Thursday, February 25, 2010
about scanning in my journal sketches
I hope that I am not docked points because I don't know how to use a scanner. I know that I need to learn how to use it but I end up just getting extremely frustrated with the whole thing. I did take photographs of my journal sketches, but I felt like they turned out horrible because they were blurry and very hard to read. Oh well I guess I will see how the blog will be graded. maybe I can just personally show you my sketch book because I feel like a put a lot of work into it and It is unjustified by the photographs.
Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry is one of today's most acclaimed architects. His buildings are very individual in style and push the boundaries of what we normally associate with buildings. his structures are not straight up and down rectangles that are symmetrical which we are used to seeing but rather made from many shapes and angles to create a design that is unlike any other artist. he changed what people think of building. i can see how this his work can be related to the first project that we had, which was drawing paper in different ways. His structures almost look like they could be based from manipulating paper.
Robert Hughes assignment
Jeff Koons
1. Jeff Koons utilizes his material in an srt historical context in the fact that he is part of a certain style which is kitsch/ conceptual art. Were ever kitsch is heard Jeff Koons should be mentioned.
2. I am going to use Jeff Koons piece Michael Jackson and Bubbles because I think that the materials used definately create a meaning. He used ceramic and gold paint to create this piece. When you see a picture of it, it resembles a small figurine but it is actually very large. small figurines are popular in our culture not popular by any means that relate to being classy but more of a trailer park popularity. very kitschy.
3. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
4. The fact that his art is displayed in a fine art museum makes people upset because they don't define Koons to be an artist. People have very split views on Koons while some people think that he is a fine artist and has importance to art history others dismiss his art all together.
1. Jeff Koons utilizes his material in an srt historical context in the fact that he is part of a certain style which is kitsch/ conceptual art. Were ever kitsch is heard Jeff Koons should be mentioned.
2. I am going to use Jeff Koons piece Michael Jackson and Bubbles because I think that the materials used definately create a meaning. He used ceramic and gold paint to create this piece. When you see a picture of it, it resembles a small figurine but it is actually very large. small figurines are popular in our culture not popular by any means that relate to being classy but more of a trailer park popularity. very kitschy.
3. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
4. The fact that his art is displayed in a fine art museum makes people upset because they don't define Koons to be an artist. People have very split views on Koons while some people think that he is a fine artist and has importance to art history others dismiss his art all together.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Conceptual art questions
1. The viewer is extremely important in conceptual art because it is the viewer who asks the questions. There are questions like "what does this mean?" and the answers are particularly individual. They are individual because the answers will vary depending on the circumstances of the viewer. It is the meaning that is important in conceptual art, and not so much the materials or how it is arranged. With out the viewer's intake or questioning the concept wouldn't exist.
2. I think that it was hard for people to accept Fountain by Duchamp as art because it is a urinal. A ready made and not something that he crafted. a urinal is an everyday object (well for men anyway) and people don't go to a public bathroom and associate a urinal, something that is used to relive one's self, as a work of art. When people saw this piece in a museum it raised the question "Is this art?" and made veiwers look at an everyday object in a not so everyday way. Duchamp forced people to look at a urinal as a piece of fine art and I think that the traditional people had a hard time recognizing it as art.
3.Duchamp posed the question, "Could this urinal be an artwork?" with his Fountain and he asked the viewer to "Try and imagine this reproduction of the Mona Lisa with a beard as an artwork, not just a defaced reproduction of an artwork, but as an artwork in its own right." with his LHOOQ. People assumed that art would have to be either a painting or a sculpture but when his readymades came out it forced the viewer to have to redefine art.
4.It is difficult to categorize conceptual art in the context of traditional art because it is not defined by medium or style but rather the concept the viewer has upon seeing the piece. conceptual art is reflexive - "I am thinking about how I think." it represents a state of continual self-critique. ---page 5
5. Page 7 - "It is, arguably, a tradition based on the critical spirit, although the use of the word 'tradition' is paradoxical given the opposition of much Conceptual art to the very notion of tradition. Although I seek in the following pages to give a clear, lively and honest introduction to the continuing history of Conceptual art, I can not and will not want to be prescriptive. in the last resort you will have to decide what you believe, just as in engaging with any example of Conceptual art it is the response of you, the viewer, that defines the work."
This is in the last bit of the reading I really like how the author ended this because obviously he can not decide what is considered art to the reader. He leaves it open for the reader what is considered art. What do you define as art? He leaves this question open with a last piece by Annette Lemieux (which is at the top of the page).
