Loss & Rememberance

Installation art is a three-dimensional work that is site specific and stimulates the senses of the viewer. It can be temporary or a permanent display. Materials for installation art can be anything that creates an experience for the viewer in specific site. Some examples are video, sound, flowers, and objects in a room. Artists that make installation art are intrigued by the way people are brought together, focuses their energy and intensifies life for a moment. The most interesting fact is when they were talking about the sand sculptures and how all the hard work is gone by a single wave. I know how they feel. I use to spend weeks on decorating demolition derby cars just so it could be smashed. People thought I was crazy but the enjoyment and satisfaction I got to see the final piece was great. The high you get when you hear the crowd cheering for your car is exhilarating.

Ann Hamilton mantle inspired me. Flowers are colorful and beautiful but set in a certain way they can create feelings that run the gamut. My installation theme fits under the themes politics and the social order and the human experience. I want to touch on the loss of the Vietnam War and honor the veterans who are still with us. My father is a veteran and it still affects his life everyday. By doing this I memorize the POW/MIAs and honor the veterans. There are still 1,702 people still missing from the war if I could I would have a poppy for each one. They are lost and still not found, dead or alive just to have closure for their families. I searched the internet to see how I could make poppies out of paper because I can’t plant them. I bought tissue paper, craft paper, styrofoam balls, dowels, glue, and paint. The installation will be placed in a field or grassy area because I want the area to represent the fields and jungles that the soldiers walked through. 

 I saw a field that had red poppies scattered throughout. They seemed to just appear in the field as you were walking through the brush. Each poppy had a toe tag attached to it, which had name, military branch, race, and taken/missing date. I used red poppies because it symbolizes Veteran’s Day, consolation, and death. The color red symbolizes blood, war, and love. By placing them in a field of green, emphasizes them with that pop of color. Placing the poppies with some space in between them created rhythm by creating your eye to go to each bloom. I made the proportion of each flower larger than found in nature so it catches your attention, also. My thought about the installation at first was very conflicting. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I was worried about the time. I don’t usually work in 3-D so it took me out of my element but I was going to put my all into it. Creating the poppies was very relaxing which I needed for this week. I was having a hard time thinking where I was going to place them because I didn’t want them just in my lawn. I wanted them in a field so I brainstormed and I found a place where I could go. Setting up simple but just had to make sure you could see the toe tags. I’m very happy with the end result and hope everyone else gets the feelings of remembrance, loss, consolation, and what feelings and experience the viewer brings to it.

The Franks

The video Prairie Style discussed the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He was the leader in the prairie style. The style was the product of the Midwest, which he lived. The style reflects time, place, and landscape. He believed in wide-open interiors with the fireplace being the center of the living quarters. Wright creates horizontal bands with the material, one band of brick or stone, then windows, and tops it off with a roof. The prairie houses seem to grow out of land. 

The Tomek House was created for harmony between client and architecture. The door was not put symmetrically on the house, Wright wanted to create a unique way to enter the house. The house was built with the sun in mind, everywhere inside has an unrestricted vista. The video Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art discusses his thought behind his architecture. As he works, things evolve and change because of how he feels. Gehry designs buildings to create an emotional response; he wants his designs to connect with people and their lives. He was influenced by Pop art and Japanese architecture. He believed buildings evolve over time; it is not a pure artwork, the function of the building changes. The characteristics of Frank Gehry’s work are decomposing forms, harmony between building and users, natural light, experimentation of materials, and his concern between the building and location. Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is an architectural symbol of the millennium. 

The videos are helpfully with relating to the reading because they discuss more in depth about different examples of architecture. Hearing the opinions of others and how them architects influenced other people, gave me more of a chance to actual see it and discover it. Since we had our choice in what videos to watch gave me a chance to enjoy the architecture I am interested in. By watching the videos, it gives me more emotion to the architecture than reading about it. I enjoy architecture so learning more gives me greater appreciation to the people who create it. They don’t just design the exterior; they design the interior, also. I chose Prairie Style because I enjoy Frank Lloyd Wright. I like how he creates his houses to look lower to the ground than they really are by playing with your eye. His windows I love with the lines and shapes that are very organic so they blend with the exterior landscape. I chose Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art because I enjoy how he thinks out of the box. The way he makes his buildings have movement and your eye just follows. I didn’t know much about him until I watched the video. I like how he puts his whole heart into his designs and gets so emotional about it.

