general was a more interesting experience than debating the concept of aesthetics.
    
 The good part about pencil is you can doodle and erase if necessary, with paint you are all in, at least for that session but just getting my hands dirty with paint was kind of exciting.

 In creating these studies I discovered how much prep work can go into an endeavor. It is not just sitting down and creating but in general knowing where you want to go, colors or shades to use, paper and how much time you have to work.


  Seeing the general process of an artists set up and production of art is a window into the nuts and bolts of a piece of art.

Module 3

Color and it's effect on emotions,  Primary colors seem to have the greatest emotional effect on a painting in an intense red creates a strong reaction sometimes of rage, or blood red eluding to violence.  Yellow creates an intensity, in contrast lighter values of a color give a softness and less or more subtle reaction to a scene.

The use of light and darkness to elicit the first impression of a painting if the colors are light the first reaction is that the picture is happy or light hearted whether it is or not.  A painting with darker coloring will give the impression of a negative, this is not always the case, consider Tanner's "The Banjo Lesson" it is softened with the pale blue and yellows, but the initial emotion is that the scene is not a happy one, though it is.

From the Color video the most significant impact was how much the emotion of June's painting changed when she changed the color of the women in the window from dark blue to soft red and orange, the blue figure did seem almost violent where the softer tones made the whole scene more light hearted

In the coloring of the paintings by Goya the dark colors elicited an immediate negative or a feeling of foreboding, I know the scenes were meant to make people have an emotional response and think about the nature of the depiction, they were very successful in there intent.  

Module 2

        Watching the video I was surprised to learn that Aesthetics has been a field of study for thousands of years.  I thought that aesthetics were how things appeared or appealed to our senses, especially sight.  Today you will hear phrases such as aesthetic value or appeal,  the conditions for Yea or Na are based on the general consensus established over much debate and through thousands of years.  We can guess what Plato's stance would be on the apparent  controversy over the new Sports Illustrated edition, a continuation of the same debate.
        Leonardo Alberta described aesthetics during the neo-classical period as containing proportional , symmetrical, and orderly.  I believe that is a central tenant to today's idea of aesthetic appeal.  I though would have to agree with Kant that most anything can be made attractive except, even rape and pillaging.

first blog

1) Creating the gmail account was not difficult, creating the blogger account was fine while following the directions, getting back to the blogger account was more confusing but should be good now.


2) I expect to learn much more about the production and perception of art than I new existed.


3) My first online class, my computer navigation skills are marginal and so it has taken me a bit to get going.

module 2 film reviews

I seem to have lost the draft of my first blog so I will try again.

     In the first video " Philosophy of the Arts "  there was a robust discussion of what already was, art who's visual or aesthetic value was being debated had existed before the discussion. The most famous of thinkers debated what was aesthetic in philosophical form, I agreed with the neo-classical architech  Leonardo Alberta that aesthetic appeal is based in symmetry, proportion and order.  I agree with the 18th century English assertion by Hutchinson that art is inate, not with the notion that it can only be understood by those with proper training or knowledge.
     Ramachandran supports the opinion of Alberta with very simple explanations and examples he was also very entertaining and so kept mine and the audiences attention and was able to get the message across.