Technical Competence
Students will demonstrate technical competence in art foundations.
Stingray
(Color Theory and Compositional Theory)
This piece demonstrates my understanding of color theory and compositional theory. This piece was created using Speedball block printing ink in two different colors, pink and purple, and was printed using a linoleum block that I had craved the image into. The image depicts a stingray surrounded by bubbles as it swims. To create the image, I first sketched the stingray and bubbles onto the linoleum’s surface using a pencil, and then used a linoleum cutter to carve into the linoleum, carving into the stingray and bubbles so that when it was printed the uncarved areas would be the water the stingray lives in. Once carved, I took a rubber brayer and coated the linoleum in the colors I had chosen for this piece, and transferred it to paper. Throughout the process of creating this piece, I focused on the end result, wanting to make sure it was as visually pleasing as possible.
For the colors in this piece, I decided to go with two secondary colors that I felt complimented each other well. The colors I used are both cool and warm, the purple being cool, and the pink being warm. The reason I choose these colors was because I felt that they would gradate the best with each other due to the contrast between the two colors and their temperatures. Through the use of their contrasting yet complimenting colors, I created a gradient that seamlessly transitions from cool toned to warm toned. The white of the paper also helps brings emphasis to the stingray, the contrast between to gradated colors and the white of the stingray and bubbles making the image pop, as well as creating a natural border for the piece, adding to the composition.
The elements of composition that can be seen throughout the piece are focus, contrast, and proportion. The focus of the piece is the stingray, it being the largest object in the entire piece, as well as the brightest. To help guide the viewer’s eyes to the stingray, I carved into the stingray and bubbles rather than around them so that when printed, the stingray and bubbles would remain white while the rest of the piece was whatever colors I had chosen, making the stingray and bubbles the most eye catching parts of the piece. I also varied the sizes of the bubbles throughout so that they could lead the viewer’s eyes to the stingray, rather than take attention away from it, placing them in various spots around the stingray to draw attention towards the center of the paper. The contrast in the piece is from the white of the stingray and bubbles against the darkness of the cool to warm toned gradient. Through the use of a gradient made up of darker colors combined with the lack of color within the stingray and bubbles, I was able to make the area of focus in my piece stand out more. Along with contrast in color, I also used contrast in proportion as well. This can be seen in the differing sizes of the bubbles surrounding the stingray in the background, the bubbles varying in size to help set the scene in the piece, as well as to draw attention to the stingray. By having the bubbles vary in sizes, the stingray became the largest object in the piece, ultimately becoming the overall focus, the contrast in sizes between the stingray and bubbles leading the viewer’s eyes up towards it, tying together and strengthening the overall composition.
Jasper Approaches
(Compositional Theory and Principles of Design)
This piece demonstrates my ability to utilize compositional theory as well as the principles of design. The goal of this assignment was to complete a set of three drawings on three found or recycled objects, using materials best suited for that surface. What I did was I took a napkin from Starbucks, a piece of thin cardboard, and some aluminum foil, and created a sequential series of pieces of the same fluffy, white cat slowly walking towards the viewer until he takes up the majority of the drawing space. To create these three drawings, I used a mixture of a ballpoint pen, a Micron fineliner pen, a Sharpie, and a white conte crayon. Before beginning my final drawings, I took some surfaces that were similar to what I was working with and tested out each of my materials on them to see what would work best, allowing me to then focus on replicating the same cat three times at three different proportions, making sure that he looked like the same cat all three times, rather than looking like a completely different cat each time.
The elements of composition that I used throughout this piece were unity, movement, and focus. Even though each drawing is done on a different surface and with differing materials, they are still unified in subject matter. The subject matter that unifies them is the white cat, the cat being what ties each individual drawing together to show that they are all part of the same concept. Despite the cat being positioned differently and being a different proportion as well throughout each piece, he is what shows the viewer that these three drawings are part of the same series. Movement can be seen in the way cat is positioned, as well as how the pieces are displayed. The cat is slowly moving towards the viewer throughout the course of the three drawings, starting from far away in the first, to being very close to the viewer, making it near impossible to look away from him, the cat having walked up to greet the viewer. The way the three pieces are displayed also adds to this movement, being displayed in a vertical line, the first piece of him being far away being at the top, and the piece with him greeting the viewer being the last piece in the line, guiding the viewer’s eyes through the progression of the cat approaching through the use of this vertical line as well as the proportions of the cat. For focus, the main focus is the cat, and it is very difficult to miss him, seeing as he is the only thing drawn throughout the three pieces. That, combined with the contrast between his white fur and black outline against the colors of the materials he is drawn on, draws the viewer’s focus to him, rather than the area in which he inhabits, there being nothing to distract the viewer from the cat. All of these elements come together to guide the viewer through the sequence of the cat walking up to them, keeping their focus on him and unifying the three separate pieces and their different materials together.
