Extra Credit Questionnaire

1. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the best? Why?

I enjoyed the curation project the best. Even though it took a bit of time (we had plenty of time to do it, though) it was really fun to think outside the box about what artists to choose and why. I love making presentations like that, and I just thought it was a great activity that helped me apply everything I've learned in the class so far, and apply it in a real life way. I also enjoyed the museum visits, I feel it's a much different experience to see art in real life as opposed to on a screen, and it was a great way to get us all out into a gallery.

2. Which assignment did you ENJOY working on the least? Why?

My least favorite was the blog peer responses to the museum visits/elements and principles peoject. While I think it's a great idea in theory, the one student I was assigned did not follow the directions (specifically on the elements and principles photo project) and it was hard for me to complete my end of the feedback and responses. 

 

3. How did you like using BLACKBOARD?

It is honestly pretty confusing to start. Once I got the hang of it, it was fine, but my first week or so was tough to figure out where everything was, and I was nervous I'd miss something. It would be easier if discussions and content were all in the same place. There are just a lot of sections which makes it easy to miss something if you aren't paying close attention.

4. What is your opinion of the Discussion Groups in this course?

I liked the discussions, I wished we had more of it, honestly, or at least  had more opportunities for feedback from our peers.

5. Did you participate in any of the extra credit projects in previous modules? If so, what was your opinion of them? (mandala, elgin marbles, culture, art critics)

I participated in the Mandala extra credit. I found that if I didn't check the module far enough ahead of time, I wouldn't have time to finish the extra credit (my fault!) but I think it's great you offer the opportunity.

6. If you had the opportunity to change this course:

What would you keep?

I would keep the museum visits, multi media projects, the elements and principles project, extra credit, and the curation project. I also liked the blog component, it was nice to document everything.

What would you remove?

I would remove the Photobucket element. It's an outdated website and was hard to use. I feel a powerpoint would work better, or even our blogs.  

What would you add?

I would add more interactive elements with our peers. I thought the interactive projects where we provided feedback for each other was helpful, and I think the course would benefit more of that. I would also add some kind of interaction with the professor, or more feedback. I like feedback and find it helpful.

7. Would you recommend this course to your peers?

Yes, it's a great course and I feel I learned a lot.

8. Please list any other comments you would like to share

I think it would be helpful to have video instruction for each module. That probably sounds crazy,  but when I had the opportunity to engage with my peers, I often found it harder on my end because they did not follow the directions. Maybe a more interactive element in that way would help.

The only other issue I had was with the quizzes.  I had an issue on my last one where it was timing out on me and completing it for me before I was finished, which resulted in a lower grade than usual, and I did not see the message back that I had an additional opportunity until after the deadline had passed. Technology can be unpredictable, I understand that, it was just a frustrating situation.

Module 16: Reflection of AED200

1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met?

I expected to learn how to further expand my ability to understand how context and history affects the creative process and end result of art, as well as the artists who create it. I also expect to learn how to improve my ability to write about art and explain my understanding of it. I definitely feel like I met those expectations. I feel as though I've learned a great deal about how historical and societal context influences artists, as well as improved my ability to write about art. 

2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your intial posting?

My original statement was that art is "Something that a person or group creates to convey a feeling, emotion, point of view or statement." While I still feel that is true, I would expand it. Art is created to convey a feeling, emotion, point of view, statement, and to document history. It is created to make a viewer feel something.

3. Who was your favorite artist in your original posting and who is your favorite visual artist now? If there is a difference, why do you think so? If you have the same favorite artist, why do you think so?

My favorite artist when starting this course was Jenny Saville. I'd say she is still a very influential artist for me, but I have also grown quite fond of Caravaggio after this course and learning more about him; specifically his history and his inventive use of light. I have also found a liking for Francisco Goya and seeing how his paintings were much different than any other artist of his time. There are so many artists that I learned about, it's hard to choose! I have found, however, that learning about context and history is incredibly important when looking at art and thinking about these types of things.

4. Now that you've completed this course, how do you feel about taking an online course? Is your answer the same as it was in your first posting? How is it the same or different?

Taking an online course is challenging. I was nervous to take an online course at the beginning, because I had taken one before and it was very hard for me to stay engaged. I will say, however, that this one was much better. I really enjoyed all the interactive elements; specifically the videos and interacting on projects and other students' blogs. It is, however, challenging to ensure you set aside the required time each week to complete the work since you aren't in an actual classroom. I think the course could benefit from more interactive activities with classmates like the gallery project, but I did notice some of the class did not follow the directions (which makes it hard to collaborate), so it's also important to take your time and carefully read everything! I also really enjoyed the flexibility of an online format; if I knew I had a busy week, I could double up and complete my work ahead, which was nice.

Self Portrait/Art Gallery Visit

I virtually visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
The three self portraits I chose as inspiration are:

 
Vincent Van Gogh, Self Portrait ,1889
Oil on canvas
438.2 x 571.5 cm


Judith Leyster, Self Portrait, 1630
Oil on canvas
651 x 746 cm


Nadar, Self Portrait With Wife Ernestine In A Balloon Gondola, 1865
Gelatin Silver Print
8.6 x 7.7 cm

Here is my reference photo:

Here is my self portrait: 

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?
I selected the inspiration pieces because I liked the juxtaposition of the three. The Van Gogh is very expressionistic, and I love his brush strokes and color palette. I chose the Judith Leyster because it is a pretty traditional painting and I liked that she chose to portray herself as an artist and in the midst of painting. Her subject is also very lighthearted, and the whole portrait is just light and happy. Finally, I chose the Nadar because I wanted to ensure I captured a different form of media. This one caught my eye because it was somewhat askew, and I liked that they posed themselves in a studio inside of the balloon basket. Taking photographs during that time took a long time, and I liked that they chose to portray themselves in a lighthearted way.

