Understanding Visual Art

Final Paper: Pluralistic or Noisy?

2009-04-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

We will not meet in the classroom Wednesday April 22. Instead you will do the final essay from home. That is final exam day.

For any questions concerning please email me at rachel.g. hoffman@gmail.com

Final Paper:
Pluralistic or Noisy?
One of the arguments against art forms such as collage, installation, and performance art is that in their inclusiveness--their willingness to admit anything and everything into the space of art-- they debase or even destroy art itself. From this point of view, such forms are to art "proper" as noise is to music. Write an essay that develops this analogy, keeping in mind that one person's noise is often another person's music.

Final Collage is Due April 15.. Must be here!

2009-04-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

Final Collage Project:

Create a collage that visually represents an American Ritual. Use images and colors that are associated with the ritual.

Important Dates and Extra Credit

2009-04-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hi,

The collage project will be due April 15. The final will be due April 22.

If you have missed a lot of classes and would like extra credit, you may write a post here about the Picasso movie that we saw in class. Otherwise, no homework this week. HOorAy!!

Camera Arts

2009-03-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

Option 1:
Either choose a photograph, film, or video from either from chapter on Camera Arts or something you research online. Write a reflection about it and post it here.

Option 2:
Choose a personal or family photograph from your past and write a short autobiographical story about your memory of that moment.

Midterm Exam

2009-02-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

Midterm Exam will be due at midnight Wednesday March 4, 2009 (you have one week)!

Directions: Research an Artist either from the text or from the blog postings. Find at least two sources other than text either online or books. Choose at least one work of art and write a detailed reflection. Please include at least one link to an image of the work or works that you decide to write about and cite sources with links if found online at the bottom of your post. The last paragraph should contain your opinion/reflection of the work.

*hint... some things to include in your reflection: background info on artist, context (what factors played a role in the creation of this work?), content (what is the meaning?), line, space, color, value (what is this work worth?)

Henry Darger

2009-02-18T16:44:00.000-08:00

Hello!
There is no homework this week. However, if you missed class please research Henry Darger and his Realms of the Unreal. If you would like extra credit, please post a reflection about Darger and the Realms of the Unreal here.

18th and 19th Century

2009-02-11T15:13:00.000-08:00

Read Chapter 21. Choose a work of art or architecture from the Chapter. You may use the book as a source or you may explore somewhere else not listed in the book if you are feeling curious. Do some research on a search engine and write a paragraph about what you researched. Please use descriptive language. You may include links to images if you would like. You may write about the meaning of architecture, art, or symbols from these sites.

Renaissance through the Baroque, Art in China and Japan, and Pre-Columbian Art

2009-01-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

Read Chapter 20. Choose a work of art or architecture from the Chapter. You may use the book as a source or you may explore something else not listed in the book if you are feeling curious. Do some research on a search engine and write a paragraph about that place. Feel free to use descriptive language. You may include links to images if you would like. You may write about the meaning of architecture, art, or symbols.

Places of Worship

2009-01-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

Read Chapter 19. Choose a place of worship from the Common Era or after. You may use the book as a source or you may explore somewhere else not listed in the book if you are feeling curious. Do some research on a search engine and write a paragraph about that place. Feel free to use descriptive language. You may include links to images if you would like. You may write about the meaning of architecture, art, or symbols from these sites.

Pre-Historic and Ancient Art

2009-01-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Read Chapter 18 of your book. Choose a work of art or architecture from the Chapter or online as long as it is prehistoric or ancient. You may use the book as a source or you may explore somewhere else not listed in the book if you are feeling curious. Do some research on a search engine and write a paragraph about that place. Feel free to use descriptive language. You may include links to images if you would like. You may write about the meaning of architecture, art, or symbols from these sites.

Welcome!

2009-01-07T12:57:00.001-08:00

Collage Final Project

2008-12-02T05:41:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone!

