virtualsketchbook-art

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Final Exam / Big Idea

For my final exam the big idea I came up with was a photo mosaic. I looked through all of our previous assignments and passed artist and Ted talks that we had to complete, for inspiration when coming up with the big idea. The artist and assignment that struck out to me the most, as well as the sort of work I wanted to create for this final test, came from Vik Muniz's Ted talk. I was fascinated by the way he combined numerous little images to make a larger image, and after seeing all of his work, I knew I wanted to try something similar. Then came the hard part, what was my photo mosaic going to be and what was it going to be made up of. When I was trying to come up with a concept for my artwork, I started listening to a lot of music for inspiration and jotting down ideas. Then it finally hit me I was listening to a song by Playboi Carti called “Over” from the his album “Whole Lotta Red”, and I had the idea to build an image out of the word "Red" from his album cover, and what I came up with was to take a number of my favorite album covers and mixtapes that are red and make the word "Red" out of them in the same font as Playboi Carti’s album cover.  

This is the album cover “Whole Lotta Red” by Playboi Carti.

It took a long time for me to get album covers and mixtapes to use because I had to browse through all of my favorite songs, artists, albums, and mixtapes to just select particular red pictures to match in my work. This was certainly one of the most thrilling and enjoyable tasks I've ever had to complete, and despite the fact that it took me a while, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

My Final / Big Idea

Red on Red - Andre Nunez

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Virtual Sketchbook 3

The artwork I chose to analyze and observe is The Emperor Justinian by Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant. The artwork was made in 1886 and is a part of French culture. The massive painting, which is 148 x 260in was created using oil on canvas. The painting is of Justinian the Great, who ruled the eastern Roman Empire from 527 until 565. Justinian is depicted in the artwork seated in his throne, which appears to be made of marble, wearing his crown, with his counsel beside him on the benches to his right and left. A man sits on the floor in front of them, a scroll in his hand, and he appears to be some sort of messenger. The colors used in this painting; when looking at it, are just many different shades of brown. The painting is well-balanced and proportioned. The picture is also lacking in variety, yet it does have a sense of unity, with the king in the center, his council on his sides, the messenger in front with the scroll, the painting is complete and everything is united together. 

     When I first saw this painting, it made me sad. I was sad because I mistook it for a man on his knees pleading the king, but it turned out to be a man sitting down who appears to be a messenger simply relaying a message. Now, when I look at this artwork, I'm curious not only about what the man was relying on, but also about what any of the strange messages and words on the left side of the painting signify.

     During the Post-Impressionism era, artists were known to work alone and concentrate on visions and symbolism. Benjamin Constant painted this painting with a specific goal in mind: to win a grand medal at the 1886 Paris Salon. I believe there isn't a deep message here, but more a depiction of what life was like in the past, and the fact that he was so careful about what people wore and where they were positioned demonstrates how much time and effort he put into it.

     To be absolutely honest, the facts behind this artwork, as well as the story behind it, are not the reasons why I chose it. The initial reason I chose this artwork was that it was the largest painting I had ever seen in an art gallery. Another reason I chose it was because I saw a king sitting on his throne gazing down on a man who I initially mistook for a peasant but turns out to be a messenger, and it intrigued me because it demonstrated the power that one man can wield, especially back in the day.

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Virtual Sketchbook 2

1. Journaling

Unity and Variety - Unity and variety are complementary concerns lying at opposite ends of a spectrum. Unity is the appearance of similarity, consistency, or oneness. Variety is the opposite of unity; diverse elements in the composition of work art. Unity and variety to me it’s almost just like the Yin and Yang meaning. It thus shows how the two sides appear to be diametrically opposed or contradictory, but how they might in fact be complementary and interrogation and getting them to . This entire planet, I believe, is a terrific illustration of unity and variety, in that everyone in the world is different and there are many different people, but we are all one and form a beautiful unity. 

