Met Museum Homework

      The two paintings I am comparing are Study Head of a Young Woman by Anthony van Dyck, and The Lute Player by Caravaggio. Both pieces are oil paintings of young women. In The Lute Player, there is an emphasis  on the instruments. The bright colors of them stand out boldly against the black background. Gesture  is used within the folds of the woman’s clothes, guiding your eye around the fabric. Naturalism is also noted, because while the painting is two-dimensional, it is so realistic that it gives the impression that it is three-dimensional. All of the shapes of the instruments are positive shapes because they are clearly distinguished from the black background.

      In Study Head of a Young Woman, the figure is unbalanced in the center. Instead, the woman is facing towards the right of the canvas, her head not in the center. The dark background of this piece is somewhat blotted and distorted.  The shape of the woman’s face is defined by the color and value changes to define the edges. Both of these pieces are oil paintings, one on wood, the other on canvas. They both depict portraits of young women, created in bold colors that stand against a dark, black background.

Homework 3 (part 2)

http://catebrown18.blogspot.com/2011/05/spatial-puzzles-equivocal-space.html

This piece is a great example of equivocal space. This is due to the inability of being able to distinguish a separate foreground, middle ground, and background. It contains positive shapes because all of the balloons are distinguished from the background, and negative shapes because the shape of all of the balloons together is what distinguishes the background. The transparency used in this piece makes it unclear about whether or not there is a spatial pattern.

        All of the balloons are composed of curvilinear lines, while the strings of the balloons are strictly composed of rectilinear lines. Although it is unclear whether or not there are separate planes, depth is still present due to the overlapping of the balloons.

Homework 3

Chapter 5/8: Balance/ shape and Volume:

1.          Describe the difference between balance and imbalanced work?

A sense or lack of either balance or imbalance disturbs us in a piece of art. The use of imbalance can create tension.

2.         What is horizontal and vertical placement?

A horizontal axis divides a piece from top to bottom, while a vertical axis would divide it from left to right.

3.          What is symmetrical balance, and give an art historical example?

Similar shapes are repeated in the same positions on either sides of their vertical axis. Leonardo  da Vinci’s drawing, ”Vitruvian Man” is an example of symmetrical balance.

4.         How can asymmetrical balance be achieved with value/color/ shape and texture?

It is achieved through objects that are not similar to each other, that have either equally strong visual weight or equal eye attraction.

5.         What is radial balance?

Radial balance is the result of components that are spread around a center point or are revealed from a central line.

6.         Give a good example of a piece of artwork?

http://www.sikyon.com/korinth/korinth_meg01.html The mosaic floor from a roman villa of ancient Corinth

7.          What is a shape and how does it differ from volume and mass?

An area that is visually perceived and created either by an enclosing line or by color and value changes that define the outer edges.

8.         What is the difference between naturalism and distortion in art and design?

Naturalism is the representation of the visual image, forms and proportions as seen in nature with an illusion of volume and 3D space. Distortion is a departure from an accepted perception of a form or object.

Define abstraction: How is your fire and water panel abstract? What concepts are informing your work on this project?

A visual representation that most likely has little resemblance to the real world. It occurs through a process of simplification or distortion, attempting to communicate a form or aspect. The fire and water panel is abstract because it indirectly communicates the elements of fire and water. My concepts include powerful emotions relating to my theme, and the formation of the thick and thin lines also add to the theme.

Chapter 8: Shape and volume:

1.          Define these terms in art:

2.         Non-objective- artwork with no reference to or of the natural world.

3.          Curvilinear- rounded and curving forms that imply flowing shapes and compositions.

4.         Rectilinear- composed of straight lines.

5.         Positive and negative shapes- (positive) any shape or object distinguished from the background. (negative) A clearly defined shape within the ground that is defined by surrounding figures or boundaries.

Chapter 10:

1.          List three ways to depict illusion of depth- Overlapping, vertical location, aerial perspective.

2.         What is one point perspective?- A system of spatial illusion in 2d art based on the convergence of parallel lines to a common vanishing point on the horizon.

3.          Two point perspective?- A scene that is viewed through an angle, having no objects parallel to the picture plane and with edges receding to two points on the horizon line.

4.         What is an isometric projection/?- A spatial illusion that occurs when lines receding on the diagonal remain parallel instead of converging toward a common vanishing point.

5.         What is equivocal space? Find an example- An ambiguous space in which it is hard to distinguish the foreground from the background.

http://catebrown18.blogspot.com/2011/05/spatial-puzzles-equivocal-space.html

My "studio" in progress..

Beginning of fire and water panel

Sketching out ideas for the Fire and Water panel project

I forgot to erase the pencil lines of this design..

Homework

What is a focal point and list three ways to achieve it?- A focal point is a compositional device emphasizing a certain area or object to draw attention to the piece and to encourage closer scrutiny of the work. This can be achieved by contrast, isolation, and by placement.

List at least three types of rhythm and explain how it can help unify a piece of art?-
-Legato- connecting and slowing. It creates a sense of calmness is a piece.
-Staccato- abrupt changes with a dynamic contrast. This creates a visual rhythm.
-Alternating rhythm- motifs alternate consistently with one another to produce a regular sequence. The quality of the pattern creates the visual rhythm.

What is kinesthetic rhythm?-when a visual experience actually stimulates one of our other senses

What is the definition of a line?-a visual element of length. It can be created by setting a point in motion.

Contour- outlines that follow the edge of a form

Gesture- lines that imply motion in the forms,guide your eye, and stay within the edges

Implied line- an invisible line that is created through points, which your eye connects together and moves across the picture plane.

Explicit line- a line that makes a clear statement in a piece, but does not take away from it as a whole.

Lost and found line- a form that reveals an object through the use of contours

Line as direction- the direction of a line can convey moods and feeling in a piece

Psychic Line- Your mind automatically builds a connection between points or elements. Ex: the eye follows the same direction as the object that it is looking at at or facing towards


Line as texture and pattern- ex. Cross-hatching lines create both pattern and texture in a drawing, compared to gradual shading


“Paint up!” By Dihzahyners, Beirut

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/23497/street-art-on-the-steps-of-beirut-by-dihzahyners.html

The bright colors and various, changing movements of them and their shapes and sizes create a staccato rhythm. The colors also create gesture. For example, our eye knows where to follow as a result of the lines maintaining a continuous color. An implied line is used in a way on each step. While the spaces of the steps are painted separately, we know that the artist was trying to create a line because the color remains constant and in the pattern as it continues down the stairs.
The artist also creates line as a pattern when creating a line across the side of the step, using various colors on right-side-up and upside-down triangles throughout. I feel that the artist also used lost and found lines by keeping some of the steps, or parts of them, completely unpainted. I feel that way because I had almost thought not to even mention them, but without them, the piece as a whole would be incomplete.