Self Evaluation

PART 1:

I feel that i was fairly successful in incorporating the hyper-realism style; however, it wasn't perfect. The eyes of the frog looked realistic, but the bumps on the frog's stomach/body need work.

Imitation is simply copying something without making it your own, while inspiration is when the artist uses his/her source as a source of reference.

PART 2:

To me, a canvas painted blue, for example, isn't art because anybody could do that, and there is nothing conveyed within the piece. Art is something that recalls a memory, emotion, or addresses a certain theme. It must look like time and effort were put into the work, and it wasn't done quickly or carelessly. It doesn't necessarily have to be complex, but if the work is fairly simple it must be executed properly and neatly. I think the idea or concept of the work is the least important of the three criteria because everybody has different interests and opinions, and not everything will intrigue everyone.

PART 3:
Research the following and evaluate whether or not the piece is considered "art" based on your criteria:

1. "1000 hours of staring by Tom Friedman

I don't consider this as respectable art, since it doesn't look like it took effort, time, or any thinking.

2. Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo

I believe this is definitely a masterpiece of art. After seeing this in person, I can say that is definitely an awe-inspiring work of art. If this isn't art, nothing is.

3. The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler

Being a person with a great appreciation for art, I consider Martha's work as good art. It isn't the most time consuming, but it succeeds in conveying emotions or feelings.

4. Jackson Pollock #8

I don't consider this as art, since it doesn't evoke any feeling or memory. It also doesn't look too difficult to create. I'm sure it took time and a bit of technique but it just doesn't strike me as great art.

5. Sol le Witt's wall drawings

I definitely consider le Witt's wall drawings as art. They take a lot of time and effort, and I reallylike them. His colorful drawings really grab the viewer's eyes; however, the fact that he doesn't execute the work takes away from it.

Self Evaluation

PART 1

1. Yes I feel I was successful in incorporating Andrew Wyeth's style/technique. While I planned on not using it in the background, I wanted to showcase his style in certain object. I incorporated his realism in the wood and the person jumping (the fabric, especially) and I think I did a great job with making those realistic.

2. For me, inspiration is looking at anything (photo, nature, painting, etc) and then creating your own work but incorporating certain elements from the inspiration. An imitation, however, is an exact replica of a photo, painting, etc. without any original thought or idea behind it.

PART 2:

I feel that all aspects of art aren't necessarily equally important. I say that a piece can be considered a work of art even if it took 5 minutes to make because it could have a strong message or be very meaningful to the artist/viewers. Obviously, I feel that there needs to be some evidence of craftsmanship/purposefulness, but I think that if it has meaning behind the piece than it is considered art, no matter the length of time it took to complete. My reason for this being that a painting that took a year to create may be visually pleasing, but a piece of art that took a week and has meaning, for me, is much more powerful. If the artist doesn't make anything, then I don't feel that it is art because there is nothing.

PART 3:
1. In all honesty, my initial reaction to 1000 hours of staring by Tom Friedman was "is this a joke?!". My reaction still remains. I don't understand how this is considered art because it is literally just a white canvas. I don't feel any meaning, nor do I sense that a whole lot of effort was put into this, which causes me to look at it as nothing near art.

2. The Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo is definitely art. While I don't feel the time it took something is necessary in art, I believe that this took quite a long time to complete, but it was very skillfully made and has meaning. The religious figures in the ceiling painting are very relevant to its environment and obviously have meaning, which makes me view this as a definite work of art.

3. I definitely think that The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler is art but in a photographical genre of art. There is definite meaning behind this and its execution was great; instead of using photographs of people to portray the poverty, I think it was very clever of her to use absence in objects to personify this, which is very powerful. I think this work is a very successful photographic work of art.

4. I have a hard time with Jackson Pollock's #8. I feel that Jackson Pollock wasn't careless enough to just splatter paint composition board and that every splatter had a purpose behind it, but that deliberateness is hard to find. From doing splatter paint before, I definitely know that this took time to accomplish but I just have trouble viewing this as art. However, at the same time, his splatter paints have become so iconic that I can view them as art. He definitely pushes the boundaries with his works, especially #8, which makes it very successful.

5. Sol le Witt's wall drawings are quite interesting. I can't see much meaning behind them but I can tell that they were very well-thought out. To me, though, they just feel like doodles on a larger scale, causing me to overlook them as art. They are creative and artsy, but I can't say that I would qualify this as art, for I do similar things on my notes in class when I'm bored. I have a huge problem with Sol le Witt because I feel that le Witt shouldn't be given full artistic credit though. He would send different artists descriptions or images of what to do and those artists would execute them.

