Art Inquiry

The first video, "Albrecht Durer: Image of A Master", I chose on a whim because I wasn't familiar with his name or his work. Velasquez sounded vaguely familiar so I wanted to learn more about him. For the first video, I wasn't familiar with the name or his work so I wanted to learn about someone new. However, I found out that I actually was familiar with Durer's work when the video explored it more. Notably, his rendering of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I saw it recently in a film "Horsemen" on Netflix. The film revolves around a cop that has to investigate a murder that is based on the portrait (Great movie by the way!). Besides that, Durer's process of stripping down works into shapes reminded me of the golden mean in graphic design. Every "good" design is based off of a conch shell, and the self-portrait of Durer holding the plant could be stripped down to only a few circles and triangles. I found it interesting that Velasque...

Using my hand(s) for a drawing subject was a weird process. I found it challenging to keep the paper still while trying to draw both hands. I'm right-handed, so using my left hand was easy to draw. The hardest part was trying to keep my left arm still and vice versa. Using my left hand was unpredictable and I frequently found myself erasing lines because I could not control it as well as my right hand. I chose pencil to draw the hands for two reasons: It was the medium I had immediate access to and I also thought it would be better for the line work. Considering the fact I was only using one hand, I figured it would be less messy as well - Had I used charcoal to draw without being able to hold the paper still I may have ended up covered in charcoal. Just like any other time I have to use my non-dominant hand to complete a task, I found it very hard to use. As I stated, it was very unpredictable and somewhat annoying to have to keep going back and erasing lines. In addit...

I chose the video "Cairo Museum" as my second one because it related to the section about Egypt in the first video. I enjoy learning about Egypt so both videos kept me engaged. One thing that stuck out to me in the first video was the section about the fascination with the female sculpture in the beginning. I've heard about the figure before and always wondered why so many sculptors wanted to replicate it. It's not physically similar to sculptures from any other period, so I am curious as to why they decided to go in that direction with the female figure. Another section I learned from was the section on Egypt. As I stated, I like learning about Egypt so this section had my full attention. It was interesting to see the ways that people were represented in hieroglyphics, I never realized that people are portrayed from a side view with fingers of equal length and that their heads were sort of a combination of a profile and a straight-on point of view. The second vid...

The first video "Architecture: The Science of Design" explored the concepts of design and related them to architecture. It was engaging for me because of my design background. What stuck out for me was the part regarding skyscrapers. I didn't know that they were built by inserting rods or concrete blocks into the ground, and that every building can sway up to a few meters. I knew that smart houses existed, but I didn't know the depth of features that they have. I couldn't help but notice this video was a little older so I kind of found it a little cliche at times, especially the graphics. I enjoyed the second video about Frank Gehry because I know nothing about architecture. It was clear to see from the start that Gehry has been very influential and as I was watching it I was thinking about buildings I have seen when traveling that resembled Gehry's work. I also wonder if the Burchfield-Penney was either built by or influenced by Gehry's design. I like...

For the scuplting video, I knew nothing of the process prior to watching it. The video showed me insight to the art and skill that goes into creating a sculpture. One thing I've always found intriguing about sculpting was the fine details that make up the final result, and the life that is breathed into the marble. I liked the glassmaking video a lot. Like sculpting, I didn't know much about the craft so I was interested in learning more about it. I always wondered how stained glass was made, my thought was some sort of dye. The video proved me wrong, because the process involves a chemical that gets infused with the glass and makes the color stick. The videos relate to the readings because both cover the in-depth process of sculpting. For me personally, the videos are somewhat easier to follow. I am more of a visual learner so, for example, the part in the glassmaking video that breaks down how glass is made was very easy to understand. As I mentioned, I enjoyed the videos bec...

Blog #1:  https://godfourbid.blogspot.com/ I did not agree with a majority of the interpretations of the elements & principles. However, he acknowledged the fact that each item pictured had some sort of personal significance so I might just be missing the point for them. The images themselves were very well photographed. For the gallery visit, we did not visit the same gallery therefore our images were not the same. I liked their selection of images though, especially the "The Opposition". I would like to look more into the image and the story behind it. Considering it represents political disarray, I'd like to find out more about the meaning and why the artist portrayed the artist they way that he did. Blog #2:   https://drypaints.blogspot.com I agreed with her choices for the elements & principles. I appreciated the nature theme, because a majority of the subjects were organic as opposed to the artist setting them up. In addition, each photograph looked ...