Emphasize me!

BIG, small. Just with the variation of capital letters and small letters, we can feel the difference in meaning. Art can be extremely effective. It has these techniques and ways of making us feel something without even carefully looking at the piece of work or looking beyond the surface. On technique that artists often play with is scale and proportion. How big is this object? Should it be bigger than the one next to it? Do I want this figure to seem more important? Should I make everything smaller in the painting? An artist can be also described as an inquisitor. They are always curious and look for new ways to answer the same questions, and use their artwork as experimentation. One of the best techniques that has been used several times is proportion, which is the relative size, or a size measured against other elements. A few years back, I saw an installation that has stuck in my mind, but I cannot recall the name or the artist. There was a figure of a woman, placed a few feet away from a man almost double her size. The art allowed me to ponder the meaning and without any extra information, I was able to understand that this installation was trying to explain women’s oppression. The power that art can send when you don’t have to read the description is the best way for the viewer and artist to connect, and often ways such as scale and proportion can help send us a message.

Busy, busy, busy!

“Wow! That painting is crazy! Its so busy!” Color here, a dash of newspaper there, and a few random objects later, we have created a masterpiece. I personally love paintings and other artwork that are so busy. A good busy painting can force your eyes everywhere allowing you to look at the whole picture. Another contradicting quality of a good painting can be that in all the, and artist is able to create a central point that your eyes are drawn too, and then from there, move around to observe more. There are several techniques an artist can use to create something powerful in an artwork full of everything. One method is to play with the value of objects. Just like as if it were a performer on stage, the high contrast of surrounding darkness makes the person or object in the light stand out more, drawing your eye to it. Placement of objects can also speak to the viewer. In a piece of 3 dimensional art such as an installation, placement can be very important because, as viewers, we connect the object to things around it. We can analyze things like proximity, size variation, color variation, and how it is oriented. The same can be in a painting. Wherever there should be an emphasis, an artist can place clues that draw us there, for example, he can put all other objects facing his main subjects. Artists fuse together many methods of creating emphasis in paintings. Although playing with value and placement has proven successful in the past, creating new ways to draw viewers in shows the depth of an artist’s work. Creating emphasis is a technique that gives 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional art a starting point, all that is needed to get a intrigued in the work and is a very important element used in art and design.

From Nothing to Something

You walk into a contemporary art museum and are simply drawn to a page of dots. Of all the colorful, crazy, unusual works why would the eye catch something as simple as a page of dots? Although it seems boring, it actually can be a bold piece of work. If you stare at these dots, do you notice a change, perhaps an image emerging? It’s not you going crazy. It’s you proving the Gestalt psychology theory. People survive off bonds and interactions with other people, animals, ideas, hobbies, and talents. Just like the reality that we try to connect with other things in the world, our mind has a way of connecting us to everything around. We are born observers and natural problem solvers, and therefore will try to put different pieces together like a puzzle. The gestalt theory explains our innate habit of trying to connect and organize things together, just like we put the dots together to form an image. The artist may have intended to put dots at random on a page but for the human eye, it is more difficult to see them as separate entities rather than one piece together. So why is this Gestalt theory so difficult to understand? There is no correct fact that tell us why we perceive things as united, but the simple fact that most humans mind work to unite rather than disperse helps us to complete the picture, not only in art but in everything we do.

Inside a Designer’s Mind

When a designer closes his or her eyes, they see exactly what they to create. They can see every detail, every color, and every feature. Every time a designer starts a process, he or she knows exactly what he is going to do. Most times, all these statements are false. The mind of a designer is like a game of chutes and ladders. Ultimately the designer wants to get to the finish line, but there are times they have to back up and rethink their design. This is because design is a process which involves thinking, and trial and error. First an artist sees something that inspires her and then ponders the idea. She may ask herself questions like does this work with this, or will this be too much? The designer than can creatively look at her space and map out what she plans to do. Then she blueprints a plan, a way to execute her masterpiece. This process allows the designer to discover and fix flaws that she may not have seen before. Finally the masterpiece is created, and then next step, feedback. One of the most important things as a designer is to get feedback. Designers work for the people creating aesthetically pleasing things for all and therefore, with input from peers a designer can work on improving her skills. The last step is listening to her feedback and making the changes. The last two steps may take several takes. Just like a game of chutes and ladders, you are bound to get to the top, but without a chute to slide down, there would be no game, no learning process, and no fun.

Obama Clears Fashion Police

If you were to see the host of a party show up in sweat pants, an oversized t-shirt with her bra straps hanging out, and holes in her shoes, what would you think? Even if this person spoke with the eloquence of writer and had swagger of an idol celebrity, she would lose respect instantly for not looking presentable. In a world like ours, looks matter. It is not necessarily a superficial quality, rather one that designers thrive upon. Appearance can stimulate the other senses, which is why the way we look is so important. Style is diverse, everyone is individualistic in style, but looking presentable can be a feat for some. This intrigued me because lately I have seen that for the first time Michelle Obama, a political figure, is being photographed for her style. Her role as the first lady undoubtedly gives her big shoes or, shall I say, heels to fill. With grace, she has managed to do her job fashionably. Every photograph, Obama is always dressed for the weather, with somber colors and a tasteful amount of jewelry. This attracts young and aspiring fashionistas who hope to uses their clothing designs to empower women. A dress with a simple A-line can represent so much power just by the confidence good clothing can express, and how respectful looking good can be. Clothes for Michelle Obama have translated into smart yet still lady-like, the most recognized quality in a first lady.

