Below are your colleagues' multi media presentations and their full papers.
This blog page allows for you to make comments within each of them.
Please do so on 4 students' works, minimum.
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LINK TO PPT HERE > Alicen Simpson: INKA ESSENHIGH multi media presentation
Alicen Simpson
Professor Pepper
SA 321 Intermediate Painting
March 15, 2020
Research Paper #1: Inka Essenhigh
Biography
Inka Essenhigh is a contemporary American painter. She was born in 1969 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and she graduated from Upper Arlington High School. After high school, Essenhigh went on to study at the Columbus College of Art and Design and the School of Visual Arts in New York where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. It didn’t take long for Essenhigh’s career to gain momentum and for people to begin to notice her. Influenced by being a member of a generation of artists who became very popular in New York City during the 1990s, she is considered a leader in the contemporary return to figuration. Her first big exhibition was for the influential 1998 Pop Surrealism exhibition at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art. Essenhigh is best known for her dreamlike, abstract paintings of every-day scenes and nature that leave lots up for the viewer’s interpretation. In addition to painting, she works with printmaking too. Throughout her career she also taught at the New York Academy of Art and she was even a Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Essenhigh has been exhibiting for twenty years now, and her work has been exhibited in numerous high-profile galleries around the world including The Museum of Modern Art, the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the 2nd Berlin Biennale in Germany. She currently lives and works in New York City.
First Deconstruction
In the painting (figure 1), “Yellow Fall” (2007), Essenhigh uses the elements and principles of color, texture, value, harmony and rhythm. This painting is very eye-catching especially because of the bright yellow she uses in the majority of the piece. Alongside the yellow, she does add touches of green, brown and red to break up the color a bit and keep the viewer’s eye interested and moving around. One would think that painting a scene using almost all one color would cause the picture to feel flat and two dimensional. However, despite lacking a wide range of colors, Essenhigh was able to use a wide range of values within the shades of yellow to create lots of depth, which draws the viewer into the painting. Additionally, by using green to represent the sky in the far background she uses the cool properties in the color to help the sky recede behind the warmer tones throughout the rest of the picture, which helps to create even more depth in the scene. The next element that Essenhigh uses is texture. The texture she created in this piece is very important to the composition as a whole, as it helps to develop the movement and the definition between different areas and subjects in the scene. It is easy to see the variety of techniques Essenhigh used throughout this piece, and most likely different brushes and methods of applying the paint. The wispy lines in the grass contrast against the texture of the leaves and the way that they swirl in all different directions creates lots of movement and it activates the picture. Essenhigh also used the principle of harmony to help create this feeling of movement as well. She arranged the different elements of the picture in a way that helps the scene feel like all of the parts fit together, and the lines in the grass and the trees draw the viewer’s eye all around the picture. These lines also help create rhythm throughout the scene. When looking at the piece, you can almost feel the breeze flowing through all the elements of the forest.
Second Deconstruction
The painting (figure 2) “Midsummer Night’s Dream” (2017), by Essenhigh uses the elements and principles of shape, color, texture, balance and contrast. Essenhigh uses shape in this painting in the way she made different figures and flowers. The fluid, organic shapes that make up each main element are both recognizable and abstract enough to blur the line between representational and surreal. This causes the viewer to stop and think about what exactly is being shown in the painting, or what the artist wants the viewer to see. It raises the question of what is human, animal, or neither. The element of color also helps to create this confusion too. By choosing bright colors for both the human-like forms and the flowers it continues to raise the question of which is which. Essenhigh also chose to place each color and each pop of color evenly across the canvas, to help the piece feel balanced. Essenhigh created contrast in this piece in a couple of different ways. First, she developed contrast in the color between different elements of the composition. Her decision to use dull, faded green tones for the grass and the background color makes the highly saturated colors of each object pop forward in the scene. By wrapping some of the bright shapes up in faded green leaves, she was able to push certain elements further back to help create a sense of depth. Essenhigh also added contrast within the different textures she used. There is a big difference between the rough texture in the grass and the smoothness of the rest of the objects that helps them to stand out. The contrast between the texture in the grass and that of the sky in the background also helps us to recognize the horizon line, even though the piece is so abstract.
Summary
After viewing Inka Essenhigh’s artwork, the audience can understand how inspired Essenhigh is by the world around her, by viewing it in her unique perspective. Essenhigh is able to break down the basic concepts and feelings within different scenes from everyday life and portray these ideas in a way that is both easily recognizable and thought-provoking at the same time. Throughout her different works of art, Essenhigh uses elements and principles of design such as shape, color, texture, value, contrast, harmony and rhythm. After viewing her artwork, it is clear that they all have in common the free-flowing fluid movement across them and many of her pieces also include bright colors, making them very active pieces to look at. Essenhigh’s work is very inspiring to me. It is safe to say that I will remember her name as each one of her pieces is incredibly intriguing to my eye.
WORD COUNT: 1050
WORD COUNT: 1050
Figure 1
Inka Essenhigh, “Yellow Fall”, 2007, oil on canvas, 68” x 74”, https://www.inkaessenhigh.art/painting-archive-1/#/2007/
Figure 2
Inka Essenhigh, “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, 2017, enamel on canvas, 32” x 80”
Works Cited
“Bio.” Inka Essenhigh, www.inkaessenhigh.art/bio.
