Drawing, according to Taylor

How do you define drawing?

I feel pretty flexible with my definition of drawing. I define drawing as the expression of an idea through one's hand creating a mark on a piece of paper. I consider, pens, pencils, markers, brushes, and even fingers to be among the utensils one can use to draw; I suppose that by my own guidelines, if you can pick up some random object and use it to create marks on paper (e.g. a shoe, a paper towel, etc), then it can be used to draw. The same thing applies to simply folding the paper, like how we talked about last Thursday.

Do you enjoy drawing?

I absolutely enjoy drawing. As long as I have a writing utensil in my hand (pencil, ballpoint, crayon, what have you), and a free second to sketch down an idea, drawing will always be my go-to activity.

What purpose does drawing serve you?

As an artist, drawing serves as my main creative outlet, and allows me to express the many little ideas I have blooming in my head at every waking moment. Drawing is my predominant defining factor as a persons; without it, I'd be the average Jane Doe, working towards a life spent in a 5x5" cubicle of an office building.

What purpose does it serve others?

For non-artists, I think drawing serves as an attempt to relieve boredom (i.e. doodling). I believe that if a non-artist works at it hard enough, he or she could certainly gain some artistic talent by taking this doodling to a new level, but people rarely do such a thing.

Types of drawn marks:

hatching, cross-hatching, shading, lines, dots/stippling, folds, brush strokes, ink blots, splatters, printing, contour

Type of drawing:

sketch, full-blown thought-out piece, painting, figure study, still life, graphic design, gesture, cartoon, portrait, gesture study, color study, contour/line drawing

Taylor's Proposal

Proposal:

I want to use these 10 pieces of artwork to tell a narrative that encompasses the intertwining of natural world with a technological, albeit antiquated, society. I developed the story for this concentration a few months ago, but I've been waiting to apply the idea up until now, and I believe this will be a fun opportunity. I have always been fascinated with the idea of living in a steampunk society, where steam is king and rust covers every antiquated surface, but at the same time I'm intrigued by the possibilities of the natural world, of the striking colors and organic, aesthetic beauty of flora and fauna. The characters of the story will illustrate the opposite sides of these two fascinations: Asher, a young city dweller meant to represent manmade society, and Rhea, a young forest spirit meant to represent the natural world. The story will be told through a series of sequential images (though I'm undecided if I want to make it in an actual comic format or not) that combine traditional and digital media, not unlike how the story intertwines the natural and the technological.

Narrative:

Asher, young factory worker living in the slums of a shabby, industrial city, one day travels to the forest for lumber, but after milling around looking for material, he happens upon a lone, young girl who calls herself Rhea. Asher accidentally mistakes for a lost child, so he subsequently brings her back "home" to city. Seeming eager and excited at the chance of this adventure, Rhea accompanies him back to his home. Unfortunately, Asher doesn't know that she is actually a fledgling forest spirit with a plethora of unconscious powers, which choose to unleash at the sight of the disgustingly unkempt, bustling city. Unable to adjust to this ugly, mechanical environment, Rhea's body attempts to unconsciously adjust by overrunning the city in a barrage of foliage and shrubbery, trying to recreate the forest it was born to inhabit! Suddenly there are plants grow out of every crevice, nook, and cranny in the city, turning it into an urban jungle. This is much to the malice of the citizens, who are outraged by this unanticipated and certainly unwelcome change in scenery. Unable to understand the innocence of the situation, they seek to remove whatever is trying to destroy their city, and upon the discovery of the little forest spirit amongst their ranks, thus prompts a man-hunt for Rhea and her keeper, Asher. After winding through the new forests of the city, and in the nick of time, the two escape, and Asher returns her to her rightful home.

Materials:

All of my pieces will be 2-dimensional drawings that start by traditional means and end up in digital means. I will start with traditional sketch/color study: pencil sketch, refine said pencil sketch (pen inking optional), then paint over it wish gouache, and establish basic colors, ground, and texture. Then, I will scan the sketch into computer, and repaint the pictures in Photoshop, polish, and recreate as needed until I get the intended result. All traditional starting points are going to be small, no bigger than a regulate piece of printer paper (8.5x11 inches), because I don't want to risk overworking a simple sketch. It's when I get into Photoshop that I will reformat the size on computer, and I will probably end up with a larger size, for the sake of printing a nice, clear copy of the image.

