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I can truly relate with the way you relate to the reading. For me it wasn’t just the easiest to understand but also the most interesting. I always thought about past memories and images in my head. Yet, I could never remember the sounds of my childhood unless it was recorded on a video that I would re watch. But I didn’t realize that there was a logical explanation for why I couldn’t remember. As the reading explained its easier for our brains to remember images and we actually forget sounds we hear faster then any memories. Which just makes me feel less stupid, I guess.

Week 15

The article about the sound was the most captivating because it was the easiest to relate to and sound is something that I really enjoy. Sound is one of my favorite forms of art. Sound is not something that can be touched, seen, or tasted. When we hear a sound we cannot reach out and grab it to save it for later, all we have to hold on to are the memories from hearing the sound. The fact that sound is not something you can touch and it slips away so fast, that if you don’t pay attention and list actively you could miss it. Sounds can lead to emotion and listening to certain things can make you feel certain emotions and that is something that is truly beautiful to me. Music is a form of sound and music with lyrics is something that I appreciate even more. Songs with lyrics can be easily relatable and I think that if there weren’t songs with lyrics life would be boring and extremely bland. The quote from the article that spoke to me the most is “Composing is one thing, performing is another, listening is yet a third. What can they have to do with one another?” I think that this quote poses a really good question and is very in-depth. It makes sense that you perform without listeners and without a composer you have nothing to perform so they are all interdependent and need each other to complete a sound.

One Square Inch of Silence is a really captivating story and neat piece to listen to, this story truly goes to show how fast our world is changing and that something needs to be done to slow it done. People need to slow down and look around their surroundings. Some people are turning a blind eye to the things that are happening to our environment and need to stop doing that.

Susan Philipsz lives in Berlin and has been amazed by the fast-paced world it is and all of the different sounds that live in one area. Living in Berlin is very surreal because the history is so fresh and often brutal. Suzan likes to focus more on the physiological effects that sounds have on humans. The train stations in Berlin are where Suzan spends a lot of her time studying sounds and I think that is truly amazing. There are so many different types of sounds that come from train stations. When people hear the sound of an oncoming train in the distance their first instinct is to look for where the sound is coming from and get ready to board your specific train. The train station that Suzan spends most of her time at is one that was used most often to take the Jews to a concentration camp. Suzan then discovered a Jewish man who had composed music while he was in the concentration camp and has since been working with his compositions to make something that would speak volumes about the happenings of WWII. She also wanted to makes something that would celebrate the 18th anniversary of the annexation of Austria from Germany. I really enjoyed this video and learning about how sounds can define a space and the affect certain spaces have on certain sounds.

Burke Jam is the relevant artist that I chose this week. The piece that I listened to and was most captivated by was a piece titled “Within the Violence of Fractured Light” This piece is mainly recordings from the wilderness of Iceland and very interesting to listen to. It sounds like rain falling, bugs, bullfrogs, string instruments, and rocks banging together. The beautiful thing about sound is that I was not there when Jam recorded these things so I will never know what the sounds actually are.

https://kesh.bandcamp.com/album/within-the-violence-of-fractured-light

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Week 15

The Art of Sound

Reading

I never really thought of sound as art until this week. The way that the article  “An Introduction To Sound Art” describes sound really blows my mind. It actually reminds me of the debate over, if water is wet. Is sound an object? This question was brought up at the beginning of the article and shot down in less than a sentence.  The article states that “Things make sounds, and things have to move to produce sound, but sounds are definitely not things.” I have to say that I don’t think I will be able to think about music the same way again. It makes a lot of points about sounds that despite the fact of us hearing different sounds all the time, most people don’t really realize. Especially the reality that unlike images and videos, sounds are harder to remember. For example, it is easy for us to remember memories from our child like the first time we rode a bike but most of us don't remember any sounds we heard at that exact moment. I relate to this a lot. As my dad past away when I was eight, I keep photos of his face around to ensure I don't forget him. The hardest part about memories though is that even if I remember his face, we forget voices faster then images. So I sadly without a recording of his voicemail would have forgotten my own dad's voice. Which I do from time to time, which is why I have his voice saved on my phone.

Media

The artist in this weeks video is named Susan Philipsz. The way she is fascinated by the way sound moves in a room is very interesting. She not only likes architecture but she likes the way in each room the sound is different. As it echoed from wall to wall, down a hallway, and though a room she is able to find the perfect spot to compose music it and it amazes me. In most cases I see musicians using sound rooms such as rooms filled with foam to cut out echo in the room. Yet Susan Philipsz chooses to use the echo in her own way. The fact that she also sang over the pa system in a supermarket store, both entreated me and scared me. Who thinks hey I think I am going to sing into a pa system in a supermarket and it’s going to sound amazing?  Well, I guess that is Susan Philipsz for you. I don’t think I could ever do that even if no one was listening or looking at me. She’s so brave and I give her props for it. My favorite part of her work was when she had different instruments being played on different speakers all at the same time during her gallery. You wouldn’t think that it would sound good but everything blended beautifully.

Sound Clip

The sound clip “One Square Inch of Silence” made me feel as though I could sleep for days. As my favorite weather is rain, it made me feel quite peaceful. Like I was sitting in front of my window, listening to the rainfall off my metal roof, with the windows down. Like all the cares in the world just disappeared and it was just me. But what scared me is that not only make me picture my happy place but also feel cold. As I pictured the rain, I started to feel the coolness it normally brings over me.

Relevant Artist

The small piece I listened to was called “Collected Dust” by Marcus. This is one of his many pieces that I enjoyed but I chose this piece because it was unique. Most people find the changing pitches annoying but I found them kinda cool. Well, more the fact that he was able to take those small sounds and turn into something that worked and met his interests.

Works cited

https://acloserlisten.com/2017/09/12/sound-propositions-012-marcus-fischer/

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Week 12

Readings

The first article this week was on performance art. In this genre, art is revolved around it being presented live. A German artist named Joseph Beuys preferred the term "actions” rather than performance art. This is because it “distinguished art performance from the more conventional kinds of entertainment found in theatre “. I can definitely see where he’s coming from. As for today performance, art isn’t as it was before because it also includes dance and some sports.  A term that I found most interesting was called "action painting”. Action paintings were painted on human canvases rather than the normal stationery. It was cool to me because I’ve been a fan of body painting for years but never knew it had that name.

