Module #15

1. My expectations for this course were met.  I expected to learn about the history of art and different types of art and cultural backgrounds.  Considering the fact that I major and minor in sociology and art therapy, I liked that we had to incorporate the way some of the art made us feel as well as go through the process of creating our own pieces.

2. I would define art as the process to visually create beauty through imagination that in turn creates an emotional response within the viewer through skill and idea.

3. My favorite artist in my original post was William Wegman.  This was partially because I was unfamiliar with artist but also because he takes pictures of his dogs and I have three dogs of my own that I love to dress up.  I would say my favorite artist now is Leonid Afremov.  I love the bright colors he uses and how they are blended together.

4.  I have taken online courses before.  I usually try to take at least one each semester and I love them.  Taking more than one can be challenging but I love being able to do my work from home and work at my own pace.  I would encourage others to take this course.

Module #14 Art Gallery Visit

The Brooch. Eva Mudocci                                                                Portrait of a Young Woman
Edvard Munch                                                                                            Andrea Previtali
The Munch Museum                                                                            The J. Paul Getty Museum
1903                                                                                                                 1520
Lithograph                                                                                                 Drawing 34.8 x 25.9 cm
w532 x h760 mm





Portrait of Pita Amor
Diego Rivera
1957
Painting- Oil on canvas
55 x 44 cm

1.  I selected the inspiration pieces I did because two of them were done in just pencil, or black and white which I love.  I also love the first image I chose because the way the artist created her hair to fill up the page was beautiful.  The last one I chose because of her unique facial expression.  I thought that one was great because it represented who she was and how she was feeling.

2. I chose to create my self portrait with pencil mostly because I am not artistic and needed to use something I could erase with.  I also like the way it looks when artist create self portraits with pencils and charcoal.

3. I faced many challenges when creating my self portrait because I am not comfortable drawing and I don't love the way any of my pieces turn out because of it.  I know that I lack artist ability and I wish I was more talented in that aspect.  It was also challenging because this was an image I created to depict myself so because I couldn't get it to look the way I envisioned, it became frustrating.  I eventually overcame my frustrations and finished my self portrait by telling myself that as long as the process and effort was there then I did everything right.  Not every artwork is intended to be perfect and thats what makes art so incrediable.

4. This piece represents me because it is a drawing I created of myself.  It may not look exactly like me but I tried to the best of my ability.  I made sure to include my hair because I have never appreciated my thin, pin straight, blonde hair in the past.  I always wished I had thicker more fuller hair and the ability to make it different colors.

5.  I applied balance and emphasis in my work of art.  I decided to create my self portrait in the middle of the paper and create a blank background so that the emphasis was directed towards my face and hair.  I also used line, value and texture in my piece.  This can be seen in my hair for example.

6. Although I struggled with this project I ended up enjoying it because it pushed me to do something out of my comfort zone.  It was also enjoyable because it was an assignment about me and I found that more interesting and pleasurable than learning about another artist.

7.  Overall, I think my final piece could be a lot better.  To me it looks creepy because I don't think it looks anything like me.

Module #14 Project #5

1. The Guernica, created by Picasso has lots of contrast between the white and black colors.  Many of the images direct the viewers eye because of this, creating points of emphasis.  There is also a lot of movement happening in this artwork.  Although it is asymmetrical, the artist has created balance throughout.  The variety of different lines and shapes makes the artwork very interesting.  I would like to know more about this work of art.

2. To me it seems like the people in the artwork are either dead or dying and screaming for help.  This could have been created to show war during the 1900s.

3. The relationship between the artwork and society during the time the piece was created is war.  There was a Spanish war going on and many peoples lives were being taken.  Picasso was trying to promote anti war works of art to get the message out to others.  The symbols used were broken weapons and deceased people, while others ran and screamed in pain and fear.

4.  Elements in this work of art that evoked an emotional response were the choice of lines and color.  The piece is not colorful, it is in shades of black and white and feels very morbid.  The lines are heavy and allow the individuals to stand out against the background.  This work of art made me feel scared and sad.  There was a sense of fear that took over when viewing this piece because they were trapped inside a room with no where to go.

