Mystery Art Closet

 Hieronymus Bosch is one of the motifs mentioned for the theme ‘Earthly Delights’ in our lecture. The work pointed out in specific was ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, a three-panel work depicting the environment of heaven, hell and the present in abstract style. From the left is Bosch’s depiction of heaven, then the center the Earth and the right panel of hell.   Sadly, minimal information is available about his life and his career. Some parts that are known is that his father Antonius owned a workshop which his two brother have used as well, and was married to Aleid van de Meervenne who came from a wealthy family. Despite this lack of information and his tendency to not sign and date his works, causing the majority of his works to disappear, he had gained many followers and a city dedicated to him (Hertogenbosch, also known as ‘Den Bosch’).  The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490-50   Despite painting different sceneries, it is quite ironic that heaven is still...

 Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist working with both cultures of Nigerian (African) and British contexts. He expresses his personal experiences as a British-Nigerian in different mediums; he is not afraid to explore with 2D and 3D mediums such as photography, sculptures and films. Somewhat similarly to Grayson Perry, he takes a light approach to serious issues, making it numerous and approachable, and has won several awards for his efforts.  Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 19.00 hours, (1998)  He was initially challenged by his tutor when he was in college according to the Bloomberg interview in our lecture; his artworks did not carry the ‘authenticity’ of African art according to his teacher. While he had attempted to work with traditional African materials, he had not connected to it especially when the tribal contexts did not fit well with modern African setting. He had found his modern inspiration in Dutch wax fabrics, a type of textile often used in African cl...

 I had a discussion with my tutor regarding the major project for sign off, and I was told to continue on the project. I was further told to research on topics related to my theme, such as logo and enamel pin designs in real life use from charities or companies, and to attend to an Abstract Art workshop in Week 5 as I had planned to use abstraction techniques in designing my work. The details of the sign off can be found in the link below. Link to Sign Off Sheet  I went on to fill the details of the Major Project Plan as required. The details can be found in the link below. Link to Major Project Plan After this post I intend to do the following: Research on given artists Join workshops required (Abstraction and Composition) Develop sketches according to workshops joined Do material research: practice on abstraction techniques and materials, set up of magazines and logos Practice mockup techniques for magazines and enamel pins And to create final work through these processes. ...

 As this theme can easily fall into a cliche, I have chosen artists that use themes that mix both the spiritual and the earthly, making quite abstract works. I wanted to especially research on how the spiritual and the material can mix in relation to the different stages of cycle (hereinafter ‘Samsara’), and how I can add a sense of doom and destruction due to mankind into this Samsara.    Odilon Redon, Buddha , 1904  Odilon Redon was one of the first Western artist to paint Buddha, and it is quite different from the common depiction in Asian countries. Unlike the Asian depiction which depicts how spiritual and transcendent Buddha is, Redon emphasises on the Earthly elements with Buddha. The natural elements and Buddha blends together well, almost making the viewer miss that Buddha is there, showing how tranquil and natural the scene is. This method I believe can be used to reverse and emphasise the evil and chaos that humans have on Earth, and have the reverse effec...

 Sir Grayson Perry is a British writer, broadcaster and a contemporary artist born in 1960 who works with traditional, ‘unorthodox’ materials. His approaches may be taken as crude and unsystematic but this may be the reason why the common people are attracted to his works; his light, chaotic, almost childish designs give room for anyone to see and interpret artworks despite not having any experience on it. He himself mentions that he creates works that would ‘sit uncomfortably in a gallery’.  Cocktail Party, 2019  As mentioned, he often works with traditional materials of one of which is ceramics. It was a complete coincidence that he started working with the material; his friend had led him to a pottery class when he stayed with a group of squatters as stated in an interview by Bloomberg shown in the lecture. His initial works are quite crude due to a lack of experience, but he has continued on to master the material. However, his works are one-off projects especially co...

