Beginnings of Art

This art project was interesting because it involved trying to create something that was realistic. The hands seem easy, but trying to depict form, structure, and angles is very difficult. I chose to use a pencil because it seemed like it would be easier to control and provide more precision than charcoal. Something that was very difficult when exploring this project was using my non dominant hand to draw my dominant hand. It did not feel natural and was very difficult to be as precise as I was with my dominant hand. It was hard to manipulate my non dominant hand to create the angles needed to make the hand look more realistic and to provide some sort of depth. I have created drawings for years, but realistic ones are not my specialty. I feel as though the top hand is quite similar to the real thing, but definitely is not perfect. I was not able to create the depth I wanted to make it so the fingers looked curved like they were when I was drawing them. The bottom hand does not look a...

The Renaissance was a time of major change. A video that showcased the change was the Cataclysm: The Black Death Visits Tuscany. I chose this video because I thought it would be interesting to see how things changed because of country wide disease. Some believe the less realistic style of art after the plague was influenced by the plague itself, but many others believe it was due to internal development. Even if depicting human like forms, they were not as realistic as Giotto's work throughout this time. He wanted to create humanistic work with real life expressions. This was much different from the very specific depictions of religious art that lacked emotion. This relates back to the readings on Giotto where he connects the religious with the realistic to give holy figures emotion. The text also relates back to the video on the change of art after Giotto, during the plague. Artists started creating visually crowded compositions, which is believed to be influenced by despair. Anot...

As religions developed throughout the centuries, different architectural styles were used along with artistic ideas. The two videos this writer watched from the Age of Faith series were Christianity, and Islam. In the video describing the Christian churches and there construction overtime, there are very similar elements to each one that was built. Main points are naves which symbolized the middle of these great structures. Everyone shown also had significant stained glass windows that depicted some sort of story of life. These churches were not all the same though. Some had Roman influence, others were made with Gothic themes in mind. The difference mostly is the shape of the arches. Gothic arches are pointed while the other style is curved. Based on the time and place, each of these churches were built differently. One in Italy is not the same as one in France. From the video, one church that was much different from the rest was the Chapel of the Dominican Sisters. It had a more mode...

Observing peers artworks and projects is interesting and insightful because we can all see things in different perspectives. One of the peer blogs I observed was  https://faithartfundamentals.blogspot.com/  . The first project was to showcase the different elements and principles within a series of photographs. This individual did this very well, and I enjoyed the different ideas that she captured. One of the elements that was depicted well was the one for texture. Not only does the flower have texture, but the water has its own look of texture as well. What could also be said about this photo is that it provides contrast as well. The difference between the flower and water are prominent, which shows the contrast between the two things. Each of this individuals photos represents an element or principle very well, but other elements and principles can always be found in these as well because the world showcases so many. For the art gallery project, this writer and the individua...

Art changed many times throughout the centuries due to cultural influence. When viewing the video Beyond the Classical: Byzantine and Later Greek Art, a major point that was important was the Orthodox Church influence on art. Religious and christian views influenced what was depicted in paintings. The purpose of this art was purely for religious purposes. Also, when the Romans took over the area, they only wanted simple arts. This was things such as paintings, that were flat, and not enthusiastic with depiction. The Romans did not want any sculptures. Cultural influence plays a huge role. This relates to textbook readings. In Ancient Egypt, the art that is found is proportional to each aspect of the depiction, but it is not entirely realistic. They presented images in an exaggerated side profile view. We also see the pyramids that were made with exact measures and proportions. Ancient Egypt was the building block for Greek art, and we can see how the different cultures depicted what th...