Week 16 Blog

1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met?
 I expected to learn more about the concept of Art, and to better understand how art is made. Yes, I would say my expections were satisfied immensely.

2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your intial posting?
I think my initial response to what art is still stands, however I feel I have a much better understanding of what it entails. Art is anything created by mankind, whether that be through a statue, sculpture, painting, or photograph and is something that can be shared with others portrayed visually that can be appreciated by others and evoke an emotional response in its viewers. 

3. Who was your favorite artist in your original posting and who is your favorite visual artist now? If there is a difference, why do you think so? If you have the same favorite artist, why do you think so?
My favorite artist at the beginning of the semester was Vincent Van Gogh, however after seeing some of Claude Monet's painting in the Albright Knox art gallery, I've come to appreciate Monet painting a bit more, considering his style of painting and the immense detail within them. I must have stared at Monet's painting of "Water Lilies" appreciating every detail for at least 10 minutes.  I think I have appreciated painting techniques more since the start of this class, and different elements of art now stand out more to me than before.

4. Now that you've completed this course, how do you feel about taking an online course? Is your answer the same as it was in your first posting? How is it the same or different?
Yes my answer remains the same. I have taken several online courses before in the past, and am registered for more this upcoming fall semester. I enjoy them because of my chaotic work schedule and I can get to the classes whenever is convenient for me, even if it is 1130 at night.

Extra Credit: Questions about the Course

1. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the best? Why?
I personally found the Art exhibition project the most enjoyable. Once I found a theme that I could go with, I enjoyed finding pieces of art that went with the theme, and putting it all together to create this "around the world" type of mindset. Taking my viewers on a visual journey to some of the wonders of the world and top known landmarks was enjoyable to me.

2. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the least? Why?

I had a tough time with the mask assignment. Creating the mask alone was incredibly time consuming and was incredibly difficult to create. By the time I had completed the mask, I had little time left to actually decorate the mask the way I truly wanted to, and was forced to settle with the final product I submitted. 

 

3. How did you like using BLACKBOARD?

I am very firmiliar with the BLACKBOARD program, since I have taken several 100% online courses in the past few years. I found that the format and locations for the course material was easy to locate, and easy to follow

 

4. What is your opinion of the Discussion Groups in this course?

I thought the discussion forum was good in the sense that I got to see what other students thought about the other projects. I do not feel, however, that it was good for actual conversations. Often times people would post the inital discussion, but then never respond to other peoples posts. This didnt do well to create the "classroom discussion" atmosphere that I know you had strived for.

 

5. Did you participate in any of the extra credit projects in previous modules? If so, what was your opinion of them? (mandala, elgin marbles, culture, art critics)

N/A

6. If you had the opportunity to change this course:

What would you keep?

I would keep the Art Curation project (final project) for sure! It made me incorporate a lot of what we had learned this semester into the project.

 

What would you remove?

I would remove the mask assignment. creating a 3D mask required a lot of materials, time, and effort that I found challenging to overcome within only 1 week.

What would you add?

 

7. Would you recommend this course to your peers?

I would, and already have to several students who were looking to find elective classes for next semester.
8. Please list any other comments you would like to share.
Overall, great course! I learned a great deal within this semester from this class!

Self Portrait

Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?
I chose to select charcoal/digital media for my self portrait. This was due to the fact that I found charcoal to bring a sense of balance to the picture, as well as define certain aspects of it, such as the eyes. Charcoal seemed to have brought out the best in this particular piece.

What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?
A big challenge I had when doing this was playing around with the digital media. Using a new program installed to my computer, I had to play around with different artistic capabilities until I finally came across the final draft of the project. My picture changed drastically from there. It took me awhile to tweek the charcoal to my liking as well.

 How does this piece represent you?
I feel this piece does well to represent me because of the detail that was placed within my face, and not really through the background. There is a hint of my mustache within the portrait as well, which usually is not visible, due to having blonde hair :( I feel the charcoal effect does well to make my eyes stand out as well, which I have been told is one of my best facial features.

What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?
Some of the main elements and principles of art I used in this particular assignment were color, value, line, and emphasis. Color is used by displaying red, which is my favorite color and it stands out well in the picture. Value for the shades of light and dark throughout the photograph. Line for the outline and shape of my face and effects on crucial elements within my face. Emphasis because when a viewer looks at the photograph, their eyes first lay eyes on my face and shoulders directly, since it lays within the middle of the picture and is the largest thing within the picture.

Did you enjoy working on this project?
I found that using a new painting program to create this portrait was challenging, but once I got the hang of the program, I found it rather fun! I look forward to using this program on other pictures I have taken throughout the past and continue to use throughout the future to edit and create my very own pieces of art. 

What do you think of your final artwork?
I think the final piece of artwork came out well. I think it does well to define me, and while it took awhile to actually use technology to tweek it to my liking, overall, I like how it turned out!

