Black Square Designs

My intent as an artist for this assignment was to show how black squares can be re-arranged in different ways to show different moods and feelings. The artwork titled as "order" shows the black squares in order, "increase" is self explanatory with the squares going up in size from left to right. "Bold" was to show colors of the strong black against the white background and make the black color seem more porwerful ."Congested" shows a small square trapped by 3 other big squares to show congestion and "tension" shows this by the very small space in between the squares. Finally, "Playful" shows you 4 squares and I tried to make it look as if they are having fun and playing around.

Sound Problem

For this project, I decided to create a picture of a poster being ripped off and the sound it would make when the tape is being ripped away. It tried to show this by adding the lines to show the sound being produced. 

For the sound problems, I drew a series of pictures that matches the description on the bottom of the square. The last picture is of my own idea; it shows a bat hitting a baseball and the sound it makes when it hits it on the right spot.

Less is More

 My intent as an artist for this artwork was to emphasize the idea of "Less is More." The image goes from showing the whole leaf to being cropped as to reduce its readablity. I also chose the green background because the red maple leaf would complement well with the green.

Image Critique

 

Title: “Gladiators”

Artist: Martha Rosler

Date: 2004

When I first saw the art work, I was initially confused on what I was seeing. There were a lot of things going on in the picture and I couldn’t understand what it was trying to portray. In the front of the picture are two modern day American soldiers and my eyes were instantly fixed on these two subjects on my first observation. Upon further inspection, I could see that in the background, there are a mix of gladiators and modern day soldiers in what appears to be a dessert setting. Directly behind the two soldiers at the front is a home setting with sofas and a picture of a man being arrested by a police officer. I can also see a picture put up against the wall but it was very hard to make out what the photograph was. I then realized that the artwork itself was not a single photo but a photomontage, where the artist takes different kinds of pictures and combines them all to make one picture.

In this photomontage, the artist used different textures, like the carpet. The carpet has a softness look to it while the rough ground floor of the background gives a rugged look to the landscape. You can also tell that the walls are smooth as well as the sofa. The artist also used physical movement with gladiators in the background (looks like their running) and the body language of the police officer suggest that he is about to put handcuffs on the man being arrested. The space used in this artwork is also evident by how far the soldiers in the background are from the two soldiers at the front.  The artist used neutral colors for the walls and different shades of green and pink. The neutral color of the soldiers against the bright pink sofa and wall gives this photo emphasis. There is also an example of shape used in this picture: the picture frame on the wall. This picture frame is a geometric shape because it is a rectangle. Overall, this photomontage has asymmetrical balance because even though it is visually unequal, it is still balance in that all the elements and principles worked together perfectly to make a balanced piece.

I think the theme of the artwork is about the different types of violence that can happen in the world. I think the artist is trying to portray the fact that war is not the only violence we have in the world; there is also criminal violence within our communities and also our home. I think the artist added the gladiators in this picture to show that violence has been around for thousands of years, and is now coming into the modern world to make the world more violent. I think the artist probably dislikes violence and this is the reason why made this piece, to show people that violence can happen anywhere and anytime.

After researching the artist’s work, I found out that the actual meaning of this photo is that the sofas and walls represent homes, and how violence cannot be separated from the outside world to our own homes. The picture frame on the wall is actually a picture of dead Iraqi civilians piled up, to show us that we can be experiencing violence around us everyday but we are so oblivious to them. The man being arrested is actually a member of the household, and his arrest shows us that violence can ruin our peaceful lives at home. One of the soldiers in the front of the picture is pointing his gun at the viewer. The artist did this to represent how the war has come home and its not only happening abroad, but in our own lives. The photo of the gladiators in the background is an actual photo of American soldiers dressed as gladiators fooling around in a military base in Iraq. After learning all of this, I understand now what the picture is trying to tell us. I can now fully understand what each component of the picture means and it helped me realize that this was more than an art. It was a message. I learned from this art work that art may look literal at first, but inside it, there’s a deeper meaning. It taught me that your artwork should have a meaning to it, not just a piece of art.

Citation

Vallen, Mark. Art for a Change: February 14, 2007

<http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/2007/02/bringing-war-home-house-beautiful.html>