12/18/10 Art History I

Today's Class- Today was our last class meeting of the semester. I returned the first part of the take home final exam (cumulative western art), along with the graded current arts events journals and any extra credit assignments. Then the class took the second part of the final (non-western cultures). Once the test was turned in, students could leave.

Final class grades will be calculated in the next few days.

Enjoy the break

12/17/10 Basic Drawing and 2D Design

Today's Class- Today was the last meeting of the semester for the Basic Drawing Class and the emergency grading day for my 2D Design class.

2D Design- All the work that had been left in the classroom last night was graded, along with whatever new work came in today. Several students came by to pick up the graded work. What was not picked up was put on one of the horizontal shelves just to the left of the door in the above photo. 2D work is on the top shelf, labeled with the class and my name. A small slip of paper is tucked inside the cover of each pad or some equivalent, with the grades for the Final Project, and the semester portfolio, along with a tally of absences and times late for class. I also graded any back projects submitted today, and returned all the student work I had in my possession. If you come to pick up your work before the end of the fall classes, go see the art department secretary across the hall to fill out the student evaluation form for our class, since we didn't get to do them last night.

Tomorrow morning (Saturday, December 18th) I will be on campus one last time this semester, in the TV Studio building, available to receive and grade work from the 2D class. If you still wish to get credit for work done for the class, bring it to me in that building's main lecture hall (right by the front door) between 8:30 and 10 am.

Basic Drawing- We held a critique of the Final Drawings, then the class was dismissed while I graded those drawings, the 2nd half portfolios, and the sketchbooks. Most students from the class returned to pick up their graded work. Unclaimed work was put on one of the horizontal shelves just to the left of the door in the above photo. Basic Drawing work (large pads and sketchbooks) are located on the bottom shelf, which is labeled with my name, the class, day, and time. A small slip of paper is tucked inside the front cover of each pad, with the grades for the Final Drawing, the portfolio, and the sketchbook, along with a tally of absences and times late for class.

I can't make an guarantees about the security of work on those shelves. Sometimes it sits for years, sometimes someone decides to throw it all away. If you are concerned with getting your work back, I suggest that you pick it up before the end of the semester.

Class grades will be worked out over the weekend and posted to WebAdvisor shortly after that.

Enjoy the break.

12/17/10 2D Design

Winter Weather/Grading Update I will be going into school this morning, Friday, December 17th, and assuming that all the work I am told was left behind by students is still there, I will be grading it. Another class has use of our room until 1:00, so I probably won't be in there. After 1 pm I expect be in our room, and all that work will be available to be picked up. My Basic Drawing class meets in the room from 2:00 to 5:30, and I will be in the classroom during that entire time. If you were unable to make it in last night, you may bring work to our classroom during that time today (1 to 5:30 pm), and I will let you know when and where it can be picked up. Any work not picked up by students by the end of class today will be put on those horizontal shelves behind the large boxes of mat board, on a shelf marked with my name and the class.

If you have a schedule conflict that prevents you from bringing work to me today, I will also be on campus Saturday, December 18th. I teach an art history class in the TV Studio building in the main room. Bring your work there between 8:30 and 10 am, and I'll deal with it then.

12/16/10 2D Design

Today's Class- As you may or may not know by now, we had no class meeting tonight, thanks to that brief dusting of snow that showed up at just the right time to leave a coat of ice on all area roads and create traffic jams that extended for miles. The above photo is a good example of what I saw through my windshield for 2.5 hours of driving toward the college on icy roads. By 8 pm I was still a few miles away and based on what I could see, had no reason to expect that I could get there before 9 pm, and figured no one was likely to wait around that long for me to show up, assuming that people made it there in the first place.

My students who are also in my Basic Drawing class can just bring their 2D stuff tomorrow and I'll grade both at once. For everyone else, I will be on campus tomorrow and Saturday for classes, and those are also opportunities to show me your work and get it graded. I will post details here and send e-mails to the class tomorrow as soon as I have a specific plan in place, sometime late tomorrow morning.

Update 12/16/10 11:00 pm- A few students e-mailed that a significant number of you showed up and left your work in the classroom. I'll grade that tomorrow and let you know when and where it can be picked up. For the rest of you, I'll let you know tomorrow how you can get your work graded.

12/11/10 Art History I

Today's Class- Today we finished our study of non western art, with a review of the art and architecture of the Americas and Ancient Africa. The class filled out the course evaluation forms, turned in the first part of the take home final, their current events journals, and any extra credit assignments. I also went through a brief history of printmaking that included Japanese, Northern Renaissance, and 20th and 21st century woodcut prints.

