Module Four - Art Making/Material Exploration #1

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

This was just like a busy work task for me. I've made color wheels and value scales so many times. At least it's still fun to do for me!

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

Paint. I just like the fluidity of paint. I find it very relaxing to paint. 

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

My off brand paints just weren't quite right. My magenta is just a touch to bright. It need to be a bit deeper to be able to achieve black properly when mixing the three. 

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

I actually didn't watch the video's until after I did the project. The value scale video was VERY specific. I thought the pencil sharpening was hilarious too. I've never gone so far as to file my pencils with a nail file... something to try I guess.

Photo Project

1. Form
2. Emphasis
3. Shapes
4. Space
5. Contrast
6. Color
7. Balance
8.Texture
9. Value
10. Movement
11. Proportion
12. Unity
13. Pattern
14. Line

https://photos.app.goo.gl/i8C21W3bG5yLDgCY8

I often capture pictures as inspiration to use for new projects. I decided to use some existing photos that I have captured during the last year as a "Year in Life and Art". What I loved about this process is that the elements and principles of art exist everywhere if you just look for them. I combed through my photos to find the ones that best fit the elements. I think this would be a great project to do with students. I remember taking the photo of the grey cat and wanting to capture the texture of her fur. That one was really easy. She belonged to a neighbor and would visit me at work everyday. I chose the spiral for the movement photo because I remember being fascinated with the movement in person. The stones are painted with these little mandala like bursts creating movement going outward while the arrangement of stones created another movement in a spiral. I put the photo's in a google animation, but the photos change after about 1 second and I could not find the option to slow it down.

Module 3: Emotions and Color

1. Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

Artist use color to portray emotions in art. This, however, is not unique to art, our brains actually process colors in ways that trigger emotion. For example the color red may spark feelings of love or confidence when used with perhaps analogous colors. However, red and its compliment, green, may spark feelings of anger like Van Gogh used to show a cafe late at night. 

2. What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

I've always thought it was interesting that the the color waves that are absorbed by an object are not the color that we see. We actually see the compliment of the color that is absorbed. It also is perplexing to me that it is entirely possible that we all see colors completely different. I may see a shade of green in the grass that is entirely different from yours. What if what I define as blue is actually what someone else defines as purple?

3. In the Color videos, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

Okay well first of all, even though this has nothing to do with color, the footage of June painting is insane to me. She's like a mad woman throwing turpentine on the canvas! Absolutely wild...

But anyways, to answer the actual question here. I keep thinking about the experiment to see if color sped up the perception of time. What they thought going into the experiment was that since blue is a calming coloring then the time would go by slower. What they found was the opposite. When surrounded entirely by red a minute was actually perceived to be about 11 seconds longer. They think that maybe this is because red triggers danger in our brains and perhaps our brains slow the time down to focus on the threat. I think this impacted me because I was in a very blue classroom today and found myself thinking about the effects of the paint chose on the students. 

P.S. These videos were pretty cool! 

Module 2

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

Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts

This video is a brief overview of the theory of aesthetics over time. It talked about balance, harmony, and symmetry in the early stages and then works towards happiness, and the imaginary. I was more interested in the section about the 60's and how it was no longer necessary for art to be beautiful. Like Duchamp's urinal piece... We start to define just about anything as art. 

CARTA: Evolutionary Origins of Art and Aesthetics: Neurobiology, Neurology and Art and Aesthetics

The speakers talk about how science and art meet. It's about how our brains work in reaction to art. Basically, Aesthetics. The second speaker asks; Are there universals in art and how does the brain respond to art? This video also talks about why symmetry is appealing to us and a bit about Duchamp again. The section about peak shift was interesting. Peak Shift is basically when you emphasis a quality, so for example if you draw two rectangles and one is a little more squared than the other, your brain will be more drawn to the one that is more rectangular. He also talks about abstract art and how it taps into a primitive part of the brain that is connecting abstraction with real life. 

2. Which philosopher's theroy on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosphers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.
Plato, Athens-
He did not actually compare aesthetics to art, but he starts to define aesthetics for the first time. He felt that we were obsessed with the idea of beauty. This notion I believe to be true still today. Although he compares aesthetics mostly to poetry, he begins to shape for us that art can be good or bad. 

3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture? 

I found Ramachandran very interesting. He describes a lot of our natural attractions to things as primitive. He describes aesthetics as being something very simple. For example, he talked a bit about a person with social emotional issues and how sometimes they are able to create art in a superior way because their brain may be less clouded and they are able to observe and create in a different way.  Changuex explains aesthetics as striking something emotional in our brains. He also links the attraction to art and the function of the prefrontal cortex. He feels that when we like something and we consciously focus on it we are using our prefrontal cortex.

4. How do the videos and article relate to the readings in the text?

Well they all are about how brain reacts to art. Both the article and the one video talk about the seagull chicks and their mothers beak. The article leads with a quote which I felt nicely summarized all of this information. "We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies." 

5. What is your opinion of the films and article? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading in the text?

The first video, Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts, I found very boring. I had a hard time staying focused on it. 

The second video, CARTA: Evolutionary Origins of Art and Aesthetics: Neurobiology, Neurology and Art and Aesthetics, was much better, or at least the second speaker was. He was actually funny and much less dry. 

I liked the article. It was a little bit easier for me to actually retain information from the article than the videos. I also felt like the quote they led with actually summarized the whole topic well. 

The videos and articles, simply reiterated and added to the reading in the text. All of the sources added different perspectives and opinions.