Review of AED 200

1. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the best? Why?

I enjoyed the first art gallery visit the most, because I was actually the first time I've been in a big art gallery such as the Albright Knox. It was interesting to see all the different types of art throughout the gallery. I liked the assignment because although we had our guidelines to choose certain pieces, ultimately it was my choice on which pieces I wanted in the vast selection they had.

2. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the least? Why?

It would definitely have to be the video reviews. I don't mind reading, but most of the videos were dry and boring, and I would have a hard time staying awake for some of them, especially after a long day at work. I do enjoy watching videos for education, but the selection wasn't great in keeping me interested.

3. How did you like using ANGEL?

ANGEL was good, don't have too many complaints. The only thing is my Mac is supplied with Safari, and it definitely was a hassle to download new browsers in order to get my assignments in sometimes. But besides that, I thought it was very well put together.

4. If you had the opportunity to change this course:

What would you keep?

I would keep the projects, such as the self portraits, logo making, mask making, etc. It's assignments like that which gave me the opportunity to show my creativity.

What would you remove?

I wouldn't remove the entire selection of videos for review, but I would cut down the amount of them. It just keeps me more interested in the readings if I'm not getting bored by videos all night long.

What would you add?

I would add a requirement that made students check out the Breachfield Penney Gallery on campus if they live in the Buffalo area. I went there on without having to do an assignment and I really liked it there. It would be good to get students there if they never gone before.

5. Would you recommend this course to your peers?

I would recommend it to them if they have an interest in art or a drive to learn more. The course did have a lot of work and reading, so a person who doesn't have the drive won't do the work. But if they are willing to learn, I would definitely recommend it.

6. Please list any other comments you would like to share.

It was definitely hard keeping up with the work while I worked, but it was a rewarding class. Thank you.

Reflections of AED 200

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

My original expectations were to learn more about the different styles of art because I did not have a lot of background in this subject. Throughout the course, I learned how art has evolved from primitive to popular art today. The course and the text did its job in giving me the course materials I needed to learn about the world of art that I didn't know about before.

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

Art is a form of visual expression, that can be created to be a realistic or non-representational image. It's a way for an artist to give the viewer a look into their creativity. When I first started the class, art to me was simply paintings and sculptures and how they were made for show. Now that the class is finished, I've learned that art doesn't always have to have a purpose to show off. It's a way for people to express themselves and to use their creative minds in order to make a piece that represents them.

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?

I didn't have an favorite artist in my original posting, but after this course I feel like my favorite artist is Michelangelo. I love the detail that he was able to paint and sculpt during his time. He set the bar for religious art and sculptures for artists after that and also well into today.

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?

Taking an online course was definitely a challenge, but like I said in my initial posting, it was going to be hard but rewarding. I learn quite a lot through the summer, especially getting hands on with creating projects and visiting art galleries. It was hard to keep up with the readings because I worked a lot, but I'm glad I was able to stick with it. It was a long course, but it provided what I was looking for originally and that was to learn about art and its different styles.

Self Portrait

Paul Cezanne Self Portrait, Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 in. x 20 5/8 in., 1879

Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 20 in. x 14 in., 1887

Anh Duong Self Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 14 in. x 11 in., 2002

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?

I thought they were well done pieces and they were some of the only self portraits I found at the exhibit. I was looking for more pencil media because that's what I was going to work with but the oil on canvas paintings were really life like.

2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?

Pencil media was just easier for me, because I tend to make a lot of mistakes and with pencil I can at least erase and perfect my self-portrait. I feel like i could make smoother lines and transitions with the pencil, too.

3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge was getting my facial feature to scale with the rest of my face. At one point, my eyes were too small for my face and also my nose didn't look the right size. That's why I used pencil so I could correct these changes.

4. How does this piece represent you?

This is me in my most true form. I didn't look to add any abstract effects like some artists would. I just wanted to keep it pure and as close to the truth as I could possibly get it.

5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?

Definitely a realistic approach with the whole thing. Like I said I didn't wanna get crazy with it so I just let my pencil move along the paper and tried to make it life like as much as I could with my level of skill.

6. Did you enjoy working on this project?

I did actually! Probably because I enjoy drawing, and the last time I did a self-portrait was back in high school. It was nice to get back to this theme of art and give another shot at it.

7. What do you think of your final artwork?

I think I did well, actually better than I thought I would have. It was a relief to just draw myself instead of having to draw another person. But I liked how it turned out and with more time I fell like I could have added a lot more detail.

