My Personal Logo

     Creating a personal logo was a fun challenge.  In the process I learned more about logos and their creation.  Logos should reflect the personality (likes and interests) of the person or company that it represents.  It should make use of the elements and principles of design in order to communicate a message and evoke the right feelings in the intended audience.  The most important aspects should be emphasized.  My design idea changed a few times before I even began sketching anything.  My ideas flowed, primarily, from my brainstorming and writing about my personal likes and interests.  I made use of color, balance, form, and implied and actual lines.  I used pencil to trace my design before coloring it with watercolors.  I used some red colored pencil and red watercolor for the cross.  The tip of the pencil is colored with pencil, but the rest of the design was colored with watercolor.  The most important discovery I made was that watercolor can be manipulated in the sense that water on a brush can be used to move the paint around and lighten the color after it has been applied.  I used this technique with the flower.  I consulted several resources before creating this logo.  The most significant thing I learned was from the book D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself, edited by Ellen Lupton.  In it, Mike Weikert writes, "Picture your favorite T-shirt...your fresh haircut, and the big green bowl you bought on eBay...Now, imagine taking these elements and distilling them into a single graphic representation that expresses your most distinctive characteristics," (109).  This statement greatly helped me decide on a design.  The video Graphic Design: What's in a Logo? (http://digital.films.com/play/5DY94N) was helpful.  The video Bottled Up: Repackaging the Brand (http://digital.films.com/play/6ZFKNR) was interesting but not particularly helpful for this assignment.  

References:

Lupton, Ellen. (Ed.). (2006). D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Albright-Knox Visit

I took these photos at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY and obtained the specific information on each artwork from the signs displayed by them.

1.     George Segal.  (American, 1924-2000).  Cinema, 1963.  Made of plaster, illuminated Plexiglas, and 

metal.  

        The sculpted man is about 6 feet in height.  The screen is about 6 feet tall and 5 1/2 feet wide.  Each letter seems to be over 1 foot high and about 9 inches wide.  

        This work of art caught my attention.  I saw it out of the corner of my eye, and I thought this was a real person.  It's almost as if the work of art is making itself.  It was fun to examine this piece.  The man looks quite life-like.  It made me wonder why this scene was given importance and replicated.  It was probably due to the impact of the cinema on the American society.  For decades the cinema has been a source of entertainment for the whole family.  It has given people of very different walks of life a shared interest and has gathered community members together.

2.     Andy Warhol.  (American, 1928-1987).  Mao Tse Tung, 1973.  Set of ten color serigraphs.  Edition of 250.

        Each of the 10 prints seem to be about 2 1/2 square feet in area. 

        I would like to know more about these prints which make up this one work.  Could the different colors represent Tse Tung's different moods or actions or differing opinions of him?  What is the significance of the squiggly lines that appear in different places and shapes in each print?  Do they represent his different thoughts or moods?  Why are the lips emphasized using different colors?  Is it to remind viewers of the words he spoke?  Were these prints modeled after a photograph?  The repeated images remind viewers of political propaganda.

3.     Andy Warhol.  Untitled.  From the portfolio Ten Works X Ten Painters, 1964.  Screen Print.  Edition 395/500.

       This print seems about 1 1/2 feet long and 1 1/4 feet wide.

       The sign near this print tells viewers more about this work.  It is based upon a photograph taken by Charles Moore in May, 1963 of the race riots in Birmingham.  This is an upsetting image that evokes strong emotions.  This work impacted me because it shows an actual event.  It is very similar to a photograph.  The African-American man is being bitten by a police dog.  Another police dog is lunging at him, and he is surrounded by police, one of whom is holding what looks like a club.  Other African Americans look on in sadness and concern.  One man, who seems to want to intervene on behalf of the surrounded man, is held back from doing so.  Even without much background information about this image, it still is upsetting.  It makes viewers wonder why all of this action taken against this man.  Was this injustice due to racial prejudice?    

4.     Nicholas Krushenick.  (American, 1929-1999).  Iron Butterfly, 1968.  Made of ten color screen prints on rag content board stock, edition 56/125.

