Homework

Homework #14

After watching the documentary generate a 250-word response and upload to Carmen. Also I would like you to write six bullet points in response to Caitlin McGurk’s presentation and upload it to Carmen. Below is a list of the artists mentioned in the Secret of Drawing documentary episode. Please include the names of at least three artists/groups of interest to you in both the documentary and Caitlin McGurk’s presentation

Caitlin McGurk Bullet Points:
  • Graphic novels were barely used and regarded as worthless which is surprising compared to how they are valued today.
  • I find it fascinating that Pete Craig Russel found a way to sync an opera with his graphic novel.
  • The amount of comic strips/artists came that came from Ohio State is surprising and not talked about enough.
  • I used to read MAD magazines all the time and had no idea about the fold ins which is a very cool concept.
  • I did not even know Ohio State had a comic museum which is very fascinating.
  • The underground comix seen is cool as it strays from the sort of original theme of being very family friendly and safe for kids.
Secret of Drawing:
Daniel Clowes has a unique take on humanity in Ice Haven. The two detectives have an interesting dynamic as they try to solve the case of this kidnapped child. The wife starts to discover how the husband operates when he starts to get mad and can give insight to what it takes to be married to someone. It can show how even though you are married to someone you can still learn things about them, things that may be hard to deal with. I like Hokusai’s manga drawings because there is a great difference between them and the manga that we know today. Many manga today are a full story with many volumes and then even can be adapted into an anime that shares the story in a television format. However, the origin of just being random drawing is very fascinating. The random drawings that just outline people in different actions or poses give a quite simple feel compared to the complex stories that we see in manga today. J. Todd Anderson’s storyboard drawings are interesting as it tells the simple story behind scenes in a movie. I like how he brings the camera angle and frame into his storyboards and draws it exactly how he would have it shot for a movie. The knowledge of what angles and frames would look good for the scene is important in this way as he needs to know what will look good on the screen when the viewer is watching the movie. The preplanning of scenes illustrates the movie and makes it easier to shoot the movie when filming.

Homework #12

The Secret of Drawing 3 – All in the Mind . After watching the documentary generate a 250-word response and upload to Carmen. 

Raphael was a great draftsman and I feel a connection in the way I draw with his. His vast 8-meter composition is not a painting or a mural but just simply a draft. While still being complex and great it does not use any color. The focus of the advancements of man is still shown very clearly without the use of color which is something I like about it. I have never been one to use color in my drawings as I feel it takes away from the masterpiece of the linework and can distract from the meaning of the piece itself. It is also amazing how he put holes lining every single detail so it can be transferred perfectly to the fresco.

I believe the Altamira cave paintings are fascinating and while not being extremely detailed and beautiful, they still tell us a lot about history. The fact that we do not quite know if them having made these drawings could have had an established language or if they were simply not advanced intellectually and just marking what they saw on the walls of their shelter. The drawings of Nadia, a little autistic girl who was not very intellectually there, look awfully like the ones in the cave which make us wonder if the drawings were being used to communicate or if they were just that, drawings.

Thinking about artists and how dark they can be when it comes to an artwork can be disturbing. The way Francisco Goya expressed feelings coming down on an artist or how Cynthia Pell made a very graphic drawing right before she committed suicide can be a window into a very messed up mind that, without the painting, no one would have known about.

Homework 11: Response/reflection

Write a 150-word response to the work you have done in Module 4 and 5. Does the work fulfill the criteria of the modules? What are the strengths of this body of work? What could be improved upon? What did you have difficulty with?

I believe my projects for these modules fulfill the criteria of the modules and show my understanding of these styles. I believe the strengths of these projects is the creativity behind them and the idea that I had and put onto the page. However, my art skills could be better, and a better artist could have executed my idea more clearly and beautifully. Especially with module 4, I do not have much experience working with color so the strokes of the colored pencil and the way it all blends together looks messy in a way. The collage also could have been ‘clearer’ in the sections of anxiety surrounding the clarity, focal point of the project. It also could have helped to have more supplies for the collage as I was limited in what I could use. I found module 4 difficult as it was hard to think of an idea for what to draw. It took about an hour or two of experimenting to finally land on a design however, it was quite easy from that point on.

