Video Review

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

Through the Eyes of the Sculptor– I don’t think non artists realize how much work, time, effort and research goes into creating a piece of artwork. Often I think these artworks are taken for granted, people don’t realize how truly incredible they are. I have never been much of a sculptor and definitely have never created anything from limestone, but I have learned about it.  This video showed me again, just how time consuming it is to create a great sculpture.  The don’t just appear overnight.  Think about the creation of David, back then they had no resources really other than trial and error to create that sculpture.  We have a little bit more help now, with books and even the internet.  You have to be passionate to create something of this scale and this time consuming, it’s not easy work.  You cannot erase your mistake, you can only keep chipping away. You have to have patience and know you may fail many times before you succeed.  

Glass and Ceramics– Similar to the other video, we take a lot of things for granted.  I don’t think we think about how many things in our lives are created from glass.  We don’t think twice about it, because it’s always been available to us.  We don’t think about the process of how things became the way they did.  For me I usually assume, a machine did it.  But how, who built these machines? Other machines?  At some point humans were the beginning of this process, people shaped glass first.  This is another process people take for granted.  So much trial and error went into the creation of glass products.  We have machines that do the hard work for us, we have cut out great experiences and techniques just so we can have things faster and in bigger quantities.  Glass has lost its value because of what we can create with it using machines.  

2.   How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The reading talks about all the types of techniques people used to make art, and when we see these techniques in textbooks, we think they are historic ways of creating art.  But in reality, people still use them.  The same way, people use hand tools to create sculptures.  Just because we have machines doesn’t mean the old ways of creating art are no longer usable.  Sometimes not using different technologies to create art is easier for the artist because they have learned the processes.  The process of creating art is just as important as the finished piece. 

3.   What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics: Sculpture, Installation, and Craft?

I think these videos are important to show how time consuming and the hard work that goes into creating these artworks.  Many take them for granted cause they’ve always been around, but they are something quite remarkable.  They add depth to understanding these topics because like I have said, people  don’t realize how much work it takes for them to be created.  You have to think about everything when creating glass and sculpture. Both glass and sculptures aren’t just being created to be put into a museum.  They are being created to serve a purpose, and I think sometimes people forget that.