Final Reflections

1. When the course started, I expected to learn more about artists and art in general. They were definitely met. I don’t think I’ve ever been this in tuned with art and art history. I had always thought it was boring, but looking at art from beginning until now is so interesting. There are so many areas of art that are looked over because no one may not take the time to understand and think about different elements of art. Through this course, we were slowly able to look at art and artists and reflect upon it and relate it to our own hands on work and text book readings. 
2. After completing this course, art still has so many meanings. I still feel that art is emotion. Many of the movements and time periods we looked at were based on changes in the world. Art reflected these changes. Emotions were captured in the work. Emotions based on changing times or emotions based on the world at that certain time. Art isn’t concrete and there isn’t anything that we can’t consider art. If imagination is applied as well as emotion, anything created can be considered art. Art isn’t strictly pencil, paints, and paper. It’s captured feelings in an abstract form. 
3. I still do not have a favorite artist. When I look at artwork, I’m focused on the work and the person who created it doesn’t matter as much as the work I’m looking at. 
4. I think online courses are extremely time consuming. I’ve done more work for this course than I have any of my other classes. However, that is very beneficial. I can definitely say that our book was the only book I’ve read for the course as opposed to other books for other classes. I really enjoyed this class. There was a heavy work load, but it wasn’t anything too stressful. I would definitely take another online class again. I really learned alot and I am pleased with how the course turned out.

Self Portrait

I chose the pieces that I did because they all depict a side profile view of the artist's face. When thinking of how I wanted to pose myself and do my own self portrait, I wanted to do a semi profile view. There weren't also too many images to choose from. Frida Kahlo is very inspirational to me. I love her work and the way she depicts herself in her portraits. To have the chance to make my own portrait while using hers as an inspiration piece is very appealing to me. I used a mixture of pencil and charcoal to do my portrait. Originally, I wanted to do something using my computer to piece together a self portrait in a different yet interesting kind of way. However, after rethinking, I wanted to do something more traditional. I love shading and depicting light in pictures, so to use this media was my perfect opportunity. The most challenging part of creating my self portrait was making sure every detail was included and everything was placed exactly where it should be. Drawing faces is so difficult; everything has to be perfect and so detailed. So making sure my face actually looked like a face was a difficult task. But all in all, the project was very enjoyable for me. I look forward to projects that are hands on as opposed to book work. This piece is me exactly. It's a clean cut portrait reflecting the lights and darks and shadows seen. It's original yet traditional. Emphasis can definitely be seen in this portrait. Certain elements of the picture stand out more than others, specifically my eyes. I really enjoyed this project and I am very happy with the final result. I plan on keeping it and framing it. 


3 Inspiration Pieces:

 

ORIGINAL:

SELF PORTRAIT

Student Final Project Analysis and Critique

The works I chose to look at were "The Wonders of Life" by Emily Graham, "Looking out My Window" by Marty Collins, "Cityscapes: Around the World" by Meagan Aiello, and "The Beauty of Buffalo" by Emily Trzepacz. I chose "Looking out My Window" because the feel of the exhibit was so breathtaking. He took the time to put you in the mood for the exhibit and it felt very relaxing. I feel he put a lot of time and thought into the work and I fully enjoyed it. The mood was also very different than any of the other exhibits I reviewed. The most challenging part of writing the critique was fitting everything I wanted to say into two pages. Marty's work was so well done, I had too much to say. You had to pay close attention to detail and you had to be professional about the things you wanted to say, but overall, I didn't have any difficulties. I think critiquing peers work was enjoyable. We don't have face to face contact with eachother at all, nor do we have access to peers work. So getting to see the results of  a final project, including all the materials we learned through out the semester was very enjoyable. We also got to see creative abilities of fellow students. I would love to see what my peers wrote about my work. I put alot of time and thought into it, so I would love to see what others thought about it. It's always good to see both positive and negative feedback about final works because it leaves room for improvement and thoughts about how we could better future work. I would rate my article a 9 or 10. It focused on all the positives of Marty's work. There wasn't any negative feel about it and I feel that I brought out all the elements of his work that he took the time to emphasize. It's very subjective and doesn't bash him at all. I did enjoy working in this project. Overall, it was very time consuming and somewhat difficult at times, but it was a nice project to work on at the end of the semester. It included ideas and elements that we learned through out the semester, and put it all together as a whole.

