Reflections of AED 200

1. My expectations of this course were to learn a little bit of the history of art while also learning different techniques, concepts, and styles. My expectations were definitely met because the terminologies learned were not so complex and were basic enough to understand.

2. In the beginning, I said that art is any form of expression. Now, I'd say it's any concept, thought, or work that has structured forms, elements, and principles.

3. I still feel strongly about Frida Cahlo being my favorite artist because not only do I admire her work, her life story influences her works and her works tell her story.

4. I still enjoy taking on-line classes much more than physically sitting in a classroom. I have better time management and can self-teach myself.

Art & Science

The theme and title of my exhibit is called "Art & Science". For many years, my father and I have had several discussions of the topic: do art and science go hand in hand? I always though that art had nothing to do with science at all. As time went on, my best friend opened her new beauty salon and called it "Art and Chemistry". I asked her why she chose that name and why did she incorporate chemistry into it? She responded, "if it weren't for the mixing of chemicals to create hair products, I wouldn't be able to make the intense colors I apply to hair to create my artwork. Her form of expression is through hair, and without science, she wouldn't know which chemicals created what colors. I began to ask myself. Can science be an art form? As I researched several science related topics, I noticed that several artist, like Leonardo DaVinci, were also scientist! This were the inspiration for my exhibit was born.

Pop Art & Tate Modern

     In the first video, they talk about the concept of Lowbrow and how several artists feel about it. Artists define lowbrow as a genre of art in which anything popular in society is transpired in their paintings. others like art historians would define it as pop surrealism; however, there isn't too much surrealistic features about it. It is almost like life around us in cartoon form. In my art exhibition project, the artist I studied practiced this movement a little bit by exaggerating features of certain pop artists. Therefore, pop culture is expressed through this medium of art.
     In the second video, we learn about what is Tate Modern. Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London. Their exhibitions presents different elements of pop culture, abstract architecture, and contemporary art. One of the rooms is built to create the optical illusion of you getting taller while the room is "getting smaller". The way the museum is set up helps the audience feel like they are a part of the art while learning hands-on about the art.
     I enjoyed both films for different reasons. One, I learned that my dad and I fall under the lowbrow movement of art. Our style of art definitely has a lot of elements of pop culture in it whether through cartoon characters or musicians. The second video gave me a better understanding as to why the environment of the museum is so important for audiences to enjoy their visit. It definitely makes a lot more sense to make it a fun environment where you can physically be a part of it as opposed to just walking around and looking at paintings.

Expressionism vs. Cubism

     I chose these two videos because I like to learn about the different styles of art rather than about the artists themselves. I wanted to learn about how each movement changed people's ideas and thoughts on artwork. In the video of expressionism, I learned that artists emphasized mainly on color to express emotional properties of humans and environment. Also, lines gave off several emotions depending on how they were being used. For instance, in the portrait "Ashes" the wavy hair on the woman's head made her look like a predator, almost like Medusa. In the video of cubism, I learned that Pablo Picasso and George Braque were among the first creators of the movement. Cubistic artist used lines and shapes in an abstract format to create human characteristics in a non-human form. In the text, they also describe how Picasso began this movement and how critics felt about this movement and style.

Burchfield Penney Art Center

   During my recent visit to the Burchfield Penney Art Center, I was super excited of seeing Philip Burke's exhibition. The theme of his exhibit was called "The Likeness of Being" was based on a play on Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. According to the artist, it is about the deeper aspect or the spiritual aspect of what he was trying to do.

     As you was around the East Gallery of the center, you noticed the edgy, white walls where the artworks were mounted about 6-8 inches apart in a perfect alignment. The hardwood flooring gave warmth to the bright, white room, and the edgy walls popped out making you turn at every corner to find more brilliant works. There was a specific part where the room became circular and gave space to the environment. All of the works were on canvas, and they were labeled with his signature and date of creation.