5. There are many strengths in Picasso's Guernica piece.  He chose to use value by using white and lighter shades of grey where he wanted something to stick out.  In particular, the faces of the individuals and the lighting that was beaming down from the ceiling. By providing an enclosed room filled with animals and people dying and fighting for their lives it created a bigger sense of what he was trying to depict.  People were trapped and scared during the Spanish war.  There were no weaknesses, although I would have preferred a more realistic approach.

Module #13 Video Review

1. For the first video on an acquiring mind, I learned that there is a lot that goes into creating an exhibition within an art museum.  Art curators will find artworks that are "weaker" than others and perhaps make them more brilliant by choosing careful locations within a gallery.  I also learned that art has to be worthy to be selected by the acquisition process.  The director is in charge but is not the only one who has a say in what is brought into a museum.  Meetings are held to discuss this matter and high levels of creativity are pushed when creating each exhibit.  There is much more that goes into creating an exhibition than I had anticipated.

The second video on live q & a with the MoMA curator was very interesting.  The woman brought us to the fifth floor inside the Museum of Modern Art.  Not only did she show us all of the pieces inside the exhibit she explained what modern art means to us.  She explained that modern art is art of the now or the present and it is just as important as art in the past.  Modern art brings open ended conversations to the table and explains what the new and compelling could be.  Modern art is creating new to respond to our society or world entirely.  The exhibit she showed us was specifically dedicated to Pablo Picasso's modern art.  This was the theme chosen by the curator.

The last video on lowbrow art gave great insight about the specific type of art.  Lowbrow or pop art is mostly made up of ideas that are against the status quo.  They are pieces created by artist, which not everyone see's as popular.  Many of the artist did not want to be labeled as lowbrow and I think it has a lot to do with where the name originated from.  Although it is not the same anymore, many lowbrow art was considered pornography, but now it means something else.  There are others that believe lowbrow is actually serialism art.  Another thing I learned is that this type of art has created a social scene and groups together.

2.  The videos related to the creation of my art exhibition because it helped provide me with an idea for a theme that I like.  I got a better understanding of what can be grouped together for a specific exhibition.  I learned that you can chose a specific year, artist, color, location, or type of art to stick with when creating a gallery.  It doesn't have to be the same throughout and paintings don't have to stay with painting's.

3.  In my opinion the films were a little long and could have developed the main points of interest faster.  They did add depth to my understanding of how to create an art exhibition though.  Without the videos I would of had no idea where to begin and stuck to one type of art instead of multiple.

Project #4

The process in creating this Art Curation Exhibition was somewhat difficult but also fun.  Although I had a hard time finding exactly what I was looking for, I enjoyed picking out my own artworks that I felt worked well together within a gallery.  It was interesting to learn about how much goes into creating an exhibition inside an art museum.  I never thought about the things that are taken into consideration and how careful each piece is selected.  There are meetings held and directors in charge of every museum.  It is definitely something I will think about the next time I visit and art museum, especially those that change out their galleries frequently. Creating the process myself was great because I got to chose something I am really passionate about and would love to see if I was to personally visit a museum.  Overall I enjoyed this assignment and I felt that I benefitted from the outcome.

Module #12 Review

Jacob Lawrence Video:  I learned that the artist paints about his life and the things he has experienced such as race and class groups.  He liked to paint what he saw going on around him.  Lawrence wants art to be appreciated and does this by getting viewers to admire his work through his choices of media and color.  He says this then gives a bigger opportunity for viewers to become interested in the content or story he is portraying.  Jacob Lawrence was one of the most respected American artist of his time.  This video relates to the readings because of the African influences in modern art.  In my opinion this video was a great start to introducing African American artist.

Faith Ringgold Video:  This artist created art called story quilts.  She was a writer and a painter as well as an advocate for equal rights among women artist.  She would create art based off of stories she has written or rewrote.  She also got involved with women's issues and wanted to make a change through protest.  This video related to the readings because this artiest had a major influence on women in the art community.  She helped shape and mold or create a standard for all women creating art professionally before modern times.  In my opinion this video had a lot of great information in a short clip.  Faith Ringgold had a lot to her and accomplished many things throughout her life and for the artist world we live in.