“Inka Essenhigh.” Kavi Gupta Gallery, kavigupta.com/artist/inka-essenhigh/.
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LINK TO PPT HERE > Jess Kane: ANSELM KIEFER PPT 03.31.2020
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LINK TO PPT HERE > Noel Evelyn Madden: ROBIN WIGHT Multi Media Presentation 03.24.2020 *NOT WORKING
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LINK TO PPT HERE > Airelle Jacquette: KEITH HARING Multi Media Presentation 03.24.2020
Pepper
SA-121
February 24, 2020
A Look Through Keith Haring
When you see graffiti do you think art or do you think vandalism? The artist Keith Haring dedicated his whole art career to street art. His artwork was seen everywhere and even seen around the world from his artwork seen in subways to what he’s made in galleries. Throughout Haring’s career, he even made artwork dedicated to charities to help raise awareness and money, including the anti-drug mural Crack is Wack in a Harlem playground and an illuminated, animated billboard of his "radiant baby" image for New York's Times Square. ("Bio: Keith Haring"). He always wanted his artwork accessible to the public so in 1986 he opened a retail store in New York City where he sold posters, t-shirts, and other items with his signature designs and he also hosted numerous art workshops for children ("Bio: Keith Haring").
Keith Haring was best known for his graffiti styled drawings that first started out in subways before in museums. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on May 4th, 1958 and grew up with his parents and three sisters in Kutztown, Pennsylvania ("Keith Haring" 2019). As a child, Haring was memorized by Walt Disney, Charles Schultz, and Doctor Seuss cartoons and would spend many hours of his time drawing with his father who had a hobby in cartooning ("Keith Haring" 2019). In 1976 he graduated from high school and attended Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh and ended up dropping out after two semesters. In 1978 Haring moved to New York City to return to school and enroll at the School of Visual Arts ("Keith Haring" 2019). While In New York he became friends with a fellow emerging artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf. These artists found a common love for the street art of graffiti that filled the streets and ended up organizing exhibitions,” Haring and these other artists organized exhibitions at downtown nightclubs and other alternative locations, where art, music, and fashion all came together in a dynamic mix” ("Keith Haring" 2019). While having many competitors there he grew inspiration,” In addition to being impressed by the innovation and energy of his contemporaries, Haring was also inspired by the work of Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Alechinsky, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin and Robert Henri’s manifesto The Art Spirit, which asserted the fundamental independence of the artist” ("Bio: Keith Haring"). Haring started painting all over the city streets and when he was on the subway he saw black paper rectangles that were empty advertising panels on the station walls and using chalk he started to draw his well known iconic drawings of things such as radiant baby, a barking dog, flying saucer, large hearts, and figures with TVs as heads ("Keith Haring" 2019). While these graffiti drawings caught people’s attention it also had him arrested for many of these drawings. In 1992 Haring had his first art showing at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, a gallery that represented him his whole career ("Keith Haring" 2019). On February 16th, 1990 at the age of 31 Haring died of AIDS-related complications.
In Figure 1 below, “Best buddies”, Haring demonstrates the elements line, space and, color along with the principles of balance. Haring uses the use of thick lines to create the outline of the figures and the middle ground of the floor. Haring uses negative space around the figures in the painting to make the image of the two figures stand out against the background. He uses color in also helping the figures stand out against their background, he uses light blue in the background around the figures to make it move into the back while he uses yellow and orange making them come forward against the blue background. The purple used in the flooring also makes it move to the back of the figures and push up against the blue wall. Haring uses balance by using all 3 of the elements of line to create the figures and the line between the floor and the wall, the cool colors pushing into the back while the warm colors push to the front. What also helps create balance is the dots in the flooring because it breaks up the pattern from the wall and the floor so they don’t collide with each other and having two figures on each side of the painting also makes this painting have balance.
In Figure 2 below, “Pop Shop 1”, Haring demonstrates the elements of line, color, and space and the principle of balance and even movement. Haring uses thick lines to create the outline of the three figures in the painting and to create movement through the use of dash marks around the figure in the middle. He uses color in helping the figures stand out against the background, he uses purple in the background around the figures to make it move into the back while he uses yellow, red, and blue-green making them come forward against the purple background. The warm colors of the figures come forward against the cool color background. Haring uses balance by using all 3 of the elements of line to create the figures with movement being used in the form of lines around the middle figure, and the cool colors pushing into the back while the warm colors push to the front. What also creates balance in this painting is having 3 figures lined up horizontally in the painting while having the figure on the right and the left almost looking the same so it almost gives the painting a symmetrical feel.
Keith Haring’s work is still very recognizable to this day and his work can still be seen today in the exhibitions and collections of major museums around the world. Some of his murals that were made like the “Crack is Wack” can still be seen today too. Harring has a very famous look and drawings to his work like radiant baby, a barking dog, flying saucer, large hearts, and figures with TVs as heads. Harring is also known for the charities he’s helped throughout his career.
