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Blog Post 2: My Art Story

Throughout history, art has been categorized as a form of human expression through creative methods that often attract the visual senses. In my life, art has taken the backseat for the past four years. But history includes the past, and art has always played an enormous role in my life. Traditionally speaking, my mother always took interest in art and that interest may as well be hereditary because most of siblings have careers based in the art. I of course am one of the few exceptions, rather than fine arts or architecture, I chose psychology. Though I must acknowledge that up until college I went to an Art school in New Jersey which inculcated an intimate passion for art. To simplify, art to me is my heritage and Spanish culture, art to me is a safe haven when I’m stressed. Art to me is the most intimidate expression of emotion a person can expose and everything in this world if we look closely has artistry. My life is surrounded by art, and therefore, whether it be because of my mother or not, art will always have a place in my life. I honestly hope to learn what is already being offered, especially in terms of the origin of art. Where did it first appear? Also, the social aspects, especially how art revolutionizes epocs and eras.

My art story

Michael DeGennaro -Art1010

Post#1

Write up your art story: What we we mean when we say art? What is art to you? How does it fit in to your life? What do you want to learn about in this class?

Art is a vehicle for expression.  It allows you to drive and explore your thoughts in creative ways.  It allows you you to express your feelings in ways beyond just speaking.  It comes in limitless forms such as music, dance, doodling, drawing, painting and much more.

Art is especially important to me in the form of decorating.  A very young me became infatuated with the holidays, not only for the love of being able to connect with my family on a traditional basis, but for the love of being able to express myself in my home creatively.  My favorite holiday to decorate for is Christmas.  This past year, I loved taking the non traditional Christmas color of cobalt blue, interweave it with traditional elements of Christmas,  and transforming my home into a white and blue winter-wonderland.  I look forward to my yearly trips to Pier One and Michaels, searching for ornaments and trying to find the perfect garlands  to turn my home into a piece of art for the holidays.

Beyond decorating however, art  connects me with the social issues of the world. One of my favorite artists has become Hannah Hoch.  Her pieces are extremely rooted in the issues that women face in society.  The piece below demonstrates that women in society are thought to be “doll- like”.  Their bodies are mangled and cut out and pasted on a piece of paper, which adopts a very chaotic, yet angry tone, drawing a parallel to the feelings of women in society.  Several eyes are pasted on the paper, entailing that women are constantly judged in society, based on beauty standards (nails, shoes, hair, makeup) , but also gives the idea of the reversal of the “status quo.”  Here the women are looking at the audience, and quite possibly judge the audience for a change.  I love that her artwork is open for analysis.

In this class, I hope to learn about specific pieces of art, that are rooted in social issues in the world, because I find those especially interesting. 

 

My Art Story

When it comes to art, most people think of paintings, sculptures, ceramics and drawings, but art can also consist of music, dance, film, literature, and photography. When we say art, we picture a product developed that appeals to emotions of the artist.

To me, art is a form used to express desire, feelings, and ideas to the viewers. By creating art, we are sharing to the public what we think, the sentiments we carry, our values, but also the experiences that one has faced. Even looking or glancing at art can bounce ideas, but also give a feeling of understanding between the artist and the viewer.

I fit art into my life any chance I can whether it is through listening to music, water-coloring, watching a movie, going to museums or creating a masterpiece of my own. My senior year of high school, I took a ceramics class which had given me a greater love for art and taught me how art comes in many forms. I made a tile, an owl pot, and a few vases. Some of my work are shown below.

In this class, I would like to learn about the historical backgrounds of artists and their paintings and what led them to become the artists they became.

Blog Post 2: My Art Story

Write up your art story: What is art to you? How does it fit in to your life? What do you want to learn about in this class?

When most people think of art, they think of paintings and drawings. Most people consider art to be the creation of an image through the use of physical instruments, such as a paintbrush or a marker.

To me, art is an expression of creativity. To me, art is more than just drawing and painting. It can be photography and even writing. Photography is the art of snapshots and drawing with light. I know this from personal experience, having taken photography courses in Middle School.

Writing novels can also be an art. You have to select the right words to ‘paint an image’ in the readers’ minds. Writing ‘the house is yellow’ is like using a standard yellow paint while saying ‘the house was the color of a ripe sunflower engulfed in sunlight’ is like mixing yellow paint with a touch of orange to make it a more unique color. Art in my life is my creativity. It is the way in which I write a fictional story.

This is why I’d rather learn about artists who push the boundaries of what art actually is than learn about artists like Leonardo da Vinci. I’d be more interested in learning about artists like Willem de Kooning than artists like Vincent Van Gogh. I’d rather learn about flexible artists because my concept of art is flexible too.

Blog Post 1:

To learn how to use the Cuny Academic Commons Site you first go to

  1. commons.gc.cuny/edu
  2. log into your commons account
  3. click on the group tag and look for Art 1010 Fall 2018, the 9:30 am class
  4. click on the post or media tag on the upper left side corner
  5. click on post
  6. create your title, in this case, you would put whatever topic is being discussed
  7. type in your discussion/topic in the white box
  8. you can attach files if you want
  9. submit once you’re one!

