Activity A - Howardena PindellA Reflection on the Howardena Pindell Exhibit: Last Monday, our art class went to the VMFA to explore the makings of Howardena Pindell. Ultimately, Pindell’s art was meant to challenge the art world, push the boundaries by bringing into question what was an acceptable subject, what was an acceptable medium - which can be seen in her layerings. It was extremely interesting to see the evolution of Pindell’s works - initially Pindell’s work solely reflected her connection to numbers and hole punches, however, after her car crash, Pindell’s work seemingly blossomed. While her later work still retained much of her hole-punch and tonal motifs, the depth and meaning of her later works inspired much more thought. Ultimately, Pindell’s work all were interrelated, by sharing similar motifs - such as her hole punches, and numerical content, and then later, her stitching and autobiographical content. I think ultimately, what can be seen here, is that as we grow and change, so does our art. Pindell’s life’s work embodies the Stretch and Explore, Express, and Engage and Persist Artist Habits of Mind, in the way she adapted to change, created and developed personal meaning for her work, and sought to grow and develop her own personal art. For now, my interest in figures and dresses I think has a lot to do with my life - one, I’m always dressing up for dance - which encompasses the human body and figure - as well as the costume and performance. Two, the lightheartedness of my pieces are also representative of my creative process and why I feel the need to create art. Overall, I personally didn't much care for Pindell’s earlier works. The overall composition that consisted of layers of hole punches, along with a wax-like coating to give it a textured looking consistency, more or less made me think of “artistic vomit”. I think it is fun, however, maybe not my cup of tea. Her later works, however, I found to be fascinating. Looking at her larger compositions it was interesting to see how her layers brought out the depth of her content. I found it especially interesting to find and deduce the different symbolic representations in her pieces, such as the wheels representing the car crash in her autobiographical piece. Activity B - Abstract ExpressionismIn light of our upcoming abstract expressionism unit, we also took a look at all of the Abstract Expressionist paintings. Non-Objective or Abstract - Where do you draw the line?1. Non-ObjectiveNon Objective features a work in which there is no discernable subject, but only features shapes - organic or inorganic. 2. AbstractAbstract is a work in which a recognizable or realistic subject is changed or altered in a way in which it is still recognizable, but not featured as the way it exists in the actual world. Abstract Expressionism - What falls into this specific category?Abstract Expressionism is a movement that originated around the 1950’s. The movement emphasizes the spontaneous application and expresses the wholistic and encompassing force of art. The three dominant approaches include a liquid, dynamic application of paint, or bold, textured, brushwork, or large paint fields that achieve almost a meditative feeling. Mark Rothko’s achieves the third approach by utilizing diaphanous layers of analogous colors to embody a meditative and contemplative mood. Mark-makingHere is an example of the first dominant approach in Abstract Expressionism where the artist has utilized a dynamic, gestural, application of paint. Seemingly here, the artist loosely applied paint, both with loose, almost carefree strokes, or splattering. In this piece, Louis encompasses the Abstract Expressionist use of color and bold mark making. It almost seems that the paint was poured vertically and left to fall down the painting. This third piece, also looks use large, gestural, and bold brushstrokes. The rather dynamic composition suggests that the artist used long, shoulder-utilizing brushstrokes to create his marks. Art Elements, Design Principles, and Specific Compositional ChoicesRoy Lichtenstein American, 1923-1997 Lamp II, 1997 Painted Bronze Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis, 8.5.511 This sculptural representation of a lamppost by Lichtenstein highlights the commonality of the everyday object, and brings into question what is real and what is not real with the interplay of abstraction of a tangible, real, object. While viewers may pass lampposts everyday without a second thought, they ultimately will stop for this one, in order to enjoy this dynamic interplay between reality and invention. Lee Bontecou American, Born 1931 Untitled (No. 25), 1960 Welded steel, canvas, copper wire Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis 8.5.364 Bontecou’s use of shape and form challenges the viewer by both giving invitation and repulsion. The use of form to create depth creates “gaping holes” or sorts, or abysses that draw in the viewer to take a look inside, however, at the same time, the dark and almost decrepit tone of the piece, results in the viewer to take a step back. In this way, their exists and interaction between artist, art, and audience. Norman Lewis
American, 1909-1979 Post Mortem, 1964 Oil on Canvas Gift of the Faberge Society of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2001.9 Here, the stark contrast between black and white, and hieroglyphic-like caricatures, emphasizes the political content of the piece, in which Lewis depict African American struggle for equality throughout history. The continuity of the piece highlights the the protests, marches, and struggles. The black and white contrast ultimately challenge’s the viewer's perception of positive and negative space, what is real, what is tangible, what is at the foreground, and what is the background.
