Week #6: Video Review

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

·         In the video Through the Eyes of a Sculptor, the key thing that I learned was the different mediums of sculptures. It was interesting that the sculptor tested the limestone by hitting it first to see if it would crack, and I thought the marble quarries were fascinating.  The second artist that was interviewed seemed to be less concerned with the size of the stone but more with the feel and look of it. It occurred to me that some artist have an idea and look for a stone to carve it, and others see a stone and it inspires the idea for art. Additionally, the video illustrated the transport of new sculptures and the restoration of old ones, and I had never considered all that went in to those aspects before.

·         In the second video Glass and Ceramics, it was extremely interesting to see glass being made. The process was miraculous in itself, but then to see the molten glass turned into art was fascinating. I also liked the use of glass in art, as in the stained glass window, and the story that was told using glass. Something about the art being transparent and its beauty dependent on the light shining through it really make the message of the art seem alive.

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

·         The videos are a good compliment to the reading in the text. The text provides more depth of definition and gives a variety of examples of the different styles, techniques, and mediums used in sculpting but the videos give an invaluable accounting of the thought process of the artist/sculptors themselves.  The text explains the technical aspects, but the videos give insight as to why personal preferences are developed for certain materials for specific works or ideas.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics: Sculpture, Installation, and Craft?

·         The videos do add depth to the understanding of the topic. The sculptors first hand explanation of why they chose the mediums they choose (marble, lime stone, wood) to carve their vision into brings insight to a lot of sculptures that I have seen, and never really thought much of. I also really appreciated the education that was presented on moving the statues to the fountain and the bridging that they used. I would not have guessed that the final touches were put on the piece once it was installed. Also interesting was the intricate process by which the artist designed the sculpture of the naked woman, first in clay, then making a mold, followed by ceramic, only to make the model from which to carve the final sculpture. Lastly is was interesting that glass plays a role in acoustics which can enhance an art form that we have not touched upon: music. I found it interesting to see how many different types of glass there are and to contemplate that even the making of industrial glass is in a way a form of art.

Albright Knox - Visit #1

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

The artworks that I felt made the biggest impact on me, first was a piece called Untitled #1373 (Ms. Redstockings: Noted to women sculptors in 100 years), by Petah Coyne, 1998-2012. It's overall shape it like a house or a giant wedding cake.  It is a beautiful mess of decidedly delicate and feminine trinkets (flowers, candles, pastels) that appear to have all melted together, except the parts of the art that are closer to the viewer. Those items are still jumbles together but they don't appear melted. this gives me the feeling or impression that those feminine, delicate things age over time. Possibly like a woman's looks or figure. As an aging woman the piece really had an impact on me. It was also a very unexpected medium for me to be moved by.

The second most impact full art was a 14 minute video of a hill or mountain called, Silent color video, by Roden Crater, 2009. It was projected on a giant screen (floor to ceiling) in a big empty room. The emptiness of the room was emphasized by the fact that I was the only person in the exhibit at the time. Over the course of 14 minutes and 34 seconds the image appeared ever so suddenly to change. It may have been through the seasons, and at one point from day to night, but the source of light never moved as the sun would if it was a progression. I think that is why it made such a impression on me. I could not assess the direction or meaning of the change.

B.) Which artworks do I feel a connection with? Why?

The artwork that I felt connected to were Horse Fair, Oil on canvas painting, by Rosa Bonheur, 1855, and After Leslie Left, Oil on canvas, by Janet Fish, 1983-1984. I felt connected with Horse Fair for several reasons. I was drawn to it because i have an affection for the equine, and I could feel the energy of it, the giant horses swirling around. Also the horses where huge in the painting, giant draft horses. Lastly, I read the the blurb written about Rosa and it said that she used to have to dress up like a man to get into barns and slaughter houses to study the movements of the animals she wanted to paint. After reading that it was hard not to admire and connect with her.

I connected with After Leslie Left, before I read it's title, which is admittedly clever, but it puts a spin on the piece that I did not connect with. I connected with it because I felt like it made the chaos beautiful. The artists painted a pile of clutter that seemed to have a theme of women house work and made it look pretty and almost exciting to me. However, after learning the title, it seems like maybe it is a man looking at a pile of woman's work that will not be done because presumably the chores are Leslie's, and she has left.

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

The artwork that I would like tt know more about are Free to Play, Four-channel HD video with custom software, AP 1 from an eddition of 3 and 2 APs, by Taboe Robak, 2014, and Still Life #20, Mixed Media, by Tom Wesselmann, 1962. Both of these pieces are odd to me. First, Free to Play looks like an over sized slot machine screen, and I was entertained by trying to figure out the mathematical matrix or pattern that the images were set to. When I read that it ran for 60 minutes, I decided against trying to figure it out. I would like to know if there is any rhyme or reason to it, or if it is just a stream of random transitions over the course of an hour. Also if it isn't random, how did he decide when to make the screen change? Is it a calculated decision?

