art travel guide website ideas

During class we learned how to use Dreamweaver to make websites of an ongoing project of an art travel guide and there were some really interesting elements that were taught. We are definitely making the website interactive and some of the things I was thinking about using were to use roll over images that reveal answers to questions or to makes parts of images clickable that would take them to a different page to learn more about that image they clicked on. Also we would have maps of where the places are located that way people know where to go to find the art. Our group met for a little while and we got some ideas together as far as theme and which pairs of people do what part. We are definitely taking pictures this weekend so that we have enough time to make the website and write the information. I think the only thing that will be a challenge is trying to implement what we want into our website. 

Guerrilla Girls

We read how there was discrimination against female artists and how they received less pay than their male counterparts. You read about artists in the past and of their great accomplishments but the majority of them were male. This of course is not fair and does not show the entire spectrum at all. There has been in fact many women artists in western history, but they just don’t get named.  I also found it unjust that they were not even allowed to go to art schools or be a part of an art guild either. I found it also offensive that people would think that female work “didn’t meet their ‘impartial’ criteria for ‘quality.’”. Still looking at modern times, even though more art by women have been accepted, it is still not balanced with those of men. Furthermore, there were quotes by men on the sideline of the Guerrilla Girls article that degraded women. The one I found most shocking was “every woman would prefer to be a man, just as every deformed wretch would prefer to be whole and fair, and every idiot and fool would prefer to be learned and wise.” I simply cannot believe those were some of the comments that were being said about women. 

Hanging Paintings

In class we read a piece by O’Doherty in which discusses how paintings are presented. When pictures are framed it creates a “portable window” which transports the viewer into a new place and limits the borders of the painting but hanging a picture takes on a new effect. The frames help to transition a person into the picture. This display influences the interpretation and worth of the piece. There is a relationship with the wall and a painting and hanging deals with the aesthetics of the surface. Easel paintings change its meaning when it is hung. There are aspects that cannot be taken during this move. The painting would lose edge, and the prospect of the canvas. Also museums had to accommodate for the large paintings that are now being hung on walls and ones that are oddly shaped such as those created by Stella. This can be seen at the High Museum how many of the paintings are hung. It causes the paintings to have more of a limitless space because it is a lot bigger than an easel painting. It does not contain the painting as much as the easel painting does. Such as the water lilies painted by Monet(presented in the picture), people have to walk down the wall to see the entirety of the painting.  

Titian Exhibit

I went to the High museum to look at the Titian paintings that were currently displayed and I was more consciously aware of the display of the set up of the paintings. I noticed that the more grand paintings which dealt with similar themes were grouped together. For example the religious devotional ones were framed in gold and put in an open room which all was hung on separate walls. I believed that was because if these grand paintings were all on a different wall, it just put more emphasis on the individual painting. This showed the importance of these paintings where they were placed. Also all of the Diana paintings were put on its own wall on the top floor where natural light is. I felt like that particular placement strengthened how valuable the paintings were. The smaller paintings in the front shared wall space but I felt like that took away from the importance placed on each painting. Also what I noticed which I thought was interesting was that the walls in the Titian exhibit was red and not white like the ones in the contemporary section. I thought that since the paintings were hung that the red color nicely contrasted with the gold frame of the titian paintings and drew them out more to the audience to see. 

The article written by Hein demonstrates the shift of churches as it develops over the decades. At first churches were created to store, preserve, and study the collection but now it has become a more business oriented sector as they grow to appease the public. The museums now define themselves by what the public wants and act to improve human lives by engaging the public to a learning environment as they come to museums. In class, we looked up different museums online to see how the museums try to reach the public and we found some interesting tactics that were common amongst the groups. First of all, all of them had children friendly events and arts and crafts area. There were outreach programs and student outreach. Also, you could add them on facebook and twitter. As you can see, museums have evolved to serve the public and they “exist for the things they put in them.” Furthermore the museums have changed from a “selling” mode where they try to get the public to come see their traditional exhibits to a “marketing” mode where they focused on pleasing the public’s needs. I have experienced this first hand because a lot of museums have interactive events which are more public friendly and do not just restrict to a certain class or mindset of people. The picture displays how the museums have changed to allow people to interact and engage as they also learn at the museums which attract more members.

