Ideas:

• Desire to use water color and micron pen
  • pattern, texture
  • murkiness of water color
• Show color relativity through pattern

• texture and pattern

• Water color flows into beautiful flowers…depiction of nature

Artist Inspiration:

• Bianca Bello
• Ellsworth Kelly’s spectrum of color
• Ekaterina Koroleav
  • “Les Filles”

• Colors can show emotion and the way a person feels…psychology of color

I also really have a liking for several pages in my idea file. It deals with water color just like most of the images above, with a texturized pattern with micron pen. When there were harder edges in the page, I traced over them with the pen, making them stand out more. The page I liked the most is a picture of a man looking at an image of John Lennon’s “Imagine”. I used water color to drip down towards the seam of the book, which is the sort of thing I want to incorporate into my final piece. What I could do is take a picture near downtown Dayton of a wall that has graffiti, and drip the water color similarly to how I did below.

The idea of dripping can give so many different sensations and meanings.

This piece is ultimately a value painting with an emphasis of the value shifts with micron pen. On the right side of the face, the value is darker, therefore the micron pen circles are smaller. On the left side of the face, the circles are larger because the value is lighter in contrast with the right side. If I were to do a piece like this, I would do a self-portrait with an incorporation of colors that make me feel at my best. For instance, blue because it is not only my favorite color but it makes me feel calm and tranquil. The forms I would use instead of these circles might be forms that I call noodles.

Above are several examples of different portraits done with either pen and ink, or pen with the use of water color.  Each one is different in its own way and uses different shapes or values to create a readable face.

Project 4 Recap: Design and Color

The whole concept of this project was to work with different hues and see how they relate to one another according to their hue, value, and saturation. For the first color relativity project, the first step was to digitally create three columns that have three rows of squares. Each row has a different color box and is defined by changes in hue, value, or saturation. Next to the rows are descriptions of how and why the strokes on the squares change. 

The next project, reversed grounds, was similar in principle to the color relativity. The difference was that there were two rows that had three squares each. The small triangle within the squares would change based on the opposite square’s hue. For example, the first column is a value change. The top triangle is lighter in value in comparison to the bottom triangle because they are relative to each other.

3.2 Reversed Grounds

The illusion of transparency and GIF was the next part of the project. The first step was to make a composition with multiple shapes and forms. Whenever two of them crossed, we had to find the color in the middle of the two, that way the shape or form looked transparent.Then after that, we had to change the color and in-between hues in four different frames so we could make a GIF. From this project and hue inventory, I learned to really search for middle hues, values, and saturations.

3.3 Illusion of Transparency + GIF

Next, was the illusion of a 3D space. Using Iso-sketch once again, I made a composition that had to have a definite light source. The shapes looked 3D due to value shifts on the different planes of the forms/shapes.

3.3 Illusion of 3D Space

Next, using the Kaleidopaint app, we had to create a composition using different colors that had a certain relationship. After that, we had to duplicate the image and change the background color so that the same forefront colors were used but the background color gave the composition a different color and meaning. For mine, I used more purples and blues on the left side, but the purples stick out the most on the right, because the blue and orange are complimentary.

4.2 Bezold Effect

The last part of project four was the progressive pattern assignment. We were shown examples by several artists who made beautiful pieces that showed a progression in several different ways that could have included hue, transparency, or several others. I decided to make a progression in both the background and the foreground. The progression goes from a yellow-green to yellow, yellow to yellow-orange, and then orange back to yellow-orange, and so on. Then in the foreground, the hues shift from a fuscia to magenta, magenta to purple, and then purple to an indigo and back again. Aesthetically, I thought this piece was more pleasing with the black lines still in the composition.

4.3Progressive Pattern

From this project, I not only tried to be very selective with the colors I used, but I also tried to be very patient and remake compositions if I felt they did not work well. Because I did this, I feel I have made very successful work. From finding middle hues in the transparency piece to making a kaleidoscope that shows how colors work together, this project 4 was extremely helpful.

Artist Exhibition Research

The exhibit I chose to research is ‘Van Gogh’s Bedrooms’, taking place in Chicago at the Art Institute of Chicago, which is dedicated to Van Gogh’s painting of his bedroom in Arles in the south of France. This is the first time that all three versions of Vincent Van Gogh’s bedrooms are being shown at one time at the same place in North America.

