I chose the video titled "Uncertainty:Modernidity and Art" because as I have read and from my personal experiences, it was evident that the modernidity of art can sometimes confuse the viewer. This is because modern art communicates so many different things. There no longer is one simple code that we follow with art. I like how the video goes into depth discussing the many uncertainties created by our modern art. One key point that stuck with me from this video was that "modern art never stops changing, but keeps keeps responding to the same problem, modern living."
The second video I chose was "Andy Warhol: Images of an Image" because I found the idea suggested by this title to be interesting and was curious to find out what it referred to. This video discussed the many techniques and works of Andy Warhol. He did a lot of works where he repeated images, a lot of which were commercial advertisements and celebrities. He was well known for his silk screens such as the work titled "Ten Lizes."
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Modern World 1800-1945 Videos
The two videos I chose to watch were "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" and "Dada and Surrealism." I Chose them because they were both mentioned in topics I found interesting while doing the readings. "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" was a part of the post-impressionism movement and the other video included the word Dada in the title which I was intrigued by because those artists were pretty much anti everything!
Like the video, the text did not give me the impression that Seurat's painting was so controversal. It was nice to see and hear the reaction of real people towards the painting. They also shared some of their interpretations of the painting which made me think of ideas I did not think of before. They also gave alot of insight into the background of the artist. I never would have thought the woman fishing could be a prostitute in disguise or that the monkey suggesting there may be some "monkey business afoot."It was interesting to discover that he lived just two streets away from his mother with his lover and son, yet kept their existance a secret. He did a lot of landscapes with common subjects like fishermen. Seurat went through such a process to create this painting, even going to the park to paint an image of the background without any subjects in it. The video tells us that it took him a total of 10 months to complete this work.
In the second video about Dada and Surrealism it was nice to learn of some of the other artists involved in these movements as well as examples of their works. This too served as a nice suppliment to what we read in the textbook. The first artist mentioned, Schwitters was categorized as a dadaist yet considered himslef to be the opposite of that. But the video gives examples and explanations of his works that show how he would be considered a dadaist.
Like the video, the text did not give me the impression that Seurat's painting was so controversal. It was nice to see and hear the reaction of real people towards the painting. They also shared some of their interpretations of the painting which made me think of ideas I did not think of before. They also gave alot of insight into the background of the artist. I never would have thought the woman fishing could be a prostitute in disguise or that the monkey suggesting there may be some "monkey business afoot."It was interesting to discover that he lived just two streets away from his mother with his lover and son, yet kept their existance a secret. He did a lot of landscapes with common subjects like fishermen. Seurat went through such a process to create this painting, even going to the park to paint an image of the background without any subjects in it. The video tells us that it took him a total of 10 months to complete this work.
In the second video about Dada and Surrealism it was nice to learn of some of the other artists involved in these movements as well as examples of their works. This too served as a nice suppliment to what we read in the textbook. The first artist mentioned, Schwitters was categorized as a dadaist yet considered himslef to be the opposite of that. But the video gives examples and explanations of his works that show how he would be considered a dadaist.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Mask Making
The first mask I selected for inspiration is the Lwalwa mask. This type of mask were used as dancing masks and in celebration ceremonies. They used geometric shapes to represent facial features such as the eyes and mouth. The colors of the mask are very monochromatic, yet there are different values of the brown color. You can also see that the headdress has pattern as well as texture.
Next, I chose the Yohure mask. They too were used in dance ceremonies, but also to help the community deal with the death of a tribe member.They combine both animal and human features in their masks. There is the element of repetition with the pattern of white triangles on either side of the forehead and face. There is also emphasis placed on the forehead and mouth/nose area with a lighter shading of white over the dark brown.
I am not into magic and witchcraft, but the idea of my mask came from what I read in the textbook. The Africans created masks to scare young men into respecting their elders or for people to treat the handicapped well. I created mine to remind us that we need to take care of our planet, or else our ozone layer will continue to become thinner and the suns rays more powerful.
