Community Connection #6
I Wayan Sudarsana Yansen
5/31/11
- Abstract
- Plain background
- Movement
- Minimal colors
Community Connection #5
Sretan Bor
5/10/11
- Broad shapes
- Large human like figures
- Minimal backgrounds
- Cut graph paper
Community Connection #4
Jeff Hamada
4/12/11
- Abstract
- Shapes
- Painted wood
- Cut shapes of wood
Jeff Hamada’s work is very neat because it is abstract in a sense but presented uniquely. Jeff cuts out pieces of wood then paints them and then puts the together to make a piece of work. This process gives the work a rustic feel and the seeing where two shapes of wood meet creates a new dimension to the piece. This work was called “Do It” and you can see the word “do” abstractly in every piece yet it is hard to make out the “it” if there is one at all which I found interesting.
Community Connection #3
Peter Taylor
3/15/11
- Simple/black and grey
- Humanistic figures
- Patterned skin
- Cut paper
I really like Peter Taylor’s work for the most part because of the patterns used on the skin of his figures. I also like how the patterns are very simple and have no color but the pattern still makes the overall piece look more complex. The expressions on the figure’s faces are also appealing to me because of the simplicity and happiness that they convey. Taylor’s cut paper work is also interesting to me because it continues using these happy faces but uses color and lacks the rest of the body.
Community Connection #2
Celyn Brazier
3/1/11
- Many bright colors
- Psychedelic
- Solid colored objects
- Exaggerated shapes
Celyn Brazier’s work is very fun and lively and I find it interesting to look at. She uses mostly vivid colors and a lot of them in such a way that reminds me of psychedelic cartoon art. This is also supplemented by her use of solid objects with solid colors creating often exaggerated shapes in her unique landscapes.
Community Connection #1
Jorinde Voigt
2/15/11
- Sketch
- Unconventional
- Scientific/mathematic looking
- Complex
- Colorful
Voigt’s work is very interesting to me because there is no real object that he is creating yet it is not entirely abstract either. I like that the work seems like he was sketching which looks as if there is some type of external use for the piece such as a use in math or science. Some of the work seems like it was very tedious to create which gives it a complex look with a simple idea or process behind it. I also like Voigt’s use of color which transforms the work into looking more like art than simply sketches.
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Community Connection #6
Chakaia Booker
1/3/11
- Item collage
- Abstract
- Black
I like the art of Chakaia because of how the Items are assembled to create one jet black abstract item. The abstract objects almost look organic like pieces of a fly wing or feathers and so on, which I find interesting. In general, I think that the solid blackness of the objects work really well in combining the objects, it almost looks as if it is an explosion of oil rather than an actual object.
Community Connection #5
Mark Weaver
Mark’s Website His Flickr (more work)
12/13/10
- Vintage
- Used look
- Collage
- Transparency
I think that Mark Weaver’s work is very impressive due to many aspects. I love his use of vintage objects that feel as if they came out of a magazine from the seventies. What I find impressive is that the objects are not simple made to look vintage, they have a used look which is what makes it a more convincing vintage look. Mark Weaver also collages the objects to create a new one such as a human with the head of a bison and so on. This aspect of his collage also conveys a new meaning. Another aspect that I found alluring was his use of making some objects more transparent which can have a great impact on the overall piece.
Community Connection #4
Stefany Hemming
11/16/10
- Simple black background
- Realistic lighting
- Simple colors
- Looks like nests
The oil paintings of Stefany Hemming are very skilled and elegant. I loved the simplicity of a single object on a black background and her use of a solid color for the nests. Some nests are a natural green or tan color while others are a brilliant red, green, or blue. The lighting is very talented and seems like it would be tedious to work in and out of the intricate weaves of each nest. I would like to see her other work especially if it is of other subject matter.
Community Connection #3
Christopher Kram
10/12/10
- Vague figures
- Use of blank space
- Lines
- Messy
- Watery colors
- Ellis Island
- Photography
- Decrepit
- Repetition of objects
- Lighting
Community Connection #2Stephen Wilkes: Ellis Island Ghosts of FreedomMichner Museum, Doyelstown9/28/10 1. Ellis Island2. Photography3. Decrepit4. Repetition of objects5. Lighting I enjoyed the photographs of Ellis Island by Stephen Wilkes. The photography seemed to keep colors in mind mostly because each room was often painted one color with this paint now peeling off. I was interested in how decrepit Ellis Island was becoming, each room had cracks and trash as did the hallways. Wilkes used a lot of repetition in his work, the halls featured a line of many doors, rows of mail drawers lining the walls, rows of windows and so on. I found the lighting particularly interesting, it often created a mood within the ancient building. In one photograph in particular, there was a very strong yellow red light emitted by a furnace, which in the description was used to burn tuberculosis infected beds, the lighting made the furnace seem eerily in use.
