Gallery Visit # 1

C.)This piece called, "This is Not a Fountain", by by Subodh Gupta, captured my attention and brought up many questions in my mind about how the actual assembly of the pots and other metal objects were put together and also connected with a water source. I found it intriguing that the artist went to India to collect these artifacts for his piece. There is a sort of symmetry to the "mess" of pots that I enjoy as well. This is a modern piece made in 2011-2013.

B.)I connected with this piece because it has a modern appeal. The neon frame fits my personal style. I took several pictures with the work of art. The use of light in this piece makes me feel happy.

C.) This oil on canvas painting  by Paul Gauguin got my attention. It got me wondering what the artists intention was with this work of art. It has a morbid feeling to me and I found it interesting that it may be a statement about old vs young. The specter in the background makes me curious about what she her intention is and what she is thinking. I like artist's  the use of color to portray this mood. 

A.)I feel intrigued about the relationship between the father and daughter in this oil on cardboard picture from 1903 and I wonder why the artist, Edouard Vuillard, made them intentionally blend in to the scenery. I like that he did that as it creates a relaxed, soft look.

A.)This picture from 1885 amazes me because the artist somehow makes this woman "glow" from the canvas. The paint colors are striking. I love the smooth look. The character looks alive and stands out. Even though this is not a piece of art that I connect with or would own, I am very interested in the way the artist created this effect. It looks almost like a photograph. John Singer Sargent used oil on canvas. I think the oil paint my explain some of the reasons for the appearance of this painting. 

B.)I felt an immediate connection to this drawing by Mary Cassatt when I saw it. It looks a lot like baby pictures that I have seen of myself with a bonnet on at my baptism. I like the way the pencil creates variation in shade. I would display this sketch in my home someday. I like the inquisitive expression on the face of the baby. The drawing was done with pencil and paper in 1890 but is timeless in my opinion.

2nd Attempt Photo Slide Show

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EpEACnyFh2pfPDdg8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6GTEAhFZTQBprU1L9

Module 4

Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

I found that creating the Value Scale and the Color Wheel allowed me to truly experience what I saw in the videos and both creations were a lot more difficult than I thought! I has a lot of trouble using the charcoal pencil in order to create steps 3-8 on the value scale. When I tried to apply the charcoal it was difficult to control the value when it was slight. I attempted to smudge the pencil to lighten some of the values but I feel it did not work entirely. 

The color wheel was another learning experience. This experience was only difficult because the first set of paints that I purchased looked like the Cyan and Magenta but ended up being the primary blue and red. I did the color wheel with these primary colors and then went back to the store to purchase the Cyan and Magenta. The photos attached include both color wheels. 

I definitely enjoyed working with the acrylic paints better. I liked the thickness of the paint and I enjoyed the way the paint went on the paper rather smooth and richly. Mixing the colors was actually fun. I think that I would enjoy trying more acrylic painting. 

I think that the most important discovery that I made in this activity was the truth about the primary colors of red and blue being too dark in comparison the cyan and magenta when combining them. I learned this through a trial and error.

I enjoyed watching the videos because they gave me a visual guide on how to create these experiments. Without the videos an in experienced artist like myself would have been very confused through the process. The videos were an important part of the content included. 

Module 3

Color is probably the visual element that gives us the most pleasure. People put a thought of thought into the colors that they surround themselves with and if they don't they really should. Many studies show that color has both mental and physical responses. Germans feel that green increases productivity, while in Tokyo, blue lighting was installed near train platforms to reduce suicide attempts. There were several such examples in both the text and videos for this module. 

The theoretical aspect of color that most intriguing was that of the researcher in the video," Do You See What I See?" I truly enjoyed this video more than any other module activity. The contrasting effects of red and blue was fascinating to me. Studies showed that wearing the color red may have an influence of performance of  those who wear it and those who are competing against them. It was found that soccer teams in red uniforms win more often than in other colors(blue in this example). A theory was made that this is due to more confidence when sporting red. I also enjoyed the segment on the perceived passing of time in a red room compared to a blue room. Time was seen as going faster in a blue room. This was opposite from what was expected.

I found it very fascinating that Van Gogh purposely used ugly color to represent his distaste for cafes. He used clashing reds and greens purposely. The fact that color is very psychological has made me think a lot about my own use of color in my life. A whole picture or room can be changed with the addition of one color.

Elements and Principles

https://photos.google.com/u/1/search/_ta_Animations/photo/AF1QipOQbnZtJxa18vepRgCK8_OQLN21ECeCiNoA12o9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EpEACnyFh2pfPDdg8


Begin slideshow with the first element:

Contrast: The image of the red coffee cup in the snow creates a vivid image of contrast between both color and temperature as we can see the snow melting with the contact with the hot coffee.

Forms: The round shape of the cake as well as the ball shaped decor on that is included in the cake are an example of this element of form.

Texture: The knit blanket against a leather couch is a good example of a photo that allows us to see and feel the difference in these surfaces.

Value: There is a contrast between light and dark in the next photo of white snow against a night sky.

Color: The multi colored group of candy canes is a lively example of color.

Shapes: The valentine heart design is a good example of the element of shapes. 

Line: The element of line is shown through  the photograph of a tree. The bare branches form lines that are very defined against the winter sky.

Pattern: The repetition of the same tree creates a sort of unified pattern of increasing, rising, heights.

