Leung On Yu(Ashley) talks on "LydekkerAColumnoftheArmyWorm1880-90"by Lydekker ,

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS

•What is the title of the drawing?
The title of the drawing is "A Column of the Army Worm1880-90".

•What is the name of the artist?
The name of the artist is Lydekker.

•What is the year the drawing was done?
It was done in 1880-90.

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)
The medium is charcoal on paper and pencial.

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)
The subject matter is a picture about forest.

•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )
It record accurately record the appearance of the forest.

2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express?
In the front of the picture, the line is very dark and detail because the veins and the sharps of the leaves are very clear. The line of the worms is jerky that make it seems moving and flowing. In the back of the picture, the line is very soft and light. It cannot show the detail of the leaves and the line is ambiguous.



•How is tone used? What does it do/express?
In the front of the picture the tone is more darkness and the shadows are shown on the leaves that can express the layers of the leaves. In the back of the picture, the tone is more lightness and color of the trees seems to merge with the background. It could express the different layer of the picture which may contain three layers from front, middle to back. Also, it can let people feel the far and near of the trees.

•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?
The form in this picture could show the three-dimension in the forest. The size of the leave is quite large and the tree is taller at the front, but the size of the tree is smaller and shorter at the back. We can see that one of the leave can cover half of the tree. The effect of the different size could let people feel the depth of the picture.

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?
The texture in this picture is smooth and the direction is coming to the front as the shape of the worm is small and seens moving to the front.


•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?
The composition of the picture would fairly imbalance that the left hand side has some leaves but the right hand side has a big tree and some glasses. The arrangement of the elements would let people feel the left hand side is heavier.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...
The rhythm is quite important and strong in this picture as the artist use many leaves and tree in this picture. And, there are many thin wickers in the road. The repeated use of the leaves and wickers could create the movement and pattern to the picture.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...
The picture is balance as the all the sides contain some leaves and worm and trees.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.
The aerial perspective is used in the picture. We can easy to see the back and front in the picture, and the objects in the front is more clear then the objects at the back. Therefore. it illuslate the three-dimensional space that the depth in this picture is very clear to see.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?
This picture is quite harmonious as the picture is full of plants. Also, there is no other object that irrelevant in the picture. So, all the leaves, threes, glasses match and very natural.

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...
There is a strong contrast in the front and the back. The front is quite dark and the back is quite light. Also, the road of the worm is the lighter and white in the whole picture.

3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION
•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above
When I look at this picture, I feel a little bit lost. There are 2 reasons. First, we cannot see the end of the road as the curved lines of the road is continuous and the curved line may let me feel the road is very winding. Second, there are many leaves placed at the front of the picture so it would let people feel that there would have many obstructs in the future.


•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above
I think the drawing want to express the armyworm is coming. The leading role in the picture is the worm as the worm contributes most of the position in the picture and it is very details and vey strong movements toward the leaves.it can imply that they are coming to the leaves. It seens that the leaves and plant would be distroyed by the worm in one day. 


•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.

I think this work is moving as the road is made by many short curved wickers. The road can let people imagine it is a moving river.

Lam Lok Pui (Teresa) talks on "BoccioniStudyforStatesofMind(ThoseWhoGo)1911"

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS

•What is the title of the drawing?

 "States of Mind, Those Who Go"

•What is the name of the artist?
Umberto Boccioni

•What is the year the drawing was done?
Year 1911

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)
Charcoal and chalk on paper

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)

It is a drawing of a scene from the street, which may come from the artists’ mind.

•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )
The drawing can clearly show the artist’s mind. The messy lines, black and white colour,
the sad face of the man, can show that the artist seems angry or maybe have some complicated feelings in his mind.

2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL
•How is line used? What does it do/express?

The picture has a lot of messy lines which are thick and rough and also has some strong and light pressure lines;

 the lines are also very jerky which makes the feeling of movement. The movement of the lines may represent strong wind and it may also show the emotional feeling of the artists, especially the lines that the artists drew on the men, makes a very sad feeling. And the messy lines also show the confusion atmosphere.

•How is tone used? What does it do/express?

The tone in the picture makes the overall very dark, grey and messy,

it makes the whole picture become gloomy and desolate.

It also makes the background becomes blurred.

•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?

It is quite difficult to talk about shapes in the picture, it is because the heavy lines have dominated the back scene and it has distoryed the whole picture. However, we can still see the shape of the houses, the clouds, the lamp poles and the faces of two men.  

At the top of the picture, the houses are not in regular shapes, they are bent and becoming smaller and seems like disappearing.

This makes a feeling of making a whirlpool and the houses were sucked into the whirlpool.

