Line and Space

It seems like this week we have had the opportunity to really take art appreciation to a new level. Instead of just talking about whether we like a painting or not or talking about what a painting means...we actually get to look at how the painting is put together. We have been able to scratch the surface of what it's like to be an artist and see how even great artists, like Leonardo Davinci, use the basic principles of art. These principles that we are learning help form the very foundation of art. We are learning the "laws" of art and we have seen how you can use our new found knowledge to recognize these principles in a work of art and it really does add to our appreciation of it. That is what this class is all about: learning to appreciate art.

I don't know about everybody else, but I really have felt at times throughout this week that I was looking at a whole new world. I have been looking at objects or scenes and trying to break them down and apply what we have learned. For example: I have looked at my lamp or my desk and I actually drew the contour lines in my head. Remember when we looked at our hands in the podcast and imagined the contour of them? This reminded me of when we were little kids and we used to outline our hands with finger paint. I looked outside my window at work at the street, building, and the trees below and I saw them in a whole new light. I was trying to decide if I was viewing them at a one-point or two-point perspective. This week, I also found while I was driving that I was trying to point out the vanishing point, horizon line, and the orthogonal lines of the road and the horizon. I can't decide if this is really cool and it is like I'm actually learning and applying my newly acquired knowledge to the real world...or I'm really weird : ). I think it is really cool that we can take this class and actually apply it to our lives...It's like a teacher's dream, huh Michelle? Can I call you Michelle? Do you prefer Professor, Madam, Mam, Miss, or your Highness?

Let me know what you guys think! Have you had this weird/unique experience where you are actually applying what you have learned in class to the real world? This is how education should be. It's almost sad that this doesn't happen with every class. : ( I think the word I'm going to use to describe it is: NIFTY!

Defending Controversial Art

I want to talk about the controversy that surrounded the amazing Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. The beauty and simplicity of this monument is breathtaking. The problem was that when it was being built, not everybody felt the same way I do.

There was a ton of controversy surrounding this monument, mainly because this wasn't just an artist's private work of art. This was a huge public project that affected and literally represented thousands upon thousands of people. And, these weren't just ordinary people with a small interest. These were war veterans and their families that put their own lives, or the lives of their loved ones on the line. 58,000 people died in Vietnam. A lot of sweat, blood, and tears dwell within these black walls.

There was a lot of thought and careful planning that went into the complete design and construction of this memorial. Many ideas were debated and voted on. Finally, it came down to a design contest. All of the best of the best minds in the world put in their designs and only one could be chosen. To every bodys' surprise, a recent graduate of Yale University won. This caused a few problems...

Whenever you try to get this many people to all agree on something; It is next to impossible. So, naturally, those people who don't agree and lose the majority vote, usually don't go down without a fight. People didn't like the fact that the panel that chose the winner didn't consist of all veterans. They didn't like the fact that the designer wasn't a veteran. They didn't like the fact that she was so young and lacked the experience of other architects. Last, but not least...they didn't like the fact that she was Asian.

After the smoke cleared, the design remained and the monument was built...with a slight compromise (adding an American flag on the site). It is now the most visited monument in all of Washington D.C. It turned out perfect. A lot was learned from the whole controversy. We learned a lot from this didn't we?...especially concerning stereotypes. I'm going to use the cliche: "You can't judge a book by its cover." If you don't already know this from eating an assorted box of chocolates (Sorry. Bad Joke)...you certainly know it now after studying more about the Vietname Memorial. You can't judge somebody by their race, color, creed, experience, age, etc. Not everybody is the same. You can't have these molds that you try to fit people into before you've even met them. We also learned that you can't please everybody...you can only hope to please the majority and for the others...just do your best to weather the storm.

Personally, I learned a lot about the work that goes into creating art in general, but especially at this scale. I learned that artists face a lot of criticism. Maybe this is something that comes with the territory, but still. I can take some things that hopefully everybody learned and really apply them to my life. I learned not to judge so easily. I learned that I really need to get the whole story before I form my opinion. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. A closed mind is a terrible thing.

I had a lot of fun with this analysis and learning about the Vietnam Memorial. If you haven't watched the video yet...I highly recommend it. It really brought this monument to life. If you have any comments, ideas, or in-depth analysis that you would like to share with me, please leave me a comment. Thanks : )

My Logo

This picture is "representational" in case you didn't know that : )

Well, you might realize that I have lots of "logos." Well, they are pictures of my girlfriend and I. I was trying to think if I had something that really represented me that would be cool for a logo...and I thought to myself...I think I'm pretty cool...and I think that I "represent" myself fairly well...so there you have it! GENIUS!

No, but on a more serious note...I know you are probably looking at my page and you don't think that I can be serious, but I can. Besides, the ladies dig a sense of humor, but if you don't have a serious bone in your body and you are always on stage...it can get really old fast. Anyways, I chose pictures of my girlfriend and I to be my icons because she really is my life. Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression...I'm not a big loser that lives his life vicariously through somebody else, but here is my rationale for my previous statement: Everything that I have and everything that I am is wonderful. I absolutely love my life and I am very blessed. Katherine just makes everything better. She is the icing on the cake (because she is so sweet...hehe) I love her more than....well, more than I can type in a blog, that's for sure...and besides I think you probably know more about me than you ever cared to know.

