Realism

a. In your own words define realistic art.
Realistic art is art that can be identified for what it is and what it means by the viewer without much thought. It should look like the subject it is meant to mimic in all details and form.

b. How does Plato define good art?
Art should stand for high moral values and be extremely beautiful. He believed objects in reality were the best, and an artistic depiction could not do them justice. Art must not be personal to anyone; it must belong to everyone. Plato said that the arts must be "fine and graceful." Art should also teach people to find beauty in their own bodies, as well as in others, so they can find the beauty of the soul.

c. What would Plato say about Koon’s artwork?
I believe Plato would say Koons' artwork is not art at all, but a detriment to society. Koons' "Made in Heaven" might appeal to Plato's idea of finding the beauty of the body (he might also think it is unmoral), but his other works would not pass Plato's inspection. Most of Koons' work are reproductions of a real-life object, animal, or person. They are not the "ideal" image of the item, but simply the artist's interpretation. Plato would be upset with these images because they would take away from people's ability to think and feel deeply. He would be not happy with the fact that the images do not teach any kind of moral lesson.

d. In your own words, how would Aristotle define good art?
Aristotle believes that good art should interpret truth and beauty in the representation of the natural world. Art, to him, should celebrate nature, and in that case, is better than the original object or scene because it shows the best of the object. A successful piece, should, in his mind, have a meaning behind it, or express a point of view. It should not just be to look at, but also for us to think about. However, an artist who wanted to achieve great art, in Aristotle's mind, would have to strive for perfection. Aristotle believed that proportion, order, and harmony were important to a piece, and without them, I don't believe he would call a piece "art."

e. In your personal philosophy is “obscene art a contradiction of terms? Why or why not?
I do not believe that "obscene art" is a contradiction. What is thought to be obscene is in the eye of the beholder. A piece of artwork cannot appeal to everyone who looks at it, so some might find obscene what others find beautiful. Many artists do not always show beautiful, pleasing images in their work, but rather show problems of the world using disturbing imagery. Others may show the beauty of the human body through art by using racy images. I still consider pieces that illustrate violence and sexuality art if the artists are inviting us to look at them for a reason. All in all, I think art should have a reason behind it, but that it doesn't have to be beautiful or pleasing to everyone.

f. Are vivid sexual images more obscene that vivid images of violence, poverty, display of extreme wealth or sickness?
I do not think sexual images are any more obscene than portrayals of any other "disturbing" subject. Images of starving people with bones sticking out bother viewers just as much as healthy bodies in sexual poses, if not more so. Subjects like these are meant to put the audience on edge...its all part of the point they are trying to prove. To me, sexual imagery is less disturbing than images of violence because sex can often represent beauty of the body and soul, whereas violent images show evil and darkness, blood and gore.

g. Find an artist on The Drawing Center’s Viewing Program Web site that relates to your drawing for this project. How does there art relate to your concept, subject and style?
I think many of Joseph Gerges' works relate to my drawing. He did a lot of pieces dealing with political unrest such as war, as well injustices of society-such as violence and prostitution. My concept for my drawing was to show the past to present struggle of the women's rights movement. Not only do the rights of women affect politics, but they also affect civilization. His subjects tend to affect both as well. Gerges made his drawings appear confrontational, and the subjects appear heroic with genuine emotion. That is what I am trying to do with my own drawing. I want the women to appear beautiful, yet strong, and I want their face to express this emotion. His style is similar to mine because he uses both color and black and white in his drawings, and he uses pencil for many of them. He also uses a similar perspective to mine in some of his drawings, such as Exodus, because, like my subject, the people are on a march. I admire Gerges' drawings for their emotional quality and their detail, as well as their perspective.
http://www.josephgerges.com

Week 1-3 Beauty vs. Repulsion

1)An example of "good art" in my opinion would be a piece that is well thought out and conveys a feeling or a concept. It does not have to be visually appealing, but I think it should speak something about the artist and their thoughts, or in the case of commercial art, it should convey what you are trying to say in an effective way. An example of this would be Vincent van Gogh's work (shown is the Church at Auvers). Many people of the time did not like it but his work spoke volumes about his personality and his feelings. His paintings were intense and expressive like he was. I think "bad art" is something drawn without any attention to planning and with no real meaning other than just something to hang on a wall. An example of this could be the painting here (Lucy in the Field with Flowers) by an unknown artist(painting is from the Museum of Bad Art :O). It has clashing colors and no real theme that I can see. Just not well planned out.

