Monday, September 24, 2007

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Value

During the discussion in class, I was thinking about my life after Corcoran. Since I'm a fine arts major, most people think I'm not going to find a job and I'm going to be a "struggling" artist after school. Some artists believe that it's all about self expression and making a difference. Yes, this is important, but supporting myself throughout my life is just as important to me. I can't see myself relying on purely my work to make money, it's too unstable and causes way too much pressure. I value the "art" side of art, but that only goes so far; the business side of art is almost just as imiportant. I would much rather have a steady job than be living paycheck to paycheck.

Art can also add value to certain things. For example, if you were selling your house and there was a hand-painted original mural in your house, most likely the value would go up, especially if the artist himself was well known and highly valued in society. Fixing something up by adding art, whether it be a certain location or a product, etc, will increase it's value. It makes it more interesting and unique, and ultimately more desirable by the people.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

STRING

This activity was crazy. It was complete randomness and chaos for the purpose of showing lines and shapes. In general I didn't really think about what I was doing; there was no plan. The only thing we really wanted to do is somehow tie Linnie, Claire & I up together, so we just circled and looped string randomly around us until we couldn't move. The thought of composition never even entered my mind, it was more along the lines of "who can make the most intricate and complicated mess?" At first it didn't look connected at all, it was just random lines throughout the room, but as we kept adding to it, certain string kept taking the same path, ultimately making a thicker line. These lines also started forming abstract shapes, somehow working together to create one big piece of artwork. There were also two groups of students completely connected with eachother in their own area, and by the end, those groups had decided to connect as well. If i were to do it again, I suppose I would think about it more, think about composition, rather than just going for whatever i wanted at that certain moment in time. In general, I enjoyed the string activity. It was an awesome idea and I liked the way it made us see the lines and shapes created by everyone.

Line vs. Shape




I think that a, b, and c are lines, and all four images are shapes as well. I think that image d is the only one that cannot be considered a line because of how complicated it is. The first three images can all be done with one stroke of a pen or marker. Granted, the marker would have to be thick, but it is possible. I consider these all shapes because they have some sort of form to them, there are dimensions to them.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Arthur Dove - Me and the Moon




The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this piece was layers. Everything from the lines, the shapes, and the colors, is extremely organic. The bottom/left side of the piece is very dark and the top/right side of the piece is brighter with orange and yellow tones. In the center of the the dark area there is a large bright yellow circle, it is what your eye immediately goes to when looking at this piece. The color palette is very mellow, varying from dark browns to greens, to yellows and oranges, with a little light blue. None of which are as bright as the yellow circle. Everything is broken up into almost solid chunks of color. The different shades of a certain color is what gives the piece depth. The style makes me think of how fields look from far away, or layering in rocks. There is also a thin line, lighter in color, that moves throughout the piece. In certain spots, it loops around itself and creates a small accent of a bright color.





The mood of the piece is almost relaxing. There are no hard, jagged edges, and the colors are very calming. I think this piece also has a meaning behind it. To me, it looks like a representation of possibly the artist's life. The majority of dark areas suggest rough and unhappy times, and the oranges/yellows/blues at the top suggest happier times, possibly in the future. I think the bright yellow circle represents the artist's realization and overall want to change the course of his or her life, fighting through the hard times and working towards the good.





Overall, I really enjoy this piece. I think the composition is well thought out and successful, the organic shapes and lines really draw your attention and move your focus throughout the entire piece. I think the color choice for the circle was smart, it's clearly much brighter than the rest of the piece but it works well with the other tones. The message is not clean cut and staring you in the face; it's more of an inspirational, "make you think" kind of painting. I love it.