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.

Perspectives

I was listening to a podcast while doing some yard work this afternoon and had the following rough thoughts that I wanted to share.
What was the podcast? The Lonely Palette. If you don't know about it, it's pretty interesting, but I'll be introducing it at some point later, too.

They were talking about post-impressionism (you know, van gogh, cezanne, gaugin, etc.) and van Gogh specifically in this episode, but I was thinking about the Perspectives theme that the NUMU has put out there for this year. I don't know if the below will help, but it might. If it doesn't make sense, that's ok, I just ran in the studio and jotted these things down.

What does it mean to be you?
     -showing your truth?
     -showing your struggles?
     -showing your vulnerability?
          as in, your perspective on who you are or where you are in this time and place; how different that is from even my generation; the things you feel hoisted upon you; the stresses you feel...

What does it feel like to be you?

Doesn't have to be a painting
     a chronology of your day
     a chronology of your experiences
     small ink drawings
     tied or sewn together as an installation or acordian book
     30 days
     17 days - or just one drawing for every year you have been alive

What about small studies of everyday things (or routines - check out some of Hadley's ideas in this slightly related vein).
Documenting that which goes unnoticed. A grid of pieces.
Maybe the pieces tell a story. Maybe they don't.

Maybe it is a series of studies of the classrooms you are in this year. Maybe you have text included (layered underneath is a fav of mine) that is made up of thoughts you have as you go through that class. Maybe it is a collection of thoughts of how your peers feel about that class. Maybe you "interview" them and ask what it is they think about while in that class while they daydream.


Anyway, that's how my brain works. I can see some of those ideas being interesting things to explore for the NUMU show, a portfolio, or just because (at least to me) they are interesting ideas.
But that's just me.
Take them if you like them, leave them if you don't.

Cheers.

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.