Star Wars Tympanum

We had an AP Art History project that required us to create a tympanum with any theme we wanted. My partner, Peter Awad, and I chose to do Star Wars for our theme. A tympanum is supposed to inflict fear upon the viewer so the main character of our tympanum is Darth Vader. Darth Vader is featured within the mandola. To Darth Vader's right side we drew the good characters in decreasing rank. Immediately to Darth Vader's right is Luke Skywalker. Next to Luke is Princess Leia. Last, next to Princess Leia is Yoda. To Darth Vader's left is the evil side. There are only two figures. Immediately to Darth Vader's left is Darth Maul and next to him is Jaba the Hut. On the evil side of the lintel there are white droids. On the good side of the lintel there are white fighter pilots with red helmets. On the evil side of the archevolts are white death stars. On the good side of the archevolts are Millennium Falcons. Altogether it creates a Star Wars themed tympanum.

Local Art- Chihuly

Chihuly at Cheekwood is a glass blown masterpiece. Chihuly has created a stunning landscape by incorporating his art into the gardens at Cheekwood. His art of glass blowing takes so much more than most art. Every piece of his art has to be perfectly orchestrated in order for the image to be created. Planning and construction are a major part of his art. Chihuly's art isnt just free-thinking it takes a lot to create something so extravagant.
As you walk through the gardens you experience Chihuly's art at full blast. The glass is discreetly blended into the beautiful plants of Cheekwood but you could never miss one of his pieces when walking through. The bright colors make the glass explode from the green of the plants. Each piece is modeled after the plant that it sits in. Only a few pieces sit alone and those are the pieces that are large in size and in impact. Other pieces of glass sit in boats and in sand gardens but each piece is meant to blend in with its surroundings. Each piece of glass is like nothing else, only mocking its surroundings with great exaggeration. The electrifying colors and delicate extremities fuse together to create something amazing. Chihuly's blown glass has livened Cheekwood's gardens with its extraordinary beauty.

Henri Matisse Die Musik

       Henri Matisse orchestrates his very unique style within Die Musik. The picture plane is hugely broken up by two figures with exaggerated bodies. One figure seated on the left of the painting, the other seated on the right. The overstated bodies of the figures are draped across the furniture that also arranges the balance of the painting. Foliage in the background disrupts the picture with vibrant color set against a black background. A rectangular band of color runs across the painting just above the bottom. A triangle juts out of the bottom of the painting overlapping the band. Each element of the painting intersects another element of the painting. No figure is freestanding, everything is touching, and the image is crowded.

Matisse’s appliance of paint varies. The figures such as, the two women and their clothing, the table, the rug, the guitar, the plants and the arm of the couch show light, thin strokes, almost streaky in areas. These strokes create texture giving the materials quality. The background consisting of the tile, the couch, the pillow and the black backdrop are filled with thick color. The strokes are thin but no longer streaky, the colors are full. The strokes in the backgrounds are strong. In the couch and the pillow Matisse adds thin strokes of paint to show texture within the material. Throughout the painting the paint is thin never thick.

Matisse used only rich colors in his painting. Each color is solid with no obvious hints of other colors. The same sea foam green color is applied to the table, rug, couch arm and the plants. The thickest color in the plants. The tile in the background is somewhere between orange and red, the color of typical Spanish tiling. The mustard yellow of the woman’s shirt matches the yellow of the guitar and the light brown of the woman’s pants matches the bottom of the guitar. The black of the background and the pillow are startling against the brightness of the other colors. The black also forces the other colors to pop and become more vibrant. The other woman’s outfit is a royal blue color that takes up about half of the painting with the ballooning size of her pants. A light yellow, triangular pattern borders the cuffs of her pants. The couch barely shows its true color of white because it is covered with a red blanket. Matisse chose solely solid, full colors.

The mood of the painting is portrayed through the shapes and the colors. The heads of the women are un-proportionally smaller than their bodies making their facial expressions seem not very important. Drawing from the posture of the women the mood is relaxed and at ease. The lines are not sharp and nothing is exact. The effortless strumming of the guitar and the all around calmness gives the painting a peaceful, easy feel.

Coyle Colored Pencil Drawing November 10,2006

Clare Coyle Taylor portrays great emotion through her mishmash of colors and strokes in her colored pencil drawing, November 10,2006. When first examining the drawing the geometric shapes jump out due to their bold outlining. Each shape is exploding with multiple colors fuzing together to create a perplex image. Texture is added through accents of black and other colors. The brightness and confusion of the drawing give it an overall carefree emotion. Coyle isn't afraid to color outside the lines, strokes of hot pink exit the square that encompasses all of the drawing.
The shapes are arranged in no exact pattern but they appear to begin in the upper left corner and extend out. Small squares are drawn within bigger squares which are drawn within bigger squares. There are no repeats within this drawing, every element of it is different. The same colors are used but Coyle blends each color with another making it an original color. Her colors and shapes create an amazing abstract image.