Final Blog Post

My final art project is based on the work of Naum Gabo and his style of constructivism. Gabo primarily made sculptures but this being a 2D design class, I chose to depict what Gabo may make today in a two dimensional format. I followed his normal style of a metallic futuristic like sculpture. Being more modern than when he was creating art however, rather than depict a futuristic machine I created an image depicting binary computer code. This is representative that our future is not based as much in machines but instead will be driven more in the digital world. I used three different sheets of paper to construct each layer with the frame, code, and background of the piece. I tried to have a sense of texture brought to the piece by constructing the frame of my image out of fact tape to give it a metallic look.

I had difficulty at the beginning of the semester as I have never had any real appreciation for art. As I went on though and realized the openness of the assignments I realized that a form of art is in mechanical design and specifically in cars which I do appreciate. The openness of each of our class projects was extremely helpful for me because virtually every project we did I was able to find a concept that I could relate to and appreciate. Throughout further study of the artist that I focused in on this semester I even realized that Gabo actually studied engineering. My biggest take away form this class is realizing that art is in more places than just on a canvas in a museum. I don't see anyway to improve this aspect of the class, I appreciate that we were all able to find topics that fit our own interest and stay within the given guidelines.

2017 Student Exhibition

I visited the student exhibition this past week in the fine arts gallery. One exhibit that drew my attention more than the others was the exhibition on pets. These were visual paintings appearing to adore animals that could be found in most homes. One painting that I chose to focus on was a close up of a dog's face. The focal point of the piece is the dog's eyes which appear very life like. The brush strokes around the dog's face appear to give the fur lifelike qualities and even though it is clearly a painting it has the realistic characteristics of a photograph.

Light City at Loyola

The on campus event that I chose to attend first was Light City on Loyola's campus. The three exhibitions that caught my attention most were the digital projection of art pieces inside the student center, the large "L" that was in front of humanities, and the motion projection of art that was outside the student center. The digital art depictions displayed on the glass instantly made the art pieces appear modern even for pieces that were over a century old. By changing the medium of which the art piece is viewed it changes the interpretation of the piece. The large "L" outside of Humanities was more of just a fun art piece that was pleasing to view. The changing colors draw in observers from a distance away and it is only on approach that the "L" becomes distinct form a mass of light. The planetary motion projection was my favorite piece form the event. It reminded me more of a short movie than a traditional art piece and held my attention longer. Rather than analyze one image I was viewing a series of movements.

Post Modernism

The articles I read on post modernism were difficult for me to form an opinion on. What I gathered from them is that post modernism is the unification of many cultures and types of art into the formation of one project. Traits from numerous regions of the globe form together to create one unique identity in it's respective field. An example was given of coke in that they take capitalism as well as traits scene from buddhist and hindu through their advertisement campaigns that would never ordinarily go together. These unlike things would never be expected to conform with one another and instead not only conform together, but create unique ideas that make up nearly every aspect of our everyday modern lives.

Kubler

An interesting thing I noted in Kubler's article was the emphasis he placed on the similarities between scientists and artists yet the different treatment they receive. Historically advances in science are spoken of more often than that of artists. Additionally Kubler emphasizes specialization among scientists and its's similarities to artists. A physicist is not expected to understand or be successful at biology just as two artists may be masters of different fields but not broadly a master at art. A physicist is not a waste roof science in the broadest sense similar to an artist.

Data Visualization

I enjoyed the video about data visualization because it expanded on the possibility of using data visualization for a purpose other than that of a standard art form. There is a form of practicality that can be utilized through the use of data visualization. I have seen data visualization from working in a restaurant. I took the data on the number of food items sold in a given week and then created a new menu based off of the information. The data visualization here did not necessarily create an art but it did create a menu from the affects of its analysis. Art typically conveys a message just as data does. Data transmits a message to improve or analyze something while normal art analysis also conveys a message.

Originally these two pieces both appeared white. When placed on top of one another the smaller piece of paper appears more of a grayish or blue color. The larger bottom piece appears closer to a beige.