Fine Art vs. Craft

1. In the video Through the Eyes of a Sculptor, I learned the process of creating a marble sculpture. First, you create the sculpture in clay, you know when not to sculpt anymore when you can’t make it any better. Then from the clay form you make a mold, which you use to make a plaster sculpture. Artists go to different quarries to find the perfect piece of marble. Then the process begins to sculpt the marble. Artgianos (craftmen) sculpt the marble until it is ready for the artist to do the fine details. It could take 8 men to carve one piece because each one of them has a specialty. In the video Glass and Ceramics, sand makes up glass is the most abundant substance on earth. I knew about the techniques because I have taken classes in glass. I have used a torch to make beads, painted on it, etched it, and I do stained glass. It was interesting how the made multiples of things by dry pressing powder to get plates. Ceramic is stronger than steel and withstand very high temperatures. Society uses it in hip replacements, kitchen utensils, and mufflers. Glass is used in architecture because of its thermal, aesthetic, and acoustic properties. In the video Installation Art, became popular in the 1960s. Artist created these works so the audience could interact with piece, too. Installation art also created new jobs of art movers and installers.
2. The videos showed more of the process of creating sculpture, glass object, and ceramics, and installation art. The book touched on the story behind the artworks that were shown in the book. I enjoyed seeing the process and what is done to get that final piece.
3. The installation art I enjoyed to hear how Richard Wilson thoughts on his piece 20:50. He stated that you ignore the thought of the oil and it’s thickness and gooeyness. You are more focused on the reflection that is in it. Some people may say that the final piece in marble wasn’t done by Emmanuel Fillion He created the initial figure in clay and had the final touches on the marble, I still say it is his work. I enjoy working in glass and I have made my own patterns to follow, also. I still believe glass and ceramics are fine art not just a craft.

Trip to Albright-Knox

 

Yves Tanguy, Indefinite Divisbility, 1942, oil on canvas

               Roy Lichtenstein, Head-Red and Yellow, 1962, oil on canvas

Liam Gillick, Expanded Production, 2008, powder-coated aluminum and transparent plexiglass

These artworks made the biggest impact on me. Yves Tanguy Indefinite Divisibility creates this dream-like landscape, which categorizes it as surrealism. The artists who create surrealistic paintings seem to always be a little mentally imbalanced. I like to know what makes their brain’s work. Tanguy creates this shape that reminds me of a person or I see a person on a very large horse. The painting takes me somewhere else so I can forget about my world and live in that one for just a few minutes.  Roy Lichtenstein Head-Red and Yellow makes me think of the Sunday comics, which I always enjoy to read. The dot pattern he uses is called Ben-Day dots. They are different than halftones because they are the same size and distributed in a specific space. The thought of painting every single dot takes patience, which must have been very time consuming. The last work I chose is Liam Gillick Expanded Production the color just makes me happy. How he mounted it on the ceiling intrigues me. I would have loved to seen this go down the length of the corridor. Also the light plays with it because it is created out of transparent plexiglass. 

                              Edward Ruscha, Electric, 1963, oil on canvas

         James Jacques Joseph Tissot, L'Ambitieuse (Political Woman), 1883-85, 

                             oil on canvas Also known as The Reception

                    William Harnett, Music and Literature, 1878, oil on canvas

These artworks I feel I have a connection with. Edward Ruscha Electric uses colors I would use. They are vibrant and have energy and inflicts you with that energy it creates. I like how it makes me feel alive and sometimes I could definitely need that. James Jacques Joseph Tissot L’Ambitieuse (Political Woman) makes me wonder why she is looking back. I think she is dreading being judged by all the people in the room. Who hasn’t felt like that?  I love her dress and how he created the texture of the ruffles. I know I can’t but I want to try the dress on because it is so beautiful. The last painting is William Harnett Music & Literature. This was the first realism painting I seen in person years ago. I just stood there and looked to see how he could get a painting to look like a photograph. I played violin from 4^th grade until I graduated and this painting reminds me of that time. I wasn’t the greatest violinist but I enjoyed it.  

                           Marisol, Baby Girl, 1963, wood and mixed media

            Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912, oil on canvas

          Jehan Georges Vibert, The Marvelous Sauce, 1890, oil on wood panel 

These artworks are the ones I would like to know more about. Marisol Baby Girl  always intrigued me with the out of proportion size of the girl and the small woman on her leg. I remember seeing this work the very first time I came to the art gallery and still love it. Marisol began as a painter and then went to sculpture. She worked in mixed media sculpture that included carving, nailing, gluing, painting, drawing, plastering, and found objects. Marisol liked to sign her sculptures using an image of herself within the piece. Giacomo Balla Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash shows movement that usual you would create using film. I would think he would have to wait for each layer to dry before making the next movement. His work is categorized as Futurism because he showed light, movement, and speed. He was fascinated with the energy of modern life. Life definitely never slows down always on the move. The last one I chose is Jehan Georges Vibert The Marvelous Sauce. Again it is a realistic painting, I love photography so these just amaze me how a painter can get the same result. I think this is a funny painting, the clergy being overweight and where else would he be but the kitchen. As I read more about the painting, Vibert was criticizing the clergy because it looks like he spends more time eating then doing his duty for the church.

