Book pages and apology

hey guys,

i know i said that i would post the site specific drawings on the blog this weekend, but i've been super busy. i'm going to try to get them up this afternoon.

also, if you are having trouble emailing me your book pages, then bring them in on a memory stick or cd instead. i'll bring my computer to class tomorrow and you guys can laugh at how old it is and how much noise it makes while trying to compute things.

Schedule!

Monday, May 3 - email me your book page (8.5" x 14", 300 dpi)
Thursday, April 6 - final projects due (if you choose to have them done early)
Tuesday, April 11, 6 pm - final projects due (if you did not have them done early)

Homework

Since the weather has been so bad and I've been negligent in posting this info, your homework assignment will be due on Thursday, not Tuesday. So, for Thursday, I'd like all of you to make a site specific drawing. Which means, you should use the features of the place where you choose to work to help you make your piece. Please look at the above photos of work by Andy Goldsworthy to help guide you. He uses natural features of the landscape (sticks, rocks, leaves) to create drawings. You do not necessarily have to go this route, but I would like you to think about making a drawing, or using materials to create something that serves as a drawing, that exists in a very specific place. Then email what you've done and send me the email.

On Tuesday we will be doing what's known as "drop art". If you are unfamiliar with this term, here's the wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_Art

These days drop art usually refers to leaving a piece of art in an unexpected place so the finder is surprised and mildly confused. In preparation for the open house on Friday, we are going to do secret drop art projects throughout studio arts. I'd like you guys to bring pencils, colored pencils, markers, or whatever materials you think you might like to work with. I will bring paper.

Reminder!

Tomorrow we're meeting on the steps of the IMU (facing Madison). Not at Studio Arts. Bring something to draw with and your sketch books.

Some Other Stuff

Frank Gehry, the designer of the Bilboa Guggenheim and the amphitheater at Millennium Park in Chicago (among many other buildings), uses drawing as an integral part of his design process. He starts with the drawings and from there designs the shapes and the angles of the building. Above are images of his drawings and his buildings.

Los Carpinteros!

Los Carpinteros are an artist collective that works primarily in installation and sculpture. Their process though utilizes drawing in the planning stages. Those drawings are successful as objects unto themselves, and are in museums and galleries all over the world. Above are some images of drawings and installations by the group.

Comics!

Your assignment for this week is to create a one page comic. Mike Kelley, an artist who works primarily with sculpture and installation, has done many drawings mimicking the comic form. Above is an image.

I want you to think of your comic first and foremost as a drawing. So, when working through ideas, spend some time considering composition and design. You can, of course, incorporate text and other drawing styles. You may also use any media you want.

On Tuesday I will bring in some comics for us to take a look at. If any of guys are into comics and would like to bring some in to show the class, that would be great.

Revised Schedule

According to your syllabus, midterm reviews are on Thursday. Instead, we're going to do it next Tuesday, March 9. For the critique, you should bring ten drawings that show your progress. After the critique, I will collect your drawings and write you a personal review containing your midsemester grade.

William Kentridge

Hey guys,

sorry this is going up a little later than expected. if you don't get to everything tonight, that's ok. we'll go over it in class.

our artist for this week is william kentridge. he is a south african artist who works primarily by taking photos of his charcoal drawings and turning them into videos. here are a few:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmvK7A84dlk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1sPLXMg1BQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk5tPkqQoL0&feature=related

there's a large scale retrospective of his work that is about to open at moma. here's the website for that show:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/964

this week we will be talking about narrative and the ability of drawing to tell a story. I'd like you to pay attention to how kentridge subtly implies narrative as well as creates full narrative structures through animation.

Some Other People

In the New York Times article you read about Marlene Dumas, many other influential artists were mentioned. Here's a list:

Louise Bourgeois
Lucian Freud
David Hockney
Elizabeth Peyton
Francis Bacon
Alex Katz
Francesco Clemente
Peter Doig

I would like all of you to look up these artists. They represent some of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In general, when reading for this class (or any other), when you come across someone you are not familiar with, look them up. This is the best way to develop a broad knowledge of art history.

