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! 

Module 9: Video Reviews.

The two short films I picked were: Albrecht Durer, Image of a Master & Velazquez. 

Albrecht Durer lived from 1471-1528. Some of Durer's inspiration came from his father who was a goldsmith. By the age of 20, Durer completed two successful portraits. The first portrait was of himself and the second of his father. Durer had a great eye for detail, especially when it came to the process of aging. Over time, he married by the age of 22, and traveled for months at a time exploring Art in other countries. While traveling through Italy, Durer found the landscapes to be very appealing. He eventually began adding landscapes behind his subjects in portraits. Durer became exceptionally great at capturing the mood of a landscape, which is seen through his beautiful landscape pieces. This film relates to the text through the time of Renaissance, which is when Durer's art work flourished. Durer's attention to the process of aging represents the type of art work created in the Renaissance period. Velazquez also relates to the text when it comes to his own style of work. Velazquez captured timeless moments. He depicted such realistic, yet soft portraits of his closest friend, the King and the King's family. Velazquez spent his life painting for the King, but he enjoyed it. The portraits Velazquez composed, expressed and represented the gothic style of art work which was flourishing through the Renaissance period. Again we see here the attention to detail, which is a highlighted area in the Renaissance period. 

M9 Art Making/Material Exploration Drawings.

It was using my own hands as subject matter for this project. It was challenging to define the detail of my hands and bring a three dimensional aspect to my drawing. I started by using my charcoal pencils, although i felt as if they were too dark, even though i purchased a light, medium, and dark. I ultimately used a mechanical pencil to complete the project, which seemed to be most successful. It was easy to draw the first hand with my dominant hand. When it was time to draw my dominant hand, it was definitely challenging. I erased and started over a few times, as well as erasing marks throughout the whole process of drawing my dominant hand. I believe my drawing is successful and was a great learning experiment. When i look at the example the professor provided, my own drawing does not seem as three dimensional, but there are some great qualities in my work! I will not consider using my non dominant hand in the future on art projects, unless I am using both of my hands together! 

Module 8 Video Reviews

More Human Than Human discusses the legacy of our ancestors, which shaped our world today. Humans made Art, & Art made us human. The film discusses how we see ourselves and how we express our views through art. The Venus of Willendorf statue was more than 25,000 years old and is now worth more than $60 million dollars. The small figure of the female with exaggerated parts opens our mind to examine how other cultures saw themselves. Throughout the world, similar statues with exaggerated features were also found. I really enjoyed the part about Egyptian culture and art. Its fascinating to examine their culture. After examining Egyptian art, researchers discovered why the reliefs along the walls and pillars of Egyptian architecture over hundreds of years was similar. Egyptian Grids define the Egyptian culture with their obsession with consistency and order, which is what their society was based on. Culture is king and dictates how we depict the body. I also was fascinated by the man who discovered the Greek statues while snorkeling. The film definitely relates to the text.

The Cairo Museum film was picked upon my fascination of Egyptian culture. The Cairo Museum is home to more than 160, 000 Egyptian artifacts, although only half of them are on display currently. The other half of the beautiful and amazing artifacts are in the basement, where a majority of them are lost in dark spaces and have been untouched since their initial discovery of almost 100 years ago. The most fascinating artifacts were definitely the treasures of King Tut. The restoration of the Gold and leather piece that King Tut wore is AMAZING. Its crazy to think all of these beautiful artifacts are still in tact. The technique used in creating these fine objects of their culture relate to the text perfectly when discussing past periods and cherishing the skills used then which we almost done have the power to recreate now. 

Architecture.

The first film I picked was based on Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style. The film discussed how Wright changed the face of modern Architecture. Prairie Style is defined by wide open living spaces. Its the blending of homes into natural surroundings. Frank Lloyd Wright developed his architecture techniques in respect to time, place, and landscape. Horizontal lines represent Prairie style, which echos the lines of a prairie, as seen in the Chicago suburbs. Prairie style rooms flow into one another, along with having floor to ceiling windows, which dissolve interior and exterior space. The film provides depth to my understanding of Architecture through Frank Lloyd Wright's personal contribution to the history and style of architecture. I really enjoyed this film and furthering my knowledge of the great Frank Lloyd Wright. 

The second film I picked was Architecture: The Science of Design. This film discussed the science of architecture in respect to the strength of building materials and environmental factors. Concrete & Steel are used for skyscrapers. In a skyscraper, the super structure is everything above ground, while the sub structure is everything underground. A large factor that affects a skyscraper is wind. Wind is 4 times as violent on the 100th floor compared to lower floors. Wind can cause swaying of the building by up to a meter. Codes and testing must be done to make sure the building only has 5-7 seconds of swaying time from its original position to its furthest sway. Trees can be placed around a building to absorb turbulence. People walking can catch wind tunnels based of the shape and structure of a building. Its also important to consider location when constructing a home or building, fumes from a highway can effect where you plan to build or move. Concrete thats not reinforced can be used for foundations or walkways that have non supporting walls. Concrete reaches its full binding at 90 days. Bars of metal and steel are place into concrete to reinforce it, allowing for it to never break abruptly and to only crack under high pressure. The film relates to the chapter on Architecture by providing its modern day approach on how techniques are used in todays world. My understanding of building techniques and factors to consider are also increased. This particular film is dated especially when discussing the future of homes. Homes today are all pretty much smart homes in their own way. Some of my friends homes have screens located throughout the entire home which allow control to basically everything! 

Reviewing Peer Responses to Artwork.

http://brettgogh.blogspot.com/

http://courtneypepper421.blogspot.com/

I definitely agreed with each of my classmates interpretations of the elements & principles of art through their photographs. I'd have to say you are able to see at least one or two other elements in each image. Everyone has a unique interpretation which allows the eye to visually determine which element and principle can be seen in an image. Between myself & my two classmates, we all had different images from the Art Gallery visit. Although I came across a couple of their pieces while on my visit, I expressed in my comments how their image also made an impression on me even though that piece did not make it into my blog. The neon light that said, "Only God Knows I'm Good" made an impression on me at the Art Gallery. Its inspirational and suggests individuality and self-empowerment. I also like the piece with the woman coming out of the deer. I would really like to understand the story behind this piece. It expresses nature, and maybe how we depend on nature, and nature depends on us? which is what my classmate stated in her description. It is definitely valuable to critique and review your peers work on these projects, to compare and contrast ideas. It makes you open your mind to others unique perception. I really enjoyed reading the comments from my classmates. Its nice to hear your work being complimented by your peers. Its also beneficial toward future projects.