And you’re done!

Blog Post 2: My Art Story

So what is art? Art is a vague and broad topic when people hear the word art, they mainly think of doodles, pictures or art museum. When I hear the word art, I think differently. I think of art as one’s expression. It can be messy, it can be a portrait, it can mean dancing/choreography, music, it can be doodles and graffiti. Art is limitless.  In my life, art is everywhere, whether it be from the doodles on my books and papers, or graffitis on the street, there’s no way of avoiding art in your daily life. I hope to learn about how different artists view their arts, and what they were thinking and feeling when they create their masterpiece. I would also love to learn about the skills and techniques that were developed over time!

 

Blog Post 1: How to Make a Post

You must create an account and activate it via email before you are able to post. Assuming these steps are completed, these are the steps to making a post:

Step 1) Log onto your account

Step 2) Click on the “Sites” tab and select a specific site (i.e. Fall 2018 Art 1010 at Brooklyn College)

Step 3) Add yourself to the site (via a button on the left side of the screen that says “Add Me”)

Step 4) Click on the “+New” button on the top of the screen.

Step 5) Write a title and beginning filling in the body as well.

Step 6) Select a category and add a tag (on the right side of the screen). At this time, you can also add attachments, if you’d like.

Step 7: Hit the blue “Publish” button on the right when you are done.

An Art Story

How does one define art? It’s not safe to assume that everyone has the same concrete definition of something that is so expansive and subjective. According to dictionary.com, every English major’s best friend (alongside thesaurus.com), the definition of art is:

  1. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

Looking it up might have been cheating, but while this definition holds intellectual substantiality and is transcendent, anyone can take a step back and criticize it. Dismay it even. My definition of art can differ drastically so from my neighbors definition. Who’s to say that art has to be beautiful, or hold a “more than ordinary significance”?

If I were to pigeonhole the definition of art, I would define it as a physical expression from the self. However, what this physical expression manifest’s itself into is the trickier (but best) part.

Art has always been a book in my lap and the touch of pen to paper, turning words into life. It is the only way I knew how to immerse myself in art at a young age, and the art that taught me that expression can be cathartic and inspirational.     As I grew older, I learned that I could immerse myself in art through what I wore and how I decorated my spaces. Reading, writing and expressing who I am through clothing and surrounding myself with Monet and Klimt and Van Gogh paintings. Through these expressions of art, I find that I not only understand life better through the eye of others but that I learn to understand myself better as well.

What I hope to gain from this class is a new definition of art and to have more of an intellectual grasping of artistic terms that help me understand important underlying meanings of artwork that I might’ve missed otherwise.

My Art Story

Art has no set definition. To some it can mean classical paintings, and to others it can mean a well choreographed dance. Personally, art to me is something crafted with both high amounts of skill and imagination. I notice art around me everywhere throughout my day to day schedule. On my commute to school, I admire the architecture of Manhattan: the skyscrapers. While on the train, I read some of the poems posted and I consider that to be art. When I see someone who’s nails match their handbag or their drink I find that to be artsy. My Pinterest boards are filled with home decor which I also consider to be art. I love the fact that art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, you can create art and maybe some people will resonate with your art while others won’t, and that’s perfectly fine. I took a college level Printmaking class, and some of the students made these masterpieces that really changed my perspective on how art can be used to signify such larger themes.

I would like to learn about how art developed over time and maybe learn about some classical pieces and artists such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh. I also would like to know more about the influences behind contemporary art if there are any. I am thrilled to go to art museums (for free!) and expose myself to various types of art in order to see which ones resonate with me.

My History with Art

Aside from doodling random sketches of Spiderman and other superheroes in class since elementary school, art has always been an intrinsic passion of mine ever since I was introduced to comic books in 1st grade. I vividly remember the nights when I used to stay after my bedtime to read a stack of comics. As I read them, I remember that I was captivated by the illustrations and the details. Sometimes, I would re-read them as an excuse to look at the illustrations again; they were perfect. My imagination and creativity has definitely increased after my years of reading comics. The illustrations has opened a world of creativity I thought I would have never had. My drawing hobby slowly manifested throughout my childhood and I still love drawing during my free time.

Art, the word itself, can have a range of sub-categories. It is very hard to define it. First, it can describe the history of a certain piece. It can describe the culture of a piece. It can be in the form of lyrics (music), poetry, and literature. Or it can be totally different such as fashion and beautiful mathematical expressions such as the golden ratio. All of these sub-catergories have overlaps such that art is a form of expression through creativity or imagination.

Personally, I would love to explore surrealism in the 1900s. My favorite piece is by Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory. His works are just so bizarre and pleasing to look at. Anytime I look at his work, my mind gets convoluted with random thoughts and sometimes I get anxious!