Eek... I'm not really happy with my self-portrait at all. It's ok because I learned a LOT from this project, but I really wished I had a better outcome because I quite enjoyed the process. While I was sketching my face, I had trouble crating my features properly because I didn't exactly know the exact shape of my nose or eyes and it's a lot easier to draw someone else's face, because you don't care about their features. However, with this project, I was forced to acknowledge the shape of all my features which was quite interesting. I wish I had a re-do with this project because I would do a lot of things different, including keeping with the grid lines better, not doing a picture with my tongue in it, putting my hash marks in different places, and adding something to the background, and redoing my nose because it looks really weird in my drawing right now. I enjoyed using Raphael's mark with the hash marks and although it took a really long time since they are such skinny lines and so close together, I was quite content with the overall look of it. This project was really fun and although I really don't like the outcome, I know that I will use what I learned during it in the future.
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I finished!! Almost... I still need to erase the grid and decide what to do with the background and fix up the shirt and maybe work some more on my eyes and tongue (which I literally despise.), but I am pleased with how it came together. I kind of liked it more before I did the hair and the mouth, but I had to do it eventually. Working with Raphael's mark was so difficult for me because I love to smudge and just press hard with the charcoal and conte, but I had to restrain myself because Raphael made hatch marks in one direction. I have so much more respect for hatch marks now, and I will most likely try it again in the future, but with more of my style mixed in. I wish I had chosen a picture with my mouth closed because the teeth and tongue were so difficult to do, especially because I looked VERY strange with the teeth actually defined. Its alright, I'm finished and I don't hate it... Activity A: Howardena Pindell I was not able to attend the field trip to the VMFA museum, because I was traveling but after listening to a portion of Pindell's interview at VFMA as well as looking at pictures of her exhibit and her works of art, I've developed an appreciation for the originality of her work. As an African American women who attended Yale University surrounded by white men and women, I find it incredible that she was able to go beyond the norms of painting and revolutionize her own version of art by choosing unique mediums and layering to create her works of art. I believe that the artist is trying to show us her relationship to certain aspects of life such as other art, the society, numbers, video, and the constant irregular sinusoidal wave that life follows.
From reading the signs in her exhibit, I realized that Pindell most likely most showed growth and curiosity when she was trying to piece back together her life and memories using her art. This means that she actively tried to remember her persona and who she represents as a person and what she believes and what she wanted to do differently after the accident. The art created by her after 1979 was a symbol of her growth and recovery as an artist and human being. After seeing art from before and after her accident, I feel as though Pindell reconnected with herself better and her art had more meaning behind it. Personally, I understand why Pindell feels as though she can express herself better through her art, because it connects all the aspects of her life and puts it together in one mess of a piece of artwork. I've done that so many times when I am creating art or just reflecting about my art when creating sketches. A lot of my daily drawings, especially ones when I travel show how much my family, my school, and the people I surround myself by affect my life and my art. Howardena Pindell especially has shown me the value of changing the thing your passionate about with yourself as you grow and change as a person.
Activity B: Abstract ExpressionismI don't fully understand the difference between Abstract and Non-objective paintings, but I believe the difference has to do with subject matter. The painting on the top by Gottlieb shows two planets on the top in red and blue and the earth is represented by the "agitated" brush strokes below it. On the other hand, Simon's painting has no clear purpose for it and there is no apparent emotion or expression behind the shapes created. The painting above is an Abstract Expressionist painting because it shows deliberate mark making by Pollock who created this painting spontaneously. The site states that he just decided to pour paint on a black paper and used full hand movements and dynamic strokes to create the painting. These paintings show special care of mark making by the artists. The first painting by Trepanier is created by tossing enamel paint on canvases with solid colors, and then is later outlined with black paint markers to show a sense of speed and volume. Also, the simple additions to the shapes in her paintings allow for the waves to curl around each other and give a true splash feel. The next painting by Gerhard Richter seems as though it was placed on the canvas using a sponge or knife of some sort and dragged quickly across the piece. It gives the painting a sense of continuity and haphazardness. Lastly, the painting on the bottom by Clough is painted directly on the board. He actually created a whole mechanical device so that his hand would not really be creating the work. Instead, for satirical purposes, he attached a large stick attached to a sponge and called it the "big finger" which created the spongy marks on the board and showing incredible layers of the oil paint. These works of art are examples of Abstract expressionism that use specific art elements, design principles, and specific composition choices. In the first piece of art, Gillespie creates a painting that encompasses her core style which included vibrant colors and organic shapes to represent the changing of the season and her moving to New York. This artist deliberately used solid colors next to one another for each one to stand out but unified, they make a complete piece. The second piece by a Russian artist eliminated all traces of his hand from the canvas and instead of using a brush to make the shapes, he simply let the paint soak into the canvas. The choice for the painting to have such a clear separation of colors makes it simple and aesthetic. Olitski explores color and shape instead of representation and symbols. His concepts of 'pure color' align with Pollock and deKooning's revolution of not following norms of painting. The last painting done by Motherwell consists of three lines creating a rectangular shape. The artist believed that there was a variety of expression possible with even limited elements such as only three lines.
These artworks have greatly extended my knowledge about Abstract Expressionism and what the movement meant to the artists who created it and for the artists who followed suit and also created their own type of art, different from the traditional painting. This is the image I've chose to as my reference photo for this self portrait. I am slightly worried that this doesn't have enough shadows in the image, but I have decided to use line quality and make the my face more dramatic than it is in the photo. I am very unsure about what to do for the background, but I am hoping to make it messy like Raphael's study with small marks here and there to make it a not as finished look. I also am not looking forward to creating the features of my face, because I'm scared that I'm going to fix what I don't like about the photo as I go along :P. Lastly, I I am concerned about the direction that the shadows are falling on my face and in which way I am going to make my lines because on my old master, I made all of my lines in on each face in one direction to have a sense of unity and continuity.
So far, I have edited my photo and started on the grid and drawing of the sketch which I will upload a little later :). |
Authormy name is shreya. Archives
June 2021
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