No. 40: Anatomy

In Bird's passage, he describes the importance of anatomy in art and how it allowed artists to represent the human figure more accurately. Before dissections and specific studies, artists relied on observation when making figurative work. Once knowledge of anatomy and mathematics increased, it became an important part of artistic learning. Michelangelo is a predominate figure in the art world whose mastery of human anatomy allowed him to produce beautiful nudes with muscular accuracy. This lead into anatomical illustrations used for scientific and medical purposes.

Understanding anatomy is useful for all artists. In my work, I love working with the figure. I am inspired by the beauty of the classically executed female nude paintings. The human body is so unique and interestingly intricate. I could explore painting figures of individuals with different body types, recognizing the beauty of all shapes and sizes. An interesting idea would also be to make a progression painting starting with a realistic figure and gradually abstracting it. Or perhaps I could explore the difference between human and animal anatomies and create my own creatures.

Concentration #1

Watercolor and watercolor pencil on wood

16x20in 

Big Idea: Fusion of nature and humanity: nature as euphoria 

No. 9: Body as Surface

In Bird's passage about the body being utilized as surface for art, he predominately talks about the practice of tattooing. Tattoos are often used to announce a person's identity or to make some sort of social statement. Body painting was also used mostly for ritual performances and was meant for temporary roles. Since as early as the fifth century, people have been using the body as surface and tattooing has been a respected and artistic skill across cultures. More recently, the body has been used as art in unique and sometimes controversial ways to make a statement.

Using the body as surface is definitely something that requires out of the box thinking. Rather than personally tattooing myself or other people, I could photograph the different tattoos people have and recreate them in my own piece of artwork. What would the different tattoos say about the people who have them? How does tattooing compare to or differ from those who inflict harm on their body as a coping method and leave scars on their body? Is the processes of tattooing equally as important as the final product of the image? I could explore the ideas behind plastic surgery; could this possibly be considered an art form too?

No. 34: Allegory

According to Bird, allegory is a way for art to link literature and visual imagery. It personifies concepts and transforms them from abstract to literal. By using allegory, the artist can describe how they feel about subjects like love, time, and freedom by carefully choosing images to represent them. Allegory was popular in classical Greek art and it often served to teach a lesson to the viewers.

I feel like I already use allegory in some of my work. I like to personify the feeling of euphoria, spirituality, and the power of nature. In my concentration, I am doing this by creating whimsical and fantastical scenes in a forest setting. I like the idea of bringing "love" to life, like many artists have done in the past, but how could I modernize it? It would also be interesting to create a scene of what fear would look like, and how that would perhaps differ from person to person.

No. 81: Chance

Chance began to play a large role in art when society and artists began to explore psychoanalysis and the unconscious. Art became less about product and more about the process of creating and the emotions that it evoked. The Dada movement embraced chance in art, aiming to replace rationality with irrationally. Because this kind of art was about intuition, emotion, and lack of control, it was thought to be more "truthful."

What emotions can I express in my own work through chance? When I think of chance and artists like Pollock, I think about chaos. I could use a tornado-like image to express chaos as well and stress. It could be like a tornado in the mind forming slowly and then increasing velocity and severity with the accumulation of built up stress. I could also utilize the idea of chance as a release and as a metaphor for freedom. If I took a completely different approach, I could leave it up to chance to determine my color pallet in a painting by blindly dipping my brush into random hues. 

No. 50: Whiteness

In Bird's passage on whiteness, he describes how white is "is more than a color or absence of color," rather it is purposefully used by artists to evoke certain meanings. Artists often use white when talking about spirituality in their work, and is often linked to purity and religion. White was also a characteristic of Greek sculptures, especially figurative ones with flowing contours. The Neoclassical style in particular embraced the color white in its poetic and sensual compositions, but was also adopted again with the emergence of minimalism.

When I see the color white, I think of the words clean, soft, angelic, and quiet. I would like to create a painting of "silence" used only whites and its tonal values. If whispers could be captured on a canvas, I think they would be white. I could also explore whiteness in a tactile piece by using materials that think "feel" like the color white (i.e. silk, cotton balls, fur). Or perhaps I could take a different approach on whiteness too discuss emotional emptiness. When I think about this, a blank, cold white room comes to mind, a room so bare that it would produce echos.