Museums

     Carol Duncan compared museums as rituals and very church-like. For one, the physical structures are similar because the museums adopted architectures that churches have. They welcome visitors with grand staircases and grand doorways as can tell by the picture of the American Museum of Natural History. Even in the inside, museums are thoughtfully designed to promote thinking and learning. Inside people know not to talk loudly and it is for people to think to themselves and to. Museums help people to escape everyday life. 

     The word “liminality” is used and is connected with rituals but is applied to museums in this article. Similar to rituals, it helps people to see images in a new perspective. Also, people “enact the ritual.” The way the museum is set up including lighting and spaces, that guide visitors through the museum. They play a role as they move through the scripted set. As they look at all the exhibits, museums transforms a person and enlighten them such as a ritual experience. I definitely agree with this in how museums are crafted to teach a person and there is an actual strategic purpose to why exhibits are displayed the way they are. It is definitely a great way to step back from the busy world and enter a new atmosphere which facilitates thought through its design. I experienced this 

Class presentations of Visual Essays

During class we had many presentations of our visual essay on public art that we created which also encompasses a theme relating all of the pictures. I found some of them to be quite interesting including contrasting the styles of new art designs verses the modern art designs, public art that is used and those that are not, cars that stand as public art themselves or how other art can change the feel, art that have similar designs as other countries as well as different cultural art. A lot of pictures were taken in areas confined in Atlanta, GA which is not a bad place because we do have the Centennial Olympic Park with many statues dedicated to the Olympic Games. On the other hand some people had pictures from New York and Colorado. People also chose to take pictures at different angles of the same object to show how seeing the art work in one perspective can limit the viewer all that they can see or they contrasted a picture of an object far away and subsequently followed that picture with a close up view of it to show the details better. Many people demonstrated in their pictures the effect on lighting if it was natural sunlight bouncing off a window or multi-colored lighting on buildings and fountains from light bulbs. Furthermore I found it very interesting that some people posed in their pictures to show interaction with them and how public art is for the public to engage with. The presentations were a great way to see the many pieces of art that I would have missed if people had not shown it to me. 

My experience with the Visual essay

Creating the visual essay was in fact an experience I have not done before. Usually I am confined to sitting at a desk with pencil in hand and paper to finish an assignment for English class but I really enjoyed the new aspect of going out and using pictures as words. I thought it was challenging because for my particular project I had to take pictures of Homecoming events which were at certain times at certain days so I had to make sure I was present. Also it was an interesting experiment to play with the angles at which pictures were taken and to test the different lighting. I took some from above standing on a bench, or from the side to also get the designs that are on the side of objects as well. I enjoyed seeing the different types of art in which the students created such as the sculptures of tissue papers (pomp) or from can goods (can-gineering). There were other public art forms like Buzz entertaining people, people’s clothing, and the band parade.  It was great to actually see the different types of art in person instead of merely reading about them in class. It was indeed a neat experience and I am able to show the art instead of describing them with words. After finding the different public art, the next step was to selectively compile the pictures. Because homecoming was a weeklong with events that happened on a timed schedule throughout the week, I decided to organize the pictures in the order of when the events happened. This helped to give my presentation a flow and a connection between the pictures. Finding the theme of the pictures was a journey within itself as well. I knew broadly that my pictures were going to be linked with the homecoming theme but in the beginning I was also going to argue how the artwork displays the traditions and history of Tech. Then about midway I changed it into how public art is effective in displaying current events and letting the public know what is going on. Also, I noticed that I was not the only one taking pictures of the public art displayed. Many people were seen right next to me with their cameras out taking pictures as well. 

