Personal Research Article, also I'm an insane Harry Potter nerd.

For the article I'm talking about, click here.

This article is entitled Vietnam War Stories: Innocence Lost, but I'm only really looking at the second chapter Innocence, because the full article is about 233 pages long.

I typed that and went back to the article's tab in Safari and now it wants me to pay for the website, so I'm just going to talk about what I actually got to read.

The first few pages were all about the Vietnam War and how these men where so young that they had to grow up in combat. One quotation stood out to me immediately, "innocence savaged and destroyed". As soon as I read this small phrase, I saw the image of a young boy in an army uniform too big for him with a helmet falling over his eyes shooting a gun. Fighting in a war. And in many ways, I do believe that's what the draft did. It took young boys, not truly even men yet except by the the legal age, and thrust them into what I could only call perdition. I assume that going to war would take every scrap of youthful vitality out of you, leaving an empty shell of a person, totally different from the one that left home. Sorry to be a dork here, but in my mind I relate it back to Harry Potter. For Tom Riddle to become the immortal Lord Voldemort, he had to create these Horcruxes. To do this he had to kill people, in the books it was called 'splitting his soul', I mean that's why he didn't have a nose anymore, because he had dehumanized himself. By making those young boys become soldiers, forcing them to kill, are we not doing the same to them? Dehumanizing and splitting the very soul that keeps them together? I think this article will stick with me because my concentration is about innocence and how you can lose it. Most likely, my next piece when we come back from Christmas will be that small boy who doesn't know what he's doing but is fighting nonetheless.

Art Director type things

An art director oversees the art (the photographs, drawn images, sets, costumes, props, and locations) that appear in newspapers, magazines, ad campaigns, TV, film, and on book covers. The Art Director is responsible for the entire design department, working with photo editors and editors to coordinate what images will match up with what words/ideas. In this job, you do more than hire people to do the art, you work with them to come up with the concepts to create an overall image. There are many different types of companies that use Art Directors, advertising, in book publishing, TV, fashion, film, and at magazines. The type of work they do depends on which subset of job. Most art directors have degrees from art schools, where they’ve studied graphic design, photography and drawing; a background in graphic design is usually essential for most art director jobs today. In today’s job market art directors also need to know various computer programs that allow them to work with everything from photographs to font sizes. While photoshop is a standard program all art directors should know, this is just one of many. For a portfolio, Art directors, who often work up to that title (from assistant positions), need to show examples of their work. Someone looking to work as an art director in an ad agency, for example, needs to show a potential employer sample ad campaigns he’s created. To get these samples, you need to have experience from an internship or from your art school experience. The average salary of an Art Director is just under $100,000, but this also varies between subsets. The only start up expenses you really have are your computer and college degree, after that, most likely, you’ll have a firm or large company to work for. 

I think I would be well suited for this job because I think I have the conceptual skills to come up with ideas for ads or book covers or many of the other things Art Directors need to do. Also, I find this job to be really interesting because you could really go anywhere; from desk job, to traveling the world. 

Response to history.

"And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and having seven crowns upon his head. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to earth." (Rev 12:1-3 KJV)
"The Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun" by William Blake

Elements:

Line: Blake uses line here to contrast between the biblical red dragon of hell and the woman of heaven. He juxtaposes the dragon's harsh, bold line with the light flowing contours of angel. 

Color: The color of the piece is used to emphasize the difference between good and evil/heaven and hell. He uses the dark, muted colors for the red dragon, but brighter, more hopeful, golds for the woman. 

Shape: The dragon's form is so huge that it overpowers the whole piece. I'm not sure if the artist meant it this way, but looks as if the dragon is winning almost because he is so gargantuan in comparison to the other figure. 

Principles: 

Balance: I feel that the piece is pretty well balanced because the top portion is so dark, it seems not to take up as much of the overall space as the bottom half. 

Emphasis: Obviously, there is emphasis on the woman. She is the only true highlighted feature in the painting, unless you count the highlights on the back of the dragon. 

Contrast: I think I've already stated that he has contrasted the two figures. 

Btw, I didn't choose this for any particular religious reason. I just really like the Hannibal Lector movie, Red Dragon. 

Response to a contemporary artwork - Libeskind Piano

     I'm not really sure how to go about evaluating this piece of art because it is an architectural piano, but imma try.
     Daniel Libeskind is a Polish-born American architect who is widely known for his 'unbuildable' designs. In 2008, he began working with the German company Schimmel Pianos to design a jagged, working, grand piano.

     This is the famous (or infamous to some architects) Libeskind Piano. As you can see, it definitely isn't what you think of when speaking of normal grand pianos. Upon looking through the principles and elements of art, I realized it was a lot different with 3D pieces than with 2D. 

     Obviously, line played a big role to Libeskind in designing this piece. The basis for all of his buildings or furniture, is the jagged deconstructing of everything. He uses line to create those sharp, uncomfortable edges to enhance the fact that this is not your usual boring piano. 

