Bert Irvin - Ranelagh; And Sangora 1993

At first glance I found this art work quite an eye full but while taking the time to study, I have grown to quite like this piece of art. The use of the contrasting shapes and colours makes me feel some sort of positive and negative vibes (which I can relate to in my Fine Art unit as I've been using colours to represent the mood of my work). For me I think the middle red line with the zigzag indicates the separation of the different moods as for me the green and dark yellow circle represents positivity against a negative background since the colours are quite harsh. The 'hash tag' for me represents some sort of negativity as the symbol could stand for restriction (the turquoise could also represent relaxation and peace as the colour is calm) which could contribute to the contrast of this piece. Overall this art work sort of reminds me of the 'ying-yang' sign as this picture for me shows good in bad and bad in good which could represent life itself.

Fine Art Unit - Behind The Scenes - Inspiration

Inspiration "Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind."

Why Inspiration? For me Inspiration takes up a huge chunk of my thoughts on life. For me Inspiration is a source of hope in the most hardest of times, a source of happiness, love, forgiveness of yourself. Looking past all the negatives from your past and aiming for a positive, better future. Inspiration somewhat defines me as being Alice.

But to understand why certain things Inspire me, I have to look back into my past. 

 I suffered badly for anxiety attacks. They have controlled and been deciding how I live my life for the past ten years due to the fact that certain normal day-to-day things trigger them off. Throughout those years I've been living my life in 'what ifs' and the fear of having them, constantly thinking "I can't do that because I'll have a panic attack". But this year I've decided enough is enough. I want to not live with the fear of living anymore, instead, this year I've been pushing myself out of my boundaries and comfort zone to achieve what I want in life and Inspiration has helped me tremendously along the way. I still have a lot to achieve but everyday is a new beginning. 

I wouldn't be who I am today without my past and inspiration for today and I think this unit is the perfect opportunity to express myself in ways I've never done before. 

Miro - The Garden

The Garden by Joan Miro in 1925

When I first saw this painting I couldn't help but feel very nostalgic. The colours and shapes within this painting take me back to being back in nursery 'trying' to read Elmer The Elephant. I personally quite like this piece since Miro has included some sort of humour into this work by creating weird animals such as the worried worm and one-eyed bird which for me dominates the rest of the animals in the picture by Miro's use of the heavy outlines that contain it's body. I wouldn't say this piece isn't quite easy on the eye due to the sharp, rigid shapes and the concentrated colours, but on a positive note, the picture does contain some form for energy that makes the painting come to life by the lively colours and movements of the shapes. 

Finding a piece of art that is able to connect to your past is one of the reasons why I enjoy discovering work I've never seen before.

Andy Warhol - Endangered Animal's: Grevy's Zebra

Endangered Animal's: Grevy's Zebra was made by Andy Warhol in 1983

Grevy's Zebra: one of Africa's most endangered mammals 

I have chosen this image to review because the minute I set my eyes on it, I felt as though I had an understanding of the piece and the message it was trying to convey. Since looking at the title of this print I have personally found the connection between the words and the image. Even though Andy is famous for his bold coloured prints, I feel as though the colour in this image symbolizes the amount of danger the Grevy's Zebra's are in. With the brilliant red colour normally known for being used in warning signs, I feel as though instead of the zebra having it's plain black and white coat, the use of the red and colours such as blue and yellow show just shows the awareness of what's happening to these mammals. With this image I feel as though Andy has combined an important message with his artwork and for because of that I appreciate this picture.

Printmaking

Printmaking: "An art form that involves transferring one image from a surface to another"

Printmaking was originally a form of communication until the 18th century when the works that artists done were thought to be authentic. It's been said that the process of engraving goes back thousands of years to when people use to carve pictures by using cave walls and bones as their own canvases.

La Femme qui Pleure I (Weeping Woman I) by Pablo Picasso was made in 1937. Pablo Picasso was born in Spain on the 25th of October 1881 and died in France on the 8th of April 1973. 

I quite like this sketch because for me it shows powerful emotion and as I observe it, I feel as though I can hear the screeching and yelling of her suffering which does give me an emotional experience while looking at it. Picasso developed this woman by using ruff lines and hard edges to create her disfigured appearance (her appearance for me symbolizes her self destruction as she crumbles away) which also gives me an impact on my understanding and feelings for this picture. Another thing I have noticed is that her hands are completely different to one another, the right hand is perfectly normal with a soft tone as the left hand is quite devilish and darker in tone. This could represent the roller coaster of mixed emotions she is feeling such as hatred and kindness.

Personal I don't see anything I dislike about this sketch. I feel as though Picasso has combined his natural talent of art with the emotions he successfully placed within while sketching this picture and for that I respect his style of work.

30 Seconds Of Nonsense - London

The Haining

Yesterday my art and design college class went on a small journey to The Haining which lies in the small town of Selkirk. When we arrived there, we spent the morning looking around the ancient building at the art work of a former art graduate. One piece of her work really caught my eye as I was wandering around and that piece was the bronze metal ticking heart sculpture. One thing I have learned from studying art and design for the past six years of high school is that any piece of work has a meaning behind it and by opening your mind, you are able to explore and find it. With the ticking heart sculpture I personally felt as though I could relate to the meaning I found. The meaning that came out of the piece for me was that the metal heart resembled a strong, powerful organ that controls the blood flowing throughout our body that keeps us alive but also at the same time resembles the hard, cold, warm feeling and the power of love. If it's the warm bubbly feeling that makes your heart glow or the dark, shallow, heavy feeling that makes your heart sink, I strongly believe that the heart controls all of our feelings that we experience and live by. Throughout our live we experience a lot of things that make us happy, sad and angry, whether it's a joyful or a heart breaking moment I feel like the only thing that can fix the feelings happening in your heart is time which relates back to the ticking of the heart. The metal used to create the heart also for me symbolizes that our hearts are solid and to a certain degree indestructible as no matter how sad you are feeling, within time things do get better and your heart starts to cope again.