A Visual Essay: UK Art Museum

Light and color are interesting concepts that are incorporated in our everyday lives. I went to the Art Museum at The University of Kentucky to see how these concepts are interpreted into art. The artworks had their own unique style and personality which was very intreginig. Below each picture and to the right is the accompanying text.

This statue represents an African slave that has her arms roped behind her while she stares hopelessly. The light emphasizes her beauty but it also brings out the tortured emotions within her. Black is used on this sculpture to represent the dull, mute, and brutal life of the slaves. The color can also represent the ethnic background of this woman.

Here we see another minority but looked at in a different view. This artist added color and life to this piece. It was inspired by the people in the South Bronx. The light brings out the facial expressions of this egar to learn school boy. I think it is important to show both the slave side and the free side of this culture which is why I chose these first two pieces.

It is obvious that color is a huge factor in this work of art. The idea of this is a representation of the low income citizens of Jamaica that usually go unnoticed and because of this the people struggle with their place in society. The contrasting colors and designs on the coffins represent each unique quality in every person because no-one is exactly like another. "You may not have noticed me when I was alive, but you will damn well see me as I leave."

I chose this particular piece because of the way the light brings out each color. The words that come to mind when I look at it are vibrant, radiant, and creative. My interpretation of the artwork is a child's imagination free flowing.

The bottom column stump is a neutral and boring grey color because it emphasizes the chaotic life of central London. The top base is an exact replica of the bottom except flipped overs and it is special because it uses a crystal, translucent color. As the light shines down into the piece it glows and has ice cube like qualities. The artist wanted to create Central London (bottom) but wanted to create art that is worth while which is why the top half is there. 

The chair above is my favorite work in the museum. What the artist did was take psychological attributes of the brain and turn them into art. The various colors on the right side of the chair represent our vibrant creativity as humans (right side of the brain). The left side represents the other side of our brain that we associate with logic, numbers, and science. There is also a scary side to this chair that the colors represent. The various rainbow colors show the fun loving side of a psychedelic experience but as we go to the other side it show the dark and ominous places in our minds. Is the artist using colors to express a split personally?

 

In his picture we see the past and present come to life to form one. The black and white images are from the past and represent the creation of the roadway. The background image is colorful and represent the current era of that picture and the use of the road way that was being built in the first two images I talked about.

I chose the painting about because it emphasizes both light and color in nature. The sun is rising over this valley and we can see the shadows disappearing as the sun illuminates the valley.





The museum its self was a work of art in itself. It was split up into exhibits that had their own meaning as seen in the photos below. I liked the use of neutral colors in the brown flooring and white walls. It gave the art work more of an emphasis. The lights hung in a way so that almost each of work art had its own spot light which illuminated them.

                                                       

The photo above shows a panorama of the second floor and part of the first. It will give you a better feel for how the space was constructed and how the designer brought this structure to life. Of course the real life of the museum comes from the artwork inside.

Newman, Singletary, SAVS

Inside of the Newman center we saw light play many different roles. The room of worship had 2 skylights that beamed in natural sunlight. There was artificial light used to draw attention to the podium, the various pieces of art, and the baptistry. We saw a cream colored theme within the interior and as the light hit the walls it brought out the texture on them. The Singletary center used the idea that the people inside of the structure are what matters the most. Red was incorporated throughout the interior. The artificial light on the east wing illuminated the wall and brought the texture out in the bricks. It was fascinating to see the bends and curves that the brick made. On the west wing there was a skylight that brought in natural light because this side was made to look at and ponder. We see different works of art on the wall. Inside the walls of the SAVS there are many different interior designs. One wall shoots out and then in as if there are hills on the wall. The green paint brings out the light within the building. Each piece is unique to itself. The skylights let in natural light that brings out the green paints and the natural florescent light mimics a natural light.

Loudon House

The here and now section of the exhibit was my favorite of all. What I most enjoyed was that these pieces of art are unlike anything I have seen before. My most favorite piece in the display is Daniel Graham's "The Inaugural Meeting of Strangers in a Foreign Land." It tells the story of two complete strangers meeting for the first time and they realize that they share similar qualities. "For it is only through the act of traveling with no sails or oars that we see our inheritance reflect into our actions and in turn see the work of God in what we do." As the light shines upon the boats it draws an emphasis on the dark maple wood pieces on the inside. I believe the artist wanted the light to reflect this way because it is what is on the inside of us that counts. As you can see the light is meant to illuminate this artwork so one can see it for how it is.

