Module 12 Video Review

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

The two videos I chose for this assignment are Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the ‘50s and ‘60s and Andy Warhol: Image of an Image. For the first video, Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the ‘50s and ‘60s, I chose this video because I learned about art of the 50s and 60s in a history class along with a huge project, which also involved the art from that time period and I really enjoyed that class and the project so I thought it would be interesting to watch a video that related to that subject. For the second video, Andy Warhol: Image of an Image, I chose this video because I am familiar with the name Andy Warhol, but I was also interested in finding out what was meant by image of an image in the title. 

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

For the first video, Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the ‘50s and ‘60s, the key concept I learned in this video was how differently artists are starting to express themselves in this time period, especially with abstract and unique pieces. One of the key concepts I learned in this video, which I have always thought was strange, was how the artist piles on paint in blobby messes all over the canvas, I never thought of this carefully enough before watching this video, but I was able to learn that it creates a unique aspect to the painting, which draws the viewers attention in to the painting while still having the viewer look at the piece as a whole as well. I thought the way they talk about abstract art and piling on the paint in this video was very interesting as I have never really thought about it before. 

For the second video, Andy Warhol: Image of an Image, the key concept I learned in this video was literally what I was hoping to learn, which was the meaning one the title of the video, being silkscreen when referring to image of an image in the title. The key concept I learned was that silkscreening was used for artwork and photography, I thought this was interesting because when I think of silkscreening something, I think of only doing it on clothing and not for artistic purposes. Silkscreening is something that I have never done or really seen done before so I thought it was interesting to watch and learn about the processes of it. Something new I learned from it was before an image can be transferred to a silkscreen it must be enlarged several times and nowadays silkscreens are made of mesh instead of silk. I thought altogether silkscreening is a very interesting and unique process. 

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos do relate to the book very well, especially with the second video I watched on Andy Warhol, being that the book went into great detail about him and his personal life. As for the first video I watched, the book didn't seem to relate as much with what I watched in the video, but I did finish the book well before watching these videos. Overall I did think the videos related well with the book on related topics as they have all semester with each chapter we read and I do think they do a good job in enhancing the learning experience, especially with people who are not strong readers.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

My opinion of the films were very good, as I particularly liked the second video I watched on Andy Warhol and silkscreening, I also liked that it was more of an appropriate length being around 30 minutes rather than an hour long video. But I did like both of the videos, as I also learned a lot from both of them, and very interesting things that I am glad I got the opportunity to learn, with my favorite thing being the silkscreening process. Overall I to think the videos assed depth to the understanding of the readings and art concepts because it gives an added amount of learning, with different approaches of teaching it, with the videos giving more of a visual aid and the book going more in-depth with information. Altogether I do think the videos are an interesting part of the learning process for this class as they are helpful to people who are not so strong readers like me.

Module 11: Art Gallery Visit #2

The museum I visited for this assignment was the Burchfield Penny Art Center.

Step 1: The Exhibition

Questions about the exhibit:

1. What is the title of the exhibit?

The title of the exhibit was “Jack Drummer, The Effects of Time”

2. What is the theme of the exhibition?

The theme of the exhibit was abstract and minimalist paintings, all created by John E. (Jack) Drummer. 

Step 2: The Gallery

Questions about the physical space:

1. What type of lighting is used?

The lighting that was used in this exhibit was both natural and artificial light. For the natural light, some but not much is used, mostly lighting seeping though a few windows that are off in the distance on the second floor. For the artificial lighting, they had a unique lighting system that was very high up on the ceiling, about 2 feet from the wall, spaced about another 2 feet apart from each other, where dull light fixtures that ran the boarder of the entire room, but only casted light at the walls. There were also a few lights in the middle of the ceiling that were all angled differently, casting the light onto the floor.

2. What colors are used on the walls?

The colors of the walls were all white, from floor to ceiling, along with the ceiling. Everything was white and their were no accent walls in this specific exhibit that were anything but white. 

3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space?

The materials that were used in the interior architecture of the space were, light wood floors, with a black baseboard, along with white walls, which were either curved exterior walls or shorter flat walls that stuck out of the exterior walls, making for a maze like effect. Other than those details there were not much other architectural features other than a large open staircase to the second floor and simple benches scattered around so you can sit and face the artwork. The overall architecture of the room was very open and cold, with little to no furniture and other decorative elements.

4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?

