Image Essay # 7

Foreground, Middle ground, and Background. In our projects about texture, symmetry and gestalt we talked a little about foreground, middle ground and background. In our projects, the objects that were closer to us were darker because they were in the foreground. Objects that were in the middle were more of a medium tone, and goes for the background, it was the lightest. I think this picture portrays this. If you look at the trees and notice how close they are to us. Its almost as if you could touch them. We can pick out a lot of details, such as pattern of the bark on the tree, and even the tiny twigs and branches on the trees. We notice this because it is close to us, in the foreground. The next thing we notice is the frozen lake. Even tho the lake is not as close to us we can still pick out some detail but it is much more broad. We can notice that the lake is frozen because we can tell that there is snow on top of it. But we cannon pick out every single frozen wave, or every snow bank. The middle ground is still close to us but it is in the middle, hence the name. Finally the last thing we see is the very little strip of trees in the background. The trees in the background are very different than the trees in the foreground because of the simple face that we cannon see them as clear. We can tell they are trees and not houses because of their shape. What we cannot tell is what kind of trees they are. Objects in the background do not have much detail, they are more of a blur of objects and shapes. Also we notice the difference in color. We can tell that the trees in the foreground are white and gray, but the trees in the background all look pale and in a sense see through. The same goes for the sky. The part of the sky that is closest to us is a very pretty sky blue. As the sky progressed into the middle ground and the background it starts to dull out and again appears transparent.

Image Essay # 6

Part of our last assignment we talked about value. When we talked about value we talked about it on a gray scale. On the gray scale we can to to very light grays that are almost white, to a very dark gray that is almost black. Our latest assignment was using texture and giving value to that texture using a gray scale. We learned that when you place different shades or tones of gray next to eachother they seem to appear different around the edges. Its almost as if there is a false sense of shadow. I chose this picture because I felt it would be a good example of how the gray scale works. If you notice the bottom of the painting is very dary gray and almost black. The stems of the flowes are a meduim tone gray, and the sand or the water right above the black strip very light gray. This gives the illusion that some of these tones appear lighter or darker just because of the very dominat black strip across the bottom. It makes the very light gray appear a little darker, and it makes the medium tone gray appear a little lighter. This technique is not only apparent at the bottom of the page, but at the top also. I also like the value of gray that is used in the flower petals. The values of gray give the illusion if natural highlights. It gives the feeling that the sun is shining on the petals and is showing its natual shadowns. One thing that I especially appreciate about the gray scale is that just by putting two different tones of gray together you get something new.

Image Essay # 1

Our one lecture was about triangular hierarchy and how abjects are juxtaposed to show importance. Most times in triangular hierarchy the object at the top of the triangle is the most important or the most dominant. As goes for the objects next to it, they decrease in power as the triangle gets smaller. A lot of times this method is used in DVD covers. For example, the movie Goldmember has Austin Powers as the person that is above everyone else, one because he is the main character and two because he is the most powerful in this movie. The people next to him are Mini Me and his father, the person below him is Cleopatra, a less important character. As for this portrait of the Crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus is the dominant person above all others. Under Jesus there are two angels on each side and below them are his mother Mary and her sister, and other followers of Jesus. If you look at this picture from a different point of view and look from the bottom up, you notice that the triangle goes the opposite way. The eyes of the people in the portrait are all looking up to Jesus and heaven. Again His followers are on the bottom, Mary and her sister, the angels, and finally Jesus. I like how there is multiple meaning to this picture and many different ways you can look at it and interpret it. Could you image the image we would get if this triangle of hierarchy was upside down? Meaning that the entire image was flipped the other way. It would be horrific to anyone who believes in Jesus. And almost degrading in a sense that Jesus is on the bottom of the totem pole. There is a rhyme and a reason as to why this artist put these people in a certain order, they did not just place people in random places.

Image Essay # 2

Dominance. To me dominance is something that catches your eye right away, or something that looks like it is going to jump out of the paper. In this picture it is very obvious that the red leaves on the tree are the dominant object. These red leaves are dominant because of the value of the color red. The value is very bright and bold and attracts your eye to the top left corner on the painting. In our projects in class we were to have at least on dominant object. In our very first assignment we had to juxtapose a circle, line and rectangle and have one of those objects be dominant over the other. For most of us our dominant object was the rectangle because it was easy for us to work around. We also needed other subordinate shapes to move our eye around the page. In this particular painting the red may be the most dominant color but it is not the most dominant space. I think this was very creative because behind the red tree is a "negative" space if you will that is made of muted colors and beige. I also liked how the artist put green leaves under the red leaves because red and green on complimentary colors, and this helps the red pop out even more. Even though the red color is so dominant your eye still moves around the page. The artist created a path that makes its way to the back of the painting and then it turns the corner. I like this because it directs your eye away from the more dominant object but still gives focus to the painting.

