This reading was quite interesting, though I struggled at times with being able to stay focused on the writing as I would get distracted by the drawings. Regardless, it was interesting to see how the two go hand in hand with one another. After all, just as words are often used to convey our own thoughts, so to can drawing be utilized as well. I feel like so often, words are the automatic go-to for expressing ourselves- perhaps this is due to the notion that words have a more definite meaning with less room for interpretation. Drawings and imagery itself however I feel often is perceived as having a looser meaning to it, feeling not as rigid. Thus, I feel that it is important to remind ourselves of the duality of word and drawing, and consider more deeply how the two relate to one another and also how they can be utilized together. The five drawing actions referred to served as a way of looking deeper at the roles that different actions used in actually drawing play and how they can relate to larger ideas trying to be portrayed. Often when I draw, I do not usually put a deeper meaning into what I am making- I often draw just because. However, it certainly is worth a second look if there could really be more to what I am drawing that I may not be consciously aware of.
Tag Archives: response
Vermeer in Bosnia Response- Lindsay W.
I found it remarkable how Weschler was able to interweave the history and creation of Vermeer’s paintings with something as dark as the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal. The reading brings up this idea of Vermeer creating seemingly peaceful works of art as a response to the tumultuous times that surrounded him. It is not an idea that is at all new, but it also made me think more about the lives that artists such as Vermeer lived and reasons that art is made. In the history of art, especially during Vermeer’s time, art was primarily commissioned by patrons, be it wealthy merchants, nobles, or the Church. Thus it starts to lead to the questioning of was it necessarily Vermeer simply painting to escape the troubled times around him, or him receiving the commission to do so? It brings up a lot more questions to consider the very purpose of what art should be and do. Art is not necessarily always a definite way of being able to tell about the experiences occurring at the time of its creation.
One line in particular that grabbed my attention was Weschler’s use of the phrase “inventing peace”. The very image that is created by an artist in a painting, or taken in a photo, has the possibility of achieving just that. When one looks at a picture, there is an automatic assumption that we have about what is it that we are seeing, and the very reason of why it may have been made. The image is itself an invention by the artist to make the viewer think something, that may or may not actually be true. This very notion of the truth of an image ties back to my project from over the summer. While I focused primarily on the use of an image to retain a memory, and the ultimate decline of the memories validity, it similarly brought up this point of the viewer’s interpretation and understanding of an image versus the actual truth behind the creation of the image.
Bird by Bird Response- Lindsay W.
I found this reading a bit difficult to follow, as I felt it was all over the place, but it has a good message behind it. At one point, Lamott describes writers as not really knowing what they’re doing until they’re done, and I think that applies perfectly to artists. The beginning of artworks that we create are our shitty first drafts- they are designed to be a way to let our ideas out and we go from there. It is easy in art to get caught up in getting the first draft perfect, but we do not really learn that way. First drafts are not necessarily what you will pursue, but gives you the chance to test out ideas and techniques. By not knowing what we are doing, we have the chance to create an opportunity to learn what we can do and what we want to do.
Lamott also discusses the idea of having someone you can go to to “read your drafts” and give feedback. Being able to have someone to go to and discuss what it is that you are doing is of great importance I feel in art making. The very act of communicating your thoughts to someone else makes you consider what it really is that you are doing. It also creates the opportunity for sharing of ideas and building off of what you have already done to improve it further. The same value can be said in being the person who looks at other people’s works and letting them know how you feel about it. Being put in that kind of situation demands that you become familiar with what you do and do not like, and also requires that you explain the reasons behind it. Being in the position of judging can create a chance for us to learn more about the art being made, and also how we may value what is included in art or what we feel that should be included.
Response to Lindsay B’s works
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After viewing Lindsay’s Bs work, I am reminded of natural phenomenas dominated by the idea of man made control ( similar to observable, natural events such as erosion, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes etc) The painting with the vibrant purple hues, I associated with natural auroras. But then, there is a geometric shape component that is controlled and designed with human qualities present as well. With the other work, fractals came to my mind, also ladder sculptures by Martin Puryear.
With both of Lindsay’s works, the repeated patterns both represented in shape and color present a minimalist feeling that also includes potential for expanding symmetry (The sculptures above are from Puryear’s his Minimal Exposition 2009, A year in Sphere). The idea Lindsay may include transparencies into these works pose interesting possibilities and also can contribute some three dimensional qualities!
In response to Brette
I remember Brette talking about the interaction of man vs nature in a landscape, so I decided to create one of my own landscape paintings with a driveway cutting through it. Maybe it will help Brette with her research! I really hated adding the driveway after I did it, I was thinking about scraping the the paint off but I didn’t because I’m running out of white. So I just reworked it until I liked it a little better.