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:

videos

1. I chose: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884, Expressionism, The Mystical North: Spanish Art from the 19th Century to the Present, and Dance at the Moulin de la Galette because the titles stood out to me as something I wanted to learn more about.

2. A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884: This painting is very large, has many people, boats and one monkey, it is of people enjoying a day of leisure, it is displayed in Chicago, The lady with the monkey and the lap dog on the right of the painting is thought to be a cocut (sp?) which was a women with 2 or 3 lovers, many paintings were made before the final one where “characters auditioned” almost, close up the paint is extremely rich, this painting meets every requirement for a masterpiece.

 Expressionism: so much can be learned about the time when we analyse the paintings, Munch had a very depressing life, many artists did self portraits, the techniques were often bleakly rough, and had many textures, colours are earthy.

 The Mystical North: Spanish Art from the 19th Century to the Present: Northern Spain has produced many famous artists in history, Spanish art has always been very vivid and memorable, Picasso was from northern Spain, Picasso set out to show spain that he always felt Spanish by displaying and showing his own selection of works, Dali’s one painting was very interesting with the melting pocket watch, war influenced some of the art from northern Spain, one building was quite influenced by Islamic culture, modern, and shipping.

Dance at the Moulin de la Galette: one of the most controversial paintings of all time sold for a large price, Lamisse urged the artist to complete his painting, Picasso chose this painting as his first painting of Paris but more dark and mysterious, paintings are influenced by history and history is influenced by paintings, This painting is developed to create interest of the viewer by making them ask questions about what’s going on.

3. I remember reading about Picasso in the text and the Northern Spain video talked about him and his art.  Expressionism was described in the text but not as in much depth as the video. 

4. These films were good although they were quite long.  These films helped me to better understand what the text was discussing because it was being shown and there was sound rather than me having to read. Expressionism was very hard to keep interested in.

Mask

Celebrating Femine Beauty and Cultural Pride

Female Mask, Okuyi or Mukudj

Punu peoples, Gabon

Wood, pigment

This mask does not have a lot of colour, but this is because of the culture it came from where whit faces were often represented.  This white face represents femininity and beauty.  Lines are used between the nose and ears of the mask to represent jewellery.  Many shapes are used to form this mask, the forehead is round and the eyes are oval shaped with a small nose and lips.   

Youthful Spirit

Mask,Kple kple

Baule peoples, Côte d'Ivoire

Wood, pigment

Because this mask is from a lower status and only represents a minor spirit, the mask is very simple and lacks detail.  The shape and form are simple and there are is almost one texture through the entire mask.  The horns on the mask are very large compared to the rest of the mask.

A Flying Spirit

Nwantantay mask

Bwa peoples, Côte d'Ivoire

Wood, pigment

The spirit that is represented by this mask has no shape or form so the shape and form is up to the artist.  The symbols on this mask, such as the X’s, the checkerboard pattern, and the white crescent represent certain aspects of the spirit.

I chose these three masks because I wanted to represent the spirit of Fall/Autumn and I believe that other masks that represent spirits will help me create a spirit mask of my own. 

The Sketches:

The Final Mask:

This mask uses the same white face as the first inspirational one I used, I used colour by implementing the Fall colours of the leaves.  I used simple shapes and forms just as in the one example spirit mask, the different sized and colour leaves creates texture for the mask, and the teeth can be looked at as a pattern.  I really enjoyed making this mask because I had to look for inspiration and I love the colours and spirit of fall so I figured why not make a mask about it.

Video Discussion

1. I chose African Art: Legacy of Oppression, African Art, Buddhism and Hinduism because I am interested in learning more about what each video is about just from looking at the titles.

2. African Art: Legacy of Oppression: Belgium's Tervuren Museum has the largest collection in African art which was taken by an explorer from a long time ago, this collection has a quarter of a million works.  Some of the art is even naturalistic. Masks were named after the word for sinking feeling in the stomach.  The sculpture of the woman who is fertile shows how they would make works abstract so that things would have meaning and make sense to those in their society.  Many of the everyday objects or everyday people would be glorified.  Most of the art was believed to be magical.  The most frequent art is masks.  Belgians brought back objects from Africa.  Culture is all about the nature of existence.

 African Art :  Art is a daily thing in the life of people that live in Africa, it is shown in hair, clothes, houses, and other objects.  Anciecnt Africans art was most used for rituals and dance, mostly masks.  This material decomposes, that is why there are only 200 year old artifacts.  Utilitarian objects were embellished.  Everyday items are covered in symbolic meanings.  Most African art is not meant to present a living human or animals, it was mostly for spirits.  Texture is important.  Now that Islam and Christianity has taken over most of Africa, the objects that were once used for religious ceremonies are no longer needed.

