Project 1

I was very excited about this project. I truly wish I was able to devote more time to it as I had many ideas I just couldn't make happen. I think I did a good job considering the numerous assignments in this class for the week as well as demands of my other classes. I tried my hardest to get the technical elements right.

Photo of stools for space- difficulty of getting a quality shot but I liked the stools to reflect this element.
For proportion the first thing that came to mind was my family's collection of marushka dolls.
Texture is a rock we added to our collection on a family vacaton to Miami Beach. We have a collection of rockes in our yard from various locations.
My variety picture came to mind because my mom's jewelry collection. I used a darker bacground to accent the pieces and make them stand out.
Radical balance is when the elements radiate from the center. The idea came to me when i was lying in my bed staring at the ceiling and thinking about this project.
I tried to convince a family member to attempt to float in our pool to reflect movement but because the water was freezing and the temperature dropped no one would do it for me.
The picture of the sunset I took reflects unity and harmony to me. I feel peaceful looking at it even though I had to wait a while for the right photo.

Blog week 4

1. For someone who has probably not really done anything artistic like on paper for a while I found these exercises interesting and enlightening as well as a bit difficult.  These exercises gave me a greater appreciation of artists and envious of those who have a natural ability to easily complete these tasks.  The value scale was challenging in that the book illustrated nine steps, the video eleven steps and the assignment ten steps. Looking back you could probably continue making steps until the pencil was gone.

2. I enjoyed working with the acrylic paint better because once I got into it and experimented I found it a bit easier than shading a pencil.  Working with the paint I was able to experiment more with mixing the colors on a palette and trying to get the colors right before actually completing the color wheel.

3. I discovered how values could be created with using a pencil as well as paint.  With the paints it was interesting to see how a dab more or less gave a different shade, tint or in some cases a color that I wasn’t expecting.

4.  From the videos the most important information I learned was that based on the balance theory the primary colors are cyan, magenta and yellow and not red, blue and green.  I thought the videos were helpful and to the point.  They were short enough so it was made easier to watch several times to get the steps down before completing the exercises.

reflective journal

I was very excited about this project.  I truly wish I was able to devote more time to it as I had many ideas I just couldn't make happen.  I think I did a good job considering the numerous assignments in this class for the week as well as demands of my other classes.  I tried my hardest to get the technical elements right.

   Photo of stools for space- difficulty of getting a quality shot but I liked the stools to reflect this element. 
For proportion the first thing that came to mind was my family's collection of marushka dolls.
Texture is a rock we added to our collection on a family vacaton to Miami Beach.  We have a collection of rockes in our yard from various locations.
My variety picture came to mind because my mom's jewelry collection.  I used a darker bacground to accent the pieces and make them stand out.
Radical balance is when the elements radiate from the center.  The idea came to me when i was lying in my bed staring at the ceiling and thinking about this project.
I tried to convince a family member to attempt to float in our pool to reflect movement but because the water was freezing and the temperature dropped no one would do it for me.
The picture of the sunset I took reflects unity and harmony to me.  I feel peaceful looking at it even though I had to wait a while for the right photo.

Week Three Videos

1. Of all the visual elements color is the most pleasurable.  Color can evoke a wide range of psychological and physiological responses.  Technically color is a function of light without light there is no color.  All colors have three properties hue, value, and intensity.  A viewer's color perception is dependent on the interaction of theses three properties.  The use of color schemes in a work of art also serve to effect the emotional response of a viewer.  Successful color schemes focus on a single color or a restricted palette of colors.  Contrasting colors are used for variety and colors are distributed throughout the piece in unequal proportions to create points of interest.  Color temperature can also be used to effect emotions as well as enhance spatial characteristics.  Warm colors (red, yellow, orange) for me are typically soothing and make me remember a warm sunny day.  Cool colors  ( blue, purple, green), for me blue and purple, are reminders for a snow storm.  Emotional responses can not be defined by a set of rules or formulas. Colors can have different individual or cultural associations.  The context of the composition also aids in giving color meaning and looking an emotional impact.

