Installation Art

What is installation art?
Installation art defines the space that it is in.  It can be site specific, it cannot exist anywhere else besides in that specific location or the message that the artwork is meant to send will be wrong.  These types of art pieces can take months to create.  The artist needs to take into account all aspects of the site and how it will change the meaning/ impact of the art work.  They need to think about the smell, sound, light, etc..

What materials are used installation art?All mediums and materials are used in installation art there are no boundaries.  One artist cut a boat in half and used that for his installation piece.

Why make installation art? 
Like some art pieces, art is made to make a statement of some kind or get across a message or an idea. 

Which artist/installation did I find most interesting?
I like Cornelia Parker her installation art pieces are really cool.   Her one piece “Neither From Nor Towards”, looks like the bricks gradually start to float higher and higher off the ground its really neat.  Other installation pieces of hers look like they are floating in mid-air, as well.

From the material reviewed, is there an inspiration piece that I feel a connection with?

I really did not have a specific inspiration piece I just had an idea and ran with it.  One artist in the video created and installation piece where she installed her bed and her possessions in the gallery.  This kind of has something to do with what I am doing because your possessions say a lot about your personality and a lot about who you are as a person. 

What theme do I want to explore in my installation?
 The theme I wanted to explore in my installation is feeling trapped or just “trapped”.  I guess I chose my location first and then chose my theme.  Not just the feeling of being trapped but being trapped in your life, in your everyday routines.  Like a business man, who goes to work in a cubicle, with the same schedule, the same daily routine, and feels trapped by his life.  

What materials will I use?

 I will use everyday items that someone would use in their everyday routine of their 9-5 work day.  Use dull colors, like a cubicle.

Where will this installation be located and why?

My location is in a small, tight, enclosed area.  I emptied out my closet; it was pretty empty already I went home for the weekend.  In this location a person viewing the installation can go inside the small area and close the door, feeling trapped themselves.  

Describe your installation

This piece of art is based on the everyday routine of a 9-5 worker.  This person obviously feels trapped in their life by how small the space is.  In one of the photos I stood in the space and closed the door to try to show what a person experiencing the art work might see and to help you visualize how small the space is.
I was going for dull colors on the walls for that drab cubicle feeling.  The large clock symbolizes how routines and this type of work is scheduled and very dependent on time.  The clock is on 9 o'clock for 9-5.  The other items in the small room would be those that the person would use every day.  The computer, monitor, keyboard, whiteboard, swivel chair, represent work. The dress shoes and tie are what the person put on and take of every single day, and are symbols themselves of something you would see someone wearing working in a cubicle in an office building.  The other items are the routines that would happen outside the workplace but still routines in this person’s life.  Contacts go in and out every day, you brush your teeth in the morning and at night, you brush your hair, you wash your face. Taking medication is a part of a daily routine.  Most likely if this person is very predictable they will most likely eat the same thing every day.

The main theme here is obviously being trapped in your life of routine and schedules.   

Analyze your installation

Though there is a lot more going on, on the right side of the installation where the chair is the color of the wall on the left still draws you over to the monitor and the keyboard.  Therefore there is balance in the composition.
The use of line is present.  Objects such as the keyboard and the Stouffers box are angled to draw your eye around the art work. 
There is Unity throughout the composition, because the work is about routine, which all of these objects are used for.  

There is some emphasis on the clock. It is in the center of the room and is white on black and very large.  My eye is immediately drawn right to it.  The clock is meant to be an emphasis because of how time plays an important role in routine. 

What are your thoughts on the planning and creation of a site specific installation?
It was a new experience, I do not know if I would do it again but it was interesting.  At first I was super confused and had no idea what I was going to do.  Thinking there was really no way I could screw this up I just went with it. 

Reviewing Peer Responses

Person #1
Project #1: http://lostprofetsun.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-slideshow-on-elements-and-principles.html
Project #2: http://lostprofetsun.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-art-gallery-visit.html

Person #2
Project #1: http://artisticmemoriesx.blogspot.com/2010/09/third-post.html
Project #2: http://artisticmemoriesx.blogspot.com/2010/10/seventh-post.html


2. When looking at Project #1: (Elements and Principles), did you agree with the element or principle the artist listed with the images? Did you see other elements and principles in the images?
For the most part all of the photos that I looked at appeared to really go well the element or principle the artist listed with them.  The artist was clearly keeping in mind the emlmeants and principles when taking the photos.  I some photographs are a prime example of the element shape, but also included in the compoistion are the use of line, color, texture, rythym, value, and other principles and elements.