Buddhism: The Buddah was a man who had everything and then one day he stepped outside into the real world and saw all the suffering that he had been hidden from then he meant a monk, and became and ascetic and meditated.  Once he awoke Buddhism was born, he was enlightened.  The gateway to the temple is full of carvings of the teachings of the Buddha.  Buddhism spilt into 2 groups, ones who want to go to nirvana in a boat, and then those who would find companions and wait.  Many medallions were carved  into a building that were an inspiration to a temple in Dali.  The temple of the countless Buddha, only has 432 of them but it took about 100 years to build and only lasted about 30years, then the temple was taken by a volcano, then it was found and restored in the 1990’s.  Some buildings have no pillers but are glued together, and creates an open area, the building was erected around the biggest Buddha statue that took 8 years to build.

Hinduism: The oldest city in India is also the most religious one.  The great River Ganges is a giant symbolism for Hinduism, life is for millions even billions of years of death and rebirth.  Hindu’s can worship anywhere.  Most temples are tiny, but so much is put into the elaborate decoration.  The temples are monuments of giving up things, such as the one dedicated to Shiva.  Many people wish to die in this city and are cremated on the shores of the Ganges, the flames liberate the spirit.  Krishna inspired cave art was made directed out of rock, called cave art.  The temple dedicated to Shiva is miraculous and has so much detail.  The source of all life is the great breath, a breath that brings humans to creation, and the cycle of reincarnation until they obtain liberation.  The Gods are symbols of ways to reach god.

3. The videos African Art: Legacy of Oppression and African Art relates to the text because in the text many of the African masks and rituals were described as well.  The video Buddhism relates to the text because it talked about how Buddhism came to be, the beliefs and some of the art and architecture. 

4. I think that these films were full of information, even some things that were not in the text, therefore, I learned a lot more about the topics in this week’s lesson and I understand them better.

Video Questions

1. I chose Velazquez, Albrecht Dürer: Image of a Master, The Drawings of Michelangelo and La Primavera because all of the titles appealed to me and seemed to be topics I wanted to learn more about.
2.Velazquez: velazquez was a genius when it came to painting and depicted his subjects with shadowy/smokey colours and paintings. he chronicled the life of king phillip the fourth.  he is part of the ,  the quartet of the greatest painters of Spain along with El Greco, Goya, and Picasso.
 Albrecht Dürer: Image of a Master: Durer was a key artist in the northern renaissance.  it is said that the renaissance in italy  may be in part due to his contributions as well as his ideas traveled to Germany.  The self portait of 1500 is a very famous painting by him
 The Drawings of Michelangelo : He was a key artist in his lifetime and even today, his drawings and final works can be compared better in this video thatn in a museum.  He is most famous for the sculpture of David and the painting of the sistine chapel.  He changed the world of art forever with his techniques and style
La Primavera: this painting was irratic and new and some see it as controversal but it was an epic painting by boticelli in this time period, the techniques he used also helped with how important the painting was.
3.These videos share some key concepts that are present in the text such as drawings of michelangelo that techniques and actual drawing are described also his importance to his period.  Boticelli's La Primaver is described as how it was created a how it was an emblem to the renaissance.
4.I liked all the films but in some points they seemed to drag along.  I think that the films helped me understand key concepts better especially the drawings of Michelangelo video.

Video Questions

1. I found these three videos to be the most interesting.  I judged the movies by the titles and I like these 3 the best.  Also, I chose the last 2 because I am interest in ancient Greece.