Important Concepts-

*Despite having no connection with the civilized peoples of the Old World, the ancient residents of the Americas managed to independently develop forms of agriculture, written language, complex mathematics, calendars, astronomy, monumental architecture, metallurgy, ceramics, and weaving, while creating an aesthetic that was unlike anything found on the other side of the world.

*Although there aren't many surviving artifacts, there is evidence that ancient civilizations from sub-Saharan Africa did create sophisticated artworks in a variety of media.

Homework- If you turned in everything you were supposed to today, you have no homework. If you didn't, the take home and journal can be brought next week for reduced/partial credit.

For next class 12/18/10- Our final class meeting. I'll be returning and briefly reviewing all the materials turned in today, and then the class will take the second part of the open book final, dealing with non-western art. Bring your notebook and all 3 of your textbooks, as questions may require you to reference the chapters that we covered earlier in the semester.

Exhibition at Le Souterrain Gallery

This Saturday December 11th there will be a one night art event at Le Souterrain Gallery in Seaside Heights. The exhibition, called "Santa, is that you?" (see the above announcement image) features artwork by several OCC art faculty (including myself), students from the college, and some other local artists. This holiday extravaganza, which includes food, refreshments, live music and other entertainment, goes on from 7 to 11 pm. The gallery is asking a $10 donation at the door to cover expenses. None of my students are required to go, and no extra credit is available for attending- this information is being posted here as a courtesy for students who requested it.

Le Souterrain is located at 1020 Ocean Terrace (at the corner of Hancock Avenue), under the boardwalk's Big Top Arcade. Enter through the front door (facing the street) of Le Petit Garage at the same address.

12/10/10 Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today the class did the final drawing of the semester. A typical still life was set up, and each student chose from among charcoal, ink, or conte crayon to draw it. Other than a few minutes spent filling out the end of the semester evaluation forms, students were given the entire period to complete the drawings, which were collected at the end of the class period.

How to make this up- Everyone still in the class showed up today, so no one needs to make it up.

Homework- No new homework this week. If you're caught up with all the sketchbook assignments you can relax. If not, you have a week to make them up. Look back through this blog for week by week assignments.

*******Second Half Portfolio********

The 2nd Half Portfolio will be graded next week during the class period. Complete portfolios should include the following 6 drawings:

Nov 5 Ink Wash from still life (2)

Nov 19 Conte Crayon still life (one black, one red)

Dec 3 Conte Crayon mannequins (2 red and black)

For next class 12/17/10- Final grading day. We will start with a group critique of today's drawings, and I'll be grading the 2nd half portfolios and sketchbooks, with all to be returned by the end of the class. Make sure you bring all the portfolio drawings and your sketchbooks, or you won't receive a grade for them.

12/9/10 2D Design

Today's Class- Tonight we critiqued the mixed media collage projects and a few late arriving limited palettes projects at the beginning of class. Students spent the rest of the time working on a variety of projects- many worked on the final project, while others chose to work on back projects they still owe.

Homework- The final project (transforming book or board game) is due at the beginning of class next week December 16, 2010. Because that is our last class meeting of the semester, it is also the last chance to get any late projects graded. There are still a few students who haven't yet turned in the season temperature collage, limited palettes project, and/or the mixed media collage. Partial credit is better than none at all.

Semester Portfolio- Next week I'll also be grading the semester portfolio, all the artwork that hasn't been individually graded. If you haven't missed any classes this semester, you should be all caught up, but if you need a reminder of what I'll be expecting to see, check out the following list with the dates that you'll find the descriptions on the blog:

Sep 16 Wall paper patterns with dots

Sep 23 Contour lines (shoes)

Oct 7 Value drawing with charcoal

Oct 21 Color wheel/Complement Mix/Tints and Shades

Oct 28 Text (Russian words) and Logo (imaginary business)

Nov 23 Color still life painting

For next class 12/16/10- Our final meeting of the semester. We will critique the Final Projects and any other back work that is brought in, all projects and portfolios will be graded and returned by the end of the class. Bring all your semester's art work. No art supplies will be necessary.

12/4/10 Art History I

Today's Class- Today I returned the midterm exam from last week and reviewed the answers. I distributed the first part of the take home final exam, and went over some other bits of class related business. Then we continued our study of Asian Art, looking at the art of Ancient China, Korea, and Japan.

Important Concepts-

*The evolution of images of Buddha through the history of India, China, Korea, and Japan

*The philosophical and religious ideals behind Chinese landscape painting of the Song Dynasty.

*The many influences of China and Korea on Japanese culture.

*Japanese art maintains unique characteristics despite those influences

Homework- The take home cumulative portion of the final exam is due at the beginning of class next week, December 11, 2010.

