Project 2: Albright Knox

A.)

Claude Monet 

Chemin de halage à Argenteuil (Towpath at Argenteuil, Winter), 1875-1876

oil on canvas

support: 23 5/8 x 39 3/8 inches (60.0075 x 100.0125 cm); framed: 32 1/2 x 48 1/4 x 4 inches (82.55 x 122.555 x 10.16 cm)

The texture and muted colors have a strong impact on me. It makes the painting look soft. The difference of the smooth water and the rough land is aesthetically appealing to me and has an interesting balance.

Vincent van Gogh

La maison de La Crau (The Old Mill), 1888

oil on canvas

support: 25 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches (64.77 x 53.975 cm); framed: 32 3/4 x 28 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches (83.18 x 73.02 x 8.89 cm)

I also love the texture of Gogh's painting. I feel like I can run my hand over the landscape and it would feel real even though it is not a realistic interpretation of a building. I like the use of the horizon; it gives the painting depth.

B.)

Salvador Dali

The Transparent Simulacrum of the Feigned Image, 1938

oil on canvas

support: 28 1/2 x 36 1/4 inches (72.39 x 92.075 cm); framed: 33 7/8 x 41 3/8 x 2 1/2 inches (86.04 x 105.09 x 6.35 cm)

I've always felt a connection with Surrealist artwork and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because of the detailed and realistic art that is not visible in our daily lives. Dali's beautiful detail with the folds in the fabric and the hidden face in the mountain demands to be seen. The dreamlike landscape just draws you in.

Roy Lichenstein

Head - Red and Yellow, 1962

oil on canvas

support: 48 x 48 inches (121.92 x 121.92 cm); framed: 49 1/8 x 49 1/8 x 2 1/4 inches (124.78 x 124.78 x 5.72 cm)

Lichenstein's pop art reminds me of my favorite stickers. I love the bold and solid quality of the painting's lines and it isn't until I'm up close that I notice the detailed dots that make up the shade of her face. I like comics and pop art which has become popular again. I have stickers that resemble Lichenstein's painting.

C.)

Georges Seurat

Étude pour "Le Chahut" (Study for "Le Chahut"), 1889

oil on canvas

support: 21 3/4 x 18 1/2 inches (55.24 x 46.99 cm); framed (artist frame): 26 5/8 x 23 x 1 inches (67.63 x 58.42 x 2.54 cm); frame: 30 7/8 x 27 3/8 x 2 7/8 inches (78.42 x 69.53 x 7.3 cm)

I find Seurat's painting to be very beautiful and I'm interested in the process of it's creation. It feels very soft to me. I'm curious about what went into creating the texture and movement of this work. The information provided by the gallery says that Seurat used a grid for the painting and even painted the frame. 

Camille Pissarro

Paysans dans les champs, Éragny (Peasants in the Fields, Éragny), 1890

oil on canvas

support: 25 3/8 x 31 5/8 inches (64.45 x 80.33 cm); framed: 34 1/8 x 40 5/8 x 4 1/2 inches (86.68 x 103.19 x 11.43 cm)

I love Pissarro's detail that creates texture. The soft horizon line between the mountain and the sky is almost the same color, yet they are distinct from each other. I'm interested in the process of creating such a detailed work.

Logo Design

http://s1024.photobucket.com/user/lsturckler/slideshow/Module%205

When working on my logo, I tried to think of the best way to make the letters clear, but creative in a way that I find aesthetically pleasing. I came to the conclusion that less is more, and I tried to take what I learned about logos to apply to my own design. I wanted to make it easily recognizable and to avoid misinterpretation. I'm personally drawn to circles and spirals so I tried to find a way to utilize those symbols.
I found the repackaging the brand video interesting because of the thought process that goes into developing a design and making sure it serves its purpose properly. It never occurred to me the amount of time people put into each detail.

