drawings for religious figures

This time, I did drawings on religious figures.

This depicts Jesus comforting a new born baby. This creates a heartwarming, lovingly atmosphere which the people who live in sorrow would like to lived in. I rarely draw human figures as I found it hard to depict the expression of the people. This time, using the pencil, I must make the shadings looks more natural. Thus, I blend the shadings to make the lines seem less harsh. This also allows me to have a softer tone so as to create a more peaceful atmosphere. Also, I must take note of the proportion of the figures so that the human figures would not look distorted.

This is a pair of hands which are praying. It is draw by pen. This is the first time I used pen to draw the hands. For this, I must pay attention to the details of the hands. As compare to pencil drawings, there is no much shading to bring out the different tone of the hands, thus all the details are been enlarge. Hence, even the little small details need to be drawn out carefully. However, for the next time I can use different size of lines of the pen to suggest the depth of the objects.

inspiration from religious

After the inspiration I have on disasters, I have also have inspiration from the religious faith.

When in times of trouble and sorrow, people would normally pray to god to seek for help. Especially when we encounter something that we cannot solve, we would like to depend on god to give us the direction to continue to move on.

In the artwork, The Virgin in Prayer, by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferra
to. A woman is praying. This inspires me how people would have the hope in their heart and pray for the better. I might want to use this as references for my coursework by depicting people have the faith inside them despite of the sorrow and sadness.

After the disaster, a lot of people are praying for family’s safety and a better tomorrow. Though many of them knows that it might useless, but they still kept on praying. At first, I was puzzled at this phenomenon, as I don’t understand why people would keep on praying despite the fact that it is useless. However, after I watched the news reporting on the aftermath of the earthquake, I realize that it is not that the people are only seeking for help from the god, but a sense of comfort as well. It is just a form of believe that would continue drive people to move forward, a faith in heart that their loved ones will be safe.

In this photo, it shows survivors praying for the victims of the earthquake. It inspired me that i would also like to have a similar setting for my coursework, whereby people in the debris praying for the safety of their loved ones, and for whoever had suffered due to the disaster.

drawings for disasters

I did some drawings base on the inspiration i get from the natural disasters.

I did drawings on disasters is because I want to show that people are suffered because of disasters. The disasters have taken away people’s home, family and friends. Many of their precious memory are also been buried under the debris. In just a few minutes, years of people’s work are gone, leaving behind sorrow and sadness.

Firstly, i did the drawings on the collapsed building resulted by earthquakes.

As I did the sketches for the debris after the earthquake, I need to take note of the different tone of the debris. Previously I only did pencil sketches on a single object, thus I only have to take note the tone changes of that single object. However, as this is a drawing with many objects on it, I must note down the different changes in tone between all the subjects in the drawings. Also, I must also take note of the different textures of the debris, such as some are wood while some are cement. Thus, while drawings I must add different textures to the objects so as to distinguish the different materials. By doing so, I can add different lines and dots to the objects to suggest whether the objects are smooth or rough.

Then, i did drawings on volcano eruptions.

For the drawings on volcano eruption, I used charcoal as the medium. As I rarely use charcoal in my normal drawings, it’s hard for me to control the strength of shading. Apart from must take note of different tone in the drawing as I mention earlier, this time I must pay extra attention to the gas emitted from the volcano eruption. As the gases have a totally different form, texture and shape from the normal objects that we can touch and feel, it’s very hard for me to use charcoal to depict the characteristics of gas. In order to do so, i use very soft line to draw the gases by smoothed the charcoal line. This helps to create a softer tone of the gas and thus makes it have the shapeless form.

Inspiration for coursework - disaster

Update the blog after a long long time J

For my AEP coursework, my theme is HOPE.

I chose this theme mainly because I want to tell the viewers that hope is everywhere around us, we should never give up on our life.

Recent years, many natural disasters occurred. This caused many people lost their home, family and friends. Life might be hard for them, but I hope they can believe that there is always hope and never give up.

Though disaster might not fall directly on us, but we can be quite close to it. Such as the 2004 Indonesia tsunami. We still can feel the shock of the earthquake. And from the report we can see that people live right beside us are suffering. This makes me feel very sad as i see people struggle to survive during and after the disaster.

Also, not to forget the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. As my parents and most of my relatives live in Sichuan, the earthquake really give me a big fright. Luckily all of them are safe and sound. However, this experience allows me to empathize the life of people who have lose their family during the disaster. Still, it's quite hard for me to imagine what would they feel like when they heard that their family were buried under the debris. I think it's really hard for them to wait for the rescue team, and at the same time hope that their family will be safe

Following that, is the recent Japan Earthquake. I was surprised at Japanese's optimistic attitude after the earthquake. Though the devastating earthquake has resulted many people lose their home, family and friends, but they still did not give up and think positively. Also, they all work together to rebuild their hometown is very heartwarming. I hope that everyone who suffer from natural disaster could also discover the positive side of life and not give up.