OK.. so Dec 8 the Final project will be due. We will have in class presentations of your collage. That is our last meeting date.

Final Collage Project:

Create a collage that visually represents an American Ritual. Use images and colors that are associated with the ritual.

I'm a little disappointed in the low number of postings for Paper. Please get those in!!!!

If you have any questions 813.857.4333

Final Paper: Pluralistic or Noisy?

2008-11-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

We will not meet in the classroom Monday Dec. 1. Instead you will do this essay from home. Monday Dec. 8 we will meet again. That is final exam day. Your collage will be due.

For any questions concerning these assignments please email me at rachel.g. hoffman@gmail.com

Final Paper:
Pluralistic or Noisy?
One of the arguments against art forms such as collage, installation, and performance art is that in their inclusiveness--their willingness to admit anything and everything into the space of art-- they debase or even destroy art itself. From this point of view, such forms are to art "proper" as noise is to music. Write an essay that develops this analogy, keeping in mind that one person's noise is often another person's music.

Painting and Collage

2008-11-17T14:48:00.000-08:00

Romare Bearden, The Dove, 1964

Read Chapter 12 on Painting in your book. Choose one work of art from the chapter and write a brief reflection.

No Homework This Week!!

2008-11-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

OK.. you get another week off, but if you are behind, please take this opportunity to catch up on posts.

The World As We See It

2008-11-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

The Gates project in New York City, Central Park by Cristo and Jeanne-Claude

Read Chapter One of Sayre's A World of Art. In addition to The Gates project in New York City, Central Park by Cristo and Jeanne-Claude, we consider different approaches to the landscape--works by a nineteenth-century American, a fourteenth-century Chinese, an aboriginal Australian, and a twentieth-century American--in order to see how different artists from very different times and places, respond to the same fundamental phenomenon, and the world that surrounds them.

Reflection: Rather than emphasizing differences, please write one paragraph listing some of the similarities that you observe in these very different approaches.

Midterm Exam

2008-10-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Midterm Exam will be due at beginning of class on Monday Nov. 3 (you have one week)!

Directions: Research an Artist either from the text or from the blog postings. Find at least two sources other than text either online or books. Choose at least one work of art and write a detailed reflection. Please include at least one link to an image of the work or works that you decide to write about and cite sources with links if found online at the bottom of your post. The last paragraph should contain your opinion/reflection of the work.

*hint... some things to include in your reflection: background info on artist, context (what factors played a role in the creation of this work?), content (what is the meaning?), line, space, color, value (what is this work worth?)

20th Century

2008-10-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Research a work of art from the book and lecture. Write a paragraph about the work and the art movement it belongs to? What kind of rebellion is taking place?

18th and 19th Century

2008-10-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

No Homework This Week!!

2008-09-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

If you missed class, we watched a film called "Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock". You may want to check it out to participate in a discussion next week.

The Renaissance through the Baroque, Art in China and Japan, and Pre-Columbian Art in Mexico

2008-09-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Read Chapter 20 up to the section on Mannerism. Choose a work of art or architecture from the Chapter. You may use the book as a source or you may explore somewhere else not listed in the book if you are feeling curious. Do some research on a search engine and write a paragraph about that place. Feel free to use descriptive language. You may include links to images if you would like. You may write about the meaning of architecture, art, or symbols from these sites.

Places of Worship

2008-09-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Pre-Historic and Ancient Art

2008-09-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

2008-08-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

Your first homework assignment is very easy!

Please give your name as it appears on the attendance sheet. Write a brief introduction including your major and what kind of art you are interested in.

Please get the text book for next week.

I look forward to meeting you!

GREAT POSTINGS SO FAR.. ACTUALLY I HAVE A QUESTION:

THERE IS A STUDENT LOOKING FOR A RIDE HOME FROM CLASS ON MONDAY AROUND 10PM.. LIVES OFF OF BRUCE B. DOWNS NEAR HUNTER'S GREEN.. ALSO COULD USE A RIDE TO CLASS THAT BEGINS AT 3:30, BUT RETURNING IS MORE URGENT.. IF YOU CAN HELP PLEASE CONTACT ME AT RACHEL.G.HOFFMAN@GMAIL.COM.. IS THERE ANYONE THAT COULD HELP?

