More Human Than Human & The Measure of All Things

     In the Video "More Human Than Human", we learn the reasoning behind why humans are so obsessed with the human body in art. Also, we learned why we are so in awe when we see the human body in distortion. One theory explained by the video was how societies view structure. For example, the Egyptians run in an organized and strict society. If you look at all the Egyptians' drawings of the human body, they are all almost identical in form. This is because each form of the human body fits a distinct grid patter that align perfectly. Also, the images are distorted because they emphasize the important parts of the human body in the most important angles. Here is an example of the grip system they use to draw out the human form:

     Another idea they came up with is how many humans exaggerate the most important parts of the human body they think are the most important or the most significant to that person. For instance, if there is a sculpture or drawing of a person, and the head is ten times bigger than the rest of the body, this might be a representation of how the artist felt the brain was the most important part of the body. This video gave depth to the textbook about the workings of the minds of humans when creating these images of the human body.

     I chose the video "The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure" because Greek art, science, and philosophy has always intrigued me. Their logical way of thinking is simple and pure. In this video, they are explaining how Ancient Greeks were trying to deviate from the Egyptians two dimensional human view and started moving towards art that is three dimensional, and more human like. They incorporate all human features and emotions into the sculptor to make them look almost life-like.  Both these videos were truly helpful in understanding why so many artists have adopted the idea to create the human body through art in their own distinct ways.

     

Video Review

     I chose the video "Prairie Style" because I have actually visited one of the Frank Lloyd houses before and wanted to learn more about his general thought process during the creations of all his architectural plans. Towards the end of December 2014, I visited the Martin house complex right here in Buffalo, NY. Here is a picture of my fiance, godparents, and I in front of the complex:

A few key points I learned in this video was that his main focus when planning these houses was to make everything horizontal. The horizontal construct was to purposely make us look around and take in all the natural elements made in our surroundings. This video helps give substance to the article on page 305 on Frank Lloyd Wright and not only explain how he created the houses but showed images of the houses to give viewers an idea of what it meant to build horizontally. Wright helped many other architects get out of that single-minded way of building box-like houses and add more open space for natural light.

     I also chose to watch the video "Last Call For Planet Earth." This video was all about sustainable development and the awareness of our planet's global warming problems. They talked about how us as humans seem to forget that this planet does not have eternal supply and we are very limited on resources; however, we consume double the amount we should and don't giveback to our planet. Architects are finding several ways of using renewable resources and energy when creating their structures. I chose this video because I recently read the story "The Lorax" to my pre-k children and it reminded me of the morals and values we should be teaching our younger generations about taking care of our planet while evolving and finding new ways of inventing without leaving a huge footprint in our planet. 

Blog Peer Reviewing

For this assignment, I reviewed the following classmates:

1. http://creativesoul87.blogspot.com/
2. http://ckasprzak.blogspot.com/

- In project #1, there were several principals and elements I admired. However, I was a little conflicted with one. One of my classmates used a picture of an orchard to portray the element of value. I believe that it was a great way to show all the different shades of purple the flower contained; however, I thought the element of value meant you were using only the gray scale. If I am wrong, someone please correct me!

-In project #2, "Fear of the Night" seemed to be a common selection for several different reasons. I selected it because I wanted to know the reasoning behind this work, whereas my classmates seemed to have some sort of connection with it.

- "Body and Soul" was an artwork that at first glance was strong to the eyes. Now that I saw it again on the blog, I became very interested as to the title selection for the work. I would like to understand what it means and how the artist had a connection with it.

- Reading my peers reflections makes me realize how different ones perspective can be from another. For one person, a work can have a personal connection that brings back a memory, whereas for another they feel a huge impact on it, whether negative or positive.

-So far I have not seen any comments from my peers on my blog. However, I take very well to constructive criticism and feel that I would learn more from their opinions than from believing I did my best.

Albright Knox Museum

During my trip to Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo, there were many works of art that spoke to me. Here are the selections I made of works I really enjoyed looking at the most:

Ben Shahn. "Spring" 1947. Tempera on Masonite (Room of Contemporary At Fund, 1948) I feel like I had a spiritual connection with this work of art for two reasons. One , I felt a sense of love and warmth when I looked at this painting, and it reminded me of the love and warmth i felt when I first met my fiance. Two, it depicted a wonderful image of a warm spring day at the park, and had a depth to it that made you feel like you were in the artwork.

Piet Mondrian. "Composition No. 11" 1940-42, LONDON, with Blue, Red and Yellow, 1940-42. Oil on Canvas (Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1944). This artwork made me feel a connection because this painting looks extremely similar to a painting my dad once made when I was little. He was taking art classes and painted an oil on canvas work just like this one.

Man Ray. "Symphony Orchestra" 1916. Oil on Canvas (George B. and Jerry R. Mathews Fund, 1970). This work definitely impressed me in the sense that it truly depicted what it would look like if we could see the music we here from an orchestra. There's a plethora of colors that bring out the vibes of the orchestra, and some shapes representing the different instruments.

Norman Wilfred Lewis. "Street Music" 1950. Oil on Canvas (Bequest of Arthur B. Michael, by exchange, 2009). This piece impacted me greatly because of the way the artist illustrated a genre of music. He definitely showed the tough and eccentric energy of street music, and how this type of music doesn't really have a flow, rather than improvised instrumentals.

Jean Metzinger, 1912, "Danseuse au café, Dancer in a café", oil on canvas, 146.1 x 114.3 cm. I truly admired this piece when I first glanced at it. it had so much shapes and lines and truly had so much noise in it it truly seemed like I was watching a dance and hearing the music. I would love to know more about the artist and what he was trying to convey in this artwork.

Afro "Fear of The Night" Gouache and water color on paper. 10.25 X 8.62 in (26.04 X 21.89 cm). This artwork screamed fear and the way we feel when we are afraid. I truly feel this way sometimes when I'm in the dark all alone. I would like to know if the artist has a phobia of the dark and if this is his way of expressing it.