Jessica's Blog

[Bonus] Image Essay #16

2006-12-05T22:19:00.003-08:00

Here is my final project for my 2-Dimentional Foundations class.

The purpose of this project was to create a self-portrait of our first year at college, using an idea from Lewis Carroll’s story, “Alice in Wonderland.” My inspiration came from Alice’s encounter with the bottle that says, “Drink Me.” In my brainstorming, I came to think about how this simple little tag, is filled with so much pressure. It is an imperative statement. I then began to think about the peer-pressure and the media pressure that high school and college students encounter when it comes to drinking alcohol. The one movie about college drinking that comes to mind is “National Lampoon’s Animal House.” The need to want to “fit in” is tremendous. But not everyone will go to the extent of drinking a lot of alcohol underage to “fit in.” Granted, when alcohol is handled respectfully in a comfortable environment, it isn’t any trouble. My painting focuses on the pressure from the media, and people who don’t respect alcohol, the people who go out to parties, get trashed, hook-up with other drunk strangers, do things they will regret, and don’t remember anything in the morning. These are the people who see the hypothetical tag on the alcohol that says, “Drink Me,” and mindlessly obey. Even Alice, examined the bottle, and remarked, “anything marked poison is sure to disagree with you sooner or later,” but the bottle was unmarked, so she figured it was safe to drink. For my self-portrait, I portrayed myself as a person who is dumping their drink out in the bathroom, instead of drinking it, or leaving the party. I still have that urge to fit in, but I don’t need to get trashed, that’s why I am choosing to dump it, so that it looks like I drank it. I have drunk alcohol in college, I’m not going to deny that, but I respect alcohol, I know where and when it is appropriate to take part in alcohol consumption, and I am glad that I have learned about alcohol, before making mistakes I would regret, and I hope that my painting is able to portray my message to its viewers.

Here is my reference photograph.

After the critique on Wednesday, I made a few minor changes, some that were suggested during the critique, and some that were my personal decision.
My first change was bringing the line of my shoulder up, because in the original painting my shoulder lined up exactly with the line of the note, which affected where the viewer's eye traveled. Here is a close-up picture of the change that I made.

The other changes I made were in the ceiling above my head. I made the tile lines lighter to stand out more, and I gave the top of the stall edges more of a shadow to enhance them.

I am very pleased with the changes that I made.

Here are some up-close pictures of the painting.

I had the most trouble painting the face. With the shadows and the white tints reflected onto my face by the lights. I really liked how my hair turned out, I could probably still work on the face a little more, but I am pleased with it overall.

Close-up view of the shadows on my sweatshirt. I am very pleased with how this turned out. I received some nice insight to use some blue or dark purple to enhance my shadows, and it turned out looking very good.

Full-on shot of the bottle. The bottle required a lot of imagination. In the photo it is an empty bottle, and I had to put a liquid in it and make it seem like the liquid was filling the bottle and that light was reflecting through the bottle into the liquid color. I think it turned out looking very good.

Here is an up-close shot of the liquid being poured out of the bottle. It was created to make the viewer wonder what it is and what it smells like. It's got the look of a thick consistency, but not often are thick liquids turquoise.

Here is an up-close of the "Drink Me" note, this also took a bit of imagination. Making the note seem as if it is going up in space, while the bottle has been quickly turned over to dump the liquid out. I experimented with fonts. One of my original ideas was to use the Budweiser font, to give the viewer the idea of alcohol. I actually found out that the font is called BrewMaster Modern, and when I first drew it out, I didn't like the way it looked, so I just drew out my own words, so that it would look more informal and sinister.

Some close up views of my arm, the bottle and the string. I am very pleased with this painting's overall look. It is life-like, but it also has a cartoon-like style. Which I am proud to say, I portrayed in this painting.

Blog Entry #5

2006-12-05T22:19:00.002-08:00

Milton Glaser is considered by many to be the embodiment of American graphic design during the latter half of this century. He has had a profound impact on the profession internationally. He is immensely creative and articulate, and is considered a modern renaissance man, “one of a rare breed of intellectual designer-illustrators, who brings a depth of understanding and conceptual thinking, combined with a diverse richness of visual language, to his highly inventive and individualistic work.” (Excerpted from CSD, August/September, 1999 - "Milton Glaser: Always One Jump Ahead" by Patrick Argent)

Glaser established “Milton Glaser, Inc” in 1974 in Manhattan. There is a wide variety of work created at this studio. In the area of print graphics, the studio produces identity programs for corporate and institutional marketing purposes - including logos, stationery, brochures, signage, and annual reports. In the field of environmental and interior design, the firm has conceptualized and site-supervised the fabrication of numerous products, exhibitions, interiors and exteriors of restaurants, shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, and other retail and commercial environments.Glaser is also personally responsible for the design and illustration of more than 300 posters for clients in the areas of publishing, music, theater, film, institutional and civic enterprise, as well as those for commercial products and services. On of Glaser’s most famous graphic commission is the logo, commissioned by the state of New York in 1976.