Thanks!

Pluralistic or Noisy?

2008-08-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hannah Hoch, PRETTY GIRL, 1920

Pluralistic or Noisy?
One of the arguments against art forms such as collage, installation, and performance art is that in their inclusiveness--their willingness to admit anything and everything into the space of art-- they debase or even destroy art itself. From this point of view, such forms are to art "proper" as noise is to music. Write an essay that develops this analogy, keeping in mind that one person's noise is often another person's music.

Sculpture

2008-07-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

Read Chapter 14 on Sculpture. Write a reflection on a works that would be classified as sculpture in the book including a link of what you reflect on. You may write about Relief, Sculpture in the Round, Installation, Earth Works, or Performance art.

Note: We will be meeting next Monday. Wednesday we will not meet. You will be able to use this class to write and submit your paper. It will be due by midnight. I will give further instructions when we meet on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Photography

2008-07-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is a response to the DVD shown in class on American Photography and the chapter in your book on the camera arts. List at least one profound effect that photography/picture-making has had on American Life. Do you agree that as a vehicle of expression, the medium of photography has influenced what we buy, how we dress, matters of life and death, medicine, science, and war?

In addition, research a camera artist on google or other search engine. Choose one and describe why the work of this person is important to you. You may include links to images in this response.

Midterm Exam

2008-07-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

Midterm Exam will be due at beginning of class on Wednesday!

Directions: Research an Artist either from the text or from the blog postings. Find at least two sources other than text either online or books. Choose at least one work of art and write a detailed reflection. Please include at least one link to an image of the work or works that you decide to write about and cite sources with links if found online at the bottom of your post. The last paragraph should contain your opinion/reflection of the work.

*hint... some things to include in your reflection: background info on artist, context (what factors played a role in the creation of this work?), content (what is the meaning?), line, space, color, value (what is this work worth?)

Your Opinion

2008-07-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

After watching Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock in class, what do you think about the painting. Do you think it is an authentic Pollock? How do you feel about the artist's work? Do you think Teri Horton should sell it for a lower amount than what she thinks it is worth? (fifty million)

Renaissance, China and Japan, and Pre-Columbian Art in Mexico

2008-07-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

The World as We See It/Percieve It

2008-07-09T16:52:00.001-07:00

Places of Worship

2008-07-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Binu shrine, Bandiagara escarpment, Mali, West Africa

Due Wednesday:

Read Chapter 19. Choose a place of worship from the Common Era or after. You may use the book as a source or you may explore somewhere else not listed in the book if you are feeling curious. (If you notice the image above, I was feeling curious so I researched this shrine in West Africa.) Do some research on a search engine and write a paragraph about that place. Feel free to use descriptive language. You may include links to images if you would like. You may write about the meaning of architecture, art, or symbols from these sites.

Ancient World

2008-07-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Choose one work of art from Chapter 18, and do a little extra research about it online. Then create a fictional story (a paragraph is fine)about a time machine. Pretend that you have traveled back in time and discovered that work of art or architecture. What did you see. Give a paragraph report.

Have a great 4th of July. Be safe!!

Welcome Summer Session!

2008-06-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Please give your name as it appears on the attendance sheet. Write a brief introduction including your major and what kind of art you are interested in.

Grades Are Posted!

2008-05-07T09:52:00.001-07:00

Thanks everyone. Grades are posted now. Any questions... rachel.g.hoffman@gmail.com

Have a wonderful summer!

Final Exam: Pluralistic or Noisy

2008-04-28T14:02:00.001-07:00

This is your final exam due no later than 10p.m. on May 5 2008. Class will not meet on campus so you can do this at the library or from home.

