Logo Design

1.   Discuss what you thought about creating your logo.

When creating my logo, I thought about my initials.  In one of my undergrad courses we were told to create a design using our initials and the one I created I now use to sign all of my artwork, so for this I wanted to take it one step further, so I thought about that while creating my logo.  

2.   Describe the process: creative thinking skills and ideas you used in the logo creation.

I wanted my initials to be one cohesive logo.  I also thought about trying to incorporate more things about me into my logo, but decided on keeping things simple, I didn’t want it to become too “busy.”  I wanted a balanced logo, but that also showed a creative design.  Choosing the colors was the next obstacle.  Trying to find two colors that related to me and that were also contrasting eachother to make the other stand out was what I thought about.  I used overlapping and thin line work to create  my logo.  

3.   What was the most important discovery you made in the creation of your logo?

The important discovery I made while creating my logo, was being able to fuse 3 letters together into one cohesive piece, without making it look like it was too forced or too predictable.  I also realized how fun it was to problem solve to come to an outcome you are satisfied with.  

4.    What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos, powerpoint, and reading material for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

I realized from the videos that you’re not going to come up with the perfect logo on the first try.  You will constantly make changes and adjustments to the logo and create several variations and colors of it, until you get it to the exact logo you are looking to make.  

Museum Visit

A.)Which artworks make an impact or impression on me? Why?

   

Tauba Auerbach (American, born 1981). Untitled (Fold), 2012. Acrylic paint on canvas on

wooden stretcher, 64 x 48 inches (162.6 x 121.9 cm)

I chose this artwork because as I walked towards it I was so tempted to reach out my hand and

touch it. The way the artist made this artwork look 3 dimensional is quite remarkable.  I looked at

the artwork from many angles to make sure my eyes really weren’t deceiving me.  This one left

an impression on me because of how deceiving it was, which is what drew me into it.  

Kim Tschang-Yeul (Korean, born 1929).Waterdrops No. 26, 1977. Oil on canvas. Support: 36 1/4  

x 28 5/8 inches (92.075 x 72.7075 cm) 

This artwork fascinating me because of all the little details in it.  It may look simple, but the

realistic drops on the canvas took time and such precision to get them to look so real.  What drew

me to this one was the way the artist fools your eye.  If I didn’t know better I would have thought

this was a wet piece of canvas. I also was drawn to it because how perfect each little waterdrop is. 

Not one was an afterthought, they were all placed and created  so perfectly. The piece altogether

is very well balanced.  

B.)  Which artworks do I feel connected with? Why?

On Left: 

Robert Swain (American, born 1940). Untitled #901, 1975. Acrylic on canvas, support with       hangers and/or oz-clip hardware: 108 x 108 x 1 5/8 inches (274.32 x 274.32 x 4.13 cm); support: 108 x 108 inches (274.32 x 274.32 cm) 

On Right: 

Piero Dorazio (Italian, 1927-2005). A Peaceful Solution, 1976-1977. oil on canvas.

support: 99 x 87 inches (251.46 x 220.98 cm)

I have a connection with these two pieces because they are very similar to what I like to create in my own artwork.  Most of my art is made with geometric shapes, sometimes bright color, and a lot of line work, which both of these pieces have.  I also like to create whole pieces that don’t look like much until you get close to them, which is exactly what Piero Dorazio’s artwork does.  From far away it doesn’t seem like much more than a lot of color, but when you get close up, it is made up of so many different colored lines. I loved looking at this piece and just imaged how the artist felt when creating it.  The piece by Robert Swain is just as intriguing because of how perfect the line work is.  Each square is so well thought out and painted so equally.  I feel connected to this piece cause when it comes to my own artwork, I get a little OCD, so this work to me is so satisfying.  

C.) Which artworks would I like to know more about? Why?

Gunther Uecker (German, born 1930). Overgrowth, 1962. Nails and canvas over wood. 43 1/2 x

42 1/2 x 4 inches (110.49 x 110.49 x 10.16 cm)

I would like to know more about this piece because of how organic the shape is that the nails

create.  Was the artist picturing the image they wanted to create or were they just placing them

and see what they came up with.  As I looked at it, I tried to think of a story behind it.  I guess I

would just like to know the artists thoughts while creating this piece.

Roy Lichtenstein (American 1923-1997). Head - Red and Yellow, 1962.  Oil on canvas.  Support:

48 x 48 inches (121.92 x 121.92 cm); framed: 49 1/8 x 49 1/8 x 2 ¼ inches (124.78 x 124.78 x

5.72 cm)

Pop art is one of my favorite types of artwork, and is one I would like to explore more with my

art.  With these pieces I always wonder what the characters story is.  Do they have a story?  Is the

image based on a real person, or did they create someone to fit a story? Or is there no story at all?

I love how much detail goes in to creating the pop artworks, and hope to learn more about them.  

Value Scale and Color Wheel

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

When creating the value scaled, I was worried that I would make it too light too fast so then I think I kept it too dark for too many squares.  I had to go back and edit with an eraser and pencil a few times before the scale was exactly how I wanted it.  The color wheel was fun to make, but I am not sure it turned out how it was intended to. The cyan paint that I bought looked too similar to the primary blue I have. I saw some slight variations in the colors but I don’t think it was exactly the differences that you were looking for.

2.    Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

I enjoyed working with graphite and creating the scale. There are so many different tones that you can make and it was fun to experiment and create a nice scale of gray tones.    

3.    What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

I think figuring out how to create the value scale and discovering that trial and error is the best way to make something the way you want it. There are so many different grey scales that not all will be the same, but that doesn’t mean one is correct and another is not.  

