Colors and Values

1. It wasn’t very difficult to create the value scale or the color wheel. The greatest challenge I had was with finding the colors. I went to 3 different stores and the closest I came to finding cyan or magenta was an shimmer aqua color and a shimmer magenta.

2. I enjoyed working with both. However mixing the paints to get the new colors was fun, even if it didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted.

3. The most important discovery in the creation of these studies was how colors worked and how values worked, which are both qualities of light, so how light works.

4. The most important thing I learned were what the true primary colors were, as opposed to the red, blue, and yellow primary trio I was taught in elementary school.

Module Three - Project #1 Elements and Principles Slideshow

I enjoyed taking the pictures for the slide show.  Using the camera was not hard, it was much harder to find photos that I felt captured each element/principle clearly.

For "Line"  I chose to take a picture of the side of my coffee table upside down, because I noticed it have very strong straight black line of metal on the sides. For "Value" I took the picture in black and white because I felt it showed the gradients of light better, from white where the sunlight hits the wall, to complete darkness in the shadows.

"Shape" is a picture of an old lighthouse-buoy and I liked how it combined organic curves with geometric circles in the port holes. For "Form" I took a picture of an apple because it is pretty close to a perfect sphere, but still obviously organic.

"Space" is a picture I took of Canada as seen from the american side of Lake Erie; it was chosen because the distance between the two sides and the size of the lake is easily taken in. My "Color" photo is of the Caribbean ocean and it is an older photo from a vacation I took. I chose it because the whole photo is various shades and tints of blue--it is monochromatic--and has a calming effect.

"Texture" is a photo of a field of cattails at Times Beach Nature Preserve; the texture of the tails can clearly be seen, the whole photo has a "rough" feeling. "Balance" is a picture of Wilkeson Pointe on Buffalo's outer harbor. This photo was chosen because I felt the statue and the tree on top of the hill balanced each other out.

The "Contrast" photo is actually my book-bag. I chose it because, in black and white, the light colored circles really stood out on the dark background. "Movement" is the Buffalo lighthouse, located on the outer harbor. I thought the dark color at the top of the lighthouse drew the eye upward when you looked at it.

"Emphasis" is a picture of my boyfriend standing on the steps of the lighthouse. I chose this picture because for some reason the photo came out looking almost black and white, but his face was blue. I thought his face was definitely emphasized by those Smurf-like tones!

"Pattern" is a dress I own with a tribal-inspired pattern on it. "Proportion" is a grain factory as seen from a boat on lake Erie. The smallness of the trees and boats near the factory are in proportion to its size.

"Unity" is a picture of the lake on a very foggy day. I chose this picture because it looks like the sky and water blend into each-other as one unit.

http://s359.photobucket.com/user/smithba02/slideshow/Elements%20and%20Principles?sort=3

Color: Theory and Emotion

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

Color is a function of light. What we perceive as color is actually reflected light. For example, we perceive an object as being red because the object absorbs all the colored rays of light except the red ones. Color can have quite an effect on human emotions. For example, colors such as red, orange, and yellow are considered warm colors and are associated with sunlight and fire, while blue and green are considered cool colors, associated with water, sky, and calmness. The use of complimentary colors in a piece of art can create a feeling of unease or violence, while a monochromatic color scheme can create a soothing or somber effect.

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

The theoretical aspect of color that most interests me is optical color mixing, which is when our eyes blend small patches of different colors that are close together into a new color. This interests me because it reminds me of when I was a small child—back in the days before flat screen TVs—and I would press my face against the glass television screen and seen nothing but thousands of tiny dots, but as I backed away the dots would coalesce into an image. I found this extremely fascinating as a four-year-old. 

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

What made the biggest impact on me was the artist’s comment about an early stage of her painting when she looked at it and said it felt violent because of the clash of red and blue, complimentary colors. She ended up darkening the shades and making the whole painting less violently contrasting and more soothing.

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

The part of the Feelings video that had the biggest impact on me in regards to color and its effects on emotions was how the narrator says how the 18th century artist Francisco Goya speaks his imagination. The colors he chooses for his works come from his imagination, and therefore also from his emotions and come pouring out onto the canvas.

Art: Science meets Philosophy

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

In the “Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts” video I learned about the various ways art has been viewed and understood throughout history by different cultures and philosophers in the Western tradition. In the “CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics” I learned about the eight laws of art, how artifacts are works of art, the relationship between art and the human brain, and Ramanchandran's peak shift principle.

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

I think the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle theory of aesthetics is the most important because it is the first to focus on art and a particular type of artistry, the writing of tragedies. His 3 unities—plot, time, and place—offer practical advice on the writing of plays, and could be applied to other areas of artistry. Also, unlike his predecessor, Plato, Aristotle understood the importance of art and that it had a valuable place in society.

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? 

I agree with Changeux’s assertion that the artifacts of early humans are indeed works of art and comparison of people to art. Ramanchandran's peak shift principle also interested me because I felt it was almost the scientific version of Plato’s idea of pure forms. That enhanced versions of real objects can create greater responses in people is very interesting and perhaps taps into Plato’s idea of a world of “ideal forms.”

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

Both the videos and the text relate to each other through their exploration of the reasons why people make art--scientific and philosophical—the purpose of art, the history of art, and the various philosophical ways people have thought about art.

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?

The “CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics” film and the CNN article gave me a better understanding of the underlying scientific reasons why human being create and respond to art, while the text book and the “Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts” film go into depth about the philosophical reasons human being create art and relate to art. Together, all these sources deepen my understanding of humanity’s complex relationship with art.  

1. I already had a gmail account so that was easy. Setting up the blog was fairly easy as well.
2. In this course I expect to learn about ways to analyze and interpret art, how to use various tools and mediums to create art, and the some of the principles of art design.
3. I'm a bit nervous taking a 100% online course. I've only ever taken hybrids before.