Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Activity #4 - Write About It!
The Old Violin is oil on canvas painted by William Michael Harnett in 1886. This piece employs the design principles of scale, unity & variety, and asymmetrical balance.
Since this piece is what is known as trompe l’oeil, or “fool the eye”, every item in the painting has to be to scale. Scale means size in relation to a standard or “normal” size. (Getlein 136) When something is said to be to scale, it means it is normal size.
There is also unity and variety in The Old Violin. Unity, the sense of oneness, link all of the objects in the painting together, even if the link is only implied (perhaps the envelope was used to mail the newspaper clipping to the musician and the newspaper article was about a performance). There is also variety, or differences, in the objects. Why would the violin be secured to a door? What does an envelope have to do with music?
Asymmetrical balance is another principle Harnett applied to his work. When something is asymmetrical or not symmetrical, forms on either side of the vertical axis (an imaginary line drawn down the center of the work) do not correspond to each other. The figures in this painting appear to be balanced. This was accomplished by using the weight of the door-pull, newspaper clipping, envelope and a large portion of the violin and placing it to the left of the axis while the right side carries the weight of the bow, a smaller portion of the violin and the (implied) weightier metal hinges.
The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas by John Sloan, 1922. Like The Old Violin, this painting utilizes the design principles of unity and asymmetrical balance. However, it also employs emphasis and rhythm.
All of the figures in this have unity. Everything Sloan painted can be found in a city on any given day. The picture is asymmetrically balanced by placing several “thicker” buildings and the cluster of building in the horizon to the left of the axis while placing the train, smaller buildings and the skyscraper that runs off of the picture plane to the right.
Emphasis means attention is drawn more to one part of the painting than others. In The City from Greenwich Village, emphasis is placed on the train, the building to the left and people below the track. This is accomplished with the light Sloan created with the varying yellow hues contrasting with the dark hues on the roof of the train and of the house.
Quite simply, rhythm is repetition. The windows on the buildings and train, and the slats of the tracks (which can be seen to the front of the train on the right side) all have rhythm. The rhythm changes a bit in some places with the presence or absence of light.
Sources: Getlein, Mark Living With Art 8th Ed. 2006
Since this piece is what is known as trompe l’oeil, or “fool the eye”, every item in the painting has to be to scale. Scale means size in relation to a standard or “normal” size. (Getlein 136) When something is said to be to scale, it means it is normal size.
There is also unity and variety in The Old Violin. Unity, the sense of oneness, link all of the objects in the painting together, even if the link is only implied (perhaps the envelope was used to mail the newspaper clipping to the musician and the newspaper article was about a performance). There is also variety, or differences, in the objects. Why would the violin be secured to a door? What does an envelope have to do with music?
Asymmetrical balance is another principle Harnett applied to his work. When something is asymmetrical or not symmetrical, forms on either side of the vertical axis (an imaginary line drawn down the center of the work) do not correspond to each other. The figures in this painting appear to be balanced. This was accomplished by using the weight of the door-pull, newspaper clipping, envelope and a large portion of the violin and placing it to the left of the axis while the right side carries the weight of the bow, a smaller portion of the violin and the (implied) weightier metal hinges.
The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas by John Sloan, 1922. Like The Old Violin, this painting utilizes the design principles of unity and asymmetrical balance. However, it also employs emphasis and rhythm.
All of the figures in this have unity. Everything Sloan painted can be found in a city on any given day. The picture is asymmetrically balanced by placing several “thicker” buildings and the cluster of building in the horizon to the left of the axis while placing the train, smaller buildings and the skyscraper that runs off of the picture plane to the right.
Emphasis means attention is drawn more to one part of the painting than others. In The City from Greenwich Village, emphasis is placed on the train, the building to the left and people below the track. This is accomplished with the light Sloan created with the varying yellow hues contrasting with the dark hues on the roof of the train and of the house.
