Ray's Art Appreciation

Eyes

2011-04-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

I just saw this photography post on our eyes. Suren Manvelyan took close up photos of human eyes and the results are mind blowing...

Take a look for yourself:

http://www.photographyserved.com/Gallery/Your-beautiful-eyes/428809

Cider

2011-04-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

The packaging on this product is an art form. It basically plays on the idea that Ciders are alcoholic drinks but you can't really smell or taste it. You are tempted to try it and then you realize the effects on you. I like how they put very traditional art work surrounding the logo. The art work is quite busy but makes the logo pop even more. The whole design has an esoteric quality to it.

Final Project Artwork

2011-04-22T10:11:00.003-07:00

Since today is Earth Day and recycling is now a must, this strange work of art made by used cardboard caught my attention. At first glance, I saw the resemblance to a guitar but if I was very close to the artwork, I probably would have had to step back and see it. The guitar is made from all cardboard and put together by wires and strings. With all the pieces put together, you definitely see the shape of the guitar. There is a slight chaotic rhythm to it as it is both abstract and naturalistic. The sculpture clearly is a representation of a guitar. There are straight lines and curvilinear lines, sharp edges and smooth edges. There is a sense of asymmetrical features but it does look balanced. There are strange cut outs on the body of the guitar that shifts the weight to the right. The sculpture has great use of shadows as it makes it come alive and a good use of space.

What I wonder is if this is put on a wall or laid next to the ground? Can you guys guess who made this guitar?

Wood veneers as artwork

2011-04-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

I just recently read about Ron van der Ende. Like the Metrocard bench, he is an artists that recycles old wood veneers and uses them to build magnificent artworks. The artworks are very realistic and only when up close, can you see each piece of veneer pasted together to form the work. It's truly amazing! One person's trash is another person's treasure!

You can read more about this artist here:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663627/dumpster-diving-artist-creates-trippy-3-d-drawings-from-wood-scraps-slideshow#6

David Kracov

2011-04-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Below are some additional works of art by David Kracov that I saw when I went to Eden Fine Art in NYC. Not only does the artist use stainless steel to mold and create very visually "wowing" works but he also creates these 3D paintings that shows depth and perspective. He puts these cartoon characters inside or outside the artwork and gives it extra meaning. The paintings average from $1,000 to $3,000 and the sculptures are usually from $5,000 to $8,000.

Scottie Pippen Statue - Finally Revealed

2011-04-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last night, the Scottie Pippen statue was finally revealed at The United Center. The statue is made of bronze and shows the player's upper half of his body. What is interesting is that they colored the bronze statue for his jersey and hair. It seems to have great texture and shows a very confident pose. Its also very realistic and in proportion to his own body.

Metrocard Bench

2011-04-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today I saw this story of a Steve Shaheen who used 5,000 used Metrocards to build himself a bench. The artist collected used and thrown away Metrocards and reused them to put together this work. This is an example where functionality can be even greater than the artistic appeal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localnyc/five-thousand-nyc-metrocards-went-into-making-this-bench

3D Street Art

2011-03-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Below are some 3D street art from Hongkiat.com. I just find it so fascinating that I can't really tell if it's real or not. They look so realistic that it makes you scared to go near it! I've never seen 3D street art in real life and would love to have the chance to. I want to see if it looks realistic in real life or just in a 2D photo. Anyway, these are some amazing artworks and definitely grabbed my attention. Follow the link at the bottom for more.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/absolutely-stunning-3d-street-art-paintings/

Lincoln at the White House

2011-03-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

I remember I heard about this news a few years ago. A photographer during President Lincoln's times had snapped a photo of the White House. This photo was kept at the President Grant's library. Upon closer look at the photo, you can see a tall man walking towards the center of the White House. It also seems like the man had a full beard and was taller than the rest of the people. Lincoln was 6'3 tall and had a full beard. You can also see the people that are following him and the people welcoming him. Many historians are saying that this is the only photograph of President Lincoln at the White House and could be the last photograph of him before his assignation. It's an interesting photograph that froze a moment in time.

Scottie Pippen Statue

2011-03-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

On April 7th, one of my favorite basketball players from my childhood will have his statute placed permanently at United Center. I'm wondering what materials will be used to make it, who is the artist and Scottie Pippen's pose. Since Michael Jordan already has a statue outside of the United Center, it will be interesting to see what Scottie Pippen's statue will be like. As soon as his statue is revealed to the public, I will be blogging and offering my critique :)

"The Chicago Bulls have plans to unveil a bronze statue of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen that will be displayed permanently in the United Center at some point towards the end of the 2010-11 season.

"Not only is Scottie Pippen one of the greatest players to ever wear a Bulls uniform, but he's among the best players in history of the league to play the game," said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. "He had a tremendous impact in bringing six world championships to Chicago and there is no better way to pay tribute to him than with a permanent statue that honors his inspirational career.""

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Scottie-Pippen-is-getting-a-well-deserved-statue?urn=nba-265329

$69 million Chinese Vase

2011-03-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

I remembered looking at this story last year. Family members were clearing out a house of a recently deceased uncle. They didn't put much thought into the vase and just left it on top of a bookshelf. It was when they took it to a local auctioneer they found the vase to be made in the 1740s, and was almost certainly made for the powerful Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799).