Blog Entry # 4

Do we define a space, or does a space define us? I think this statement can sway both ways. For example, last year when I was looking for a college to attend I took many things into consideration. The main thing I took note of was the people. It's the people who define that school. When I came here I saw many different people and was much more diverse than my high school. On the other hand, a space can define us. For instance when we go to church on Sunday, the church defines us, who we are, and what we stand for. I think it's the way you look at the situation you are in.

Each featured artist was influenced by space in very different ways. For example, Sally Mann seemed to be influenced by nature and most of the pictures we saw in the video were of nature. And she liked things to be simple but have the ability to be ambiguous. She also loved her family very much and would take pictures of her children. Another artist that was influenced by space was Pepon Osorio. When he was a little boy he got his first hair cut, and was terrified of it. So he recreated his fears into a work of art. He recreated what his mind was going through and thinking of the first time he went to get his hair cut.

The program altered my notion of how art expressed space because I think when art is done right it only fits in one spot. For example the first artist we saw was Richard. He designed a very huge sculpture that seemed to be overwhelming. But once you went inside the sculpture it was very small and condensed. He said he was going for something like "a telephone booth and a football field".

The artist that I felt most connected to was Sally Mann. I think I connected to her because I like the style of art she composed and her style of thinking. I like the fact that when she was little she ran around with no clothes on, and when she was older she let her kids do the same thing. To me that's all a child wants to do, is be free and careless. I loved the fact that she incorporated her children in her photographs because that is something her children will always remember. Even tho I am not a professional photographer, I hope to have lasting memories like that for my children.

The media for each artist was very different. For some "art" is in their backyard, others are in city buildings, and others are on walls they pass. This affects the scale of their art because for sally, her art could only be as big as a picture could be. For Richard, his could be as big as the building his sculpture was in or around. And for Margaret and Barry their art could only be as big or small the wall they painted on, or the side of a train. All of these artists had a challenge, and it was how they were going to put up their piece of art in a certain space and be remembered for it.

When I was a little girl many places interested me and yet other scared me as well. Five places from my child hood that i liked and disliked was my bedroom because it was quiet, my backyard because it was a place to explore, my summer house because it was always warm and by the beach. Two places I was not very fond of as a child was my basement because it was dark, and our dining room because it was empty and formal.

The place that I am going to describe is my basement. Some objects that occupied that space was the laundry room, my dads work room, the furnace, a refrigerator, and the other half was our play room. In the laundry room/work area the floor was cement, and the walls were cement blocks and the ceiling was open and showed pipes and wires. The play room had a carpet a small couch and our toys. I remember the play room being very light but, the work room was always dark and a little creepy to me. I don't know if it was because all of my dads tools or if it was because of all of the clothes hanging. I never liked going down there alone especially at night. During the day it was a little better but I still felt the need to turn all of the lights on.

Part 2

Most stories that are told today are most times of bad things. In the news we always hear about people who have been killed or a murder that took place. In books it is not that different. My favorite author is Mitch Albom, and in most of his books he talks about what it is like to be dead or talking to someone who is about to die. Usually family stories are a little different. When my family gets together we talk about the funny things that happen to us. If people were to pass down a story about me it would probably be about how I used to laugh at everything and how I believed everything that was told to me. I hope this story would come up when this happened to someone else and a member of my family saying "Remember when Jackie believe dad when...". I like to make people laugh and feel good, so by telling them a funny story about me it might take some pressure off themselves.

I think some stories are told because the hold a meaning close to someones heart. For example, I like to tell stories about my Grandpa because we had the best of times together, and I want people to know how good my Grandpa was. I also think some stories are left out either because they have not made an impact on us or we feel that there is something more important to be told. Some stories are told over and over again because it is either tradition or it was a moment in our life that affected us so much that we fell over laughing or we fell over in tears. We want people to know our stories and what we have been through in the past so they too can relate to us.

The artists is Stories use their journals and sketchbooks as a way to remind them of certain images that they saw. Some use sketchbooks to keep their mind moving and thinking at the same time. I think they use sketchbooks as practice. For instance, a runner will run everyday or about 3-5 miles so they will be ready to compete in a race. An artist uses their sketchbook to draw little drawings or ideas, so when they have an idea they are already prepared. Yes I think a sketchbook is a work of art because the drawings in a sketchbook reflect the artists in one way or another. Even tho they are little or incomplete, they are still beginnings to ideas that will someday be amazing.