The current art events journals are due next week, December 11, 2010. There should be a total of 12 articles.

All extra credit assignments must be turned in by December 11, 2010 in order to earn extra credit points.

For next class 12/11/10- We will finish our study of non-western cultures of the ancient world, with a look at North and South America, and Africa. Bring your notebook and Book 3 (A View of the World), along with all the assignments that are due that day.

Basic Drawing- Chiaroscuro Crayons

Today's Class- Today we continued our exploration of value with conte crayons, but with a difference. I started by showing a few slides of Renaissance era chiaroscuro drawings and prints, and then introduced a variation that we could do with the materials at hand- white paper and red and black crayons. The class did value drawings using both crayons together, with the white of the paper as the lights in the composition, the red used for middle value tones, and black used to deepen the shadows where appropriate. Above (drapery) and below (a hand) are student examples from previous semesters.

The Assignment- For today's subject, I put some of the various mannequin parts in the center of the room and had students do two drawings of one of the mannequins, using both red and black conte crayons. To make up this work you will need a figural subject- a full sized mannequin or statue, an actual person (dressed is acceptable), or a statuette/figurine large enough to see surface details. (to avoid the complications of faces, draw the subject from the neck down) Shine light on the subject to create patterns of light and shadow and do the following drawings-

Traditional Style- Essentially a red conte crayon value drawing to which black crayon is added to deepen shadows. Draw your subject on your 18" x 24" paper using the red crayon first, all the light and medium values. Then to achieve darker values, gradually blend black into the red, making it as dark as it needs to be to match the values in your subject. Spend about an hour on the drawing. Below is an example from a previous semester.

For the second drawing, view your figure from a different position (in class I rotated the mannequins) and draw again using the black and red conte crayons, spending about 90 minutes on it. 

Hard Edged Style- If you want, you can try this variation for the second mannequin drawing. For this alternative style of drawing, every value in the subject is broken down into 3 simple tones- solid white, solid red, solid black. The resulting drawing is nothing but solid shapes, no gradually shaded values. To try this type, decide in advance what range of value gets assigned to which of the three tones, and apply that consistently throughout the drawing. Below is an example from a previous semester.

These drawings are portfolio exercises, and must be made up by the last class meeting of the semester to receive credit.

12/2/10 2D Design

Today's Class- Tonight we started with a group critique of the limited palettes project. After that I introduced the final project of the semester, which involves transforming a work of two dimensional fine art.

How to make this up- The project starts with a painting from the history of fine art. You have a number of options in how you go from there. One possibility is a transforming book. The books all have in common that they have a cover that opens and closes. Choices for book structures include Pop Up (as in the example above), Pull Tab, Folding Flap, and Transparency. Student examples of all these types, and full descriptions of how they work, can be found here.

The other major option is a board game based on the work of a single fine artist. I do not have any available images of previous student projects, so I started making an example myself. It's not complete, but far enough along to give everyone an idea of the project.

For the Board Game option, choose an artist's work to adapt into a game board. You may work with a single painting, or multiple works from a single artist. All games must have a theme or goal that relates to the subject of the artwork(s). All games must also have a path to follow on the board. It can be a single path with a start and finish (such as Candyland), one with a repeated loop (such as Monopoly), or a system that allow moves in multiple directions (such as chess)

My example is using art from 14th century northern painter Hieronymus Bosch. He is best known for his incredibly complex compositions filled with bizarre fantasy creatures and moral and religious messages. I combined bits and pieces of two of his triptychs- The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Last Judgement. The theme of my game is one that relates to a theme common to both paintings, the pursuit of sinful pleasures leads to eternal punishment in the afterlife. In this game, players start in the lower left corner (Eden), and follow a convoluted path with the goal of reaching Heaven (top center), but taking the wrong path lands the player in Hell (lower right). All the visuals around the board are images based on parts of the paintings mentioned above, but arranged in a composition different from Bosch's original. (Your game board needs to be more than just a path superimposed over an exact copy of a historical painting) I'll post a photo of the complete project after the whole thing is finished.

Homework- The completed transforming book or game board project is due at the beginning of class on December 16, 2010, the last meeting of our class for the semester. At that time I will grade the last project, the semester portfolio (all the ungraded artwork from the semester), and any late arriving graded projects from earlier in the semester.

The mixed media collage project is due at the beginning of class on December 9, 2010.

Anyone who has not yet turned in any overdue projects (such as the season temperature collage or the limited palettes project) can turn them in next week or the week after for partial credit.

For next class 12/9/10- We will critique the mixed media collage projects. The rest of the class period will be used for working on any class related project, such as the final project or any yet to be completed back project. Bring with you whatever materials you need to complete whatever you plan to work on.