The amazing designs of Alan Aldridge

 



 I recently viewed Graphic artist Alan Aldridge's official website. I am really a big fan of his work! His designs are bright and colorful and full of expression. Really cool images! He is originally from East London and now lives in California. You can see the London and California influence in his art. You can tell by his many designs that he is heavily influenced by rock n roll music and the psychedelic  music of the 70's. Some of his work has been displayed at the House of Blues Cafe and The Hard Rock Cafe.

 http://www.alanaldridge.net/

Yale Visit 2

 

My intention this weekend was to go to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art this Saturday but do to the weather I wasn't able to make it so in lieu of that, I made a second visit to the Yale University Art Gallery. The last time that I was there I was very much interested with the Asian art and artifacts that were on display. For this visit I focused on the pieces that were the most interesting to me.

 

Maitreya
South Asian, ancient Gandhara, Kushan period
(ca. late 1st-early 4th century C.E.)
2nd-3rd century C.E.

This piece, caught my attention immediately. The picture absolutely does not do it justice. It is very big and made out of carved stone. The intricate work of the person or of persons that carved this and the patience that it must have taken is amazing. This is the representation of a Buddha and in researching more about it I learned that the name Maitreya comes from the Sanskrit "maitri" meaning "universal loving kindness."

 

Footprints of the Buddha
(Buddhapada)
South Asian, ancient Gandhara, Kushan period
(ca. late 1st early 4th century C.E)
2nd century C.E.
Gray Schist

This stone is the representation of the Buddha's feet. In my research of that it meant, I discovered that this is the representation of the Buddha transcending to enlightenment. The legend says that when he rose his feet left their print on the stone he stepped on.  

 

Arch (Parikara)
Indian, Gujarat or Rajasthan,
Solanki dynasty (ca. 950-ca. 1250)
12th-13th century
White Marble

This would have been an altar piece that would have been in a temple and it would have been part of a ritual or ceremony. In my research I could not find one just like the one above. The ones that I came across were made out of bronze or metal.  Looking at this piece again, I am amazed on the carving work and the patience it must have taken to create something so beautiful.

 

Altarpiece with a Figure of Vasudhara
Nepali, Malla (1482-1769) or
Shah (1769-present) period
18th century
Bronze and gilt brass alloy with inlaid stone

  This also would have been an altar piece in a temple. This is a statue of Vasudhara who is the goddess of wealth, prosperity and abundance. Her name means "streams of gems" in Sanskrit. Also in my research I learned that she is the subject of many legends in the Buddhist religion.

 

There is always something new to learn and see at the gallery. Every time I go I truly enjoy my visit and my wanderings through the museum.

  

 

 



Project 3

 

 

My original design is shown first in this sequence of designs. In order to make the other four designs I cut out a few small sections from the original piece and posted them sixteen times on new documents to show the designs in a different light.

Project 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Friday Afternoon March 27, 2015

I spent part of my  Friday (3/27/15) afternoon at Yale University Art Gallery

1.  Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. 
3. Yale University, 1111 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510
4. Opened 1953

Although the gallery is filled with amazing pieces, for this blog I will focus on three pieces of art  that stood out to me.

This painting was by James Ward (British, 1769-1859)

Man Struggling with a Boa Constrictor

This painting is a full-scale study for two of three figures in James Ward’s lost canvas The Liboya Serpent Seizing His Prey. That painting depicted a black man being pulled off a horse by a giant snake. Ward was part of a circle of artists and writers who called for the end of slave trade. Ward’s closed study of human figures in vulnerable, prone position is evident in his drawing.  

Maternity Figure

Uhoro  Nigeria, early 20th century

This figure is from the Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection made up of wood, pigment and encrustation. In the dark shrines forbidden from public view, immense figures of ancestors' spirits are grouped together to evoke an ancestral presence. These figures are meant to be fearsome to the living but beautiful to the dead. The figures' whiteness indicates a connection to the spiritual world and illuminates the dark shrine with an otherworldly presence. 

Mask Performances in Borneo

The masks were made of wood with pigment. Masks are used in may performances and ceremonies in Borneo. In Western Borneo they are used during circumcision and wedding rituals. Among the Kayan and Kenyah of eastern Borneo, masks are linked with the rice planting festival, when elaborate performances are staged to ensure a good harvest growth. In southern Borneo, they traditionally appear as part of funeral ceremonies. All five masks come from Eastern Bornea they were called hudoq. Some represent refined human beings, and some depict fantastic animals based on real or imaginary prototypes, such as a boar, hornbill, or dragon. 

The gallery has a wonderful sculpture and artifact collection. I like the fact that it is free and the atmosphere is welcoming. I will for sure make another trip and share more pictures. 

Week One

Hello Everyone


My name is Katrina I am a senior and I will be graduating with my Bachelor's in May. I am a Human Service major and I live in Bridgeport, but have been working in New Haven for the past six years. I enjoy working in management and look forward to furthering my education with Albertus. This is my first blog,and I never took an online course set up this way. This is definitely a learning experience and I look forward to visiting the museums required for this course. Wish me luck and best of luck in your educational journey.

Katrina

Repost of Aesha's hello....

Aesha posted this as a comment on my welcome post so I am reposting it here on the main page of the blog so it won't be overlooked.