4.    What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

I don’t know if I agree that the true primary colors are magenta, cyan and yellow, but it was fun to use and experiment with the colors as shown in the video.  When making my value scale I did not put spaces between each scale as the video showed, I liked keeping mine next to one another so I could see better the gradual change.  

Color Theory and Emotional Effects

 

1.   Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

The way we represent color with emotions is somewhat of a cultural experience. A lot of signage and other items in our daily lives determines how we feel when seeing those colors associated with something else. Red is very bold and often means danger or fear, blue may means you’re sad or depressed and so on.  I think when we see certain colors in an artwork our mind automatically makes us see those emotions. Also in the context the colors are used will set the image and tone of the artwork.  But before we began associating color with our daily lives, there was the way the ancient artists used color.  Blue pigment for example was the most expensive, so the emotion behind it was usually importance and nobility.  It was overused because of how expensive so the rarity of it made the painting have value.    

2.    What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

The aspect that intrigues me the most is that an object is never made up of just one color.  When you’re painting something or creating an artwork with color, there’s always tones and variations of colors that make up the entirety of an object. There are no lines in the real world that are just filled with one color, three’s a gradient between all things and objects.  For example, Claude Monet painted the colors he saw in front of him.  Whatever the objects were, he wasn’t interested and instead just placed color on his canvas where he saw it in the world.  As he started adding more and more color, the painting became what the view in front of him was.  The colors combined to form shapes and it wasn’t just splotches of random color but it came together as a piece of artwork.  It was amazing the way he picked out colors and combined them to create exactly what he had intended.  Another example of this is when Titian used refection in his artworks. He didn’t just paint someone’s skin the color it exactly was because it would be too flat.  But by added the reflections of the color clothing they were wearing into the skin tones to create shadow and depth, it really made the paintings come alive. 

3.   In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

From the video I think the idea of colors flowing with one another is what can make it beautiful.  And I think many agree that when they colors flow nicely is can be very stimulating.  When Vincent van Gogh clashed his colors in hopes of making artwork distasteful I would have to agree.  It wasn’t as appealing to look at.  And I think when things are contrasting too harshly it gives us a feeling of harsh and raw emotion and not as pleasing to look at.  

4.   In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and its effects on emotions? 

In this video it showed how people began to use color more realistically.  They made the paintings more lifelike and people could really begin to relate to them. When something is painted so realistically, people can really put themselves into that moment, and find they enjoy feeling that emotion so vividly.  

Elements and Principles of Design

alainamgreco's library on Photobucket

I thought this assignment was very fun and definitely made you look at things in our daily lives a little bit closer.  We see shape, form, line and all the other elements and principles in almost everything, but we don't think about it.  We just think of them as signs, bridges, bricks, and other items that we've given names.  Art is all around us.  When I first set out to start taking photos, I was a little nervous that I would have trouble finding some things, but as I started taking pictures, I started seeing multiple elements or principles or both in the pictures I was taking.  The photographs aren't simplified to their one principle or their one element, they have multiple but I tried to pull out what I thought was the strongest in each.  You still had to think about the frame and positioning when taking the photo, especially when you brought out things like balance and proportion/scale.  I thought I would have trouble creating an argument for why I chose these 14 pictures from all the ones I took.  But I believe they each represent their own principle or design without much explanation. Overall I think this was a good experience for us to get out and look at our community and find art within it, and find ways to represent terms in the form of art.  

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

Key concepts video 1: Art cannot be simply defined, there is more too it, and instead of letting it be confined to certain standards, it needs to be grown and developed. 

Key concepts Video 2: The key concept in these two lectures was the science behind art, and what makes certain artwork more appealing to us. 

Key concept, CNN Article: Our brains use lines and other aspects of a piece of art to create familiarity in it, and in turn it draws us into it, if we feel a connection.  

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

-The one that I feel is more important is that of Philosopher R.G. Collingwood in 1938.  He developed the theory of Expression theory of Art, saying that art was a way for someone to express themselves.  I believe this to be true, because it’s what I do a lot of the time when I am creating art.  And as art educators, I think it’s one of the most important things to be teaching our students and one of the ways I think they will most benefit from creating art. Art will be a way for them to express things that they may not be able to say verbally.  

  

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?

I think they both like knowing that even though art itself has no real definition, the science behind it does, and understanding the science of the brain, can almost help you to understand art a little better. What I like most about Changeux’s lecture was the fact that he backed up how art is constantly evolving. The thing I picked up on most in Ramachandran’s lecture was the that art can be so distorted but our brain is still going to find pieces of similarity to the real world in it, that will ultimately help us distinguish something when looking at a piece of artwork.  

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

Just as the videos do, the article discusses the ways our brain is helping us to interpret artwork.  The text talks similarly about these things.  Our brain is finding forms in artwork and connecting its context to similar forms that we see in real life.  Our subconscious is constantly making connections without us even realizing. We use icons and other symbols and give them more powerful meaning, and when we see them in artwork they are symbolizing more than themselves.  

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 agree with some of the aspects in the videos, obviously, the science behind our brain helps us to interpret all kinds of things in our lives including the artwork we look at.  I also think that some pieces of artwork are more stimulating for some people than they are for others.  Not necessarily saying they brain isn’t working the same way but some people already have interest in deepening their understanding of art and some do not. But from our other readings I also think that art is more than just stimulating the brain.  Artists create art for a multitude of reasons, including to create spaces of remembrance, and to help us see the world in new ways.  Any of the reasoning’s behind why artists create art could be the same reasons people are so attracted to looking at it.