Color

Paysage du Midi, or Landscape of the Midi 1906 by André Derain is a great example of the use of color in art. I chose this piece because it is a perfect example of modern art using color. This piece is particularly interesting because it was painted by the Fauve artist André Derain. Derain was one of the leaders of this short movement, and is a great example for an artist who uses color quite interestingly. This piece is interesting because of his use in color. The tree trunks are not a traditional brown, they are done in red and shade of blue. The sky is done in many shades of blue and the foreground and background are done in an arrangement of many different colors. This piece is interesting to me because the color is very non-traditional when it comes to landscapes, yet the painting still looks like a landscape. It is a recognizable landscape because there are impressions of tress as well as a hill in the background and a path in the foreground. The painting has many different brush strokes which makes the painting very expressive as well. The brush strokes give the painting a sense of movement as well because they are so free-formed and varied.

Color dominated much of Derain’s early work because of his connection in the Fauve movement. Color was used very liberally and abstractly in his paintings. The color in his art shows a high altitude of emotions. Instead of actually painting movement in his paintings, the interaction of colors shows a great sense of movement because of how they interact with the eye. In Paysage du Midi, complementary colors are used to give a great sense of contrast. Because of the shades of color used, the colors give a great sense of time and space. The bright colors suggest that it is a bright, sunny day because of the lack of shadows within the solid blocks of color. Also by using colors out of context, Derain is providing an interesting composition and interesting shapes. Derain includes warm tones (yellow, red and orange), as well as cool tones (green and blue) to create a conflicting color palate to great an interesting composition. Other elements in art also play a big role in the painting. Color being the most dominant element is not the only one present in the painting. Lines in the painting give the painting a sense of depth and movement. The lines are free form making the shapes of the landscape organic. By varying the brushstrokes and the size of the brushstrokes, Derain is creating a great sense of knowledge of movement and depth. The lines in the painting give a great sense of implied line because not all the values of the trees, the hill or the path are all there. It is up to the viewer to make the connections and fill in the missing lines. Texture is also very apparent in the painting because the viewer can see the brushstrokes and the thickness of paint on the canvas. This technique is very non-traditional because the brushstrokes are showing. This texture is actual texture and applied texture because in reality, the earth is textured, but the brushstrokes and thickness are representing the texture in reality. There is also a great sense of space and depth in the painting because the elements of the painting are overlapped. The viewer can tell that the large tree in the foreground is what is closest and the hill in the background is what is farther away.

Image: Sfmoma.org, Paysage du Midi, 1906, André Derain

Chuck Close and Values

Since the discovery of photography, black and white are seen to have more than 2 distinct values. There are hundreds of values of gray on the scale of black and white. Depending on how much black is added to the white or vice-verse, there is a different value. In one of my classes in the past, one of our projects was to make a color scale of black and white, using 10 different values. After we made this color scale b using just pencils, we had to find a black and white photo from a magazine, and make a grid over it. By using this value scale, I had to decide based on where the grid fell, which value to transfer onto the graph paper. In the end is a final image, that closely mimics the original (left).

This method is adapted from the artist Chuck Close. Chuck close takes a photograph, and by using a value scale he transfer a single value from the grid, to the blank grid. By using only one value per box, the juxtaposition of the values side by side creates a single final image. (left) The further you step away from the photo, the more unified the values become creating the image as a whole.

This method is a take on the idea of photo realism. Photo realism is painting from the use of a photograph. The initial image serves as the starting point. By transferring the values or colors by using the grid, the artist creates an organic from by using a geometric template. This technique provides the combination of different mediums to create one final product. This technique was very popular in the 1960's and 70's, but it is also a technique that is used to day, and from personal experience it is a great way to learn how to create values, and learn how they react with each other by using a value scale.






Photo: Chuck Close, butlerart.com, Georgia, 1984
Photo: Girl, 2008, Beth August

Hockney Inspired

David Hockney is an artist that takes photographs and turns a still image into a moving and flowing piece of art. He interprets time and motion into a 2-D piece of art just using photos.

The piece I created entitled "LG" is my David Hockney inspired piece. The use of layering of the photos is also called a "Joiner". The layering of the photos allowed me to play will different photos including ones that are a close up, and ones that are long shots. By just using a disposable camera, I was forced to look closely, and to think about the parts and how they will relate to the whole or finished product.

In this particular piece, I tried to focus on the repetition of color. My subject was blowing bubbles in front of a car. The car being blue, made it interesting that she was wearing an orange shirt. Blue and orange are complementary colors, which made this piece visually pleasing. Of course the blue sky contributes as well as the green of the grass. This piece creates a color palate based on the natural elements around me, as well as the artificial ones like the orange shirt.

David Hockney has inspired many artists, but I find he has not only inspired artists and designers like myself, he has inspired people of all professions. The other day on TV I saw this commercial, which immediately reminded me of my piece "LG", but also David Hockney. This commercial is about a Canon digital camera. By introducing this camera through these layered still photographs on a medium that is driven by motion, this commercial introduces the viewer and society to the work of David Hockney and how it can inspire all kinds of people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BQfCoqbubE

Image: Beth August, "LG", 2008
Video: Canon Rebel XSi Commercial, youtube.com

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Restore

Today, I listened to a lecture by Nathan Shedroff. The lecture was entitled, "Sustainable Innovation". In his lecture, Nathan shared his thoughts about sustainability in design. According to him, there is no sustainability in design. He thought that more sustainable design is needed but it is definitely not integrated in design at the moment. This is something that definitely should be improved in our society today. Design is something that surrounds us everyday; the chairs we sit in, the bikes we ride, and even my laptop I am typing on right now. If design is not sustainable, our society is in big trouble.