     The colors of the piano, though it may have been just a coincidence being the normal colors of a piano, are another element which I think add to the strange, awkward feeling you get when looking at (and probably playing) the piano. It also serves to relate it to a normal piano by being a bit similar but then it tares down all normalcy at the same time. 

     Form is another easily relatable element to use here. To be a little bit more redundant, Libeskind has succeeded in emphasizing that fact that this piano is ridiculously weird and unnatural. 

     I can never tell whether I truly like Libeskind's designs or if I'm just simply amazed that they could be built in the first place. Like I said earlier, he is known for his almost unbuildable blueprints. Here are some of his other buildings, maybe you can make more of a decision than me.

Extension to the Denver Art Museum, Denver Colorado

The Ascent at Roebling's Bridge, Covington, Kentucky (greater Cincinnati area)

New York Tower, New York, New York

So, the Nazis really like Gustav Klimt.

This is an art related article review of the piece on BBC News, "Klimt painting fetches $40.4m"

So, as my title so aptly tells, a 1915 painting by the Austrian artist Klimt was stolen by the Nazis and recently sold at a New York auction for $40.4 million. In July, Salzburg's Museum of Modern Art returned the piece to the owner's grandson, who is now 83 years old.

The artwork, Litzlberg on the Attersee, a painting of a lake in western Austria, was originally owned by Austrian iron magnate Viktor Zuckerkandl before being passed on to his sister, Amalie Redlich, when he died in 1927. In 1941, Redlich was deported and the Nazis seized her collection. The painting went for the most money of all the artworks at the auction, which included works by Gustave Caillebotte ($9.3m), and Tamara de Lempicka ($8.5m). Surprisingly though on the same night another auction house failed to find buyers for quite a few famous works of art which included a Picasso and Degas' sculpture of the teenage dancer. 

Degas' sculpture

I chose this article because I find it very interesting, as a person who likes art and is interested in WWII. I'm just truly surprised though, not that the Klimt painting sold for so much because I love Klimt, but that the Picasso and the Degas' sculpture did not sell at all. In fact, the bids on the sculpture didn't even get to half the price it was expected to sell for. Even more so, it was the only sculpture he ever exhibited in his life time. To find the BBC News article on that auction, click here.

Job #2 that is not for Emily.

One job in the arts that I would not like to have would be digital animator. Don’t get me wrong, I love animated movies just as much as the next gal, maybe more, but I don’t think I have the creativity or the patients to be able to do what these men and women do. On top of the talent you need to be an animator, you can go to Art Schools/Institutes and get special degrees such as a Bachelors of Arts in Animation. With a degree in animation you could really go almost anywhere in the arts; sketch artists, graphic designers, painters, cartoonists, illustrators, computer game developers, computer game programmers, visual arts, web designers, multimedia designers, etc., etc. The portfolio you would need ranges from field to field and employer to employer, but you do know that pieces which represent your talent and ability would be wanted. Also, the only start up expenses you would have would be on your computer and the software you choose (i.e. Photoshop). Like I said before, I have the utmost respect for the people that do jobs in this career area but it’s not for me because I’m much too stuck in my own hyper-realism to stray to the unknown of cartoon. I don’t have the creative mind to come up with characters' movements or the technological know-how to build them even if I did.  

'X-ray reveals hidden Goya painting' review

Here's the link to the original article on BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15018174

I was scrolling through the BBC News website the other morning in AP Bio (like I do every purple 1st block) and stumbled upon this article, which I find oddly fascinating.

Apparently this painting, Portrait of Don Ramon Statue (left) by Goya, was actually concealing one of the artist's previous works. This was discovered using a new innovative x-ray technique developed by the University of Antwerp and the Delft University Technology. When you use powerful x-rays on an artwork, it causes atoms in the picture's layers of paint to emit "fluorescent" x-rays of their own which indicate the chemicals they originated form. This enables a "color map" of the hidden picture to be produced. This method was actually tried out on a Van Gogh painting two years ago, showing that a portrait of a peasant girl was behind the work Patch of Grass, from 1887. Anyway, historians believe that the original hidden Goya painting is actually of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, and they think that it was obscured for political reasons after Ferdinand VII was reinstated to the Spanish throne. Obviously, Goya would want to distance himself from the old regime, especially since he was the first court painter to Ferdinand VII.

I think the reason why I find this so interesting is because everything you do is almost permanent. Even if it was just a mistake or if you're actually hiding something, nothing is ever truly erased. Like when we do watercolor and Stamp says "Act as if each stroke costs you a quarter." These artist hid paintings for whatever reason, but they're still there. They still existed and now we can see them too.

Frank Gehry (Bonus Blog)

This is another response to an artist, but this time I'm choosing the architect Frank Gehry. Gehry is a current, Canadian, Pitzer-Prize (an annual award to honor "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture") winning, architect. He creates ridiculously cool modern buildings and his works are cited as being among the most important works of contemporary architecture, he was named "the most important architecture of our age" by Vanity Fair in 2010. (http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/architecture-survey-201008?currentPage=all) His work falls in the postmodern architecture offshoot, deconstructivism (meaning it's based off the ideas of fragmentation). Deconstructivism is very different from other forms of architecture in that it doesn't try to express overwhelming ideas of society or even a belief that form follows function (the shape of the building is based upon the building's specific use). His architecture just is. 