There are more than 3o works that will be displayed in addition with the bedroom paintings, which includes a digitally enhanced reconstruction of Van Gogh’s bedroom. The exhibit curators say that they are allowing visitors to experience the space that inspired the paintings. There will also be lectures, film screenings and a performance featuring Chicago actors reading from the artist’s letters that are scheduled during the exhibition as well. As promotion for the exhibit, the Art Institute even created a ‘real-life’ version of the famous bedroom. 

Below is an excerpt from from the Art Institute of Chicago’s website and its explanation of Van Gogh’s exhibit:

Van Gogh painted his first Bedroom just after moving into his beloved “Yellow House” in Arles, France, in 1888. He was so enamored with the work, now in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, that after water damage threatened its stability, he became determined to preserve the composition by painting a second version while at an asylum in Saint-Rémy in 1889. Identical in scale and yet distinct from the original, that second work is now one of the icons of the Art Institute’s permanent collection. Van Gogh created a smaller third version, now at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, as a gift for his mother and sister a few weeks after making the second. While the three paintings at first appear almost identical, when examined closely, each reveals distinct and unique details.

This exhibition is the first to truly delve into the fascinating history of these three paintings. Beginning with Van Gogh’s early canvases of cottages and birds’ nests, the show explores the artist’s use of the motif of home—as haven, creative chamber, and physical reality—and follows the evolution of this theme throughout his career, beyond the Yellow House to the asylum at Saint-Rémy. The presentation concludes with Van Gogh’s final residence in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he once again painted a series of cottages—returning to the idea that first evoked in him a sense of home.

Van Gogh’s Bedrooms features approximately 36 works by the artist, including paintings, drawings, and illustrated letters, as well as a selection of books and other ephemera known to have been in Van Gogh’s possession. Enhancing the exploration of the artist’s works and his longing for a place of his own are several engaging interactive presentations. A digitally enhanced reconstruction of his bedroom allows viewers the chance to experience his state of mind and the physical reality of the space that so inspired him, while other enriching digital components bring to light significant recent scientific research on the three Bedroom paintings. The result is an innovative yet intimate look at one of the most beloved and often-misunderstood artists of all time.

The following are several pieces involved in the exhibit:

Here are also several reviews of the exhibit:

“Van Gogh’s Bedrooms,” the intensely focused new exhibition at the Art Institute, contains many unusual things…”-Steve Johnson (Chicago Tribune)

“These are the most fragile items in the entire exhibition, and we’re all holding our breath…”Gloria Groom, Chairman of the European Painting/Sculpture Department (Talking about the three bedroom pieces)

“There is so much paint just clinging by a prayer. For many people this is going to be a revelation…” Gloria Gloom

After reading a few more reviews, I discovered that people found it very interesting to look at his process. As always, people are used to looking at final works of art, and never the process so it was interesting for people to see the time and effort put into each piece. I think that this exhibit would have been very interesting to go and see, because you could see so many different things. You would be able to see the beginnings and ends of each project that he accomplished, or some that never even got done. Since all of his works were in the 1800’s, it would have been very interesting to see how he portrayed women considering no one would paint someone that obscene back in the day. His exhibit sounds very intriguing and I wish I was able to go and see it.

After reading more reviews and interpretations of the works individually, I discovered that as an exhibit, viewers were enthralled by seeing all three of the bedrooms at the same time and witnessing the differences and similarities of them all next to each other. Seeing as though North America has never had all three of the bedrooms at the same exhibit, this exhibit is such an exciting one. The show really focuses on allowing the viewer to experience Van Gogh’s process by involving a life-size copy of his bedroom, as well as allowing people to sleep in the mockup bedroom. Van Gogh’s vibrant colors and use of expressive textures, included in his self-portrait for instance, are kinds of techniques that I value in artists. I wish I could attend this exhibit with a few friends before May 10, but it’s almost impossible. Van Gogh is an amazing and notable artist, and I hope to someday define my own style and creation beautiful work like he did.