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Jeff Koons
people have a hard time with this artist because they don't recognize it as fine art. It is disturbing to them because it is kitschy. This is a reflection of American culture. If you hate this art then you might as well be saying that you hate American culture. Yeah sometimes it isn't the most beautiful thing ever and I think that is what Jeff Koons is trying to express. It is gross and not as pretty as you would want it to be, but it is a part of us and an everyday thing. I think that Jeff Koons could be considered a Conceptual artist because it goes against the traditional definition of art and it raises questions with in the viewer.
Sara Lucas
Sarah Lucas is a wizard of cigarette manipulation. It is so funny that I have never heard of this artist yet she also had the idea of making a pair of cigarette heels. I am wondering if she just glued the cigarettes to the heels or if she actually made the heels out of the cigarettes. today in class i attempted to start my project. I am thinking that it may be easier for me to find a pair of heels that i can just glue the cigarettes to instead of trying to craft them myself. I am kind of sad that this has already been done. I also was thinking that making wedge heels may be easier to make and now I see that Sarah Lucas has done this. I will have to figure out how to make a cigarette bend to the extent that Sarah Lucas was able to do. How funny! Thank you Erin for the reference.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
journal exercise transformation
I have been thinking of some ideas for this upcoming project.
here are three ideas and the journal exercise for each
1. list the words that best describe your project formally - color, shape, texture ect
2. list the words that describe original function or meaning, does the context (time and place) change its meaning or function?
Top Hat made from Tortillas
1. color would be an orange color from the corn tortillas, it would have the texture of hard corn tortillas, tortilla would be a fun medium because when you cook them with oil they are malleable until they dry out then they are brittle and hard. the tortillas would be formed into the shape of a top hat
2. tortillas are a traditional food that comes from Mexico and south America. they are used to wrap barritos or make a taco. a top hat is not traditionally a Mexican or South American attire. Top hats are something that is worn in a very formal setting and top hats are not normally worn anymore but more warn in the past. This could be contextual art that shows an image of western ways but with something that is traditionally not western.
Wig made from Gummy Bears
1. I have a choice with color here i could either do a multicolor wig or pick one color of gummy bear and go with that. it depends if i decide one color is better then the others. I dont think that i would do a full wig but more of a decorative head piece that goes over the hair. I would string the gummy bears with fishing line then i would attach them to something, maybe copper wire to form to the head.
2. gummy bears are pretty, pretty like jewelry, when they hit the light they can look like gems. why not make a pretty head piece out of them? well i can think of a couple reasons first reason would be gummy bears can melt and who in there right mind would want melted gummy bears in there hair?
Stilettos made from Cigarettes
1. the shoes would be made out of cigarettes glued together with mod podge glue. so they would be white and brown and would have the shape of a pair of high heels.
2. I think that this is by far my favorite idea. it could have many concepts. remember reading the article "Cigarettes and High Heels" I remember reading it but i would like to re-read it to get a better idea. I would like to incorporate some of the concepts of that article into the art work. also, I am a smoker right now so the concept could be something like look at what i could be buying for myself if i wasn't spending a gazillion dollars on smoking cigarettes or the fact that when i am dead from lung cancer what are high heels going to do for me. anyway there is so much that i could write for this one i would just have to see how it turns out and think about it when i am putting together the project.
here are three ideas and the journal exercise for each
1. list the words that best describe your project formally - color, shape, texture ect
2. list the words that describe original function or meaning, does the context (time and place) change its meaning or function?
Top Hat made from Tortillas
1. color would be an orange color from the corn tortillas, it would have the texture of hard corn tortillas, tortilla would be a fun medium because when you cook them with oil they are malleable until they dry out then they are brittle and hard. the tortillas would be formed into the shape of a top hat
2. tortillas are a traditional food that comes from Mexico and south America. they are used to wrap barritos or make a taco. a top hat is not traditionally a Mexican or South American attire. Top hats are something that is worn in a very formal setting and top hats are not normally worn anymore but more warn in the past. This could be contextual art that shows an image of western ways but with something that is traditionally not western.
Wig made from Gummy Bears
1. I have a choice with color here i could either do a multicolor wig or pick one color of gummy bear and go with that. it depends if i decide one color is better then the others. I dont think that i would do a full wig but more of a decorative head piece that goes over the hair. I would string the gummy bears with fishing line then i would attach them to something, maybe copper wire to form to the head.