The second article talked about an African American woman named Bree Newsome’s. Yet, she is also referred to as superwoman. You see she is known because of a single act she took to fight against racism in the United States today. Newsome climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina State House and cut down the Confederate flag that had been raised for about 100 years after the civil war. Many political officials had an uproar and saw the act as stupid and the wrong way to change things. What they didn’t seem to think about it Newsome’s reason behind the climb. Because if you risked getting arrested, which she actually did, and a lot of hate, you would have to have a pretty good reason. She had to change how people think of that flag, which promotes racial discrimination before she could change the actual  reality of the politics, because “before you change politics, you have to change the culture.”

Media

This weeks media video certainly through me under the bus. Nick Cave’s pieces were very different. I wasn’t a fan of almost all of his outfits, not because I think they are not art but because that completely scare me. The only part I really enjoyed were the large amounts of color in each outfit. They made them stand out and easier for me to stay interested in. The brighter colors were just easier to follow because my eyes would go straight to them without me trying to focus.

Relevant Artist

As a lot of the artist this week were famous during the 60′s I’m starting to guess why. I have a very hard time understand performance art and why in the world it’s even art. From nudity, too stupid decisions these artists make in front of a crowd in hopes of making themselves famous. The artist I chose this week is Chris Burden. He is famous for his so-called performance named “shoot”. This man decided it would be smart to let someone shoot your arm in front of a bunch of people. Of course, the bullet was only supposed to skim his arm, but it actually went into his arm. If this is considered art and gets praised by the art community then I want no part in it. How stupid or high, since it was the 60′s, do you have to be to think that a plan to get shot from only 13ft away would be smart.

Works Cited

“Nick Cave In.” Art21, art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s8/nick-cave-in-chicago-segment/.

Media Art Net. “Media Art Net | Burden, Chris: Shoot.” Medien Kunst Netz, Media Art Net, 8 Nov. 2018, www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/shoot/.

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I feel like you were unable to fully appreciate the complete beauty of Maya Lin’s work. It wasn’t just a skating rink but a place for the community to come together. Yes, she combines architecture and art together but can you see why? Maya Lin sees things in a different way, and by putting the night sky into the ice it creates another level of beauty to the space.

Week 11 Architecture

Week 11 Chapter 13 Architecture

Reading: This chapter was about Architecture and its functions and different structures they can have. Architects and artists are a lot alike because they work with form, texture, line, space, and color. To be an architect you need to be very creative. I thought it was interesting that some houses in India only take a few days to build because they are woven together; I’m surprised that it said in the book they can last about five years. Another thing I found interesting was that panels that are triangular smooth the sound quality, so I would think that would be good for singing. I was fascinated to learn that temples in India are so tall to get closer to heaven, its interesting to see how different countries think and how their religion comes into play. I didn’t know anything about architecture until I read this chapter now I understand it a lot better and can see their thinking process and know why buildings are shaped a certain way. This chapter reminded me a lot about concert venues, most of them are like dome shaped to carry the sound all through out the building which is what architects had to think about. One of my favorite architectures in this chapter would have to be the one of the cathedral on page 391 in Moscow. I like the different shapes that were made on the top of the church and the beautiful reddish-brown color of the base. They are shaped that way, so the church doesn’t collapse when there is heavy snow and they also look aesthetically pleasing. Overall, I enjoyed reading about architecture!

Video: Maya Lin is an architect who was asked to add architecture into a park in Michigan. I love how she was able to create a night sky scene on the ice rink; it’s a beautiful addition to the park. I also love how she blends architecture and art together to create such unique ideas.

Connections/Comparisons: The reading and video had a lot of connections. In the video she talked about how she considered herself an artist, which she should. Because as stated from the book architects must think of the same elements that painters or sculptors do. I think that the video reading and relevant artist were all very related this chapter.

Relevant artist: I chose to research about Renzo Piano because I love his ideas that he contributes to his pieces. He was even compared to Leonardo Da Vinci which is an amazing compliment. His family thought he was going to be a builder like them, but he went steps further by designing different types of buildings. He created a beautiful workshop in Paris that has a dome shaped arch made of glass and lots of space inside. I like that he made the dome of the building glass so that sunlight can come in and it would be natural heat. Another one of his buildings that I loved was the courthouse he made in Paris. I like how he made the bottom floor wide and as you got higher up on the building it got skinnier. He’s very creative with everything he designs which I love.  

Sources: https://www.archdaily.com/273403/happy-birthday-renzo-piano

https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/paris-courthouse_o

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2017-01-25/Front_Page/Off_the_Beaten_Trail_St_Basils_Cathedral_Moscow_Ru.html

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Week 11

Architecture

Reading

As we read chapter 13 this week we learned about architecture. Some of the main topics this week were “ the unique concerns, structure and functional considerations.” I never knew how much our culture was truly influenced by architecture. From government building, business places, and paces of worship, the the idea of always building, the next biggest, is always in the mind of the people. This starts to make a lot of sense when I thought about places like New York and Chicago.

Video

The artist that are showcased each week has surprised me a lot in the past weeks. Not only have they intrigued my interest but also make me rethink the topic of the week. Before this weeks assignment, I only saw architecture as a building or tall landmarks such as the empire state building or the Arch in St.Louis, Missouri. But after this chapter, artist, and video I came to realize that architecture isn’t limited to those ideals. 

Maya Lin was the artist this week that blew my socks off. She made me look at this weeks concept in a brand new way and I wish I could thank her. You see the space Maya Lin was assigned and placed with the challenged to restore was an urban park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Not only was it run down but it was no longer safe. Maya Lin then finds a way to give this small park into a place for the community to really come together. You see Maya Lin created a  skating rink but that's not even the best part. As kind of a night sky/ zodiac geek that I am, Maya made my day. She created a scan of the night star line that shows through the ice as you skate. She does this by using fiber optic technology. 

