Transformation Excerpts

Tool-46 and 2- My shadow's
shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again.
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over
Or a word to guide me in.
I wanna feel the changes coming down.
I wanna know what I've been hiding in

My shadow.
Change is coming through my shadow.
My shadow's shedding skin
I've been picking
My scabs again.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions.

I wanna feel the change consume me,
Feel the outside turning in.
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and
Cleansing I've endured within

My shadow
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through.

See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me.
Soften this old armor.
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side.
Step into the shadow.
Forty six and two are just ahead of me.

Caterpillar Caterpillar- C Richard Miles- February 11, 2009- London
Caterpillar, caterpillar, crawl, crawl, crawl;
Don’t fall off the garden wall.
Caterpillar, caterpillar, eat, eat, eat;
Grow so fat on your furry feet.
Caterpillar, caterpillar, rest, rest, rest;
Soon you’ll change to be the best.
Caterpillar, caterpillar, try, try, try;
One day you’ll be the best butterfly.

Self Portraits

Brandon Salvas

3-17-11

G Block WAVI

Self Portraits

1)      Rembrandt van Rijn- Self Portrait, 1659, Netherlands

Vincent Van Gogh- Self Portrait, 1889, Zundert

Susanna Coffey- Slam Dunk, 2003, United States

Lucian Freud- Self Portrait, Reflection, 2002, England

Kathe Kollwitz- Self Portrait, 1921, Germany

Paul Gauguin- Caricature Self Portrait, 1889, France

Gregory Gillespie- Self Portrait, 1978, United States

Pablo Picasso- Self Portrait, 1907, Spain

Paul Cezanne- Self Portrait with Rose Background, 1875, France

Brett Gamache- Self Portrait (frontal view), 2008, United States

2)                There are great similarities in many of these works that can be noticed when you first look at them. Three of these self portraits in particular seem very similar in how they were painted. Vincent Van Gogh’s, Rembrandt van Rijn’s, and Lucian Freud’s self portraits are painted in similar styles in which you can see the brush strokes on the canvas and also it looks like the paint is raised up in some areas. These similarities can easily be seen and noticed by all.

3)                In my opinion, the strongest self portrait on the list is that of Rembrandt van Rijn’s. His self portrait done in 1659 shows his artistic ability as well as his ability to show emotions through his paintings. The portrait has a very rough texture and the background is shaded darkly. Also the look in his eyes shows sadness and I believe that all of these elements make the image more powerful.

4)                I believe that there are many reasons why artists make self portraits of themselves. One possible reason is that they aren’t painting for the money and they just want to use their artistic ability, most people don’t want pictures of other people on their walls and maybe the artists realize that. I believe a more logical reason why is that the artist uses the self portrait as a way of expressing them self. Self portraits don’t always look exactly like the artist and it can be how they see themselves on the inside and how they feel. Nobody knows the real reason why except the artist.

Critique #1

Brandon Salvas

3-7-11

G Block WAVI

Critique #1

Gaia

            In Ancient Greek Mythology, Gaia is known as the Goddess of the Earth. Gaia personifies the Earth and is sometimes depicted as a large tree or she is made up of the different elements that are naturally found on this planet. In the painting, Gaia, Alex Grey uses the emphasis of contrast, juxtaposition, and background to show the viewer the transformation of the world.

The juxtaposition that Grey uses in “Gaia” shows the emphasis in the transformation of the world that he has throughout the image. The Sun and the Moon show good and evil. Other parts of the image that are contrasted through juxtaposition are the luscious branches covered in green leaves with the burning branches on the opposite side of the image. Grey uses juxtaposition to show how much the world has changed and how mankind is ruining Mother Earth with pollution, over population, and industrialization.

The contrast of the images in the painting helps express the change of our planet that Grey is trying to show. On one side of her is what the world was like before man came to be; the left side of her trunk is composed of breasts pouring water into a stream filled with swimming fish and deer drinking on the banks. In the branches of the tree are many heavenly birds and creatures surrounded by luscious green foliage. The background under her branches is painted as an African plain that is populated by all the types of animals living peacefully with one another. On the opposite side, her trunk is covered by outlets which are connected to power lines leading into the horizon. Next to the power lines is a factory letting off plumes of smoke into the polluted sky populated by planes. The branches on the right side of the painting are engulfed with flames and have demons hanging by the limbs of the tree. The contrast that Grey uses shows the transformation of the world in a negative way, showing how much man has polluted and rid the land of its beauty and resources.

            Most of the detail and meaning in the painting is seen throughout the background. One of the key details in the painting is in the upper corners on the right and left. In the upper left hand corner is a Sun which can be a metaphor to the happiness, flourishing energy, and purity of the left side of the painting. Also in the upper left hand corner surrounding the Sun is Space with Planets, Galaxies, and Stars. In the opposite corner is the Moon in its waning crescent stage surrounded by missiles and satellites flying through space. The stage in which the Moon is painted has great significance. The waning crescent stage is the last phase the moon goes through before the New Moon where the Moon is no longer visible. This can be interpreted by showing that the Earth could be reaching it’s final stage and is close to it’s end through the great transformation it has gone through. You need to pay attention to the background in the picture to realize its true meaning.

There are many different elements that Alex Grey uses throughout his works of art that sets his paintings apart from everyone else. He focuses on making the entire work intricately detailed to show the meaning of each piece. Some of the elements he uses include juxtaposition, contrast, and background. Gaia is an example of a painting in which he uses each one of these elements to show his view on the transformation of the Earth.

Gaia, Alex Grey

My Concept

The concept that I will be doing is The Art Of Music. I want this to be my concept because I want this to be my concept because I listen to music every day, and I am interested in the art that is inspired by it.