2. gummy bears are pretty, pretty like jewelry, when they hit the light they can look like gems. why not make a pretty head piece out of them? well i can think of a couple reasons first reason would be gummy bears can melt and who in there right mind would want melted gummy bears in there hair?
Stilettos made from Cigarettes
1. the shoes would be made out of cigarettes glued together with mod podge glue. so they would be white and brown and would have the shape of a pair of high heels.
2. I think that this is by far my favorite idea. it could have many concepts. remember reading the article "Cigarettes and High Heels" I remember reading it but i would like to re-read it to get a better idea. I would like to incorporate some of the concepts of that article into the art work. also, I am a smoker right now so the concept could be something like look at what i could be buying for myself if i wasn't spending a gazillion dollars on smoking cigarettes or the fact that when i am dead from lung cancer what are high heels going to do for me. anyway there is so much that i could write for this one i would just have to see how it turns out and think about it when i am putting together the project.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
journal excercise skeleton skin
Term definitions are taken directly from dictionary.com
Line - a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface
armature - a skeletal framework built as a support on which a clay, wax, or plaster figure is constructed.
plane - a flat or level surface
transparency - something transparent, esp. a picture, design, or the like on glass or some translucent substance, made visible by light shining through from behind.
tension - the act of stretching or straining
non-representational -not resembling or portraying any object in physical nature: a nonrepresentational painting.
unity - a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
repetition - the act of repeating; repeated action, performance, production, or presentation.
interior/exterior - being within; inside of anything; internal; inner; further toward a center: the interior rooms of a house. / outer; being on the outer side: the exterior surface; exterior decorations.
negative/ positive- empty space, space around an object or form. / those occupied by the main subjects of the work.
organic/ geometric - noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon. / resembling or employing the simple rectilinear or curvilinear lines or figures used in geometry.
texture -the visual and esp. tactile quality of a surface: rough texture.
curvilinear -consisting of or bounded by curved lines: a curvilinear figure.
concave/ convex - curved like a segment of the interior of a circle or hollow sphere; hollow and curved / having a surface that is curved or rounded outward
opaque - not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.
balance - a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
counter balance - a weight balancing another weight; an equal weight, power, or influence acting in opposition; counterpoise.
gravity - the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth.
weight - the amount or quantity of heaviness or mass; amount a thing weighs.
horizontal axis -An imaginary line that passes through the center of an object and is parallel to the floor.
vertical axis - An imaginary line that passes through the center of an object and is perpendicular to the floor.
symmetry -the correspondence in size, form, and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point; regularity of form or arrangement in terms of like, reciprocal, or corresponding parts. Conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection. The second meaning is a precise and well-defined concept of balance or "patterned self-similarity" - second definition from wikipedia
bilateral symmetry -a basic body plan in which the left and right sides of the organism or object can be divided into approximate mirror images of each other along the midline.
asymmetry - not identical on both sides of a central line; unsymmetrical; lacking symmetry
additive - something that is added, as one substance to another, to alter or improve the general quality or to counteract undesirable properties
kinetic - pertaining to motion.
representation -the act of representing.
Now that I have these definitions written out I can describe my skeleton/skin project
1. list the words that describe your project formally.
- symmetrical - because it is balanced and has a mirror image of itself from a horizontal axis
- balance - because it has equal visual weight on the horizontal axis
- horizontal axis - because it is distributed evenly on both sides parallel to the floor.
- gravity - since it is a hanging piece it has the concept of gravity, it floats
- translucent - the skin is made from latex that is mixed with acrylic pigment and so not entirely transparent but is still semi- see through
- nonrepresentational - because it doesn't directly represent any other object.
- tension - there is tension with the skin being pulled to fit the skeleton frame
- repetition - repetition of line and the circular frames that contain the skin, also there are two forms that make the one piece and they are identical
- unity - the two parts that make a whole sculpture
- geometric - the curvilinear lines are of a geometric nature because they are often repeated and are circular, the frame witch contains the circular frames is also geometric because it can easily be drawn on a plane and be equal in length and angle pertaining to line.
