Op Art

Op Art or Optical Illusion art is a popular art form from the 1960s. Check out the painting I created for my Drawing and Paintings class. My own personal opinion; it's far-out!

The End

It is my belief that my general topic theme of art has helped me a lot in writing my 4 papers: Reflection, Observation, Analysis, and Argument. I now feel confident that I could write anyone of these papers again about any topic. Although, I am satisfied that I chose to write about art. Art is my passion and during the journey of writing these papers I've learned quite a few things. Not only have I become more educated about the Elements of Art, but I've finally uncovered the mystery of art. In my own words, art is something personal and emotional that brings out something different in each of us. Anyone can feel connected to a piece of artwork. Art speaks to us, and whether it is shouting or whispering it is always sending us a message. Art itself is a mysterious thing, and it will always be that way because art imitates life. And as in life, not everything in art makes sense, and it doesn't have to. Accuracy is irrelevant when it comes to art; what is more important is how it makes us feel.

A Strong Argument

I wrote three papers so far about my theme, art. The Reflection, Observing, and Analysis papers have all helped to strengthen the argument I will be making in my next paper.

My Reflection paper has helped my argument because I got the idea to persuade people by using my own personal stories. In my Reflection paper I reminisced on my prime art years and what I first learned. I will try to incorporate the story from my past when I first saw Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory as a young child and what it meant to me at that stage of my life.

I found this spontaneous kid drawing at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kid_art_2.jpg.

My Observation paper will be a big help in my argument paper because I learned all the Elements of Art while writing that paper. I can explain in my argument how some people may judge paintings based on the Elements of Art, but it does not always have to happen that way. You can judge a painting however you'd like.



This painting found at http://www.abstractartgallery.net/waving_enlarged.html is free to be interpreted however you please.



My Analysis paper will be the biggest help in creating my argument. I observed Dali's painting from multiple view points and discovered how other people believe The Persistence of Memory should be viewed. I can use this information to persuade people that I am not at all ignorant when it comes to knowing different ways to view the painting. I can continue to explain that these view points are not wrong but I have the freedom to view his painting in my own way.

Found at http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/02/jen_starks_paper_sculptur.html, some people might look at Jen Stark's paper sculpture and think "Why spend so much time just cutting paper?", but I think "Why not?"

Persuasion

I discovered this painting at http://www.dlareg-arts.com/reviews.php. I could use a Psychological Appeal to try and convince the viewer that the red paint is actually blood and the blue paint represents tears cried for the blood shed.

There are three types of appeals that work well in persuading people's opinions. Those three appeals are Personal, Psychological, and Physical. If I wanted to influence the way someone would look at The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, then I could uses the appeals. In a Personal Appeal, I would inform the reader of multiple ways you could view Dali's painting. I would also make sure that my argument paper is well written and includes valuable sources. If I used a Psychological Appeal, I would inform the reader of how Dali's painting has been in my life since a small child, and how deeply it's affected me. Using a Physical Appeal is also an option. If I chose to use that appeal, I could persuade the reader that viewing it my way is more appealing to the eye, and point out specific details. These are some ideas I could use in my argument paper.

A Classic

For some mysterious reason, I am in love with this painting. Maybe it's because I have an obsession with old things, or maybe it's because I usually see this painting in every old diner that I go to. Who knows. All I can say is that the artist Edward Hopper, did an astonshing job painting Nighthawks. I found this image at http://faculty.mdc.edu/dschroed/AGoodRead.html.

Elephants on Stilts!

I love the spidery legs of the elephants in this painting. I think they create interesting negative space. This painting by Salvador Dali is called The Elephants and it was painted in 1948. I found this image at http://isleyartexhibit.wordpress.com/.

Analyzing

I found this portrait of Salvador Dali at http://www.thypott-art.com/artist/Salvador_Dali.

I would like to analyze Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory. Dali's painting from 1931 is an important attribute to the Surrealist movement of the 20th century. "The Surrealists were a group of artists who sought to explore an inner reality beyond the rational world of the sense" (Basquin). Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory resembles an dreamlike quality which fits well into his time period. I would also like to analyze the techniques Dali used to create his very bizarre painting. Dali used the art element of value in The Persistence of Memory to make it more realistic, even though his painting is not a real physical place.

The techniques Dali uses in his painting help him to create something that is realistic looking but also very fantasy like.




Basquin, Kit. "Salvador Dali: Images of the Surreal." School Arts 91.8 (1992): 33+. Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. .

Narrowing Down the Research

I found the article Salvador Dali: Images of the Surreal. Here's the citation for it:

Basquin, Kit. "Salvador Dali: Images of the Surreal." School Arts 91.n8 (1992) Academic Onefile. Gale. Web. 26 Oct. 2009.

I think this magazine article would fit into an analysis paper really well because I decided to critique Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory." In this article the author elaborates on Dali's use of techniques and instead of giving her opinion she asks questions about what the artist is trying to portray. The author also informs us of what other people have formerly said about the painting and what has influence Salvador Dali's work.

The other article is The Dali News. (Art.). Here's the citation for it:

"The Dali News. (Art.)" Time 73.1 (1959) Academic Onefile. Gale. Web. 26 Oct. 2009.

This magazine article would fit well into an analysis paper because it gives a different point of view of the work of Salvador Dali. The point of view is more scientific but it will help me because I want to critique Dali's painting in an unbiased way. So having more than one point of view is a great way to go about it.

Research!

I began to research my topic of art. When I typed my theme into Academic Onefile I found a total of 294,416 sources about art. 47,121 of them were academic journals, 119,474 were magazines, 723 books, and 125,511 newspapers. When I typed my theme into Academic Search Complete, I found a total of 449,901 sources. There were 122,385 academic journals, 223,609 magazines, 99,868 newspapers, and 2,291 books on art. On both searches I found a grand total of 744,371 sources. Now that's a lot of sources. I decided to narrow down my search to art basics, and on Academic Onefile I got a total of 31 sources. 6 academic journals, 15 magazines, and 10 newspapers. Academic Search Complete found a total of 23 sources. That included 10 academic journals, 12 magazines, 1 newspaper, and 2 books. My art basics search on both sites got me a total of 54 sources. That's a lot smaller than just typing in art. But I'm not worried. I got the chance to click on some of the sources and them seemed to have some go information. I don't have to type in just art basics, I can type in art foundations or art rules and find some more sources. My art teacher even has posters in her room that describe all the art basics. So I really have quite a bit to work from.

What is art?

Salvador Dali's painting, The Persistence of Memory; found at
http://www.paintinghere.com/painting/clock_melting_clocks_6025.html

I pretty much guessed that if I asked people what their opinion of art was, I would receive a common answer. I seldom heard anyone say that art was not "interesting." I also got the answer that "art is a way to express yourself" multiple times. But when I asked my art teacher, Mrs. Lamacchia, on her view of art I got the fruitful answers I was looking for. She explained to me that art is "timeless" and "people today are still moved by art work and music created centuries ago." She believes that "art is one of mankind's greatest achievements." And I would have to agree, because I feel that my art is one of my own greatest achievements.

I found this wonderful painting at

http://www.sangsalapak.org.kh/whatson/2007_04_01_archive.html.

It was created by Nagini,

a New Zealand-American painter.

I think it's lovely!

The Beginning

I created this blog so I could explore the world of art and discover the reasons for my passion. Art has always been something that has influenced me, though I'm not quite sure why. This blog will be the beginning of my journey to uncover the secrets and the history of art. At the end of my journey, I hope that I will have learned the mystery of art and the relevance it creates in my life.