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When I was going through my archive looking for images, I wanted to pick ones that jumped out to me & that I hadn’t used before. The first image grabbed my attention because it’s abstract but you can clearly see a face as well. I thought it was an interesting perspective & I enjoy how the red stands out but doesn’t take away from the facial features. The second image is intriguing to me because although some of the lines are “perfect”, it’s still an amazing composition & the use of line is magnificent. The next image is an old map of Dallas & I love seeing the changes to a city I grew up in. The following image caught my eye because of the mysterious feel it has. I was drawn to the succeeding images because of their eyes & I thought their expressions were unique.

sources:

https://libguides.pratt.edu/c.php?g=763379&p=5475209

https://www.jstor.org/stable/425943?seq=1

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/dada-and-surrealism/xdc974a79:surrealism/a/surrealism-an-introduction

Levy, Silvano. Surrealism : Surrealist Visuality. New York University Press, 1997. EBSCOhost,

Caws, Mary Ann. Surrealism. Phaidon, 2004.

This collection is interesting to me since I’m from Texas and know some of these areas. These maps are hand-drawn and not to scale, and I am interested in how closely they resemble landscape oil paintings from a similar time period. I enjoy seeing how rural some cities used to be vs. how populous and big they are today. It makes me think about how much the cities will grow in another 20 years and how different the maps will look. I would be interested in using the slides combined with images I have of Texas in the 2010s. 

Historic American Buildings survey from the Library of Congress-

Just as the collection before, this survey interests me to see older styles of building turned into modern architecture. The inspiration that architects took from Rome and Greece is fascinating. I am interested in analyzing the way we have recycled and updated architecture throughout the modern age. In my own work, I may look for older styles of architecture that have been incorporated into modern buildings. I would be curious to make vernacular-type images from the images of buildings and archways. 

Popular Graphic Arts collection from the Library of Congress-

This collection interests me as a study of the societal changes in advertisement and documentation of people in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The clothing developments throughout the ages and how we have given items of clothing genders in today's society. And more so how we have and currently are tearing down societal norms through fashion. I think it would be interesting to put these images side by side to recreate the poses using modern clothing and props. 

Bain Collection from the Library of Congress-

This collection interests me as to study the similarity of culture shock & looking at images of the early nineteen hundreds. Many clothing outfits and technology are different. I could see myself making a college of similar styled images from the 1900s and images of foreign countries in todays’ time. I think it is interesting how many cultural normalities have shifted and developed into something different. The relationship between the way women were photographed and the change in women's clothing would be a fascinating subject to explore. 

Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz's correspondence collection from the Library of Congress-

I seek to explore the relation between caution signs & illegal graffiti using line, negative space, and value.

I chose Aquarena Springs Dr because I felt like there was a lot of options as far as font & use of signage.

These photos were taken of Salvador Dali by Phillippe Halsman and I absolutely love every single one of them. Often times I only know an artist by their pieces of art and not their face. I feel like Dali’s personality shines through the images and we can see a side of him not seen through his paintings. I was surprised that these were from the 50′s as they seemed modern in the experimentation of portraits. Magnum Photos were responsible for the images and I remember from my history of photography course that they were created in 1947, only 7 years prior to the photos. Halsman is also responsible for the image of Dali in his most famous work of art. I think it's a really cool combination of the artist and their work. I included my favorite painting of Dali that I had the opportunity to see at the Art Institute of Chicago this past summer. 

The above photos are my final images

To begin with, as a child I was never a fan of the color pink. From ages five to nine I was such a big tom-boy that I did not allow myself to be associated with pink. I had grown to despise pink and purple since I had been taught that they would give away that I was a girl. My parents were mostly always supportive and allowed me to choose which colors I wanted to wear and have in my room. After years of reflection, I now know that my dislike for the color pink was not really about the color, but the societal connection made between the color and being “girly”. Directly following my research came to the realization that pink had not always been linked with the feminine qualities I ran away from as a child.

The color pink had a huge switch in societal meaning in the mid 20th century; but prior to its reign as a girl's color, the color pink was not accredited to a certain gender. A famous mistress of Louis XV enjoyed the color so much that the Sèvres porcelain company named and created a shade of pink after her. At this point in time porcelain was a status symbol and only the financially stable could splurge on the delicate pottery. The color was often associated with the royal court.

It was not until the 20th century that the meaning behind the color pink started to shift. An article in the 1927 issue of Time Magazine included a survey done with multiple U.S based stores on what were considered gender-appropriate colors. The results were astonishing. Nearly 60% of participants described pink as being a “boy color”. They argued that pink was a shade of red, and therefore masculine and best suited for boys. On the other hand, the color blue was ascribed to being a gentle color best suited for girls.

Nazi Germany used the color pink to identify homosexual men, bisexual men, and transgender women. Shortly after World War II, many advertisements sought to refeminize women and reestablish traditional gender roles. They did this by depicting women in pink-colored frilly clothing and as the ideal housewife. It was not until the 1980’s when it became possible for the sex of a baby to be identified via ultrasound, that pink began to be accredited to baby girls.

If I had, as a child, understood that it was society forcing a gender onto a color and that wearing pink did not “make me girly”, then I may have been more open to the color. The history of the color pink has put into perspective that just because society has labeled something a certain way, does not mean it's right or that it will always be labeled that way. As an adult, I do not have a favorite color, but I do not avoid the color pink like I did years ago.

Sources:

https://blog.hunterlab.com/blog/color-and-appearance-theory/the-color-pink/#:~:text=The%20color%20pink%20was%20recognized,symbol%20of%20class%20and%20luxury.

https://blog.hunterlab.com/blog/color-and-appearance-theory/the-color-pink/#:~:text=The%20color%20pink%20was%20recognized,symbol%20of%20class%20and%20luxury.

