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.
