Final Blog, Reflections

1. What were your expectations for this course and where they met?

The expectations for this course were to learn a little about the fundamentals of art inquiry, they were met, I actually learned a lot more than I thought that I would. I thought I wouldn't like some of the projects, however I actually enjoyed some of them. 

2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your intial posting?  Art can really be anything, it just depends on who is looking at it. was my original definition.  I think that art still can be anything and it depends on who is creating, or looking at it.  Art can come in many different forms, and artists use many different elements and principles to create art. 

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? Pablo Picasso is still my favorite visual artist, he is because he has some really interesting work and he has a lot of it. 

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?  Like I stated in my first blog, I usually love online courses. I still like taking online courses, but when a class is online I don't believe that you should have to go anywhere other than your computer for information, or to do a project.  That is just my opinion.  I think my opinion of online courses is the same.  I still like taking them because it is much more convenient for me. 

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?

I actually didn't have a chance to get to an art gallery. 

2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?

I used pencil and some charcoal, I used the charcoal to make it really dark and to get the better shading. 

3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?

I faced some challenges with the shadows that ended up in my picture but i thought they would be kind of neat so I stuck with that image and just kept drawing. 

4. How does this piece represent you?

It represents me in a serious manner, usually I am not very serious but I figured it would be easier to draw a serious picture rather than one where I am smiling or showing my teeth. I thought it looks pretty similar to what I look like. 

5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?

I used many elements and principles such as: Emphasis, value,color and space. 

6. Did you enjoy working on this project?

I did actually enjoy working on this project, it was very interesting to see how well I could draw. 

7. What do you think of your final artwork?

I think my final artwork kind of looks like me and I am pretty proud that I could draw as well as I did. 

Week 13 and 14 Video Review

The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art: Some of the key ideas of this video were that lowbrow is something that someone can use. A lot of people don't really know what lowbrow art means. But some of them say that it is reactionary to highbrow art. Some people don't really know where the term lowbrow art came from and the guy that said he created it doesn't really care for the meaning. West coast pop art has spread all across the world. Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach: This video talks about the most visited museum in the world, there were 4 million visitors in the first year. The art is on display in themes. This is where the videos tie into our art exhibit, because we had to place art into a theme. One of the themes in the modern art museum is that of landscape art. There is a lot of realist art in the museum. Some of the artwork is spiritual. An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art: This video talks about some artwork from 5,000 years ago. They talking about moving a giant statute in 2003 into a new gallery. Some say it lost some of its value.  They also talk about the only temple in the Western Hemisphere.  This temple was a gift of the Egyptian government.I thought these videos were very informative and very interesting.   However I thought they were very time consuming and a little too long for my liking.  The videos definitely related to the art exhibition project. They gave me some good ideas on what to look for in images, and how to tie them into my theme. I thought the videos were very useful and added a lot of depth to my understanding of the art concepts that I practiced while creating my art exhibit. 

Art Curation Exhibition

I had a very easy time deciding on a theme for this project, I chose to go with a Hunting Exploration theme.  I love to hunt and have been hunting a lot lately, I love that we did have some snow for the deer season. It makes it a lot easier to track deer if there is some snow on the ground.
I first began by choosing my theme for this project, then I went to the course resources and tried to find some images for my exhibit.  I found a lot of good images that would fit my theme on the Google art project page.  They had an endless supply of images that would fit my theme.  I then placed the images into power point and wrote about each of them.  I chose some paintings, sculptures, and prints for my project. I thought this project was actually kind of interesting and a little time consuming. It was overall pretty fun.

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I chose the Andy Warhol: Images of an Image and Uncertainty:Modernity and Art because I thought they would be the most interesting, and the least time consuming. I thought that would be the easiest ones to understand.  

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Andy Warhol: Images of an Image: Warhol put most paintings that he did in horizontal rows. Warhol did many images of real life events and things such as magazine articles and newspaper headlines. He used a lot of drama to do his artwork. I thought it was interesting how he did so many pictures of the Mona Lisa in one image. Did most of his work on canvas. In the second video Uncertainty:Modernity and Art: Some of the artists in Greece created idealized statues of themselves. They don't have to make cuts into the materials to make them sculpture, and the materials themselves can be made into sculpture.  The bricks were a phase of modern art. They didn't use much religion in their art. The video hit on how expressionism and pop art took over the modern art world. 

