Posts – Page 41 – Fall 2018 Art 1010 at Brooklyn College

Art 1010 Unit 1 Summary

In Unit 1, we were first exposed to Freire’s “banking model”. The banking model is a concept of education and the systematic oppression that the education system delivered onto students for many years. Freire describes this concept as a teacher teaching students a certain way, the right way, on how to think and answer certain problems. Students are essentially empty brains retaining all information that teachers teach. Freire poses solutions to this problem by suggesting a problem posing concept where there would be enhanced dialogue between the student and teacher. This way, students would work together with their teacher to come up with solutions rather than acting as robots and regurgitating answers provided. This method allows students to think freely and independently on whatever it may be. Pedagogy and power has taught me to think freely as our society is in need of character and individuality. I plan on using this lesson to encourage my children in the future to think for themselves as our education system is not changing any time soon.

In succession to pedagogy and power, we were introduced to Formal Analysis. Formal Analysis is visually analyzing a piece of work and trying to identify the subject matter that the artist is trying to convey. Many people, including myself, are accustomed to scanning pictures and moving on. D’Alleva describes this as the habit of “lazy looking”. In today’s society, we are exposed to technology and media at almost every moment of our lives. Our attention spans are becoming shorter, therefore, we can’t help but “lazy look”. In formal analysis, I learned how to analyze a work of art and dissect the meaning and subject matter to fully understand why an artist drew or made a specific piece of art. I learned to use key components such as color and scale in Titian’s Venus of Urbino to see the intentional use of warm colors of red and brown to maybe indicate the style and culture of the Renaissance period. I learned to use space and mass in Goya’s The Third of May 1808 to see how Goya uses mimesis and intentionally creates illusory characteristics that seem very realistic to the audience. Formal analysis can also be used on The Standard of Ur to see how the sizing of kings were larger to emphasize class divisions.

Throughout Unit 1, I learned about thinking freely through pedagogy and power and how to use formal analysis while looking at art. These were very important topics that will impact me in the near future.

Unit 1 Summary

What I took away from this unit was what formal analysis was and its significance to art, what art is, Ancient art and what it tells us about the word and how education is making oppressed people less likely to face their oppressors.

From what I’ve learned, in my opinion, Formal analysis is analyzing the elements that make up a piece of art and explaining their significance to the art. For example, when we analyzed paintings like the Manet Olympia, we get a grasp of what the artist was trying to show us. The brightest objects/things would be the most important and the focus of the painting, while the darkening and everything around the bright object/thing would be darker to help guide our eyes unto the the the important piece. Just like how bright the woman was in Manet Olympia. Whiter colors always tend to be more visible out of a darker background.

Formal analysis goes into what we learned about ancient “art”. For example; during the Egyptian and Mesopotamian times, the king was usually made to look bigger than everyone. People who were usually smaller and some who are cowering help get our eyes on the King/Ruler. One of the most important analysis on ancient art would be the attention to detail to something important. Usually the most important person or object would be the one who have been detailed enough to almost look 3D out of the 2D artwork. What the detailing and size tell about the ancient world was that their was a hierarchy. Going down an Art piece like the Egyptian make up holder showed that the King was always on top of all humans, but most importantly the Gods were always on top of the kings watching down. What we consider as Art now was likely considered just a piece of work back then, but reading and trying to understand Ancient art, we can understand their world a little better.

It was my second time reading Paolo Friere’s, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” because I did read it in High school, but I was able to go more in depth to what he was talking about. The most interesting lesson from him was the banking model. This is where he compares students to being banks and just take in information to just spit out information on a test. The students don’t find it interesting and it eventually loses it’s efficiency. Meaning students will stop caring to actually learn and just try to remember information for a test or work. The sad part is that this model is the basic model for public schools in America and most of the world.

Unit 1 Summary

Unit 1 was about the pedagogy and power, banking model, and formal analysis. The Banking Model is described as teachers simply passing on an idea to the students. The teachers talk and lecture while the students are quiet and receive the information. I have experienced this type of model many times in high school. Some teachers I had would not care to listen to anything the students had to say. They would think everything that they said was correct. I think this model has more negative aspects rather than positive. You might be able to learn something but it’s not the most effective and long-term method of teaching. I think its very important for teachers to engage and encourage their students to speak up in class. This helps a lot of students learn better. The pedagogical approach to any subject must be important when you want someone to learn. For example, if you’re teaching drawing you shouldn’t just put a fruits basket in front of the students and expect them to know how to draw. You would have to teach them the basics first.