2.1 BLITZ

My solution for this blitz was to make the sphere by measuring circles slowly decreasing from 10″. I produced this object by measuring from the largerst diameter, cutting it out, and tracing circles that kept getting smaller. After cutting out each circle, I glued the sides together creating this sphere. My approach at first could have potentially worked, but my execution is what lacked. I did not make a wide enough core, so my sphere ended up looking more like an oval. If I were to redo this project, I would have spent more time making more core circles so that my sphere would have actually had a spherical shape. My solution was similar to several people in the class, but different because mine was the least spherical shaped.

I photographed my sphere in these spots, because these are places you would least expect to find it: on top of a first aid box, up high resting on the shelf, sitting on the paper towel dispenser, wedged on the door, and sitting on the dry-erase board.

2.2 REPRESENTATION

The object I decided to replicate was my rubber cement can. The object we had to replicate could be no larger than our hand, so I decided to do an object found in my foundations kit.
The rubber cement can is associated with the concluding moments of each project of these past two semesters. Glueing the final Physical Inventory Book page onto a piece of Stonehenge paper represents its finality.
Are there different kinds of this thing?
There are different kinds of adhesives, but this is the most commonly used one amongst first year students in this major at The University of Dayton.
Rubber cement is different than others, because there is a permanent element to it; if you brush both the back of the piece and the spot you wish to place it, it will be glued there for quite some time.
I approached this piece the same way I approached the sphere. I traced the bottom of the can and the top of the lid, and drew several circles that mimicked the same shape and size of the can. I built up the height of the replica in comparison to the actual can itself, and glued each circle together. 2.3 REAL

The space my team created was a pile of objects that could be considered materialistic or distractions away from what is important in the world. The distractions include food, music, makeup, guns, alcohol, etc, really anything that could be a negative influence on someone and their outlook on the world. We decided to create this piece in a corner so that it looked like it was falling, so that it was restricted to one area and the viewers would not have to walk around the piece, and so that others could question whether or not there are more objects hidden than it appears.
Our objective was to showcase how materialistic items have become the concentration of this generation, and that nature and the organic world has been lacking attention.Our prompt or metaphor to bring this idea forward was “needle in a haystack”. We planned to communicate this idea by making a physical pile of objects that coincided with our idea. We used chicken wire to form the shape of the pile, and paper towel to give it the ‘heavy’ quality it needed. Most of the objects included in the pile were mostly made of cardboard, but there were some also make from cardboard paper.
As a group, we all made the pile with the strategic placing of the paper towels, but I personally made the mirror, the cigarette box and cigarettes, the “NAKED” palette, the Trojan piece, and I also contributed to the set up of our piece as a whole.
The objects I made git into the larger meaning because they all deal with distractions from what is truly important; the importance being the lily and its significance in nature. The cigarettes distract from good health, the mirror and makeup forces someone to focus on their appearance, and the Trojan piece could represent someone being lustful or focusing too much of the physical aspects of relationships. As a whole, each piece had a specific meaning to them, and they were all benficial to the meaning and aesthetic appeal of the piece.

2.3 MAKE IT

The space my team created was a pile of objects that could be considered materialistic or distractions away from what is important in the world. The distractions include food, music, makeup, guns, alcohol, etc, really anything that could be a negative influence on someone and their outlook on the world. We decided to create this piece in a corner so that it looked like it was falling, so that it was restricted to one area and the viewers would not have to walk around the piece, and so that others could question whether or not there are more objects hidden than it appears.
Our objective was to showcase how materialistic items have become the concentration of this generation, and that nature and the organic world has been lacking attention.Our prompt or metaphor to bring this idea forward was “needle in a haystack”. We planned to communicate this idea by making a physical pile of objects that coincided with our idea. We used chicken wire to form the shape of the pile, and paper towel to give it the ‘heavy’ quality it needed. Most of the objects included in the pile were mostly made of cardboard, but there were some also make from cardboard paper.
As a group, we all made the pile with the strategic placing of the paper towels, but I personally made the mirror, the cigarette box and cigarettes, the “NAKED” palette, the Trojan piece, and I also contributed to the set up of our piece as a whole.
The objects I made git into the larger meaning because they all deal with distractions from what is truly important; the importance being the lily and its significance in nature. The cigarettes distract from good health, the mirror and makeup forces someone to focus on their appearance, and the Trojan piece could represent someone being lustful or focusing too much of the physical aspects of relationships. As a whole, each piece had a specific meaning to them, and they were all benficial to the meaning and aesthetic appeal of the piece.

