Subway Graffiti

If you ever had a chance to visit New York City, you've seen it. Walls covered with strange cryptic symbols or "tags". Some of these tags have a sinister connotation. They plot out the edges of gang territory. Some of it is ugly. Some is amazing in its color and design. All of it is a personal expression of "Self".

During the 70's the graffiti movement reached its peak with the painting of "Full Car Jobs"  These incredible designs were implemented in the dead of night in dark subway car yards. Often teams of artists worked together to make these works of criminal art a reality.

Whether you think graffiti is criminal or folk art is a personal question. For our final project we will play the part of graffiti artist by designing our own car.

Considerations

• You car should represent you. It should describe your personality and interests. What about you stands out? What do you like to do? Make it a part of your car.
• Don't let windows and wheels dictate your design. You can work over them or integrate them into your image.  You could even be in the subway car.
• Start by making small roughs to get your ideas down on paper. Show me the roughs for approval and I will give you the large "blank" subway car to work on. 
• Your final project can be of mixed media. (ie. Cut paper, paint, colored pencils, markers, etc.)
• You will only get on large blank! Do not ask for another one, there is only one per student and they have to be printed. (Not copied here at MHS.) If you make a mistake, "Fix" it!

Letter Relief

My Example made from cardboard.

The Assignment

1. Each student will create a 9x9 inch relief sculpture.
2. Use your two initials as the shapes and repeat them throughout your square.
3. Use two sizes of at least one letter.
4. Change the orientation of the shapes. (upside down, sideways etc.)
5. Cut your shapes with scissors or x-acto knife.
6. Organize and glue the shapes down with white glue.
7. Pick one area of your design to emphasize with color. Paint it in a primary color.
8. Your design must be at least 3 layers deep.

Some Considerations

• Use brown cardboard or white and black matte board.
• Think about the concept of “Gradation”. Change the size of your letters to add interest.
• Remove the top layer of corrugated cardboard to reveal the texture beneath.
• Cut away from your hand when using an x-acto knife. Scissors work well except when cutting out the negative space from a letter. (ie. The inside of a B)
• Use a cutting board.
• Use a very thin layer of glue. Apply it with your finger.
• Toss your scraps back in the box. Someone else could use it.
• Use your negative cutouts.
• How does your image look when lit from the side. What kind of shadows does it create.

Studio Art Review Vocabulary

Here is a digital copy of your review packet for those that "lose" their original.

Abstract:  Simplified form, lacking in detail, distorted imagery. (Can still be recognized as an object in the real world.)

Angular Perspective:  2  Point Perspective

Asymmetrical Balance:  Equal in visual weight without being identical side to side.  Also known as “Informal Balance”.  Andrew Wyeth’s,  Christina’s World,  is a good example of an asymmetrically balanced painting.

Atmospheric or Aerial Perspective: The appearance of objects is altered by the effects of air between the object and the viewer. (Things appear lighter in value as they recede in space).

Balance:  Principle of design that referes to the equality between elements in a design or drawing or sculpture.

Birds Eye View:  View of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird.

Blending: Shading technique that creates smooth gradients from dark to light.

Brayer:  Soft rubber roller used to apply ink in Linoleum Printing.

Brayer

Cityscape: Artwork whose subject is streets and buildings.

Collage:  A technique in which the artist glues materials, such as paper or found materials, to some type of background.

Composition:  Combining elements of design (Art) together to form a picture, painting, etc. (Work of Art)

Contour Line:  Line that follows the outside edge of a form or shape.

Contour Drawing

Contrast: Difference between elements of design. (value (lights and darks), color (compliments), texture (rough and smooth), Line (thick and thin).

Hatching and Cross Hatching:  Shading techniques that uses lines or crossing lines to create value.

Hatching

Crosshatching

Depth:  Thickness, mass, volume (a feeling of going back in space)

Ellipse :  A circle drawn in perspective

Forshortening - The shortening of forms to achieve the illusion of extension or projection into space.

Geometric Perspective: Rediscoved by Filippo Brunelleschi in the early Renaissance, geometric perspective is a graphic system that creates the illusion of depth on a two dimensional surface. (Includes One and Two Point Perspective).

Geometric Shapes:  Circles, squares, rectangles and triangles. (Based on geometry).

Gesture Drawing:  A loose scribble type of line drawing that catches the movements and gestures of an active figure.

Hierarchical Scaling:  Is a technique used in art, mostly in sculpture and painting, in which the artist uses unnatural proportion or scale to depict the relative importance of the figures in the artwork. (most important is depicted largest).

Horizon Line:  Where the sky and earth meet.

Landscape:  A drawing or painting of mountains, fields, trees, rivers and lakes.

Line:  Path moving through space.

Linear:  Having to do with line; made up of lines.

Logo:  Corporate identity symbol.

Medium:  Another name for the materials used in making art. (watercolor, pencil, etc.)

Negative Space:  The area around the objects in a drawing or painting.

