artists #8

I have been doing a lot of reading and research on Matisse this semester and it has made a large influence in the direction of my work in all of my classes. Although not a "new media" artists in the terms of this course, Matisse was very advanced and innovative in his techniques and ideas. In this piece we see his use of collage later in his career, and in terms of visual thinking I think this piece speaks volumes. We can see how the artist's eyes viewed his subject both in shape and color. Matisse stated that "making order out of chaos..that is creation" and I think that carries over into the digital world. Not only do new media artists work with classic artistic elements, but they can now use sound, programming, and computers to express how they see the world.

artists #7

The above piece is entitled "Light Rain" by new media artist Paul De Marinis. I found this work in search of artists who created projects using viewer interaction, be it active or passive. I am truly inspired by artists who produce installations that involve everyday objects and occur in everyday locations. I feel that in order to visualize these projects, the artist must truly see the world in a way that is different from the average person. I have been trying to research this type of art making, because I do not have any experience working this way, and up to this point I had only thought about my art in the 2-D sense. Even when it came to digital art, I had no experience working with 3-D images or animation. However, I don't know that I am very interested in creating art this way. I am much more of a throwback designer, enjoying more tactile ways of creating (collage with scissors, charcoal all over the hands, etc). I do however realize that this is where art and the world in general is headed, therefore I enjoy learning digital techniques and hope to resolve a way to use physical and digital media together.

artists #6

This image is Hunters in the Snow by Brueghel I had studied Brueghel in art history courses before, but came back across them when looking at ekphrastics for other courses. There is an ekphrastic poem written about Brueghel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and I began to look at Brueghel's scenes for their dynamic use of space and narrative. In terms of visual thinking, it seems there is so much going on in Brueghel's paintings. He uses depth of space and placement of characters to create a well-rounded scene that draws the viewer into the story. Other flemish paintings also created dynamic scenes for the viewer by adding elements of symbolism and caharacter interaction.

artists #5

I have done research on abstract expressionism before, but most has been focused on gestural abstraction (Pollock, de Kooning, Krasner, etc). Rothko worked in chromatic abstraction, and I came across him following my readings in "A Reading of Modern Art" by Dore Ashton. I knew of Mark Rothko's work, but I had never tied it to the influence of Matisse. Both of these artists were visionaries in using color as a means of visual thinking. It is amazing how a simple formal element, such as line, color, shape etc. can transform a piece and create a different feeling for the viewer. The 20 lines project was a great example of this. Each line by itself represented something totally different than all the lines combined. 

artists #4

For my drawing studio, I have been doing some research on Matisse and it has carried over into what we are doing in the visual thinking class. Matisse was concerned with painting how he saw the world and creating order out of chaos. his use of color was meant create order in his paintings and express his vision as an artist. However, Matisse also used color to create a pleasant feel for the viewer. At the start of the semester, I looked at art as an expression of the artists with little concern for the viewer. Art should be more of a social expression or controversial. Upon reading Matisse views of his art, I realized that the act of creating a pleasing composition meant to transport the viewer into the artists point of view, but in a pleasant way. However, it is interesting that Matisse intended his work to be pleasing and it was considered so controversial when it first showed.

art 21 videos

Sally Mann - I have discussed Sally Mann before in other classes, mostly involving controversial art and her images of children. It put a new spin on this topic to see and hear from her grown children, and to have a better understanding that the images were just their childhood and family life. As Mann said, she was just creating art to be fun, it didnt have to have some huge meaning behind it.
I liked her use of the phrase "magpie aesthetic" and the idea of using found objects in everyday life. This relates well to our scrapbook assignments. Also, it is refreshing to see an artist simply go with what grabs their attention without some hidden meaning or agenda. Sometimes it is refreshing to create art solely for the purposes of creating.

Mel Chin - His theme of consumption driving our country is absolutely correct. So it was interesting to see him building art to try and counteract some of the negative effects. I am still struggling with the concept of certain processes being considered art. But I guess the ideas presented here focus more on science as art, or construction as art. It seemed to me that the artist had an idea, such as the Detroit Nightcrawler house, and then says "ok, now that's art."
This leads to many questions that have been posed in previous classes about "What is art?" "Who decides what is art?" These questions always make for interesting discussions, because in some ways everyone is a critic and in some ways everyone is an artist.

James Turrell - You can tell that he is really passionate about his ideas of light and how it is viewed. It is a shame that his crater project is still incomplete, you have to wonder if Turrell get discouraged that it may never be finished. It seems like it would be a constantly evolving process, because light and shadow and the cosmos are always changing. Again, we were focused on the idea of architecture and construction as art.

Gabriel Orozco - It was thrilling to see the artist in his process. Like Sally Mann, Orozco sees art in everyday life and found objects. Also, I liked his idea of art being a constantly evolving hobby. Each time he changed his project focus, there was a new process and skills to be learned. I believe that this helps the artist stay on the verge of his talent, his ideas keep flowing. The contrast between his photographic style and that of Mann's was interesting. Mann spent a lot of time working in the darkroom and taking shots over and over until she felt they were done.
Orozco worked much more spontaneously. He did not have a studio and shot images with a simple camera. One shot, and whatever happens, happens.

scrapbook 9

I do not think that most people, especially in today's society, consider books to be works of art. Books are generally regarded as something needed in education, and for the lucky few consider them for pleasure. However, books are made in a creative process just like works of art. There is a high level of visual thinking involved in creating and reading literature because you have to be able to open your mind and create images in your head. I also collect vintage books because I find their covers aesthetically pleasing and I think that they create an interesting visual element when on display. This is a Victor Hugo book that I have on a decorative shelf at home.