"Assignment One"- Identity Activity by AZU

Azu: I chose to represent some of my personal traits by playing with the elements of these two compositions. The image reflects two aspects of my identity. How I see myself and how I think others see myself. On one side, the metal bars represent a crowd, I am part of it. Nonetheless, I keep myself true to my own beliefs; and I may look different than others. But with the second image, an abstract monotype, I want to show that I enjoy sharing my world with others as the monotype touches all the other bars in the crowd. Others may see me as a person that likes to reflect on things before acting. A thinker, the iIndependent and, at the same time, a bit wild person, just as a cat; Maybe absent and keeping quietly to myself as cats seem to do. Sue Rudland PS the four pieces I used in this composition are my own works.

Two images like a diptych are here; one is an abstraction of four poles of vibrant colors and line and the other is a sepia image of Sue at a table with a cat facing in the same direction as she, and larger than life. The first image seems to be a pen and and ink, and the other seems to be two photographs. The vibrancy of the one piece draws my attention but the second one's detail makes me take a second look. Perhaps this work is related to abstraction, on one hand, and of course photography. I think that the artist is expressing herself, but often finds differences in herself. Sometimes vibrant and energetic, and other times calm and pensive, but these are things that go together well for her. I think that each of these work well independantly, and their differences also create more meaning when put together as a diptych.

"The Place of Comfort" - Space/Place Project by KEVIN

This is a tranquil space which we view from a high angle, as though we are a delicate trinket on the shelf. I think it may be Rococco inspired. It is a dining room with dark walls and curtains which appear to be lace and brocade. The simple light fixture is the single light source. THe furniture includes a table, chairs, and cabinet. The dining table with a white tablecloth has a glass top, to protect it from stains. The chairs are solid yet delicate because of their swirling pattern. The cushions are built into the chair and their tone is similar to the wall. The tall cabinet matches the chairs, contains glassware and the formal teacups. In the corner of a room is a pedastal with a plant. THis plant adds a touch of life to the quiet room. The darker colors make the room more formal than the lace and the white tablecloth would otherwise. Yet the glass top and the sturdiness of the chairs make the room seem like it would be a welcoming place to serve a meal. This dining room is very unified through a careful combination of functional items and decorative touches. The ornate features are contrasted with simplicity in the solid color of the walls and floor and tablecloth, which gives the room a peaceful balance.

"Laura's Red Chair"- Space/Place Activity by AZU

This is Laura’s room, by Azu according to Laura’s description. It’s a picture of a real place as imagined by Azu. Azu uses solid blocks of color to describe the objects, as well as solid shapes and gently curving lines. She does not use accurate perspective or shadows, but recognizable shapes and forms to create an image of a room; this is a chair, and this is a lamp, and this is a window. Together it is a room.
The work is constructed around the red chair. It is the focal point, and the other objects seem to be placed around it. The shading in the wooden objects is similar throughout the piece. The light fixtures seem to be more furniture pieces than sources of light. The texture on the couch is very thick, while the walls, windows, and lamps are less heavily worked.
This work makes me feel that the place depicted is a very serene place to be, but the disjointed perspective sets me on edge. The irregularities make the picture plane move, as though a person sitting in that chair would be waiting for something to happen. Perhaps, the chair is waiting for a person to sit on it, and ground it to the floor. The picture is a bit whimsical because of the primary red and yellow, with also a bit of secondary green. What makes it more calming is the inclusion of the neutral gray and the brown wash on the floor.
I think that this work is a success because it evoked Laura’s own space for her. She felt that it represented the space she had described, and that would make it a success.

"Nature as an Object" - Nature Activity by AZU

This is Azu’s representation of the use of nature as an object or commodity. It’s a line drawing in pen, of an axe embedded in one of four stumps, with three small chopped logs in the foreground. The natural parts of the drawing are done in scribble tone, while the manmade axe is very carefully rendered in controlled lines. The chopped logs are a mix- their splintery edges are a series of parallel lines, while the bark is also done in scribble tone. The axe is very much the center of the composition. The work seems to march forward in space, the stumps emerging from the background. I imagine there is a forest past the picture place. And the logs spill onto the foreground. Everything is very well anchored to the picture plane, although the axe seems insubstantially anchored into the stump. The picture, for this reason, does not seem very planned out. The stumps seem very solid, while the chopped logs are broken and haphazard. It is easy to see the difference between the purpose of chopping the logs and the natural rooted trees, of which only the stumps remain. This work makes me think that there is something important happening elsewhere. The way that the logs are abandoned witht he axe left in the stump implies that the woodcutter had to leave in a hurry; nobody leaves an axe out to rust in the rain. But perhaps they have gone to add logs to the already-burning fire; in which case they will be back. Either way, Azu’s picture has a real sense of a moment in time; that the logs will not be here forever, and stoon maybe even the stumps will be gone. It adds to the idea of logs as a commodity used for fuel. I think that although this is a solid sketch by Azu. It does not seem like a very finished drawing, but it dos convey the idea that nature is something to be consumed and it conveys a sense of the passage of time.

"from natural products"- Material Project by AZU

This is Azu’s Material project.

She describes the project:
“I developed this sphere with wood pellets. I placed some dried leaves around it to remind us that those pellets were part of mother nature.
On the "technical" side, I used a tupperware to mold the shape and glue to keep all the pellets together.”

She has taken wood pellets, which are shaped into small cylinders, and with glue she has created a sphere, with dried leaves as a foil to the processed pellets.

The circle is at the forefront of the work: the sphere, the cylinders, the ring of leaves around it. This emphasizes the cycle of the tree through the leaves and into the pellets.

This work makes me feel slightly uneasy, because I want the sphere to smooth itself out, since it is already so very round. It is a clean shape made out of all the cylinders pointing in different dierections, which creates the feeling order is coming out of chaos.

This oxymoron is also a reminder that these processed wooden pellets with their geometric shape are made out of natural materials. This may be more effective than the inclusion of the dry leaves.

Although the leaves add color, they have a very different form to them so that the work appears less unified because they are there. Yet this also places the sphere into a more natural setting in my mind's eye, because it is reminiscent of an acorn on a forest floor.

I think that this piece is successful in exploring the link between organic materials and geometric forms and is a creative use of the materials that Azu had available to her.

"There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch" - Text as Meaning Project by CARRIE

Carrie: Image word:: started with chair but moved on to table - hope that's cool Concept word:: racism Phrase of my own choosing:: "There's no such thing as a free lunch"

This piece is called “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” and it consists of a leering white male with his knife and fork poised over two workers in a field. The man is in a suit and tie, and in color, while the migrant workers are in black and white. The field, because of its greyscale, reads as though it is the man’s table. The man is in the top half, the field in the center, and a black band makes up the bottom fourth. In Playbill font, across the top of the black it reads, “There’s no such thing as a” and then in white “Free Lunch.”
This composition is strong in horizontal lines, yet is in a vertical format. This puts the emphasis first on the man’s grin, than on the field and then you notice the fork, knife, and the caption. By drawing your eye downward, the effect of the realization “he’s glutting himself for free on their hard work” is more pronounced.
It makes me feel uncomfortable for the workers, but I don’t really identify with either group in the picture. It reminds me of a book I read once, “Whitebread Protestants,” because the man is so formally dressed, like a church-goer, yet he is eating. The book was about food and religion. I think that the comparison between food and religion could be extended to this piece because the way that people live and eat is affected by their value system, and this piece by Carrie seems to comment on the values behind a free lunch.