class reflections

1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met?

My expectations for this course were to learn a little more about art culture and to start to test my artistic ability. I'm in no way a great artist, but I thought it would be nice to take one that isn't really focused on how well you can actually draw. I enjoyed drawing hands with my dominant and non dominant hands and seeing the results. 

2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your initial posting?

Art can be anything from a painting to a written novel to photographs. If you're expressing yourself creatively there's endless things that can be considered art. I said something close to this in my initial posting as well.

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 at the beginning of this class was Jackson Pollock and is now Paul Cezanne. There is a big difference between them because one paints very abstract and the other goes for a more realistic look. I enjoy he colors Cezanne uses and the way he paints, you can see the paint strokes in a lot of his paintings and it's somehow calming to me.

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 really enjoyed taking an online course and I think I like it a lot more than in class. It might just be because I don't have to commute 30 minutes for an online course. My answer was basically the same, but I do realize now that I need to plan out when my assignments are due because I wont be reminded "in class."

Module 13 & 14 Video Review

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

The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art - Conceptionalism is almost like anti-realism. The idea is that the concept of the art is more important than what is actually seen.

Tate Modern - They explained how artists with similar styles should be placed in the same room and the importance of having a single theme in one room like Joan Mitchell with Jackson Pollock

An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan - x-rays are sometimes used on pieces to help find places on the piece that might need to be restored like weaker areas of a sculpture. 

2. Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.

The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art - It doesn't specifically relate to my project and theme because my pieces are more focused on what you actually see in the piece and not what's necessarily behind it meaning wise.

Tate Modern - This video relates to the Art Exhibition project because it explains the importance of having pieces in a room that go together or fit well in the same area. For our project we needed to find a common theme and have our pieces all relate to each other as if they were shown in the same room.

An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan - Yes, some parts of the video do relate to the exhibition project because they discuss the importance of art curators and how getting pieces that go well together is an extremely important part of an exhibit. This is what we had to do with our project because if there wasn't a common theme then it's just random works of art thrown together. It wouldn't really be a learning experience that way.

3. What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project

The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art - I enjoyed the film because I do like this style of art and the freedom you have with it. In my opinion it didn't really help with my project because my theme wasn't based on the meaning behind each piece, but instead on what I interpreted it as.

Tate Modern - This film was helpful in understanding the importance of having a common theme when displaying pieces and the reasons people often switch up the order as well. It also confirmed for me that I did my project correctly as well because all my pieces relate to a common theme.

An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan - This film was interesting and helpful because it talked a lot about art restoration and the time that's needed to make sure nothing is added that doesn't have to be. They still want it to be that persons specific work. The video adds depth to the concepts we learned for the project because they talk about the importance of having a good theme as an art curator so pieces aren't just thrown up randomly.

Project 4 Reflection

When thinking about this project the first few themes that came to mind were color and nature. They seemed too simple and probably something another student would choose as well so I decided to think of something different. I wanted to have a theme of just a single word that would fit a lot of my favorite darker, nature-like paintings. I was drawn to these paintings because it's a very gloomy day right now. When looking at a few of the pieces I picked out I ended up deciding on the word melancholy, which means sad, lonely or gloomy. I thought this was fitting because a lot of the paintings I chose all had dark blues, grays and greens which to me are rather sad/calm colors. I knew if I chose this theme I would be able to find a lot of interesting pieces with the same lonely atmosphere.