Art History Introduction Assignment

Reading Assignment

Read the introduction in Stokstad (pp. xxix-lii) and the Starter Kit (pp. xxiii-xxviii) outlining the premises and basic concepts of art history.

Writing Assignment

Select any Western painting, sculpture, or work of architecture from Art History that is included in the chapters we will cover in this course. First, write a complete visual description of the work by analyzing its overall composition and subject matter. Strive to create a mental picture of the work so that someone who has no prior knowledge of the work or of art history can recognize it from your description. Next, write a thorough formal analysis of the work in which you discuss its formal elements (i.e., line, color, texture, space, and composition) and utilize relevant art historical vocabulary to discuss its style, medium, and other pertinent issues.

This assignment will be due Wednesday 8/27/14 When this paper is returned to you, save it. For the final assignment, you will rewrite it in light of what you have learned during the course. You will not receive a grade for the initial paper, but you will receive a grade for your revision.  

Exquisite Corpse

Beginning Visual Arts

Exquisite Corpse A Blind Collaborative  
Among Surrealist techniques exploiting the mystique of accident was a kind of collective collage of words or images called the cadavre exquis (exquisite corpse). Based on an old parlor game, it was played by several people, each of whom would write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold the paper to conceal part of it, and pass it on to the next player for his contribution.
The technique got its name from results obtained in initial playing, "Le cadavre / exquis / boira / le vin / nouveau" (The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine). Other examples are: "The dormitory of friable little girls puts the odious box right" and "The Senegal oyster will eat the tricolor bread." These poetic fragments were felt to reveal what Nicolas Calas characterized as the "unconscious reality in the personality of the group" resulting from a process of what Ernst called "mental contagion."

We are going to try this classic Verbal and Visual collage to a collective level in the Art room today. The game was adapted to the possibilities of drawing, and even collage, by rotating the small collages to each player as the various parts are added the create the surreal collage.

What you need:

Background

Heads

Arms

Legs

Body

Funny little objects

We will start by all finding a background, we will next pass what you started to another classmate and then begin finding a head, then we will switch again and all find a body, and so on…….

                            

Welcome Back Fall 2014!

I am so excited and privileged to be your teacher this year! Bradley's Art Room is my blog where you will find your projects and lessons. This semesters classes include: 1st Art History, 3rd Beginning Visual Arts, and 4th Intermediate Visual Arts. You will visit this site often! I love to create lessons using Google Sites embedded with Video links. I also like to include your project rubrics here so you'll always know what is expected.

Silk Screen Printing

Ceramic and Textiles

Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a coating. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink through the mesh openings to wet the substrate during the squeegee stroke. Basically, it is the process of using a mesh-based stencil to apply ink onto a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material. The example you see here is Zack Holton's variation of The Great Wave by,Hokusai. 

Visionary Artist Minnie Evans

Ceramics and Textiles 

This week we will learn about the North Carolina artist Minnie Evans. Minnie was a visionary folk artists from Wilmington, NC.You will be creating a symmetrical drawing influenced by Minnie Evans.  Your drawing will be filled with organic shapes, bright rainbow colors, contain one bird, and one other animal. While we are drawing the next few weeks we will take the opportunity to tie dye. If you are interested in learning different techniques for tie dye this is your chance! Bring in a 100% cotton T-Shirt.

Vanitas Still-Life

Beginning Art

You will be learning about the genre of vanitas paintings and the artist Audrey Flack. We will be setting up our own unique symbolic still-life and creating a Photorealistic drawing from observation using colored pencils.

Illusion of Form

Beginning Art

An artist starts with a two-dimensional surface; it may be a wall, a canvas, a board, or paper By the use of paint, graphite, or other media the artist must make the viewer enter his/her world and share his/her vision. But the actual world isn’t two-dimensional and the artist can’t create a three dimensional world on the surface. How do we get around this problem?

The answer is illusion – to represent the three dimensional world on the two dimensional surface the artist has to use systems of illusion that create the impression of space, of depth and of movement.

You will be studying the effect of light and shadows to create the illusion of form. You will be working from a selfie. Change your selfie to a black and white photograph. Pump up the highlights! Crop it to a square. Now keeping the same proportions you will mathematically increase the scale. Here is the trick!!!....You be drawing upside hiding all the boxes except the one you are drawing. This technique will trick the left side of your brain. You will be amazed by your results!!!