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

These videos both relate to the readings in the text because the book talks about Andy Warhol and his Pop art paintings. It also talks a lot about Modernity and art throughout the chapters. 

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

I thought that the films were very interesting and they gave more insight into these topics than what I gained just from the book. I thought that the were a little long and dragged out but overall they were pretty interesting. 

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I chose The Impact of Cubism and the Dada and Surrealism videos to watch, I thought they would be the most interesting videos on the list.  

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The Impact of Cubism- Cubism was the most influential art style of the early 20th century. They used many different textures and shapes to imitate different things. I liked the Eiffel Tower painting and how they talk about it. They have special details in the paintings that you wouldn't normally see but the different simple geometric forms allow us to see these. Some of the forms provide distractions and take away from other details. Some of the artists used lines to split objects to show how one is impeding on the other. 

Dada and Surrealism- The Dada movement, was a reaction to WWI, and Surrealism followed it and opened up artists creations by taping into the unconscious mind. There was no limit on the materials Dada artists could use. Schwitters’ was the most material artist of this time period. Some considered Dada as a public execution of false morality.  Mockery and Character are what performs that execution. Some artists used some weird ways of portraying things. They portrayed madness of people towards the war and the reasons behind the war. 

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

 These two videos relate to the text because the text talks about how Picasso and his partner Georges Braque created the movement of cubism.  They also relate because they talk about how cubism is still used today in some artists work and how the movement was founded and used by using cubes, cylinders, and cones. They also used some circles, squares, triangles and lines.  The Dada and Surrealism video relates to the text by talking about how these two movements were used during the war.  The book hits on many of the points made in the video about Dada art or anti art.  

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

I thought the films were a little long and a little boring.  They do provide some great insight into these art movements, the type of art used during these movements and how they shape art today.  Overall they were kind of interesting and gave some good details that I didn't pick up from the book. 

2. Include the analysis and description (art criticism steps) of the three (3) inspiration pieces.

I chose these three masks because I love LeBron James and thought when he wore the all black face mask to protect his nose it was cool, his black mask was made of patterns and used black as the color, he got in trouble for wearing the black one instead of the clear. The second image of a mask I chose was the camo hunting mask which I chose because I love to hunt and I can't wait for shotgun season to open up on November 15th.  The third mask I chose was the antler/skull mask that was a gold color and looked pretty cool, I chose that one because I want to shoot a deer bigger than that one this year and get the antlers mounted. 

4. Explain how you used the Elements and Principles in your finished mask.

I used many elements and principles in my finished mask, I used patterns because I used collage and chose a camo pattern and cut many different camo patterns out. I also used color, space, shapes and many other elements. 

5. Share your opinion of your finished mask and what you thought about creating the mask.

I think my finished mask could have been better, however for the amount I spent on materials I would say it was pretty good for not spending a penny.  I thought that it was an interesting assignment and it fit well for the week of Halloween. I also think that my mask is interesting because it could be worn on anyone with a little adjustment.  

African Art and African Art: Legacy of Oppression reviews

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above:  
    
    I chose the African Art and the African Art: Legacy of Oppression videos because they seem like they would be similar and give me information on the same things. Also to be honest they are the shortest videos so I thought that would be the easiest to fit into my busy life style. 

