While looking through the art section in the New York Times, I couldn't help but think of the relation between figure 4.19 in Launching the Imagination Myron, Discus Thrower (diskobolos) and "Denuded" by Bruno Isakovic. While figure 4.19 uses kinesthetics, or "the science of movement" to engage the observer to make them see movement within the marble statue, Bruno Isakovic's "Denuded" is a dance, but the excerpt that is shown in this article is a snapshot of a dancer's back during a single second of her performance. While this is a single picture, the sway of the dancer's back and placement of lighting shows her movement. How interesting it is that movement can be shown both in marble and in a photo of a moment in time from a live dance.

"Denuded" by Bruno Isakovic and "Discus Thrower" by Myron

Salvador Dali, Christ of St. John of the Cross

While reading through the text in Launching the Imagination, the entire section on space intrigued me. I have always enjoyed admiring art, yet I have never been able to master the creation of art myself. Figure 4.11, by Salvador Dali, name: Christ of St. John of the Cross, 1951, medium: oil on canvas, immediately caught my attention (97). The artist does a phenomenal job of creating space through the "three point perspective" (96). The technique used gives the viewer the feeling that Jesus and the cross are hovering over the earth to view the sunrise, even while enduring the pain of the cross.

Vija Celmins, Untitled (Ocean)

I found this piece to be very interesting because of the realistic image that is created by the artist, Vija Celmins (67). This image is an example of two dimensional design, yet it looks like a photograph. While this piece was made with "graphite on acrylic ground on paper", the feeling I received as an observer was that I could simply jump in this pool of water and be swept away by any waves that may hit. Although this drawing may hold the few elements of changing the "size and shape of the waves" for variation, it still draws the eye and brings a calming effect of water lapping over sand to the observer.

 

The Passing of Time - Photomontage

The purpose behind this photomontage was to infuse emotion into a piece that was in the present, but still holds meaning in the past, present, and future. The background photo was taken in Leavenworth. My husband and I were on our honeymoon. While hiking, we couldn't help but notice what a great view we had right in front of us. Thus, we took advantage of the opportunity to capture the moment through the lens of a camera.

            What the camera captured was a single moment in time. With the help of Photoshop, I was able to give the viewer a glimpse of what the scenery may have looked like in the past. I chose to elongate and discolor some portions of the original picture. The discoloration gave the effect of the past, while the image itself was in the present.

            The imagery I chose to use to infuse the passing of time was not only through discoloration and elongation of the images, but I also inserted a photo that was not originally in the main picture. I added the man that is pictured to the left of the photo, in order to increase the meaning within the photo. He was originally taking the photo, but because this man is my husband, he is my past, present, and future. The effect I tried to bring across with his photo is that he was an explorer of the hiking trail before it became a mainstream attraction to both inhabitants and visitors of Leavenworth.

            While I am also in the photo, I wanted to detach myself so the two people could tell a story. The female is in the present and looking out over the beautiful landscape. Because she is in the present, she has missed the opportunity of a relationship with the man that had walked this trail years before her, thus she is looking past the man. The man is looking toward her, but again his body is not positioned to properly see the woman, even if they were in the same time dimension, neither of them would directly see each other. It would be through their peripheral vision that they would see each other, but again there is not a direct connection.

            Thus, the passage of time is shown between the relationship between a man and woman that share a love of this landscape, yet are unable to share a love for each other because of the barriers of time.

The power of blue

In figure 2.8 in the book, "Launching the Imagination", blue is the focus of the image. The text states that the color blue holds different symbolic meaning depending on which culture is viewing it. When I look at this image, I picture ice caves. The movement of the picture pulls the eye downward through the light blue columns, while the cloud shape at the bottom resembles the spray of water that is pulled upward from the impact of water falling in a waterfall. The artist, Hiroshi Senju, did a great job drawing the attention of the viewer through the contrast in blue and the movement within the piece.

While reading through "Launching the Imagination" by Mary Stewart, a few images caught my eye. One such being figure 2.8A-C (41). Pictured are 6 different squares, each with the same color of blue in the center. Bordering and filling this blue are 6 different colors. These different colors serve the purpose of showing how different the blue can look depending on the color in its' background. This figure really opened my eyes as to how color can alter the brain. If a simple color switch on the background of a square could seem to alter a color enough to make it seem like it is a different color, then how much does color play come into effect with advertisements? This would be the perfect way to potentially use a similar advertisement to save money and time through doing a spin off of a previously used ad. How interesting!

Self Portrait

The purpose of this self-portrait is to infuse my image within the things I am passionate about in life. On the right half of the photo are slits of dumbbells. These take up half of my portrait because lifting weights is how I fuel myself through life, which is why it was important to include this aspect within the self-portrait. The left side of the picture are slits of a tree. This tree stands for my life in general. We are each very connected to nature and I am at my best when I am walking through the woods. This is why my image is integrated into the secondary images of dumbbells and a tree.

This self-portrait is also asymmetrical in the line usage. The left hand side of this portrait has horizontal lines as well as the vertical lines the rest of the portrait has. This horizontal addition also creates a ladder effect. As we are all tied to nature, I found the ladder to be appropriate because trees reach toward the sky, which ladders also help the individual user access to reach objects that are above their normal reach height.

Regardless of the medium, subject, or who the artist may be, each form of art conveys some sort of emotion. While describing different lines, author Mary Stewart points out in Launching the Imagination, "The network of agitated lines Giacometti used in figure 1.3 suggests anxiety, while the fluid lines in figure 1.4 express movement and playful energy" (3). Another example of emotion through art using a different medium is value distribution. This basic element is displayed in photographs both in figures 1.69 and 1.71, which perfectly display how "Careful use of value distribution can increase emotional impact" (30, 31). The value distribution is shown in 1.71 through the use of a dark room, with a slight light illumination to the left of the photo that allows just enough light in to view the people whom are standing under a large structure, which the text points out to be a bus shelter. This value distribution helps to build mystery within the photo, which brings out strong emotion within the audience.

While reading through the text, Launching the Imagination, by Mary Stewart, Figure 1.11, or the image by Jerome Witkin on page 5, instantly caught my attention. Although my attention was caught, I was not quite sure what I was looking at until I continued reading through the text that described the scene within the oil strokes by Witkin. Reading through the description is what made me realize how important it is to include an excerpt of one's art, whether it be digital or on some sort of physical canvas, for the audience can guess for as long as they would like, but the true intention of the artist may not be known until it is revealed in an explanation by the artist. Going through this experience myself also gave me the insight of what content should be included in the detailed description of my work, such as is given in the text, which points out the "diagonal streaks of white and a gray arrow on the street pull us toward the woman in red...while the blue and yellow shapes in the upper-right corner send us ricocheting back out again" (Stewart, 43). This description allows the audience to focus their attention on what otherwise may have been a confusing message.