Monday, January 27, 2014
To this point, I am a complete failure, as a blogger.
I really hope no one reads these things, besides Sena (perhaps she will take pity on me?)
Hear are my closing remarks about Lehman's article, witch I neglected to add. Perhaps I will get the formatting right, this time... who knows?
Hear are my closing remarks about Lehman's article, witch I neglected to add. Perhaps I will get the formatting right, this time... who knows?
When Lehmann talks about the I/O brush, a multimedia tool for children, I understand what she is referring to, when she points out that the focus is on the art being made with the technology and not on the creative work that went into developing the technology. What do the creators of this technology want, a medal? I am sure that they are well compensated for their work and respected by others in their field.
I don’t know, I guess I am just more interested in learning how to create digital art than I am in learning about the underlying philosophies connected to it’s historical relevance and legitimacy.
the following section is based off of:
Lehmann, Anne-Sophie. "Invisible Work: The Represtation of Artistic Practice in Digital Visual Culture. "Digital Visual Culture: Theory and Practice. Ed. Anna Bentkowska-Kafel, Trish Cashen, and Hazel Gardiner. Bristol: Intellect Books, 2009. 33-45. Print.
Is it just me, or does anyone else have a headache, after reading this book? I am with the author, when she is talking about the modern artist having to be “an engineer, programmer, graphic designer, and hardware constructor all at once”. This is why I am enrolled in this program. I grew up in a time without the internet; where we only had one phone and it was connected to the wall. I am perfectly happy drawing, painting, tattooing, doing leather-work, and various other forms of “traditional art”. These days though, you can’t even really do any of that (with any sort of competitive edge) without internet/web know how. If you want to be marketable, as an artist, you really do need to offer the whole package.So, I decided “it’s time to get on the bus, or get left behind”. I may still be running to actually catch the bus, but I will not be left behind. The more I learn about digital technology, the more fascinated I become with it. There are whole new universes of creation and opportunity opening up.
When Lehmann starts to get into the importance of designating creative spaces in the digital era, I am pretty much immediately baffled (I know, it’s only the first section of this reading). Why is it so important? Do we really understand medieval artists creative process’, by viewing their workspace? I don’t think so. Are work spaces in the modern age completely sterile, mere laboratories? I don’t think so; I know mine sure isn’t. There are sketches, drawings, paintings, and other various art supplies cluttered about my room. Yes, in the middle of the desk sits my computer, where a great deal of the finished work ends up. Yes, I can access this artwork and continue working on it from virtually anywhere. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have a home base of creative operations. Am I missing something? Does anyone really create their art, from start to finish, completely in “the cloud”? Once again, I fail to see the importance of how, or if, the creative spaces of modern media artists can be represented.
Reading response 2
The following section is based off of:
Stewart, Mary. Launching the Imagination: A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Design. 4th ed. New York; McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2012. Print
Chapter 2
Stewart, Mary. Launching the Imagination: A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Design. 4th ed. New York; McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2012. Print
Chapter 2
For the vast majority of my artistic career (so to speak), has mostly been dominated by black and white. I’m sure that says something about me… not going to think too much about that, right now… Anyway, I thought the chapter on color theory was fascinating. I had previously studied up, a little bit, on the basics of color. I was already familiar with the terms additive, subtractive, RGB vs. CMYK, hue, value, intensity, and complementary colors, but I really learned a lot from reading about monochromatic, analogous, split complementary, chromatic grays and earth colors, the use of disharmony, and all the various uses of the previously mentioned. It is a lot to take in, but I’m off to a good start, I feel.
I thought it was interesting that complementary colors, when mixed together, produce a wide array of browns, whereas when paired, they become ideal partners and each increase the power of the other. The possibilities for use of split complementary colors, such a Georgia O’Keefe’s “Jack in the Pulpit No. V” were very interesting, as well.
Perhaps the most intriguing of all, to me, was the concept of using disharmony to create an effect that is both disturbing and beautiful, illustrated by the example of Francis Bacon’s “Tryptych, 1972”. This type of concept is right up my alley. You can bet that I will be making good use of this concept in future works of art.
