Module 9 Art making/Material Exploration

1)It was quiet difficult having my hand as a subject for drawing. You would think that you have lived with your hand your whole life and it wouldn't be so complex to draw! Yet I found it very laborious and almost impossible.This also may have to do with the fact that I am not a strong artist or drawer. 2) I chose pencil as my media for this project. I picked this because I have no experience in using charcoal to draw so I figured pencil was my best option since I have used it my whole life. 3) It was a huge challenge creating a drawing with my non-dominate hand. I was very frustrated while doing this and felt like I wanted to stop and give up the entire time. 4)The drawing of my left hand that was done by my dominate hand is a semi-succesful drawing. I could have gone into greater details but really didn't know how to. But I don't think I did a bad job with it.The drawing done by my non-dominate hand however was a complete failure. I do not like it at all and it's Frankenstien-like. It would take me dozens of tries at drawing with my non-dominate hand to get a good, decent or presentable work. 5) Most likely I will never again attempt to create a work of art with my non-dominate hand. I just am not a strong artist in the first place and drawing with my non-dominate hand just makes a mockery of art as a whole.

Module 9 Video Review

1)   I picked “The Drawings of Michelangelo” because I have always found his works amazing. The man was a true artistic genius and I wanted to know more about him and his works. I picked the video “Velazquez” because it was a curious name on the list that I don’t remember being mentioned in great details in the textbook.

2)   “The Drawings of Michelangelo” I learned basically the entire process that Michelangelo used in creating art. The video showed that Michelangelo was a serious perfectionist and his techniques were so precious and virtually perfect. Michelangelo’s works are either difficult or impossible to replicate. In “Velazquez” I learned that Velazquez was a portrait artist who mainly did work for King Philip the fourth of France. Velazquez’s contribution to art was his skill for capturing real life and emotions while being able to incorporates an idealist perspective.

3)   “The Drawings of Michelangelo” gave us a behind the scenes look at some of the works we read about and saw photos of in the textbook. The film gave a new perspective of these works of art. Although the text doesn’t say much about or pertaining to the artist Velazquez this video gave me enough information to fill in the blanks.

4)   I really enjoyed “The Drawings of Michelangelo” because of the look into his private process of creation that the video provided. It made me sort of appreciate his artwork more seeing as to the fact that he put so much attention into details and was critical of his own processes. I thought that the video “Velazquez” was very boring just based on the fact that the music made me wants to fall asleep. Although I almost drifted off I managed to listen to the narrator and learned a lot of interesting information on the artist Velazquez. I learned that he was a slow working artist and like Michelangelo Velazquez took his time and was very precise on his paintings. His contributions included being able to hold idealist views while presenting nothing but reality in his works. 

Module 8 Video Blog Post

1)   I picked the video “The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure” because in the first video we were assigned to watch Greek art was briefly mentioned and I was interested in learning more about Greek art. This is the same reason why I watched the video “Beyond the Classical: Byzantine and Later Greek Art”, the Greeks are so important when it comes to art so I just wanted to learn whatever I could.

2)   In the video “More Human than Human” a key concept I learned was that humans create a lot of the images of the human body in an exaggerated or distorted form. I learned that the reason for this is psychological, people like to dramatize features that are aesthetically or socially pleasing so more people will appreciate the artwork. In the video “The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure” I learned that during the period when classical Greek art came about historians discovered that there was this odd mix of idealization and portraits, which shows combinations of ideal and real forms of art. The video “Beyond the Classical: Byzantine and Later Greek Art” pretty much explained this combination. During the take over of Greece and under the Byzantine influence idealize was barred from art and churches even encouraged the destruction of idealistic artworks. They encouraged real looking art that gave us ‘flat’ style art, which is even still taught today.

3)   These three videos related almost collectively to all of the readings in the text that we have done on Greek artwork and sculptor. In the video “More Human than Human” we revisited ‘The Venus’ which was introduced to us in the textbook and we get a psychological explanation as to why this now seemingly bizarre looking sculpture, was considered art and why the artist created it. I was reminded of classical art and what it is, how it came about and what happened in history to change it.

4)   I enjoyed watching these videos very much, especially the one “More Human than Human” because it gave a fun psychological view of ancient art. We often forget that in art psychology is involved, art of any form really. Writing, acting, singing, painting, sculpting and other forms of art are outlets of psychological release that are often not viewed as such by the common man. Often time’s art is merely viewed as a source of entertainment or visual stimulation yet it really is a psychological process.  I enjoyed the two videos pertaining to Greek art because the Greeks did have such an intense impact on modern art. The Greeks had a very large influence on more than just art in the world, but that is better left to history classes to talk about.  I am now better able to understand why art sometimes looks the way it does and I am also now equipped with a better understanding of classical artwork and concepts. 

Video Review Module 7

 1)Classical Architecture: The concept of this video was to express the importance of classic architecture on modern society as well as the effect it has had through history. We are to learn to appreciate how prevalent classical architecture was and continues to be in structures. 

Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art: For this video I learned about how important Frank Gehry is to bringing recognition to architecture as more than just buildings. Gerhy's works and structures are indeed art works and can evoke as many, if not more emotions as paintings can. Architecture can be aesthetically pleasing, practical in form and a work of art.

2) Classical Architecture: This video served to add more depth and reinforce the readings about classical architecture. It gave a history lesson on how in the country of Great Britain classical Roman and Greek architecture was and is still used through time, even when new styles emerged. The text tells us a lot about how classical architecture inspires so the video was relevant to this.

Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art: This video helped to elaborate on how buildings that house art are in fact art within themselves. In the text this was mentioned somewhat briefly and this video goes far into it and its connection to art, architecture and people.

3) Classical Architecture: This video really gave an in depth thought to how classical architecture is so important. It makes you appreciate and understand the importance of the Romans and Greeks.

Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art: This video was very lengthy, but still its length was necessary for the point it was conveying. It helped me to discover an architect that does unintentional innovative things within architecture. Gehry’s style is not meant to be outwardly attention seeking, yet it draws people in which is why it is true art.

4) Classical architecture: I picked this video because it seemed to be so important in the text that I wanted to learn and hear more about the classical style. I made a good choice as it seems classical architecture is the base for most past and present designs.

Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art: I chose this video because it seemed logical to me that architecture is an art form. I was curious as to the exact process of making architecture artistic so I watched and then learned from my viewing. 

Art making #3 Installation

A. What is installation art? Installation art is any art that takes up an entire space or room. It surrounds the viewer and makes them feel as if they are in the middle of the work of art. B. What materials are used installation art? Any materials are used in installation art. It is at the artist discretion. C. Why make installation art? To really develop your message or point you can use installation art or to just impress an audience. D. Which artist/installation did I find most interesting? Susan HIller stood out to me for a few reasons; one she has been doing installation art since the 1970's, two one of her works she literally had the audience surrounded by her installation which I found to be great and three one of her installations features video clips from movies, one of those movies being Matilda which was my favorite movie as a child. A. From the material reviewed, is there a inspiration piece that I feel a connection with? I didn't feel extremely or even partly connected with any of the installations we viewed. B. What theme do I want to explore in my installation? Refer to your textbook if you need to review Themes of Art. (chapter 3 in text) (Nature, Environment, Self, Mass Media, Consumerism, etc.) I want the theme of my work to be me and my personal self. An expression of where I am emotionally right now with confidence, peace and inner harmony. C. What materials will I use? I will be using samples of my writings, party decorations, clothing and even hair of my own. D. Where will this installation be located and why? My installation will be located in my bedroom because my bedroom is my sanctuary therefore it only makes sense that with the theme I put the art in this personal space. 4. Describe your installation. My installation features many elements and materials. the shape of the paper party decoration is no coincidence it is intentional. I meant for it to look as though the form is a smile as teeth are important to me. It holds a double meaning as I am also very happy in myself currently. 5. Analyze your installation. My installation is not overwhelming, it is actually small compared to most. I didn't realize what size I was making it until I actually began to make it and I think I made it that size on purpose because of the theme. I don't like things so big in my life and self in general so it only makes fitting sense that I created a smaller installation. 6. What are your thoughts on the planning and creation of a site specific installation? I thought it was a really fun project although a bit complex and somewhat inconvinent. I don't see myself doing this again of my own accord.

Module six

1) For Through the eyes of the Sculptor I saw how and why sculptors work. I saw that restoration takes not only a lot of time but some man power to make happen especially in dealing with marble stone. In Glass and Ceramics it shows in great detail the step by step process of how glass and ceramic materials are made. The Installation Art video gave a clear definition of what installation art is. Instillation art is art work that takes over a space or room and surrounds you.
2) Through The Eyes of the Sculptor revisited sculptures and restoration. Glass and Ceramics reiterated in steps the exact process of glass and ceramic making. Installation Art really gave a clear definition of what this art form really is and what its about.
3) I thought Through the eyes of the Sculptor got me to understand a little more of what goes into sculpting and how restoration really occures. Glass and ceramics was very droll and lengthy. It had a great deal of detail and was very factual however there was no real story therefore it was difficult to hold my attentions when watching it. Installation Art was the best of all three videos. It gave a clear definition on the art form, it was interesting and very new overall it helped me to understand a lot better about installation art, whereas the other videos sort of just repeated the text books.

Module six Reviewing peer response to artwork

1) http://elias0793.blogspot.com/
http://fai200.blogspot.com/
2)For both of these blogs I agreed mostly with their photos and the elements they picked to correspond with the photos. Although there were maybe two or three on Elias blog I felt didn't match up well, for example emphasis made little sense, but other than that both of these blogs were perfectly fine. Great job guys.
3) For Jason's blog we had one photo in common which was Inhabit. We had different interpretations of the photo yet I can totally see where he was coming from in his view. I really thought about it and appreciated reading a different perspective of a photo.
4) One of the photos on Elias blog called The Marvelous Sauce  was really interesting to me and I connected really well with it. I wish I had seen it myself live in person. I connected because it is obviously depicting an Italian duo tasting sauce and being Sicilian I can completely relate as I have been both chef and taste tester all my life in the kitchens of my family member as well as now my own kitchen.
5) I thought it was really nice to see what my peers have been writing on their own blogs about projects and assignments. I did get a little frustrated when things weren't clearly labeled  and found it annoying as well that some of the spelling on the blogs was very poor. It was a good experience over all though.
6) I thought all of the opinions on my first photo bucket project were valid. I can see how I made some mistakes in the photos, although I didn't intentionally do so! I really appreciated my peers input, especially when they went into details on why they thought a certain thing was wrong, right or interesting. Elias really was helpful in the comments made because they were so lengthy, the other comments were really nice just not exactly helpful, just complementary and agreeable.