AP Photo – Due 10/1

Look at this contemporary photographer’s work.

Comment on the visual and conceptual strengths.  Consider why you think he feels the need to remove it from the “straight ” photograph and alter it as he does.  Why do you think he goes even a step further to apply it to canvas?

Also, find a contemporary photographer that you especially like.  Comment on the visual and conceptual strengths.  Then comment on the work at the link posted by the previous photo student. Make connections, suggestions, and remarks on the links between their work and the work that they chose.  Offer ideas about ways they might build upon their common aesthetic interests.

AP 2DR – 2DN – 3D – Due 10/1

Search Youtube for an AP portfolio you especially like and post a link to it.  Comment on why you like it and what the visual and conceptual strengths are.  Explain what you think the evolution is for this Concentration set.

Also, comment on the link posted by the previous student (whether they are 2Dr, 2Dn, or 3D). Make connections, suggestions, and remarks on the links between their work and the work that they chose.  Offer ideas about ways they might build upon their common aesthetic interests.

Note to 3D – There are fewer 3D portfolios posted.  If you cannot find one, find a particular sculptor you find interesting and do the same, as if their work was a Concentration set.

Photo 1 -Moholy Nagy Due 10/1

1. Read the summary about Moholy Nagy:

1987.1100.158

2. Look at all the Moholy Nagy images and choose the one you like the best and post a link to it.Then, comment and explain why you like it and how you think it was made. Also, post a remark about the image linked in the comment immediately before yours.

search?q=moholy+nagy&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnsb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gIhiUKaCNoSoiALN0oEI&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1096&bih=693

Art 3 – Clothed Figure – Due 10/4

1. Look at the following description of Degas’ life and work:

hd_dgsp.htm

2. Look at the visual sequence  of recreating a Degas drawing using pastel and abstracted shapes:

articleitem.asp?item=184

3. Here is a video segment on polishing a drawing of a clothed figure using a kneaded eraser and shapes to accent the form:

4. Comment on the three aspects of Degas’ work and life that interest you most and then go to the Achenbach Collection site to search the collections for seated figure. (see link below.)  Find the clothed figure that interests you most and post a link to it and explain why you find it interesting and how you might use some of the style or techniques in your own work.

search-collections

Art 2 – Watercolor Botanicals – Due 10/4

1. Visit the website of local artist Hanya Fojalco:

hanyafojaco.com

2. Watch the time lapse video of the peony watercolor painting:

3.  Read the following 3 summaries about the history of watercolor.

A. history.htm

B. historymedium.html

C. art-history-a-watercolor-artist-you-should-know-of

4. In your post, comment on the 3 historical items you find most interesting and an item that is most relevant to you in your practice with watercolor.

5. Finally, link to another watercolor image that you find pleasing and relevant to what we are doing in class and make a comment on the previous link posted.

Art 1 Morandi – Due 10/1/12

1. Listen to former Met curator, Thomas Hoving, introduce the Morandi show:

2. Read the review in the NY Times which gives background about the artist, his context, and ideas about the significance of his work.

19mora.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

3. Watch the video of a collection of his works:

4. Now, in your comments, explain which things you think are most important in making him the artist that he was (biography, history, work habits, beliefs) and which things are most important to you as an artist making your own still life.

In your sketchbook, spend an hour drawing objects from home using full tonal shading and (almost) no contours.  Work from a light gestural structural skeleton and then add continuous tone.

For your own interest, you may want to watch the time lapse still life drawings below:

Go to the playlist and choose the sixth from the left with the 3 objects and then watch this drawing take shape from analytic phase to the final blending.

Here is a quick description of analyzing form and looking for formal elements in a still life composition:

ART 1 – Ellsworth Kelly – 9/18

1. Look at the following 2 articles on Ellsworth Kelly and the interview with him in the video.

First article:  ellsworth-kellys-plant-drawings-at-the-met.html

Second article : af9e5342-afbb-11e1-b737-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xJt381i3

Interview:

2. Comment on the 3 most important pieces of advice for you as an artist.

3. And, comment on  how his seemingly simple works actually reflect his sensitivity to form and how they are connected to emotion or expression.

In your sketchbook, do an hour of contour drawings of individual objects (as we will do in class) or do a contour drawing of your kitchen, backyard, or a closet.  You may use several pages for this or work in smaller frames on the page (so you can think about composition as Kelly does).

ART 3 – Portrait styles Due 9/25

1. Look at the following blog post on Francoise Gilot and the variable thickness in the expressive contour lines.

francoise-gilot.html

2. Look at Google images for Francoise Gilot portrait drawings, Picasso portrait drawings and Andy Warhol drawings. Look especially at the contour line drawings by Gilot, portraits of Jaqueline by Picasso, and the color and shapes used by Warhol.

3. Look at the speed drawing and the portraits by Warhol floating behind. When the drawing starts to talk, you can just listen to the interview if it is too eerie for you.  Also enjoy the David Byrne music accompanying the Warhol imagery in the second selection.

4. Post your favorite drawing from each of these  and any other artists (black and white or color, linear or painterly.) Explain what makes the drawing expressive and how you might incorporate some of the techniques into your portrait “derivatives.”

ART 2 Branches Due 9/25

1. Look at the student studies of branches using cross contours:

branch.html

2. Look at the discussion of positive and negative shapes in the composition of these photographs by Art Wolfe:

seeing.shtml

3. Look at the Almond branches by Van Gogh and read the commentary about the context and the composition:

index.jsp?page=3128&lang=en

4. Read the biography of  and comments on Patricia Tobacco Forrester:

Artist-Info.cfm?ArtistsID=493&Object=#Bio

5. Look at all the images and compositions by Forrester at this site, and others if you want. Consider how she usesuse positive and negative space in the compositions:

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6. Comment on the visual and emotional effect of the branches by Van Gogh and Forrester in terms of both their symbolic significance and  the visual effect.  Which image is most impressive to you and why? How does this contribute to your understanding of  and sensitivity to what you are working on in class?

Art 1 Gorey – 9/11-9/17

1. Listen to the curator of “Elegant Enigmas” talk about Edward Gorey.

2. Watch the animation of Gorey’s book , The Tuning Fork:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t5a829z-4w

3. Comment on the 3 most interesting things about Gorey and how you think those things influenced his art.

4. Also comment on your favorite visual frame (drawing and composition) in the animation and explain why you find it most fascinating.

5. In your sketchbook, do a one hour drawing inspired by Gorey.  Have fun with it! Keep track of the time intervals on the back.