special edition blog 2 - Modern museum

Hi, this is Jade and I'm reporting on the second half of my museum journey: the Modern Museum. Before I begin, I have a photo of myself examining the piece of artwork that greeted me at the beginning of the Modern museum and our professor in the middle of discussing what we will be seeing in the Modern museum:

Moving right along to what I thought were examples of craft, composition, and concept:

Craft-

 This piece is particularly interesting, craft-wise, specifically because of the medium used. The mixture of paint and sand created a rough surface on the canvas. By adding the sand in the paint, the artist was able to convey a clear depiction of the woman in the desert.

Composition-

 In this painting, there are many things going on that influence the composition. First is the distinct diagonal triangle that controls the viewers' eye mostly on the space between the left-bottom corner and the right-top corner. Second, the colors and amount of saturation concentrated along the strip between those two corners makes the viewer concentrate more on the areas that are brighter. Third is the number of figures that are condensed on one side of the painting whereas the other half is mostly flat with almost no figures that stand out, keeping the viewer more interested in the condensed side. Lastly, the use of large to small figures affects the depth of the painting and controls the viewers' eye to move from the large images of the people in one corner all the way to the burning giraffe in the opposite corner. Also, with the close up of the woman and man, both point fingers towards the giraffe which encourages the viewer to look where the fingers are pointing towards.

Concept-

This piece is a nice example of a conceptual piece because of the phrase that is under the image of the pipe. In French, it says, "This is not a pipe" with a picture of a pipe hovering over the phrase. The artist was being clever in showing how concrete or abstract words can be in which there may be an image of a pipe but the image cannot be used like a real pipe. The artist also demonstrates how other artists can create illusions through their talents in paint but no matter how realistic an object may look like, the object is still on the canvas.

Special Edition 1 - Classic Museum

Hello, this is Jade reporting in on my trip to the art museum. For this blog, I will talk about the classical part of the museum and what I thought were good examples of craft, composition, and concept.

Before I begin, here's a lovely photo of our professor pointing out a piece of artwork for the sake of our assignment:

Craft-

 During the trip to the museum, there were several impressive oil paintings that were focused on still-life work, specifically fruit. In a similar manner, the subject used in this painting is a dinner set that was partially used and left to capture the realism of the painting. Focusing on craft, the artist did an excellent job capturing the soft and hard shadows in the linen, dishes, and food. The artist was able to create the illusion of 3-D through the use of shadows and value throughout the painting. Upon closer examination, as shown below, the artist made sure to include tiny details that would enhance the realism of the dinner set, from the crumbs falling from a slice of pie to the peel of the lemons sitting on the plate. The reflection of the lemon on the plate and the light glares were also another way to create the illusion of realism.

Composition-

This piece, representing something similar to the passover of Jesus and His disciples, utilizes composition well to have the audience view the piece a certain way. First, the space between the two other disciples where the top of the table can be viewed is deliberate in order to invite the viewer to be a part of the scene. In other words, the viewer is invited to sit among Jesus and the other disciples. Second, because of that negative space between the disciples, the viewer can either follow the line of  ascending heads towards the left or the right which would lead to the person sitting at the head of the table, Jesus. The two disciples being so distinguishable up front versus the disciples being more congested as the viewer looks closer at the center of the painting becomes a way for the artist to control the viewers' eye. Third, in order for the artist to make sure the viewer stops their eye on Jesus, the artist included a steeple of a church building behind and above Jesus' head, forcing the viewer to look upward and possibly Jesus' face.

Concept-

This piece was interesting, concept-wise, because of the historical background of when this piece was made and parts of the scenery that was appropriate in two different regions of the world. The time period is between the American Revolution and the Civil War. There is an interest in the Mediterranean architecture, not just because of its style but what kind of societies came from the Mediterranean, like the Romans and Greeks. The governmental bodies were strong and powerful which is something that Americans may have aspired to be one day. The suggestion that the piece is a focus on government and America is the obelisk that is sitting in the center of the blue negative space in the painting. The obelisk is clearly being emphasized, despite being the smaller part of the painting. Another point to add is that the obelisk looks much like the Washington monument. Using the pieces of architecture in the same painting may be the artists' way of wanting to glorify America in the same way the Romans and Greeks were. Another possible message is that America's governing body and society may be small but with time, the country will one day become large, regal, and thriving.