                                                

Logo of Self

I really enjoyed this project. I’m a graphic designer and wanted to create a logo for myself. I’m not sure if this is the right one for that purpose but I do believe it represents me. I wrote down my likes and my characteristics and how am I going to represent that. I have researched this Greek goddess named Athena and I believe she represents quite a bit of myself. She is known to have dual nature. One side is goddess of storms, courage, strength, battle, war, chivalry, and victory. The other side is goddess of peace, beauty, wisdom, creativity, education, science, and the arts. I believe everyone has two sides of him or her. The owl represents her but also the cock and snake also. I used this website for the information http://www.gothikangel.com/Goddess/Greek.htm. I also used this website http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html to see what each colors represent. My favorite color is purple so when it is associated with wisdom, independence, and creativity I definitely wanted to use it. The orange and the yellow represented parts of me, too. I like vibrant colors and I think the color combination does represent autumn, which is my favorite season. Those things I like truly do represent me. With creating this logo, I’m aware of myself better. From the powerpoint presentation I learned new methods of creative thinking. I never heard of mind mapping and morphological synthesis so I researched both and it was interesting. Mind mapping reminded me of a family tree. Morphological synthesis reminds me of what I do when I have a certain kind of food but what can I do to it to make it different. The video Graphic Design: What’s in a Logo?  is precisely what happens when you deal with clients. The other video Bottled Up: Repackaging the Brand was interesting to watch. I’ve never had to deal with repackaging a product. To watch the testing of the bottles several times was interesting to see the process and what the company wanted from bottle. The brand was 103 years old and did not want the consumer thinking they were buying a new product. It was the same product, new delivery.

Exploring Color & Value

1. I understand that there are only 2 or 3 people that are art majors in the class but this was very remedial to me. I’ve made several color wheels and value scales but I don’t think I ever made a 10-step value scale. It got a little difficult in the middle to make sure there was a gradation difference.
2. I enjoyed making the color wheel. I enjoy using acrylics. Charcoal is messy. Yuck!  I love how you are able to mix colors to get a different color. I’m a color person. It puts a smile on my face. I done an acrylic project once that we chose an image in a magazine and had to mix acrylics to get the same colors in the image. It was very tedious but I enjoyed the color matching.
3. Value has many steps even more than what we represented. The color wheel shows us how one color can be added to another color to get a totally different color. You can work with only the primary colors and get such an array of different hues. Let non-artists experience different mediums, too.
4. The most important thing I learned from the video Color Theory 2: Paint/Pigment Primary Colors. The Truth!!!  was that red, blue, and yellow makes brown not black when combined. Cyan, magenta, and yellow, which are computer printer inks, are the combination to make black. I don’t think we should change our thought on primary colors. Red, blue, yellow will always be the primaries. Just like Pluto will always be a planet to me. Not that I don’t like change but don’t drill me information for years and then change your mind. The video Value Step Scales using Graphite Pencil helped me make my value scale because I used a blender and a kneaded eraser. I had to sometimes pull some charcoal off the step to lighten the step up.

Color Evokes Emotion

Color and its effects on emotions are very powerful and unpredictable. It is difficult to control because certain colors evoke different emotions for each individual. They may have a favorite color or color that they hate which effects they view on the artwork.

Some vocabulary of color:

   Hue is the name of the color. Ex. Red, purple, yellow

   Value is the lightness or darkness of a hue. Ex. Adding white to a hue creates this.

   Intensity is the purity of the hue. Ex. Adding gray to a hue.

Warm colors (red, orange, yellow) make us feel excited or anger. They represent the sunlight and fire. Cool colors (blue, purple, green) are calming and serene. They represent grass, water, or the sky.

In the video, Color, June Redform had a difficult time creating the emotions she wanted to be represented in her painting. At one point, she felt her painting showed anger, which she didn’t want to do. She wanted to create the energetic feel of Venice, Italy. The way the buildings seem to grow out the water and how the water is alive with the reflection of the buildings.

Mark Rothko only used color in his paintings. He used it to evoke strong emotions. He didn’t want shapes or forms to get in the way. Rothko only wanted the reaction from colors.

