art lesson

Collage & Composition - Winter Quarter '09

These are my pieces that my teacher Linda chose to put in the Student Art Show this quarter at school.

Did you know that collage isn't just gluing paper to paper?  There are fundamentals involved!!! Elements and principles of design!!!


LOL!!!

My Starry Night is supposed to be an example of "framing."  Something in the foreground, or to the sides is supposed to "frame" the rest of the piece.  I was hoping the cityscape "framed" the sky.  According to Linda, it doesn't.

This was made by gessoing (is that a verb?),  putting gesso on a magazine where I stapled the pages together to make a strong base.  The cityscape, moon, and dots are newspaper, I used spray ink, and more gesso on top to make the starry swirls.  Also included is a human being, given to fly : .)
I like this piece b/c its very textury. 

If we were to critique the piece, we could ask these questions...(and I'm not gonna do this now b/c I'd like to sleep tonight, not tomorrow when I am supposed to be at work!  : .)

Critique from here.

What is a critique?

A critique is an oral or written discussion strategy used to analyze, describe, and interpret works of art. Critiques help students hone their persuasive oral and writing, information-gathering, and justification skills.

Description

Describe the work without using value words such as "beautiful" or "ugly":

• What is the written description on the label or in the program about the work?
• What is the title and who is (are) the artist(s)?
• When and where was the work created?
• Describe the elements of the work (i.e., line movement, light, space).
• Describe the technical qualities of the work (i.e., tools, materials, instruments).
• Describe the subject matter. What is it all about? Are there recognizable images?

Analysis

Describe how the work is organized as a complete composition:

• How is the work constructed or planned (i.e., acts, movements, lines)?
• Identify some of the similarities throughout the work (i.e., repetition of lines, two songs in each act).
• Identify some of the points of emphasis in the work (i.e., specific scene, figure, movement).
• If the work has subjects or characters, what are the relationships between or among them?

Interpretation

Describe how the work makes you think or feel:

• Describe the expressive qualities you find in the work. What expressive language would you use to describe the qualities (i.e., tragic, ugly, funny)?
• Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced (i.e., analogy or metaphor)?
• How does the work relate to other ideas or events in the world and/or in your other studies?

Judgment or Evaluation

Present your opinion of the work's success or failure:

• What qualities of the work make you feel it is a success or failure?
• Compare it with similar works that you think are good or bad.
• What criteria can you list to help others judge this work?
• How original is the work? Why do you feel this work is original or not original?

The next piece is attempting balance and repetition (as principles of design)...the use of a grid; shape and texture (as elements of design).

I used another (half of a) magazine, stapled together, and gesso'd.  The black squares were made by using a playing card as a "stamp".  The hearts are stamped and painted, torn and sewn with thread.  I stapled the netting after mounting the hearts.  The text was printed from Word and cut out and glued to the page. 

Close up of one of the hearts.

I have some pieces from previous quarters to share, as well as work in progress for the current quarter, due next week, EEK!!!  I have to find those other pieces and photograph 'em first!