Final

For the final project I really wanted to emulate Basquiat's hand and social commentary presented in his work. I deemed it appropriate to comment on the presidential race and highlight some of the issues certain candidates have addressed. I focused on making the artist hand very noticeable but this was difficult for me since I tended to want to make it clean and even. I also wanted the piece to have a child-like feeling to it since that was represented in his pieces.

In this piece, the first thing that catches my attention is the face on the one billion dollar bill. It's distorted and gives off an eerie feeling from the uneasy eyes and smile. The next thing that grabs my attention are the two big and green dollar signs on both sides of the face. My eye then goes to the writing on the bill. On the top it says "UNITED STATES OF STUDENT DEBT," which is crossed out in red, and at the bottom "ONE BILLION DOLLARS." There are many colors painted on the page and I find myself jumping around to each color. Even though there are many colors, the entire piece seems dark since the black background peaks through the color. At first glance the artist hand is very noticeable. Each brush stroke is visible as if one can almost mimic them to recreate the piece. It seems balanced since the focal point is directly in the middle and there is almost an even amount of color on both sides. From the wording and the visual of money, it is clear that this piece is responding to the great amount of debt students face in the U.S. The distortion of the face on the bill also represents the corruption that occurs.

Intention Statement

I'm intrigued by Jean-Michel Basquiat's child-like drawings since they seem like something I would be able to do. I'm planning on my making my hand known by making very visible brushstrokes throughout the page. I'm also attracted by his use of black backgrounds, therefore I'm planning to paint colorful strokes over a black canvas. Considering that Basquiat made comments on society in most of his pieces, I deemed it appropriate to relate my final project to the presidential debate. As a Bernie Sanders supporter, I resenate with his message on how "big money" controls this country and there needs to be a change. I decided to paint a 1 billion dollar bill on the middle of my bristol with a distorted face in the middle of it. I wanted this to be a comment on the corruption that this country faces. Once I draw that I'm planning on free drawing around it.

Kubler/Byrne

Unlike the other readings, Limitations of Biography was easier to read but it was still confusing to understand. I'm not very sure what the over all meaning or purpose of the reading is since he jumped to different topics. One part that did resonate with me, was the section where he wrote about how it is meaningless to debate wether Leonardo is more talented than Raphael. They are both talented in their own way and it is unjust to criticize one as being less talented than the other considering that the idea of talent is subjective.

I was not very sure about what the writer was trying to convey in the biology section. He wrote about biological perspectives and "genius" before the actual section about biology, which made me more confused. While reading it, I continuously asked myself what this specific section had to do with art.

The Byrne piece was interesting to look at. It was intriguing how each page related to the next in a peculiar way. I thought that everyone who looked through the book could relate to at least one word or phrase he used throughout since it seemed as though they were a response to society. Even though it was entertaining to look at, I'm not sure what Byrne's overall purpose for the book is. The concept of using only power point is interesting but I don't understand why he used it or what message he was trying to convey.

Tufte

This excerpt was extremely difficult to understand. After reading it thoroughly multiple times, I still could not grasp the essence of what the writer was trying to relay. The writer jumped from point to point without any explanation on how anything related to each other. While reading, I often asked myself how this could possibly relate to art. The only part that truly resonated with me was the point he made about the communication between the reader of an image and the makers of an image in the beginning of the excerpt. I thought this was interesting because no matter who the maker is or what they make, they are trying to communicate something to an audience. One thing that I found interesting about the article were the diagrams. Even though I didn't understand them very well, I was able to see the art within in. They helped me understand the purpose of the writing.
After watching the video, I understood the reading better. I believe it was a good idea to pair the video with the reading in order to have a better understanding of the reading. I was finally able to understand what the author of "Escaping Flatland" was trying to say. The way everyone perceives an image could be very different, therefore it is very important how one presents their artwork in order for the audience to understand it the way one wants them to. This point was made clear in the video in relation to data. The way one presents their data determines the way someone interprets it and that's why the visual is very important.
I found that this related to our current project since we are focusing on how to interpret distance on a 2 dimensional plane. The placement of each line could differentiate if it is interpreted as being close or far away, so it is important that we are careful on how we present each piece of the project.

Ways of Seeing

“Ways of Seeing,” by John Berger, was an easier read than the previous article. Although, at time, I found myself confused as to the point he was trying to make, I was able to grab the essence of his thoughts. In the beginning of the article he explains that the way we see things is affected by what we know and what we believe. I found this to be relevant in everyone’s life since we all grow up differently and have a different view on life. Our experiences shape who we are and the way we interpret different things. Berger uses photographers and painters as examples to explain this thought. He states that a photographers view is reflected on his choice of subject while painters view is reconstituted by the marks he makes on paper. Both are different artists with different training backgrounds and portray they view the world in a different way.

