Final Course Blog Review

1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met? I expected to expand what I already knew about visual art and to learn a lot of new things about it as well.  My expectations were definitely met

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 be visual or non-visual and it a creation by an artist either from what they see or what they imagine.  Visual art is for a visual viewpoint and may be critiqued. 

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 favourite visual artist in my original posting was Vincent Van Gogh and now he is still one of my favourite but I also enjoy Claude Monet.  I think I still like them both because no matter what I have learned in this course they are both very famous artists for a reason and I will always enjoy the art they have made. 

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? I am still comfortable with taking an online course because I had taken a couple before this one.  I would say my answer is almost exactly the same as before because there is no real difference in my answer. 

Self Portrait

Inspirational Pieces:

Chuck Close, Big Self-Portrait, acrylic on canvas, 1967-68, 273 x 212 cm

Gustave Courbet, The Desperate Man, oil on canvas, 1844-1845, 45 x 55cm

Marcel Duchamp. Self-Portrait in Profile. 1958. Torn colored paper on black background. 14.3 x 12.5 cm.

Self Portrait

Picture used for self portrait

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?  I selected these inspirational pieces because they seemed the most similar to something I had in mind for my own.  
2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait? I selected pencil because I know I am not a stronger drawer/sketcher and I would need to be able to erase and redraw in this process.
3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them? It was hard for me to try and draw myself because i could really tell how disproportional my face really is but, I guess that is what makes it real.  I overcome it by trying my best to realize that the portrait was me and I am really and imperfect.   
4. How does this piece represent you? I like to think that this piece represents me in a way where I feel confident and good about myself.
5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work? I used lots of lines especially in my first steps of sketching, I also used different values of the pencil to create bolder lines in some places and darker values in my hair.
6. Did you enjoy working on this project? I did enjoy working on this project because it turned out better than I thought it would.
7. What do you think of your final artwork? I think that it is probably the best picture I have ever drawn of myself, even though its not perfect I know I worked hard on it and thats all that matters to me.

Blog Reflection

1. Which projects did you review? I reviewed Violence in Art by Eleanor Eshenour, Art in the New Age by Kathy Rondinelli, Art of Ice Hockey by Ryan Malinowski and Love Through the Ages by Haley Breier.

2. Why did you select the Exhibit you critiqued? I selected Love Through the Ages because it seemed to be very well executed and full of information.

3. What challenges did you face in writing the critique article and how did you overcome them? I was scared to be mean, I consider myself a nice person and I found it hard to say things that needed improvement.  I overcame this by just saying what I thought in the nicest way possible.  

4. How do you feel about critiquing your peers work? I feel kind of uncomfortable critiquing the work of my peers because it always makes me think back to mine and all the things people will say about mine and whether they will be constructive or not. 

5. Would you like to read the critique your peers wrote about your Art Curation Project? I don't think I would like to read the critiques that were written about my own.

6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your finished article and why? My article would probably be about a 9 because I feel I answered all the requirements but, at the end I began to ramble because I was trying to fill 2 pages.

7. Did you enjoy working on this project? I did enjoy working on this project because it felt nice to write my own opion for once rather than have to cite everything I say.

Art Criticism Blog Review

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

Jackson Pollock: Michael Fried and T. J. Clark in Conversation: Fried and Clark have different views when it comes to Pollocks art, but try to find common ground.  The painting in the background is Lavender Mist.  People will always have different opinions about art, even professionals.    

The Colonial Encounter: Views of Non-Western Art and Culture: The Paris Worlds Fair of 1900 was quite large but, some countries exhibits were treated differently such as Algeria. This worlds fair is now thought of as “spectacle of Eurocentric myopia”.  There are different displays that take place, for example the one of containers, the ones made of bones, and the one that represent the human body. 

The Critics: Stories from the Inside Pages: Critics give the public a fresh and new way of looking at things.  Critics live among the media they critique in; any critic needs to have passion about what they are critiquing.  Good critics use application a part of their critiques.  Synthesis should be used in criticism.  Critics must be able to think critically, plan out and choose the right material before writing.  Critics must be able to write.  Even though it is often associated with negatives criticism is more than that it is analysis and classifying.     

An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance: Many Italian artists contributed to the Renaissance, the artists discussed are : Giotto, Ghiberti, Donatello, Uccello, Masaccio, della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raffaello, and Michelangelo.  The techniques of the artists discussed would help with critiquing.    

Greenberg on Pollock: An Interview by T. J. Clark: Clement Greenberg and art historian T. J. Clark are talking about Jackson Pollock.  Pollock believed his paintings function between easel and mural.  Pollocks paintings were large and he knew they were not murals.  Pollocks unique technique was used by the way the paint “cut”.  Pollock rejected some of his own paintings.  At the end of his life Pollock wished to look at more impressionists but, he died. 

