Reflection 11

Torstein Nordstrand depicts everything you could think of that would be considered mythical. He creates golums, ninja type characters, dragons, ogres, goblins, elves, iron-man type warriors, magis, sorcerers, surreal real-life situations (someone tagging a brick wall), and skull hunters to name a few. He is from Norway where he lives currently with his wife and two daughters. His art is received very, very well in the art community right now. He is a freelance illustrator for one, and you can’t exactly make money doing that if you’re not received well, and he is an in-house concept artist and Funcom, which is a video designing company. One could argue that video games aren’t really the art community, but it can be depending on your definition of art (hence our other blogs). What drew me to his work was I was on a page listing a bunch of different modern fantasy artists and his name stuck out to me. I love his work because even if it were depicting more real life things such as a garden, his whole style of working is slightly fantastical. He works on the computer mostly in Photoshop; that is where he paints. He also dabbles in other 2-D and 3-D software programs. On his website it shows mostly 2-D as far as I can tell. I was initially drawn to his colors throughout his works which are muted and not very vibrant but all have a sense of urgency and vitality. I see this in most of his works online. His faces of people aren’t the greatest, but then again in real life they can sometimes be not so great as well. And I like that he depicts them accurately but with a sardonic twist.

Reflection 10

I think a well made piece of furniture is art. I love the way the wood gleams in the light. I love the superior craftsmanship that goes into a piece. I suppose I should say that I think well made hand made wood pieces of furniture are art pieces. I would be one of the happiest people ever if I could make a piece of furniture, like a coffee table that is awe-inspiring. The sturdiness of the legs and the heaviness of the top counterbalance each other and create a fragile tandem with each other. Or the stout legs of a small coffee table. The scroll work that is carved by hand is so intricate that it seems like it would take years to make a leg look like that, and very extreme patience. Even if one worked with a lathe, I think it would still be difficult to accomplish that kind of detail. When someone works hard and puts a lot of blood, sweat and tears into something it really shows. The new and assembly line pieces that are mostly made today, because it’s cheap and affordable for the average joe don’t have the same appealing quality that handmade and older pieces have for me. Don’t get me wrong, just like today some of the pieces that are considered antique are very ugly but have all the characteristics I described above. To me, they aren’t aesthetically pleasing. I like small details with an over-all streamlined look. But, that’s art to me.

Reflection #8 (Cultural #3)

I, as did around 700 other students, attended Washington Community H.S.'s homecoming last saturday!! It was an intense expierence. That was the most students I've ever seen doing the same thing at one time by choice, not because it was required. It was quite interesting looking at all of the different choices everyone made on their outfits. I know certain people’s styles, when they are in school as well as when they are out of school. Certain people I’ve seen dressed up, dressed down, dressed every which way and yet their dress/semi-formal “tuxedo” choice surprised me. Everyone had a fabulous time, as far as anyone I’ve talked to (besides Charise D.) and if not, the night was still good. There was good food (salsa and chips) with a lot of soda to keep everyone pumped up to keep on dancing for school spirit!
I also participated in spirit week at school, which was amazingly hilarious on most days. Nerd day by far had to be my favorite day. I love seeing what people think of as geeky. It shows that as our generation gets older, what seemed cool even ten years ago or eleven is slightly geeky. I know, because as I looked at my classmates’ and underclassmen choices in geeky-ness I was amazed. I still see people wearing some of the things, maybe not all together and oversized, but some of the things I have even still seen being sold in stores!! It’s truly amazing what our class as a group can come up with. It’s what we’re being raised with, in our particular little group of WCHS. I love every minute of it though.

Reflection 7

On the cut and past website my favorite dada artist is John Heartfield. I love how his pieces are all in black and white and have such a striking contrast with each other and within the piece. It may just be the reproductions on the computer but it is quite grainy as well. I actually really like the way it looks, I do not like the color in the other artists' work. It seems too.. I can't think of how to explain it actually. It's just not the right colors or the ones I would of chosen I suppose, I do not think the colors work very well together. Of course, that's just not how my style is and it does not truly appeal to me. I love Heartfield’s because his is straight and to the point. His work is commanding in presence and even though it is a collage it is fairly simplistic. The images are stark and powerful. They speak to me. I am interested in what his social causes are because of his work, whereas with the other artists on the site that has work posted I am not as interested, the work doesn’t appeal to me