Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Final Blog Post

     This semester, I studied the work of Pierre Bonnard. I first saw his work on our trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art and have continued to research it since then. Pierre Bonnard is known for this focus on light,  human and natural beauty. He painted over 300 pictures of his wife Martha throughout their fifty years together and none of the images aged her or revealed flaws.  He only painted with oil on canvas.
      In order to change the medium, I create a three dimensional picture using tissue paper, paint and cutouts of people. My response project followed the triad color scheme and used pastel shades of blue, pink and yellow. Many of Bonnard's pieces were painted with pastel shades so I took that into consideration when choosing my color scheme. Out of his pictures of Martha many were in a bath tub, my piece also contains a central bath tub. It displays the irony in the many baths you take over your lifetime. The progression of aging can be seen with the number of baths you take. The evolution of one person aging through  a bath provides juxtaposition to the way Bonnard presented baths. He viewed baths as a rejuvenation that kept woman young. The bath tub serves as the focal point of my piece. My eye path goes to the people in the bath time and spirals out to the other people. Actual texture comes from the tissue paper that forms the bathroom tiles, while implied texture is in the painting of the bath tub and floor.
     This past semester, I enjoyed my experience taking 2-D design. I can use the skills I learned from this class and apply it to my future experiences. For example, learning to use photoshop will help me in my marketing class next semester. Instead of just coming up with an idea, I can execute it. One thing that might strengthen this class is more examples in class before projects are assigned. This would help students understand the directions better with a visual representation.
 

Thursday, April 6, 2017

#LuminousLoyola

     Tuesday night I attended Loyola’s contribution to the City of Lights. It took place in the Student Center ranging from Cold Spring Sushi to McManus Theatre. There were also a few exhibits outside. I found it very cool to see the correlation of lights and sound. There was a variety of visual representations. I have attached pictures of a few images of my favorite exhibits below. Many of the presentations were complex. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the word Loyola that was lit up. It allowed me to focus on the individual lights twinkling and notice the pattern of the time. I was not distracted by constant motion and noise. As I enjoyed the first exhibit so much, I found that attraction inside of McManus theatre to be sensory overload. As a whole it was very pretty to see and the dimming of the theatre lights to focus on the stage was a nice touch. However, the moving people and yo-yos made the stage background do unnoticed until I was going through my pictures today. Outside the exhibits were very different. They glimmered in comparison to the dark sky. I found it very cool the way the short clips were projected off of the windows and students going by could observe without entering the building. Additionally, I found the giant light up L in front of Humanities to be very symbolic of the importance of the City of Lights at Loyola. It was very cool to remind community members where this exhibit came from. On my way back from the exhibit, I was surprised to see that they even lit the library up. Overall, the City of Lights was very cool. It made me stop and think about all of the amazing things that light can do. It started off as an invention by Thomas Edison to see at night and evolved into videos!










Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Modernism Notes

Post Modernism Introduction

  • Cultural mixing displayed on brochures because life contains many different realities 
  • People in the post modernism world are a combination of many cultures, races and beliefs. This is unique from the past were different cultures did not mix.
  • A world of interconnected differences, creates diversity among art
  • Technology has allowed the world to both shrink and expand
  • Unrestricted growth
  • Post Modernism proceeds Realism and Modernism 
  • Pop culture creates hyper reality 

Jean Baudrillard
  • Disney is an ideal model of hyper reality 
  • Plays withl illusions to create imaginary world 
  • Reveals characteristics of society and American values 
Frederic Jameson- Postmodernims
  • Different cultural impulse
  • 2 ways to read Van Gogh's painting -- symbolic vs. raw materials 
  • Paintings (pair of shoes) reveal status of the world 
  • Waning of affect 

