... Guess what!!...

Here are two more video reviews!

The video Expressionism explores the emotions that are expressed in the art style Expressionism. Many paintings such as Ashes, or Scream by Edward Munch, use colors and facial expressions to create emotions within the painting. This emotion is a pessimistic view of woman, passions, and the world. He once said “In my art I tried to clarify life and its meaning to me”. This is perfect example of the definition of Expressionism. Similar to Munch, the German artist Osloo Franz Marc’s uses color to express emotion. The Blue Horse is an example of color used to take a subject of out its natural environment and transport it into its own world. A blue horse is not natural in the real world, which is exactly what Marc wants to portray. Expressionism also uses abstract forms which can make objects resemble another symbolic object or to dull the shape to enforce the meaning behind the object. Die Brucke Kirchner’s work shows how an artist’s style is able to change throughout the years. A painting of his peers uses a blue color scheme and somewhat realistic faces. However when he moved to Berlin his style changed to short brush stokes as well as jagged and pointed forms as seen in Five Woman in the Streets. I chose this video because I wanted to learn more than what I read within the chapter. Also, I found it very interesting to see different artist pieces that use the same style. Comparing the art works make understanding expressionism easier because I am able to see how and why the artist chose to express himself in that way. I believe this video was very insightful.

The video Dada and Surrealism explores the two styles, the artist who created to art, the worldly situations that influenced the art, and the materials that were used. Dada is anti everything, especially war. Much of the Dada work was done in and after World War 1. Kurt Schwitter denied he was a Dada artist, however his work reflects the basic elements of the art style. His collage Merbild 25 used paper clippings, a name of a politician and an old tin can lid. Dada is used as a revolt against modern society and glorifies the everyday items. Schwitters used these objects not to conform to Dada but what he could find after Germany was brought to destruction because of the war. Surrealism is an art form that is unnatural and is meant to explore to deepest darkest layers of the human unconscious. This can be seen in Salvador Dali’s The Burning Giraffe. This painting is of abstract human forms with drawers on their legs and is held up by stick supports. This is a vision from a nightmare and pictures civilization as it reached decay. The landscape which is seen in many of Dali’s paintings derive from his own home in Northern Spain, however here it is turned into a barren waist land. I thought this video did a very good job in explaining the meaning and craziness behind the Dada and Surrealism movements. Every detail was examined and combined showed the hidden message behind the abstract paintings. The symbolism used in each movement reveal details about the artists feelings about the current time they were living in and their opinions. I thought this video did a great job taking the information within the chapter and relating it to various artists of the time. I like to gaze upon Surrealism paintings because they are always so mysterious to me and I like to try and figure them out. I though this video was very inspiring and I especially enjoyed the segment on Dali.

... Hands!...

For this project I was asked to sketch each of my hands. I am not a good drawer, however I do try! I created this picture with a charcoal pencil and a piece of computer paper. Here are my hands:

I started with the left hand because my right hand is the dominant hand. I think I did a pretty good job at getting the basic shape of my hand down. Drawing my right hand was very difficult. I do not have a strong control over my left hand and it was hard to begin drawing my right hand. I had to erase more than I had to when drawing my left hand. It was uncomfortable at first, however I was able to slow down and get a somewhat basic outline of my hand. I did a better job drawing when I was drawing with my dominant hand than when I was drawing with my non-dominate hand. I enjoyed the challenge of drawing with my left hand and I would like to start using it more so I can have more control over both hands.

... My Mask...

These are the masks that I found inspirational:

When I was looking for masks I googled American Indian Masks. I did this because I am a Tuscaroran and when I have an opportunity to explore my roots more I go for it. I like these masks because the bold, outlined color on the mask gives it body and livelihood. The lines used on these masks are thick and each mask is symmetrical which gives the pieces balance.

For my mask I decided to do a turtle mask. The turtle is a part of my clan and is a part of my life through my Grandmother and my father. Here is my sketch:

Here is my final mask:

I made this out of a paper plate and smaller paper plates. Then I painted it with acrylic paints. I liked the dark think lines present on the inspirational masks so I used them to highlight the eyebrows and mouth. I used green, phyllo green, and lemon yellow to shade the mask. I put phyllo green semi-circles around the edge of the mask to create texture, they are supposed to resemble scales. I made each side as symmetrical as possible to create balance within my mask.

I have never made a mask before so this is my first experience. I like to express my ethnicity through my artwork, however I feel this resembles a mutant ninja turtle more than a Native American mask. I am fine with this because I used to watch that show all the time so this mask is also embracing my past. I love being creative and this project was fun to complete!

... My thoughts about the Universe...

