Dear class,
Please be sure to send me your CAMERA-READY texts before this Friday, March 2nd (midnight deadline). Anything sent to me after this time will not be converted into a slide for your use during our projection day.
Send texts as Word docs, PDFs, or JPEGs to: taneyroniger@gmail.com
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Homework Assignment #6, due Tuesday 2/28
First phase: Writing on the Body:
NOTE: Before reading this post, be sure you have read through the entire midterm project guidelines (see post below this one if you have lost the hard copy I gave you in class!).
Your assignment for this week is to select a text for your mid-term project and to create a graphic arrangement that will be “camera-ready” so that I can convert it into slide form. Before doing anything, be sure to read over the entire project description (see post below).
Your text:
Once you select a text for the project, you’ll need to arrange it graphically (with or without additional “purely graphic” elements) on a regular sheet of paper (i.e., 8.5” x 11”). You can do this either on the computer or by hand. If necessary, you may bring in several alternatives; I will convert into slides up to three texts per person.
Please note that even if you will not be using the projection approach for this project, you still need to show me a sketch of what you will be doing. The main thing is to begin thinking and planning now so that you'll be ready to get to work immediately after spring break.
NOTE: Before reading this post, be sure you have read through the entire midterm project guidelines (see post below this one if you have lost the hard copy I gave you in class!).
Your assignment for this week is to select a text for your mid-term project and to create a graphic arrangement that will be “camera-ready” so that I can convert it into slide form. Before doing anything, be sure to read over the entire project description (see post below).
Your text:
Once you select a text for the project, you’ll need to arrange it graphically (with or without additional “purely graphic” elements) on a regular sheet of paper (i.e., 8.5” x 11”). You can do this either on the computer or by hand. If necessary, you may bring in several alternatives; I will convert into slides up to three texts per person.
Please note that even if you will not be using the projection approach for this project, you still need to show me a sketch of what you will be doing. The main thing is to begin thinking and planning now so that you'll be ready to get to work immediately after spring break.
Midterm project
Below are the guidelines I gave you in class this week for your midterm project. Please take some time to read them over thoroughly.
NOTE: The exact deadline is yet to be determined. Projects will be due some time after spring break.
WRITING ON THE BODY:
This assignment is about exploring the formal possibilities and conceptual implications of a mode of self-expression that can be considered the most primal form of mark-making: writing on the body. While there are many different ways to approach this project, a good place to begin is a consideration of today’s tattoo culture, in which people have highly personalized words and images inked indelibly onto their skin—with results that can be both astonishingly beautiful and thoroughly grotesque. A less familiar but equally fascinating phenomenon is the practice of scarification that occurs in many African and Pacific cultures, in which deep scars are “etched” onto the face to form symbolic marks. These marks can indicate anything from status in the community to ancestral connections to personal achievements such as having undergone a certain rite of passage.
While we won’t be doing any real tattooing or scarifying for this assignment, the idea is to make a large-scale drawing that depicts some kind of personal text “written” on either your body or that of a surrogate (both male and female models will be available). We will be working with projected images, and in the past many students have incorporated aspects of the projections into their drawings, with very intriguing results.
The project breaks down into roughly seven steps, but obviously you should be considering all of them simultaneously as you go along.
1. Choosing a text: The first step is to select a piece of writing that holds some personal significance for you. It can be anything from a poem by Emily Dickinson to a passage from the Koran to the lyrics of a Pink Floyd song to something you wrote yourself. The length, style, and content of the text are entirely up to you.
2. Converting your text into an image: After selecting your text, you will need to convert the letters and words into an “image” from which you’ll make your drawing. This can be as simple as typing your text in a Word document and making a print of it. If this is what you do, be sure to give great consideration to your font, as it will clearly affect the meaning of your final image. You should experiment with a variety of different fonts, font sizes, and text configurations in the initial stages of your project. When you arrive at a final text composition, print it out on a regular 11” x 8.5” piece of paper to turn in to me. I will convert these images into slides for projection.
3. Choosing a body part: After selecting a text and considering various formats for it, the next step will be to choose a site on your body (or the model’s) to bear the text. This decision should be made with the utmost care, since both the formal particularities of the site (i.e., the texture of the skin, the angles and contours of the bones and muscles, etc.) and its psychological associations will contribute greatly to the meaning of your piece. In making your decision about body site, you might want to take some photographs of various body parts (e.g., the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, a kneecap, your face, your back, etc.) to work with in your preparations. Remember: the idea is not to entertain the prospect of a real tattoo but rather to make a really interesting work of art. The most intriguing image might result from placing your text in the least likely place!