Quite simply, rhythm is repetition. The windows on the buildings and train, and the slats of the tracks (which can be seen to the front of the train on the right side) all have rhythm. The rhythm changes a bit in some places with the presence or absence of light.
Sources: Getlein, Mark Living With Art 8th Ed. 2006
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Activity #2 - Write About It! - REWRITE
The City from Greenwich Village is oil on canvas created by John Sloan in 1922. Sloan uses several visual elements to create his picture including color & light to give the picture time, line to create movement & define volume and shape.
The prominent use of the color yellow in its primary (plain yellow), and tertiary (in-between colors such as yellow-orange) forms, creates the lighting that is cast at the base of the figures. This, along with darker hues, or colors, used on the upper parts of the figures, implies the absence of the sun overhead and thus the time of day, night! Sloan uses a bending contour line, a line that defines the outline or surface of an object or figure, to give mass and volume to the train and track. Notice how this line creates movement through the painting carrying one’s eye from the front of the train back through the buildings. Straight line is used to create the buildings. The vertical lines of skyscraper on the right create movement taking the eye upward and beyond the edge of the painting and diagonal lines used to create windows move the viewer’s eyes from the front of the building to the rear. This use of diagonal lines creates a linear perspective which is when parallel lines appear to recede and meet at a vanishing point, ultimately creating a feeling of distance. Sloan also employs a linear perspective to the buildings located behind the bend of the track, creating distance in a new direction. Sloan’s use of atmospheric perspective is accentuated by the use of colors on the buildings on the horizon. Secondary colors (a mixture of 2 primary colors) and tertiary colors of orange and red-orange are used to create the shape of the skyscrapers as well as imply light, as opposed to the brighter yellows used in the foreground. Atmospheric perspective is the observation that distant objects appear less distinct due to the scattering of the light by moisture in the air. It was raining the night Sloan painted this picture from a window in his Greenwich Village apartment.
The Old Violin was painted by William Michael Harnett in 1886. It is oil on canvas. Harnett was best known for his work in trompe l’oeil, French for “fool the eye”. This technique involves producing extremely realistic imagery that creates an optical illusion.
Unlike Sloan’s painting which uses a mixture of color to create light and dark, Harnett use the technique chiaroscuro. With chiaroscuro the artist employs values, light and dark, to record contrasts of light and shadow in the natural world, contrasts that model mass for our eyes (Getlein 92). Notice the shadows from the music sheet, bow and door-pull. The presence of the shadow not only implies the presence of light, but it lifts the objects off of the picture plane. The picture plane is the “door” on which the violin is hanging. As with The City from Greenwich Village, Harnett uses contour and straight line to create volume and movement. The combination of chiaroscuro and contour line on the music sheet make the paper curl off of the picture plane and gives the violin thickness or mass. The straight line of the bow, strings and the grooves in the door create movement making the viewers eyes move up and down the painting.
While both paintings are representational, works of art that depict forms in the natural world, they vary greatly in their presentation. Sloan’s The City from Greenwich Village is simply a portrait of, not to be mistaken for anything else. Harnett’s painting is deliberately deceptive and is meant to be mistaken for the real thing.
The prominent use of the color yellow in its primary (plain yellow), and tertiary (in-between colors such as yellow-orange) forms, creates the lighting that is cast at the base of the figures. This, along with darker hues, or colors, used on the upper parts of the figures, implies the absence of the sun overhead and thus the time of day, night! Sloan uses a bending contour line, a line that defines the outline or surface of an object or figure, to give mass and volume to the train and track. Notice how this line creates movement through the painting carrying one’s eye from the front of the train back through the buildings. Straight line is used to create the buildings. The vertical lines of skyscraper on the right create movement taking the eye upward and beyond the edge of the painting and diagonal lines used to create windows move the viewer’s eyes from the front of the building to the rear. This use of diagonal lines creates a linear perspective which is when parallel lines appear to recede and meet at a vanishing point, ultimately creating a feeling of distance. Sloan also employs a linear perspective to the buildings located behind the bend of the track, creating distance in a new direction. Sloan’s use of atmospheric perspective is accentuated by the use of colors on the buildings on the horizon. Secondary colors (a mixture of 2 primary colors) and tertiary colors of orange and red-orange are used to create the shape of the skyscrapers as well as imply light, as opposed to the brighter yellows used in the foreground. Atmospheric perspective is the observation that distant objects appear less distinct due to the scattering of the light by moisture in the air. It was raining the night Sloan painted this picture from a window in his Greenwich Village apartment.