Another thing we learned is formal analysis. Formal analysis is not only describing the art but also showing and understanding what the artist is trying to convey, visually. Everybody has different ways of looking at things so our own interpretation of art will have a play in what we think it means. When focusing on formal analysis, there are some characteristics we use: color, line, space and mass, scale. We also look at the composition of the art. Composition means how the artist combines all these factors in their work of art. We also use the historical context of an artwork. It relates to the things that happen during the time the art was made. It serves to give us a better understanding of the art and show why the artist decided to make this artwork.

It’s very interesting that you can learn so much about an artwork from its historical background. I never knew how to analyze an artwork before but after learning some basics on formal analysis it has become easier. When looking at the Titian Venus of Urbino, I noticed that a lot of warmer colors were used as opposed to cool or neutral colors. Colors like pink and red were used a lot. Another technique that was cool was looking at the way the artist catches your eye from the direction of lines. They guide your eyes intentionally from left to right. I personally thought that was interesting and cool how an artist can make you do that. Also, learning of the historical background of the painting really put it into a perspective of why the art was made.

Blog Post #5: Unit Summary

Unit one explored the ancient world by using art to understand the importance and significance of a civilization. Before entering the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, we first scrutinized art and its meaning. Art is many things, but it can be defined as a form of human expression that often is a visual cue and aesthetically composed to create an emotional, social, political, and religious statement. As we discovered in the early classes, to understand an artwork we must understand formal analysis. Formal analysis is best described as using the elements of art to read and understand the story or meaning an artist places onto a canvas. This technique uses, line, color, shape, value (chiaroscuro), texture and space and form, to create empirical questions that help to understand the artwork’s statement.

In the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) era we spoke mainly about the cave paintings and the Venus of Willendorf (fertility figure). The cave paintings mainly introduced us to not only the first artwork discovered but the idea of sympathetic magic. This can, in fact, be thought of as a religious ritual, which is one of the main themes of this unit. The figurine also is a form of art used to appeal to the fertility deities. This theme is extended into the Neolithic era. In the Neolithic age, society becomes highly stratified into what is commonly known as an agrarian society. The placement of government and administration creates divisions that we commonly know as social classes. This is especially seen in The Standard of Ur, which divides social class into three sections. The 3 sections are placed much like a hierarchy, the king and the priest on top, middle class (rams rather than donkeys) in the middle and slaves/labors on the bottom. The King is the largest figure in work, which is a commonly used technique to symbolism power or importance.

In the Cylinder Seal of Adda (Sumerian society), the continuity of religion is seen because the figures in the cylinder are often seen on deities. The main reason they are seen as deities is due to the crown and difference in size between them and a small man in the middle of the work. In this specific artwork, the deity of water is visible because water is increasingly important for agrarian societies (irrigation=increased agriculture). Another religiously affiliated art pieces are the miniature statues of people praying. They were used as stand-ins, with supplicating hands and large eyes.

There are many more artworks we spoke of but most were commonly associated with war, power, and religion, which easily is related to politics. The use of art created visual cues to express the history of Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylonia, and Neo-Sumeria in the primary perceptive of the people. The common technique used during this time were large proportions to emphasis power (which in itself has a political agenda that during this time is often intertwined with religion), special symbols (crowns, clothing, powerful animals) to symbolize social status and importance and many other techniques. In shorter words art using formal analysis and contextual analysis are primary sources of history, that give us a clarified understanding of eras.

Unit 1 Summary

When we say the word “art” we are describing any form of human activity ranging from music to sculptures and paintings. Some of the various forms of art are: music, paintings, dance, architecture, drawing, photography and ceramics. Individuals connect with a piece of art using their thoughts, emotions, beliefs and ideas. This course has allowed me to find different ways to acknowledge numerous forms of art. Whether it be paintings, sculptures, graffiti, music or architecture artists use different techniques to create a work of art and their work should be recognized. Through this first unit of this class I have learned about formal analysis, pedology and the key aspects that make art significant. Before taking this class, I thought that art was made up of the different paintings and ancient artifacts presented in museums. Now that we’ve finished the first unit I have learned a significant amount about the different ways we analyze art and the different characteristics used by artists to make their artwork impactful. This new analytical way of analyzing has allowed me to recognize the different skills artists use in their work. The different designs and key elements that shapes their work.