3. When looking at Project #2: Where there any images in the Peer Blogs the same as your own? If yes, what were they? Where the reasons the image was selected the same or different as your own?
One of the artisits selected the art work " The Marvelous Sauce" for the same reason that I did.  This piece amazed the both of us with how detailed it was.  The lines, and edges were so crisp, it was amazing this painting was not a photograph
Another piece that we both selected was Jackson Pollock's "Convergence".  We both felt that the painting was mesmorizing.  I loved the piece for the love of paint  like  Pollock himself, who wanted to paint it because of his love of paint and what you can do with it.
4. Where there any images that your Peers selected that pique your interest now? If yes, what are they and what is your connection with them? What would you want to know about them?
Pablo Picasso's Bronze Sculpture entitled, "Woman's Head" piqued my intrest.  I would want to know what Pablo picasso was thinking about when he was creating this sculpture.
5. What do you think about  the process of reading your peers reflection? Do you find this to be a valuable in your learning? I do find it valuable, and interesting to see how others view art work.  It allows me to think about things in a different way and open up to new things.  Reading others comments helps to clear up anything that I might be having problems with.

6. Check your Blog and read comments posted by your Peers. Do you find their comments helpful?
The are helpful because they let me know that I am going in the right direction.

Sculpture, Ceramics, and Installation Art: Video Review

Sculptures can be made of many different materials, bronze, limestone, marble, and clay are a few.  Sculptors that make sculptures out of stone like limestone or marble need to be aware of how much resistance it has, how fragile it is, the softness, and other factors that will affect the sculpting process.  Sculptors start first be putting their ideas down on paper.  They can make a variety of sketches, tweaking their ideas until they come up this the right idea.  From the sketch, they then sculpt a small-scale clay model.  Using clay they can reform the model until they get the right shape and structure, something they wouldn’t be able to do with stone.  With stone, if you take too much away you will never get it back.  The Sculpture then makes a plaster model from a silicone mold, which he will use when he creates the full-scale clay model that will then become a plaster model.  The plaster full-scale model has a specialized team of crafts persons that only sculpt certain aspects of the plaster model.  Finding the perfect block of marble in the mountains of Italy or other marble quarries seems to be quite the feet.  The artist needs to find a block of marble that “speaks” to them, the right block for the sculpture that they are making.
Other sculptors don not follow the age old, ancient, process of sculpting stone, but instead have their own style.  Some sculptures draw directly on the stone the natural stone becoming a part of the composition.  It is as if the stone decides what it wants to be.
Installation Art is known as “fashionable yet controversial”.  This type of artwork is that which the work of art not only takes over the space that it is in but defines the space.   Installation art can be site specific, meaning, the art cannot exist anywhere else besides in that specific location.  These art works can take months to set up, and can be set up more than once in different galleries or locations just as long as it does not take away from the original meaning and context of the work.  The piece has to be set up in a similar if not the exact same way.  Some installation art is sold.

Glass is made of sand that has been heated up to high temperatures to become a molten liquid that is malleable.Glass can be sculpted hot by blowing the glass and the bending it or cold by using abrasive and corrosive liquids and chemicals.  Ceramics are made of clay and then gradually cooled.  Depending on what temperature the clay is fired at depends on what type of ceramic it is.  Glass and Ceramics have specific chemical and structural make ups that give them a variety of uses.  For example, through the years glass has evolved to now include reflective glass, more durable glass, and laminated glass. 

The readings gave specific examples of ceramics used in different cultures.  These ceramics were used for holding most likely liquids and food.  We can learn a lot from the ceramics and glassware of certain cultures.

Also from the readings, we read about installation art.  We made the same connection that the artwork defines the space.

The films helped to create many connections.  The visuals and seeing the process that the sculptors had to go through was very interesting and added to my understanding of stone and marble sculpture.    

My Visit To The Albright Knox

I visited the Albirght Knox Art Gallery
These paintings had an impression or an impact on me...

The Marvelous Sauce, ca. 1890, by Jehan Georges Vibert
Oil on Wood Panel, 40x47"

This painting had quite the impact on me the first time I saw it.  Not because of the content of the painting but because of the vivid detail.  I myself have done many paintings using oil paints and acrylics and understand the amount of skill it must take for someone to get this amount of detail.  It is amazing how crisp the edges and lines are and how the characters come to life is like the Pixar animation we see present day.  This painting was done circa 1890, 120 years ago, it is incredible to me that someone can do this especially without the fancy tools that some artists use today to get certain effects in paintings. 


