Extra Credit Blog

This my 2d final project. I have decided to call it, "Two Paths to Everything," because I am showing that there are two paths I am looking at; they both lead to everything I ever wanted. The assignment was to relate our first year at college to Alice in Wonderland. While reading Alice in Wonderland, it was obvious to me that I needed to do a piece concerning the caterpillar asking Alice, "Who are you?" I wanted to show how confused I felt; I had been so certain of who I was, but college changed me so much.

I liked the idea of a broken plane at first because I felt so broken, and I felt like there were so many pieces to me that didn't quite fit together yet. I also felt I should make the background black because to me, I had never really been so confused, and black is confusion to me. In the midst of confusion, there are certain parts to me that always stay the same, and I wanted the canvases to each represent one part of the way I felt. As the project progressed, I fell further and further away from my original intent. I don't feel that it takes away from the meaning of the piece. I believe the piece still shows a confused person looking pleadingly at the caterpillar for help, and that's how I felt. I also wanted to add parts coming off of the canvas to add to the aesthetics of the piece and to take a risk. Overall, there are some corrections that need to be made before I turn it in; but I am happy with where my ideas led me and where the project ended up.

Blog Entry Assignment #5

1)

Inka Essenhigh has contributed to painting by doing something unique. When most things have been done before in painting, it's refreshing to see something new that stands out. Essenhigh's work is different and can range from a cartoonish Dr. Seuss-like style to outragous situations appearing realistic.

2)Inka Essenhigh stands out because not only is she prolific, but her style has changed, and she is evolving as an artist. Essenhigh also stands out because she has done many solo exibitions as well as group exibitions.


3)What impresses me most about Inka Essenhigh is her imaginative paintings. She creates an extremely dreamy and outragous world, but her technique makes it incredibly believable. Essenhigh is able to make a world created in her mind appear real to her audience.

5)Inka Essenhigh really uses dominance structure in her work. There is usually one form in her work that is without a doubt, dominant. She follows that up with plenty of subordinant structures and also includes many accentual objects. In the painting, "Shopping," she uses the grouping of accentual objects to lead the viewer's eye around the painting.

5)Inka adresses the human form in different ways. In the paintings above, "Shopping" and "Subway," the figures are realistic for the most part, but she has minipulated parts of their bodies to make it dreamlike. In general, the colors she uses to depict the human form are different from what occurs in real life. For example, in the painting, "Shopping," shades of blue are used that typically don't occur in living people; she uses the colors of their skin to effect the mood and meaning.

6)I have been influenced to take more risks. Essenhigh truly thinks in an innovative way; she has shown me that minipulating objects in painting can add to the meaning. Essenhigh has also influenced me because she makes a completely impossible situation seem completely logical and realistic; I would like to do this in my work.

7) Essenhigh typically uses cool colors. There are exceptions, but most of her work is cool and light. Essenhigh uses a lot of blues in her work. In the work, "Shopping," the use of blues add to the cool, sterile look of the painting. A lot of her work seems to have negative undertones that depict the annoyances of daily life, and she uses color to show how she feels about the event she is capturing and minipulating. She also seems to use a lot of analagous color schemes.

Image Essay #11

This painting titled, "The Sleep of Edymion," by Girodet is an excellent source to use while looking at the use of lighting. The central focus of the painting is the male figure on the right. Not only is attention brought to him through dominance, but most of the attention of the viewer is brought to him through lighting. There is a smaller figure in the upper left corner pulling back branches. Because these branches are being pulled back, light streams through and hits the central figure on the face, arms, chest and upper stomach. However, the light does not hit the smaller figure because he is behind the branches, so the shades used to paint him are very low key and do not draw attention away from the central figure.

Another way lighting plays such an important role in this piece is the way it creates the illusion of space. The central figure is mainly composed of high key values, but in a few select areas, there are extremely low key values; this creates high contrast. This high contrast brings the figure forward in space even more. The surroundings of the central figure are very low key, so when the light hits mostly him, this high contrast from the space around him also brings him forward in space.