Module 4

The color wheel is more complex then the value scale due to the fact that the values of a color are more diverse then the shades of a graphite. I found the pencil to be easier to control then the acrylic paint and therefore preferred it. I did discover that the value of a color is important and it can be difficult to achieve the color you want because of the different intensities.

Value Scale & Color Wheel

http://s1024.photobucket.com/user/lsturckler/media/Value%20Scale%20Color%20Wheel/20180923_220640_zps8e3ykbbi.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Elements & Principles Slideshow

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y310/lsturckler/Elements-Principles/2783b9c1-0dff-4f69-9176-c363ca7afb65_zpszvg4mxak.jpg

Module 3

Colors are the components of light and essentially objects do not possess color on their own. What people perceive as color, is the reflection of light rays. The colors we see cause emotional responses which are not universally the same among people. The emotions one feels vary due to cultural and even personal reasons. There are some colors that are more widely accepted as having a universal response such as blue, which has a calming effect.
The color video displayed how the use of paint can be used to show the effect of light, by using darker colors and layers to cast shadows on the images. This helps bring more life and emotion to the paintings. The blue paint that comes from the Lapis Lazuli stone was used on the most important parts of the painting to draw attention to it. Contrasting colors can cause displeasure for the artist as a viewer, until they find the right balance to invoke the emotions they were feeling and wanted to convey.
The feelings video showed the differences of the artists' Jacques-Louis David and Francisco Goya.
Goya's paintings were referred to as the "The Black Paintings". He used dark and dull colors to display the despair and monstrosity that he believed people to possess. While David, believed in the nobility of man. His paintings of revolutions are colorful and display more hopeful emotions from the people he painted.

Module 2

Changuex talks about how works of art are artifacts and human productions that are symbolic, while Ramachandran has a broader idea of what art is and therefore refers to art as a visual aesthetic. They both agree on the impacts of art on Human emotion due to the evolution of our brains.

Ramachandran does approach the subject with a set of rules that he refers to as the Eight Laws of Art. There is grouping, peak shift principal, contrast, isolating a single cue to provoke the cortical visual areas, perceptual problem solving, symmetry, an aversion to unique vantage points and coincidences, and art used as a metaphor. Changeux talks about the novelty of art used to cause brain activity of surprise. He also focuses on the universal search for harmony and the artists attempt to share their view of the world. Ramachandran and Changeux both talked about the universal reactions to art due to the brain.

I found it fascinating how a humans perception and how their brains process information has a lot to do with what a person finds aesthetically pleasing. Ramachandran's concept of why people find complimentary colors pleasing is because the idea of camouflage was developed in primates. This is the most surprising and interesting fact to me; I was not aware that the concept was ingrained in human genetics.

The article and Ramachandran both talked about how humans search out faces. This is why the lawful distortions, illusions, work as a form of art. The article talked about "coarse information", the distorted faces that can trigger an emotional response in humans. When the detail-oriented part of the brain, that processes what a person sees, is distracted, then they become more emotionally engaged. Perhaps this is why I favor Impressionist works of art.

The main focus I find in the videos, the reading, and the article, is about perception. The textbook talks about how different people have different perceptions because they do not see the same details. Perhaps that is why, when you blur those details or distort them, your brain resorts to an emotional response. Perception has a lot to due with how you process a work of art. It is why people have different preferences and these preferences can change when different details are noticed.

Module 1

This is my new blog for AED 200. I had an easy time setting up this blog and my gmail. As the course progresses, I expect to learn how to analyze art work and better understand the perception of the artist and the message they are trying to portray. I am also interested to learn how art applies to society, both as an effect on social norms and as a reaction to certain events in History. I'm excited to get started. I've begun to have a growth mindset. Not long ago, I would get discouraged by myself before even seeing the results of my work. I no longer put such limitations on myself; I decided that anything is worth pursuing if I have an interest, instead of basing my decisions on the things I'm already good at. I'm eager to face new challenges.