I have thoroughly enjoyed this semester and the Art 10 class. I believe what I enjoyed the most was the in-person art visit. I had never been to an art museum before, and going on such a beautiful spring day was really just a special, quiet event for my family and I. Seeing the works in person was much better and more touching than looking at them in a book.
I also enjoyed learning the processes that went into creating such art like paintings, printmaking and sculpture. I have much more respect for the art and for the artists- it really is a lot of work! I felt that our textbook was chock full of interesting art samples and covered each aspect of the art process quite thoroughly. The special sections on history and works in progress were rich with information.
I am personally thankful that this class is offered in an online format, but think that maybe I would have gotten even more from it in person. I say that because of my positive and personal experience at the art museum. I came away from there really connecting to the world of art, yet staring at my computer trying to complete an assignment was at times difficult. I thank our instructor for doing such a nice job in the presentation of the material—the opportunity to connect with her and with our classmates via the voicethread made the connection more clear. I was surprised to learn from my classmates the different opinions and views that exist.
My favorite medium of art before this class was oil paintings- and it still is. I feel the most when viewing these pieces because of the clear communication they speak and because of the use of rich colors. Watercolor paintings are too pastel and muted for my taste—I like the fine detail that can be captured in an oil painting. A close second of my personal favorites is sculpture. I am totally impressed that one can take a piece of solid marble or stone and bring it to life through carving. Amazing! A funny thing about sculpture is that I miss the presence (or coloring) of a pupil in the eye. If the rest of the statue was colorless, but the pupil colored, it would seem more alive to me. A funny and minor thought but one worth mentioning!
One thing is for sure- I will forever see the world differently because of this class and my experiences seeing art in a new way. Thank you.
Analyze This!
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=the+kiss&gbv=2
Monday, May 5, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Art Visit
On the afternoon of Sunday, April 13 2008, my family and I went on our very first ever visit to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. We typically have not been a very “artsy” or cultural family in any way, so we weren’t really sure what to expect from our visit. The weather was absolutely perfect, and I had called ahead and discovered that if we made it before one o’clock we would all be admitted free! The combination of the weather and free admittance really set a nice tone for our afternoon together explorer this strange new world of art.
We gathered out front together to take pictures, and I was sure to have one taken of me in front of the Crocker Art Museum sign, as it was an important requirement of this Art Visit assignment. I was immediately taken by the beautiful and historical building which we were entering. I am a huge history buff, so was drawn in to explore the beginnings of this art museum. I had questions in my head like… who were the Crockers? What year was this museum started? At that time in our nation’s history, how rare would it have been to find an art museum in this part of the nation? And I wondered what the first pieces of art were, and if they were still on display today so I could view the same pieces that museum visitors for centuries before me had enjoyed.
I climbed the marble stairs and after I reached for the huge carved wooden door to come inside, I spent a few moments to examine the intricate carved patterns in the wood doors. The wood appeared to be a rich mahogany or oak, and they were very heavy! What a welcome! I entered the great entryway and immediately noticed the grand stairway to my immediate left and another down and to the right. A large, white marble Romanesque statue stood tall ahead and I wondered in amazement right off why we don’t do more things like this as a family more often? My eyes were searching to take in all I could and I was proud to be there among those who were connected to art and had come not as an assignment, but as enjoyment. I was happy to be there and knew that we were going to see great things that afternoon!
I picked up a map at the welcome desk and was surprised to see the many different rooms and forms of art that were listed. I was happy to see a room listed that was dedicated to Asian art, and thought that I might enjoy that very much.
The first area we visited was straight ahead, and that was the room displaying the art of Edward Deakin who was the featured artist. I did enjoy his work, but found that many of his pieces, especially the grapes, were almost too re-producible.
Next, we headed upstairs to the European art collection. I enjoyed coming up very close to the paintings! At first, I was a little hesitant to do so (I didn’t know if it was appropriate to do that and there were art docents all over the place watching our every move it seemed!) Then I saw that others were coming up very close to the paintings, and so I came close as well. One thing that I remember is that the paintings that were very large in scale were very impressive, yet coming up so close to the smaller pieces revealed so much more to me. I was able to see very closely the very fine details that went into painting figures and expressions, even little glimmers of light reflected in a person’s eye. I was more impressed with the smaller paintings, as they seemed more personal and full of detailed personality. But the large paintings were totally impressive in their own right, but they almost intimidated me and kept me at a distance, while the smaller pieces just called out an invitation to be breathed on.