Image Essay #15

This piece by Vincint van Gogh has an excellent use of color. van Gogh uses completely different hues underneath layers of paint to add dimension and depth to his work. The first place that this is evident is in the wheat field to the left of the tree. The desired hue is yellow, but underneath, van Gogh has put shades of red, blue, and green to add depth and make it appear that there is dark space beneath the wheat. This is also the same technique used in the grass on the right except more highlights than lowlights were added. The combination of highlights and lowlights make the grass less flat and appear to have depth. This is also used for the tree; the tree has highlights of yellow and white that are blended with different shades of green to make it appear to have negative space underneath the branches.

There is a much more solid line of green moving from the lower left corner to the house on the right side; this leads the eye up to the sky. The sky has all different shades and hues to make it appear infamous. The stars glow with shades of yellow stroked around the outside on top of the blue paint. The moon has a red appearance to it and has highlights of yellow. The sky itself has so many different shades of blue. While van Gogh's style is very streaky and brush strokes can be seen throughout, the transition from a lighter blue to the darker blue near the top of the painting is seamless. Each shade molds into the next; this was done by overlapping the shades on top of each other so that the sky would appear to be gradually getting darker.

Image Essay #9
"Mrs. Jens Wolff," by Sir Thomas Lawrence, uses high contrast to bring the female figure foreward into space. The figure is wearing an extremely reflective fabric that Lawrence captures amazingly. He depicts many folds and creases throughout the entire dress. Because of this, he is able to use contrasts in the folds and creases of the fabric to put high and low values right next to each other, creating high contrast. This high contrast brings the the female figure who is the the dominant structure in this piece, forward into space. Lighting is also used on the female figure to create a dominant lighting structure. Not only does she have the highest contrasts, but she also includes higher values than anything else in the piece, creating a dominant high value structue.

Working with the high contrasts and values of the figure to bring it forward in space are the lower value, subordinant structures, such as the book she is reading. This book is open and does have higher contrasts than most other parts of the work, but compared to the dress it is juxtaposed with, it recedes into space and does not draw attention away from the gown. The background around the figure is also very low value, which causes it to recede back into space. These very dark shades juxtaposed with the light and delicate features brings the figure forward and the background further back.

Image Essay #10
Girodet's, "The Burial of Atala;" is an excellent example of how values are used to create a mood as well as depth. In this scene, the woman has died and is being carried off to be buried, but the man, who is obviously very sorrowful, clings to her legs. Value is used to draw attention to her lifeless body. Light is streaming in from the opening in the cave an onto her face and upper body. There is also a cross in the background and the light almost appears to be coming from it; so there are some religious undertones in this choice of lighting.

However, the man in the painting is obviously in great pain while mourning her loss. There are very low values in his skin tones and he is around the corner from the light source, so he receives very little direct lighting. He does, however, have high values on his back and middle values on his face and arm, the rest of his body consists of lower values. The high contrast between the highlights of his skin and the lack of lighting on the rest of it creates a high contrast that pulls him forward in space. His grieving face is much darker that that of the man who is carrying her away; the light is hitting parts of his face and clothing. In this painting, value was used to create a dark mood.

Image Essay #12

This is a self portrait by Vincint van Gogh. This particular portrait is excellent to study while looking for inspiration for my own self portrait because of the layers of color van Gogh uses. There is a slight triadic color scheme occuring in this portrait because of the dark blue background, his blond hair, and red beard. The layers of color in the face are fantastic. van Gogh has layered shades of flesh tones as well as bold colors. Around his left check bone, there is a dominance of red. Another place where colors other than flesh tones are used is in the blues around the eyes. It appears that van Gogh used shades of blue and then layered flesh tones on top of them.

Another element of this painting that I find helpful to examine is the eyes. Eyes are not truly white, and van Gogh captures this beautifully. He used extremely light, dull, shades of blue. The iris are a much brighter blue that stand out against the whites of the eye. I also find it helpful to study the background. It is amazing that there is so much occuring in the background without distracting from the painting. I am having difficulty with the background of my self portrait; I think that the background works well becuase of the difference in value. The face uses very high value, and the background has very low value to push it back into space.