Hi everyone,

My name is Aesha and I am a senior with 5 more classes to go woohoo! I was born and raised in New Haven Ct but currently reside in Hamden. I love the state of Connecticut and plan on giving back to the community once I have graduated and have more time. I currently work in Healthcare and really enjoy the personal contact there with patients and their families. Working in healthcare you witness many things good and bad. These things inspire me to want to help those who need it as well as help educate those who are seeking more answers. I have never taken a graphics class so this will be my first. I am looking forward to this class it seems very interesting and I'm sure It will be useful in many ways in my professional and personal life. I wish everyone a successful mod!

Yale University Art Gallery

 

For this trip I chose the Yale University Art Gallery. It was a beautiful sunny, Sunday afternoon and Downtown New Haven was full of people. It was a welcomed change to the snow storm we had experienced the day before. This trip was not my first time going to the gallery. As a New Havener, I've experienced the art of the gallery before.

 

The Yale University Art Gallery was first founded when John Trumbull sold 28 paintings and 60 miniature portraits to the University. It was the artist himself that designed the Neoclassical building in where the painting would be exhibited. When it first opened on October 25, 1832, it was called the Trumbull Gallery and it was the first university museum in the United states.   Even though the Trumbull Gallery is no longer standing, today the Yale University Art Gallery is housed in three historic buildings designed by four architects.

 

 

When you first walk in to the gallery , this impressive art is on the wall near the door. This painting is by the British painter George Stubbs (1724-1806). This is oil on canvas and it is called "A Lion Attacking a Horse (1762)" This painting is the first of 16 that the gallery has pf this painter.

 

A special exhibition that the gallery has is the Whistler in Paris, London and Venice exhibition. After walking through it, I honestly have to say that it did not interest me at all. It just seemed a little too boring to me, so I moved on to one of my favorite rooms of the gallery, the ancient art of Greece and Babylon exhibit. Even though this room hasn't changed in all the years that I've been coming to the gallery, this room still fascinates me. It is astonishing all the intricate work that was done in stone with nothing more that a chisel and hammer.

 

 

This is a called "Lion Relief from the Processional Way." Its from Babylonian, Near Eastern, ca. year, 605-562 B.C. It is glazed brick. According to the informational card this colored relief once lined the Processional Way running from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon's main entrance through the heart of the city.

 

 

Mosaic Floor with Views of Alexandria and Memphis

Early Byzantine, Jordanian, Gresa

ca. A.D. 540

 

After the first floor, I moved on to my second favorite part of the museum and that is on the second floor, the Modern and Contemporary Art and Design. This floor has on display one of my favorite artist, Pablo Picasso. Picasso was a painter, sculptor, print maker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright. Picasso even though he was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881, as an adult he spend most of his time in France. Accroding to Wikipedia, he is know as one of the founders of the cubist movement, the constructed sculpture  and the collage. He is most known for painting in periods, of those periods the most famous is his blue period which went from 1901-1904. In this period he painted in shades of blues and blue-greens. This period was influenced by his travels from Spain to France and and by the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas.

 

 

This on of the paintings in the gallery: Pablo Picasso's First Steps, this is oil on canvas. This painting was painted by Picasso in mid-1943 during WWII and the German occupation of Paris. According to the information card, this painting was X-rayed by the Yale University Art Gallery's Conservation Department and it revealed that Picasso made significant compositional revisions, such as: the woman's features once resembled those found in the paintings about his lover Dora Maar and that the little boy sat of stood on a chair.

 

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 This one is called Femme assise or Seated Woman. This is oil on canvas painted in 1939. This painting came about after Picasso took a year from painting. During that time Picasso turned to writing, he wrote more than 100 poems during that time. When he returned to painting in April 1936, he created many portraits, inspired by his mistress Marie-Therese Walter, which this is one of them. Something interesting about this painting is the Picasso included his own profile to the right, overlapping himself with her.

 

Like always, I completely enjoyed my wanderings through the  museum. After many years of coming to visit, I can always find something new that I learn from the artists that are always on display like Picasso or from the new exhibits that are always changing that museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is due for week 1 and when?

All classes spent the first week getting acclimated.  That means downloading and installing Photoshop if you are in Graphic Design 1 or 2D design.  Also I am looking for you to become a member of the blog and post a brief hello and bio here on the blog.  What is your major?  What are your hopes for the class?

All work is due each week by Sunday night at midnight.  I take attendance every Monday morning.  If you have been absent all week and I don't see any posts by Monday morning that is the same as being absent. As you know, Albertus has a tough policy when it comes to absences in the online classes... 2 weeks total and they remove you from my class automatically.

Click on the syllabus for your class, check the rubric for what is due each week and what the expectations are...  May will be here before we know it... Remember, I am always available during my office hours for you to come in for help or advice... Tu and Thurs, 4:15 - 5:30 and Wednesday 3:45 - 5:30.

Project 1

Just showing Mike during office hours how to do project 1

Welcome to Mod 4

Welcome to Mod 4.. I only have 4 students spread between 3 classes so I decided to put everyone here into a "One Room Schoolhouse" for this Mod.   That way my 1 student in Graphic Design, 2-D Design and the 2 in the Museum Experience won't be as lonely... :)

All of my online classes are driven week to week by activities outlined in the Syllabus for the class.  Check the link for it in the upper right hand of the blog.

You need to join the blog by clicking on the link in the email Blogger sent you from me.

If you ever have any questions please email me and I'll get right back to you... jnevins@albertus.edu

Come see me during office hours anytime as well... Tuesday and Thursday, 4:15 - 5:30 and Wednesday ...

See you here on the Blog....