Week Sixteen Blog Reflection Reese

1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met?  I was hoping to get a better understanding of the history of art at what constitutes art.  I thought that this class did a great job introducing the history of art, but far more important it provided real life experiences through the many informative videos.  I think the videos and blog reviews are essential to the material throughout this class.
2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your intial posting?  To me art can be any creative expression.  Whether it’s a painting, sculpture, or picture.  Art is a creative expression that inspires the artists during the creation and individuals who observe it. 
3. Who was your favorite artist in your original posting and who is your favorite visual artist now? If there is a difference, why do you think so? If you have the same favorite artist, why do you think so?  My favorite artist remains Monet.  There has always been something about Monet’s paintings that has interested me.  It is hard to pinpoint, but his masterpieces are that of legends and I have yet to see anyone who does it better.  At least in my eyes, which is the beauty of art?   
4. Now that you've completed this course, how do you feel about taking an online course? Is your answer the same as it was in your first posting? How is it the same or different?  I have taken over 20 online courses throughout my education and I thoroughly enjoy them.  I like the fact that you do not have a set schedule for class, yet you must be disciplined enough to complete all of your assignments.  Great class!!

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Self-Portrait Art Gallery Visit #3 Reese

Self Portrait #1

Colonel William Light

Oil on Canvas

W42 x H58cm

1839

Art Gallery of South Australia

Self Portrait #2

Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de

Print

W200 x H300 mm

1734

Museo Lazaro Galdiano

Self Portrait #3

Ruokokoski, Jalmari

Oil Painting

1914

Espoo Museum of Modern Art

http://s1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg570/areese1983/Self-Portrait%20Reese/

 

Step #6

1.      Why did you select the inspiration pieces?  I made a point to select different styles of self-portraits for my inspiration.  I wanted to see how different artist interpreted themselves through their art. 

2.      Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?  I select charcoal on paper because that is the media that I’m most comfortable with.  I give a lot of credit to artists that are able to do self-portait oil paintings.  Oil on canvas is not very forgiving, so mistakes must be at a minimum. 

3.      The main challenge that I faced while creating my self-portrait was overcoming my inability to draw.  I think it is evident by the results of my work, but I tried. 

4.      I think the piece represents me because it is a general likeness of my picture.  By no means does it look exactly like me, but next to the picture, I can detect a likeness. 

5.      The elements of art that I used were charcoal on paper and I would have to categorize this as nature.  Some may wonder how I can categorize this under nature.  I understand the questions, because there are no trees or mountains in the background.  It is just a picture of me, but that is what I would consider nature.  It is my belief that all human paintings have some sense of nature within the subject. 

6.      I enjoyed the project, but was disappointed with the results.  I knew going into this class that I am not a good artists, but I learned that I could appreciate many different types of art.  Therefore, as bad as my picture is I can see artistic qualities in it that were brought out by this and the many projects we completed during this class. 

7.      Not impressed, but I am lacking in artistic talent.  With that said, I really enjoyed the process. 

Week Fifteen Video Review Reese

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.  In the video Greenberg on Art Criticism:  An Interview by T. J. Clark the key concepts that I learned was critic must stay receptive to styles of art.  Art can come from many different forms and it is important to keep an open mind.   In the film An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance, I learned that art is continually changing and there must be artists for new artists to learn. 
2. Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Criticism project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.  I feel the videos do relate to the Art Criticism project.  I particularly liked the Greenberg on Art Criticism video where he discussed the need to keep an open mind to all forms of art.  I did not think that the video An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance had a lot to do with Art Criticism, more how art has evolved over years. 
3. What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of art criticism?  As always, I feel the films have definitely added depth to each of the sections throughout the semester and that is true with this group of films.  I think the benefit of the videos is they give us an opportunity to hear the subject from the moth of many different experts, where the book is one voice. 

Art Criticism Article Reese

1.      Which project did you review?  The project that I reviewed was, The Art of War in the Western World, by Jason Hugar.

2.      Why did you select the Exhibit you critiqued?  The true reason why I chose this piece had to do with the title of the exhibit.  I was very intrigued by what The Art of War looked like. 

3.      What challenges did you face in writing the critique article and how did you overcome them?  The challenges that I faced when analyzing the exhibit was trying to keep an open mind of art from war time events.  I was able to overcome this quite early in the exhibit when I saw the portrait of Augustus towering over six feet in the air.  It was at this point that I realized the exhibit wasn’t going to be about only blood and gore. 