Learning about uses for color, such as creating the illusion of space, weight and balance, distribution and proportion; using color to add emphasis, evoke emotion, and symbolic use of color is all going to be very relevant and useful to know about and utilize, when pursuing a career in graphic design. Being able to target a specific audience, by one’s use of color, and evoke specific emotions is a powerful tool indeed.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Reading Response 1
Launching the Imagination; A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Design, by Mary Stewart.
This reading on the basic elements of art: line, shape, value, and color, was a little bit more down to earth and easier to comprehend than that last reading. Mary Stewart's discussion on the unique characteristics of these basic elements of art and her analysis of their uses in art was very informative. Her basic definitions, cross referenced with excellent examples of how these principles were used by various artists, in different mediums made the concepts easy to understand.
In her discussion of line, one of the most basic and elemental components of design, Stewart began with a basic definition of what a line was and then moved on to discuss different types of lines and the varying techniques that artists use to develope expression and effect, with lines. One of my favorite types of lines is the Calligraphic line, Stewart informs us was derived from the Greek words kalus, meaning "beautiful" and graphein, meaning "to write". I enjoy writing poetry using calligraphy. Like the poetry itself, the calligraphic lines used to compose it tell their own story and have their own expression.
In her section on shape, Stewart describes how powerful the use of both flat and gradated shapes can be for graphic designers. She talks about how different types of shapes can be employed to emphasize different forms of expression. Stewart discusses the different types of shapes and how they are formed; such as Rectilinear, "those composed from straight lines and angular corners", and Curvilinear, "those dominated by curves and flowing edges". She also talked about the precise edges and mathematically consistent curves often used in architecture and industry, as well as Organic shapes, more often found in the world of nature.
One of the most interesting things she discussed, in regards to shape, was "ground reversal": when "figures and ground shapes are equally strong", as in M.C. Escher's Metamorphosis ll.
Texture is described by Stewart as "the surface quality of a two-dimensional shape or a three-dimensional volume". One of the cool things about texture, is that it incorporates both the sense of touch, as well a vision. There is physical texture, using variations in the surface of the canvas, such as thickly applied paint; a technique often employed by Rembrandt. Another form of texture is visual; an illusion employed by the use of descriptive simulation of a visual texture. A form of creating texture I have found quite interesting,
is to use letters, numbers, and words. By varying the size density, and orientation of the text, you can affect strong meaning to a verbal texture. I once created a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, using the text of his Gettysburg Address.
Value, referred to as the relative lightness or darkness in an artwork, can be used for a variety of things, such as: creating the illusion of space, suggesting volume, effecting the balance of the composition, or heightening emotion. Using darker values in a piece adds an element of mystery, or drama, illustrated by Ray K. Metzker's "Philidelphia". Using lighter values emulates optimism, openness, and may express clarity. In the book, the example given is Conley Harris' "Doubles/Triples, Italy". To create a dramatic effect when I draw using charcoal, I employ a technique called "chiaroscuro", literally meaning "light-dark". I use a dark background to create contrast, with the focus being on the strongly emphasized values within the primary light source.
All pretty basic stuff... but still the most valuable tools in any artists toolbox :)
Bentkowska-Kafel, Anna, Trish Cashen, and Hazel Gardiner. "Aesthetics and Interactive."Digital Visual Culture: Theory and Practice. Vol. 3. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2009. 15-22. Print.
This reading on the basic elements of art: line, shape, value, and color, was a little bit more down to earth and easier to comprehend than that last reading. Mary Stewart's discussion on the unique characteristics of these basic elements of art and her analysis of their uses in art was very informative. Her basic definitions, cross referenced with excellent examples of how these principles were used by various artists, in different mediums made the concepts easy to understand.
In her discussion of line, one of the most basic and elemental components of design, Stewart began with a basic definition of what a line was and then moved on to discuss different types of lines and the varying techniques that artists use to develope expression and effect, with lines. One of my favorite types of lines is the Calligraphic line, Stewart informs us was derived from the Greek words kalus, meaning "beautiful" and graphein, meaning "to write". I enjoy writing poetry using calligraphy. Like the poetry itself, the calligraphic lines used to compose it tell their own story and have their own expression.