Page-by-page:

1. Shot of Asher leaving city, entering forest (panoramic?)

2. Asher sees Rhea alone on stump, offers hand to her so she can accompany him

3. Brings her into city

4. Show them walking around, admiring things, with little trails of plants in Rhea's 

forgotten footsteps

5. Back shot of Asher and Rhea, with bundles of foliage in their wake

6. Evening time, Asher and Rhea asleep in factory

7. Wake up to everything covered in plant life, storm of angry villagers at front of 

8. Asher and Rhea bolt, escape through the throngs of shrubbery

9. Escaping the city + villagers

10. Parting hug, Asher lets Rhea to return to her forest.

Brooke's Proposition

My favorite kind of art entails pieces that are weird, creepy, and questionable.  I realized this when I took my first visit to the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.  I found a clown installation piece by Bruce Nauman.  Calling it creepy would be an understatement.  One scene displayed a clown sitting on a toilet and reading a newspaper, and one was a clown yelling directly at you.  I didn’t understand it, I don’t know why it was meaningful, and even though I was scared out of my mind, I thought I was the coolest thing in the world.  It’s weirdness left me thinking about it for days and left me with hundreds of questions.  What does that mean? More importantly, how the hell is it considered art?  That’s when I feel in love with the idea of art even more.  Art can be anything.  Not merely paint on paper but sounds, ideas, and footage.  I like art that is different and stands out from the rest.  More importantly art that is eerie and questionable.

The sentences I formed in the list “I feel” related more to how many of my fears made me feel.  I am scared of many things, which is what I have decided to use as a springboard for my series.  Turning my fears into art will perfectly exhibit my esteem for weird, vulgar, and obscure art.  Exposing my fears could also potentially help me overcome them.  That being said, I strongly feel that a topic so graphic and vivid cannot be fully portrayed on paper, but more of installation art.  It will be more meaningful in a real life, 3D setting so that my audience can get the full effect of what it is that scares me and how I see it inside my head.  I was inspired by the layout of the Counter Ground piece at the Silence and Time exhibit.   Displaying art on the floor rather than hanging it up on a wall is not only different but makes me look at it in an entirely different way-sort of like taking a painting and studying it upside down.  I’m also thinking about how I will display each piece.  I developed most of my fears at the age of six, and even though this might not make any sense, I was thinking of having each piece of art displayed in three rows of six- six to represent the age and three rows to represent 18, which is not only my current age but also shows that I still have the same fears to this day.

            The first fear I want to display is vomit.  Obviously I am not going to use real vomit in my art but I will make a realistic imitation from various types of food.  I’m not quite sure how this will be displayed yet but I want it to be the center of my display because it is my biggest fear.

            I want to incorporate dead cockroaches into my piece for a few reasons.  It is a fear of mine, but I was inspired by art my dad has at his office.  Dozens of framed dead bugs. I have memories of me touching them and admiring their beauty as a little girl.  What I like so much about the work is that it has a good combination of ugliness and beauty- pinned to a clean white backdrop in a black frame shows off its splendor while the realization that its actually a dead bug clearly presents hostility.  I am especially looking forward to hunting for roaches on campus. I will to pin or tack each one to a crisp piece of paper. 

            Although Nauman’s exhibit is something I admire, I have always been scared of clowns.  I plan on doing several different portraits of creepy looking clowns using colored pastels to successfully portray the vividness and character they poses.  To make the images more lively, I plan on having eerie circus music and or clown laughs playing in the background.

            One of my favorite stores back home is a vintage gag shop.  It basically sells junk, and its awesome.  On one of my past visits I discovered a chest full of old fashioned, decrepit baby dolls.  They were totally creepy and displayed the perfect image of “that stereo-typical scary baby doll”.  That inspired me to take those baby dolls and use them in my piece.  I may add props to soften the image of them, and I also plan on using background music of a creepy lullaby tune or a stereotypical baby laugh.

