Final Blog Post: Visual Analysis / Reflection

My Final project replicates the art of Pierre Bonnard.  I first made a sketching, like Bonnard would do, and then painted the scene.  For the Visual Analysis, I will only be examining the painting.  The medium I chose was the Bristol painting paper.  To produce the colors, I used the chalky paint that came in our supply kit and used one thin paint brush.  The painting technique was pressing the paintbrush straight down on the paper.  This created dots, lines, and white space.   It is tough to develop a Rule of Thirds for this artwork, but multiple triangles can be seen in the image.  This connects the objects and gives a path for the eye to follow.  The first thing that catches my eye is the person on the Quad wearing a red shirt.  This draws my eye because red is not found anywhere else and the bright color catches the eye.  My eye then moves up because there are more colors on the top compared to the bottom.  The colors are all bright except for the stone path which has a darker grey because I was trying to recreate shadows.  The color scheme is very hard to determine.  I would say it is either triad or a square color scheme.  Only four colors were predominantly used: green, blue, brown, black.  White was used to alter the shades of these colors.  Although the colors are brighter, they are cooler rather than warmer.  I enjoy the texture of this 2D painting.  The way it was painted and the white space creates the sense of edges in the object.  It gives it depth and the sense of being 3D, especially for the grass.  Light can be seen on the stone path and the blue sky.  For the stone walkway, it starts off darker on the left side and then gradually becomes lighter.  As for the sky, it is brighter on top and then becomes a little darker.  In general, the left side gives the sense of having a shadow.  Overall, I am very pleased with this painting and how it represents Pierre Bonnard

I enjoyed Two-Dimensional Design very much.  Going into it I was not sure what to expect because I am not very good at art, but I learned a lot.  I am a much better artist in terms of creating art, examining art, and having knowledge about the subject.  One thing I will use from this class is properly examining a piece of art.  Before this class, I would look at a painting for a minute and then move on.  Now I can stare at a painting for 30 minutes and get a meaning from the art.  I can recognize techniques used and the message the artist was trying to send.  I think I first realized this when we went to Loyola’s art gallery and we examined a photograph.  The photograph was of a stream and rocks near a shore.   I could put myself into the scene and my five senses were activated.  I imagined what standing in that scene sounded or smelt like.  This is a skill I can use for the rest of my life.  For how the class could be improved, I think my least favorite project was the one where we listened to a song a depicting an image.  It’s not that it was bad, but I was not too sure what to create.  I guess this is the point because I painted however I felt during the song.  I just felt like I did not do a good job because I was not sure if I was doing it right.  

Postmodernism Project Write Up

      The quote I chose was, "It is always the same: once you are liberated, you are forced to ask who you are".  My project displays the thoughts that first came to my mind when reading this quote.  The denotative meaning of my project is focusing on the idea of being liberated.  The printed picture is cut up, but it shows a person being freed from chains.  It also focuses on the main question of being "Who am I?".  There are question marks throughout as well to show that this is a question that is constantly asked.  The paint is very unorganized to show a flood of emotions and thoughts that come with this question.
      The connotative meaning applies more to the paint than the actual picture made in Photoshop.  I used strictly primary colors because I thought these were the most basic and controlling colors.  I wanted to show that this was limiting the creativity and that people have to be "liberated" and try other colors.  Although this may be tough to get, I tried to make this symbolize society because there is a picture and painting that shows a city.  By making this art, I tried to free myself of constantly trying to make everything symmetrical, so that is why the paint is wild.  I tried to live the message my project was sending.

Post-Modernism

I like idea the postmodernism is revolutionary and combines a little bit of everything.  This is very appealing because you can always find something new and something that relates to you.  That being said, it is also hard to grasp.  For example, the author described it as having "a new kind of flatness or depthlessness".  If a painting is 2D I find this very hard to understand.  Does the author mean the picture is not as 3D or there is not as much meaning?  This mystery also is appealing because there is never one correct answer.  Postmodernism is confusing, but very interesting.

The Shape of Time

I found it very interesting when the reading said, "Times and opportunities differ more than the degree of talent" (6).  I took this as meaning it matters more who you know than what you know and that timing is everything.  This is why the author says it is pointless to compare artists such as Leonardo and Raphael.  They were both skilled in different ways and both achieved this talent in different ways.  I liked that the author said that Bernardino Luini and Giulio Romano were both very talented, they just had the poor luck of entering the art world at a time when the art world was saturated with great artists.  These are two people I have never heard of, yet they are being compared to great painters such as Leonardo and Raphael.  This stood out to me because it gave me hope.  As an unskilled artist, it gave me more motivation to keep striving to improve my work.

Data Visualization Video

Drawings and visualization has been used throughout time and has become more intricate.  Humans used to draw maps in stone to draw information from them and we continue to do so, but it has become much more developed, for example Google Maps.  The history of Visualization is essentially the history of Science.  Galileo saw sun spots through his telescope and put his visions in a drawing to express his findings to others.  There are a few principles in Visualization.  This includes you, the reader, and the actual data.  Using shapes, colors, and designs will influence what the brain sees and the emotions the drawings cause.  This is very useful.  An author and convey complicated data through a simple visual image that allows anyone to understand it.  Data Visualization has always been associated with the development of society and it will continue to be there.

BMA Drawings

 "Still Life with Pitcher and Plate" by Felix Vallotton

 "Basket of Fruit" by Pierre Bonnard

 "Landscape of Beaucaire, near Provence" by John D. Graham

White Objects

I chose three white items to examine: drawing paper, printer paper, and a tissue.  On the top, I had a lamp on next to the items.  On the bottom, I just used sunlight.  It is easier to see the difference in color with the lamp light.  This may be because the light gives off a yellow vibe.  The printer paper is the most clean in regards to being white.  The drawing paper appears to be a little yellow.  Lastly, the tissue is in the middle in regards to color.  This may be because it is also very thin.  The sizes and textures of the objects do play a role in how white they are.