Reflections for AED 200

1. My expectations were to learn about the elements and principles of art and I learned much more.

2. I define art as a way of expression and creative which is pretty similar to my original posting.

3. Leonardo Da Vinci is my favorite artist now because of portraits and the way he uses the elements of principle he really captures my attention.

4. I am very happy i took the course and would recommend it to others.

self portrait

Abraham Lincolm
1887
George Peter Alexander Healy
Oil on Canvas

Self-Portrait 
1889 (250 Kb)
 Oil on canvas
 65 x 54 cm (25 1/2 x 21 1/4 in)
 Musee d'Orsay, Paris

REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
“Self-portrait”, 1659

oil on canvas, 52.7- 42.7 cm., Edinburgh , National Gallery of Scotland 

Gina Giardina

Sketch

I chose these self portraits because they are either inspirational artists or men that have had a major impact on the world.  I found them inspirational because I know who they are and some background on them so they inspired me in my self portrait.  The challenges I faced are I am not the best artist but I just brushed that aside and did the best I could do.  It represents me because I am always happy and smiling so it is a great representation of my personality.  I applied shading for my hair, eyebrows, and eyes.  I used line for my hair and most of my face. I also applied balance and symmetry because I used the whole page and tried to be as symmetrical as possible.  I enjoyed creating this piece because it was fun to do and I got to be creative.  I think it is the best I could possibly do so I like the final product.

Art Curation Review

1. Which projects did you review?
The projects that I had reviewed were the Captured Moments during the 70s, The Queen City, and All about the Landscapes.

2. Why did you select the Exhibit you critiqued?
I selected Captured Moments during the 70s because I enjoyed looking at the photos.  It felt like I was experiencing a little piece of the event taking place.  I really enjoy realistic art.  I also enjoy history so I was very engaged by this exhibition.

3. What challenges did you face in writing the critique article and how did you overcome them?
The challenges I faced in writing was where to start and how to organize exactly what I want to say.  I overcame it by jotting down what I wanted to address in each paragraph and then just wrote how I felt about the photos and the exhibition as a whole.

4. How do you feel about critiquing your peers work?
I do not mind critiquing my peers because I think it is nice to get to voice your opinion on a specific work.  I also have no problem expressing my views and feelings to my peers.

5. Would you like to read the critique your peers wrote about your Art Curation Project?
I would like to read what my peers wrote about my project.  I put in a lot of time and effort, and would like to know what others had to say.  I enjoy constructive criticism because it helps me to learn from my mistakes and not do them again.

6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your finished article and why?
I would rate it a 10 because I expressed exactly how I felt and touched on main points of the exhibition.  I thought I put a good amount of effort into my article and think it was the best I could do.

7. Did you enjoy working on this project?
I did enjoy working on this project it opened my eyes up to different areas and ideas of art.  It was also nice to get to see my peers exhibitions.  I think everyone did such a great job and it was nice to be able to view others hard work.

Video Review

Greenberg on Pollock: An interview by T.J. Clark

The key concepts/ideas are Greenberg was told in the 1940s that one day Pollock would be a great painter.  Pollock painted his first spatter-drip piece in 1947.  Although Pollock despised easel painting, his paintings remained until the end easel.  He knew that his paintings weren't murals but rather goes from the easel to the mural.  Pollock started to move away from orderliness although Greenberg believes that his paintings were orderly.  Pollock is associated with Dionysian.  Pollock refused some of his own works.  Greenberg states that this is because they were not appealing to the eye.  Pollock chose his way of applying paint because of the way the paint broke the plane.  His "drip" paintings can be characterized as Apollonian instead of Dionysian.  Pollock felt alone and isolated.  Artists wanted fortune and fame during Pollock's time.  Pollock only sold about one picture a year during that time.  Pollock at the end of his life wished he would have looked more at impressionists.

An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance

The key concepts/ ideas of the Italian Renaissance are the renewal of excitement for the arts.  Natural beauty was the center of ancient roman art until the Barbarians took over.  Giotto was among some of the firsts to give life back to the realistic style of the Romans by using perspective found in architecture and landscape.  Ghiberti was an apprentice under Giotto.  He created beautiful biblical scenes out of door panels.  Donatello created the sculpture of "David."  The figure stands on one leg and is considered beautiful in its nude form.  Uccello makes new ideals of animal and human figures.  Masaccio's figures portray psychological and physical depth.  Francesca experiments with, "The Madonna and Child," which contrasts light and dark value to add depth.  The Catholic Church conveys Christianity through art.  Da Vinci used science and math to appear natural in their context.  Raffaello is considered the master of composition.

