Is it done yet?

How do you know if art is complete?

What will you notice if it is finished?

Gilbert Stuart

*(notes for substitute teacher) Students came up with many reasons an artists may not finish a work of art.  Some said, the artist may have lost interest, the artist may have forgotten about it, the artist might not have liked how it was turning out  and started new...can you think of some reasons these are unfinished?

These are some unfinished paintings and will not be finished because the artists are no longer living.

Jan van Eyck

Gustav Klimt

Look at this bulldog by Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, it is clearly unfinished or was in progress.

It can be pretty easy to tell if a work is in progress versus finished.
Let's look at Patrick Dougherty's work!  

In progress is kinda like being in the middle of your project.  This is where you can make decisions, changes, add detail and consider what your next steps will be.

Let's look at Patrick Dougherty's finished work.  What do you notice that tells you his work is complete?

Sometimes the artist meant for the art to look incomplete...it was done intentionally-- on purpose.

Paul Cezanne did a series of paintings that look unfinished but he actually wanted your eyes and mind to fill in the blanks.

Paul Cezanne


and sometimes artwork can be over finished or over worked.  It can look muddy, too busy or the focal point is lost.  These are not wrong.  Over worked art tends to happen in the painting studio.

Do these art works look finished?  If so, what did the artist do to make them look complete?

What feedback would you give these artists to help them finish their art?

What advice would you give this sculptor to "transform" the materials they used to construct this art?

The closer a work gets to finished, it might be harder to tell if it's done.

Carefully mounting your work to construction paper and signing your piece is one way to make your art appear complete.

How will you know your work is complete?  

Don't forget that 

transforming materials is one way to know if your art is 

finished.

What Is A Powerful Image In ART?

What does "powerful" mean in art?

An image that will catch your eye or have a strong effect on your feelings or thoughts is powerful.

Which one of these images "catches" your eye? Are they both powerful images?

An art work can be powerful if it stays with you or maybe you had a powerful experience viewing the art.

  

James Turrell Skyspace

Many of the artworks we have viewed over past lessons have been powerful.  We have looked at installation art and kinetic art.  There are many qualities that make these works powerful. For example, we viewed the bright orange installation of 14,000 Syrian life vests and discussed how Ai Weiwei is using art to make people think about the lives of others. 

 Let's look at ways artists make their work powerful.

Do these images have a strong effect on your feelings or thoughts?

 Andrew Wyeth

 “Love.”  Alexandr Milov 

There are different ways to create a powerful image

*Outlining an image (contour line)

This is a Keith Harring image

Ndebele House

*Consider Background (light colors, dark colors, contrast, complete coverage)

Which fish looks more powerful?

 

 

*Considering size

Imagine if there were just a few pieces of yarn hanging from a gallery ceiling.
Look at the scale of this work.  It fills the entire ceiling.

Ernest Neto

Imagine if this bird were painted very tiny in the corner would it be a powerful image?

Look at our fish again, do you notice this little fish? Why?

 

  *Show Emotion

    Is this a powerful image?  

What powerful emotion are you feeling as you look at this piece?

How will you make "powerful art images"

**Adapted from a lesson by Maryellen Picker.  

Art on the MOVE!

Last week, we looked at installation art.  

One of the works by Sarah Sze had movement.  We called art that moves Kinetic art.

Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or depends on motion for its effect. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are the earliest examples of kinetic art.

A new work of art to the Kemper Art Museum at Washington University was just installed.

Pae White

We have kinetic art here in Clayton:

Have you seen movement on the Centene Building in downtown Clayton?
Does anyone know what makes it move?

or  Windmill by Edward Hendricks is another kinetic sculpture in Clayton.

Consider the movement in these works of art...

Rivane Neuenschwander

Kiki Smith

Higgins Glass Mobile

Alexander Calder

Eames

Jean Tinguely

Folk Art Whirligigs--Can you figure out what makes these folk art works move?

Automata

Can 2D Art  be kinetic?

Bridget Riley

Victor Vasarely

Flip book

Juan Fontanive

Think about why you would want your art to have motion.

Would your art be more interesting if it moved?

What means would you use to make your art move?

spring, motor, fan, string, lever, crank, gear, brass fastener, wind, hands, solar, wind, water .....


Think of something you have worked on for a long time!  Was it even better the more you worked on it?


Theo Jansen has worked on his Strandbeests for over 25 years!