Silence and Time

The Dallas Museum of Art is currently showing an exhibition entitled “Silence and Time.” The pieces in the show are inspired by John Cage’s famous 1952 composition 4’33” where not one note is played throughout the entire composition. The works of art in the gallery go along with this idea of absence and simplicity. Out of everything on display, Sterling Ruby’s “SP 31” really caught my attention. Ruby created this piece by spraying semi-even rows of different colors of spray paint until the cans were empty. It appears that he then used different techniques to splatter paint mainly primary and secondary colors on top of the layers of spray paint. This all blends together to create somewhat of chaos that Rudy calls a “landscape.”

Despite the fact that Rudy used loud, contrasting colors on a very large canvas, “SP 31” still looks very simple and mysterious. When you look at it, it almost does not make sense. It is very similar to Cage’s 4’33 in this way. In both instances the audience walking away from these works of art are left baffled, trying to comprehend what just happened. But at the same time “SP 31” it is utterly silent with no clear or immediate theme. As you can see from this close up I took shortly before the security guard made me put away my phone, Rudy was not trying to make a piece of art by painting a certain image in my mind. I think that Rudy wanted to make a piece of art based on not his vision; but rather trying to create art based on the imaginations of what the people viewing it saw.

She - Taylor Smith

This past weekend I made a trip down to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the Silence and Time exhibit, wherein contemporary pieces inspired by John Cage's 4'33" are showcased. Now, before I get to the actual reflection, I have to get this off my chest: I am not, and have never been, a fan of modern art. I've taken art history classes, been to more modern art exhibits than I can count, and even dabbled in non-representational studies of my own all in an attempt to grasp an understanding of contemporary art, but nothing ever seems to elicit an appreciation for it.

Cliché as it may sound, though, when I saw She, the towering, 6-foot onyx sculpture created by Serbian artist Bojan Šarčević, I have to admit I was surprised at how much I ended up appreciating it. Although at first glance it looked like a giant slab of drab, dull, and boring, I stopped to admire its immensity (and, as a bonus, the beautiful contrast and colors), then actually stood to ponder its meaning as it applied to the exhibition (which is quite the feat for me). While one side of the sculpture is bright, polished, and geometrically cut, as you tiptoe around to peek at the back, it's like looking at a raw, ugly, and uncut face of stone, something which surprises you like a slap in the face. The stark difference in the quality of the two sides speaks to the theme of Time, where one side represents the natural, first-born beauty of a material, and the opposing side represents how now in modern times man shapes the material to fit his own materialistic ideal. 

Although the piece was only constructed in 2010, I felt as if it had already lasted 10,000 lifetimes; I felt so meek in the face of such glory!  Being the nerd that I am, I immediately related the sculpture to the monolith of 2001: A Space Odyssey. I felt She had some wonderfully inspiring, deep meaning to it, but being the young, naïve person that I am, I can never understand such a meaning. The only thing I could think to do in an attempt to catalyze some sort of understanding was to stand silently and admire it, thus connecting She to the other theme of the exhibition: Silence. While it certainly was not quiet in the actual exhibition room, I felt an internal tranquility as I attempted to analyze the story of She.

Walking in, I hadn't expected much from the exhibit, being a fan of classical art and styles. But, She seemed to be a beautiful, geometric sculpture silently waiting, and waiting, and waiting to be completed. I very easily felt the nature of the whole exhibition draw itself together in this single piece of art, and walking out of the DMA, I could feel my appreciation for modern art grow marginally. It'll take a lot to immensely change my opinion on contemporary, abstract art, but She did quite a bit to catalyze that change.

