Color

I think we very often taken color for granted. It probably sounds like a silly thing to say, but we really overlook all that color does for us. Color saves lives, represents how we feel, who we are, informs us, and we even learn to love and hate certain colors.

Color saves lives by being present in an ambulance, to tell people to get out of the way because someone is in a life threatening situation. It also saves lives by warning us of dangerous situations or hazardous materials.

In addition to saving lives, color expresses how we feel. We associate many colors with different feelings, both emotional and physical. Green can represent envy, but also sickness. Red can represent love, but also anger as well.

We use color to represent who we are or where we are from in flags. Different patterns of colors put together make up a flag that symbolizes an entire nation. The flag of the United Kindom is actually made up of the three flags of the countries that are the UK: St. George's Cross of England, St. Andrew's Cross of Scotland, and St. Patrick's Cross of Ireland. All three are simple designs which are overlayed on each other to create a more elaborate symbol of the united countries.

We also learn to like or dislike a certain color because of what it is associated with. One good example of this would be the associations of red and blue with the political parties. Democrats dislike the "red" states because they are primarily republican, and vice versa.

Color Context

When I actually had to look for color, I really noticed them more than I normally do. You see so much more when you just take the time to look for it. Its amazing how much color you find, that you normally wouldn't even pay attention to. While searching, I found a bright green bike tied up to the fence just outside. Its not really a color that I think you would normally see on a bike, but I think it works very well. The color is a very bright lime green, and as soon as I saw it, it made me think of going fast. It makes the bike seem very streamlined and flashy, so you notice it as it zooms by you on the street. Then as I was walking, I found a newspaper stand that was a very different color than all the rest that were next to it. It was a very odd purple color, it reminded me almost of purple cabbage. It just seemed to be such an odd color for that type of object. But, I guess making something an odd color like that gets us to notice it more. We look at the crazy purple one and are attracted to its weirdness, and just pass over the rest of the generic red and yellow ones. So, although it is a weird color, it works in a positive way to grab your attention.

(Actual bike not pictured, due to technical difficulties!)

Performance Art Video

Performance Art

For this activity, I worked with Sarah and Claire. We decided to try all three of the activities. My favorite was the shadow activity. I thought it was actually really challenging to stay with the other person's shadow, and make sure you didn't run into anything while looking down to stay with the shadow. The part about banging the rocks together was a little bit weird. But, I think that the point of it was more to create a reaction from people who were around.

Iconography

Logos are the central focus of advertising. Logos are how we associate a certain brand and it's product. We have almost become obsessed with what logos we wear on clothes and what food we buy. Logos make people want to buy one product more than another, simply because they are more visually pleasing. Many Americans can recognize a brand simply because of the logo, they don't even need to see the name. Like these...

Future of Museums

I think the articles both have very valid points about the future of art museums, and the expansion of art museums. I think museums are going to change a great deal throughout the 20th century. Because we have so many new forms of technology that are rapidly being considered art, galleries and museums will have to accomodate for these new forms. Should we have a whole new category in photographic art that pertains solely to photo manipulation in photoshop? Because it seems as though this has become an entire artform of it's own. Will there be art galleries that show only films in the future? I think that expansion for traditional art galleries and museums, ones that contain classical painting and sculpture, and even some modern works, should stay at the size they are now. I think it would be a better idea to create new gallery spaces for new forms of art. I also don't think expansion is a good idea because I think it would take away from the experience. It may make it so there are crowds, which isn't really desirable either, but I think if a museum or gallery is too large, people will not want to walk through the entire building.

Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp's work The Large Glass is um...interesting. I almost don't even know what to think when I look at it. It's kind of confusing, and a little dull. I think viewing the piece in person would make it much better, but seeing an image of it makes it very hard to appreciate. There are so many things in each pane, it's hard to know what is there and what is going on. I don't feel at all inspired by this piece. The dull colors make it feel kind of boring. Duchamp does make good use of lines, creating a feeling of space in the background and to create elements in the work.

One of the things Marcel Duchamp is most famous for is his collection of "readymades," where he found objects and presented them as art. Duchamp began this project in 1915 with a bicycle wheel assembled on a stool. Duchamp began creating readymades to stray away from 'retinal' art; art that Duchamp believed was only visual. He selected the pieces on the basis of visual indifference, and the selections reflected his sense of irony, humor, and ambiguity. Duchamp limited the yearly production of readymades, and produced no more than 20 in his liftetime. He submitted many to art juries, challenging the public and his patrons to question what conventional art is, and is not. Many of his early readymades have been lost or discarded, but Duchamp commissioned reproductions of originals years later.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readymades_of_Marcel_Duchamp


In advance of a broken arm (1915) http://www.toutfait.com/issues/volume2/issue_5/articles/merritt/images/04_shovel_big.jpg


Bicycle Wheel (1913) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Duchamp_wheel.jpg


Fountain (1917) Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz. Source: http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/blindman/2/04.htm