1.

• Who are the subjects in Elle’s photos? How do they choose their subjects?

The subjects in Elle’s photos are entertainment wrestlers and Elle in the video; subjects are typically chosen around experiences that invoke a raw, emotional, and visceral reaction.

• What does Elle point out as important in a portrait? How does this deviate from typical ideas around what a portrait is?

Although geography is noted as an important component, Elle focuses more on the people and trying to show what an experience is like without showing the spectacle of such an experience. It deviates from many portraits by following a documentary style, made to look effortless.

• How does Elle connect their identity as a queer artist with the way they make work?

Photography deals with identity and surface perceptions as well as dealing with form, subject to defined or undefined boundaries as sexual identity can be bound or unbound by similar boundaries.

• How does Cuevas expand the definition of drawing in her work?

Cuevas expands the definition of drawing in her work by expanding her canvas; that is, painting on the riverbed itself adds much more symbolic significance to the action.

• In what ways does she shift typical ideas around political activism and social change?

She protests the idea of political activism due to the reasoning that as people act and are inclined to react daily, activism is an incorrect term in the sense that any action and reaction can be a force for social change or political purpose.

• How does her work open up ideas for you about your own civic engagement? Do you find yourself agreeing with her or wanting to challenge her ideas?

Her work plays on the idea that political messaging to a general audience need not be done through what is considered “typical” political channels, an idea that has been thought of in many different forms. In this sense, I agree with her in that there are more than simple traditional ways to get a political message across.

2. Find an artist on the art21 site (Links to an external site.) that resonates with you and write a few sentences about their work. Why does it resonate with you? How is this artist challenging norms or typical narratives in their work?

Paul Pfeiffer and his work in “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” piqued my interest. He chooses to rework several images, in a sense, by changing blending or erasing figures of the photos to leave an abstract feeling to the photograph. As it started with erasing Marilyn Monroe, he eventually expanded to erasing certain figures or parts of figures, which could result in a chance of emphasis on people that were not part of the original focus. It changes how we perceive the meaning of portraits, how we perceive importance in a photograph, and how choose it. In a way, this blending could make the sides of the background into the foreground, or the center could become insignificant. Taking away or adding context to photographs allow us to directly compare how messages are being told through art media and can allow us to further appreciate current art, as well as give a good basis for questioning and further expanding what art can mean.

3.

• How have your ideas changed around what drawing is/can be? If so, explain.

Drawing can be more than just something to look at; it can be a message, a symbol, it can be more than just lines and colors on paper. Although I have thought this way previously, seeing these media myself has given me good examples and further enriched my experiences.

• What has been the most challenging part of the class?

Letting go of perfectionism and fear of failure, sometimes I can’t start things because I know the beginning is rough and that I’ll struggle (like writing anything or drawing anything, extending even to schoolwork)

• What aspect/assignment/part of the class has been the most relevant to you/your life?

Linear perspective taught me perseverance and that I am capable of drawing well enough to meet my own standards

• What aspect/assignment/part of the class has been the least relevant to you/your life?

The current segment of portrait drawings, although not to say it’s irrelevant, really gets my perfectionism going.

• Where do you want to most improve in your drawings going forward (can be in terms of technique, concentration, understanding of art, anything)?

Breaking down complex drawings to simple elements that I myself can understand and recreate. This will be a skill that directly translates to success in complex tasks that should be broken into simpler components

Firstly, below are my quick thumbnail/mark making practices and idea sound boards

These were basic practices regarding perspective, in case my simplicity drawing includes perspective.

This set of thumbnails show some ideas I ran through. Although I tried negative space/charcoal usage combination (draw to press into the paper, erase, then draw over it with charcoal so the negative space makes a picture), I could not consistently produce the results I wanted. Thus I abandoned this idea to try some other landscape, as you can see to the right side.

