Dreamer Drawing

So for my drawing class we had to draw a classmate's head using hatching with compressed charcoal, white nupastel, and a red-brown/sienna nupastel. For the first half of class I was actually a model (there's a picture of my favorite drawing down below) which was pretty fun. My classmates had to draw 2 heads, and I only had to draw one, and I got to sit and do a crossword puzzle for an hour and a half. I found that my head would slowly start drooping the longer I sat, so I wasn't the perfect model, but I think  people got pretty good drawings out of it. It's weird being on the other end of the drawing, but I learned to block out all the people staring at me.

Anyway, for the second half of class, I drew a girl named Leah. Then, the following week we had to add a background, or "dream," to the drawing, including a place, an object and a person.

In the critique of this drawing it was mentioned that I needed to eliminate the line around Leah's face, and then add value overall. The drawing gets lost in the paper.

The drawing above is of myself and was done by a student named Raquel (and the one in the background is by Jacob). I think she did a really great job! It's kind of funny looking at 7 or 8 different drawings of yourself, because they all look so different. People have such a variety of perception.

Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono is one radical artist. Watch this.

I'd never really thought of Yoko Ono as anything but John Lennon's widow. I'd never even asked the question, "What does Yoko Ono do?" Answer is....anything to promote peace, pretty much. Okay, that's cutting her work short. She's done a lot of things in the past 50-60 years. She's kind of cool and she's kind of crazy which equals some interesting art. Not all of it I like, for example the Voice Piece (from above), although it does send a loud message (pun intended). She's been doing exhibitions since the 1960's. She does paintings, drawings, sculptural work, sound work, video work, performance pieces...you name it, she's probably dabbled in it. I find it funny that I've never looked into this before. I wouldn't say I'm a crazy Beatles fan, but I'm definitely a fan, and I know thing or two about them, their members, and more specifically about Lennon's relationship to Ono. It comes up in crossword puzzles all the time. 


Yoko Ono on being an artist:
"I didn't label myself. I didn't think I was avant-garde, I thought I was me, just doing my thing." (quote from http://www.a-i-u.net/stampart.html)


The woman definitely does, and always has, marched to the beat of her own drum. She creates art to evoke strong responses.

Desk Chair

Desk Chair
1/28/11

For this assignment we had to create a technical drawing of a desk chair. We were supposed to add areas of interest in the background, but I ran out of time. It is 18"x24" and is drawn with sharpened yellow chalk on black Strathmore. To create accurate proportions, I used sighting methods with a ruler. As irritating as sighting can be at times, it really helps to create realistic looking drawings. Sighting has helped with my Head of David and Erased Head drawings. I'm sure we'll use this concept all semester.

Valentine

I drew this for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. Obviously it's a drawing of us, and he loved it. I listed reasons why I love him beneath it. He keeps it on his nightstand. Anyway, in terms of the drawing, it's definitely in our likeness. More-so him than me, but it's us for sure. It's fairly small, about 10"x6", mostly hatching, and in graphite. I had to do a head handout for my drawing class, and it helped me with facial features a lot. It's drawn from pictures I had on my cellphone. I think there's a bit too much concern in my expression, namely my eyebrow, but he insisted that I leave it that way. I wish I had a better quality picture of this!

Kitsch

Upon Googling kitsch I came across this essay written by Whitney Rugg, a student at the University of Chicago that summed up the idea of kitsch quite nicely. To quote her opening paragraph:

'"If works of art were judged democratically--that is, according to how many people like them--kitsch would easily defeat all its competitors," observed Thomas Kulka. Yet, despite its status as a source of pleasure for a mass audience, kitsch is typically considered a negative product and used as a pejorative statement. It is seen as a type of creation that reaffirms rather than challenges the collective norm, a source of sheer entertainment in opposition to the elevated perception generated by high art.' (excerpt from http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/kitsch.htm)


What I've found in my research is that kitsch is....tacky. Also, the word "kitsch" is said to be a derivative of the German word for "trash." However, there are artists who make their whole career around making these trashy, tacky objects because they evoke such a strong response in people. Jeff Koons is a master of kitsch.

(from www.jeffkoons.com)

An inflatable bunny and an inflatable flower. Kitsch reminds me of things you'd find at the dollar store....or the Salvation Army. Things covered in sequins, or salt and pepper shakers shaped like children, or a plate with a rooster on it....etc....I could go on forever.

What's also interesting about kitsch is the it's-so-ugly-it's-fabulous factor. It has collection value for a lot of people. Personally, I question the taste of those overly into kitsch, but it's definitely a different angle of looking at what makes art and I can respect that.

Heads

This is an assignment I did for my Art 212 (Drawing I) class. I have it every Friday from 10-3. It's a really long class, but we get a lot of work done. For this assignment, the Erased Head portrait, we had to create a monochromatic portrait of a classmate using nupastels. The drawing focuses on subjective drawing with mass, perception of light and shadow shapes, and light logic. The paper is Strathmore, and is 18"x24".

Here is what I accomplished after the first portion of class:

blue format & outlines of Charity's face

Then after lunch, I came back, added to the drawing with my darker nupastel, and erased into the drawing to create the highlights.

Completed Erased Head - Charity
2/11/11

I wish the quality of the pictures was better.

Last week we did a drawing of the head of David. The aim of the assignment is similar to that of the Erased Head portrait. We concentrated on light and shadow shapes. This drawing is also on Strathmore and the format is 9"x11". The medium is graphite.

Head of David
2/4/11

With the head of David, I definitely feel I need to go back and eliminate lines, but it is on its way. The proportions look correct, but the overall drawing just needs a bit of touching up. I'm quickly learning about drawing faces and I'm loving it. After finishing the Erased Head drawing I wanted to go home and draw huge portraits of my friends. I just love the zone I get into when I'm drawing. It's a total shift to the artsy side of my brain.

transformation

In light of artists like Jeff Koons and Tom Friedman - we're doing a transformation project. Take an everyday object and change it. Make it art. Change the meaning. Make a comment.

The first idea that came to me involved tooth brushes (I have a thing with dental care...). I didn't know what kind of message I wanted to send with it though. I started by making these lists:

Formal Qualities:
Long
Skinny
Varied colors/designs
Plastic (able to melt and bend)
Bristles (grouped together at one end)

Function/Meaning/Associations:
Cleaning
Teeth/Mouths
Hygiene
Toothpaste, floss, mouthwash
Bathrooms
Dentists/Orthodontist

Then I scrapped this idea. Because I don't have a desirable number of toothbrushes lying around, and I really don't want to unnecessarily spend money when I know I can find something that I already have.
So what do I have a lot of? I asked myself. Crossword puzzles. Books. Glass bottles. 2 shoeboxes of Pez dispensers. Aha! Pez. Perfect.

Formal Qualities:
Reclining character head
Dispenser mechanism
About 5 in. long
Thin
Base (foot)
Varied colors
Hard plastic

Function/Meaning/Association:
Dispenses candy
Childhood
Uniformity
      - alternately, unique in the variety of dispensers
Playfulness
Collection
Sweet
Reward
Satisfaction (instant)
Proportion

The first thing that comes to people's minds when I tell them about my idea is pills. Dispensing pills. And that's what I thought of, too, at first, and that may be the path I end up taking. However, it just seems too easy. I was thinking of playing with the idea of collection a little bit. Since I have so many (and I don't mind sacrificing most of them), I was thinking I could put them all together and spray paint them - so they lose their value as collectible.

I haven't made any solid choices yet. I'm still playing.