Art Critism

1. Which projects did you review?

I reviewed Jason Petty's "Art Curator Exhibition Slideshow", and Chantell Watson's "Project #4".

2. Why did you select the Exhibit you critiqued?

I selected Jason Petty's "Art Curator Exhibition Slideshow" because I like the nature theme that it presented. It had some very good examples throughout the slideshow and I felt it presented me with a good choice to critique.

3. What challenges did you face in writing the critique article and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenges were trying to write a critique without being biased. I found myself liking some pieces and disliking others, but it was a struggle to keep an open mind because I don't naturally think like that. I did my best and I may of slipped up once or twice, but I felt I stayed focused on the task.

4. How do you feel about critiquing your peers work?

I felt that I did the best that I could, but I could not do many more because I feel like everyone has their own style. I like a lot of art, so it would be hard to look at another couple exhibits and not be biased in some way. I think it was good exercise though and definitely something I can work on in the future.

5. Would you like to read the critique your peers wrote about your Art Curation Project?

Actually yes I would. I feel that I presented a lot of good examples of Native American art in different medias, from paintings to photos to sculptures and masks. I'm interesting to see how my peers felt about my exhibit. My analysis may not have been spot on, but I feel that my exhibit was enjoyable nonetheless.

6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your finished article and why?

I'd say a 7 to be honest. I tried to put myself in the place of an actually editor at an art magazine or website that visits exhibits and puts out a review on them. I'm not the best at writing about art, but I typed what came to my mind and I fell that it was good enough to make me sound like I was a real editor or columnist.

7. Did you enjoy working on this project?

I enjoyed more working on the actually art curator project than the critique. It's more of what I enjoy.

Video Review week 10

1.   The first video was “Greenberg on Art Criticism: An Interview by T. J. Clark”. In the video, they discuss the important aspects to remember when you critique art. One point was made that while you critique, it is important not to be biased and not to keep a preference. The main objective is to keep an open mind and be responsive to any art piece that you may be analyzing. In his opinion, visual art is the hardest to critique because of the biased nature that most people have. Greenberg focuses on having good reasoning for his options and to be relevant to the piece. This is a concept that we have been taught throughout this course.

 

The next video was “Greenberg on Pollock: An Interview by T. J. Clark”. Greenberg goes into discussing the art of painter Jackson Pollock. It was pointed out that Pollock knew was going to be a great painter. Greenburg also discusses the nontraditional works of Pollock, which can best be described as "outside of the box". In 1947, Pollock painted his first drip painting. Greenberg gave Pollock a lot of credit for his nontraditional works, and even though Pollock rejects criticism of his works. Pollock seemed to burn a lot of bridges in the art work, and became sort of an outsider, even to the point where some people didn’t even consider his style “art”.

 

The next video was “An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance”. The video discusses how art is changed due to a new enthusiasm, which started in the 1560’s in Florence, Italy. Each artist took ideas from past artists and diffused them into their own ideas of art. The video includes information about works by many famous artists, encompassed in Visari's book "Lives of the Artist". Artists like Giotto, who was a well know painter during this time that was remembered for his realistic painting style. Other famous painters that come to mind during the Renaissance are Masaccio, Donatello, and Leonardo da Vinci. 

 

The next video was “The Critics: Stories from the Inside Pages”. This video features a bunch of critics discussing their own criticism and opinions of other artists. It focuses on telling what a good critic does, by observing with a clear mind and how criticism is a good thing. It also discusses how a critic must be true to themselves and should be able to take criticism because according to the video it can be fun. Critics are people who are willing to make an argument, and often act as reporters. Even though some artists don't see critics as helpful and they send the wrong message, we should be encouraged to see all of the possibilities in art.

 

The next video was “The Colonial Encounter: Views of Non-Western Art and Culture”. It talks about Colonialism and The Worlds Fair of 1900, which in an eight month period brought over 50 million viewers. It discusses the main themes of indigenous people being put in cages and the belief that African people could turn on them. There was so racism depictions but as I learned in the past videos is that art criticism has to be discussed with an open mind. I personally couldn’t imagine growing up in a time like that, but works of art such as these were popular and our view of the present shouldn’t cloud our judgment of these images.