Homework 8: Response/Reflection

Write a 100-word response to the work you have done. Does the work fulfill the criteria of the assignment in terms of using perspective? Is there a sense of depth? How does the composition activate the page? What are the strengths of this work? What could be improved upon.

I believe my work fulfills the criteria of the assignment and clearly displays perspective. The way the buildings move back throughout the project and show how each is farther away than the other is clear. This also displays a great sense of depth as these buildings seem to get smaller as they extend through the piece. There are many strengths in this work such as the emphasis on building size and the way they interact with each other. The way the ground plane interacts with the buildings as they protrude from it is also a great strength. However there could still be great detail emphasized that is not there such as the detail in the windows and the ground plane.

Homework #7

Jim Shaw

Jim Shaw is an artist who focuses on the real world and things happening all around us. Born during the baby boom in Midland, Michigan he grew up with the rise of technology and economic expansion (Blum & Poe). Shaw does not have a specific one style yet covers a wide variety of media from realistic paintings to comic strips. However, his work is mainly in a realistic or surrealistic form. The focus for most of his work is American culture or world religions. Jim Shaw created a religion which can be seen through most of his works called O-ism (Paik). O-ism was a mix of many beliefs however mainly centered around the Bible with philosophy, science, and ancient culture mixed in. A series of his which is most famous is his Man Machine series. The basis of this series stemmed from the ideology that hair is a symbol of power exaggerating the wigs worn by powerful men of the past. The Man Machine series is made using acrylic on muslin which was once theatrical scenic backdrops from the 1940s and 1950s (Hong Kong Spotlight). These pieces emphasize the power of hair with facial hair popular in powerful figures from the 1890s. He then takes electronic appliances and merges them with the man’s face showing the link that is being formed between man and machine. It in my opinion also symbolizes how we become more and more like machines with the ever-growing technological industry. The fact that slowly but surely machines are replacing man in almost every job field predicting that one day, man may become obsolete. The acrylic used allows for detail in the machines while still being able to create a face and body that looks realistic. It also allows for a soft line quality and vibrant colors to make the subject of the piece stand out from its background. The soft line quality allows for a clean and seamless blend between man and machine, yet the contrast of colors shows the differences between the metallic appliance and human flesh.

Bibliography

“Hong Kong Spotlight: By Art Basel.” Simon Lee, www.simonleegallery.com/art-fairs/47/.

“Jim Shaw ” Artists ” Blum & Poe.” ” Artists ” Blum & Poe, Blum & Poe, www.blumandpoe.com/artists/jim_shaw.

Paik, Sherry. “Jim Shaw: Artist Profile, Exhibitions & Artworks.” Ocula the Best in Contemporary Art Icon., 2017, ocula.com/artists/jim-shaw/.

Homework #6

Read and watch the videos on perspective then write seven bullet points.

  • Make sure all horizontal lines are going to a vanishing point while vertical lines stay straight up and down unless in 3 point perspective.
  • You can basically copy a line already going to a vanishing point if it is close so that you don’t have to draw it all the way to the point.
  • You can use a 3 point perspective to show aerial and ground views of objects by changing where you place the 3rd vanishing point.
  • A big error when drawing in perspective is the vertical lines not being parallel with each other. This causes inconsistencies with the size of the object.
  • You can draw a cylinder by first starting with a rectangular prism then drawing an ellipse on the bottom and extending it.
  • When drawing urban buildings with lots of detail it is beneficial to draw guidelines to keep details consistent across the facade.
  • When drawing stairs in perspective the first step will appear bigger then they will seem to shrink out of view as they continue.