Thus, I chose HOPE for my coursework’s theme!

Fashion Design

This is the fashion design i did last year. This is the first time i tried fashion design and it is a whole new experience for me. The forms are derived from natural element/patterns. For the fashion design, i must be careful of proportion. As compare to normal human figures, the body proportion used in fashion design is more idealistic. Also, it is also very important to be creative with the use of natural shapes and forms.

This is the sketch i did for the fashion design.

this is the final design for the fashion design module. I have used forest as the background. This is because i think it corroborate with the natural elements that i have had inspired from for the fashion design. I have used watercolour and colour pencil as the medium for the artwork. However, as the figures does not stand out from the background, thus i add outline around the figures to distinguish it from the background colour.

T. Venkanna with the Two Fridas

In January 2011, a stark naked man has attracted attention from over 350 people so far at the Art Stage Singapore exhibition. The man, who is the artist himself, seated in a booth in front of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's The Two Fridas - dressed only in his "birthday suit". This artist is no other than T. Venkanna from Hyberabad, India.

This installation has attracted much of the public's attention and it is highly controversial. It seems to challenge the public's perception of art, as in this is a whole new medium which the art are conveyed to Singaporean. Some newspapers had gone to town with the artist's act, questioning whether it could be considered art. A lawyer was quoted as saying the show could be against the law as it is an offense to appear nude in public. The art fair, which opened to the public, is considered a public event.

To begin with, why would T. Venkanna would like to pose in front of the artwork, The Two Fridas in nudity? To answer this, we must first understand the context of the artwork.

There are two different characters as portrayed in her work. The traditional Frida (left), with an intention to hide the bruise of her past life experiences, wears a tattered and blood-stained Mexican dress with her broken heart seen. This may indicate a person’s response when she is trapped in a life designated according to her status of living. The traditional Frida is the reflection of a person held out by the life she was expected to live. As soon as she realized the need to adjust, she reinvents herself in a more positive way, unearthing in her the strong Frida at the right side.

Just like tabula rasa, one empty-minded person acquires knowledge from experience and perception in life. Frida’s response to the circumstances of failure lead to the ongoing strength of her evolved character, the right Frida – the epitome of strong will and determination in spite of hindrances which came along the way. She is the embodiment of the person who wisely decides for herself whom she wants to be, and not live accordingly with the influx of society’s culture and traditions. The artery connecting both Fridas and the holding of hands may signify the connection between the socially relying human and the independent fighting one – a strategy used by Kahlo to escape from reality and heal internally. Traditional Frida’s exposed, shattered heart may represent her longing – the bleeding love, which is still shared by both Fridas through the linking artery. The surgical scissors/pincers stop the blood from dripping out, which may indicate that she still knows her passions. The stain of blood in her white dress may convey the physical aspects of pain, reminding her of the unwanted incident of miscarriages, of abortions, of surgeries, of her life. The small pendant, displaying a miniature picture of Diego, is connected to her by a cord.

Thus, we could see that The Two Fridas is less about a fantay than an exploration of artist’s own personal reality; it is a quest for self-identity. This somehow corroborate with T.Venkanna’s artistic intention of "removing the trappings of identity” and thus discover the self-identity.

I think one of the reasons T.Venkanna would like to pose in front of The Two Fridas naked is because he wants the people to throw away the perception and stereotype the society has on them and discovers their true inner self. It is also possible that through his nudity, T.Venkanna is trying to convey the message that stripped off all the misinterpretations, one is only left with the pure essential part of human which has been buried and hidden all the way inside the human body.

Also, he appears in nude might also suggest that the clothes represent the different identity we have in society, as we are often been classified according to what we wear. We have our uniform and working clothes which suggest our occupations, our statues. Thus, nudity allows us to remove all the social identities and return to the state when we just born. And eventually, people will realize that we are all essentially the same.

Another reason is because T.Venkanna would like to be like Kahlor, who has the strong will and determination in spite of all the difficulties, and someone who would have the power to decide for herself whom she wants to be, and “not live accordingly with the influx of society’s culture and traditions.” In this context, as T.Venkanna challenges the traditional perception of art, he is determine to present who he is, his art and not been influence by the social norms.

So, since there is an artistic intention behind T. Venkanna's act, the artist has instils the life and meanings into his installation and making it his art, then why does this art work create so much controversial? When have seen different degree of nudity exist in paintings and sculptures for decades, yet why is it that majority of people are unable to accept a bare human body as a work of art when it is in the environment of an art gallery?

The reason for this might be because when an artist chooses to place his own body in an art gallery, he is challenging the society what constitute art. Formerly, the Dadaists challenged the preconceptions about art in choosing ready-mades to be their definition of art. And now, instead of choose ready-made materials, but choose human body as a platform expressing art, can it still be considered art?

Also, the work also comes with a price tag as every photo taken with the artist was charged $250.

