Respond

* Respond article

I thought that the criticism was just saying what I think about the work. However, after this reading I could think about the ways of criticizing again. Especially, after I criticized, I could not always know of my criticism was clearly stated. Now, I think I can approach criticism easily and simply when I criticize some pieces by clearly stating my personal reaction and then formal analysis of structure.


*Respond Art21

Why I chose Tim Hawkinson was that I was interested in the relationships of space and sounds in his work. I can find things we think to be incompatible are harmonized, so we can sympathize. In other hands, the different materials can have relationships.
First of all, the piece I saw for the first time was a person’s expression of emotion using each piece of picture and machines. Most people think that a machine looks cold, stiff, and unemotional, but he related machine and expression. Then, we can have fun and movement when we see the expression using the machine. I think this is very strange to happen because we can have movement through a machine with no emotion. I saw other works about the human body. Actually they were about body relationship, but what I was interested in was what he used for his work. For example, he used various pencils for expressing the blood vessels of a big toe. I could find harmony between the living things and the unliving things.
Second, I saw the relationship with space and music. In Art:21, he was very interested in music. So, he started to work using various materials to make sounds. These materials were unexpected, but the sound they make is very beautiful, like raining sounds. He started this art from a three-dimensional drawing. The drawing used pencils and span around, so in his real work, he was spinning huge vinyls.
In Moss Mola NorthAdams, his exhibition was horn balloons. These works were my favorite thing in his art because at the video showing, everyone in the exhibition hall enjoyed his work. As he said, they could dance seeing and listening to his structures. We could just see the surface of it, but inside of his work there was another space, so they could make sounds.
Thus, I think it is important for him ad his art to exist with unusual materials relationships even though the materials in the relationships are unexpected, because we can respond to his work with enjoyment. Maybe he can enjoy himself doing his work, so we can have fun.


by YunJi Jeong

Danqing

about the reading:

This article’s main aim is to introduce how to write a art criticism, by means of classify different kinds of art criticism, reviewing the kinds of criticism’s history and giving examples.

about the art 21:
Tim Hawkinson
Reasonable random

Random does not mean unreasonable. In Tim Hawkinson’s work, this point is proved and strengthened.

‘emotor’

Facial expression is one of our communication tool, which responses to reacting or representing. We can detect one’s inner emotion through different facial expressions, for example: smiling refers happiness and appreciation, tear connects with sadness and isolation.

However, when I face to Tim’s work---Emotor, hardly can I define what kind of feeling or emotion the face is expressing. Many tiny fragments of one portray photo were connected by a sophistic machine which was controlled by a series random signal. The signal can change the face of the face and generate countless kinds of expression. In this work, the portray’s eyes, lip, nose and ears keep moving and transformation. Then many hybrid expressions cast a complex and conflict feeling in viewers’ minds. Such as, sometimes there is combination of laughing and tearing, sometimes the two eyeballs are looking at different directions.

Although, those artificial expression is random and difficult to understand. It is not to say they are unreasonable. In fact, human’s inner feeling is more complex than our imagination. Some feelings are easy to be represented, some are not. To some extent, when our inner struggle is too complex to express, we have no other choice but keep silent. However, in Tim’s work, this kind of feeling gets a opportunity to be released.

‘Drips’.

This art installation is composed by distorted water pipes and a machine which output random signal to control the water flowing in the pipes. In the ends of pipes, the drips fall down generating sound, which sounded like a jazz music. Judging from the volume of the sound, we can feel the distance of the sound recourse. It is a 3D music. So, here, the random signal did not create a random noise, instead a music with rhythm and melody attracted audiens.

Composition of Botero’s work

Danqing
(the last post-- "table/chair" --is mine, I fogot to sign my name)

Ignoring the details and decoration, this picture can be simplified into a piece of abstract pattern with circles and triangles as its essential components. A couple of circles in different size were scatted on the canvas randomly, for example the faces, balls, wheels, eyes and even those trees. All of those circles were unified under a well designed hierarchy. The first level is the group of big faces, which occupy about one fifth area of the whole picture. They are the dominant elements on the canvas. Beside the proportion another reason made them so attractive is that they are face with facial features and expression which are easy to catch the audiences’ eyes.