Text and Art

From looking at Spy and Counter-spy: let Us Now Praise Famous Men in The Photographic Essay: Four case Studies, we saw how the essay was developed without referencing the pictures that were also in the text as well. The text and pictures were independent of each other. Instead the pictures do not illustrate the text they just are added to it. It just demonstrates how you need to use the text to see inside the picture such as not to merely describe what can already be seen but to lay out to the audience and clarify the background or the significance. So this shows me that for my visual essay I need to explain my pictures more. I plan to talk about the historical background of the objects that the art is portraying like the campanile, the traditions, and the rat cap (displayed). Also I think it is important to explain the theme of the homecoming events this year and how the art shows that. 

Current Events in Art

Public art is a great method to convey statements of current events to the public. These statements could range from social issues that relate to the local area like in the past for example women's rights or political issues. Furthermore, other fields include "art and craft, architecture and environmental design, urban design, landscape design, urban planning, urban history, urban sociology, cultural geography, and cultural policy" (Miles). An example of these social issues is displayed by Diego Rivera who creates murals of the political issues in Mexico. His murals which are painted in frescos pertaining to the Mexican society and display 1910 Revolution that happened in the country. From this, I decided to make my theme for my project on current events and what great timing because one of the biggest events that happens on campus which lasts for a week is homecoming. So I will be showing how art is displayed during homecoming to make everyone aware of the event such as how Rivera’s art conveys the current issues occurring during his time. According to Mirzoeff visuals reconstruct social patterns. I believe the displays set out which is only during homecoming changes the social feelings of the students and gets them excited for the football game!

Theme for Visual Essay

My theme is going to be on the Georgia Tech Homecoming which happened from October 3 to October 9. During this week, there were many events leading up to the football game including pomping, can-gineer, and wreck a window which involved many artistic creations to be made. My visual essay will depict the public art found during homecoming. 

Effective public art

Public art like other types of art has an impact on viewers. Mirzoeff states that”surely for the moment it is not so much what visual culture is, but rather what it can be enabled to do that matters.” This strengthens the fact that public art was designed to reach out to everyday normal people walking in the open environment in order to make a statement to them. A great example of public art that influences people are advertisement like billboards. Above are 2 examples of effective billboards. They are visually attractive to the people that drive by and they make a clear statement such as to buy their product and how their product is so effective. It is also that the clever, creative image sticks into your head so you remember the message of buying the product. This shows how the action of what the image does is the important part. 

Public Art in North Charleston, SC

 We discussed a new type of art in class today which many of us probably did not consciously realize was art despite the fact that we see these everyday but falls into this category: public art. Generally, I think public art is work that is displayed in an open environment which gets some type of message across to the public audience. There is no specific audience in which public art is displayed for. Miles agrees with this because he says there is a “lack of specificity of the public(s) for whom it is intended.” It is for EVERYONE!

                      

In my hometown, Charleston, SC, there is a public park that has sculptures displayed in the middle of the grass throughout the entire park. These sculptures are not confined in a museum but instead are available for locals to view. These are pieces also attract locals to the park as well. It is nice to go to a park to see the natural beauty of the harbor and the sunset but also to see the beauty of what humans can create in an open environment for everyone to enjoy. There in the pictures is a water bottle made of wire and other inventions. It is a unique element that this park has because none of the other parks in Charleston have art displayed so it is a good attracting technique. 

Punctum vs Studium

Of course when going into an art museum or looking at anything really, there are traits that will cause you to 

pause to admire the object in more detail or that will cause you to continue walking as if the object had not existed. Bartes uses two terms that are polar opposite to describe the level of interest that an artwork has on a viewer: “studium” and “punctum.” “Studium” is the factor that quickly draws a person into the painting. It is what makes you stare at a painting or what calls your attention. Above are the paintings that quickly caught my attention as I was scrolling down a collection of paintings. I believe the style I like which I find reoccurring in the paintings that I stare at are those that have a lot of abnormality and contrast to it. The painting with the women and the eye is very different to what one would normally see a women and an eye. This gives room to a lot of interpretation. I also enjoy the contrasting colors in the 1st picture and the brightness of the left side causes my eyes to go back to the painting. These pictures quickly interest me, grab me, and have an effect on me. On the other hand, “studium” is how one likes an artwork but not particularly loving it. It does not have the intense attractive power that “punctum” has. Below are 3 pictures that demonstrate my “punctums.” The pictures are repetitive and boring. There are just a group of colorful circles and to me I don’t really care as much toward them as I do to the paintings above. I feel like there is not a deeper meaning to these paintings

