Module 10 - Mask Making

1.    Explain why you selected the inspiration pieces.

     I selected the Lulua, the Teke moon, and Baule mask because they are all African masks that have bright red or orange coloring on them. Some of the African masks that I researched were very plain wooden masks so when I found some of the other masks that were decorated with red coloring I decided I would research those types more. Also once I finished the assigned readings and watched the videos I was very interested on why these African masks worn and how they resembled the culture and gave it meaning.

2. Include the analysis and description (art criticism steps) of the three (3) inspiration pieces.

     The Lulua were famous for decorating their bodies with intricate scarification marks and tattoos. They also applied these designs to their sculptures and masks.The masks, which are rare, are usually incised with geometric pattern and colored with a reddish pigment. The pointed forms on the top of the head represent the Lulua hairstyle.

      Teke moon shaped masks are worn by members of the Kiduma - a secret society that takes charge of social celebrations and rituals.The mask is held in place with a bite bar at the back which the wearer holds in his teeth.These masks are usually decorated with geometric symbols and divided by a horizontal stripe. They are colored with clay and paint.

     This type of African mask is a Baule mask which is also known as a Goli mask. It is used in tribal dances during harvest festivals, in processions to honour distinguished visitors and at the funerals of important figures.The circular face represents the life-giving force of the sun and the horns symbolize the great power of the buffalo. The mask is made of wood with two holes cut into the eyes to enable the wearer to see. The rectangular mouth is also typical of this type of mask.

3. Explain how you used the Elements and Principles in your finished mask.

  I really liked how the Lulua masks had elements of line represented on them so I wanted to incorporate the element of line into my mask. I used the element of shape which is created when lines are combined to form a square, triangle, or circle. Shapes can be organic (irregular shapes found in nature) or geometric (shapes with strong lines and angles such as circles, triangles, and squares). Each color is represented with a shape whether it's a circle, triangle, oval, or square on my mask. I used color to differentiate and define lines, shapes, forms, and space. Even black and white images have a huge number of different shades of gray. And lastly, I used balance over my entire mask with the shapes represented. I also tried to use balance when drawing the lines on my mask to represent the Lulua tribes masks.

4. Share your opinion of your finished mask and what you thought about creating the mask.

      I like my finished mask because I used elements from the Lulua, Teke, and Baule masks. I really like the use of red and blue from the Teke mask, I like the continuous lines represented on the Lulua masks, and the triangular shapes framing the mask from the Baule mask as well as the rectangular mouth piece. I really wanted to incorporate elements from all three of these makes into my own mask. 

Module 10 - Video Blog

1.    Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

     I decided to watch African Art and African Art: Legacy of Oppression because I knew that I wanted to do my mask assignment resembling an African mask so it was a good opportunity for me to learn more about those kinds of masks before I designed my own. I also wanted to make sure that I knew a little about the African culture and their reasonings for the creations of the masks before I designed my own.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

     African Art- this video is about the villages of sub-Saharan Africa where traditions are still strong, art is an integral part of daily life. This illuminating program examines the symbolism, aesthetics, and functionality of African art through the vast region's sculpture, masks, architecture, ornaments, clothing, and utensils. In addition, indigenous African religious beliefs are explored through rituals—a spiritual form of performance art—and funerary statuary. Prehistoric rock art is also presented, and the conceptual nature of African art is stressed. Location footage underscoring the rich mosaic of cultures to be found in sub-Saharan Africa provides the backdrop for the program.

     African Art: Legacy of Oppression- this video talks about Belgium's Tervuren Museum contains the world's largest collection of Central African art, which consists of approximately 250,000 pieces. Noted journalist Paul Solman discusses the power and the true price of this collection with art historian Ramona Austin and journalist/author Adam Hochschild. In the immense Congo region, there are more than 250 different cultures, so there is a broad range of artistic styles to be found there. Austin is particularly drawn to the emotionally riveting abstracts, with their modernistic qualities and generalized forms that influenced Picasso and other European masters. She also admires the intricate detailing lavished on everyday objects. Hochschild says that when Belgium's King Leopold II colonized and brutally exploited this territory during the late 1800s, ivory and rubber were not the only things sent back to Europe.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

     Our text had a section on African art which connected to the videos that I chose to watch. More than any other artistic tradition, the arts of African challenge us to expand our ideas about what art is, what forms it can take, what impulses it springs from, and what purpose it serves. The great African art of spiritual agency, and perhaps the greatest of African arts, is the masquerade. It involves sculpture, costume, music, and movement but the mask does not have any spirit powers related. The videos also touched on these topics as well as many others.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

     I really enjoyed the videos because it helped me grasp the African culture and their connections to the masks with their cultural beliefs. Although the readings helped me get the historical background on the African culture, the videos showed actual footage which made it more surreal to me, and actually fascinated me with the unique African masks.

Module 9 - Exploration Drawings

1.    What was it like using your hand as subject matter for a drawing?

     I did not mind using my hand as a subject matter for drawing. I know I am not great with art but usually as long as I have something to look at I feel comfortable about reconstructing it. It will definitely not be near perfect but it will have a general resemblance so at least the audience can make out what I was supposed to be drawing. If someone told me to draw a hand without even looking at a hand it would be absolutely awful.

2. What media did you select - pencil or charcoal? Why?

     I decided to use pencil when drawing my hands because that is a tool that I am comfortable with. I am not an artist so I do not think I have ever used charcoal before and I did not know if I would be very successful with it so I just stuck to materials that I am familiar with.

3. How did it feel to create a drawing with your non-dominant hand?

     Using my non-dominant hand made me feel like I was in elementary school again. I felt very uncomfortable trying to make my right hand go in the direction that I wanted it to. I felt like I needed to push down on the pencil harder when trying to draw and it just wouldn't let me. It was like my body knew that this isn't the hand you should be writing with the the muscles in my right hand are not used to working for that reason.

