Art Gallery Events

    The first art gallery I went to was "In Light of the Body" which included photographs by Regina DeLuise and paintings by Gwen Hardie.  The photographs were interesting on their own; however, what drew my attention most was the oil paintings.  They represented close ups of the figures in the photographs, specifically their skin.  Without knowing that information, I would have never known the paintings depicted skin; the colors, the shape of the canvas, and the shading make the works look like they could be planets.  What I find interesting is that human skin, not typically a subject of art, can be so deeply analyzed and depicted so artistically that is unrecognizable.

    The second art gallery I attended was "Picking up the Pieces" by Jim Condron.  The pieces were created in various mediums, with different objects and materials.  Specifically, I was drawn to this colorful piece.  I was interested in its color, but also it resembled a sailboat to me; however, in close inspection it doesn't quite look like a sailboat anymore, and the viewer is able to closely analyze the parts that make up this piece.  I thought it was fascinating that the artist used wood, but also a foam to create this piece.  The bright colors also attract the viewer to this piece.

Data Visualization

    I agree with the statement made by the woman in the video that presenting information in a visual format is the fastest way for some to engage with that information.  I think it is much easier to conceptualize or understand data if we can physically see it; for example, graphing information, in terms of mathematics or science, makes it easier to understand and, thus, draw conclusions from.  Visualizing data can make complex information more accessible and easier to understand for most people.
    The video included various works of data visualization, but what specifically caught my attention was the piece in which a light represented the amount of McDonald's restaurants in the United States.  McDonald's itself is no glamorous or artistic place, but the way the information was presented, through lights, made it look like a eye-catching piece of art.
     Like Tufte said, "we are seeing to learn."  Through data visualization, we look at art as a way to easily absorb new information.  Personally, I am a visual learner, and it makes most sense to me to physically see the information rather than have someone verbally give the information to me; therefore, I find data visualization a very effective way to learn.

Visual Analysis of Post Modernism Project

    The mediums used in this piece were paint, as well as images that were cut and pasted.  Brush strokes are evident in the green painted section.  The composition of the piece includes radiating lines that come from a center, focal point.  Each part of the piece brings the viewer's eye back to the portion of the piece that is photoshopped.  The composition is symmetrical; each side is equally balanced with objects.  There are two color schemes going on within the piece.  First would be analogous of green and yellow.  Second would be triad of yellow, red, and blue.  There is various use of line, including implied line around the focal point, and lines that come out from the focal point as well.  The value is generally dark, it is mostly gray or black with a contrast of white.
     The denotative meaning of this piece is a photoshopped image of robots surrounded by painted objects and cut and pasted photos of dated technology.  The connotative meaning is the evil and danger that can be associated with the use of robots or advanced technology.  The dark ominous colors represent the risk of advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence.  Also, robots themselves are not designed to be colorful or have a human-like personality, which again ties into the dark colors that represent technology's lack of emotion and personality.  The ideological meaning is the dispute between society about whether or not robots will make life better or whether they will overcome the human race and take our place in society.

Postmodernism

    I thought the first reading was interesting because it opened up by describing how people of the Middle Ages would not have to interact with people of different cultures, unless they had a desire to conquer those said cultures.  I am currently taking a class on the history of the Middle Ages, and according to what we have learned so far, the article was correct is saying most cultures of that era do not interact unless it is for negative reasons.
    In regards to the first reading, do postmodernists dislike the idea of technology and social media?
The second reading was more difficult to understand; I wasn't sure exactly what point the author was trying to make.  Was he/she suggesting that Disneyland is an escape from reality? Or where people actually show their true selves?

Color Podcast

      In the start of the podcast, I found it interesting that they mentioned light, or light from the sun, was seen as "holy."  People during Newton's time thought the rainbow produced from the prism was "dirtying" the light.  It was interesting that Newton himself was responsible for determining that light, and the colors within that light, were a physical object that could be understood.
      I did not know humans had 3 "cones" which enabled us to see certain colors, and it is weird to think butterflies and mantis shrimp can see more colors than humans can.  Regarding the women with extra cones, I knew people could be color blind, but I never thought of humans with the ability to have more cones and to see more color.  It was fascinating that in a clear blue sky, the woman with the extra cone was able to also see some red.
       I think it was fascinating that Gladstone admired Homer's works so intensely that he was able to dissect his writing to determine that Homer was actually color blind.  Additionally, in different cultures of the past blue was not mentioned as nearly as often as other colors.  For example, they mentioned that Homer did not use blue at all in his writing.  I did not know that without prior knowledge of the color blue, it is so hard for others to conceptualize.

Photoshop Project

Baltimore Museum of Art

#1: Marie Laurencin "Group of Artists"
     This piece interests me the most because I assumed at first that it was a family portrait.  However, when I read the title "Group of Artists" it changed my perception of the piece.  I suppose it could still be a family, and the artist just refers to them as artists.
     What is most interesting is that each individual in the painting looks dramatically different from the others.  The artist painted them all different; they don't have a universal style. Also, everyone is positioned differently as well.  At first, this piece made me feel like it was a normal family portrait, but then I looked closer into the details of each person.  None of them look like they belong to the same family.  The man in the blue looks like he could be showing some resentment towards the man in the center because of the sideways glare he is giving him.  In general, this piece makes me feel like it is very serious and formal.
      The composition of this piece includes the Golden Triangle, which is formed by the positioning of each person.  The focal point is the man in the center.  I determined that the eye path began with the man in the center and traveled to the woman on his right, it continued through the dog, to the man in blue, and then through the woman's arm back to the man in the center.  I saw the arms of both the women are radiating lines that carry the eye back to the man in the center.

