module 9 pt. ii: handy hands give a hand

Chloe Carr
Module #9

1. I liked using my hand as a subject matter because I found it easy to at least copy most of the outline. I don't think the sketches of my hands are very detailed but they look like hands, which is something I'm proud of.

2. I decided to use pencil for these sketches for a number of reasons. I make many mistakes and I find it easier to erase my mistakes when I make them in pencil. I also decided to use a pencil because I am used to using pencils in my every day life. I am not entirely familiar with using charcoal and though I should have stepped out of my comfort zone, I decided to play it safe and use pencil.

3. I feel like there are major differences between the drawing I made with my right, dominant hand, and the one I made with my left, non-dominant hand. One of the greatest differences that I found is that I couldn't hold the pencil with my non-dominant hand as I did with my dominant one. The pencil was shaky and the final piece looks a lot lighter than the one I did with my right hand.

4. I am very happy with my final drawings. I do believe I could have done a lot more to make them look more realistic but I didn't know what I could have done to do so.

5. I would consider using my non-dominant hand to create artwork in the future because I would like to get more control with using that hand. I did not expect to struggle so much with using that hand to make a sketch but after this exercise I think I would like to improve my skills in that hand.

module 9: response to renaissance

Chloe Carr
Module #9

1. I chose to watch Albrecht Dürer: Image of a Master and Velazquez because I've already learned about Michaelangelo, da Vinci, El Greco, and Caravaggio in past art classes. I've only ever heard of Dürer in passing and thought I would learn about him as a painter. I've never really heard of Velazquez and would also like to know what kind of painter he was and why his art is significant in art history.

2. The video Velazquez focused a lot on the painter's life and the influence it had on his art. He was born in 1599 in Seville and by the age of 24 became court painter for Philip IV. He became friends with the king (his only friend) who gave him the Order of Santiago, or nobility. Of the many different aspects he emphasized in his paintings, he mostly captures light, energy, and air. He didn't paint movement, he painted what the video described as, "real time."
    The video Albrecht Dürer: Image of a Master was about an artist named Albrecht Durer who was most famous during the Renaissance. He held great influence over the people during his time as his art was something very different than what other artists were painting. His art, like those that started to arise during this time, was very unconventional. He painted realistically. He used shadows in faces and used colors realistically. The bodies of his subjects were not all the same. During this time, new ideas about life in general became popular, and the way artists thought about the world around them showed in their art, which was also true for Durer.

3. The videos relate to the readings in the text because chapter 16's main focus was on the Renaissance. During this time, artists focused more on the beauty of their art. The text says, "Renaissance artists sought an idealized beauty, one they created by taking the most beautiful features of numerous examples and combining them." This relates to the videos because both artists painted what they found beautiful about their subjects. They focused on the beautiful features of their subjects and put an emphasis on what they liked, whether that be distinct features or distinct colors.

4. I really enjoyed watching the films. After reading the chapters in the text book I thought I had known what I needed to know about the Renaissance and its impact on artists during that time, but watching the videos really put things in perspective for me. I especially liked learning about artists that I had never really known about. It's always interesting to learn about people who made such an impact on the artistic world and people in general.

module 8: humane humans being human

Chloe Carr
Module #8


1. I chose to watch The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure from the list of videos because I've always found Greek mythology to be very interesting. I've always found Greek study to be interesting as well so I really wanted to know about Greek art and the human figure so that I could compare it to Greek history as well as the timeline of art in American history.

2. The video How Art Made The World 1 - More Human Than Human was very informative. I think it was really centered around the effect of art on people in general. Art has been around since our ancestors and instead of fading away like most concepts have as time went on, art has only flourished. Art, the video says, has become a legacy. There are artistic cultures that carry secrets of civilizations. If there is one universal or ageless depiction in art it's the human body. The way the body has been shown thorugh art is different but alike all at the same time. We can see pictures and paintings and drawings of bodies and know what time period it was from but also know that it is a body. Different aspects of the human body have been valued since the beginning of time, which is why there is more emphasis on a specific body type in all of history.
     In The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure I learned that the Greeks used to value realistic art rather than stylstic art. Ancient Greeks valued the human body in a very specific form. They valued chisled, fit bodies and encouraged their people to excercise and go to the gym. Not only was art something that inspired and motivated them, but the people around them were also something to be motivated by. The form of the Greeks became an obsession for them, as well as what the video called "nobility of soul." To the greeks, there was great value put in the bodies of people. The way you were supposed to look is the way they created their art, and in order for their art to be realistic, people had to basically become their art.

3. The videos can relate to the text because chapter 14 focuses on the history of the way the human body is depicted in art. Figure 14.2 is of a stone figure of a woman with something over her head. Her head is covered which gives me the impression that the artist of the stone did not want the face to be the central point of the figure itself. What holds more detail is the body of the woman, the heavy size of her and the emphasis on her breasts, stomach/torso, and thighs. Because of this I think the ideal body type of women during the time this stone was created was just like the body portrayed in the stone. The way the chapter put it, in a way that can connect to the videos, is that we should alwasy study art of the past so that we may understand their values, even in something as simple as the human body.

