Reflecting

1. My expectations were to learn more about art history, how to use art materials, and about what kind of artist I am. They were met. Especially the last one. I realized that I like to do a lot of self-reflective work based on how I am feeling or what I am currently experiencing. I have been sketching more since I started taking this class.

2. “For me, I define art as a way to express myself without using words.” This still stands. Even more so than before. I’ve always loved the expression “A picture is worth a thousand words” because it is true. There is so much to be said through that cannot really ever be ‘said’ verbally.

3. My favorite artist was Michelangelo. Now I am interested in Frida Kahlo. A lot of her pieces really spoke to me and I connected well with them. It was nice to explore new artists and see where I could most relate.

4. I feel great about taking online courses. I was excited in the beginning to take an online course and I felt that I was self-motivated enough to get through it and I was. It was a wonderful experience and I plan to take more in the future.

The Image of Self

 I found my images online.

Self-Portrait Sklyarevskaya by Sklyarevskaya Inna, 2008, oil on canvas, 60x50

Self-Portrait by Ham, Myung Su, 2000

Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror by Francesco Mazzola, 1523, oil on convex panel, 9.6 in diameter

Original Picture

Artwork

1. I wanted my piece to not be just a photo of me, but with something else that explains a big part of who I am. I wanted it to look somewhat cartoonish, not necessarily like a photograph, and I wanted it to not be a forward facing angle of me. I got all of these ideas from the three works I chose for inspiration.
2. I chose to use pencil and pastels. I outlined the work in pencil and filled it in with color with the pastels. I chose this because I felt as though I would be able to blend colors better than I would with paints or collage. I also do not have as much experience with paints and was not sure how well it would turn out. Those are also the supplies I had at my house. My colors of paint were very limited.
3. I had a lot of trouble with the initial outline. I kept trying to start by sketching my hair and head first, but the shapes kept coming out wrong. So, I sketched the background first and went from there. It really helped me put everything in perspective and manage the spacing much better.

4. This piece represents me because it shows the firm foundation in which I have built my life. I find comfort in religion. The fact that people can believe in things at all in this world is a miracle. I like the idea of there being a greater reason for things, and knowing that someone is watching over me. I plan to be a pastor in a UCC church and help advocate for the open and affirming movement.

5. I applied the element of color. There aren’t too many distinct lines since I blended most of the piece. The color is what breaks apart the different pieces of the artwork. I also used shapes such as the cross behind me and the steps, making it easier to see what I was doing and where I was.
6. I did. I had a lot of ideas for this project and it was hard to narrow them down. It is always nice to be able to express yourself through art.

7. I liked my final piece. It was really hard for me to draw my hands because they were so small, but besides that part I felt it came out similarly to what I had imagined.

Project 4

This project was definitely a lot of work. With watching the videos and searching through the sources to try to sort through the works, the hardest issue I found was what theme to come up with. The works that interested me the most were the self portraits, so I decided to create a theme based off of those. Analyzing the photos was something I was already used to, so that wasn't too bad for me. It was interesting to me to see the way the artists portrayed themselves and to try to uncover things about their lives based on those paintings. Overall the project was a good experience and I was glad to learn so much about the artists I chose.

Burchfield Penney Art Center

Exhibit

A-Z An Historical Survey Of Women Artists

The theme of the exhibit is portraying the way women artists painted by recreating their style with a pear as the main focus. Each oil painting shows a pair, but they each are very different.

Gallery

The lighting in the gallery was very subtle. The lights were small and mainly shown upon the works. It was spotty.

The walls were a light beige, almost white, color, or a dark grey, almost black, color.

There is not much in the interior. In one space there were some fake trees on the wall and a quote stickered to the wall as well.

The movement was smooth. Part of the gallery is similar to a school without walls. The whole gallery is less ‘spacious’ and more made up of paths for the viewer to choose which one to go down.

Artwork

The artworks were mainly organized by what exhibit they were a part of. Mostly paintings were together and sculptures were together. Although, there were spaces where both were intertwined.

I found that the art work in a specific exhibit was obviously very similar in style and structure, but all of the other artwork seemed very different for me. Some pieces were bright and colorful and very detailed. Others were plain, but still were able to stand out just as much. Each piece had such a different feel to it. I had never been to Burchfield Penney before so it was a very new experience that I very much enjoyed.

The pieces were framed in all different ways. Some had very thin frames, some were not framed at all, and some had such thick frames that they almost amounted to be bigger than the work.

Each artwork had a square on the wall next to it telling of the artist, title, year made, medium, and what collection it was from. For some of the sculptures the squares were on the platform of the work.

 Most pieces had room enough for two people to stand between the artworks. Other works, as in the pear exhibit I mentioned above, were more tightly arranged.