Figure 1
Keith Haring
“Best Buddies”
1990
26 x 32in
Figure 2
Keith Haring
“Pop Shop 1”
1987
12 x 15in
LINK TO PPT HERE > Jordan Thornton: JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT Multi Media Presentation 03.24.2020
Jean Michel Basquiat
Jean Michel Basquiat was born December 22, 1960. He spent his life in New York City. From a young age, Basquiat had a troubled home life. Some of the main issues that occurred were financial issues within the family, his parents were divorced, his mother became hospitalized for her mental health, and his father became harshly abusive (Childhood). This unfortunate childhood pushed Basquiat to the streets and caused him to drop out of high school, at 17 years old.
After turning to the streets, he met a friend named Al. These two eventually came together to become SAMO. SAMO started out as an inside joke, meaning “same old shit” (Faflick). They started to create street art and sign it SAMO, these street works became well known. Jean-Michel Basquiat sold sweatshirts and postcards featuring his artwork on the streets before his painting career took off (Jean-Michel).
After his painting career took off, he created a lot of art works. Basquiat's paintings were usually in oil and acrylic mediums, on canvas or found objects. Some of the found objects Basquiat would use were trash, parts of home appliances, wood, and much more. With the material he would create paintings that blurred the lines of low and high art. “The concept of high and low can be traced back to 18th century ideas about fine art and craft. Writers in the 1700s drew a line between work that is contemplated purely for aesthetics (fine art) and work that has some sort of utility or function (craft)” (Mayer). Basquiat blurred the lines between them because he brought the street energy and techniques to fine art. He also sold his art for fine art prices and displayed the works as fine art is often displayed.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was inspired by his own cultural heritage. His heritage includes American, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian. Basquiat was also inspired by Andy Warhol. “Andy Warhol was an American artist, film director, and producer who was a lead figure in the visual art movement known as pop art” (Andy). Basquiat and Warhol ended up creating works and having an exhibition together. To the help of these inspirations, Basquiat was a part of many types of art movements/ use a lot of art styles. The movements/styles were Contemporary, Neo Expressionism, and Street Art.
After being famous for some time, many of Basquiat's friends began to worry about him. They were concerned due to his drug use. Turns out they had every right to be worried since he passed away August 12, 1988, of a heroin overdose. This overdose took Basquiat at the young age of 27(Jean-Michel).
This print, “Charles the First” (1982), by Basquiat shows the elements of line, shape. Varying sizes of thickness/thinness, darkness/lightness and straight/curvilinear lines makes this piece super intriguing. There are many different shapes on this work as well. Some of the shapes are geometric, some are organic, and some are symbols. The different type of shapes and lines create balance and sparks interest of the viewer.
The principles that this 154.3 x 121.3cm work has is emphasis, contrast and balance. Color is used to create contrast. This contrast of dark vs light is used to catch the viewers eyes, this is emphasis. Color also balanced this work quite well. There are many different yellows, oranges, blues, and some red all over in different areas of the work, creating balance in color. This artwork is not only balanced due to color, but also because various sized lines and repeating shapes.
In Jean-Michel Basquiat's earlier work he often used a crown motif. This was a way of “celebrating black people”. The crown itself has a deeper meaning as well. The three peeks all represent parts of Basquiat. The three parts are his poet side, then next is the musician side, and lastly his boxing championship (Jean-Michel). This is shown in this work in the upper left side of the paining. Just this simple crown means so much in this painting and in history.
This acrylic and oil stick on canvas painting, “Untitled” (1981), by Basquiat demonstrates the elements of line, texture, shape, form, and color. Line is used in this work to create implied texture. The implied texture is the reappearing cross hatch. This is shown many places in this work. This painting also demonstrates shape and form. Forms are created by the shapes within this work. The shapes have added values within them. For example, the pale yellow next to the darker yellow near the nose of the figure. Another example is the color “behind” the figure. The complements orange and blue are used next to the figure to force a visual background. The blue tends to recede behind the figure creating visual depth. Color is very saturated and pure in this, also accompanied by darker blacks throughout the entire work.
This 81x 69 ¼ inch painting uses the principles of contrast, balance, pattern, and rhythm. This work displays contrast in the dark and light values within the entire work. Also, it’s contrasted by the complementary colors of the background, orange and blue. The contrast in the work also creates a sense of balance. Black is also balanced throughout the piece and creates more of a balanced appearance. This work also uses line to create a pattern. This pattern relates a rhythm that is kind of overwhelming to the viewer’s eyes, making sense of movement in the piece. This movement reminds me of what’s inside a person's head and how one thinks.
Looking at Jean-Michel Basquiat's work, almost brings me to tears. It is sad that such an amazing artist was taken so early. “Although his art career was brief, Jean-Michel Basquiat has been credited with bringing the African American and Latino experience into the elite art world” (Jean-Michel). As I research Basquiat, I could not help but to imagine what amazing works and accomplishments he would have done if he did not die so early and so sudden. One may look at the masterpieces that Basquiat made and be overwhelmed but curious enough to investigate the meaning of the work and to the artist behind the work. I totally encourage people to research Jean-Michel Basquiat because he is a very interesting, important and influential artist.