Untitled V, 1977, by William de Kooning
Oil on canvas 81x72 1/2 "
Looking at this painting, I immediately thought of the raging seas and storms.  The colors in the painting along with the harsh strokes made me think of anger or sadness.  My eye is drawn to the white area in the upper part of the painting, like it is the light in the storm, the light.


Ace, 1962, by Robert Rauscherburg
Oil, cardboard, wood, and metal on canvas 108x240"

This piece had a lot to say.  When I sat down to look at it I saw the use of mixed media and was trying to figure out why the artists decided to use the certain pieces of mixed media that he did.  The wooden pieces have A-C-E on them in the upper left hand corner and a R on it in the bottom left hand corner spelling out "race".  But the R is crossed out. The colors are sad.  So putting it together I felt the piece was saying something about race has nothing to do with something. It is a very powerful piece that with a lot more thought and research I could put some more thoughts down about it.    
I feel a connection with...

Church at Old Lyme Connecticut, 1905, by Fredrick Childe Hassam
Oil on Canvas 36 1/2x32 1/4"

This painting reminds me of home.  I am from upstate New York, The Adirondacks, where the mountains in the fall attract tourists from far and wide.  The changing color of the leaves is a gorgeous thing and this older style church reminds me of the the older region that I live in.  I like the stroke work that the artist used, and the variety of color of the leaves.


Convergence, 1952, by Jackson Pollock
Oil on canvas 93 1/2x155"

A friend of mine told me about this piece.  He told me how Jackson Pollock created it by standing on the canvas and squirting out the different colors of paint and then water and other materials.  He told me that this piece captures the essence of paint and nothing more, and that is why I feel connected to it and really like it.  This piece of art work is playful in a sense that everyone wants to throw paint on a canvas.  I love painting and feel I don't have enough time to do it and this painting is an appreciation for paint and what one can do with it.

Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon, 1902 by Henri Matisse
Oil on paper mounted on canvas 37x30 1/4"

I felt a connection with this painting when I knew that the figure in the background was Notre Dame, even with it's minimalist qualities.  I like how the brush strokes also add the the painting. 
I would like to know more about...

Music and Literature, 1878, by William Harnett
Oil on Canvas 24x32 1/8"

Another over 100 year old painting with amazing detail.  The painting looks like a photograph.  I would like to know how the artists can create such great detail? Mostly I would just like to know more about the artist and his style. 


Gootham News, 1955, by William de Kooning
Oil on canvas

I also commented on another of William de Kooning's paintings, and I would like to know more about him as an artist.  This painting seems to have a story behind it.  I can see a nose and some headlines embedded in the painting.  Kooning uses color and the use of stroke marks to set a certain mood in his paintings, I would like to learn more about this.


Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912, by Giacomo Balla
Oil on a canvas 90x110 cm

Besides the fact that I have two dachshunds at home I really enjoy this painting because of how the artist tries to depict motion.  I would like to know more about the artist and the artists style.  I would also like to know if there is a special name for this sort of a style?

Emily: My Logo

Creating my logo was an interesting process.  After reviewing all of the reading material and viewing the videos I had an idea of what direction I wanted to go in but I still wasn't quite sure.  I thought about something I read about how icons resemble something more.  Figures and symbols can resemble something that people can relate to and will think about when they see your logo. 
Being homesick and missing my dogs terribly I thought of my dachshunds.  Dachshunds, like the two I have at have at home, have quite the personality, they are very outgoing, and goofy dogs.  The more I thought about them the more I saw myself in them and in the breed so I used them to start my sketching process.  I am a very outgoing person, I like to always be on the go, full of energy.  I like upbeat music and having fun with my friends and family.

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I used that picture of a Dachshund for my sketches.  My dogs actually walked in the wiener walk which was what this design was for. 

Knowing my likes and dislikes I knew I wanted vibrant colors and a design that showed something fun.  I am a biology major that's where I got my idea for my sketch with the tree in the middle in the shape of a "y" my middle initial.  I also tried playing around with the letters in my name.  In the end I came back to my original idea of dachshunds, but my first sketch seemed unbalanced so I tried balancing it out more.   

The hardest thing I found in the creation of my logo was coming up with ways to portray myself in a design. I first came up with the dachshund idea I did not think i could come up with much else.  I was trying to think more out of the box, creatively, but nothing.  I felt Biology really did not portray the real side of who I really am everything I could draw would be too mellow. 

I learned from the videos, the PowerPoint and other reading that the most important thing about creating a logo is you capture the essence of the company or person you are creating the logo for and get across the message that they want you to get across.  This is why it is important to brainstorm and come up with a variety of ideas.