This is a photo by Annie Leibowitz. She is one of the best photographers that I have ever seen because she knows how to create tension in her photos and she thinks outside the box. This is her newer version of The Wizard of Oz. What this picture is an example of is color/color schemes and it also shows area of focus. What I love about this picture is that some of the colors are toned down and some pop out at you such as the reds in her shoes, the apple, and the bow in Dorothy’s hair. The other colors that are bright are the blue in the sky and the silver in the tin mans suit. The grass and the trees are toned down. I feel that did this because she wanted the two people, Dorothy and the Tin Man, to be the main focus in the picture and not everything surrounding them. everything in this picture is very sharp and crisp. In some pictures certain things will be out of focus such as the objects that you don’t want to be the main purpose of the picture, but Annie Leibowitz has everything infocus so nothing goes unnoticed but you also can tell what the area of focus in the photograph is.

This image from the Renaissance has an excellent example of hierarchy. This image uses triangular hierarchy. What triangular hierarchy does is it arranges the elements in a triangular shape to indicate importance or dominance. The tip of the triangle is the baby and it extends back to the women behind it. since the baby is the tip of the triangle it is the dominant structure (also known as the dump truck). The woman next to the baby is subordinate to it and the woman behind the baby is subordinate to the woman next to the baby. The woman in the back is subordinate to the woman behind the baby because she is in the background, therefore the least important figure in the triangle. The men and trees in the background are all accentual shapes (also known as the tiny french fries) and are the least important figures in the painting. The baby is scaled differently. It is slightly larger than normally sized babies are, but the all of the women are scaled correctly.

This is the Palette of King Narmer. Most of the Egyptian art has unknown authors because it was commissioned for the Gods. The Palette of King Narmer is a great example of dominance and heirarchy. On the front, King Narmer is the figure in the middle of the object and he is being protected by Horus (the falcon). This is a good example of dominance because in Egyptian art the most important figure is the largest. How you can also tell that King Narmer is the most important figure is that he is wearing a special crown and he is holding the hair of another enemy. Hierarchy is used very well in the Palette of King Narmer also as I said before. Not only is King Narmer the largest object in the picture, but he is also in the foreground. The servant is in the background and is smaller because he is less important and you have the enemy he is about to kill in his hand who is slightly smaller and people on the first register (the bottom) that look like they are dead. On the back, King Narmer is shown on the third register, the highest level, and even though all of the people are small, he is still fairly large. All of the other elements for hierarchy and dominance all pertain to the back of the piece. 

Jud Yalkut                                   

Thursday October 16, 2008, 11:00 a.m.                 

Bowling Green, OH                      

It’s a visiting art lecture

1.)  Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended.  This section should remain journalistic and should not be reflective of your opinion.

I missed Jud Yalkut talking about his work, but I had the chance to experience his work in the Willard Wankleman gallery. What he does is has multiple images projected onto a screen and has them mesh together into short video segments. They are ordinary everyday things but he makes them interesting by using special effects.

2.)  Use the section below to write a well-structured paragraph focusing on your personal critical insight / response to the event.  How did you interpret or react to what was presented to you? 

How I reacted to what was presented to me was that it made me think more how everyday objects can be made into something extraordinary and intriguing. What he did isn’t something that most people would think of to make into art. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with his works though. I thought that he ink drawings that he did were better than the videos on the TV screens. 

3.)  What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?

The information that most impressed me was the way that he did these works. The impressed me the most because it made me remember some of the objects from the different historical times. Even though the way he did this was spectacular, it almost felt as if I was having a seizure. Looking at the the screens for about 30 seconds hurt my eyes and made me dizzy. I don’t think that this was his intent, but other people said that they felt the same way about it. 

4.)  Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?
            (10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 )    I would give this event a 5

5.)  Justify your rating in the question above:

It wasn’t the most amazing thing that I’ve ever seen but it was still interesting enough that it held my attention for a certain amount of time. I like seeing how other artists show their works through different medias because I feel that everybody needs to be well rounded with their art if they truly want to succeed.

This image by Kara Walker is a great example of dominant, subordinate, and accentual shapes.

This artwork has many dominant, subordinate, and accentual shapes. Even though some of the shapes are very similar in size, they have different shapes and negative and positive spaces so they aren’t symmetrical. The blood spurts coming out of the girls arms are all very stylized and unique. They each have the same basic shape but the one on the bottom is thinner than the other two. It also has more smaller spurts coming out of it. the other two bigger blood spurts coming out of her right wrist are almost as if they are going to come back at the girl and hurt her more in some way. The subordinate shapes appear in the woman’s dress, where there is a part cutout and in the space above her head that’s also in between her arms. It almost forms a square, a very simple shape, but she has altered it so it’s more detailed. the accentual shapes are in between the two piles of blood on the ground and in between her feet. you also see some where her wrists are cut and where some of the blood spurts are coming right out of her wrist. 

Black Swamp Arts Festival              

Friday, September 5^th, 2008 at 10:00 p.m.       

Bowling Green State University           

This was an exhibition

1.)  Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended.  This section should remain journalistic and should not be reflective of your opinion.

 I went to the black swamp arts festival on September 5th around 10:00 p.m. By the time I arrived all of the artists and photographers had closed up their shops, but the music was still playing and food was still available. The band on stage was Big James and the Chicago Playboys. They played some classic songs such as “Mustang Sally” and couples and friends danced the night away. Their set lasted about a half hour and it was mostly blues.

2.)  Use the section below to write a well-structured paragraph focusing on your personal critical insight / response to the event.  How did you interpret or react to what was presented to you? 

 The that I interpreted this event and what was presented to me was that it was a very casual atmosphere where people could go to enjoy music and art without being judged. Everybody that went to the Black Swamp Arts Festival had an interest in the arts somehow whether it was their passion or just a hobby, and it showed.

3.)  What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?

I didn’t get to see the artists booths but the part about the music that impressed me the most was how many people had not heard of this band and came to see them anyway. Their music had a very good quality and sound and they played some amazing songs. They were comfortable playing in front of an audience and the people in the band seemed like they were genuine people. They really cared about their music and it showed.

4.)  Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?
            (10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 )This event was a 10.

5.)  Justify your rating in the question above:

 Art and music are my passions and the Black Swamp Arts Festival is the perfect event for me. I not only get to look at what other artists are doing, but I can also work on my own techniques and what they do in their work to make myself more successful.