Jenna Aiello - Criticism Videos

GREENBERG ON ART CRITICISM

Greenberg believes that writing about visual art is much harder than writing about literature. some of the best criticism he’s read was about music. In his generation, writing was so much more foul than succeeding generations. He let his preferences come out then learned that you always have to be good. He was ready to accept anything that was good. Some of the works didn’t fit with the prejudices he acquired. He analyzed crisis in his younger days. One of his quotes ready by the interviewer was said to be overblown by Greenberg. He says now they’re aren’t any crisis.When art is good, he says, it’s everything is should be. He says, modern art doesn’t prove itself, artists prove themselves. 

GREENBERG ON POLLOCK

Greenberg met Pollock while he was with his wife to be outside of a corner store. He talked about Pollock giving an interview about not wanting to to easel paintings. Greenberg had written a review about easel paintings. Pollock objected to pictures of a friend of his, saying they were just easel paintings. However his pictures remained easel paintings. He knew he wasn’t painting murals. He wanted to find his way to the edges of the picture. You don’t ask anything of art, except that it be good. What’s looked through is the discipline. This has to do with the difference between good and bad paintings, good successes, and loopholes. In those days, if magazines wanted to come out and make a fuss about you, you were submerged to it. So they did. And this had a negative affect on Pollock. People believed that Pollock did wasn’t real painting, and it was some freakish thing. Pollock was aware of this but he wasn’t going to be a painter, properly speaking. He was more of an outsider in the New York scene. 

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Giorgio Vasari’s important writings allowed future generations to lean about the lives and artworks of old masters. The discoveries of Giotto represent the first pages of the Renaissance. This period of rebirth started from the ancient Romans. They sculpted, painted, and made mosaics based on what they saw in the world around them. They provided enough stability to let the art flourish. Rome was overrun by barbarians from the North. Byzantine artists created beautiful art and mosaics as well. Giotto was one of the firsts. He found nature far more interesting; he drew the world around him using perspective. He used real people as models. His sense of 3-D space is so common now that we don’t even think about it but back then none of is was seen before. Ghiberti had such an amazing view of human form. He worked on the North Doors for 21 years. He added depth to his works. Donatello sculpted David and brought about the idea of contrapposto, the position that the statue was standing. He learned from the past and improved upon it too. Uccello also added perspective to human and animal forms in his work. This showed a new view of figured in painting.  Masaccio added weight to his figures by shadowing around the human body. He adds a new element beyond the sense of anatomy. He studied form and the mind. He brings drama into painting, psychological depth, and intensity. The important thing to notice about Francesca is his use of light. This is how he found he could add depth to his paintings. All of the figures in Botticelli’s work are members of the Medecci family. He even painted himself into the scene, as if he was watching. The Birth of Venus is a great story showing how figures in art are changing. Da Vinci applied science and math to his works. He used what he learned from the artists before him as well. He was curious about everything and applied what he heard to his art. He was convinced that seeing things for himself was the key to knowing them. He thought of the human body as a kind of machine. Rafaello became a master of balancing the way objects and figures were placed in his work; composition. His colors were bright and alive. Michaelangelo was a man of perfection. He taught himself by studying the work of others. He believed that God created man to strive for perfection. 

