Value Scale and Color Wheel

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

I feel like creating the color wheel and the value scale are both basic art skills. It was pretty easy to complete both of these successfully. I think the scanner did not pick up the colors and shades as well as I hoped, however it does display the basic concepts of both pieces.

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

I enjoy working with both pencil and paint. However, I am a very colorful person so I would say working with the paint was more enjoyable because it is quite colorful!

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?
Cyan definitely cannot be created. I was all out of cyan in my paint collection and I tried a million ways to make it and it is absolutely impossible. Note: Always buy cyan!

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

These videos were a lot more entertaining and the information was more informative and easier to follow than previous videos. I think the most important information was the key information we needed to complete the project successfully.

Project #1

http://s43.photobucket.com/user/lackieem01/slideshow/Elements%20and%20Principles%20of%20Art

Elements of Art

Line: I used an air vent to show how lines can be used to create more complex shapes and how it can lead the eye around the image.
Value: I used this black and clear Swarovski crystal duck to show how light has different value, I also edited the image to create more contrast from the light and dark of the image.
Forms: This is the base of a lamp. It is a three-dimensional shape that shows depth.
Shapes: This is actually a pattern on a pillow, it is a combination of lines to form square shapes.
Space: The distance between the circles and circular snowflakes shows space between objects in the image.
Color: This displays a monochromatic color scheme. It is wall paper!
Texture: This is also a pillow, however it not only shows the ribbed texture of the fabric, but the color strokes creates a texture that is only seen.

Principles of Art

Balance: The elements of this standing lamp with the shadows creates balance through symmetry and proportion.
Contrast: This is the contrast between light and dark is actually created within the threads of this sweater. The contrast leads the viewers eyes around the image.
Movement: The crossing arms are creating movement as well as the image from the point of view of the driver seat in the car creates movement.
Emphasis: The way that the text is framed, it creates an emphasis on that area of the composition.
Pattern: The texture and shapes are repeated throughout the fabric on the couch.
Proportion: The elements inside the clock are in sizes proportionate to each other.
Unity: This photograph shows the unity of the image to the message with principles of balance, movement, emphasis and proportion in harmony.

Color and Emotions

1. Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.




Color is both culturally conditioned and intensely personal. Most colors could elicit a similar variety of response. As the color of the sky and the ocean, blue is  a “cool’’ color and has been shown to have a calming effect, however blue can evoke sadness in some cultures, or order and stability in other cultures. Red could stand for violence but it could also be a regal and passionate color. Depending on the hue, shade, or intensity color can mean something different to each person.


2. What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

The theoretical aspect that color is a function of light is the most basic, but most fascinating to me. It is crazy that what we see as color is actually just an absorption of light that allows us to see that color. We just think everything is dyed or tinted to be that color, which it is, but technically it dyed with something that allows that item or liquid to absorb a specific ray of light to create that color.

3. In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

Color can make a painting feel violent. June's picture had lots of blue and lots of red. The colors were bold and because of their vibrancy they fought with each other. She ended up softening the colors, adding in more yellow, and blending the colors with white so it was more relaxed and more of a reflection of the feel in Venice.

4. In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

Goya explores the darkness in humanity and what he believed how humanity will be. The paintings are dark and depressing in the black paintings period. He was surrounded by the mad paintings which he felt was society being mad. He had nightmares coming out of his head.

Module Two

1.Key Concepts:

Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts


-What constitutes a work of art? 
-Systematic Study of art  5th century Athens [Plato] the true nature of the things we see in the world is their idea. Ideas are beyond the sense, only grasped by reason.  The idea of beauty presents itself of reason through the senses. Manifestation of something beautiful is drawn by the person themselves. Plato did not write about art, act of treason against the idea, which is copying reality which is a copy of a copy. Mistrusted poets because they spoke of things they could not know about.
- Aristotle, POETICS. Plays have beginnings, middles ends. Can be too short or too long, can be bad or can be good. Basic elementary principles of how plays can be written. Analyzed tragedy. Inferred specific rules, the three unities, action- each action should be a consequence of what came before, time frame should not exceed 24 hours, and place should be the same location.
-Renissance- Neo-classic ethetics. Leone battista alberti- principle of formal order- proportion, symmetry, harmony, order.
-Foundations from aesthetics, 18th century England. Modern system of arts- individual arts are united though imitation of nature. Joseph Addison- mark the beginning Francis Hutchinson, beauty harmony order design first systematic study. External sense help ignite internal sense. Inner sense of beauty is innate and spontaneous.
-Kant coined aesthetics. Systematic theory of art and taste- Constrained neither by natural law or moral law, brought together in imagination. The judgment of the beautiful is not rule bound, it is subjective. Can be no hard and fast principles, no exact science of the beautiful. Through the genius, nature sets rules to art. Start to romanticism.