This version of the logo was created right after the World Trade Centers were attacked on September 11. It has been used to boost American support. The heart has a black area in roughly the location of the World Trade Centers on Manhattan Island.

Aside from the profound impact that Glaser has had upon the field of Graphic Design, I was most impressed with Glaser’s involvement with the design and education communities. According to his website, “he has been an instructor and a Board Member at the School of Visual Arts, New York since 1961, and is on the Board of Directors at The Cooper Union, New York. He has been affiliated with The International Design Conference in Aspen since 1972 (president 1990-91), and the American Institute of Graphic Arts, where he was vice-president and co-chair of the 1989 National Convention. Among numerous professional awards, he is the recipient of The Society of Illustrator’s Gold Medal, the St. Gauden’s Medal from The Cooper Union, and the Prix Savignac for the World’s Most Memorable Poster of 1996. Milton Glaser is a member of The Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). He holds honorary doctorates from The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Moore College; Philadelphia Museum School; The School of Visual Arts; Queens College, CUNY; the New York University at Buffalo, and London’s Royal College of Art. He is an elected member of the Pinocateca in Bologna, Italy, and in 1992 received the Honors Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He received the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, for his profound and meaningful long-term contribution to the contemporary practice of design.”

This poster he created for the Juilliard school.

He also helped design the whole identity for Stony Brook University.

Glaser uses a lot of bold colors. They are a good mixture or warm and cool colors. He also uses a lot of black in his pieces. One example of his work that uses bold colors and black is the poster of Bob Dylan that Glaser made in 1966.

Here is another example of using dominant black color with bright bold accents is the poster he designed for a show in Belgium.

Though this poster is limited in color, it has a powerful graphic effect. It also is one of the ways Glaser portrays people. He uses various different styles of design when he is creating a piece.

In this piece, Glaser portrays Bach as he imagines Bach would look like if he lived today. It also employs Fugueing (the geometric pattern gets larger as it moves from the vest to the suit to the wall.) It is an example of another way of Glaser portrays the human form.

This poster I found to be interesting. It is a poster for a biscuit maker and it was created with surrealist overtones. On the left side there is a strange scene with a rabbit on a couch, and on the right side is the same scene translated into biscuits.

Through looking at the campaigns, the posters, etc that Glaser has created, I noticed that he often creates designs with black, red and white.

His logos have a very simplistic style, yet they are very distinct. I really enjoy the humor that Glaser uses in his pieces. Such as “Mozart Sneezes” or the Matisse inspired Van Gogh poster.

The viewer can see that Glaser has a good sense of humor, and it is neat that he is able to portray that through his artwork, this is just one of the things about Glaser that influences me. Overall, I have enjoyed looking through the many years of work that Glaser has created. He has had a very profound impact upon the graphic design field.

Image Essay #15

2006-12-05T22:19:00.001-08:00

David Hockney created this acrylic painting entitled “A Bigger Splash” in 1967. This painting has as its most obvious dominant color, a bright primary blue. It also seems to have a triadic color scheme. There is the bright blue, the red of the brick in the building, and the yellow-cream color of the diving board. There is also a trace amount of green in the two palm trees. The building consists mainly of earth tones of red, crèmes, and grays. Though this painting is very cartoon-like, and seems fairly flat, with it's matte tone, it also has a lot of motion. There are almost pure white tints in the splash coming up from the water. The splash is the focal point of the painting, it has the lightest area and it has the most motion. Another thing to notice is that the water has no details; there are no waves or ripples in the water. It seems like it is a very calm day, with no wind, and no one else in the water, and instead of swimming in the pool, the person has chosen to jump or dive right into the pool, creating the big splash. The blue is very bright and calm, and it helps to add to the overall relaxed feeling of this painting, like a carefree dive into the pool.

