The Value Scale and The Color Wheel

1) Discuss what you thought about creating the Value Scale and Color Wheel.
- I really liked creating the Value Scale; it reminded me of my earlier days of drawing and shading. By using my drawing pencils I was able to create the values and shades that matched the example in the book.
- The Color Wheel was a different story; I was getting really frustrated on trying to match the colors as best as I could. It took me a really long time to make this color wheel because I wanted it as perfect as possible and I didn’t want to mix the colors too much to create a different color that was not part of the color wheel.

2) Which media did you enjoy working with the best and why?
- The media I enjoyed working with the best was using my drawing pencils. When I was younger I use to draw all the time and everything didn’t matter when I drew. So even though I was just making a Value Scale, it didn’t seem like that to me. I think of drawing as a therapy session, no matter what I’m drawing.

3) What was the most important discovery in the creation of these studies?
- The most important discovery in the creation of these studies is that three colors (yellow, magenta, and cyan), can create more colors and you can use them to make a beautiful work of art.

4) What is the most important information you learned from watching the videos for this project? What is your opinion of the videos?
- The most important information I learned from watching the videos for this project is that my art teachers in the past “lied” to me. I never knew that magenta and yellow could make red, or that cyan and magenta could make blue. I always thought that you couldn’t make red and blue. Well I guess you learn something new every day.
- My opinion of the videos is that they are very educational and they made me think about art in a different way.

Art Project #1 - A Series of Pictures

The process I went about creating this slideshow was a little more difficult to do then I had imagine it would be. I had to second guess myself about taking each picture, am I taking the right picture, should I position things a different way in the picture? So many ideas and conflicts came into my head. So when I uploaded my pictures on photobucket I looked at them again, and again, and again, until I was satisfied with each individual one. And in the end I liked my work and the choices I made creating these pictures. They were mine and I felt proud to call them that.

Color Theory and Emotional Effects

1)      Describe Color and its effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

-          The definition from the book Living with Art; “color is a function of light. All colors are dependent on light, and no object possesses color intrinsically.” Different colors can have different effects on us, like the color blue which lowers our pulse, and the color red that is believed to increase our appetite.

2)      What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues / fascinates you? Why?

-          The theoretical aspect of color that most fascinates me is what Vincent Van Gogh thought about when using bold colors; he said that the use of bold colors expresses strong emotions. One of his paintings (The Night Café) he used reds and greens to express how he felt being there, “that the café is a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad or commit a crime…” Van Gogh felt so passionate about colors that it makes me think twice when looking at a painting; I wonder ‘why did the artist choose those colors’.

3)      In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and its effects on emotions?

-          For me the biggest impact that the Color video had was that how June Redfern would get so frustrated on her painting, she even threw things at it. She was so involved with getting the color right, that no matter what she did she was not really happy with it. I was a little taken back by that because she just seemed so annoyed that she couldn’t get her work of art to be what she wanted.

4)      In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and its effects on emotions?

-          The biggest impact on me in regards to color and its effects on emotions would be the various religious during the Italian Renaissance. During the video I saw different artwork that had vibrant colors that just stood out.

Video Review: Questions Answered...

1. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

                - The 1^st video I saw 2 different professors give their opinions and research on art and aesthetics, I really couldn’t understand the 1^st professor but what stuck was that he understood that art was a constant evolution. The 2^nd professor kept my interest on distortion; he talked about an Indian sculpture of a woman whose features were distorted and many people thought it was ugly. But he also mentioned one of Picasso’s piece of artwork and that people loved it because it was distorted. That sparked my interest on the “Science of Art” as Ramachandran calls it.

2. Which philosopher's theory on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosophers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.

- The philosopher’s theory on aesthetics I felt was the most important was Aristotle. Aristotle was a student of Plato in 4^th century BC in Ancient Greece. He wrote the book “The Poetics”; which is the most influential book on art theory ever written. I liked the fact that he went against his teacher’s theories and teachings and developed his own theories; like the 3 unities (action, time and place of aesthetics).

3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture? 

                - I think Changeux and Ramachandran are both brilliant men that know what they are talking about when it comes to aesthetics and art. Changeux talked had many good points on intertwining history with art and he feels there is a constant evolution in art history. Ramachandran had “laws” as he called it, eight laws of art/aesthetics; (grouping, peak shift principal, contrast, isolating a single cue to optimally excite cortical visual areas, perceptual problem solving, symmetry, abhorrence of unique vantage points and suspicious coincidences, and art as metaphor).

4. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

                - The videos relate to the readings in the text because all are talking about art and how it effects everyone, the 1st video goes more into the meaning of aesthetics and the 2^nd video goes into how art and aesthetics effect our brains. The readings do talk about aesthetics, but more about how the artist makes the aesthetics and why they do so.

5. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the topics in your reading?

                - To tell the truth I was a little bit surprised on the length of each video, but after watching them I did learn a lot on aesthetics and that it “messes” with our brains and makes us see something else. The videos do add depth to the topics of the reading because not only are you learning why an artist creates a work of art but how it effects your brain into thinking so.