Works of Art I Know

Genesis Wall Sculpture
David Robertson
Contemporary (Actual Date Unknown)
American

How the artist uses texture:
This sculpture seems to branch out in a way that makes the viewer's eyes travel up and down repeatedly as if the entire sculpture cannot fit in one view. The multiple extensions on the sculpture all have different textures. My guess is that the textures are to show diversity. There is a lot of emphasis happening in this piece of art as well. There is a line of symmetry cutting across the center so both the top and bottom are identical. This small detail that actually affects the whole sculpture is not only hard to spot, but teasing in a way as if Robertson is saying, "can you see it?" At first I couldn't notice it because the arrangement and textures seemed so random.

This is a hand-made steel sculpture. I'm not familiar with working with steel, but I don't think that he used his hands to create the textures. I think that the longest branch formed its own texture from being handled so much. As for the short one which increases in width, I think he used a smoothing tool to flatten any bumps it formed. The skinny one which has a small hook at the end is too small to take on any texture unless it was intentionally made. I think that the artist wanted to keep that branch texture-less because otherwise it would be hard to take on the form it has now. As for the other skinny piece, i think Robertson took a skinny cylinder-shaped object, laid the steel on a flat surface, and pressed the cylinder into the steel, keeping the width in between constant.

Works of Art I Know

Princess with Magic Fish
Tom Otterness
2003
American

Story of the Sculpture:
Tom Otterness describes the famous fairytale about the magic fish who grants a girl many wishes, one of which is to become a princess. She frequently returns to the fish by the sea (as depicted in the sculpture), until he sees that the princess is getting too greedy and decides that enough is enough. Just as quickly as he granted her wishes, he made them all disappear, leaving the princess once again a poor girl, just like she was before she met the fish.

I was familiar with this story before I saw the sculpture, but I think that someone who didn't know before could have figured out the story by examining the sculpture. One of the things that hints the main idea of the story is the posture of the princess. She has one hand extended to the fish: almost like she's asking for something (in this case, asking him to grant her wish). Or, she could be reaching to the ring that the fish holds in his mouth. The ring could have been one of her wishes, or it could symbolize her wish to marry. The crown was another give-away, confirming the "princess" part of the title.

Works of Art I Know

Flowers
Jan Van Huysum
1722
Dutch

5 O'Clock Shadow: Green Heron
Pamela Askew
2008
American

How are these paintings similar? Different?
These paintings are both oil on canvas. They are similar in a way because they include nature as the main focus. They are different because in the first painting by Jan Van Huysum the emphasis on the flowers is created by placement: the flowers are in the center of the canvas and take up most of the space. In "5 O'Clock Shadow: Green heron" the emphasis comes from the trail of white lily pads that lead to the yellow object.

How are the artists visions the same?
I think that both artists are trying to capture the beauty of nature through these paintings. I also think that the color was very important to these painters. In "Flowers", the colors of the flowers needed to have a big range so that the viewers can focus on all the flowers instead of their eyes lingering on certain few. In Pamela Askew's painting, the contrast between the lillies and the water was key so that the lily's could stand out and lead the viewers to the object.

Works of Art I Know

The Arbour
Phillip Fox
1910
Australian

What is the Artist's point of view about family?
I think over all the artist wants to portray this family as loving. They spent time together and interact with eachother. judging by their clothes, the family looks like middle class. They also seem happy and relaxed. I also think that Phillip Fox is showing us the roles of the family: father, mother, care-taker or relative, and children.

How the artist uses the principles of design:
I think that the emphasis in this painting is on the man in dark blue and the woman in white. The repetition of the leaves are leading the watchers eyes to the man, who I suspect is the father of the family. The way all the people are positioned in a semi circle around the woman also draws your eyes to her. I think that Fox is trying to communicate that the parents are the most influential in the family.

Works of Art I Know

Nighthawks
Edward Hopper
American
1942

My first impressions:
the setting looks like a town or a city; the building on the right seems to be a diner or bar because 3 people are sitting on stools and leaning on a counter. I like the lighting in this picture because it's dark outside of the building but light inside which makes us focus on that. In fact, it seems that the only light is coming from the building. This sort of gives off a lonely and empty feeling. What intrigues me is the simplicity of the things in the painting, especially the architecture. The big windows make it easy to see the people inside.

What I have learned:
The building in the center is based off of a diner on Greenwich Avenue in New York. This followed Hopper's style in which he tended to paint from the outside looking in. Light played a very big role in this painting. The glow draws our eyes to the diner and makes us wonder about the people inside, what their story is

How he creates a sense of unity:
As mentioned before, the contrast of light has emphasis on the painting. However even though the light may separate the inside from the oustide, the two must be present in the painting or there would be no contrast. So while some may think that the diner is the most important part of the painting, the ouside is just as important. I noticed some repetition going on in the background. The building in the dark has windows lined up horizontally. This leads our eyes in the direction of the repeating windows, which eventually becomes the diner. So there are a number of elements that bring our focus to the diner.

Reflection

If I could do one of the projects from this term again, I would do the found object sculpture. I am really into 3-d art; the sculpture project applies to what I'm working on with my "innovative" material outfits. If I could choose what I made, then I would probably make miniature objects, like paper weights.

Of all the artists I researched, I think that Dale Chihuly is the most interesting because his glass is so intricate, yet random. His works are also very large, and must be hard to work with. His colors are vibrant and the shapes vary interestingly.

Works of Art I Know

Andy Goldsworthy
Icicle Star
2003
British

My first impressions:
this piece is so creative and must have taken a really long time to find the right size and shape icicles. Because of the form, this sculpture is probably extremely delicate, especially since icicles in general are very delicate. He must have exerted a lot of effort into balancing the legs of the sculpture on the un-even rock. The color is a translucent white, with a bit of blue. I'm also assuming that he had to work on this quickly so the icicles wouldn't melt in his hands.

What I have learned:
Andy Goldsworthy is known for working on sculptures from natural objects. Icicle Star is one of his temporary sculptures. Temporary sculptures are called ephmerel art. Other ephmerel art sculptures of his are made from sand, leaves, snow and anything you can find in nature. Since this kind of art doesn't last long, he takes photographs of them to document.