Balance - an arrangement of parts achieving a state of equilibrium between opposing forces or influences. To me balance is line, texture, color, and form are used in the creation of artworks in a way that creates visual stability. Every day, I see instances of balance everywhere, such as posters, buildings, and structures, demonstrating how each component is placed and constructed in a precise way to ensure that everything is in balance. 

Emphasis and Subordination - Artists use emphasis to draw our attention to an area. If that area is a specific spot or figure, it is called a focal point. Position, light-dark contrast (the juxtaposition of strongly dissimilar elements), color intensity, and size can all be used to create emphasis. 

Through subordination, an artist creates neutral areas of lesser interest that keep us from being distracted from the areas of emphasis. We have seen them at work in the paintings we have just examined. To me, emphasis in art is utilized to draw the viewer's attention to a specific region or object, while subordination is used to characterize the artwork's secondary or accent aspects. And an example of this that I see in my daily life is in my room. My room is a base color, and then I have a really large colorful prominent poster with a man with purple hair as the focal point of the poster, which grabs the eye. 

Directional forces - pathways that the artist in bed in a work for the viewer's eye to follow. To me any visual movement in an art piece caused by line or an alignment of distinct shapes, color, or even value contrast is referred to as directional force. I see principles of this in my everyday life and roads and street signs because of how it directs us to read from left to right or even look and pay attention to pathways.

Repetition and rhythm - repetition of visual elements can give a composition unity, continuity, flow, and emphasis. Rhythm refers to any structure of dominant and subordinate elements in sequence. To me, repetition refers to the designs that are repeated inside a work of art, whereas rhythm refers to the usage of one or more design components repeatedly to create a sense of structure or movement. I see examples of this in my everyday life and tall buildings that are covered in windows, the windows to me show repetition in rhythm by how they are placed and how all of them gather brings a sense of structure and composition unity.

Scale and proportion - Scale is the size relation of one thing to another. Proportion is the size relation of parts to a whole. To me, scale relates to the size of an object in respect to other objects, whereas proportion refers to the size of an object's sections in relation to other objects. I see this in my everyday life with houses, the way certain houses in the same neighborhood will be much bigger or smaller than the other, or how big the garage door is compared to the front door.

2. Writing and Looking

Pablo Picasso, COMPOSITION STUDY FOR GUERNICA

Chapter 6, 6.2. Figure 6.12

Many distinct abstract animals, inferred lines, and many various focal points are described by the animal heads and body parts of Pablo Picasso's work. Because of the photo's ferocity and obscurity, the color scheme is black and white, which could be interpreted as a witness report due to all the violence and chaos in the photo. Picasso employed emphasis, insubordination with the background, and lighting to draw attention to the area of the animals and people.

3. Connecting art to your World

If I had to pick a color that has affected me, it would be black. I select black because it is the color of most of my outfits, I believe I look best in black, and I just gravitate toward buying black clothing. It has now affected me since I believe that the color black has a certain intensity and value, almost as if it is evil or mean. People would always assume I was a mean or antisocial person because of how I dressed, which consisted nearly entirely of black clothing, almost everyday. 

Purple would be the color of my life if I had to pick one. Purple is not just my favorite hue, but it also represents a lot of things. Purple is associated with prosperity, intelligence, bravery, peace, and a variety of other qualities. All of those things are what I strive for and try to bring to this world. I feel that peace is something that everyone should strive for, and that when the entire world is at peace, the world will look and feel completely different.

4. Art Project

5. Photo/Design 

Black and White vs. Color

Black and White - Konstantinos Kousis – Kozani, Western Macedonia Greece

Color - Two girls in a garden, 1908. by Etheldreda Janet Laing

I believe there are many things that motivate the choice of black and white versus color. I believe that black and white is used for aesthetics, emotion, and even to depict certain periods in time. The black-and-white photograph I chose demonstrates a more aesthetic and history motive. Color can be utilized to generate a specific mood, deliver a message, or elicit a strong response in the viewer. As artists learn to utilize color's positive and negative properties, they can also use it to send a subliminal message. I feel the artist used color to create a specific mood and message in the photo I used, with the blue sky and vibrant clothing indicating enjoyment and vibrancy. 