I think these videos will help with the art criticism project because I think any information going into being a critic of someone else's work will be helpful.  It is a little more information than I had before going into the project.  There were many things I learned from the two videos therefore I think they will aid in my art criticism  project.

I enjoyed the videos they taught me more about the Italian Renaissance and I learned more about the life of Pollock.  They did add depth to my understanding of art criticism by giving visuals and ideas of how to be an art critic.  The videos were very helpful.

Reflections on Art Curation Project

The process I went through in creating my project was I did a lot of research before I actually began my project.  I researched different areas of art that I found interesting.  I wanted to do some type of theme of actors and actresses paintings of those who have passed away at a young age.  I was pretty passionate about doing it but found there were few pictures with the material I needed for my power point presentation. I then started thinking about family and how I enjoyed reading in the textbook about realism.  I them thought of combining the two.  The family impact on realism was what I came up with.  I chose this theme because to me my family means everything.  We do everything together and are best friends.  It only seemed fitting to pick a theme that was related to family.  I then started my journey to find art work.  I found much artwork on this theme and enjoyed searching for different pieces of art.  That is how I ended up choosing my theme.  It was a long process to complete this project.  There was a lot of looking at different artworks and analyzing, describing, and explaining why I chose each photo.  Although it was a long process I enjoyed doing it and finding and organizing different artworks that fit into my theme.

video review

Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach

In 1929 the MOMA portrayed modern art in chronological order.  It represented each art movement in the 1920s questions arose on the traditional ways of portraying modern art.  The museum was explored by artists for ideological and political context.  In the Tate Modern there are four sections that display modern art.  In the four sections there is a theme provided in each section and exhibition of the modern art selections.  The visitors to the Tate saw abrupt changes between the display rooms unlike MOMA’s feature of chronological order.  Critics believe when visitors go to Tate Modern’s thematic presentation they should have no previous knowledge of art.  Many abstract artists attempt to portray social vision, aesthetic effects, and convey emotion.  They do not want their paintings to be based on figuration.  I found this video helpful because it made me think about how I would like my exhibit set up.  It made me think if I would like it in chronological order or more of a scattered look.  I thought this video was good and helpful when thinking of creating an exhibit.  It gave me some things to think about for my exhibit.

The lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art

Robert Williams the artist says that he invented the term Lowbrow but doesn’t like its meaning.  Car culture, pop culture, and folk art had major influences in Lowbrow art.  It is said by Lisa Petrruci that art is less esoteric and more relatable.  The time after WWII which is known as “atomic age” is also important to Lowbrow art.  Art entails many different areas that range from concept art to paintings.  During the 1960s the gallery and artists spoke of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth along with psychedelic Rock working on underground comics.  There was a time where galleries weren’t willing to portray Lowbrow art.  The Laguna Art Museum put together a show which featured Robert Williams, Von Dutch, and Ed Roth.  Robert Williams believes that the art world is set up to portray and promote certain types of generation artists got there work across through album covers and fliers.  After a book was featured about female Lowbrow artists the Tart gallery in Vancouver received more acceptance and recognition.  In an attempt to promote lowbrow art.  Billy Shire opened the shooting gallery in San Francisco.  Robert Williams is in high demand all over the world while 20 years ago no one would hardly show is work.  I think this video helps me with my art exhibition creation because I may want to do something that involves paintings of actors and actresses who have passed away.  This may fall into pop culture.  I found this video interesting because I didn’t even know what lowbrow art really was until watching this video.  I learned a lot on the particular topic.

