#4. Components of Art

    Components of a Work of Art are really important when creating an Artwork, aside from Visual Art & Principles of Art. Art is always about something. Meaning is what distinguishes art from other kinds of skilled making. "The embodied meanings” – what is the artist trying to say? The Subject matter, Form, Content & Iconography are the components of a work of art.

• Subject is the "What" a representational and nonobjective.

• Form is the "How" arranging the elements or total appearance of the work; way the work of art looks;

(Elements of art:  “building blocks”; line, shape, value, texture, & color)

(how the elements are arranged is the composition) Composition  is the organization of the elements of art (lines, shapes, colors etc.) more often applied to two-dimensional art; the broader term is design. Any identifiable shape or mass as a “geometric form”.

• Content is the "Why"  "what about" (interpretation of subject matter); psychological or emotional properties felt or implied. What a work of art is about, its subject matter as interpreted by the viewer.

(Form & Content = as we experience how form and subject matter interact, we begin to interpret the work, and content shades into meaning.)

• Iconography is the describing images; Involves identifying, describing, and interpreting subject matter in art.

And there is also the context. 

• Context is circumstances; the personal and social circumstances surrounding the making, viewing, and interpreting of a work of art; the varied connections of a work of art to the larger world of its time and place.

#3. My Unique Artistic Style

My Own Artistic Style

My Style of drawing and making art is in between of Linear & Realistic. Since I was 7 years old I liked watching Cartoons and Anime, being influenced by it, that’s when I start to draw using Ball-point pen, Gel-pen and Crayons as my coloring medium because I like using it to make fine line stroke. And I also do arts like turning spring wires into small sculptures when I was 13 years old.

Mythical creatures like Dragon and Robots are some of my drawings that I really liked because it represent my imagination. Currently I’m doing some concept designs and sketches as a hobby. My style of drawing is Representational Art.

#2. Artist and Art

Leonardo da Vinci

Painting: Mona Lisa

Artist and Art

Leonardo da Vinci & Mona Lisa

     Leonardo da Vinci an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer. And one of his paintings Mona Lisa or (Monna Lisa, La Gioconda in Italian; La Joconde in French) is a half-length portrait of a woman, which has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world”. Mona Lisa thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is in oil on white Lombardy poplar panel, and is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506, when Leonardo da Vinci was living in Florence, and it now hangs in the Louvre, in Paris, where it remains an object of pilgrimage in the 21^st century.

The Mona Lisa and its influence

     These signs of aging distract little from the painting’s effect. In its exquisite synthesis of sitter and landscape, the Mona Lisa set the standard for all future portraits. The painting presents a woman in half-body portrait, which has as a backdrop a distant landscape. Yet this simple description of a seemingly standard composition gives little sense of Leonardo’s achievement. The sensuous curves of the sitter’s hair and clothing, created through sfumato (use of fine shading), are echoed in the shapes of the valleys and rivers behind her. The sense of overall harmony achieved in the painting—especially apparent in the sitter’s faint smile—reflects Leonardo’s idea of the cosmic link connecting humanity and nature, making this painting an enduring record of Leonardo’s vision.

The Aesthetics of Mona Lisa

     Leonardo used a pyramid design to place the woman simply and calmly in the space of the painting. Her folded hands form the front corner of the pyramid. Her breast, neck and face glow in the same light that models her hands. The light gives the variety of living surfaces an underlying geometry of spheres and circles. Leonardo referred to a seemingly simple formula for seated female figure: the images of seated Madonna, which were widespread at the time. He effectively modified this formula in order to create the visual impression of distance between the sitter and the observer. The armrest of the chair functions as a dividing element between Mona Lisa and the viewer.

_____________________________________________________________________

Vincent Van Gogh

Painting: The Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh and the Starry Night

     The Starry Night is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June, 1889, it depicts the view (with the notable addition of an idealized village) from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise. Although The Starry Night was painted during the day in Van Gogh's ground-floor studio, it would be inaccurate to state that the picture was painted from memory. The view has been identified as the one from his bedroom window, facing east, a view which Van Gogh painted variations of no fewer than twenty-one times, including The Starry Night. "Through the iron-barred window," he wrote to his brother, Theo, around 23 May 1889, "I can see an enclosed square of wheat . . . above which, in the morning, I watch the sun rise in all its glory.” Even given the large number of letters Van Gogh wrote, he said very little about The Starry Night. 

     As an artist devoted to working whenever possible from prints and illustrations or outside in front of the landscape he was depicting, the idea of painting an invented scene from imagination troubled Van Gogh.