 

The last video was “Jackson Pollock: Michael Fried and T. J. Clark in Conversation”. The video focuses on the different criticisms of modern art, focusing on the style of Pollock and the different opinions of Michael Fried and T.J. Clark. Fried focused on the positive aspects like aesthetics and like how it was always regenerating. He also focused on discussing art strictly on the way they looked. Clark focused more on the history behind the piece and the influence it had during this time. It was good to hear of criticism coming from two different points of view, and how they listen to each other and combined it with their own options.

 

2.    In regards to my Art Criticism project, the video did indeed help because it gave me better understanding of what art criticism involves and some tactics I can use when looking at someone else’s work. My method of critiquing was minimal and could sometime be considered biased. But with the pointers that I got from the videos, I feel like I can gave a better critique of my peers.

 

3.   I thought I gain some good methods of critiquing from some of the videos, but a few weren’t as helpful. I felt the video on the Italian Renaissance and The Colonial Encounter weren’t very helpful. It was a lot of videos but the overall assignment wasn’t too bad. I just think it could have been cut down from six videos to four.

Art Curator Reflection Journal

I based my Art Curator project on "First Nations Art" as I am Native American and I love the work that I see in different tribes throughout North America. When I started this project, I wasn't really sure on how I was going to develop my powerpoint. But as I went on, I realized that like many exhibits, it's almost best to categorize art pieces to make it more uniform. Like I started out with oil paintings, then I grouped together sculptures, then masks, and so on. I felt that if I mixed my art pieces together, it wouldn't look as clean and efficient. 

The most difficult part was fining all the information for each of my art examples. It wasn't too hard to find that actually examples, just to get the essential information was a pain. I'm glad I went with my theme because I grew up around a lot of the imagery in my art examples and it's what I was familiar with. Native American art in my mind some of the most various genres today, because it comes from sculptures, to representational and non-representation, masks that are for show and also for actually ceremonies, etc. I hoped that I made my exhibit well enough that anybody can enjoy it.

Video Review week 9

1.  The first video was “Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art”. This video on the art of the Lowbrow genre. Lowbrow is best described as pop art; generally dreamlike characteristics and involves a lot of the figures we see on the television. Some examples of the figures used are automobiles and scantly clad pin-up type, as well as other abstract figures that really can’t be put in another categories. Some critics argue that it should take the name of “Lowbrow Surrealism”, and I feel that it resembles surrealist paintings from the readings. 

 

The second video was “Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach”.  This video discussed the method to displaying modern art in the Tate gallery. Throughout the 20^th century, art was displayed in galleries in a straight forward chronological style. With the Tate Approach, art pieces were broken down into four groups, or exhibits, which each piece being categorized to match that exhibit. This video focuses on grouping of artworks with the Tate Approach and the job of a curator breaking up the works into the right groups and themes. 

 

 The next video was “Bones of Contention: Native American Archaeology”. It features a Native American woman making a stand for the protection of Indian burial grounds. This movement was based on fighting for the rights to claim their ancestral artifacts from becoming amusement in museums and other exhibits. These Native rights groups fought for the protection of bones and remains being dug up, and boycott the museums that show Native artifacts. The artifacts can tell a great deal about the past and should not be destroyed, as well as not be moved because more can be discovered by examining remains in their nature state. It’s also about respect of the ascestors, because they fell that their cultural remains are not meant to be used for exhibit purposes. 

 

The last video was “George Eastman House: Picture Perfect”. This video talked about the George Eastman House located in Rochester, NY. It goes into discussing Eastman’s creation of the first camera, and the collection the visual history of photography that he created. It gives a good history on photography, including explaining the thousands of different kinds of cameras and lenses, and works from over 14,000 photographers. It was interesting to see the early models of cameras and the photographer's styles and how they can be compared to the changes in what the photography field is today.

2. I felt that three of the videos I could relate to my Art Exhibition project. Because it is based on Native American Art, I felt that the issues talked about in the “Bones of Contention" video were very relatable to my project. Most of my art I chose was more current, but I know that a lot of tribes are reluctant to let certain images to be portrayed because they do not want outsiders misrepresenting it. The history explained in the "George Eastman" video could relate because photography was something I liked when I was choosing my art pieces. Lastly, the "Lowdown and Lowbrow" video related because I discovered some very abstract pieces done by some current artists. Pop culture artists today have an array of influences, and mixing the traditions of the past and today's abstract style made for some really interesting pieces.

3. I felt the videos were very helpful, except the "Displaying Modern Art" video because it didn't really have to do too much with my project. But I felt that the rest of the videos gave me extra guidance to take me in the right direction for my project.