Image Essay #14

2006-12-05T22:19:00.000-08:00

This oil painting is entitled "The Travel of Romance: Scene III" and it was created by Eric Fischl in 1994. Fischl is an American painter who describes himself as a "painter of the suburbs, not generally considered appropriate subject matter prior to his generation." His paintings usually address the naked human form, usually the figures are in a home and the viewer can see that they are comfortable in their surroundings, such as in this painting. Fischl uses color to put emphasis on the woman in the painting. She is standing in a bedroom, which is dark, not necessarily gloomy, but just not lit. There is some obvious light coming into the room from the window. The whole painting seems to have been done in earthy tones. The dark grays and browns that make up the shadows, and the painting on the wall in the background. The light, fleshy peach color that makes up her skin, and the almost pure white that highlights parts of her body. There is also a nice yellow that the viewer can see is the actual color of the painting. The floor is a very nice slate color that is highlighted by the light, and has shadows. The woman's figure is also intriguing, because it seems like she is looking at herself in the mirror, but upon viewing where her face is looking, it seems as if she is looking at something other than the mirror. Overall, this painting is very well crafted, and the use of color to emphasize the women, is executed beautifully.

Image Essay #13

2006-12-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

This photograph is entitled "Leaves with Hole," and it was taken by Andy Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy is a brilliant British artist who collaborates with nature to make his creations and then leaves them there to become a piece of nature, and the environment. Besides England and Scotland, his work has been created at the North Pole, in Japan, the Australian Outback, and in the U.S. He is known for taking found objects from nature, and sometimes altering them with paint, or scraping, and then arranging them in a unique pattern. This photograph is taken of Rowan leaves arranged around a hole. The color is what stands out the most in this photograph. The color of the leaves transition from a dark burgundy, into more of a light primary red, into a light orange, and ultimately into a marigold color. The viewer's eyes follow the color transitions to the pure black center of the hole, because darker colors recede in the viewing field, and brighter colors advance. This photo somewhat contradicts this statement, because the yellow seems the furthest away from the viewer, yet it is right up against the pure black hole, which, itself, seems to come forward. But because of the shading on the leaves, the viewer can tell that the leaves go down into the hole, so the pure black hole causes the viewer to question and examine what is being presented to them. The arrangement of analogous colored leaves is so intricate and the colors seem to seamlessly blend into each other, it would be an interesting experience to stumble across this arrangement in the woods.

Image Essay #12

2006-11-14T15:46:00.001-08:00

These are some film stills from Jan Svankmajer’s Alice (Neco z Alenky), which we watched in class. This version of Lewis Carroll's story "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass" is more faithful to the original source material than the classic Disney movie, but is more drastically different in tone than either version. In this version the creatures that are met are far more scary and surreal than their original counterparts. The dream-like land-representing Wonderland is dark and decaying. All of the buildings are dirty and decrepit. One of the themes Svankmajer employs is the use of repetition and absurdity. One example of repetition is when Alice is going into a different place. For the first minutes of the film, Alice has to climb through a desk drawer after the White Rabbit, but when she first tries to open the drawer, she pulls the knob off and then has to pry the drawer open to climb through. This happens multiple times in almost exactly the same way. There is also repetition in the Mad Tea Party because the same happenings in a few seconds are repeated multiple times to the point of absurdity. Jars and containers of "food" are actually nails, bugs, and things that come to life. I didn't personally care for this film, but I feel it was interesting to watch a different interpretation of the classic story. I have read the book multiple times, and this is one of the weirdest interpretations I have ever seen! I do like that this interpretation does not "dumb down the story like the Disney version, but I personally didn't care for the gothic and disturbed style the Svankmajer portrayed it with.

Image Essay #11

2006-11-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

Andrea Mantegna created this painting entitled “The Dead Christ” in 1490. It is a wonderful example of foreshortening. Foreshortening is a technique of perspective, where parts of the figure's body that are closest to the viewer's eyes are bigger and have more detail, and the body is overlapped upon its self as it goes back into space. Part of my Childhood memory piece is a figure on a slip 'n slide, this definitely uses foreshortening, so it has been beneficial for me to do some research on how to accurately portray a body that has been foreshortened. The body of Christ in this painting is very well created; it looks like it could be similar to a photograph, and yet it was created in the late 1400's. One of the obvious observations about foreshortening in this piece is the effect it has on the chest, shoulders and neck. The chest stands up higher than the shoulder and neck, making them less visible. The shoulders stick out to the sides and the arms seem to come closer to the viewer as they come forward. This painting also has incredible detail. The people look very realistic, and the viewer can accurately see the holes from the nails of the crucifixion in Christ's hands and feet. The muscles of the body also look magnificently realistic. They are layered on top of each other and the viewer can tell that Mantegna did a lot of bodily and muscle research, so that the muscles were accurately portrayed.

