Module 8

1. "More Human Than Human" was mandatory. I chose "Late Gothic art and Architecture " because I've always been interested in Gothic architecture, and architecture in general. I choose "the Greek Awakening" purely because of the reading and discussion I have already done this module on Greek art, as I found it interesting.

2. The key concepts of "More Human than Human" discuss that images of humans and human form are all around us.  A concept of "Late Gothic art and Architecture" was how architecture evolved from the middle ages to the renaissance. Much like art gradually changed between those periods, and exploded in the renaissance, so did architecture. One of the concepts that "The Greek Awakening" focuses on is that art and religion are interconnected. each has a influence on the other. This is especially true for the Greeks, as in Ancient Greece much of their art was focuses on their goddess and fables.

3. The videos complement the text reading very well. The text provides small sections of a variety of topics and the videos provide a much larger, in depth view on a specific topic.

4. I enjoy the selected videos for this course, especially the ones where there is a choose of what to watch. "Late Gothic art and Architecture ", for instance, was chosen by mean because I've always been interested in the topic and enjoyed the reading in the text. So I immediately went to that one when I saw the list. It added much more depth and understanding on the Gothic era. 

Mod 7 videos

The first video I watched was the one on Frank Lloyd Wright. The key concept of this video was his "Prairie Style" architecture, which was used throughout the Midwest in the 50s and 60s. This style of home was about flat construction, to reflect the landscape of the mid west. This video related to the reading in the text by the descriptions of the types of walls and windows styles he used. attention to these styles is also something the text focuses on. I think that this film added a lot to my understanding of architecture. It is one thing to read the theory in the text and another to see so many examples from one specific architect. When I was younger I wanted to be an architect, and being from Buffalo I obviously had a lot of esteem for Frank Lloyd Wright.

The second video I watched was Architecture: The Science of Design. The key concepts of this video was the scientific advances in architecture and the development and use of concrete. I related this video to the text based on the section about concrete. Many of the building styles made through the ages, both modern and ancient, utilized a material like this. I really liked this film. While the section about smart houses was a bit corny, and even out dated due to its age, I enjoyed learning about concrete. I always wondered how they laid concrete underwater for bridge supports and such. I choose this film because, like I said previously, I wanted to be an architect when I was younger. As I grew I realized that this was more of an artistic field and I gravitated further into engineering. The Science of Design bridged that gap. 

Module 6

In the sculpture video, I learned that there is an amazing connection between the sculpture and the raw material he/she is going to work with. there is also a lot more planning involved that I would think. I thought the same thing on a previous chapters video regarding painting.

The second video was about glass and ceramics. I have learned a lot about glass before, as I have visited the Corning museum of glass several times in my life. They have a lot of demonstrations there and it has always been an interesting topic to me. One thing I did not know was that different temperatures make the glass react differently and that this is used in the creation of glass items.

Installation art work is a idea that was new to me. I have seen things that qualify as installation art, like a sound room at the art gallery on campus, but I have never seen it in so many forms. I found it interesting that artists work with so many new mediums to create their work. Video installations are particularly interesting to me, like the picture in the text with the Buddha watching a video of himself.

I always find the videos more helpful than the text. Not only is the text very technical, but the example pictures of art it shows often don't have a lot of descriptions. Experts in the field describing works in videos is not only more informative for me, but a lot more entertaining.

While the videos on glass and sculpture certainly added more depth than the reading, at least for me, my favorite video was the installation art video. I found the subject matter fascinating and the variety of methods it depicts and displays is astonishing. 

Peer Review

1.

http://maglekellie.blogspot.com/

http://tylersarratori9944.blogspot.com/

2.

For Project #1, both of the peer projects I reviewed did very good jobs. There were some pictures that were not only amazing snapshots in their won regard, but excellently captured the theme they were meant to represent. The most important discovery however, was how different people went about choosing what types of items to capture. There was a lot of creativity here.

3.

For Project #2 there was only one piece chosen by the peers I reviews that was the same as mine. Tyler choose Salvador Dali's “The transparent Simulacrum of the Feigned Image". Which was actually my favorite painting at the gallery. It was enlightening to see what other people had connections with though. Some works of art that I glossed over and found very uninteresting, other people found amazing. this is an important aspect of art, as it affects us all differently.

4.

Kellie choose Andy Warhol's "100 Cans". I have heard o this piece before, as it is something of a pop culture icon, but never thought much about it. After revisiting it while reading her blog it has piqued my interest more. What makes this piece so popular? is it because it is such a reflection on our daily life? I plan on looking into this.

5.

I found this assignment valuable. not just because I was able to compare on contrast my learning experience with that of my peers, but also because it allowed me to judge where other people are coming from and in what ways they have similar thoughts on the subject matter and where they do not.

6.

I found the comments on my projects helpful. I have a hard time writing subject material, especially on a subject matter I know little about and feedback of any kind of extremely helpful. 

Art Gallery Visit #1

A piece that had an impression on me was GIACOMO BALLA's "DINAMISMO DI UN CANE AL GUINZAGLIO" (1912). The implied movement in this piece was something I haven't seen before. The woman and her dog in it appear to be in very fast motion and stationary at the same time.

Another painting that had an impact on me was YVES TANGUY's "DIVISIBILITÉ INDÉFINIE" (1942). I found this painting to have beautiful, bright colors with amazing uses of light and shadow. The shadow that the main object casts is particularly great and was the first thing to draw my attention to this piece.

I felt a connection with Salvador Dali's " THE TRANSPARENT SIMULACRUM OF THE FEIGNED IMAGE" (1938) immediatly. the painting is very surrel, almost like a strange dream. Being someone who only has strange dreams that I can never understand, it reminded me of my own dreams vividly.

JUSTINE KURLAND's "BUSES ON THE FARM" (2003)  is from a collection of photos from communes in the US. I found a connection with this photo as it depicts people from within our own society, who have access to the same resources as all of us, living in apparent squalor. It speaks a lot about the types of people who choose to live in communities such as these and the impact that decision has on their youth.

I would like to know more about STUART DAVIS's "NEW YORK WATERFRONT" (1938). It is a painting of what appears to represent the New York City skyline from the water front in stylized imagery and scale. I would wonder why specific objects were chosen to be in the skyline rather than others and why the particular colors were used, rather than more realistic colors.

JENNIFER KARADY's "FORMER STAFF SERGEANT STARLYN LARA, C DETACHMENT, 38TH PERSONNEL SERVICES BATTALION, 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION, VETERAN OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM" (2010) is defiantly a photo I would like to know more about. This photo is very interesting and while the other photo also displayed at the gallery from this collection was easily understood by me, I could not fathom what the subject matter being displayed was. Especially the bunny in the corner, that appears to be watching the female soldier.

1. I wasn't too thrilled about this assignment when I read it, as I thought it would be very difficult to come up with a personal logo that reflected myself.

2. I am a big gamer, I love games of all types and styles. I started with a keyboard and mouse, but when I realized that a keyboard was extremely difficult for someone as bad at drawing as myself I gave it more thought. First I swapped out a controller for the keyboard. Then i incorporated a die and checker board into the logo for a final logo that was a lot more reflective of myself than the original idea.

 3. That the process of coming up with such an idea was not as fast as I would think. Graphic designs must put a lot of time and effort into these types of things, even if the finished product appears so simple.

4. The amount of time and effort and man power that goes into making a marketing logo. All of the processes and reworks that it much go though. Even more astonishing is that while some logos, like the Nike "Swoosh" may last for decades, many others can come and go within months depending on how they are received by the public.