Week 15 / Self Portrait / Art Gallery Visit

The inspiration pieces comes from the online gallery by Claire Casseb. 

http://www.clairecassebart.com/

Casseb's online art gallery consists of contemporary pop art and photorealism. 

I selected pencil / color pencil as my media because they will help define the different hues and colors throughout the portrait I have selected to recreate. The self portrait I chose is a picture of my mom and I.    Challenges I faced while creating my portrait include: making the piece seem realistic and visually appealing, and my own artistic skills challenging me in general. The piece resembles somewhat of a similarity to myself, although I'm sure anyone would fine my piece to be interesting. Elements and principles of art used in my piece include: Line, Color, Tone & Value. 

I did enjoy working on this project and really enjoyed researching online art galleries! I definitely think my piece could use a little bit more work, but hey, I'm just a beginner! 

Project #5 Art Criticism Article

I decided to critique fellow classmate, Kaitlin LaBarge's art exhibition. 

I selected this exhibit to critique because of the beautiful still life pieces that were selected. The realistic and vibrant flowers were amazing. The challenge I faced while writing the critique would probably just involve critiquing in a manor from a professional artistic point of view. We all were new at practicing being an art curator and acquiring pieces for our exhibit, so knowing we were all in the same boat put me at ease. I am always impressed when I look at my classmates work for any of our projects. It seems everyone is creative in their own way. I definitely would like to read the critiques my classmates composed in regards to my own art exhibit. Peer evaluation is constructive criticism and is good for social and communication skills. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate my article at an 8, because I definitely analyzed a majority of the pieces selected for the art exhibit I critiqued, as well as putting great points in on how this course has inspired me. I did enjoy working on this project!

Module 15 Film Review

The film, Greenberg on Art Criticism: An Interview by T.J Clark discusses the various types of art criticism by analyzing artwork and discussing other artist’s art criticisms. Although I definitely had some trouble following what he was saying exactly, I decided to read through the transcript on the right side of the video. I learned from Greenberg that you need to be receptive and stay receptive, open. Good art can come from anywhere, the results confute, they refute everything, every preconception you may have. Greenberg mentions how the best visual art of the past 50 years has been predominantly abstract. Greenberg said were stuck with that the best art, the best culture, under urban circumstances for a so-called elite. That elite gets bigger and bigger. When art’s good, it’s everything it should be.

The film, Jackson Pollock: Michael Fried and T. J Clark in conversation discussed how Jackson Pollock is an important modernist master who raises many questions with his work. They also point out how Pollock has been used a negative point of reference for modern art. The debate comes from the historical side of modern art while Fried is focused on the independence of its aesthetic. The concentration Pollock’s work requires challenges the distraction endemic in the wider culture. This film was interesting, in that Fried and Clark critiqued Pollock’s work through different approaches. This relates to the  Greenberg on Art Criticism film through the advice on being receptive to an artist’s artwork. 

Week 13 & 14 Video Review.

The four films definitely provide a great foundation to begin Project #4. The four films definitely seem to provide great insight into the variety and range art culture has to offer. The first film discussed the art movement of lowbrow artists. Lowbrow art can be defined as an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California, area in the late 1970's. It's a populist art movement with its cultural roots in underground comics, punk music, and hot rod cultures of the street. The artists creating lowbrow art, also known as pop surrealism are definitely talented and create eye catching pieces, although they believe they do not get the respect they deserve. The second film discussed the method of displaying modern art, which is seen in the Modern Museum of Art. This film provides foundation to our fourth project through its thematic approach when displaying art. The Tate approach displays its modern art in four sections. Each section suggests a theme for the selection of art displayed. Although it seems their might be an order in place,  visitors to the Tate are provided with striking and often abrupt transitions between the individual display rooms. The third short film I really enjoyed. It was fascinating to hear how the native american protection policy came about, in regards to archeological findings. It was also fascinating to hear how over 18,000 Native American remains are stored at the Smithsonian Museum in archives and how their lower back bones and skull fragments have different markings which is because of genes and heredity from the tribes. The fact that passing the bill and beginning to return Native American remains to their tribes started with the woman from Iowa and has now spread across the country is awesome. The fourth film topped the first three films by far. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and its longest director, Philippe de Montebello showed me the steps of how a piece of art is acquired and possibly accepted into a museums collection. The Metropolitan Museum is section off into themed areas, for example the African exhibition. It was awesome to understand that the 400 pieces of metal placed into the statue that welcomes you into the themed area represents 400 significant things apart of that culture. These films were great and i honestly enjoyed them. They were all different and provided me with a better understanding of how to execute my 4th project! 

Art Gallery Visit #2

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

 Ken Price: Slow And Steady Wins the Race, Works on paper, 1962-2010. 