I enjoyed the mask making process as well as reading and learning more about the art of making masks. I would have liked to have gone out and bought better materials to make a more elaborate mask, but did not have the means to do so right now. But I feel that i successfully created a mask that embodied some of the characteristics and elements of the masks I chose for inspiration.
The third type of mask I looked at was the Baule mask. This was used in a dance festival during the harvest season. The circular face gives the element of movement in the way that it was used to symbolize the life-giving force of the sun.
Below are my sketches for my mask. I chose to use geometric shapes for the eyes and mouth. I knew I wanted to do something with the sun; I just couldn't help myself with the heat we have been having.
To add the 3-D element I had the rays projecting from the face of the mask in the final mask instead of fanning out around it.
I enjoyed the mask making process as well as reading and learning more about the art of making masks. I would have liked to have gone out and bought better materials to make a more elaborate mask, but did not have the means to do so right now. But I feel that i successfully created a mask that embodied some of the characteristics and elements of the masks I chose for inspiration.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Video Review
Why I Chose these Videos
The four videos I chose were "Islamic Art: India and the Middle East", "African Art: Legacy of Opression", "Chinese Art: Treasures of the National Palace Museum", and "The Great Wave (Japanese Art)". I chose each of these because they were all about a different culture of art.
Islamic Art: India and the Middle East
I find the Islamic culture to be quite fascinating, which is what made this video a top pick for me. The readings we did this week taught me things about the story of Islam that I did not know before, and sparked my interest in their art. Both the text and the video mention the Taj Mahal, which is one place I have always wanted to visit since the first time I saw it in a photo back in middle school. They way that they use geometric shapes and create such beautiful structures with perfect symmetyries amaze me. The narrator speaks of the "desire for paradise" of the islamic people, which I also found interesting. This paradise is evident in the beauty of the palaces and mosaics.
Another thing metioned in the readings and the video is the importance of the courtyard area. They use it to prepare food, to pray and other things. It creates a sense of community. I never know that they face a specific wall that shows the direction to mecca until now. I like the information that the video gave about Damascus. The entire city is facing an "electronic mecca", which is a satelltie dish that broadcasts their prayer throughout the day. He also explores the question of how one would know where mecca was. He showed the idfferent instruments of their science they would use to determine where mecca was.
One key fact that he did mention was that nowhere in the Koran does it say that an artist cannot create images of people, but rather that it was frowned upon to show idols in a religious context; which is similar to what the text says. He went into depth to explain how it was Judaism that created this commandment.
African Art: Legacy of Opression
In the beginning of this film they mentioned that in the congo region, there were more than 230 different cultures. This alone was an astonishing fact. It was interesting to hear about how their pieces were consider to be somewhat magical and that many of the peices they created even had openings to hold containers or magical potions to make them more potent. Also, they used masks to scare people so that they would treat the handicap nicely or for young men to respect their elders. I did not know that it was their encounters with the weaponry of the westerners that caused them to stop making masks to intimidate their enemies because they realized the magic did not work.
Chinese Art: Treasures of the National Palace Museum
In Chinese art, there were many artistically made everyday objects such as the tea cup jar vessel and chicken bowl. They use a lot of dragon motifs in their worl which is a significant part of their culture. This video imparticular focused more on specific works and the dynasties they originated from. The vessel for warming wine seemed to hold great importance in this culture. An interesting fact was how the glaze blue used on porcelain became poplular in the Ming dynasty. Spots of dark blue and black are a distinct characteristic of their pottery which was aonther feature I was not aware of.
The Great Wave (Japanese Art)
I had no idea that a wave was the best known image in Japanese art, and would not have ever understood why before viewing this video. It was its representation of the natural world that intrigued people. It was kind of crazy to see how much influence this single image had. It was used in a designer's line in 2003 and others have tatooed it onto their bodies!
