Final Blog Post

       The artist I did research on was Henri Matisse. Matisse was known for his involvement in Fauvism. As I looked up some of his artwork for the paper, I found many paintings of women and his wife. Therefore, I knew I wanted to incorporate a women's face. Additionally, towards the end of his career he did cut outs as artwork. For my artist response project, I did a cut out piece with implied lines of a face. I think this image is a great response to something Matisse would make. Although his cutouts were not typically of human figures, his older work was. Therefore I collaborated the two together.

Visual Analysis

       The denotative meaning shows implied lines as the face. The color scheme is analogous and the I believe the yellow helps make the face pop as well as creating all the other colors come together. The focal point of the piece is the face, and then the pieces of paper around it allows for a spiral eye path.The connotative meaning is light and happy. The colors are all bright (just like the Fauvists did) and the face is not smiling or frowning. The face is at rest and content. The ideological meaning is that there is much chaos in the world, but if we remain calm and remember what is important in life, we will find happiness.

Reflection

       This class showed me many different techniques I can use to create art. It also showed me that I am more creative than I thought I was. This class is very different than anything else offered at Loyola, and I think all of the projects taught me to bring out my creative side. I can definitely use this in the future. I'm hoping to be a speech-language pathologist. If I work with kids, I can use my creativity and the skills I've learned to create a fun therapy session or even a fun arts and crafts assignment.

Postmodern Mixed Media: Visual Analysis

"There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world" - Jean Baudrillard

       The composition is a spiral. The eye will start in the middle with all the clowns and then move around the edges with the animals, pumpkins, candy corn, "No Eggs" sign, and lastly "Revenge of the Kids" sign. The color scheme is analogous. The colors go from orange, light orange, yellow orange, yellow, yellow green, and to light green. The reason behind the colors is because it's a Halloween theme, therefore I wanted to start with the color orange. I felt that the postmodernism aspect comes into play when I add many different colors that don't make much sense. Although they match, it's a lot of colors and it makes the piece a little overwhelming. With the pictures added, the blue background helps them pop out.

       I believe that the most difficult part about the project was deciding where to place each picture. I first cut out all of the pictures individually and placed them around the bristol paper, but then decided I wanted to show some of the work I did on photoshop. It was difficult deciding where my arrangements would make the most sense.

Visual Analysis

       The denotative meaning behind this piece helps the viewer understand the meaning. The focal point are the clusters of clowns in the middle. The color scheme, as stated above, is analogous. This all helps with the meaning of the artwork. The clowns help the viewer know that this piece is supposed to be about Halloween, so there may be a scary meaning behind it. The color scheme starts with orange because of Halloween, but eventually turns into green. This throw off the piece. Additionally, the blue background behind the pictures throws off the colors presented in the background.

       The connotative meaning is relating to Halloween and the pranks that teens pull on "mischief night" and the "fun" pranks that happen around Halloween time. The emotions in this piece are multiple things such as creepy, scared, mischief, and fun. It has all of these feelings because Halloween is a fun holiday, however it can be scary because of all the pranks pulled during this time of year. Next is the ideological meaning. Depending on your age and how much one likes Halloween depends on how they feel about this piece. A child might find Halloween to be fun or scary; while an adult may either love or hate getting dressed up on Halloween. As a teenager, one may love pulling pranks. The ideological meaning behind this postmodern piece is that minors play pranks on adults during this time of year. They TP houses, throw eggs, sneak up on others, and many more different pranks. The scary clowns, TP house, silly pumpkin, and many other pictures in the piece show the "prank" aspect of Halloween.

Postmodernism: 3 readings

Frederic Jameson:

• Interesting article because I knew exactly what picture was being referred to as I was reading.
• It was a difficult read. There are some concepts and words that I'm not familiar with.
• Describing the picture as having flatness or depthness
• Photographic negative in contemporary art
• How they tied in the concept of "death"
• Prevalent points in the article
• "High-modernist and postmodernist moment" between the shoes of Van Gough and Andy Warhol

Jean Baudrillard:

• Disneyland has many illusions and phantasms
• The park is filled with fun things, but when you think about it: much of the day is made up of getting there, being there in the giant parking lot, and lining up awaiting your turn for entry
• Disneyland is a childish place, but was thought of from a grown man: Walt Disney
• Things that confused me:
• Objective profile of the US can be found through Disneyland 
• Disney land is imaginary to make us believe that the rest is real
• Hyperreal
• The usage of the word "real" was very confusing to me. It was used too many times in the same sentence, which caused me to become very lost and confused.