Thanks, it has been a great semester. This is your exam:

Pluralistic or Noisy?
One of the arguments against art forms such as collage, installation, and performance art is that in their inclusiveness--their willingness to admit anything and everything into the space of art-- they debase or even destroy the art itself. From this point of view, such forms are to art "proper" as noise is to music. Write an essay that develops this analogy, keeping in mind that one person's noise is often another person's music.

NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEK

2008-04-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Ok.. so next week is review for final and an in class art project. If you would like you can bring magazines or images that you would like to use for drawings. We will be working with a process called graphite transfer, which is a little bit like using carbon paper to transfer an image on to a new piece of paper.

Your Opinion

2008-04-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

Read p. 156-157 Works in Progress about artist Jackson Pollock

After watching Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock in class, what do you think about the painting. Do you think it is an authentic Pollock? How do you feel about the artist's work? Do you think Teri Horton should sell it for a lower amount than what she thinks it is worth? (fifty million)

Making Connections

2008-04-07T13:34:00.001-07:00

Matthew Barney, Cremaster 4, 1994

Read Chapter 8

Matthew Barney's five-part cycle of films, Cremaster Cycle surreally combines sports, biology, sexuality, history, and mythology. Research Matthew Barney on search engine to refresh your memory about the film we saw in class today. Write a short reflection explaining Barney's interconnected organically evolving world. Does his work reference or share similarities with works of art from other times and places? List at least one example of a related work of art and try to include at least one link to images that illustrate your point.

questions: rachel.g.hoffman@gmail.com

Cultural Color

2008-03-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Research the cultural meaning of a color in a society that exists now, or from the past. You can use works of art, advertising, clothing, et cetera to illustrate. You may choose something from your own culture or subculture if you wish. Write a paragraph describing what you found about color meanings in research.

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance

2008-03-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

In class, we watched the film Koyaanisqatsi which is a Hopi word meaning life out of balance. This is the url for the film:

http://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/films/koyaanisqatsi.php

If you missed class, you should visit the website and try to do the response based on the images in the photo gallery. It will be a bit more difficult.. but please try. You may be able to find this film in a public library, so that is another option. There is a lot of info about the film on the website, including a link to reviews written about the film to give you an example. It may be helpful, but please come up with your own responses.

On the film's website, the director states, "KOYAANISQATSI attempts to reveal the beauty of the beast! We usually perceive our world, our way of living, as beautiful because there is nothing else to perceive. If one lives in this world, the globalized world of high technology, all one can see is one layer of commodity piled upon another. In our world the "original" is the proliferation of the standardized. Copies are copies of copies. There seems to be no ability to see beyond, to see that we have encased ourselves in an artificial environment that has remarkably replaced the original, nature itself. We do not live with nature any longer; we live above it, off of it as it were. Nature has become the resource to keep this artificial or new nature alive....

....The film's role is to provoke, to raise questions that only the audience can answer. This is the highest value of any work of art, not predetermined meaning, but meaning gleaned from the experience of the encounter. The encounter is my interest, not the meaning. If meaning is the point, then propaganda and advertising is the form."

Choose a passage in the film and describe what was happening and what it looked like. Write what it made you think or feel.
Some questions that came to my mind:
Were you feeling emotional or intellectually detached? Did you find meaning in the encounter? Think about nature vs. technology, time passing, permanence, or other topics that you find relevant to this film. Did you find the film to be more spiritual or scientific? or both?

Chapter 6: Space

2008-03-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

Terry Winters, Color and Information, 1998
Oil and alkyd resin on canvas, 9 X 12 ft.

Read Chapter 6

On page 113 of the text Sayre writes, "The history of modern art has often been summarized as the growing refusal of painters to represent three-dimensional space and the resulting emphasis placed on the two-dimensional space of the picture plane. While modern art diminished the importance of representing "real" space in order to draw attention to other types of reality, recent developments in video and computer technologies have begun to make it possible to create artificial environments that the viewer experiences as real space... Variously known as cyberspace, hyperspace, or virtual reality, these spaces are becoming increasingly realistic. The viewer 'enters' on such space by donning a set of goggles containing two small video monitoers, one in front of each eye.

