Activity #10

The medium - liquid that holds the pigments together without dissolving them - in both works selected by Paul Gauguin is oil. Both works The Bathers and Fantata te Miti (By the Sea) also use canvas as a support to hold the medium. In Fantata te Miti (By the Sea) the paint is heavy and thick. There are no empty spaces of canvas and the thick and loaded (full of paint) yet hidden brush strokes allow the design to express the landscape literally while emphasizing the activity of the three figures. In The Bathers the consistencies of oil is more varied – the trees are formed using heavy, thick, and hidden strokes while the flowers and soil have thin coats (layered or an impasto technique) is used with more apparent brush strokes. This composition is able to grasp the more subtle hues and pastels as the figures participate in an almost ritualistic custom of bathing. The texture of this design is a necessity in conveying the movement of the water, the lush landscape, and the serenity of the figures. It is possible that Paul Gauguin used canvas because of its ability to be transported more freely in comparison to wood - as the two selected works were completed while he was in Haiti however he made numerous visits to Paris to showcase his works.

Creative Notebook #4

OK...Let's Dance! These boots are not made for walking but dancing. Go Go by Darrin Hoover is able to draw attention to the focal point (the knee high platform boots) by positioning them in the central frame of the design. The white boots make a striking contrast to the various hues of orange in the background design. The pink letters that form the title of the work along with the oranges captures the bright and fun colors of the Go Go era. Also notice the role of light in this work as a shadow is created from the posed figure!

Activity #9

The Effects that the Invention and Widespread use of the Camera had on Visual Arts

The camera is a wonderful thing! Its invention and widespread use have had substantial positive as well a negative effects on visual arts. The camera loosely defined - a lightproof box fitted with a lens though which the image of an object is recorded on a material sensitive to light - has enabled society to instantly capture the pure essence of a moment. Prior to the widespread use of the camera, artists had to rely heavily on memory to compose a landscape. It could take days, weeks, or even months visiting the same location to complete the composition – not to mention the effects that varying degrees of weather may cause - to capture how light played upon every aspect within the landscape. Now artists can capture the essence of a landscape on film – at that very moment and if desired have a point of reference to recreate natures beauty through another media.

Nonetheless there are negative effects of the widespread use of the camera on visual arts. For example, now many photographs are so shocking that people are actually questioning if they should “believe what they see” when the image is in contrast to beliefs. It is desensitizing us as a people to the point of ignorance. We can now choose not to validate images of government mismanagement, war victims, or impoverished nations. Visual art is becoming so fast that it’s taken for granted in its purest form and although it comes across as objective one must be constantly reminded that there is always someone taking the “perfect picture” of what he/she would like to focus!

Activity #8 Ransome Note Collage

Creative Notebook #3

This design by Kimberley Gundel is titled Backwards Glance, 2003.  The picture first got my attention because its focal point - the shoe- is not facing towards its audience! The pallate of soft pinks and pale blues also have a calming affect as the brown heel juts upward from the ground and you can envision the figure walking away.  I also thought that the verticle line that creates the seam in her stockings added great detail and directed your eyes up her leg - but thankfully not up her skirt.

Creative Notebook #2

 

Red & White Stripe Shoe by Rita Lermon. This panel uses the one of the most basic principles of design: the line.  The line - a path traced by a moving point - is represented in this design as wavy instead of straight as not as to dominate but appear softer.  The pattern formed by the horizontal lines in the picture plane are also apparent on the shoe itself.  The picture uses primary red to allow the shoe a striking contrast and become the focal point against the an interchanging secondary orange and black. The pattern created by secondary orange is offset with dominant black and lighter hues of yellow are used to define the inside of the shoes and the sole. 

Activity #7

Exhibition Catalogue Introduction: African American Firsts

The theme of this exhibition is History & Stories and is titled African American Firsts. Within this exhibition you will encounter six, oil on canvas portraits by Betsy Graves Reyneau. The portraits are a portion of a larger collection that was gifted to the National Portrait Gallery from the Harmon Foundation Collection. As African Americans contributions to society should be acknowledged publicly, this exhibition serves to reinforce the pride African Americans should have in themselves by bring to the forefront the faces of those men and women who first achieved feats undreamed of in an era of which the sole purpose was to defeat instead of uplift a people.


The first portrait of Thurgood Marshall (the first African American Supreme Court Justice) shows the justice standing in a most distinguished vertical manner. The deep blue of his suit is softened with streaks of browns and reds to add dimension while the red and blue complementary colors of his tie are brought forward by the white shirt. In addition the tint on the door gradually changes to create a diagonal stream of light that comes from the upper right side and crosses the design.