Self Evaluation

PART 1:

1. My piece's style drifted from my mentor artist, Andy Warhol, simply because I decided to use black and white on purple backgrounds instead of bright colors on the solid backgrounds. I was able to create two pieces, which Andy Warhol did, but I didn't finish all four as I was hoping to.

2. Inspiration is when an idea is sparked in your own mind from another's original thought or work. Imitation is simply copying a photo or piece of work, not altering it in any way, or giving it your own personal flair.

PART 2:

Art is often glanced over and seen as "good" or "bad" based on the sheer talent of an artist and his drawing ability. For me this is a large portion of what I evaluate pieces on, but I also look beyond the shill level. I love seeing detail because it shows that lots of time was spent on the project. A 5 minute piece is considered art, but to me not as powerful as one that has been slaved over for hours. I also believe that the main idea of the artwork is crucial as it establishes the tone for the entire piece before it is even begun.

PART 3:

1. To me, 1000 hours of staring” by Tom Friedman is not art. It is a blank canvas. The artist didn't create it, it came like that, and the meaning behind it is vague.

2. The Sistine Chapel is considered the epitome of art. The thing that usually strike people is the amount of time Michelangelo spent on this piece. Because of the detail and skill level, this piece is definitely art based on my criteria.

3. The mixture of photography and literature in The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rossler makes the piece art. I believe art is not only paintings, but also writing, photography, and music.

4. Looking at the piece many people would say "I can do that", but the fact of the matter is, nobody until Jackson Pollock did this. I think that this is art because Pollock invented a whole new style of painting.

5. I think that Sol le Witt's wall drawings of geometric shapes can be considered "artsy", but not art, simply because to me it looks too much like playful wallpaper. It is definitely creative, but I do not see the emotion or meaning behind it, and I do not see it as an original style of art either.

Part One:

1. I feel I was successful in some ways more than others incorporating Emil Nolde’s style into my piece. I think my use of texture and mixtures of color in the flowers reflected his work and the use of bright unusual colors. But I feel I could have done a better job with the tree aspect of my piece. I loved Nolde’s trees because of the false colors he used in them and I didn’t fully capture that aspect of his work.

2. If you imitate someone’s work you are literally just copying the same exact piece they did and calling it your own. If you use someone for inspiration, you try and use their techniques or color pallets but you make your own piece from your own idea.

Part Two:

There are so many different ways to view art but for me I think the most important aspect is either the skill/technique or the concept. I don’t think a piece that is just a colored canvas can really count as art, but I also don’t think every great piece of art needs to take tons of hours of work. I think a piece with a strong meaning behind it can be more powerful than something that took 50 hours. But the piece needs to have good craftsman ship and technique.

Part Three:

1. I don’t think 1000 hours of staring is art. There is literally nothing on the canvas. He may have stared at it for 1000 hours but he didn’t make anything and there is no meaning or technique.

2. The Sistine chapel is definitely artwork. It shows technique and has meaning in the religious figures. And even though immense amount of time isn’t always necessary, this ceiling definitely took time.

3. I think The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive is art in the sense of photography. It had meaning behind it, trying to show the rawness of that neighborhood and it took technique to photograph each piece with no people in it to show who the piece is about. So in the photography sense I would say its artwork.

4. I can’t decide whether I consider Jackson Pollock #8 artwork or not. I realize that it is not easy to make splatter paint because it is very uncontrolled so it may take practiced technique. But if he had a meaning behind this, I can’t tell what it is and that makes it hard for me to decide if this is real art or not.

5. When first looking at Sol le Witt’s wall paintings I would say they are art because they took technique and are planned out and specific. But because of the fact that le Witt never did any of the artwork himself, but sent the description and had other artists do it, I don’t think it can be counted as his artwork. The pieces themselves are art, but leWitt shouldn’t get the credit.

Garrett's Self Evaluation

Part 1

1. I feel like I was able to successfully incorporate the techniques and style of my artist into my piece. I believe I was able to really capture the motion of the eagle’s wing. I could have displayed the wings motion a little bit better by painting the top of the wing over and over then begin to blur it. That’s something that I can take into consideration for the next project I work on.

