Category: 11 AM Class

Blog Post 6: Brooklyn Museum-Ancient World

In the Ancient Near Eastern Art exhibit, I saw the “Winged Genie Wearing Fancy Bracelets” piece of art. I first noticed its very detailed wings. There is a strong level of realism to the wings that reminds me of the common depiction of an angel’s wings, although it is also similar to the wings of certain kinds of birds. One of the wings is slanted downward, most likely to show the other wing, although it looks as though it is broken because of this. The muscles in the arms and legs are a bit over-exaggerated although there is a certain animalistic aspect that makes it fairly realistic anyway. You can clearly see that they had an eye for detail in the ear of the genie since it looks very similar to our own real-life ears.

As we have discussed about other artworks, this genie also has the elegant, orderly, and long beard that is very carefully carved in. He also has a very elegant crown on his head, similar to those we have looked at before. He is wearing elegant clothes, so between this and the crown, I can deduce that this man is very important and highly worshiped in the Assyrian culture this work of art came from. As noted in its title, it has fancy bracelets in the shape of a sun (a central orb with triangular points coming from it). This symbol also appears on his crown, so I take it to mean that this symbol is highly valued and representative of nobility and high status.

Blog Post #7: Brooklyn Museum – Soul of a Nation

When you go through this Soul of a Nation gallery, many pieces draw you in with its colors, design, & intrigue. One of these pieces is Trane, created in 1969 by William T. Willams, I chose Trane because when I walked through the gallery this is the picture that drew me in. The piece was jaw-dropping, it just seems just some lines on a large canvas but through formal analysis you can see it’s much more.  

The lines on the painting are abstract, placed unusually but most are diagonal. Some of the shapes remind me of the Penrose Triangle which makes the painting sort of 3D but some parts are 2D. The tonal range has a broad range of highlighted colors. The color of the painting has a gold backdrop with lines that consist of colors: Yellow, Purple, Blue, Green, Black, Red, & more with different tones of those colors. The colors are vibrant & sort of glowing when you see it. With some lines it looks like it has rhythm but others look like it sticks out of nowhere. 

Trane seems a perfect fit into the exhibition, the colors of the piece match well with the other pieces. The lighting of the hall where the exhibition lies brings out all of the exhibits including Trane. The way Trane was placed & how it was designed was perfect for me to use formal analysis to explain the piece.

Blog Post #6: Brooklyn Museum Ancient Egyptian Art

When I was walking on the third floor of the Brooklyn Museum, I saw a sculpture that was intriguing, the Shabty of Sati was mesmerizing: it’s colors, unique hieroglyphics, all of the detailing on that piece that is probably smaller than a foot. After seeing this glorious piece of art, I decided that I wanted to write about the Shabty of Sati. 

The Shabty of Sati is wearing a headdress that has many thick, bold, & repeating lines, as well the necklace and bottom of the artwork has parallel & repeating lines. The shape of the sculpture was done with masterful detail, the sides are shaved perfectly to be molded as a human body and it looks smooth throughout. The tone of the painting is lighter and more vibrant than I expected with an arrange of colors; however, it isn’t reflective. The main color of the piece is tan but that isn’t all it is, the colors are beautiful from blue to red and from yellow to green. Out of these colors the most prominent is blue with it being the color of the lines in the headdress and the color of the hieroglyphics. When you look at the piece it looks like it is paper thin and that is just a drawing on a paper rather than a sculpture. It isn’t that big compared to other things in the gallery. It is a very intriguing & beautiful piece and formal analysis just made it an even more pleasurable experience. 

Brooklyn Museum Assignment Part I & II

Part I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Part I of the assignment I chose to dive into the Egyptian Art exhibition at the Museum. As soon as I saw the sculpture showed above I was interested to analyze this particular work of art which is called Pair Statue of Nelson and Never-ta. Using Formal Analysis I immediately noticed that the sitting couple is made out of Limestone. As I looked around I noticed that the bench where they are sitting on has writing all around it and not only in the bench but also in the persons clothing. This makes me think of the art work we saw in class and how sculptures from all other places in the wold also had writing during those times. This means that they all had their own language and similar ideas when it came to language. Their clothing and neckless have an appearance of people who are in high level society which made me think that they are a married couple from the royalty. What makes me come to the conclusion that they are married is that the are both have one arm being each other’s back and not only that but the artist made their arm unnaturally long and if looked closer on the sides they are holding each other with affection. Their body posture is stiff and everything seems alined. There is parallel lines in every section of writing. Furthermore this writing and the limestone is painter with different colors of blue, red, brow, and black. Furthermore the volume of hair in each person is large and it makes their faces look smaller, specially the woman whose face is smaller and has a larger neck. It seems that they both are wearing some sort of make-up in their eyes which makes those look bigger and angled. the size of the Sculpture is a small. I love what it represents and I love looking at it. Using formal made me understand in a deeper way what the sculpture represented in Egyptian times.