Theme: Earthly Delights S (Specific):  Enamel pin and logo design for products and stickers M (Measurable): Set of six designs each A (Attainable): 8 weeks of work time R (Results-Oriented): Increase proficiency with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Procreate. T (Time-Bound):   8 weeks I will be creating six designs for each enamel pin and magazine covers  for charities such as GreenSpirit Magazine to make the viewer more aware of the current climate and ecological issues of Earth and humans have affected it. I have chosen the design for this project to as visual factors for these products is essential in determining whether the viewer will take interest in the issue, with the theme being a ‘ cycle ’ based from the Buddhist idea that life and death repeats itself but in relation to how humans and the Earth interact with each other, to fit in the theme of Earthly Delights . To work with this project, I will be learning how to render designs in digital softwares that ...

 Idea development is an essential step for artist to create a unique work that is not cliche and out-of-trend. This is one of the reason why Pablo Picasso became famous during his life time and is still famous; Picasso took as many opportunities he could to create works in different mediums and style. Therefore, to better contextualise our theme and sketches, we were told on three different methods on how to develop ideas. Of the three methods, I decided to choose the Listen, Meditate, Create method as it is a process I often use, albeit not with music but with random videos.   However, I had missed the majority of the sketching session due to medical reasons. I was able to make some sketches using the remaining time and the playlist used during class, but I feel like I could do better than this. One thing I do have to make note of is to try avoid cliches, which is especially critical with my topic of Earthly Delights. I would take opportunity to do more sketches with fur...

Basket of Fruit , 1599   During Caravaggio’s time in Rome, biblical artworks were widespread amongst the community but had seemed out of reach. Caravaggio had been an extraordinary artist due to this as he brought elements of drama, action and realness that the viewers can closely relate to. Even when he was not creating religious works, he had done ‘academic’ works of still life which was unusual.  Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist , 1609-10  One technique that Caravaggio uses in his works is ‘Chiarosucro’ – use of contrast between the light and dark. By emphasising the dark, the lit objects and subjects immediately capture the viewer in the scene of the work, bringing focus  and volume to the subject.   However, his life has been full of scandals and violence. He actively took part on the life on the streets - drinking, fighting, sleeping with male and females, and gambling. These engagement has helped in his expression of drama in his works, p...

 In this discussion, our tutor introduced us to the themes that we would have to work on which are Purple Haze, Earthly Delights, and Expressionism. He then further went onto how these themes were used in different contexts and subject areas.  Earthly Delights is a theme that I feel most attracted to, especially due to the events that are currently happening with nature and environment. When I first heard of this theme, I already had ideas coming since I have seen several news that could affect the Earth and have watched media (animations, posters) which uses this theme. I immediately related this theme to a series of posters or ‘emblems’ which talks about what we are doing to nature and what nature can do to us.   Purple Haze, while interesting as a topic, was not as attractive because I could not relate too much with it. Not only do I have little experience on when this theme was quite dominant (1960s era with psychedelics, hippies, drugs, so on), I feel like I wou...

 We began this term with an Icebreaker exercise which was a ‘Recreating an Artwork Challenge’, or the ‘Getty Museum Challenge’. This challenge, original idea created by Instagram user Tussen Kunst & Quarantine, was started by J. Paul Getty Museum as a way to keep people engaged with art during the lockdown. These recreations are done in homes and therefore often have limited resources, which means that people needed to be resourceful and creative with what they have. Barnes (2020) comments   ‘You'll be surprised at how faithful these recreations are—especially as people work with limited (and often precious) resources.’  People also have found ways to modernise old artworks, integrating modern messages, items and issues in their r e creations. Jacques-Louis David, Details from  The Death of Marat , Phaidon  Among the images given, my partner and I chose ‘The Death of Marat’ (1793) by Jacques-Louis David. This artwork depicts on the final moments of French re...

  Welcome to my blog for Art Portfolio 2023. My name is Yoonji Lee, more commonly called as Jenny, from IYZ Art and Design with progression route towards Graphic Design (Illustration).   With this module, I wish to create a better formulated and more professional-looking illustrations which can help the viewers understand my theme and message better. I also want to use colours and compositions fluently and effectively to give mor impact. To do this, I hope that I will be able to use different types of art programs efficiently and with better analysis skills for other artworks and target market.  One event that I have been inspired by recently was my trip to London and Nottingham with my mother and my friend. I have not properly looked at London when I first arrived in the UK due to how hectic it was, so we were quite confused and lost as to where to go. However, I was able to experience how it is to move around London and I saw a great cathedral (Westminster Cathedra...