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

     In the African Art video they explain how important symbolism is in African Art.  They use masks and clothing that represents art from their ancestors, that is passed on generation to generation. A lot of African art is created in durable materials. The oldest African art is painting and carvings on stones, and they typically represent animals.  About 1000 years ago artistic achievements sky rocketed and they made sculptures out of bronze casting. They use symbolism to give resemblance to places, things, animals, ancestors, and humans in general. Their art is very different through out Africa, because Africa is so big. Some of their ritualistic art is naturalistic or stylized and some of the most spectacular African art. They have wooden masks that have feathers, metal, fur and other materials on them. This art is on display at their dances and their masks combine theater and ritual. These art masks are designed to be seen at a distance.  Their wearing of a mask can guarantee good hunting. Some animals are valued as courageous and are created into masks. The African Art: Legacy of Oppression video states that Belgium's Tervuren Museum contains the world's largest collection of Central African art, which consists of approximately 250,000 pieces.  Most of the western African art is more dramatic. The video also states that the emotionally riveting abstracts, with their modernistic qualities and generalized forms influenced Picasso and other European masters. They say that western Africa won all the battles but their art shows central African characteristics. 

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text? 

    These two videos relate to the readings in the text because they both talk about African art and the influence of symbolism on the art work. They also talk a lot about masks in the videos, this relates to the text because the text talks about masks and different types of masks for different things, whether it is for hunting, or for ritualistic dancing.  They also relate to the text because they speak about the history of the artwork in different portions of Africa. 

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

    I thought the films were very interesting. I now know a lot more about African art and mainly African masks, and how they used them to symbolize humans, ancestors, animals, places and things. I thought they were very interesting in the fact that they had so much of the artwork to show us and explained what each little element and principle meant. 

Hand Drawing

Drawing with dominant hand:

 Drawing with opposite hand:

1. What was it like using your hand as subject matter for a drawing?

      It was weird because I couldn't really hold the paper and draw the details that I wanted to. It was also pretty interesting because its how I think my hand looks, or my eyes perceive my hands, when in reality they could look way different to someone else. 

2. What media did you select - pencil or charcoal? Why?

     I chose pencil because I had a pencil handy and didn't feel like getting my hand all black from holding the charcoal. 

3. How did it feel to create a drawing with your non-dominant hand?

    This was the really weird part, I have decided I'm not very good with my non-dominate hand. It was soo hard to get the lines and the right shading with this hand. 

4. Compare and contrast your final drawings. Do you think they are successful studies?

    Yes, they are successful studies, they are very different drawings and very detailed. I think the use of the non-dominant hand is unique because it looks like a little kid drew it. 

5. Would you consider using your non-dominant hand to create artwork in the future?

    I would consider using my non-dominant hand, because I like a challenge and I thought it was interesting to see if I was any good at using it to draw. It was very interesting to see my finished product.

Module 9 Videos

Velázquez & Albrecht Dürer: Image of a Master were the two videos I chose to watch. I chose these two videos because they seemed like they would be the most interesting. 
Albrecht Dürer: Image of a Master- The younger Durer always enjoyed painting hands, he was 1 of 18 but only 3 survived. He was an apprentice at the age of 15 and most of his paintings showed age.  He also made woodcuts, and took many journeys and one for 4 years. He also painted himself a lot. He always tried to get perfect form in his artwork by using shapes such as triangles, circles and squares. In 1509 he bought an impressive large house. He had artwork that showed what was going on with the church and the mounted knight was armored to protect the church. 
   This film relates to the text because it talks about the religious artwork of Durer, and the use of perfect form, and triangles, circles, squares, and lines to reach perfect form.  It also speaks about drawing/painting of hands.
   I thought the video on Albrecht Durer was very interesting and I thought that with his travels, that his life was very exciting and I think that he got to do what he really wanted to do.  I thought that his artwork was very well done and had a lot of detail.
Velázquez- Valazquez was one of the greatest painters in Spain.  They do not know anything about his daily life. He looked at, copied, studied and recreated paintings from Italy and a lot of other famous painters. He was a deep painter.  He used mythology to do some paintings which were very rare in Spanish paintings.  Velazquez used a lot of contrast in his paintings. Used excessive realism in his artwork.  Some of his work looked like sketches and outlines, not finished artwork.
   This film hits on a lot of stuff from the text and other portions of this course.  The film talks about a lot of the elements and principles in art. It also talks about ancient art in Spain and Italy. 
    I also thought this video on Velazquez was very interesting and gave me a lot of insight into some of the old art work from Spain and Italy. 