I found my favorite piece in the European collection of paintings. It is called
“Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist” and was painted in the 17th century by Italian artist Carlo Maratta. The painting is oil on canvas. I liked this painting because it portrays Jesus Christ as a chubby little infant who holds in His hand sin, symbolically depicted here as the apple. The apple he holds is hidden from view of his loving mother Mary and she peers down lovingly at her son. John the Baptist is shown as a young child peering over Mary’s shoulder. What I like so much about this piece is how Jesus is portrayed as a chubby baby, and it shows him literally as a healthy innocent child. Yet by Him holding the apple in His hand, it really sends a clear message to the viewer that He holds all sin and the power to block it in His hand.
After the second level, we proceeded to the third floor and saw the modern art. There was a brilliant aluminum piece that my children found to be very entertaining and interactive. The piece was a large piece of polished aluminum that had been polished in such a way that when you walked in front of it, in a left to right or right to left motion, in seemed to change in perspective as it reflected the light in different directions. That was a very fun and very colorful level to the museum. I appreciated the addition of these modern pieces, but they just didn’t speak to me in the same way that the older paintings and marble sculptures did.
Overall, I had a very fun time taking in all of the rich display of art pieces. After taking this class, I will never see art in the same way. I now have an “art vocabulary” and can put into words what I am looking at and am able to describe why it speaks to me or doesn’t. I know see art as a way of capturing a person or event in history and reflecting it into the future for others to take in.
My family and I will be back to the Crocker Art Museum and will think twice before passing up the opportunity to visit an art event in the future.
We gathered out front together to take pictures, and I was sure to have one taken of me in front of the Crocker Art Museum sign, as it was an important requirement of this Art Visit assignment. I was immediately taken by the beautiful and historical building which we were entering. I am a huge history buff, so was drawn in to explore the beginnings of this art museum. I had questions in my head like… who were the Crockers? What year was this museum started? At that time in our nation’s history, how rare would it have been to find an art museum in this part of the nation? And I wondered what the first pieces of art were, and if they were still on display today so I could view the same pieces that museum visitors for centuries before me had enjoyed.
I climbed the marble stairs and after I reached for the huge carved wooden door to come inside, I spent a few moments to examine the intricate carved patterns in the wood doors. The wood appeared to be a rich mahogany or oak, and they were very heavy! What a welcome! I entered the great entryway and immediately noticed the grand stairway to my immediate left and another down and to the right. A large, white marble Romanesque statue stood tall ahead and I wondered in amazement right off why we don’t do more things like this as a family more often? My eyes were searching to take in all I could and I was proud to be there among those who were connected to art and had come not as an assignment, but as enjoyment. I was happy to be there and knew that we were going to see great things that afternoon!
I picked up a map at the welcome desk and was surprised to see the many different rooms and forms of art that were listed. I was happy to see a room listed that was dedicated to Asian art, and thought that I might enjoy that very much.
The first area we visited was straight ahead, and that was the room displaying the art of Edward Deakin who was the featured artist. I did enjoy his work, but found that many of his pieces, especially the grapes, were almost too re-producible.
Next, we headed upstairs to the European art collection. I enjoyed coming up very close to the paintings! At first, I was a little hesitant to do so (I didn’t know if it was appropriate to do that and there were art docents all over the place watching our every move it seemed!) Then I saw that others were coming up very close to the paintings, and so I came close as well. One thing that I remember is that the paintings that were very large in scale were very impressive, yet coming up so close to the smaller pieces revealed so much more to me. I was able to see very closely the very fine details that went into painting figures and expressions, even little glimmers of light reflected in a person’s eye. I was more impressed with the smaller paintings, as they seemed more personal and full of detailed personality. But the large paintings were totally impressive in their own right, but they almost intimidated me and kept me at a distance, while the smaller pieces just called out an invitation to be breathed on.
