Word Visualization

Reactions to Dia Beacon

I was a little nervous once I found out we were going to Dia Beacon because I heard most of the art work there was the stuff we learned in our conceptual studio class. I personally do not like learning about Conceptual Art but I actually really enjoyed the trip. There were some pieces that I was confused about but I found a lot of pieces that I really liked.

I liked how John Chamberlain used metal from cars and bumpers to make sculptures. The one in particular that I really liked was called The Privet. This piece reminded me of an underwater plant or sea coral. The colors were so vibrant and the pieces looked they were waving in the water. Since the sculture was so tall and wide I felt like I was submerged undersea in a coral reef. I really enjoyed this piece because it was visually pleasing.

The one installation I really enjoyed was Sol LeWitt's Drawning Series. I found these drawing to be astonishing. From far away all you can see is the values of color and not really the lines. Up close you can see the precision of each line and the different directions they are going in. I was amazed by how perfect the lines were drawn all at the same stroke. It was interesting how he introduced color into them too. Having them repeated on the walls make a really nice pattern. I was blown away by the craftsmenship and visual impact this series made.

I also really liked Andy Warhol's Shadows. All the walls in the room where covered in the print with acrylic paint in different colors along the walls. I really liked the simplicity of the prints there was only one shape with a shadow and you could not really tell what it was which made it more interesting. I think the piece is stronger that it is done in all these different colors because it makes it visually stimulating. This was my favorite room because you can just sit in that room and have all the colorful prints surround you and you can just look at them all.

Robert Smithson's pieces I also really enjoyed. All of the pieces involved mirrors or broken glass. There was a mirror in the sand and I thought it was cool because you can barely see your reflection in it when you stand in front of it. The mirror in the gravel was really cool because I thought it was just a mirror but when you looked into it you can see like a box inside of it.

Hand Made Book (Poem Visualization)

One poem I was considering to use for my project is:

Fire And Ice
by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets and I think it would be cool to use the two elements of fire and ice.

Another Poem I was considering is:

Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

I really like the imagery in this poem and I think it will be fun to illustrate it.

Self Visualization Project

For my self-visualization triptych I wanted the three parts to be representing three different things about myself. I wanted to make a sliding device to display the images so the other two would be hiding behind the first one but they will slide away and you can reveal them. All three compositions will be the same picture manipulated differently to keep the piece cohesive. The first image I wanted to represent people's perceptions of me based on only what they can see about me. I noticed I tend to put walls up which can shut people outside of me life so I wanted the second picture to be on a brick wall with graffiti outlines of the pictures. For the third image would be my actual self and how I am on the inside hiding behind the brick wall. I had alot of trouble trying to figure out how to make a sliding device and to manipulate the pictures so I decided to change my idea a little.

I wanted to develop the idea of putting up walls further. I'm going to take my image and have it on a brick wall background. I am going to manipulate the photo so it is like breaking down walls with glass shattering and adding some effects to add a vignette and cooler colors. After doing all the I want to take this finished photo and make it into a Polaroid photo collage. On the bottoms of each Polaroid I want to have a hand written font to write aspects of myself on the photo to portray who I am on the inside. The image I am working with is about 34 x 36 inches. For displaying the piece I want to make a Polaroid camera relief coming out of the wall and the photos falling out of it.

Khalo-Sherman-Xiuwen Comparison: "self-portraits/female portrayals"

Cui Xiuwen’s angel series focuses on a pregnant woman in a white dress. From the title it is easy to think of having this baby is a miracle from heaven. The white dress helps strength that innocence and purity. Cui Xiuwen shows an interest in womanhood. She portrays herself as a woman who is pregnant. In all of the pictures I get a sense of worry like she is unsure about the baby and her future. I can tell the anxiety and vulnerability in the body language. I think the photos are really interesting. Her skin looks so white it’s almost like porcelain.

Cindy Sherman is another photograph who likes to focus on womanhood, being the main subject in all her photographs. Cindy Sherman keeps popping up everywhere lately in my readings. I like how she takes like a stereotypical role of women throughout history and photographs herself in those situations. I do not think Sherman meant to say anything negative about women, I don’t believe she’s a feminist. I think she is just shedding light on women in general almost glorifying them. My personal favorite film stills by her are her “Fairy Tale Nightmare’s.” I find these stills to be visually appealing and I am drawn to them because I want to know more about them. They are kind of abstract because you have to think about what they are.

Frida Kahlo has a different approach than the two women artist’s because her medium she uses is painting. Even though she has a different approach Frida’s main focus is portraits of herself. At first glance her paintings are not traditionally feminine. Frida’s unibrow and semi mustache are not exactly appealing. However, Frida uses a lot of symbolism in her pieces. I do not know exactly what they mean but I can tell they are significant to her works. These paintings are self expressive, representing her life and sexuality.

All three of these women are representing women in their own ways. They all are the subject of their own works. In many cases they put their own emotions and feelings into the work. Cindy Sherman is a little different because she creates a persona that is not herself she is just a character in her work. Frida Kahlo uses her life as inspiration for her paintings. I think it is great how these artists are representing women. For so long the art world has been dominated by males.

Film Still: Illustrator Edit

Photoshop Final