4. Compare and contrast your final drawings. Do you think they are successful studies?

     I think that both of my hand drawings are definitely visible that they are hands so I believe I was successful in getting my point across in the drawings which was to draw both hands. I believe it was a very successful study to show the difference between dominant hand drawing and non dominant drawings. It is clear in my drawing which hand is drawn better.

5. Would you consider using your non-dominant hand to create artwork in the future?

     I would never consider using my non-dominant hand to create work in the future because it looks like a little child drew it. Like I said earlier, not having control over that non-dominant hand makes it extremely difficult to produce what you want. If you have difficulties producing what you want it is not going to look good as a finished product. The fact that my non-dominant hand was consistently shaking while I was drawing makes it almost impossible to focus on what you are supposed to be creating. Also, not being able to apply pressure down on my pencil made it hard to even draw that hand. 

Module 9 - Video Response

1.    Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

     I chose the videos The Drawings of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance mainly because those were the two artists that I have heard something about prior to this class. When I first began taking this class I did not know much about art in any aspect and I have learned a great deal of information from all of the text readings, videos, and projects. Those two artists Michelangelo and da Vinci are names in history that everyone has heard before they just don't necessary know why they are important or what kind of art they made. Personally, I knew that those two men were extremely famous artists but I did not know the names of their masterpieces or where they are located around the world and that's exactly why I chose the two videos that I did.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

     The Drawings of Michelangelo- This video compares Michelangelo’s preparatory drawings to his finished masterworks—but viewing them together is virtually impossible in a museum setting. The video takes the time to closely look at the artist’s pencil and charcoal works with the painting, sculpture, and architecture that grew out of them. Studying drawings at the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, and other renowned institutions, the program presents detailed analysis of the Pieta, the colossal David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Last Judgment, the Medici tomb, and St. Peter’s Basilica. It also provides insight into Michelangelo’s tools, techniques, stylistic evolution, and sexuality.

     Leonardo da Vinci: The Mind of the Renaissance- This video surveys the life and work of the perennially fascinating genius Leonardo da Vinci, from his birth in Tuscany to his final years in Cloux. Painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and student of anatomy, physiology, botany, architecture, hydrodynamics, aeronautics, and other disciplines, he was the quintessential "Renaissance man." The video talks about how Leonardo makes millions of drawings and sketches for every work that he does and then shakes off the extra things in his art that are not needed anymore as he progresses.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

     The videos relate to the text because our text dealt with Mannerism and how it grew out of possibilities suggested by the work of High Renaissance artists, especially Michelangelo, who influence on the next generation was enormous. Out text had different pieces of Michelangelo's work and it's relevance during the Renaissance period and that's exactly what the video was describing. The video about da Vinci is related to the text particularly for the same reason dealing with the Renaissance period.  The text says, Renaissance peoples obligation to God was thur not to tremble and submit but, rather, to soar, striving to realize their full intellectual and creative potential. The implications of these ideas for art were tremendous. Artists became newly interested in observing the natural world, and they worked to reproduce it as accurately as possible. Studying the effects of light, they developed the technique of chiaroscuro; noting that distant objects appeared smaller than near ones, they developed the system of linear perspective; seeing how detail and color blurred with distance, they developed the principles of atmospheric perspective. The video gives an in depth example of this through da Vinci's life in the video.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

     I believe that although the videos taught me exactly what I was expecting to learn about dealing with Michelangelo and da Vinci, they were very dry videos that were difficult for me to get through. Seeing multiple works from each artist helped me understand the Renaissance period in terms of art work and how it was represented. The only negative that I have about the videos is there was too much music playing in between sections on the narrator. I know the director of this video did this to give the audience time to really focus on each piece of art and analyze it but it did not help keep my interest in the video at all.

Module 8 - Video Response

1.    Explain why you selected the video you choose from the selection listed above.

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure- I decided to pick this video because by the titles it looked like this film had many similarities to More Human Than Human. I wanted to pick a film that would help me get a better understand of what people in ancient history used to think about humans. I also wanted to know how the word human in each of these titles would connect with art.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

More Human Than Human-The key concepts in this film seeks to understand why unrealistic figures are so prominent throughout the evolution of painting and sculpture. The Venus of Willendorf , one of the oldest representations of the body ever found, the film talks about stimulus- and response theories that suggest the brain is hard wired to favor exaggeration. The value of the Venus of Willendorf is worth nearly sixty million dollars. This statue was made with great skill to show off mothering aspects maybe but it definitely wanted to pronounce these assets. This statue was produced all over the world in France and Rome that is a replica of the original. The film talks about exaggeration and where it was formed to make humans draw the human body with such unrealistic body features.

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure- The key concepts about this film is how sculptures began to portray the actual human body. Artists developed these sculptures to be as realistic to the human body as possible. This film evokes ancient obsessions with the body, and humanity's place in nature, that are alive and well today.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

These videos relate to the reading in the text because they are both concentrating on ancient art that has plenty to do with history. The both described the realism of sculptures and unrealistic features that were made on these sculptures. They both help us to get a better understand of when the human body was developed properly through art. They both connect with the idea of religion and how important that was in ancient history when it came to reading ancient artwork to find out the stories that lie beneath them.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

I believe that these films help me understand exactly where the drawing and sculpting of the human body originated. The drawings of humans on poetry helps historians today to see exactly what was happening centuries ago and how those Egyptians and Greek cultures lived. These images that are all over poetry was their way of advertisement which is not something that I would ever think about when looking at a piece of ancient art work.