Bones of Contention: Native American Archeology

During the genocide in America against the Indians Native American’s bones were collected to be studied.  Anthropologists disagree whether the bones should or shouldn’t be returned to their ancestors.  A road construction worker found a body.  The bones are taken to be studied while Maria Pearson fights for the bones.  David Von Horn was arrested for possession of human bone fragments.  In the 19^th century Samuel Morton M.D. believes that brain size has to do with intelligence.  Native American skulls were collected and kept in museums.  Susan Harjo leads a fight for Native people’s objects of worship.  Dr. Barnes was prevented from doing Native American migration research because of new laws.  Scientists have to first determine what tribes the bones came from.  By measuring the skull it is easier to determine where the bones need to be returned to.  The Native Americans hold ceremonies to find out whether or not the bones are their ancestors.  They do not want any of the scientist’s history.  Scientists can find out a lot about health problems of today by studying the bones of past people.  British researchers DNA test bones that are infected with T.B.  Maria Pearson represents rights to an undisturbed Indian burial ground.  The University of Nebraska was asked by the Great Plains Omaha to analyze bones for their health and cultural significance.  Omaha women die earlier due to small pox and an alteration in their daily life.  In the early 20^th century Native Americans were deprived of their tribal identity in American boarding schools.  Native Americans now design New York’s Native American museum.  The bones from Native Americans are still being brought home.  This video does relate to the creation of my art exhibit because I know I want to create an exhibit portraying things from the past.  Therefore this video gave me some ideas of what I would like to include in my art exhibit.  I found this video very interesting because I never knew that Native American bones were kept and studied during the genocide.  I found it very intriguing to learn about that particular part of history and how bones are still in the possession of scientists.

Great Museums: An acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A gallery is based on dedication and hard work.  Knowledge of art is what makes the museum flow.  The background of art is very important when it comes to understanding art work.  The best way to understand an art work is by seeing it first hand and up close.  By seeing a painting up close you can see the way the artist intended for the painting to be viewed.   You can see the texture in the sculpture or painting.  Through seeing a work of art live you can see the way the artist had work and see all the detail in the painting.  The hard work that goes into creating an exhibition is apparent when viewing and makes the exhibition popular amongst visitors.  The artist wants for people to come and enjoy the exhibition and the hard work that the artist had put into creating the exhibit.  The film helps me with my exhibition because it gives me ideas for creating my exhibition.  The film was interesting and it made me think about my exhibition and the importance of organizing and research to make sure my exhibition flows well together.

Video Review

The Power of Art: Rothko

The key concepts ideas of this video are Rothko was commissioned to in the Seagram Building, deliver paintings to the Four Seasons Restaurant.  He decided to accept it but he first thought of his role in American capitalistic society.  Rothko was a child in Russia during a violent time especially against Jews.  He believed that art could save the world.  He created the subway series while dabbling in Expressionism.  He wanted his paintings to take on the values of contemporary society.  He also did not want any psychological analysis of his art.  Many of his paintings that were observed displayed the feelings of human tragedy.  The murals he painted were never actually hung in the Seagram building.  In the time period of 1954-1957 Rothko’s paintings multiplied.  Many people described his paintings as restful pictures where Rothko on the other hand thought of them as tragic.  Rothko offered a German curator that he would paint for free if he would build a chapel of apology for the Holocaust.  He spent the rest of his life searching for a chapel.  Rothko was a heavy drinker and smoker.  He began to paint darker and darker paintings.  When he was allowed to paint whatever he wanted for a Texas Chapel, he painted only in black.

I chose this video because I wanted to learn more about Rothko.  I wanted to know his background story.  I am glad I picked this video because it provided me with just that.

Andy Warhol: Images of an Image

The key concepts/ideas of the video are Andy Warhol was a commercial artist.  In 1960 he decided to start experimenting with images for advertising.  He died in 1987.  He was very interested in the lives of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe.  They had inspired many images.  Photographs are enlarged and displayed on screens of silk; they are then transferred to canvas and paper, using paint and ink.  In 1963 he created Ten Lizes, which was featuring Elizabeth Taylor.  He saw the silk images as a means to make some money.  He then began to film and photographs his friends.  He then added paint to the silk images.  His work addressed race riots, cultural revelation of China, the moon conquest, and the universal dollar.

I chose to watch this video because I have heard of Andy Warhol and thought this would be a good opportunity to learn a little bit more about him.  It is nice to put a face to a name.

 

The films relate to the readings because we addressed these names and topics in the reading.  The films elaborated on them which helped to better understand the readings.  The videos also added more than the readings by providing some background information that helped us to better understand the person behing the art.  It also gave a visual of who these artists are which makes them easier to relate to.

The films were interesting and added to my knowledge.  I learned the background and the life of Rothko.  I also learned about who Andy Warhol was and how he was fascinated by Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.  The films were great and definatly gave me information that I wanted when visiting the video in first place.