As promised in class, below are some more images of Matisse's cut-outs and Kara Walker's silhouettes. I encourage you all to do some research on your own to find out more about each of these artists.
Cut-outs by Matisse:
Silhouettes by Kara Walker:
Monday, January 30, 2012
Henri Matisse and Kara Walker
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please see post below for this week's homework assignment.
As promised in class, below are some more images of Matisse's cut-outs and Kara Walker's silhouettes. I encourage you all to do some research on your own to find out more about each of these artists.
Cut-outs by Matisse:
Silhouettes by Kara Walker:
As promised in class, below are some more images of Matisse's cut-outs and Kara Walker's silhouettes. I encourage you all to do some research on your own to find out more about each of these artists.
Cut-outs by Matisse:
Silhouettes by Kara Walker:
Homework Assignment #3, due Monday, February 6
EXPLORING "DRAWING WITH SCISSORS"
Taking our cues from Henri Matisse’s cut-outs and Kara Walker's silhouettes, this assignment is about exploring the concept of drawing by means of cutting. You will be using one sheet of your white sketch vellum and several sheets of colored paper of the same color (all art supply stores sell cheap sheets of colored paper made by Canson, but you can use anything, as long as it is a solid color). You may use whatever color you’d like, but choose something that is dark enough to contrast sufficiently with the white of your ground and something that has some special appeal or meaning to you. The color you choose should contribute something to the meaning of your piece (i.e., form and content are not separate!).
Using either one of your figure drawings from class, a live model (clothed is fine), or a compelling photograph as reference material (no working from the computer!), begin by studying your subject/s and seeing simplified shapes instead of the real-world objects you are looking at. Next, cut your colored paper into interesting shapes that reflect your analysis of your subject/s. The shapes can be large or small, organic or geometric, abstract or representational, or any combination thereof. Be sure to cut out a lot of shapes before you start affixing anything to your paper. You will want to spend a lot of time considering your arrangement of elements in order to make a composition that is both visually exciting and suggestive of some kind of narrative or emotional content. When you arrive at a final composition, attach your elements to the paper with glue – or else sew them in with needle and thread, staple them on, or do something else that seems fitting with the content of your work.
In making your composition, be sure to give equal consideration to both the elements and the white ground. Remember that the negative space shapes you create and the way your shapes “cut up” the picture plane are important parts of the narrative you’re constructing. Because you’re only using one color, you’ll want to avoid layering your elements too densely; instead, concentrate on exploiting the whiteness of the ground to give definition to your shapes.
Taking our cues from Henri Matisse’s cut-outs and Kara Walker's silhouettes, this assignment is about exploring the concept of drawing by means of cutting. You will be using one sheet of your white sketch vellum and several sheets of colored paper of the same color (all art supply stores sell cheap sheets of colored paper made by Canson, but you can use anything, as long as it is a solid color). You may use whatever color you’d like, but choose something that is dark enough to contrast sufficiently with the white of your ground and something that has some special appeal or meaning to you. The color you choose should contribute something to the meaning of your piece (i.e., form and content are not separate!).
Using either one of your figure drawings from class, a live model (clothed is fine), or a compelling photograph as reference material (no working from the computer!), begin by studying your subject/s and seeing simplified shapes instead of the real-world objects you are looking at. Next, cut your colored paper into interesting shapes that reflect your analysis of your subject/s. The shapes can be large or small, organic or geometric, abstract or representational, or any combination thereof. Be sure to cut out a lot of shapes before you start affixing anything to your paper. You will want to spend a lot of time considering your arrangement of elements in order to make a composition that is both visually exciting and suggestive of some kind of narrative or emotional content. When you arrive at a final composition, attach your elements to the paper with glue – or else sew them in with needle and thread, staple them on, or do something else that seems fitting with the content of your work.
In making your composition, be sure to give equal consideration to both the elements and the white ground. Remember that the negative space shapes you create and the way your shapes “cut up” the picture plane are important parts of the narrative you’re constructing. Because you’re only using one color, you’ll want to avoid layering your elements too densely; instead, concentrate on exploiting the whiteness of the ground to give definition to your shapes.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Homework Assignment #2, due Monday, January 30th
THE CUBIST COLLAGE:
For this assignment you will be creating a collage out of the four drawings you made from multiple views of your tabletop still-life. The challenge with this part of the two-part assignment is to synthesize your four drawings into one coherent picture that will retain the “essence” of your multiple views while transforming them into something completely new.