I enjoy the fresh breezes and the smell of the fresh air. I don’t enjoy the itchiness of grass. I enjoy the idea of nature more than nature itself. These images remind me of the feeling of being on vacation. 

Abstract depictions of nature feel flowier & subject to movement. Emilie Charmy painted big splotches of green on the canvas to create of foreground and to give the painting its depth. I really enjoy the outcome of this technique. 

The greenery in these images displays texture in many different ways. Some of the brushstrokes are more visible than others. Claude Monet’s pieces have a cotton candy coloration and they make me feel like a medium was poured over the final product to create the cloudy effect. Using smaller brushes to emphasize the minute detail of nature creates an ethereal feeling to some of  these works. They are almost too delicate to be stagnant images. 

The story I can construct through the colors I observe is one that life is always moving forward and changing. Life doesn’t stop for anyone. 

While I take my time experiencing the world, the world does not take time to experience me. The world is untouchable as I cannot force the earth to stop spinning as a favor for those who get motion sickness. 

Cars rush by without looking at the nature they're passing.  The human being in the passenger seat pays no attention to the concrete that they travel on. Life doesn’t stop when a bug hits your windshield and is instantly turned to pulp. 

Life doesn't stop when your friend ends their life. Life doesn't slow down when countries invade each other. Life never stops.

 As I walked, I noticed that although I stood as still as possible, the wind still blew and time still passed. 

I gravitate towards the color green. Although green is not my favorite color, I find that it brings me peace. The field I walked through had grasses of different lengths and textures.

 If I could have gravitated towards the sky to feel the blueness on my skin, I would have. The richness of the sky made me want to stick a straw in it and slurp it to the last drop. 

i chose to do monochromatic collages. the purple collage evokes apprehension. the colors want to work together but are unsure how and if they fit together as one.

2. i have a very clear memory from when i was 5 of the color red shooting from my wrist after breaking a glass door by running through it impersonating Dash from the incredibles.

3. the seats on the txst buses are red and i wonder how much deeper of a shade they would be if they were deep cleaned.

4. i do not see much red in nature, except during fall when the leaves turn oranges and yellows and red’s and the earth shows us once again how life and death are interconnected.

5. my childhood house had red brick and a red roof. we had rugs that were decorated with different colored red, orange, and yellow squares with designs within them.

6. red means stop, and exit, and danger. red is violent and bold. to me, red is never calming and never relaxing.

7. over the 15yrs i played soccer, i played in two different red jerseys. i always felt intimidating when i wore my red jersey. the blue & black jerseys i wore at one point were badass looking too, but never as much as red.

8. red means many different things in cultures and historical paintings. it’s eye catching & bold. some cultures it symbolizes joy & good fortune. red has been an important color to the catholic church.

9. red plus white makes pink. as a young child i had three pairs of red cowgirl boots & four pairs of pink cowgirl boots. i was never a child to gravitate towards pink & therefore only the boots from when i was four & younger were allowed to be pink.

Our camera obscura, Frank, produced an image upside down to the human eye. As I drew, I was reminded of tree branches reflecting in a body of water. The top drawing is my interpretation of a tree being reflected through our camera.

Although the image was upside down as I looked, I drew the bottom image as I saw it and then later turned my page right side up to finish drawing. There were few details that I could make out, but the crispness of the buildings lines & the sun spots on the grass were very apparent.

I decided to leave my smudges to represent the sometimes cloudy or unclear image seen through an obscura.

Claude glass drawing & magnifying glass drawing.

the top right is a gum pack with a hair tie over the top.

the top right is done thru magnifying glass and is my cats prescription bottle.

bottom image is a piece of hemp wick.

When I first started learning about art and photography I was taught about the rule of thirds. It made sense to me and I genuinely felt like I understood why  it was important. Although since I started college, I’ve encountered images and paintings that do not follow this rule, but are still dynamic in my opinion. My first image doesn’t appear to follow this rule but still manages to look visually appealing. 

Most of the other images follow the rule. A second thing I learned was that some paintings arrange things in the shape of a triangle to direct the eye to certain points of the artwork. Four of the images I chose today clearly show the use of this effect. My very first tattoo was of a triangle. When I got it, it represented a lyric from the  song “Tessallate” by alt-J. It goes: “Triangles are my favorite shape. Three points where two lines meet.” And although I have since covered it with a different tattoo, I still like what it represents. 

 I grew up surrounded by antiques that were a part of my maternal granddads personal archive. I added down below a link to an article recently written about his collection & my moms childhood home.

 A personal archive is so many things, but most importantly, its a reflection of the archives owner. Each item has a story of how it came to be in the possession of the holder. Although I may not be able to tell you exactly which fortune cookie I got when & where, the story still exists in the universe. Even the heart shaped jar that I keep my fortunes in, is a part of a personal archive I inherited from my maternal great grandmother.

 As a kid I had multiple separate collections. For some reason that I can’t explain to this day, I collected literal trash I found on the ground & I had a good sized jar filled with it. The jar mostly contained liter like small pieces of balloons, a pair of run over glasses with no glass, and trimmer line that I had found around my neighborhood. I eventually gave that up and moved on to collecting glass soda bottles, fortunes cookie fortunes, random notes done by myself & others, cigarillo wrappers, old receipts, and maybe a few that slipped my mind.

 I do admit I’ve only amassed a small collection of receipts only due to my fear of throwing away one that I will eventually need. Not all of them are shown above...