Art Making/Material Exploration #1: Exploring Value and The Subtractive Color Theory Blog

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

- I thought it was more difficult than it looked both on the video and when actually sitting down to do it. I found it tedious and also you have to really pay attentions to the pressure you are putting on the pencil. I liked doing the color wheel, but I think it was also harder than it looked and I feel my "Magenta" was actually more of a red tone.

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

I really liked painting. I haven't painted since I was a child and it was a little bit more of a free form, not a tedious as making the value chart. I also found the colors to be very pigmented and it was a new experience because I have never worked with acrylic paints before.

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

I think its important to show the break down of how things get there color and also how art gets to be darker or lighter. This shows the steps and how and white artist choose there colors and hues.

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

I learned that the real primary colors are magenta cyan and yellow, which blew my mind because growing up it was always red yellow and blue or any kind. I also found that the graphic works best on vellum paper. which i never knew that the paper could mean the world of difference, which after this project makes sense.

Photo Reflection

Reflective Process:

Firstly I took photos of the things that I found ascetically pleasing. I then looked at what I had and tried to see it they would fit into different elements, I also tried to go for a more abstract approach. For line I used he wire of the birdcage, but also how the light eliminated shadows on the wall that created more lines. Then for other shots I tried a more obvious approach like with color of my tattoo I liked how brightly colored it was and how the light played off each color and how it created harmony. I tried to center each subject for exampled for texture I did my dogs nose up close so the texture was the subject of the photo. I also wanted to make some of them more subtle like the balance and rhythm and balance I really liked to play off the colors for the rhythm and how the foreground and the background had similar elements that tied the photo together, and with the balance I liked making it an asymmetrical balance because it made it more unique. 

http://s1293.beta.photobucket.com/user/annacolfels/library/

Color Theory and Emotional Effects

Questions and Topics for Your Blog Posting:

1.Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

Colors have the effects on emotions in every technical aspect of art, and culture. Humans are attracted to certain colors based off of preference, intensity of the color, and meaning behind a color. Colors can make us feel scared sad alert disgusted to name a few, but the factors that make up color also trigger the human brain to create emotions. The website shows that value, hue, intensity, and even schemes can create emotions with in us and make us feel certain ways.

2. What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

I found the most fascinating aspect of color effects out emotions based on color. I found the website interesting in the fact that it had the stop sign red then green and how we associate green with go and red as stop. I thing the fact that the reds intensity is so high that we associate it with a warning or alert, but in another culture blue could mean stop and red could mean go. I also found the color or food to be interesting what we would find appetizing, I have read never to put food on a black plate because it won’t be appetizing to people.

3. In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

I thought it was interesting where she explained how even one color change can effect the entire mood of the painting and then in turn how she feels about the painting. I also liked the process of feelings she described while painting it how she felt like a child and how it made her feel happiness, but then she went on to describe frustration and not in the lines or the work, but of how the colors weren’t flowing correctly. Lastly how she felt the harmony and piece with the work because the colors finally all came together. It’s very interesting how the process of color can make you feel so many emotions.

4. In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions? 

How colors and art can create people to feel the emotion of reason, and feel perspective. I found this very interesting because for example the video displays religion and culture, and how through different depictions of art the people felt a different perspective on religion. The first kind of art shown is how the wealthy were able to get into heaven these colors and images were bold and loud and made others feel in despair and hopeless. Then during the renaissance the people felt empowered and found a new perspective and the colors displayed are lighter a free.

Video & Article Review Module 2

1.For each video and article list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The CNN article’s basic concepts were about how humans are attracted to visual art because of how our brain registers colors and shadows also because our brain looks for symmetry because we connect it to a living thing. Another concept found in this article is how art is formed from emotions, ands that artist are trying to mimic reality. Also it states how art is trying to make an effect on the brain, to trigger emotions and that’s why art has been successful.

2. Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosophers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.

I feel that the most important and true sense of aesthetics was the neoclassical aesthetics developed by Leon Battista Alberti. I feel that this was the most important because he talked about the major factors being harmony proportion symmetry and order. He did not feel that taste played a factor in the beauty of art. I feel this is the most important view because in certain forms of art we use these rules, our eyes are drawn to the balance of the work of art at which we are viewing, we might not find it as aesthetically pleasing if it was non symmetrically or did not have harmony within the composition. Also this can be viewed in a different sense where the harmony is a piece of work that has no order to it or is abstract. I just feel that this aesthetic view is the most important because it fits with many different types of art forms and can be interoperated in many ways.

3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture? 

Changeux- I thought his view on why art was created was interesting, I found the most interesting thing he talked about was how symmetry looks in the brain when we see it and how we process it and then make a judgment about a work of art it we find it to be symmetrical

Ramachandran- I really liked his talk I found him to be very intelligent, but also be very real about why he wanted to study this in the first place. I felt that the most important thing he talked about were the eight laws of art (aesthetics) and to be specific to one law about how everything we perceive then involved a judgment following, and how vision is the most important thing to analyze art. Also that with vision is how we are able to judge art.

4. How do the videos and article relate to the readings in the text?

I feel that these videos and article relate to the chapter because the texts talks about the basic process in which art happens like for example the book talks about style and what we find cohesive in a work or art and how we are able to put it in a certain category, and then process and emotion about it , and both the videos and the article talks about what the steps are how it relates to aesthetics. The article and video goes into how it works within the brain and the breakdown of how we visualize art. Also I feel like with the scientific term’s and laws you can take what you learned in the book and analyze it and fit it into how the brain functions

5. What is your opinion of the films and article? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading in the text?

I understand the importance that these videos and articles serve, but I feel that they are too much a literal take on art. I feel like the CNN article really needed to state the science behind art to prove why is made. I feel like this is not what art is about. I feel that you don’t need to always figure out the meaning and concept and steps behind something someone has created. You can just enjoy it and have it be a mystery, not everything needs to be analyzed. I also felt this way about the CARTA movie. I understand where art came from and why it came about, and that it invokes emotions and the access to the conscious and non conscious brain I found to be interesting, but again I just don’t agree with having to pick apart and prove why someone creates are. I respect the form and context and steps going into creating art, but I don’t feel that we need to have a scientist explain every single thing that goes on in the brain when an artist is creating something. I did however like Ramachandran talk about how and why he got into studying this and how art can be pleasing to different cultures. I also liked his reference to a butterfly should only be beautiful to another butterfly, but that we find them beautiful as well. I did like Aesthetics video, I liked hearing what all the philosophers thought about art throughout the ages, I liked that they were all abstract ideas and could be interoperated differently. I also like how you could see the attitude about the creation of art changed throughout the ages. I feel it relates to the text on a more in depth scale because we are able to see how we process art in the brain.