A lot of progress has been made this week, I finally decided on a photo and did my first outlines! I'm so far really pleased with how my outlines are going. They seem to be in proportion and accurate. The hardest part is going to be the mark making with the conté so I should get started on that soon. When deciding what photo the use, I thought about the composition, movement, and how it would translate into the style I'm using. I also brightened the photo and edited it a little which you can see in the photos below.
2 Comments
Howardena Pindell: What Remains to Be Seen On November 19th, our art class went to the VMFA to see the exhibit on Howardena Pindell. This exhibit featured her art and showed its transformation throughout her life divided into sections such as the shape of numbers, video drawings, activism, traveler, scientist, and "cut, sewn, adorned". Pindell's work began in the late 1960s and focused on new ways to "paint" adding materials such as glitter and mainly paper hole punches. This led to three dimensional paintings that were expressive and visually interesting. After a car crash in 1979, she began a series of works focused on memories and creating a overall autobiography in the form of video, collage, and paintings. In addition, she brought increased activism into her work creating a series about cultural challenges such as racism, sexism, and overall discrimination. I really enjoyed seeing how her ideas changed, shifted, and sometimes returned throughout her life. Her early work such as Untitled #43 puts emphasis on the layering effect achieved through layering hole-punches as well as using grids, shapes, and numbers in her pieces, which I was personally drawn to. Later her work became more about activism and her personal memories sometimes using video and collage. I was intrigued by her travel collages as they show her stretching and exploring the art world which are artist habits of mind. Her use of expression is visible in her activist works that show clear meaning and her thoughts against discrimination and hate. It was interesting to see how much later in her life in the late 2000s the layering techniques she used in the 70s reappeared in a new way which can be seen in the piece Untitled #5B (Krakatoa). You can see how her growth reflects events in her lifetime and her curiosity is demonstrated in the wide variety of art and media in the exhibit, This exhibit has inspired me to explore more and try out new ideas which is also related to our sketchbook and the play pages where we experiment with new things. In addition, our curiosity pages allow us the opportunity to answer a question about something in the art world which would provide new ideas that could shape our art. I overall really enjoyed this exhibit, specifically the pieces with layering of paper and the holepunches as they were very visually satisfying. This exhibit outlines the artist habit of mind of 'engage and persist' and 'develop craft' as she worked throughout her life to create this art and it inspires me to continue to work and learn along the way. Activity BAbstract v. Non Objective Abstract art is where an object is visible in the piece but has been distorted or used in a abnormal, non realistic way. Non Objective art should have no semblance of any physical object but rather shapes and colors. The piece on the left, 17th Stage, is non objective as there is no recognizable subject. The piece on the right, Blue Head, is abstract as there are some familiar shapes (a hand), but it is not in a realistic setting or depiction. Abstract Expressionism: Abstract Expressionism was an abstract art movement in the 1940s-50s that focuses on emotional expression and spontaneity. Mother Goose Melody is a good example of this as it shows irregular lines and marks that add a sense of emotional expression to the painting. Mother Goose Melody, Helen Frankenthaler, American, 1959 Oil on canvas, 81 3/4 × 103 1/2 in, Modern and Contemporary Art collection Mark Making Untitled, Franz Kline, 1955 Commercial oil-based paint on canvas This painting stood out to me because of the gestural strokes that make up the positive space of the black lines. It seems like fast, sudden marks were used with a wide brush to get these distinct lines.
Artist Thoughts: |
Claustral Morris Louis, 1961 Oil on canvas Louis uses overlaying of multiple colors to create such an interesting piece. It looks as if the colors that seem almost translucent were poured onto the canvas and allowed to drip down. Louis chose to put this slightly off-center leading to a more interesting composition. Once again, the contrast between colors such as red and green and orange and blue lead to a more interesting to look at piece. |
So last Friday, we had our planning pages due. I was not able to take photographs by then to choose from but I decided that my drawing would have something to do with me drinking coffee, one of my favorite things and definitely representative of my personality. In the photo, I think I want to be sitting and holding or drinking out of the cup in a sort of static position. For the composition, I want to avoid it being too centered in the frame but maybe off to the side a little. More updates to come as I decide on my photo!