Community Connection #1
Lola Dupre
http://synapticstimuli.com/kaleidoscopic/#respond
9/14/10
- Kaleidoscopic
- Collage
- Distortion
- Exaggeration
- Photography
- Old creating something new
The photographs were cut out and assembled to create a Kaleidoscopic feeling to the work. The work also gave a collage feeling to them which I found interesting. I liked how she distorted the pictures and made them seem refracted as if by water. Some of the pictures were altered more than the others which seemed to create something new entirely. I loved the pictures that she changed which exaggerated people’s features as if it were surrealism. I liked Lola’s art a lot because it seems fun to do and I like the concept of taking something and remixing it to create something new.
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2009 – 2010 School Year
Community Connection #4
Alexandro Garcia
- Thin Lines
- Bright Colors
- Landscape
- Futuristic
- Simple
- Circular designs
- Busy
I really enjoy Alexandro’s work because of how simple it is yet at the same time the scene is very busy and cluttered. It keeps me interested in the scene and gives the work a unique feeling that is somewhat familiar in it’s sometimes childlike appearance. When there are colors they are bright and grab your attention but the black and whites also manage to keep me interested. I love the use of circles in many of the pieces which help to give a futuristic feeling. The skinny lines are another aspect that attracts me to this work. My favorite aspect is the landscape that almost seems abstract, it interests me when I first look at it and holds my attention when I come closer to inspect it and find a landscape setting.
Community Connection # 3
Kimber Berry
- Bright colors
- Frenetic
- Abstract
- Pulls the eye around the art
- Psychedelic nature
I was very interested in Kimber Berry’s work because at first the art grabbed my attention with the bright, radiating colors. The technicolor work is also very frenetic having its own type of energy about it. I loved the how abstract it was which made it easy to interoperate the art in your own way. The natural flow of the colors allowed for your eye to move smoothly around the piece. This flow made it seem to me, almost like a psychedelic nature landscape, with an often sky looking background with naturally shaped color formations.
Community Connection # 2
Pablo Picasso
Philadelphia Art Museum
- Unrealistic
- Cubism
- Simplicity
- Fractures of subject matter
- Perspective
- Simply Shapes to create a picture
Pablo Picasso has a very interesting way of portraying his subject matter which is very indicative of his work. I love how his paintings are unrealistic and almost cartoonish. He often used cubism which left his subjects fractured and sometimes hard to distinguish. Picasso was able to get many perspectives in one subject because of this cubism, for example, his faces often had two eyes even if you were looking at the profile of the person. His work was simply in some pieces like the “Self-Portrait with Palette” or “Five Nudes”. Picasso also had an interesting way of creating a subject with simple shapes and bold colors as in his work, “Three Musicians”.
Community Connection # 1
George Krause
- Black and white
- Backlit subjects and interesting lighting
- An emphasis on lighting
- Solitary subjects
- Simplicity
George Krause’s work is entirely in black and white which is very appealing to me. He is able to powerful images with his strong contrast and clarity. I found his set of models very interesting mostly due to his lighting. Krause’s approach was very simply and repetitious but unique because of the lighting from behind. The lighting left his subjects feeling soft and angelic, and difficult to tell where the background met the subjects. His work is often focused on a single subject which he eloquently portrays to stand out. The backgrounds are important but merely act as a way for the main subject to remain prominent. All of these elements throughout his work strike me as being extremely simple yet having a strong emotion and is very alluring.