In this technology, traditional distinctions about the nature of space begin to collapse. As a result, our sense of space is today open to redefinition, a redefinition perhaps as fundamental as that which occurred in the fifteenth century when the laws of linear perspective were finally codified..."

If you could invent and construct an electronic or four-dimensional hyperspace, describe in detail what it would be like. Think about the implications of our seeming to move in and through a two-dimensional image.. What would you call your space? What possibilities do you see for such spaces??

Exam One

2008-02-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Due no later than Monday March 11 at beginning of class. Essay exam and collage assignment. You have two weeks for this one so really put in good effort.

Part 1:
This is open book, open note, open to all search engines online.

Write your response in word processing program (like MS word for example) and cut and paste.. post here! Check spelling and grammar..

Directions: Research an Artist either from the text or from the blog postings. Find at least two sources other than text either online or books. Choose at least one work of art and write a detailed reflection including art terms discussed in Chapters 1-7. Please include at least one link to an image of the work or works that you decide to write about and cite sources with links if found online at the bottom of your post. The last paragraph should contain your opinion/reflection of the work.

*hint... some things to include in your reflection: background info on artist, context (what factors played a role in the creation of this work?), content (what is the meaning?), line, space, color, value (what is this work worth?)

Part 2:
Make a collage based on an American Ritual. You will be graded according to presentation in class.. It can be digital or cut and paste on paper.

Surface and Symbol.. reflect on a NONGRATA performance still

2008-02-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

Take a few moments to really look and then reflect on this image. Write a response beginning with what you see and then what you feel from this performance still. Use descriptive language, and if you want you may create a story of what you imagine is happening.

Reminder, no class next week for President's Day.

Announcement: NONGRATA at HYDE PARK FINE ARTS

2008-02-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

You are invited.
THIS FRIDAY night (FEB. 8) the performance group NONGRATA exhibits photography and video with live actions.
Extra Credit for those who respond (will make up for 1 day absent)

www.nongrata.ee

When?

6-12 midnight

Where?

HYDE PARK FINE ARTS
1608 SWANN AVE
TAMPA, FLORIDA

for info, you can call:
813.857.4333

American Photography

2008-02-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

This is a response to the DVD shown in class on American Photography. List at least one profound effect that photography/picture-making has had on American Life. Do you agree that as a vehicle of expression, the medium of photography has influenced what we buy, how we dress, matters of life and death, medicine, science, and war?

In addition, research American photographers on google or other search engine. Choose one and describe why the work of this person is important to you. You may include links to images in this response.

Chris Ofili Holy Virgin Mary... Your Opinion

2008-01-28T14:57:00.001-08:00

Please read Chapter 4 for homework. Next, I'd like for you to reflect this week on the lecture. What is your opinion about Chris Ofili's "The Holy Virgin"? Do you think it is "sick stuff" as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani described, or do you think Ofili raised an important point with the piece in the way he brought beauty and decorativeness together with ugliness? Do you think Ofili demonstrated the many complex factors that go into a judgement of art's value? Do you think government money should go to exhibitions with works that might be offensive to some citizens? You should decide? Why? Please give at least a paragraph reflection.

Behold Beauty

2008-01-14T14:29:00.000-08:00

Read Chapter 2 Developing Visual Literacy

Research conventions of beauty online. You can focus on the understanding and appreciation of beauty in the natural world, in Western culture, and in other cultures both past and present. Topics covered may include fashion, hairstyles, beautiful animals, and range from Aztecs to Orchids.

Compose a list of criteria for beauty (i..e., what determines a beautiful person, landscape, artwork, et cetera...)

