Last Blog Posting

1.    What were your expectations for this course and where they met?

Starting this course, my expectations were that I expected this class to be fun but also a lot of work, I also believed it would take a lot to constantly stay on top of the readings and art project schedules as well as the quizzes and blogs. My expectations were definitely met, I thought that almost every project had some element of fun in them, especially the mask project and gallery curation project which were my favorites. It definitely took a lot to keep up, there were times where I didn’t want to do the reading or projects but I had to persevere and do the work, it was definitely worth it in the end though.

2.    Now that you've been through this course, what is art? How would you define it now compared to your initial posting?

My initial posting descried art as anything that allows us to express ourselves and create something, this could be through painting, singing, performance or even dance. I think that after this course I would still define art in this exact same way. I have learned that all art looks different and there isn’t just one way to create something. In this class we learned about art in statues, paintings, and even architecture, this taught me that anything someone is proud of creating could be considered art.

3. Who was your favorite artist in your original posting and who is your favorite visual artist now? If there is a difference, why do you think so? If you have the same favorite artist, why do you think so?

My favorite visual artists when I started this class included Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, and Velazques. Although these are still some of my top favorite artists, after this class my new favorite visual artists are Carrie Mae Weems and Frida Kahlo. I discovered these two women during the art gallery curation project, I like how a lot of their artworks deal with themes that are important to me such as feminism and women’s rights. I love how both women’s art tells a story about their own lives and serves to validate the experiences of many other women throughout the world.

3.    Now that you've completed this course, how do you feel about taking an online course? Is your answer the same as it was in your first posting? How is it the same or different?

This was my first online course and I would say I have had a very positive experience. I expected an online course to be a lot of work because of the constant assignments and independent workload and that is exactly what I got. I liked the freedom this course offered me in regards to doing the work during the week when I had time to do so, I also liked that this course taught me a lot about time management. All in all, I liked the experience of taking an online course and would do it again.  

Self Portrait Blog

Create a reflection journal on your Blog and answer the following questions:


Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. Oil on Canvas, 438.2cm x 571.5cm. 
Gallery: The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Self Portrait (7) by Amrita Sher-Gil, 1930. Oil on Canvas, 72x92cm. 
Gallery: Nation Gallery of Modern Art 

Self Portrait, Yawning by Joseph Ducreux, 1783. Oil on Canvas, 89x114cm. 
Gallery: The J.Paul Getty Museum. 

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces?
I selected my first piece because it was a classic. The portrait of Van Gogh is instantly recognizable by any viewer. I also was attracted to the swirling lines and movement throughout the painting. 

I selected my second piece because I was instantly drawn in by her smile. The artist chose to paint herself as smiling and happy, which is something that I both enjoyed and admired. 

I selected my last piece because it made me laugh a little, to be honest. The art work itself is very good and the detail in the man's clothing and buttons is incredible, but the fact that the artist chose to immortalize himself in a self portrait by yawning and looking tired is very amusing to me. I have to wonder why he was so tired all the time that he chose to paint himself this way, as a college student, however, I absolutely understand. 

2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait?
I chose to draw my self portrait. I used charcoal pencils on paper and then afterwards went in and shaded in my face with colored pencils. I wanted to use charcoal because I thought it would be good for sketching and shading in my hair and glasses. It was a little smudged at the end but I still think charcoal was the best media for my self portrait. 

3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them?
A challenge I came across was that my charcoal pencils were smudging on my paper, I overcame this by shading in the smudged parts with color so that it wasn't as easily seen by a viewer. 

4. How does this piece represent you?
This piece represents me because I am smiling in it. I try to always smile and be positive and I feel like this self portrait captures this in me. 

5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work?
I applied mostly lines and a little bit of color. I know I am not a fantastic artist so I wanted to keep it simple, so an outline with a little color was all I wanted to use. 

6. Did you enjoy working on this project?
I did enjoy working on this project. I couldn't make it to an actual gallery this week but I liked working with the Google Art Project. I had no previous idea that this existed so I am glad to know of a space online where I can go and check out art work from home. 

7. What do you think of your final artwork?
I thought my final artwork turned out better than I expected. I am pretty happy with it and think it looks pretty close to my actual face. 

Gallery Project

I really enjoyed putting together this curation project! My theme was about women's rights and feminism featuring exclusively female artists. I also made sure to include many women of color in my exhibit because I believe it is important, especially in todays world, to celebrate everyone's differences and nationalities.

Once I decided on a theme, I had a few problems finding art work that applied and art work that was made by women. Thankfully, I discovered that Feminist Art had its own movement in the late 70s so I read up on that movement and found some fantastic female artists. I also then discovered that the Tate Modern museum also emphasized female artists, that then provided me even more international female artists. After I found these two valuable sources I had no problem finding plenty of work for my gallery.