Although, those circles are locate randomly on the canvas. It is not to say they are out of organization. Actually, they are connected by a group of triangles. Starting from the shoulder, through arm, hand, waist, leg to the foot, the contour of portray draw a obvious triangle continually and completely. As nodes, the faces (circles) are right on the top of triangles (body). Also we can view the whole family as an entire triangle. Therefore, the composition seems symmetry and stable.

Chair/table---Richard Artschwaper

At first glance of this work, my eyes were attracted by the fancy combination of a wood table and an exclamatory mark. This work is full of contrasts.

First, the representational table and chair seems come from our daily life without any art work, although there is a little bit of transformation which is difficult to be detected. However, right on the table stands an exclamatory mark, breaking this kind of illusion. It is this absolute abstract mark that pulls the viewers back to the appreciation of is art work. Why this mark is so powerful? The answer should be it comes from textual system which is totally different from the daily life experience.

Also, the shapes and scales make the sense of contrast more dramatically. The artist changes the proportion of the table, thicken the leg and widen the tabletop. All of those efforts are to make the table more stable and strong. On the other hand, above the table, the floating black mark looks more tiny and light. If the whole work is a metaphor of symphony, then the table should be the part of grave bass, and the black mark is the harsh horn.

A Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg

What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon
fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at
night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!
--and you, García Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?


I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops?
What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you,
and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy
tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.


Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in a hour.
Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of
Lethe?

Food for thought. Please listen to this lovely poem here

Writing Handbooks and Exercises

Dear Class,

I look forward to reading everyone's posts and comments. Remember to choose a thread/idea/subject from another's post and follow/develop/respond to it. 150-300 words minimum.

In the meantime, I urge everyone to buy a writing handbook. I highly recommend A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker, sixth edition. You can find this on Amazon or through this source (cheaper than Amazon): Collegebooksdirect.com

An online resources I would like you to check out:
here

I will be asking you to complete some exercises from this website so please check it out.

best,
Frances

Peter Campus -«Three Transitions»

Peter Campus
Yuni Kwon (DM-grad)

«Three Transitions»

“Three transitions” is a video piece made by Peter Campus in 1973. It is a sound and color movie and runs 4:53minutes. During the running time, three episodes are happened, showing himself. As he is mostly in the middle of the screen, the composition is horizontally and symmetrically balanced.

In first transition, he cuts his back by himself and goes into the break. Simultaneously, it appears that he is coming forward. As to say, his dual identities are exchanging their positions, out to inside or inside to out. And he fills up the hole by taping on it. To make the visual illusion possible, two cameras are installed in opposite sides of campus, facing each side of views. One is on his back and the other is on inside of campus. This technique is a kind of double exposure to overlap the two different images on the same scene at the same time.
In second part, his inexpressive face is appeared on large proportion of screen. In scrubbing his face with hand, he is erasing his surface. Another image of campus is gradually revealed inside of him. For representing this, “Chroma-key-effect” is needed.; ∞A chroma key is the removal of a color (or small color range) from one image to reveal another image 'behind' it. The removed color becomes transparent. (From Wikipedia) Through this special effect, he represents an existence of inner-self, which is overlaid with outer- self.
Additionally, he burns the picture of his living image by himself in the last episode. In this time, he superimposes the video image onto a burning paper. As time goes by, the picture image is disappeared. The other identity of him is removed for himself.

Throughout the whole movie, He was a figure, a positive shape located in ground, negative space. However, at some point, “figure-ground reversal” is happened. It means that a background becomes a foreground and the foreground becomes the background. In this work, since he continues to switch his exterior in the font and interior in the back, it is difficult to define whether one is inside or outside. He represent that the dual or multiple identities are mixed each other and bring them under the unanswered question, ‘who am I among the tremendous images of selves?’ Especially, multiple images created by photograph, film and video help to confuse one’s identity. He uses a property of video, which can articulate visual illusions and numerous false selves. Finally, he chooses a nihilistic way to escape from this situation by destroying another identity of him. However, it seems like the symbolic and ritual ceremony to burn something. His decision is quite conscious to be close to true self, refusing false self.

∞http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroma_key

Two Benches by Howard Ben Tre

I chose “Two Benches” by Howard Ben Tre (1949), American and a pioneer in the use of cast glass as a sculpture medium.

