It was a little weird using my hand as a subject for drawing because It kept shakening.  It was however convientant.  I choose a pencil honestly becuase I did not have any charcoal.  I have never used charcoal before for drawing anyways.  I thought drawing with my non dominant hand was fun to try.  My picture however looks like a third grader drew it.  I do not have much experience using my non dominant hand for anything so my hand was very shaking and the picture is out of proportion.  The angel i held my hand and the way I drew it looks like one of those kindnergarden turkeys you make with your hand for thanksgiving.  I do not think this is a very good study for anyone to use.  I can not draw to save my life.  I  do think that the picture of my left hand is better and it does show the details in my hands with the various line and creases but once again i dont think it is drawn in perfect proportion.  I would not use my dominant or non dominant hand to create anykind of drawing that I wanted someone to enjoy.  Maybe if it was a more abtrasct project and was open for intrepetation I would consider it becuase I would be able to get away with a lot more, but for a drawing of an object I can't say that I would. 

Video blog chapter 16 and 17

The first video that I choose to watch was the one on Velazquez.  I choose this video because I remembered hearing him recently mention in my Mexican history class and I was interested to learn more about him.  We did not learn much in my class other than he influenced some of the Mexican artists.  One of details that I knew from my course was mentioned in the video that Velazquez belonged to the great quartet of Spanish painters.  Velázquez was appointed to paint for King Philip the IV.  Velázquez was known to capture the moment through light and time.  Velazquez was a man with only one friend the king in which he painted for.  I was surprised when the video said he had a wife because it’s hard to meet someone when you have no friends, although in that time period it was probably an arranged marriage.  Velazquez would study the Italian artists like Michelangelo and Raphael and would come home and have deeper meaning and awareness in his artwork.  Velazquez was known as an idealist.  He had no concern for shapes and would often express character.  This relates to the book because we learn of painters who are idealists and we also learn in the book that the works of Michelangelo and Raphael would be works that were studied and mirrored by many.

The second video that I picked to watch was the Drawings of Michelangelo.  I picked this movie because he is a very popular artist and I was interested to learn of his drawings that aren’t often brought up.   The video mentions how the drawings that were done of Michelangelo were kept hidden and often destroyed by Michelangelo himself.  The video said that this was mostly because he was a perfectionist and the sketches showed him second guessing himself.  His drawings were mostly sketches of what was to be painted in the Sistine Chapel.  This video was very informative of Michelangelo’s background.  When I think of Michelangelo I do not associate drawings with his name.  This video did a great job pointing out the in depth detail and perfection that Michelangelo used in his drawings.  They used a technique to compare both the actual sculpture with his drawing to point out that his drawing was of a sculpture body and not just a body.  They even pointed out that Michelangelo would often construct his sculptures based on the angel in which a person would view it and not just on detail.  Of the videos I watched I think this one was the best.  He related to the text several times, especially when mentioning all the contour lines Michelangelo would create that would just find their way.

The third video that I watched was the one on Leonardo Da Vinci. The video talks about how Leonardo was a left handed man and would often write mirrored. I just found that fact to be odd.  Leonardo was not picked to paint in the Vatican which did upset him.  He lined up some of his jobs due to the connections his father had.  One thing that I did enjoy about this video even thought I felt it was a little slow and dry was the fact that they showed the other aspects and qualities Leonardo had.  I was unaware that Leonardo was so versatile.  Like Michelangelo he too had a lot of drawing that he did.  Leonardo was a military engineer and could build bridges and ladders.  He also could build closed chariots for fighting and catapults.  I don’t recall hearing this in the book.  Leonardo also was a city planner that would help reconstruct Italy after the plaque.  This was mentioned in the text in the Renaissance period.  He was also a scientist and inventor besides being a painter.  I liked the fact that they showed how important Leonardo was to the city and that he was not just a painter but helped with many projects.