Relevant Artist

The artist I choose this week is Philip Beesley. He is an architect who designs beautiful permeant installations. He’s not only an architect but also a multidisciplinary artist. In a permeant sculpture Philip Beesley calls Aurora, he creates breathtaking beauty and grace that encase the rooms the sculpture is placed in. As this piece dangles beautifully from the ceiling above you, you feel as though you are in a far-off place. You are without anyone and can only focus on the flowers above you as they light up above. Like the rain room which was created by Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass, whom I talked about last week, this piece responds to human and non-human movement below it. Using sensors, the piece above the thousands of small installations is able to use light to respond to movement below. Therefore not only creating a sight to reflect on but rather creating a full experience.

The sculpture is constructed of hundreds of thousands of individual components. As this piece is constructed of the materials such as  “laser-cut stainless steel, acrylic, and mylar, densely massed glass vessels.”  I believe that Philip Beesley truly is an amazing artist an architect. Who must really understand happiness and joy because his piece fully embodies how I believe happiness makes you feel.

Works Cited

Philip Beesley Architect Inc. “About.” Philip Beesley Architect Inc., philipbeesleyarchitect.com/ about/index.php.

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I enjoyed the topic this week a lot. Just like you feel that ceramics in my favorite form of craft. I love the fact that clay is able to be molded to whatever you want. I’ve also taken ceramics before and I know it can be very hard at times to get the right look you want. Especially when all you’re worrying about is it blowing up in the cilm.

week 10

reflections on reading

This week we read chapter 11 which was about craft media. In this chapter they focus on ceramics, wood, glass, and fibers. The one I can relate to easiest is ceramics because I took ceramics one and two in High School. I really enjoyed this class because who doesn’t love to get their hands dirty and create something solely from your imagination. In this class (as discussed in the book) I learned two styles- pinching and coil building. I actually made some great pieces that I still own to this day. I made a snow man that my Mother puts up every winter. As you can see this part in the chapter hit home for me because of those classes. 

reflections on video 

This week we learned about Brian Jungen. Brian moved to Vancouver at the age of 18 for art school. He was interesting to learn about because one of his styles truly stuck out to me. His collection of working with shoes. I am a shoe fanatic, Jordan’s are my favorite shoe to tell the truth. I am always up to date on the new releases and getting my favorite pairs. It is something my boyfriend and I have joy and excitement for. So to see Brian make these amazing artworks out of something as simple as these cut up shoes was amazing. Now I will say watching him cut these shoes was a little painful to my heart being the fanatic I am. But being able to see these amazing pieces created from something as simple as shoes was great. Brian had an interesting way of expressing his art and I really enjoyed learning about him. I chose this image to share because it does a great job of capturing his immaculate work with these Jordan’s. They were once only a shoe now formed to art.  

Connections between the two 

In this week I would like to say my connections between the two were more personal for me. They connected to my own life, yes they connected within each other as the reading discusses different ways to create these fine pieces but this section really hit home. I feel I am always able to learn munch more when I have a personal story linking me to the subject. 

Relative Artist 

This week for my Relative Artist I chose Kimsooja. Now, I have to admit her name stuck out to me so that’s why I initially started to research her work. But, come to find out she has some very unique art. Kimsooja is a South Korean Artist. “She is known for installations of cloth bundles created from found objects and traditional Korean fabrics”. Kimsooja really creates her pieces with her own personal culture in them and that’s what I enjoy about her and her work. I always love an artist that puts their true self into their work. Whenever I have created art (nothing great by any means) I always love my personal culture and touch in my work. I chose to share this piece of work because she did this piece for the Olympics to represent all the countries and cultures. Also she used vibrant color in this work and that always catches my eye. 

https://art21.org/artist/kimsooja/

https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/kimsooja

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Week 10

Crafts

Reading

In this weeks chapter which is, Chapter 11, we learn about craft media. We also further looked at topics such as metal, clay, glass, wood, and fibers. They teach us in this chapter about different ancient crafts. My favorite topic is clay or rather ceramics. This is because with ceramics, what you are trying to represent is more concrete in its final product. Also, ceramics allows the artist while working with the material to have better control of what is truly being represented in their piece.  As with ceramics, there are many different clay bodies,  in ceramics, that can portray many different outcomes after being dried. Porcelain is my favorite by far. I don’t fully understand why myself, but I think it’s because I like the smooth finish look it has when finished completely. Also because when I grew up almost anything in my grandma's house, that was made from clay was normally porcelain finished.

Video

The video this week showcased Brian Jungen and not only his art but also his heritage. Brian Jungen’s family originated as Dane-zaa people. Which are a native tribe that normally originate from British Columbia Canada. Some of his works even pay tribute or represent not only historical pasts of his people but their artwork. A tribal totem Pole is shown, where a part represents a whale. This is because the profession of killing whales was a part of their history living on the coast. Brian Jungen uses this piece of history to inspire him to make a whale’s bone structure. As Brian Jungen likes to use many different materials in his work. In this piece, Brian Jungen uses regular, cheap, plastic chairs for the entire structure of the piece. He even left hints to what he used throughout this piece. He wanted them to know he didn’t use fancy materials because using a material that would spark an idea is more likely to start a wheel going in your mind that makes you have to think about what this piece truly is.

Relevant Artist

The artist I have chosen to cover this week is Justin Novak. I chose my artist because his artwork stood out to me and looked like it was telling a story. 

It showcases, in my opinion, a young woman sewing her self-afflicted cuts back together. Making her broken but done bleeding and wanting to fix herself. I see her as someone who has been broken, wore out, and bruised but, she always manages to put herself back together for herself. This piece could be made to resemble anything, and represent whatever you put your mind to, like the rest of Justin Novak’s work. As his works often very cracked or broken. They also showcase very strange incidents and scenarios.