This work is three dimensions, representational sculpture. At first glance, the work looks like a historical object. It is organized two benches, a big and small one. Additionally, a big bench is arranged at right angle with a small one in a room surrounded many windows. The works are massive solid. On these seats, the big is available for two normal ladies and the small is for one person. These shapes look like a letter H, symmetry and cubic convex polygon, sixty-two faces. Both benches make same form but just these seat sizes are different. Both sides are extremely uneven, like the reverse of upstairs. Medium is casting glass and painting iron sheet. Iron sheets are just sticked on the glass surface. In the part of Glass, chroma is very low and value is high. Glass is transparent, but not clear and no shine. It is a little blurred. If we try to look at opposite views, we cannot. The color is mainly cold color. Glass color is desaturated soft blue-green, like a pale celadon. Here and Here, its surfaces make some patterns, such as flowing white color and in several tints of fade black color. In the part of iron, chroma and value are low. Iron is painted verdigris color, this paint peeled of and then oxidized original iron color appears. The reverse color of iron is yellow. It is possible for us to see it at thin thickness. Glass surface has a lot of small bubble hole texture and looks like a rock. Iron one makes wrinkled and a little rugged.

This works are composed two main shapes, seat and sides, and assemble three or five parts. All composition lines are straight, but not artificial, namely natural. Furthermore, color is cool and the sense of touch is also cool. Therefore, I felt the work is statistic and no rhythm. However, inside glass solid, when glass get sunlight from the windows, many bubbles is sparkling and inner glass glimmer. Besides, it has the appearance of emission of light by itself. If I look at this work at close, I can see inner movement that bubbles rise up and go down. The work gives me two impressions, static and motion.

Having two faces and is why I chose this work. Moreover, I am interested in casting glass and big glass sculpture now, and I am surprised at the scale because I know that how difficult and hard he made this work.

Portrait of Albert Gleizes

This two dimensional painting is located at the '20th Century' Painting section, 1st floor in RISD museum. The size of this painting is about 22"x25" and has wooden golden frame. It is oil painting on canvas and I guess the man, Albert Gleizes is also a painter, thiugh the painter of this piece is Jean Metzinger.
This painting is pretty symmetric balnced and black and white colored except for the center part of the man's face which is painted with secondary color. And the palette beyond the man. However a;though this painting's whole mood is black and whithe color, there's some saturated indian pink is painted on the gray background. I could figure out this painter painted red color, first, and then painted gray touch over it, and rough touch of the brush. There are six parts of the man's face are vertically devided and each part is a sort of abstract image like Picasso's. The man wears a hat on his head and the line of shapes is prominent. There is a palette beyond the man's left face and the corner of it comes in touch with a vertical line of the man's left shoulder. I don;t know exactly what the line really means, actually.
I can see some rough actual texture which I guess mixture with sand under the man's purple colored neck tie. This purple color is the complementary hue from his face.
This painting was like Picasso's piece, when I first see it, but it wasn't, but its metamorphosis is quite abstractionism like and the contrast of the value is conspicious.

the dinners.( les soupeurs- pablo, picasso)

When I saw this picture at first, I felt something powerful. I felt power from it because of the color that it has. There are primary red, black, white and especially green is allover the painting. There is light and I coule feel it from the shadow of the face. And this light seems to be weak because I do not see any strong contrast of shdows. In terms of composition of it, the upper line of table devided horizontally two parts but a white dress that a woman is wearing helps the picture not to be boring that is the vague boder line between the white table clothes and a white dress does not pull my eyes to the center of it. The artist used semilar size of brush strokes but it is not static because of their different direcrions. The table has small contrast of value and it is kind of even tone, so I could not recognize this at first time. Usually, figures are a strong eye tracker but in this painting the floor seems to be subject. It is like the main subject is switched with the background. In detail, the expression of faces makes the figures main subject.