Friday, March 24, 2017

Kubler Article Review

     Kugler brought up an interesting analogy when he compared individual artists to train tracks. Although each artist is their own person, when we look at their work we need to examine their lives and skills as part of a bigger image. This concept is similar to individual train tracks they way they all connect to other tracks. If we only examined one artist's work there would not be any context. To better understand the image, I think that we should look at both the artist's personal life and their cultural influences. Every artist has their own biography, but comes from a broader movement and time period. Perhaps their piece ties into propaganda about a current event. Kugler brings this up by saying that when an artist enters into a culture he or she needs to make a big entrance or they are "in danger of wasting [their] time." If the artist tries to blend into the other tracks they will be a minimal part of a movement. If an artist makes a bold statement they can become more of an individual. According to Kugler, depending on their entrance we can determine whether their work is temperamental or apart of a train track like sequence. 
     Another analogy that I found to be thought provoking was that two scientists with different specialties could not learn from each other or talk about their research together. It immmedialty made sense to me that amount scientists they could be doing very different work and not understand the other's perspective and methods. Kugler connected this to two painters in different schools. I have always generalized painters in one broad category assuming that they all use similar techniques and ideologies. This article served as in intervention to my previous notions.I began to think about how I can use the different projects we used in class to understand this analogy. All of the projects we have done with different materials take a period of adjustment to understand the characteristics of the tools. If I was sitting in class next to someone who was using water colors and tried to give them the advice I used for my acrylic paints they would not be able to understand what I was saying. They are two very different materials that create drastically different experiences for the user.  Kugler's article helped me arrive at this conclusion. 
FileFile

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

The Art of Data Visualization

     In the beginning of the Youtube video on data visualization it is said that "every single pixel should testify directly to context." This quote seemed very important to me and the the clarity of images in visual arts. In Computer Science class I learned that the each pixel can only be one color. The three colors are red, green and blue. Each pixel's colors range in intensity from 0-255. So if an image has low resolution, or less pixels, it will be more obvious when a single pixel denies the content of the image. If an image is 10x10 and one pixel goes against the image it would be very obvious.
     Another topic I found to be interesting was when they described data visualization as a linear process of decision making. I understand the concept but have never put much thought that the designer, reader and data will ultimately inform the truth. Two artists can have the same data and different readers but come up with totally different visual representations. Evolution of the human brain allows for each person to create their own product. This can alter the presentation of the data.   Also each person's brains will get something else out of the data and a offer a new interpretation.
     One last topic that stuck out to me was respecting your audience. Changing visuals to see how to learn and not how to confirm was a new concept for me as an audience member. It made lots of  sense to me because visuals often contain data, that audiences like myself are expected to internalize and accept. This video brought to my attention the importance of questioning what is presented and learning more about it. I can see when I have used this concept in Economics class. When presented with the GDP what else can we learn about a nation? What is the happiness in the country? Although the GDP does not say it we can infer about the country and learn more about the people in the country .

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Whitescapes



     The picture on the left is a picture taken from above of a Starbucks cup on a desk in the studio art room. The picture to the right of the original image, is the same two objects in the precise location with new lighting. In the second picture I turned the long over head lights in the studio art room off. Comparing the two images side by side it is apparent that the right one has a creamier tone, while the one on the left has more of a gray tone. The right image looks warmer than the left image which is cooler. I feel like neither of these images are pure white why they are both of white objects. 

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Advertisement Breakdown Print Media

     The advertisement that I chose to analyze for the advertisement break down project is a Blue Diamond ad that I found in a People Magazine from February 6, 2017. I have attached an image of it below.