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LINK TO PPT HERE >
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer, a German painter who was born on March 8, 1945, in Donaueschingen, Germany, and is currently 75 years old. He grew up in the post-world war era of Germany and has shown how this has shaped him as a person through his art. He grew up on a farm in Germany and through the work, he did on the farm he grew an understanding of the materials that he would later use in his artworks. In the 1970s Kiefer studied with Peter Dreher, another German artist, and an academic teacher. Dreher wasn’t the only one who helped Kiefer’s art career success as a majority of his painting are inspired by the poems of Paul Celan, his most well known being Margarethe, (oil and straw on canvas) which was inspired by Celan’s poem Todesfuge or Death Fugue (“Anselm Kiefer”). With these two artists helping him along the way and his own exploration of Europe giving him new experiences and things to paint it is no surprise that all of his artworks have their own individual style in them.
Kiefer tends not to use materials such as golden paints, or any other fancy and pristine art supplies but found and cheap supplies that could just be laying around somewhere near him. Quite a few of his paintings are made from straw, manure or dried flowers. One quote he uses to describe his work and how his mind works creatively is “Always find a place between Order and Disorder” (Anselm Kiefer: ‘My Paintings Change’.)This quote of his is interesting as it helps people understand his process with his artwork, along with the concept he has with his pieces where he goes into why he uses manure and straw in some of his artwork. Though just because he uses these strange art supplies doesn’t mean that he is unable to use supplies such as oils or acrylics.
Aller Tage Abend, aller Abende Tag (The Evening of All Days, The Day of All Evenings) (Image 1) is a wonderful example of one of Kiefer’s artworks where he uses the usual suspects for painting and handles the material beautifully. The piece itself plays with the warm and cool colors the paints provide as clouds push back the pink and yellow that they dye the snowy fields in a pale pink color. The sun is setting at the far side of the field as rows of crops give a wonderful atmospheric perspective, with the help of color of course, as it feels as though you can step right into the piece at hand. Kiefer wrote “What interests me is the transformation, not the monument. I don’t construct ruins, but I feel ruins are moments when things show themselves. A ruin is not a catastrophe. It is the moment when things can start again.” (Kiefer) about this series of paintings, he did on the sunset. This talks about his thought process in what he hopes to convey through this painting and how he was able to create it. The painting is also one of his more recent artworks as it is from 2014 and part of his Transition from Cool to Warm exhibition which, when compared to a painting he did two years before then, Morgenthau Plan (Image 2), is a lot more representational. The medium that he was working with could attribute to the photo like realism he held in his painting as it is worked from the background to foreground.
Kiefer uses many elements and principals of design in his work, The Evening of All Days, The Day of All Evenings, these elements include pattern, color, implied texture and contrast. The rows of what will become crops once the winter months have passed give the viewer a pattern to follow throughout the artwork as the rows of the crop fall back which also helps with the perspective that Kiefer is going for. The pattern also helps the viewer understand what is being represented in the painting as there are few things that create rows like crop fields do in the wintertime. The use of color, mainly that or warms and cools, also attributed to the painting as they contrasted each other perfectly. When placed against cool colors the warm colors usually appear to be closer in perspective than cool colors yet with how Kiefer overlaps his he was able to give the perspective that the yellows and orange in the sky are further away than the blues that make up the clouds. The color also lends it helps to texture in this piece as pinks and blues are reflected in the white that is covering the ground which gives it the effect of snow. Color also helps with the contrast in the painting as you go from the darkest blues to the brightest yellow all at once with the sun blinding you and the clouds in the sky comforting you all together. These four elements and principals of design are not just found in this painting either as it is a main attribute to many of Kiefer’s other artworks.
Morgenthau Plan is one of Kiefer’s more abstract works that manages to also use all of the elements and principals of design within it. This painting from 2012 conveys Kiefer’s understanding of movement, balance, texture, and space. Abstract paintings are well known for being able to help your eyes move along them which is why Morgenthau Plan is a great example of this. The lines and material that Kiefer uses help the viewer’s eyes skip from one place to another and back again while they never get bored of discovering something new about the artwork. The movement also attributes to connecting the balance in the painting as the colors stay close together while forms and texture appear in the piece. It is difficult to hold in most abstract paintings yet Kiefer does an amazing job with his use of colors and lines that help unite it as one piece without being too muddled. The texture that is hidden throughout the painting could either be implied or real but either way, it helps complete the aspect of Morgenthau Plan and without it, the other aspects of the design would not be able to work as well as they do. Finally, space is another aspect of design that the abstract piece notably holds though it is a lot harder to find than any of the others that were previously mentioned, yet it is there in the black and dark colors of the work that helps give it the representational image of flowers.
Kiefer is an artist in many aspects of the word and with the world like it is today, never taking a break it is good to have art that is constantly changing and evolving as his does. His artwork is interesting to look at and gives more life and meaning to the world when looked at in a critical way.
Work Cited
“Anselm Kiefer.” 128 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy, www.artsy.net/artist/anselm-kiefer.
“Anselm Kiefer.” Gagosian, 12 Apr. 2018, gagosian.com/artists/anselm-kiefer/.
Kiefer, Anselm. “Aller Tage Abend, Aller Abende Tag (The Evening of All Days, the Day of All
Evenings).” Transition from Cool to Warm, 2014,
gagosian.com/exhibitions/2017/anselm-kiefer-transition-from-cool-to-warm/.
Kiefer, Anselm. “Morgenthau Plan.” Morgenthau Plan, 2013,
gagosian.com/exhibitions/2013/anselm-kiefer-morgenthau-plan/.
