Art Making and Material Exploration #2 Logo Design

Questions:

1. Discuss what you thought about creating your logo.

I thought creating a logo would be a lot easier than it looks, creating the logo itself and thinking of ideas was easy but the challenging part was putting it on paper. I’ve taken advertising and graphic design classes in the past and I am so use to producing logos in photoshop, which made it much different creating one by hand. But other than putting the logo on paper, I think it is a very interesting process creating a logo because you are able to create something that has meaning and can even be described without words. 

2. Describe the process: creative thinking skills and ideas you used in the logo creation.

For the process, most of it seemed to take place in my head with thinking, before I could even start putting things on paper I had to brainstorm what I wanted to start with by thinking about what represents me. I came up with the idea of a shoe with the words “Fast Track,” to describe me because I move at such a fast pace and am always on the go. I thought a shoe would be the perfect description of this, so I first started to think of how I could incorporate the words “Fast Track,” into the logo and eventually thought, what better way to spell out words on a shoe than in shoe laces. While a lot of the thinking process took place in my head, there is a lot of trial on paper as well because usually ideas change as you go along or things just might not turn out right the first time around. 

3. What was the most important discovery you made in the creation of your logo?

The most important discovery I made in the creation of my logo was finding out how to represent myself into the logo. I discovered that it is not an easy task to turn a product, company or even a representation of something into a logo, it takes a lot of thought and work to get a logo to turn out perfect, but also get it to have correct meaning. While the most important thing in a logo is what it represents, it is something that should be thought out in great detail to assure that the logo is something that can accurately represent something. 

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos, powerpoint, and reading material for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

The most important information I learned from watching the videos, powerpoint, and reading the material for this project was the process, I think the process is the most important thing to learn about if you have never done this before. When you learn each step and everything in between, you are able to get a good understanding of what a logo does, how it’s made, why do we need logos and all other information that goes along with these things. My opinion of the videos was, they were very interesting and informative, the first video about graphic design really gives an understanding of how a logo is created, while the bottled up video was able to go into detail just how important the logo is and what it can do. Overall I think the videos gave a better understanding of the process that goes along with creating a logo but also gave me informative tips for when I was creating my logo.

Sketches:

Project #2 Art Gallery Visit #1 - Albright Knox Art Gallery

1) Which artworks make an impact or impression on me? Why?

The first artwork that made an impact or impression on me is, 

Philip Guston 

Voyage, 1956

Oil on canvas 

This artwork made an impression on me because when I looked at it for the first time I didn't understand it at all and I am still a little clueless of it. But after I read the title of the painting it gave me a little bit more of an understanding of what the artist is trying to describe. When I read the title “Voyage,” I automatically thought of a journey of color, which is quite clear when looking at all those colors splattered all over the canvas, but what exactly to all those colors represent. I think only the imagination can actually tell what those colors mean, or what you want them to mean, that’s what made the biggest impression on me for this painting because the colors take you on an unknown journey until you find your place in this piece. 

The second artwork that made an impact or impression on me is, 

Cham Soutine

Carcass of Beef, ca. 1925

Oil on canvas 

This artwork made a huge impact on me when I saw that it was an animal carcass because I am an animal lover, and I feel very uncomfortable around the sight of a dead animal. The fact that the animal is dead on top of the dark depressing colors really gives it the impression of either hard times or server depression. Images like this that are dark and full of death definitely have a great impact on me because I prefer brighter more lively things. 

2) Which artworks do I feel a connection with? Why?

The first artwork I feel a connection with is,

Joan Miró

Carnaval d’Arlequin (Carnival of Harlequin),

1924-25

Oil on canvas 

I felt a connection to this piece because it appears that there is so much going on in this picture, with a carnival on top of complete chaos, which I feel describes me in a way. This painting is able to describe me because I can be crazy like a carnival at times, trying fun things, but I'm always all over the place as well, never wanting to stick to the same thing for too long. When I first looked at this painting it gave me that immediate connection and I just had to choose this one for this question. 

The second artwork I feel a connection with is,

Janet Fish 

After Leslie Left, 1983-84

Oil on canvas 

When I saw this painting I also felt an immediate connection because this piece was also able to describe me in a way, with all of the clutter mixed in with cleaning supplies. This piece describes me because I am a neat freak but also can be a mess, some things I like to have clean such as a clean bedroom or living space but other things like doing laundry I can be a complete slob or just leave things laying around. This connection was very strong and eye catching when I first saw this painting at the museum. 