After some practice, I chose this simplicity drawing. Although I was torn and debating between adding more or staying the course, in the end I chose not to add anything because a simplicity drawing by criteria is looking to test mark-making, and although the paper looks empty, any further unnecessary mark making to add details to the tree would defeat the point and possibly get me points deducted.

And finally for the big Density drawing. I’m rather proud of this one, I think I really tried and I hope it shows.

Overall, although the density drawing took me longer, the simplicity drawing was more mentally taxing to determine what would make a good drawing. Very cool!

I believe the module 2 homework consisted of only one DL activity and that was it, but if I’m somehow missing something please contact me and I will add it right away.

Sketches of various objects in my room and revising some old drawn ones (my slipper drawings did get better), combined with light shading above

Above we see more shading practice and basic sketching along with the five thumbnail drawings for Project 2

After totaling roughly an hour of sketch practice, these three cubes (straight from the powerpoint about value) were used to further practice value/shading techniques

It is both a shame and relief that stippling never came to use in my Density drawing. Although it is a nice technique, it is rather draining on time.

Overall I thought these were interesting. I liked the new shading techniques that we discussed, and I’ve tried to practice/utilize them, which is hopefully apparent. I have to say, while I like my pencil-done pencil drawings better, the charcoal-done pencil drawing might be the best of the three.

“The pen or the sword, we ought to be careful when suggesting such.”
“And why would that be, madame?”
“Both pen and sword are permanent. There can be no taking back spilt ink, no easy way past spilt blood. But people forget, the pencil may erase its own mistakes and find a path anew.”

Reference image/still life: The Treble Clef

Treble Clef Reversed:

Below: Distance Learning activity 1 – 2 hours of contour drawing practice (I believe this was pre-cross contour)

Distance Learning activity 2 – working on Project 1, determining an artist

For this section, I have to admit that I actually completely ditched my project at the last minute. Originally, I chose David Hockney as my artist of interest. I didn’t get around to drawing in his style (mostly because his style and mark making just seems so beyond my current capabilities) but I can show you a picture I took as my model still life, as well as a decent chunk of my written report for Hockney that I ended up trashing in favor of working on Christine Sun Kim’s work, and I can show practice for that one instead.

Above: Figure 1.1, the theoretical still life I would’ve chosen with Hockney.

“Given that Hockney has been influenced by cubism (a style used and popularized by Pablo Picasso’s influence), he seemed to have a tendency of incorporating odd perspective twists into his drawings and paintings. Although some of his later and famous paintings show no distortions in perspective, a fair mount of his works indeed display proportions and viewpoints that take advantage of curvature and diagonal lines to create an almost unreal space in which he distorts the audience’s line of sight. I found these buildings to be a good match for what Hockney might change. such as turning the right side building’s edge downwards to create a warped illusion, shifting perspectives as if his drawing spot changed from time to time throughout his works.” – Jason Hong.

(in-progress work, analyzing how I want to tackle emulating CSK’s work)

Below: roughly 3 hours worth of sketching

Overall thoughts –

Honestly, looking back this amazes me. Can you believe some of those simple sketches used to take me so long because I wasn’t used to drawing and felt anxious? I almost don’t feel the progress but I think it shows here that there has been some progression and I’m really grateful for that, so thank you Miranda!

The prompt: Silly Fork

Some thoughts –

This was a bit more challenging! I had a few choices of techniques to practice here, such as fast-charcoal drawings (you can see my 30 seconds version attempt erased) or cross-contouring. I hope the second one doesn’t come across as too serious, I really wondered if I could fit in a defibrillator joke there, but could not. All in all, a good fulfilling experience.

“Is it still called spooning if two forks are doing it?”

“Well, if we called it forking I imagine people would be even more confused”

The prompt: Angry Tree

Attempt 1:

A tree behind metal bars in a sense

Attempt 2:

No more leaves on this tree denied life

Attempt 3:

Dead husk of a tree

“Be wary of the forest’s offering. It is vengeance that bears the sweetest fruit.”

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