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Final
Problem Guidelines |
All problem assignments must be accompanied by the following:
A research workshop will be conducted week 8 in order to help you prepare for this assignment.
I will not accept handwritten copy for any part of this assignment. Basic style requirements include double-spacing, one-inch margins, a ten- or twelve-point readable font, a descriptive title, and a cover sheet that includes your name, the name of the course (GE 2014: History of Art & Design II), the title of your essay (not "Research Essay"), and the date you submit the project. Please do not use headers or footers--just page numbers.
Each of these problems will engage you in several activities designed to enhance both your academic and creative skills. Approach each assignment carefully, pay attention to the guidelines, and have fun. None of these requires more than a few of hours to execute with the appropriate level of technical or hand skills; most of your time should be spent on research and conceptual development. Keep sketches, thumbnails, and print-outs of sources in your workbook so you have them handy if questions arise. Available options are linked below: mobile l cubist sculpture l poster l experimental film l illustration l fashion design l parody/fusion/pastiche After conducting research on Alexander Calder's concept of the mobile, adapt a Cubist or other Modernist work of art to create a kinetic sculpture of your own. The mobile must be constructed and balanced properly, and submitted in a plastic sleeve in a pocket folder. Larger mobiels can be photographed, but must be brought to class for exhibition. Remember to consider the restrictions of the medium in choosing the painting or other work you wish to adapt. Include a black-and-white copy of the original in your project packet. For inspiration, I have a couple of examples in my office. Suggested artists: Picasso, Braque, Gris, or Leger. Mondrian has already been done a couple of times, with varying degrees of success; perhaps the best mobile I ever received was based on a stained glass window by Frank Lloyd Wright. Some useful websites: National
Gallery of Art's Kids Mobile
(requires the latest Shockwave plug-in) This lets you use a "toolkit"
to create and balance a mobile. After our discussion on Cubism, and after viewing the film on Cubism's impact on art and design, create a sculpture based on what we have learned about synthetic Cubist techniques. Further research into the principles of Cubism, both analytic and synthetic, will help you produce a successful response. Procedure (follow these steps carefully, and be able to explain your design decisions):
Restrictions:
Sculptures need not be made of the materials you imagine they could
be made of; you can, instead, create a maquette, a cardboard model for
a more elaborate sculpture. You are restricted to the kinds of materials
Cubists would use--so stay away from the Scrapbooking section of Michaels.
To help you along, here are some links--but don't forget the Kelley Library as a source of inspiration and for further information on these artists: Links to Cubists, Collage, and techniques
Create a poster
which in some way interprets the story of Daedalus and Icarus.
This particular myth was chosen because of its symbolic importance
to the development of new technologies and because it has inspired
myriad visual interpretations throughout the history of art and
design. If
you are not familiar with the tale, several translations and/or
adaptations are are linked below. Use the passage from Ovid's Metamorphoses,
translated by Rolphe
Humphries as a starting point, but consult other sources to
explore the possibilities. The poster must evoke the style of a late nineteenth- or a twentieth-century designer or design movement (from about 1880 to the end of WWII). Use appropriate typography and demonstrate your understanding of the sensibilities that underlay the work of the artist or movement you choose. Your research should encompass not only the artist/movement, but any associated movement in which he or she was involved, and the stylistic innovations for which he or she might have been responsible. Some knowledge of poster conventions (print technologies, restrictions) must also inform your design (silk screening requires different stylistic restrictions than lithography, for instance). During the last few weeks of class, we will be discussing a number of people and movements which have profoundly influenced late twentieth-century design. Understanding these designers as cultural "roots" for our present-day sensibilities, tastes, and conventions will provide you not only with useful information, but may well inspire you in ways neither you nor I suspect as we pursue this project. Try to see this assignment, therefore, as a creative challenge which engages you in the history of your craft. Posters for this assignment must follow the all of the general guidelines. The particular requirements of this project are listed below; remember, however, that if I do not say you can't do something, chances are that you can, as long as you do not violate the spirit of the project: 
Read the translation of the passage from Metamorphoses carefully.
Using what we've learned about manuscript illumination and illustration,
as well as posters and poster conventions, interpret the passage
graphically in a letter-sized poster with 1/2 inch white borders top,
bottom, and sides (maximum size is 8.5" x 11").
