Friday, April 8, 2016

Art Visit #2 - Exploring Exhibits

Art Visit #2 - Exploring Exhibits
Step 1: The Exhibition
Questions about the exhibit:
1. What is the title of the exhibit?
  • The exhibit is titled Torey Thornton: SIR VEIL
2. What is the theme of the exhibition?
  • The theme of the exhibition is abstract, imagery from the artist Torey Thornton.
Step 2: The Gallery
Questions about the physical space:
1. What type of lighting is used?
  • The lighting used is down lighting, that is bright and focused from tracks on the ceiling, about three feet back from where the wall meets the ceiling.
2. What colors are used on the walls?
  • The colors of the walls are white with no accents.
3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space?
  • There were literally no other materials in the space besides art pieces.
4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?
  • The movement is circular, only around the perimeter of the room. It seems as though it could start on either side of the door, but because the doorway is flush with one wall, many people seemed to start with the first painting on the right (flush wall side) because it was the first painting they saw.
Step 3: The Artwork
Questions about the artwork:
1. How are the artworks organized?
  • The art is hung around a large white room. It is a perfect backdrop for the visually busy collection of art.
2. How are the artworks similar?
  • The works are similar, they are all abstract, with plenty of color, contrast, line, and pattern.
3. How are the artworks different?
  • Though the works are similar in style, utilizing similar elements and principles, the subjects are very different. The use of different color and shape makes the art have a diverse feel even though they seem to have a uniform theme.
4. How are the artworks framed?
  • The works are not framed, they are very busy to look at and I imagine that a frame would not be complimentary to the work.
5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?
  • The art is labeled by small index card sized identifiers of to the side of the art.
6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?
  • The art is spaced far from one another. Some are hung alone on a wall. There is a lot of white space surrounding each piece.
Step 4: Art Criticism Exercise
Select three of the artworks from the show and use the Art Criticism worksheet to describe, analyze, bracket and interpret the work using the 5-step Art Criticism Process described.

Artist: Torey Thornton
Title of work: There's Solid Militia Fashion, but Come On, Domestic Like Focus Always
Media: Acrylic paint, oil pastel, sharpie, graphite, nail polish, and marker on paper
Date: 2015
Size: 68 1/2 x 86 1/4 inches
Art Criticism
1.   Be receptive - Keep an open mind.  Look for what is good.  No put-downs allowed.
2.   Description – Describe what you see.  
  • I see shapes in no specific layout. If i employ my imagination the large dark green/jade it a head on a body, but the other shapes take on no realistic application.
3.   Formal analysis – (form)  What principles and elements were used and how are they used?
  • Shape and color are the most identifiable elements and principles of the piece.
4.  Bracketing - Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?
  • My first response is no, but upon considering all the information I have about the art, I can see that traditional camouflage colors are used in the green color family.
5.  Interpretation - (content)  What do you think the artist was trying to say?
  • It seems like the artist is saying forget what you know, and possibly to make the viewer create their own new imagined reality, trying to make sense of the work.
Artist: Torey Thornton
Title of work: Breaking Some Rules for Momma (Theresa)
Media: Acrylic on Wood
Date: 2014
Size: Undisclosed (big)
Source of picture: iPhone digital photo, taken at Albright Knox
Art Criticism
1.   Be receptive - Keep an open mind.  Look for what is good.  No put-downs allowed.
2.   Description – Describe what you see.  
  • I see a figure in black, feminine in appearance. The colorful wood pieces in front of her look like graffiti-ed planks from a picket fence.
3.   Formal analysis – (form)  What principles and elements were used and how are they used?
  • The contrast of the flat black figure against the shiny gold background is predominant. The color of the patterns in the picket fence are also very eye catching uses of those elements and principles.
4.  Bracketing - Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)
  • The metaphor I see is a woman blocked by her surroundings. The use of a colored picket fence (traditionally white), represents to me both the repressed role of women, being kept behind a fence in the house, and the radical colors represents the other life factors that are not traditional and maybe vary from woman to woman.
5.  Interpretation - (content)  What do you think the artist was trying to say?
  • Because I know this was for the artist mother I think it represents her struggle, and her oppression. I think Torey created it so that she may know he understood or sympathized with her plight.

Artist: Torey Thornton
Title of work: Crop in Plain View
Media: Acrylic Canvas with Metal
Date: 2015 - 2016
Size: Undisclosed (big)
Source of picture: iPhone digital photo, taken of exhibit brochure from Albright Knox

Art Criticism
1.   Be receptive - Keep an open mind.  Look for what is good.  No put-downs allowed.
2.   Description – Describe what you see.  
  • Lines, and a lot of them. There are horizontal lines in earth-tones interrupted by blue metal pieces that intersect at a semi-right angle.
3.  Formal analysis – (form)  What principles and elements were used and how are they used?
  • The elements and principles used are line, in both the patterned background and in the two intersecting blue metal planks, and contrast in the use of three dimensional materials and in the color, and contrast, difference of the bright blue atop the earth-tone background.
4.  Bracketing - Is there anything in or about this work that reminds you of anything else? Do you see any symbols, metaphors, or allegories?  (iconography)
  • It strikes me a dualistic, and metaphoric of the evolution of the word “crop”. The earth-tone lines that compose the background of the painting depict the traditional crops a farmer might grow in  a field, where as the angle of the blue metal intersect represent the new digital formatting use of the word crop.
5.  Interpretation - (content)  What do you think the artist was trying to say?
  • I think the artist is trying to call attention to the changing world, where once the word crop meant something of the earth, it now more often refers to the editing of a digital photo.

Take pictures of the images you are interpreting. If this is not allowed, make quick sketches of the pieces.
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