DanielSpangler _ Museum Visit

Intro To Digital Photography

Professor Hoeksema

Daniel Spangler

Museum Visit Reflection on Peter van de Velde’s Calm Harbor

            This is a fantastic piece of several ships docking in a harbor. It is a sunny day which can be inferred from the reflection and shading of the clouds and the way that the shadows from the boats fall in defined lines across the water. The ships are all from an era of wood and sails and speak proudly of their country of origin through a brightly colored livery flying from the tops of their tall masts.

            The painting has a very warm temperature to it, with the majority of the whites leaning towards the deep orange glow of a late day sun. This is one of the elements that drew me to the piece as it does have a subtle warmth to it. The flags and sail are not taught which means that it is a calm day and the wind is not picking up anything more than a gentle breeze. The clouds are present, but not foreboding, instead giving a soft blanket that sits over the serenity below.

            The water is a placid sea making for quick and clear reflections of the objects floating on its surface. It is an oil on canvas painting, which, to my eye, yields a greater amount of texture to the piece, both as a result of the viscosity of the paints as compared to some others and the texture of the canvas itself.

            This painting has a feeling of being “home for a time”. These boats have found a place where they can rest for a time and restock all they need, but are always keeping in mind, the journey ahead. However, in the moment, they are a taking a time to be at peace. This speaks to my life quite lucidly at the moment. I feel like I am in the final push for the harbor and a brief moment of rest before the next stage of my life begins and I must weather the storms that that journey brings.

            It is mostly for this reason that I really like this piece. It connects with me through its use of warmer colors and metaphors that apply in my situation even if they were not originally intended as those specifically by the original artist. I think it is a fantastic painting and is worthy to be in any art gallery.

Attached is a picture from the art gallery’s archives for reference purposes.

Caleb Joyce - Museum Visit

I was inspired by the Andy Warhol prints at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Warhol takes everyday objects or iconic characters and adds his own character to them by colorizing different areas. His use of vibrant colors helps his images pop out, drawing your eye to certain areas and highlighting features that you may not have otherwise noticed in what he’s portraying.

What I find so intriguing about Warhol’s style is that he takes subject matter that isn’t technically his. He accepts that there isn’t much content that can be truly unique or original – any picture or painting of nature is just using the same elements in nature that were already there, anything recognizable in an image is recognizable because we are familiar with it because we’ve seen it before. But Warhol takes his own spin and leaves his stamp on obviously familiar objects.

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            In my photo, I tried to edit something familiar in a way that will make people see it in a way they never have before, or to bring new layers of meaning to it. I used Warhol's technique of modifying the colors to flatten the image, and to highlight different sections of the object. My hope is that people will see the refreshing rejuvenation provided by a water fountain instead of just the boring dull grey usually associated with it. 

Hannah VanKampen- Museum Visit

I chose to do my photo on the Gerald R. Ford mural from the Gerald R. Ford museum. What was really intriguing to me was the use of multiple mediums in displaying the art. There’s obviously the photograph of the artwork, but then there’s also the pencil work and the hours and hours that the artist must’ve spent, painstakingly drawing out the whole mural. The artist even worked with what looks like colored pencil. The mixed media use just makes it so much more vivid and alive than if it was just one medium of art- such as photography, or just plain pencil.



For my picture, I chose to capture something that I recently drew. The experience of drawing it, then being able to bend and twist it via photography in ways that I wouldn’t have been able to before was really interesting to me. It was a unique experience to work further with a piece of art that I considered “finished”. I chose to take the picture on it’s side, in order to make the picture more interesting. Unlike the life of Gerald Ford, I doubt people much care about my little drawing. I also liked the way the light hit the photo, obscuring some of it, whilst making the youngest child’s eyes very prominent.