     For the most part, each work was similar in the aspect of how it was presented, and the media used. His use of caricature and abstract expression was exhibited through every portrait. However, each one illustrated a different person in our pop culture and how their personalities are shown through their physical features. Here are my top three favorites by Philip Burke:

Philip Burke. Joey Ramone; oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

I love the Ramones, so this was definitely a bias critic. First of all, the lines and colors totally capture Joey's punk rock edgy personality and high spirit. The shapes of his eyes, nose, and lips are completely non-realistic and exaggerated.

 Philip Burke, Neil Young; oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

Neil Young was an interesting celebrity to capture; his rough and aged face his definitely portrayed in this painting. The timeless musical legend holding his guitar in all these vibrant colors shows the power of his music.

Philip Burke. George W. Bush; oil on canvas, 36x36 inches

First of all, the fact that Burke painted Bush with his mouth open is enough of an analysis of Bush's personality. The red background symbolizing the urgency or power Bush portrayed is enough to know he is interpreting all of his political aspects through physical queues. Making the head bigger than the usual proportions definitely symbolizes the high-power of his political term. 

     In this project, the biggest part about it was analyzing the environment rather than the artwork itself. It was definitely an unusual experience in the sense that I don't normally walk into an art gallery to check out the architecture and schematics of the room while there is a ton of beautiful works of art surrounding me. It defeats the purpose of appreciating the artists' works when you're admiring the hardwood floors or light fixtures on the ceiling. Sure the environment plays a role on how you perceive the artwork; however, in my opinion, it's not something I detail on a regular basis.  

Mask Making

From the Internet searches, these are the three masks that inspired me to create my own mask. The first mask (the circular mask) has two circular cut outs for eyes and a half circle for a mouth. These objects give shape to the mask which represents each body part of the face. The second mask (the golden masks) have a more in depth cut out of the face; however, it leaves the bottom half of the face exposed to show our mouths in motion. The third mask ( the colorful animal mask) shows an unrealistic representation of an animal with vivid colors. These colors express a powerful energy which give off excitement or being ecstatic. Even though these three masks helped me create a standard shape for my mask, I still didn't feel like it represented me. So I incorporated my own qualities to it to create the "day of the dead" mask.

     When creating my sketch, I thought of different elements that represented who I was. First, I created the diamond shapes for my eyes to represent the glory I see in life. The circles around the eyes gave depth to the eyes. The lines and dots not only showed where the eyebrows are, but it gave rhythm to the mask's symmetrical design.  the shading under the eyes made the "cheek bones" pop out, as well as the dark shadings on the sides. The flowers symbolized my peppy outlook and personality.

     And vuola! This is the final piece. The colors I chose are a mixture of strong, vibrant colors and neutral. The neutrals symbolize my independence from single-minded options. The pink flower on the forehead swirls clockwise representing time. The orange flower... well I LOVE orange so I had to add a little bit of me to it. It was pretty awesome making this mask, and it was only made with recycled cardboard! I can't wait to make one a little bit more sturdy for a masquerade party!

Exploring Lines

In my experience, I am terrible at drawing hands! Every time I had to draw a person I would either draw them hiding their hands or hand-less. This project really made me focus on the small details on my hands. I was so fascinated with the tiniest lines in each wrinkle or print that I couldn't even begin to duplicate it on paper.

I decided to use pencil not only because it is easier to control with both hands, but because if I made a mistake I could easily erase it. Drawing with my non-dominant hand (my left hand) was the funniest and most intense task I've had to due in a while. Even after all the concentration that went into it, the drawing came out terrible. Multitasking was not an option at all. The smallest things threw me off and I'd have to erase and start over.

Looking at the two hands, the results of my studies are simple: I am not ambidextrous! Drawing with my right hand, or my dominant hand, was effortless and I could do and think about more than one thing. I could even focus on smaller details that we take advantage of on a daily basis. drawing with my non-dominant hand, however, made me focus on just the general picture and making sure that it just looked human-like. I would definitely consider practicing painting with my non-dominant hand in the future to create an abstract, or non-realistic, image.