   

#2: Max Pechstein "The Circus"
     What attracted me to this piece was the color.  The other pieces I chose had color as well, but this specific piece had a vivid red and orange of the man, woman, and horses.  Initially, I was confused as to what was happening in the piece.  I knew it was some type of performance, but the title helped me confirm what was taking place.
      I interpreted this piece as depicting the thrill and excitement of performing.  It seems like an adrenaline rush for the man and woman riding the horses.  Also, I feel the awe of the crowd who are watching this spectacle take place.
      The focal point of this piece is the horses in the center.  The eye path begins with the horses and travels up to the man then to the woman, through her arms and to the man in black.  Radiating lines come from the woman's arms down to the man and back to the horses.  There is a leading line where the blue and the yellow sections of the crowd meet.  There is also a leading line across the stage and from the hand of the man in black.

 

#3: Henri Matisse "The Pierced Rock"
     I interpreted this piece as an idyllic scene of the ocean.  It is just a comforting scene to see the calmness of the water and a sailboat in the distance.  I like the earthy tones of it as well.  Initially, it just looked like a rock in the ocean to me, but as I spent more time with it, I began to see more of the detail.  For example, the texture in the rock, the shadow of the rock, and the waves crashing around the bottom of the rock.
     I chose this piece because of the simplicity of the scene.  I wanted to make sure I included a landscape as one of my pieces.  Since my other two pieces contained people, I wanted something that focused only on nature.
     The focal point of this piece is the right side of the rock.  The eye path begins at the right side of the rock, follows the arch of it, goes down the left side and connects to the pieces of grass along the bottom of the frame.  The horizon in the background is a leading line.  I also see the arch of the rock as a radiating line.  The shadow coming from the rock can also be seen as a radiating line.  This piece contains multiple L-shapes as shown in my sketch above.  The L-shapes continue to get larger moving from the horizon to the foreground of the painting.

Ways of Seeing

"Ways of Seeing" by John Berger was, in general, an interesting read, but several specific sections of his writing stuck out to me.  A section of the reading that specifically resonated with me was when the Berger writes, "Images were first made to conjure up appearances of something that was absent."  Instantly, I thought of the infamous paintings of Jesus.  There is no photographical evidence of what Jesus looked like; therefore, the artist created his depiction of what Jesus looked like, giving the viewer the artist's version of him.
Also, it was interest to read about the works of Frans Hals, and to think that the emotions an artist feels toward a subject can be seen through the painting (even though it was clarified that he wasn't bitter toward his subjects).  Artists have the power to portray the subject as they please; the visual shows the relation between the artist and their subject.
Additionally, Berger discusses the replication of images, which can distort and diversify their true meaning.  What caught my attention was when he said after an image is reproduced, the image that the original shows is not exactly unique because it is seen frequently by viewers after its reproduction, but how it being the original work is what makes it unique.

Visibility

    In general, I think the article "Visibility" written by Italo Calvino was very complex, and slightly hard to understand in parts.  However, what catch my attention was the section that explained what we see on the movie screen had to first pass through the imagination of the director.  It is interesting to think each small detail of a film first begins in someone's mind before becoming something tangible and/or visible.
     I also connected with the section that describes a word transforming into an image.  For example, when we read a book and create an entire world within our minds.  It is fascinating to think multiple people could read the same exact book, yet have vastly different visions of what the characters, setting, etc. are like.
    Lastly, it was interesting that it mentioned that St. Ignatius of Loyola took words and transformed them into visuals in his imagination to gain more knowledge of God.  A quote from Dante also caught  my attention,  in which he says" O imagination, you who have the power to impose ourselves on our facilities and our wills, stealing us from the outer world, and carrying us off to an inner one."  I think our imagination can be helpful to create, dream, escape, etc., but sometimes it can be a negative force that take you away from reality when you need to be present.  (It happens to me in class occasionally).  In summary, Calvino's article was complex and at points difficult to understand, but it also make me think deeper into the imagination and the mind.

The Whole Ball of Wax

      I believe each person can have a different take on Jerry Saltz's article titled the "The Whole Ball of Wax," but the message I received from it is that art is a means of transportation.  Art is meant to evoke emotion, and by doing so, it can transform the viewer's emotion into a memory.
      Art is also a documentation of time.  A certain iconic painting, photograph, or sculpture defines a period of time in the world, in which viewers are transported back to that era.  For example, looking at old photo albums can transport us back to into the past, and art possesses the same ability.  The Time Magazine cover of the Baltimore riots we saw in class not only captures the experience for outsiders to see, but for someone personally there can again feel, see, smell, etc. the world during that event.
       I agree with the article that art cannot directly change the world or solve its problems, but I do believe art can be used as a documentation of emotions and time that can have some sort of impact on the world.  I wholeheartedly agree with Saltz's statement that art is "a medium or matrix through which one sees the world."  I believe you can not only see the world through it, but also feel and remember with the power of art.