No. 93: Body As Medium

According to Bird, using the body as a medium was present as early as cave-art where hand prints were used to mark the human presence. Dead body parts were also commonly turned into art and utilizing the body was often linked to rituals. Bird mentions that because everyone has a body, it is a universal medium. Lastly, using the body artistically played a large part in the launch of performance art.

Using the body as a medium is a tricky concept. When I think of performance art, I automatically think of dance. I think dance is such a powerful expression that speaks to audiences similarly to the way visual art does. In particular, I love modern dancing, and the movements often tell a story. It would be interesting to use dance as a performance art piece and "choreograph" a painting. The line quality and brushstrokes could be directly linked to the type of movements in the dance. Another avenue to explore is hair. Hair is kind of interesting to me. Hair is sacred to a lot of people, and many of take pride in maintaining and styling our hair. It can be beautiful but repulsive at the same time. For example, if someone finds hair in the sink, or perhaps in their food, it becomes a sickly foreign object. How could I explore this juxtaposition about hair and culture in my own work? Lastly, I could combine my passion for running and using the body as medium by using footprints to record my strides.

Watercolor Demo

To watch my watercolor demo, click HERE!

Expanded 50 ideas

1) Demoralize a well-known fairytale by revealing its "dark side" in a watercolor and ink piece. Example: Snow White in the Seven Dwarfs, turning the dwarfs against Snow White

2) Create a collage about society's pressure on young women pertaining to the ideal body image. Look at magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan for advertisements. 

3) Create a satirical cartoon critiquing gun violence. Is it really safe to increase the number of guns in schools by giving them to teachers and other employers? ...no. 

4) Create an assemblage sculpture of a "memory box" representing the moments in time that shape someone's life. Use thread to signify strands of individual memories.

5) Invent a new code or language using shapes and create stories through a series of abstract pieces. Can we communicate just as effectively through imagery?

6) Appropriate the work of Andy Warhol by modernizing his Marilyn Monroe prints and choosing an alternative iconic figure. Is the media saturated with famous figures for the public to idolize? 

7) Show a personal daily ritual through a collection of photographs. What do individual people consider sacred? Example: reading the morning paper while drinking a cup of coffee. 

8) Create an ink drawing linking humans and nature by personifying trees as people. How can different marks tell a story? Rings in a tree vs. wrinkles in a face.  

9) Show how a single colors can convey a certain emotions through a series of monochromatic nonobjective paintings. Medium: acrylic paint

10) Using only line, depict a lifespan of a person and the different "frequencies" one experiences throughout life. What does a depression look like through line? Joy? Anxiety? Medium: charcoal 

11) Explore the power of repetition to show a type of social conformity. Example: beer cans or cigarettes in a sculptural piece. 

12) Create an idealized fantasy world using mixed media. Use oil pastels and watercolor pencils to create vibrant colors. What types of creatures exist in this world? 

13) Create a dream series of watercolor paintings. Create a watery look to mimic memory.

14) Create a textured oil painting of a phobia and the emotional stress surrounding it. Example: large scale evil frog painting. 

15) Paint a collection of "ugly" objects with beautiful execution to comment on different perspective. How do outer appearances affect our opinions?  Medium: oil paint

16) Explore how different fonts alter text's connotations through a typography piece using text. Example: profane or violent words in whimsical cursive script. 

17) Evoke the feeling of love/hate through a blind abstract expressionistic painting. Medium acrylic paint. Paint without looking at the canvas and attempt to capture the emotion. 

18) Turn language into image by capturing the main idea of a poem or song through a single scene. Example: Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" Medium: oil pastel 

19) Create a diptych portrait of what someone looks like on the outside vs. how they feel on the inside. Maybe use two different media? Example: Watercolor vs. charcoal 

20) Create an oil painting depicting silence. What color is silence? Is it large or small scale? I would perhaps use light neutral colors like white and ivory on a large horizontal canvas. 

21) Show how technology is consuming society through collage. Use photos, advertisements, print out screen shots, etc. Show how we communicate mostly through technology. Text message, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Google, iPods, Kindle, etc. 

22) Play with gender roles by staging a male in a "female environment" and visa-versa through photography. Inspired by Cindy Sherman. 

