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Final Exam

Title: Starchild

For my final exam, I would like to incorporate the most important aspects of my life into a single piece; art and music. Throughout this course, I have learned about the many different styles of art however my favorite continues to be pop art, the bright colors, and textures have always drawn me to the style and I chose to create my own version using my favorite music artist, Paul Stanley. I wanted to create a piece that excited me and combined my love for music with my love for art.

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Virtual Sketchbook 4

WRITING, THINKING AND LOOKING CRITICALLY

Jackson Pollock began experimenting with the drip technique in 1947 as he was influenced by artist Janet Sobel and her drip style. Pollock stemmed from his techniques from previous years, such as splattering and dripping paint onto a canvas. In the video, pollock stated that he wants to express his feelings rather than illustrate them, and his approach to drip painting expressed his convictions through the power of abstract art. I believe Pollock's choice of removing all abstract imagery in his famous drip painting allowed the audience to avoid searching for any figurative aspects in his work. Pollock wanted his viewers to accept his artwork for what it is, and not involve subject matters of their own to represent his piece. I personally believe all art that has been created has meaning or a motive to it, however, when the audience has the power to interpret a painting, it can oftentimes be misinterpreted. I think this was Pollock's attempt to end those misinterpretations and create a piece that doesn't need to be analyzed or evaluated.

2. ART PROJECT

I decided to create this piece based off of one of my favorite songs, "Light my Love" by a band called Greta Van Fleet. I wanted to dedicate this to a specific lyric in the song, "Your mind is a stream of colors". This was the first thing I thought of when assigned to paint a non-representational abstract piece, as this specific image comes to find when thinking of the lyirc.

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Virtual Sketchbook 3

Title: Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Culture/Place: Italian Baroque

Media: Oil on canvas

Date: 1596

This piece immediately caught my attention as my eye lingered on the severed head of Holofernes, the muted shades of browns and yellows drawing my attention from the bright whites and beiges that decorate the rest of the piece. The subordination included in this painting draws the viewer's attention to the main subject while not taking away from the rest of the piece. This painting was constructed with oil paints, clearly shown through the smooth blending and the soft transitions of highlights and shadows. A wide range of dark and light tones are incorporated throughout the painting, ranging from the rich red of the curtain that hangs behind the subjects, to the natural white of the blouse that sits on the woman's shoulders. The woman in the painting, innocent and fragile looking, stands in the center of the canvas holding the head of Holofernes in one hand, and a small sword in the other. Her body is decorated with strings of pearls, a bodice covered in gold accents and jewels, and a velvet headpiece that sits upon her blonde hair. Behind Judith, sits a servant holding a brass bowl that catches the blood dripping from the neck of Holofernes. The servant's body is covered; however, a beige bonnet sits atop her head, ragged and worn out. At first glance, the undersized detail throughout the painting was almost overlooked, until I admired the piece for much longer, and the delicate details became much more noticeable.

Fede Galizia takes her inspiration for the piece from the book of Judith in the Old Testament, a popular tale for artists in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story of Judith and Holofernes, the widow uses her beauty and charm to lure her enemy, Holofernes, which is where the bejeweled outfit in the painting originates from. She then beheads the enemy and raises her sword in victory, displaying the power and strength women can bear. I view this painting as just that, a biblical representation of how powerful women have graced our presence for thousands of years, and strive to create a female heroine for the world to admire. During a time in which women had little to no authority, this painting depicts the tale of Judith in a beautiful and empowering way.

Me with the painting!

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Virtual Sketchbook 2

1. Journaling

Unity and Variety

Unity and variety are complete opposites of one another, as unity is the complete harmony and oneness of the elements in a design piece. 

Variety would be adding contrast and complete diversification to your piece.  

Circles in a Circle by Wassily Kandinsky

2. Balance

Creating balance in a piece makes the design feel stable, as it must have the same visual weight on each side, this could also be known as a symmetrical design. 

Symmetric Love by Sharon Lisa Clark

3. Emphasis and Subordination 

Emphasis is a strategy used to get the audience's attention to a certain spot or focal point. You can use different elements to make something stand out and contrast with the rest of your piece. 