        Each of the 10 prints seem about 2 1/2 feet high and 2 feet wide.

        I can identify with this artist, since I especially enjoy using bright, bold colors when creating art.  I also like to use simple shapes to create patterns.  This artist uses many bold, parallel lines, sharp angles, circles, and curves.  He only uses a few colors for each print, and he does not vary the value of these colors.  He used a vanishing point in one print to direct the eyes.  The bold, bright colors are what primarily captured my attention and interest.  One young girl was also admiring this work, possibly for the same reason.

5.     Anne Arnold.  (American, born 1925).  Charlie, 1969 and Charlotte, 1971.  Acrylic on canvas over wood.    

        The pig seems to stand about 2 1/2 feet off the ground, be 3 feet long, and 2 feet wide.  The cat looks about 4 1/2 feet high and 2 1/2 feet wide.

        I can relate to this artist in that I share her interest in animals.  These two sculptures somewhat emphasize the shapes of the cat and pig.  The cat has no tail, but otherwise these somewhat represent their actual shapes.  The coloring of these sculptures is also quite realistic.  The way the two are arranged is amusing.  I am not sure if this was the artist's vision or not, since they were completed in separate years.  The placement of this work in the museum also adds to the experience of it.  It is positioned at the top of a staircase, and it is a surprise to viewers as they come up the stairs.  It is also attention-getting since the animals are larger-than-life in scale.  When viewers walk around or past this scene, it is almost like walking past the encounter of these animals.  

6.     Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi.  (Scottish, 1924-2005).  Japanese War God, 1958.  Bronze.

        This sculpture is about 5 feet high and 8 inches deep.

        I would like to know more about this work.  What message might the artist have been trying to communicate?  Did the Japanese actually worship a god of war?  Was this symbolic of the artist's view of the Japanese's conduct in battle? What do the long, rectangular and other shapes that cover this image represent?  Are they the weapons of war or the wreckage left behind after war?  This piece has areas that look like broken down, hollowed out spaces.  The image seems to be walking or moving, persevering in his mission.  Does this communicate that the Japanese war god does not veer from his course, even if he is falling apart?

Creating a Value Scale and Color Wheel

     When I began to create the value scale, using charcoal, I thought it would be impossible to achieve the lightest colors.  I began with the darkest color (black) and gradually worked to the lightest.  I used a soft charcoal pencil for about 2/3 of the boxes.  I found that crosshatching produced an even color and also allowed for more coverage of the paper and darker values.  When I got to the lighter values, I no longer used crosshatching, but I moved the pencil in one direction only to keep the color light.  For the last few boxes, which had the lightest values, it occurred to me to rub thin layers of soft charcoal onto my fingertip (from a charcoal stick) and gently rub that onto the paper.  Other tools (such as a sponge) might have produced the same effect.  I do not believe I could have achieved the lightest values using the pencil, because it was too difficult to control.  It was not an even surface to glide across the paper, but a rounded one that made it difficult to apply the color evenly.  To achieve the darker values, I had to file my pencil several times to avoid uneven pressure on the paper.

     I realized, when creating my color wheel, it was important to mix equal amount of the different colors of paint to achieve the secondary color I needed.  I used two different brands of paint.  I believe this is the reason I could not achieve black and my secondary colors were not as intense as they should have been.

     I enjoyed working with the acrylic paint more than the charcoal, because I love to look at bright colors and I prefer the smoothness of the paint to the dry, gritty charcoal.  Charcoal can be used to achieve a variety of values, but that is not as enjoyable, for me, as working with a wide variety of colors.  Charcoal easily smears, so artists must be extra careful to avoid this. 

     My most important discovery, in creating these, was that it is important to use only one brand of paint for each work or art, so that colors mix to create the secondary colors desired.