The principles of design that I used in this piece are emphasis, and unity and variety. The emphasis is on the cat, the cat being the center of attention throughout the three separate drawings, and to add emphasis to the cat, I made him stick out against the background as much as I possibly could. To do this, I used dark outlines combined with coloring him white, this sticking out against the brown backgrounds of the napkin and cardboard easily. The aluminum foil, however, was slightly more difficult to make him stick out against, the white conte crayon’s color almost matching the color of the aluminum foil. To combat this, I layered the conte crayon to make the color of his fur stick out more against the aluminum, that combined with the dark outline of the Sharpie creating contrast between the cat and the background. All of this creates emphasis on the cat, making him the main focus of the piece and drawing the viewer’s attention to him. Throughout the three drawings, despite the subject matter being the same, there is plenty of unity and variety, without it being too monotonous. The unity is the cat, the cat looking the same throughout the three drawings, and the outlines and coloring of the cat being the same as well, unifying the three drawings. The variety is in the materials that the cat is drawn on, each being vastly different from each other in texture and in color, creating some variety amongst the monotony of the subject matter. The two principles of design not only help hold the viewer’s focus on the piece, but create more interest throughout them, unifying all three drawings as part of the same series.
Canyons
(Principles of Design)
This piece displays my use of the principles of design. The materials used in its creation are red clay and a butter knife, and the technique used during its creation was through subtraction. Before the subtraction process began, I rolled the clay into a sphere while it was still soft, and then after I finished all of my subtractions, I smoothed the surface of the clay, making sure to store it in an airtight bag between work sessions to ensure that the clay did not dry out. Smoothing the surface of the clay created a visually interesting texture for the end result, the combination of techniques used in its creation coming together to create a visually interesting piece.
The principles of design used in this piece include movement, rhythm, and unity and variety. The movement can be seen within the different canyons that make up the piece. The canyons guide the viewer’s eyes around and through the piece, the canyons having a slight curve to them that wraps around the circumference of the sphere. The canyons, along with creating movement, also create rhythm, as well as unity and variety. They create rhythm through how they repeat, but are not exactly identical or evenly spaced, some canyons being larger in width and deeper in depth than others, it being repetitive, but different enough to create more interest. The unity can be seen in how the canyons all fit and work together to guide the viewer through the piece, while the variety can be seen in the small differences between each of the canyons. Some canyons are closer together and shallower, while others are larger and contain more depth, as well as some of the canyons containing small holes for the viewer to look through, adding more interest and variety to the piece. All of these elements combined come together to create a piece that is harmonious despite how much variety is incorporated into it, as well being overall visually appealing.
Hope
(Convey a Personal Emotion and Color Theory)
This piece shows my ability to convey a personal emotion within my work, as well as use color theory to further convey this emotion. This piece depicts a bird skull contained within a cube, surrounded by sharp rocks, floating in space, this being shown through all the objects within the piece being surrounded by bright, white stars. This piece was created using a Micron fineliner, India ink, and white gel pen. To get the different tones seen throughout the piece, I put some India ink onto a plate and added different amounts of water to it, making the ink more diluted, and thus changing the tone of the ink when applied to the paper. The varied tones, combined with the varying sizes of the floating rocks and stars, all come together to convey a message that is hidden within the piece.
The personal message that is being conveyed is one of hope. The message is not apparent at first, but can be discerned upon closer look. I originally had not intended for there to be any message within this piece, just creating it for fun for class, but by the end, I could see how my life had influenced the piece. It is symbolic of hope when everything feels dark, the stars being that hope. Despite the skull being isolated and surrounded by impenetrable sharp pieces of rock within the darkness of space, the small glimmers of light that the stars give off show that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it is not noticed at first. This is an important message to me, because despite life seeming so hopeless at times, there will always be a glimmer of hope off in the distance.
Throughout this piece, there is one element of color theory that is visible, but plays an important role to the overall message of the piece, that element being that the piece is monochromatic. The color I chose for this piece was black, which I then turned into various shades of grey through adding water to the black ink, and finally, added white to the pure black background. I went with a monochromatic color scheme because black is often associated with darkness and despair, while white is often associated with light and hope, the main message of the piece. Through my use of different shades of black, I successfully conveyed the feelings that come with feeling hopeless about life, but also the feelings that come with realizing that despite feeling this way, there is still hope in the world, you just have to look for it.