Image Essay #13

"David and Jonathan" was painted by Rembrandt in 1642. This painting is an excellent painting in which to study lighting. What makes this painting appear to be so life like and to glow is the use of yellow. A lot of beginning painters typically add white when depicting lighting; this is incorrect. While it is appropriate to add white, yellow is what truly gives a painting a naturalistic glow. This is especialy evident in this painting around the people; there are slight amounts of yellow added all around the figures so that there appears to be a ray of light shinning down on them. As the eye moves closer and closer to the figures, they level of yellow in the hue present increases.

Also allowing this painting to appear to have such a natural light source is the areas around the light that do not use a lot of yellow. Just behind the figures on the right, there is a complete absence of light. This in stark contrast to the glowing figures adds dimension and depth to the painting and also brings the figures forward in space. Also notice that the background city behind the two figures does appear to have a very yellow glow. What makes this recede into space and appear to be a darker area in the scenery is the use of dull colors. The dull, deeper hues mixed with yellow make the town appear to be in light, but yet give it a very disasterous, ominous feel.

Image Essay # 14

"Lyle," by Chuck Close, is a painting that has an excellent use of color. Close has blocked the painting off and made each individual square appear to be the appropriate hue and value. This is achieved through extensive knowledge of color. The background appears dark and does not take away from the figure and also is lighter than the black hair; Close used the complimentary colors blue and orange to achieve this look. The orange and blue are at a medium to dark value and are also mixed with small amounts of purple. The dark color of the hair comes from using dull shades of blue and orange. The combination of the complimentary colors and having them so dull makes the hair appear to be black.

The face and the level of detail that appears is amazing. The highlights of the face come from using very high key colors and from using shades of yellow. High key shades of yellow mixed with high key shades of blue and red that are used for the skin tone make the check bones and nose appear to have highlights. Shadows underneath the chin come from using dull shades of blue. The shades of blue mixed with the tones of yellow and red used for the skin tone give the illusion of a shadow. This is becuase the red and yellow make orange, which is blue's complimentary color; when complimentary colors are combined, they make a dull hue, which is why a shadow appears. Details of the face are brought out by combining higher key shades to bring out highlights and lower key complimentary colors to add shading and dimension.

Image essay #8

This painting, "The Sacrifice of Isaac" by Carravagio, is an outstanding example of use of value. In this painting, three people are in the foreground; there is extremely high contrast to bring them forward in space. There is a lot of contrast in the clothing but also in the skin tones. Isaac stands out against the angel and his father because more white has been added to the tones of his skin as opposed to the yellow that creates a glow around his father and the angel.



Slightly behind Isaac is a sheep. The tones in the sheep are more in the middle tones; there are no outstanding white shades and no outstanding dark shades. This creates the perfect tones for an object in the middle ground. What makes all of these objects come forward in space along with the high contrasts of the foreground is the high contrasts of the background. In the background, rolling hills and a town can be seen; all of these tones and shades are in the middle area to move them backwards in space. Especially low contrast is used in the trees directly behind the angel; there is almost no contrast at all. This continues to bring the foreground further foreward into space without being distracting.

Blog Assignment #4
Art: 21-Place
1) It is not a place that defines us; it is we who define the place. It is our personal reaction to the place that defines what a place becomes. An example of this difference in personal perception is a forest. While some people find a forest scary and intimidating, others find it comforting to be in quiet solitude. A place becomes what we want or think it should be. An example of this is a dorm room; a dorm room is what you make it. A dorm room can look plain and unlived in, or it can look fun, be colorfully decorated, and have personality.

2) Richard Sara was influenced by visiting a shipyard when he was young; he was inspired by watching such a massive structure take off. Sally Mann was affected by her natural environment. Margaret Killigan and Barry Mcgee were affected by cities and train stations. They were extremely affected by graffiti and finding beauty in things done by hand. Pepon Osorio was affected by a barber shop he visited while he was young as well as Puerto Rico.

3) The program has helped me continue to see beauty in all places. I especially liked the portion about the artists Margaret Killigan and Barry McGee because they looked for beauty in all forms. They showed me how to look for beauty in places I never thought to look before.

4) I connected most with Margaret Killigan. I really enjoyed listening to her talk about finding beauty in urban areas. I try to be an observant person and to appreciate beauty in its simplest forms. That is what Margaret has accomplished, and that is something I would like to accomplish, too.

