P1 Texture Assignment

The texture I choice to illustrate through type was guacamole. This texture proved difficult because of the extremely organic and irregular nature of the surface. To help with this problem I choose to use the typeface Giddy-up because of it's soft curves an random counter sizes. The final effect is a gestural representation of the original image. The energy and fluidity does seem to be to similar to water but the overall organic and irregular feeling of from the image certainly does come through.

P1 Message Assignment

The concept was pushed in this project. The object was to find a corner and take three pictures of it from different angles. I choose to take a conceptual corner, the corner of the mouth. The three different angles becomes the different emotions expressed. The corner of the mouth acts as a pointer, tying in the concept with the topography of the face. 

P1 Diagram and Texture Observation

The examples I found of diagrams came from the book America (the Book): A citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewarts. This book is a satire on the democratic system and the diagrams use humor very effectively.

This diagram shows the balance between fun and danger in a fun travel guide way.

This image shows third party political parties that didn't last, with a funny description for the tombstone's epigraph. 

This diagram explains how Australian national character as a byproduct of their perpetual drunkenness.

South American economic cycle.

A example of texture from nature. A large variety of textures can be viewed in this photograph. 

P1 Composition Observation

This composition effectively illustrates the subject matter of the book by the choice of image to be represented. The painting depicts conquistadors capturing a Aztec ruler. The king is depicted like a child grabbing onto his litter, while the other Aztecs are groveling and crawling on the ground. This is contrasted by the white conquistadors standing over the "savages." The light source of the image emanates from the cross that the missionary is holding to the left of the king, giving the soldiers action a higher cause. This book talks about why and how certain civilizations thrive to conquer of civilizations, by many different ways.

P1 Reading Report 1

Sol Lewitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective

This field trip didn't start as smoothly as I would have hoped. Fresh off a morning fight, hangover, and somewhat unprepared for the day's driving, I wasn't quite in the right mood for a MassMOCA trip. Though seeing how I was being counted on I decided that I better go (and I was glad I did.)

The day was quintessential New England, crisp, cool and sunny. The leaves where changing color and the drive itself was rememberable, though long. Following route 2's winding roads we came upon the small, sleepy hamlet in the middle of the forest called North Adams. The first thing that greeted us was the strange juxtaposition of two old factory buildings pressing the road, foreshadowing the surprises that would be found in MassMOCA.

Within the museum, the first piece that stopped me in my tracks was the enormous insulation piece by Orly Gengur, called Big Boss. This work had an active, destructive quality, ripping and violently and flooding the entire room. The red lava flow (made out of painted, braided ropes) was heaping and pressing on the room's support columns, you could visually feel the kinetic push against them. This work intrigued me because this torrent simultaneously contained the feeling of unbound energy and movement while possessing enormous weight.

Once in the Sol Lewitt retrospective I found I had a hard time getting into the artworks. The work I have seen before by other artist were very lush with details and forms, but the stark controlled forms and compositions were to different and it took me a while to figure out how to approach them.

I started viewing on the second floor (mid-career work.) At first I circled around most of the floor with my eye resisting entrance to the artworks, until I rounded a corner and came across the Wall Drawing 552D. This drawing was a large painting of a "cube" using 4 colors. I use quotation marks around the term cube because once recognized as a three sided rhombus it quickly receded to a negative space. This illusion was hard to undo, i found because of the complementary colors of blue and orange were expertly controlled. The composition at first seemed very straight forward (centered horizontally) but the subtle differences eventually emerged. With my eyes adjusting to the subtlety I continued on with the show.

I eventually came across a very large drawing of a layers of wavy, horizontal, striped colors, called Wall Drawing 793B. At first the scale was a little overwhelming but I was determined to overcome it, especially after my new found love for Wall Drawing 552D. After some time I found that the seeming random undulation of the waves actually had an order. In the middle to the painting the colors where (again subtlety squeezed) exposing two newly introduced colors peeking into the picture plane. With this new found information, I understood that to really appreciate a Sol Lewitt drawing you have to spend some time with it. The more time you spend with one the more it will expose itself to you, of course on its own time.

With this new understanding of how the look at a Lewitt, I  couldn't help but notice how quickly most of the tourist with their cameras and maps run through the exhibit. Glancing at the images will not give you anything but a cheap impression of the works. Lewitt carefully measured and proportioned every single line of the art work, the least we could do is at least stop walking and give it a couple of seconds.

So giving the painting hundreds (or possibly thousands) of seconds, it provided me with some more insight to Lewitt's work. I started to discover that he placed only three sets of complementary colors near each other. I started to see the importance of this. The lines between the complementary colors started to pull away from the others, and I quickly realized that imbedded deep into the colors is the real point of the piece. The colors started to become secondary because they were only a vehicle to create the hierarchy for the lines. The lines spatially spread out before me giving the painting an unexpected depth.

Next I went up to the third floor and was instantly repelled by what I saw. The vibrant ringing colors hurt my eyes and I quickly escaped these works searching for somewhere to rest. Sailing through this level trying not to abuse my eyes I found Wall Drawing 1112. Looking at this piece of found it struggling with itself. The piece was made up of fully saturated primary colors arranged in a series of rectangles emanating from the center of the picture plane. The colors naturally repel each other, violently trying to escape and push away from one another. But the strict geometric arrangement of the colors held the colors in a forced harmony with each other. In retaliation the colors in return destroyed the geometric lines making it seem wavy and organic. It was like a visual cage match worthy of HBO.

The bottom floor housed his early work. These work were amazing. The tones and colors were built up with horizontal, vertical, and diagonal colored pencil lines. On the wall near these works is a diagram (which I refused to look at) explaining the pattern and sowing his thought process. I found the work had a very interested pull when you engaged in figuring out the pattern. The works were delicate and demanding at the same time. You could almost walk by them because your periphery wouldn't pick up the subtle. I was glad I ended with this floor, it left me with a calming, satisfied feeling.

Through the work of Sol Lewitt my mood was improved by the active space he created. The subtle had to be investigated giving my mind something to do. I didn't find them especially emotional drawing but I did fid them very cerebral and planned. I enjoyed the trip very much.