Line - a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface
armature - a skeletal framework built as a support on which a clay, wax, or plaster figure is constructed.
plane - a flat or level surface
transparency - something transparent, esp. a picture, design, or the like on glass or some translucent substance, made visible by light shining through from behind.
tension - the act of stretching or straining
non-representational -not resembling or portraying any object in physical nature: a nonrepresentational painting.
unity - a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
repetition - the act of repeating; repeated action, performance, production, or presentation.
interior/exterior - being within; inside of anything; internal; inner; further toward a center: the interior rooms of a house. / outer; being on the outer side: the exterior surface; exterior decorations.
negative/ positive- empty space, space around an object or form. / those occupied by the main subjects of the work.
organic/ geometric - noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon. / resembling or employing the simple rectilinear or curvilinear lines or figures used in geometry.
texture -the visual and esp. tactile quality of a surface: rough texture.
curvilinear -consisting of or bounded by curved lines: a curvilinear figure.
concave/ convex - curved like a segment of the interior of a circle or hollow sphere; hollow and curved / having a surface that is curved or rounded outward
opaque - not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.
balance - a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
counter balance - a weight balancing another weight; an equal weight, power, or influence acting in opposition; counterpoise.
gravity - the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth.
weight - the amount or quantity of heaviness or mass; amount a thing weighs.
horizontal axis -An imaginary line that passes through the center of an object and is parallel to the floor.
vertical axis - An imaginary line that passes through the center of an object and is perpendicular to the floor.
symmetry -the correspondence in size, form, and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point; regularity of form or arrangement in terms of like, reciprocal, or corresponding parts. Conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection. The second meaning is a precise and well-defined concept of balance or "patterned self-similarity" - second definition from wikipedia
bilateral symmetry -a basic body plan in which the left and right sides of the organism or object can be divided into approximate mirror images of each other along the midline.
asymmetry - not identical on both sides of a central line; unsymmetrical; lacking symmetry
additive - something that is added, as one substance to another, to alter or improve the general quality or to counteract undesirable properties
kinetic - pertaining to motion.
representation -the act of representing.
Now that I have these definitions written out I can describe my skeleton/skin project
1. list the words that describe your project formally.
- symmetrical - because it is balanced and has a mirror image of itself from a horizontal axis
- balance - because it has equal visual weight on the horizontal axis
- horizontal axis - because it is distributed evenly on both sides parallel to the floor.
- gravity - since it is a hanging piece it has the concept of gravity, it floats
- translucent - the skin is made from latex that is mixed with acrylic pigment and so not entirely transparent but is still semi- see through
- nonrepresentational - because it doesn't directly represent any other object.
- tension - there is tension with the skin being pulled to fit the skeleton frame
- repetition - repetition of line and the circular frames that contain the skin, also there are two forms that make the one piece and they are identical
- unity - the two parts that make a whole sculpture
- geometric - the curvilinear lines are of a geometric nature because they are often repeated and are circular, the frame witch contains the circular frames is also geometric because it can easily be drawn on a plane and be equal in length and angle pertaining to line.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Jen Stark
Wow Jen Stark way to go! I love how she manipulates paper! so colorful and delightful to look at. I especially like the pieces that are layered paper that is just falling and hanging out of itself. I have never seen paper (construction paper?) arranged like this and i think that she did a very good job.
Ron Muech
Hyper realism kind of creepy huh? Well have you ever seen the Labyrinth? Awesome i must say, big fan of David Bowie. Anyway Ron Muech was the artist responsible for all the puppets, so I think that it is safe to say that he is familiar with the creepy aspect of art. I love his work and I really like how his creations are so realistic but are made out of proportion. I think that his work causes an uneasiness in his viewers because they are so realistic.
thinking about transformation
I have been thinking about what I am going to do for my transformation project, and I am just thinking to myself what defines an everyday object. Here is a list of things i consider everyday objects that may be applicable to this project
Qtips
floss
toothbrushes
hair brush
bobby pins
socks
there is just so much i guess that I will just have to decide witch one I would like to work with. As of right now i am thinking Qtips because they are cheep to get a bunch of then and they seem like a pretty easy building material. Now I just have to figure out what I would build with them. hmmm.... so many things. I dont know if I want to make a sculpture that represents something out of the Qtips or if I want to make an abstract sculpture. maybe making a couple globes some bigger and some smaller out of the Qtips. Or maybe I will make animals out of the Qtips. Gosh I dont know I will just have to think of it some more. I am pretty set on the Qtips though.
Qtips
floss
toothbrushes
hair brush
bobby pins
socks
there is just so much i guess that I will just have to decide witch one I would like to work with. As of right now i am thinking Qtips because they are cheep to get a bunch of then and they seem like a pretty easy building material. Now I just have to figure out what I would build with them. hmmm.... so many things. I dont know if I want to make a sculpture that represents something out of the Qtips or if I want to make an abstract sculpture. maybe making a couple globes some bigger and some smaller out of the Qtips. Or maybe I will make animals out of the Qtips. Gosh I dont know I will just have to think of it some more. I am pretty set on the Qtips though.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
EXTRA CREDIT -Cornel West
BIO - copied from Wikipedia
Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, and civil rights activist, as well as a prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America. West currently serves as the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches in the Center for African American Studies and in the department of Religion.
