Exploring Value and Subtractive Color

1. Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.

I really enjoyed making the Value Scale and Color Wheel.  I love doing hands on assignments because it is a lot more fun and I never get a chance to do something like that for other classes.  I didn't have a problem with the color wheel at all, but I did have a little trouble with the value scale.  It was hard blending it and making it look like it gradually went from dark to light.  I had to use the eraser a few times to try to make it seem like a more gradual transition.  Overall, it wasn't too bad and I enjoyed this assignment very much.

2. Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?

The medium I enjoyed the most was the acrylic paint.  I liked mixing the paints and seeing the colors they made.  It reminded me of when I was in elementary school and first learning about how colors blended to make new colors.  It was a lot easier to make the color wheel rather the value scale.  As long as you put equal parts of each paint to come up with the secondary colors, you couldn't mess it up.  

3. What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?

The most important discovery in the creation of these studies was how the primary colors created black!  I honestly always thought when mixing them you came up with a muddy brown.  I was just telling someone there is no way this is going to make black, this makes no sense; and sure enough I was proven wrong!  

4. What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?

The most important information I learned from watching the videos for the projects was what the true primary colors are.  Of course I always had thought they were red, yellow and blue.  I was shocked to find that the true primary colors were yellow, magenta and cyan.  I thought these videos were very helpful in showing not only what a value scale and color wheel look like but how to actually make them.  Also for the color wheel video, I like how it showed the difference between the true primary colors and the false ones.  I was able to understand and see how the one grouping created brown and the other grouping created black.

Elements and Principles of Art Project

This project was all about a hands on experience with recognizing the elements and principles of art.  I enjoyed taking the pictures although it took me awhile to really think what pictures would match the principles and elements.  Some pictures are definitely better than others as my cousin is a photography major and has a professional camera.  When I was at her house we took pictures around her house such as the photos of the dog and bird.  Other photos aren't as high quality because we have a cheap digital camera, but I tried to capture them the best I could.  One of my favorite photos was of my boyfriend and my cousins baby used for proportion.  We were at a Murder Mystery at my grandparents this past weekend which was the reason for the dress up, which I feel made the picture.  Another one of my favorite photos is the one with myself and my cat.  It turned out perfect as she looked in the camera and tilted her head just as I did.  This photo was a great representation of balance, in this case asymmetrical balance.  To summarize this project I had fun brainstorming photo ideas and taking the pictures.   Rather than just reading about the principles and elements of art I was able to further my knowledge by recognizing them in real life.


http://s1295.beta.photobucket.com/user/zambekka01/library/AED%20200%20Elements%20and%20Principles%20of%20Art

Color Theory and Emotional Effects

1.    Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

Color has three properties being hue, value and intensity.  Hue is the name of the color according to the color wheel.  This color wouldn’t include something such as macaroni orange.  They just consist of the colors that are located within the color wheel examples being yellow or red or blue-green.  Value is how we see the colors whether they are dark or light colors although they have a full range of values.  Intensity refers to the purity of a color.  An intense color would be red.  When you add some white to the red, it softens the color making it less intense.  All of the properties of color play into our emotions.  Red is a perfect example on how it affects our emotions.  Red can be seen as a color of passion and intense love, but can also mean death, murder, and anger.  This color represents two opposite extremes.  In the first video, the man painted the walls in a café with a vibrant red and used harsh greens right next to the reds.  He wanted to portray his emotions of hating that place and that it can be a bad place, where even murder could take place.   The use of color can tell a story on it’s own.  When we see a painting full of dull blues and grays we can feel depressed and saddened.  Also using lighter blues can mean peacefulness.  When an artist uses bright yellows and oranges we feel more upbeat and happy.  Color can definitely be symbolic of a deeper meaning and/or also set a mood, which makes color so powerful and important in creating pieces of art. 

2.    What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

The theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues me is simultaneous contrast which is when complementary colors appear more intense when placed side by side.  I have never noticed this until now.  The demonstration of the complementary color afterimage is a perfect example of simultaneous contrast.  Both of the colors are vibrant on their own but placed together they appear even more vibrant!  Color’s of course play into our emotions but also can play tricks on our eyes and mind.  When staring at the green and red colored boxes it amazed me how the colors stayed in my eyes when I looked at a blank white square.  What completely fascinated me was not only did I see the colors in the box but, just as it said in the text, it was reversed!  For those that don’t understand the optical effects of color, after doing this exercise they are sure not to forget.  

3.    In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

In the Color Video, the man who painted the picture of the café put the biggest impact on me in regards to color and it’s effects on emotions.  When seeing the painting I was able to feel exactly what was intended.  He wanted to portray a place that he hated with a passion.  Using the harsh reds and greens he made you hate it just as much he did, and you haven’t even been there or have a reason to hate it!  This just shows how powerful color really is.  An artist can indirectly make you feel certain emotions with just the use of colors, which truly amazes me. 

4.    In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

In the video Feelings: Emotions and Art the biggest impact was how artist use darker colors.  Darker colors can be thrown into a painting to show the deepest evils, of violence, agony, and terror.  These dark colors can give you a feeling of uneasiness and depression, which can really become unsettling.  We always talk about vibrant colors but this video really made me think about the meanings of dark and muddy colors. 