This thus cause people to question the original intentions of the artist. For me, I could not understand why would any people willing to spend $250 to take a photo with Venkanna in his birthday suit against the background of The Two Fridas. Thought the photos help to record the performance, but this does not corroborate with T.Venkanna’s artistic intention. If he sees his body as part of a artwork, I don’t see why he wants the viewers to pay to take a photo with an “artwork”.

Although T.Venkanna has generates interest and question the accepted societal norms and public expectations of art, however I do questioned whether his artistic purpose has been fulfilled, as hen most viewers do not understand his work. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, he exhibits in a public setting, it means that people of all ages could come across with the work can cause unnecessary disturbance to the viewers. Also, he should have take note that Singapore is quite a conservative society, as compared most of the western countries. Thus, most of the viewers might have seen such artworks/performance before would find it rather unaccepted and thus create such a big commotion. Hence, the artist could have considered having exhibition in a more open country such as France then he might have succeeded.

In conclusion, I think that if the artist would like to freely expressed his artistic intention in a more bizarre way, he should consider the social context and level of acceptance of the people in order to meet his expected outcome of the work.

AEP Assignment: Art Interpretation

1) A valid interpretation of an artwork is dependent on an understanding of the artist’s intent and the context in which it was created.

I do not agree to the statement that a valid interpretation of an artwork is dependent on an understanding of the artist's intent and the context in which it was created. Interpretation is about what the viewers perceive from the artwork. At the same time, artist's intent and the context in which the artwork was created determines the way that the artist hopes to convey his or her interpretation. A work of art is “a closed form” because it is a “balanced organic whole,” writes Umberto Eco. At the same time, an artwork is open “on account of its susceptibility to countless different interpretations.” Thus, a valid interpretation does not necessarily have to dependent on artist's intent and the context in which it was created. In every reception the work takes on a fresh perspective for itself, thus there might have numerous valid interpretation different from the artist' intentional message.

Isamu Noguchi. Sun at Noon (1969). Red French and pink Spanish marble.

A fifteen-year-old girl has been standing in front of Isamu Noguchi’s Sun at Noon (1969) for some time. When she was asked what’s on her mind.

It is some type of porthole or something. Maybe there’s a whole world in there [that] you can go inside. It’s at the beginning of the [exhibition], so it’s kind of like if we go through this we’re going into this new world.

The circle is important. I see it like, it never really ends...It’s infinite...it keeps on going. If you look at the shape it has no flaws...it’s so controlled. It is like “the civilized”...because stone is rough but the artist smoothed it out, like society [smoothes out] the person. Oh, that also gives me the idea that it’s like “the ideal.” It is illusionary, like it cannot be real...

The girl is not the first person to interpret Sun at Noon. When Noguchi was still alive, one interpreter associated Sun at Noon with Italian Renaissance architecture. Stressing that Noguchi had worked in Italy around the time he made Sun at Noon. However, to the artist, Sun at Noon was nothing more than a feat of engineering. The only thing Noguchi publicly associated the sculpture with was the sun—a reference that transcends cultures, which was absent from Jessica’s response.

The girl was aware of the nature of the object she was looking at: an artwork. She also knew that artworks are meant “to be looked at” and interpreted. In fact, she interacted with the sculpture in accordance to these conventions. Still, there are differences between the original meaning of the work—as articulated by Noguchi—and her interpretation.

It is true that yet in spite of the openness of a work, not every interpretation of an object is valid. For an interpretation to be tenable, the features of the work must support it. For example, Sun at Noon can become a porthole because it frames a round void and because it is placed like a doorway at the beginning of an exhibition. The sculpture can be about “the ideal” because it is a perfect circle, because it has a flawless, smooth surface, and because it is held up in a way that appears to defeat earthly gravity. But to consider if someone interprets that Sun at Noon in relation to, say, uncontained chaos is untenable as there is little in the work’s features to support such an interpretation.

When an artwork is created, the artist knows that he or she will be interpreted not according to his or her intentions but according to the interactions between the artwork and the viewers. These interactions involve the features of the work, the viewers and their environment. An important distinction thus arises between the intentions of the artist—the ideas in an artist’s mind about his or her work—and the “intention of the artwork”—the messages that the object actually conveys as a result of the artist’s choices and actions. These qualities may offer many different interpretation possibilities that the artist did not foresee. In that sense, a work contains its own independent “intent” or set of suggestive experiences.

Thus, the potential meanings of an object derive from the work itself, and are not controlled or limited by the artist’s intention and the context in which it was created. Therefore the viewer “is not obliged to speculate about what happened in the head of the artist”. From this perspective, the girl has no responsibility to make conjectures about what Noguchi might have meant. Her commitment is to the sculpture in its current context (at the beginning of an exhibition), not to the artist. Moreover, the girl is not getting it wrong as she makes sense of the sculpture, even if her ideas differ from Noguchi’s. She is simply bringing new insights to Sun at Noon.