West is known for his combination of political and moral insight and criticism, and his contribution to the post-1960s civil rights movement. The bulk of his work focuses upon the role of race, gender, and class in American society and the means by which people act and react to their “radical conditionedness." West draws intellectual contributions from such diverse traditions as the African American Baptist Church, pragmatism and transcendentalism.My summary of the speech
Cornel West asks his audience, "what does it mean to be human?" I don't think that he meant biologically I think that he was talking about what we have inside of us. He also asks what kind of human will you be through out your life from, "Mama's womb to tomb"? People today have just become "well adjusted to injustice" not just with in the realm of racism and segregation but with everyday things that we just don't notice as injustices. An example that most of Americans are dealing with is the financial recession. How is America the richest nation but most everyone is poor? I think that Cornel West's answer to this question would be because we are not using our voices enough, we are not standing up to the injustices or questioning why, instead we just take it as normal life when it could and should be better.
Cornel West talked about Martin Luther King and that we as a people together should continue his legacy. When we witness crimes against people we need to stand up and let the wrong be known, and use the voices that we have that make us so individually us. Martin Luther King had to deal with injustices and it eventually lead to his untimely death, but he was a warrior who knew what "learning how to die to learn how to live" meant. Jim Crow was American Terrorism and MLK wanted liberty for everybody. He didn't want revenge, or Jim Crow for the people who supported it, but he wanted peace between all kinds of people. He understood how dangerous it would be but he did not want the segregation to go on with out people knowing how destructive it was. He took the risk and lost his life but he did not die, 42 years after his death we still realize how important it is for people to be treated fairly.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Charles Clay
I enjoy this artist because the work is very playful. to me, when i look at his pieces, it almost seems as if i am looking at some alien landscape. His work reminds me of Jen Stark because of the vivid coloring. I am not sure what his medium is but it looks like paper which is also what Stark used for her pieces. I would love to own some work like this someday.
Kinetic sculpture for the BMW museum Munich
If you go to the website there is an interesting video that describes how they made this installation. sorry i could not figure out how to copy and paste the video from the original website.
http://www.artcom.de/kinetik/
http://www.artcom.de/kinetik/
Kinetic sculpture for the BMW museum Munich
Description
The Kinetic Sculpture is a metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design. 714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate a seven minute long mechatronic narrative. In the beginning, moving chaotically, then evolving to several competing forms that eventually resolve to the finished object, the Kinetic Sculpture creates an artistic visualisation of the process of form-finding in different variations.
This looks like it is computer animated but it is actually metal and tangible.
Theo Jansen
I really enjoy this artist because His peices are not only lovely but they are also so intensly brilliant. The engineering that he has to apply is absolutely amazing. It is strange that after finding his video on youtube I stumbled upon the BMW museum in Munich. I guess that it isn't that strange that Theo Jansen is incorporated with BMW because both car companies and the works of art by Theo Jansen are full of innovation and the study of how to put things together to make them work their best.
It is good to see that this artist is getting paid through advertising by BMW
Monday, February 1, 2010
cat saddles
for the past few days i have been thinking of cat saddles. not just like felt saddles, or something easy to make. saddles are, and can be, really cool if well crafted. Not well crafted, they do have a purpose in that it makes it easier to ride a horse. leather is an awesome medium, like leather work and shit or tooling some leather. I don't want to tool the leather myself, instead i want to go into a saddle shop, which i think that i can find one in Idaho somewhere abouts, then ask the saddle makers to go nuts and make two cat saddles. i want these saddles not for putting on my cats, well maybe once, but i want them to be on display in my house. I don't want people to walk by and say "oh cat saddles" but i want people to say "oh my god!, look at those beautiful saddles!" with out realizing that they are miniature, and saddles for cats. i can bluntly say that cat saddles would not have a practical purpose, but I can ask myself "what kind of creature would need a saddle for a cat or a saddle of that size." and I can answer "a hamster, of course" then I will rethink and say "maybe, something bigger, like a guinea pig" Then i would have to have a guinea pig, and that guinea pig would have to have colonial clothing. mice with saddles and grasshoppers in clothing. I have to stop writing this. I will sketch about this.
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