Image Essay #10

2006-11-14T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is Titian's state portrait of Emperor Charles V at Mühlberg painted in 1548. While researching, I found out that this painting is said to have established a new genre, that of historical portrait. The composition reflects both the Roman tradition of equestrian sculpture and the medieval representations of an ideal Christian knight. Titian was a very famous painter whose use of chiaroscuro is amazing. Here in this painting, Titian uses a lot of black and shades of dark browns. His used of value contrast seeks to help the viewer and adds visual emphasis. The horse is a very dark black and so is the ground, but the actual figure is wearing a suit of armor which reflects the daylight, adding light tones, some which are almost pure white. This moves the viewer's eyes up to the face of the figure which is what is to be expected for a portrait. This is an example of an effective use of value, the high value contrast comes forward in space, therefore, making the figure easier to view and to examine. Titian also does a nice job incorporating the background in the very distance, the trees and foliage in the middle ground and the figure is in the closest ground. The pole that the figure is holding, also helps to move the viewer's eye around the piece. The pole seems to literally cut through the piece, and the viewer can't help but to use it to move around the painting, the light sky also helps with this. As the view of the sky goes to the lower right, the viewer moves to the dark horse.

Image Essay #9

2006-11-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

This was painted by Caravaggio and it is entitled the "Crucifixion of St. Peter." It is an excellent example of chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is literally Italian for "lightdark," and it is defined as a bold contrast between light and dark used to imply depth and volume. There is a very drastic value contrast between the very high key St. Peter figure and the very low key background. St. Peter is the most prominent focal point. He is the lightest and therefore comes forward in space. The other figures in the painting are painted in some high key values, but mostly middle key values. They tend to recede somewhat compared to St. Peter, but they don't disappear into the background. The background has not detail, merely an implied background. This adds to the contrast between the St. Peter figure and the background. The figures are beautifully crafted with wonderful details and they look extremely life-like. The rope that the standing-up figure is holding helps to aid the viewers' eyes moving around the painting. The rope angles from the cross, up and over the figure's back, then drapes down in the background leading directly to St. Peter's head. This helps the viewer to travel completely around the painting without getting lost, or being led off of the page. There is also little use of color in this painting. There are a lot of earth tones, in the flesh and the figures' clothes. These lighter colors are contrasted with the cloth on St. Peter, which is a pure white. This value contrast helps to emphasize that St. Peter is the focal point.

Image Essay #8

2006-11-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

Untitled #1
Sally Mann
1998 From the "Deep South" seriesTea-toned gelatin silver print, 38 x 48 inches

This is a photo taken by Sally Mann for her "Deep south" series. She said quote, "One of the appropriate metaphoric things in this whole process is that I found out from a doctor that collodion was used in surgery during the Civil War to bind wounds, and I thought 'Oh, how fitting that I should be taking this process to the deep South.'"
Collodion was used as an emulsion in some photographic plates in a process know as "collodion process." So through my research, I was more able to understand her quotation about her photograph. The tree itself is wounded, and needs to be healed. I really like Sally Mann's use of black and white photography. She has set up a wonderful focal point on the wound of the tree. The bright light from the background emphasizes the dark shades of the tree and the shadow of the tree. I also noticed that the edges of the photo are dark, and show the edge of the camera lens. This helps to add containment to the photo. It looks like a photograph, and less like a still-life. The object that is the closest (the tree) has the most detail, the viewer is able to see the detail of the tree bark. However, the leaves of the tree and the fence in the background are not in focus, and add to the focal point on the tree.

Blog Entry #4

2006-10-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

Places
1. I think that it works both ways. We are able to define a place, places are full of possibility and we are able to define it, if we want. But on the other hand, places can define us. Our memories can be shaped by places we've been and things we've seen. So I truely believe that it can possibly go both ways.

2.
- Richard Serra is influenced by the space around him. He always tries to find new ways of looking at elements and focusing on the viewer's engagement with the sculpture. He worked to understand the relationships within a space, everything to the sides and to the front and back. It is reflected in his pieces, he works to create new locations that make the viewer wonder where they are.
- Sally Mann is influenced by the nature and environment around her. She works to capture the habitat around her, she believes in spontaneous photography. She picks up whatever objects are around her to photograph. She believes that there should be no overal meaning to her photographs, and that art should be created for fun. This environment is reflected in her pieces because she takes photographs of her living space, and the people around her, she has since moved on to soley photographs of the landscape around her.
- Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen are very much influenced by the world around them. They both are fans of folk art and that carries into their art. They believe that hand-crafted pieces are better than mass-produced billboards. Barry is an avid graffiti artist, and he believes that it is the highest form of art there is. Graffiti that is made outdoors is open for everyone to look at. The folk art and folk lore is incorperated into their art, and they create very neat pieces, together and apart.
- Pepon Osorio is influenced by the people and the culture around him. He is very heavily influenced by the Spanish culture, and worked hard to portray personal experiences and rights of passage. He created sacred spaces and prevented viewers from interacting with the scene. The viewer is forced to stand and reflect upon the scene and what it means. Pepon was very influenced by the place around him and worked to portray it to his viewers.