3) Which artworks would I like to know more about? Why?

The first artwork I would like to know more about is,

Marc Chagall 

La vie paysanne (Peasant Life), 1925

Oil on canvas 

I would like to know more about this painting because there is so much going on in this piece that it is almost confusing, it seems as if it is a dream that nothing is going right in. Some of the things that I would like to find out is, why is the clown like figure appear to be feeding a horse, while it looks like chaos in the background of a house tipped on its side and people holding on to each other. While I understand that your imagination can take you just about anywhere when looking at this painting, I would like to know more about what kind of message the artist is trying to get across, if any at all. 

The second painting I would like to know more about is, 

Claudio Bravo

Red Paper, 1969 

Oil on canvas 

When I first looked at this painting I could not believe that it was an actual painting, I thought for sure it was a photograph until I looked closer and realized it wasn’t. I would like to know more about what the painters vision is for this piece, it is so simple but can also have so many different meanings. When I look at this piece I automatically think of an envelope, but its hard to actually tell what kind of paper it actually is, and I think if you knew, it would give you a better understanding of the story behind it or help your imagination create a story.

Art Material Exploration #1: Exploring Value and The Subtractive Color Theory

Writeup Questions:

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

 I thought it was very interesting creating a value scale and color wheel, it is something I had never done before and was actually pretty challenging in a way. The thing that I though was interesting for the value scale was the fact that just letting up on your pencil a little bit can create a very different shade of a color that is basically all the same. For the color wheel, I think it is amazing that you can just mix two simple colors together and get a completely different and even more vibrant color in the end. Doing these two assignments together I thought was creative because they basically do the same thing just in different aspects.

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

The media that I enjoyed working with the most was the value scale, even though I chose to do this project with a pencil I have worked with charcoal in the past. I personally have always been a fan of drawing and shading and never really a fan of painting, and there is a reason for than. I personally like shading and using charcoal and pencil is because its amazing what you can do with these two tools, just a little bit of shading in one area can give something that real effect. While just a little bit of shading can go a long way, other reasons I like working with this media is because its easy to fix and erase unlike paint, but it also makes things go a lot quicker because shading with your finger is a lot faster than painting with a paintbrush.

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

The most important discovery in the creation of these studies is the fact that you can create different colors from either the same color or mixing together other colors. When you are able to create other colors, you are able to widen your abilities to create artwork. When you can make your own colors, it allows you to be more unique and original. These facts are what is important in the creation of colors from other colors.

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

The most important information I learned from watching the videos for this project was not just facts but more as visually learning on how to do this assignment. Without watching these videos I would probably have really struggled with this project because just looking at a picture in the book doesn't really allow you to learn. My opinion of the videos are that they were very helpful in showing me how to properly do this project and I am glad they were available for us to watch before starting this project.

Project #1 Elements and Principles

http://s1064.photobucket.com/user/Ryjstockton/library/



Reflection of Project One 

When I first read that our first project was a photography assignment, I was quite exited to get started with it, being that I am formerly a photography major. With that being said, for the creative process involved in this project, there wasn't much thinking involved at all because I had done this exact same assignment in high school, which made understand the expectations very well. As for the technical process involved, that was very new to me, this is actually the first time I have ever used Photobucket and I actually found it quite confusing at first. Once I finally mastered how to use the website I was pretty well set with everything else involved in this project. For my photo taking, I spent most of the day searching around my house for things to take pictures of, and actually found myself staging quite a few shots, which is my specialty. 