     Arguably, it is this rich mixture of invention, remembrance, and observation combined with Van Gogh’s use of simplified forms, thick impasto, and boldly contrasting colors that has made the work so compelling to subsequent generations of viewers as well as to other artists. Inspiring and encouraging others is precisely what Van Gogh sought to achieve with his night scenes. When Starry Night over the Rhône was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, an important and influential venue for vanguard artists in Paris, in 1889, Vincent told Theo he hoped that it “might give others the idea of doing night effects better than I do.” The Starry Night, his own subsequent “night effect,” became a foundational image for Expressionism as well as perhaps the most famous painting in Van Gogh’s oeuvre.

(Source)

Internet:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388735/Mona-Lisa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/van-goghs-the-starry-night.html

#1. Arts Impact

“The history of arts and art of history”. The Impact of Arts in our society and culture makes our history more unique and more memorable. Arts in our history act as an evident that they use art to tell a story for us to see, new generation about the life and the event from the past. In Art History, we explore the basic elements and principles of art and its role in human history and the development of early culture. We look at how art impacted cultures from Paleolithic times to ancient Egypt and so on, and explore the factors that affect the analysis and interpretation of art. Creating art is an important part of experiencing life. It allows us the opportunity to express ourselves in a unique form. We begin in Prehistoric art as well as the art and architecture of the civilizations of early men. Historians usually consider works of art to be prehistoric if they were produced more than 5,000 years ago. However, it is important to note that not all societies and cultures developed at the same time in history.

 Ancient Egyptian Art

Lascaux, Paleolithic cave paintings

'Art for art's sake' – but not for many historians. The fine and decorative arts, their styles and iconography, have been mined for insight into the politics, religion and social obsessions of the past. Placing key images alongside the views of six contributors we continue the search.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             -Alex Potts

#9. Living quietly. What will happen to the world if there was no sound?

    First and foremost if there was no sound then all living beings who have the ability to hear on our world will lost their sense of hearing. Making the sense of hearing or having ears useless (Because if there was no sound at all then there was no vibration or pitches being detected by a hearing senses).

    But there are some good points in quietness.

Your other senses will get enhance. No more bad words and noises. Making all the people more physically fit because if you want to convey something to someone without verbal communication, you've got to use nonverbal to send a message just in case you can’t write a word or text to someone.

    There are going to be a lot of disadvantages if there was no sound; less communication, no music, no song, no alarm clock, less warning when you’re on the road, some animals that rely on sound to communicate will surely be in danger, and making the world a boring but dangerous place to live in.

#8. Pictures paint thousands of words.

Image from 9GAG.COM

    A picture is worth a thousand words. Not by how many but by how you express your feelings into words.  Images have information or idea that can be conveyed into words. Every picture have a story. Every story can have pictures to make it more appealing to others. Depending on how you perceive the idea of a picture can change the story of that picture. Also it depends on your own perspective of how you see the picture. Whether it’s good, bad, beautiful, ugly, meaningful or just a lame picture.

#7. The Power of Words!

The Power of Words

    The powers of words have so many elements that people use in their everyday lives. Words used in communication, making our lives more interesting with the help of words containing text, sounds and images. Even a deaf person understand others using written words. Words used to govern, start wars and make peace. Words guide us for a better path. It connects us. It unites us. It identifies and divides us. Words used to hurt us psychologically that sometimes it’s even worse than physical wound. Using words to have influence and power over people, you have the power to speak encouragement or persecution over others. People create words of wisdom. Making words have a strong impact in our daily lives.

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

                                                                                                                                                                                              ----John 1:1

    Words have power. They work. That’s why music and lyrics and songs affect people. Putting the feelings into words. So, different use of words, with the right use of words and change your words... can change your world, like writing a poem. 

#6. What makes Multimedia click? Why is it such a big trend?

    Multimedia: that really fits in our Age of Information. First is that it helps us to make it easier and faster to convey information such as text, audio, images, animation, video, and interaction. The interaction between a human or a human who use computer to communicate.

     Multimedia was always a big trend in many ages since the time when text was used. The Multimedia application like PowerPoint, video games and cinema was use for presentation to show evidence that the fast growing technology was really convenient for a lot of people. People using Multimedia in commercials, entertainment, fine arts, education, journalism, engineering, industry, mathematical & scientific research, medicine, document imaging, disabilities, etc. Making Multimedia a big part of people daily lives.

      The 21^st Century invention and discovery will have an effect of how the Multimedia will become. The developing technology and new discovery will change the way how we use Multimedia.
     So, why is it such a big trend? Because a person simply wants new information to satisfy their needs and be inspired (disregarding the effect of it, whether it’s good or bad). Others used Multimedia in their job to earn money or to have a job they used Multimedia for the information they want to get or to convey. People don’t realize that they use Multimedia in their daily lives like it was a hobby. The internet helps how far the Multimedia had become; making lots of people in different parts of the world shares information and discussing a single content; making it in demand for curious people; and for people who just want to go with the flow and copy what others do.