Aesthetic Judgement
Students will judge aesthetic quality of their work and reflect on their own artistic identity.
This piece was created in my Digital Design I course in the spring of 2020, and is a set of Tarot cards. The goal of the project was to create a set of ten cards based off of existing card sets using our own original designs, the tenth having to be the back of the card while the other nine were the front of the card.
When creating this project, I had two main influences, those being the Ryder-Waite Tarot deck for the overall design of the cards, and an artist online named tamatyka for the color palettes used throughout the cards. When creating my own pieces for fun in my own time, I tend to go overboard with details in backgrounds and clothing, as well as use super saturated colors. So, for this project, I set the goals of keeping the details in the background and clothing to minimum, as well as use a darker color palette. The simplicity was inspired by the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, the cards from that deck being full of details while also remaining simplistic. The darker color palette was inspired by tamatyka, her work using a much darker color palette than mine, being full of cool colors as opposed to the warmer colors I tend to use. These goals were very difficult for me to meet, having to be continuously reminded to not start taking it too far, but in the end, I feel that I was successful in meeting these goals in the end.
Each card took a considerable amount of time to create, as well as the research before I could even begin. Before beginning sketching, I did research in the meanings behind the cards in a Tarot deck, specifically deciding to go with the Major Arcana for my project, seeing as these cards are the most important in the deck and therefore could create lots of different ideas from them. After assigning a character to each Arcana, I began sketching, this entire project being done digitally. The program I used was MediBang Paint Pro, a free drawing software that I am very familiar with, having used it for two years prior to this project, and the tablet I used to draw with was a Gaomon M106K Graphics Tablet, which I had been using for a year prior to this project. Once I began drawing, I first sketched the outline of the cards and labeled each one with its corresponding number in the Arcana on one layer, sketching the characters on a layer below that one and then the background below the layer the characters were on, doing this so that I was able to go back and edit details on each without having to worry about accidentally messing up another part of the sketch. Once sketched, I then created a folder to put all of my sketch layers in, creating a folder for both my line art and coloring right after so that I could remain as organized as possible, beginning lining each card in the same manner I created the sketches, The outline, characters, and backgrounds all having their own layers separate from each other to reduce the risk of my accidentally erasing and having to redo parts. Once the lining was done, I then went and colored underneath all of my line art, coloring everything in the dark purple that is the primary color of the cards so that once I began applying the flat colors, I could more easily see any spots I had missed. As I did with both my sketching and lining, the shading and lighting having their own layers separate from the flat colors as well. In total, I spent roughly eight plus hours creating the piece, and roughly two hours doing the research before I started creating.
I consider this to be one of my most successful works created during my time at SPCC due to the challenges I faced when creating it. I had never created something this large before while also having a set deadline looming over my head the entire time as well as trying not to slip into old habits when creating it, attempting to push myself stylistically. This project pushed me well outside my comfort zone as an artist, and I feel that it really helped me grow and showed me what I am capable of when I try new things. One of my strengths in this piece is the dramatic lighting and shading, this being a particular favorite of my peers when critiques were conducted. The dramatic lighting and shading helps add to the meanings I was trying to convey with each card, using the lighting and shading to help draw the viewers’ eyes to different parts of the cards that I felt were the most important to show the meaning behind each card, as well as add intensity, bringing more life to each character.
While I consider this piece to be one of my strongest, that does not mean that there are not weaknesses within it that I wish to improve upon in future work. One of the biggest weaknesses that is immediately noticeable upon viewing is the fact that some of the cards are uneven in width, as well as height. The unevenness in the cards draws the viewers’ attention away from the cards themselves and to the borders of the cards, it being rather distracting and could have easily been avoidable if I had measured out my cards more carefully. There are more weaknesses within the piece, such as my own lack of skills in areas such as background, proportions, and anatomy. But, despite these weaknesses, I am still pleased with the piece as a whole, and strive to correct these mistakes in future pieces. I can accomplish this by studying the skills I struggle with and practice them to improve, as well as take my time when measuring outlines or borders. Through this, I am sure that in the future I can avoid these mistakes and create more polished pieces in the future.
Commitment to Artistic Quality
Students will prove their commitment to artistic quality and professionalism.