2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?
I chose colored pencil because it is one of my favorite media to work with. I think it is fun to blend the colors and also be able to layer them. I wanted something colorful and expressionistic and I think colored pencils captured that.

3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?
I think my color palette was my biggest challenge. I first started out with a bolder palette with reds but as I started adding more colors it didn't seem to fit. I just tried to work with it and layer some colors so it did not seem so bright.

4. How does this piece represent you?
It represents me because I am always attracted to bright colors, and my portrait is light and happy and expressionistic. I also wanted it to appear in loose strokes, which is kind of a contradiction to my personality, as I am always double checking everything and pretty type-A.

5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?
I applied color and form by using a non-traditional color palette to create the forms of my face and hair. I used texture through my pencil strokes which I think creates some movement and moves the eye around the image. 

6. Did you enjoy working on this project?
It was fun! I don't get the opportunity to draw as much as I used to, and I definitely feel rusty, but I've really enjoyed being able to practice a bit during this class. It was fun to think about how I wanted to represent myself.

7. What do you think of your final artwork?
I like it! Like I said, I feel like my drawing skills are a little out of practice, but I think it came out well and is a good representation of myself.

Module 13 & 14: Curation Exhibit Reflection Journal

This activity was really fun. I loved stepping back and thinking about what artists I would use, and what theme to choose. At first I struggled with a theme because I kept thinking the female perspective would be too broad a choice. However, as I kept thinking about it, I found links between all the female artists I chose. That link was that their work conveys their oftentimes different perspective than male artists. I did have some struggles, however. My biggest struggle was using the resources given in the resources folder- as they did not have as many artists or works as I wanted. I ended up using a lot of museum and artist websites, which was really helpful. It did take quite a bit of research to find sizes and mediums, and in some cases additional information on specific art works. I found this challenging and fun, though, and I learned quite a bit about artists I thought I already knew about! I also learned about some new ones, which is always great. It was awesome to put this together with influential women from all different decades and see how their perspective was/is shown through their work.

I really enjoyed this activity and hope to use it with my own art students some day!

Module 13 & 14: Video Review

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

An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art was about Phillipe de Montebello and his leadership in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. de Montebello was born in France and graduated from Harvard. Under his leadership as director, the museum's collection would grow to encompass all continents, eras and cultures. Currently, there are over 2 million objects in the Met. de Montebello discusses that while he does not always feel drawn to a specific piece of art, it is important to acquire pieces that are varied to express, convince and make an impact on us. The curators act as history writers; carefully choosing pieces that perfectly express cultures, eras, movements and mediums. de Montebello impresses that personal taste should not influence the decisions to purchase pieces, but more so the amount of impact a specific piece would have within the Met. The video also discusses conservation and how de Montebello completely revamped the museum's conservation ideals. There are over 100 conservation employees at the museum. The conservators also double as scientists; using chemical testing, X rays, and water. It is a constant battle between what you can do and what you should do in order to preserve the likeness of each piece. The video also discusses the exhibition; while museums present artworks in many ways such as books and online catalogs, experiencing art first hand in the round is the most important way to full immerse the viewer in them. Exhibitions can be large or small, focused on one topic or culture. 

The Tate Modern is 10 discusses the role of the institution and curator in exhibitions. The video discusses that the institution should work as the storyteller; giving new angles and perspective on art and its history. The Tate curators take away the anxiety of understanding different movements in art by arranging their collection in ways that make sense to the every day viewer. They arrange not by movement, or artist, but by how each work relates to the others.

The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art defines lowbrow art as art in which has no real category, but is created as a protest against 'high brow' or mainstream art. These artists were excluded from fine art galleries and the rest of the art world. It has often been classified as Pop Art Surrealism. Its origins lay within tattooing, hot rod culture, comics, and folk art. Lowbrow began after WWII and was influenced by McCarthyism, the opening of Disneyland, consumer culture, comic books, surf culture, and the ideas of the 60's. Ed Roth and Von Dutch were two of the first artists to begin influencing this movement. Polynesian culture was also a heavy influence on this movement. Lowbrow contrasts the fine art world in that it goes against the idea that the viewer needs to interpret the art. These artists created their own scene and culture and had their own exhibitions. This movement also gave many opportunities to women in art. These artists often walk a fine line with illustration and often work on album and poster art. They often set up their own shows in record stores and smaller galleries and did all of the work themselves. Their goal was to be accessible to regular people, and sell their art at reasonable prices. From this movement came Juxtapoz magazine to showcase these artists. Within the last ten years, Lowbrow has grown and now features more than 1,000 artists. 

2. Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.

Yes, absolutely. It was interesting learning about exhibitions from each video and the ways in which the curators think so carefully about the pieces they include in each show or gallery. It definitely helped me think more carefully about what I was going to include in my exhibition.

3. What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project?

The most influential video I watched was The Lowdown on Lowbrow. It was really interesting to learn about these artists, and I have been a fan of Juxapoz for a long time, yet I never really bothered to learn about its history. Each video, however, helped me understand the role of the curator and how to think about my exhibition carefully.