Art is not only an expression of thoughts and history but also a great place to invest as a storage of value. There must be thousands of items just like this one kept in dark corners of people's basements and attics. Only during garage or estate sales will they ever be found and sold.

"Chinese porcelain vase discovered during a routine house clearance has sold for $69 million, the highest amount ever fetched by a Chinese artwork." http://www.aolnews.com/2010/11/12/chinese-vase-found-in-storage-sells-for-69-million/

Living portrait

2011-03-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

I think Alexa Meade's paintings are so unique, as it's almost a reverse of what should be. Someone posted her works on a forum I go to and I am just so fascinated. She uses real life people and paints them in acrylic paint to make them look like a 2 dimensional painting. She uses shadows, lighting and texture to make them look like a 2 dimensional oil painting.

This is the artist and her real life work on the right.

2011-03-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

This is a painting by Beijing artist Yue Minjun: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/popup?id=4649499 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Minjun

My friend took this photo of me in front of his painting around the time of the summer of the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the 798 Art Zone His art work usually depicts himself in a state of laughter. No matter what the surrounding troubles entail, his paintings always depict him laughing. There's definitely a social and political message in each of his paintings and really gives people something to think about.

Standing Parvati

2011-02-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

This is the sculpture I critiqued for my Art Appreciation class. I just think from a male's point of view, this sculpture is very interesting. It's fascinating to see that humans haven't changed all that much and the idealized human is still very much similar as it is now vs. a thousand years ago. If an artist created an idealized female form in modern times, it wouldn't be so different from this sculpture. It is truly a MODEL. This sculpture just communicates so many things and meanings to me.

William of Orange at Rutgers

2011-02-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a statue of William of Orange at Voorhees Mall at Rutgers. It looks like a bronze statue that has been "greened" by oxidation. There is a lot of texture that allows the statue to be viewed close and away. I would say the scale is about 4x the size of a average person but the scale does seem to be in proportion. I think the statue holds space very well as you can see the dark space inside his cape. William's stance and gestures are very simple but meaningful movements.

Ron Mueck

2011-02-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

After learning about Ron Mueck and his giant "baby" head sculpture, I had to find more of his works. His works definitely piqued my interested in sculptures because they are so life like and shows humans as enormous or small vulnerable creatures. A lot of his sculptures are of when children are born, naked bodies, when sleeping or alone and confused.

Other works by Ron Mueck

The Gates in 2005

2011-02-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture my mom took when she visited The Gates about 6 years ago. The event was a Christo and Jeanne-Claude work where 7,503 vinyl "gates" were planted along 23 miles in Central Park, NYC. She even got a piece of the gates when the volunteers were handing out the nylon fabric. In fact, to this day, the fabric is still in my wallet. I seem to have good luck with it, so it will stay there. I'm not sure what the content of the art work was or if there were any significant meaning. Does anyone know?

Michael Jordan Statue in front of The United Center

2011-02-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is the Michael Jordan Statue in front of United Center in Chicago. The sculptors were the husband and wife team of Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany. There is a lot of texture in this statue as the surface is very rough and distressed when viewing it at a close distance. When viewing it at an distance, it is the iconic Jordan Jumpman. The statue seem to be in proportion and and in scale. In my opinion, this sculpture is very dramatic as it is an action that is at the pinnacle of basketball. You can also see the effects of shadows and the contrast on the art work. It really reminds me of Michaelangelo and Pisano's human sculptures.

Weird Figures in Xi'an China

2011-02-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

This is a picture I took in Xi'an, China of two men sitting. I forgot what it represents but the way the artist used to shape the sculpture is quite unique. If you stand very close to it, they look very rough and the texture is more abstract. The composition is also unique because there is a break in the two sculpture spaces making the sculptures work as standalone or together. The back drop is a half finished wall that becomes a space for one figure and there is just negative space for the other figure.

Art of Heart Juice

2011-01-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

The above logo is the brand image for a new beverage company that I've launched. The beverage is called, "Heart Juice" and it's formulated for heart health. We wanted a bold and attractive logo with high intensity colors where the viewer immediately recognizes the meaning. We also chose a really strong font to make the logo less feminine and more masculine.

The font is a geometric shape made up of mostly rectangular boxes. Is the heart logo a geometric shape or a biomorphic shape? I feel it is more geometric since as it has more predictable lines and curves. Can it also be biomorphic because of the curves?

Here is an article about our venture in the Daily Targum:
http://www.dailytargum.com/university/students-concoct-heart-healthy-beverage-1.2450293

2011-01-25T15:45:00.001-08:00

This is a structure I saw at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. While waiting for a flight to Beijing, I noticed this extraordinarily huge structure. I didn't touch it but it looked like it was made out of a plastic but it looked very heavy and strong. When a person walks out from the security checks into the gate, they would hear their own footsteps. The whole structure produced an echo when sound is emitted inside it. Many tourists and children made sounds to test it out.

The form of the structure is basically 4 curved walls that leaned inward. All the lines are very curved and they are geometric shaped. The hue is black with a high value. The opacity of the actual walls didn't let any type of light through.