The second portrait of Charles Drew (the first African American surgical resident at Presbyterian Hospital in New York City) depicts Dr. Drew in a laboratory setting. The lines used to outline the main figure draw the eyes to the shadows created on the walls by values of black and white. In addition the visual texture of the walls and its ability to capture the sterile environment is created by the use varying shades yellows and blues.

The third portrait of Ralphe Bunche (the first African American in a desk-level State Department position) has the main figure standing, holding the back of a blue chair. The bottom of the map forms a horizontal line across the lower portion picture plane and also serves as the figures’ backdrop. Cool blues dominate this work.

The fourth portrait of Captain Hugh Mulzac (the first African American merchant marine naval officer to command an integrated crew during WWII) makes use of the multiple diagonal lines of the rooftops and the ships towards his back that emphasizes the movement at this mariner. The Captain is shown in full uniform however due to his overcoat –the primary colors of blue and yellow in his hat serve as a focal point to his much more obscure and duller surroundings.

The fifth portrait of Asa P. Randolph (the founder of the first African American Union granted a charter by American Federation of Labor) is pictured standing vertically in front of a series of four diagonal lines that have a reoccurring pattern of horizontal lines between a pair. The lines form a seamlessly endless railway track across a cool blue palate and into the horizon. The browns of the main figures suit, the desk (on which his hands are placed) and his skin color all seem to be various shades of one another.

The sixth and final portrait of Jane Bolin (the first African American women in the US to be appointed judgeship) is composed of the primary colors of red and blue. The intense red of the figure’s dress serves as a focal point against the dark blue of the background. The contour lines that serve to emphasize her hair also give way to a light source that although not pictured, forms on her forehead and reoccurs on her brown hands as they are clasped together.


I hope that this exhibition will assist in conveying the importance of education, perseverance, and faith - because in trying times the strength of the mind can not only provide solace but greatness – as reflected in the portraits of just a few great African American Firsts.

Activity #6 Exhbition: African American Firsts

Thurgood Marshall

Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oil on canvas, 1956

National Portrait Gallery


Charles Drew

Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oil on canvas, 1953

National Portrait Gallery


Ralphe Bunche

Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oil on canvas, 1948

National Portrait Gallery


Captain Hugh Mulzac

Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oil on canvas, 1946

National Portrait Gallery


Asa P. Randolph

Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oil on canvas, 1944

National Portrait Gallery



Jane Bolin

Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oil on canvas, 1943-44

National Portrait Gallery

"Let's Play Color Clues!" A color game...

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Activity #5

The Bathers
The theme that best describes The Bathers would be the Here and Now. In this composition Tahitian inhabitants bathe themselves in the natural waters of an unindustrialized landscape. There is no appearance of city life - just the tranquility of nature - as vegetation flourishes all around. Contour lines that are used to define the female figures also assist in creating boundaries to which the river touches the Earth yet flows gently enough (through the use of diagonal lines) for one to stand.

Trees sprout upward as a marker of time (the tree in the rear appears older and has less intensity - the color is much duller than that of the tree towards the front). The nude figures spring forward in the design as their value (or darkness in color) is a striking contrast to the sea of which they bathe and grass of which they sit and stand.

Color plays a significant role in this design. The use of color assists in emphasizing the relaxed atmosphere as a split composition of warm and cool colors is utilized for the sea and the land respectively. The sea created as the cool colors of whites, blues, purples, and greens gently flow into the scene from highest right corner of this design and trail off into the landscape where the warm tones of reds, yellows, and oranges are represented. The use lighter hues (shades) that represent softer colors encourage unity or visual harmony within the work.


Fatata te Miti (By the Sea)
Daily life is also portrayed within this composition and is attributed directly to the theme of Here and Now. Similar Tahitian figures presented actively participating in recreational activities (swimming and fishing) while enjoying the natural resources that are visually abundant (as there are no unoccupied areas). The subordination or ability to create less visual areas within this design – with the dark greens and blues of the forest - is vital in emphasizing (or bringing into focus) the figures and how their weight (lightness of color against the darker background) creates a natural element of visual unity.

The women are depicted enjoying the warm tropical weather - although there is no appearance of sun - the bright pink and purple sands that create the shoreline in additional to the vivid appearance of fully bloomed orange and red blossoms lead one to believe that the sun nourishes this land quite frequently. The woman sparsely covered by a sarong of complementary colors (blue with orange triangles) plunge into the inviting sea as a fisherman with an ready spear (diagonally placed to demonstrate action) has a uncovered brown chest that contracts with the bright red of the cloth surrounding his waist. Color plays a most important role in this work as the dominant color relationship is directly associated with the intense and vivid colors symbolic of a tropical paradise and a split composition – both warm (oranges and reds) in addition to cool (blues).