Roman Opalka’s piece 1956/infinity: Detail 3039180-3047372

Roman Opalka’s piece 1956/infinity: Detail 3039180-3047372, currently displayed in the Dallas Museum of Art effectively relates to the theme of the Silence and Time show in several ways. The exhibition is comprised of artwork of all media, reflecting the themes of temporality, existence and time as first seen in John Cages Silence and Time composition. Opalka demonstrates this concept by using a seemingly infinite technique in his painting. The first paint layer is a grey background that is then covered with a huge series of consecutive numbers. The white text color is almost identical to that of the primary layer, so it almost appears invisible. The numbers are incredibly small, and in some places overlapping, creating a wave like effect that can be seen if the viewer looks from farther away. This process generates a multi faceted painting both literally and figuratively. The initial picture seems simple but upon careful examination has a much deeper meaning. On each of his canvas’s the numbers begin where the last left off, alluding to the concept of infinity and time that passes on, never repeating and never ending. However, without precisely studying the numbers the idea would float above ones head much like time does when it goes unnoticed. Cages work points out noises that go unobserved, while Opalka similarly urges onlookers to become aware of time that passes by. Additionally the ongoing numbers can symbolize the ongoing world and space around it and the insignificance of many moments that can feel overrated and overwhelming. The single piece demands attention from viewers and may solitary induce silence by promoting introverted thought. While the technical process is not very intricate, the simple and tedious technique is as meaningful as art that may be more complex. Whether spectators experience feelings of time or silence, Opalka successfully suggests these sensations in his work.

Counter Ground

In the Dallas Museum of Art’s current exhibit, “Silence and Time,” works are inspired by John Cage’s composition 4’33, a piece that forces audience members to pay close attention to the surrounding sounds during the piece while the piano is silent. I found the exhibit very intriguing to me because of its clever ways of demonstrating the passing of time. One particular piece that I enjoyed is Tatsuo Miyajima’s “Counter Ground.” As I was walking though the exhibit, from a distance I saw a powerful bright red glow coming from a room. The large scale of the piece, measuring 4 ½ x 236 ¼ x 236 ¼ in., and the flickering lights instantly got my attention during the exhibit. At first, the piece was overwhelming and hard to take in because of all the different paced distracting lights. Miyamjima’s piece, which was started in 1998 and completed in 2000, is constructed of many red LED lights similar to those in alarm clocks. I think that the similarity to alarm clocks helps bring a more personal connection to the viewer. The red numeral lights form a field made out of a wooden panel of individual numbers that count down from one to nine and separate paces in a grid on the floor. The counting of numbers suggests the passing of time and seem to evoke a sense of infinity because the cycles never seem to stop. Furthermore, the cycling of the numbers resembles cycles of death and rebirth. The flashing lights create an interesting rhythm that is almost hypnotizing for the viewer. They also seem to reference our highly technologically centered and fast paced society. I think that this piece connects strongly to the theme of the exhibition through its emphasis on the passing of time shown through the counting down of the numeral red lights.

The Fibonacci Sequence

In the Dallas Museum of Art show "Silence and Time" the pieces are inspired by John Cage's 1952 composition 4'33". These different works of art represent silence and time, however they also delve into the ideas of absence and presence shown or not shown in the pieces. The piece I chose to focus on was Mario Merz's, Italian 1925-2003, Fibonacci 1202, 1970. The piece is eleven black and white frames, ten neon numbers, and one transformer for the lights. Each frame is a photo of the same restaurant, however in each photo the number of people increases according to the fibonacci sequence, a number pattern where each increasing number is created by adding the two numbers before it together. The numbers above each photo are 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55 and the photographs have the corresponding people in each frame, except for the first with zero people. This piece is much more than just a number pattern; the fibonacci sequence is a pattern that can relate to many forms of life including the petals found on many flowers and they way many organisms grow. Merz's piece is even meant to capture growth, creation in life. The neon lights that shine brightly, contrasting the black and white photographs, represent the light and energy shown in the photographs. The people in the photographs were famous in the art world including art dealers, artists, and gallerists from all over the world. The restaurant photos were taken in Turin, Italy.

