Today's Class- Today's topic was rhythm as a visual element. Shapes, colors, lines, values- all things that can be used in ways that show rhythm in art. Sometimes rhythm is not particularly noticed in an artwork, but sometimes it can dominate. My plan today was to show a few dozen slides with good examples of rhythm as a visual element, and how each artist shown used it in their art, but the projector system kept breaking down. Each time we ended up moving on to the art portion of the day, which involved listening to segments of 5 different styles of mostly instrumental music and painting abstract compositions in watercolor to the results. At the end of class we looked at the resulting paintings, to see if we could guess which music inspired each one.
How to make this up- If you weren't there for class today, you'll have to find equivalent music on your own. This blog link lists the actual music used and equivalent pieces that can be used to substitute for the music in class.
To complete the exercise, open your pad to a blank page and have your watercolor paints ready. As the music selection plays, produce an abstract composition inspired by the music you experienced. The marks you use, the colors, the shapes, are all your choice, and ideally should reflect what the music made you feel. I'd prefer abstract compositions, rather than images of recognizable objects. Above are some examples from previous semesters, and more can be seen on the page with the list of music sources. This is a portfolio exercise and can be made up any time before the end of the semester for full credit.
Homework- The photography assignment should be completed for next week's class, 3/24/17. The printed photos can be brought in just as a stack, or mounted to a backing if you prefer. We will look at the results as part of class.
For next class 3/24/17- Our next project will involve printmaking, artworks produced by using a matrix that sets up the design, such as an etching plate, a relief block, a silk screen, or in our case, a collagraph.
The name is derived from the word collage, and is basically a collage that is inked and printed. Above is an example of a plate and the resulting print together, as well as some further print examples. Next week we will be making the plate, but that takes more than one week, so they will be printed later in the semester. Adding color to the dry print (as in the fruit example above) is an option and can be done with your pastels or watercolors. You won't need the big pad next week, but materials with interesting textures that you don't mind cutting up and gluing down are welcome, as well as having glue.