I found my favorite piece in the European collection of paintings. It is called
“Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist” and was painted in the 17th century by Italian artist Carlo Maratta. The painting is oil on canvas. I liked this painting because it portrays Jesus Christ as a chubby little infant who holds in His hand sin, symbolically depicted here as the apple. The apple he holds is hidden from view of his loving mother Mary and she peers down lovingly at her son. John the Baptist is shown as a young child peering over Mary’s shoulder. What I like so much about this piece is how Jesus is portrayed as a chubby baby, and it shows him literally as a healthy innocent child. Yet by Him holding the apple in His hand, it really sends a clear message to the viewer that He holds all sin and the power to block it in His hand.
After the second level, we proceeded to the third floor and saw the modern art. There was a brilliant aluminum piece that my children found to be very entertaining and interactive. The piece was a large piece of polished aluminum that had been polished in such a way that when you walked in front of it, in a left to right or right to left motion, in seemed to change in perspective as it reflected the light in different directions. That was a very fun and very colorful level to the museum. I appreciated the addition of these modern pieces, but they just didn’t speak to me in the same way that the older paintings and marble sculptures did.
Overall, I had a very fun time taking in all of the rich display of art pieces. After taking this class, I will never see art in the same way. I now have an “art vocabulary” and can put into words what I am looking at and am able to describe why it speaks to me or doesn’t. I know see art as a way of capturing a person or event in history and reflecting it into the future for others to take in.
My family and I will be back to the Crocker Art Museum and will think twice before passing up the opportunity to visit an art event in the future.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Watch the magic:
The following pictures are of a wooden bridge over a fish pond at the Imaginarium in Nevada City, California.
(--- Please scroll way down to see image # 1 and # 2 ---)
The first image was taken at 8:30 in the morning. The colors in this picture are more warm, with pops of yellow light forming a quilt of interesting patterns on the ground and framework of the bridge. There are highlights splashed on the huge pine trees behind the bridge, as the sun is peeking out from around the building behind me (the photographer). Long morning shadows stretch out across the dirt, and the shade from the trees forms a dark area just beyond the bridge towards the street. This area could almost be mistaken for another body of water due to its dark shadowing. The bridge is lighter in value here. The contrast here is deep and interesting, with a bright hue forming wherever the morning sun hits.
The second image was taken at 4:00 in the afternoon. Here, we can see that the colors appear to be much more cool. It “feels” shady here, much different than the way you would feel standing in the morning sun of the first image. The colors are analogous here on the bridge and stepping stones beyond. They appear very close in color, while the first image captures the interesting differences in the stepping stones texture and color. The shadow beyond the pond is now completely absent, and the viewer can see that there the path continues as well and more vegetation. Warmth creeps only into the background of this image, picked up in the patch of classic red Grass Valley dirt on the hill across the street. In the first image, this patch is blocked by both morning shadows and a passing truck. In image two, the sky is reflecting in the water of the pond, while the sun wasn’t up high enough in the sky to create the same effect in image number one. Image one has light penetrating the water from a very low ground level, which tells the viewer that the sun (the light source) had yet to climb high up into the sky during that time of the day. The green colors in image two are more vivid, and consume more of the saturation and intensity of the scene compared to image number one.
(--- Please scroll way down to see image # 1 and # 2 ---)
The first image was taken at 8:30 in the morning. The colors in this picture are more warm, with pops of yellow light forming a quilt of interesting patterns on the ground and framework of the bridge. There are highlights splashed on the huge pine trees behind the bridge, as the sun is peeking out from around the building behind me (the photographer). Long morning shadows stretch out across the dirt, and the shade from the trees forms a dark area just beyond the bridge towards the street. This area could almost be mistaken for another body of water due to its dark shadowing. The bridge is lighter in value here. The contrast here is deep and interesting, with a bright hue forming wherever the morning sun hits.
