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Final Exam

For this final exam, I decided to 3d print and make a model of the US Marine Corps War Memorial based off of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima during World War 2. The real statue is based in the Arlington National Cemetery. This piece of art is very important to me because my grandfather served as a marine in the Vietnam War. Just a few years ago I had to opportunity to travel with him and go to Washington DC and visit the Arlington Cemetery as well as the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. While there, we were able to see the real Marine Corps memorial and its a very special memory.

Here is the real memorial:

Here is my recreation of it:

I also have a few images documenting its process

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Virtual Sketchbook 4

Question 1

Jackson Pollock went from using abstract imagery in his paintings that he learned from Thomas Hart Benton to painting his drop paintings that remove all the imagery by changing the perception of abstract art. He realized that the art itself doesn't need to look like something in order to derive meaning or purpose but rather the process and lack of a definite meaning is what allows the art to be meaning full. I think that Pollock's process of creating his paintings is what allowed him to succeed beyond the rest. His first big change was to quit drinking (or at least try to for some time) which allowed him to be in the right state of mind so he could then dedicate that focus towards his paintings. I think he almost used his feelings and inner thoughts and let those as well as natural elements control the direction of the paint. When he felt it was done or had no more inner feelings left to paint, he would stop. This is why Pollock would paint for long extended periods where he would be focused in on the paintings. I also think that Pollock's background contributed to his paintings. His enjoyment of the Native American art styles as well as his interest in using many different "new" materials rather than the traditional paintbrush. He embraced a very basic set of tools, not needing even a stand as he would paint on the floor using sticks or various other materials he could find. This almost primitive method I think allowed him to further access the unconscious space in his mind. 

Question 2:

This is my abstract nonrepresentational piece of art. Sorry if it isn't the best, but I've never tried to make any abstract art before.

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Virtual Sketchbook section 3

Virtual Sketchbook 3

Moonlight Landscape

By Joseph Wright of Derby

For my art piece, I chose Joseph Wright of Derby’s Moonlight Landscape. This piece was done in 1785 with oil on a canvas. It was painted at the time of the industrial revolution and is the painting of a landscape. . Joseph Wright was born in 1734 in England and was born into a prominent family. He was educated and studied for two years under Thomas Hudson in London in order to become a painter. Wright often paints portraits as well as landscapes and often works with natural and artificial light. This piece of Wright primarily focuses on the lighting of the scene and how the light illuminates the surrounding landscape. The moon is obscured by a stone bridge that is raised above a waterway. The rays from the moon form circles around the moon as the shade of color slowly begins to fade and blend in with the dark blue night-time sky the farther the circles of light go on. The moon also illuminates a traveler and his donkey walking along the bridge as well as what appears to be a fisherman attempting to catch fish on the river. The beams of moonlight radiate across the river and go far into the distance. As your eyes follow the water up you see a small castle in the distance that is surrounded by hills. There is also a light post at the beginning of the bridge which contrasts the natural light with manmade light. Wright does a good job at slowly blending the light into the background. It really does seem as if it is getting darker and darker as the moonlight gets farther and farther away from the surrounding objects. The vegetation along the side of the piece can barely be made out, certain limbs of a tree hang out into the moonlight while the rest hides in the shadows of the painting. The color scheme is much darker than most paintings and including the white and yellow rays of the moon feels like the light shining down is real. The lighting especially sets the mood for a seemingly quiet night that is filled with mystery. These figures are lurking about at night even if the activities they are performing are not spooky or eerie in themselves, the fact that it is happening in the dead of night adds to a mystic feeling. This would be a quiet night since you can’t see anything, but the moon is able to reveal the secrets going on in this world. I think this art piece tells that Wright pays attention to more simple concepts such as the way a moonbeam would pounce off a small ripple in the water. You can tell the artist is trying to show the importance of light and its illuminating factor. It reveals a whole world that was previously unknown. If the moon was not portrayed like this you could never see the shadowy outlined tree or man down by the side of the water, or even a mysterious castle off in the distance. Darby is trying to show that it doesn’t take much to see the world around us. I picked this piece because it made me think that just a little light can illuminate the world around us. It doesn’t take much, just a few moonbeams to show this majestic and wonderful world we live in. For me, this even goes beyond paintings, in my life I often get very narrow-minded and tunnel-visioned, but I think sometimes it just takes someone else to go out of their way and bring me out of that to enjoy the life that I live. Looking at this painting it makes me want to start becoming that person who goes out of their way and tries to help others to also realize the majestic beauties that may lay just beyond their view.

