"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.