Homework #5

Read through the GE Assignment carefully and make a “long” list of artists that you wish to research so that you can choose who you would like to select for the GE Assignment drawing and writing component. Make sure that you do the research now so you can select an artist whose work really interests you and that you would enjoy writing about. You will soon be making a drawing in the style of the artist whose drawing style you respond to. Submit a long list of 7 artists whose work you have looked at on the list and a short response to 3 artists whose work interests you for the GE Assignment.

1.Keith Haring

I think Keith Haring’s artwork is interesting and has a very unique style to it. The cartoon-like drawings and vibrant colors he uses allows it to seem almost kid friendly yet is anything but that when you look closer. The colors and bold lines help to outline what the real message of the work is. His drawings can be viewed as sinister at times and yet he used them to advocate for things like AIDS awareness and safe sex. I also like the way he started as a graffiti artist in the underground of New York City and rose to prominence with his bold artwork.

2.Jim Shaw

I really like the realistic and almost prophetic approach Shaw takes to some of his drawings. His Man-Machine really speaks to me especially now with classes going online it is hard to tell if we are turning into machines or not. With the increasing technology machines are taking over people’s jobs as well and these works could be interpreted that the machines are taking over completely. His works really put technological advances into perspective and whether we are moving in the right direction with technology.

3.Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures are the pieces that stand out the most to me. The lifelike yet very thin figures really get me thinking about why it is that he made them so fragile and frail looking. The way the war affected his pieces is very visible and you can see that his perspective on mankind was very dull and almost that mankind had failed itself. Reducing the human figure to a tall, thin shape almost like its skeleton expressing that mankind had gone through something that it should not have. It is very clear to see that his sculptures exude a strong emotion, and you can almost feel what he was feeling as he worked the figure into what it is now.

4.Wassily Kandinsky

5.Van Gogh

6.Josef Albers

7.Jay DeFeo

Homework #3

Read the article starting on page 2 on value and write 5 bullet points that reflect points of interest in the article and make a drawing that is in the style Paule Vezelay (9.14) that explores your understanding value/shading and depicts shaded objects in the foreground and background.

  • The background and lighting can affect the amount of steps that can be seen in a value scale.
  • Limiting to a couple steps of the value scale to allow for consistency and clear values.
  • Using contrasting values to create lines instead of just drawing a clear line.
  • Value schemes are important before starting to know the exact values to use.
  • It can be useful to use only lighter or darker values to set the tone or feeling of a drawing.

Homework #2 

After watching The Secret of Drawing 1 – The Line of Enquiry generate a 250-word response including the names of at least three artists/individuals from this list whose work interests you.

Many artists are mentioned in the first episode of “The Secret of Drawing”. One artist that interested me was John Russel and his pastel moon drawings. I find it fascinating that he created his own crayons for his drawings striving to have his pieces be the closest resemblance of the moon. The detail that he could draw with a pencil perfecting the unique design of the moon is amazing and how he would only focus in on small little bits of the moon and draw them at great detail. Another artist that drew my attention was J.M.W. Turner. Turner sketched everything that he saw, and the detail he could get in his sketches while still in transit is fascinating and how he would draw what he saw almost instantly is amazing. He then got rid of the pencil and switched to paintings in which the brush was his sketch tool painting beautiful landscapes instead of people or buildings. Just looking at some of his paintings you can get lost in the wonderment of what was beyond the canvas that was then captured so effortlessly. A last artist that caught my eye in the episode is George Shaw. I like how he focused on his life instead of everything that is regarded as “fascinating”. He drew what surrounded him in his small city instead of a known structure like Big Ben in London. These drawings have their own beauty to them not usually captured by artists. The quiet, tranquility that is shown in them allows for one to feel as if their own hometown is the one drawn on the paper. The Secret of Drawing opened my eyes to art that is all around instead of just paintings like the Mona Lisa or The Scream.