Sunday, February 5, 2017

Berger Article Review

     I found John Berger's piece, "Ways of Seeing" to be very thought provoking. I was able to take many of the points he made and apply them to my everyday life. Berger brought up an interesting point by saying "the way we see things is affected by what we know or what believe." This statement  proves to be very philosophical. How do we know what perfect is if we did not have any experience to shape it? In my introduction to philosophy class we talked about how physical things within are world are imperfect. My professor taught us that God creates perfection in his memory and all other items are replicas. I think that  if we have no experience on a topic we will create our own idea of perfection. Connecting this concept to the article, I now realize as to why there are not student examples shown beforehand on our assignments. For example,  everyone created their perfect idea of the dot project in their heads and executed their best replicas on paper. If everyone had seen one example everyone would have made their projects to replicate the original "perfect" example that was displayed.
     Another point that Berger made in his article was that we do not ever take the time to look at one single thing. Our eyes are always moving onto the next distraction. I noticed this myself when I was observing Pierre Bonnard's "Basket of Fruit" at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Berger suggests that we always compare what we are looking at to ourselves. In the case of the fruit basket, how does the color of the basket relate to our life? The stripes of the basket are not perfectly straight. One might then think oh my life isn't perfect either.
     An additional concept that was brought up is how time and culture change the way we view a piece of art. As time goes on we learn more and can offer different perspectives because different aspects of our lives become more dominant. The exact piece of art can evolve with time and common cultural themes. For example, a current controversial topic is the election and inauguration of President. This has sparked conversation about the rights of minorities. Being a current topic it is on my mind and when I look at art I am more likely to come up with a connection to the rights of others and observations about who appears to be the minorities. However, as time goes on this topic will not be as prevalent without culture and the first to come to mind. Instead I might eventually look at the same piece of art and observe a different idea.
     Overall, Berger's article was very relatable to me. I was able to connect it to other parts of my life behind the studio art classroom.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Baltimore Museum of Art

     One of my many reasons for choosing Loyola was all of the opportunities that Baltimore has to offer. I had heard many great things from friends who have visited the Baltimore Museum of Art, so I was very excited to hear that I would be going. When walking around the museum I noticed that I preferred paintings to sculptures. All of the pictures that I took were of framed paintings. The modern art exhibits were not as appealing to me, they were very simple and had little to examine further than at first glance. I felt like they were to simplistic and could have been created quickly with little thought. I often feel the need to be distracted and the paintings provide more to look at. Within the paintings there were lots of little details to notice, instead of staring a piece wood with a hole in it.  That being said,  I preferred the complexity of art from the 19th century.

Views of St. Lazare Railway Station, Paris by Norbert Goeneutte
     Pictured above is Norbert Goeneutte's painting "Views of St. Lazare Railway Station," my favorite part of this painting is the simple color palette. At first glance, the gray and brown colors reveal a dreary mood. The bridge in the middle provides a horizontal break in the painting, while the vertical clouds of smoke add a contrary smoke. When examining this painting I cannot help but wonder what is going on. I think that the smoke is from industrial Paris. I really like the way that this image shows another side to Paris. Traditionally when an image of Paris comes to mind I assume that it is infront of the Eiffel tower, however, this piece of work exposes an industrial side of Paris. 

Basket of Fruit by Pierre Bonnard
     The simplicity of "Basket of Fruit" by Pierre Bonnard is what makes the image beautiful. The horizontal line about two thirds down the page shows a plain gray space that could be a table. In the background is a centered vertical line that divides the background into two colors. Then there is the basket of fruit. The title is straightforward to the image revealing the importance and focus of the art. When standing there looking at it I thought about the significance of the basket being centered. I like the way that there are no distractions. In my house, baskets of fruit (occasionally baskets of candy)  are often a centerpiece to the bustling kitchen table. By seeing the basket in a plain background I was able to appreciate the beauty of the basket. The fruit are all different and unique, so it does not matter if they are perfect. Is there really a perfect fruit?? Each fruit is from nature and nature is unique. 

The Earth and the Air by Yves Tanguy
     "The Earth and the Air" by Yves Tanguy shows a lot of impressive technique. The seemingly random assortment of objects at the bottom encourages a lot of thought and it is also really representative of its time. The clouds at the top provide a sharp contrast to the bottom in both color and lines. The blending of the clouds evokes a very different feeling from the land at the bottom. It reminds me of the peace among chaos. 