THE CRITICS: STORIES FROM THE INSIDE PAGES

A good critic will suggest fresh ways and will go deep into work. Criticism helps open up a work so people see it in a different way. It is to get people to think. You’re helping the art of your time to stay alive. You have to figure out how to grab the attention of listeners. Critics get people to think about information, so there is a value in listening and reading those that spend time in evaluating work. A second is to direct media to good works. A third reason to write is that the writing can be fun for the reader or the viewer. Some critics relish the struggle from putting words to print. Criticism improves the media and sometimes their remarks can lead to great things. They can sometimes have an impact. They can mobilize public opinion to have an impact. Critics who are successful enjoy their craft. The tv universe is so huge. Different technologies are making it expand in so many directions. It broadens your horizons when you report. Reporting is thought to be ruled by notions of objectivity but critics are allowed to be subjective and call things the way he sees them. A review is an informed opinion and the properties of film criticism are more analytics. It tells you more what the film is, a more scholarly insight. A reviewer is expected that you haven’t seen the play or read the book and a critic expects that you have. Criticism takes a wider view and is also delivered by someone willing to make an argument. One way to identify superior criticism is to see that it makes an argument. It goes further to look at trends or demonstrated human truth. Criticism can be broken down into knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis and synthesis, and evaluation. The best criticism involves critical thinking. It must be well constructed. They have something specific in mind when they’re writing. When writing materials, they form a unique way of studying the text they’re writing about. They take notes, make outlines, and work to get their reviews correct. The danger of close relationships between start and critics end up in them posing as publicists. The hardest thing is to write negative things about people critics like. Criticism is the practice of analyzing, classifying, interpreting, and evaluating art and literal works. You’re finding artists intentions. 

THE COLONIAL ENCOUNTER” VIEWS OF NON WESTERN ART AND CULTURE

People from different parts of the world need to see Dahome art to be impressed and see it as an actual art form and not just a craft. Half of the area of the World Fair in Paris was devoted to celebrating French Imperialism while the rest represented different colonies. This new French self image was enhanced by the French colonies. The images of them in the late 19th century wasn’t coherent. We need to explore meanings given to the colonies. Many colonies were represented by structures. The Dahome exhibit had no civilized infrastructure according to the French, suggesting that it wasn’t civilized. Other images gave credibility to the impression created during the world’s fair to the naive people. Images showed African people as barbaric and violent against each other implying that they may turn against Europeans. One African figure represents strength, and represents an African king. It’s form of independence is a shark determined to protect its shores. In 1900, a fairgoer could experience a reconstruction of a Algerian street. Tourism was on route to becoming an industry after 1900. Hotels became well established. In the Algerian Pavilion, tourism was used to encourage french settler communities. In hotels, tourists could encounter a reincarnation popularized in paintings. The representation of Arab women was a part of a much more widespread public culture in France. The proliferation of women brought their familiarity to the public. The belly dance perpetuates this appearance. In the Egyptian theater, belly dancing came to stand for Arabicity. France promoted it as the essential Arab experience. Naked African men and women were displayed caged along with exotic species of the kingdom. The positioning of women mirrors pictures taken. Material culture couldn’t demonstrate the evolution of colonized races. Material culture was made to share values contributed to art. They are the denial of the meanings that the objects have in their cultural settings. People are viewing “art” rather than culture. 

JACKSON POLLOCK: MICHAEL FRIED & TJ CLARK IN CONVERSATION

Two analysts agree that Pollock had a negative impact on art as well as he was considered a master who was very complex about his work. Fried focused on the aesthetics of Pollock’s work. Clark focused in its historical role. They also discuss his work as being optical and not tactical, giving off a negativity. Both men go back and forth on Pollock’s work, discussing it’s negative and positive impact. They look back at history and all of the elements of the work and discuss is very carefully.

These videos all have a relation to art criticism. It’s important to look at the good and bad of works and not focus on either. These videos enhance my understanding of that. Works are looked at from all angles. When looking at works that I chose for my project, I looked at them as to how they would reflect my theme and the message I was looking at portraying. Critics do the same. They evaluate works in their own way. 

Jenna Aiello - Art Curation Project

This project was very difficult but interesting at the same time. Selecting a theme and works that apply to that theme was a bit of a challenge, but when it all came together, it seemed very simple. While selecting works, we had to make sure that the theme was clearly seen and would be applied to it's meaning. We also had to keep in mind the elements and principles of art, which was also difficult, especially when it came to organizing our works. It was also difficult to find works that didn't repeat others or say the same thing that others did. Creating the exhibit was fun though. It was nice to be in control of an exhibit with your own theme and meaning and teach somebody else about it. The most challenging part of this project, however, was all the interpretations of the works. Because they all met the same theme, alot had the same to say about them. In order to get to that level to interpret the works, we had to describe them, analyze them, and seek out the elements used. This was more time consuming than difficult but seeing your theme shining through these works of art was very refreshing. All in all, I enjoyed this project. It was a challenge, but art is a challenge in itself.