Week 15 // Project #5

1. Use the vocabulary you have learned in class to describe this artwork or performance in detail.

Guernica is an oil painting created by Pablo Picasso which uses little to no color and is a very abstract piece of work. The human and animal-like figures in this painting are lacking in proportion. The space in Guernica is extremely unorganized. There is text located within the drawings of the figures. The unique use of line and shape makes this painting abstract.

2. What processes were used to create this work? What social influences might the artist be responding to and why?

Picasso kept in mind Darwinian while creating Guernica, specifically while creating the figures. Picasso created this painting to connect with and respond to the shift towards modern art and cubism during the time period in when this painting was created-- and he introduced the use illusion and pop art. Picasso also used disproportion in this painting. Pop art, modern art, and illusion in art was rising during this time. The social influence on this painting is the war and bombings that were happening in Spain.

3. What is the relationship of this work to the time and society in which it was created? Describe the symbols used to express this relationship.

Guernica was created in 1937 and was known as an anti-war painting. Picasso specifically made Guernica as a representation of bombings in Spain from Germany. It was then put in an exhibit and rose money to go toward the Spanish Civil War. The symbolism in this painting shows the chaos that occurred in the war as well as the terror and sadness that occurred.

4. Identify elements in the work that evoke a persuasive or emotional response. Be specific about what those responses are and why.

What evokes an emotional response is the dim colors in the painting as well as the people with their mouths open and their hands up. It shows the terror that occurred during the war and truly lets the viewer know the sadness that happened. It shows that the people were going through a terrible time.

5. Evaluate what you perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the work.  Apply discipline specific vocabulary and concepts when describing your point of view.

A strength of this work is the abstract figures. I believe that Picasso did very well on these figures because it shows the emotion and mood of the war that the people went through. A weakness in this work is the text print in the figures, because I am not sure how that relates to the war.

Resources used:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Darwinian
http://legomenon.com/guernica-meaning-analysis-of-painting-by-pablo-picasso.html

Week 15 // Art Gallery Visit #3: Self-Portraits Art Making/Material Exploration Blog

-- INSPIRATION PIECES --

Title: Self-portrait

Creator: Dmitry D. Zhilinsky

Year: 1993

Dimensions: 52.3 x 72.3 cm

Medium: Oil on fiberboard

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/

Title: Self portrait

Creator: Stella Brown

Year: circa. 1934

Dimensions: w39.1 x h49.5 cm

Medium: Oil on canvas

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/

 

Title: Self-portrait with hat and veil

Creator: Paula Modersohn-Becker

Year: 1906/1907

Dimensions: w798 x h896 cm (framed)

Medium: Oil on canvas

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/

-- MY PIECE --

-- QUESTIONS --

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?

I selected the inspiration pieces because I wanted my portrait to look realistic but not too realistic. I also took inspiration of the strokes in the inspiration pieces. I like how they're well done but not super realistic.

2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?

I selected acrylic paint on a cork-like board to do my portrait. I chose acrylic paint because it is easy to blend and I feel comfortable painting with them. It is my favorite media to work with. I also added cloth to the background to add texture.

3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?

At first, I really could not get my face right. I had trouble trying to make it look like me because I did not copy the photograph of myself completely instead I took inspiration from my photograph. I had trouble perfecting my nose. I felt awkward creating a self portrait.

4. How does this piece represent you?

This piece represents me because it is definitely my style of painting. I like how I used the close in the background because it reminds me of my style.

5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?

Shape/form

Color

Value

Texture

Balance

6. Did you enjoy working on this project?

Yes! It was very hands-on and fun. I really enjoyed it.

7. What do you think of your final artwork?

I am not a huge fan of it, because I don't think I'm too great at art but I did try my best so I think I did pretty good for that. 

Project #4 // Reflection Journal

In this project, I had a specific process while creating my slide show.

At first, I had to think of a theme. I changed my theme probably about six times throughout this project. I wanted a theme that was interesting so I could go in deep detail with it as well as a theme that would not be common in our online group. For my theme, I chose Self-Portraits created by famous artists. Once I created a theme, I googled famous artists and Google had a wide variety of information on famous artists from the 1500's to the 1900's.

I used the Google Art pages to find my photos for my curator project. I was kind of frustrated while using the Google art pages because they did not have a wide variety for the majority of the themes I originally planned to do. Luckily, I found at least 10 well-known and famous artists who created self portraits of themselves. I search 10 images, screen shotted, took down the page, and wrote down the information I needed for each slide. Then I started to create my slideshow.

I wanted my theme to seem as though it was truly in an art gallery. I went with a sophisticated theme for the color scheme for the slide show. For each slide, I put the screenshot of the self portrait as well as the information needed and the direct link to the page where I found the art pieces.

Each slide has it's own information slide along with it, where I share a small fact about each artist as well as what is within the self-portrait that helps fit my theme.

Overall, the project was fun to do. I wish that the Google art pages had more variety of photos -- the ArtStor page was not working for me so I could not use it. It was fun creating the slideshow and learning about artists who created Self-Portraits. My favorite person to do research on was Andy Warhol because I love all of his work. The project was a lot of fun to do though.