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Caleb Hannah Museum Visit

Museum Visit 

               I went to the Art House art gallery in Douglas, MI. The piece I chose is a photograph of what looks to be a shoreline. It is split into three parts. The upper third of the picture being water and sky, the middle third is full of small pebbles, and the lower third is clear water with pebbles below the surface. The photo is in black and white, but it is still easy to tell what is going on. My favorite thing about this photo is definitely the composition and the use of the rule of thirds. Everything is in focus so there is a wide depth of field. The image looks like it was probably taken in the evening hours on a cloudy day. I don’t think there is really a deeper meaning to this picture, but it is definitely calming to look at. There is no movement in the water. Everything in the photo is still. This gives it a feeling of serenity. Overall, I definitely like this piece quite a bit. It is simple yet effective. It gives a relaxing feeling to the viewer – a feeling of calmness. I don’t think it is worth the price tag of $650, but that’s just my opinion. It is definitely a good photo though, and I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t like it.

 

My Piece:

I took this picture and made it black and white – I used the rule of thirds for composition. I also wanted water to be a part of my picture because I thought it would divide things up nicely, being in the center of the photo, and it would help tie back to the piece I was inspired by. The hardest thing about this was getting the right angle because I didn’t want to step into the ice-cold water to get my shot. My photo definitely relates to the one it was inspired by with the elements of composition I used (color, rule of thirds), and I think when placed next to each other, the average person would be able to tell.

Final Photos // Erika Kremnitzer

B R E W 

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Color

Megan Brown Museum Visit

I went to Calvin College Art Gallery and looked at their collection for my museum visit. They had several landscapes by the same artist, Mathias Alten. I chose one of those, a painting titled April, for my assignment. This painting is mainly focused at the sky and the big, fluffy clouds. You can see trees and hills in the bottom third of the painting, but the top two thirds are the blue sky and the clouds. The clouds are concentrated in the middle third, but they go throughout most of the painting. The colors of the painting are divided in the same way. The clouds and sky have different shades of white, gray, and blue; and the ground section has browns and greens.

I enjoyed this piece because it reminds me of cloud gazing and that’s something peaceful and relaxing, but also interesting because everyone sees the clouds differently. The artist used depth of field and perspective to put the emphasis on the sky and clouds. He also used texture to separate the ground and sky, the brushstrokes in the sky are smooth and curved, while the ground has shorter, choppier strokes. My interpretation of this piece is that the artist wanted to emphasis the drama and majesty of the world by shifting the focus and perspective to the sky, making it the largest part and making the ground, where we spend our time, such a small and less significant part.

My photo is slightly less dramatic because the perspective is more balanced, leaving the trees normal sized instead of tiny, and the clouds aren't as dramatic, but it still uses the rule of thirds and to make the sky look larger and more majestic.

Jeremiah Crawford - Museum Visit

Jeremiah Crawford

12/13/2016

Professor Hoeksema

          The painting "travelers" was first featured during art prize in Grand Rapids, MI. Judith A. Johnson is the artist and she wanted to portray two travelers on their way to an epic journey. One thing that stuck out to me was the normality of the picture. Both figures are sitting casually in the image with a cup of coffee and donuts. It almost doesn't feel like they're on a journey at all by the setting of the picture, but the backpack on the table and the picture on the wall tell the real story. This picture leaves me with the feeling of when you are on your journey, it becomes a normal part of everyday life. 

Brenda Nguyen: Museum Visit

Museum Visit

There were two galleries that I went to, one was the Center of Art Gallery at Calvin College and the other was the gallery at Frederick Meijer Gardens. The piece that caught my attention the most was Redux: Stripes for St. Joseph by Nick Kline and Amy Goldrich. There were many pieces that took part in this piece and I chose to focus on one part that especially caught my attention. This was the cross. 

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This whole collection of items was located in one full room at Frederick Meijer Gardens. There about four different black and white pictures that were on two of the walls. Each picture was different and had a different profile of a person. There were also different parts of the church included in this piece of art. There were different lights that may have been a part of the original church. There were also some old church pews that were in the right corner of the the room. There was also a cross that was on the left side of the room that was sticking almost straight out to give the shadow of the cross on the wall. This is what I found most intriguing and what I took a picture of. 

The reason that I enjoyed this piece was because it was scattered but somehow fit together. It gave multiple things to look at and consider. The placing of the objects was important especially when looking at the cross. The artist could have had it standing straight up but instead had it give off a shadow. I also enjoyed this because of the eerie feeling that was given off with the use of old church objects like the pews and lights. 