He describes his ceramic figurines as rather an “anti-figurine” or ironically a “disfigurine”. Most historic figurines embodied the beauty and perfection of their models.  Justin Novak rather wants to show the imperfections and shed a light on what those harmful standards inflicted on others. So the cuts, cracks, and bruises represent physical self-harm. It's beautiful in my eyes because he shows both the beauty that hides the darkness but also the true reality of the truly broken. Even in today's society people are scared to even talk about the reality of depression, self-harm, and suicide. They have the fear that if they talk about it more will choose that path. Yet what they don't realize is that in today's world almost everyone has or has had a form of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. The fact that Justin Novak was able to showcase that side and influence the world to see both sides is truly amazing and inspiring.

Works Cited

“Brian Jungen In.” Art21, art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s8/brian-jungen-in-vancouver-segment/.

“Www.justinnovak.com.” Www.justinnovak.com, www.justinnovak.com/

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Week 8

Installation art

Reading 

“I do not see according to its exterior envelope; I live it from the inside; I am immersed in it. After all, the world is around me, not in front of me.” a quote from Maurice Merleau-Ponty in the art review. The philosopher view on installation art completely sums up what this genre is all about. This genre can be found in galleries, shows, and normal buildings. The real beauty of this genre, in my opinion, is shown in exterior showcases. Installation art in use in gardens, bridges, and parks, are some of the best destinations to showcase their true beauty. This is because Installation art is meant to be a full body experience. Meaning that they are created so they can be intractable and be able to be walked through. The artist often wants the viewer to experience everything the piece has to offer.

My favorite piece is the Rain Room, which is shown below. I’ve been a fan of this place/piece for years and I am so glad that it is covered in the art review. The room works with cameras and sensors. As it rains all the time, you are able to move anywhere and the rain will never hit you. It parts as you stand, walk and even dance throughout the water. This is because the cameras and sensors predict your moves. It’s literally programmed so you always experience the best parts of rain and get to enjoy the beauty without the worst part of getting wet. Its beautiful and pure.

Video

Because of a noisy night and not being a to sleep, Do Ho Suh creates a sanctuary. As it is not directly referred to as a sanctuary in the video, this piece to me is described as one. Do Ho Suh created this piece because he couldn't sleep and he realized he missed home. As for most of my childhood, I Grew up in Northeast Iowa I know the feeling of being homesick. For me I miss the hills and valleys and the constant smell of the true fresh air, Do Ho Suh misses his home and to be more specific his childhood home. So Do Ho Suh created a replica of his home that he could always take with him. This home was recreated out of fabric. I have never seen anything like it before and not only is it beautiful but it showcases installation art in a way unlike most. He is able to be “in” his home whenever he wants, which is so cool.

Relevant Artist

The relevant that I chose this week is Nancy Holt. In my opinion, her works embody the beauty of Installation art. Regardless of the fact that most Installation art pieces are found in interior spaces. Nancy’s work is mostly land art pieces. I believe that installation pieces have more effect on the visitor because natural beauty is always better. Also, natural beauty is never the same when it is recreated. Installation art is beautiful and makes you see through different perspectives. I am just glad that I finally figured out the artist responsible for the piece that is showcased on the cover of our art appreciation page. I never realized the beauty of it till you see each piece through different perspectives. Each hole showcases light into an image when placed at the end of the piece. It's Beauty that makes you work for it.

Works Cited:

“Art Review: Installation Art – Five Wonders in New York.” Hamptons Art Hub, 14 Apr. 2016, hamptonsarthub.com/2013/07/12/art-review-installation-art-five-wonders-in-new-york/.

“NANCY HOLTAVIGNON LOCATORS 1972-2012.” Avignon Locators | Home, www.nancyholt.com/.

“Installation Art.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Aug. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installation_art.

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Kara Walker was my favorite artist so far in this class. She created the sugar Sphinx to shed light on the past. Highlighting a slave woman not being taken advantage of but there to withhold. She is strong, powerful, and an all-seeing eye. In my eyes, she watches over “her” children who were forced to work as slaves as well. Protecting and forever watching. As for the relevant artist you choose, I completely disagree with the statement that inspiration is a joke. In my opinion, inspiration comes in many forms. From just a vision of what you see your piece to look like in your mind, to the emotion you feel in the moment of creating a piece is your inspiration.

week 8

Reflection on Video

This week we learned about Kara Walker, I really enjoyed this artist. Her work and how she explains her work is inspiring. I loved watching in the video how she created the sugar Sphinx, she shows all the ideas that helped her start. It was an image of a revealing women bent like the sculpture then she decided to do an Egyptian style for the head. This drew my attention because she used modern day and old ideas and combined them to one. I enjoy art mixed together like this. For this sculpture she took sugar and water and mixed it together like paste. She was all about her pieces fitting with the style of the old molasis factory. My favorite part to see was the end when all the people got to see the entire museum. I chose to show the sculpture again because this work really spoke to me. When she said “she is not there to be taken, satisfied or abused, she is there to be withholding.” I enjoyed this because in this day and age women are portrayed to be sexual if they are dressed a certain way or positioned. This meaning was great to show people women can be withholding and still dress and present themselves “sexy” in society. 

Reflections on the reading 

In chapter 10 it helped me understand the creation of sculpture more, I really focused on more vocabulary to get the steps of how something is created.  It is amazing to know an artist starts with one big thing of material and just carves away to make their sculpture. Artists start with a maquette (small clay or plaster model) or cuomputer aided models to plan their sculptures. It gives them a smaller form to look off of when they create the real thing. I liked getting to know the different types of sculptures but my favorite is learning how they are created. 

Reflections of the two 

I mentioned a little in the section above the focus on creating the sculpture. Both the book and video gave great insight on that. I always watch the video first because I feel it helps me better when I’m reading so I can relate back to the video. The  book does go more into depth on other artists but I still really enjoyed Kara’s work the best. 

Relevant Artist 

This week for my relevant artist I chose Tara Donovan. I’m glad I did because she was very interesting, she chooses to bring in materials with a “low profile”  by using translucent material. My favorite thing about Tara is her opinion on inspiration. She says “inspiration is a joke, real artists sit down and get to work.” This is humorous to me coming from an artist but I like it because I agree. Tara does not title her work because she feels “it pigeon holes them into a specific idea”. She doesn’t want her fans thoughts to be narrowed into the title of the art she wants them to feel what they want from the art. I chose this image of her work because it reminds me of nature and arctic glaciers, in a movie. This ties into what she says about wanting her work with a “nature of something” and she definitely reaches that goal. 

