Sketch

Line Drawing

Self Portrait and Portrait Images

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Artist Post: Ilsabe von Dallwitz

Ilsabe von Dallwitz was born in Germany in 1945. Over the years, she has been an art, dance, and language teacher, while also developing her passion as a photographer and a digital media artist. The primary subjects that Dallwitz focuses on in her art work ranges from landscapes, architecture, to macro photography. Her travels around Europe and Asian are often reflected in her landscapes and their cultural influences are evident in the designs. Her works typically begin as digital photographs and then are transformed on the computer, laminated with acrylic and mounted a shadow frame. Dallwitz aims to search for new ways to design and to perceive reality. Her work centers on personal memories of moods, lights and colors of a setting or subject that has personally inspired herself. Her main objective is to keep the atmosphere of the original intact through an abstract interpretation combining photography and digital media.

The colors and the sensations of her images strive to draw the viewer into the image and to entice them to mediate. Dallwitz wants to foster positive feelings and calming emotions while also building up her viewer’s appreciation for the aesthetic qualities and the expressive nature of visual representations of nature and human interactions. Digital media enables her to combine the natural and the artificial which she feels best inspire thought and mediation.

In Dallwitz’s image, Asia I, I can really get a sense that this was originally a photograph that has undergone digital manipulation. Within the image, the patterns represented could easily be some piece of architecture or design native to the area which inspired this piece. Dallwitz wanted to inspire thought that is freed from the constraints of mathematical rules in order to enable the viewer to think and dream freely. In terms of being freed from mathematical rules, this piece is mostly successful although it displays mathematic principles such as balance and asymmetric symmetry. The architecture which inspired this piece still has left traces of its actual appearance, but it has been distorted and changed into this beautiful flowing design. The fluidity of the swirls and the patterns has a mesmerizing, hypnotic effect which does produce a feeling of calm. This emotion is juxtaposed with the color choices and the sharp contrasts of dark and light colors. The sharp color transitions add interest to the image in addition to creating a sense of captivation such as what is achieved when viewing a kaleidoscope.

In Germany I, this image uses the contrasts of light and darkness to highlight the subject. What I find interesting in this image is that Dallwitz has distorted the photograph to create a bean-like or fetus shaped curve amidst a dark backdrop. She could be trying to symbolize rebirth using light and dark imagery and shape. From nothingness and darkness a new creation, such as the ones she creates on the computer screen, forms. I like this image, but I think that she lost some of the atmospheric qualities that she wants to preserve in her work. She could have possibly done a better job with creating the center of interest and making use of the entire canvas. Dallwitz wants the square perimeter to be the only barrier in her work, but I feel a sense of restriction in this image. However, I do like the fluidity of the curve and how it draws the viewer’s eye in a circle.

Overall, Dallwitz has used the world of digital media to positively affect her viewers. Her work is original and creative and her attempt of uniting the digital and natural worlds is imaginative and intriguing. 

Rhizome Profile

Dallwitz's Webpage

Line Drawing Scans

Artist Post #3: Chuck Close

Chuck Close is an artist who has worked in a wide array of mediums, but he is best known for his portraits. Close was born in Monroe, Washington in 1940, and attended the University of Washington where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1962. He continued his education at Yale where he was awarded his Masters in Fine Arts in 1964. After his studies, he went to the University of Massachusetts where he taught for three years before moving to New York City where he could concentrate more on his artwork.

            Many of Chuck Close’s beginning works are large photorealistic portraits completed in black in white. He strove to shock his audience with the inordinate amount of detail in the faces of his subjects such as replicating pores of the skin and strands of hair. In the 1970’s he began to incorporate color in his work and in the 1980’s he began to play with abstraction. However, the most significant change to his style was not exactly intentional, when Chuck Close suffered the collapse of his spinal artery in 1988. This incident left him paralyzed with limited mobility in his upper body. In order for him to continue painting, he had to have someone attach paintbrushes with straps to his wrists and then move his upper body in circular motions. He began using a hydraulic lift that allowed him to move around larger pieces in his newly restrictive state.

            Arguably, some of his best work sprung from this incident. Chuck Close redefined portraiture and he took his super realistic style and slightly abstract finger paintings to a whole new level. He began to grind off blocks on a canvas and then filled each block with rings of color which seem hap hazardously assigned, but a portrait reveals itself when viewed from a slight distance.