JUST KIDDING! Here are some more video reviews:
  The video Buddhism is about the conception of the religion, the sacred places and objects that were created by people of the past, and how to reach enlightenment through the eightfold path. Buddhism is a religion that practiced attachment to material goods which will enlighten the soul and end the cycle of life, death, and rebirth into nirvana. My favorite quote from Buddha was “all compounds will wear out, walk out your own way with diligence”. Buddhist art and architecture played an important role in Buddhism because temples were used to pray and meditate and stories where told through reliefs and sculptures. Temples would often use gate ways to tell stories of Buddha, who was mainly shown in animal form, and stories of his life and journey to enlightenment. The reliefs were supported by two wooden post that gave the structure support. I thought this movie helped support the information within the chapters and it made understanding the connection between the art and architecture used and the religion of Buddhism. I chose this video because I am very interested in the religion. I believe detaching your self from all the material goods that are offered today can bring enlightenment. Cell phones, televisions, and computers are all objects that distract people from everyday life. Without these distractions one is able to see the beauties and wonder of the nature world and are one step closer to enlightenment.

The video Hinduism discussed the origin of Hinduism, religious ceremonies, and art and architecture that is connected to this religion. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion which can be seen by sculptures, murals, and paintings that tell the story of the gods and goddess. Hindu temples are small and are more like shrines; however they are always decorated with sculptures of gods and goddesses. Similar to Buddhism, Hinduism believes that life has been going forever and will continue with birth, death, and reincarnation and detachment to the material world will release you from this cycle. Everything in Hinduism is symbolic, such as the Ganges River symbolizes life and death, the endless cycle. At the end of the Ganges River there is a relief that describes the story of the miracle. This story is about a holy man asking the goddess Shiva to bless the people of Earth with a river that will nourish them. This is carved right into the rock face and contains sculptures of people, animals, and the goddess herself. This symbolic stone sculptures continue into caves where the natural formation of the rock is turned into Hindu art. A major leap forward in Hindu architecture is when shrines were made out of stone instead of wood. Many of the techniques of building and ornaments such as reliefs were translated into stone work. I found this video to be very insightful when relating the art and architecture to the Hinduism. It was nice to read about this religion in the book and see how the sculptures directly relate the Hinduism in the video. I chose this video because I did not know much about this religion and I found it very interesting and insightful.

... Videos continued...

After watching the video Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance, I am able to understand the impact the Renaissance had on da Vinci and how da Vinci have an influence on the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452, on the 15^th of April, which was in the midst of the Renaissance. From a very early age he began to show desires of comprehension and studies nature, human movement, and the motion of the soul. He was the first to make a landscape the focal point of a painting. Da Vinci goes from the fine arts to mechanical arts, studying machines in order to make them better. He illustrated the machines and its parts then builds them. Da Vinci was able to be a complete artist, learning drawing, painting, sculpture, and mastering mechanics. Music also played an important role within da Vinci’s life. I found this movie insightful and allowed me to get into the mind of a Renaissance artist. Leonardo da Vinci was an incredible man with many talents which he expressed through every medium. I found this movie gave me the inspirations and muses that the Renaissance artists used during this time. Hearing personal accounts straight from the writings of da Vinci allowed me to understand what type of person he was and how he was able to conceive such a large collection of writings, paintings, and blue prints. I picked this video to watch because I have always been interested in da Vinci and his life.

In the video The Drawings of Michelangelo, went through the drawings that Michelangelo did in order to start his master pieces. These drawings were the beginning stages of his master pieces, however they reveal more than the finished pieces of art. Michelangelo destroyed many of his drawings because he was a perfectionist and he did not want anyone to see his hesitations and mistakes. Through his drawings I am able to see the influences and similarities Michelangelo had with other artists of his time. The drawings open up the mind of Michelangelo. They show how he thought, prepared his works, and how he liked to draw. This video related to the chapters because it discussed the ideal body, the preparation and execution of a piece of art, and how the artist was influenced by many people and cultures when training and producing art. I picked this video because like da Vinci I am very interested in Michelangelo’s work because he was such a talented man. He was able to draw, paint, and sculpt a human body so life like as well as taking careful consideration about where the sculpture will be placed and the light that will hit the piece.

... even more VIDEOS...

The video A Word Inscribed: The Illuminated Manuscript discussed the tradition and importance of monks, artists, and booksellers in medieval times. Many people could not read or write in the middle ages, except for monks. The only ones that could read and write were monks because the monasteries were the intellectual centers within the time. Each book was copied by hand in bad conditions. The main objectives of the monks were to preserve and pass on the information within the books saying, “Writers write so the future may learn”. Reprinting a book would take years and the monks had to withstand sitting for hours. Books did not only contain writings of past and present knowledge, but were decorated by artists of the time. The pictures in the luxury books would depict riddles and situations the artist found fitting. The scribes, artists and booksellers had a playful and symbiotic relationship. Each book was carefully written, decorated by scenes, and sold by popular booksellers. This movie was insightful when it can to the passing of knowledge from one age to the next. I chose this movie to watch because I was aware that these fancy books that were created but I was unaware of the history behind them. I now see how the monks dedicated their lives in order to complete books in perfect form. Artists were able to create humors scenes and poke fun at the scribe in some books. This view inside a monk’s world and reading chapter 14 and 15 in the book allows me to have a better appreciation for what they went through in order to make these works of art.