The Old Violin was painted by William Michael Harnett in 1886. It is oil on canvas. Harnett was best known for his work in trompe l’oeil, French for “fool the eye”. This technique involves producing extremely realistic imagery that creates an optical illusion.
Unlike Sloan’s painting which uses a mixture of color to create light and dark, Harnett use the technique chiaroscuro. With chiaroscuro the artist employs values, light and dark, to record contrasts of light and shadow in the natural world, contrasts that model mass for our eyes (Getlein 92). Notice the shadows from the music sheet, bow and door-pull. The presence of the shadow not only implies the presence of light, but it lifts the objects off of the picture plane. The picture plane is the “door” on which the violin is hanging. As with The City from Greenwich Village, Harnett uses contour and straight line to create volume and movement. The combination of chiaroscuro and contour line on the music sheet make the paper curl off of the picture plane and gives the violin thickness or mass. The straight line of the bow, strings and the grooves in the door create movement making the viewers eyes move up and down the painting.
While both paintings are representational, works of art that depict forms in the natural world, they vary greatly in their presentation. Sloan’s The City from Greenwich Village is simply a portrait of, not to be mistaken for anything else. Harnett’s painting is deliberately deceptive and is meant to be mistaken for the real thing.
Sources: Getlein, Mark Living with Art, 8th Ed 2006
Activity #1 - On Line Museum Visit
The City from Greenwich Village
John Sloan, 1922
The Old Violin
William Michael Harnett, 1886
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
CREATIVE BLOG
Brew said we can find elements of art every where in our everyday lives. I almost go hit by a car when the linear perspective of this street caught my eye while leaving the museum!!
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Anyone recognize?
Color Wheels - These are all non-traditional color wheels I have found. Some considered abstract, some for computer use (CMY) and one created by a 3rd grade art class! All very nice to look at.
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This painting by an unknown artist of an African-American woman ironing reminds me so much of this painting by Vermeer of a Dutch woman sewing.
Fun with Illustrator! This is my first project ever in Illustrator. I find it funny how I really admire my own work, but not long before my creation, I used to cringe at those Charles Schwab commercials that created people with the same technique!
One of Lateefa's paintings, Who Is She?.
The pairing of eyes. An asymmetrical black & white.
The beautiful Orthemis Ferruginea dragonfly. The perfect subject of a symmetrical photo.
Anyone recognize?
Color Wheels - These are all non-traditional color wheels I have found. Some considered abstract, some for computer use (CMY) and one created by a 3rd grade art class! All very nice to look at.
********************************************************************************
This painting by an unknown artist of an African-American woman ironing reminds me so much of this painting by Vermeer of a Dutch woman sewing.
Fun with Illustrator! This is my first project ever in Illustrator. I find it funny how I really admire my own work, but not long before my creation, I used to cringe at those Charles Schwab commercials that created people with the same technique!
One of Lateefa's paintings, Who Is She?.
This is a portrait by an artist named Lateefa. It is called Envelope. The caption with the picture said she unable to show her work on a website she had been utilizing. She is a photographer as well as a painter and apparently her work was so good, it was mistaken as being "copyrighted" material and it was blocked from public display. I just recently discovered her work but I am already in love with her!
Activity #3
The pairing of eyes. An asymmetrical black & white.
The beautiful Orthemis Ferruginea dragonfly. The perfect subject of a symmetrical photo.
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