Your poster must make use of typography appropriate to
the style of the movement or designer you choose to emulate.
Again, the following items only must appear on your
poster: Your name, the name of the designer or movement,
and the words Theseus and the Minotaur. (Resist the temptation
to precede your name with "by.")
Don't forget to check the Poster links, where you'll find a number of links to historical, conceptual, and general informational sites on posters. Some
Useful Resources: Texts/translations/other
versions/helpful sites
Myth into Reality: The Metamorphosis of Daedalus and Icarus by Marjorie Hoefmans. The quoted text is in Latin, but even if you don't feel like going out and learning it, there's some good information in here. (As of the last update, this site may no longer be available; until I know whether or not it's gone for good, I'll leave the link.) For some background, see this Lecture on Ovid's Metamorphosis, by Ian Johnson. There's also a good bibliography at the end. The essay is long, but reads quickly and you'd be amazed at how much you can learn about ancient Roman life and how Ovid fits into the picture. A. S. Kline's prose translation of Book 8 includes the Daedalus and Icarus story; scroll down. Another translation comes from the Perseus Project, edited by Brookes More. "Myth Man's" Icarus and Daedalus page (include Thomas Bulfinch's version of the text and lots of images) Wolhee Choe, "The Fall of Icarus and Re-imagining Technology" (a rather long but interesting essay on the metaphorical and philosophical value of the myth) This option is
designed for those of you with strong hand skills who might enjoy
trying to emulate the style of the Preraphaelites, or that of Art
Nouveau illustrators such as Aubrey
Beardsley, Walter
Crane, or Alphonse
Mucha, or Secession artists like Gustav
Klimt. Before considering artists other than those listed, please
consult me. I'm always open to a good argument. The idea,
whomever you choose, is to emulate as closely as possible the style
and technique of the chosen artist. The
Mucha Museum;
Artcyclopedia's
listing of Mucha's work online; Mucha
at the Artchive; An
Introduction to the Work of Alphonse Mucha and Art Nouveau (Malaspina
Great Books); Alphonse
Mucha Fonts from Myfonts.
For
information on Preraphaelite illustration, see the slide list for
week 3: Medievalism
and the Gothic Critique of Modernity and the sidebar resources.
In
the medium of your choice, create a 30-60 second film/video that
evokes the experimental impulse and the concept of the experimental
film in the tradition of László Moholy-Nagy. There
are no specific rules, other than that the solution must be made
available on a CD, DVD, or website; the concept statement must
reflect research into Moholy-Nagy's work, other early twentieth-century
experimental filmmakers, and the Bauhaus.
. Resources:
The Moholy-Nagy
Foundation (especially the Film
Previews; click on the name of the film for a preview clip);
still photographs from the George
Eastman House; "The
Fiery Stimulator," an informative article from the Guardian
Unlimited (2006); the Tate Modern exhibition, "From
the Bauhaus to the New World" featuring works by Albers
and Moholy-Nagy; also from the Tate: The
Gesamtwerker by Stuart Bailey--an article that encompasses M-N's
experimental films and the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk.
There are myriad other sources available online, and a Library advanced
search using "experimental" and "film" will
turn up some video resources, as will a look into the history of
film and filmmaking. I just found this article on the history
of Abstract Film in America (.pdf), and it looks useful.
Remember
to follow all of the Design Problem Guidelines (essay,
annotated bibliography, etc.), and be prepared to exhibit your
solution to the class week 11. Winter 2007 students were pioneers
in this category, so the project is still "young" and
you will, in essence, be helping to design construct its parameters.
Any questions, suggestions, etc. should be directed to the instructor,
rather than to your fellow students!
Choose
an artist from among those we study this quarter and use his or
her work as inspiration for a collection of garments (3-5).
The design of the garments themselves should reflect your interpretation
of the artist's work, but the "translation" should not
be literal. In other words, do not use the paintings themselves
in the garments; instead, use the chosen artist's subject matter,
color palette, or other design elements (especially texture, line,
form) as the basis for your own work. The collection should also
focus on a theme (such as "Monet's Garden" or "Van
Gogh's Japan") so that it's not just random. The chosen artist
must be one we've studied this quarter.
