Project 4 Sub assignment

Susan Schwake

http://www.susanschwake.com/index1.php?a=1

There are many artist portfolio websites. The site that I chose to analyze belongs to Susan Schwake. The reason that I chose Susan's site was because it was easy to navigate, and gave a good representation of her work as an artist.

Color/ Design- Though this site was lacking colorful pages and really didn't utilize very much design or creativity at all, its simplicity made it easy to view and kept my attention on the artwork rather than the background. I love bright colors as much as the next person, but Susan's artwork was very colorful and I feel that if the website had been colorful, it would have taken away from the already vibrant artwork. (So though this website really didn't have much color or design, I feel that it was the right choice in this case)

Layout- The layout of Susan's site was beneficial to the viewer. The pages were arranged neatly and the pictures of her artwork were arranged in straight lines. This kept the page easy to follow and kept the focus on the works of art themselves. (Simplicity wins again)

Navigation- This website was very easy to follow. The homepage had a list of subcategories on the right-hand side of the page. Clicking on these subcategories would bring the viewer to a new page where they could view paintings, prints, illustrations, etc. Each work of art was shown in a small view and clicking on the artwork would bring up a larger view of the piece. (This type of setup made it very easy to navigate around the site and made it so that I could find info and examples of artwork fast). The ease with which I was able to browse the site kept me there for longer as well...when a site is not easy to navigate, I quickly give up and look for something easier.

Summary- Though this site was slightly too plain, its simplicity and easy to follow layout and navigation made it an effective site where the artists work could be enjoyed while, at the same time, providing the viewer information and purchasing options. Simplicity won out on this one, proving that sometimes less is more.

Henry Moore- (1898-1986) Moore was a popular modernist sculptor. Earlier in life Moore was a teacher and even joined the Army. He went to Leeds School of Art on an ex-serviceman's grant. He was best known for his bronze and marble sculptures of abstract human form. Many contain hollow spaces. I chose this artist because He was an early pioneer of the modernist style and his pieces are smooth and have a natural flow to them. As I look at all of the sculptures I find myself imagining how they would feel. I just want to touch them because they seem like they would feel as interesting as they look.

Mark Di Suvero- Is an American abstract expressionist. He originally studied philosophy but when he moved to New York he was injured in a freight elevator accident while working in construction. After that he focused all his attention on sculpture. I find him interesting because his sculptures reflect his background in construction. I think that they each look a lot like an unfinished scaffolding to a building that is being created. They remind me of the "birth" of a building. Each work is interesting, exciting, and different.

David Smith- Studied at Ohio university and The University of Notre Dame but dropped out to become a welder. His sculptures are made entirely from scrap metal that he finds. His works depict his abstract expressionistic style. I like his works because each one looks as though it is barely ballancing. They look like they should not be able to stand on their own but they are still standing just the same. I like that aspect of his work because it reminds me of life and how it is so fragile and ballanced.

Robert Smithson- (1938-1973) He was an American artist known for his natural land art. He started as a painter but soon discovered a love for installations within nature. Most of his works showcase pieces made using natural materials. I picked this artist because his works are such a large scale and so interesting. There is obviously a lot of hard work that goes into each one and the finished products are astounding. The natural materials that Smithson used set him apart from any other artist that I have seen so far.

Barbra Hepworth- (1903-1975) Was an English sculptor with a modernist style. She is well known and most of her works display a good understanding and usage of negative space. I like her pieces because they show a sturdy, solid structure but at the same time, the hollow spaces within the pieces break up the sculptures and add interest. They vary in size and she was the most interesting female artist that I read about. She was so highly regarded and recognized that I felt I would have been missing out had I not learned about her. I like the same flow and smooth texture found in Moore's sculptures. I am just attracted to that style above any others.

Imovie Project Proposal

For My video project I plan to focus on illustrating how I use running as an escape. I will be communicating how I am able to leave the stresses of my life as a student behind me when I go out for a run.

I should be able to do this through the use of many different short shots in the beginning. These short clips will be focused on various different things... mostly these shots will be close-ups of typing at a computer/buying food/ writing a paper/studying...etc. They will be played fast and they will quickly speed up.

These clips will end with a shot of me standing with my running shoes in my hand. Then I will put my shoes on and the shots will be of my feet hitting the ground and then a wide shot of me jogging.

The screen will then fade to stop motion shots of happy images (yet to be determined)

The scene will end with a shot of me running away from the camera.

Video Art Quiz

1.) Name an early artist mentioned in the article for Conceptual work performing in front of the camera. Describe a work.

--Klaus Vom Bruch (1937) His work: Duracell Tape is a repetitious video that combines a duracell commercial and war immages. There is a repeating sound and the work emminates subliminal advertising.

2.) Name an artist mentioned who deals with personal narrative. Describe a work.

--Peter Campus' Three Transitions: the first part shows him ripping into a piece of paper and climbing through. The second part shows him painting his face with another immage of his face. The third part is an immage of Campus holding a "living" picture of himself as it burns.

3.) Describe the piece you were most interested in viewing after reading this article, look the work up on the links page, and expand on Rush's comments.

--The piece that I was most interested in viewing was TV Buddah by: Nam June Paik. This piece was simple enough, with a Buddah statue being filmed and shown on a small tv screen. The theme concerned time. The instantanious immagery produced by the camera helped him depict this theme. This helped to detach the viewer from "reality". This is a very interesting thing to play with...making time and reality the art form.

4.) What do you better understand now about video art?

--I learned that art videos originated from two types of video practice: activist driven documentaries linked with alternative news reports and so-called art videos. The origins help to better explain the original intended meaning behind these types of videos.

5.) Based on Rush and this article, what makes video art vs. an "artful video"?

--It embraces both high and low budget and themes are personal or indevidualistic in nature.

Reading Assignment 1

Wow! This article contained a lot of information! Besides the fact that the article skipped around a little bit, I found it to be really interesting.

I had no idea that the world of interactive media had been developing for so long! I guess when I pictured the development of computer immaging I pictured a bunch of tech people just sitting down and knowing right away that they wanted to design those types of computer programs. I didnt even stop to consider that the early versions of those programs have been around since WWII. This technology has come such a long way from creating balistics tables.

I think that people take this type of technology for granted everyday, (I know that I do!). It also really surprised me that I had never heard of any of these people before. Vannevar Bush (who first thought of computers as devices that could be used for personal use), Norber Weiner (who believed that the quality of ones communication with machines effects the quality of a persons inner life), and Lynn Hershman (one of the first to create digital artworks) were all huge names in the development of creative computer technology. Yet non of these people have ever come up in anything I have ever read.

Lynn Hershman was particularly interesting to me (image on the right is an untitled work by Lynn). Lynn was born in Cleveland Ohio in 1941. She was a professor at the Univer

sity of California and the Chair of the film department a

t San Francisco Art Institute. She was known for her art and film which focused on identity in a time of consumerism.

It was interesting to see just how many different people, involved in different fields, were needed to get computer technology to the point that is is now.

This article is very informative and I wish that more people could have the chance to read it.