2. When working with art there’s a big difference between “inspiration and imitation”. Inspiration is the use of techniques and style of other artists incorporated in ones work differently. It’s taking an idea and turning it into your own work. Imitation is taking an artists work and copying it without adding your own twist to it. In short terms imitating is copying while inspiration is using others work as a reference.

Part 2

The time spent on a piece to me is important. It shows the dedication of one to his or her work and usually produces a higher quality of art. Then again there are pieces that are just blue canvases that sell for millions, so I could very well be wrong. Another thing that should be considered in a art criteria is the skill and technique of ones piece which could show the talent of the artist. Also the idea comes into the criteria when judging a piece due to the fact of the complexity of ones idea.

Part 3

1. 1000 Hours of Starring by Tom Friedman is a simple piece that does not fit my criteria. The complexity of the art only comes from the mind of the viewer. The piece itself is simply made and does not seem to have much time and technique to it. The Idea is there in a sense but it does not follow the other 2 aspects of my criteria.

2. The Sistine chapel ceiling most definitely fits my criteria in every aspect. The idea is grand and large, the technique and finish of the ceiling is very detailed, and this piece being a ceiling most definitely took many hours of dedicated time.

3. The Bowery work does not fit my criteria because its pictures and text not any hand made work. So this piece does not fit the style and technique aspect of my criteria. The idea is an aspect that is present in this piece, whether or not this piece took time is questionable.

4. Jackson Pollock #8 is personally my favorite piece out of these five. It fits my criteria because all the different layering of the paint took time. The execution of his style and technique is amazing with all the different colors. People mistake this type of work to be easy and messy when really every line is thought out carefully by the artist.

5. Sol le Witt’s wall drawings can vary between being very complex or very simplistic. The style varies between straight lines and squiggly. The work can fit my criteria I believe.

Katie's Self Evaluation/ Reflection

Part 1:

1. I think that I was successful in using my mentor artist in my latest piece. I was able to in cooperate the same type of expressive paint strokes and movements within the image. An interesting part of his work was the way that he would blend the ends of the focal image into the background of the piece. For instance, in my ballerina toe points and extended arms I blended them into the expressive background of my art piece. In his artwork you were able to tell the main focus and were drawn to the image even though they weren’t necessarily painted in the middle of the canvas. In my latest art piece you were drawn to the ballerinas, though they stood off to the left of the canvas and even extended beyond.

2. The difference between inspiration and imitation is clear. Inspiration is when you, as the artist, are inspired or stimulated to create your own piece of work by your surroundings. When an artist is inspired you see an image and want to create it as your own piece of work, maybe by changing locations and colors, or adding your own experiences and ideas into the piece to make your own. Imitation is very different from inspiration. When you imitate an image you are just creating the same thing you see. You aren’t taking it to a new level by in cooperating new ideas as your own idea. You are trying to mimic the exact image you see in front of you.

Part 2:

There are a lot of opinions of what can be considered artwork and the time spent on the art piece. In my opinion time is crucial for art. Although there are many famous pieces of artwork that are blank canvases and not time consuming pieces, I think that the best pieces are the ones that take time to create. The talent and hard work are most evident when there is time spent on the pieces. A piece of art needs a lot of time to create to be well done with detail. Time allows the artist to be able to create the piece of work as well as thoroughly thinking about decisions. Time also allows the artist to have space from the piece for a little and come back to it with a fresh mind and motivated attitude.

Part 3:

1. “1000 hours of staring” by Tom Friedman: Based upon my criteria I don’t believe that this piece of artwork is true art. I think that anyone would be able to leave a white canvas plain and title it as something that dramatically seems like they took time into the piece. The title to me seems like the artist wasn’t inspired to make anything, and didn’t create anything from his imagination.

2. Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo: When I see this, I consider it artwork because of the time, talent, and dedication that it took to create this ceiling. There was a lot of time used to plan out that the different measurements and accuracy of the different, detailed figures shown.

3. The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler: In my opinion, I wouldn’t say that this was true artwork. I don’t think there is enough dedication and skill to be able to create what she has made. There is an interesting sense of creativity used but based upon my criteria. I don’t think that it is necessarily art because there is no hands on talent and work put into the idea.

4. Jackson Pollock #8: This is another piece of artwork based on my criteria that doesn’t show much craftsmanship or dedication. I think that many people could imitate this piece of work easily and has been though of by other artists. I know that he is a well-known and talented artist but to me this piece of work doesn’t show detail and hard work.

5. Sol le Witt's wall drawings: I think that these wall drawings are very interesting and take a lot of talent to successfully create. There was a lot of time to be able to make the designs as perfect as they seem to look. I think that you have to plan and visually see the creation before you start. I know that he had to have taken a lot of time to make them perfect, such as the wall with circles they have to be perfectly painted and spaced evenly. I know that it would take a lot of talent and dedication to be able to accurately create this. Sol le Witt had to have used a lot of time and patience to develop the talent put into the walls.

Maggie Nemecz

Part 1

1. I feel that I was somewhat successful at embodying Georgia O’Keefe’s style. I did not want to do a picture that would be exact to hers, and also since it was my first time painting a piece; I did not want to do an extremely challenging picture. I chose a picture of nature (like O’Keefe did) that had many almost blurred edges causing it to be a more expressional piece like I did with my picture.

2. Inspiration is taking the idea or technique from another artist and putting it into your work with your own ideas but some influence by the artist. Imitation is taking an exact copy from another artist with no self-expression or inspiration.

Part 2

I evaluate others artwork on a decent amount of time spent on the piece, not just rushing through it, but actually putting thought and having a main idea or concept of the work. And finally, I evaluate the skill level that is shown in the piece and how well the message or concept is portrayed.

Part 3

1. "1000 hours of staring” by Tom Friedman is not considered “art” based on my criteria because I cannot tell the meaning of it by seeing it. The artist would have to explain the meaning of the painting for a viewer to understand it. Also, it does not look as if it took much time or effort to create.

2. Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo does match my criteria because it obviously took much time and patients. Also, it takes much skill to be able to paint the entire chapel.

3. The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler, I would not consider it as a piece of art. The work is confusing and I cannot tell if it took much time or not. It is difficult to understand the message of it as well.

4. Although Jackson Pollock #8 is considered famous, it does not match my criteria. It looks as if it id not take much time. Also, if a viewer did not know what was possibly going on in the artist’s life, it may look like random splatter paint and there is no meaning behind it.

5. Sol le Witt's wall drawings I would consider a piece of art because it clearly takes plenty of time and skill to produce such a large piece of art. The larger scale drawings make it much more fascinating and interesting than a smaller scaled piece.

Self Evaluation / Reflection

PART 1

1, I feel that I was successful in incorporating some of Jamie Wyeth's stylistic tendencies. I placed the dog on the side of the beach instead of directly in the center, to follow Jamie Wyeth's tendency for how he executes the composition of his paintings. Also, he always clearly represents the texture with his brushmarks when he paints animals, which I felt I was able to capture somewhat in my piece with the dog's fur. Also he uses color to set a mood or scene in his paintings, which I felt I did in my painting because everything around the dog is more dull, and recognizably cloudy without having to look at the sky to tell.

2. When it comes to making art, imitation is an attempt to copy or closely reproduce someone else's work or style, instead of expressing and finding your own style. Imitation still of course takes talent, but it is not showing any form of originality or even creativity. Inspiration is when another artist's work encourages you to come up with your own ideas and define your own original style. Their self expression in art helps you come to discover your own individual self expression in art.

PART 2

Evaluating a piece of art should emphasis an equal focus of the time spent to create it, because that shows dedication, the skills evident in the work, because that shows talent, and the concept of the work, because that shows purpose, and I believe that a combination of dedication, talent, and well thought out purpose put into the art, makes it considered to be art.

PART 3

1. 1000 hours of staring does not match my criteria for being a piece of art. It is intended to inspire creativity, but other than that, dedication and skill were not incorporated based on my criteria. The artist may be talented but from this blank piece of paper, his skill cannot be determined. Dedication was not put into this because it is a blank piece of paper he stared at for 5 years, so therefore no time was spent actively executing the piece and actually physically creating it.

2.The sistine chapel ceiling is a piece of art based on my criteria because it incorporates dedication, talent, and purpose. The artist painted it all over a period of 4 whole years. The skill is evident because all of the paintings are professionally well developed. The purpose is it is said to be representing particularly 9 scenes from the book of genesis.

3. The bowery in two inadequate descriptive systems doesn't match my criteria for art. It has purpose and dedication but not skill when held to my standards, because it is a bunch of pictures and text, not hand crafted work showing her talent as an actual artist. Her work shows the talent of a writer or photographer.

4. I feel that Jackson Pollock #8 had skill, but not dedication or purpose, so it didn't meet my criteria for art. Although it looks childlike, he is said to of used a very complex method of executing the splatters. The work expressed his subconcious thoughts, but I don't understand what his purpose behind it was intended to convey. In terms of dedication, he didn't spend a long amount of time on it.

5 Sol le Witt's wall drawings don't meet my criteria for art. Dedication was put in, but not his own. He believed coming up with the idea was important instead of the actual personal execution of it. He doesn't fit my criteria for skill because he didn't make it with his own hands alone.

Self Evaluation/Reflection

Part 1:

1. I think I was able to embody Louis Valtat's effortless style while also incorporating my own style into the piece. For specific elements, like the main tree (left), I used looser brush strokes and was not as particular in each mark. I think that a lot of Valtat's work was planned yet he mainly used an "abstract" style to create beauty in his artwork. I used bold colors, like Valtat, to show different elements of my piece. I also wanted to create texture so I used modeling paste before I applied paint. I think for the most part I used Valtat's style as a guide but was also able to depart from his direction in order to show my own vision.

2. When it comes to making art, "inspiration" and "imitation" are very different things.You can use images, ideas, people, other artist's work to inspire you to create your own artwork. When you used inspiration, your piece is still unique to you because you don't copy a picture or a piece of artwork. However, when you imitate someone's work, you are simply copying and taking the ideas of that person. Your piece will have less significance and will not be representative of your own vision.

Part 2:

I think that there are many interpretations of what "art" is but in my opinion, I think that a work of art is defined by evidence of time spent creating the piece, technical complexity, and how unique the idea was. I think that in order to be a successful work of art, these three things must be present. No matter what material is used, I think that if someone spends an extended amount of time on an original and creative idea while creating a technically difficult piece, it will be considered a work of art.

Part 3:

1. "1000 hours of staring by Tom Friedman- I don't consider this a work a art because it is not an advanced and creative idea, was definitely not technically challenging and although we don't know exactly how long it took to create, we can suspect that it would take a VERY short amount of time.

2. Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo- I would absolutely consider this a work of art. It may not be a painting or drawling but it is evident that the artist spent a lot of time creating this technically complex yet beautiful piece of art.
3. The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler- I would not necessarily consider this a work of art. I don't think it is very complex, time consuming or innovative to take average photos and put them together. I do consider some photographs works of art based on how unique the subject is or how the artist used light, shadows..etc to create a vision. In this case however, I would not consider this a work of art.
4. Jackson Pollock #8- Although this may not agree with original criteria for "art", I consider this piece a work of art. I think this new idea and technique was very innovative at the time and although it may not seem very technically challenging to time consuming, it still takes skill and time to create a vision as distinct as this. Also his use of colors is successful, and I think that the placement of the paint may be more challenging than what meets the eye.
5. Sol le Witt's wall drawings- I think this definitely is considered a work of art. Although it is a different style, and is very geometric and measured, it definitely takes time and technical skill to carry out this vision as successfully as the artist did. I also think it is unique how the artist used entire walls and other large spaces for their art work. This makes the execution and impact much more successful than if they were to use a smaller canvas.

Self Evaluation/Reflection due 11/28 8pm 30 points

Complete all 3 parts listed below. Response due Monday 11/28 by 8pm. 30 homework points.

PART 1: For your last assignment, you were required to research a mentor artist and incorporate their stylistic tendencies into an original work of art.
1. Do you feel that you were successful in incorporating their style/technique? Explain, using specific concrete examples form your piece.
2. What is the difference between "inspiration" and "imitation" when it comes to making art?

PART 2: Are all aspects equally important? Can a piece be considered a work of art if it took 5 minutes to make? What if the artist does not actually make anything?

Construct your own personal criteria for evaluation in one sentence by addressing the following:
-the time spent creating the piece
-the skill/technique/craft evident in the work
-the concept (or main idea) of the work

PART 3:
Research the following and evaluate whether or not the piece is considered "art" based on your criteria:

1. "1000 hours of staring by Tom Friedman
2. Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo
3. The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler
4. Jackson Pollock #8
5. Sol le Witt's wall drawings

Final Concentration Topic Commitment

In no more than four complete sentences, explain/describe the central idea of your concentration topic. In your concentration statement/description, address how you hope to address this central core of "meaning" in your art. You may choose to include your choice of materials or specific handling of the elements and principles of design in order to accomplish your objective. Remember that you are committing to this direction for the remainder of the year, and the statement you post will be the one displayed with your work at the end of year Honors Art show.

Post Due by Sunday, November 13th 8pm, 20 homework points