Concentration+Exploration+Activity


 * Concentration **

For the Concentration requirement of your portfolio, you must create a connected body of work. These works should be visually connected in style, subject matter, and concept. Choosing a Concentration can be difficult. You don't want to be too psecific or too vague. you don't want to bore your viewers by making 12 identical pieces, nor do you want them to be so different that they look unrelated.

**Too Specific/Simple:**
12 still life paintings of oranges, using acrylic paint. This is so narrow that each painting will seem to be the same as the last, unless each is in a different style (which would destroy the visual unity)
 * Better:** exploration of the topic of decay, using fruit as the subject matter. All peices are realistically rendered in acrylic paint, but show the fruit in different stages of decay, from different points of view.

=**Too Broad:**= Landscapes, using a variety of mediums. This is very vague... what are you expressing? Are you just copying the landscape, or are you trying to express something? You Concentration can't be "one note." Think about the subject matter (landscapes), but also a theme and a technical approach.
 * Better:** Depiction of different emotions, or states of mind, through 12 expressive landscapes. These landscapes will be very expressionistic, focusing on texture, motion, bold brushstrokes, and an expressive color palette.

=Get it? Ok.= Now it's time to look at some examples. Here are a few famous artists, whose work is celebrated for its unique "style." Style is hard to identify, but you can see it. It's the thing that makes the work visually connected. All of these artists had many many different works of art, and even had different styles throughout their careers. The examples here are just a sampling that show a body of work that is visually connected.

The Starry Night || Cafe Terrace || Still Life: Vase with 12 Sunflowers, 1889 || Irises, 1889 || Cypresses, 1889 || The Olive Trees, 1889 || ** Marc Chagall ** is known for his abstract, surreal paintings and stained glass work that are expressive of life, love, and his family and Jewish heritage. He uses an expressive and intense color palette and layers of imagery to create these dreamlike works of art.
 * Vincent van Gogh's ** work shown here shows thick, bold brushstrokes, and an intense color palette. Although the subject matter varies, they clearly share the same approach
 * [[image:Van_Gogh_Starry_Night.jpg width="323" height="244"]]
 * [[image:vangoghirises.jpg width="330" height="258"]]
 * < [[image:chagalljuggler.jpg width="185" height="259"]] ||< [[image:chagallbday.jpg width="300" height="233"]] ||< [[image:chagallvillage.jpg width="196" height="277"]] ||
 * < [[image:chagalllamarie.jpg width="241" height="311"]] La Mariee ||< [[image:chagallparis.jpg width="314" height="247"]] Paris Through my Window, 1913 ||< [[image:chagalllabranche.jpg width="214" height="294"]] La Branche ||

Figure With Meat || Study fter Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953 || 3 Studies for Crucifiction, detail || 3 Studies for a Self-Portrait || Wind || Still Life with Mandolin || Sunrise by the Ocean || Walnut of Eden || Winged Satelite || Red Purse ||
 * Francis Bacon ** is well known for his dark, expressive works. He combines realistic but disturbing imagery with extreme distortion to create this unique body of work.
 * [[image:baconbeef.jpg width="245" height="346"]]
 * [[image:bason3stud.jpg width="750" height="251"]]
 * Vladimir Kush ** is a well known contemporary surrealist. His work reflects that of the Surrealist masters, Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali, but clearly projects his own unique voice. Each piece seems to tell it's own strange story, and has a very high level of detail and believability.
 * [[image:kush1.jpg]]
 * [[image:kush3.jpg width="268" height="200" link="@http://www.vladimirkush.com/editions.php"]]

=Your Task:= 1. Investigate 2 bodies of of work by an artist of your choosing. Talk to the teacher about specific artists that whose work might relate to your own. Choose an artist whose style or subject matter is appealing to you. Identify the elements that make this body of work visually connected.

2. Complete the **Concentration Exploration Activity** in class to identify the common themes, subject matter, and techniques that you would like to explore. Choose 3 possible options, and create a sketch that represents each one. We will present these in a class critique and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each idea.

3. You willl revise, narrow, or deepen your ideas after discussion and after creating a few experimental pieces. By the end of the First Quarter, you will have chosen a potential Concentration topic, and by midterm of 2nd Quarter, you will have finalized your plans. Refer to the Course of Study for timelines of production,