Cutting your drawings: Begin by cutting your four drawings into interesting shapes of varying sizes. Although you can make exceptions where necessary, you should try to cut along the edges of the shapes as you had drawn them (i.e., cut out the shadows, highlights, negative space shapes, etc.).
Reassembling your shapes: Before gluing anything to your sketch vellum (use a fresh sheet as the ground for your collage), spend some time moving the shapes around and considering your new composition. The greatest challenge of this assignment is in avoiding the arbitrary: You will want your new composition to be as visually interesting as possible, but it should not be entirely abstract. You will want to retain just enough information about the original drawings that the collage will be recognizable, to some degree, as a still-life. The ultimate goal is the simultaneous representation of four different views on your still-life in a composition that is more dynamic and interesting than the original drawings. The final product should be greater than the sum of its parts!
Feel free to draw back into (and on top of) your collage wherever necessary, using any medium.
Suggestions for adhesive fluid: You may use any kind of glue, but I recommend acrylic gel medium. This product is made by a number of brands (Liquitex, Golden, etc.) and comes in many consistencies and finishes (heavy, light, matte, glossy). I recommend the matte medium made by Golden.
Here's an example of a Cubist collage made by a former student (Cindy Kim):
For this assignment you will be creating a collage out of the four drawings you made from multiple views of your tabletop still-life. The challenge with this part of the two-part assignment is to synthesize your four drawings into one coherent picture that will retain the “essence” of your multiple views while transforming them into something completely new.
Cutting your drawings: Begin by cutting your four drawings into interesting shapes of varying sizes. Although you can make exceptions where necessary, you should try to cut along the edges of the shapes as you had drawn them (i.e., cut out the shadows, highlights, negative space shapes, etc.).
Reassembling your shapes: Before gluing anything to your sketch vellum (use a fresh sheet as the ground for your collage), spend some time moving the shapes around and considering your new composition. The greatest challenge of this assignment is in avoiding the arbitrary: You will want your new composition to be as visually interesting as possible, but it should not be entirely abstract. You will want to retain just enough information about the original drawings that the collage will be recognizable, to some degree, as a still-life. The ultimate goal is the simultaneous representation of four different views on your still-life in a composition that is more dynamic and interesting than the original drawings. The final product should be greater than the sum of its parts!
Feel free to draw back into (and on top of) your collage wherever necessary, using any medium.
Suggestions for adhesive fluid: You may use any kind of glue, but I recommend acrylic gel medium. This product is made by a number of brands (Liquitex, Golden, etc.) and comes in many consistencies and finishes (heavy, light, matte, glossy). I recommend the matte medium made by Golden.
Here's an example of a Cubist collage made by a former student (Cindy Kim):
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Student examples of midterm project
PLEASE NOTE: FOR NEXT HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT SEE POST BELOW!
Dear class,
As promised, below are some examples of spring midterm projects from previous years' students. I hope you'll find them inspiring. March seems a long way off now, but it will arrive sooner than we think.
During the next several weeks, please try to get a sense of when your other midterms will be due, as this will help me establish a time frame for our project (i.e., I'll make every effort to ensure that our deadline will not coincide with others).
Below are drawings by (in this order): Carolina Caicedo, Ara Son, Maha Mohasteb, Alex Irizarry, David Flynn, Taylor Couture, Andrew Berke, Annie Jen, Danny Rosenblatt, Kanae Hatanyama, and Yasmin Malki. (Click on images to enlarge.)
Dear class,
As promised, below are some examples of spring midterm projects from previous years' students. I hope you'll find them inspiring. March seems a long way off now, but it will arrive sooner than we think.
During the next several weeks, please try to get a sense of when your other midterms will be due, as this will help me establish a time frame for our project (i.e., I'll make every effort to ensure that our deadline will not coincide with others).
Below are drawings by (in this order): Carolina Caicedo, Ara Son, Maha Mohasteb, Alex Irizarry, David Flynn, Taylor Couture, Andrew Berke, Annie Jen, Danny Rosenblatt, Kanae Hatanyama, and Yasmin Malki. (Click on images to enlarge.)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Homework Assignment #1, due Monday, January 23rd
PLEASE NOTE: We will not have class on Monday, January 16th in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
EXPLORING CUBIST SPACE:
This is a two-part assignment that is designed to demonstrate the core concepts of Analytic and Synthetic Cubism. The first part, due next week, will explore the Analytic phase, and the second, due the following week, the Synthetic. It may be helpful to keep the literal meanings of the two words in mind here: Analysis means, literally, to break things apart into pieces, while synthesis means to bring things together to form a whole.
