Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Valedictory Final


My idea of my valedictory project is to tell the story of my Nan and my childhood with her. I did not want over-edited, fake-looking pictures to tell my story, but I also wanted to experiment with layering.

This was the trail that my Nan would take my cousin and I on during yard sales or our weekend visits to their house. The trail led out to a ramp coming off of 81, which obviously isn't the safest place for kids (there was a fence), but we have great memories from this trail and my grandpa keeps it mowed for the most part. My cousin and I can still remember getting poison ivy during a yard sale and having to hose our legs off.

This plate reads "Cumberland County Court House". It is hanging in my grandpa's living room near a family portrait and a picture of my baby cousin just born. Nan worked at the court house for years until she was physically unable to. I believe she would escort people to the court rooms. She loved her job and everyone loved her as soon as they met her. I loved that she worked there because I could brag when I was younger that my Nan worked at a courthouse with judges.

This picture of her name tag goes right along with the picture above. This was her name plate when she worked at the court house and my grandpa keeps it on his dresser even after several years.

Nan was a crossing guard in 1987 for Carlisle School District. My dad and uncles all went to Carlisle and were in school at the same time (except for one). I always hear the story of when my dad got into a fight and won it. On the way home from school, everyone on the buses were yelling to her saying, "Mrs. Hench! Scott won!"


The long necklaces are ones that are hanging on the end of my grandpa's dresser that were Nan's. I'm not sure what the keys are for, but they look old and my grandparents were always old-fashioned and my grandpa still is to this day. The cross necklace is a sign of Nan's undying faith. She thanked the Lord everyday for what she had and stuck to her faith through tough times. She kept her faith until the last day and now I'm sure she is dancing with angels.

This is one of my layering pictures. The horse shoe is upside down on a tree at my grandparents house. This is meant to represent that Nan had good luck through her whole life. Her last month, the doctors knew her body wasn't strong enough to fight whatever illness she had come down with. This shows that her family had not been lucky enough to spend more time with her, as she went too soon from us. I couldn't imagine life without her before she passed. I have never met anyone even close to her, with her faith, generosity, kindness, willingness to serve, and natural beauty even when she was sick.

This is second one of two layering pictures. These are both things that are representative of her job at the courthouse. 

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Surrealism Finals





People see me as having a closed personality. In reality, I will voice my opinion regardless of what other people will say. People also think I'm quiet and somewhat shy, but I like to talk and often times, I talk too much and get myself into trouble for it. 
















Monday, April 13, 2015

Rene Magritte & Surrealism Reading & Questions

Questions to answer about the reading:
1.     What is surrealism? Art which releases creativity of the unconscious mind and strangeness
2.     What motif did Magritte use in many of his works? Why was this significant? A man wearing a bowler hat. It is significant because he did a self-portrait as his first piece. 
3.     In his work Golconda, why is it important that Magritte varied the image of the man in the bowler hat?  How does it add depth to the work? It is important because there is more variation in the men the closer that you look. It adds depth by using varied scale and variation of the men.
4.     Why did surreal artists choose to create strange worlds with their art? They believed that if our dreaming minds could create strange worlds, they should be able to.
5.     Explain how the techniques of juxtaposition, altered scale, and language help Magritte explore Surrealism. - He uses juxtaposition to show how our dreams take two different parts of our life and put them side by side. He uses altered scale to create variation and language to reach out to everybody.
6.     What would be a few reasons why Magritte would cover the faces of his subjects? I think he might hide the faces to show that not everybody knows everybody, just by looking at them. He might also do it to show the mystery that is also in our dreams, and why our unconscious mind puts two separate parts of our lives together.
7.     Why did Magritte strive for realism & precision in his paintings? He believed it allowed the viewer to focus on the subject, instead of on the techniques used to make the piece.
8.     Google more of Magritte’s work and include 2 images that interest you.
o   Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work

o   Hint – review the words in bold from the reading
similarity between the idea of horsepower

variation

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Perception vs. Reality

Perception

-stereotypical blonde
-quiet
-sarcastic
-funny
-closed personality
-occasionally weird
-tired
-angry



Reality

-bubbly personality
-down to earth
-people person
-animal person
-loud
-energetic at times
-detail oriented
-love to laugh & smile
-easily flattered/embarrassed
loud
down to earth
laugher
relaxed

smiley
energetic



detail oriented
easily flattered


Exquisite Corpse

This goes along with the idea of surrealism because some people see you as different than you actually are. We expected the body to look perfect but instead, it was not proportional and we were surprised.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Dada Final

Cut/Copy/Rearrange

Color Blocks

Text

Halftone Screen
I am happy with my results because they turned out better than I would have thought. I did not particularly like this project, I prefer a realistic standpoint.

This project ties into the aspects of Dada because they are abstract and are the opposite of what some people may consider art.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

MoMA and Dada


     What is Dada and why did it come into existence?
        - artists who made fun of anything that contributed to the war
·      Discuss Duchamp’s notion of “Readymades”.  What are they?
        - things that are already made but the position of them is changed
·      How do they change your expectations about what art can be?
        - anything can be art
·      Include a visual of Duchamp’s work
        

     Dada artists turned to non-art making strategies…
o   What did they embrace?
         - not-so-common works
o   Why did they take this approach?
         - anti-war
·      Include a visual example
    
     What is the value of art made by Dadaists?
         -that it is anti-art
     How and why did Dada artists work with words?
         -the idea of chance
·      Include a visual example