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Virtual Sketchbook 1

4. ART PROJECT (SELF-PORTRAIT) – Look at the work of Romare Bearden in Revel or online. He created collages that combine media (gouache, pencil, colored pencil) and photographs to express things from his life that he thought people could universally relate to. He was representing himself powerfully long before the advent of selfies.

What are you fascinated by in your daily life? Create a self-portrait that somehow represents YOU. This could be a selfie (remember this is ART - your representation should encompass the definition as introduced in our text, and this is a graded assignment), a virtual collage, anything you assemble that communicates something to the viewer. But don’t let me (or anyone else) limit you – be as creative as you desire! Think about HOW your self-portrait will elevate the viewer's understanding of the subject = you.

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Virtual Sketchbook 1

3. WRITING A SELF-PORTRAIT - Create a perceptual profile. What “baggage” are you bringing along when you look at art? Answer the following questions – How old are you? What is the gender you primarily align with? Where are you from? What is your ethnicity? What do you do for fun? Are you a member of any organized group? Where do you work? What makes you uniquely you? This helps us see from what exact point in the world we view and receive visual information.

I am 20 years old. The gender I align with is male. I am originally from New Jersey but moved to Florida at a very young age. My ethnicity is Dominican and Colombian. What I like to do for fun is play video games, watch shows, play basketball, and draw. I am not a member of any organized group. I do not work anywhere at the moment. I believe the thing that makes me unique is my ability to disregard other people's opinions. For example, if I'm wearing a particular outfit or making a particular decision, I don't care in the slightest what other people think because if I like the decision I'm making or the clothes I'm wearing, I'm content and could care less what others think of me.

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Virtual Sketchbook 1

2. ART AND WRITING - Select a work of art from your life. It must be something that hangs in your house or your room, something that is important to you or that you look at everyday. Include a picture. In paragraph form (4 sentences), tell me about the art – what media were used to create it? What use does it serve? Do you think it is beautiful? Why?

This particular work of art was a painting I made when I was in third grade. This was one of my earliest paintings, and I remember being thrilled when it was framed and shown in our school's art gallery. The painting sits in my room, and every time I see it, it brings a flood of memories. This painting is beautiful to me not just because of the painting itself, but also because of the memories associated with it.

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Virtual Sketchbook 1

1. WRITING AND RESEARCH –

Discussion: Introductions/First Artworks

Cut and paste from the Discussion to your tumblr, please.

Related materials: First Clues-art work list Fall 2020.doc

Ibrahim Mahama 2015

Post No Bill. Jute sacks; dimensions variable, at Eli and Edythe Broad

Art Museum at Michigan State University

2. Five facts

Ibrahim Mahama was named in the list of most Influential Africans for the 2019/2020 edition by the Africa report.

Mahama creation material is inspired buy items that have lost their meaning, such as old wooden boxes and objects with decay and strains.

Mahama grew up in a polygamous family, meaning he has many fathers and mothers and hundreds of siblings.

Mahama was a student of Kari Kacha seid’ ou, and credited him a lot for giving him an extensive sense of international art history.

All of Mahama’s Artwork advocates for revolution in Africa.

3.Did the way you think about the art change from the first time you looked at it? Do you see anything different in the art now?

The first time I looked at the art it looked like just a whole bunch of old materials, and stuff put together that didn’t really have any meeting. Almost like a whole bunch of old blankets or towels just pinned to a wall. Now after researching and reading about him and seeing if there’s a much deeper meaning to his art, specifically this piece. Now I know that his art in this piece specifically is him taking many different unwanted, unused, and worthless items and making them meaningful again and having a purpose.