Creating a Personal Logo

Creating a logo was very difficult!  For some reason, I had an idea in my head that it would all be computer generated, rather than starting from scratch in a sketchbook.  I think it was especially hard to create one for myself because it is hard to define yourself in just one image.  It would probably have been easier to create a logo for a company, but I enjoyed the challenge!

I started off by thinking about what kind of message I wanted to convey about myself.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I identify with trees because they reflect my upbringing.  Also, I consider myself an environmentalist and it is something I try to practice in my daily life, so I thought incorporating a tree into my design would be ideal. 

I started out with some sketches (see above) and then figured out which worked best and what elements I liked or could work on for the final logo design.

Here is the finished product:

I am very happy with it and proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone with this project! 

The most important discovery I made in the creation of the logo was about myself - this project gave me a chance to reflect on what is important to me and how I can present this to others.  I also learned more about my style of creativity and my own personal creative process.

However, all of the given resources also provided valuable information.  I really enjoyed the Design and Logo Development reading material from DIY Lupton.  It went over the basics of design and I found the information on different types of fonts and how they can be perceived to be very useful.  I also liked that it showed many different ideas for the "Going Public" logo.

I also thought the videos were great because it familiarized me with the entire process of logo designing and product designing with the use of in depth, real life examples.

Visiting the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Today I braved the weather to go to the Albright-Knox for an assignment.  It was nice to have a reason to go there - it has been awhile!  It was fun to see pieces of artwork I remembered, and even more interesting to see works that we have been learning about this semester.  It is completely different to see a painting in person than in a textbook; when I saw Frida Kahlo's self portrait with monkey it was amazing to see all the details, such as her green hair and the expression in the monkey's eyes.  These works are a reminder of what a gift it is to have such an important art gallery right here in Buffalo.

Here is a slideshow of the artworks that I will be discussing.

Many of the artworks impacted me for different reasons, so picking just three was difficult! 

Ten Formal Fingers by Jim Dine (1961) is a work that uses wood relief with oil.  This was one of the works that made the biggest impression on me; for some reason, I was disgusted by it.  I'm not sure what it was exactly about it. but the name and looking at it definitely made me uncomfortable.

Caryatid by Paul Pfeiffer was a 2010 digital video loop on a chromed TV/DVD combo that made an impression on me as it took a different angle than many pieces of art; Pfeiffer attempted to juxtapose sports with art.  Caryatid refers to ancient Greek architecture that was supported by sculptures of women's bodies.  Pfeiffer related his edited digital video loop of the Stanley Cup being carried around with the athletes almost invisible by making the connection that hockey players can serve as modern day architectural references to antiquity and that "unwavering faith and worship often manifest in sports fanaticism."

Seamlessly Lost (2009) is an oil on canvas work by Bingyi that takes up almost a whole room.  This artwork personally affected me because of its sheer overwhelmingness with all of the detail and it also seemed to bring out fear because of the sculpture of what was seemingly a person on the ground with roots for limbs.  It seemed reminiscent of either death, depression, or both.

As for the works I most felt a connection with, Wall Drawing #1268 Scribbles: Staircase, the 2010 graphite on three walls work by Sol LeWitt, was very exciting to see since we had learned about it already.  It was amazing to see how much time and effort must have been put into it, and it was incredible to see how the finished piece came together to play with light.

I also was drawn to Child's Blue Wall (1962) by Jim Dine.  This work utilized oil on canvas, as well as wood, metal, and a lightbult.  I consider myself to be young at heart and the awe of seeing the stars never ceases to amaze me, so I definitely had a connection with this piece.

I also had a connection with Piet Mondrian's Composition No. 11, a 1940 oil on canvas.  This painting reminded me of the stained glass often found in houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who is one of my favorite architects. 

A very mysterious work that I was drawn to was Mirror House (2010) by Kelly Barrie, an archival light jet print.  First of all, trees are a big part of my life for some reason.  I love trees because I grew up (and still live in) the country and love climbing them.  I see them as a sign of life.  This work took this idea to a new level for me when I realized that the artist utilized a photograph of a tree that reflected a historical disaster.  I would love to learn more about what sort of historical disaster this is referring to and the specific methods used to transform the photograph to look like an x-ray.

Another work I'd like to know more about is Untitled (green), a 1966 oil on canvas work by Scott Short.  What was mysterious about this piece is that although I was attracted to the design, I have no idea what it was referencing.  Furthermore, "green" is in the title, but the work seems to be purely black and white.

Finally, my favorite artwork overall in the gallery was Morning War by Matthew Ritchie.  This 2008 painting is oil and marker on linen but also extends onto the surrounding wall and they way the artist used the space to create emotion just amazed me.  I read that this work is an exploration of the edges and limiations of the universe, cosmos, and human consciousness, which I am very interested in, so I am very interested in knowing more about Ritchie's ideas on this.

Exploring Value and the Subtractive Color Theory

This week our hands-on project was to create a value scale and color wheel (shown above).  The color wheel was not all what I had pictured in my head before starting the assignment!  I am glad that we had this assignment so we had the chance to actually work with some materials and get to know how they are used and the basic theories behind them.

I most enjoyed working with graphite pencils for the color scale.  I found this project to be relaxing yet mind stimulating at the same time, because I was paying attention to minute details I never thought about before.  Furthermore, I can see how this practice will benefit me if I need to work with shading in the future.

These projects lead me to an important discovery - that I have been lied to by art teachers for the past 21 years!  Never had an art teacher told me that the primary colors are NOT red, yellow, and blue.  Rather, they are cyan, magenta, and yellow, which create black instead of brown.

That being said, this is definitely the most important information I learned from the videos this week, and doing the color wheel helped to reinforce that.  I liked these videos because they were easy to follow and I the background music in the value scale video was very enjoyable!