-George Hagel- Aesthetic dialectic: eastern/symbolic, classical, and romantic. Acts are spiritualized. Argued we do not need art. Completed process of aesthetics.
-Arthur Shopenhauer- World is a fabric of appearances woven by our intellect. Music was the highest of the fine arts. Embodiment of will.
-Expression theory- art is the expression of emotion.
-Language- Willingstein,  The meaning of a word is what you give that word the meaning.
-More useful to analyze of rather than define it. Art is whatever we may call art. George Dicky, a work of art could be anything the art world designated as such.


CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics

-Changeux- Discovery of tools. Discovery of Symbolism. Discovery of artisic composition.
Genetic make up is directly connected with the evolution of art.
Processing of visual image- conscious OR non conscious reading.
Rules of art- Novelty, Universal search for harmony, Schematisaton.

-Ramachandran- Science of art?
-Eight laws of art: Grouping, Peak shift principal, contrast, insolating a single cus to optimally exite cortical visual ares, perceptual problem solving, abhorrence of unique vantage points and suspicious coincidence, art as a metaphor.


http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/health/art-brain-mind/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

- "We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies." PABLO PICASSO
- our minds know immediately if there's a clear representation of familiar aspects of everyday life, such as people, animals, plants, food or places
- concept of line drawings probably dates back to a human ancestor tracing lines in the sand and realizing that they resembled an anima
 -Our brains have a special affinity for faces and for finding representations of them (some say they see the man in the moon, for instance)
 - two major processing streams for our visual system, which Livingstone calls the "what" and "where" streams. The "what" allows us to see in color and recognize faces and objects. The "where" is a faster and less detail-oriented but helps us navigate our environment but is insensitive to color.
 -The human visual system is organized such that the center of gaze is specialized for small, detailed things, and the peripheral vision has a lower resolution
 -It turns out that we don't really notice when shadows in paintings are unrealistically placed, unless glaringly so, or when mirrors don't work exactly the way they do in real life,
-And then there's what Ramachandran calls the "peak shift principle." The basic idea is that animals attracted to a particular shape will be even more attracted to an exaggerated version of that form.
-the distorted faces of famous artists such as Pablo Picasso and Gustav Klimt may be hyperactivating our neurons and drawing us in, so to speak. Impressionism, with its soft brushstrokes, is another form of distortion of familiar human and natural forms.



2. I think that Kant's theory on aesthetics is the most important. Kant coined aesthetics. His theory is the systematic theory of art and taste. Art is constrained neither by natural law or moral law, it is brought together by imagination. The judgment of the beautiful is not rule bound, it is subjective. I think this is such a true statement. I could think one person is beautiful and someone else think that they are hideous. Beauty lies within the eye of the beholder. Kant felt that there can be no hard and fast principles, no exact science of the beautiful. "Through the genius, nature sets rules to art" means that through our own brains, our own self, that is how rules are set.


3. I think their view of art is interesting. I always thought of art as a creative form of expression and that was that. Now that art is more about our brains, I think it is less interesting (JUST KIDDING!). However, I do feel like art is taken too seriously at times, and this time is one of those. It is cool that we connect with art on a intellectual level that only genius scientists would really find super interesting. I always liked art because it was interesting. Everyone sees it differently, everyone has a different emotional attachment, and there are so many form of art that make it more interesting. Their concept of art was intriguing, but to me, it is not how I would ever view art and that is what I liked about it.The most interesting fact was that as the skull size grew, the evolution of art occurred.

4. I think that the videos and article just reinforce what is said in the reading. It helps us visually see what is being talked about and also for us to hear the different philosophies in comparison to determine which one we agree with. I think that the article connected the video of Ramachadran and how his laws of art connect to other scientists as well.

5. I think the Philosophy of Art film was great. It helped us see the evolution of philosophies of art and how art evolved like the text. However, the other video I feel we could have done without. It was really hard to understand when Changeux was speaking and his presentation was just confusing in general. That almost immediately lost my interest because I was so focused on what he was saying I was not actually listening and learning. I think the article is sufficient in explaining how the brain and art are so connected.

First Blog Post

First Blog Post

1. How was the process of creating the GMail account and setting up the Blog?

I used my personal Gmail account. I have used this in the past for other blogs I have created on blogger.

2. What do you expect to learn in this course?

I expect to learn about different artists and different genres of art. I think this class will be challenging my art skills and expanding my knowledge of arts and artists. 

3. How do you feel about taking an online course?

I think taking online classes are challenging, but fun! I think it is extremely helpful that Buff State offers online classes  for people who work full time. I like how online classes are really interactive and have a lot of visual learning aids. It makes it easy to learn.