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.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, February 18, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
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.
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.
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