4. I really enjoyed watching the videos. Like the readings, they helped me understand the differences in history. I never really thought that there would be such a difference when it came to doing art of the human body because I always thought that a body was a body regardless of how it is shown, but after watching the videos I have a better understanding of the different kinds of emphasis that can be seen in the depictions of the human body throughout time.

module 7: the texture of architecture

Chloe Carr
Module #7

1.  Architecture: The Science of Design:
    This video described the basics behind the architecture around us that we often take for granted. In the beginning they were talking about skyscrapers and how there are two components to them. These components are superstructure, "which is all that stands above ground," and  the underground substructure, which is the, "construction of a high building that can require different kinds of foundations." In architecture there is such thing as dead weight and living weight. Dead weight is the weight of an actual building whereas living weight includes the weight of furniture and people inside of a building. In the making of a building there can be some issues. These include constructing high rises which is the weight of wind which affects the weight of a building. The most important part of the process of creating a building is in the process of designing the building. The way a building is made all comes down to the way a building is designed.
     Frank Gehry: Architecture as Art
 This video also discusses architecture but as an art rather than the science behind the importance of it. The designer that this video is about talks about how he feels as he designs things. To him, the process is mostly, if not completely, emotional/personal. A quote from the video that I found interesting is when he said that he was, "fascinated by the idea of movement in architecture." The video starts by talking about the importance of creating designs for something, and how the different shapes and sketches of different angles are also a very big part of the creation process. The way the designer put it was that the process was a "harmony between functional architecture and sculptural form. The buildings he has ideas for are all buildings that he wants to have an emotional response about them. The most important part to him is figuring out how he wants buildings to look, and then he thinks about the "scientific" side to everything.

2. The videos relate to the readings in the text because Chapter 13 talks about the structural systems of architecture. During this part of the reading, they write about the practical side to designing something. They write about the families of structural systems: the shell system and the skeleton-and-skin system. This part of the chapter can relate to the first video because they both discuss the science and physical structure of buildings. The second video relates to the text because of the part of the chapter where they talk about the different types of arches and vaults. Arches and vaults don't really have a significant function to a building because they are more for aesthetic appeal, but creating those also needs some intense and significant thought when being designed.

3. I really liked the videos because they helped me understand the process that goes into building something. I never really thought of architecture having anything to do with art but after watching the videos I've learned that the people that design structures of buildings put a lot of work and creativity into their designs. Even after putting their artistic abilities into their designs they then have to think about the science behind how they're going to be putting their work to life in a way that will make the final piece function properly.

4. I chose the videos I did because I wanted to read about the different sides to architecture. I wanted to know more about the science that goes into the construction and design of a building and then I wanted to know more about the artistic side to architecture.

module 6 pt ii: viewing reviews

Chloe Carr
Module #6

1. https://artisticlovebylizzy.blogspot.com/2018/09/
    https://artclasschamp.blogspot.com/2018/09/albright-knox-art-gallery.html

2. I really liked the images that Rachel used in her slideshow because of how easy they were to identify. I liked that all I had to do was look at the image and know what they were representing. Even though I thought I knew what the pictures were about I still like that she elaborated more on why she chose the pictures she did.

3. I think Lizette's selected paintings/pieces from the museum were my favorite because of how different they were. They were so nice and simple, but there were just so many different moods in each of them. None of the paintings from her selection were any that I chose, but I still really like them. I think if we were to redo the project I would strongly consider using the paintings she used because of how beautiful they are.

4. I absolutely loved the painting that Lizette posted for project 2. I don't think she put down the artist's name but it looks a lot like something Salvadore Dali would make. The art looks dreamy and melted and the colors look very soft and surreal, which is also something that makes me think it was created or inspired by Dali. I wish she had written who it was by and what year it was made so there would be some background information.

5. I really liked reviewing my peers' blogs because it's interesting to see how others have done the projects I did, and what kind of paintings/sculptures they find interesting. Looking at how they see art makes me think more about what kind of person they are, which also helps me look into what makes me find a painting interesting.

6. I find the comments that my peers left me to be extremely helpful. I like that they left some input about what they thought about the paintings I chose. I especially like the comment by Hector for project one because his comment was about how confused he was when he was looking at the pictures I chose for the elements. He said that the some of pictures I chose weren't as obviously related to the elements/principles I labelled them as. After reading his comment and looking back at the project, I can see where the pictures wouldn't be as obvious when it comes to how they were labelled.

module 6: through the looking glass and sculptures

Chloe Carr
Module #6

1. For the video Through the Eyes of the Sculpture, there were many things that I learned. The video was a documentation of what one sculpturer does as a process to create a single sculpture. I wasn't entirely sure how sculptures were made before I watched this video, but after watching it I now know that sculptures are made through a series of events. The sculptures made by the artist in this video starts his process by using sculpting clay that will look like the real model. Using silicone clay comes after the model is made, and then the mold is filled up with plaster to make the object. I enjoyed watching the hardened clay or mold be chipped after the final piece was made, because it looked to me like the final sculpture was locked inside of the shell.
    The other video, Glass and Ceramics, was very informational and entertaining for a number of reasons. Just like sculpting, using clay is a must when it comes to sculpting glass and ceramics. The clay pieces used in this video have to be put in heat to actually do their job. The reason that extreme heat is used is so that it would be possible for the glass to move. I didn't know that glass sculptures needed so much heat while being made, but I really like seeing it being made first-hand. The only thing that makes me uneasy is how dangerous the process looks.

2. The videos can relate to the text in a number of ways. For one, the very first video is a lot like what the text says about sculpting in Chapter 11. There are many methods of sculpting, and after reading the text, I think the method that the artist in the video used is carving and casting. Just like in the video, the process starts with a mass of material and the artist subtracts pieces to create the sculpture. The second video can relate to the text because Chapter 12 talks about the process of sculpting with glass. The text focuses on how glass vessels are made by blowing. During this process, which can relate to the video, molten glass is put at the end of a metal tube and the artist has to blow on each end until there's a glass bubble that can be shaped or cut while it's still hot.

3. I really liked the films. I think if I had just read the chapters in the book I don't think I would completely understand what the process is when creating sculptures and glass. The films are an extended version of what the text is about. None of the processes described in the chapters and the videos look easy to do, but I think after learning how they are made I've learned to appreciate them more than I did before.