Sunday, December 27, 2009

a morning's musings



Yesterday was the 400th post of this "musings about art and" blog, and now that Christmas is 363 days away, my "musings" turn to some of the topics I studied last semester -- specifically the principles of art and design.

Awake way too early, and seeking a live body to teach me, I turned to YouTube to see if some smart people had posted on that topic.  I found a really nice chap who presented four shapes and asked the viewer to select the ones they liked most and least. Here's the link - "Elements and Principles of Design with Tony Couch" -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3wAJpapNZs

The reason I am sharing this is because the shapes I liked most and least were the exact opposite of those the expert said were the most interesting!  What is wrong with this picture? Click on the link and see what you think -- the video is quite short.

So why do I share the photo, above? I am thinking about the evolution of my aesthetic, and how it relates to what the videoman teaches are the "received" aesthetics -- or what appeals to the seer of art.

The photo shows a part of a piece I started in a Rose Hughes workshop several years ago, before I started taking art classes. Rose included it in her book Dream Landscapes, so at least to her, the piece worked. I wanted to see what was "right' with it -- and what was "wrong" with it -- according to those principles of art and design.

My favorite part of this piece is the button at the top right -- it looks like a Modigliani, yes?

More musings on these topics tomorrow...

2 comments:

Lynn said...

I must have picked the same ones as you. I failed too! Interesting.

Loris Bogue said...

I think I flunked too. I chose 3-2, not 4-1. But then, I was trying to second guess the video!

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