Lastly, I am curious what the artist's point is in Still Life #20. I like the piece. I liked looking at it. It was like being transported to 1962, but I think because I did not connect with it I was unable to find a meaning of it. Also, I wonder if the light int eh work is the same everywhere it is displayed? Is it an intentional brightness, wattage, color, or is it not an important constant of the art?

The Logo - No Go

Creating a logo was more challenging than I thought it would be. I wanted my logo to have my initials, I was recently married and I have been thinking about how my new monogram will look, so I was trying to incorporate them into a logo.

I have been brainstorming logos all week. When it came time to sketch I realized that most of my visions were hard to replicate on paper. Prior to deciding on a monogram style logo, I had envisioned constructing a logo with a horse on it, as I have an affection for riding and significant history with horses. However, I know my artistic limitations and that drawing a logo worthy horse in not in my skill set. I also knew that I wanted the color green to be predominant, and I suppose with last weeks project (the color wheel creation) fresh on my mind I chose to accent the green with blue and yellow.  

The most important discovery that I made in the process of logo creation is that less probably would have been better. I was imagining the logo on letter head or in the corner of a business card, and the logo would probably be more effective if it had a more unique or defining shape, and fewer color colors.  Also, Ironically the Monogram that I wanted in the is actually not my favorite part of the logo and it might have come out better if I have left it out.

Reading the power point and the DIY pdf. open my eyes to just how diverse logo making can be. I think that logos are probably a lot easier when utilizing a digital medium also. From watching the videos I took away a lot about the creative process that goes into the labels that we see everyday. I really liked the original logo that was created for the SD design company that was inspired by a sparkler and I was fascinated by how the translated that on paper. Lastly the plight of the new label for the squeazy bottle was very involved. It was surprising to me how far over budget and past their due dates they went, but it was commendable that they waited until it was perfect to put it on the shelves.

My Logo Process: http://s1108.photobucket.com/user/carlyszczygiel/library/Creating%20a%20Logo 

Assignment #2, Art Making/Material Exploration

Creating the value scale and the color wheel was a lot more fun than I imagined it would be. I made the  value scale first and I was really concerned with how I was going to make 9 different shades of gray. I started with the white and black boxes on either and the moved in one box at a time. I ended up having to run the eraser over the lightest gray box but the rest flowed pretty well. I am shocked by how eaily I was able to creat the color wheel, with the exception drawing the wheel itself, making the colors was not a difficult, and I am really proud of how it came out.

I enjoyed working with the paint, making the colors was a great exercise. Also I do not like the tactile feel of using erasers, it is like writing with chalk, which I simply avoid at all costs. But I would use either medium again, we have discussed instituting an art night in our house now that we have extra supplies to use.

The most important discovery that I made in the creation of these studies was just how easy it was to sit down and "art". I was really intimidated about the process how it would turn our, how many times I would have to attempt it, but it only took one try. 

The most important thing I learned from the video was the need to rinse brushes or use different brushes between colors. It was amazing to me in my experience how much just a little left over color would effect the new pigment I was trying to create. I was a little confused about the colors that we were instructed to use, yellow, magenta, and cyan, instead of the yellow, red, and blue, that were used in the video. However, maybe it was a good exercise because the wheel still came out with appropriate color varieties. With the colors that we used making "black" in the center of the wheel proved to be a bit of a unicorn. It seemed like no matter how much paint I mixed the darkest gray I got was charcoal at best.

An additional, thing that I learned is the importance of the supplies that you use. I am on a bit of a budget and I was not sure which type of brush would best execute this task, so I bought the cheapest multiple brush set. If you look closely you can see bristles in the paint of my color wheel. For art night I will probably invest in some better brushes.

Assignment #1: Elements and Principles

http://s1108.photobucket.com/user/carlyszczygiel/slideshow/?sort=3

                This week’s assignment was to capture 14 images, each one predominantly depicting an element or principle of art, which we have learned about in the first three weeks of the course.  When I first read the parameters of this project I thought that I would have to spend a day(s) at Albright Knox or to try to get into the Staler downtown or out at Delaware Park or driving around in my car in search of subjects and mediums to photograph.  However, the next day, after reading the assignment, on my morning commute I began to see the aspects of art design everywhere I looked. I decided that rather than going out into artificial settings to capture the principles and elements of art, I would identify them in the natural habitat of my everyday life.