2)Honorific art is any art put in a place of honor by critics. It is given this place of honor based the "essential" parts the work has.

3) Classificatory art is anything created by an artist to be shown as art, and it is usually something that the audience can understand.

4)In the discussion of art and aesthetics, I get uncomfortable when people try to judge what art is based simply on the visual appeal (aesthetics). I would feel more comfortable if viewers would think more about WHY the artist did something a certain way, or created what they did, rather than HOW. Then the meaning is truly found.

5) My beauty drawing is going to be of sunflowers on a wood farm fence. The artist Nancy Blum illustrates my view of beauty because her drawings are brightly colored flowers, detailed, yet expressive. My repulsion drawing will be of a polluting factory with dark smoke surrounding it, next to a metal framwork. My views of repulsion are expressed well by Steve McClure because, in many of his drawings, he uses dark, hazy shading to give an eery or dark feeling.

Beauty and Repulsion

I consider repulsion to be caused by anything that repels people from it because it is disagreeable, disgusting, or uncomfortable. I consider this picture to be repulsive visually because it is a moldy, dirty, and rusty shower drain, not something you want to stand on when washing yourself!

Here are things I find personally repulsive:
Filth/Dirt
Anger
Depression
Laziness
Smoke/Haze
Commercialization
Tight spaces-uncomfortable situations
Anti-values
Cafeteria food :)

I consider beauty to be anything that can be found pleasing whether it is a concept, a personality trait, or simply visually appealing. This picture represents beauty in concept because hands are used to perform hard work, to hug a child, to hold a hand, or to help an elderly person with their groceries...there are so many 'beautiful' actions hands can do.

I consider many things to be beautiful:
Nature
Laughter/Smile
Music
Comfort
Historical artifacts
A good story...words on a page
Love
Working hard to achieve dreams
Lively colors
Friendship
Freedom

Week 10-Color Contrast

My first impression of the photo is that it is very simple. The bottle definitely stands out from the stark black background. I like it though, because the bottle has a lot going on in its design. It's funky! It kind of carries the life of the photo all by itself without needing a lot of extra background.

In front of me is a Mountain Dew bottle with several shades of green in a geometric, graffiti pattern decorating it. The background behind it is a simple black piece of cloth, perhaps a blanket or a sweatshirt.

I like the composition because the bottle is not directly standing up in the center, but laying at an angle, not a normal position for a pop bottle. All of the lines in the design of the bottle stand out from each other because of the bold, bright colors. The different green colors on the bottle form a monochromatic color contrast because they are just different shades of green.

The photo may suggest that a person who takes a picture of a Mountain Dew bottle is a little odd, maybe eccentric, since the designs on the bottle are very funky and the bottle is a collector bottle. Who collects pop bottles right? :) Since I like the word, and it seems to fit, I will once again say this bottle picture should be named Funky.

This photo connects to Paul Cezanne's drawings because it is a simple still life. The bottle is sitting on a simple surface, yet pops out because of the color contrasts of the green and the brightness of the colors used. Cezanne's fruit do the same thing. They stand out from the background because of the quality colors used.

Landscape

The first thing I notice in this photo is the curving lines of the border around the bushes. The next thing my eye is drawn to is the bushes, and then the building in the background. The curve of the bushes, as well as the bright green color of them really stands out. The haziness of the building in the far background really creates the atmosphere.

In front of me is a photo of a bush with a wooden double trim around the base of it, on the light green and brown grass. At one time the border might have been a flower bed. The bushes are a bright green and yellow, with muted red tones mixed in. The curve of the trim leads the eye up a hill and in the background is a college dormitory with cars parked in front of it.

I like the composition of this photo because the bush is not right in the middle, and the atmospheric perspective of the building in the background adds depth to the photo. I really like the curving line. It draws the eye upward and around the photo. Your eyes feel like they are going up the hill. The contrast of the colors is nice. There is a light green, bright green, yellows, and some muted fall colors. There are really light blues and grays of the building and atmosphere surrounding it. Each part of this landscape is noticeable and stands out from the rest.

This photo tells a story of students who walk up that hill from their cars to go to the dorms and rest or eat, or even just to have fun. I would call this photo "the hill".

Joseph Mallord William Turner did many landscape paintings and drawings. Since my photo is of a landscape, they have that connection. However, many of his paintings were of bridges or the sea. My photo most connects with his work, "Buttermere Lake, with Part of Cromackwater, Cumberland, a Shower" because of all of the curving lines, the hills, and the atmospheric perspective used.