Anselm Kiefer, aller Tage Abend, aller Abende Tag (The Evening of All Days, the Day of All Evenings) 2014 Watercolor on paper 33 x 24 ½ inches https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2017/anselm-kiefer-transition-from-cool-to-warm/
Image 1
Anselm Kiefer, Morgenthau Plan 2012, Acrylic, emulsion, oil, shellac on photograph mounted on canvas, 149 5/8 x 149 5/8
https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2013/anselm-kiefer-morgenthau-plan/
https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2013/anselm-kiefer-morgenthau-plan/
Image 2
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Noel Evelyn Madden
March 20th, 2020
SA121
Biography
Mia Tavonatti is an American painter and writer known for her large mosaic installations inspired by Renaissance imagery and has also created sculptures and murals. She was born and raised in Upper Michigan and has crafted a diverse lifestyle through her experiences and creativity. She’s been involved in the U.S. Air Force’s Special Ops Search and Rescue Squadrons and went from hanging on helicopters, using a Gatlin Machine gun, to becoming an inspiring artist. Some of her work became part of the U.S. Air Force permanent collection and was also featured in different institutions including Marriott Resorts, Harrah’s Casinos, the Pentagon, Smithsonian, and National Airspace Museum. She earned her BFA and MFA from California State University, majoring in painting and illustration. Her career started off as she created illustrations for over twenty children’s books and even wrote some of them herself. She’s also created artwork for restaurants, churches, residences, corporations as well as public works projects throughout the country. She also studied at the Sorbonne, Parsons School of Design in Italy and she also went to Greece, working with several artists. In 2008, she was chosen as one of the best artists worldwide. She’s had exhibitions in the U.S., Italy, Greece, France and has also had exhibitions featured in annual award shows for the at the American Museum of Illustration in New York and the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators numerous times. This artist has also published instructional books on art, she’s also created work to be featured and published on mass-market magazines and has been teaching about painting and murals at the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, California for the past twenty years. Her and her students have created a total of eight public murals so far. She currently lives in Santa Ana, California, she’s also working on creating a retrospective of her work. Her Svelata series is centered around the idea of the artist unveiling herself and she uses herself as the subject in the painting to convey her life’s journey. Svelata is an Italian verb that translates as “to be unveiled” and she depicts herself in each painting as a self-portrait to reveal her story.
Deconstruction #1
Santita (2014) from the Svelata series in Figure 1 is a painting created by Mia Tavonatti and she uses the many different elements of design including line, shape, color, value, texture, and space. She uses a variety of thick and thin lines to create the outlines of herself, laying on the sheets, as well as the wrinkles in the sheets. Within this piece, the lines that she uses are mostly curved and wavy to give off the impression of realistic hair, wrinkles, and other features in the painting. These lines create the different organic shape of her figure laying in the sheets. This artist uses a color to depict a sense of warmth and comfort in this piece. She predominantly uses warm yellow tones in this piece with a variety of values to create shadows and highlights using shades and tints. She also uses a cooler green color in between some of the wrinkles in the sheets to also create value and the illusion of fabric overlapping itself. The appearance of the sheets and the dress portrays an implied texture of silkiness on the surface of the canvas. Texture is also implied in the different features of the figure, especially in the hair. Space is another element of design that this artist used because she chose to include a lot of space around the body so that the figure didn’t distract from the background.
This piece also contains many principles of design which include contrast, emphasis, balance, proportion/scale, harmony, and rhythm/movement. She uses contrasting values of yellow to create realism within her piece. The light source appears from the top of the painting and appears to shine down onto her face, neck, and shoulder, whereas the shadows appear more along bottom the painting. There is emphasis on the figure as it is the focal point in what the viewer’s eye is first drawn to. This emphasis is depicted because of the darker tones in her skin that contrast against the whiteness of her dress and the yellow sheets. The feeling of balance is resulted from this piece because the elements of this design are extremely detailed which create the impression of equality in weight and importance of the piece. The scale is a significant principle of design in this piece because of the large amount space around the figure and the extensive detail of the wrinkles in the sheets. The proportions are also a notable principle of design within this piece because they are realistic which draws the audience in. The arrangement of elements in this piece radiate a sense of harmony. The constant use of yellow tones gives this piece a sense that all parts of this painting form a coherent whole. There is also rhythm and movement portrayed in this piece to show tranquility within the painting, as if the woman is sound asleep, dreaming. The recurring elements like the wrinkles in the sheet as its overlapping itself gives off the illusion that she had been rolling around in bed and had found a comfortable position.
Deconstruction #2
Susperia (2014) is another painting from Mia Tavonatti’s Svelata series which also contains many different elements of design including line, shape, color, value, texture, and space. She uses a variety of think and thick lines to create the outline of herself, floating in the water, as well as the ripples in the water around her. The use of straight lines develops the shape of the figure, floating in the water against her back. The use of curved lines in the water give the illusion of her body submerging into the water surrounding her. The shapes in this painting are organic and make the painting seem very realistic, as if the viewer could reach into the water. In this piece, the artist uses both warm and cool colors to depict the figure in the water. She uses warm skin tones for the figure and uses cool blue tones for the water. She also incorporates many different tints and shades between the figure and the water around her to bring different values into her piece. There is an implied texture within the dress on the figure as well as in the water surrounding her. The implied texture in the water makes it look like you can see the light reflecting off its surface, yet giving the audience a sense that you’re still able to submerge into it, especially because you can see the silky dress flowing in the water. The space surrounding the figure also give off the illusion of real water surrounding the figure.