I then decided that inside my gallery I would organize my art work by its theme. For instance, I grouped worked of art together that dealt with female reproductive rights, social commentaries about the lack of representation of females in art and media and finally, pieces that looked at how society looks at women as primarily sexual objects.

My favorite part about this project was deciding how the inside architecture of my gallery would look, I added a half wall to break up the square room and display more art work. Then I added a sitting area so my viewers could sit and view or reflect on the works of my gallery.

Honestly, the most interesting part of this project was discovering talented and empowering women in the art world who are committed to making a difference with their art.

Video Review

1.     For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Tate Modern

·      This museum is the most visited Modern Art museum in the world, with over 5 million visitors a year

·      This expansion of this museum also include hiring the first female director in Tate’s history, Francis Morris

·      The amount of female artists on display has risen from 17% to 50% with the new extension

·       Most art museums have a secret off location site where they keep paintings and other works of art that are not currently on display

·      it took over 200 million pounds to build the extension to the museum

Lowdown on Lowbrow

·      Lowbrow art began after World War Two with paintings of pinup girls on airplanes

·      Many artists in this movement are opposed to the name, as lowbrow usually means someone who is uncultured and has no taste

·      Sometimes these artists call the lowbrow movement “pop surrealism”

·      Basically, it is a populist art movement that depicts popular comics, punk music, and hot-rod cultures of the street. It also features many nudes of women, so much so that one man stated that it often gets mistaken for pornography.

·      Many museums and collects exclude lowbrow art because it is not considered “fine art” and is even sometimes said to not be a legitimate art movement

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

·      This documentary follows Philippe de Montebello, who served for 31 years as Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. De Montebello guided the acquisition of more than 84,000 works of art during his time at the Met

·      During his time at the Met de Montebello turned the Eurocentric museum into one that included art from every era, country and age

·      Before a work of art is purchased it must first be brought before a council of trustees. Then, a curator tries to persuade the trustees to buy into the piece for the museum

·      The museum stresses quality in every one of the pieces they acquire. Some manuscripts won’t even be considered for purchase unless they are in nearly perfect condition, tapestries are also way more valuable when they are not faded

2.     Do the videos relate to the creation of your Art Exhibition project? If yes, explain how. If no, explain why not.

The video on Tate Modern related most to my project because it was very inclusive to female artists. Honestly, I had chosen the theme of my gallery before I watched this video and a few of the prints I included in my gallery were also included in the Tate Modern museum. The Guerrilla Girls were featured in the Tate museum as “the conscious of the art world” I enjoyed this analogy because I included a lot of their protest posters in my gallery as well. I This video also relates to my project because they place special emphasis on including artists from all over the world, in my gallery I also included female artists from the Caribbean, Asia, and Mexico, I think it is very important to include many perspectives from many different people of color.

The video on lowbrow art didn’t relate to my gallery because it very rarely had any sort of feminist tone. In fact, many of the male artists painted very distasteful female nudes. There was even one painted that depicted cartoon looking doctors in an emergency room, every single male doctor was fully clothed, however, the female nurse had her breasts and butt exposed while working on a patient. Not to say that this art work doesn’t have value, but I just wouldn’t use it in my gallery, not unless it specifically fit my theme.

The video on the Metropolitan Museum did not directly relate to the theme of my gallery, however, I did learn a lot about how art is purchased and conserved. If I were to create my art gallery in real life, then this video would be extremely important. I would learn how to pitch each piece of art I wanted to a council of people who will decide the fate of my gallery.

3. What is your opinion of the films? Do they add depth to understanding of the art concepts you practiced while creating your curation project?

            I really loved the video on Tate Modern. It was interesting to learn about how and why the decision was made to expand on a famous modern art museum. This video added depth to my understanding of the curation project because it reinforced how important it is for museums and galleries to be inclusive to women and artists from other countries. One important quote I loved was when the director of the art museum commented on the increasing levels of diversity and said, “It is important to realize some of the best art does not just come from western Europe or north America.” This was amazing to hear because when looking at modern art we often overlook places like eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.

            I thought the video on lowbrow art was interesting. It was interesting to learn about an art movement I had never heard of before. For every other video we have watched in this course I have at least been familiar with the topic, but this video was completely new for me. I enjoyed learning about something new, even if it didn’t apply to my gallery. This video didn’t really add any additionally understanding to my curation project because none of the work they mentioned related to my theme.

The last video on curating in the Met was also very interesting to watch. I have been to the Met many times so it was very interesting to see how the art works were purchased and organized for the public.  It added depth to my understanding because I learned how art pieces are presented to a council of people who decide whether or not it will fit in the museum. I had no idea that art pieces are decided on by multiple people. I also thought it was interesting to learn about conservation of the arts and how important it is to preserve the quality of each work of art.