                This habitat includes my apartment, my commute, my work space, my daily exercise walking route, my husband and my three cats. My apartment is the second floor of a converted Brick home just in downtown Buffalo. I captured my husband walking up the step for my “Perspective” photograph, and the view from our window during the most recent snow storm provided “Value”. I captured “Color” in the cherry of my Manhattan on the black background of my desk in my work space at home. On my commute to Buffalo General Medical Center, where Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I walk  to and from the Metro to the hospital I found “Shape” in the brick pattern of the underground metro station. The lobby of Gates Medical Center on the Buffalo General Campus was recently remodeled and many artistic elements were used in its design.  There I found “Pattern” in the carpeting, “Line” in the composition of the wall, and “Form” in a tree decoration that probably should have been taken down a few weeks ago. Throughout my eight our work day as a Dietitian Intern, I prefer to take the stairs up and down to and from the 10^th floor. On that trek I found the “Motion” picture opportunity, following the downward view in the stairwell. Turning the corner onto one of the last flights of stairs “Emphasis” was staring me in the face in the form of an ominous looking fire hose cabinet. One morning walk last weekend I saw “Contrast” in the broken ice of the harbor against the soft sky of the sunrise. Later in the week from the same lookout tower (it is the midway point of my walk) I witnessed “Unity” in the smooth water of Lake Erie reflecting the setting sun. Lastly my three cats provided, “Texture” (Oscar, my Main Coons are very furry), “Space” (Charlie, is a stray and he is a little socially awkward), and “Balance” (Rupert, has to wear a cone for a few weeks and my husband and I decided that he resembled the cat-astronaut background of his computer).

                All in all I really enjoyed making this album and completing this assignment. I actually have several different examples for many of the elements and principle but had to try and chose the one that best displayed the characteristic of the assignment.

Week #3

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

• The effects of color on emotion is really interesting. In a world where globalization is so prevalent, it intrigues me that such different cultures with so few shared historic and social experiences can have some of the same association with color. Admittedly many emotional response are social and even individual, based on a person's experience, for example the Western practice of red for stop and green for go, or the traditional use of pink for girl and blue for boy. Other examples of individual response to color would be the personal experiences good or bad that a person has and can associate with color. These can be from childhood, maybe a bully always wore a green shirt or from adulthood, the colors of walls in a maternity room. Because of the huge variation of association that a color can have on a person, it is impossible for an artist to know how the color will be perceived. However, as  I mentioned earlier, there are some colors that have underlying universal associations because humans, no matter how different, have shared experiences around warm and cool colors just by living on planet earth. Warm is day, sun, light, yellow, red, and orange, and cool is night, water, dark, blue, purple, and green.

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

• This might be a little specific for the question, but I would be re missed if I did not mention it. As a future dietitian the slide of blue spaghetti from the Art Studio interactive web site, was totally fascinating to me. Not because blue spaghetti is weird, but because I had no idea that the color blue could be associated with appetite suppression. The implications of that psychological and physiological response could have many applications in weight loss.  Interestingly, blue is also the color of the Weight Watchers Logo.

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, something that I found profound was the understanding of why artist paint on white canvases. It never occurred to me that the physiology behind it, is that the white reflects light in the human eye making the colors bright. Additionally, I find it fascinating that colors inspire so much emotion regardless of the painting and the context they are used in. Lastly the way the artists painting seemed to take on her frustration, with the use of dark color.

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 it was striking how different I felt looking at the dark colored verses the light colored work. It was interesting to see the difference between the artist and their use of color, but it was more interesting to see the difference from in effect from the same artist in the paintings where he used light versus when he used dark color. I recognize that with the color change often the subject changed but I  wonder what the effect would be on the perception of a painting if the exact same subject was used one light one dark.  How much differently would people feel about the exact same piece?

Week #2

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

·         This week’s supplemental material sets a great foundation for looking at art, by addressing the history of how art is perceived, the evolution of human conception and construction of art. From the CNN Article, What The Brain Draws From Art, explains how different people take the different things away from the same art. The video, Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts, explores the evolution of the standard of how art has been judged over the years with regard to aesthetics. Lastly, and I think most interestingly, in the video, CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics, addresses how the human physiology effects the perception of art, and provides insight as to what happens in the human brain that makes us appreciate art.

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

·         I think the philosophical theory of Kant is the most important. Prior to his work in 18^th century Germany, art was meant for a higher class and measured by set standards. Kant believed that art was experienced differently by the individual, and could be appreciated by anyone.

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 appreciate the neurologic biology behind the appreciation of art.  I found Changeux to be dry. His lecture was scientific, and I liked the beginning when he provided visual evidence of evolution humans and how it correlated with the evolution of art. He lecture was much geared toward the neurology behind interpretation. Ramachandran, was by comparison much more entertaining.  He seemed to focus more on perception of art by giving examples of art and how it was received and perceived by the a person.  I also liked how he addressed and validated the concept that the value of art was very much linked with the perception that someone had of it and not a formal or traditional critique. This is to say that no one can know what the true value of art is, the value exist only in quality and quality by which it is appreciated by people.

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

·         The videos and the article relate to the text by supplementing the information of how humans interact with art. The text primarily explains art through art and artists and the videos and article explain art through the human experience of art.

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?

·         I loved the films and the article. From a personal standpoint I learn better through media mediums, than from reading texts. Also I don’t think it is realistic to gain an appreciation for art just by learning how Mark Getlein believes it to be.  I think it makes the study of art more credible when you can understand some of the why we see it differently from one another. The CNN article and the CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics, video did excellent jobs of creating a foundation for that.  The Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts video provided a context for many different ways art had be graded and viewed over time, and as fresh eyes on the scene it is good for us to be exposed to that so that we may begin to understand how and by what standards we will assess art.