Cited 

https://youtu.be/5Bn2yZoDCEc

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Week 8

Sculptures

Reading

Chapter ten describes the process and styles of sculptures. From carvings out of marble to creating sculptures using fibers, the book describes each form of sculptures through history. My favorite by far is Glass sculptures. The idea of a sculpture being so fragile almost seems powerful and ironic to me. As a sculpture when it comes to mind is strong and meant to withstand time.  My favorite glass piece is the glass window figure 11.21 on page 367. It adds beauty to the normal sculpture as the beauty of the earth is prominent.

Video

To my surprise, Kara Walker has become my favorite artist featured in this class. I was surprised at first that I liked her because she did have a team to help her. In past weeks I’ve never really respected those who used a team, as much as I do with Kara Walker. Her workspace became the inspiration for her pieces. As her workspace was an old sugar factory, sugar substances today still drip from the walls, as past work has become the building. Kara Walker is an African American woman who has taken the history of sugar, to shed light on the history of slavery. As sugar cane was often found in tropical areas, it was also often harvested by slaves. Kara Walker’s artwork is overcome with history as she created sculptures of slave children, out of the same substance they were forced to harvest. The irony is fascinating and I see Kara Walker as brilliant for even coming up with the idea. The true star of her exhibit is actually a sculpture that depicts a female slave. Inspired by the great sphinx she has created a piece that conveys beauty, strength, and pain.

Relevant Artist

Tara Donovan

The artist I have chosen this week is Tara Donovan. I have to say that I had a hard time choosing a relevant artist this week again. Unlike past weeks where I either liked or disliked all the artist. This week I was stuck in-between choosing an artist with controversy or an artist that intrigued me. I choose Tara Donovan because she is both interesting and controversial. Tara Donovan believes “Inspiration is a joke, real artists sit down and work” which actually irritates me a lot. As an artist, I believe that a single object can inspire you to create things that can truly change the world. There is no way that the most famous artist just sat down and went to work and was like “I think if I paint a woman with a half smile and call it Mona Lisa and I will be known forever”. Yes, there are instances where the artist just sat down and started painting. One was my favorite artist Margaret Keane was forced to paint for her husband to steal her work. Even though she was forced to paint she still used her pain in her work which in my opinion is an inspiration.

Despite the anger I have for her opinion, I believe that her work is actually fascinating and really good. She takes ordinary objects such as toothpicks, straws, and needles to create sculptures. In the sculpture below Tara Donovan creates what looks like a sound wave or morning fog over hills. It's beautiful yet what surprised me is that it's actually made of plastic cups.

Works Cited:

“Kara Walker: ‘A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby’ (SHORT).” Art21, art21.org/watch/extended-play/kara-walker-a-subtlety-or-the-marvelous-sugar-baby-short/.

“Tara Donovan: Sculpting Everyday Materials – Louisiana Channel.” Louisiana Channel, 16 Apr. 2018, channel.louisiana.dk/video/tara-donovan-sculpting-everyday-materials.

[brenna-boland-blog]

Week 7

Reading Reflection:

For this week’s reading we read chapter eight in the textbook. Chapter eight is titled “Photography and Filmmaking” which was over two topics. I’ve been a fan of both since I was younger but I’ve been drawn to films for as long as I remember. As it was a thing we would do as a family and became some of my favorite memories as a child.

Natalia Almada-

Natalia creates films to help her remember. As she lost her sister at a very young age she is unable to remember her as well and her family. So she has them create audio of their side. In hopes that she would be able to piece each side together to better understand her.

Jim Cummings-

Jim Cummings film called Thunder Road takes place at a funeral, his mothers funeral to be exact. Losing a parent at any age is hard. As I lost my father when I was eight I know how a funeral for a parent goes. It's confusing and an emotional rollercoaster. Every memory flashes back and you remember everything you did wrong while they were alive. Thinking that if you would have just changed what you did, your loved one might still be alive.  As for Jimmy only remembering the song rather than the eulogy, I can understand why. I had been in second chance reading my entire childhood because I also had a hard time comprehending what I was reading. So I had to listen to tapes of books a lot also. They do this because kids with reading disabilities don't remember what we read because the words get scrambled in our heads. But music and audio, get stuck in our heads the way regular words do for normal people. This is why Jimmy was able to remember the whole song.

Julia Pott-

Julia Pott’s film is called Belly. About a brother who gets eaten by a whale. The film starts out on a beach. As the younger brother, Oscar doesn't get to go swimming due to his older brother Alex not wanting him to go with him. So Oscar now sad sits with his “friend” who very creepily pets his ears. Alex is then pulled under water and Oscar’s “friend” urges him to save his brother. When they get to the bottom of what seemed like the ocean, it was too late. Alex had been eaten by the whale. So they set off to rescue him through the blowhole of the whale. Yet when Oscar’s friend pulls Alex from the stomach of the whale he gets stuck and is forced to stay while the brothers escape. Julia Pott’s film both confuses and disturbs me. As I don’t understand how you could be stable in the brain and write what she did. The basic plot of the film makes sense to me but the characters and overall setting does not. Especially Oscar’s “friend” I used quotations every time I mentioned this character because I feel as if there is something untold about him. As even Alex hints that they love each other and are actually more than friends.

Relevant Artist:

I had a very hard time choosing the artist I wanted to cover this week. What I didn't expect this week is that I didn’t have trouble choosing which artist due to me liking all of their work. You see I wasn’t only confused why some of these artists are praised but I was also in some cases very disturbed by their pieces. Many of the artists featured this week, are famous despite their over-sexualization of adults and children featured in their pieces. Their work has deeply disturbed me. So the artist I have chosen this week is Sally Mann. Not because I like her work but because I want to address why I feel artist like her terrify me. Many of her pieces feature her family. As her husband and young children are featured the most in her work, this is what disturbs me the most. As if I were a mother, the most important thing for me would be keeping my children safe. With the society, we live in today and rape and child abduction being one of the biggest fears for children and parents of young woman and children today, her work seems very backwards to me. As Sally is rather making her children the main subjects of her disturbing work society calls art. Leaving her children exposed to world venerable and in danger.

