Figure drawing

What a strange angle from which to draw someone. The ankles were terribly frustrating in this drawing. If I get up the courage I may revisit this one soon to fix the sketches that stand as ankles currently. ANKLES ANKLES ANKLES! Try drawing an ankle sometime so you understand.

Unit three: figure drawing

We began the third unit of my drawing class when a live model came in last Monday. We started with 10 2-minute poses to get warmed up. The teacher said not to worry about details with those sketches; that hands and feet could be mitts, etc. but to focus more on how the two main lines of the body line up: the shoulders and hips. So here are those 10 sketches:

Then we moved onto 2 20-minute poses:

His head looks way too small (though to be fair he did have a small head), the legs are too short, and he's floating. Grr.

Slightly more accurate. But turn your head upside down and look at his face..something's not right there. The perspective was a little tough on this one, especially dealing with the arms. Onto 2 30-minute poses:

I think I'm happiest with the weight of this one of all four. I think he looks like he's really sitting in a chair and his body is relatively proportionally accurate.

The legs were very tough on this one. I drew his legs way too many times, each time they were too short.

Drawing faces, hands, and feet proved to be the most challenging part of figure drawing. Maybe those details will come in time but for now I'll focus more on the weight and sculpture of the body. More figures to come!

Re-worked abstracts

After an in-progress critique in my drawing class, I re-worked most of my abstract pieces (from two posts ago). I'm re-posting them in the same order I did before so you can see how each has changed.

do you see the elephant? or should i say OLIPHAUNT???

inspired by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMjkfZ3q8tE

geez self, what a nerd.

(not altered)

(This is a scan of a 3D flower-esque paper sculpture but the scan looked so cool I didn't photograph it to see the volume)

(not altered)

Take off your mask

Sadly, today is the last day of my photography project class. The last assignment was by far the trickiest. In class we looked at the work of Gilbert and George, a British artist duo. I can't seem to find a website for them but if you're interested in checking out their work you can google them. Their pieces are large-scale and graphic (both in nature and style). They use symbols, text, and heavily bordered images to compose their unique style. They also include portraits of each of them in each work. Although it doesn't appear so, their work is entirely photographic. 

My assignment was to, being influenced by their work, "Make up some statements that are expressions of your personal beliefs and ideas that are important to you. Design a layout into which the statement will fit. Make up some statements that are an expression of what you think society believes about young people. Use a clear visual language and a pared-down graphic style to communicate for maximum effect. It may help to reduce your statements to one or two words. Compose at least three separate 8"x10" panels/images/photographs that form a self-portrait or clear depiction of your individual presence in society.  Make sure to use visual information that can be understood by people outside of your community and/or society." 

Did you get that? If you did, I applaud you. It's a relatively simple assignment, but thinking of an idea that would work proved to be difficult for me. With some help from friends brainstorming, I decided that the "personal belief" I would base my assignment on would be my generation's standardized notions of women's beauty. Almost every girl I know wears makeup daily either to cover up blemishes or to excentuate certain features. Undoubtedly, makeup can make a woman glow. However, I personally feel uncomfortable wearing it as it feels like a mask to me, like I'm just playing a part. Concurrently, I choose not to wear clothes that are not a reflection of my personality, less I feel like again I'm just playing a part and not representing who I am.

In my series of photos I tried to express this personal belief in a way that is universally understood. Hopefully I got the point across. I am disappointed that the three photos don't visually sit well together. In putting them together though I forced myself to learn some valuable skills in Photoshop (a new program to me). Some simple things like cutting out an image, changing the opacity, etc. took me several hours to teach myself but now I'll understand for next time!

-Longest Blog Entry Yet OUT.

Abstract drawings

In my drawing class we just switched over to our abstract unit from the previous still life unit. For our first assignment, everyone in the class was given a packet of photocopies. On each page was a shape of some kind. In class on Wednesday we will compare how we each abstracted the same base drawings. I like some of these quite a bit. I'm excited to see what comes out of this unit!

In my photography class we looked at Vik Muniz's work at www.vikmuniz.net and watched a documentary about his work, "The Worst Possible Illusion."
         From my assignment description:
"Conceptual art is concerned with the idea behind, or promoted by the material form of the work. Using art specific materials will not always place your work in the art world. When working conceptually material is just a means to an end. Find materials that are not conventionally used in art. Consider the context of the material you choose to work with. What cultural voice does it already have?"
         So, using materials not traditionally considered art supplies, we had to take three photographs. The material and the subject should come together to bring new meaning to each other. It was hard to grasp this assignment and think of ideas that would actually work (thanks to my friends that brainstormed with me!).

This is supposed to be a healthy person made of healthy foods and an unhealthy person made of junk food. I think it comes off more like an adult and a child, but oh well! I think it gets the point across.

This one is perhaps harder to figure out. Trees provide us with oxygen; they enable us to breathe. Just like trees, Asthma inhalers help certain people breathe. I tried to position the inhalers like they were growing out of the stump. I prefer this photo to the first one and I think the idea is more original. Hopefully my teacher understands what I was trying to portray!

Airplane. Feathers.

First photo assignment!!

I started a five-week long photo/film project class 2 weeks ago. Our first assignment was given last Monday. In class we watched photographer David LaChapelle's documentary "Rize" about the beginnings of krump, other street dancing styles, and youth culture that developed in South Central Los Angeles. I had actually already seen the film a few years ago when my neighbors back home, Kate and Mark, recommended it to me based on my interest in dance. If you haven't seen it, check it out. I find it really interesting and the dancing is incredible. So, we watched the film in class and then explored LaChapelle's work as a photographer at his website: http://www.lachapellestudio.com/. Basically, any bizarre, colorful, shocking photograph of a major celebrity in a magazine was shot by LaChapelle. I recognized many of the photos on his website from covers of Rolling Stone Magazine or spreads in Vogue and various other magazines.

Our assignment: To produce three images keeping in mind "the way in which he uses bright color and directed light to infuse his images with energy and excitement." I had a lot of fun with this assignment not only because it was my first photography assignment but also because I was lucky enough to have great friends that were willing to model for me! Special thanks to Lillie, Nathaniel, Ian, Sasha, and Mia!!