Non-Objective:  Artwork not related to the real world.

Organic Shapes:  Shapes that are curvy or irregular based on nature.

Overlapping:  Overlapping occurs when a figure/object prevents the viewing of another figure/object. The covered object is presumed to be further back in space.

Parallel Perspective:   Another name for One Point Perspective

Printmaking: Art process of making multiple transfers of an original image onto another surface. (ie. Linoleum Cut)

Relative Scale:  Objects or figures that are more distant are drawn smaller in size than those that are closer to the viewer.

Seascape:  Subject is ocean, ships etc.

Stippling:  Shading technique using dots. (Value increases through density)

Still-life:  A composition using some kind of drapery along with other items such as fruit, bowls, bottles, etc.  (Usually has little depth)

Still Life with Apples, Cezanne 1890

Texture:  Smoothness or roughness of a surface (surface quality)

Toxic:  Dangerous, poisonous

Vanishing Point: Imaginary point(s) where receding parallel lines appear to converge.

Weight:  Thickness or thinness of a line

Worm’s Eye View:  A view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm; the opposite of a bird's-eye view.

Color Terms

Primaries - Yellow, Red, Blue

Secondaries - Orange, Violet, Green

Tertiaries - Yellow-Orange, Red Orange, Red-Violet, Blue-Violet,Blue-Green, Yellow-Green.

Hue - Another word for color

Value - The lightness or darkness of a color.

Intensity - The brightness or dullness of a color.

Tint - A color that has been lightened by adding white.

Shade - A color that has been darkened by adding black.

Black - The absence of all color (light)

White - The sum total of all color.(light)

Gray/Brown - Gray is created by only a partial reflection of all color waves of the spectrum.

Neutrals - Black, White, Brown and Gray

Complimentary Colors - Colors that are directly opposite on the color wheel. Green and red are and example.

Analogous Colors - Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.

Split Complimentary - Start at a particular hue, blue for instance. Go directly accross the color wheel to its compliment which is orange. Then take the colors that are analogous to orange: yellow-orange and red-orange.

Triadic Harmony - A triadic color scheme involves three equally spaced hues on the color wheel. Blue, yellow, and red are and example.

Monochromatic - A color scheme using only tints and shades of a single color.

Cool Colors - Usually associated with Yellow-green, Green, Blue-Green, Blue, Blue-Violet and Violet.

Warm Colors - Yellow, Yellow-Orange, Orange, Red-Orange, Red, and Red-Violet.

Simultaneous Contrast - For any given color the eye simultaneously requires the complementary color and generates it spontaneously if it is not already present.

American Flag Redesign

Our first flag was the "Grand Union Flag" which was used by our troops in the American War for Independence. It predates the "Betsy Ross" flag which many people associate with the Revolution. Since then the American Flag has gone through many transformations.

Grand Union Flag

At first any manipulation of the Flag was considered sacrilege. Over time peoples attitude about the Flag has changed and it is often used in advertising, satire and clothing. Our assignment is to redesign Old Glory to make a social or political statement about the United States today.

This is a mixed medial assignment. Most students will choose to use tempera paint, but colored pencils, magic markers and collage are all viable options.

• Use a 12x18 inch piece of White Oak Tag. You may cut the flag into a different shape if your desire.
• The flag must maintain some semblance of stripes. The repeated hot dogs create an "implied line" or stripe on the flag below.
• At least one star should adorn your flag. (The project below failed to place a star in their composition.)
• The flag must include red, white and blue, but other colors may be used as needed.

Obesity Flag American Flag

No Smoking American Flag

Unity American Flag

Lino-cut Playing Card

Create a fantasy version of a playing card.

• Cartoons work best for subject, remember that it’s a portrait.
• Trace your image and transfer it to the lino.
• The working area is 4x5 inches in size.
• Carve out the areas that you want to remain white.
• Be extremely careful when cutting your lino. Always cut away from your hand. Use a “benchhook” for for safety!
• Make an edition of 3 perfect black and white prints. (C grade)
• Improve your grade by printing on colored paper, making mult-colored prints and offsets.

Draw and Shade a Personal Object

Shoe Shine Brushes

Pick a personal object like a cell phone, a set of keys or a brush. Draw the object as realistically as possible. Pay attention to the proportions of the object. How much longer is it than tall? Include all the detail that you can.

Shade the object so it looks 3 dimensional. This is not a quick sketch. You need to put in a least 30 minutes on it.

"New" Animal Scratchboard

If you could be any animal in the world, which would it be - a horse, a monkey, maybe a bear?

• Make a lost of your three favorite animals.
• Collect photo references for each animal. (3)
• Create your composite animal by tracing. Start with the main body and add different parts. (ie. antlers)
• Draw in an environment.
• Draw contour lines on the animal to assist in shading.
• Scratch out the outline of the objects.
• Shade using the crosshatching technique (other techniques can be used).
• Be careful when using scratch tools, they are sharp.

Example of "Hatching"

Example of Cross Hatching