My commitment to artistic quality is visible through multiple artifacts, a few examples being my artist talk, business card, and my resume. These artifacts show my experience as well as professionalism when creating, discussing, and displaying my work. Through these experiences, I have developed the ability to professionally display, discuss, and showcase my art. These skills are essential to building a successful career as an artist, as they provide the artist with the ability to display and promote their art to a wide audience.
During the creation of these artifacts, one of my main objectives was to show my professionalism, as well as make information about myself as an artist easily accessible. This was especially important during the creation of my resume and business card, seeing as these two artifacts contain information on how to contact me, as well as information about what I have achieved during my time at SPCC. To achieve this, I first gathered all of the information I needed to put in the two artifacts, creating a check-list to make sure I was not missing anything. Then, I put the information into the artifacts themselves, checking off each item as I went, carefully choosing the fonts I used. The font is important when it comes to artifacts like these, seeing as some fonts look more professional than others, as well as some are more easily read and accessed than others too. Through this process, I created artifacts that are easily accessed, as well as professional looking.
Along with being easily readable and looking professional, I also wanted to make sure that my website, along with my business card, would reflect the type of work I enjoy creating as an artist. This is important, seeing as I want viewers to be able to immediately tell what types of work I create just from a brief glance at my website or business card. To do this, I used the knowledge I have gained of the elements of composition, color theory, as well as the principles of design to successfully create a website and business card that accurately reflects my work as an artist. By including art I have created on my business card, as well as using color palettes on both my business card and website that complement the art I have displayed on my website, I was able to successfully give viewers an idea of what types of work I enjoy creating with just a brief glance, helping to promote my professionalism, as well as my work, as an artist.
Knowledge of Art History
Students will exhibit their knowledge of art history and their ability to write within their discipline.
The artifact that I have chosen to demonstrate my knowledge of art history is a paper I wrote during my ART-115 course. In this paper, I was researching two art movements that I believed were more connected than we all think they are, those movements being the Pop art movement and the Dada art movement. These art movements occurred decades apart from each other, but were attempting to accomplish the same goal within the art world, hence why I set out to prove how I believed that Pop art was influenced by Dada. By setting out to accomplish this, I not only got to learn more about two interesting art movements, but I also broadened my knowledge of art history, as well as how art movements impact the art world as a whole and how this brought about some of the forms of art we all know today.
My first goal for this assignment was to prove how I believed that Pop art was influenced by the Dada art movement. To do this, I did extensive research on both Pop art and Dadaism, finding more research on one than the other, finding much more research on Pop art than Dadaism that I could use. Despite this, I was still able to find sources that described both movements in detail, naming specific artists and events that were a part of each art movement’s life. Once I had finished my research, I then began writing, first describing each art movement and what it consisted of, and then began my comparisons. It was important to describe each movement before beginning to compare them to each other so that the readers would not only know exactly what each movement was about, but begin to make the connections that I was attempting to prove were there between these two different, and yet similar, art movements.
My second goal when creating this paper was to convince the readers that my theory was indeed plausible. This was the goal of my entire paper, so to do this, I created a two-step plan. Step one was to describe each movement in detail, including specific pieces, artists, and events from each movement that were very important, as well as describe what the goal of each movement was, what they were trying to achieve. My second step was to compare the two movements, and show just how similar they were to each other. I achieved this through talking about specific events that happened during the lifetimes of the two movements, such as how they both occurred during or before major historical events, the Dada movement occurring not too long after World War I, and Pop art occurring during the Civil Rights Movement and the protests against the Vietnam War, as well as the biggest similarity, being that the art of these two movements were attempting to achieve similar outcomes, that being what exactly was considered art, challenging the art world to redefine their definition of what was and was not considered art. Through talking about these similarities and citing specific examples in my paper, I was able to prove that my theory was indeed plausible, showing the readers that even though it is not immediately noticeable, these two movements are much more similar than we all think.
By accomplishing my two goals, I have shown just how this assignment helped improve my knowledge and understanding of art history. Through developing my theory and finding research to prove it, I not only learned about two different and yet similar art movements, but also showed how I was able to take what I had previously learned and apply it to connect two art movements to each other and show how one was possibly influenced by the other. Along with this, I was also able to take what I had learned through my research and convey it in a way that shows I understand what I had learned through my research so that I was able to show my readers how similar these two art movements are and prove to them that my theory is plausible. By achieving these two goals, I feel that I have successfully shown my application of the knowledge of art history I have gained during my time at South Piedmont Community College.
Richard Hamilton, Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?, 1956. Collage, 10 1/4” x 9 3/4”. Kunsthalle Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany.