Overall, the first two video had the most relation to the text and were a great suppliment to what we read about in the text. That does not mean that I did not still learn great things from the others. I am a visual person, so it was nice to have a visual image to go along with everything the narrators were discussing. But, the text does also offer great photographs too.
The four videos I chose were "Islamic Art: India and the Middle East", "African Art: Legacy of Opression", "Chinese Art: Treasures of the National Palace Museum", and "The Great Wave (Japanese Art)". I chose each of these because they were all about a different culture of art.
Islamic Art: India and the Middle East
I find the Islamic culture to be quite fascinating, which is what made this video a top pick for me. The readings we did this week taught me things about the story of Islam that I did not know before, and sparked my interest in their art. Both the text and the video mention the Taj Mahal, which is one place I have always wanted to visit since the first time I saw it in a photo back in middle school. They way that they use geometric shapes and create such beautiful structures with perfect symmetyries amaze me. The narrator speaks of the "desire for paradise" of the islamic people, which I also found interesting. This paradise is evident in the beauty of the palaces and mosaics.
Another thing metioned in the readings and the video is the importance of the courtyard area. They use it to prepare food, to pray and other things. It creates a sense of community. I never know that they face a specific wall that shows the direction to mecca until now. I like the information that the video gave about Damascus. The entire city is facing an "electronic mecca", which is a satelltie dish that broadcasts their prayer throughout the day. He also explores the question of how one would know where mecca was. He showed the idfferent instruments of their science they would use to determine where mecca was.
One key fact that he did mention was that nowhere in the Koran does it say that an artist cannot create images of people, but rather that it was frowned upon to show idols in a religious context; which is similar to what the text says. He went into depth to explain how it was Judaism that created this commandment.
African Art: Legacy of Opression
In the beginning of this film they mentioned that in the congo region, there were more than 230 different cultures. This alone was an astonishing fact. It was interesting to hear about how their pieces were consider to be somewhat magical and that many of the peices they created even had openings to hold containers or magical potions to make them more potent. Also, they used masks to scare people so that they would treat the handicap nicely or for young men to respect their elders. I did not know that it was their encounters with the weaponry of the westerners that caused them to stop making masks to intimidate their enemies because they realized the magic did not work.
Chinese Art: Treasures of the National Palace Museum
In Chinese art, there were many artistically made everyday objects such as the tea cup jar vessel and chicken bowl. They use a lot of dragon motifs in their worl which is a significant part of their culture. This video imparticular focused more on specific works and the dynasties they originated from. The vessel for warming wine seemed to hold great importance in this culture. An interesting fact was how the glaze blue used on porcelain became poplular in the Ming dynasty. Spots of dark blue and black are a distinct characteristic of their pottery which was aonther feature I was not aware of.
The Great Wave (Japanese Art)
I had no idea that a wave was the best known image in Japanese art, and would not have ever understood why before viewing this video. It was its representation of the natural world that intrigued people. It was kind of crazy to see how much influence this single image had. It was used in a designer's line in 2003 and others have tatooed it onto their bodies!
Overall, the first two video had the most relation to the text and were a great suppliment to what we read about in the text. That does not mean that I did not still learn great things from the others. I am a visual person, so it was nice to have a visual image to go along with everything the narrators were discussing. But, the text does also offer great photographs too.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Exploring Line
Friday, July 8, 2011
Video Review
I was not able to view any of the videos in their entirety due to issues with them freezing up and skipping no matter what I tried. So, I will discuss briefly what I got from this week’s readings. In Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen I learned about how many of the art we see now has been influenced by the art of the past. I never knew about how Egyptian art was known for is stability in how they kept the same traditions and style. I also was able to see how their art influenced the art of the Romans. If I had been able to view the videos I feel they would have gone into more detail into how these different cultures influenced one another, breaking down what we learned in the readings.