The fourth video I watched was the one on Rembrandt.  I picked this one because I knew little on the history of Rembrandt.  I think that video did a great job in showing just how important he was to the Dutch.  The video goes on to explain how he is an icon of Dutch art.  He is most famous for his painting the Night Watch.  This was considered to be an object of Dutch pilgrimage.  The original painting had been through some tough times, it was slashed, had acid poured down it and even submerges in water.  In this painting there are several aspects that catch your eye.  One of them being that the man in front has his hand out to you like he is trying to reach out to you.  Another aspect is it is set up as a military style yet there is a girl in the back of the picture and it makes you wonder why she is there.  The video shows the importance again to the painting in the fact that they mention the arguments that would take place over the lighting of the painting to the audience to give off the best angel. There was even a committee formed in 1902 to come up with a decision.  This painting was only removed out of the museum twice by the Dutch.  It was removed once willingly for the princess and celebration and another for the war to protect it.  The video showed old pictures of the police escorts that would follow the painting.  I thought mentioning this really hit home just how important this painting truly was to the Dutch that they would hide the painting in a castle.  Rembrandt is mentioned in the text for the same reasons.

chapter 14 and 15 videos

The first video that I watched was more human than human.  One of the more interesting facts that I enjoyed was the finding of the Venus of Wilendorf.  It was an overly distorted image of women.  The thing I thought was most interesting about the sculpture was that it was originally only 10 centimeters.  This meant that it was pocket size and was for the purpose of carrying around places when the nomadic tribes movies. This particular work of art was an example in the text. Another aspect of the video I enjoyed was the tomb of Ramses VII.  The video pointed out that there was over 1000 human figures painted inside.  I thought this to be unique because of the scale that was used to keep every Egyptian human painting consistent.  I felt this related to the reading, in that the use of humans being put in the Egyptian art.  The video also mentioned the importance of hierarchy and stability in the Egyptian society; this was mentioned in the book as well as the video the way art portrayed the importance.

The second video that I watched was the one about Gothic art.  I watched this one thinking it was going to be dark and gloomy; it was not what I had expected.  One of the reoccurring themes of the video was England’s quest for identity through art.  Another topic that I found was interesting was the spread of regionalism.  My favorite sculpture of this video is the one with the knight in full armor on his horse slaying the dragon.  The amount of detail in the sculpture was tremendous.  Another reason why I enjoyed this particular sculpture was the fact that it took an unreal event and image and made it look as if it could exist.  The amount of elaborate detail that was put in the particular work of art made it seem as if slaying dragons was a normal part of a knights life.  This video references many cathedrals and their style of gothic architecture that was a man topic of chapter 15.  This video was very informative.

The next video that I watched was the one the Middle Ages.  I was shocked to learn that the medieval way of living still existed today in Camaru Africa and they even still use feudalism.    I thought that the Chitan (sorry if I butchered the name) most of been strongly built of it with hold its Islamic enemies.  I thought it was interesting that some of the nature around this fortress also helped in aiding in the protection.  The video showed people collecting venom from the snakes in present day for research.  I can imagine that back then some of the invaders were attacked by the poisonous snakes while waiting to attack.  This video also talks about the fall of the Roman Empire and how the architecture could not with stand everything that was going on around them.  They especially had a hard time trying to hold back from Attila the Hun and all of the followers that attacked on horseback.  The video also pointed out that the architecture that was built during the the Roman Empire was not defensive but decorative as well.  The Romans wanted to make a good impression on visitors for the first time coming to see them and the outside walls would be the first thing they saw.  The ending of this video goes on to talk about how the nature was started to be taken into consideration when developing new architecture.  They would incorporate natural barriers as defense mechanisms in where they would locate their fortress and example of this was mountains.  While this does relate to this chapter on Roman architecture I feel that it can also relate on a previous video we watched about Frank Lloyd Wright.  While it is a farfetched idea in a way, they both tried to incorporate their surrounding in their architecture.  I picked this video because I find the middle ages to be interesting.  I think this video was could also be used for a history class on middle ages.  It gave a lot of facts on what was happening in the middle ages.

 

The last video that I had watched was the one I found most interesting, Cataclysm- Black Death Visits Tuscany.  I picked this video because I found this topic very interesting in the past and I was interested on learning more of the plague.  This video dealt with our readings in the fact that the architecture had to be expanded to allow for new people to live within the city walls.  A problem that both Sienna and Florence had was that there were more people than food to supply them or space for them to live.  People were in a poor standing and it allowed the Bubonic plague to spread to easily.  I could probably write pages on this video because I felt it really kept me engaged and was once again very informative from a historical point of view.  This video focused a lot on the influence on the Catholic church in the Italian culture and the need for proper burial.  This was a problem in the fact that funerals could not be held up to the Catholic Church standards nor the anointing of the sick because the clergymen were some of the first to die off from the plaque.   This video also talks about a mosaic that was painted with elaborate detail about Jesus Christ.   This depiction of Christ is directly related to the readings in the rise of Christanity.

video reviews

The first video, Prairie style, I learned about an artist named Frank Lloyd Wright.  He was the founder of the prairie style architecture.  He believed that you should incorporate nature and its surroundings in your architecture.  This relates to our readings in that it has some of the similar ideas as green architecture.  Wright would use as much earth as possible to make the house and nature one. I thought this video was very descriptive about the artist and the people he influenced.  It helped me see that architecture isn’t just the building itself.