Postmodernism Introduction:

• Talking about different cultures
• "Postmodern artists, just like the explorers of past centuries, simply plunge into the unknown and then try to represent it"
• They take notes of the new mix of messages, symbols, cultures, and media and then create something that reflects to postmodern condition.
• Jean Baudrillard: shows that people are so wrapped up in the media, TV, and electronics. The cord is stabbing the person in the neck, kind of like what a vampire does. The cord leaves two "teeth" marks. It's almost like TV shows consumed this person, because a fake monster has attacked them. Just like something you'd see in the movies.
• Hyperreality: an order of representation that is not the unreal, but has replaced 'reality' and is more than real.

George Kubler

       This reading was very difficult for me to understand. The paragraphs describing "Individual Entrances" was especially difficult for me. Kubler was describing that writing a biography on an artist can't solely focus on their life before their art work started. It's important to write about their development as an artist and how they came to be. However, the analogy about the railroad tracks is where I became lost. Kubler said that talking about the artist's biography is like talking about a traveler on one railroad track and disregarding all the others. This makes sense to me, however when Kubler introduces the idea of the tracks extending in different directions, I become very confused.
       I also like the part where Kubler talked about talent. He says that talented people begin at a younger age and master the tradition of art. This is something that makes sense to me. To become a talented artist requires the person to go through years of experience and critiques. The more experienced the artist is, means the more talented the artist is. This is something that is relatable in everyday life. The more experience someone is exposed to in a certain area creates this person to master it. For example, someone who is new at teaching is not exposed to situations that may throw them off guard. This doesn't mean the teacher is unsuccessful or untalented, but they haven't practiced or mastered the "art" of teaching. Meanwhile, a more experienced teacher has been exposed to numerous situations which means that this teacher has mastered the "art" of teaching.
      Although this article was about the biography of an artist. I still think it can connect to other occupations.

Julio Fine Arts Gallery #2

  

         This piece stuck out to me the most out of all the pottery in the gallery. It's called "Boetian Cup" which was purchased from Robert Hecht. The description says that it's too heavy to be a cup, and it was more likely to be used as a grave offering. Because it was made to be a grave offering, it must be a special item. The reason why this pottery stuck out to me the most is because of the colors. A lot of the pottery had dark colors and images on it. However, this piece had calming colors to it such as the sandy color and the light brown. Also, I felt it was interesting to put this pottery on a mirror. This way, it's easy to see details that were carved into the bottom instead of having to lean over and look. This piece jumped out at me right when I walked into the gallery.

Data Visualization

       The video talked about how people can communicate things quicker through data visualization because our brains can decipher the design. They used and example of a tiger running through the grass. We have the ability to tell the difference between the pattern of the grass and the moving tiger. Our brains are wired this way and we need this skill in order to survive. A concept like this is not common sense. It was very interesting to hear what they had to say. I never really thought about how our brain works when we see these patterns.
       Throughout the video they also said that the best and fastest way to change someone's mind or behavior is by showing it visually. This interested me because since my major is speech-language-hearing sciences, we talk a lot about behavior and how to change it. For example, if a child is acting up during a therapy session or if we are working with people who have emotional/behavioral disturbances. I thought it was interesting that they said sometimes visually showing the desired behavior results in the target behavior.
       Lastly, they said it's helpful to show something visually that is complex and hard to comprehend. I would have to agree with this statement. I am a visual learner, therefore sometimes in class it's hard to understand a concept unless there are visuals. For example, chemistry is difficult for me. Last year we learned about the electron orbits. This is something that only made sense to me if the teacher drew out each orbit and explained it that way.

Whitescapes

I placed a paper towel on top of a shirt that I have. The whites were different, but the picture doesn’t show it very clearly. In person, the paper towel has a yellow tint while the shirt has a blue tint. As I notice these colors within the white, it was hard for me to go back and call this color “white” again.

Changing the lighting in the room didn’t make much of a difference. The only difference I saw was that the colors were more prominent. I still saw the yellow tint on the paper towel and the blue tint on the shirt.

Original Ad for Subvertisement

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S. Pellegrino Original Ad

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John Berger Insights

1)   “The invention of the camera changed not only what we see, but how we see it.”

The camera reproduces the picture in any size, place, or purpose. It can be everywhere and anywhere. The paintings used to belong to their own space. They were always placed on the same wall and in the same position. The pictures that were shown in the video were duplicated. They are now on many different screens surrounded by different sounds, people, and materials.

This is an interesting idea. It’s something I never thought of on my own. Yes, the camera duplicates the picture and even changes the way the picture looks. Reproductions distort the actually look. We aren’t able to see the brush strokes, or even the exact color that was being used. However, that’s something I could infer without knowing much about art. To say that the art has been duplicated and is now “everywhere” is an idea I would have never thought of on my own.

2)   “Paintings are modified and changed by the sounds you hear while looking at them.”