More Human Than Human

Humans make art and art makes us human the first video states, all images created of the body are not very realistic. The video 80,000 years ago was when we started to create art, it wasn't until about 30,000 years ago that we started to make statues and images of the human body.  They used grids to make paintings on cave walls, and the grids were pretty much the same all over Egypt. Greek society finally created a realistic body, this realism had a great effect on the Greeks. This video gave detail about different cultures and how their artwork showed us their views of the human bodies evolution. This video relates to the text because it talks about the cultures and the different views on art and images of humans bodies. I think this video was pretty good and actually quite interesting. I didn't realize that the Egyptians used a grid to make their wall paintings.

The video I chose to watch was "The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure". I chose this video because I thought It would be the most interesting. I think that The title sounded the most interesting to me.  This video states that the art made everyone's body image perfect and made it look like they went to the gym everyday.  They idealize the human figure in their artwork.  They also state that 3,000 BC the Greeks were obsessed with the body. They state that there are really no ancient Greek paintings but there is a lot of pottery. They find a lot of burial sites in Greece now. There was a huge amount of pottery.  This video relates to the text by talking about the art in ancient Greece and the images created by the artists during years long ago.  I thought this video was fairly interesting and I found it interesting that they didn't do paintings but they did pottery. 

Videos to review

Frank Lloyd Wright was the most influential architect, the Prairie Style video it states that he designed many things to make our homes the way they are now. Living room, picture window, and open floor plan are some of the ways we got out of box like homes and into the Prairie style. Frank Lloyd Wright used skylight windows to open up the interior volume and brightens it up.  In the Last Call for Planet Earth video it talks about how insulation works and how it is very important in many places. In Canada when building they go after many green elements such as the sun and solar energy.

These video relates to the text, by showing how adding more windows can use less electricity, because it brightens the home up.  They also talk about the structure of the homes and how they can provide privacy to the owners and how they can withstand certain elements of the environment. The Last call video relates to green architecture with the use of insulation, which can collect heat during the day and release it into the home at night.  They talk about using solar power and environmentally friendly materials and making buildings eco friendly.

I thought these videos were very informational and very interesting. I didn't realize that Frank Lloyd Wright was so influential on our modern architecture. His Prairie Style homes are very interesting and are a very good way to open up your home and create more space.  The only thing I did not like about the Last call video was all the different languages and the subtitles. I now understand why some things in architecture are the way they are.

I choose these videos because they seemed to be the most interesting titles to me.  

Video Review

I thought that it was interesting that glass is made up of 60-75% sand.  I also thought that it was very interesting how they make stained glass, by cutting out the stencil and creating a puzzle. I found how they spray large pieces of ceramics instead of dipping them to be pretty cool since all I ever did was dip or brush the glaze on large pieces.  It stated that ceramics are still growing today and there are a lot of things we use that we don't realize are ceramic. The sculptor video was interesting and a little hard to understand. I like that the artist left the bridges for support and safety of the sculpture that helps to keep it in tact during transportation. I also thought it was interesting and amazing how someone can chisel marble to look so fascinating, it stated that if he chiseled too deep it would break it which would ultimately ruin it. Both of these videos relate to the reading because the artists are creating sculptures, crafts, and visual arts, they talk about all of the elements and principles.  I found the videos fairly interesting and learned quite a bit from them.  They add depth to my understanding of how crafts are created out of different materials and I also learned new ways to create things that I hadn't thought of before.

Posting on my Peers

http://shapingart.blogspot.com/2014/09/slideshow-test.html

http://brownieart200.blogspot.com/2014/09/albright-knox-art-gallery.html

http://artblogone.blogspot.com/2014/09/elements-and-principles-of-art.html

http://artblogone.blogspot.com/2014/09/art-gallery-visit-1.html


When looking at Project #1: (Elements and Principles), did you agree with the element or principle the artist listed with the images? Did you see other elements and principles in the images?

I agreed with most of the images matching the elements or principles, there were a couple that could go with more than one I believe.  

 Where there any images that your Peers selected that pique your interest now? If yes, what are they and what is your connection with them? What would you want to know about them?

