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Today's Class- Today's topic was rhythm, which we all probably know well in terms of sound and music, but it also has a place in visual arts, such as the repetition of shapes, marks, spacing of elements, balance of value and color, etc. I showed a few dozen examples from art history, occurring from the Renaissance to the present, and then we did some portfolio exercises using our watercolors and making use of rhythm.
How to make this up- You will need your 18" x 24" pad, watercolor paints, brushes, and a water container. You may use your palette to mix colors, but you also have the option of using any of your colors directly from the kits. No color theory rules today. Below are some student examples from previous semesters.
I played 5 segments of music for the class, each running about 15 minutes, all different kinds with very different rhythms and arrangements. Students were asked to produce an abstract painting while each segment played, influenced by the music they were hearing. Brush strokes and colors were to be chosen by the students based on what they were hearing and feeling. More student examples, and a list of the specific music we listened to (and suitable substitutes) can be found here.
This is a portfolio exercise that can be made up any time during the semester for full credit.
Homework- The first draft of the museum assignment is due at the start of class on November 2, 2018. I have received one from each section so far. I will review all of them and upon returning them, let you know of any obvious missing things so they can be revised before the final version is due.
For next class 11/2/18- We will be starting an exercise that will be completed over multiple weeks, involving the process of printmaking. Prints are artworks made from a fixed surface, such as an etched metal plate, a silkscreen, a carved wooden block, or (in our case) a collaged image. Below is a student example from a previous semester of plate and resulting print-
You will notice that the colors of objects on the plate does not affect the final version, which will be printed with black ink. Color can be added through use of collage on the print, but we'll talk about that later. The first step is to make the plate, but glue takes a little while to dry, so we will do the printing a few weeks from now. I will provide cardboard for the base and I have a bag full of cloth scraps that can be used in the collage, but you are welcome to bring in more stuff- things that are flat and have textures work best. You can also add them later at home. Also it prints as a mirror image, an issue if you plan to include letters or numbers in your image.
Bring scissors, glue (white is best in this case), and any scraps or found objects you may wish to use for your plate. Eventually they will be printed on paper from your large pad, but not this day, so you may leave the big pad at home.
Today's Class- Today's topic was photography, a relatively modern medium with some ancient roots. It all began with the camera obscura, a simple device perfected during the Baroque period of painting, which projected real life scenes onto a wall where artists could trace them for use in paintings. By the early 19th century, methods were found to use the new science of chemistry to automatically record these images on film, glass, paper, etc. Digital photography uses computers instead of chemicals, but the results are the same.
After showing examples of the development of photography and some of the ways it is used, I handed out a take home assignment and we took a tour of Vaughn-Eames, which is the building on campus for all art.
How to make this up- The take home assignment is printed on paper and I'll have extra copies in class next week. Meanwhile, the specific assignment and some student examples can be seen here.
This is a portfolio exercise and not technically due until the end of the semester, but I'm encouraging students to have them printed to share with the class by November 30, 2018. Any kind of paper is fine. They don't need to be mounted, but labeling them on the back with the specific problem being addressed would be very helpful.
Homework- The first draft of the museum assignment is due at the start of class on November 2, 2018. It should be typed or printed on paper.
For next class 10/26/18- We go back to color and to our watercolor paints, this time less theoretical and more expressive. Bring you watercolor paints, brushes, palette, water container, and 18"x24" pad.
Today's Class- Today was our first full on class about color. We did two portfolio exercises related to color, following a look at color in historical art, and we covered the basics of color theory.
How to make this up- As a class, the entire class completed two color exercises- first a 12 step color wheel (primary/secondary/intermediates) and the a mixing of a complementary color set.
A list of all the steps needed to complete these exercises can be found here.
These are portfolio exercises and can be made up any time before the end of the semester for full credit, but since color is something we will use a lot, I advise you not to wait too long to make it up.
Homework- Nothing new, but just a reminder that the first draft of the museum assignment is due at the beginning of class on November 2, 2018, three weeks from today. I will go over the details again in class next week.
Faculty exhibition reception- There is a public reception for the current faculty exhibition at the Howe Gallery on the 1st floor of Vaughn-Eames, on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. Attendance is not required, and I'm not even sure I will attend myself, and I expect that we will visit the show as part of class next week, but if you feel like checking it out, seeing what your teachers do as art, it is expected to be open and refreshments are to be served from 3:30-5:00 pm.
For next class 10/19/18- We will spend part of the class looking at the history of photography, and I will distribute a take home assignment that you will complete on your own. Following slides about photo history, we will take a tour of our building, visiting as many of the studio classroom as we can get into, and then the gallery on the 1st floor to see the current faculty exhibition. Since we will not be making any art in class, you may leave all your supplies at home next week.
Today's Class- Today we had our first look at color, as part of what I refer to as Monumental Art. For much of human history, large scale artworks were a large part of both culture and communication, depicting history and mythology in a visual way that even the largely illiterate population could understand. And when this art was made with long lasting materials, it has been preserved so that we can still experience it today.
One such medium was mosaic, in which very small pieces of hard permanent materials were arranged to depict two dimensional objects and/or scenes, often in full color. They could be affixed to the wall, floor, or ceiling, filling architecture with imagery that has sometimes lasted thousands of years. For today's portfolio exercise, we borrowed from the format if not the materials.
How to make this up- First you need to choose a full color photograph, of a real object or scene, not an digitally created art image. Reproduce the basic composition in pencil on a page in your 18" x 24" pad, at a minimum of 6" square or 9" x 4" (vertical or horizontal). You may crop your source photo image to fit one of the image sizes, or expand beyond those above minimums if you wish to match the original in size. Attach the source photo to the page next to your pencil drawing.
Color for your new image will come from small cut pieces of glossy magazine paper, maximum size1/2" square, though you may go smaller and make a variety of shapes. Try to match the colors of the original piece as closely as possible- there's an amazing range of colors to be found in magazine photos. Glue the small pieces to the drawing to fill in the matching colors. Pieces may be edge to edge, with a small amount of white paper visible, or even overlapping a little if it makes it easier. Below are some student examples from previous semesters, showing both the source photo and the student artworks:
In evaluating these, my main concern is matching the original colors. Accurate drawing of the source photo is recommended as it will make matching the color shapes easier. This is a portfolio exercise, which can be made up any time before the end of the semester for full credit, but I advise not waiting too long, as students who put if off too long never get around to finishing it.
Homework- The first draft of the museum assignment needs to submitted as a printed copy by November 2, 2018.
Midterm Grading- The University has instituted a new policy that requires us to provide some kind of mid-term grading report via KeanWise this week. We have the option of letter grades or comments, and late on Friday we got e-mail acknowledgement that it's understandable if we don't have letter grades yet, since this started after only 4 weeks of a 16 week semester. So you'll be getting comments, I expect sometime Saturday. Keep in mind that these comments are required by the University and have nothing to do with your actual grade for the class, for which no points have been assigned yet. What is assigned now has no impact on what grade you will get- the syllabus has the formula.
For next class 10/12/18- We continue with color but in a more traditional way. We will be learning some basic color theory and doing some simple color mixing exercises using the watercolors. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, a water container (empty cup or can), and a mixing palette.