The second image was taken at 4:00 in the afternoon. Here, we can see that the colors appear to be much more cool. It “feels” shady here, much different than the way you would feel standing in the morning sun of the first image. The colors are analogous here on the bridge and stepping stones beyond. They appear very close in color, while the first image captures the interesting differences in the stepping stones texture and color. The shadow beyond the pond is now completely absent, and the viewer can see that there the path continues as well and more vegetation. Warmth creeps only into the background of this image, picked up in the patch of classic red Grass Valley dirt on the hill across the street. In the first image, this patch is blocked by both morning shadows and a passing truck. In image two, the sky is reflecting in the water of the pond, while the sun wasn’t up high enough in the sky to create the same effect in image number one. Image one has light penetrating the water from a very low ground level, which tells the viewer that the sun (the light source) had yet to climb high up into the sky during that time of the day. The green colors in image two are more vivid, and consume more of the saturation and intensity of the scene compared to image number one.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Line and Space
I can get into this part of art... applying names to things like LINE and SPACE. These terms help the images "jump off" the paper. At my office where I work, I am surrounded by cinder block walls and a ceiling striped with pipes and electrical conduit. Often times I find my eyes traveling up, down and across these lines as I speak to someone. This movement of my eyes helps me think and organize my thoughts.... hmmm... pretty cool. And this is the time of the year when the trees are bare of leaves and the branches offer a new view to the true "skeleton" of the tree that hides under lush greenery for the rest of the year. I get it!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Week 2 Reflections
I confess... I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the new vocabulary and deep thoughts! I am capable of learning and applying these things, yet I admit it is a bit awkward. The voice thread is pretty impressive. I have taken many online classes before, but never have I really felt like I was a part of something like I do now. It's such a cliche' but all of this technology really brings this material to life. Don't you agree? I think I will make flashcards to help with all of the new words.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Getting Critical about Art
I chose to write about the image The World Flag Ant Farm by Yukinori Yanagi (p.15). I love this idea and I think that it is really one of the most creative things I have ever seen. This art speaks to me because I am a person who thinks often about how really miniscule we each are in the "Grand Scheme of Things". Like we all need to get over ourselves as individuals and realize how we all feed into the world (hmmm... like the ants!) Don't get me wrong, we are all very important and are each one a special creation, however, when put together as nations, we should all try better to co-exist. The human race (like the ants) are all trying to survive at the most basic of levels, right? The sand from every nation is carried to all ends of the earth.
I find the use of tiny pieces of colored sand layered together and then scattered by ants fascinating. I appreciate the human effort that must have gone into creating this exhibit. It is almost humorous to me that insects will alter the art and destroy it in the end. (Also-- very much like the humans...)
I find the use of tiny pieces of colored sand layered together and then scattered by ants fascinating. I appreciate the human effort that must have gone into creating this exhibit. It is almost humorous to me that insects will alter the art and destroy it in the end. (Also-- very much like the humans...)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Rosie the Riveter: My Personal Image
The image to the left of the strong woman is that of Rosie the Riveter. Do you know who she is? If you are any kind of lady who has an assertive, take-charge attitude, Rosie will speak to you like she does to me! In World War II, the United States enlisted the services of many women to help fill the gaps in wartime prodution (welding, ship and airplane assembly, ammunitions). These were your average homemakers who went from wearing pantyhose to welding masks. I have a life size poster of Rosie above my desk where I work. This image was used by the United States War Coordination Committee (Propaganda) to help recruit women to fill these roles. Rosie tells women (even in 2008) that "We can do it!"
About me:
My name is Kerri Fulton, and I graduated from Sierra College in 2006. I am enrolled in a Bachelor's program in Counseling Psychology, but need a few general ed classes still--- hence my enrollment in this class.
I am feeling good about this class. Did you know that our professor was named "Best Online Instructor" by some online-educator guru source? :) That will help. I have taken several online classes before and they can be a bit dry. This class is known for it's interactive features which I feel will help it to come alive!
I look forward to learning how to put my already-present appreciation of most art into WORDS. I want to know when I feel something what it's called and why.
I am feeling good about this class. Did you know that our professor was named "Best Online Instructor" by some online-educator guru source? :) That will help. I have taken several online classes before and they can be a bit dry. This class is known for it's interactive features which I feel will help it to come alive!
I look forward to learning how to put my already-present appreciation of most art into WORDS. I want to know when I feel something what it's called and why.
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