Thursday, April 16, 2015

Rene Magritte & Surrealism

1.     What is surrealism?

      The juxtaposition of unrelated objects, such as real-life objects side-to-side with stuff from                   dreams put into art.

2.     What motif did Magritte use in many of his works? Why was this significant?

      A man wearing a bowler hat. Magritte, as a businessman, dressed like this and saw so many other       men dressed like this that he became inspired by the ubiquity of it.

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 separates from being just dull repetition and makes it more interesting to look at and inspect on       a closer level. The subtle differences make you wonder who or what the artist is painting.
4.     Why did surreal artists choose to create strange worlds with their art?
     
       They felt the world we lived in had already been thoroughly explored and represented artistically        and it would be more interesting to direct their work to the world of dreams.

5.     Explain how the techniques of juxtaposition, altered scale, and language help Magritte explore Surrealism. 

      Magritte invites his viewers in with complicated and beautiful imagery, but leaves them confused       as to the actual meaning of his art.      

6.     What would be a few reasons why Magritte would cover the faces of his subjects?

       Many theorists say the traumatic death of his mother, who was supposedly found with her face            covered, when he was only 12 influenced him greatly.

7.     Why did Magritte strive for realism & precision in his paintings?

      The precise and miniature details in his dream-like paintings help to ground strange scenes in             reality.

8.     Google more of Magritte’s work and include 2 images that interest you.

  • Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work
Clairvoyance
   Magritte employs his motif of a man in a suit and makes his painting absurd by having the subject      paint a picture of a bird while staring at an unhatched egg. It is so impractical it is as if it came from    a dream.
The Art of Living
Here Magritte uses mismatched proportions in his painting of a suited man with a disproportionately large and round head and regular sized facial features. 

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Inspiring Artists

I like how her face is colorless but the trees are green.

I like how this picture plays with the mind's eye and how we see things.

 I like the smoke coming out of his eyes, it's really mysterious and creepy.

 I like how this artist moved the facial features onto other body parts.

 I think this picture is so beautiful and I love how the arches in the bridge are where her eyes would be!

I think this picture does a really good job of showing how this girl feels invisible and worthless when she looks in the mirror. 

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Dada Finals

Cut Copy and Rearrange

Halftone Screen

Color Blocks

Text Overlay
I really liked the concept of having a lot of personal autonomy with this project but I ended up feeling vaguely uncomfortable with the amount of complicated editing decisions I was required to make. I really enjoy editing but I like more simplistic editing and I felt my projects were not "Dada" enough, so I would do more editing but then I wouldn't like the image nearly as much. My favorite one was the color block because I like playing with color and I liked how simple and easy to make the shapes were. I also liked the simplicity of my cut, copy, and rearrange piece and how much negative space there was to play around with. This project made me realize I enjoy photography and editing more when I have a specific goal to achieve and not so much when I'm just working aimlessly, mainly because my sense of time and deadlines gets messed up, and I never feel satisfied with my work. I really enjoyed many of the Dada art pieces we looked at as a class, but did not enjoy making my own nearly as much.

Dada Studio Experimentation

It was really fun working in the studio trying to take interesting and dynamic photographs! We used a lot of props and did some crazy poses and really enjoyed ourselves in the studio! I liked experimenting with different color backgrounds and lighting. I can't wait to go back in the studio again!