Today's Class- Today we addressed the use of symbolism in art, specifically how recognizable images can be used to represent other concepts. We looked at a slightly edited (for time) film from Alfred Hitchcock, "Spellbound" (noting the protagonist's reaction to things he sees and the symbolism of the whole Salvador Dali created nightmare sequence), and at a few examples of historical art. After that, I introduced our next graded project of the semester, a symbolic self portrait. I also reviewed the symbolic language project from last week, for those who had missed class or needed further clarification. Remaining class time was spent working on ideas for one of the two projects.
How to make this up- A few weeks ago I assigned the class to do a group of 10 pencil sketches of personal symbols, objects that you own and that are strongly associated with you, by yourself or others. For this graded assignment, you are to take at least 6 of those (you can use all 10 if you want) and rework them into a new full size drawing. Rather than just reproducing the objects by themselves, or arranged in a pile like a typical still life, you are to show the objects in a more creative context. Above are two examples from a previous semester. In the top drawing, the student imagines herself as a posable fashion doll, and the symbols as part of a boxed set of accessories. For the bottom drawing, the student put her symbols on and around a human heart. Without copying either one of these, try to come up with a similarly creative approach. Do the drawing in pencil on a sheet of your 18" x 24" paper. In grading these I'll be looking at the drawings of the individual objects, the overall composition, and your idea for a context to show the symbols in.
Homework- This Symbolic Self Portrait Graded project is due at the beginning of class on March 25, 2013. The Symbolic Language Graded project that we started last week will be due at the beginning of class on March 18, 2013.
***Spring Break No Class March 11, 2013***
For Next Class 3/18/13- We will critique the Symbolic Language projects, which I will collect to grade later. I expect that we will also visit the Annual Fine Arts Student Exhibition down in the James Howe Gallery on the 1st floor. It's always a good idea to bring your sketchbook, pencil, and eraser with you. We are not going to be starting any new projects that day, so you won't need the 18" x 24" pad unless you want some feedback on the self portrait piece.