#4. Philippines: Are We All Wired?

     

     Philippines connectivity through internet really helps the people to communicate easily. Sending and receiving information even from a really long distance and in more convenient ways than what we used in the fast where the internet didn't even exist. Now today, there are a lot of places who have Wi-Fi or local area wireless technology. Some connection in the internet is good but some is really slow depending of the location and how many services it can take. But how fast does the internet we have as of now? Are we really updated? How fast does our internet compared to other countries in Southeast Asia?

                                                        

     As of now, the Philippines (2014) have the slowest internet speed in Southeast Asian region. Philippines only have 3.5 Mbps compared to Singapore (65 Mbps) the highest rating of internet speed in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong in East Asia that have 77 Mbps!? We are really falling behind from our neighboring countries when it comes to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The ICT is really important substance or key ingredient of the government and economy. The country’s ability to adopt technology to make it easy for country economics development. 

#3. Internet Usage in Asia

    The internet in Asia is booming as of now compare from the fast years, thanks to the technological advancement of communication. Many countries in Asia have so many Internet users using device like mobile phones. As the population in Asia grows, the people not using internet are decreasing while internet users are increasing in numbers. In Asia it seems that Philippines have less internet usage compare to Japan but not lesser than the other neighboring countries in the Philippines. And the number of population affects how high internet usage in the area and the economy also affect how high internet usage; if the economy is good then internet will get in-demand. 

#2. Coping with Power outage & Calamities through Communication & Technology

                             No battery, internet, call or text but there is always an idea.

     First you need to know what condition you are in if there is a power outage or calamities. Communicate with your neighbors and gather information about how the power outage or calamity will have an effect on you. The more friends or neighbors you have; the better! “Starting with good information gathering and doing some ways to solve problems regarding power outage and calamities”. Doing some list of what you have to do is good too, to know some alternative if you don’t have electricity, drinking water, food or even gadget you need to contact someone far away. And start conserving your own supplies is a must. That is why it is better to be prepared for an emergency and having good cooperation with others can prevent accidence occurring; like if there is a live electrical wires after the power outage happened, people are at risk of electrical injuries. Having a contact with authorities regarding the danger the calamities will have is really recommended.

     For some people who lost power because of power outage or even the effect of a calamity tends to use power generator as an alternative just like what my family do, we use electricity to power the motor pump to get water supplies from under the ground. So having no electricity is a big problem for us and others, but as long as you can think of ways to come up and pass the challenge the weather and the environment will give you; then you don’t have to worry. Cooperation & direct communication with others is an example you need in coping if there is a power outage and calamities.

#1. Communiction Changes: Technology and Social Media

     Communication changes with technology and social media. With new media it's just easier in our society to go the easy route. It takes less time of your schedule. New technology and social media sites are constantly changing, evolving and developing, which means the face of personal communication is also changing. These changes often mean the people are having less and less face-to-face interaction. Email, texting, Facebook and Twitter are just a few examples of mediums that have diminished verbal communication; verbal communication has decreased dramatically from just 20 years ago, when most of the technology used today did not even exist. Email was one of the first forms of communication technology to come about that is still used today, starting during the '70s but not becoming popular in the public sphere until the '90s. Email is currently the most popular form of online communication, even after discounting the large volume of spam messages sent.

    When Email first emerged, many people thought it was a waste of time and effort. `WHY CAN'T WE JUST CALL SOMEONE ON THE TELEPHONE?'

    According to the site I read, more than a hundred billion emails are sent out per day. In, addition, there are three times as many email accounts as Twitter and Facebook accounts combined. For others who use email for more professional things, like coordinating things with the service program that they help direct. Anything related to... school or business or things a lot of times will be email. I believe that email usage has increase over the years. Texting has also increased dramatically since it first came about in the '90s and is now used for communicate more than calling someone is. More people use their smart phones to text. I think it depends on importance and urgency, if it wasn't very urgent, I'd probably text. And then if it was more urgent and more important, I would probably call them.

    Facebook is also accessed largely through mobile devices, with hundreds of million users accessing it from a mobile device. Not only do people use Facebook to communicate, but the great deal of time they spend on it takes away from the time they might spend interacting with people in person. Some of them check their accounts at least five times every day. I check Facebook to see what's going on with people and to look at their pictures. Is is no secret that time spent on new technology and social media sites is increasing immensely, creating less time for real-life interactions. Likewise, there is no doubt that as these numbers continue to rise, face-to-face and verbal communication will continue to decrease and possibly even become a mere trend of the past.

Reference by Hayley Eastman, (2013). Communication changes. 

Retrieved from http://universe.byu.edu/2013/07/07/1communication-changes-with-technology-social-media/