5) Richard Sara works on an extremely large scale. His work can be walked around and walked through; this makes it accessible to viewers because they can get as close to the work as they want. The large scale effects how Richard Sara uses composition. The compositions are meant to lead the viewer literally around and through the work. Sally Mann uses photography; this makes her work less accessible because her work is displayed in museums instead of in public like Richard Sara's work. Margaret Killigan and Barry McGee's work can be very accessible. Some of their work is graffiti and is on trains, while some of their other work is in museums. So some work is easily viewed and other work is harder to see. The media is often as simple as spray paint and on a train, so the compositions used are not typical, but they still lead the viewer around the artwork. Pepon Osorio's work is the least accessible. His work is mostly lifesize and often imitates a living space, but the rooms may not be entered. Osorio is an installation artist, because of this, the scale is life size and the compositions lead the viewer through a three-dimensional room.

6) Five places from my childhood are:
--My basement: terrifying
--The tire swing: innocent
--My Aunt Karen's porch: relaxing
--The boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach: exciting
--The woods: mysterious

7)The tire swing: Glorious, beautiful sunbeams that danced through the giant cottonwood tree. My grandpa's quilt was in the sitting area of the swing. The quilt was soft and cool to the touch. The tire swing smelled and felt like rubber. There was wood underneath the blanket; it was rough, only slightly sanded. The tire swing seemed so big, it surrounded me; and the tree seemed enormous. The rope rubs against me while swinging and is rough. It was a bright, happy place.

Art:21-Stories

1)Religious stories are important stories told in society today; even non-Christian people know the story behind Christmas and Easter. Stories of war are also retold a lot. People think it is important to learn from stories of war to prevent atrocities that happened in the past from reoccurring. The big story that gets passed down in my family is the story of my great grandparents' first date. They went to church in a horse and buggy. When they came out, their horse had hung itself on its reins. If I could pass a story down through future generations, it would be the war stories of my grandpa. My grandpa was a young sailor on the USS Missouri during World War II. He lived because his best buddy threw himself on top of my grandpa when a Japaneese plane was shooting at them. Grandpa was present at the Japaneese Surrender Ceremony. He can even be found in the background of the photograph on the cover of Life Magazine.

2) Stories with extremes are often retold for generations. If a story contains extreme happiness, tragedy, or fantasy, the story is more interesting and people want to hear it over and over again. Some stories are lost because they were not as fantastic as other stories; stories that have extremes tend to be more memorable.

3)Artist use journals and sketchbooks to recall events that occurred in the past as well as creating and playing with new ideas. Sketchbooks and journals are definitely a work of art. When a person writes and creates something so pure and uncensored, it definitely becomes art. Art is communicating emotion; journals and sketchbooks certainly portray emotion.

4)Memorable event in present day voice: I open my eyes and the light is bright, too bright. I have to squint. There is a yellow glow resonating from the window, brighter than sunlight. The beautiful color is in such contrast to the way I feel. If I could express the way I feel, it would be black. The pain is excruciating; there is the beeping of an IV monitor in the background and the fresh, warm blanket weighs heavily on my body. Pain is rushing through every fiber of my body; I can barely move my head to look for the source of the glow. "Aren't they beautiful? They're daffodils. The hospital sent them down during your surgery. Don't they add a nice touch? It's a sign, Meredith; see, everything is going to be okay," my mom tells me. All I can do is think about being normal. If only I were in school now, if I was walking through the hallway, talking to my friends. All I can do is dream about what it is like to got to school every day; I feel so lonely. It hurts to think of what my friends are doing; it hurts to think of how wonderful life is outside the hospital.