Formal Analysis is an assessment of visual elements that construct sculptures or any given art work. It is important to use formal analysis to describe a piece of art work because it pin-points each element illustrated and expresses the meaning of each element. The components of formal analysis are: line, shape and form, space, color. texture. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, thick, thin, curved, and thick or thin. These lines allow artists to compose pieces that communicate to the viewer by creating various images using different techniques. Shapes and forms of objects bring life to a two dimensional object and allow viewers to better interpret the work. Space in art brings a two dimensional object to a three dimensional state through a feeling of depth and use of shadowing techniques. The three main characteristics of color are hue (red, blue, green, etc.), value (how light or dark it is) and intensity (how bright or dull it is). Color allows artists to depict emotions or playful meaning through their work. Texture brings surface value to art work. If the art work is two dimensional texture allows artists to illustrate how the object would feel in reality. All of these elements define art work and allow us to fully understand a piece of art work.

Pedology and Power was another topic covered in this Unit. To Freire, the banking model is described as a knowledge holder sharing knowledge to a knowledge receiver without any feedback from the receiver. This is known as the standard classroom model in which a teacher shares his or her knowledge with students as they feed off that given information. This allows the teachers (knowledge holders) to be empowered because they hold the knowledge that is being given or distributed to the knowledge receivers.

Blog Post 5: Unit 1 Summary

In unit one, I learned about formal analysis and about critical pedagogy. I found this topics to be interesting, but I wished we could have discussed critical pedagogy more thoroughly. I learned that the banking model was the idea that teachers know everything and spill their knowledge to the students, whose job is simply to soak it in and remember what was said. This education model takes power from the students and gives it all to the teachers. Paulo Friere, author of Pedagogy and Power, critiques this model by saying that equating it to a form of dehumanization. He even stands for critical pedagogy by saying that “this […] is the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed [the students]: to liberate themselves and their oppressors [the teachers] as well” (Friere 44). I found this to be a very interesting and motivating idea that will forever have an impact on me.

When we learned about formal analysis, I had expected it to be about analyzing quotes or books. I did not expect it to be more about how to ‘read’ artwork, nor did I expect that formal analysis is more about looking at a work of art than it is about writing about it. Formal analysis is the act of examining the details of a work of art to interpret its message. One thing I often remember about formal analysis is what you analyze (or, in other words, the elements of formal analysis). The elements include, but are not limited to: line, color, illusion of space, contrast, scale, and medium. The most important part of formal analysis is the goal: “to try to understand what the artist wants to convey visually” (Reinhardt 26). In other words, it is important to figure out what they are trying to show you and why they are doing this.

Therefore, this is what I learn in unit one of Art History. I learned how to analyze of work of art to determine its message and I learned about oppression in the education system (and how to combat it). This opened my eyes to a new mindset and a new skill I did not have before, so I am interested to see how this will impact both throughout the class and later on in life.

SN: Brooklyn Museum Part 2

Part 2:

William T. Williams, Trane, is an acrylic painting that is rich in color and geometric abstractions. The colors included are red, grey, lavender, dark pink, yellow, navy, dark red, bright red, orange, light green, dark green, brown, brownish-beige, and black. Thin white lines separated every shape as they intertwined with one another. The geometric abstractions show the tension between the colors and forms and tests the limits of the other colors used during the intensive work process. Each shape ends with sharp points, and the colors make the shapes bolder as they fill up most of the paper. The pink shape in the middle seems almost trapped, surrounded by so many other geometrics pointing in different directions. I chose this artwork because the colors were bold, bright and to me, it is screaming a strong message. I thought it was very creative that I wanted to see the artist’s name. When I saw it was William T. Williams, I was surprised because I learned all about Williams in middle school, but I never saw this piece. Trane relates to the rest of the exhibit because each artist was of color and practiced art during 1963-1983, where those artists were able to individually create different kinds of art that reflect upon the movements of the time period. Each artwork tells a strong story and captivates the viewer to want to learn more about it.

