Process Post #17 - January 26, 20181/26/2018 This week, I layered on a bunch of paint and covered up the ugly purple, white, and red texture that I had tried to create. I discovered that it is much more difficult to create expansive surface on a large canvas, although I do like the way my painting looks. I tried to make larger strokes in hopes of creating a figure ground relationship. I am also more conscious of my background and leaving edges so viewers can see how I've built up my painting. I also started using heavily pigmented drips as well as translucent ones in hopes of diversifying my work. It's starting to become very chaotic, which was my intention, but I get a little dizzy whenever I look at it which I hope to fix next week. An oddly french form is beginning to take shape again.
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Awareness Post #4 - Yayoi Kusama1/20/2018 Yayoi Kusama is a contemporary artist based in Japan. She is famous for her signature dot and net motifs which manifest themselves in her paintings and sculptures. She lived in America from 1958 - 1973 where she developed her abstract career and moved in circles with icons like Andy Warhol and Allan Kaprow. Her artworks include performance-based "Happenings" which transform her motifs into an interactive experience. Her works have all kinds of meanings ranging from her fear of sex to gender roles in Japan and stereotypes in America. One of her most famous works is "Dots Obsession." Which is a series of installations of polka dot centric works that try to convey the hallucinations Kusama suffered as a child. The installations feature large, organic, inflatable shapes covered in a polka dot pattern that matches the floor and ceiling. In some installments, the walls are covered in floor to ceiling mirrors which expand the room infinitely. The works invite viewers to interact with them and audience participation is critical to the "Dots Obsession" pieces. Upon first glance of any of the "Dots Obsession" installations, I was floored. I was so confused by the meaning, but I was fascinated by the amorphous shapes as well as how the space was warped by them. I wanted to interact with the inflatables and take a walk through one of these rooms myself. It was as if all of my childhood dreams had come true. The dots are so rhythmic and reminiscent of some odd alternate universe that it immediately reminded me of Wonderland. I greatly appreciate these works, and I love staring at them. It's not that I find it aesthetically pleasing (although the rainbow color dots remind me greatly of birthday parties and funfetti which is always pleasing), but I am physically drawn to them. They are beautiful in an oddly satisfying way, and they make me think about escape from stress in favor of play. I desperately want to pursue a room size installment of interactive artwork. It sounds amazing to customize an entire room so that viewers can walk through and undergo a tangible experience with one's art. Just looking at photos of "Dots Obsession" online made me intrigued, I am positive that experiencing it in real life is even more amazing. Massive sculptural works that involve manipulating a gallery space is definitely something I will be interested in in the future. Awareness Post #3 - Ai Weiwei1/20/2018 Ai Weiwei is a contemporary artist based in Beijing, China. He focuses on powerful socio-politically charged works that forward an agenda against authoritarian governments. He has made documentaries, music, and large scale sculptural projects. He takes an open stance against China's democratic and human rights views, and, for that reason, he has been detained and placed under house arrest by the government. One of Ai Weiwei's most famous works is "Sunflower Seeds" which is composed of millions of small, hand-crafted porcelain sunflower seeds. Each seed is unique and made by a person in Jingdezhen, China. It is a powerful commentary on the "Made in China" phenomenon as well as international trade considering the fact that porcelain is one of the most traded products from China. I love this work. Not only was the creation of it the product of hundreds of people from an incredibly small, rural town in China, but it brought together a community. The community effort behind this work is phenomenal. Furthermore, its display originally allowed people to walk on the seeds and invited those to interact with the art. Imagine touching something that someone from across the world created with their own two hands! The fact that each and every seed is different is still mind boggling to me. I would love to see it in its entire glory and just bask in the amount of hard work and effort that must have been used to make such art. I want to create artwork that has such a large social impact like this. Interactive art, I believe, is some of the most interesting works as it can bring together people and influence viewers in a way stagnant art is incapable of doing. I hope to participate in an interactive art piece or initiate one as it sounds amazing to do. Progress Post #16 - January 19, 20181/20/2018 We worked on our big paintings this week as well. I covered the gross yellowish-brown spot created by the gold with a nice gold square. I also changed some of the colors to a brighter shade as I thought it was too dark and did not properly convey the excitement I wanted to infuse into the piece. Even though the ground was still wet, I used charcoal to make some expressive shapes. It turned out looking a little bit like a dancing person which was very interesting. I think it looks a little tight, especially near the bottom, but I can always cover that part up. I tried adding purple, but I quickly realized that was a bad color choice. The little strokes of red and gold in there was also not the best choice. Since we did not have school Thursday, I was unable to cover up those crusty colors. Otherwise, I am quite happy with the progression of my piece so far. Progress Post #15 - January 12, 20181/20/2018 This week, we finally began working on our big abstract paintings. I painted my bottom layer which I decided would be multiple squares of color. However, instead of a bright gold as I had originally intended, I got a crusty brown color due to it mixing with other pigments. However, I liked the other parts of my base with the blue and the yellow. We also had our socratic seminar this Friday which was very interesting. I loved learning about other people's opinions on the two articles, and it really helped me write my responses to my peers' connect posts. author.jacqueline. she/her. senior. virginia, usa. art v. archives.
March 2020
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