Project 2

1. Thoughts about creating the logo: I liked the concept of creating a logo to represent myself, but I had to put a lot of thought into this. I wasn't quite sure what I should create that would represent myself. Every time I thought about creating a logo, different things popped into my head.

2. Creative thinking skills and ideas for the logo: Like I said, I thought of many different things that I could incorporate into this logo, but what I decided to use was a round platter, to represent that I work in the restaurant business, a tea cup to represent my love of tea, my name, the polka dots represent a fun spirit, and a heart to show my love for my boyfriend and for my family. The way I did my name, with the m being bigger than the rest, shows that the m is bold, which is often what I hear when people describe me.

3. Most important discovery: I've found that my artistic skills are growing. I usually don't do anything artistic, that involves drawing or coloring. I liked that I had to do these things to create my logo, breaking me out of my comfort zone.

4. Most important information learned through the videos, powerpoint, etc.: My opinion of the video: To me the most important thing that I've learned from the material is that even though there were many different type faces throughout history, that all served a different purpose and were created for different reasons, with the creation of technology and the computer, everyone has the ability to create their own unique type face. My opinions of the video was that it held my attention and there were many different changes throughout the creation of type faces, and that in creating my logo, if it were some time from now, I could create my own type face or be inspired by a newly created type face.


Sketches:

Final logo:

 

 

Art Gallery Visit

The two artworks that made an impact/impression on me:

-Francis Celentano's Gamma, was created in 1970. It is an acrylic on canvas. This artwork made an impact/impression on me because it catches my attention. I feel as if I could look at it all day. It reminds me of a sunny and relaxing day. It also looked to me as if it was an illusion, due to the way the colors were set up.

-Camille Pissarro's Peasants in the Fields, Eragny was created in 1890. It is an oil on canvas. I really like the way Pissarro used optical color mixture. This use of color really interests me because it looks beautiful and really creative.

The two artworks that I felt a connection with:

 

-Giacomo Balla's Dinamismo di un cane al Guinzaglio (Dynamism of a dog on a leash), was created in 1912. It is an oil on canvas. I made a connection with the artwork because of the dog. The dog shown looks rambunctious and hyper, which is exactly how my dog acts, especially when on a leash. It looks like the dog is on the go, ready to take off. My dog often takes off when he's on a leash.

-Lee Bontecou's Untitled was created in 1960. It is welded steel, canvas, and wire. Through my eyes, it looks as if the work is bulging out, ready to burst. I connected to it because that's how I feel that my life is like at the moment. I am ready to burst from being so stressed out.

The two artworks that I would like to know more about:

-Arshille Gorky's The Liver is the Cock's Comb, was created in 1944. It is an oil on canvas. I would like to know more about this work because I could not figure out what I was looking at. So many possibilities of what it could be popped into my mind. With the help of the title, I kind of pictured the inside of the liver, but it still did not match up to me.

-Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Petit un Bleu, was created in 1878. It is an oil on canvas. I do not understand what this picture is supposed to depict. Why is the girl all alone, half naked, near a creek it looks like? What is her presence supposed to mean?

 

 

Module 4 - Exploring Value and the Subtractive Color Theory

1. I thought that the value scale was harder than it looks, because you have to make it slighter lighter each time. I thought the color wheel was challenging a bit too, due to the mixing of the colors. I spent a while mixing the colors to try to get magenta and cyan, I didn't go to the store, just used what paints that I had. And the mixing of the three primary colors did not equal black for me, but a weird color.

2.  I thought the color wheel was more enjoyable because I like using paint and it wasn't as boring as the value scale.

3. That the paints didn't turn out exactly like the diagrams I referenced.

4. My thoughts on the videos were that they were interesting and taught me more about the things that I thought I knew.

Elements and Principles Slideshow

I thought that creating this slideshow was time consuming, having to take the pictures, but I found it very interesting! I love taking pictures and I'm glad that we were able to incorporate that into this class. I did borrow a coupe images, because I was confused on what to take pictures of. I used previous pictures that I have taken a while ago for unity and for proportion. I did find myself having to check the definitions of some of the principles. Overall, I loved this project!

Color Theory and Emotional Effects

1. Color is the visual element that probably gives the most pleasure. Color can effect psychological and physiological responses. For example, red can promote hunger and pink can calm aggressive and agitated behavior. Colors can be described as warm and cool. Warm colors are reds, oranges, and yellows, while cool colors are blues and greens. Colors can be made more intense when two from different ends of the color wheel are mixed together. The more intense the color, the more intense the feeling. Colors can be associated with different things, such as red and green for Christmas.

2. To me, the color theory that most intrigues me is optical color mixture and pointillism. Optical color mixing is small patches of different colors being close together so the eye can produce a new color. With pointillism, a work of art looks like a bunch of dots mixed together, but at a closer look, the dots change into shapes, where the image can emerge. In Georges Seurat's Evening, Honfleur, the dots do not fuse completely, giving the painting a texture and a sort of shimmer due to the colors interaction with each other. I love how this painting looks. It promotes happiness within me due to the warm colors.

3. Artist can evoke an emotional response just by using color. The more intense the color, the more expressive the emotion. Artists, like Vincent van Gough, can express their own feelings into their work. Van Gough put his feelings of depression into one of his works about a café, with the colors of green and red. He used color to express himself with the clashing of the colors. He hoped that the clash of the colors of green and red would show to viewers his negative feelings. I find that, to be the most interest thing I've learned from this video regarding colors and its effects to emotions.