Art Criticism Exercise

Jackie Pancari, Reflective Translation (red letter), A letter from sol Lewitt to Eva Hesse, 2015, Mirrored plate glass, reflective material

The artwork was very unique. I had never seen anything like it. It had the simplicity of lipstick writing on a mirror, but the complexity of a sonnet. There were six mirrors hanging from strings attached to a board that was attached to the wall. Each piece of reflective material had many words written on it. The words were all written in a shade of pinkish red, and all of the words were displayed in different ways. For example, the words in one of the pieces look to be in the shape of an eye or perhaps a finger print. Pattern is something that really made each piece of mirror stand apart from each other. They were all written in merely the same color, and each piece is the same size. The patterns of the ways in which the words are written are what make each one so different. This piece reminds me of something that was once done at my church. There were mirrors set up, and each youth had to come up and write something that was troubling them on the mirror. It was a surreal experience because as I was writing, I was looking at my own reflection. It made it feel much more personal. The artists’ note that was on the wall next to the piece says that the artist asked other artists to re write a letter written in 1965 in their own words. I feel as though the artist put these writings onto reflective material so that while the viewers were reading it, they could see themselves in the piece and connect it to their own lives.

Namdoo Kim, White City, 2015, Casted Glass, wood and mixed media

This piece immediately caught my attention because of its familiarity; Monopoly. As I stepped closer, I realized that in the open door of the structure was a baby that appeared to be plastic but could have been glass. It was curled up and would light up indigo, and then go dark again. The complete rest of the sculpture was just white and the same material. The structure was very plain, having little design etched into it. Color and light definitely emphasizes the baby within the structure. The contrast from the rest of the structure to the baby is strong. The infant is meant to stand out to the viewer, as well as the monopoly man’s head. That familiarity was also used for emphasis. The bottom part of the structure is symmetrical, as is the top part, but the middle part stands alone, being asymmetrical. This piece does not remind me of anything; it was very hard for me to understand. The baby having such little space could symbolize something such as a panic room, or lack of space due to a situation like poverty. Monopoly is a game all about money, and his head is enlarged and on top of the structure, perhaps making a statement about where wealth lies in the world. With the door being open beneath the head, it gives the impression that there is escape for the little one. That perhaps it is possible to get out and make a change.

Edith Lunt Small, The Entry of Christ Into Manhattan, 1982, acrylic on board

This is a painting of Manhattan, with many well-known people walking about throughout the streets. The top is spacious, showing the skyscrapers and a touch of sky, whereas down below people are everywhere. There are beams of light coming down from the sky, and they are surrounding Jesus, as it appears he is coming into the city. Color is heavily used. There are many different colors. This helps to show how many people are about, but also how different they are all. Space is a big factor. All of these people wearing different colored clothing are all so close in proximity, showing how little space there is for them to be and how busy the city is. There are a few miniature Santas that I spotted throughout the painting. I feel as though these symbolize how many people view Jesus. Also, they symbolize what people think they are celebrating on Christmas. The birth of Jesus has been replaced by a fat gift giving hero in a red suit. With all of the people gathered, they could possibly be there to see Jesus’ arrival. However, none of them are looking at Him. Although it appears that Christ is in the city, it also appears that he is not. His physical presence, but maybe not his spiritual presence. He is so little in the scheme of the whole painting, maybe reflecting how little the artist feels his importance is in many people’s lives.

I thought it was a nice experience. I felt like I had a purpose being there. I have always just walked aimlessly around art galleries not sure what I was looking for, and as for the Louvre, being overwhelmed by its size. It was interesting to see how the gallery was set up and to think about how this makes the visitors feels. It was also neat capturing some bird’s eye views of the gallery from the second floor.

Mask Making

I selected these three masks as inspiration because they were the ones I most connected with. I love feathers, gold, and detail. They each were so different, but all so beautiful. I liked how the last mask did not cover the whole face, the use of colors in the second mask, and the way the two colors stood out against each other in the first mask, and the way the different texture of the feathers made the beauty of the gold stand out even more.

1. This mask looks like one that would be worn to a masquerade. Around the mouth and the eyes looks smooth, where the rest of the mask has raised patterns. Texture is prominent in this piece.  It is a paper mache mask with tabby feathers. It was hand-crafted in Italy and has a baroque style. It is a Venetian mask. The feathers almost make it look like hair is attached to the face of the mask. The pink color of the feathers stands out against the gold, which also stands out against the feathers. The colors complement each other. The emphasis is on those parts of the mask while the mouth of the mask is just plain white. It is symmetrical. Although being unrealistic, the symmetry of the mask gives it a human quality.