My mind was free flowing while I was walking around the Loudon House. It is a Gothic-styled home with wooden floors. There were eight rooms that I explored, each having its own unique vibe. The house itself has many windows with glass pane that allowed light to shed into the rooms. The light passed through, beaming onto the floors and walls. It looked like a movie set. The natural light lit up the room very well and the artificial light that was added to the rooms illuminated the pieces on the walls and really emphasized "hey look at this artwork over here." The photo below illustrates what I mean in the previous statement.

This Castle type home is in a vey unique location. As the sun rises it hits the building directly with nothing in the way. The light glistens across the building as you can see in the panorama below. When the sun hits it the widows cast shadows across the building. The light brings out the white in the building m making it look much more elegant than before. It also brings out the character and detail on the exterior. Emphasis is placed on the entire building because of the way it glows.

 





















The visit to Castlewood park was interesting to say the least. It was surrounded by poverty stricken neighborhoods but the area of Castlewood seemed to have a happy spirit. There was a nice park and playground that had children playing on it as I visited. The Loudoun House was different because it was a self guided tour. I found out that each person has their own personal experience as they travel throughout the home. Where in other homes we have toured have had a tour guide that guided our thoughts and feelings. Lexington is an extremely important city in terms of design and the United States history. The designers that have created buildings, only miles away, that are so significant to design show us how important Lexington really is. I believe that Ashland was the best house I have visited so far. It is an extremely personal home to the Clay family. Each home tells us a story of what the designer was thinking as they went to work on the home. It can give us insight on the families that live inside them. The light can help us understand the "feel" of the building.

Campus Building (light and color)

When light is reflected upon the nursing building we see the light bring out the top half of the building. It reflects off of the windows and brings emphasis to that area. The bottom portion of the building is brick and the shadows make it even darker. When the trees are grown the sunlight produces a shadow of them on the building.

Unit Summary 3 (materials)

Materials play an important role in design. The concrete encounter help me grasp the idea of materials. They help us understand what the designer is thinking while he or she is putting the object, space, building, or place together. The question that come to my mind in this unit, "What isn't made of materials?" Whatever the object, space, building, or place is made out of is material. The Pyramids of Giza used to have white limestone on the exterior and a gold cap on the top. The scale of the limestone was significantly larger than the cap. They did it this was because it represents power, and the all seeing, which was only for few. The principles and elements of design we learned about in unit 1 go hand in hand with each other. Various materials are put together to create a structure; Then the materials reflect a principle or element. The emphasis on the glass  and the contrasting nature of the Lever House is a good example. Scale and materials can also go together as shown in my example above of the pyramids. I do not believe that designs can be fully analyzed and describes be the materials but I think it can focus our thoughts on a concept for the design.

The picture below is the Pyramids when they were layered in limestone and had the golden cap.

The picture below is the Lever House, Look at the way the brick contrasts the two structures.

The last picture is of the concrete encounter which helped me get a sense of materials and how they work.d

Light + color 1

New grange is the most well known passage tomb in Ireland that dates back to 3200 BC. The tomb held many deceased loved ones of the era. Throughout New grange are passage ways that led to the tomb. These passage ways had markings on them that are said to be faces that I believe tell a story of the ones that were laid there. During the winter solstice, and days before and after, light glistens into the passage ways through a small opening as shown in the photo below. In Neolithic culture the winter solstice means a rebirth of nature and life. As the light shines down through this small opening and into the passage ways it not only illuminates the carvings on the walls but I believe it serves as a spiritual guidance that gives a new life to the ones laid to rest at New grange. It gives us all hope that there is a life after death.

Canstruction

           The materials we used were soup cans that were mostly the same size with one or two that were a little bigger and a little smaller than average. At first we tested to see if we could set the can on their sides but they rolled around too much. The flat base of the cans allowed us to stack them high. The first photo is of our small group's design. We were going for a pyramid but I see a Greek temple when I look at it. The bottom cans represent columns and the top three represent the top of the temple. As a whole we decided to build the Pyramids of Giza (second photo below) because we could provide depth and volume as well as represent all three structures. The activity taught me that if you combine different materials you can produce something greater than if you were to use one type of material. 

Above is our interpretation of a light fixture made out of soup cans.