"Adventure"

For an English assignment in which we had to choose an artwork from the High Museum of Arts and interpret the meaning of the piece, I chose “The Avoider” by Michael Borremans. This painting I will admit looked very simple when I walked by it but there were aspects about it that drew me to it. Even when I showed the painting to other students they were baffled at how I could manage to write a 5 page paper on a man standing with a stick. Barthes stated that some photographs attracted to him to the photo and said that this was the “adventure” which lured him in. I believe that this happened to me when I saw this picture, especially when I noticed the double shadow and the contrast between the formality of the clothes but that he was wearing them casually. Also, despite the fact that he looks dirty and that he appears to have been outside, he seems satisfied at the moment. The very reason that I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I could read into the piece, made me experience this “adventure.” Even though others pass by the painting and never look at it again, I was mesmerized by how the painting seemed to convey a message to me easily. I even told some friends that the painting spoke to me and that is why I chose it. 

The art of theater

This week I have been practicing for Mock Rock which is a theatrical dance that tells a story line. Never acting before, my eyes really opened to how the theater is on a grand scale a live piece of art. There are so many factors that come into play to create the final product. There are architectural designs involved such as building the set on stage and how every prop is placed to help tell the story. Building and designing every individual prop is crucial. Also lighting plays a role which highlights the mood of the play. It is important to know the location of lighting as well as the color of the lights used. Light producers need to be knowledgeable of how combining different colors of lights will produce other colors of light.Sound is an important aspect as well to consider such as songs, actors’ voice, and instrumentals. All of these factors together help to create an art that comes alive. Much like a painting it is open for interpretation and conveys a message. It is simply a different medium of how this message is communicated but theater is very much an art. There is room for different perceptions based on the different people who look at it. The producer creates a product for the audience to interpret just like a painter makes a painting for viewers to interpret as well. To be open minded, it is just another take on a different type of art. In class we have been simply focusing on paintings but just as a reminder there are more forms including theatrical productions.

Clothes = Art

After watching a clip on modeling online yesterday, I realized how clothing designers act as an artist when crafting their intricate clothing patterns. Their different types of cloths act like different types of paint and they go through the same basic process when creating their masterpiece as would a painter. Expanding on the different types of art, clothing as an art brought on a new perspective of what traditional people would categorize as art. There are abstract clothing such as those with objects attached to them or with exaggerated designs on them. The picture in the middle resembles an art piece at the High Museum which was a chair made of many layers of clothes binded together. Just like in paintings, color plays an integral aspect and there are also cultural differences that can be found in the different types of clothing. Not only is it a form of expression but people can actually make use of the clothing and wear it as opposed to simply looking at it. I believe Plato would commend clothing as an art because it is not entirely useless like how he thought paintings were.

 In the chapter “A Rough History of Modern Aesthetics,”  Schopenhauer states that “Aesthetic perception is interpreted as the avenue to optimum knowledge and action, as the acquisition of the correct view of things.” I agree with this that there is knowledge to be gained when a viewer looks at art. I believe that art speaks to those who take the time to understand it and appreciate it. If you glance at it you will not be able to see the deeper meaning. I disagree with Kant who says that, “the object is perceived solely in the presence of its appearing.” I do not think that the purpose of art is solely just to look at it and feel it without learning the knowledge it possesses. A painting has something to say. It goes beyond emotions. Like they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” There is more to art than the image. 

Fake Art

 We discussed how a reproduction of an art piece has less meaning than the original art piece and I completely agree with that. Benjamin furthers this when he states, “even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.” The original art piece has been altered from reproduction and does not have the same meaning because the context has also been altered. It is not THE artwork; it is simply the fake copy of it. It loses the idea that the painter touched it and the history and experiences it endured. It loses the journey the painted had and its conditions. In other words, it loses the “aura” due to reproduction. Just because you have a copy does not mean anything because everyone else has access to a copy just as easily. I think reproduction puts more value on the original because there is only one of the original and a million fakes. The reproduction makes you think that you are so close to the painting when really it makes you farther from it because the aura has been destroyed. 