2. This is a Hindu mask titled “Hanuman the Monkey God.” The mask does depict a monkey with human features such as the earrings. This piece is unrealistic, but is representational; representing the God. Its features are accented by patterns and colors. The patterns appear in rings and change through each new ring and each new color. The use of so many different colors and patterns emphasizes the entire mask, making the complete work stand out to the viewer. The shape of the chin also stands out, appearing to be a beard on the chin of a monkey.

3. These masks were made in Iran. The shapes of these masks hold the emphasis due to them being of one singular color and having no real signs of pattern and texture. They are half-masks that would only cover half of the wearers face. These are simple masks, revealing the eyes and also some of the forehead, possibly the eyebrows. These masks look much more artistic than a mask to be worn out to a party.

I wanted to add texture to the mask, so I cut out paper feathers and frayed the edges. I made the mask symmetrical to show humanistic qualities. The mask is shaded with light blue, and also some other light cold colors. I put a pattern on the top rim of the mask, almost as if on sunglasses. I added lines underneath the eye holes to add a sense of rhythm, as if they were waves coming to the shore line. I made this mask in a way that would represent me. I even put eyeliner on the mask in the way that I put on mine. The pink feathers are emphasized, being the only warm color on the whole mask. Blue is a very calming color, and I wanted that to be portrayed in my mask. I also wanted the mask to cover only half the face, but shape it in a way where the lines do not just form right around the eyes, but make it droop so that the mask covers the cheeks as well.

 I wish that I had paper mache or other materials to actually create a real mask; I would have liked to see if how I saw it in my head could actually be created. One of the hardest parts about creating the mask for me was shaping it. It was hard because my first two sketches were very weird shaped, and I did not want the mask to be overwhelming or super abstract. Overall, though, it was a neat experience.

African Art

1. I chose the two videos “African Art” and “African Art: Legacy of Oppression” because they had to do with Africa. In my readings, I found African art to be the most interesting, especially some of the ways women were involved with art and the ways they were portrayed. Much of African was connected in some way with spirits which was also very interesting to me.

2. The first video I watched; “African Art: Legacy of Oppression” explained many works of art in the Tervuren Museum in Belgium. The art that affected the west was dramatic and startling. Many African artists moved away from representing people or landscapes as ‘realistic’ and inspired many modern artists such as Pablo Picasso.  Ivory was a common material used in art. Rubber became in high demand and families would be kidnapped until the males came back from the woods with their quota of rubber met. Some sculptures were meant to ‘speak’ to the dead and were used to connect with spirits or send messages to them. The second video; “African Art” focused on what the art meant to the people. It explained the geography of where the art progressed over time. There was a distinct architectural style of the Africans and they built many places of worship. The acts of their lives, such as hunting and gathering, were shown in ancient rock art. The video also explained the two basic approaches to artistic expression- conceptual and perceptual. Perceptual is what the artist sees throughout their life, while conceptual is what the artist sees in their imagination. The conceptual approach was most common in African art.

3. The videos spoke of how much of the art portraying women glorified motherhood, which was also discussed in the text about multiple sculptures of women. Also, some of the artwork was used to ‘stick it to their enemies’ and in doing this the artists would stick nails in a work of art or various other things. This was something that was also discussed in the text; sometimes using art for evil. All African art played a role in daily life or ceremonial rights. Many of the works were to or for spirits. They also discussed this concept in the book and how the works represented spirits or ideas and not specific people. Both the movie and the book, too, discussed how important masks were in the African culture. They would represent spirits and be worn in parades and they were also used in war until the bullets were proven to withstand them with no problem at all.

4. I liked these films quite a bit. They shared many same concepts with the text which made it easier for me to understand them because I had already read about much of what they were saying. They gave a lot of background of African art and showed how it progressed and changed and even how some pieces were copied and recopied. They also explained how to look at the art in a way in which to make it easier to understand.

Hand in Hand

1. I found it quite difficult. It was hard to place my hand in a position that made it comfortable for the other one to be drawing it and for it to be in good view. I drew the top of my hand with my right hand and the inside of my hand with my left because they sat easily in those ways.

2. I chose pencil because that is what I am familiar with and I would have had to practice a lot with the charcoal beforehand to get used to it. I used charcoal once and the side of my hand just dragged it all over the paper. I would like to experiment sometime with charcoal, though, and see what I can do with it.

3. It felt wrong in a way. I am not the best artist, but I kept getting frustrated thinking of how I could draw it so much better with my right hand. I could not press down as hard and I had to go very slow and I felt as though the hand did not look as realistic because I could not differentiate the darkness of the lines. I was surprised, however, that it came out as well as it did.

4. I am not sure how ‘successful’ they are. They do show a significant difference which I am sure most would unless someone was ambidextrous.  The dominant hand drawing definitely looks more realistic and stands out more.

5. No, I would not. It did not feel good and I do not think any artwork I would create would come out the way I would want it to because of the lack of skill my left hand has.