The Kiss

I find the sculpture, The Kiss, by Auguste Rodin to be very interesting. The lighting makes such a huge difference. In figure 9.10 A, in the book, "Launching the Imagination", the shadows both highlight and hide certain characteristics of the marble sculpture, which leaves some of the sculpture up to the imagination for the viewer. If the viewer was to take a step back from this sculpture, it may seem lifelike enough to make the viewer take a second glance to ensure that this scene was not actually playing out. The artist did a great job of depicting a couple of lovers lost in the moment.

Eat Clean or Die Dirty

I recently made a propaganda piece that features a strong message about properly fueling one's body. The text reads "Eat Clean Or Die Dirty". This is a strong message, but the intention was to stir up the audience and receive strong reactions. Society today is focused on instant gratification with the cheapest price tag, yet this is also what is ruining lives. I am a strong advocate for eating clean, working out, and going the extra mile to help other people do the same. Thus, this propaganda poster was the perfect outlet to do so. After making this piece, I posted it on my health and fitness page and it received quite a bit of positive feedback.

Hybridity

According to Launching the Imagination, by Mary Stewart, hybridity "may be defined as the creation of artworks using disparate media and meaning to create a unified  conceptual statement." With all of the shapes in the painting of I wish I could help you, by Daniel Sutherland (1994, oil on canvas on wood with hardware), the mind is constantly trying to familiarize itself with what is going in the painting. It is somewhat like the vagueness principle where the mind makes connections even when a full description is not given. Regardless of what the shapes are, the mind will try to fit them into categories that are known rather than keeping them in the unknown. The reason this is relative to artwork I may produce is because it helps to open my mind as to what art can be and that is makes a piece more interesting when there are unknowns involved. The unknown allows the mind of the audience to be creative, ponder, and try to figure out what the creator of the piece is trying to convey.

(Picture unavailable online.)

Iconography

According to the book, Launching the Imagination, by Mary Stewart, Iconography "is the study of such symbolic visual images", or it is the description of images (159). While looking at the image title The Serpent Didn't Lie, by Deborah Haylor-Mcdowell (etching 1997, figure 8.3) my eyes were constantly swept in a circle but were able to stop to focus on each individual action that is creating the content of this piece. Before I read the description, I tried to decipher what each of the action pieces that mad up the photo were about. While most of my speculations were incorrect, the fact that each element of the picture held meaning was very apparent. If I were to apply this to my own work, I would say that regardless of what the personal meaning behind my work is, I would need to place emphasis where it is due in order to allow the audience to realize that there is meaning behind the work. This is why it is also important to include a description, so that after an analysis by the audience is performed, they are able to understand what the maker of the piece had in mind for it.

(I was unable to find a picture of this piece online to post here.)

"Perfectionism feed(s) fear"

While reading through Launching the Imagination, the mention that "Both habit and perfection feed fear" hit close to home for me (133). I have often limited my potential simply because I do not feel like what I create is worthy of being art or something that will make a difference. What if Michelangelo had told himself his work was never going to be good enough? The world would never have seen his painting at the Sistine Chapel. The work of individuals that go before us shows what humans are capable of creating through applying oneself.

OAI Vector

Shown above are the initials O.A.I., which stand for Overly Ambitious Individual. I wanted to find abbreviations that were vowels, as it seems many abbreviations are often consonants. That being said, I also wanted this vector exercise to be a representation of how I go through life. I often bite off more than I can pull off, which leads to great time management and much more being accomplished than I ever thought possible.

The patterns inside the letters are all very busy, which also contributes to the idea that I am overly ambitious, constantly busy, and have a tough time sitting for long periods of time. I kept quite a bit of negative white space within my piece to help the letters/pictures to pop. On the right side, I placed a border around the shape to draw the eye back into the other patterns rather than allowing the focus to run off the page.

Albrecht Durer, The Knight, Death and the Devil

The texture of the engraving by Albrecht Durer, titled The Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513, caught my eye because of the layers that make up the piece (117). While the etching itself tells the story of the horrors of the Black Plague, the layers also weave in the emotions of sorrow and anxiety. These emotions perfectly capture the hopelessness that must have plagued the victims of the Black Plague. The fact that the artist could tell a story both with the picture itself and with the lines that make up this piece show extreme attention to detail and passion for the work he does.

Divergent

I enjoyed learning about "divergent thinking" within the bounds of creating a piece of art. According to Mary Stewart in Launching the Imagination, "In divergent thinking, the means determines the end. The process is more open-minded; specific results are hard to predict" (119). I relate most to this method of design in my own art because I have a difficult time coming up with an end result to my work. This means I start on a piece and then build upon it based on the feeling I receive from the piece. The finished product always tells a story, but it is the process that builds the story, not the work before beginning the piece.