Works Cited:

Relevant Artist- 

“Sally Mann.” Gagosian, 12 Apr. 2018, gagosian.com/artists/sally-mann/.

[brenna-boland-blog]

I also had a hard time understanding the work of John Baldessari this week. As I never really thought about the fact that he used film pictures in colored pieces. I more thought he chose a random face, blurred the face with color, and created a new face with items such as noses or eyebrows. As he wanted is viewers to see between the space. So I never thought about the fact that he probably used images that he didn't even create himself.

week 6: blog post

reading: The reading for this week was about Printmaking and Graphic Design. Print making originated in China and Korea, while graphic design is commonly used in Latin America as art work or inexpensive advertising. I took an art class a few years ago in high school, where we carved a design or picture into rubber chunks. We then had to create 3 different designs into the one piece of rubber, trying not to take much out each time but making the designs different. After each caring, we stamped these designs on top of each other in different colors.

media: This week we watched a video about John Baldessari, an American artist known for his photography. I did not enjoy this video because I was very confused about his style of art. I believe that taking a picture from a movie or a person then putting color over the body parts is not very unique or talented. I like to look at art with the idea of finding a story behind it or some meaning to it. I just could not understand how his style of artwork is very original.

connections: John Baldessari uses styles from both printmaking and graphic design, the two chapters we covered this week. John typically has lots of different shades and colors in his art work, just like the chapters describe in print making and graphic design. I think I learned more from the chapter rather than the video this week, being that I saw more and different styles of these types of art in the chapters. The book chapters better describes how the different types of print making and design are used and evaluated. John’s art uses lots or variations of colors just like Yinka Shonibare’s sculptures and pictures.

relevant artist: For my relevant artist this week I chose Yinka Shonibare, a British Nigerian Artist known for his work of colonisms, race and cultural identity. He uses a dutch wax fabric that is most widely considered to be “African” that he gets in London. While Yinka lives with a physical disability of paralyzation on one half of his body, he has assistants who help him put his ideas into play. He can describe what he would like to be done, that his is not capable of doing himself, and his assistants help him.

thoughts: I am reconsidering what I said in the first week of this class. I said that anyone can define good art, and anything is art. Personally, this weeks media I really did not enjoy, I just cannot understand how putting color over body parts and changing the color of things is very talented. When I view art, I try to analyze the piece and figure out why the artist created it the way they did. I also try to see if the piece has a historical significance or is from a story. I really liked seeing Yinka’s art because culture is very important to me, I have travelled to many different countries in Europe, Latin America and South America. I have always loved to see the variations of cultures in art. I have been to the Tate Modern art museum in London and they had exhibits of different artists from different countries. Seeing that Shonibare’s art portrays his views of cultures is  one of my favorite types of art.

citations: 

- Wind Sculpture II, Yinka Shonibare MBE. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2018, from https://www.artspace.com/yinka_shonibare_mbe/wind-sculpture-ii

- Yinka Shonibare MBE (RA). (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2018, from http://www.yinkashonibarembe.com/

- ARTCENTRON. (2017, June 02). Goodman Gallery Looks Ahead With Yinka Shonibare MBE. Retrieved September 26, 2018, from http://artcentron.com/2017/06/01/goodman-gallery-yinka-shonibare/

[brenna-boland-blog]

Week 6

Reading Reflection

Printmaking

Printmaking is most often used with the intent to mass-produce images or text. these are known as prints which are images transferred to paper by ink on a worked surface. It is thought that some of the first printmaking was used in Korea and China for the use of creating copies of the great scriptures.

There are two main methods/techniques that are both used often and make the most sense to me. The first in the relief technique. Which with the use of carving wood or other materials creates a carved image which will stay white. The part that is not carved but rather raised will show up black on the print.

Graphic Design

In the late half of the twentieth century in Poland, graphic design was for the first time widely recognized. Not due to the lack of existence in the past but rather because of a well-known artist, known as one of the greatest poster makers in Poland. People finally started to see and recognize posters as a medium. At this time posters for films, theaters, and music were becoming more common. The title “graphic designer” is now given to those which create two-dimensional art for commercial use rather than for one's self. As the intentions of their works are to catch the eye of the public. This is to persuade one to a product or an idea/cause. Graphic designers works are often found in places such as magazines, books, and advertisements. To be expected the job of a graphic designer is not easy. As the main idea of graphic design is finding and showcasing visual relationships. Therefore putting meaning in a bunch of words, ideas and pictures showcased and making sense of them all. Making an abstract idea easy and almost completely understandable to the public.

Media Reflection and Connections

  This week the video was over John Baldessari. I failed to fully understand his work. In some, I could see very small connections between a collage piece but later in the next row of pictures I would lose the pattern and felt as though I should give up. John Baldessari uses old prints from past film pieces that he would buy. He then would piece those that are similar in a row and highlight with color the normal focal points. His work challenges us to truly see what's not there. You then have to look between the space to truly see the full image, as you piece together in your head what was shaded out. One piece he was working on reminded me of the printmaking processes called stenciling. As each print used different colors to highlight a part of the face. For instance in the piece below the face is blank but with small pieces of the face there and the ability to see in-between space, I am able to see a complete face.

Relevant Artists

The relevant artist I choose this week is Swoon. Swoon began her career illegally pasting street art around the city. Despite starting as a street artist, creating beauty on city walls Swoon, because of her work, was able to get the attention of museums and galleries. Which has given her the opportunity to expand her work, often with an activist style and progressive movement to them. She uses her work to not only tell stories but in hope to introduce the city to its citizens. While using printmaking Swoon creates images on large paper that she later plasters on building walls. She does this by using the intaglio method. Which pushes ink into the groves of a plate, the paper is later pressed into the plate picking up the remaining ink left in the groves creating an image. After Swoon lets the ink dry, cuts out the wanted image and plasters the image onto the wanted area. She later adds paintings around the pasted print to emphasize and enhance the beauty of the subjects pictured. I believe she captures the true beauty and heart in what life truly is.