Starting on October 10, I have been working on a recreation of an "old master's" work of art. I chose Raphael's Phrygian Sibyl. Below is a progress report based on what I did each day.
10/10: Today I just started working on the project, drawing the grid lines that I placed on the original photo and cutting it to the right size. I began proportioning parts of the clothing and face although it is barely visible in the photo. I am already having trouble figuring out the face shape in the grid.
10/22: I continued working on the overall shapes today, drawing in some lines to show the arms and hands, some fabric overlapping lines, and some parts of the face. I'm pretty pleased with how the right arm looks overall and the fabric leading into that arm. I feel like I'm struggling with getting the left hand right and I've found that when drawing the fabric sometimes I forget which lines connect which leads to a difficult time matching the original. I definitely need to rework the face and I may try to focus on the body and do that at the end.
11/2: I definitely have not gotten to spend as much time on this drawing as I would have hoped, I did go in for one brief lunch session and was able to lay in some lines for the fabric under the right arm and across.Today in class we realized there was not much time left so I abandoned my original plan of toning the paper and went ahead in with the conté. I got frustrated with the conté mainly because I was not able to get the parallel thin lines Raphael used, but at the end of class Mrs. Mosley demonstrated how to use a knife to sharpen it into a fine point which will definitely be useful. I think it looks pretty good! I'm still tinkering with the face but I decided that it was time to start on the mark making (the focus of the project) but I definitely was hesitating when drawing because it is unerasable which may have led to a few shaky lines. I also realized the neck was completely gone, but I had gone already in with the conté so it was too late to fix it.
11/5: Ok today was the last studio day and I focused on continuing to work with the conté to create value and round out the form. I was extremely happy with how the arm turned out, I think I was able to adequately recreate Raphael's lines to show small details like the muscles and the elbow joint. Once again though, creating parallel lines was difficult for me. I have decided that I like the look of conté. Last minute, I began to add conté to the face which is not looking great so far.
11/6: At home, I finished up the project, starting with adding conté to the part of the fabric that helped to accentuate the form (to the right of the right arm). I was able to get the face the way I wanted and darkened values to increase contrast. Overall, I am pleased with how this project turned out. If I were to do it again, unsurprisingly I would've spent more time in order to be able to completely finish, but luckily this was a practice for our self portraits so it is ok to not be completely finished. In addition, I would have toned the paper but just ran out of time and I think that might have added to the illusion that it was Raphael's drawing. I had always felt like I struggled with hatching and using lines to show value but through this process, I have really improved and have a better understanding as to how that happens. I also need to double check my proportions especially with the grid because the top of her head was basically cut off. I enjoyed working with conté as it was my first experience with it and am really glad I learned how to sharpen it into a finer tip (I'm looking into buying a fine tip conté pencil for my self portrait). Considering the work I did in conté was only over three days, I am proud of how it turned out.
10/10: Today I just started working on the project, drawing the grid lines that I placed on the original photo and cutting it to the right size. I began proportioning parts of the clothing and face although it is barely visible in the photo. I am already having trouble figuring out the face shape in the grid.
10/22: I continued working on the overall shapes today, drawing in some lines to show the arms and hands, some fabric overlapping lines, and some parts of the face. I'm pretty pleased with how the right arm looks overall and the fabric leading into that arm. I feel like I'm struggling with getting the left hand right and I've found that when drawing the fabric sometimes I forget which lines connect which leads to a difficult time matching the original. I definitely need to rework the face and I may try to focus on the body and do that at the end.
11/2: I definitely have not gotten to spend as much time on this drawing as I would have hoped, I did go in for one brief lunch session and was able to lay in some lines for the fabric under the right arm and across.Today in class we realized there was not much time left so I abandoned my original plan of toning the paper and went ahead in with the conté. I got frustrated with the conté mainly because I was not able to get the parallel thin lines Raphael used, but at the end of class Mrs. Mosley demonstrated how to use a knife to sharpen it into a fine point which will definitely be useful. I think it looks pretty good! I'm still tinkering with the face but I decided that it was time to start on the mark making (the focus of the project) but I definitely was hesitating when drawing because it is unerasable which may have led to a few shaky lines. I also realized the neck was completely gone, but I had gone already in with the conté so it was too late to fix it.