4. Considering your composition: Once you’ve decided on both text and body site, begin to make some preliminary sketches that explore various alternatives for a basic composition. Feel free to abstract as much as you need to (for example, zooming in on body parts can create very beautiful and ambiguous compositions).
5. Approaching your final drawing: There are several ways of approaching the construction of your final image, but in any case you should have numerous sketches, photos, etc. to work from. One of the key drawing challenges in this project will be in depicting your text as it “wraps around” the contours of your body. To help you visualize this, we will be working with a slide projector and two models (male and female) during our designated studio day (we will discuss this in class).
6. Choosing a paper: As with last semester’s final project, you should give great consideration to your choice of paper. The dimensions of your paper should be approximately 30” x 40”, but other than that, the choice is yours. New York Central Art Supply has a wonderful selection of papers. The store is located at 62 3rd Ave. (just south of 11th St.); the paper department is upstairs.
7. Choosing your drawing materials: For this project you may use whatever drawing materials you feel are appropriate. Restraint is advised, however. (Please keep the “less is more” mantra in mind, and add colors and extraneous materials only when necessary! A simple Ebony pencil can produce wondrous results.)
NOTE: The exact deadline is yet to be determined. Projects will be due some time after spring break.
WRITING ON THE BODY:
This assignment is about exploring the formal possibilities and conceptual implications of a mode of self-expression that can be considered the most primal form of mark-making: writing on the body. While there are many different ways to approach this project, a good place to begin is a consideration of today’s tattoo culture, in which people have highly personalized words and images inked indelibly onto their skin—with results that can be both astonishingly beautiful and thoroughly grotesque. A less familiar but equally fascinating phenomenon is the practice of scarification that occurs in many African and Pacific cultures, in which deep scars are “etched” onto the face to form symbolic marks. These marks can indicate anything from status in the community to ancestral connections to personal achievements such as having undergone a certain rite of passage.
While we won’t be doing any real tattooing or scarifying for this assignment, the idea is to make a large-scale drawing that depicts some kind of personal text “written” on either your body or that of a surrogate (both male and female models will be available). We will be working with projected images, and in the past many students have incorporated aspects of the projections into their drawings, with very intriguing results.
The project breaks down into roughly seven steps, but obviously you should be considering all of them simultaneously as you go along.
1. Choosing a text: The first step is to select a piece of writing that holds some personal significance for you. It can be anything from a poem by Emily Dickinson to a passage from the Koran to the lyrics of a Pink Floyd song to something you wrote yourself. The length, style, and content of the text are entirely up to you.
2. Converting your text into an image: After selecting your text, you will need to convert the letters and words into an “image” from which you’ll make your drawing. This can be as simple as typing your text in a Word document and making a print of it. If this is what you do, be sure to give great consideration to your font, as it will clearly affect the meaning of your final image. You should experiment with a variety of different fonts, font sizes, and text configurations in the initial stages of your project. When you arrive at a final text composition, print it out on a regular 11” x 8.5” piece of paper to turn in to me. I will convert these images into slides for projection.
3. Choosing a body part: After selecting a text and considering various formats for it, the next step will be to choose a site on your body (or the model’s) to bear the text. This decision should be made with the utmost care, since both the formal particularities of the site (i.e., the texture of the skin, the angles and contours of the bones and muscles, etc.) and its psychological associations will contribute greatly to the meaning of your piece. In making your decision about body site, you might want to take some photographs of various body parts (e.g., the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, a kneecap, your face, your back, etc.) to work with in your preparations. Remember: the idea is not to entertain the prospect of a real tattoo but rather to make a really interesting work of art. The most intriguing image might result from placing your text in the least likely place!
4. Considering your composition: Once you’ve decided on both text and body site, begin to make some preliminary sketches that explore various alternatives for a basic composition. Feel free to abstract as much as you need to (for example, zooming in on body parts can create very beautiful and ambiguous compositions).
5. Approaching your final drawing: There are several ways of approaching the construction of your final image, but in any case you should have numerous sketches, photos, etc. to work from. One of the key drawing challenges in this project will be in depicting your text as it “wraps around” the contours of your body. To help you visualize this, we will be working with a slide projector and two models (male and female) during our designated studio day (we will discuss this in class).