Video and CNN article reviewed

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

Through watching both of these videos and viewing the article I was able to obtain a better understanding of aesthetics.  It’s one thing reading it through the text but seeing other examples makes it even easier to understand and is ultimately helpful.  From watching Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts, I found that the concepts on Aesthetics were constantly changing.  Not all philosophers agreed on the same core concepts and as time changed so did ideas.  As aesthetics means beauty, it is hard to create a guideline what is really beautiful.  What I may find is beautiful some may disagree with me, as I may disagree with someone else.  That being said I liked what Morris Weitz had said, “Art is whatever we may call art, no matter what the object may be.”  I liked this statement because art is really about being different.  The art world is creative and a place to explore our own thoughts and idea.  Some pieces may disturb us or even bore us but the fact is, is it is art, and no one should tell you otherwise.  There is no true definition of what art can or can’t be.  That coming from a philosophers stand point I couldn’t agree more.  In CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics, Changeux had said Art is constantly evolving.  I find that to be very true.  When you look at past art history and look at today’s current art it has completely evolved.  It makes me excited to see what the future brings in the art world.  A concept that really stuck with me in the article What the Brain draws from: Art and Neuroscience was what Picasso said, "We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies."  The fact is that certain objects in art are not realistic at all but our mind allows it to become realistic/plays a trick on us with how certain artists portray their art work.  Art and our how we think/our brain are intertwined. 

2.   Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosophers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.

The philosopher that I feel is the most important when it comes to the theory on aesthetics is John Dewey who is from the 1900’s.  Dewey had said “Art is connected to society.”  I more than agree with this statement.  I feel that society definitely has a big influence on art.  Most artists express themselves through their artwork.  When an artist is influenced by something that is happening on in their world they tend to reflect it within their artwork.  Whether it is clear within an artist’s piece or just the colors that are used to express something, the influence is very much there.  Without a doubt someone who is educated enough in analyzing artwork can tell the time period in which the art is from by just looking at it.  I find this very interesting.

3.   What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture?

I find both Changeux and Ramachandrans scientific view of aesthetics and art to be interesting.  Changeux talks about evolution and how evolution has influenced people’s view on art.  As time goes on the world around us changes, evolution takes its course and influences every aspect of our lives.  A lot of us don’t think of evolution having to do with art when it undoubtedly does.  Changeux’s main belief which I thought was interesting is that he thinks that aesthetics comes from how people see things.  He believes it’s our view on how things move and our ability to remember and recognize things.  These turn on something in our brain which releases our thoughts and feelings.  I found it interesting how appreciating art has so much more depth than just looking at it and liking it, our brain plays a so much bigger role in why we feel the way we do.  Ramachandran’s view on aesthetics also talks about the human brain.  What I found especially interesting in his lecture is that he referred to art as visual aesthetics.  He was definitely easier to understand than Changeux.  Ramachandran had an easygoing vibe that made it easier to understand and follow him.  I believe he used the term visual aesthetics to help those that aren’t well educated in art to follow along.  In all, it does mean the same thing.  Visual Aesthetics and art go hand in hand, as art is visually beautiful.  What really got and held my attention the most was when he gave the two examples of a naked woman and a naked woman behind a shower curtain.  The woman behind the shower curtain you couldn’t see her actual features but just her silhouette.  The point he made was that when there is something left to the brain to imagine it becomes more aesthetically pleasing.   

4. How do the videos and article relate to the readings in the text?

For the video Aesthetics: Philosophy of Art, I thought it related to the text because it went into depth what Aesthetics means in the Art world.  When I read about it in the text I was so confused.  The video really added to the text which was very helpful.  I have a harder time relating the video Neuroscience to the text since it focused more on the science aspect.  The people in the videos did make connections that could be carried over in the art world, which is where I would say it relates to the text.  The article relates to the text as it made connections of how we view things and find things visually pleasant. 

5.   What is your opinion of the films and article? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading in the text?

My opinions on the films were that they were quiet helpful in the sense of introducing a different way to look at Aesthetics.  Of course the text talked about Aesthetics in art but the videos made a connection to aesthetics that wasn’t art based that I thought was helpful.  I can appreciate art but I have a hard time doing so because a lot of the times I get lost in its meaning.

AED 200: first post

1. How was the process of creating the GMail account and setting up the Blog?

I had already set up a Gmail account before so that wasn't a hard thing at all.  Setting up the blog was somewhat confusing just because the Blogger screen is completely different from what was shown in the powerpoint.  I had taken a class last year using Blogger and it looked exactly like the powerpoint.  It was more of an uncertainty of whether I set this up right...which I am still questioning.



2. What do you expect to learn in this course?



I expect to learn about different artists and their signature they leave through their artwork.  I find it very interesting how with many artists you can tell by just looking at their artwork that they created it.  I also expect to become more knowledgeable about art.

3. How do you feel about taking an online course?

I love taking online courses.  I have taken several online classes and loved the freedom they allowed.  I find that in school classes, has more room for distraction.  I tend to do a lot better with online classes because they are clear with what has to be done and has deadlines noted.  I really feel that I learn more from online classes and truly enjoy taking them.