My interpretation of the piece would be looking at how each of the members in the pictures belong to a certain community and how this church was important to the community. I would also interpret this by noticing how many of the pieces are old and are supposed to allow the viewer to see how this is based from St. Joseph. With the majority of the pieces being dark and antique it gives off this idea of how it's falling apart. When looking at the different pictures of the people and the different pieces of the church items, it makes me feel like there is some brokenness between the two and it makes the viewer make some assumptions about how they relate to each other. 

My final judgment about this piece is that it is extremely intriguing. I personally do like this piece because of the different elements used by the artist as well as the openness to what a person can experience while looking at this. There is the overall idea of how the community has uncertainty and  it probably struggling. I think that cross was beautiful and made me feel this sense of peace within the uncertainty. I picked the cross as the main focus of my thoughts about this piece because it stood out to me more than the rest. I tried to show the same idea by going into our chapel and taking a picture of the cross. I especially focused on the shadows because that is what is so important and I wanted to keep the idea of the cross not being looked at straight on but rather from a different angle. 

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Museum Visit - Jordan Wynalda

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I went to the gallery at Calvin College and saw a piece of art that spoke to me. The piece of art was no painting, but rather a sculpture of sorts. The sculpture resembled a fish but was made up of many colors and had many scribbly lines in black that looks like a kid drew on it. The fish embodies a main color of yellow with a blue and red color for it’s head, fins, and tail. The sloppiness of the black lines bring happiness to the painting not only because it adds leading lines and detail, but because it can bring out the inner child in a person when admiring it.

The fish sculpture is on a stand so that it is about body height to most people. The red and blue colors for the head, fins, and tail have black spots throughout that add detail to the complexity of fish and the fish’s potential eggs. The warm colors and big mouth and eye bring a childlike happiness to the sculpture through the color tones being all mellow with a bright yellow core, that is toned down with the black scribbly lines. I enjoy this piece because its an official piece of art but has a childlike happiness to it. During the holidays all I want to do is be a child again and be home and enjoying my time off from school. I chose this piece because it makes me happy with how potentially ugly one could consider it while it also prominently displayed for many to see.

The techniques of carving the frame and bringing color to different parts to bring it alive show how complex yet enjoyable art can be. I think this piece is about the beautiful creatures of God’s planet and seas. The techniques in the framework and bright colors show that beauty has many different shapes and sizes. Through the friendly color usages and odd complexion the fish can appear to be imaginative or be done by a child. My interpretation of this piece is not only that God’s beauty can be seen in many ways but also that everyone has an inner-child that can bring happiness in many ways.

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            This picture may appear very different from my museum photo, but in reality is very similar. This represents that same message as the fish sculpture, that art and beauty can be expressed in infinite ways. I like this photo because it appears ugly but through imagination great art can be seen in it. The child-like happiness displayed through the sculpture and many colors can also be seen here.  I like these photos because they resemble a world that can be changed and altered but was ultimately created one way by God with one purpose for our lives. These two photos are similar in that they both show that God's masterpiece of a creation can be beautifully shown anywhere one looks.

William Horton-Gallery

            I went to the gallery at Calvin College and saw a picture that drew me. In the back of the picture there is a two story house. It is made up of all brick. On the second floor there are five windows going across and on the side of the house there are another two windows. The roof is arched and then goes down like a barn. There is one large chimney on the roof. On the first level of the house the house is white with four windows going across. The door to the house is in the middle although it looks like there is no door. Next to the house is a large garage. It has a pillar holding it up and then there is the walls on both sides that hold it up as well leaving a big gap in the middle. The roof is flat but then arches up a little. In the back of the garage it is white while the front seems to be brown because one side is made of wood while the other seems to be made of cement or rocks. Around the house there are two trees. The leaves on these trees are red suggesting it is autumn. There are not many leaves on the trees also.

 One tree is in the back of the house and the other is in the front. The tree in the back of the house is in the midst of bushes that have a reddish brownish color to them. There were also a lot of trees to the left side of the house. After that there is a little wall made of white bricks. This wall is in front of the entrance to the house. It is always off from the house but is in front of the entrance. The wall provides stopping point in front of a river that has rapids. There is a little water fall. There are two walls, one in front of the river and one on the backside of the river.