Subordination would be the opposite of emphasis, as an artist can dull areas of their work as a way to keep the viewer's attention on the main object.

The Swing by Jean-Honore Fragonard

4. Directional Forces

Directional force is a visual movement that directionally moves the viewer's eye throughout the artwork, this can either be done with actual lines displayed on the piece or implied lines.

Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt van Rijn

5. Repetition and Rhythm

Repetition is the consistency of an element throughout a piece, creating a pattern.

Rhythm has more complexity when compared to rhythm. It can be the repetition of an element but allows variation between each one. 

Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol

6. Scale and Proportion 

Scale is the size of one object in comparison to another object. 

Proportion relates to the piece as a whole and how the elements in the design relate to one another.

2. Writing and Looking

Vincent Van Gogh, Self Portrait with Felt Hat  (Fig. 6.8)

Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with Felt Hat contains complimentary colors with blue and orange, shadows, highlights, directional force using lines, oil on canvas, and emphasis on the face to make orange pop

3. Connecting Art to Your World

Since I was a kid, butterflies have been my favorite animal, mainly parroting off from my mom who has spent her life adoring and examining these beautiful creatures. I have caught glimpses of the animals soaring through my backyard but have never come face-to-face with a butterfly, until my family and I took a road trip to Keywest. During this trip, we visited The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory where we walked through a garden filled with hundreds of butterflies, all embracing their saturated and pigmented color. Their reflective wings and radiant hues are something I will never forget.

4. Art Project

5. Photo/Design

The photo depicts a polar bear in captivity in the Polar Bear Passage exhibit at the Oregon Zoo in Portland. The photographer of this photo captures the bear standing next to melting ice left on the floor to cool the animal. The photographer's purpose in this photo serves to show how animals are taken from their natural habitat and, in this case, forced to acclimate to climates they cannot live in. This photo helps bring awareness to animals in captivity and their living conditions.

Climate change became easy to photograph as heat waves and wildfires took over in 2021. California experienced the highest number of wildfires in 2021, with over 9,000 fires consuming the state. This photo shows a view of Lake Oroville in California through the branches of burnt trees. The full photo illustrates burnt trees and dead grass as a result of these fires, presenting the result of climate change.

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Virtual Sketchbook 1

Damien Hirst 1992 The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Tiger shark, glass, steel, 5% formaldehyde solution; 213 cm × 518 cm (213 in × 213 in).

The piece was originally commissioned by Charles Saatchi who later sold it for over 8 million dollars

Hirst hired a fisherman to catch the shark and stated he wanted it to be something "large enough to devour you" 

The shark is submerged in formaldehyde to preserve it

The piece challenges us to face death 

Not only has Hirst preserved a shark, but he has done a collection of cows, sheep, bulls, horses, etc.

At first glance, I felt a little uneasy about the piece, as I have never seen a fossilized animal displayed as a work of art. The more I thought about the piece; however, I come to realize it isn't much different than displaying stuffed animals in a museum. Hirsts' approach is much different from the regular display in a museum, as his meaning behind these pieces is to allow his audience to become more familiar with death. Hirsts' display shows the circle of life and represents the world coming face-to-face with death. 

2. This important piece created by my mother's best friend hangs on a large wall in my living room, the perfect spot to display such talent. The painting was created using acrylic paints, black pen, and oil pastels. This piece used to disturb me as a child, specifically during nights when I would run to my parent's room after I awoke from a nightmare, racing past the painting that sat in the dark so it wouldn't scare me more. However, as time, and the artist herself, has passed, I have come to appreciate this painting and the beauty it holds. 

3. My name is Isabella Bazell and I am an 18-year-old girl that lives in Sarasota, Florida. I was born and raised in this beautiful city, and couldn't imagine life without the beautiful sunsets and walks on the beach. I come from a strong Italian family that I am more than proud to be a part of. Aside from creating art, I am a music fanatic. During high school, I decided I wanted to learn how to play the electric guitar, eventually leading me to the discovery of rock music. This became a way for my mother and I to bond, as our favorite thing to do is attend concerts together. My mother is my best friend and my biggest supporter when it comes to my art!

4.