The movement for the viewer through this gallery space was a little different compared to a lot of art galleries I have visited. at the starting point of the gallery entrance, you can either chose to go in one of two directions, with both still ending up in the same place. The exterior walls guided you in a cured fashion, while some wall stuck out making you turn and continue on, as this gallery is set up in sort of a maze like fashion. Overall if you started at the first painting and continued on to the next painting in an orderly fashion, you would be able to see every piece of artwork without having to leave the wall you are following.

Step 3: The Artwork

Questions about the artwork:

1. How are the artworks organized?

The artworks are organized in some what of a random order, with no meaning to the specific way they are organized when looking at their characteristics. All of the pieces of art are spaced generously apart from each other, with one or two artworks taking up a single wall space. 

2. How are the artworks similar?

The artworks are similar because they are all the same media, concept, shape, and are relatively similar with the same color choices. 

3. How are the artworks different?

The artworks don't really have many differences as they are all the same concept thought the entire exhibit, the only noticed difference would be the sizes of the artwork, as some are small and others are huge, they also are different in content as well. 

4. How are the artworks framed?

All of the pieces of artwork in this specific exhibit are not framed at all, as the artwork itself is carried over the edges of the canvas.

5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?

The artworks are identified and labeled by little cream colored plaques with black writing, which are placed to the right of all the artworks at about 3 to 4 feet up from the ground.

6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?

The proximity of the artworks to each other varies thought out the exhibit, generally with this exhibit, the artworks are placed generously apart from each other, with one or two artworks taking up a wall space. If I had to give a rough estimate as to how far apart they were, I would say about 8 to 10 feet apart. 

Step 4: Art Criticism Exercise

Artist: John E. (Jack) Drummer

Title of Work: Untitled

Media: Stretched and dyed rubber, 21 panels 

Date: 1995-97

Size: 102 x 300 inches 

Source of Picture: Taken on personal iPhone camera

Description - What I see in this piece of artwork is 21 square panels of a variety of colors ranging from purples on one side, blues in the middle, and moving to greens on the far side. Each panel displays a different shade of color along with different brush strokes.

Formal Analysis - The elements and principles that are most noticeable in this piece are color and value. For color, the bright colors of blue draw the viewers attention into the piece as for value, the variety of colors from light greens to dark purples shows the value in the piece. 

Bracketing - This particular piece of artwork reminds me of a boarder between land and sea. When I look at the right side of the painting I see dark purples and blues, which would represent the deep ocean, while as your eyes move to the middle of the painting you see lighter blue colors, which would represent the shore, and to the left side of the painting it shows greens which would represent grass and land.

Interpretation - Since there is no title for this piece of artwork it makes it a bit harder to figure out what the artist is trying to say, but what I think the artist is trying to say is, how the colors transition so well with each other, especially if he is talking about land going into sea. 

Artist: John E. (Jack) Drummer

Title of Work: Untitled

Media: Stretched, stitched and dyed rubber

Date: 2006

Size: N/A

Source of Picture: Taken on personal iPhone camera

Description - What I see in this piece of artwork is a single black square panel, which has a series of stretching going in just about every direction. The black background with seam like stitching looks like leather with the seam stitched though it.

Formal Analysis - The elements and principles that are seen in this piece are lines and texture. For lines, the stitched leather looking seams act as lines going throughout the artwork, as for texture, the stitched parts of the artwork acts as a rougher and bumpy feel if you were to touch the artwork. 

Bracketing - This particular piece of artwork reminds me of leather with the black background color and material, with all of the stitching looking like the stitching at the seam of a leather product.

Interpretation - What I think the artist was trying to say in this piece of artwork was, something can be easily stitched together and repaired, or if something is damaged try and fix it first before going an replacing it.

Artist: John E. (Jack) Drummer

Title of Work: Untitled 

Media: Stretched and dyed rubber, 2 panels 

Date: 1998 

Size: N/A

Source of Picture: Taken on personal iPhone camera

Description - What I see in this piece of artwork is two square panels, both containing the same concept of a white background with a blue boarder, with a tire like track of blue going through the middle of the painting. 

Formal Analysis - The elements and principles that are seen in this artwork are lines and balance. For lines, the white background behind the blue creates a line effect, as for balance, the two panels display nearly the same design, creating an almost mirror image.

Bracketing - This particular piece of artwork reminds me of a tire track, which is running though the painting in blue over a white background. 