YOU, ME, and the MIDDLE MAN

When artists create artworks they have a purpose in the details that they are creating. Bal and Bryson states that art is composed of signs that the artist has formed to be interpreted by art historians. They also state that there are 3 factors important to art historians when they do their work which include the sender, the context, and the receiver. The sender is the author (painter, sculptor, photographer, etc.), the context is the text that has signs in it which need to be interpreted, and the receiver is the audience such as the art historian. There is an important relationship between the three. Winston also agrees to these similar relationships. He states, "There is a constant exchange of emotion between us, between the three of us; the artist I need never meet, the painting in its own right, and me, the one who loves it and can no longer live independent of it." There is a connection between these 3 similar elements which communicate together to develop meaning of the art work viewed.


The author has commented on this piece and says that the theme of the series of photographs that this picture is part of is "mankind's complicated and vast relationship with nature." This is the view of the artist/sender. When I, the receiver, look at this photograph, the context, "Decorating Nature," I sense from the artist a creative and aesthetic style to show how humans have interacted with nature in order to make it how they want it to be.  I interpreted the unnatural contrast from the bright blue paint on the plant as signs of humans invading the normal scheme of the plant and the transformations humans impose on the plant part of our own free will. We use do whatever we think is right in our minds to nature such as to enhance it, to make money off of it, or to make it look more appealing but that should not be the case. We should not alter plants. This simply does not work. By interpreting this art work I have shown how the 3 factors work.

Different interpretations

Based on the time period as well as the context of the art piece, viewers will form their own interpretation of the art piece. Susan Sontag mentions this when she says, "Interpretation thus presupposes a discrepancy between the clear meaning of the text and the demands of (later) readers." Berger mentions that "because of the camera, the painting now travels to the spectator rather than the spectator to the paining. In its travels, its meaning is diversified." Since paintings are in different contexts such as in many homes, the meaning could lose its original splendor and meaning. Bal and Bryson further supports this when they state, "ways of perceiving...have untiringly transformed the work in a thousand and one ways." Everyone has varying opinions and thoughts which causes different interpretations of the same artwork. These references emphasizes how different people will look at the same piece of art and see a different meaning. It was interesting to me to read the contrasting perceptions of the famous painting by Grand Wood called American Gothic. People saw it as "a parody of rigid, puritanical Midwestern thinking," "satirical statement about small town America," or "a trivute to hard working Americans overcoming adversity." Those who incorporated the Great Depression into the context of the painting came up with a different analysis of the painting (third quote) while non-Midwesterners might have had views similar to the first quote. As shown, perspectives changes from person to person.

Claude Monet

I discovered this post impressionist painting which is one of many paintings by Claude Monet in his lily pond series. Personally I love paintings that center around nature and this painting caught my eye. The one detail that I find different from a painting of a mountain or the ocean is that this painting seemed to feature the one little pink flower in a vast blue background. It is swallowed by an overwhelming amount of greens and blues yet the small flower still radiates over everything. In a passage read in class, when Clark was studying Poussin's Landscape with a Calm he made note of how the colors purposely chosen by Poussin stirred emotions in Clark. Similar to Clark, when I look at the blues and greens I have a feeling of tranquility because the colors seemed refreshing and still. There are no disturbances in the water and the lilies are just at peace. According to Sontag, what I am about to say would be over analyzing the work rather than simply considering the content. Yes, it is a painting of a pond, but I think the way the colors play out in the painting there is a deeper level. In the mist of all this the blue is the bright pink flower. To me, that symbolizes the beauty of uniqueness. That one characteristic contrasts with the same repetitive colors and sets it apart. All attention goes to the beautiful flower which drifts alone but it definitely goes unnoticed. I could not get over how pretty the flower was even though I see flowers all the time. I agree with Winterson who says, " [art] is a constant exchange of emotion." This one flower makes me feel like uniqueness is good and everything that sets me apart from everyone else makes me feel special.