Now, I know that this blog entry is supposed to be about my Icon and NOT about me declaring my undying love for my girlfriend in front of a bunch of people I've never "met." So here goes: my icons show exactly who I am. (plain and simple) They show me when I am at my best, when I am truly happy. I don't think we get to be ourselves nearly enough. I know that when I am at work, school, church, etc. that I can't completely be myself. Instead, we take on different roles or "put on different hats" in life. We are all very good at playing those roles, but we run the risk of losing track of who we really are. We are the happiest when we just get to be ourselves. In these pictures I am smiling, worry free, and I am "myself." I think all of our icons should represent us for who we REALLY are.

Have a wonderful day and remember to be Y-O-U! : )

Week 2 Reflections

It's late and I'm kinda sleepy, but here goes nothing: I have learned a lot in these first two weeks. We have talked about interpretation, ethnocentric interpretation, form, content, representational, abstract, non-objective art, iconography and much, much, more. I have learned how to better work a discussion board, a blog, a podcast, and a voicethread. I have seen a pretty wide-variety of art samples...I like some more than others...I find the sculpting of Ron Mueck more fascinating than the non-objective art samples from the podcast we saw for example, but I appreciate them both.

I have to admit, I thought this was just going to be a "filler class" that helped me fulfill a general education requirement and I wouldn't really learn much because I didn't think I wanted to learn much about art. Boy, was I wrong. This class has been really fun. I have 5 classes right now and this is the most involved and usually that means the most annoying class, but that's not the case. This course is very organized and surprisingly personal for an online course. Once you get the hang of using all of the tech tools it is lots of fun and easy to follow. Many of my other online classes are very unstructured and just plain boring. I am looking forward to what the next 12 or so weeks have in store for us. Hopefully we all keep up with the work load and learn all we can about art and have some fun along the way : )

Critical Analysis

I know that a lot of people are probably going to do their critical analysis on "The Gates Project" by Christo and Jean-Claude, but I just found it simply amazing. I have never thought of art being portrayed this way at such a large scale. I mean I guess when I think about it there are huge pieces of art that we enjoy, but usually they are permanent statues, buildings, or monuments. This work was different. It was created at great expense and it was temporary. (It was only displayed for a matter of weeks.) It was funded completely by money that the artist couple raised themselves and I think that is a huge accomplishment in it of itself considering the millions upon millions of dollars that this project absorbed.

Now I read about a lot of the contrasting opinions that people had concerning this massive art project and I found them very interesting. Some felt it was beautiful and just a delight that the artists would bring such a masterpiece to there beloved park and make it even more beautiful. Some people just saw it as a tourist attraction and an excuse to get out with the family and marvel at the scene. Other's thought it was a giant waste of money and didn't see the purpose or the beauty of the project.

This is my opportunity to do a little "critical analysis" and let you know what I think and tell you where I fall on this scale of opinions:

I think this project was absolutely, positively wonderful. I haven't been the biggest student or fan of art. I don't follow it in the news...obviously because I missed hearing or seeing this project two years ago. It's amazing that something that is so beautiful and massive that cost over 20 million dollars to create can be completely ignored, but somehow I was oblivious to its existence. I'm just glad that I was able to finally appreciate it. Now, I didn't get to see it in person, but we do have some amazing pictures to view and reviews to read.

There are lots of different photos of "The Gates," but I wanted to do my analysis on the one that I found most fascinating. This photo of the gates is so amazing to me. I don't even know where to begin. The first thing that seems to catch my eye is the vibrant color of the saffron contrasted against the white, white color of the snow in the park. I think the color of the fabric is beautiful and loud. It demands attention. An amazing fact about the saffron fabric is that it is ever-changing...depending on the time of day that you view the project the fabric can look different. You might see a silvery glow during the sunrise, or a burst of bright orange when the sun is beaming through the fabric. When sunset and then night falls upon the park you are viewing a completely different scene, aren't you?

The point is that the gates can be enjoyed again and again. The artists intended it to be that way. You can't appreciate the whole scene from one location. You can see the beauty of the snow, or the lake, or the entrance to the park, or my personal favorite, the New York skyline over the tops of the trees with the gates winding around. I love the beauty and meaning that can be found in this particular photograph. To me, it seems like the gates are acting as both a path connecting the park to the city and also perhaps a dividing line. In the picture, there is a saffron line dividing the building from the park or nature from the city. The park itself shows that nature and metropolitan life can co-exist and by doing so everything becomes more beautiful.

I also love that this project was during the winter time in the city. I do believe that it would be beautiful during any season, but the dead of winter makes the project come alive. Everything in this picture looks cold and a little sad. The buildings look almost frozen in place and the lake is very still. The saffron gates just make this picture come to life! It's like seeing a gorgeous golden poppy somehow managing to grow on top of a hill covered in snow. It's not something that you would probably ever see, but we are seeing that same effect happen here. It's almost a symbol of spring time coming early to relieve the city from the snow and bitter cold.

I think it is important to touch on the fact that the project has also a very important historical aspect that ties it to New York City and more specifically Central Park. On the website it mentions that the park was originally intended to have gates at all the entrances that would allow the city to lock the park at night, but the design of the gates was not approved by the designers and so the park to this day is left open. Art very often times can be connected to history and it is a powerful thing. It reminds us where we came from and helps us remember the origins of everything we hold dear that very often gets taken for granted. Works such as this gates project also show respect for the past as we recognize that we owe a lot to those that came before us and they may be a memory, but they are not forgotten.

Before I conclude my analysis, I would just like to say that no matter your opinion on this project we need to all have open hearts and minds and even if we don't like a work of art, or if we would have done something completely different if we had the same amount of time and resources available...we still need to appreciate the fact that people are out there and they are expressing themselves and that in it of itself is beautiful. That's what art is all about: expressing yourself.

Thanks,
Matt