4. Francisco Goya, was dark, for he painted the unasked for, the uncomfortable,  and the unwanted. He painted his own imagination. Goya shows freedom going negative in his works. I find when looking at Goya's works, I feel disturbed. The way he uses color, he promotes negativity.

Module 2

Video One: Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts
 1. The keys concepts that I've learned from this video are:
-Plato thought are things are beautiful and that we are attracted to beauty
-Plato's thoughts on beauty did not take into account the role of art and aesthetics
-Aristotle did not focus on beauty, but tragedy (plays)
-Aristotle's rules of composition of tragedy: unity of action:a single action and no sub plot, time: time frame of plot should not go beyond 24 hours, and place: tragedy should stay in the same location
-Idea of beauty was overwhelmed by dedication to God
-Neoclassical aesthetics evolved during the height of the Renaissance
-Neoclassical aesthetics is an aesthetics of proportion, symmetry, harmony, and order
-Foundations for aesthetics today was laid in 18th century England
-Idea that there is special attitude of disengagement that is essential in appreciating art
-Hutchinson believed human being has beauty and harmony
-Beauty and good are one in the same
-Inner sense of beauty is innate and spontaneous
-Kant claimed that sensibility and reason are brought together through aesthetics
-Hegel's thoughts on aesthetics were highly influential
-Almost every philosopher had their own ideas and meanings as to what aesthetics means

2. Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics is most important in my view:
-I feel that the philosopher from the 18th century, Immanuel Kant theory on aesthetics is most important. He claimed that sensibility and reason are brought together by the means of imagination. He states that there is almost nothing that you can't treat beautifully. He introduced that judgment of the beautiful is not ruled bound, but is based on feeling. I agree with this statement because not every person sees and interprets things the same, for it is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


4. How the video relates to the readings from the text:
-The video relates to the text in that the text explains much of how art came to be, what aesthetics is, and how art is different; in themes, etc, which is exactly what the video talks about just in more depth.

Video Two: CARTA: Neurobiology, Neurology, and Art and Aesthetics 
1. The keys concepts that I've learned from this video are:
-Art evolves from the brain
-Art is influenced by culture
-Conscious and unconscious and emotions are affected when viewing art and aesthetics
-Art makes us aware on one's self

3. What I think about Changeux's and Ramachandran's scientific view of aesthetics and art and what to me is the most interesting fact I've discovered:
-I found it interesting that Changeux talked about the conscious and unconscious, but I think that Ramachandran's view was more interesting. Ramachandran's view is more towards visual aesthetics and how our brain looks at art and how art pleases our brain.

4. How the video relates to the readings from the text:
-The video relates to the text in that it explains in depth how the brain functions and they both explain the significance of art.

Article:
1. The keys concepts that I've learned from this article are:
- the brain allows us to be able to make sense of the lines, colors, and patterns that are on a flat canvas
-artists create allusions which make art seem more realistic, for example three dimensional
-we do not notice lines when we look at a room, but only when a drawing of an object is when we notice the lines
-the part of our visual system that picks out light and dark edges responds to lines too
-the brain has a special affinity for faces and finding representations of them, which infants can identify too
-the brain can find faces in art easily
-the amygdala happens to respond more to blurry images of faces that show fear instead of images that are more detailed (the amygdala is the part of the brain that houses the emotions of fear, etc.)
-we may be more engaged when looking at something because the visual system is distracted
-luminance tends to appear when there is color contrast
-luminance allows our brains to think something is brighter, even though it really is not
-artists use luminance in their works to give three dimensions, when there are shadows and different lighting used that make the art seem like their is actually depth to them
-the brain is tricked by this three dimensional element
-we often do not notice shadows and how they can be obscure shaped or misplaced
-the "peak shift principle" that animals that are attracted to a certain shape will be more attracted to it if it is an over the top version of that previous shape
-things can look out of the ordinary to us, but our brain enjoys them

2. Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics is most important in my view:
-Well I think that Picasso has a pretty important theory because he stated "we all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies." Picasso was from the 20th century. I think Picasso's statement is important because like the article says with this "lie" art would not exist and people would not enjoy art. Due to this realization of truth through art, people can understand the artist's motives, emotions, and feelings, which directly relates to the text from Living with Art.

3. What I think about Changeux's and Ramachandran's scientific view of aesthetics and art and what to me is the most interesting fact I've discovered:
-I think that Ramachandran's scientific view of "the peak shift principle" is very interesting. Through this principle our brains are tricked and to me that is very interesting. That if we associate a certain color with an object, our brains can be tricked if a different object shares the same color.

4. How the article relates to the readings from the text:
-As I previously stated in topic 2, I think that the article relates to the text and gives a more in depth reasoning as to why artist's create such works of art. The text talks about how art is created and why artists create works of art; to express their emotions and feelings and past experiences. This article justifies how artists can be creative through lines, colors, and shadows, etc.

My opinions of the videos and the article:
I thought that the videos were very informative and that the article was informative too. I personally liked the article better in that it the text was there and that I didn't have to go back like I did in the videos to remember what was said. Both the videos and the article go hand in hand with the book. All are very explanatory about art and aesthetics.