Works Cited

(Reading Reflection)

Zelanski, Paul, and Mary Pat Fisher. The Art of Seeing. Prentice Hall, 2011.

(Video)

Art21, art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s5/john-baldessari-in-systems-segment/.

(Relevant Artist)

Ryzik, Melena. “Swoon Blurs the Line Between Art and Activism.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Aug. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/arts/design/swoon-blurs-the-line-between-art-and-activism.html.

LundUniversity. “Swoon Talks about Her Work at Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Jan. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8BqW6ByyM0.

[brenna-boland-blog]

Painting is my overall favorite form of art. As using different pigments when it comes to drawing doesn’t come as easily, unlike painting. So when it came to the reading, the different painting styles and paint through history was really fascinating to me as well. The encaustic method surprised me the most. The method is basically pigments mixed with wax and heated to a high temperature until it would be applied to a support. I was just cool how fast they would have had to work.

Week 5

Your reflections on the reading

  My favorite form of art is paintings. While reading the chapter in the book I was completely fascinated by the different ways there were to paint, everything thing from different techniques, to different methods and ideas of how it should be done. Learning about how the paint was made was probably my favorite part of this chapter. The paint, originally called “colored pigments”, started out by adding these colored pigments to a liquid, usually oil or water and a binder. The binder helps the pigments stick to the surface they are being put on. I didn’t realize that oil was used so often to create the paint. I mean I knew there was “oil based” paints out there but I didn’t realize they were some of the original paints of the world. I feel like as time has pasted artists have made some major improvements on the quality of the paint and potency of the colors in the paints. Now there are many different ways to apply paint to a piece, besides using your hand or a brush.

  Your reflections on the videos/media

  The artist in the video does large-scale canvas paintings. She was born in the U.S., lived in New York for a while and then began traveling the world to do art. In the video she is in Berlin and works with a team of assistants to complete different art pieces. I am very confused as to how having assistants works. How can someone else do some of your work and you still sign the piece as your own? Wouldn’t the piece also be partially theirs? Also how can they know what you want to a piece to look like? They aren’t you and they probably don’t think like you. It looks like it takes a long time to explain to the assistants how she wants her pieces to look and she could save time by doing it herself, right? I mean don’t get me wrong I really like her work and the map she gives it all portrays the idea of her worldly travels. The map look also makes me think of all of the different cultures she has to have encountered along her travels. I think by doing her work so large scale she gives painting a new meaning and I really liked her work.

  Connections/comparisons you find between the two

  The artist in the video used different methods of painting on the same piece, sometimes she painted with a brush but other time she was spray painting the paint on. Just like the book discussed, there are many different methods of applying paint to a piece.

  Connections to another artist’s work from the “Relevant Artists” section of the course content

Frank Stella was born on May 12, 1936, in Malden, Massachusetts. At first glance his work appears colorful and loud, but after looking at it for a while the audience notices that it looks loud because it is three-dimensional. Frank’s work goes against all of the art that we see that has some kind of meaning or hidden message and instead Frank sticks to the “principles of color, lines, shapes, plane, volume, point, and being within space.” I think that his work mirrors the work of the artist in the video. Her work had a lot of lines and shapes and, to me, gave the illusion that it was three-dimensional. This was a very interesting chapter and I want to look into more art like this as it is the most intriguing to me.

https://www.theartstory.org/artist-stella-frank.htm

This picture is an example of Frank’s 3-D paintings.

This one ^ is an example of Frank’s 2-D paintings. 

This piece is one from the video to show how Julie also used the use of lines to hint at a 3-D illusion.

[brenna-boland-blog]

Week 5

Painting

Reading Reflection

In this weeks we learn about the spreading of different pigments on its support. The methods of painting from encaustic to mosaic on all sorts of supports such as walls, canvases, and rice paper. My favorite will always be an oil painting. It uses oil as a binding which allows the artist to share their work and create lighting representation. This is because paintings with oil bindings take a longer about of time to dry. Giving the artist longer time to work on texture and fine details that can’t always be done in regular tempera paintings as they would dry quickly to a matte finish which wouldn’t crack. Oil paints allowed the artist to create even more realistic paintings. My favorite is by Jan Vermeer and is called “Girl with Pearl Earrings”. This is because I like the way the artist was able to highlight her face and in my opinion  the main focuses of the piece. Which to me, would be her lips, eyes, and of course her earrings. 

This is because I feel like they are what show the emotion in this piece. As eyes are my favorite thing to paint because when done right you can tell a story even without seeing the true background. This is because, with eyes, it is very easy to portray emotions and grief.  I learned this from my favorite artist ever Margaret Keane who is famous for her "Big Eye" paintings. That, in my opinion, can break your heart from the empathy you feel for the children in the paintings. As the children represented were actually a depiction of how she was really feeling. Yet people never knew till later, as her husband stole credit for her work.

The method that surprised and truly interested me the most was the encaustic method. Which is basically pigments mixed with wax and heated to a high temperature until it would be applied to a support. It was used most by Romans, the early Christians in Egypt, and by the greeks. It to me just seemed very difficult but in the end, created beautiful pieces like the piece “Young Woman with a Gold Pectoral”. Which was actually lost for many years.

Video Reflection and Comparison

The artist we covered this week is Julie Mehretu. She moved to the United States from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at a young age and lived in Michigan in 1977. She later moved and lived in New York but is living for next year in Berlin, Germany. Not because that was her first choice. The piece Julie Mehretu was working on, was too big for any studio in New York.  The piece is a 7 separate pieces. Which is they had to move, as the job was so big. She uses a modern take on mixed media style. Her pieces start with her team creating the individual layers of each piece one at a time. Then at the end, Julie Mehretu is responsible for the final painting of each of the seven pieces. Unlike past artist shown I understand why Julie Mehretu needed her team. As with that big of a job, with one year left, one person wouldn’t be able to pull it off the way she does. She has changed my opinion of an artist having a team because her work relies on each member of the team, to have any chance of it being completed.