To quickly run through my photos that you can see in the slideshow above, I’ll first start with line, I used fake branches against a white backdrop to really show off the shadowy dark lines. For value, I used clear glass balls against a white backdrop and drained the color from the image to give it that light and dark effect. For shapes, I took a picture of a glass mosaic chandelier in my computer room, which when lit really shows off the individual glass squares very well. For forms, I took a picture of some old books that were stacked up in my bookshelf to show three-dimensional shapes with length, width, and depth. For space, I emptied off another bookshelf and places just two different colored artificial planters to show the area or space in-between the objects. For color, there was no staging involved, I simply took a picture of a bunch of colored shells I collected in Sanibel Island. For Texture, I took a picture of three different textured pillows, with the three of them being fur, leather, and beaded. For balance, I placed the same two colored artificial planters on a white backdrop, nearly creating a mirrored image with two different colors creating a balance between the two. For contrast, I used an artificial branch and green leaves, contrasting the dark brown branch against the green leaves in the background. For movement, I took a picture of my dog running around shaking the snow off herself, which allows your eye movement to be directed around the photo by the contrasting colors of the golden dog and white snow. For emphasis, I placed a blue glass ball in a white coral bowl, creating contrasting colors which directs the viewers eyes to the blue ball in the middle of the photograph. For pattern, I took a picture of one of my chairs that had a very unique pattern, which clearly has a repetition of shape and form across the fabric. For proportion, it honestly took a while to come up with this one, I placed two giant shells that I found on the coast of Aruba behind much smaller versions of the bigger shells which I found in Florida, which are much different in scale to each other. And finally for unity, after staging two boat paddles on top a bamboo backdrop with jute rope overlapping the two paddles, I was able to create an image with a sense of unity by contrasting textures, patterns, and colors to create a sense of balance and unity within the composition. Overall I really enjoyed doing this assignment and was glad that I was able to get back into the swing of things and got to stage a few photography sets, which I always enjoy doing. 

Week 3: Color Theory and Emotional Effects!

1. Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

When you really begin to think about it, color can have many effects on emotions and that can even vary between cultures, genders, or even individuals themselves. To start with the one example that was used in the interactive tool in the first web link, they showed a red valentines day card and a blue valentines day card right next to the red one. They asked how it would feel opening the blue one on valentines day versus the red, and personally I would not feel any type of real emotions opening a blue valentines day card. Maybe it’s because red is the color of your heart and you are trying to show emotions of love for the other person, which is why the heart on the card should be red rather than blue. Another way to think of this is, red is an attractive color and is something that can draw your attention in, so you would want to have the red on the card show your attraction for that person. Another example is when they showed a pink and blue box with boy in the blue box and girl in the pink box, they then switch the colors with the names and it automatically doesn't seem right. I think the reasoning behind this is because we think pink is feminine due to the fact that it’s so bright and stick out so much, and therefore a boy wouldn’t appeal to the color so much. This would also work in a reverse order for girl’s not liking blue because it appears masculine and doesn't stick out so much. Which is why you can see parents who don't know the gender of a baby buying colors that would appeal to both a boy and a girl. I think these examples that where shown in the interactive tool on this website were great ways to show just how colors can have an effect on human emotions.


2. What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

The theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues and fascinates me is how we think green means go and red means stop, which was seen in the interactive tool on the first website. When I saw the red stop sign and green go sign I thought nothing of it, but when they switched colors it really made me think what I would do if I drove up to one of those signs. It’s interesting to think why we associate red with stop and green with go, for red maybe it’s because the color really sticks out and draws you attention in to tell you to stop. A lot of things use red other than stop signs to tell us to stop, for example a police or rescue vehicle flashes red lights to warn us they are coming and to pull over, while a red light on a recording studio door tells us not to enter. As for green, I still am wondering why this color would let us think go, maybe due to the fact that it is a more calming color compared to red. I thought this aspect of color was very interesting and it is definitely something to think about and understand a little bit more.


3. In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

In the Color video, the thing that made the biggest impact on me in regards to color and it’s effects on emotions, was when the artist June Redfern was in her studio recreating the rough sketch that she had previously created in Venice. Before she even begins painting she states that she will probably change the painting quite a bit as she goes along. When she finally begins painting on her large canvas, she starts with a red color and immediately starts to think whether a darker or lighter red will work better. As she goes along, she starts to paint the water blue, once she gets the blue paint on the canvas she starts to become frustrated by saying its “too blue.” She starts to become very emotional with her color choices, thinking differently about her selections as she goes along because she can feel what she wants through experimenting. Finally she takes a break and looks at the painting from a distance, and she is not pleased saying it looks “horrible” describing it as “all reds and blues.” She starts to get upset by this point because her emotions start to set in and she really starts to feel what is wrong with the painting.