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Neue Gallerie: From Klimt To Klee
- Various use of ink
- Very interesting sketches
- Crazy chairs
- Fresh and eye catching perspective
- Blending of art styles
- Elements of surrealism
- Simple and elegant secession posters
In the Neue Gallerie, there were many artists with many different styles. In the first room there were very eye catching chair designs. Their styles were all different and some looked extremely comfortable and flowing while others were wooden but interestingly assembled. In other rooms were sketches from artists which I loved looking at because they were seemingly incomplete yet displayed as if finished. This incomplete complete gave me a feeling of an almost surreal artistic genre. In this room were also some small works in ink of surrealism. Mainly showing people, these pieces sometimes had ominous backgrounds and distorted figures. One room was showing mainly wood cut ink works of art which were very appealing. Because of the wood cut, lines were often sharp creating a specific style which was interesting to see how detailed the work could be. Some of the work was impressive simple because of the perspective such as Max Oppenheimer’s String Quartet. Klimt’s AdeleBloch-Bauer I interested me because of his subject of the girl was realistic but the rest seemed abstracted with shapes. Using mostly gold colors, Klimt allowed you to infer that she is wearing a dress but used two dimensional shapes and designs to create the background and her dress. One of my favorite series was the secession posters because of the simplicity used in them but with an elegant style of writing in German. The colors were bold and complimented the two dimensional figures and setting.
Kevin Sonmor
- Fruit as a motif
- Abstract background
- Element’s of surrealism
- Color scheme
- Interesting use of spaces
- Identifiable objects among unidentifiable backgrounds
I enjoyed Kevin Sonmor’s work because it dealt with some of my favorite forms of art. He used abstract art as a background to subjects such as fruit giving his paintings a surrealist feeling. He also depicts horses giving an ominous feeling through both the abstracted background and the horses’ color and demeanor. Kevin also created interesting and appealing feelings through his use of color. I loved the placement of fruit and use of spacing to build on the sense of surrealism. Aligned in columns and rows or paired with flowers and horses, the fruit added an out of place aesthetic that exhibited his deliberate control of placement. I also liked his concept of using identifiable objects, such as fruit and horses, and place them in abstract settings. He also managed to abstract a typical background with a horse to give it a surrealist feeling. I greatly appreciated the blending of abstract art and familiar objects to create a mixture of art forms.
John Isaacs
- Surreal sculptures.
- Juxtaposition.
- Interesting use of background.
- Detailed and gruesome wax sculptures.
- Unique Photographs
- Fascinating uncommon subject matter.
I am really interested in John Isaacs’ very unique approach to art. I’m very interested in sculpture, especially surreal sculptures, and his art captivates me very well. He uses a lot of juxtaposition to give a mood or to show his opinions. I like the pictures of some of his sculptures in the outdoors or other nonconventional scenery. It keeps his work fresh and feeling new and non repetitive. He does a lot of work showing gruesome pieces of meat using wax sculptures. John shows the meat with usually with part of the animal or human allowing you to see what it’s supposed to be from. He also uses very accurate details with his wax sculptures. I love the sculptures that he did of fat people because they are very exaggerated, look extremely realistic and also has a shock quality about them. His pictures are usually some type of portraiture but it is strikingly unique. John lets you put a story to his photographs and many are mysterious because he makes it seem as if something may be missing. I like that he uses very different subject matter than what I’m used to seeing. His work feels very new and very refreshing.
Bicycle:People and Ideas in Motion
- Wide variety of bikes.
- Bold, bright colors and art on some bikes.
- Futuristic designs of bikes.
- Unique designs.
- Very old bikes.
- Whimsical video.
- Representation of a culture of bicycles.
When entering the Moore’s gallery, Bicycle: People and Ideas in Motion, I saw very different types of unique bikes. Tandem bicycles, street bikes, fat tires, enormous wheels, and so many interesting designs. One of the bikes was a bright pink color and full of action figures, and toys, and gaudy objects just popping out. It was on a mirror so that you could examine it from all angles and I liked how much it gave you to look at. There were some very interesting sketches on one wall about these strange bikes. There were sketches of bikes that folded in half and then turned into it’s own bike lock, or bikes that looked like they were made out of plastic and more. I really liked seeing the old bikes, there were a couple with the iconic large front wheel and very small back wheel and even some wooden bikes. On a T.V., there was a video playing of a type of bike cupid. the video showed someone who needed to go somewhere and then was shot with an arrow by the bike cupid and would then magically be riding the bike. It had some interesting music, situations, and some very unique bikes and was pretty funny. One of the displays, that was viewable to people on the streets as well as in the gallery, brought a lot of bike related objects into an art piece. The piece seemed to show many of the aspects of bike riding and represented it as a culture. It also fit with the gallery as a whole in showing varying types of bikes and the evolution of the bicycle. This gallery was very unique and enjoyable in that it took something not typically seen as art and presented it as such.