The best of the best

As you embark on the wonderful voyage known as figure drawing, I provide you these images to guide your way.




Hands drawn by Leonardo. Notice how loosely he uses line and how he uses tone and a level of finish to draw the viewer to what is important.



Michelangelo's sketch for the Libyan Sibyl for the Sistine Chapel. This is a great example of what I mentioned yesterday about having multiple sketches on a drawing, to show the process of coming to understand a form.



Michelangelo's sketches for Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.




One of my favorite draftsmen of all time is John Singer Sargent. He's about 400 years after the old guys above, but he's still alright. Also, note the fabric folds.

.

Proportion!

Starting on Thursday you guys will begin your figure drawing adventure. To help you out a bit, please check out this chart. It shows the human body broken down into units of heads. According to this chart, a human is 8 heads high and two heads wide. This varies of course, but the concept of breaking down a figure into units is very handy. Please take note of how nicely all body parts break down into heads.

Self Portraits

Since you will be doing self-portraits out of class this week, I think it's an appropriate time to show you some of my own work. For the most part, I do portraits, of both historical figures and also myself. I work from photographs and video. Above are some of my self-portraits, all are watercolor on paper of various sizes (ranging from about 2' x 3' to 9" x 12").

Marlene Dumas and gesture!

For the next two weeks, you will be studying gesture and the blurring of line and tone. In this unit, you will be challenged to draw quickly. You will also be introduced to the human figure as subject.

The artist we will be looking at to inform this work is Marlene Dumas. She is a Dutch/South African artist known for her gestural drawings and paintings. Please review the following websites, and when doing so, keep in mind a sense of time and energy. How quickly do you think she paints? And how does this contribute to the sense of energy and movement within her figures?

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/marlene_dumas.htm

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/34
(there are two videos you can watch)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/magazine/15dumas-t.html
(this article is a bit long, but it's NYT, so it's an easy read and contains a lot of biographical information as well as some insights into the intent of the artist. When reading this article, consider how the way in which her paintings are painted reinforces the themes of violence and death)

Marlene Dumas is also well known for her self-portraits. For homework this week, you will draw yourself three times. Please look at the above images of Dumas's self-portraits as a reference.

Vija Celmins

This week we will be working on tone, and the artist you will be responding to is Vija Celmins. Please check her out here:

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/celmins/index.html

Watch some of the clips, especially the one on building up surface. If any of you belong to netflix, you can stream the episode of Art 21 that this came from for free (it's season 2). We may watch some of it in class if we have time. You can also see clips of it on youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPQY1IO-Y70

Also check out:

http://mckeegallery.com/artists/vija-celmins/vija-celmins-images/

And do a google image search for her. An awful lot of drawings will come up. Keep in mind that she works primarily in graphite, and look at the way she breaks down tone into shapes. This will be key in your work for the week.

More Line Stuff!

Line is an excellent way to convey the physical attributes of an object (volume, shape, texture, etc), but the best line work also tells more subtle things about the subject (movement, weight, fragility). In addition to being accurate and informative, a line should also have a sensitivity to these more ephemeral aspects of physicality.

When discussing line work, the term "line quality" is often used. In a most basic sense, line quality refers to thickness and tone of a line, but it is more useful to think of those qualities as they relate to sensitivity towards the subject. All of the characteristics of a line (width, tone, shape, texture) should work together to contribute to an overall sense of the reality of an object.

Please look at the above images (drawn by Edgar Degas) and study the use of line in them. What is the line telling you and how?

Nobuya Hoki

The first artist that we will be studying is Nobuya Hoki.

Hoki uses line and color to convey space, depth, and volume. Please look at the following links, particularly the images, and take note of techniques that he uses to make line dynamic and informative.

http://www.i-20.com/artist.php?artist_id=9&page=images&work_id=400

http://www.takaishiigallery.com/kyoto/

On Tuesday we will begin our unit on line and still life, and you will be asked to employ similar techniques as the ones successfully demonstrated in Hoki's work.

Stay tuned for future posts!

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