Blog 13 and 14 video review

Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.
Yes, I feel like the videos help to better understand how important a theme is when it comes to a successful exhibition.  All of the videos conveyed this message effectively. They also do well with explaining how important it is to incorporate different types of art in an exhibition. Examples include paintings, sculptures, monuments, ect. This provides viewers with different ways of interpreting art and the theme your displaying.

What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project?
 I found it difficult to finish  The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art, but I enjoyed the other two. It gave me a lot of good ideas for my own art curation project.

Journal Entry on Project 4 - Art Curation project

At first, I had a significantly hard time trying to decide on a theme. I tossed many different ideas in my mind, but eventually came upon a theme of a trip I would like to take someday. Hitting all of the major landmarks in the world, I wanted to incorporate artwork that involved all of the places I wanted to visit someday before I passed on.

After I knew what I wanted to use for my theme, next was to acquire pictures of art that showed the places I wished to visit. While searching I found a really good site that provided a lot of the material I was looking for, Fineartamerica.com. This site provided me with all of the necessary information on a lot of my pieces of work, and provided me with many of the locations I was interested in. After that, I decided it would be fun to take my viwers on a "tour of the world" per say. Starting in California and eventually ending in China, I made each slide represent the next stop on the tour as we proceeded around the world.

I found a lot of the work I chose to be enjoyable for myself as well. I liked everything I chose, and it covered a large range of different styles of art. My personal favorite though would most likely be the construction of the Eiffel tower, or the Statue of Liberty.

M11 - Art Gallery Visit #2 - Blog

Step 1: The Exhibition

Questions about the exhibit:
1. What is the title of the exhibit?

Charles E. Burchfield's Gardenville Studio

2. What is the theme of the exhibition?

The theme of the art was to display the workshop of a painter in 1983-1967.  Charles E Burchfield spent many days within this shop, creating new and exciting pieces of art in all types of forms.

Step 2: The Gallery

Questions about the physical space:
1. What type of lighting is used?

The lighting was set up to purposefully shine down on specific pieces within the collection that held significant value. For example, a big bright light shined down on the easel, but there were other lights shining down on the other smaller pieces of art throughout the room. This added value to those items as well.
2. What colors are used on the walls?

What appeared to be an off-white backdrop. This was done to purposefully make the deep wood color of the furniture and rocking chair stand out that much more in my opinion.

3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space?

Many different types of wood were used throughout the exhibition. Even a giant bird that sat up within the rafters was made out of a different colored, darker wood than the rest of the exhibition.

4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space?

When you first step up to the exhibition, the first things your eyes catch is the easel, stool, and rocking chair in the center of the layout. the light shines bright on these three things

Step 3: The Artwork

Questions about the artwork:

1. How are the artworks organized?

There is a big piece of art on the easel that immediately catches the eyes of the viewer since it is practically front row center. Second is after your eyes shift around you notice the chair, stool, and pieces of art that are scattered throughout the site. Images of what appears to be a landscape portrait and record label. after viewing the art as you turn to leave, there is a portrait on the right hand side of the exhibition portraying Charles painting on the stool that can be seen, using the easel also seen inside.

2. How are the artrworks similar?

They all have to do with collective works that Charles Burchfield had created, and they are similar in the sense that everything about the exhibition is to show what his shop used to look like. There are shelves with more art stacked up, with other random samples of other collections of art scattered around.

3. How are the artworks different?

Some pieces of art have to do with music, some of landscape. One is even a piece of art showing Charles painting a picture at his easel, the very one that is on display in front of the audience.

4. How are the artworks framed?

The main art is the portrait on the easel, which is framed in a nicely finished dark wood frame. It appears to be a portrait of an older man leading against a table. Another piece of art is the portrait of a record label titled "Handel"

5. How are the artworks identified and labeled?

Since the artwork is all placed precisely within the exhibition where you are unable to get too close, the portraits you see are listed on a plaque next to the display (also pictured) This prevents viewers from coming too close, and keep the displays intact and undisturbed.

6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other?

 The major artwork was placed rather evenly spaced throughout the center of the exhibition. other portraits of art were placed on the far right side, and there were shelves in the background layered with art.

Module Ten- Art Making/Material Exploration Blog: Mask Making

Share your opinion of your finished mask and what you thought about creating the mask.
I found creating the mask to be incredibly challenging. Attempting to find a material that I could mold to make the 3D sculpture was rather difficult. I used an incredible amount of glue on the inside of the mask to have it solidified. I kept the design of the mask incredibly simple. This was due to the fact that simplicity is sometimes more stylish than having a mask flooded with color, shapes, and symbols that it often makes the masks look crowded. This mask makes the viewer focus more on the dynamic and shape of the mask, and makes them appreciate it more than if they were to just focus on the colors.