Through all of these projects, I have learned to not underestimate different materials, be creative, and take time on what I’m creating so that I have good craftsmanship. 

Appropriation Recreation Recap

The concept of this project is to take a famous artwork created before 1990, and create it with a different meaning. This could mean recreating the composition in a completely different way through media, color, or organization of the elements involved in the piece. Because this is also a psychology of color class, the color and its meaning are prevalent to the piece no matter how much or how little the composition changed from the original.

As I was looking through many artworks and paintings by many artists, I stumbled upon Venus in the Mirror by Peter Paul Rubens. His style and use of color intrigued me, and I wanted to learn more both about the painting and his journey as an artist. In this painting, Rubens used muted colors with the exception of the curvy woman’s skin tone. His composition involves three people, two of which being the goddess Venus and her son Cupid. He is holding up a mirror so that Venus can have a good look at herself in the mirror. She is directly looking at the viewer, suggesting that maybe she is boasting about her beauty, curious as to who is looking at her, or she is observing the surroundings behind her. However one interprets the painting is up to them, but women in this time who were curvy were suggested to be wealthy. In this time period, this type of figure was seen as beautiful ultimately.

The idea of my piece was to highlight what it meant to be beautiful back in the time of the Baroque painting style, and show our view of beauty has started to change. Back then, being curvy meant that you were wealthy and able to afford the best food and clothes. Now, being curvy is seen as unattractive or not at all up to society’s standards; being skinny and tan has become more acceptable. However, this view is slowly changing.

I had a flood of ideas but they were all simplified to one digital and time consuming idea. I decided to make a mosaic-looking piece made almost completely with triangles. I wanted the composition to be the same, but with minor changes to the colors and the shape of the woman. I changed the colors of the cloth to green and purple. Green could represent materialism, wealth, and purple could represent wealth, beauty, and sophistication. I also changed the color of the woman’s skin, making her more tan.

We were told to bring in a mock-up,and this is the original composition of what I had. I had the picture in the center, and I drew the triangles over the parts of the painting that I wanted to include.

Going in to the first critique, this was my final work. I was unmotivated and unhappy with what I made, and certain things looked off. For example, the eyes creeped me out and the skin was too orange. I did not realize these until after, and I decided to redo this for a potential better grade and reaction to the work I put into this piece.

This is my final product, and I am happy with the decisions and the changes I have made. This piece took great perseverance, and I am proud of the end result.

In this final piece, I hope to show that even in today’s society when we’re all supposed to love and support each other, our external appearance sometimes matter more. We are all subject to judgement if we are too curvy or too thin. I chose to use muted colors, as well as blue and orange compliments.

After reflecting from finishing this project, I realized how much freedom we had on this project.Yes, guidelines were given, but there were very little preventative measures that held us from bringing our ideas to life through digital and handmade media. This project was one that took a lot of mental discipline, and I am really happy with how my piece came out. I had so many ideas from the beginning, but I wanted mine to be completely different from everyone else’s, and I accomplished that. From this project, I learned the importance of time, how different a color can look on a computer screen in comparison to printed out on paper, and how effort really plays a huge role in the making of art. This piece allowed me the freedom to create something that is beautiful and  simple in its own way.