Resources:
One place to look for inspiration is the Met's Costume
Institute, which contains the Warhol- and Mondrian-inspired
dresses of the '60s. But you can also see a large number of garment
styles that might otherwise get your creative juces flowing. These
might also be helpful: The Japonisme
blog contains a post on Klimt
and fashion (and there might be other artsts mentioned in
other posts); see also the blog For
the Love of Beauty (more on Dior's spring 2008 collection
& its insprations). I also have a few examples in my office
of a similar project for my humanities classes if you find yourself
stumped--and I'll add things here as I find them. Keep an eye
on the Gallery, too,
because I will add some examples there when I have time.
Follow the Design Problem guidelines noted above; present a drawing of each of your designs on a single letter-sized sheet of paper (do not mount them, however, unless you do so on letter-sized boards). Feel free to include fabric swatches or trim elements as desired, but make sure you provde at least a thumbnail sheet of images that inspired the garments, preferably in color. Your sources should include information on the artist, his/her movement, on fashion design and its relationship with art, and on contemporary design trends. An
alternative: in order to support the charity Barbie Auction
during the Fall fashion show, create an outfit for Barbie based
on the work of an artist we have studied this quarter. The possibilities
are especially rich because of artists like Mucha and Klimt, but
use your imagination and research skills to create a best-selling
costume for everybody's favorite cultural icon. The
Costume Institute at the Met is a good place to start for
historical background. The finished Barbie must be donated to
Mrs. Sapp for the December auction.
Parody: Pick a work from among the prescribed periods and create a parody of that work in a medium of your choice (no pastels). Originally, a "parode" was a burlesque poem or song meant to mock; but in common usage, a parody consists of "an imitation of a work more or less closely modeled on the original, but so turned as to produce a ridiculous effect" (Oxford English Dictionary). The comic effect of a parody depends in part on the audience's familiarity with the original work, so be sure to choose a recognizable original, or at least a work by a familiar artist. Ideally, the original work is so familiar that it almost amounts to a cliché. Include a black-and-white copy of the original work. Many advertisements use well-known images in their design, relying on our cultural expectations to create humor and/or recognition. This is a perfectly acceptable way of approaching the problem, but try to exercise wit and cleverness if you choose this option, rather than going for the cheap or obvious. Using an Ingres odalisque for an adult video ad, for example, is neither witty nor original. Fusion: A relative of a parody, what my students have come to call a "fusion" consists of a single image composed of influences by two distinctly different artists. The basic image imitates one artist's content, but is executed in the style of another. In the past, students have produced a fusion of Degas and Dali, and one of Monet and Picasso, for example. This option may be composed on a computer or created by hand, but must be executed professionally. Make sure that the artists you choose work together conceptually, and that you faithfully adhere to the style of one and the subject matter of the other. Both of the artists must be recognizable in the finished product. Pastiche: Another relative of a parody, which also makes use of the concept of collage, seems to have been invented in the nineteenth century when it was referred to as "Photocollage." It involves combining bits of art works from a variety of artists and periods, often in order to create a humorous or disturbing effect. Wikipedia's description is helpful in understanding the concept: "Pastiche is also used with a rather different meaning: a work is called pastiche if it was cobbled together in imitation of several original works. As the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, a pastiche in this sense is 'a medley of various ingredients; a hotchpotch, farrago, jumble.' This meaning accords with etymology: pastiche is the French version of Italian pasticcio, which designated a kind of pie made of many different ingredients." Contemporary artists like Larry Rivers often create works that either use or recall works drawn from throughout art history. Film director and former member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Terry Gilliam, used pastiche in his animated bits for the Pythons' TV series. The "prince" of pastiche is, however, Barry Kite. His website, Aberrant Art describes what he does as follows: "Photo collage meets art parody with collateral damage to art history and the icons of fine photography and photojournalism. Using 100% recycled images (to protect the environment), Barry Kite takes masterpieces from the Renaissance to Post-Modernism, with a little Impressionism, a dash of Minimalism, a pinch (or two) of Surrealism, a lot of irreverence and good (maybe sick) humor, bringing Michelangelo and Da Vinci, Rembrandt and Renoir, Manet, Monet, Degas,Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and a host of other artists into the 21st century. Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and Thomas Kinkade don't escape a little bitch-slapping on the way." Students who pursue this option may create their works by hand or computer, but the results must not be arbitrary. A pastiche must make a point of some sort, and you must be able to explain the concept in your essay. Be sure to adhere to the general problem guidelines in completion of this assignment. |