Romare Bearden Video:  This artist was best known for collaging.  He was an African American who looked white to most people.  I think because of this he was more devoted to his art work and learned a lot about humanity over the span of his life.  He focused on Africa in many of his works of art and liked to tell stories through art.  This video relates to the readings because the one reading talks about his early success as a young man and some of the works he created in detail.  In my opinion, this was one of the most interesting video of them all because of the fact that I thought this man was white when I saw what he looked like.  It gave me a different perspective after learning about this artist.

Fauvism Overview Video:  This video was about a French art movement.  Vibrant and vivd colors were used to send a message in the beginning of the twentieth century.  There was exaggerated colors used which deviated from the norm or traditional way of art making.  Because of this wild approach, there was lots of negative criticism from the older generations.  Though the young thought it was exciting and inspiring.  This video relates to the readings because of the fact that bright colors became modernized and used after this movement.  In my opinion, art is way more appealing with bright and exaggerated colors.

Amadeo Modigliani Video:  This video was about an Italian, Jewish artist who loved to express emotion through works of art.  He was known as an expressionist artist and mainly focused on emotional abstract art.  Amadeo was only 35 years old when he died due to a lung condition he developed as a child.  He was fascinated by art all his life and wished to see many museums before he passed away.  Because of his condition, he did most of his works in doors and focused on portraits and nudes.  This video related to the readings because of the use of emotion.  Many of these artist have one thing in common, they want to produce a story and make a connection with viewers and audiences.  They want to make a difference.  In my opinion this video was interesting because of how much Amadeo achieved considering the life threatening condition he endured throughout his short life.  He continued to make art which showed how dedicated he was.

The Best Moments from Dolce and Gobbana Video:  This video showed a fashion show that was conducted inside and outside of a beautiful work of art.  The designers used lights to bring a beautiful glow to the structure as the models walked in their clothes.  The fashion show was very elegant and the use of art was what made this show so famous.  This video relates to the readings and content because of the use of movement in showing art.  In my opinion this fashion show was amazing and so beautiful.  The designers were creative and incorporated structure design in the show.  All forms of art were showcased throughout the video, including music.

'On Creativity' Interview Video:  Norma Kamali is a famous designer known for several different types of clothing and shoes.  She says that beauty, health, style, and fitness are all connected.  She also went on to talk about how fashion shows should be more modernized through the use of technology.  She claims that instead of boring fashion shows, art should be used through dance and theatre.  Models should be telling a story with the clothes they are wearing to give them movement and meaning.  This video relates to the readings and content because Kamali wants to push further in the industry.  She wants theatre and dance and movement to collaborate with design and fashion.  I believe her idea could be a hit and makes sense to mix artistic movement and dance with fashion.

Module #11 Video Review

1. I chose the Dada & Surrealism video and the Futurism: The Art/ Life Revolution video because they both have a lot to do with our modern world today.  Without surrealism and futurism we would not see life like works of art or push to create the very best.

2.  The key concepts I learned in the Dada & Surrealism video were how creating art from found objects was not established until the 1900's when Schwitters introduced his work.  It wasn't until after he established himself through painting that he had love for creating art that showcased objects and works of art had lives of their own.  in 1918 he began sculpting and never looked back.  Schwitter's liked to use found objects and remove them from their normalicy, giving them another role which he said revealed their secrets.  The key concepts I learned from the Futurism video is how it helped create better things in life.  Without this idea, people wouldn't be searching for the newest and the greatest.  The video taught me that futurism is embedded in everything we do and create such as cooking, furniture, art, what we drive and so on.  Coming to the brink of death and looking death in the eyes, helped this artist understand that he needed to continue to work towards the best of everything.  Our future lies in the hands of artist.

3.  The videos relate to the readings because they talked about how surrealism has the power to open up our imaginations and mind.  This type of art allows for artist to step outside of normal reality.  Another reading talks about how excited artist were for the beginning of futurism.  These artist wanted to capture things like speed, movement, and industrial development, which goes back to all the examples given throughout the video.

4.  In my opinion I did not expect the Futurism video to be about the realization of death and how it can influence our future. It was an interesting concept and I enjoyed learning this perspective and influence on art.  I also enjoyed the fact that Schwitter's went against the norm and began the idea of sculpting and using objects as media.  He broadened the art world by incorporating these things.