When I was a child in elementary school I was care free. Some things that were important to me when I was younger was to make sure I was not late for catching the bus. I also made sure that I called my grandparents when I got home from school and tell them everything that I did that. Most of my days were spent going to school, doing my homework and calling my best friend down the street to see if she wanted to play before dinner. And sometimes in the summer we would call eachother again and see if it was ok to play again for a little while before we had to go to bed. Some dreams that I had when I was little was to think about what kind of job I wanted when I was a grown up. I also had many crazy ideas about living in a huge house with my dogs and having little sisters that I would take care of. I was a typical little girl. Some emotions I felt were anger when my parents told me I could not leave the dinner table until my plate was clean, or when I had to put dishes in the dishwasher. I also felt alone when I would get in trouble and get sent to my room for the night. Some happy things that I remember was when my grandparents would pick me up from school and take me to McDonald's. I was also happy when I got to be outside and play with my mom and dad and my brother in the backyard. Now when I think back of being little I had no cares and no worries in the world. I went thought life learning everything for the first time, not knowing what was on t.v besides what was on the Disney channel. I did what I was told to do by my parents. I had no worries because everything would have been taken care of by my parents.

Image essay # 3

Texture has been considered by painters as more of a three-dimensional characteristic than a two-dimensional one. Therefore, it was largely neglected in Western painting. The first artist to conquer both color and texture in a painting was Vincent van Gogh.

Texture is the surface quality of and object. Some textures are smooth and soft, such as a leather sofa. Others my me coarse and rough, such as a brick. Textures can be formed by using many different mediums. For example, if you took a piece of paper and some charcoal and rubbed the charcoal against concrete the texture would appear to be very rough. Again of you took the same piece of paper and the same piece of concrete but rubbed with a ball point pen, the texture would be very different. In this painting there are a variety of both color and texture. Some of theses shapes appear to be soft, such as the circular objects. This objects appear to be soft because of the way the shape is formed. The lines that make up the circles appear to be very smooth, especially the red spiral circles. The triangle texture in the lower right hand corner would appear to me as being raised and bumpy. The edges of the triangle are darer than the face of the object, forcing me to believe that one part is higher than the other. The object that interests me the most is the blue object on the left side of the drawing. To me this texture looks almost like diamond plating. When I think of this texture I think of my fathers truck. When I tough it, it is smooth in some places and rough in others. Also when I feel this texture I think of cold metal. Its amazing to be able to look at a certain texture and remember how it feels.

Image essay # 4

Our last assignment was to invoke a sound or smell of a specific object or a group of objects. I picked this picture because when I first looked at this painting I saw a person with their eyes closed. Then as I looked deeper i realized that this painting was silent. I think this picture is silent because i think its very peaceful. Even tho there are very hard cuts in the picture that create a sense of tension, it is smooth at the same time. I would look at this picture and think of it being in a spa. This picture looks like someone who was getting a massage or a facial, and at the same time being very patient. When you are getting a massage you are peaceful and quiet and serene. This picture also plays with contour line. It does this because of how the picture is "cut up". By doing that the picture almost appears to be jumping out at you, which brings me to my next point. The dominance in this picture is not defined by dark or bold lines, but by the feeling that the face is going to come out of the picture frame. The use of positive and negative space in the picture are not very dominant but I think that because of the cracked lines in the picture gives a sense of positive and negative space. Overall, this picture was very much the same as our previous assignment, it invoked a sound, or lack of.

Image essay #5

Gestalt theory originated in Austria and Germany toward the end of the 19th century. This theory focuses on how the mind perceives a certain object. Gestalt does not have a clear translation in in English, but it basically means how certain shapes/objects are juxtaposed. For example, when looking at a gestalt image you may see one thing, and the second time you look you may see something completely different. This image is a perfect example of gestalt. The first time I looked at this image I saw two faces, and the second time I saw a chalice. This image plays with both positive and negative space. The was the two faces are juxtaposed against a white background creates another image. This goes back on how the mind perceives information. What do we look at first? Do we see a chalice, a face, or two black objects on the side of the paper? After looking at the piece for a few moments we can pick out what certain objects represent.

This piece of art also shows the six principles of gestalt. For example, it shows containment because the faces "contain" the chalice. It also shows proximity because the distance between the faces creates unity. I feel that this is a very good example of gestalt.

Blog Entry #3

1. Before this Blog Assignment, had you ever kept a journal, diary, or blog? No

2.Before this Blog Assignment, had you ever written about art before? Once

3. Have you ever written for fun (poetry, fiction or non, journalistic, or research)? – A few times

4. When writing, do you use a dictionary or thesaurus? Both

5. If given a chance, would you rather discuss art verbally or through written means? Verbally

6. How would you rate your overall vocabulary? Average

7. How would you rate your vocabulary of art terminology? Below Average

8. How would you rate your writing abilities? Average

9. How would you rate your writing abilities when writing about art? Average

10. How would you rate your ability to use specific vocabulary when writing? Average