This is interesting because I felt it work when John Berger gave an example. We looked at Van Gogh’s painting in silence. It seemed to be a nice painting with a calming effect to it. After, he said that this was Van Gogh’s last painting before passing away and then added solemn music to it. This gave the painting a completely different feel. This concept is something one wouldn’t notice while it was happening; it’s something that needs to be pointed out. This concept is exactly as if you’re watching a movie, and the music comes on in the background. The music gives the scene more meaning. If there were scary music playing, it gives it a frightening feel. A music-less movie means nothing because the music helps give the picture/scene more meaning.

Baltimore Museum of Art

Still Life with Pitcher and Plate by Félix Vallotton

Group of Artists by Marie Laurencin                         

Anemones and Chinese Vase by Henri Matisse      

       My favorite work of art was Still Life with Pitcher and Plate by Félix Vallotton. The photo taken does not show how incredible this painting is. The reason why I picked it is because when I first saw it, it did not look like a painting at all. The painting looked like a photo. The more I looked at it from a distance, the more it looked like an actual photo taken. When I went up close, I saw smooth paintbrush strokes. However, these strokes were not apparent unless I went up close to this painting. Not only did that aspect of the art work strike me, but also the shape of the pitcher, plate, box, and blanket looked as if it were popping out of the painting. The painting had a 3D look to it. The color of the pitcher was interesting to me as well. Parts of the pitcher were painted in a brighter color, making it look shiny as if you were looking at the pitcher in real life. The dark background makes the rest of the items on the canvas easier to see, and I also think it helps with the "3D" aspect it shows.

       The meaning of this painting, to me, is that Félix Vallotton was reflecting on his life while painting this picture. The reason why I feel this way is because of the title Still Life with Pitcher and Plate. It's as if the artist wanted to stop time and be still for a moment. This image with the pitcher, plate, box, and blanket seem to be items you'd use for a gathering with friends and family. I think I have a plate that looks like this at my house, and that's why I feel like these items could be used for a family or friend gathering. They are used for nice and formal events, and the artist wanted to capture this moment and "stop time."

Visibility

     I haven't put much thought into what play writers or movie makers go through to make sure their story makes sense. Play writers must visually imagine what the actor sees and what they think. Not only is this important in plays, but visual image is important while making a movie. Movies "go through the written stage, are visualized in the mind of the director, then physically reconstructed on set." Visualization is mandatory in order to write a successful play or to create a movie that makes sense. In every successful story, there is an image.

     Connecting this to real life situations, I personally tend to think in images and pictures. When I think about what classes I have on MWF I'll picture myself walking to class, where I sit, and which teacher I have. Another example is if I'm planning a trip to NYC, I'll imagine myself arriving at the train station, getting my ticket, getting onto the train, and meeting up with my friends. Images are important to my every day life. The author states, "even in reading the most technical scientific book or the most abstract book of philosophy, one can come across a phrase that unexpectedly stimulates the visual imagination." The visual image is something every human uses in their daily life.

Julio Fine Arts Gallery

     Tonight I attended the event at the Julio Fine Arts Gallery. I saw many different types of art work. Some included pictures of tattoos, paintings, and self-portraits. Out of all the incredible art work in the gallery, this piece caught my eye. Each picture is an image of a body part. At first I didn't notice what these images were. Because they are all different colors, it was not my first idea that these individual pictures were actually different body parts. My initial reaction was that it was a representation of the solar system, and that all of the images were pictures of different planets.
     This art work was laid out on the floor, and only a little bit was placed on the wall. I found that this placement was interesting. It stuck out to each person who was at the gallery because it took up so much space. The images were placed in an interesting way, it almost looks like a spiral and it's very pleasing to the eye. Not only were the images placed on the ground, but some of them were flat while other images were popping out of the ground.

The Whole Ball of Wax

     Art is everywhere we look, even if we don't think about it or notice it. This article discusses how people can experience art. It is interesting that art can make a person feel a certain type of way. Saltz says, "When we look at art, we're not only looking at it; we're also looking into it and through it." Therefore, art is not something people solely look at, people delve into art and look for a deeper meaning to it. There can be art that portrays calmness or peacefulness, but also there can be art that is violent and depressing. All in all, art is "The Whole Ball of Wax" because it is everywhere, it is not something we can avoid.
     In addition, this article briefly discusses how art can change the world. It brings up an example that art cannot change global warming, but it can change the world gradually. Saltz also says, "Art is an energy source that helps make change possible; it sees things in clusters and constellations rather than rigid systems." Saltz is saying that art can be seen in many different ways and people can interpret things differently, there is not one correct answer. Art is the ability to see things in different visions; everyone perceives things differently.