3. This program has altered my notion of how art expresses place in that I am more apt to examine the environment around me and to interpret everything on my own. I think that I will also examine other art pieces and be more apt at interpreting it, and thinking about the place that inspired it.

4. As to which artist i feel most connected to, it would probably be Sally Mann. I really like that she believes that art should be made for fun, that spontaneous photography is more intense. I really enjoy her philosophy that pieces should have no overall meaning, and that if a photograph doesn't have ambiguity, then it shouldn't be taken. I have had these same feelings but never expressed them in any way, so I believe that it is incredible that this is how she has built her career.

5.
- Richard Serra uses steel to create large interactive locations which people can enter and observe. This makes the pieces on a much larger scale, the compostition is much harder to control, fix, or change, and once the piece is constructed, it is very stably placed there and is not going to change, it is accessible by people who enter the building or the gallery.

- Sally Mann is a photographer, she uses the landscapes and the people around her to capture her photos. Sally has control over the scale of the piece, she can make is bigger or smaller in the development, the composition is fixed when she takes the photo the scene if momentarily freeze-framed, and she has to tell the models to move inorder to change the composition, and her pieces are very easily accessed, with books, internet, posters, etc.

- Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen used paint, they created pieces, some that were collages and some that are more like graffiti. The artist is able to choose the scale of the piece with paint and srpaypaint, the compostion is open to the artist's interpretation they are able to make it however they want, the graffiti pieces are very accessible to the public who live around the piece, their other paintings can be seen on the internet, in books or in the gallery.

- Pepon Osorio creates mainly installation pieces. They are a collage of things that combine to create his ultimate meaning or atmosphere. He is able to choose the scale of his pieces, ranging from full room to partial room, the composition could be easily changed but often the viewer is not supposed to change the piece, and these pieces are only accessible at the gallery or space where it is set up.

6.
My Grandparent's Basement - fun
My Grandparent's downstairs bar - intriguing
My Attic - crowded
Nellie's house - suspicious
Lenny and Ashley's library - comforting

7. My Grandparent's Downstairs Bar
There are old German alcohol bottles, one with a pear in it, one with gold flakes in it, there are old shot glasses too, with multicolored jewels on them in the glass display case. The bar has redish orange padding on the edges to prevent injuries, but it matches two of the swivel bar chairs, the other two are black. Underneath the bar there are shelves, some are filled with more alcohol and others are filled with two-liters of pop. There's also a sink under there, but it was broken for some reason or another. There are cups on one of the shelves and there is usually a deck of cards there too. There are many light switches, they are all on dimmers so that the atmosphere can be easily changed. The overhead of the bar, the overhead of the back of the bar, the alcohol display shelves, and the shot glass display.

Stories
1. There are not many important stories told to our society today. It's not to say that stories are not being told, it's just that they are not important and will most likely not continue on through the generations. I personally think that the stories that will be passed down will be the stories displayed by Disney movies. Some of the classic movies are actual folk stories that they themselves have been passed down. These movies have outlasted time, and are very entertaining as a child, you watch them as much as possible, and you go many years without watching them, but you still remember the stories, and eventually you become nostalgic and you watch the movies and you still have that happy feeling inside from when you were a child. Personally, for me the two movies that will outlast the longest and that I will be sure to pass along are The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

2. Some stories are told, as opposed to others, because they have more of a deeper personal, spiritual, or psychological meaning for the storyteller. Sometimes stories have more of a public appeal and therefore are told to the public, such as movies or television shows. The stories that have more deeper meanings are more likely to continue to be told over time. The stories with no meaning or no public appeal are often lost and are forgotten by the public.

3. Some of these artists use sketchbooks and journals to compile ideas, to expand on ideas and develop them. Kara Walker talked about researching her topics before starting a piece. Kiki Smith created various sketches which were pieces of art themselves, but she often made them into sculptures. Do-Ho Suh had many sketches of his ideas of wanting a moveable environment before creating his piece. Trenton Doyle Hancock had his pieces and pages of paper in piles all over his studio of ideas, research, sketches, etc. All of these artists have different ways of using their sketchbooks or journals for ideas. I think that journals and sketchbooks are works of art. It is comprised of the many ideas, and details for bigger pieces. It is the artist's work and it is often filled with very interesting things.