2.  More Human Than Human Images are created to make sense of the world around us, just like the caveman did with their art.  All art depicts the Human body to be perfect and to be something it is not, and it all started in Austria.  All over the world parts of the human body, in ancient times, were enlarged or depicted as more important where others were completely ignored.  I remember this Brain Scientist from an earlier week this semester.  Art is a stimulus.  Egyptians were the first settled civilization to use the human body extensively.  Egyptians created human bodies the way they did because it was part of their culture.  The trend of creating realistic sculptures of humans did not last very long and this is because the primitive instinct of humans to exaggerate things inhibits the interest of creating realistic images.  The Kritios Boy may be thought of as boring, that’s not what art is, it did not satisfy.  A Greek artist captured an athlete into four quarters, and two halves creating something more human that human.
A World Inscribed: The Illuminated Manuscript the first books were only produced by those who could read and write which were only holy men.  The first books took a very long time to put together by scribes who would not only have to write and put them together but, they had to teach the books.  Monks had to write ideas because they could not talk to eachother.  Scribes would start the day by writing a sentence that had all letters in it, and then have a prayer.  It was believed that the devil’s scribe would haunt scribes and be the reason they would mess up.  The first Liberal Arts Universities kept book for students.  Books became something for those at the top of the hierarchy.  Along came the printing press and moveable type that changes the world of books forever.
The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th Century BC To understand our lives and architecture, art, politics, philosophy etc we need to understand the history of Greece.  The architecture of then is key in the architecture we use here today.  The great awakening was the time in history of Greece when animals and humans were depicted realistically.  Theatres and comedy began in Athens.  And politics would also use the theatre.  Man is in control of his own destiny.
The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure The ancient Greeks were obsessed with the ability of form and soul of the human body.  The human mind and condition were tried to be depicted in the sculpture.  In the 6^th century the Greeks moved away from the Egyptian style and moved toward the realistic forms of the human body, make an individual person.  Pottery was not considered great art but, was considered everyday art. Greek culture took over the Mediterranean culture, and eventually the whole world.  In the 5^th century humans became the central object of all art. The Olympia Museum holds some of the best sculpture from this time.  All sculptures conveyed an exceptional amount of movement. 


3. Ancient Greek art was also described in the text as well as in 3 of the videos.  In more human than human everything in the video was described in the text that I read, what really stood out as similar was the discussion of Ancient Egyptians and the way the athlete was sculpted after the stage of realistic art in Greece.  I remember something in the text about how Priests would put together that readings so, that kind of relates to the video about books. 


4. Some of the films got a little dry, I did not enjoy the one about books.  The 2 videos about ancient Greece were very interesting and helped me to better understand the readings because I was seeing and hearing rather than reading.  The first video was very helpful because it covered almost all the topics covered in this week.  

Video Questions

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

A: 

Prairie Style:  Frank Lloyd Wright began Prairie style, an open horizontal living space.  The big concept is floating horizontal lines.  Wright tried to make the experience of entering his house a different kind of experience and always tried to create a differing layout for houses.  His houses were not on the landscape but part of it and of it.  His houses have many open spaces including picture windows with great views.  

Architecture: The Science of Design: In major cities architects have been prompted to build skyscrapers and high rises because of lack of space.  A skyscraper is made up of the superstructure and the substructure.  Some high building sway in the wind by even a meter.  There are smart houses now that are all connected by one computer and work all together.  Reinforced concrete can be used for odd shaped buildings because of its properties.

Classical Architecture: Greek and Roman empires architecture has influenced much of modern Europe and Americas architecture.  The Queen’s house in Grenich looked as though it was from Italy.  Some architects have tweaked the Roman architecture as their own.  The column was explained, each part.  Romans invented a sort of concrete and invented the arch and the vault.  Romans were able to use columns within the building rather than outside of the building all the time.  The Bank of England can be shown with a computer and is quite extravagant.  Post modern classicism seems to poke fun at the old order of architecture.  Most architecture techniques that have survived from Roman and Greek empires is sought after even to this day.  

Last Call for Planet Earth: Sustainable Development and Architecture: People do not think they can do anything about climate change but, they really can.  Sustainable development may be referred to as a revolution.  There are so many systems that can be used that minimize the harm on the Earth.  Roof gardens can be made.  The biggest difference can be made in the city, it is more than just recycling and new forms of energy.  Even highway gardens are made and are needed, proven by how much house prices went up.  Green washing may not be helping, companies need to help the public learn more about how to do something sustainably green.  Organic buildings can be made all over the world with very little metal.  Bamboo is very sturdy but, may still need concrete inside to build houses. Combining new techniques with traditional materials may be the best answer.  Sun, air, water,  the Earth itself, minerals and fire allow us to live the way we do.  As architects they must build and plan building that enable the public to live like they do.

Q: How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?
A:   The video classical architecture described the pieces of a column and that was also described in the text. Last call for planet earth had thought about sustainable development and I remember reading something about that in the architecture part of the text.  Frank Lloyd Wright was also described in the text as well as the Prairie style video.   

Q: What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of Architecture?
A:  The films help me understand some of the terms and knowledge behind architecture.  I was able to get a better feeling of what architecture really is because before this I had never really been taught much about the area. 

Q: From the group of four that you had a choice: Why did you choose that film? 

A:  I chose that film because I thought from the title that it would be about green architecture which is something that I am very interested in.  I am very environmental friendly and cautious when it comes to everything so I wanted to learn more about it.  And the titles of the other videos did not seem interesting to me at all.