Memorable event from the point of view I have now: I woke up from surgery absolutely miserable; it didn't hurt as bad as the first one. The pain was all through my body, and there were tubes. I couldn't help but wonder, once again, why me? As I opened my eyes, I saw this brilliant glow; my mom told me they were daffodils. They were so beautiful, and such a complete opposite of what I was feeling. Their beauty almost annoyed me. I was laying in a bed and had been sliced by a surgon straight down my stomach and was in excruciating pain. Then there were these purely beautiful flowers. The funny thing is that they were residing in a plastic cup, nothing extravigant, just a clear plastic cup. It was a simple beauty. My mom told me it was a sign; and it was in a way, reminding me that everything would be okay. For me, this was a very defining moment in my life. I had been through an extremely difficult time in my life; and had to do one of the most terrifying things imaginable to me. After almost dying in my first surgery, I had to have another one. I had to go through the entire ordeal all over again. Waking up to these beautiful flowers, even though they angered me at the time, was a new beginning for me. It was hope--that life would be as beautiful as those blooming, glowing daffodils. It taught me to appreciate the simple things, and look for beauty in all places. On that day, there was beauty even when I was in a very dark, painful place. To me, this makes me appreciate everything around me. When I think back to this moment, it reminds me to look for beauty in its simplest forms because it is everywhere. My art reflects this; beauty in nature and beauty that surrounds me. When I see something beautiful, I want to share it.

Image Essay #5

This is "Tower of Babel" by M. C. Esher. This artwork contains many of the principles of Gestalt. The first principle that is used is symmetry. The symmetry is not perfect, but both sides are nearly identical. The perspective mixed with the symmetry of the two smaller towers on each side with one directly in the middle of the bottom of the page, point the eye upward and begin to lead the viewer around the piece. Another principle that is obvious in this piece is grouping. There is grouping in many parts of this artwork. The first example of grouping is the bricks. The bricks are grouped together on the building and then the bricks are different, and grouped by size and shape according to where they are on the building. Not only does this cause the eye to progressively move up the work, but it also creates grouping among the bricks that further shows interest. There is also a grouping of dark, distant buildings behind the tower. All of the people in the artwork are at the top of the building. This grouping of figures at one point in the drawing pull in interest and force the eye to stop at the top of the page and not move right off the page.

Containment is another principle that catches my attention in this piece. The fact that all of the buildings behind the dominant building in the front are dark contains the lighter space that makes up the Tower of Babel. Within the tower, each level is contained with a layer of darker bricks. This containment also forces the eye to move up in the painting, towards the grouping of figures at the top of that building.

Image Essay #7

This is "Dunloe Gap" by Peter Ellenshaw. This painting is an excellent example of use of texture. Ellenshaw clearly changes his brushstrokes to accomodate the different surfaces throughout the painting. Running through the center of the painting is a river. Ellenshaw uses slender, horizontal brushstrokes to define the ripples in the surface and show the direction the river is flowing in. The land in the front corners of the painting contain grass and leaves; the grass is so well defined that the viewer has the desire to touch the canvas. The back of the painting contains two large mountains. These mountains contain sharp, jagged rocks. Ellenshaw has clearly depicted the rocks using the texture of the rock.

By using texture in his painting, Ellenshaw is able to not only interest the viewer, but to lead them back through the painting. The circut of meaning for this painting is closed, so the artist must draw the attention of the viewer through detail. Ellenshaw uses texture to better define the objects and make them more realistic. By using detail, Ellenshaw ensures the interest of the audience as well as making the painting more believable.

Image Essay #6

In this painting by Joseph Cusimano, there are several strong symbols. The artist actually posts the meanings of the different symbols and what they mean to him, but leaves it up to the viewer for interpretation of the individual paintings. Part of the subordinant struture in the painting is the apple. To the artists, the apple has a religious meaning to it, symbolizing the forbidden fruit and the fall of man through earthly desires. Another subordinant structure is the butterfly, symbolizing metamorphisis and "eternal beauty, the eternal victim of time." To the artist, stone, such as the one under the rock, represent ultimate strength because it never decays.

The artist uses these symbols to portray an idea or statement he has. For me, the painting symbolizes the eternal beauty of the fascination with the forbidden fruit. The forbidden fruit symbolizes so many parts of human nature, often parts of human nature that are less than desirable, such as jealousy, lust, and desire. To me, the stone symbolizes that these are human conditions that are unchanging; they have been present throughout history and will continue to be. I believe that the human figures running away from the symbols show that these conditions of human nature are something that humans often attempt to escape; humans often ignore that these conditions exist because they are not admirable traits.