     Overall, my visit to the Baltimore Museum of Art served as another opportunity to emerge myself in local culture. My favorite artist was Pierre Bonnard. When reading the description of his style I learned that he likes to leave empty spaces in the middle. I am curious how this would work in other paintings. It seems so natural in the fruit basket.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Calvino Article Review

     Visibility by Italo Calvino discusses the two kinds of imagination. The first kind of imagination is the one that starts at words and ends at visual. The second kind of imagination has the opposite journey it starts at visual and ends at words. I find this to be an interesting idea. Upon reflection I can see the two different ideas have both been used in my various sections of my life. Playing lacrosse in high school before all of my games I would visualize winning. One particular game stands out to me, our county semi-final against New Providence. All week I visualized the feeling of winning and moving on in the tournament. This greatly helped my performance on the day of the event. I played just as I visualized I would. Visualizing a victory in lacrosse and other aspects of my life has helped me practice mind over matter in order to have more confidence and courage. I have also used the words to visual imagination in my life. When writing a paper, I write down the steps in an outline to then create the final paper. Personally, I find visualization and then action to be more common in my life.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Senior Exhibition Reception

      On Friday January 20th, I attended the Senior Exhibition Reception sponsored by the Julio Fine Arts Gallery. This was my first time going to the gallery. After living on campus for a few months, why I had I never gone to it before? Probably because I normally picture art galleries to be collects of paintings and sculptures. However, this particular art gallery amazed me. It was not your tradition gallery, it brought beauty to various arts such as digital media, photographs and your traditional paintings and sculptures. It was not just paintings on a wall, there were videos, modern photographs with a new meaning and non traditional art work.


      Pictured above is my favorite exhibit at the gallery. I do not recall who created this, however, I was intrigued by the beauty it portrayed. To me this piece shows that art is not limited to a certain space. Art does not have to stay in-between edges on a canvas, it can flow freely and go anywhere whether the floor or wall. 



      This acrylic painting "Order/Chaos" by Hewit Harchick was interesting to me. The image of the lady and the way her eyes are covered leaves order in her life. She likely does not know what is covering her eyes or what is going on directly infant of her. To the viewer, it looks like there is some sort of monster's arm covering her eyes. From the title, I assume that she is being hidden from chaos. It is interesting because cannot see what is going on, but neither can I. It left me wondering what type of chaos is going on and I am sure she is wondering the same thing. What can she be hiding from? The beauty of this image is that it left me pondering about it beyond by first glance. 
      Another exhibit that I enjoyed, but unfortunately did not get a photo of was Rob Moore's Ink Bias. His project brought beauty to tattoos. Tattoos are very common in modern culture but can often be generalized as trashy and distasteful. However, Moore's photograph comparison highlighted the beauty of the individual and then revealed their tattoos. The affect it had on me was that the tattoos seemed significant to the beauty of the person. 





Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Saltz Article Review

     When reading Jeffery Saltz's article "The Whole Ball of Wax" I was most intrigued by the question Saltz posed about art changing the world. How could a simple painting change the world? If art is just an object, what can it accomplish? Initially I thought this question was strange and thought that art couldn't change the world. I went on to read about the art changing individual topics such as global warming or a presidential election, I then decided yes art does have the potential to change the world. I connected it back to my history classes in High School and remembered the importance of propaganda in changing the country. It must not be that hard for art to expand and change the world. However, I was surprised when Saltz went on to explain that correct answer is no. Initially I was confused, but his approach made a lot of sense to me. By comparing art to a bridge, Saltz reminded me that art is always there but the individual analysis can be different. Everyone sees the same object but has the ability to interpret it in different ways. The physical bridge is the same yet different people use it for different things. This is the same with a piece of art. If many people look at an identical piece of art they can reach different conclusions as to what the art portrays. Overall, Saltz's article merged my two thoughts to create an answer. Art cannot change the world, but the ways people view and discuss it can change the world. Saltz's statement that "Art is not optional; it is necessary. It is part of the whole ball of wax." sums up the importance of art in the world. Art reflects opinions, current events, and all the things going on within humanities' brains. It is essential to the world, but does not make up a large part.