La familia pinzon-1965

In museum, I have chosen 2D drawing "La Familia Pinzon-1965" by "Fernando Botero"
that is showing in 20th century hall. When i visited risd museum at first time, this drawing gave me smile because of it's figures look like characters in animation. It is picture of one family and has static and passive composition. It consists of one tree in the back ground and father,mother,three children and a dog in the foreground. Each one of them appears formal look like our thinking. Specially, their features have a very glamorous-looking of round and fat body shape and their appearence resembles closely. So we can distinguish theirs by how they look. This drawing gives me blunt,hard and uncomfortable feeling even though it use mid tone,secondary color and analogue color like gray pink, mid brown,skin color , olive green and etc have calm and comfortable atmosphere. Because the fingures have similarity looks with a straight face. Just only a dog has smiling. Generally this drawing shows perspective using highcontrast between background and foreground, but highcontrast is not well brought out among people except father. It has smooth visual movement. The expression of value is impressed by using dark color and touch with a straight touch conversary, fingure's shape "round". Althought it has neither highlight nor power of attraction, it has a totally harmony of balance! A subject of drawing is reality matter called a family picture. However, it's figure shape shows abstract shape with round plump and fat body not the nomal human body rate. A work of Fernando Botero is showing us the presence of sensetive and tactual body. By this abnomal composition, he try to break from exisiting standard of art and take sarcastic and humorous attitude. The reason I like his painting was making viewers smile.

Respond: "Breeze"

The picture I have chosen is the “Breeze” by “Chunghie Lee”. When I saw it, at first, I was attracted so well by the hues. There is the chroma in the work and the primary color is yellow. So, secondary colors and tertiary colors also exist as dark yellow and mud yellow. Some pieces have value graduation because this work is made of achromatic plain. They are analogous colors. So each different space can be easily harmonized.
The shape of this work is not precise square. Because this piece has many geometric shapes. For example, there are yellow triangles and brown squares. I think these shapes come from invented shapes. So when we look at the picture, we can be confused about something between division and combination. It looks like a interlock. The square in the concluding square and a triangle are similar figures in this space. When I saw the shape from afar, it could be thought as a triangle. Then, I would think this is the division of space. On the other hand, when I look at the art piece more closely the details show a combination of squares. And this work also has a lot of lines. If only the lines exist except for the colors or if only the value graduations of yellow exist, it would be flat compositions. But they have the tones of colors and irregular lines. So this piece can have depth. In the proportion of this work, when we split it into a vertical axis, this piece is a formal balance entirely. But in a horizontal axis, it is asymmetrical balance because it has a hard edge on the upside. Furthermore, this work looks so simple. But it has lines and shapes unsystematically. However, the reason how we can see this work as simple and in harmony is because of the color saturation.

by: Yunji Jeong

Church at Gelmeroda XII by Lyonel Feininger

Church at Gelmeroda XII(18.85"x23.57", 1929) is a 2-dimentional oil painting on canvas and one of the Gelmeroda series by Lyonel Feininger(American, 1871-1956). Like in other his works, this shows his own style with geometric shapes, so this is also composed of basic figures like square, triangle made by just lines. For that reason, it seems like an abstract work at first sight. However, he simplified his themes as some planes and also he has a serious view of the light and color so that they reveal their own construction. In this painting, we can picture the church with about 3-4 buildings, roofs, window etc. Therefore, Lyonel Feininger is the artist who create something between abstraction and representation.
Overall, it is a static painting that the church occpies the lower part from the middle, which gives us gravity. It is divided into two parts by the value contrast because he used tint red color in the sky and dark colors in the buildings, but they harmonize generally because of the use of desaturated colors and the delicated brush touches.
In detail, the sunlight falls from the top and a litte to the right side directly, so it makes some sunlit surfaces, highlight and hard edges. Feininger used warm pastel colors in the sky so that they open our veiw through the sky and gives us calmness. On the other hand, he painted a quite various dark colors by mixing some primary cololrs like red, yellow and blue.
We can see more complicated cubes representing the buildings. He made gradations in one plane by using value differences of 1-2 colors, but he got value contrast between planes by shading. This makes us feel the volumes of the church and the atmosphere around the building.
Some vertical lines for roofs gives a little rhythm and vertical balance by placing them each end of the frame.
Lyonel Feininger made space(3D) with different directions of lines on the flat composition. That is the attraction of his work.

Resources

Hi Class,

As mentioned earlier, here are some resources for classifieds ads:

http://providence.craigslist.org/
http://risd.dailyjolt.com/marketplace/

Posting Instructions

Dear Hae Min, Hee Young, Yun Ji, So Hyun, Eun Ji, Danqing, Rui and Youn Hee:

Please sign up-per blogger's instructions-so you can begin to contribute to our private class blog: Design Vocabulary. I look forward to meeting all of you tomorrow.

Best wishes,

Frances

Design Vocabulary

Summer in English Language Studies
Rhode Island School of Design

Summer 2007
College Building, Room 302
Wednesdays
8:30 AM-12:30 PM