I find everyday I am thinking about what can be improved in my life, especially with design, since I am a designer myself. In one of my lecture halls, the chairs squeak, constantly. Every time a person shifts their weight, their chair makes a loud noise. It bothers me to think about who designed these chairs? Did they test them out before they installed one hundred of them? What bothers me is that these chairs are so bad that they will eventually have to be replaced. How come the person designing them did not design them to last a long time? I think this is something all designers should think about when designing something, because essentially, something should be made to last, not to be thrown out- (which also relates back to Nathan’s example of the Nokia phone as well.

This lecture really helped me understand the future of design and how I can impact that. Sustainability is something that not only impacts designers but something that should impact everyone too.

Design Sustainability

During class today we watched a documentary film by Gary Hustwit entitled, Objectified (2009). This film discusses industrial design and how it is mass produced. Hustwit interviews many different designers who work for design firms, how they interpret the idea of mass produced design and how they approach design as a working designer. Some of the companies that were mention were Smart Design, IDEO, and even Apple, Ikea and Target.

The idea of design was approached very differently by each person interviewed. Some mentioned that a design is produced, and they try to make their design better by using it and eventually they improve it. Other designers mentioned how they can make a design get better the more you use it which plays into the idea of sustainability in design.

I found from this film, that the idea of sustainability was the most important message. Many products are produces and are quickly improved, so they older version of the product is quickly dismissed. This constant improvement, even though it can be a positive thing for some products, is some thing that needs to be constricted. Products should use more sustainable material so they can either be biodegradable or even be reused. In the film, the design firm IDEO, was discussing the design of a toothbrush and how they are used throughout a person's lifetime. Because a person uses hundreds or even thousands of toothbrushes in their life, IDEO was trying to re-design them to be more sustainable. Briefly seeing what this design firms ideas were, I started thinking about how a toothbrush could be improved.

I thought about electric toothbrushes, and how they can be reused. But then I thought about how the use of batteries is not very sustainable. Batteries have to be thrown out after use, or the toothbrush might have to be plugged in to charge, which in turn wastes energy. Then I thought about how maybe the power source could be solar powered. That is a sustainable option for the power source, but what about the actual bristles on the brush? Can they made to dissolve over time? or can the be made to be biodegradable? Or what about washable plastic? Just thinking about how a toothbrush can be improved to be more sustainable is just the beginning of the design process.

This type of design process in the film was a great way to think about how I will work as a designer. Thinking about how design can improve an object, but not only improve a person's life, and improve their impact on the earth as well. I think sustainable design is a great way to think as a designer, and IDEO and the other companies mentioned in the film are moving in that positive direction.

Image: crest canada, 2009

Colored Paper

At my community college, I took a Life drawing class. This class had to be the best art class I have ever taken. We first worked on white paper using black charcoal (no color). We worked in the black and white medium so we could understand values and the difference between the difference between light and dark or Chiaroscuro (a common word used by my instructor).

After a couple of months we were allowed to use color paper, and color pastels. While others in my class worked on multi chromatic pieces, I used a monochromatic color palette. When looking at a model, one has to pay attention to the scale of different colors. The lightest color and the darkest color. Most importantly, one looks for the middle color, which should be the paper. When choosing a color of paper, I looked at my choices and back at the model, comparing which color was close to their skin color or even the color reflected from the natural sky lights. By leaving some of the paper show in the drawing, I am saving myself a lot of time with the application of the pastels. I am just focusing on the light and dark of the figure. The end result of one of my drawings is to my left.

I use the same technique with all of my drawings. By focusing on the values of the skin (in this case), I am achieving the realistic look of this 3D drawing on this 2D medium. Even though this is a monochromatic piece, it relates to designing because a designer must see the similarities in colors and values to have a successful design in the end.

Image: Leg, Beth August, 2009

Graffiti?

Graffiti is considered a crime, but can it be considered art? When I think of graffiti, one artist always comes into my mind: Keith Haring. Haring used the line to create emotion and feeling into his work. When he first started to create, he created on the black walls of the subway in New York City. By simply using chalk on this black surface, Haring created pieces that conveyed emotion and feeling.
Just by simply using the 'line' Haring could achieve such emotion.

The line is the basis for all of Haring's work. He sometimes used bold and bright primary colors, but I find his black and white work to be very powerful. In the picture to the left entitled Heart, (1985), Haring used lines to create a sense of motion. The lines around the heart suggest that the heart is beating. The lines behind the two figures suggest that they are running towards each other. Even though, realistically, when we run, we can not see the air moving behind us, Haring implies that there is a sense of motion within this two dimensional and simplistic piece.

This piece is easy to relate and understand because Haring makes it so simplistic. The genders of the two bodies are not specific, which is implied by the simple outlining of two bodies using lines.

By using just lines in his pieces, Haring creates a sense of simplicity with in human emotions. It is obvious that this piece is conveying a message about love, and by just using lines, Haring successfully demonstrates that.

Image: Heart, 1985, Keith Haring