Big Self Portrait- Acrylic on Canvas
This shows how detailed and photo-realistic Close was able to get prior of his accident

            I think that Chuck Close’s work is absolutely incredible. The ability to take such a life altering event and transform it into the something positive is a remarkable feat. He was able to use his limitations not to restrict his art, but to actually enhance it. I really like how his portraits capture everyday people, in their faces there is something that everyone can connect to. They are not always smiling or look particularly happy; they look genuine. They look like someone who you can meet on the street that you would normally just pass by, but their representation in this incredibly large and realistic or interesting depiction makes them uniquely remarkable and fascinating. 

Self Portrait- This piece shows how his abstract side and grid work

            Chuck Close went from simply copying faces into representing someone more creatively, which shows his dimensionality as an artist. When he was given a hardship, he was able to take his creativity to a new level, and I really cannot think of any ways in which to make his work better. The concept of grid drawing is not novel, but the way in which Close handled the grids is so original and unique that I cannot think of anything that I would want to change about it.

            I have always been a fan of Chuck Close’s, but when I was able to see his work up close in person I gained a completely new level of respect for what a remarkable artist that he is. 

Reference 

Reference 2 

Digital Remix Final

Digital Remix

For some reason the JPEG and the PSD look a lot different

Before and After

 

Debra Swack

Debra Swack is a media artist who has displayed projects all throughout the United States. Swack’s work encompasses a wide range of material ranging from photos, drawings, sculpture and sound installation to videos.  I discovered Swack on Rhizome and was instantly interested in her emotions project Debra Swack was born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana and currently resides in New York City. She received her Bachelors of Arts from SUNY at Binghamton and also has a computer science background from Phi Theta Kappa. She has also expanded her education by taking courses at NYU and Pratt Art Institute.  In addition to her work as an artist, Swack is a consultant at SUNY Buffalo Research Foundation.

"Emotions"

What I find particularly interesting about Swack’s artwork is that she shows appreciation for natural beauty and simplicity such as what is seen in “The Trees of Central Park,” which is a time lapse photographic project that explores nature and the cycle of life. While this is a relatively universal theme that has been previously explored, she shows an appreciation for topics which everyone can relate to. She expands upon her artistic talents and intellectual ability by delving into fields of psychology, biology, body image, fashion, abortion, and even cloning. Another of her projects that I really admire is her work with Darwin’s idea of the universality of emotions. Darwin stated that emotions and expressions were a universal biological basis for self preservation, which is the simplest way to communicate our feelings with others. The beautiful thing about this concept is that no matter the age, gender, social status or other external variables, we can still communicate through emotions. Aesthetically, I like how the four panels she created each have a color which helps to exemplify each emotion she is displaying. I think that the portrait style of her work and the fact that she omits text from the panels adds a nice effect; allowing the viewer to experience this universal phenomenon on their own.  If anything, I think it might be interesting if she added more panels 

perhaps of more complex emotions, which would also allow her to diversify the ages and ethnicities of her subjects. I think that the addition panels would drive home the idea of universal connection emotions provide.

"My Perfect Child"

Also, Swack’s work titled “My Perfect Child” again provides some interesting material to consider. Swack explores the concept of creating the perfect offspring; a pursuit society seems to have become obsessed with. This fixation to produce and rear the best child is evident in the popularity of child rearing manuals, to selective abortion practices and new scientific possibilities such as genetic engineering. The default answer expecting parents give when asked about the gender of their unborn child, “oh we don’t care, as long as the baby is healthy,” could turn into a genetic competition to form a society of perfect people. From Swack’s “My Perfect Child” I gather that she is trying to reiterate the idea that perfection is in the imperfect. Genetic engineering and selective abortion is not needed, children are already perfect. Their insecurities, battles, oddities and quirks add to each flawless creation. Ask any mother and she knows just like Swack that the perfect child already exists, without the help of genetic engineering. Aesthetically, this picture is not particularly complicated, but I think that it gets at this message of childhood simplicity and natural perfection.

Overall, I am impressed with Debra Swack’s work and the intellectual complexities that she incorporated into her art. Swack’s ability to explore important and meaningful topics combined with her familiarity of a vast array of artistic mediums makes her an intriguing artist. 

Debra Swack on Rhizome