Elements and Principles of Art Slideshow

This project seemed daunting at first, but I have to admit, it definitely forced me to learn the elements and principles of art!  One thing I learned from this task is that each picture has multiple elements and principles involved. 

I find that every time I have a creative task to do, it is hard to get going at first, but once inspiration strikes, there is no stopping me!  At first I tried to brainstorm and plan out ideas for each term, but I found that getting out there and just looking at the world around me worked much better - some of my favorites were completely impromptu.  I also got to play around with the different settings on my camera, so I think I am starting to get a feel for things!

Week 3: Color Theory and Emotional Effects

Color seems so simple, but it is actually very complicated to explain.  It has always been interesting to me how others might perceive color differently than I do – is what I call green exactly what someone else sees as green?  One definition of color is HVI, or hue, value, and intensity, as used by computer programs.

One of my favorite things this week was learning the effect color has on emotion.  The emotion colors can evoke depends on the context they are in; different colors have different associations and symbolism for different cultures and individuals.  In Living With Art, I learned that red is believed to increase appetite (which explains why it is so often used in restaurant décor), while blue can lower blood pressure, pulse, and respiration rate since cool colors have a calming effect.  

The theoretical aspect of color that I most enjoyed learning about was the difference between subtractive and additive color.  I actually had never heard of either of these terms until I read about them on “My Art Studio.”  I realized that people who work with theatre lighting and the like conceptualize color in a different way than I ever have.  I found out that I normally think of color in terms of additive color, such as mixing red and blue to make purple or blue and yellow to make green because the primary colors of the subtractive color system are red, yellow, and blue, while in additive color, they are red, green, and blue. 

Understanding subtractive and additive color has also helped me to understand the colors black and white, which have confused me ever since an art teacher years ago informed me that light is the combination of all colors while black is the absence of color.  This used to confuse me because I would assume that black is the combination of all colors since I know that when I want to make brown paint, I mix all the other colors.  After exploring “My Art Studio,” I now understand that my teacher was talking about these colors in terms of light, as in additive color.

In the "Color" video, I was particularly struck by how the artist specifically created her works of art to be about feeling.  I am not sure if all artists directly think about how their color choices may affect the viewer; I am sure most take it into consideration, but this particular artist made it her main goal in her artwork.  She truly recognized the affect color has on emotions. 

In the Feelings video, I learned that two artists were representative of the thoughts and feelings of their time period.  David focused on the general goodness of man; his overall theme was that without kings or religion, mankind would be more free to express their individuality.  Goya, on the other hand, was a very dark artist, but only after a serious disease affected his health.   Goya went through a period of work that people call "the black paintings."  These paintings focused on the unwanted and the uncomfortable, particularly uncomfortable for me was the dog sinking in quicksand because I am claustrophobic!

Week 2: Aesthetics

This week I learned more about the IDEA of art and aesthetics than I ever expected to know!  Two films complemented our first readings from "Living With Art" by Mark Getlein.

The first film, “Aesthetics: The Philosophy of Arts” chronicles the history of the philosophers responsible for the development of aesthetic theory, including Plato, Hutcheson, Kant, and Tolstoy, among many others.  Basically, this film depicts how aesthetics has evolved over time.  The second film, “CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics,” took a very unique approach to the concept of art by exploring the connections between art and science.

When I first began learning about aesthetic theory this week, I personally identified Kant as the most important aesthetic theory philosopher because he explored how art connects reason with sensibility.  However, after considering my peers’ interpretations of the various philosophers, I now consider Plato’s contribution to aesthetic theory in the 5^th century to be the most important, although he did not purposely contribute!  Furthermore, I have to admit that I did not understand his theory at first.  I especially struggled to understand his concept that “the true nature of ephemeral things is an idea which can only be reasoned."  Even though Plato himself did not think of art highly, I now understand how his theories actually relate to aesthetics - his idea of the true essences suggests that art makes one contemplate the idea of beauty itself.  Likewise, the most important thing I learned from the "Aesthetics" film overall is that art is not always beautiful.  What is more important than beauty in a work of art is whether or not it makes you question things.  Besides, not everyone has the same concept of beauty, so that cannot be the only consideration in whether something is art or not.

In the second film, Changeaux’s examination of the evolutionary origins of arts and aesthetics was very interesting to me as an anthropologist – the connection between genetics and the development of art is something I had not before considered.  For me, the most interesting fact Changeaux related was the connection between the discovery of tools as the first step towards the development of art and aesthetics; this fact is a great example of how art IS related to anthropology - a connection that people do not always see.

In Ramachandran’s presentation, “The Science of Art, ” he suggests that humanities and science meet in the human brain.  His main point is that art is not realistic – the goal is to deliberately exaggerate an image in some way.  I was surprised to learn that there are artistic universals, although cultural overtones exist as well.

Upon reflection, the “Aesthetics” film helped to reinforce what we learned in Chapter 2, especially the section on Art and Beauty.  Both the book and this film showed the indefinability of “beauty” and how a work of art should be appreciated in and of itself.   Simply put by Getlein, “Art makes looking worthwhile.”

While the first film reinforced Chapter 2, I found the second film, “Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics,” to bring an alternative perspective to the idea of aesthetics.  By attempting to reconcile theories of aesthetics with scientific explanations, the film brings a whole new level to the understanding of art.

As for my opinion on the films, the “Aesthetics” film tended to have poor audio quality at times, but overall served as a comprehensive history of aesthetics without overwhelming the viewer with too much information on each philosopher.  The audio and diction of the second film was also hard to understand at times, but I appreciated the overarching theme of the juxtaposition of art and the human mind.  However, I would have liked a little more detail from Changeaux, such as the evidence that shows that symbolism was discovered some 300,000 years ago.