In her section on shape, Stewart describes how powerful the use of both flat and gradated shapes can be for graphic designers. She talks about how different types of shapes can be employed to emphasize different forms of expression. Stewart discusses the different types of shapes and how they are formed; such as Rectilinear, "those composed from straight lines and angular corners", and Curvilinear, "those dominated by curves and flowing edges". She also talked about the precise edges and mathematically consistent curves often used in architecture and industry, as well as Organic shapes, more often found in the world of nature.
One of the most interesting things she discussed, in regards to shape, was "ground reversal": when "figures and ground shapes are equally strong", as in M.C. Escher's Metamorphosis ll.
Texture is described by Stewart as "the surface quality of a two-dimensional shape or a three-dimensional volume". One of the cool things about texture, is that it incorporates both the sense of touch, as well a vision. There is physical texture, using variations in the surface of the canvas, such as thickly applied paint; a technique often employed by Rembrandt. Another form of texture is visual; an illusion employed by the use of descriptive simulation of a visual texture. A form of creating texture I have found quite interesting,
is to use letters, numbers, and words. By varying the size density, and orientation of the text, you can affect strong meaning to a verbal texture. I once created a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, using the text of his Gettysburg Address.
Value, referred to as the relative lightness or darkness in an artwork, can be used for a variety of things, such as: creating the illusion of space, suggesting volume, effecting the balance of the composition, or heightening emotion. Using darker values in a piece adds an element of mystery, or drama, illustrated by Ray K. Metzker's "Philidelphia". Using lighter values emulates optimism, openness, and may express clarity. In the book, the example given is Conley Harris' "Doubles/Triples, Italy". To create a dramatic effect when I draw using charcoal, I employ a technique called "chiaroscuro", literally meaning "light-dark". I use a dark background to create contrast, with the focus being on the strongly emphasized values within the primary light source.
All pretty basic stuff... but still the most valuable tools in any artists toolbox :)
Bentkowska-Kafel, Anna, Trish Cashen, and Hazel Gardiner. "Aesthetics and Interactive."Digital Visual Culture: Theory and Practice. Vol. 3. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2009. 15-22. Print.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Culture Blog 1
Aesthetics and Interactive Art, by Karen Cham
This blog was created for my DTC 355 Multimedia Authoring class.
I must confess that the scope of this article and a lot of the terminology and references are beyond my limited comprehension... But, the gist of it is the question; "are modern/digital technologically driven art forms to be considered a legitimate artistic medium?" This article seemed to be a whole lot of high brow, intellectual posturing and postulation over what seems, to me, to be a simple question and answer.
Digital and multimedia art are created using all the classic elements of art: line, shape, space, balance, color, etc. Digital media art forms are, I believe, the purest aesthetic representation of the age we live in. Video games, web sites, cell phone operating systems, t.v., movies, and the combination of all previously mentioned embody the philosophy of the modern age, whether by intention, or not.
As an aside note, the question I propose is this: "Where do we draw the line between using technology and being used by technology?"
This blog was created for my DTC 355 Multimedia Authoring class.
I must confess that the scope of this article and a lot of the terminology and references are beyond my limited comprehension... But, the gist of it is the question; "are modern/digital technologically driven art forms to be considered a legitimate artistic medium?" This article seemed to be a whole lot of high brow, intellectual posturing and postulation over what seems, to me, to be a simple question and answer.
Digital and multimedia art are created using all the classic elements of art: line, shape, space, balance, color, etc. Digital media art forms are, I believe, the purest aesthetic representation of the age we live in. Video games, web sites, cell phone operating systems, t.v., movies, and the combination of all previously mentioned embody the philosophy of the modern age, whether by intention, or not.
As an aside note, the question I propose is this: "Where do we draw the line between using technology and being used by technology?"
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Day one of my official entry into the world of multimedia. I know little to nothing, at this point, about web based technology. I have never even read a blog before, let alone post one. This blog will chronicle my experiences and growth, as I journey forth into the fascinating world of digital technology and multimedia art.
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