Interpretation - What I think the artist is trying to represent is, to just keep moving, if the artist is trying to represent some sort of tire tracks, then I would guess they are trying to tell the viewer to not give up and keep on going. 

Step 5: Document Your Visit

What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space, the architecture, theme, etc.?

I thought visiting the art gallery was very interesting because I have not visited the Burchfield Penny Art Center since I was in 7th grade. I also thought it was an interesting experience purposefully looking at the exhibition from a different perspective because it is something that I have never done before or ever thought of doing, as I also thought it was a little bit easier than looking at the artwork because you don't really have to put a lot of thought into looking at the physical space and architecture of the museum.

Module 11 Video Review

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

For the first video I chose, Matisse and Picasso, I chose this video because I am familiar with both the names and some of their work, as I have also seen some of their work in person at the MOMA in New York City. I thought it would be interesting to watch this video because it would allow me to learn a little bit more about the artists. For the second video, Expressionism, I chose this video because I didn't really know what to expect from it, as I was not that familiar with expressionism, but I did think it was going to be about expressions and showing emotions in art work, which is another reason why I chose this particular video. 

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

For the first video, Matisse and Picasso, the key concepts I learned were how both Matisse and Picasso both liked to paint women, but both had different ways of doing it. For Picasso’s paintings of women, the models basically did not exist. For Picasso’s paintings, they were done from memory or observation, they say in the video that it is a very particular trait of Picasso, as he very rarely asked people to sit for him. Now for Matisse, his models are flesh and blood, being that they are in front of him while he paints, rather than doing the paintings by memory. I thought this was a very interesting characteristic, as both painters paint women but each has there own special way of doing it. 

For the second video, Expressionism, the key concepts I learned were how emotions are expressed in paintings. In the video they talk about one artist where their style and expressionism changed overtime, the artist Max Beckmann started out with norman self portraits of an average expression. But his style changed drastically as a result of the first world war, with noticeable signs of anxiety and terror seen in his paintings. They also talk about another painting in the video done by Beckman titles “Actors,” where the king is on stage attempting to commit suicide by shoving a sword in his chest and the rest of the actors carry on what they are doing, showing no expressions for the king dying. I thought this was interesting because I never really think or look for expressions and emotions when I am looking at a painting.

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos related to the reading in the text a lot with some information and little with other information. For the first video I watched, Matisse and Picasso, the book really went into great detail about both artists, even talking about their life and background, along with their works as well. As for the second video I watched about Expressionism, the book did talk about it a little bit but I did not think it really went into as much detail as the video did about the topic. Overall I think the videos I watched were able to relate to the reading in the book, as it does provide a listening and visual learning experience, opposed to reading, which I am not very good at or fond of doing, so it is great to learn in other ways than just reading the book.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

My opinion of the videos were very good as there was a lot of interesting things presented in the two videos I chose, the only things I wasn't really pleased by was the lengths of the video as it is hard to remember all of the information watched. I do think the videos add depth to the understanding of the readings and art concepts because it is adding onto the learning experience, providing both different information at times, as well as providing a visual and auditory learning experience. Overall I do think the videos are a good learning tool to go along with the book because it can add information that might not be presented in the book or allow for further learning of topics a person might be interested in.

Module 10 - Art Making Exploration: Mask Making

For this project, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, which is an Italy Venice mask. I got the inspiration for this mask when I visited the venetian hotel in Las Vegas as I purchased two of these masks in a shop that sold them hand crafted. Ever since then I have always been interested in masks such as these, which made me really want to make one, as I also enjoyed picking out materials at the store to make it. 

Mask #1

I chose this first mask because I thought it was very unique, as it almost looks like it was molded perfectly for the face that it is resting on. I really like the use of gold throughout the mask along with the feathers acting as a fringe around the mask. When I saw this one I just had to pick it. 

Art Criticism

Description: With this mask you see a shinny gold background with various gold finishes around the edges, along with very subtle touches of diamond around the edges. As you make your way further out to the edges of the mask, you are greeted with unique brown feathers splattered with white dots. 

Formal analysis: The elements and principles used in this mask are color, texture and balance. For color, the mask is glowing in a bright gold color everywhere you look, really drawing the attention in of the viewer. For texture, this can be seen in the boarder of the mask with a grainy looking feel to the edge design, along with a soft texture when looking at the feathery boarder. For balance, the mask is nearly symmetrical, looking nearly the same on both sides.