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As an extension of our Old Master's project, we now are going to replicate an image of ourselves using our old master's mark. I really want to use an image of me dancing or one that is full body. So far I have a few images that I could potentially use, however, I am still debating. I really like the image with the umbrella, however, I also really like the bottom left one of me dancing, but my face still cannot really be seen. I do like the two portraits, however, I think that for a self portrait I really want to do a dance picture. The bottom middle pictures is just a cool picture that I like of myself - its full body, and its of me doing something that I love.
Side to Side Comparison of the original work of Francois Boucher and my own study. Overall, this was a very informative and experiential learning process. I think ultimately the proportions, especially concerning the head is a work in progress. I remember not being able to quite get it right when drawing it with pencil and just deciding to move on. I think I ultimately need to practice and take more time in approaching my figures - especially in the initial drawing and making sure, before, I add details to accurately get the perspective and foreshortening correct. I have also learned that there is much more value to line than I have previously acknowledged or utilized prior to this project. In working and studying Boucher's approach, his use of line is an extremely powerful tool in his rendering of form. There is a stark contrast between his dark, bold lines, and carefully-placed, elegant, light lines. One thing I for sure will take away from this project is the many MANY different lines that can be used in drawing form. I think that, for a first observational replication (where there is still much room for improvement) I am happy from where I started. I took a lot away from this project, and am really excited to practice what I have learned from it. Last Wednesday, Amanda Dalla Villa Adams, a VMFA faculty and independent curator, presented a Japanese Aesthetics lecture during lunch. All in all, I really enjoy and appreciate the concepts behind Japanese Art. For much of its display, there is a play between the contrasting light and dark, which, symbolically stands for many things: death and reflection, simplicity, beauty, etc. I think that the practice of Wabi Sabi and Kintsugi are absolutely genius. Essentially, these practices embrace the beauty of brokenness - imperfection is ultimately more valuable than perfection. I also appreciate the powerful simplicity of Notan and the interplay between dark and light to create a conceptually complex piece of art. I think that there is fault in the practices of the Modern-day World where we strive for perfection, are always on the run, and never have time to truly stop and appreciate beauty - including our own beauty and that of the outside world. There is something important to be said in the Japanese Aesthetic’s simplicity, and there is for sure something that the Modern-day World can learn. There is an ultimate need to slow down, in essence to appreciate beauty, because beauty is fleeting, and so are we. On retrospect, the simplistic and truthful concepts of beauty covered in the Japanese Aesthetic ultimately is reflective of the value of balance. Jun'ichirō Tanizaki wrote in, “In Praise of Shadows,” “Were it not for the shadows, there would be no beauty.” Want to see some examples of Kintsugi? Visit this link: https://www.lifegate.com/people/lifestyle/kintsugi Ever want to try creating your own art using the Japanese Aesthetic? Visit this link: http://emptyeasel.com/2008/08/12/seeing-notan-how-to-make-stronger-compositions-using-lights-and-darks/ Need some more help understanding the Japanese Aesthetic? Watch this video on Wabi Sabi: In class for the past week or so, we have really been able to make some headway on our Old Masters Project. Essentially we had to choose a figure drawing done by an Old Master and replicate it. I have been working on a study by Francois Boucher. So far, it has been okay. Using conte to replicate strokes has been a little bit of a struggle - especially when judging width for line quality. Altogether though, I have really enjoyed working with Boucher's drawing strokes; and I feel like I can relate to his sometimes wild and squiggly-like strokes. He for sure is not going for the small details in his piece, but rather more of a raw essence.
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