This piece relates to the "Silence and Time" exhibition through the concept of the entire and piece and specific elements such as the scenes depicted in the photographs. As the restaurant fills there is more food, more wine, more noise, more smoke, and less space. The growing amount of people happens throughout the night and represents the time it takes for something to grow or happen, so the fibonacci sequence to time the growth fits perfectly with the piece because the sequence is so closely related with life growing.

Fibonacci 1202

Fibonacci 1202 is a piece by Mario Merz in the DMA's Silence and Time show. It consists of 11 photographs of a restaurant, each with a different number of people in it. The number of people corresponds with the fibonacci sequence, (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34), so that there are no people in first picture, one person in the next two and so on. Above the photos are the numbers of the fibonacci sequence in neon lights. The photos are in black and white which contrast with the bright lights above them.

Merz uses that Fibonacci sequence to show the progression of time. The restaurant seems to fill with people naturally as one looks at each photo. The fibonacci sequence is traditionally used in art as a composition to guide the eye throughout the piece. Here, however, it is used as a way to guide the mind through the passage of time. The fibonacci sequence is also often found in nature as a formula for growth patterns and lends an organic feeling to the growth of patrons in this piece.

This piece relates directly to the theme of time in the Silence and Time exhibition. Time is shown in this piece through a series of photographs of a restaurant as it is filled with people. This piece shows time almost concretely; it is more similar to a comic strip than the other, more abstract, pieces of the exhibition. By describing time concretely, using both the simple layout and the fibonacci sequence, Merz shows that time is an idea that can be felt and understood by people rather than being an unobservable concept. Merz makes time seem tangible to the viewer. He specifically chooses a restaurant, a setting that is familiar to many people, in order to show time in this way. There are many other ways of showing the progression of time but the idea of people filling a restaurant is instantly recognizable to the viewer which helps him make his point.

Caroline Wilcoxon

Today I went to the Dallas Art Museum and saw the Silence and Time exhibit. The overall theme for the Silence and Time exhibit was absence and presence. The artist, John Cage, uses techniques that force the viewer to "pay attention to both what is and is not present in a work of art". By using "measures of time, silence, and sound" to heighten the viewers senses, Cage creates an unique environment that would have once not had much meaning. I chose the the work "Real Time" by Jorge Macchi, an Argentine artist born in 1963. "Real Time" is a work made with match sticks that gives the impression of a digital clock. Macchi tediously put the match sticks in position for each time of the day in order to produce a "real" working clock. The underlying meaning to this piece comes from the artists use of match sticks. The match sticks symbolize destruction and uncertainty as they may at any time ignite. "Real Time" relates to the theme of the Silence and Time exhibition because if you look beyond the simplicity of the piece it has a much more complex meaning. The complexity comes from the idea that the work says so little while also saying so much.

Ryan Stewart

Ryan Stewart

The art work that I chose to write my blog entry on is by Lee Ufan who is Korean born and it is called, if I recall correctly, “From Point 1978”. The materials used in this work are glue and stone pigment on canvas. Korean born artist and writer, Lee Ufan, came about creating this piece by using his mixture comprised of the stone pigment and glue in a series of repetitive brush strokes. He would apply a significant amount of the stone pigment mixture in an initial brush stroke and then without reapplying new mixture to his brush he would continue with consecutive brush strokes following to the right of his previous brush stroke. By this process the artist created an interesting grid like piece that contained 25 rows and 42 columns. The finished brush strokes ended up looking like dark blue organic and irregular squares that would fade from a dark and full color to a lighter color with each square that followed to the right. This process of going from dark to light occurred multiple times on the same row but not in any sort of recognizable pattern.

The way I perceive this piece, there are two ways that it applies to the Silence and Time show. The first being the process by which the artist took to create it. With each stroke the amount of pigment decreased expressing a since of decay through the process of time. With each stroke, time passes and times effect on the stone pigment and brush strokes is visually seen. The second way it seems to apply to the theme of Silence and Time is in direct relation to the first. With each brush stroke that began a series of brush strokes the pigment was always full and loud. But with each following stroke the pigment faded and became more and more silent, eventually leading to hardly noticeable brush strokes in which the color had been completely muted.

What "Is," Silence and Time?