This piece also contains many principles of design including contrast, emphasis, balance, scale/proportion, harmony, and rhythm/movement. She uses warm and cool colors to create a contrast between the figure itself and the water she’s swimming in. There’s also a light source in this painting coming from the ceiling that shines onto the left side and the center of the painting to create contrasting values within the water, the ripples in the water, the dress around the figure and around the figure itself. These contrasting values and colors also emphasize the figure as a focal point. This is especially because the warmer colors stand out against the cooler colors. There is a feeling of balance in this piece as the elements of the design work together to create a sense of equality in weight and importance as she flows through the water. The scale of the figure is notable because she chose to surround the figure with water, which doesn’t draw from the figure, but is included. The proportions are also notable because they are realistic and give off the illusion of a real person floating on her back through the water. This piece is harmonious as the arrangement of its elements give the viewer a sense that this piece was created as a unified whole. There is also rhythm and movement within this piece because the use of recurring elements gives off the illusion of a figure with a dress contacting the water and flowing through it on her back.
Summary
After viewing Mia Tavonatti’s paintings, I understand why the audience is fascinated by her work as it is unified and hyperrealistic. She dabbles in many different areas of the art world although, her paintings involve different settings, postures in figures, and involve her own way of telling her life story. She continues to create a variety of artwork and it has become more well-known due to her community involvement and her life experiences. She has begun to pass on her skillful knowledge to her pupils as she is teaching students and writing instructional books on art.
The many different elements and principles of design are what make this piece hyperrealistic, unified, and mesmerizing. The different settings give a variety to the Svelata series, although her subject matter being herself is an important factor because this is her way of revealing her emotional journey as she envisions it. Reading her story showed me how remarkable this artist is as an individual rather than an art maker, but seeing her art is beyond remarkable because she includes the most subtle details, especially within the figure.
These paintings are extremely inspiring because anyone who is interested in art would love to be able to paint in such precise detail to create the illusion of realistic subjects on a flat surface. I wish I could paint like that and I am inspired by this artist to keep practicing so that I can make it there someday. I’m hoping that the more I paint each day, I will be able to tell my own story using my own vision. It is amazing to see the success in talented artists and I am thankful to have the opportunity to use my talents to paint and create as well as deconstruct different pieces of artwork.
Works Cited
"Mia Tavonatti.” Artodyssey (blog), May 2010, http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/2010/05/mia-tavonatti-here-and-here-after.html. Accessed 20 March 2020.
"About the Artist.” Mia Tavonatti Productions, Mia Tavonatti and Svelata Foundation, https://miatavonatti.com/about-the-artist/. Accessed 20 March 2020.
"Santita.” Mia Tavonatti Productions, Mia Tavonatti and Svelata Foundation, 2014, https://miatavonatti.com/portfolio_page/santita/. Accessed 20 March 2020.
"Susperia.” Mia Tavonatti Productions, Mia Tavonatti and Svelata Foundation, 2014, https://miatavonatti.com/portfolio_page/susperia/. Accessed 20 March 2020.
"Svelata Painting Series.” Mia Tavonatti Productions, Mia Tavonatti and Svelata Foundation, https://miatavonatti.com/portfolio_page/svelata-painting-series/. Accessed 20 March 2020.
Figure 1
Mia Tavonatti
Santita (2014)
Oil on canvas
41”H x 53”W
Figure 1
Mia Tavonatti
Susperia (2014)
Oil on canvas
48”H x 84”W
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Sarah Kavanagh
Prof. Jen Pepper
SA-321 Intermediate Painting 24 March 2020
Keith Haring: Biography and Deconstruction of Works
Born in Reading, PA on May 4th, 1958, Keith Haring was an American pop artist, painter and social activist whose work showed humorous and graphically sexual subjects and themes through bold lines, simply drawn figures and vibrant colors. He attended the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburg for two years but was unsatisfied with the thought of being a commercial graphic artist and dropped out. His love of art remained, however, and he soon moved to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts. Haring was soon consumed by the alternative art scene in New York and began rubbing elbows with other contemporary artists such as Jean- Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Kenny Scharf, and he began to organize and participate in alternative exhibitions and venues such as Club 57.
His artistic inspirations include modern and contemporary painters from around the world such as Pierre Alechinsky, Jean Dubuffet, William Borroughs and Robert Henri. He was also inspired to draw at an early age from watching Walt Disney cartoons and from his father, who was an amateur cartoonist. Haring painted his simple yet visually striking designs on unused advertising boards in subway systems and on city streets (oftentimes resulting in his arrest from police) with chalk, but after gaining recognition from the art world he began making commissioned murals and selling his works for thousands of dollars. His work became even more commercialized with the opening of his Pop Shop in 1986 where he would sell mass-produced buttons, attire and posters with his works on them, which drew a fair amount of criticism from the art world.
Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 and spent the last few years of his life feverishly pumping out works that geared more towards social activism and politics, such as apartheid in South Africa, the crack cocaine epidemic and social awareness for AIDS/HIV and safe sex practices. He established the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989 to raise awareness to the disease through children’s art programs and community projects. He died from AIDS-related complications in 1990 and is known around the world for his works and contributions.
Figure One: Ignorance = Fear
The elements that are most prominent in this piece are line, color, shape and space. Haring’s use of line in his work is probably the most prominent element because all of his subjects, lettering and expressions of action are lined with thick confident black stroke. This gives his work a striking and almost child-like aesthetic that allows the viewer to see each part of his work with clarity even at a distance and it gives off the impression that it could be used in a coloring book because there is such a profound focus on the linework. The expressive linework surrounding the figures evokes the feeling that they are wiggling in the space, giving off a sense of life and almost uneasiness to their actions. The use of line is also very prominent in the text; Haring wanted his message on the HIV/AIDS epidemic to be painfully clear so he used the same thick, black stroke from his figures on the text so that the viewer knew exactly what he was thinking and so they could see it clearly whether up close or far away.
The use of color is also very prominent within this piece since he uses bright, flat colors to convey his message. For the blocks of text that say Ignorance = Fear/Silence = Death, he uses a bright blue to symbolize the somber reality that was taking place during this epidemic. There was mass panic going around during this time in regards to the disease and how it was so easily spread, so he wanted to showcase how ignorance and misinformation would just lead to more death and
fear through his bold blue background. He used a bright red for the background behind the figures, probably almost as an alert to the viewer to not be ignorant to this issue. Red gives off a sense of danger depending on the subject matter, so with the yellow (which is a color associated with cowardice) figures acting in a “see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing” manner in front of a red background tells the viewer not to be like them. He pushes this idea further that the figures are representing cowardice and ignorance through color by painting big pink “X’s” on their chest. Haring is almost screaming at the viewer through his use of vibrant color, and is using the ideas of color theory to his advantage.
Haring uses the principle of space by almost splitting up the painting into symmetric yet unequal sections. The two blue blocks of text sit at the bottom and top of the piece and are equal in length to each other, but not equal in length to the red block with the figures in the middle. This allows the eye to move comfortably throughout this symmetric piece and allow the actual message of it to shine through. Haring wanted this piece to be as blatant and clear as he possibly could due to the subject matter, so every element is placed exactly where it needs to be in the space for the viewer to easily understand what is going on.
Haring uses very simple shapes to define his figures to eliminate any indication of a specific race, sex, age or other factor and create these universal human beings. By eliminating these factors through his use of shape, Haring is able to spread his message that HIV/AIDS can affect anyone and that everyone has a responsibility to be socially aware to this epidemic. The simple shapes he uses to create the figures also gives them a friendly and almost child-like vibe which can ease the viewer into the dark subject matter without scaring them or making them turn away because it is too unnerving to see. By drawing the viewer in with bright colors, bold linework, simple and fun shapes and a symmetrical environment for all of it to sit in, Haring is able to scream out to the world his message that more awareness needs to be brought to this issue.
Figure Two: Crack is Wack
Within this piece by Haring, he uses the elements of line, space, texture and shape to express his concerns about the crack cocaine epidemic that also occurred in the 1980s. Much like Ignorance = Fear and the majority of his other works, Haring uses thick, black, confident strokes to define his forms and attract the viewer’s attention. The wall that he created this work on was only painted one shade of orange, so there is a much greater focus on the linework and how he uses it to his advantage to spread his message. While there is little variety in line density, the viewer can clearly see what images are meant to be in the foreground and what imagery is pushed to the back. The main focus of the piece is the title “Crack is Wack” surrounded by a cloud of smoke while the imagery of skulls and people being eaten by monsters is pushed to the background. Much like with Ignorance = Fear, Haring uses expressive linework to give the illusion that these figures are moving and reacting in their space.
Haring uses texture in this piece not only to keep the viewer’s attention to the main focus of the piece but to in a sense replace the fact that there is little variety in line density, as well as tie it in to its environment. The most important element in the piece, the title, is textured with little dashes to give it a pavement-like street vibe to tie it into its environment. The “ground” in the piece has this same texture applied to it, most likely for the viewer to assume that it is supposed to represent a paved sidewalk or road. The crack cocaine epidemic harmed big cities (such as Haring’s beloved New York City) the most, so it would make sense that the textures applied would reflect not only the environment that the work was placed in, but the places where the epidemic affected the most.
In terms of space, Haring packed the work full of grotesque imagery to keep the viewer’s eye interested, almost to an overwhelming degree. There is very little negative space within the
work, and all of the subjects are cradled into their own area with expressive linework, however, because there is no value and only one background color there is room to breathe as the eye moves about it. The viewer can look at the piece almost in a circular outward motion, starting off at the title and working their way around the cloud of smoke to all of the skulls and monsters. There is also a well-defined, black border surrounding the piece giving it an even more packed-in and overwhelming sense of space, as if this epidemic is closing in on the viewer and there is nowhere else to turn.
Much like Ignorance = Fear, the shapes that Haring uses in this piece to define his forms are both friendly-looking and universal to draw the viewer in and allow his actual message to shine through. The human-looking figures have no race or age or sex, indicating that anybody can be affected by abusing drugs. These simple shapes are part of Haring’s artistic style and can be used to describe any political or social problem that he is addressing. For this piece in particular though, we as viewers do see him reach outside his comfort zone and illustrate monsters and other non- human subjects, which is interesting to see.