More Human Than Human is a video about the relationship between art and humans. Art is an expression of feelings, reality, and the spiritual world. The perception if the human eye and the vision the human brain allows us to see is what makes art so fascinating.  The Venus of Willendorf is a prime example of how early humans made unrealistic representations of other humans. This figure is very non proportional, having the woman’s mid-section and breasts are emphasized and the arms and face are nonexistent. One theory for this exaggeration in the human form would be to emphasis the desirable body parts. Since the hunters and gatherers were living in an ice age, larger, fattier bodies were more desirable. Egyptians were the next civilization that used the human body in most of their art pieces. However, the Egyptian depictions of humans were very proportional to the natural human body. This being said the drawings of Egyptians are still very unrealistic when it comes to the human body. Egyptian painters and carvers would carve each limb, head, and body in its clearest form. The head is profile while the fount of the body is shown. This is because each human figure was designed and produce by a grid system. When many different carvings were compared using the same grid, they all matched. This is consistent with the order and consistency the Egyptian people lived their life with. This is different from the Paleolithic interpretation of the human figure because this way of designing was based from the Egyptian culture. The Ancient Greek civilization developed a whole new vision of the human body. They believed that gods and goddesses took human form and when they did they have perfect bodies. Therefore people of that age were not shy about showing they figures, which can be seen in many realistic sculptures. It was not until the Greeks and the Egyptians started trading and exchanging ideas such as masonry when the ancient Greek sculptures began to become life size and more realistic then ever. But when realism became too boring it was only natural for the Greeks to exaggerate the human form. This led to sculptures that were well defined, muscular, and detailed, but in no way could ever be a real human form. I thought this movie explained the evolution of the human form in an artistically way in a very different approach. Picking up on key details and thinking like the people who made the art pieces reveal what kind of culture they live in and how they view the natural world. I think this evolution of art was complimentary with chapters 14 and 15 in the book. Reading the history behind the art works and seeing the theories and developments within the human race make understanding the value of art much clearer.

... More MOVIES...

The key concepts in the movie Last Call for Planet Earth: Sustainable Development and Architecture are the fight against global warming and how through architecture we can stop this change in climate and destruction to our planet. Energy can be reduced by 20-30% by building energy efficient buildings out of planet friendly materials and energy efficient equipment. Green architecture is the only way we as humans can continuing living on this planet because it will ensure harmony between humans and Earth. By building homes that have strategically placed windows to follow the pattern of the sun in order to heat the structure is a simple way to build green. However the modern technology we have to capture solar or wind power should be used in every building, because the way we harness and use energy currently is killing out planet. The green architecture movement can be applied to homes as well as cities. As stated in the movie 75% of all carbon emissions happen within cities. In order to stop this, a city must be conceptualized to be a city that works from the planet, being charged by the sun capturing solar energy and understanding that sustainability is the balance between what is saved and what is wasted. I thought this movie was very insightful expressing ideas on how to become a sustainable race, and all the different techniques and innovations architects have thought of which will bring us closer to symbiotic relationship with our planet. I chose this video because I agree very much with the idea of living with and from the planet. I believe our race has separated itself from the planet, being trapped by all the material goods and useless technology we have created. Planet Earth is the only planet that humans are able to survive on; therefor it is all of our jobs to keep this planet healthy and living. The road we are on now is destroying our only home we have in this universe. By living a simpler life, using less and reusing more, and buying and selling locally will help our planet recover from the destruction we have caused.

The second video I have chosen to watch is called Architecture: The Science of Design. The key concepts within this movie are the development of cities in response to new materials, over population, and techniques of constructing. The sky scraper is made up in two parts, the super structure, which is the main part above the ground and the substructure, which is the support system in the foundation. The substructure must support the deadweight, which is the weight of the interior shell, and the living weight, the items that fill the spaces, as well as battle the outside environment. This movie also bright to light the technologies and techniques used to plan and develop a high rise building within a certain area. One technique used in planning a high rise building within a city is to build a small scale model of the building and the city. With this the building can be tested to see if it will be able to with stand winds and other natural occurrences it might have to undergo within that area. A probe is then circulated around the building and its surroundings to collect data which is then transferred to a computer to be analyzed. This technique is used to find out what structural form the building must have and any other characteristic the building must have in order to be safe and sound. I found this movie helped reinforce the principles of architecture described in the book and bring to life the ideas and conceptions behind ancient and modern day architecture.