I am admittedly surprised to say that I truly enjoyed several of the pieces in the “Silence and Time” exhibition. However my true favorite of the gallery would have to be the piece titled, “Is,” by James Lee Byars, otherwise known as , the big golden marble sphere in the middle of the room.
This piece seems to be the unofficial centerpiece to the entire exhibit, sort of like the sun that the whole thing revolves around. No matter what you might have just looked at, when you turn around, there it is.
Ironically enough though, this was the very last piece I looked at before leaving the show. At this point I had seen it many times while walking around, but I had at last decided to find the marker with it’s description. I found it on the wall at the end of the “Dryice” picture piece, and was immediately taken with it once having read the sign. I don’t know how many people had the time to stop and read it, so I have included it below:

“James Lee Byars
Is, 1989
The sphere is a perfect form, with no beginning and no end. The ancient Greeks equated the sphere with the timeless order of the cosmos, while the Tantric thinkers ( Tantric deals primarily with the spiritual practices and ritual forms of worship that aim at liberation from ignorance and rebirth) viewed the sphere and circle as symbols of the fleeting perfection of the moment. The marble sphere to James Byars was a metaphor for the philosopher’s belief that objects are more shadows of ideas that are eternal and unchanging.”

I was blown away by the depth and thought that could be put into the description of a mere golden sphere. Yet it all made sense and brought meaning to what had moments ago been just a simple object. This piece without doubt summed up the entire exhibit for me. The concepts of space and time had been by other artists recorded, or captured by numbers, clocks, changes, and movement, but James Byars used the essence of silence and time in his work, instead of focusing on what they leave behind. The sphere itself embodies both subjects, time is often recorded and thought of in a circular matter, like with the Chinese zodiac, or the monthly calendar that although it does technically have the beginning and end of a year, the pattern is an endless loop. Space is also a circular concept, thought of as soft and unending, without corners or hard lines.
So I shall respect and remember Mr. Byars work, not as proof of space or time, but as both space and time. After all, I believe it was most simply said by a classic Disney movie, “It’s the circle, the circle of life.” *cue lion roar*

Silence and Time exhibit 8-24-2011

Silence and Time is an exhibit at The Dallas Museum of Art that in inspired by the work of John Cage.  The exhibit displays the works of many artists who stick to the theme of absence, presence, and temporality.  The piece I found most compelling in the exhibit is a spray paint on canvas by Sterling Ruby.  Spray paint is generally used by gangs for street art and gives off a grungy, urban vibe.  Seeing spray paint on canvas still shows a little of that aspect but also gives the piece a refreshing look because it has such a unique look.  The spray paint gave the painting a more three dimensional feeling and look.  Ruby stuck to bright colors for his piece, which gave it a pop and was very appealing to the eye.  He also added uneven lines of dark colors to the top of the painting which seems to balance it out.   Ruby took cans of paint and sprayed each one left to right until they ran out.  His painting portrays the visual of a landscape.  To me, the dark lines of spray paint that are sprayed randomly on top of the red color not only represents a theme of presence, but also displays violence as it is a shade of red.  After looking closely at the painting and basing it off the landscape that was created, I can see faint images of active people and vegetation.  To me this makes perfect sense because the use of spray paint makes me thing of gangs and violence, and that’s exactly what I see when I look at this painting.  Ruby’s painting depicts a perfect mix of absence and presence- absence due to violence and presence due to the activity in the painting.  This tiesin perfectly with Cage’s theme.

Is this thing on?

Happy first week of classes. Don't forget to breathe.

Welcome to Points of Departure

POINTS OF DEPARTURE is a blog for the Foundations class of SMU's division of art. This will be a space for project proposals, research and reflections on the curriculum of the course. It will include text, video, audio, images or links to other sites. It is a fishbowl where students and faculty can see what the ongoing process of research is like.


To start with, here are some links to topics discussed on the first day.

http://www.plausibleartworlds.org/

http://www.dallasmuseumofart.org/View/CurrentExhibitions/dma_383293

http://www.googleartproject.com/