23) Using photoshop, create grotesque glamour shots through excessive editing to show how advertisements mislead. Make unrealistic body proportions and distort facial features. 

24) Represent a choreographed dance through an acrylic painting. Figurative vs. abstract? It would be interesting to paint feet and dance directly on a canvas on the floor. The painting would be a record of the performance. 

25) Create an artistic book about secrets. Make pockets represent places where secrets are kept. Some pockets the viewer will be unable to open. Perhaps the cover of the book will have a nice, smooth texture, and the inside will have a rough texture. 

26. Modernize a story in Greek mythology. What kind of person would represent Zeus, Hates, etc.? Medium: acrylic paint.

27. Children and their imaginary friends. Make an illustrative color drawing of an adventure with a boy and his imaginary friend. 

28. Build a sculpture critiquing pollution and waste. Collect trash and assemble it together. 

29. America's contribution to obesity/ fast food. Use photoshop to collage fast food logos and slogans together creating the ultimate billboard. This speaks about some American's values: cheap, poor quality, fast, unhealthy, indulgent food. 

30. Create a kitch piece on the fame of ridiculous reality TV stars. Example: Snooki, Teen Mom, Honey Boo Boo. Medium: colored markers and glitter 

31. Recreate awkward family photos. What does a family portrait say about the family? Explore different poses. 

32. Show how flowers can take on different meanings in different atmospheres. (weddings, funerals, etc.) Do flowers represent love? sadness? fragility? What can a dying flower signify? Medium: oil paint 

33. Hoarding: what is precious vs. junk? Do people care more about monetary value, or material items? Do people hoard to hold onto memories? Medium: assemblage sculpture. 

34. Addiction spiraling out of control. The moment when substances take over the human body and mind. Medium: photography

35. Cityscape of the future. What new technology will there be? What kinds of transportation will people take? What will people wear? Color drawing. Metallics? 

36. Cyber communication and manipulation. Documentary inspired by the movie Catfish. Highlight on internet stalking. Can people be trusted? What does privacy mean in today's world? Medium: video

37. Isolation (internally and externally). External: imprisonment; getting lost. Internal: loneliness; insecurity. Is the feeling the same? Medium: charcoal.

38. REM cycles through abstraction. What does our mind do when we sleep? Line drawing in pen. 

39. Ink blot tests/ psychology. Create a series. Can people see the same image differently? How does our imagination get in the way of how we interpret things? Do our experiences and memories alter the way we see. Medium: ink 

40. Linking religions. How different are religions actually? What are the similarities are there amongst religions? Is spirituality a universal term? Medium: oil paint 

41. Spirits and ghosts. Is the supernatural something to fear or welcome? Who can see them? Depict ghosts in a positive way in a watercolor painting. 

42. Survival of the fittest. Is there a natural selection precess for humans? Is mental strength or physical strength more important? Graphic drawing. 

43. Daredevils. People who have a hunger for danger. Can this be linked to the sublime? Capture the extreme emotion; a physical and mental high. Medium: acrylic paint

44. Approaching death: moving towards the light. Is there an existence between life and the afterlife? What do we see right before we die? Medium: watercolor with subtle, muted colors. 

45. Can money buy happiness? Create a paradoxical piece about being rich and unhappy. This could depict a glamourous woman who is lonely. Mixed media.

46. The mysteries of the sea. What does a mermaid actually look like? Research myths behind mermaids. Medium: watercolor. 

47. Prostitution and self-worth. The fine line that exists between freedom of choice and self-dignity. What possesses women to willingly degrade themselves?  Charcoal drawing. 

48. Handwriting and identity. I always feel that something that is hand-written is more personal than something typed. Handwriting can show personality. Create a "handwriting collage" using graphite. Can different handwritings reveal qualities about people? 

49. Keys. What does a key symbolize? Is a key's primary purpose to lock or unlock? Each key has a unique identity that allows it to fit into a particular space. If there was a key to "unlock"a certain person, what would it look like?

50. Stopping time and skipping time. Create a video simulating time manipulation. Play with iMovie effects. 

Documentary

In Bird's passage about documentary, he emphasizes that visual records that are meant to be factual are actually never neutral. No matter what the image, an artist presents some sort of bias. Bird quotes John Grierson's description of documentaries as "the creative treatment of actually." Whether intended for scientific purposes or newscast, documenting information through images always has a level of subjectivity.

