RLJ 25/09/12

In this afternoon's lesson, we reflected on what we did last week, such as the things we were excited/nervous about on our respective courses, as well as discuss and be reminded of what we will need to have handed in for this module. We will have to hand in all our notes and handouts, as well as what we have done in our spare time, and write a 1000-1500 word commentary about what we have learned in this module and how I'll find what we have learned useful in the future.

We then had to discuss all the meanings in making art, such as the "Formal Qualities" (how it was made, the materials/techniques used), the context of the art (what, where, who, when, the style/genre, the cultural contexts and meanings in the artwork etc.) and the intentions of the art (how is it supposed to make people feel, what messages is it trying to get across.) We then had to look at 3 different pieces of art, and discuss all the meaning listed and how these meanings were expressed in the artworks, and write down what we think these pieces of art mean. First of all, we looked at the oil painting "The Execution of Lady Jane Grey." After we discussed the meanings behind the painting and what the painting was about, Neil Wood showed the class a YouTube video discussing how the painting was created, and now it has been restored and is now displayed in the National Art Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London (I've been there!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0576WatAPQE This is the video we watched about the history and restoration of the painting The Execution of Lady Jane Grey.

The second piece of art we discussed was a sculpture of an armless woman, which represented equality, and how just because some people are disabled doesn't mean they can't do the things they aspire to do, and doesn't mean they can't inspire people and change the way people think. However, at first glance, I did find it difficult to notice these meanings, as did the rest of the New Media students, and did look quite strange and unfamiliar at first. One of the students pointed out though, that it does seem this way because people are used to seeing things that look attractive to them. Neil then told us about the pillars in Trafalgar Square, how 3 of them have had the same sculptures on them since forever, and how the 4th one is used to display sculture artist's work, and a new sculpture is displayed there every 6 months or so (This sculpture was displayed on the 4th pillar around a decade ago. This reminded me of when the first time I saw Trafalgar Square (around 18 months ago) I saw a pirate ship in a bottle, but then when I returned to Trafalgar Square in the Summer holidays this year something else was displayed there (A giant rocking horse, I think)

The third and final piece was a quilt which had a lot of mixed messages on it that expressed the life and feelings of the artist, and how there's a lot of angst and regret in her life, and how she wishes she could live her life differently and be more carefree.

To be honest I kind of feel that these lessons with Neil Wood seem to benefit the Art students much more than us, the New Media students and the Photography students, and the things said in today’s lecture didn’t really make much sense to me, as they were talking about the deep and hidden meanings in art, which I feel are important and I find interesting, but I felt I kept on getting these meanings wrong. A lot of the other students seem to be very interested in these lessons, and are also very drawn into the lessons, which can feel a bit daunting at times. I try to contribute when I feel I can though, and try my hardest to understand what is being said in these lessons.