The theoretical aspect of color I enjoyed was Jacques-Louis David’s thoughts about we are yearning to be better. I believe every person strives to do better. In the painting “The Death of Marat”, David gives Marat attributes of a saint and mankind is a representation of God. I believe David tried to give ordinary people the encouragement to be a better person.

In the Color video, I  enjoyed learning about the frescoes. It was the first time color was used on a large scale. Creating the pigments was tedious, grinding the element used to create certain colors. The use of lapis lazuli, which created aquamarine hue, was extremely expensive. Artists would only use this color on the most important elements, the elements that would evoke emotion the most.

In the Feelings video, Giotto's paintings made the biggest impact on me. The one above is "The Mourning of Christ". He heightened the feelings of the religious stories. His use of rounded faces and shadows on the faces created the people to be more human like ourselves. He believed God is inside us so that moves us up on the ladder of importance. If you truly look at the faces you do see the human emotion in them and feel what they are feeling even if we weren't present at the time.

Elements & Principles of Art

 

 The night before I went to take photos I planned out where I wanted to go. I thought of the elements and the principles and made a plan. I went to Chestnut Ridge because I knew there is a winding road so I could use that for movement. While I was there I got a few more shots, the trees I found I could put under pattern, repetition or line. Next I went to Forest Lawn because I wanted to use the military stones for principle of pattern. I knew I could get some more shots so I wandered the cemetery. This is something I do quite a bit; I love the beauty within it. I took the photo of the obelisk to cover the line photo but used it for space. It represents space by overlapping forms and the distant forms are getting smaller. Then as I was driving around, I found the flowers in the front of a yard so I stopped to take some photos. As soon as I seen the orange poppy, I would use it for color. I went to South Park and had ducks follow me because they thought I had food. They were cute so I took some shots but when I got home I decided to use the duck for texture. I sat down figured out what shots I have fulfilled and had to make a second trip for four more shots. I planned where I was going and had them done quickly. I enjoy taking photos so this was a fun project for me.

Review of Philosophers and Aesthetics

Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts  discussed the evolution of aesthetics. Aesthetics is the philosophy of beauty of art. Plato had a low opinion on artists and poets. He believed they had no talent and artists made copies of copies. Middle Ages had no aesthetics. Artwork was devoted to God and art by technique. The 18th century England had many thoughts. For example, Francis Hutchinson believed viewers needed to be knowledgeable, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten coined the word aesthetics, and Immanuel Kant that aesthetics of art was bringing the sensibility and reason together by means of the imagination.
  I believe the 19^th century philosopher Nietzsche’s theory was the most important. He believed art is the yes to life. He uses the Apollonian and Dionysian theory. Apollonian had to deal with the visual, figurative and the imagination. Dionysian was to submit to individualism. They have to coexist for art to exist which I believe is true.
  The 20th century thoughts were, Leo Tolstoy believed art is expression of emotion and Morris Weitz said art form is not static and art is whatever we call art.

CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics dicussed how the parts of the brain are triggered by looking at a piece of art. Jean-Pierre Changeux believed art is human production specialized for many conscious minds to communicate. He also believed nonverbal communication of emotion, mobilizing conscious and non-conscious processes, and also art is in constant evolution. 

  Vilayanur S. Ramachandran had eight laws of art. They are grouping, peak shift principal ex. caricature, contrast, attention ex. little outline of object but still recognizable, perceptual problem solving ex. prefer woman in shower than a pin-up girl, symmetry, loathing of unique vantage points, and art as metaphor. Rama was always saying our brain has to say "wow".
  Changeux interesting fact was many conscious minds communicating.  A piece of art definitely starts conversations between people. Just look at our discussion boards. Ramachandran thought our of brain saying "wow". If my brain could talk I could see it doing that when you figure something out.

The videos relate to the readings by speaking further about aesthetics of art and what characteristics they use to determine aesthetics. The videos explored more meanings of creativity and what is thought to be art.

I did not enjoy the scientific thought and what part of the brain was triggered when looking at art. I understand that is what is happening when I look at art but I want to keep it an unconscious thought. Also had a hard time understanding Changeaux because of his heavy French accent. I enjoyed Ramachandran more because of his enthusiasm. They were explaining aesthetics a little farther scientifically. Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts was  interesting to me. Learning all the theories of philosophers and see the evolution of theory. I do have a difficult time with understanding theory. If the wording was in layman's terms, it wouldn't take me so long to understand. The videos just emphasized for us to look and but principles that we learn into effect when looking at art.