 

Part II

For Part II, in Soul of a Nation, after looking around the exhibit I found my attention to be caught under this amazing yet horrifying painting, The First One Hundred Years by Archibald Motley 1891-1981. As you can see in the pictures I took, the painting seems to be oiled based. Also the use of dark and cold colors is very mesmerizing because it helps the viewer feel what is going on. In the painting I feel that the artist wants the viewer to focus on the two faces that hang on the tree (Martin Luther King Jr.- J.F.K) and one from the house (Abraham Lincoln). Those are the faces of important activist and presidents of the United States. The main thing they all have in common is that they were all assassinated.  I chose these particular painting because it summarizes everything bad and wrong that happened during African American slavery and when the confederate flag was wave by the prosecutors and the “pure” white people. All this horrendous events took place under the times of those three individuals’s faces. To me the painting is very sad and scary. When I saw the painting,  it made me feel anger. To the whole exhibition this work of art in particular shows what African Americans had to go through before they obtained freedom. The Exhibition is about the Soul of a Nation, it has work of art that represent the time where Blacks resisted oppression, and the time where people made a difference. Basically the exhibition as a Then and a Now. The painting above is very powerful and meaning full and the way it was painted with different colors, scale and dimensions make the viewer to want to see it. After Motley concluded this work of art, he never painted again.

Blog 5: Unit 1 Summary

Throughout unit 1 we discussed the ideas of formal analysis and critical pedagogy. These concepts were good stepping stones in understanding the meaning of an artwork. This allowed us to comprehend the artist’s meaning and purpose for their work and what they were trying to say. I remember during the first two weeks I could only see what was literally in front of me. For example, when we analyzed the painting of the women, I only noticed what was there. I didn’t see the details and precision put into certain parts of the artwork.

One concept we learned was formal analysis. It is an explanation of structure in ways which visual elements function with a piece of work. The purest form of formal analysis is defined to what the viewer sees because that’s how the eye looks at art. Visually speaking there are numerous of ideas and images we see off a piece of art. We use different components such as line, shape and form, space, color, and texture to evaluate what the art means. These components break down the significance of what the artist is truly trying to depict. Also, there are different characteristics and concepts in the components that can describe what is happening. The color, line, scale, space and mass all effect how interpret a piece. According to Anne D’Alleva, “Formal analysis means looking at the work of art to try to understand what the artist wants to convey visually.”D’Alleva is telling us to consider the reason for the creation of the piece and not to focus on what we only see through vision. Using the other concepts can give us a grasp of the true meaning of an piece of work.

Another concept we talked about was critical pedagogy which can be found in Paulo Freire’s well known “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” This text talks about the “banking model of education” where it treats students as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge. Freire argues that the traditional education system lacks critical thinking and a loss of creativity. How Freire describes this education is educators and teachers deposit information and knowledge into students, or in other words filling up your piggy bank with coins. This method taught students how to memorize information rather than understand what they are being taught. Instead of teaching students the what if, why, and how’s, they simply state facts and expect students to retain that information.

Unit 1 Summary

Throughout Unit 1, we focused on types of learning, which is something that comes in handy for an art history class since we are required to both examine different pieces of art and think about them critically. First we learned about critical pedagogy with Paulo Freire’s Banking Model of learning. Freire’s theory discussed the issues with teachers merely “depositing” information into their students, which is impacting students ability to learn and truly think critically. I think learning about this “model” was imperative, especially because as a student I have experienced this numerous times and it has impacted both my understanding of a subject, as well as my interest in it. Examining Freire’s criticisms of the education system as one of the first things we did in this class was necessary because it put into perspective how inefficient learning can be if students are not thinking for themselves. Thinking for yourself is crucial in art history since we are required to analyze different forms of art to get a better understanding of them.

The need to analyze pieces of art becomes much easier once the concept of formal analysis comes into practice. Formal analysis is used to comprehend art work by using what the artist provides us with. We can thoroughly look at the artists use of color or lines and use it to interpret the intentions behind those techniques. Putting this to to the test in class when we looked at paintings was very helpful. For example, when we looked at Titan’s Venus of Urbino, I found myself paying attention to and actually thinking about minuscule things that I normally would not have, such as the different hues and types of lines. Formal analysis allowed us to take simple things and think about them at our own pace rather than being told what we should think, which is something that can be difficult in other subjects.

