cait

[caitcull]

NYC 1980s: Attendance Prompt

An upbeat and fun song from NYC in the 1980s is Uptown Girl by Billy Joel!

[rileyknickerbocker]

Nature Homework Assignment

I found some circular leaves in my lawn that kind of look like lily pads so I created a scene of a marsh. I used the leaves as lily pads and blades of grass as reeds.

[caitcull]

Using actual pieces of grass and some leaves to make lillypads is so creative! 🪷

[juliemannarino]

Final

In my background, I used acrylic paint to blend a few warm-toned colors to create a base. Then, using cool tones, I splattered different splotches of color all over the canvas. This idea was inspired by our work covering Formal Elements at the beginning of the semester.

As for the focal point of the piece, I looked back into the Arte Povera work I completed. After finding a funky outfit in my magazine, I cut out an image of a bear to add a satirical aspect to the canvas. Also, I included phrases like "Parties close way too early in America" and "art project," similar to what I did in my Arte Povera collage.

When looking through my magazines, I found some abstract pieces that complemented my background well, like the money. These elements reminded me of my Abstract Expressionism artwork, which has a similar aspect of "randomness."

This was a fun way to tie together my artwork from this semester!

[caitcull]

This artwork is so creative!! I love how you brought together so many unrelated things to make such a cohesive and beautiful piece.

[gianniart]

Final Project

For my final, I decided to recreate a photo I took of my dog. The first movement I used in this painting was Post-Impressionism. I used thin brush strokes, painting what I could see but not making it perfect. I was playful with my style, using the brush strokes to create depth and shape.

I also used Fauvism in this work. I was inspired by this movement, I really liked the idea of using alternate, bright colors. I chose some warm, brighter colors than he really is. I used the colors to make darker/brighter areas of his coat stand out even more than what it appears in the photo. I used light blue for some of his white hair, it's something that stands out on him because his usual breed is spotty white/brown/black, and he's just straight brown except for a few spots so it stands out to me and I wanted to express that.

The last movement I incorporated into this piece was abstract expressionism. I thought it would be a fun way to completely rework this photo to an art piece. I took some inspiration from Barnett Newman's style of vertical stripes/"zips". I put down some unique brush strokes, dashes, and splatters as well where I felt they would add some feeling and depth for the background.

[caitcull]

I love how detailed the dog looks and how the background contrasts in color/flow! Amazing!

[caitcull]

Final

For my final project, I made an acrylic on canvas piece (8 in x 10 in) l. I was inspired by some techniques I have seen on TikTok and Pinterest and was excited to finally try it out! My piece would relate to the Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Minimalism Art movements.

My piece relates to abstract expressionism, as it does not have a specific focus and is not particularly detailed. The composition instead focuses on bright colors, shape, and flow across the canvas instead of having a central point or focus. The art has emphasis on movement and unique elements.

Similarly to the last movement, the piece exemplifies pop art mostly due to its eccentric colors and the repetition of its flowy lines. I would say this piece blurs the “boundaries of high and low art”, because it was “accessible” and easy to create but still looks “limitless” and aesthetic.

Lastly, my artwork could be defined as minimalistic, as it is very simple and once again does not have a central focus. The shapes are organic and not complex. I was able to let up on having exact control over how the piece would look by effortlessly blending colors and simply enjoying how they turned out.

[caitcull]

Breakthrough Contemporary Artists

My collage gives insight into the societal pressures to look a certain, and perfect, way as a woman in the digital age. I included a variety of images of women in portraits and several different mirrors. These symbolize how women have to be "picture-perfect" and how we always are looking into the mirror to ensure we look flawless.

In contrast, the piece could be interpreted as looking to many different women with diverse appearances and empty mirrors without expectations for a more positive outlook!

This assignment was very fun, as I liked putting together so many different gold clippings with elegant vibes. I also boiled down some pink flower petals to make a dye to paint the background.

[caitcull]

Earth Art: Attendance Prompt

A song that reminds me of nature is Bloom by The Paper Kites!

[caitcull]

Earth Art

For my assignment, I boiled flower petals with water to make ink. I was surprised to see that the purple petals made a blueish ink that changed in color as it dried. I used this ink to make a messy and abstract backwash on the page and pasted a floral photo on it. Around the photo, I made a mosaic-like frame with colored magazine scraps. To me, it looks like a rainy day looking through a window. In addition, a lot of the scraps I used were recycled from other projects, keeping with the nature-theme.

[caitcull]

Feminism: Attendance Prompt

pretty isn't pretty by Olivia Rodrigo is a great song about the beauty standards women face.

[caitcull]

Feminism

For my piece, I found an advertisement promoting a variety of different honey-based beauty products, including oil, lip balms, hand cream, and soap. I used the phrases "Get the Look", "American Made", and "Made in America" to emphasize how due to unrealistic standards and beauty trends, women constantly have to adapt to different styles, body shapes, and purchase never-ending amounts of products to keep up with the impossible "American" "Look". It is important to be an educated consumer and understand that products should not just be bought with the expectation of just following a trend or changing oneself.

[caitcull]

Minimalism: Attendance Prompt

A good song from 1963 is Surfin' U.S.A. by The Beach Boys!

[caitcull]

Minimalism

Part 1: Choose an Advertisement - I chose an advertisement for honey to use for this assignment.

Part 2: Background - For my first background, I colored my sketchbook page a deep red with a marker. For the second background, I used a light orange-yellow marker to trace lines onto the page. I chose this color to mimic the honey.

Part 3: Collage - I pasted on the text and images from the honey ad onto my pages.

[caitcull]

Arte Povera: Attendance Prompt

This song is all about students rebelling against the school system and their teachers.

[caitcull]

Arte Povera

I made a silly outfit from various magazine clippings and created an eccentric background with markers.

[caitcull]

Pop Art: Attendance Prompt

This song isn't necessarily about a particular product, but it emphasizes materialism and fancy/pricy items and taste!

[caitcull]

Pop Art

Step 1: I developed my background with a variety of different markers and abstract shapes, which is out of the norm for me since I prefer more order and using shredded magazine pieces. Per the suggestions given, I used different materials and shapes which allowed me to loosen up and give up some control while creating. I'm not sure if I really like how the piece turned out, but it was interesting to explore some new methods.

Step 2/3: For repeated and bold elements, I found some repetitive patterns from several Ritz cracker ads and also multiple of the word "Snack(s)", which matched the food theme.

[caitcull]

Abstract Expressionism / Midterm: Attendance Prompt

I don't listen to much jazz, but here is a song that I enjoy. I think it was in Squid Game, too.