When I think about documentaries, I think about biographies about a particular person's life. I could explore capturing the essence of someone's life through a series of edited video clips. Could family portraits fit under the category of documentary? It was also be interesting to document an event through photography and see how the photos show my point of view or opinion.

No. 72: Satire

Satire in art is a visual way for an artist to comedically criticize something. This sarcastic imagery usually involves distorted figures or animals. Satirical art is meant for viewers to contemplate political or social issues, while seeing the artist's opinion through the piece. Bird mentions the necessity of having the meaning be clear to the audience when creating satirical work. With satire also comes bravery and bluntness because the artist makes his or herself vulnerable to attacks regarding their controversial work.

Admittedly, making satirical work is something that I find challenging. I consider myself non-confrontational, so creating something controversial is a bit out of my comfort zone. On the flip side, art gives us a way to express perhaps what we would not verbalize otherwise. Maybe I could create a comical series criticizing stereotypes. Stereotyping is something that I feel strongly about because I feel that often people's initial judgements about others are often incorrect.

No. 77 Expressing Inner States

In Bird's passage on expressing inner states, he talks about how artists strove to make the invisible visible. What could not be expressed physically or verbally could somehow be expressed visually through art. Expressing one's inner state through art was about pulling feelings from the soul, and turning them to images for others to interpret.

I see incorporating this idea into my own work through extreme abstraction and nonobjective pieces. I think it would be interesting to express singular emotions such as fear, sorrow, and joy (emotions all humans can identify with) and depict what they look like for me personally. Through color, I could enhance upon ideas like linking red to anger or love, but pushing it through my own interpretations. Expressing the inner state is something that I feel is a unique and liberating feel that is obtainable by making art.

No. 66: The Unconscious

As Bird mentions in this passage, Sigmund Freud's ideas about the unconscious sparked interests for artists to explore dreams, desires, and fantasies in their work. The unconscious mind is said to reveal truth about desires that we repress, and bring them to life. Surrealist art in particular, focused on the unconscious with its "fantastical distortions and dream imagery."

The unconscious is something that fascinates me. I feel that I can use this idea and make it playful and bold. I've considered exploring meanings behind dreams that I've had, and visually express them in my work. I like the idea of creating a fantasy world, or depicting what different people's "heaven" looks like in their mind. I also think that the unconscious also goes along with intoxication and how our bodies respond when we are under the influence of a foreign substance. It would be to interesting to see what this can look like artistically.

No. 68: Multiple Viewpoints

The idea of multiple viewpoints in art was about taking a picture out of its "frame." According to Bird, the conventional single-viewpoint linear perspective was a poor representation of what our eyes really take in. The Cubists were the first to paint scenes from multiple angles in the same picture plane. Artists then challenged the way we view art all together by evoking atmosphere and feelings through different executions of brushwork and colors. I like the quote Bird used from Picasso explaining that it is "like a perfume--in front of you, behind you, to the side. The scent's all around but you can't quite tell where it comes from."

Multiple viewpoints is something I think would be interesting to explore in my work in different ways. I  like the idea of creating a portrait of someone and combining different angles of their face into the composition. I could also depict the different "sides" of an individual's personality metaphorically in a mosaic inspired way. It would also be interesting to take a "Monet approach" to a series of paintings and show the same location at different times of a day or year. Juxtaposition is a word that comes to my mind when I think about multiple viewpoints. When two images are placed next to each other, the viewer interprets the meanings differently. Experimenting with collage and juxtaposition would be a good way to incorporate multiple viewpoints. 

No. 53: Authenticity

Authenticity plays an interesting role in how art is valued. According to Bird, authenticity is about "distinguishing between what is genuine and what is not." If viewers believe the artist personally experienced or witnessed what their art is about, the work is genuine in their eyes. Also, once an artist has earned credibility and fame, their work, regardless of how it looks, is deemed valuable.

How can I make my own work authentic? If I make art surrounding events in my own life, does that make it authentic? Does originality exist?  How can authenticity exist without originality? In my opinion, if I am passionate about what I produce, it is authentic art in my eyes.