4.      How do you feel about critiquing your peers work?  I think it is always difficult to critique your peers because you don’t want to come across as being harsh or insensitive.  All of us understand how much time we put into our projects, so to have some said something bad about it can hurt.  In any case, I feel I was fare with my criticisms and truly enjoyed the exhibit.   

5.      Would you like to read the critique your peers wrote about your Art Curation Project?  After thinking about this, I decided that I would not want to know what my peers wrote about my project.  I think an exhibit is like a work of art.  You need to design it the way that you believe it should look and not worry about pleasing everyone. 

6.      On a scale of 1-10 I would give this exhibit a 9.

7.      I found this project to be very challenging, but a great learning experience in the end.   

Blog 13&14 Reese

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.  The Lowdown on Lowbrow:  West Coast Pop Art is a style that is reactionary, which was a style I found very refreshing.  I really found myself more stimulated by the works than traditional.  I guess it was more interesting.  Displaying Modern Art:  The Tate Approach:  The Tate Approach brings together many different artists with very different styles.  This was meant to differentiate between the different pieces.  Bones of Contention:  Native American Archaeology:  This was an awesome video!  When I was younger, my parents took me on a trip to visit the ancient ruins in Mesa Verde, which was a trip I will never forget.  I was amazed at all of the information we learned about this group of Native Americans.  How they slept, ate, played, and expressed themselves.  An Acquiring Mind:  Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art:  I was amazed by how much of the art must be restored before it goes on display in any exhibit.  The attention to detail that the curators had to put forth to pull of only one exhibit was fascinating. 
2. Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project?  I think the videos definitely helped in the creating of my Art Exhibit project.  Viewing the videos helped me to better understand how art exhibits are put together. 
3. What is your opinion of the films?  I found the films to be very informative and helpful in understanding the concept of creating art exhibits.  Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project?  Absolutely, seeing how these exhibits are put together helped me in the creation of my own.  Having never setup an art exhibit all information was good information.  Any example of how a professional exhibit is put together is a very constructive in this process. 

Project #5 Reese

The curator project was very interesting, and one that I was not very confident I could pull off.  The first thing that I learned when trying to put this together was you can’t try to please everybody.  What I mean by that is you need to be happy with the end result.  If you’re happy with the end result then most likely viewers will at least appreciate it. 

            For this project, I decided to build by exhibit around my favorite element in art, which is nature.  Personally, I am fascinated with everything nature.  Nature is the oldest form of art in human existence, so its relevance to art is more so than any other element.  Choosing pieces for my exhibit was rather easy, because I used works from some of the most famous artists in the history of the world.  Monet and Di Vinci is just a couple of examples, but obviously stalwarts in the field of art.  The pieces that I chose represent many different elements of art from animal, to landscape, and humanistic. 

            The process of creating exhibit was challenging, but I feel that I learned a little about what it’s like to create one.  I know that I won’t be hired by any local art galleries to setup an exhibit, but I feel I was able to do an adequate job in my eyes.  The project was a great introduction to the hard work that is put into each and every art exhibit. 

Week 12 Blog Reese

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.  I chose the videos Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art of the 50’s and 60’s and Andy Warho:  Images of an Image for this week’s video review.  The reason I choose to watch the video on Pop Art in the 50’s and 60’s was that I do not know much about art from that period.  I selected the Andy Warhol film because I have heard what an interesting man he was and knew little about him and his art. 
2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.  The most interesting thing I learned from this video was that Expressionism is not as much what you are seeing but what you feel.  In addition, Pop Art and Abstract artist works in the dark, each painting is an experiment.  The end is not necessarily the completion, but something he might build upon.  I learned that Andy Warhol made art of ordinary products such as, Coke bottles, soup cans, and actors.  I can see art in what he creates, but I find it hard to compare it to Monet. 
3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?  For me the videos always help to bring together the concepts that we cover in our reading each week.  I feel the reading gives us an idea, but the videos bring it to life. 
4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?  As I mentioned previously, I think the videos add depth to the concepts by bringing life to the topic.  Having someone in the film that has true experience in relation to the topic is far more valuable than reading it from the book.  I think the book is informative, but the videos are far more educational. 

