Museum Gallery Visit 4: ES and MS Art Show!

AP 2D Digital Portfolio

Concentration 9, 10, 11, & 12

I am submitting a close-up of one of my concentration pieces as an exemption for concentration 9.

Extra timed-drawing for concentration 10.

Extra monoprint for concentration 11.

Extra found surface piece for concentration 12.

Concentration 8

 Timed-Drawing Diptych (Piece 2)

Manipulation of Materials:
Similar to the painting of the oil can, I found it difficult to paint acrylic on paper because it was hard to spread the paint and it dried way too quickly. I just had to adjust my speed and technique, which was fine since this was a three-class timed drawing anyways.

Problem Solving:
I've always wanted to try painting water, but never really got around it because I wasn't sure how. The texture always seemed too detailed and complicated, but it was only when April said "Just zoom in and paint the shapes and colors. Don't think of it as water when you paint it" that I finally decided to try it.

Concentration 7

I am submitting my triptych artwork as an exemption for this concentration assignment. 

Concentration 6

Timed-Drawing Diptych (Piece 1)

(180 minutes ~ roughly two classes)

Problem Solving:
After having a week of timed-drawings, I wanted to continue experimenting with making art under pressure. I realized that with timed-drawings, I really had to focus on the big picture rather than the minute details and making everything clean-cut. Because all of the timed-drawings I've done in the past were with rapidograph, I wanted to try something new, which is why I chose to do acrylic. It felt a little bland composition wise, which is why I've decided to make it the first part of a diptych piece.

Manipulation of Materials:
Although it is hard for me to paint in a fast pace, acrylic as a medium is quite fitting for timed-drawings because it dries super quick, letting me layer and add on more shape without having to wait. This piece was quite challenging, however, because I painted it on regular paper, making it harder to spread the paint and it drying a lot faster than usual when I would do it on wood or matteboard.

Museum Gallery Visit III: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology

 

For my third museum visit, I went to the National Museum of Singapore to see the Polaroid exhibition. This was the first photography art exhibition that I have been to, and I have to say that it opened up my eyes to new things I've never really paid attention or learned about. Being in a 2D class, photography was always an option, but I never actually considered it. This is partly because I've never owned or really worked with a high quality camera before, besides taking photos with my iPhone. Even with my phone, I've always taken photos of pretty views and with friends, but never really for quality use. However, after this exhibit, I learned a lot about the art of taking photos and how it can be a lot more artistic than people perceive photos to be.

Polaroid cameras made a comeback recently, which is why I am aware of them, but I've never actually taken the time to think about them. Now that I think of it, it's pretty amazing how we have a camera in our world that can take a photo and print it in an instant without us seeing what it looks like beforehand. This is why it is artistically unique, because Polaroids gave us the art of being ambiguous and taking a snapshot of the raw world -- no edits and no retakes. 

There were so many photographs displayed where, if it had been taken on our phones, would most likely be retaken because it was centered wrong or just didn't have good enough placement and lighting. But because of how off the picture is, the more unique and interesting it is.

Also, the way the Polaroid camera works is quite amazing. The fact that the camera can take in a photo of light and print it immediately within less than a minute is quite extraordinary. The creation of this tool required both the works of artists and scientists. Artists had to think about how to express their creativity and how to improve the Polaroid film, while scientists worked on the camera's mechanics. Again, this proves just how art and science can go hand-in-hand as the invention created a symbiotic relationship between the artists and Polaroid's team of scientists and engineers as they worked together to create the instant technology that became a transformative tool for artists. 

When you compare Polaroid photos and usual high-definition photos, the obvious difference is that Polaroid photos give off a more dull and rugged look, which just continues to add on to the artistry aspect of it. We always work on how to make cameras better by producing photos that 100% resemble reality, but Polaroid photos captures reality in a more distorted frame, allowing viewers to be more curious and see more meaning in the pictures.

Because of the immediacy of the medium, the Polaroid's instant process gives us more opportunities to observe, interrogate, and contemplate the space around us. I also saw multiple Polaroid composites, which I would love to give a try. The artists took photos of each section of a scene, and put them together as one piece of work. The best part about those pieces of work is how they don't always exactly fit, so when I look at it, I feel like I'm looking at a big puzzle whose pieces don't exactly fit.