In part one of the assignment, you will be exploring multiple views of a single scene (a tabletop still-life) using Cubism's characteristic angles, lines, and "wedges." Your task is to make four separate drawings that will then be brought together to form a coherent whole in part two. Be sure to complete all four drawings this week, since if you don’t you will not have the materials necessary for next week’s homework.
Begin by making an arrangement of objects on a tabletop which you can easily walk around. Choose objects that aren’t too ornate or complex so that in your drawing you can easily simplify the shapes. Next, set up a light source that casts interesting shadows on your objects. The stronger the contrasts between light and dark, the more effective your drawing will be.
To prepare for your four drawings, fold one of your large sheets of sketch vellum in half width-wise, cut or tear (neatly!) on that dividing line, then do this again with each of those two halves. The result should be four identical rectangles, each measuring 9” x 12.”
Select four different points of view on your arrangement of objects (example: front, back, one side, and top). Each view should differ substantially from the others (you don’t want to be making the same drawing four times, in other words). Using the same simplified, geometric approach we practiced in class, draw your still-life from each of these views, with one drawing on each piece of paper. Concentrate on capturing the essentials of each view (the large shapes, the dark/light contrasts) rather than the details. Next week, you will be bringing all these views together to form one single Cubist drawing/collage.
Drawing materials: You may use either charcoal or conte crayon for this assignment.
EXPLORING CUBIST SPACE:
This is a two-part assignment that is designed to demonstrate the core concepts of Analytic and Synthetic Cubism. The first part, due next week, will explore the Analytic phase, and the second, due the following week, the Synthetic. It may be helpful to keep the literal meanings of the two words in mind here: Analysis means, literally, to break things apart into pieces, while synthesis means to bring things together to form a whole.
In part one of the assignment, you will be exploring multiple views of a single scene (a tabletop still-life) using Cubism's characteristic angles, lines, and "wedges." Your task is to make four separate drawings that will then be brought together to form a coherent whole in part two. Be sure to complete all four drawings this week, since if you don’t you will not have the materials necessary for next week’s homework.
Begin by making an arrangement of objects on a tabletop which you can easily walk around. Choose objects that aren’t too ornate or complex so that in your drawing you can easily simplify the shapes. Next, set up a light source that casts interesting shadows on your objects. The stronger the contrasts between light and dark, the more effective your drawing will be.
To prepare for your four drawings, fold one of your large sheets of sketch vellum in half width-wise, cut or tear (neatly!) on that dividing line, then do this again with each of those two halves. The result should be four identical rectangles, each measuring 9” x 12.”
Select four different points of view on your arrangement of objects (example: front, back, one side, and top). Each view should differ substantially from the others (you don’t want to be making the same drawing four times, in other words). Using the same simplified, geometric approach we practiced in class, draw your still-life from each of these views, with one drawing on each piece of paper. Concentrate on capturing the essentials of each view (the large shapes, the dark/light contrasts) rather than the details. Next week, you will be bringing all these views together to form one single Cubist drawing/collage.
Drawing materials: You may use either charcoal or conte crayon for this assignment.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Welcome back
Dear class,
I hope you're all feeling rested and rejuvenated after the break. Before we plunge in to the new semester, I want to urge you all to take a look at the syllabus, which will not only give you a sense of what lies ahead for the spring but will also refresh your memory regarding important course policies. Please take some time to read through the entirety of the text, which is contained in the links to the right under "SYLLABUS."
I hope you're all feeling rested and rejuvenated after the break. Before we plunge in to the new semester, I want to urge you all to take a look at the syllabus, which will not only give you a sense of what lies ahead for the spring but will also refresh your memory regarding important course policies. Please take some time to read through the entirety of the text, which is contained in the links to the right under "SYLLABUS."
Syllabus for spring semester
Dear class,
Welcome back! I hope you're all feeling rested and rejuvenated. Before we plunge in to the new semester, I urge you all to take a look at the new syllabus, which will give you a sense of what lies ahead for the spring. It will also serve to refresh your memory regarding the course policies. Please take the time to read through the whole thing:
Welcome back! I hope you're all feeling rested and rejuvenated. Before we plunge in to the new semester, I urge you all to take a look at the new syllabus, which will give you a sense of what lies ahead for the spring. It will also serve to refresh your memory regarding the course policies. Please take the time to read through the whole thing:
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