4. When I was younger I went to an after and before school club thing. We were supposed to do our homework for about an hour after school and then we did activities and played outside when we were done until our parents came. I remember that I loved going to this. I would want to get up early just so that I could spend more time there, if you were there earlier you got to eat breakfast there, it was school breakfasts but I thought it was cool to have a variety. After school, and after homework, we would get to play inside or outside. We had a whole gym inside, so we could easily play kickball, or dodgeball or anything we wanted! I was the oldest girls there and I always fought to be the "best" against the boy who was in my grade and was the oldest. It was never anything major, but we would always race to get somewhere first, or being on opposite teams so we could see who was the better of the two. Other than these activities in my life, I don't really remember many specific things. I did my school work, I went to family functions. I always got along with my parents, and I always had to fight for attention against my younger brother. I don't have a very good overal memory, so it's not easy for me to describe things and my life at this time. I am able to remember certain events but not just everyday life. Which makes me kind of sad, because I wonder if I can't remember these things, then have I wasted a part of my life? I know that it was not wasted, but I just can't help but regret that I can't remember it.

Image Essay #7

2006-10-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is a watercolor painting made by Ralph Steadman, called Castelnaud. Ralph Steadman was brought up in our discussion while we were critiquing our pieces. One of the major things that needed to be corrected in our pieces was the differentiation of values. In the pieces, many objects or symbols were lost in a blurry of texture and value. So, in researching pieces by Ralph Steadman, I found this piece which I feel uses the principle of value quite well. One of the things suggested to us was to use an ink wash to achieve various tones for our values. Steadman used watercolor to create value in his piece instead of images of texture. The light color of the bridge makes it come forward in space and is easy to focus on and to distinguish from the dark foliage and brush behind it. The bridge is also not pure white. It has lighter shades of gray, which seem to be imperfection but it makes it seem like it is the brick of the bridge, which works. The darkness of the foliage is well done also. There is some light room, which contains details done with pen, and there are just larger areas of dark ink, which are ultimately topped with the light shade of the castle. There is just enough detail in this piece to allow the viewer to figure out what they are looking at, but there is also enough abstraction by the use of dark shades of ink, to intrigue the viewer and to compel them to stay longer, to fully appreciate the piece.

Image Essay #6

2006-10-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is the painting is called Hyena Stomp and it was made in 1962 by Frank Stella. Frank Stella was one of the artists mentioned in our lecture and discussion on gestalt. In looking through some of his pieces this one stood out to me as a good example of gestalt. There is grouping in the colors of the bars. The yellow bars seem to stand out the most and are therefore, easily visually grouped together. There is containment throughout this whole piece in that the shape of a box is continued making the idea of a box as a container prominent. Also with the bars, they just continue to go around the piece, thus helping with containment, but also presenting the principle of gestalt, continuity. The same shapes are repeated on all four of the sides, but they are all different colors, this helps to lead the viewer's eyes around the page. This also means there is repetition. The repetition of the bars, but the pattern is broken when they are different colors. I also noticed that the pattern or what is expected when the piece is split into fourths, but the top right line and the bottom left line do not line up. The pattern is broken and I find that aspect of this piece to be very intriguing. I like it very much that the lines are not connected, it created a focal point that is interesting.

Blog Entry #3

2006-09-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

1. Before this Blog Assignment, had you ever kept a journal, diary, or blog?
Yes

2. Before this Blog Assignment, had you ever written about art before?
A few times

3. Have you ever written for fun (poetry, fiction or non, journalistic, or research)?
A few times

4. When writing, do you use a dictionary or thesaurus?
Both

5. If given a chance, would you rather discuss art verbally or through written means?
Verbally or Written is fine with me

6. How would you rate your overall vocabulary?
Above Average

7. How would you rate your vocabulary of art terminology?
Average

8. How would you rate your writing abilities?
Confident

9. How would you rate your writing abilities when writing about art?
Confident

10. How would you rate your ability to use specific vocabulary when writing?
Above Average

Image Essay #5

2006-09-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

In my research to find out more about the concepts and theories of Gestalt I found a website by Bonnie Skaalid. On this site, she breaks down Gestalt and explains the different elements of Gestalt. This image is one of her examples of the terms figure and ground. It is a extremely well crafted example of camouflage. With great difficulty can the viewer separate the image of the bird from the image of the log that it is perched upon. The figure and ground have ultimately merged together creating a unity of the two elements. Unity is one of the great elements of a good composition. There is an extreme togetherness and cohesion of the bird and the log. The coloring and patterns of the two items merge together, yet retain their own shapes and characteristics. The other main element of Gestalt in a good composition is variety. This piece also contains variety. The light brown log and bird are angling from the bottom left corner up to the right, and the bright green grass is standing vertically. There is variety in both the orientation on the page and the color tone. These variances also help with the other elements of Gestalt, such as the containment of the bird and log. Bent blades that lie more horizontally sometimes break the repetition of the vertical blades of grass. The two halves of the piece seem to be separated, the bird and the log are grouped together, and the grass and foliage are grouped together. This piece contains many of the elements of Gestalt, making it a good piece to examine.