Yes, there was the camouflage  image that really sparked my interest because I love to hunt and I love anything camo. I would like to know the reasoning behind why the artist created that image. The thin man image also sparked my interest, I would like to know why he is soo thin and why his feet are normal size.

What do you think about  the process of reading your peers reflection? Do you find this to be a valuable in your learning?

This gave me some good insight as to what the art gallery was like, I live 2 hours away in the middle of nowhere and did not have time to go to this gallery.  I found it helpful because now I know what this gallery has.

 Check your Blog and read comments posted by your Peers. Do you find their comments helpful?
There were no comments on my blog at this time.

LOGO

 This is the final logo:

 

 

I learned a lot from the videos and thought that I would create a logo with my initials.  I used a deer for the "T" because  I absolutely love to hunt.  I used a tree for the "E" because I love the outdoors and it goes along with the deer. I used a bumble bee for the "B" because I like bees and honey.  I thought that this project was interesting and difficult, I didn't know how to create a logo for myself.

 

Color

Color is a very strong element of art, color can be used to change the mood of many people and can be used to show emphasis on something.  When I see a bright color I think of good and when I see a dark color I see anger or sadness.  I think the most interesting thing about the color theory is that something absorbs all of the color rays except the color that the object is and reflects the color that it is so that our eyes perceive that color. I like how June wouldn't like one color in her painting and would just change the tone so that she could feel differently about the painting.  I also like that June states that color changes the feeling of the art and that the feeling can be different for everyone.   The thing I liked from the feelings video was how they used color to show what was happening during that time period.  The color is used to show the feelings such as darker colors show anger.

Elements and Principles

http://s44.photobucket.com/user/Burtte01/library/Elements%20and%20Principles

http://s44.photobucket.com/user/Burtte01/slideshow/Elements%20and%20Principles?sort=6

Module Two: Videos and Article

1. In the Aesthetics video the key concepts were the meaning of aesthetics and the theories behind it.  The philosophers gave us their theories on how art is interpreted and the importance of aesthetics. 

The CNN article had key concepts of how we see things and how the brain is wired to see things. Many people can see faces in almost anything, and that is because their brain is trained to see faces.  The brain is trained at an early age to see things, such as color, faces, shadows, and reflections.  The article also talks about why art is appealing to some people and why we like it.  

The CARTA video gave insight on how humans view art and how the brain views art. 

2. I feel that Schiller's theory of aesthetics is the most important, he expanded on Kant's theory.  Schiller's theory was towards the end of the 18th century and his theory was that aesthetics gave us an education on art and made students appreciate and understand art, he also said that are makes us more human. 

3. I thought their speeches were very interesting. I though Changeux view of symmetry was the most interesting fact.  I thought that Ramachandran saying that the place art and science meet is in the brain is very interesting, I think that means that once someone sees the art their brain sees this as a specific thing which the science of the brain would be the reason for this.  

4. The videos and article relate to the readings in the text in many ways, the article especially relates to the text because of the looking and responding section of chapter one, they both tell us how our brains work in seeing and interpreting anything especially art. The book and video talk about Aesthetics and philosophers that created theories of aesthetics. The book and the aesthetics video show tell us that aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that studies art and the nature of beauty. 

5. In my opinion the CNN article was the most interesting because I found the videos kind of boring and very long.  I found the article interesting because it gave me a perspective on art that I hadn't really seen before,  I didn't think that if you just drew the outlines of things in your room, you would be able to depict what the object actually is. I think the article and videos add to the depth and understanding of the topics discussed in the book.  The Carta video was very hard to understand and very quiet.  Although I thought it was interesting, and gave good insight on how humans view art. 

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Setting Up

I already had another GMail account so I used that one.  As for setting up the blog it was kind of difficult and I hope I did everything right.  I'm taking this course to fulfill my art general education requirement and I hope to learn a little about the fundamentals of art inquiry.  I usually love online courses, however it seems that this semester the two I am taking (this one and one other) are going to be way harder than any course I have taken online in the past.  I take online courses as a convenience for me, because I absolutely hate being in this city so I am usually home where I am from as much as possible, so taking online courses allows me to do that.