This is an actual building in New York, finished in February. It's 76 stories high with a titanium and glass facade. 

The Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington

The reason why I like Gehry's work so much is the fact that most of his buildings have nothing to do with being functional. That isn't his first thought when he sits down and drafts, he wants his buildings to be visually interesting and he gets a lot of criticism because of it. 

Dancing Hall in Prague 

Gehry isn't only an architect, he also created a line of jewelry, furniture, and sculptures.  

A chair designed by Gehry based off his fish motif.

History, Oh, History.

The historical art work I'm choosing for this particular blog is Da Vinci's 'The Lady of the Disheveled Hair' or 'La Scapigliata'. How original? I know, but I love this portrait. In this piece Da Vinci uses many elements and principles of art. He uses different values of the sepia-type color. Everything is very bland almost and airy except for the face of this woman, creating contrast. All of this places emphasis on the woman's face, not even her entire head, just her face. He also uses texture to his advantage by making everything seem very soft and delicate.

Kiss Me Deadly, by Shepard Fairey Elements/Principles

This is a print by the contemporary artist, Shepard Fairey entitled Kiss Me Deadly. I think it's a really powerful piece in his Obey Giant collection, which is all about 'Make art, not war' and 'Peace > war'. In this particular print it shows a woman applying lipstick, but as you look closer, it isn't lipstick, it's a bullet that reads 'Kiss Me Deadly', it pretty much says flat out that the statement he's trying to make is of war being bad and deadly. A kiss of death, if you will. The artist uses many principles and elements of art in this piece. Balance: there is a bulls-eye in the center and directly over that is the bullet, the main focal point of the print. Line: he uses thick, almost cartoon-like, lines for everything except for the bullet/lipstick and the lips, which are more realistic than the former. This creates high contrast between the two and it emphasizes even more the words on the actual bullet. Color: Fairey does most of his work in this color scheme; red, black, cream/white. These colors contrast to make the piece very striking so that you'll want to look at it. Want to examine it and see what it's about.  

Just as a side-note, this is the same artist that did Obama's 'Hope' Campaign ads.
Also, he did this really cool-looking Dio de los Muertos print that you might think about for the t-shirts or whatever.

Ew, Art Administration.

One job that I would absolutely hate to have would be in Art Administration. Arts administration is the business end of art organizations. They plan things, deal with the money, and all the fine details. Education for arts administration is based upon degrees in business administration with special courses in administering non-profit organizations. You could do more than just non-profit art organizations with this degree; performance theater, gallery, dance company, art center, art festival administration/management. Your start up expenses would depend on whether you are starting your own business or if you are being hired, obviously you would have more start up expenses making you own business. You wouldn't really need a portfolio for this job because it's mostly business dealings, but you would need a resumé with good credentials. I wouldn't really like this job because it seems just down right boring. These people spend all their time behind the scenes of numerous galleries or exhibitions or performances and get none of the true credit for. Also, I don't think I would have the organization to actually plan things, I'm having a hard enough time in AP Art.

Otto Dix

Otto Dix was a young German artist who began his career doing simple self portraits and landscapes.

"Self Portrait with Carnation"1912

"Sunrise" 1912

But once Dix joined the German Army and took part in WWI and WWII everything about his art changed. Everything he painted or sketched became more and more gruesome. He tried to represent his feelings about war in his artwork. He depicted the hellish combat he witnessed in numerous paintings and etchings. Some showed what he thought of society and the disgust he felt for the German populace and others were religious allegories. He did do some commission portraits but everything else showed mentality on humanity. 

                 "Prager Straße"1920                                       "Skat Players" 1920

To architect or not to architect.

A profession in the arts that I would be interested in is architecture. An architecture degree usually takes five to six years. Most colleges and universities don't have architecture or even design programs, the only well known one in Kentucky is at UK's College of Design. There are many routes you could take with architecture; you could go the traditional route, or do landscape architecture, interior design, and then the many off shoots from those variants of architecture. Start up expenses for architecture vary from firm to firm, but the basis of those costs are from blueprint machines if you need to buy one, supplies to use in drafting (drafting table, pencils from the lowest H to the highest B, triangles, T-squares, etc.), and a computer for designs (many new firms prefer to use computer animated design software rather than hand drafting, but the companies that draft the old fashioned way, in my opinion, are better). A normal portfolio you would need to get a job at an architecture firm would have to show your skills at drafting, design, and knowledge of architecture itself and how it will make the occupants of the building feel. The recent economic downturns have hurt the income of architects with not as many people building homes and those who are building not using real architects. Architects in the US normally earn between $40,000 - $120,000 per year. I would be good for this job because it uses both elements from art and math. I can use my creativity to design buildings, but also math and physics to make then stable.