11/5: Ok today was the last studio day and I focused on continuing to work with the conté to create value and round out the form. I was extremely happy with how the arm turned out, I think I was able to adequately recreate Raphael's lines to show small details like the muscles and the elbow joint. Once again though, creating parallel lines was difficult for me. I have decided that I like the look of conté. Last minute, I began to add conté to the face which is not looking great so far.
11/6: At home, I finished up the project, starting with adding conté to the part of the fabric that helped to accentuate the form (to the right of the right arm). I was able to get the face the way I wanted and darkened values to increase contrast. Overall, I am pleased with how this project turned out. If I were to do it again, unsurprisingly I would've spent more time in order to be able to completely finish, but luckily this was a practice for our self portraits so it is ok to not be completely finished. In addition, I would have toned the paper but just ran out of time and I think that might have added to the illusion that it was Raphael's drawing. I had always felt like I struggled with hatching and using lines to show value but through this process, I have really improved and have a better understanding as to how that happens. I also need to double check my proportions especially with the grid because the top of her head was basically cut off. I enjoyed working with conté as it was my first experience with it and am really glad I learned how to sharpen it into a finer tip (I'm looking into buying a fine tip conté pencil for my self portrait). Considering the work I did in conté was only over three days, I am proud of how it turned out.
Amanda Dalla Villa Adams gave a lecture on October 31st about Japanese aesthetics. I really enjoyed the lecture and got a lot out of it. She started by discussing how Japanese art trends can be seen within famous European artists like how Van Gogh drew inspiration from Japanese woodblocks. Then she talked about the history of aesthetics in Europe and Japan with Kant and the Heian Court's influence in Japan. I was especially interested in the discussion of wabi sabi and yugen. I had heard of wabi-sabi before, specifically during a lunchtime lecture last year, but that mainly focused on the artist's personal work and had never heard of Yugen. I believe these aesthetics are very unique to Japan and because of that extremely interesting and I want to learn even more. We had touched on these subjects briefly in my Global Studies class but not substantially so it was nice to continue to learn more about it. I still want to know the difference between wabi and sabi because I always hear them referred to as the same thing so I would like to further research their similarities, differences, and why they're joined together.
Most of her lecture was grounded in conversation about Tanizaki's essay from 1933, In Praise of Shadows. This essay discusses the changes in Japanese aesthetics in the modern age, with influence from the West. In it, Tanizaki mourns the loss of traditional aesthetics and mentions the beauty of everyday things. I thought that I got to understand each aesthetic even more through looking at the objects and architecture she showed us, as well as the different types of theater.
Personally, I really connect to the idea of wabi which finds beauty within imperfections and embraces issues and mistakes. This can be seen within the tea ceremony and the life cycle of a cherry blossom tree. I feel like this aesthetic can be seen everyone's life and it should be embraced. I know I will pay more attention now to seeing these aesthetics in my everyday life and in my art. The idea of wabi sabi can help me let go of perfection in my art and focus more on enjoying myself and the beauty in mistakes. I wonder where in contemporary art have artists purposely used these aesthetics?
Overall I thought Adams' talk was filled with important information and made great connections to my life and possible uses in my art.
Here is a link to a pdf version of In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki.
Most of her lecture was grounded in conversation about Tanizaki's essay from 1933, In Praise of Shadows. This essay discusses the changes in Japanese aesthetics in the modern age, with influence from the West. In it, Tanizaki mourns the loss of traditional aesthetics and mentions the beauty of everyday things. I thought that I got to understand each aesthetic even more through looking at the objects and architecture she showed us, as well as the different types of theater.
Personally, I really connect to the idea of wabi which finds beauty within imperfections and embraces issues and mistakes. This can be seen within the tea ceremony and the life cycle of a cherry blossom tree. I feel like this aesthetic can be seen everyone's life and it should be embraced. I know I will pay more attention now to seeing these aesthetics in my everyday life and in my art. The idea of wabi sabi can help me let go of perfection in my art and focus more on enjoying myself and the beauty in mistakes. I wonder where in contemporary art have artists purposely used these aesthetics?
Overall I thought Adams' talk was filled with important information and made great connections to my life and possible uses in my art.
Here is a link to a pdf version of In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki.
Author
Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.
Archives
June 2021
May 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
May 2020
March 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018