 

Module 11 Blog Reese

 1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.  The reason for choosing the two videos I did have more to do with who it was than the style.  I choose Picasso, because he is viewed as an icon in the history of art, so to learn more about art history I thought I had better learn from the best.  The reason I chose my second video, The Mystical North:  Spanish Art from the 19^th Century to the Present, was I traveld to Spain a few years ago, so I have an affinity toward Spain’s culture. 
2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.  As little as I know about art I obviously have heard of Picasso, but I had never heard of the artist Matisse.  I was really impressed by how Matisse and Picasso paths crossed and how there encounter effected their individual styles.  In the video The Mystical North:  Spanish Art from the 19the Century to the Present, I learned that Spain had huge impact on architecture and much of their work is copied even today. 
2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?  The videos relate to the reading because they allow you to see firsthand what the book cannot describe.  This is something that I always find hard to explain because it seems so obvious, but I think viewing the videos allows you to hear first hand from the experts how this work was created. 
3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?  I thought both films were very informative, and they add depth to my understanding of each concept because the narrators or guests do such a great job explaining in detail the artists. 

Art Visit 3 Reese

I.                   The Exhibition

1.      The title of the exhibit was BEAUTY, LIFE, AND SPIRIT:  A CELEBRATION OF GREEK CULTURE

2.      The theme of the exhibition Beauty, Life, and Spirit:  A celebration of Greek Culture focuses on a selection of objects from the collection of the Buffalo Museum of Science that illuminates various aspects of life and culture in ancient Greece.  Several twentieth-century objects from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s Collection reflect the continued fascination with ancient Greek culture over the millennia.  The exhibition also contains two nineteenth-century icons on loan from the Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. 

II.               The Gallery

1.      The lighting used throughout this Exhibition was direct light produced by florescent bulbs.  I particularly liked the way they utilized soft lighting throughout the interior of the cabinets.  Something I did not really consider until I got home and started to review all of my pictures was the amazing amount of natural light that poured through the windows in the room where the exhibit was on display. 

2.      It is hard to pin down the actual color of the walls in the exhibit, but the walls were a beautiful shade of blue, very similar to the color of the carpet in the oval office.  The base of the room was wrapped in a white trim that circled the entire exhibit. 

3.      The exhibit space was wide open, but in the center of the exhibit there was a cluster of oak colored cabinet, which held many pieces of art in the collection. 

4.      The flow of the room added to the quality of the exhibition.  One thing I was impressed with was how the many pieces of the exhibit were placed and how much thought and time goes into the consideration of this. 

III.            Questions about the Artwork

1.      I did not really notice any kind of specific organization throughout the exhibit, other than it was all from Greek culture and multiple artists from many different period participated in it. 

2.      All artwork was part of Greek culture or inspired by Greek culture. 

3.      The artwork varied from paintings, tapestries, carvings, stone and clay pottery, metal sculpture, and glass figurines. 

4.      Most of the displays were framed with wood within their display cabinets, except for the paintings which utilized painting frames. 

5.      The labels on most of the displays appeared to be a brass, copper mix, which contained the artists name, medium, date, and title. 

6.      All art was displayed within oak cabin, which were located toward the middle of the room.  There was one lone painting on the wall and an obscure sculpture along the far end of the exhibit room. 

IV.              

1.       Nassos Daphnis

a.       Monday in Greece

b.      Oil on canvas

c.       1938

d.      28 x 34 inches

e.      Broacher

f.        I am a big fan of natural landscapes, so this particular piece of art is right up my alley.  The artists utilize natural colors throughout the painting, which adds to the beauty of the painting. 

g.       The painting appears to be a natural landscape of a river with trees cascading alongside the river’s edge.  There are people on the water’s edge apparently washing something, but it is very difficult to tell exactly what. 

h.      The principals and elements used to the best of my knowledge are nature or natural.

i.        It is hard for me to determine what the artist is trying to say in the painting, but if I were to guess it has something to do with the people on the water’s edge and the work they are doing.

2.       Pablo Picasso

a.       Nymphs and Satyrs

b.      Glass

c.       1964

d.      Dimensions variable

e.      Broacher

f.        I think different figurines are an amazing example of artistry at its best.  Each piece is so unique, it I was amazed that they were crafted from glass, which is a very difficult medium to use. 

g.       This particular display is fourteen different blue figurines with varying shapes and sizes. 

h.      I think the artist is trying to say that he likes fictional characters. 

3.       Loutrophoros Amphora

a.       Ceramic and pigments

b.      Late fifth century BC

c.       11 4/5 inches

d.      This ceramic pot is an amazing example of artistry from the fifth century.  The images on the pot are completed in amazing detail and add to the beauty of the piece. 

e.      This particular piece displays a man and a woman holding hands.  I interpret as two people in love.

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