I like this piece because there is a lot of beauty to it and it seems peaceful. I think the river gives a sense of peace and exclusive, like it is in the middle of nowhere. The house is pretty because of the bricks and the tree that it hinds behind. I love the exclusivism that it gives off. I like that it is like a cabin house in the middle of nowhere. It seems like it would be a place to take a vacation.

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 I took this picture not just because of the waterfall but also it gives me a sense of peace. It makes me think of the time when I lived in the country.  I also loved living in the country and this picture reminds me a little bit of being there. We had a creek that had a little waterfall. We would at times go fishing. It was very nice.

Gallery - Luke Kim

I was able to visit the Hill Gallery website and look at some of the pictures. There was this one artist whose name was Bill Rauhauser. He started taking pictures since 1960 until now. I was able to see what he took from back in the 1960s until now. They are so awesome and every picture tells a story. It was interesting because Bill did not major in photography or any other communication media stuff. He was actually an Engineering major and it took 18 years for him to finally change his filed.

Bill’s pictures are all very natural. Bill claims himself as a street photographer. He never staged or manipulated photos because he believed that staged pictures destroy the credibility. His pictures are all black and white because he insisted that color also could influence the viewer. This is very interesting because I thought colors add more credibility to the picture but he thought in a different way. He wanted the viewers to see the shape rather than the colors.

My favorite picture from his collection is “Three Men on a Beach.” It is a picture of three black men sitting on the sand and staring at the ocean. Of course it is black and white. Bill tried to reduce the preconception that the viewer might have on black people by avoiding the color. Also the focus is clearly on the men so it is easy to realize what he wants us to see. I think a little bit of rule of third is incorporated too. I would be really interested to hear the real story of this picture if someone could explain it for me.

I went out the streets and took a picture of people walking. It is natural and no stage is set up, so it is pretty similar to Bill’s pictures. It is also black and white. While Bill had wide depth of field, mine has a shallow depth, focusing on the Asian guy (sorry if he is not an Asian, but he spoke Chinese).

Depth of Field - Katelyn Fabricatore

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Museum Visit - Katelyn Fabricatore

This past fall, I had the pleasure of visiting ArtPrize. I got to see many amazing artworks, but one that stood out to me in particular was "Hanging Pyramids" by Daniel Lancaster located in the Grand Rapids Police Station . I really enjoyed this piece because of its bright complimentary colors and the fact that it lights up - these elements make it very visually pleasing. The upside-down pyramids point in all directions, giving it a slightly unsettling and chaotic feeling. The swirls of analogous colors of the pyramid also add to the chaotic-ness of the piece. The points of the pyramids are outlined in black which I think is very visually pleasing and also serves as leading lines to move the viewers eyes through the piece.

The artists says the following about the piece, "The human eye is light seeking, and my generation seems to be attracted to 'the best and brightest'... My sculpture has an effect similar to the fluidity of water and the mesmerizing aspect of fire. Though constant manipulation of light, I can create an illusion of movement... light changes our perception of color. Manipulating light changes its hue on individual pieces. The constant change of color creates the illusion of movement within the assemblage in many ways. The constant manipulation of shadows and highlights seem to redefine the shapes we see." 

The artist touched a bit on this in his description of the piece but I believe he is trying to bring attention to the fact that we are naturally drawn to things that produce light. Because we are drawn to objects that produce light, they are the first things we see when we walk into a room. By making his 

I really enjoy this sculpture and honestly, in the right room, I could see hanging it in my future house. The colors and patterns are very pleasing to the eyes and although it is very unique, it is not too chaotic that it is a distraction or not pleasing to look at.

Many of the elements used in this piece - lighting, shadows, leading lines, and color can also be used in photography to place emphasis on the objects of most importance within a frame. 

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I was inspired by Daniel Lancaster's "Hanging Pyramids" to take the picture above. I tried to incorporate his use of bright colors and rigid defined line to draw the viewers eyes to the picture. I also used the natural lighting of the sun coming from above to highlight the tops of the pieces of kettle corn. Much like in Lancaster's piece, I used shadows to give the picture an element of chaos and uncertainty.