SN: Brooklyn Museum Part 1

Part 1:

Amunhotep III is made to be seen as an aging man due to the sagging cheeks. The medium of this artwork is wood, gold leaf (seen on the hat and kilt), glass and pigment. The eyes are outlined in a dark grayish-purple color as the eyebrows are outlined with a blackish-purple color. His shoulders are straight and the arms seem to be either cut or never made. His crown is gold and has a lot of definition and texture with a black square and a gold circlular pattern around it. Amunhotep III was made to stand on a wooden base with his left leg more forward than his right, almost like he is taking a step. With his status of King, although his legs were positioned one in front of the other, he was balanced. The kilt has straight vertical lines in the back and different line patterns in the front. In addition, the front of the kilt is shaped differently. In the middle it is in the shape of a rectangle with slits of a right triangle on the left and right sides. On the back, it is shaped almost as a straight line on the bottom back of the kilt. There is a noticeable metal loop on his neck as well. Amunhotep III has more color in his face, specifically a golden brown, than he does on his body, which is a little bit of adarker brown. The statue was not as tall as I expected, but it was three-dimensional and I was able to get a glimpse of all of its characteristics.

Unit 1 SUMmary

I came into Art History thinking that it was going to be one of those straightforward and factual classes; when it’s actually one of the most ambiguous classes that I have because it’s so heavy on interpretation and not at all what I expected, in a good way. My initial idea was the this class would be really heavy on reading and brushing up on facts about artists and paintings, how they came about, and what they mean or symbolize. And although some of it is, I didn’t think it would be focused on the visual aspect of the art and the history combined.

Two things that we have learned about that are actually manifested in the classroom are critical pedagogy and formal analysis:

Critical pedagogy (also identified as the Banking Method) is a structure in classrooms in which knowledge is “deposited” (Freire 72) into the students and they sit there passively while the teacher serves as the dominant or authoritative figure in the classroom. I appreciate my class because I feel like this isn’t necessarily the case.The class is very inclusive and student-dependent whether that means letting students lead discussions or letting students decide on a due date. We also all actively participate collectively. Yes, we’re all sitting while Professor Shaw teaches standing but sometimes she even sits with us or makes it feel less pressured of a typical school environment.

Another thing we learned about was Formal Analysis, which is a visual examination of a piece of art. From lines, color, scale, dimension- it’s all used to make something of a visual piece. Formal Analysis is used to get at a bigger meaning of the art, what it may tell us, and how it may affect the viewers that see it. We put this method to use in class everyday during lectures, we use formal analysis collectively along with the professor and establish a significance of the piece of art Professor Shaw introduces to us. Using Formal Analysis helps the class be more open to interpretation as it’s never just black and white. There’s never just one simple answer, and that in turn, requires us to think a lot, actively.

After being in Art History for a couple of weeks now, my initial ideas of the class are now reshaped, as I see- and as ironically as it sounds- that this class, focused on the deeper meaning of things requiring open interpretations, is also very open to interpretation itself.

It’s one thing to learn about something just to recite it later on, but to apply it in class makes it more real.

Brooklyn Museum part2

<p>William T. Williams (American, born 1942). <em>Trane</em>, 1969. Acrylic on canvas, 108 x 84 in. (274.3 x 213.4 cm). The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Â© William T. Williams. Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York</p>

Image result for pablo picasso art mirror reflection

This artwork seems to look interesting to me somehow because of its colors, lines, and shapes. However, this artwork was by William T Williams was an American abstract geometric painting. Williams included the colors red, blue, yellow, pink, purple, green, black, brown, and orange. Not only his colors were outstanding but also the shape of the line, such as thick and thin line, big and small shapes. The line of the shape or sharp edges were all connected together. Mostly, the shapes were squares and rectangles.

I can compare the artwork to another famous painter named Pablo Picasso. He was spanish painter and I used to learned about him in my art class. This artwork was called”Girl Before A Mirror” Although he uses different techniques to design his artwork. However, he drew a mirror reflection with some black line pattern, circles as the body parts, black and white triangles as the chest and all different colors on the faces, hair and body. It actually shows a figure of a girl with an emotional feeling while the other artwork does not but only with a geometric shape.

P.S — The picasso painting was not in the museum, I just wanted to talk about the connection between them that I found it interesting.