Mask #2

I chose this second mask because it was similar to the first mask but much more simpler. I liked this mask because it is very luxurious looking with its gold design, along with the very interesting boarder of gold and silver clashing together. I thought this mask really spoke for what I was looking for, as it inspired me to also buy the specific supplies I bought for my mask. 

Art Criticism 

Description: With this mask you see a simply and smooth golden texture and design, which contains various unique finishes along the boarder, with gold beads around the eyes and a gold and silver garland looking design around the boarder of the mask. 

Formal analysis: The elements and principles contained in this mask are color, texture, form and balance. For color, this mask contains many shades of gold, which brings the attention of the viewer straight to its outgoing color. For texture, the mask itself has a smooth looking finish, while the beads, gems and garland have a rougher or coarse feeling to them. For form, the mask contains various 3-dimensional objects, such as gems and beads. Finally for balance, the mask is very symmetric looking, containing basically the same concept on both sides of the mask.

Mask #3 

I chose this mask because it was still a little bit seminal to the other two masks, while also having some different aspects to it, such as red colors, instead of fully containing gold. I also chose this mask because it is very outgoing with its red features, making it stick out more, being an attractive piece that people are sure to notice. 

Art Criticism

Description: With this mask you see a gold mask with a red coating to look like rust, along with the gold coloring you see a risen design of various lines, next to the lines, along the boarder you find a uniquely woven fringe with bright red tall feathers sticking out of the top of the mask. 

Formal analysis: The elements and principles contained in this mask are line, color, texture and balance. For line, this mask contains various risen lines throughout the surface of the mask. For color, the gold does not stick out much in this mask compared to the bright red feathers that strike your attention as you look at this mask. For texture, the risen design creates a bumpy feel to the touch, as the feathers create a softer feeling. Finally for balance, this mask also is very symmetric, as it is basically a mirror image on both sides. 

Sketches

Final Mask

Elements and Principles used in my finished mask

The following elements and principles were used in my mask:

Color - For color, the bright gold and sparkly boarder I used throughout the mask really puts an emphasis on color as it draws the viewers eyes right into the mask.

Texture - For texture, this can be seen a couple places on my mask, for the first place it is the gold boarder, which has a very rough and coarse feel to it, secondly, the black sequins places throughout the mask have a bumpy texture to them.

Form - For form, the mask overall is a 3-dimensional object, as as the diamond gems that stick out from the center of the mask. 

Balance - For balance, the mask itself is a mirror image when dividing it in-half from where the nose would be, creating a symmetrical object.

Shape - For shape, the round diamond gems and black sequins are circular shapes that are seen thought the entire masks design. 

My opinion of my finished mask and what I thought about creating it

For my opinion of my mask, I thought it turned out excellent and better than expected, when I got the idea in my head to do an Italy Venice mask, I couldn't wait to get out to the store and get supplies for it, as I knew it was going to turn out good from the start. As for what I thought about creating the mask, I did think it was going to be a bit more difficult than it actually was because for my idea it was necessary to use an exacto knife, as I have never been good with them, but it turns out even after not using them for a while, I didn’t make any mistakes in making this mask. I was able to make a pretty good template to start with, which by the end was destroyed with all the slipping of the blade, but well worth it as I did not have to start over. Altogether I thought this was a fun project to do and even almost as fun as the photography project was! 

Module 10: Video Review

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

The two videos I chose were “Buddhism” and “Hinduism,” the reason I chose these two videos was because I have always been interested in indian culture and their way of life. For the first video “Buddhism,” I chose this video because I have visited a couple Buddhist temples while on vacation, both were in Hawaii, when I visited them I thought they were amazing looking and the surroundings where so much to look at, so I though I would choose this video to learn a little bit more about Buddhism. For the second video “Hinduism,” I chose this video because it goes along with and relates to India, but I also thought I would like to learn more about hinduism as well.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

For the first video “Buddhism,” the key concepts that I learned were that the Chuang Yen Monastery is in Carmel, upstate New York, I would have never guessed that something this large, which houses a number of buildings dedicated to buddhism, could be so close to where we live, I would have never known something so extraordinary existed so close, being that you don't even have to travel out of New York to visit it. I leaned that the Kuan Yin Hall was build in the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty, a Chinese dynasty welcoming Buddhism. They describe a design of simplicity in the complex among all of the buildings, while people must take their shoes off as they enter the buildings, which I knew from the Buddhist temples I visited.