The video, architecture: science of design, taught me something the text pointed out.  It discussed how environmental factors need to be considered when creating buildings like skyscrapers.  The wind can cause buildings to sway.  One of the most interesting things about this video that I liked was the segment on smart houses.  The things that these houses are designed to do are outrageous.  I definitely enjoyed this video because it kept me engaged.  It taught me that again architecture is not just the building itself but everything inside of it.

The third video was my least favorite.  I felt it was a little dry and hard to stay focused, however it was very informative.  This video relates directly to our reading because it focuses on the Roman development of columns and arches.  I thought the Queens house was very basic in the fact everything was so precious and boxed off but at the same time it was very elaborate with the designs on the columns and the arch ways.

I choose to watch imperial Rome, ancient architecture and technology.  I picked this because I like the use of technology with architecture from the previous film.  This video again relates to the reading because it talks about the Roman architecture.  I found it remarkable the elaborate aqueduct system that was created to supply the water to various places.  It was no surprise to me that it ran directly to the palace.  I wasn’t aware that they used to get water easily from a local spring but it dried up.  I also found interesting the development of Port Ostia.  Since I go to school for history and geography this naturally caught my eye.  It made a lot of sense why this port became so important and this video did a great job explaining it.

blog comaparison

http://artonlinecourse.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=2

http://shereebates.blogspot.com/2010/10/project-2-art-gallery-visit-1.html

I thought that the artist that created the slideshow used very creative examples that were found all over his everyday life.  It felt like he took time to find these exact elements and principles.  Some of the pictures in his slideshow did she several different elements and thems.

The second project we did not pick any of the same images, however the reasons that we felt like we could relate were similar.  The person whoese blog I picked felt like that could relate to a sculpture of a mother and a child based on her own personal expeirence with her children.  I agreed on how the artist is able to form a speacial bond between themselves and the veiwer.

The sculpture of the mother and child really interests me.  I would like to know the background of the sculture because I to feel like I can relate with my own children in that way.  I would like to know what the mother is feeling in this particular artwork. 

One of the reoccuring themes in this course is that art is based on interpretation.  I think it was a great idea to veiw our peers thoughts on certain artworks.  Some of the opinions they have are not something that I would consider sometimes.  I find it interesting for them to break down how and why they feel the way they do about a certain artwork.  I think it is helpful for my learning expeirence to open up my eyes to other peoples thoughts and opinions.  By people critiqing my responses it allows me to see where they come from and to show how several poeple can look at the same artwork and have radical interpretations based on their personal background.

art gallery

I must admit I have not been to an art gallery since I was in grade school.  I enjoeyed going there and looking at the various artworks.  I did get yelled at for writing down stuff in pen, I was not aware that pen as a writing utensil was not allowed in the gallery.  One of the artworks that caught my eye was Jackson Polluck, Convergence 1952.  It was oil and canvas.   I'm attracted to artwork that looks like splatter and graffiti.   I feel like I can relate to the level of creativeness.  I liked Paul Cezanne self portrait, it was a lithograph.  The eyes in the picture felt like they were luring me in.  I liked the picture zimzam that I did not get the name of the artist because that is when the security was approaching me about writing in pen.  I liked the exhibit with the room full of the whole punched magazine clips from Vik Muniz.  It was a very simple picture from far away, just solid colors.  When I looked closely I saw that there was various words and pictures on them.  This artwork I would like to know how long that took.  It was over 1000 peices of each color and looked a lot more creative once you looked in depth to it.  One of the rooms had a displey of two apple juice boxes that did not have an artist.  I am not that educated on art but I found that odd that they were in there.  While it was startically placed, I did not feel that there was any effort involved in it.  I liked Max Backman Hotel lobby Oil on canvas.  I learned by visiting the musuem that I relaly enjoy oil and canvas paintings.  This painting caught my attention from the dark deep colors.  The man in the center really stood out to me.  I would like to know the reason he made this.