Berger explained that with the invention of the camera, we view paintings differently. We view paintings as something that is older and put ourselves back in time when we look at them. But the meaning of a painting becomes transmittable and may be ignored.   

Another point Berger made was the idea that a picture is worth a thousands words and it is determined by perspective. I was able to relate this to our last class. During the last class we spoke about how different images communicate, specifically in the form of advertisements. We went over different advertisements and pointed out the first thing our eyes gravitate to. Most of those in the class focused on the same thing but some gravitated to another point in the advertisement first. This was just a matter of perspective. I also found that exercise to be very interesting because it made me realize how complex the creation of an advertisement is because the first thing the audience notices is essential to how the product is marketed.

Texture

"The Thinking Eye"

As I began to read the article, I found myself having to go back to reread each sentence because I could not grab the essence of what Klee was trying to convey. His thoughts seemed incoherent and I was unclear of the meaning of each term he referred to. I must admit that I still do not fully understand what he means in the beginning of the article, but as I continued to read, his thoughts seemed to come together in a more organized manner. I found it very interesting how Klee was able to give so much information about a line. As a person with absolutely no artistic background, it has never occurred to me to think of a line as more than merely just a line. He gave it life by using the words free and active to describe the line’s different forms. He also made the line relatable, especially when he explained that connecting the dots is more like making a series of appointments than taking a walk. This was interesting because it made me think that when connecting the dots, one must stop at each point to be precise, one cannot just go through as if they are walking.  

The section in which he wrote about the progression of children’s artwork is intriguing because he explains as children mature, they begin to find order in their drawings instead of just chaotically moving their crayon. We begin to color in the lines instead of all over the page as we age and progress from those primitive stages of drawing and writing.

Dot Matrix:

I enjoyed the dot matrix activity we did in class because it was a way of activity combining music and drawing together. It was interesting to see how differently each person in the class interpreted the sound onto their paper because no two were alike. As I was making my dots, I found it slightly difficult to convey the shift in rhythm. I wanted to showcase each beat of the song by spacing them out or clumping them together according to the rate and making the dots larger as the sound increase, but it was difficult to do that while trying to keep up with the pace of song. I wanted the piece to look perfect but I soon realized that would be impossible and I had to just go with the flow of the music. Once we were told to add lines, I saw the piece become more a chaotic since there is less control and more room for error when adding that element.

This class exercise closely relates to what Klee is conveying in “The Thinking Eye.” After listening to comments students had on their pieces after we finished the activity, there was a common theme of wanting to find order within their drawing. Most agreed they believed to have ruined their drawing once they used lines since it created more chaos. I believe this exercise was a way to go back to our primitive form of drawing.

What Is Art?

On the first day of class, we viewed a music video that was carefully constructed to merge visuals with music. It was not a typical music video that many may expect where the artists are displayed performing one way or another while there are scenes that interpret the meaning of the song. Those who created the music video decided to interpret the beat of the song in a visual manner. I found it very interesting how the video went perfectly with the beat of the song and how they calculated each visual aspect to interpret each beat through repetition and pace.

Apart from the music video, we were asked to draw out “how we got here.” This was a way to see how different people in the class interpreted the question. I personally drew myself walking from my dorm to the college center where our class is located, while others drew their journey from their hometown to Loyola or the way we were brought into this world. I first thought the assignment was to test our drawing capabilities but I then realized it related to the class in a different way. The way people interpreted the question correlates with the way people interpret art. Everyone has their own opinion and interprets things differently. This now brings us to the question, what is art?

Everyone has a different definition of art, but what comes to my mind when asked what is art, is a concrete definition that describes it as a tool used to express emotions, thoughts, and ideas to others that reflect one’s views of society or oneself. But art is more complex than what meets the eye. It is everywhere, and it can mean nothing or it can portray a variety of things. One does not have to be classified as an artist to create art and something does not have to be displayed in a gallery or a museum to be classified as art. To quickly go back to the topic of the music video, I would have not viewed the music video as a work of art but it is clear that it is a piece of art since it is something that captures an audience.

The Whole Ball of Wax, an article by Jerry Saltz, expressed that “art is a cat” when describing the different ways dogs and cats may interact with their owners. What I believe Saltz was trying to convey was the notion that art is based on the way the subject makes one feel and the reaction that is given from the one experiencing the subject. The way people experience art may be different and differ from the way the artist intended the audience to interpret it. Saltz uses the example that Andy Warhol and Donald Judd never intended to make their art political, yet they have changed the way the world looks and the way we look at the world. But this also brings up the question on whether or not it is possible to give the term art a concrete definition when there are so many different interpretations.