The World As We See It/Percieve It

2008-01-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

Final Exam: Pluralistic or Noise?

2007-11-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

Hi, This has been such a great group. I've really enjoyed teaching and reading your responses and discussion all semester!

Very important: our final will be done through this blog site. We will not meet in classroom on campus. Your exam may be done from home. Directions for exam are below.

Our final exam will be an essay due on Friday Dec. 7 no later than 12p.m. Please write in a word processing program (like MS Word for example) and then copy and paste to submit to the blog.

Any questions.. you may call or write me at rachel.g.hoffman@gmail.com

Here is your Exam:

Pluralistic or Noisy?
One of the arguments against art forms such as collage, installation, and performance art is that in their inclusiveness--their willingness to admit anything and everything into the space of art-- they debase or even destroy the art itself. From this point of view, such forms are to art "proper" as noise is to music. Write an essay that develops this analogy, keeping in mind that one person's noise is often another person's music.

PS.. If you would like to check out more contemporary art, below are links to information about the places I will be exhibiting and doing performance in Miami:
http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/4908
http://fountainexhibit.com/blog/index.php/grace-exhibition-space/

Start Collecting Images

2007-11-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone... CLASS WILL NOT MEET NEXT WEEK FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. NO class Friday Nov. 23! Happy Holiday!

When we return on the 30th, I'd like to do an in-class art project. I will provide supplies, but you will need to bring some images to work from.. either from magazines or newspapers or photographs printed on the computer on inexpensive paper, or xerox copies of images. We will be creating transfer drawings using the process of Henry Darger.. fun and easy (you don't need to be able to draw, but you will need images.).. You choose your subject matter. Anything is possible from fantasy to real life stuff.. it may make a nice holiday gift! Please start gathering these images and bring to class with you on the 30th.

Our final exam on Dec. 7 will be an essay submitted to the blog. Class will not meet in room 202. You may write your entry from any location. I will be going over that in class on Nov. 20th.

Henry Darger

2007-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

Write a one paragraph reflection in response to the Work of the self-taught artist Henry Darger. You may comment on the "Realms of the Unreal" film shown in class.. or research on search engine. If you would like, you may compare/contrast to the work of another artist.

Hi Everyone Extra Credit!!

2007-11-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

Art critic Jerry Saltz will be at USF tonight, if you want to attend his lecture and post a comment about it... EXTRA CREDIT!

Tonight USF Tampa Campus in Theater 1 building!

Making Connections

2007-11-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Read Chapter 7

Matthew Barney's five-part cycle of films, Cremaster Cycle surreally combines sports, biology, sexuality, history, and mythology. Research Matthew Barney on search engine to refresh your memory about the film we saw in class today. Write a short reflection explaining Barney's interconnected organically evolving world. Does his work reference or share similarities with works of art from other times and places? List at least one example of a related work of art and try to include at least one link to images that illustrate your point.

Midterm Exam

2007-10-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

Due no later than Friday Nov. morning before class begins.

This is open book, open note, open to all search engines online.

Write your response in word processing program (like MS word for example) and cut and paste.. post here! Check spelling and grammar..

Directions: Research an Artist either from the text or from the blog postings. Find at least two sources other than text either online or books. Choose at least one work of art and write a detailed reflection including art terms discussed in Chapters 1-7. Please include at least one link to an image of the work or works that you decide to write about and cite sources with links if found online at the bottom of your post. The last paragraph should contain your opinion/reflection of the work.

*hint... some things to include in your reflection: background info on artist, context (what factors played a role in the creation of this work?), content (what is the meaning?), line, space, color, value (what is this work worth?)

Cultural Color

2007-10-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Research the cultural meaning of a color in a society that exists now, or from the past. You can use works of art, advertising, clothing, et cetera to illustrate. You may choose something from your own culture or subculture if you wish. Write a paragraph describing what you found about color meanings in research.

Remember that class will not meet on Friday October 19!