Proof of attendance ( the top picture I took of the art piece but I did forget to take a picture right next to it. These are photos of me at Ringling on that day though. I haven't been to Ringling since around 1st grade so I really enjoyed going back there and even got to bring my brother along with me :).

P.S. sorry for the last awkward photo there were like a bunch of people trying to leave and I was sorta blocking them trying to take that picture.

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Connection Art to Your World

A way that color has affected my life is by affecting my mood. Whenever I spend too much time inside my room which contains a dark and dulled tone my mood can shift into an almost depressed state. Whenever this happens I like to try and go outside and go for a walk, run, or bike ride. When I step outside and there's a vibrant blue sky, with an intensely pure-hued yellow sun shining down on me, and the green trees waving in the wind, I feel renewed. It helps shift my mood for the better and can reset my thinking. I come back inside refreshed and ready to finish whatever the day brings before me

If I had to describe my life as a color scheme I think that it would be a monochromatic color scheme of the color red. I think that my life can sometimes be warm, friendly, and welcoming like a lighter shade of red. However, sometimes it can be like a darker shade of red, where I feel like I want to be by myself and need some time alone.

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Writing and Looking

Torii Kiyotada in the scene "Wait a Moment"

Figure 3.5, Chapter 3.1

The artist uses hard rigid lines to create a more blocky, violent character. The focal point is the Samurai's face using rectangles that go around his head. It uses warm neutral colors throughout the drawing. It achieves balance through its use of symmetry. It uses symmetry not in the picture as a whole, but in the individual shapes that create the picture. The symmetry of the lines, triangles, and rectangles used all create a sense of balance.

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Journaling

Principles of Design

Unity: Is consistent with one another, is all the same/alike. United under a common thing. I see unity in my everyday life by looking at the outside walls of my house. They all have the same texture and color and are united under that color and texture (although the walls may be slightly different shapes horizontally)

Variety: Is the opposite of unity, each thing tries to be different or unique. An example I found is this photo of the streets of new york city. Everything is so busy with people walking, many different colors, and different shapes of buildings.

3. Balance: Balance is having an equal amount, finding an equilibrium which creates harmony and peace in the art. The two ways to do this are through asymmetry and symmetry. Symmetry is when one side exactly matches the other side. I always think of it by folding it on top of itself and seeing if it is an exact copy. Asymmetry is when the other side is not the exact same, asymmetry achieves balance by using the implied center of gravity, size, and meaning. The example I found of balance uses asymmetry, but in corporates the use of the same colors to create a sense of balance.

4. Emphasis: What your attention is drawn to in a picture, an artist specifically making your eyes go to that point. In this picture, your eyes are drawn to the garden behind the wall by centering the garden and its use of colors

5. Subordination: This creates an area less important, an area where your eyes won't necessarily be drawn towards. In this very same art piece, your eyes are not drawn to the upper wall areas as the artists did not put the focal point there and purposely wanted you to look through the wall into the garden.

6. Directional forces: a path to follow when looking at an art piece, it guides your eyes to the next piece and can help place emphasis on specific things while guiding you through the painting. An example of this is by an artist named Thérèse Légère She creates multiple paths for your eyes to follow that lead through the vineyard to the mountain

7. Repetition: When something occurs over and over. This photo uses repetition by using the same basic flower design flor the yellow flowers and the tulips

8. Rythm: Repetition with slight variations. This photo then expands upon the repetition of flowers and gives the petals each small amount of variation to create a sense of flowing or movement form them.