Keith Haring, Ignorance = Fear, 1989, offset lithograph, 24 x 43.25”
Keith Haring, Crack is Wack, 1986, Mural (East Harlem, NYC), 16 x 26’
Works Cited
“Bio: Keith Haring.” Bio | Keith Haring, www.haring.com/!/about-haring/bio#.XnpIXi2ZOu4. “Keith Haring.” Artnet, www.artnet.com/artists/keith-haring/.
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Tessa Barry
SA 121
Painting
Research paper #1/2
Jamie Lee Reardin
Jamie Lee Reardin is an illustrator and artist who grew up in Toronto, Canada. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Her education was at Ryerson University where she studied fashion communications and design, but a large focus on advanced illustration. In high school my art teacher showed me some of Jamie’s work as an example of how fashion illustration doesn't just have to be for design, having it as just an art piece is also an option.
As a child she was inspired by visionaries like Walt Disney and Tim Burton, the magical characters they created fascinated her and led her to dream of a career in animation. Her first steps into art was recreating some characters in her own unique vision, these characters being Cruella de Vil, the Corpse Bride and Beetlejuice. Her art style and illustration style has evolved greatly in time, bringing her to the world of fashion to create her signature “gazelle-like” figures, a figure characterized by long necks and impossibly thin silhouettes. Besides Disney and Burton she also uses brands like Christian Dior and Thom Browne as sources of inspiration.
Some brands and companies have commissioned her for her work as well. Dior Beauty, New York City Ballet, Moda Operandi, Prada, and Nike have requested campaigns and custom illustrations from her. She has a long client list besides just these 5, some bigger names being Barbie, Burberry, Mattel, Diane Von Furstenberg and many more. She also works as a fine artist where she works on paintings that combine her illustration and love of visionaries like Picasso and Dali.
Rowan in Bloom | mixed media | date N/A
In this piece Jamie created a figure in her signature style, a form with long thin limbs and a long slender neck. In this painting she kept it rather simplistic, with a flat background color with only a touch of shading at the figures feet to ground it in the plane. The accentuation of these vertical lines that make the legs elongates the figure, creating that tall model like idea. She created the appearance of fabric with swirly curved lines, reminiscent of ruffles on a dress.
The color palette for this piece is very pleasing to look at. The mix of soft pink with the fair skin tone, creates a gental appearance against the black background. The lips in that bright shade of red draws the eye directly to the face at first glance. Very pastel in its tone, allowing for the figure to stand out against the background. The washes of white down near the feet grounds the figure in the painting I feel, creating a drop shadow of sorts for the figure.
The shapes used for this figure create the smooth appearance of limbs for the model figure. Round/curved shapes are what make this figure, no wher in the piece is there a straight line or sharp edge. Everything was kept soft and curved to create the appearance of a natural form, but keeping her signature art style.
Texture is very obvious in this one. The use of lines to create the texture of the dress is what pulls the entire piece together, and makes sense as to what it was meant to be. The application of paint on the dress translates to being a ruffle dress greatly. The application of the skin is left patchy and not fully filled in, which I do not mind as it creates almost a skin appearance.
Mary Poppins | mixed media | date N/A
This piece is a lot of defined lines coming off of this figure to give texture and added detail. The eyes of the figure have these long exaggerated lines for eyelashes drawing the viewer to the center of the face. These lines are seen in more than just at the eyes, she used them to also add texture to different parts of the painting as well. Much like her first piece I spoke about this one also uses vertical lines to elongate the form. Giving the otherwise well known Mary Poppins a new twist in her art style by giving her a long thin neck, and impossibly thin waist.
For colors she kept a rather muted palette, each color being somewhat similar in tone. The clothing on the figure is left fully black just like the hat, which leaves the small details done in white to translate the look of the garment. There are pops of color found within the garment the figure wears as it is meant to be Mary Poppins, she has a light pink scarf, red berries and a couple of daisies found on her hat, and of course the parrot head on her umbrella. Jamie also gave very cartoon-like rosie cheeks to accentuate the defined shape of the cheek bones.
For Shape she used very organic looking forms to build the shape of the figure. An oval can be seen as the base of the head and two triangles make up the torso and lower body. The rest of the figures body parts are made from shapes that have looked almost stretched and morphed. She does not have hands but rather a curled like shape that takes the silhouette of the hand. The neck is obviously where an almost stretched appearance is seen, as it is wide at the base of the head but then narrows down to meet with the body.
Texture in my eyes was done beautifully here, she used lines to create a sense of texture on many parts of the painting. The jacket is given these curly fraied like looking lines coming off of parts of it to represent the texture of what I would call a wool coat. She gave definition to the scarf through cross hatching, which resembles a knitted pattern of a scarf. The adornments found on the hat have also been applied in a way to give texture, the berries don't have the same harsh black outline which allows them to look natural and the lines added to the daisies are done sloppily to show the difference in each flower.
Work Cited
“ILLUSTRATION.” Jamie Lee Reardin, http://www.jamieleereardin.com/illustration/
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