This wraps up the first part of the museum journey. As I wrap this blog up, here's a photo of me standing in front of an O'Keeffe painting that could be last seen before entering the Modern museum:

Radios

Craft-
Although flash would have been nice to get rid of the yellow light in the image, I wanted to avoid any glare that may reflect back at me if I used flash. I took the shot without manipulating the background. I made sure to be level with the radio as well.

Composition-
The plant's stem is a nice way to lead to the radio's center dial and then to the rest of the radio. The cage at the bottom also subtly leads one's eye towards the radio since the bars slightly point towards the radio.

Concept-
The radio, having the existence of a piece of machinery, wanted to get in touch with nature. Although the radio was unable to reach the outside world, the radio received security in a plant that was kind enough to outstretch its' leaves towards the radio in order to comfort the radio.

Army of Men

Craft-
Using a previous cut out image of a person, I transformed the image to a very large size and duplicated the layer several times until the background was completely covered. Next, I shrank the very large image and moved it to the far right, putting the saturation level to the lowest level, -100. As I added a smaller version of the person on top and beside the previous layer, I increased the level of saturation by +20.

Composition-
Using the shape and saturation, I can control the viewer's eye to move from the right to the left. As saturation increases, the viewer's eye follows the slope all the way to the small person, similar to an arrow pointing to the corner.

Concept-
Harper: More bars in more places, minus the phone service.

multiplying Harper

Craft-

Once when I renamed the layer, I isolated the person in a previous image using the quick selection tool. I made sure to touch up on edges that were either left out or needed to be a part of the isolated person. After isolating him, I inverted the selection which selected the background instead, making it easier for me to delete the background, leaving the checkered marks on the background. Then, I continued to duplicate the person by dragging the layer to the new layer button, creating a copy. Afterward, I made sure to move the copied image off of the previous layer, spreading out the numerous amounts of Harper's to the point of completely filling out the background. Next, I selected one of the copies made, enlarged the image, created a duplicate layer (but made sure to leave the layer on top of the original image this time), went to the layers section on the toolbar, clicked on motion blur, adjusted the speed to about 400+, and dragged the blurred image behind the person, making it appear as though the person was moving fast. I also clicked on the original enlarged image, went to layers, and selected paper edges to create contrasting black and white shades on the person, enhancing the motion.

Composition-
There is a large amount of repetition in the image due to duplication. Since there is one part of the image that is larger than the rest of the image, it is easy for one's eye to travel to the large one first before wandering to the rest of the image.

Concept-
Like a racehorse, Harper had to pee badly, increasing his speed at incredible rates. He was able to move so fast, he created duplicates of himself in the background.

Make it pop

Craft -
For this image, I opened a previous image used during the second week and altered the image using photoshop. For the background image, I went to the toolbar and clicked on image, adjustments, and black & white. After I renamed the background image, I added another layer and then placed it under the background image. I clicked on the box and selected a dark red color, and then I colored layer 1 with the selected color using the bucket icon. Then, I went to the background image, clicked on the side toolbar labeled "layers," and then selected "multiply."

A second layer was added, placing it below the background image layer. Switching the color in the box, I selected a bright yellow color for use in layer 2. I used the quick selection tool to isolate the hat from the rest of the background. Then, I used the paint bucket to fill in the selected area. After quickly saving it and reopening it, I cleaned up the areas that were missed by the selection tool by zooming in on the hat brim, and then I used the eraser tool for removing the yellow color that did not belong to the image. Likewise, I used the paint brush tool to add extra color on the edges I missed. For the eraser tool and paint brush tool, I used a hardness level of 100% and round brush shape, adjusting the size of the brush when needed.

Composition-
Due to the nature of the image, one's eye travels straight to the hat since it stands out. Then, one's eye travels down to see the face covered, the rest of the body, and the props set up in the image.

Concept-
Harper wanted to portray himself as a lover of Chinese cuisine which can be best achieved through presentation.