Unity: The plate of cookies create a unified collection or group of similar looking items.

Movement: The photo of he creek moving under the bridge creates movement as the eye moves under the bridge along with the flowing water.

Emphasis: The red barn in the next picture is a point of emphasis due to its color among the otherwise winter dullness.

Space: The  sky space around the church allows us to view the object in a very dramatic looking way.

Balance: The photo of Niagara Falls contains a balance between the nature of the waterfall and the man made city and lights.

Proportion: The picture of a guinea pig in the hands of a person is shown in proportion to one another.


In this first(and admittedly shaky) attempt at photography, I feel that several of the photos that I took were quite good and others were not as strong. As I searched for images to fit each element, I realized that many photos could fit several at once. I also discovered the importance of trying to eliminate extraneous items from pictures in order to capture the element and allow a person to be able to focus on these artistic ideas. I also started to see why these principles and elements are so important. They really do give a photographer or artist some helpful guidelines. In the past, I would not have understood why certain pictures were more appealing than others. Now I am beginning to.

1. For each video and article list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

In the first video, Aesthetics:Philosophy of Arts, I learned the actual definition for aesthetics, which is, the philosophical study of beauty and art. I thought it was very interesting to think about the idea that beauty and art are different from eachother. I think many people think that they are the same thing and that art must be beautiful to be good. The example of Picasso was given as art that may not be considered "pretty" or beautiful. This video moved in order from ancient Athens to modern day philosophy. I found it interesting that Plato actually thought of art as treasonous because it "copied" reality and emotion, while Aristotle said arousing emotion from art was good.  I also enjoyed Hutchenson's explanation of art. He said that people need to disengage from reality to enjoy art. He also put a limit on all art being beautiful by saying that disgusting images can never be beautiful. I agreed most with Kant's opinion that there is no exact science of beautiful.  Art is a lot like literature according to Schiller who said that art makes us more human and moral.I really enjoyed thinking about the ideas of art and beauty that were presented in this video. I learned that by the 20th century this whole idea of beauty was challenged and forgotten and by the1960s most of this philosophy had no place in art. This was a very good educational video focused on the history of art.

The CARTA video on Neurobiology and Neurology of Aesthetics was also intersting. It definitely made me think that maybe I was wrong and that there are some facts about what is actually beautiful. I enjoyed the statement that art is the artists attempt to share his conception of the world and that it makes us more aware. 

The CNN video discussed the idea of symmetry and that the reason we like symmetrical appearing things is that most LIVING things have symmetry. I learned that we readily recognize faces for biological reasons and can see faces in many images:) Exaggerated features may still please the emotional part of the brain according to this video.

2. Which philosopher's theroy on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosphers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response. 

I felt that Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, may have had the most valuable theory on art and aesthetics because his was a shift from Plato, who did not like or trust art. Aristotle understood art more as we do today. He came up with modern ideas such as order and symmetry in art and he gave order and logic to tragedies. I like that he called for a logical plot set in one location with the event happening over the period of a day. This prevails as the recipe for many good dramas today.

3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture? 

These two speaker were very interesting to listen to and also quite different. I did find the most parts of both speeches to be the actual brain images they displayed. The images did prove that there is more science to art than I thought. Changeux said that empathy for suffering seen in art actually showed in the brain images. This supports his statement that art makes us more aware. Ramachandran stated that the goal of art was to distort such as Picasso. He also insisted that there is a science to art and that there are universal principles of art that cut across all cultures. I found the most interesting part of his lecture to be the part comparing the placement of beauty marks and the effect of placement whether it was beautiful or not. This got me thinking about the meaning of aesthetics and whether or not I truly understood it. 

4. How do the videos and article relate to the readings in the text? 

The videos, articles, and textbook all allow students to not only learn some art history, but to look at the specific artists of different eras. I liked how the book did a close up study of specific artists. All three resources addressed the challenge of defining art and all agreed that it is valuable to society. The book has a lot more detail about techniques and specific types of art than the other online sources. 

5. What is your opinion of the films and article? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading in the text?

 I enjoyed both films and the article. I thought I needed the first film most in order to learn a bit of history and evolution of art .It made me appreciate how different some modern art is from the past. I think that all of this art somehow has a place today and that new art forms are likely being created as we speak. The speakers made me think of art in a more scientific way. I enjoyed Changeaux a bit more because I loved that he brought forth the idea that art can bring emotion and awareness. I agree that a powerful image can create empathy for a person or situation and I like this function of art. I didn't enjoy Ramachandran's list of principles as much and simply dont agree that we should have that kind of list related to art. The CNN article was a nice, short way to explain why symmetry in art is important. I enjoyed that because I have always known that symmetry is considered a good thing and now I know why! 

1st post

1. How was the process of creating the GMail account and setting up the Blog? The helpful links and clear directions made setting up my blog easy.

2. What do you expect to learn in this course? I expect to learn about different forms of art. I am expecting to possibly learn about different artists.

3. How do you feel about taking an online course? This is not my first online course. I am interested in seeing how taking an online course for art is.

4. What three things in the Growth Mindset (from Step 3) videos do you believe most apply to you? I think that I have been in a fixed mindset in the past, with specifically math. When I watched this video I realized I may have also had a fixed mindset in art in the past. I enjoyed hearing John Legend speak about failures. I experienced many setbacks in high school when it came to math. Despite this, I didnt give up. I continued to see my potential.