2.The theoretical aspect that most fascinates me is the optical affects of color.  I think it draws me because most optical illusions are created in the brain and not the eye.  The brain misperceives  shape, size, or distance because of the influence of other visual clues around it.  The workings of the eye also come into play.  This was illustrated in the composition of white lines with "black"  dots.  The appearance of black dots were actually created due to the fatigue in the rods and cones in the eye.  One of the optical effects of color that really impressed me was after image.  The staring at an image tired the eye receptors and the result was a ghostly after image of the complementary colors.  The concept of optical color mixture when small patches of different colors are placed close together and the eye blends them to create a new color is fascinating.  I find the whole theory interesting.

3.  In the video Color  Titian's painting Assumption of the Virgin, made the biggest impact of me in regard to color and its effect on emotion.  Titan used a limited palette of bold colors.  theses colors evoked a dramatic effect.  Colors are reflected everywhere in this work of art.  He mystically used colors to experiment with optical effects as in creating shimmering light and using colors as to show reflection as in reflection of red on Virgin's hand.  The balanced chromatic effects creates a soft and delicate feel.  Combinations of light and dark are used in contrast.

4. In the video Feelings: Emotions and Art  Goya's portrayal of the worst side of mankind as he depicts the world of human emotion had the most impact of me.  Goya is against the supernatural world of religion.  His paintings reflect his imagination, the unasked for, the uncomfortable and the unwanted.  He uses dark colors, a limited palette and black and white to depict horror and unease.  He even paints portraits of the royal family as ugly humans.  Through his use of color and composition he evokes feelings of horror, dread and depression.

video Questions Week 2

1. Aesthetics: Philosophy of Art
-an understanding of the development of aesthetics and art throughout time
-from Plato who proposed that beauty is an erotic attraction to Dewey proposes that aesthetics is a societial phenomenon
- In times no attention was paid to aesthetics the focus was only on devotion to God
-Art is found all around us
-Philosophers continue to explore art as it continues to develop.
Carta: Neurobiology and Art and Aesthetics Jean - Pierre Changeux
The key focus was the scientific relationship between art and aesthetics.
-A work of art is a human production of nonverbal communication
- the processing of a visual image goes from the limbic and prefrontal cortex.
- there is a genetic envelope for the evolution orgin of art.
- Art makes us aware of oneself as another

The science of art: A neurological Theroy of Artistic Experience
Vilayanur Ramachandran
-Art and science meet in the braun
- There are 8 universal laws of aesthetics
- There are cultural influences however the 8 universal laws cut across all visual aesthetics
8 Universal Laws
- Grouping or binding
-peak shift principle
-contrast
isolating a single cue to optimally excite cortical visual areas (attention)
-perceptual problem solving
-symmetry
- abhorrence of unique vantage points and suspicious coincidences
-art as a metaphor

2.
The beginning of how we view aesthetics today began in 18th century England during time are was considered an imitation of nature.  During this time, the 18th century Kant proposed that what is beautiful cannot be difined by concepts, what is beautiful is what the object conveys.  Kant also regonized the artist not as a skilled craftsman but rather a sensitive and superior individua.  To quote Kant "Through the genius, nature set the rules of art".

3. to start Chaneux's presentation was extremely difficult to follow between his accent and monotone if it were not for a few slides presented this would have been non productive.  The scientific view was very interesting and quite honestly nothing I ever considered.  My first reaction was that the whole idea was far fetched but there is scientific backup.  From Changeux the most intresting part was the evolution of the brain and art.  From Ramachandran  was the explanation of isolating a single vue to optimally excite cortical visual areas (attention).  It explains how " less is more" and how we focus attention on what is important.

4.  The videos reinforce the concepts in the texts.  In some areas they go into more detail which gives a more complete understanding especially in the areas of asthetics.

5.  Except for Changeux's film i found the videos helpful and insightful.  What Changeux was presenting was intresting, the evolution of the brain and art, but his message wasd hindered by his accent and monotone.  Ramachandran was intresting and it was helpful  that he presented works of art to reinforce hsi concepts.  In the third video I was brought to realize that art is all around us being presented through all types of media.  I liked Kant's view that naything can be beautiful

1st blog

Setting up the blogger and the gmail account was very easy.  I did not realize that we had to drop anything tho.  I did not see that in the powerpoint when i was doing it.  In the document i do not understand step number 6.  I guess I will learn alot about blogger and gmail in this course.  I love online classes because i can do them when i am free.