     The videos, located at the following links, were both helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByywwKtEc2o&feature=related (by Jared Bendis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=JP&hl=ja&v=LBVhPqVvi5w (by Otis College)

The most surprising thing I learned (from Jared Bendis) was that the colors that so many experts consider to be primary (red, yellow, and blue) are not necessarily primary.  He used yellow, magenta, and cyan to create red and blue.  Yellow, magenta, and cyan combine to make black, whereas yellow, red, and blue combine to make brown.  For these reasons, he considers yellow, magenta, and cyan to be the true primary colors.

References

Bendis, Jared. (2008, June 13). Color Theory 2: Paint/Pigment Primary Colors.  The Truth!!!  Video posted

     to www.youtube.com

Principes and Elements of Design/Photography Project

     Creating a Photobucket account (at www.photobucket.com) was simple.  It was a fun and challenging assignment to take 14 photographs and have each represent one principle or element of design.  I visited a park and gazed around myself for forms and locations that would work for these photos.  Sometimes an object around me quickly stood out in my thinking as a good subject for a photo.  Other times I had to search and analyze more before locating what would work.  It was difficult sometimes to set my camera to a setting that would capture an image with sufficient light.  It was cloudy when I took the photos.  A few of the photos came from locations other than the park, since I had taken a few at a different location prior to visiting the park and I did not find all of the subject matter that I desired at the park.  This exercise required me to consider the principles or elements of design to ensure that I had an adequate understanding of them.  It caused me to look at my surroundings in a different way- to consider the possible meanings that could be communicated by the images I was viewing and photographing.

    

Colors and Emotions

1.     According to Mark Getlein, in Living with Art, 10^th Ed., “[C]olors are actually

components of light…and no object possesses color intrinsically,” (90-91).  The colors that we see are the colors that are reflected by the items we are viewing.  The colors that we do not see, when we look at an object, are the colors which are being absorbed by that object (Getlein, 91).  The primary colors, red, yellow, and blue “(theoretically at least)…cannot be made by any mixture of other colors,” (Getlein, 91).  Colors associated with fire, etc. (red, orange) are classified as “warm” and those associated with water and other things (green, blue) are called “cool” (Getlein, 91).  Colors have hue (a name based on the color wheel), value (“relative lightness or darkness” [Getlein, 92]), and intensity (level of purity, where great intensity means closeness to the color wheel and no other mixed in colors).  Pigments and lights of  different colors can be mixed.  Colors have relationships with one another.  Depending on their respective placements on the color wheel, they can seemingly intensify or balance one another, for example.

             Colors can evoke feelings and emotions in viewers.  Cool colors might evoke a feeling of cold, for example.  Depending on the context in which they are used, light colors (those of a light value) can bring to mind goodness and hope, and dark colors can remind viewers of evil and despair.

2.     I am most intrigued at why certain objects absorb some colors of the spectrum and reflect others.  Without a variety of colors in our world, we would not be able to see very clearly.  Colors form implied lines, by separating objects from one another and making them clearly distinct in our eyes.  This thought reminds me of the verse from Psalm 118:23 (NKJV), “This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.”

3.     The video entitled Color (http://digital.films.com/play/RJ8PAN) emphasizes that colors express ideas and evoke feelings.  Van Gogh used color in his painting, The Night Café, to express his great dislike of this ugly café and to evoke some of the distressing feelings and thoughts that one might have while in such surroundings.  Artists intend that the colors of their works evoke specific feelings in viewers.   These feelings give viewers a shared experience as they view the art.  Not all viewers will have the same emotional response to a particular work, though.

4.     The video Feelings: Emotions and Art (http://digital.films.com/play/8HLQ96) discusses several works of art by both Jacques-Louis David and Francisco de Goya, who lived during the Enlightenment.  The paintings of David often show heroic, beautiful-looking individuals.  The paintings seem to express that people have potential to do good and achieve great things.  David uses colors of lighter values quite extensively in his paintings.  The resulting perception of light evokes feelings of hope and thoughts of goodness.  De Goya, on the other hand, uses colors of dark value extensively.  This darkness intensifies the emotional impact of his often ugly, gory images.  The dark colors evoke feelings of dread, confusion, and hopelessness.  People seem to universally experience the emotions related above when thinking about certain light or dark colors.  Many seem to agree that darkness is related to evil and light to good.  This may be partly due to the fact that darkness is the absence of color and light is the source of all colors (Getlein, 90).