For the second video “Hinduism,” the key concepts I learned were the Indian people are very centered around their river as people and animals were seen bathing in the water thought out the video. They describe that the great river Ganges is a powerful symbol of Hinduism, being a symbol of Brahma’s/god’s love for the earth and its people. Later in the video, I learned that they conduct ceremonies, which are dedicated to Mother Ganges, who nourishes the earth and heals the souls of those who bathe in her water. I thought that it was very unique that they find the water such an important part of their lives, something I would have never known unless I visited there.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos related to the readings in the text very well, in fact, the video about Buddhism followed along very well with the reading in the text, citing important pieces of indian artwork that was featured in the video, such as the Great Stupa, the gateway and the Kandariya Mahadeva temple. The book goes into much more detail when talking about the various Buddhist structures and artwork, while the video gave much more of a visual aspect of the artwork, really showing off the many details of the pieces. For the second video on Hinduism, the book goes more into detail about the history of how Hinduism began to filter into china, while the video showed life experiences in india. Altogether, the videos and the reading correlate well with each other due to the fact that the videos teach through visually showing the viewer stuff, while the readings give more in-depth information on the history.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

My opinions of the film were very good as I was very interested and fascinated by the topics they discussed. Since I have always been interested in Indian culture and their temples, I though this was a good opportunity to learn some more, as I did. The videos are able to add depth to the undemanding of the readings and art concepts because they can actually show you in great detail the things that you are learning about. While the videos and the reading relate very well, talking about similar topics, after you read the chapters and then watch the videos, you are able to actually experience what you just read about, which I think is a good thing. Overall I think that the videos I chose were both very good and definitely added to my understanding of the topics discussed in the chapters.

Module 9 - Art Making/Material Exploration Drawings: Exploring Line

The Picture on the left was drawn with my dominant hand and the picture on the right was drawn with my non-dominant hand.

1. What was it like using your hand as subject matter for a drawing?

For using my hand as subject matter for drawing, it was nothing surprising since I did this exact same project in a high school art class. But since it has been years since I took a drawing and painting class, my skills were a bit rusty. I have to say I did a much better job on the one I did for high school that the one I did for this class because I use to draw nearly everyday, but now I hardly ever draw, which made this project a bit difficult for me. I am not particularly a fan of using my hand as subject matter because its hard to keep it still and it gets tired of being in certain positions, which makes this project all the more difficult. Overall, I think this was a good project to do because I can see how I draw now, compared to when I use to do it everyday back in high school.

2. What media did you select - pencil or charcoal? Why?

The media I chose was pencil, for a couple of reasons. The first reason why I chose pencil over  charcoal was that pencil is a not cleaner to work with, and their isn't much of a mess compared to charcoal. The second reason I chose to use pencil, was that I prefer working with charcoal over pencil, so I chose pencil because I typically am not a good drawer with pencil, and this would give me an opportunity to work on my pencil drawing skills, which are usually done in charcoal. 

3. How did it feel to create a drawing with your non-dominant hand?

To me, it always feels weird working with my non-dominant hand, especially when I am trying to hold a pencil with it, and it always just doesn't seem right. While I have done this assignment before, plus I have had to use my non dominant hand with previous art projects, being that I had to prevent smudging of the artwork, which would have happened if I used my dominant hand. Overall, it is always interesting to use my non-dominant hand for drawing, because I struggle a lot with it, while the interesting thing is, I prefer to use my don-dominant hand to text and type with on my phone, which is also interesting.

4. Compare and contrast your final drawings. Do you think they are successful studies?

After comparing and contrasting my final drawings, I do think they are successful studies, because it shows just how different you draw with a non-dominant hand. When looking at the drawings, the left hand (non-dominant) is so much more less detailed and childlike, while the dominant hand is much better done and lines are more straight. Overall I think that if someone were to train and practice with their left hand more, they would be able to complete a project like this with both hands looking equally perfect. 

5. Would you consider using your non-dominant hand to create artwork in the future?

Yes I would consider using my don-dominant hand to create artwork in the future, as I have in the past for other projects I have worked on. The reason I would use my non-dominant hand in the future would not be to experiment with using it, but rather as a necessity. From past experience I have learned that sometimes it is necessary to use your non-dominant hand for artwork to get a better angle, or more importantly to prevent smudging on certain things.