Peer Responses to Artwork
The two blogs I chose were of Lydia Merlo at: http://lydiamerlo.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-06-17T18%3A22%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7 and Jessica Marchetti at : http://jmarch7588.blogspot.com/2011/06/channeling-my-inner-artist.html?showComment=1310155465660#c3036671276256351404
For project # 1 it was interesting to see the unique way that each of them found the elements in nature and household items. Each of us had some similarities in our approach to the assignment, yet we each brought something different to the table too.
For project #2, neither of them had the same images as me because I live in Rochester, NY and went to a different museum. However, they both chose “The Marvelous Sauce.” Jessica chose it because it reminded her of growing up in an Italian household. Lydia chose it because she was drawn in by its detail and preciseness.
There was one piece in particular that really piqued my interest. It was “Indefinite Divisibility” from Jessica’s visit to the gallery. I liked this piece because of its striking similarity to “Clocks Melting Clocks” by Salvador Dali. What I would like to know about this painting is why the artist created it, and if they were at all influenced by the work of Dali.
What I did find interesting about reading my peers reflections was more so the differences rather than similarities in their though processes. This was definitely what made this valuable to my learning experience because it gives me a new way to go back and think about some of my own reflections. It’s like being given a new pair of eyes. Reading the comments of my peers was helpful in that t showed me that I was on the right track in my though process, but also that there really was no “wrong” way to go about it.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Architecture
The video I watched was “Imperial Rome, Ostia, and Portus: Ancient Architecture and Technology.” This video discussed how the Romans used local quarried materials to create architecture that served specific functions throughout the empire. I switched from wood to stone to preserve bridges and buildings. They had a system of aqueducts that was specifically constructed to function with the large arches used to carry the water that supplied the empire during the imperial period. This reminded me of how the reading talked about how the environment in which a piece of architecture is to be erected dictates and influences the materials that an artist will use.
It was quite intriguing to see how these structures that we see so much beauty and art in when we visit these places were really created with great purpose to serve specific functions. In this week’s readings, the text book talked about the importance of knowing the background of artists and their culture to better understand their works. This is exactly what I felt this video did, and was also the reason I chose it. I was interested in learning of how everything the constructed was related to their surroundings and how their environment was taken into consideration when they constructed these structures. With this knowledge, I was able to view the empire in a completely different light.
Sculpture, Ceramics, Installation
In the “Through the eyes of the sculptor” video, the key elements I learned from this video were how the artists will move away from where they live in order to learn more about where they are from. Learning about where their culture plays an important part in the works they create; this was also mentioned in this week’s readings. I also never knew about restoration artists and how they are rarely asked to carve an entire sculpture. The role that they play is a very interesting one. I also liked the fact that most sculptors work on more than one piece at a time to keep their ideas fresh. It makes sense to me. It just like when I am working on multiple papers, I will take a break from one, start another and then return to the first to give my mind a break and refresh my thoughts on that topic. I love the way that Emmanuel Fillion describes the sculpting process. He says, “A sculpture comes alive in clay, dies in plaster and is reborn in marble.” The process is truly intricate and fascinating.
The “Glass and Ceramics” video broke down the process of how glass was made. I really liked the fact that they explained and depicted what happens to the sand and other components that are added when it is being heated. I had no idea that ceramic materials can be stronger than steel! That was another thing I found to be quite interesting. We see how glass is used in “green architecture” due to its ability to keep in the coolness in air conditioned buildings as well as reinforce heat instillation. Throughout this video they start off speaking of glass as more of an art form and then transition into its usefulness, thus being the craft of creating glass.
I never knew that Installation Art was so controversial and would never have understood why if not for this video. The works of Richard Wilson are very interesting. I like the way he pushes the boundaries. I would have to say that Instillation Art just might be my favorite type of art. This is because I like the idea of art not being confined to the indoor setting of a gallery but rather created in a grand scale to interact with the outdoor environment.
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