Greenberg on Art Criticism: An Interview by T. J. Clark: Greenburg says that writing about visual art is much harder than writing about music or books.  (I agree with him).  Greenburg believes that the best art over the past 50 years has been abstract (for the majority).  Great critics must know the nature of judgment.  A critics argument must involve history.    

2.    Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Criticism project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.

Yes, I believe that some of the videos relate to my art criticism project because by watching them I learned some more aspects and skills that an art critic needs to posses. 

3.    What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of art criticism?

These films seemed a little old but, they did help me with learning how to become an amateur art critic for a week.  They helped me understand what I need to look for and how I need to go about plotting my ideas and arguments.   

Project 4

To begin this project I first watched all videos even though I already had an idea of what I was going to do.  Once I finished watching the videos I decided that I wanted to do an artist that I was familiar with and that inspires me rather than a bunch of random artists that did similar art.  I decided that Claude Monet was one of my favourites and he has many paintings of floral scenes which make me happy to look at and I know that I could just stand there for hours looking at how he blends his colours and creates a new perspective on nature.  So I then thought it would be a good idea to look into some of his work more, I found a website and looked at a lot of his work.  Then I did the discussion forum and got some feedback from my peers.  I then did the blog review, and those videos did not really help very much although they were interesting.  Then I found pictures that I really valued and saw myself hanging on my wall to make me feel good.  I chose to put the works into chronological order to give the exhibit some direction and a sense of working towards something.  I chose those paintings and put them into a slide show.  I titled it and made sure my theme was fit and then handed it in.   

Blog Review

1.  George Eastman House: Picture Perfect:George Eastman created Kodak is a businessman and marketing genius and was the inventor of motion film. Photography is a vast technique.  Photography has captured many moments throughout history. Eastman made up Kodak there is “Mr. Kodak”.  The cinema is a gallery. 

Bones of Contention Native American Archaeology: There is a big battle between the use of native American burial grounds.  Some want them to be artifacts, some want them to stay and some want them put back.  Some bones can be found in museums around the world such as the Smithsonian.  These bones can be looked at to understand many things about the Native American history.  The Native Americans just want to bring home their ancestors. 

Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach:  The new museum of Modern art is so successful that curators had to move some of the art.  1900 to the present.  The MOMA was a powerful institution and dominated exhibition for half a century.  Curators are responsible for themes of exhibits.  Many people are attracted to modern art. 

The Lowdown on Lowbrow West Coast Pop Art: this can also be called POP Surrealism, but is also called lowbrow art or lowbrow surrealism, and does not mean what it did originally (pornography).  Rock and roll posters were shown around the world as art except in the U.S. Comics are a good example of this art.  Lowbrow is able to erase earlier definitions.  This art is almost up and coming because this art is getting more and more expensive.   

2. None of these videos related to my curation because my curation is based on Claude Monet, and he was not mentioned in any of the videos from what I could tell.

3. The films were quite interesting I actually really enjoyed watching the Lowdown one and  the Bones of contention one.  The only film that helped me would be the Tate Approach one because it told me about what a Curator does.

Art Gallery Visit

The Exhibits Title was Art Craft in Media and the Theme of the Exhibit is the use of crafts in art, things that would normally be thought of as art.  The lighting that was used was very many lights up very high in one area, and dimmer lighting in the other area, the lighting acted as spotlights on each work in the open area.  The walls were white.  Not very extensive architecture, white walls would block off each section, the ceilings were very high and open with a very open layout.  The movement of the viewer is easy throughout the gallery, it is an open floor plan for most of it with different sections around almost every corner.  The artworks are placed throughout the floor each in their own spotlight.  The artworks are similar because they are all crafty to go along with the theme. Each piece of art was individual because most of them were made with different materials by different artists.  Some of the works were placed in a clear cube on top of a white stand, while some were placed on the wall or on the floor, or on just a white stand.  The artworks are labelled by a white rectangle that says the artist, material, year etc.  All the artworks were within a foot or 2 of each other.

Chione, 2010 by Betty Stephan is monochromatic because only white is used.  It use different shapes and forms within the piece to bring interest.  The piece has texture because is uses different materials such as lace and different sizes beads. 

Breathe Deep, 2011 by Brendan Miller is made of glass and uses black to outline lungs.  The shape of a circle can be found through the work which creates a pattern.  The work is made in the shape of a human torso and was formed this way.

Intrusive Investigations of Intimacy, 2011 by Sarah McNutt is a clay sculpture that appears to not use very much colour until it is seen that the backs of the objects have newspaper strands coming out.  The shapes of the body insist intimacy and many lines are used.  The newspaper creates a different texture and a pop of colour. 

Looking at the gallery and exhibition from a different perspective this time around gave me a better outlook on what goes in to making the space perfect for viewing art and how much time and though must go into it.  Thinking about how the physical space and architecture made me appreciate the space as well as the art.    

Documentation of my visit: