Per the Perspectives Ideation

I was thinking about your brainstorming for the "perspectives" topic from NUMU and then I was leafing through a book from the de Young (a great museum in the city if you've never been) and I saw the below painting from Aaron Douglas.

I'd never heard of him before, and I quite like this painting. I enjoy how the composition is dynamic in its use of scale and color, and then I noticed the shapes that radiate out from the seated figure. Those are cool.
This may not be the ideal way for you to show off your painting skills for a large project like this since there is, essentially, no modeling of form, but the idea works quite well. Especially if you take the time to read the snippet from the book you'll see how there is a lot more going on in this image than meets the eye.


On p. 95, the following is said about the above piece (titled, Aspiration)
"During the 1920's, African Americans created a thriving culture of jazz, theater, literature, and visual art in New York/s Harlem district. Known as the Harlem Renaissance, this artistic explosion fostered a cultural community of people who set about celebrating the opportunities of modern urban life in a language that drew inspiration from their common heritages as people of African descent. Aspiration is one section of a four-part mural cycle that Douglas created for "Hall of Negro Life" at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas. The cycle reflects the optimism among African Americans that lingered well after the halcyon days of the Harlem Renaissance. In this mural Douglas organizes his visual image of African heritage according to a highly rationalized, didactic scheme: the shackled hands reach up in a gesture that links them with the experience of slavery, while the monumental figures represent the transformation from forced labor to a community of modern workers inspired by leaders trained in literature, science, and engineering, as symbolized by the book, beaker, globe, and compass and right angle. As a further celebration of African heritage, Douglas uses and Egyptian inspired figure and the pictorial conventions of Egyptian representation, which combine frontal and profile images. In this way he unites the flattened, abstract language of avant-garde modernism with the visual vocabulary linked to ancient Egypt and, therefor, African origins."

I also like this image.
 
I want you to push how you think with your thumbnails and think about ideas and feelings and perceptions that you could convey. Even if you know you are doing a master oil copy, this is a good process to go through. Besides, it will help you think of ideas for Independent Practice and daily sketchbook pieces as we go through the year as well.

NUMU Student Exhibition

The annual NUMU high school exhibition isn't exactly soon, but since I have the information for the theme I might as well share them here.

The theme they have decided on this year is: Choices.

Here is what they have to say in the pamphlet I received from them:

"Which a spotlight on youth perspectives, NUMU asks stdents to visually communicate their responses to the theme, Choices.
Life is a set of choices. We live with the consequences of the choices we make as well as those made for us. Our family, our friends, our teachers, our leaders make choices that affect each of us. How does choice define you, identify you, or excite you? What impact has a choice made by you or others, regionally or globally, influenced you and/or the world? What single significant choice affects you now?"

You can find more information about the exhibit ONLINE HERE, or by taking one of the fliers from my desk.

Opportunities in the New Year

I'll go in chronological order since there is one deadline this Friday. Yes, as in two days from now.

Last month there was an opportunity to put up some work in Shuly's Bakery and a total of one person submitted work for it to Tabitha Jacobson ( tabithajacobson@yahoo.com ). That was Grace, and the great news is that she sold the piece that she put up. So that's kind of awesome!

This Friday is the deadline for entry for a one month exhibit beginning on Jan. 16th. Personally I would like to see some of you put your oil or acrylic paintings from last year up there because they are so amazing. Please copy me on the email that you send to Tabitha if you submit a piece for this month. Below are the details:
1. image of your work
2. dimensions of the artwork (including frame size, if applicable)
3. your name, age, and high school
4. title of the piece, medium used, when it was completed

Email all of that to : tabithajacobson@yahoo.com


There is also a great opportunity for an activity that is connected to the NUMU (Los Gatos Art Museum) on Jan. 16th. You can find out all the details HERE, but I will put part of the description below. While you'll need to sign up on their website, you can get an idea here. I will give extra credit for anyone who attends this three-hour activity and can get me proof that you were there. See me if you are confused. I think it is super worthwhile and could be really fun for you.

Learn tips for writing your own artist statement and framing your own artwork. On the way to a pizza lunch, you will see how exhibits are installed in a behind-the-scenes tour of Selfie, opening January 21. Artist Danny Scheible will provide an introduction to the art of Tapigami, in a "Make it Stick" collaborative group activity. Registration is limited to the first 40 students who sign up.

Annual Student Art Exhibit

For the 4th year the Los Gatos Art Museum has held their county wide juried student art show.
Ivy was the only one from LG selected this year and I am super proud of her.
Below you can see two images from the catalog that was produced (cover and her image/statement). The show is on view through May 10th, and more info can be found HERE.

What, the LG Museum announcement already?! Whoa!

Welcome back and all that jazz.
I just received an email from the Museums of Los Gatos referencing the high school exhibition they will hold in the spring.

Art 4's, you will be required to make a piece for this exhibition. While I will try to spend some time brainstorming with you in class, the sooner you can start thinking about it, the better.

Here is what I know so far:

That is the theme. Bridges: facing challenges. I can think of a lot of options and possibilities so far so I hope you can too. There is more information here, so please check it out.

High School Showcase

Nice little write up about the Art Museum of Los Gatos' annual high school exhibition, with a pic in the Weekly of some of out students in front of Sofia's painting. 

Nice!

Museum Opening

There were shenanigans.
And people doing weird things. Although by "people" I might just mean me.

At any rate, it was a good and crowded opening at the Art Museum of Los Gatos tonight.
Franny and Sofia were represented by their families and myself and there was a lot of other really good work on display from school all over the county.

Read the previous post to see about the extra credit that is available, and check my Instagram to see a couple of funny pics. I believe the show is up until May 11th.
If I get around to it I'll post some from my phone tomorrow.

Even More Extra Credit

Tomorrow, 4/24, is the reception for the county wide exhibition that Sofia Kuta and Franny Lin had work accepted into. The reception lasts from 6-8, with awards at 7.

I would like to encourage you to attend the show not only to see their work, but to see the work made by other local high school students. I have yet to see the show and am looking forward to it.

The show is up until May 11 and if you take a selfie in front of either Franny or Sofia's art while it is on display and email it to me I will give you some extra credit for attending.
Ideally you would go tomorrow, but any day between now and the 11th with work.

Additionally, don't forget that there is a call for student art for a smaller show at the museum which closes on April 30th - next week.
If you copy me on the email you need to send the museum I will get you points for that as well - regardless of if they choose your piece or not.

There is a lot of good work from this year that you should be proud to show so do it! Now!
Or now!

If you need help getting a decent pic of your work, let me know.

Cheers.

More Art Needed

I said I would, so here it is.

If you want to donate art to help as two different fundraisers, please see me and/or Emily Blaker for details.
They are good causes and your peers are trying to do good things, so...

For EXTRA CREDIT, if you submit something to the Jr. Art Docents/Museum Exhibition that is coming up in May, please make sure to copy me on the email.
If you do, I will get you some extra credit at some point.
Also, send them a good photograph. Get rid of misc background; take a pic straight on; etc.
You can get a decent image from your phone - and crop it there, too - or you can use the camera in class (all the art 3 and 4 students know how to use this by now).

Extra Credit Opportunities

I have decided that there are two upcoming opportunities for you to earn extra credit for class.
They both involve making art because, well, this is an art class.
Also because Black Ops or Mario Kart can wait. Really.

So here are the details...

#1 Los Gatos Ballet
 A dance themed drawing or painting. If you want to do something ballet themed that would be even better. If you wanted to use as a source image an image from a dancer at Los Gatos Ballet you can go to Doug Speidel's portfolio of LG Ballet dancers/dances here and check some out.
I have to know by MARCH 1ST if you are creating a piece for this, what the media is, and what the size is.
Really, I think it would be best to keep the images 16x20 or smaller.
They need to be good pieces and not just a semi-decent study drawing type pieces, just fyi. If I'm giving extra credit and you are putting it out there in public I just need you to recognize that you are helping put a "face on" the LGHS Art Department through your efforts.

The auction itself is on March 23rd, and I have to have the piece before March 22nd.
Yes, I need to know by Mar. 1st if you are doing a piece for LG Ballet, but you don't have to have the piece finished until the middle of March.



#2 Los Gatos Art Museum
For the second year in a row the LG Art Museum is hosting a county wide competition for high school students.
The theme is Art + Tech + Culture. They are asking about the effects of technology in our lives.

For example:
"Your artwork might be created using new media technologies - computer graphics, robotics, animation - the sky is the limit"
"Your observations about the impacts of technology in our lives are equally relevant, both globally and individually.  What is the impact of technology in education, here and in developing countries? What are the issues surrounding compromised privacy?"
"How has technology affected social behavior? What is the new etiquette?"

You can get more information at the Museums of Los Gatos website here for more complete information and a list of due dates.
The first date you really need to be aware of is March 22nd, as that is the date you need to have a photo of your piece emailed to the museum.

I need to have proof that you are finished with this piece and have emailed it to the museum so you need to make sure that you cc me on the email. You should know my email address, but just in case you are feeling to lazy to look it up, it is:
tsmith@lgsushd.org


P.S. You need to appropriately photograph your piece in order to put your best foot forward. This includes setting the correct exposure and white balance. I can help with this.

Google Art Project

Amazing views from from museums all over the world on view HERE. Yes, you should take a look.

Museum Juried Show

As I have been discussing with you, the Los Gatos Art Museum has done away with showing strictly local LGHS art in their space. They have been altering the scope of the exhibition over the past three years and have made vast changes for this year.

The show is now a juried high school art show around a specific theme and is open to any high school art student in Santa Clara County.
The theme is "Social Matters."
More specifically, I have been told that students are being asked
"to depict visually a social issue that affects or is important to them.”

There are some specifics that you should know about on the Social Matters site found here,
and on the FormsCentral site, here, that you should know about. 

There are calendar issues/dates that you need to be aware of that I will post on the class calendar.
(note, some of these dates are confusing to me at this point and I am seeking clarification) 

Additionally, I am requiring all of my Art 3/4's to participate in this endeavor. 
Art 1's, it is strictly extra credit - though we can work it in to your study drawings as well.  
Art 2's, well...the jury is still out :) I haven't quite figured this out as it pertains to you. We'll discuss.

Here is some of the brainstorming ideas that came out of 5th period yesterday when thinking about social issues:
contraception, drug war, self image, racism, environment/environmentalism, unemployment, religion, peer pressure, police brutality, agism, sexism, stereotyping, cancer, health care, depression, poverty, death penalty, meat industry, suicide, assisted suicide, gay marriage, stress, drunk driving, underage drinking/smoking, abortion

Obviously this is not a complete list, but it is something to get the brain waves a-workin'.
Hopefully. 

Oh, did I mention they are giving MONEY away as awards? Yes, they are. Read about it on the site. 
It ain't chump change. For real.

Painting Thoughts (Bechtle)

Just a few simple thoughts from Robert Bechtle. Quick and painless. But insightful.

Taking in Mr. Serra

 I found this in the drafts from when I went to the member preview of the Richard Serra drawing retrospective at SFMOMA last week - so here it is.

I think one of.the things that is the most interesting about this Serra drawing retrospective is the process.
Actually, coming from him hat should be expected - and it was, so let me back up.

I most appreciate the pieces where the texture truly takes over and, more importantly, those few pieces where the papers and the pigment join ... and don't join.
There are many places where he has taken two ordinary - though ordinarily large - sets of paper and butted them right up to one another, but the paintstick veers off at some point - though in a straight, or at least straight looking, line.
But there are also times where the pages don't actually meet, even though you expect them to or they look like they do.

Is this him keeping us on our toes? Is this him playing with our expectations? Is it just me?
Truth is that it doesn't really matter. Those particular works are just good.

And I feel totally justified in saying that because not all the work in the exhibition is. Some of it stands out cognitively - rather like a Rothko or a Newman in some regards - even though I don't find myself that terribly fond of it.
But some of it is just flat out stunning and beautiful and amazing.
Awesome!

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If you are interested in this Serra exhibit, it is now open to the public, and the details are here.