Image Essay #4

2006-09-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

This image is from Kitty Ex, the definitive Hello Kitty art exposition in 2004. I understand that the purpose of this week's topic was not to talk about the stereotypical Obey sticker, but when I found this interpretation and use of the Obey idea, I felt it would be a good and different way to examine the idea.
"The Obey campaign attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the campaign and their relationship woth their surroundings."
This image of Obey Hello Kitty stickers is comical to me. The Obey sticker that is most commonly seen is dark blacks and reds, it has a dark and mysterious face that the viewer is told to obey. But this version seems to be the opposite. It is very bright pink, the icon of Hello Kitty invokes thoughts of happiness, laughter, children, etc. When the viewer is told to "obey" Hello Kitty, it has a different meaning than the typical Obey stickers. It seems like they are promoting their products, and that by "obeying" Hello Kitty, the viewer needs to buy Hello Kitty products and promote their products and convince friends to buy their products. In contrast to the idea of the Obey campaign, this sticker seems to have a very specific meaning.
"Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with Obey propaganda provoke thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewer's perception and attention to detail."
Though I believe that this version of Obey propaganda somewhat contradicts the Obey campaign, I still believe that it has some elements of mystery and therefore support the idea of the Obey campain. For example, the fact that Hello Kitty's hair bow contains the face from the Obey stickers, it is mysterious. Also, the fact that it is very happy looking, yet is commanding you to obey, these elements help the viewer to stop and pay attention to detail and to form their own speculations as to the meaning of the sticker.

Image Essay #3

2006-09-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

This image, entitled "Attack of the flying Laugh-A-Lots," was created by Linda Allison. The assignment was to create an image representing an emotion. I feel that this image is relevant because one of the topics we explored in class was the concept of invoking a sound or smell by making a piece of art, and this piece invokes the sound of laughter and the emotion of silliness. When I look at this piece I feel like it is very similar to our assignment. The use of pure forms, and abstract froms, and repetition of the same forms, all make me think about the images that our class created and I can't help but to feel happy when I look at this piece. One thing that is different from our assigment is the element of color. I really like the artist's choice of the bright orange and shades of orange in the background! I think that if the artist was trying to depict happiness, the cliche color to use would have been yellow, bright shades of yellow, but like I said, that's the cliche and steryotypical color. In this image, the artist was depicting laughter and silliness, and I believe that this shade of orange proves to be a great addition to the piece. Another thing that makes a great addition to this piece is the use of perspective, there are large forms that look like they are close and then there are contrasting smaller froms. The artist uses the abstract forms in the background very well to guide the viewer's eyes around the composition. Overall, I believe that the artist created a good piece that abstractly represents laughter and silliness.

Blog Entry #2

2006-09-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

When creating Part III of this assignment, I started brainstorming what theme would have circles, squares, and lines. One of the first things that came to my head was the thought of DVD's and their boxes. I scanned in the discs, the name on the side, and the UPC codes. I wanted the movies to focus around a central theme. I decided that I would use my favorite movies from the 1980's, such as Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Wierd Science, etc.
I wanted the Wierd Science DVD to be the largest and the most dominant, because it is the darkest. I wanted it to push the viewer's eyes downward from the top left corner. I used other DVDs to push the viewer's eyes away from the edges of the paper, by placing them coming into view from the outside.
I used the sides of the DVD containers to lead the viewer's eyes in towards the area of focus that I wanted to create. I left some areas of negative space on the plane of view. I also used the rectangular UPC codes to create interest. I made them smaller than the discs, and I made some of them comparatively smaller, and used the side of the DVD containers to make the viewer look at the UPC codes and lead the view around the plane of space.

Image Essay #2

2006-09-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is a sculpture created by Damien Hirst, entitled The Virgin Mother. As of June 24, 2006 it is on display at the Royal Academy in London. It previously was on display in New York City, as it is pictred above. This piece by Hirst has been discribed as a "hideous monstrosity," "an atrocious piece of crap" and "a celebration of the end of art," by an outraged art community. However, personally I think this is a very well created masterpiece, and although it is reminiscent of an anatomy lesson with the exposed muscle and innards, it is mysterious and leaves it up to the viewer's imagination to complete the "story" of the piece. The "circuit of meaning" is not complete, which creates the need for viewer participation. Creating questions for thought. "Why is she pregnant?" "Why is her skin being pulled away?" "Why is only a section of her skin being peeled away?" "What does her enormous size symoblize?"
The community doesn't like this piece because the subject of pregnancy has hardly ever been presented to the public, escpecially in a manner such as Hirst has presented.
An artist, Norman Gardner's comments about this piece are that "pregnancy may very well become the next major new art movement comparable to 'Pop Art.' Some editorial punster will probably dub it 'Mom Art.'"
This piece is revolutionary in it's creation, and the viewer is not supposed to simply bear passive witness, he is supposed to determine his own thoughts and feelings about the meaning of this sculpture.