4. In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

In the Feelings video, the thing that made the biggest impact on me in regards to color and it’s effects on emotions was the use of lights and darks within a painting. In the paintings this video presents had lighter colors that seemed to show that everything was alright or calm in a way. Personally when I look at a painting that is brights and has little to no dark colors involved, I tend to think it is a happy image with good intentions. When the video starts to talk about the darker images, emotions begin to change in a more negative way. The darker paintings in the video show sadness and despair, they became very negative showing that things are not alright unlike the brighter colored paintings. This video was able to do a good job showing how lighter colored paintings have a positive effects on emotions, while darker colored paintings have more of a negative effect on emotions.

Week 2: Aesthetics!

1. For each video and article list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts - From this video I learned quite a few things, the most important concept being aesthetics. Before watching this video I can honestly say I had never heard of the term aesthetics before, and now learning what it means it gives me a better understanding on how to feel about art. As for something interesting I learned about Plato and Aristotle, I learned that Plato did not think of poetry as an art, while Aristotle argued his opinion and later proved that poetry is indeed an art. The key concept in this video was how art is perceived through time and creating what is know today as aesthetics.

CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art Aesthetics - From this Video I leaned a very interesting concept about art and the mind. Changeux and Ramachandran were able to describes in their lectures how the mind thinks about and perceives art. I found it very intriguing that they tell us that our mind lets us appreciate art, and they are right when you think about it. Some people’s minds may be different from others, what one person may find to be gorgeous, another may not be so satisfied or even turned off as they imply in the lecture.

CNN Article - From the CNN Article the key concepts that I learned are how we can recognize art to be actual things. The article describes how art is able to trick the mind in terms of 2D images. I thought this article was very interesting and they do prove a good point, when you look at a painting it’s flat, but depicts something that in reality is 3D. The most important concept to realize in terms of making artwork look 3D is shadowing, dark lines and shading are able to give a piece of artwork the “real” effect. I thought this article was definitely something to learn from and is also something I have never thought of before.


2. Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosophers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.

The philosopher’s theory on aesthetics that I feel to be most important was Aristotle’s from the Philosophical era because he was able to prove Plato wrong by saying that poetry is an art which Plato had denied. His aesthetics on poetry being able to maintain an arousing strong emotions shows that while poetry is indeed an art, you can develop a feeling for what is written and learn while gaining knowledge from it.


3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture?

I think Changeux and Ramachandran’s scientific view of the aesthetics and art are really interesting in a variety of reasons. One reason being, it really makes you think after watching these videos, after they describe how art is perceived and appreciated by the mind, it makes you realize that the art that pleases you is pleasing because it’s you in a way. From Changeux’s short lecture, the most interesting thing that I had learned was the fact that you have to visually analyze art for emotions and feelings to kick in. While Ramachandran’s lecture was much more interesting, what I learned from his was people have different reactions to art, some people find things attractive that others would not. His lecture described something that I never really thought deeply of and that was simply put, people have different taste. Both of these lectures where able to give me a lot more knowledge on just how we really do think of art.


4. How do the videos and article relate to the readings in the text?

When it comes to the videos and article relating to the readings in the text, I watched the videos and read the article well in advance to reading the chapters. I have to say, the videos and article really helped me have a better understanding of things when I went to read the chapters. I think having a visual and audible form from watching the videos had a great deal in helping me because I learn better by watching and listening due to the fact that reading is not my strong point. The videos and article were able to tell me how art was thought of, while the book was able to tell me about art itself, both together where able to give me a good understanding.


5. What is your opinion of the films and article? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading in the text?

My opinion of the films and article are that it really gave me a better understanding of how we think about art. I definitely think differently now and learned a lot after watching the videos and reading the article, when it comes to the aesthetics and knowledge of art but also how we view art and appreciate it. The videos and article really do help add an in depth understanding of the topics in the text, because I did complete the video and articles in advance of reading the text and it did help me understand the text much better. When reading the text, chapter 3 for example, I could relate to the CNN article with the idea of themes talked about in chapter 3 when they talk about how your mind knows and can understand when it sees familiar aspects of life such as people and places. These two relate because a fantasy painting could be out of the ordinary but you are still able to depict objects that you know from the painting.