My hands are a familiar subject matter for drawings. In high school I had an assignment where I had to draw 50 hands on one large sheet of paper. I chose pencil because charcoal is a little messy. Drawing with my non-dominant hand was a lot harder than I imagined. I could barely draw a straight line. The lines in the drawing of the left hand are more controlled and straighter. The drawing of my right hand has lighter lines because I couldn't apply as much pressure with my non-dominant hand. I tried to use the same approach while drawing both hands; using a bunch of straight lines to make up one curved line. I think they're both successful. I can't see myself using my non-dominant hand for other artwork in the future, it was pretty difficult and frustrating.

1. Explain why you selected the video you choose from the selection listed above.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

1. Last semester, I took a Medieval Art class and without knowing anything about the Dark Ages and found it very interesting. I was amazed by the Gothic architecture in churches and cathedrals with their high ceilings and stained glass so I chose the first video which pertained to that subject.

2. More Human than Human

-Images and symbols surround us and are what we use to communicate. The human mind would not be the same without them. It is what distinguishes us as humans and not animals. This eventually evolved into art.

-We see images of the human body the most. In real life as advertisements and as symbols on signs. Artists are obsessed with it. They have interpreted it and changed it to suit their needs. Venus figurines- artists exaggerated what mattered most 

-Statues: permanence and order at an astonishing scale to send message. Establish image of power.

-Art and architecture has always been used to inspire worship

Late Gothic Art and Architecture

-Art of this period is all around us, churches are often inspired by Gothic architecture.

-Period of consumption. The house of God must be more grand and beautiful than the house of a person. People's houses were already decadent so cathedrals had to "level-up"

-People were traveling to visit churches so the churches wanted nice things to attract pilgrims, therefore bringing in money. 

-Religious art to inspire worship but also became something like a business to attract pilgrims and bring in money.

3. Both the videos and the text explain how art is essential to human life and started when humans gained the intelligence to start creating images. The text offers specific examples while the videos talked about subjects in a wider range. The main idea was art and what it functioned for, mostly religious purposes. 

4. The first film was unoriginal, I think we watched a video like this a few weeks ago or in a different class. IT would be helpful for people who didn't understand the importance of art or someone who thinks logically and needs a reason for everything. Having this basic knowledge of symbols and the origin of images may help a left-brained person to understand art and its function.

MODULE 7

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

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of Architecture?

4. Why did you choose the films that you watched?

Frank Lloyd Wright

Innovator- brought people out of their simple boring box homes into open floor plans and wide open horizontal spaces. This is now known as Prairie Style
Nature- Designed homes to suit landscape, they seemed to "grow out of the land". Harmony was important. Inspired by the landscape of prairies with horizontal lines.
Experience- Entering the home was a unique experience. Re-think the organization of the house, for example the front door is no longer located in the middle of the face of the home. This frees up space for large windows.

Frank Gehry

Process-  Architect creates things based on feelings and experiences at that moment. Constantly evolving, none of the final projects are the same.

-Functional and sculptural
-buildings interact with human responses, expresses ore evoke feeling.
-saw houses as boxes, lifeless and cold. His buildings react against that.
-The architect is now an artist, he considers how people will react to his "work"

In comparison to the videos, the textbook started off focusing on construction with historical examples and vocabulary words. This provided a base understanding of structure before moving into the specific purpose of each method later in the chapter. The chapter seemed to move in a linear fashion as it progressed.  It seemed as though architecture has always been partly influenced by art. The two videos I selected were more focused on specific "artists" or architects. There wasn't as much historical context. This is also why I chose these videos. I have a basic understanding of architecture and its history and wanted to get more specific. They were both informative and i liked how many other people spoke about the individual instead of it just being a narrative. It opened my eyes to different processes or perspectives of architectural design. 

MODULE 6

1.Key Concepts:

Through the Eyes of a Sculptor
Consideration and planning- The artist must take into account not only the design of a sculpture (modeling, aesthetic, shape), but the environment it is going to be in, what the material can handle, how delicate the statue can be. The veins in the marble can not be running in a conflicting direction with the design. Models are needed.
The process- when adding the silicone and drilling holes through plaster to make the mold, it looks like the initial plasticine piece is being destroyed, but when the artist takes away the innermost silicone layer, a mold is revealed. This mold is a positive of the image and includes all of the detail that the original model was made with. I was impressed by the number of people it took to make one statue. Each person had their own job and used their unique skill to contribute to the final product.

Glass and Ceramics
Materials- Glass is made out of sand which is the most abundant substances on earth. Natural materials help prevent the glass from becoming too fluid at high temperatures. People probably don't realize how common ceramics are in their daily life. The material is stronger than steel.
The process- Glass blowing and the pottery wheel are very similar because they are done entirely by hand. The end result directly relies on the skill of the craftsman. They are also similar because of the spinning movement used to create symmetric vessels. Both use a final firing process to ensure strength and hardness.

2. The material in the text book contained the same content as the video regarding process and material but the video provided a demonstration of the information. The diagram of the lost-waxcasting process in the textbook provided better understanding of how it works because of the x-ray view of the molds. Both of the videos served as a live action supplement to the text.


3.When thinking of marble sculptures, people usually think of them of things of antiquity. How the artist even arrived at the final product is mystifying. I enjoyed watching the sculpture video and seeing modern artists at work, carefully choosing stone and eventually chipping away at the marble. The end result is so monumental and realistic, it is amazing it started out as a chunk of stone. The same goes for glass, everyone uses it but how it's made is not common knowledge. How can a bunch of small particles turn into something perfectly clear? The videos were informative and easy to follow. They deepened my appreciation for the materials and process.

When considering the style of my logo, I definitely knew my image would contain organic shapes because of my interest in nature. Leaves, flowers, and my favorite animals immediately came to mind. I wanted the images I chose to be symbolic. Just liking plants and animals wasn't enough. A specific phrase had been stuck in my head for a week. It was something my printmaking professor had said during a lecture, "prosperous in war and peace". To me this means succeeding during tough times and hard decisions but also having peaceful, calm and content times.
An arrow is a delicate looking object that can do a lot of damage. People hunt down and kill deer with a single shot. The thin shaft and feathers make a sharp arrow look harmless. This was my symbol for "war" accompanied by a bow which puts the arrow in motion. Together they form a K, my first initial.
An olive branch is a symbol for peace and is often found in the mouth of a dove, another peace symbol. This is where I used the organic aspect I like so much. The shape of my last initial, B, was ideal for the natural component. Keeping it mostly monochromatic simplifies the image and in my opinion makes it look more elegant. Using only green prevents the viewer from being too distracted or overwhelmed by any details.

While creating my logo I discovered that it didn't need to look so literally like the letters. I didn't want the K to be so obvious, I wanted the viewer to have to search for it. I know logos are usually straight to the point but I appreciate a more detailed logo over an over simplified one. The supplemental material helped me create my own font. They kind of set rules of what a logo should be and I decided what I wanted to include in my own.