We asked our spring 2021 intern Holland to complete one of the activities in the Writing Prompts for Visual Art packet we created to guide museum goers of all ages to engage more deeply with works of visual art. Holland chose to do the “Art Can!” page that asks viewers to find a piece of art in the Young Contemporaries 2021 exhibition that is a good representation of different principles of art and design.
You can see this activity and all the other writing prompts by clicking here.
Use interesting materials and/or techniques.
Title: Aika Ishimori, Cherry Blossoms, 2021
Medium: mixed media
Comments: This piece uses a wide range of mediums from elegant cherry blossoms, to paint, ripped newspaper, and even construction nails. All of these elements create a three dimensional composition that attracts the viewer to notice it’s perfect juxtaposition of soft and hard, light and dark, beauty and ugliness.
Express emotions without relying on recognizable images.
Title: Deborah Sisco, In Full Bloom, 2020
Medium: oil and poured resin on panel
Comments: This artist uses a combination of line, color, and movement to create a work reminiscent of the explosion life that is born in the beginning of spring when the flowers are in full bloom. The poured resin makes this piece all the more interesting to look at while it enhances the gloss of every color.
Be primarily about the arrangement of shape, line and color on a flat surface.
Title: Martin Allison, Gifted Child Burnout, 2020-21
Medium: oil on canvas
Comments: This massive work of art uses the arrangement of shape, line and color to create a composition that draws you in to look at each detail. Within every square inch of this painting there is some interesting combination of form. Whether that be the application of paint that seems to be so satisfying, the way the squares and repetitive lines create flow and dimension, or the combination of rich warm colors contrasting soft cool colors. The arrangement of all of these elements is what makes this piece so incredibly interesting to engage with especially when you can find something new in it’s grandeur with each and every glance.
Challenge us to view the world in a new and different way.
Title: Grace Dale, Driving At Night, 2020
Medium: acrylic on board
Comments: At first glance you may gather that this distorted assortment of shapes and colors is meant to be a human being but, until you read the title you may not have noticed they are driving a car. The artist’s use of abstraction may allude to the distortion of the world which comes with being intoxicated in order to challenge us to think about the dangers of driving under the influence.
Find one piece that you have not listed above and think of the reason(s) the artist created it. Write it below in the same format as the answers above.
Title: Untitled, 2021
Artist: Victoria Trakas
Medium: etching
Comments: In this untitled piece, Victoria Trakas uses the abilities of etching combined with light and dark shadows to create an image that attempts to tricks us into seeing a three dimensional form. The skill of the artist is demonstrated in their creation of overlapping shapes that look as if they could be some entanglement of organic matter. As if you could reach inside and become entangled yourself.
Reason: I chose this piece because it is completely non-objective but, is still so familiar as if it is a glimpse into my own physical being. It shows the artist’s great skill and potential in the difficult art of printmaking. Something I have always wished to understand and master myself.