The theme of the exhibition seems to be "slow and steady wins the race." As I was exploring the exhibition, I noticed that Price's pieces were grouped by three's and shared a common subject. The vibrant colors really stood out and gave each piece that wow factor. Price definitely seems to have a sense of humor with some of his pieces. The lighting throughout the exhibit seemed to be standard gallery lighting, which was very bright, along with the walls just being plain white. The movement throughout the exhibition was natural. The artworks were organized in relation to their content. The pieces were all in a black frame with a white matte. The artworks were similar in that they stood out to me, even though they were things you recognize, the vibrant use of colors brought each piece to life and I only wanted to know more. The artworks were identified and labeled on clear plaques on the wall with black ink. A majority of the plaques which identified the pieces were aligned in groups of 3 which stated from "left to right" or "right to left", so it was easy for me to identify the artworks that I wanted to use for this project. The proximity of the artworks to each other was  about a foot and a half a part? Im not exactly sure on the measurement but they were not too close to each other and not too spaced out. The exhibition was full of great pieces and did not seem cluttered at all. 

Desert Architecture, 2005.
Acrylic and Ink.
The use of Space, Color, Tone/Value, & Line are elements seen in this piece. My favorite part of this artwork is the intense tornado about to touchdown. The way Price shadowed the mobile homes creates the ground level in the artwork. The Tone & Value seen throughout the storm cloud is amazing. Its awesome to see how the clean lines of the mobile homes contrast the dark clouds above.

Taos Talking Picture, 2000.
Acrylic and Ink.
Again, we see the same elements expressed in this artwork. The use of Space,  Shape, Color, Tone/Value, and Line. This piece is awesome because it seems three-dimensional. Price certainly knows how to create clean lines in his artworks. The contrast of the clean lines and color below to the sky above which has beautiful Tone and Value. Price captures the detail in the reality of what the sky truly looks like. The use of space is outstanding in this piece. There is a sense of depth to this piece and draws you into it. 

Liquid Rock, 2004.
Acrylic and Ink.
This was the featured artwork of the exhibition on the Albright-Knox  website. When I saw this in person at the gallery I was blown away. The way the lava is flowing through the rock, to the detail in the lava that is exploding into the air, the tone and value in the rock, and the beautiful lit sky in the background brings this artwork to life. I personally would love to own a replica of any of Price's pieces. It was a great experience to visit an exhibition with a different perspective. It has opened my eyes to how I will perceive other exhibitions in the future. I look forward to our final Art Gallery visit. 

Expressionism & Cubism Film Reviews.

Expressionism is a modernist movement originating in Germany in the 20th century. The film discussed how Expressionism is to present the world from a subjective perspective, suggesting moods or ideas. We see example of Expressionism through Edward Munch's work and other artists mentioned throughout the film, Ashes. Ashes explores the relationship between a man and a woman. Colors in Expressionism are symbolic, like how the man was painted with black and dark colors to suggest depression or guilt. The woman's long flowing hair has red tones throughout to suggest the burning or sorrows of the relationship between the two. Ashes was shown in two other perspectives suggesting the emotions changed, from extreme sorrow, to confident, sexual, and arrogant. Expressionism is the exploration of the inner-state of mind. I truly enjoyed this film because you realize how symbolic a piece of art can be. I enjoyed understanding how to interpret emotion throughout a piece of art by exploring the colors used along with the expression of the subjects. 

The Impact of Cubism film was fascinating. Cubism has been considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century. The famous art gallery that we first saw in the film displays the art work, The Breakfast Table. When I first looked at this piece it was hard to understand how this represented a true breakfast table. After studying the piece you realize the true impact of cubism. Cubism is using shapes and line which turn into a real situation. Different areas and shading of the The Breakfast Table reveal the parts of the real breakfast table we initially were trying to see. Cubism is inspiring to all artists and draws a large number of tourists to this museum which holds a majority of influential Cubism pieces. This was also a great film and I enjoyed learning about the impact of Cubism on modern art. 

Module 10 Video Reviews.

The two films I picked to blog about include: Buddhism & Hinduism. 

Buddhism relates to the readings through culture and tradition. The beliefs and practices of Buddhism stem from Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama had everything until he stepped out into the real world and saw how people were suffering. He craved contentment and so he meditated until he saw the world in a different light. After meditating, Guatama became known as Buddah, which means, "the awakened one." This is how Buddhism came to be. Hinduism also relates to the readings through culture and tradition. This is why I chose both of these films to blog about! :) Hinduism is the dominant religion of India. Hinduism includes numerous traditions including, karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is characterized by intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a common set of beliefs. I really enjoyed both of these films and I also encourage other classmates to watch these two short films!