Art Here, Design There, Inspiration Everywhere

There are over 6 billion people in this world currently. Somehow, everyone is different. Sure, some believe their personality twin is somewhere out there, but for the most part, we are all individuals in a big melting pot. Every person means even more opinions, tastes, and interests. Everyone is an artist in their own sense, because everyone is inspired by something. Where is inspiration? It is not tangible. It cannot be read or taught. The biggest quality for an artist is that they see some intrigue in something and have the instant courage to use this quality to replicate it. Or, they may see something that reminds them of something else. The process of design begins at inspiration. When a connection to something or someone is inspired, it gives oneself the hope of creating another. Inspiration is like a typical teenage crush. Although this may be the most bizarre comparison, in also may be the simplest to understand because most people have been there and done that. When a young teenage girl crushes on a boy, intrigue develops. She wonders what made her double take at him rather than the next boy over. Curiosity causes the girl to contemplate options as to how she should approach her subject, the boy. Then, she executes a plan, and carries it out. No one knows the end results because life is full of uncertainties that we have to adapt to just like in design and art. But ultimately, the process of thinking begins with just a little inquisitiveness.

Design?

Benefitting from design is quite simple. Design is everywhere. It is easy and accessible. It can be aesthetically pleasing, and can encourage us to visually think. Design is a subject, it is a plan, and also a blueprint of a pattern. Design is the rough draft to the final project. Design is the art behind the work, the thought process. Everything is a process to make, but design allows a person to create an edge or an accent to something ordinary to make it extra-ordinary. Design can be used to refer to something as small as a salt shaker to something as large as an entire city. As an artist, I believe that design can be summed up in a word. It is an experience. The experience of envisioning something that wasn’t there, envisioning a way to change this to that, a way to believe that design is both practical and beautiful. Aesthetics is everything, because all human beings are very visually judgmental. Design can be the first process into helping make something practical. Design is a very versatile word. It can be a drawing, and idea, a painting, a pattern, a special way of doing something, or the outline of a plan. It is virtually impossible to find a definition. It is also equally impossible to find a place lacking design. It is the blueprint of our world, and the plans and ideas needed to make originality flourish in the future.

Thinking about Visually Thinking

Green. Yellow. Red. Thin. Long. Dark. Big. Small. Busy. Boring. Plain. There aren’t enough words to describe the emotions that strike a viewer when he or she looks at a painting for the first time. Some people are drawn to the aesthetically pleasing, and some the ugly and intriguing. When we visually think about something, as a human instinct the first thing we judge is appearance. Although we all say we want to read to the book rather than judge it by the cover, we judge what we see first, and then possibly change our opinions once exploring our subjects. Does visually thinking mean plastering an adjective to our subject? Does it mean judging solely by the eyes? It can be different for every individual, but the general gist can be summed up by a few qualities, it uses the right brain, and involves no verbal information. The typical Rorshach test is used by psychologists to analyze what various people see in inkblots and can epitomize the essence of visually thinking. It is the image that is produced in our own minds when we see the inkblot. Design is what drives someone in, it is the blue print of all the deeper elements. Visual thinking is something we do unconsciously and as a result makes sight a more individualistic. Visually thinking is an important element to thinking creatively about anything and is what drives us to question what we like and dislike aesthetically about our subject.

Hyunjun Lee Exhibition

Past the silo, and before shields library, coffee in hand, I end up UC Davis’ very own design Museum. Entering the room of stark white walls, a diffusion of colors, numbers, and letters overcome the tiny space. Patterns. Lots of patterns. In most of the paintings, design and art seem to coexist, yet in a distinct fashion. These images make text and art intertwine beautifully. Emotions are conveyed in every image, especially that of Hyunju Lee. Hyunju Lee uses one symbol to represent two feelings. Her paintings juxtaposed relay a sense of irony and curiosity to viewers of how two paintings with one element give off such different moods. The first painting is called “Ha Ha, Ho Ho,” which blatantly speaks of laughter through onomatopoeia. Bright vibrant colors are lined in a concave manner so as to suggest a smile. Pink, orange, peach, lime green, lavender, and magenta lines are covered by bouncing symbols of various sizes. The versatility of placement of symbols and use of color immediately evoke a positive and warm feeling to the audience. Beside the smiling work of art is its opposite. The symbol used in the parallel painting is called “Huk Huk,” the Korean word the sound of sobbing. The canvas is lined in the center with streaks of grey, navy, dull blue, and army green, all somber colors reflecting the mood of the piece. The placement of the symbols on the constricted lines suggests how much less room there is to move, just like the mind is when a person is sad. The simple placement of paint on a canvas can communicate so many feelings, and relate to the viewer by the use of color. These two artists capture this with aesthetic magnificence.