Image Essay #1

2006-09-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

This picture is a closeup of a sunflower and it is an accurate representation of the unique proportional relationship that generates an infinite progression of identically proportioned segments, known commonly as the Golden Mean. Through a bit of research, I found that the ratio for the Golden Mean is 1.6180339887499... and is commonly represented by the Greek letter phi. The Golden Mean is found also in seashells and in flowering plants, such as the sunflower pictured above. In this photo taken in the summer in Smithville, Tennessee the Golden Mean is expresses in the two intersecting rows of seeds that arc around the center of the flower. According to one site that I found a sunflower has 55 clockwise spirals overlaid on either 34 or 89 counterclockwise spirals, which creates a phi proportion. The ancient Greeks used this formula in designing buildings like the Parthenon. It is a design that is employed throughout time and is a common style of composition. When searching for examples of the Golden Mean, one is most likely to come across the illustration of the nautilus. Such as this one.

The nautilus is a very good representation of the Golden Mean. Each segment is equally proportionate to the proceeding segments. The Golden Mean is also represented by the Fibonnacci Sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 ...it continues on infinitely. The numbers are proportionately close, again, the phi proportion is represented! The Golden Mean is still used in the advertisements and pieces of art of today!

Blog Entry #1

2006-08-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

I have been making art my whole life, it seems... my favorite class in school was art, i loved the teachers, and i loved the atmosphere. I've taken art lessons from the Findlay Art League, and through the Toledo Museum of Art. The reason i make art is because i love planning and creating something so that it will be just as i want it. I love making something and being pleased with how it turned out.

I like to use books and the internet as sources for my ideas. I love coming across a picture or a painting that i absolutely love, and then using it to branch off from to make something for my own.

I learn the most when i get help and guidance from my teachers. Especially in art classes, i present my ideas for a project to my teacher to get their thoughts and suggestions, before i start creating the project.

I mostly have done drawings and designs, so i mostly use graphite and colored pencil, things like that. I like painting but i dislike watercolor. I haven't done a lot with pen and ink, but it's a medium that i would like to use again.

I just like the idea of creating something that's all my own, making something that people might not necessarily have seen before and being able to say that i created it with my own hands is what makes me pick up various mediums and make art.

I'm not exactly sure what inspires me... a lot of things, when i see something that i really love, or
when i'm bored, i just like to make the environment around me as fun as i am inside!

Art is everything, art is something that is created out of duty or pleasure for your enjoyment or for other's. Art is undefinable...

I do consider movies, music, video games, comics and television, art. People put a lot of effort into creating these things for the public audience, they created these masterpieces in different forms but it still is art.

Everyone has the right to their own opinion as to what constitutes art. The artist themselves can decide, the people who sell, or buy, or view their products can view it as art or they can view it as simply a product.

I'm pursuing art academically because i love art and i want to see if i can find a career out in the art field for me. I am very open minded and i love learning new things, i'm here to advance my art level to improve my job appeal and for my own self.

When it comes to movies, i like to consider the cinematography as well as the acting, scenery, scene transition, plot progression, and character development. I love watching movies, and i love discussing movies that i've seen.

The best movie of 2005... I would have to say Mr & Mrs Smith, just overall an awesome movie, but the runners-up would have to be King Kong and Wedding Crashers.

I'm not exactly sure what an art film is, but i am familiar with the art films that Andy Warhol created, so i would have to guess that it's a film made as a piece of art, i guess it's kind of hard to explain.

I went to the BGSU student gallery when i came to have my portfolio reviewed, and i went to an artist's studio a year or so ago, during Findlay's Art Walk, we got to go into the Jones' Building which is all artist's sudios, it was a fun night!

It actually has been since school let out that i have created something artistic... which is kind of disappointing, i was busy over the summer and never got a chance to create something. Also, i like having an assignment to create something for, so that's hard to do for myself over the summer.

Right now, i have the SSX3 soundtrack in my computer's CD drive, and i have the Grey's Anatomy Mix playing on my iPod. I love music, and i love having music around me.