Comics Reading Response Chapters 7 and 8

Chapter 7 deals with the questions that arise while creating and defining art. Does art have to have a form, a function? It dealt with the choices and the different ways that artists create art. Art is made in some way by everyone at some point in their life because it is a human expression that we cannot get away from. So in this way, art makes someone human. They must do something with themselves when they aren't performing necessary survival functions. These actions are done for one's pleasure and thus are considered art.

In chapter 8 I liked the author's use on color and description of how it is used in art in different ways. It was nice to finally see some color on the pages of this book. Color is something that I tend to incorporate in my work a lot. I love different color palettes and mine tend to always be vibrant. Colors can convey very different things to different people and can be used to give work a mood or a feeling. I love color. as weird as that sounds. I will buy an art piece that is nothing but an arrangement of color. I think that colors are very powerful visually and sometimes can be experienced best in their pure form. Color and the color scheme combinations highly dictate my work. I liked this chapter the best so far. It's use of examples was very effective.

Reading Response: Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg is an artist that is unlike the other artists that I have read about so far. His life was much different. It seems that he lived a very normal life, he liked to draw but never thought anything of it. He was in the Navy and that's where he discovered that he was talented. He seemed to live a more sheltered lifestyle than the other artists that I have read about in the reader so far. I found that very endearing and almost more of a pure art than some other artists. I like his style. It is a bit disorganized and crazy but that's how he wants it to be. He has a very unique style and I love the collages that he did. The collage above is amazing. It embodies a whole movement of the 60's and what that decade meant. It was so influential and I think that this work embodies that perfectly. His piece with the goat is very interesting and visually engaging. I think the fact that he finds things that he likes or ideas that just seem good to him and goes for it and just does them. He seems to take chances and that is something that not all artists want to do, but it can be a very effective mechanism for creation. I think that he furthered the conception that art doesn't have to be beautiful to be powerful. The story in the reader where an old lady comes up to him and comments that his work was ugly and how she didn't understand the process that he went through while creating it was a perfect example of the concept that perspective is the key to looking at art and you sometimes have to suspend your preconceptions in order to understand someone else's work.

Art Show Review

I went to Desiree's art exhibition this week. It was a very unique and awesome show. I liked the portraits of the boxers and noted how they weren't set in a ring or necessarily an athletic setting. This made me feel like the message of the portraits went deeper than showing the form and beauty of the sport. They made me feel like the boxers were fighting in their personal lives and familiar settings as well as in the ring. Their strength was being carried over into other aspects of their life. The decision to hang the portraits with over sized clamps was very interesting. I could tell it was a very conscious decision. They were photos that were kept open by only those clamps, otherwise they would roll up. I know that this was an important element to the images. Maybe it meant that they were being strengthened by boxing in their lives, that boxing was a release and could help them open up and stay stable. The boxing elements that were installed in the room helped tie together the exhibition and strengthen it. The hanging punching bag and the custom made ring immersed the viewer into the boxing atmosphere. The ring was impressive. I had no idea it was custom made until I read the description. I thought it was for little kids or something. I enjoyed the exhibition, a lot. It seemed simple but that fact actually led me to pick up on the fact that there was so much more there. In light of our confessions week, I have learned that a lot of times in art there are deeply personal choices made in art, and some of the best art is something that is very deeply personal to the artist.

My Confession

For my confession I dug really deep to a very personal fear that I hold close and have never told anyone. I have never really been close to my dad, he is very different from me and he was always the enforcer and critic of the house. We never really made the extra effort to have a good relationship. My Dad had a heart attack last year. It was mainly due to eating very unhealthy. My dad is a great cook and loves to cook things like steak, filet mignon and other rich food on a very regular basis and this is a high contributor to why he had a heart attack. My confession was that I fear that he will die of heart disease before we get the chance to have a good relationship. I set out this place setting. I carved a heart out of bell pepper, which is also really a really healthy food that is good for the heart, put it in a deep bowl that had spinach and a blend of red lettuce and other greens that are great for heart function due to the levels of iron in them. I wrapped the utensils in a two page letter that I had written to my dad. This letter stated the way I felt and how I missed out on having that relationship with him. I also stated that I would like to see him eat healthier. I read it out loud to the class after they had observed the sculpture in order to explain my confession. It was actually therapeutic to have the way I feel written out concisely and to finally speak it. I was very emotional throughout the whole thing. When I made the decision to read it out loud I was unsure whether I was going to be able to get through it and I was tempted to ask someone else to read it for me, but it was something that I had to do myself. I read it and shook and had to gather myself at some points but I did it and I got a very emotional response from my peers. It felt supportive, and many people could relate to what I felt. That was amazing. I didn't want everyone to feel sympathetic or anything, I didn't want that kind of attention and I felt like everyone was more supportive than anything so that was great.

Also, I read people's blogs of the critique for that day and a surprising number mentioned me. I felt very proud first of all, it was such an honor that people thought that my work was good,because I hadn't looked at it as art so much as just completing the assignment and getting this very difficult issue out. Many people were affected by it and thought that it was beautiful and many said that I should give the letter to my dad. I think I probably will next time that I see him or maybe write a more appropriate version of it to him on his birthday. The responses made me cry, I felt like I had touched a lot of people and that they actually cared. It was definitely a response that I hadn't expected. If anyone in my class is reading this right now, Thank you. Your responses meant a lot to me.

EASTER