Appropriation/Recreation Concepts and Ideas

Concepts:

• Gender in art
• Women objectivity

Ideas:

• Sexual objectification of women in advertising: recognized issue in society?
  • Ads
    • “You mean a women can open it?” (Del Monte Ketchup)
    • “So the harder a wife works, the cuter she looks?”
    • “The best things in life come in cellophane”
  • The Women in the Green Dress by Claude Monet
    • Full scale
    • 19 year old fashionista (Mistress)
    • movement away from viewer denies context and explanation of the schene
    • Unconventional
  • The Outcast by Sandro Boticelli
    • Muted salmon cloth
    • Pure, white robes
    • despair
  • Ophelia by Arthur Hughes
    • White/beige dress
    • Orange hair
    • Whimsical quality
    • Ophelia’s death announcement was one of the most poetic ones in literature (significant)
      • Forbidden love with Hamlet
    • Mignon Nevada as Ophelia
      • Photograph
      • 1910
      • black and white portrait
    • 1915: The Model
      • Nude was a tower of blocks
      • Muted yellow, orange, red
      • Against a blue-grey background
    • Fantasy: Andrew Atroshenko
    • Renoir Ballerina
      • Blue: tranquility, harmony
        • How ballerinas are depicted in society
        • Prim, proper, trying to fit the perfect image
      • Peter Paul Rumens: Venus in front of the mirror
        • Venus is the goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility
        • Aphrodite is the Roman counterpart who is the goddess of victory, fertility, prostitution
          • Women in society are depicted as sex symbols
          • Famous women inspire others to be more sexual
          • Women sexualized in society
        • Istvan Etienne Sandorfi
          • Oil on canvas
          • La Priere de Sorya;
          • 1996

Final Idea

• Women sexualized in society
  • Media
  • Expectations
    • Great in kitchen and in bed
      • …nothing more
    • Ways to solve problems
      • Photography
        • Reflection of face with bare back
        • Cupid/maid as suggestion of color to represent them
        • Reflection of face: embarrassed/ashamed of body
      • Research:
        • Venus is confident and knows she beautiful
        • Knows viewer is watching her
        • Pricey accessories (rich, wealthy)
          • Almost boastful
          • Emphasizes nakedness
        • Meaning: being aware of beauty and accentuating it
        • Mirror held by Cupid (additional meaning)
          • Symbol competing with nature and creates an image that is as real as possible
        • The piece itself
          • 123 cm x 98 cm
          • year of 1614-1615
          • oil on canvas
          • goddess with traditionally blond hair
          • goddess’s reflected image does not match portion of face on canvas
          • ‘rounded’ ideal form
        • Peter Paul Rubens
          • 1577-1640
          • Flemish Baroque Painter
          • Baroque style emphasized movement, color, and sensuality
          • Well-known for his counter-Reformation altarpieces
          • Paints women as shapely (wealthy enough to be well-fed)
        • Renaissance to Neoclassicism
          • Flemish Baroque: 1600-1730 (began in Rome)
          • Art produced in Southern Netherlands
          • Antwerp=artistic nexus
          • Rubens had strong influence on 17^th century visual culture
            • Helped define Antwerp as one of Europe’s major artistic cities
              • Counter-Reformation imagery
              • New direction in English portraiture
            • Portraiture seen/made as life-sized and monumental
          • History painting
            • Biblical, mythological, historical subjects seen as most noble
            • 1609 Rubens was leading figure of Flemish Baroque

Questions to ask myself:

• How to be more specific?
• What do I want the viewer to see?
  • Wealth vs. Poverty
    • Heavy vs. skinny
  • Healthy vs. unhealthy
    • Are people taking care of their bodies?
  • Curvy vs. Scary skinny
    • Are people unable to get the nutritious food they need, therefore eating processed foods that are fattening?
    • Are people starving themselves to fit a stereotype or certain amount of people?
  • Beauty vs. unattractive
    • Society expects us to be beautiful or change ourselves so that we are
  • Confident vs. Ashamed
    • Women nowadays are looked at for exposing too much skin
      • What would someone think if you walked down the street in revealing clothes?
        • Would someone come up to you?
      • What would someone think if you were completely covered and prude-ish looking?
        • Two opposite sides of the spectrum but also two very valid arguments
        • Why can’t people just mind their own business and appreciate the human body for what it is?
      • What does the shape of our bodies say about our life style?
        • Does it have to do with wealth or social acceptance?

Mock Up:

• Mosaic
  • Triangles everywhere
  • Pretty much a 1:1 composition
  • Using colors to represent beauty, confidence, wealth
  • Probably won’t change shape of woman
    • Changed: an inner shape to show how image of beauty in women has changed over time
  • Each object or person will be a gradient of color, not just one static color
    • Giving the forms volume