9. Scale: How one thing relates/looks compared to another thing's size. In this picture each door can relate to one another and their size.

10. Proportion: relation of one thing and the way it looks/its size compared to the whole/the entire picture In this picture each door can relate to the whole of the picture as you see both the doors and stairs getting gradually smaller

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Art Project: Comic

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Photography/Film/Digital/Design Group 3

Portrait:

Landscape:

Still Life:

Portrait: This portrait is of Tommy the cat and his seeming gaze into the distance most likely a window which is casting the light onto his face. In the background, you can see he is indoors showing that he is a house cat. His expression is almost human-like, appearing as if he is pondering one of the many questions in this world while maintaining a serious demeanor about him. If Tommy was human I would believe that he is thinking back on his life choices or deciding what to do next.

Landscape: This is mount Fuji in Japan that has a lenticular cloud formed on top of it. It is taken around dawn which allows the small illuminated lights from the town to just be seen as well as their reflections that appear on the lake. The white snow on the mountaintop contrasts well with the dark lake and sky. My favorite part is the cloud above the mountain, it flouts above the very tip of the mountain and almost gives a point of contact between the earth and the sky.

Still Life: This is a photograph of a Star Wars scene occurring in real life. You have Yoda using the force to cast aside stormtroopers as he sits peacefully on a rock reading a book. It uses miniature children's toys to create this scene. The scene expresses the violent action scene while keeping a childlike whimsy by using the toys and a miniature setting to create the scene. The message is to pay attention to the small things as they can still tell a story just as well.

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WRITING A SELF-PORTRAIT

When I go to look at art I try and leave behind my preconceived ideas about that piece and start with a fresh slate that way I can try and decern the meaning and ideas behind that art without any biases or ideas getting in the way of that.

I am 16 and identify as a male, I am from Florida and my ethnicity is white. For fun I go for bike rides and have been trying to go for more runs recently. I also enjoy going to the beach and listening to music. I also spend my fair share watching movies and shows. I don't think I have a favorite movie but I think the original star wars as well as the pirates of the Caribbean movies are among my favorites. Right now I work at public. I think what makes me uniquely me would be my mind, the way we think and perceive the world is what makes us each individually unique.

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ART AND WRITING

This art serves the purpose of looking good and my room and making me happy every time I look at it. I love the color scheme and the use of shadows used to create the art. I do think that this piece is beautiful just from the way the picture is created from no color and yet it also tells a strong story. The birds in the background and the slight use of blue color on his axe as well as the shadows cast on the ground by the figures definitely adds even more to the beauty of the picture

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WRITING AND RESEARCH 

Banksy October 9, 2013 Untitled. Spray paint, stencil, mixed media, graffitiart. Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, NYC (removed)B

1. This piece of art was done by an unknown artist who goes by the name of Banksy during his "Better Out Than In" series.

2. The Better Out Than In series was where Banksy would unveil a new piece of artwork every day for 31 days in New York City. Many of these pieces of art had deep meanings behind them, and at the very least Banksy's message was to bring artwork outside so it can be experienced by all people.

3. When this art was released Banksy also released a classified video of a 2007 Baghdad airstrike to go along with the art. This video showed US military forces firing upon native civilians and news reporters.

4. The Mural was painted onto a car and a truck as well as the wall behind them.

5. All of the works in his 31-day series were technically illegal as they were performed on private property.

After thinking about the art, the way that I looked at it did change. I know see the military gear that was painted onto the horses as they wear nightvision goggles. You can also see crosshairs being pointed (presumably by the horses) at the defenseless humans on the car. This with the added context that Banksy set by showing the airstrike video along with this painting you can see that the horses are representing an unrelenting military force that is oppresing the humans bellow. Without researching this art piece and learning about the video clip associated with the piece I definitely would not have been able to come to this conclusion.