Relevant Artist 

The artist I have chosen this week is Hiroshi Senju. His pieces include a lot of influence from Japanese techniques yet still includes modernistic mixed media. He has a mesmerizing exhibit called “Day Falls/Night Falls” which is my personal favorite. While using fluorescent pigments he created waterfall images. The cool part about this exhibit is that it isn’t ordinary. During the day Hiroshi Senju’s paintings are just black and white waterfalls images. Yet at night using black lights the fluorescent paint Hiroshi Senju uses turns the waterfall into an electric blue which is said to be almost glowing as you walk through the exhibit.

Works Cited

exhibit-e.com. “Day Falls/Night Falls - Exhibitions.” Hiroshi Senju Studio, www.hiroshisenju.com/exhibitions/day-falls-night-falls/4. 

“Julie Mehretu In.” Art21, art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s5/julie-mehretu-in-systems-segment/.

[brenna-boland-blog]

I chose Vija Celmins as my relevant artist as well but never looked at the history of her life. I never realized she had a rough childhood and it makes me truly think about how hard it must have been for her especially the struggle she would have to go through to become an artist. I love her pieces and especially the ones of the sea.  As the contour of the water makes them so realistic as if I could just jump in.

Week 4

Within the reading, there were many mediums presented to us, such as graphite pencil, charcoal, chalk, pastel, crayon, and ink. I believe that pastels are one of the most difficult pieces to work with. The reason why is because you need to layer on where you want full pigment, but you can’t layer too much because the piece will become dull. Pastels are very soft and usually, never have crisp lifework and are usually blended out. I really appreciate these because it would be an easier way of blending different colors, but it would also be very difficult to create a full, recognizable image. Another interesting thing is the color section pastels including pale pastels. The pale pastels are usually used for romantic pieces.

William Kentridge had a very creative style of art. I never realized that the stop-motion could include drawings, I always imagined clay animations being the main focus of stop motion. The charcoal drawings are very creative in a way that they deal with very real situations. Also how he created a character to focus on within his charcoal drawings, Felix. As William mentioned, Felix became a 3rd person self-portrait looking at his life in a different point of view. Another part I liked with William using charcoal drawings on the same picture for stop motion is when he erases a certain part to make it go in motion. The reason why is because you can see where the charcoal was erased, but still present. He was able to rid most of the piece he was trying to delete yet the outline was still there. This is something he wasn’t able to control due to the charcoal, yet it is still beautiful because you can’t ever fully wipe out pieces in life, there will always be a small part left with.

The reading mentioned that using charcoal can be very forgiving as for it’s easy to blend out a line or smudge the dark piece into a lighter part. The charcoal is a medium that needs to be built up, it’s not a single line through then it is done. This is shown in William’s piece if you look at the sky in different parts of the video you may notice he adds extra lines to create the different shades in the sky. I personally believed he was trying to create clouds.

The relevant artist that I decided to research a little bit about is Vija Clemins. She is a photo-realistic artist who had a rough childhood, born in 1938 her family fled the Soviet then entering Germany. Thinking about her past and how many things could have gone wrong, it’s amazing to understand her being here today creating these amazing pieces of realistic art. Looking through her drawings it seems like she recreates the ocean and stars most often. When first taking a glance at this work it seems like photos due to how spot on the drawing looks. The amount of time, effort, and dedication put into these drawings are crazy. It takes smooch work to make something truly look real, and I believe this is something taken for granted.

Works Cited

“Vija Celmins.” Self-Portrait with Dog by Constantin Brancusi on Artnet, Sotheby’s London, www.artnet.com/artists/vija-celmins/.

[brenna-boland-blog]

Week 4

Reading Reflection

This weeks reading is my favorite by far. From the use of graphite, which is one of the most commonly used material in drawing today, to brush and ink which I haven't seen much of but have come to realize the beauty it creates with simplicity. Chapter four emphasizes the mediums used in dry media and the effects each has when used in a piece. As each piece in the chapter uses different mediums they still share a common factor, as they are all contour line drawings. They use hatching and stippling to create a three-dimensional view of their work.

I feel as though that pastel pieces would be the hardest to create. As they are so fragile. The artists that used pastels not only had to worry about shaking their piece before they were done and ruining it but because pastels are so soft they would have the worry of the smudging of their colors used.

Media Reflection and Connections

For William Kentridge art wasn’t really his first choice for a career. But as he was twenty-eight and had never had a job before his friend explained to him that he was unemployable and a lost cause. That he should just keep to what he's doing and be good at it. So Kentridge did pieces not for galleries but for his own interest. A piece Kentridge was creating, in the video, resembled a woman which was made out of pieces of torn up black paper. This piece is shown below. We later learn that with not only the video but he puts an opera singers voice behind the video and it creates another level of beauty to his piece. As it replays the moment when she was singing into the phone as she listened to the music.

In William Kentridge work, rather than. creating a single image he uses the use of charcoal drawings to create a story. By setting up hundreds of small charcoal drawings in a sequence Kentridge created an animated movie which portrayed the feeling of pain. With the use of hatching many of the times was able to create a landscape that felt as though it was three-dimensional even when the video was paused.

Relevant Artists

The relevant artist I have chosen for this week is Vija Celmins. Many of her pieces used the medium graphite on paper. The piece I have picked below is illustrating a dolphin swimming in the sea. The realism in this piece makes me look more than once to realize that its a graphite drawing and not a photograph. Her contouring is so small and that the waves themselves come to life in the drawing. Showcasing the lights and the darkness the medium graphite can create.  Which makes me feel as though I can see her sitting on a boat drawing this piece right now. The way her piece captures the waves I can feel the breeze and the damp air as I see and hear dolphins swimming next to the boat.

Works Cited

Celmins, Vija. “Sea Drawing with Whale by VijaCelmins.” Self-Portrait with Dog by Constantin Brancusi on Artnet, Sotheby's London, www.artnet.com/artists/vija-celmins/sea-drawing-with-whale-W9dna2s3ICSwYD8gf9b0Sg2.

“William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible.” Art21, art21.org/watch/william-kentridge-anything-is-possible/full-program-william-kentridge-anything-is-possible/.