Self Portrait

My Inspiration Pieces:


1.) Self Portrait done by Lizz Connor using pencil


I chose this one to use as a part of my inspiration because I love the abstract and the black and white. The details are very interesting, and I like how it doesn't "fit" the page perfectly, the portrait kind of fades off and falls apart at the edges.



2.) Up Self Portrait by Gretchen Zamora Rojas

 

I chose this self portrait because I love the fun feel and the colors used.



3.) Unidentified Self Portrait




I chose this one as an inspiration because I like how it is abstract yet it still looks put together and somewhat real.

Photograph of myself:

Final Product:

I chose to use photography as my outlet for my self portrait because it's what I enjoy doing best, and because I am awful at drawing and painting. I used Adobe Lightroom for the editing, which I enjoyed doing. It was hard to adjust the lights in the room to get the look I was going for. I had to get extra lights to use in the room because when I used flash  the effect was to harsh. It was also difficult using the macro setting and self timer, I overcame this by just taking lots of pictures so that I had options when it came time to edit. I chose to use emphasis and subordination in my photos. This piece represents me because it highlights features that make me "me". While I love photography, I found it very hard to do self portraits. I did not like being the "model." I did like editing the photos though and working with the light to get the desired effect.


I am happy with my final product. I like the effect I attained with the lighting, and I think it captured the essence of me.

Art Exhibition Article Thoughts

1.) The projects I looked at were: 

I Dream in Dog by Lisa Dembowski

Made of Itself by Elias Taveras

The Queen City by Joe Frangione

2.) I selected to critique I Dream in Dog because it immediately grabbed me attention. Being a dog lover I was intrigued. 

3.) I have never written any type of art critique before, so the whole experience was new to me. That being said I found it fairly easy to write and didn't run into any major roadblocks when writing. It probably helped that I enjoyed the exhibit I was writing about.

4.) I was comfortable critiquing my peer's work. Perhaps it would be different if I actually knew who Lisa was, or had to critique her face to face. It also made it easier because I didn't feel the exhibit needed much critiquing, and I am by no means an expert but I thought it was overall a very well put together exhibit.

5.) I don't know how I would feel about reading critiques made on my exhibit. I guess I would be okay with seeing what they said. I know that I am by no means an artsy type of person and knowing that I did my best and I'm sure there are many improvements that I could have made I think I could take a little constructive criticism. 

6.) I would say my article is maybe an 8. I feel like I did a good job, but I don't have much to compare it with and since it is my first I'm sure it's not perfect. I felt good writing it and didn't mind writing it so I'm hoping that shows in my writing.

7.) I dreaded doing the article. I have put it off until now. Once I got started though it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I enjoyed looking at everyone's exhibits, everyone has something unique to offer and there were so many wonderful exhibits to pick from. 

MOD 15 Video Reviews

1.   For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Greenberg on Pollock: An Interviww by T. J. Clark

-      Pollock considers his paintings to be easel paintings.

-      The idea of easel painting changed during Pollock’s career, it was not longer viewed as a neat and tidy picture.

-      Art is hard to define and what is socially acceptable can change over time, art critics are not always written in stone as the way art should or should not be.

The Colonial Encounter: Views of  Non-Western Art and Culture

-      At the 1900 World Fair in Paris, the colonies were represented as uncivilized with their lack of any architectural aspects in their part of the fair.

-      The colonies were unfairly misrepresented as being barbaric and uncivilized by use of art in media- the only exception was Algeria which was represented much nicer as it had been colonized for longer than Dahome.

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2.   Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Criticism project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.

Greenberg on Pollock: An Interviww by T. J. Clark

-      This film did relate to the Art Criticism project. It took a look into the deep and complex relationship between the artist and the art critic. Greenberg admitted at times that he was wrong in writing his critics of Jackson Pollock’s works. He also explained that the only demand on art is for it to be “good art.” Greenberg said Pollock did not feel resentment towards him even though he did not think his paintings were that good since 52.

The Colonial Encounter: Views of  Non-Western Art and Culture

-      It is critical that art critiques are done with tact and very carefully because often what is portrayed or said becomes the reality within a society. And if a person or culture is misrepresented within the media, that representation may become the reality for how others view that person or society.

3.   What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of art criticism?

Greenberg on Pollock: An Interview by T. J. Clark

-      The film was informative, but fairly dry. Clement Greenberg admitted to being wrong in the beginning about Pollock’s paintings, and he went back on what he had originally wrote about him. He was quoted as telling Pollock “Not to read everything that is written about you.” It goes to show that art critics can be wrong and that at the end of the day their critiques are amplified opinions.

The Colonial Encounter: Views of  Non-Western Art and Culture

-      This film was very interesting and full of information. I enjoyed it. It goes to show how the media plays such a powerful role in how a culture or person can be represented or misrepresented. 

Art Axhibit

I chose to do Religion as my focus for my exhibition project. 

I decided on religion because it plays such an important role in cultures around the world and can be such a defining piece of who we are. 

Finding pieces to use was relatively easy, however finding all of the needed information proved to be a bit of a challenge. There were a few museums who featured exhibits online that had all of the information, but most of them were from ancient times and I was looking to find a mix of both old and new and modern art to use in my exhibits.

Overall the process was fairly enjoyable, I liked the flexibility and "open endedness" of the project. 

I am fairly happy with what I put together, although I found it difficult to describe and interpret some of the art, just because I am not naturally an artistic person so choosing the right vocabulary was somewhat of a challenge.