When you return on Friday the 26, collages on American Rituals are due. We will be presenting them in class. I look forward to seeing them.

Also, we will be doing in class essays for mid-term so don't forget to review chapters 1-7!

Review

2007-10-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Read Chapter 7

This week I would like you to research photographer Spencer Tunick on search engines. Choose a photograph and then write a descriptive response/reflection. Be sure to include language and concepts discussed in class and in book from over the last six weeks.

Don't forget to start collecting images for collage, due Oct. 26 at the beginning of class.

Thinking About Line.. THE TURKISH BATH by Ingres

2007-09-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Read Chapter 6.

For this week, I would like for you to reflect on Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, The Turkish Bath. This painting is a series of circles within circles. The traditional rectangular frame has been abandoned. How do the bodies in the painting reflect this circular scheme? According to the text (Sayre) the painting celebrates the five senses--touch, smell, taste, sound, and sight. How are these reflected in the composition? This is a harem scene, an imaginitive creation of Western male fantasy, but as the author points out.. the presence of the male, especially the presence of the sultan whose harem this would be if he in fact existed, is implied in two ways. Going back to the discussion on implied line, where do you think the sultan might physically stand in relation to the scene--would he stand where you, the viewer, stand? And what details of the scene also express his power and control?

Please submit your analysis in writing.

The Holy Virgin by Chris Ofili.. Your Opinion!

2007-09-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Please read Chapter 5 for homework. Next, I'd like for you to reflect this week on the lecture. What is your opinion about Chris Ofili's "The Holy Virgin"? Do you think it is "sick stuff" as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani described, or do you think Ofili raised an important point with the piece in the way he brought beauty and decorativeness together with ugliness? Do you think Ofili demonstrated the many complex factors that go into a judgement of art's value? Do you think government money should go to exhibitions with works that might be offensive to some citizens? You should decide? Why? Please give at least a paragraph reflection.

Hi from Barinas, Venezuela

2007-09-14T03:14:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I am writing to you from Barinas. I am just got off of the plane. Barinas to do another performance called "Dreams with the Red House". Please read Chapter 4 for Homework. If you did not do an entry for last week, please submit an entry. If you have already written one, guess what.. you get the week off!! hooray!

See you next week!
Rachel

Sorry Everyone!!

2007-09-08T10:51:00.001-07:00

Hey I heard the substitute had car trouble. I apologize most sincerely. I hope you will still be able to post your reflection for Friday. Things are going well in Venezuela. My first performance was well recieved.

Hello from Caracas, Venezuela!!!

2007-09-07T05:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, I got in to Caracas really late last night.. but so far I can say that it is beautiful!! I'll try to put photos from this week somewhere on the blog so you can check it out.

OK, so here is the assignment for this week:

Please read Chapter Three. I want to stay on the topic of Visualization of Beauty. So, for your blog reflection.. Identify three works of art, across a range of time that depicts either female or male bodies. Then, identify contemporary images of men and women in advertisements, popular culture (i.e., comics, video games, film, music, et cetera...) and in contemporary figurative artworks. Have the historical works influenced cultural norms of the ideal body for the civilization that created them? How do you think standards of the ideal body have changed throughtout history?

For extra credit, you may make a collage about this topic using images discussed in reflection and present to class next week.

OK, I look forward to reading your entries!!!!

Behold Beauty

2007-08-31T05:45:00.000-07:00

Read Chapter 2 Developing Visual Literacy

Next: Please visit the site http://www.beautyworlds.com. The focus of this site is the understanding and appreciation of beauty in the natural world, in Western culture, and in other cultures both past and present. Topics covered include fashion, hairstyles, beautiful animals, and range from Aztecs to Orchids.

Compose a list of criteria for beauty (i..e., what determines a beautiful person, landscape, artwork, et cetera...)

THE WORLD AS WE SEE IT/PERCEIVE IT

2007-08-23T11:25:00.000-07:00