High Museum: European Design

During my visit to the High Museum in the European Design Exhibit, I was intrigued by how each of the three floors mainly focused on its own particular movement of art: Expressive movement (1^st floor), Decorative Design Movement (2^nd floor), and Neo-pop Movement (3^rd floor). I especially loved the atmosphere in which I was viewing the art. From going to the Museum there is definitely a different feeling when looking at the original piece of art than a picture of it. This feeling cannot be described only experienced. I felt like I appreciated the object more in its actual form for some unexplainable reason. It might have to do with the fact the art works were in its natural environment. I can relate to Ways of Seeing by Berger, who stated that reproduced art that is in a different context such as in millions of homes loses its value. Only the original piece in its correct atmosphere has authority which is what I felt when standing the in the presence of some of the artworks in the museum.

When I walked in, immediately I noticed what looked like chairs made of material that did not look comfortable to sit in. Chairs were constructed from black steel, stainless steel, glass, and other metals. I was amazed at how these artists were able to change the normal conception of everyday objects into a new idea by stressing the physical appearance of the objects over its function by using industrial materials. 

These two chairs are prime examples of expressive design (top: bone Lounge Chair, bottom: Slice Chair). The chairs are transformed into a new way of picturing chairs by taking on the opposite of a comfortable chair and giving it a stylish design using aluminum and polyurethane. 

The next floor displayed figures expressing characteristics from the Decorative Design Movement. Art in this era encompassed subtle patterns and colors. I particularly enjoyed the Luigi 1 Chandelier which was a ceiling fan with a few light bulbs branching off. There was glass shaped into vines which wrapped around the fan. The work had vivid colors like bright yellow, red, and green. I also marveled at the Agaricon Lamp. It was semi-transparent and made of polycarbonate and aluminum. The shape was like a mushroom which I found unique. The top had a glittery tint and the battery and light bulb could be seen. 

The top floor and personally my favorite of the entire exhibit featured art from the Neo-pop Movement. The objects gave a new perspective of everyday objects using bright colors and strong, prominent patterns.  There were a set of 3 humongous jacks that lit up.  There was a blue, red and white one. The artist took the jacks out of its normal setting, enlarged them, and put a twist to them by making them glow. I remember reading the label for this particular artwork and it suggested the jacks be used for sitting on, stacking, or for lighting. Never would I have imagined using the jacks in all of those manners. This goes to support Ways of Seeing again because Berger said, “It is hard to define exactly how the words have changed the image but undoubtedly they have.” Reading the label has altered how I think of the art now because it is not only for viewing purposes but for everyday functions as well.

What is art?

Art is a form of expression in which interpretations involve emotions, intelligence, and creativity. This picture well demonstrates this aspect because it has a cool, relaxing, contemplative mood.  The viewer uses their thoughts and analyzes the different parts of the photograph to come to this conclusion. The calm waves, the gentle clouds, the delicate light emerging from the horizon painting the sky, and the dangling shoes are evidence of such a mood. Creativity takes place when the viewer tries to understand what the artist is expressing with their own thoughts and opinions to reach their interpretation. Everyone’s opinions could be different and that is where creativity comes in to play. Art is a form of communication in which feelings and statements are left for others to interpret. It engages the audience and allows them to read into the hidden meanings of the artwork with the use of their senses as well. Viewers use their eyes to see the color choices and objects (shoes, water, light, clouds), they might try to hear the waves, and attempt to imagine feeling the warm light from the sun. Furthermore, the makers of the art work have the intention for viewers to take on their perception when they contemplate the purpose of the work. I personally took the picture and wanted others to feel how I felt sitting close to the waters and to visualize being in my position. There are many examples of art including photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, music, dance, theatrical performances, etc. As explained, art uses the combination of many characteristics, style, and attitudes to convey a message. As a whole, art can be formed.