6. Choosing a paper: As with last semester’s final project, you should give great consideration to your choice of paper. The dimensions of your paper should be approximately 30” x 40”, but other than that, the choice is yours. New York Central Art Supply has a wonderful selection of papers. The store is located at 62 3rd Ave. (just south of 11th St.); the paper department is upstairs.
7. Choosing your drawing materials: For this project you may use whatever drawing materials you feel are appropriate. Restraint is advised, however. (Please keep the “less is more” mantra in mind, and add colors and extraneous materials only when necessary! A simple Ebony pencil can produce wondrous results.)
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Color photograph for Tuesday's class
Dear class,
Please remember to bring your color photograph (the one you were prepared to bring for last week) to class on Tuesday, along with your notebooks.
Please remember to bring your color photograph (the one you were prepared to bring for last week) to class on Tuesday, along with your notebooks.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Class cancellation -- Tuesday 2/14
Dear class,
I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to cancel class today, Tuesday the 14th, due to illness. We'll meet next week as planned, but until then, please continue to work in your notebooks, as I'll be looking at them for the first notebook check of the semester next Tuesday. You can also use this week to re-work or re-do any of this semester's assignments that you've been dissatisfied with.
See you all next week.
I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to cancel class today, Tuesday the 14th, due to illness. We'll meet next week as planned, but until then, please continue to work in your notebooks, as I'll be looking at them for the first notebook check of the semester next Tuesday. You can also use this week to re-work or re-do any of this semester's assignments that you've been dissatisfied with.
See you all next week.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Color photograph for Tuesday's class and notebook reminder
NOTE: For this week's homework assignment see post below.
Dear class,
Please bring with you on Tuesday a color photograph or inkjet print with a compelling composition and vivid colors to use in our class drawing session. The subject can be anything whatsoever, but it should be something that holds some personal significance to you.
Also -- I will be checking your notebooks in two weeks. I expect to see a good amount of work in them!
Dear class,
Please bring with you on Tuesday a color photograph or inkjet print with a compelling composition and vivid colors to use in our class drawing session. The subject can be anything whatsoever, but it should be something that holds some personal significance to you.
Also -- I will be checking your notebooks in two weeks. I expect to see a good amount of work in them!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Homework Assignment #5, due Tuesday 2/14
ALTERED MASTERPIECE:
This week's assignment is to make a pastel drawing that uses color to change the meaning or psychological mood of a famous painting. Begin by selecting a well-known painting that holds some personal interest for you. Be sure to make a nice digital print of your selected piece (preferably from a high-quality reproduction) so that you're not working from a computer screen.
Next, study the image for a while and imagine how your "read" of the painting might differ if the color were different. For example, if your selected piece is Van Gogh's Starry Night, imagine how you might feel about the piece if the sky were bright orange instead of blue, if the stars were blue instead of yellow, if the trees in the foreground were red and green, etc.
Using your chalk pastels, make a drawing that re-interprets the painting by changing its color scheme significantly. You may want to consider "inverting" the colors -- i.e., changing each color into its complement. Or, if you prefer, alter the palette to emphasize a dominant hue not seen in the original. However you choose to approach the assignment, concentrate on "re-creating" the painting in such a way that you give it a new dimension of meaning that feels uniquely your own.
You may use however many or few colors you want to for this assignment, but complex (i.e., blended) colors tend to be more successful than simple ones.
This week's assignment is to make a pastel drawing that uses color to change the meaning or psychological mood of a famous painting. Begin by selecting a well-known painting that holds some personal interest for you. Be sure to make a nice digital print of your selected piece (preferably from a high-quality reproduction) so that you're not working from a computer screen.
Next, study the image for a while and imagine how your "read" of the painting might differ if the color were different. For example, if your selected piece is Van Gogh's Starry Night, imagine how you might feel about the piece if the sky were bright orange instead of blue, if the stars were blue instead of yellow, if the trees in the foreground were red and green, etc.
Using your chalk pastels, make a drawing that re-interprets the painting by changing its color scheme significantly. You may want to consider "inverting" the colors -- i.e., changing each color into its complement. Or, if you prefer, alter the palette to emphasize a dominant hue not seen in the original. However you choose to approach the assignment, concentrate on "re-creating" the painting in such a way that you give it a new dimension of meaning that feels uniquely your own.
You may use however many or few colors you want to for this assignment, but complex (i.e., blended) colors tend to be more successful than simple ones.
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