Blog Post #5: Unit 1 Summary

So we survived the first unit of Art History. It was fun, from the groups placed together on day one and writing about how this blog works to looking at pieces of art and describing them in depth and I just wanted to talk about what has impacted me the most from Art History 1010.

First off, The Banking Method of Education explained by Paulo Freire could be compared to drinking water from a fountain. How this method works is by the person who is teaching talks about the information needed for the student’s curriculum. The student just sits there and takes in all of the knowledge that the teacher is giving. I’ve excelled in school with this learning method because my memory is pretty good. However, it hasn’t been productive in real life for me due to the world not being a place were just memorizing facts can help advance you in life but taking action does. For example if a teacher knows facts about their subject it is helpful but how you portray and present the facts towards the students is what will decide how good of a teacher you are.

A piece of art may not be clear due to it’s inability to have a clear story written on the art but knowing where it came from and what is happening at that time may shine a new perspective onto that piece of art. When we look into things like the Standard of Ur or the Steele of Hammurabi the context of that painting may not be fully clear but knowing that the Standard of Ur was created in the times of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt (it’s golden age) you can tell it was not depicting itself but of earlier Sumerian times when there was war in Egypt and knowing that it was made in Egypt’s golden age tell us it was made with it’s finest lapis lazuli.

The main point that I’ve learnt from Art History is how to look at art in a newer light, with more insight and I’m excited for my visit to the Brooklyn Museum to look at all of it’s art with all of the new skills I learnt.

Unit 1 Summary

A lot was learned from Unit 1; but the one that stood out the most was the Banking Model. It simply can be described as “depositing” knowledge into the student so they could understand the subject matter. Throughout a persons life, as a kid they underwent such a process in order to grasp subjects and topics. The process is centered around an authoritative figure giving out information for the students to study and prepare when they are going to be tested on what they remember. It hinders the individual who seeks alternative methods of solving problems, but helps the students who follow the rules strictly and remembers very well.

Another thing that I learned in this Unit that always fascinated was how people could examine a painting and can analyze multiple aspects that contribute to it just by using Formal Analysis. Spacing within a painting can give depth and a sense of where the figures. Also the coloring of certain figures taking a specific action. Usually insidious figures are painted with much darker colors, and innocent figures painted with bright colors. These are just a few examples of many other methods of analyzing paintings, to better grasp the general idea and the message it conveys.

Unit 1- summary

To me the most important topics we learned about in unit 1 are the banking model and formal analysis. 

The banking model is a way Paulo Freire described and critiqued the education system. This model shows a student as an empty container being filled with knowledge by their educator. Freire argued  that teachers don’t communicate with the students, they make “deposits” and the students are expected to receive, memorize, and repeat the information. This empowers the teachers because they have the power to instill anything they’d like into the students, but this is at the students expense because they don’t develop a creative process. I learned from this that I am very lucky that in Brooklyn College teachers don’t teach that way and they care about my opinion. 

 

Formal analysis is a way of looking at the painting and all of its details and fully understanding it. Formal Analysis is the idea of analyzing a single work of art, especially a painting, in terms of specific visual components. The components of a formal analysis are composition, color, line, shape, contrast, texture, and technique. All of these elements help us understand what the artist is trying to convey in his or her work. Formal Analysis is using your senses, like sight and touch, its all about what you see in the details of the painting.  The goal of a formal analysis is to use all of the formal elements of a painting or sculpture to fully grasp the meaning of the work. Whenever I went to a museum and looked at a painting or sculpture, I never really put that much thought into it. Because of this class, I now know how to look at art and use all of the elements of formal analysis to interpret the underlying meaning of the artwork.

unit one summary

In Unit 1, I learned about Freire’s “banking model”. The banking model is an idea of how education and the oppression that the education system/teachers pushes on the new students soaking up what is told. It a concept were I can see it being applied in modern education system and is a useful term to have if I every need to cite about a school related subject. I think that the system now reflects how our education system doesn’t work  with a newer generation of people.

Formal analysis is  analyzing a art piece and trying to identify the subject matter that the artist is trying to convey under the given context. Examining the details to bringing out a better sense of depth through the hues, line work, composition, strokes to make the art work. We analysis theses subtle difference to express the art works

I can’t help that I feel like I am restating what already been said in my other slides so try to rewrite this differently is a challenge. recap is this useful sort of I think I can use it for another school project or as a basis for a claim in the future.