References

Getlein, Mark. (2013). Living with Art. 10^th Ed. New

Considering the Definition of Art, Its History, and Neuroesthetics

1.     In the video entitled "CARTA: Evolutionary Origins of Art and Aesthetics: Neurobiology, Neurology and Art and Aesthetics"  (located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0TKYxAYGGA), neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux discusses how he believes art has evolved because the human brain has evolved (it has gotten bigger over time). Artistic ability improves over the course of one's life, since a human’s brain develops and matures. In discussing what art is, he points out that art is non-verbal communication.  It is someone’s work. It uses symbolic forms. Art is governed by certain rules that have “esthetic efficacy.” The style of an artist reveals the scope of his knowledge. Without novelty, one governing rule for art, the prefrontal cortex is not as activated as it is when something new is viewed. Another rule is symmetry.   An artist shares his understandings of the world through art.  Changeux also argues that art can lead to greater empathy. 

     In this video, neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran explains that, because of the way the brain processes visual art, the goal of art is to activate the brain so that the viewer is excited by what he sees. Vision is a very complex process.  He believes that without this complexity art could not be appreciated.  He has identified eight principles that he believes characterize most great works of art.  These principles exist because of the way the brain processes visual art.

     In the video, "Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts," (http://digital.films.com/play/M27YLB) the history of art philosophy is presented. This philosophy was shaped by prominent figures such as Plato and Aristotle.  This video touches on the problem of understanding what works should be considered art (for example, poetry, Greek tragedies, and works of fiction) and what can be considered beautiful. Georg Wilhelm Hegel, a philosopher from the 19th century, believed that there were three eras that art has moved through. These are the Eastern/symbolic era, the classical, and the romantic. The video also covered the fact that in the 20th century many artists ventured away from traditional constraints and conventions for art and began experimenting with new methods for creating art and new ideas of what art is.   Some of the more modern forms of art are dotism, cubism, surrealism, and pop art. Arthur Danto, Prof. Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University, expresses that if one truly appreciates a work of art he will incorporate it into his life such that his life will be different because of its existence.

     In her article, "What the brain draws from: Art and neuroscience," (https://bscangel.sln.suny.edu/section/default.asp?id=201320%2DAED200%2D1193) Elizabeth Landau demonstrates that art can trick the mind.  What is perceived by the eyes is not always what is the reality of the piece of art.  Artists can use knowledge of the brain to create works that are more attention-getting, interesting, and appealing. The article introduces readers to the field of neuroesthetics, which considers how the functions of the brain may dictate why certain visual artworks are considered beautiful and astounding.

2.     According to the video "Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts," Aristotle, in the 4th century B.C. recognized that order, symmetry, and definiteness are elements that make art, specifically tragedies (which are types of performances), beautiful.  He identified some principles that govern aesthetics.  Now we understand that certain principles that make art pleasing are linked to the way the brain processes visual information.  Also, he believed that emotional pleasure derived from the viewing of art was good.

3.     Understanding the science of the brain's processing of visual art can only improve the skill of artists and the enjoyment and benefits of art.  It was interesting to learn from Jean-Pierre Changeux that novelty is truly important in art, because the prefrontal cortex is not excited as much by repeated images as it is by new ones.  I am intrigued by the "peak shift" principle identified by Vilayanur Ramachandran, which is that the brain is more excited by exaggerated images than logical, "normal" ones.

4.     The video, "Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts," and the text, "Living with Art," by Mark Getlein grapples with the question of what should be considered art.  The video includes more information about how this question has been answered through the ages.  Another topic in the text that is expounded upon in some of these sources is what constitutes beauty.

5.     From the article and the "CARTA" video I learned about neuroscience in regard to the viewing of visual art.  Art should be composed with these scientific principles in mind.  The video, "Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts," provided a fuller account of the history of the philosophy of art than the text.  All three resources were beneficial in expanding my knowledge of art.