Although , we can only see separate houses at the top, the houses are up and down, which have made a shape of a hill and the artist has shaded that part in dark colour, but not drawing a shape of hill, which makes a bumpy feeling of that part.

Also, there is another whirlpool like shape at the right hand bottom of the picture, this can make people think of strong wind inside the picture or think of a machine (maybe a bicycle) that a man was riding on.

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?

Yes. The lines of wave were drawn from light to heavy pressure and the colour is from light to deep,

 which make the texture of the whole picture looks very rough.

And in the faces of the men, there are very light lines and this give a harsh and dry feeling.   

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?

The components of the picture include the front surface – the lines of waves, the scene at the back, which includes the hill, the houses, clouds, lamp pole and two men.

At the top one-third of the picture, the objects of the house, hills and clouds are linked together and some were piled up. That is what the artist wants to bring out, a confused, unpeaceful atmosphere, a bumpy hill and the other objects, turn out a sorrow and depressed for the viewer.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...
Yes, it is especially important for the artist to use a lot of curves to show the waves of the wind, that's the way to show a very powerful movement over the picture. And all the heavy line curves are in the same movements, which makes the wind blow to the same direction.

And we can see that the artist is repeating the lines of the waves and it has a same regular movement to the same side.

Also, we can see the houses are repeating, but most of them are not regular in the shapes.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...
The picture is not balance. It is because when I put the picture far from my eyes, I can see that the tone has divided the picture into two parts; the left side is quite light and the right side is dark.
The darker side makes the atmosphere messier than the left side.
Also, at the top one-third of the picture, the objects are not in regular shapes (especially the houses), there are more houses at the right hand side and they are piled up.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.

Yes, it has made a cubic picture from the horizontal movement of lines and the objects, like the houses, are becoming smaller and smaller, make the objects at the back are sucking into a whirlpool.

When you look deeper inside the picture, it has a feeling to suck you inside the picture.

The movement of lines gives the most illusion of three-dimensional space. The lines are drawn from light to deep colour, which construct a three-dimension.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?
No, the picture is bringing out a sorrow and rough feeling. From the heavy thick lines that the artist used, are already made the whole become messy and complicated, it give me a confuse and nervous feeling when I first see the picture. And also the sad human faces and the moon make the atmosphere become very sorrow, seems like they have experienced something bad or maybe the artist himself want to express his sad feelings and make the picture so messy and loose.

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...

We can see a contrast from the waves. The waves at the left is lighter and loose and have nature feeling;

however, at the right hand side, the waves are very heavy and deep, which bring a intense movement, just like losing control.

3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION
•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above

The mood contains a lot of emotions. The uncontrolled lines, the worried and sad human faces brings out that something bad has been happened, just like the war is beginning in their living place and they need to move away from their old town.

 The moon at the left-hand corner representing the mid-night, and mid-night can also show the sorrow mood than a sunny morning.

•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above

As Umberto Boccioni is a Futurist and he played within the history of Modernism, what he drew is about the gone of the past, gone away things and he centered on drawing the portrayal of movement , speed, and technology, which is called the Futurism movement.

In this picture – “Those who go” is also representing the gone. The reson why the artist drew this picture is because "his aims was to vitalize matter, which is served as the expression of emotion and states of mind", (from Umberto Boccioni Biography, http://biography.yourdictionary.com/umberto-boccioni). So every lines, tones and shapes from this picture is involving different feelings and emotions inside. 

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.
The work is moving and imaginative and gives me an overall mistery feeling.
It is because the picture gives people a view of two layers - which is the bottom top and the lower part. From the top part, the thick,thin and messy lines which is presented by heavy and light force; although it gives a power of enegertic, but the the right side, we can see that the lines that Umberto Boccioni drew was very heavy and thick; the strong and powerful lines which make a sorrow and sad situation, and I can feel the artist maybe using a ireful manner to draw the lines.
And in the lower part, it gives me a mistery feeling is because of the unclear picture of the lower part. The picture is very rough and messy, some of the objects (like the houses,  lamp poles, the trees and clouds) are not in well structured and were being twisted into a mess; just like the picture behind the thick lines is going to diappear and gone away and Iet me want to find out more of the story behind.

ZHANG Wenxi (Cici) talks on Fever Few by Michael Landy

1)   INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS

•What is the title of the drawing?

Fever Few

•What is the name of the artist?

Michael Landy

•What is the year the drawing was done?

2002

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)

etching on paper

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)

It is a picture about a kind of weed (fever few) in a very realistic way.

•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )

The purpose of it is to render in the traditional style of botanical draughtsmanship.

2)   DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

•How is line used? What does it do/express?

The lines are very carefully depicted which "systematically record every twist of root, bristle on stem and capillary hair on leaf.  
Some information online shows that the drawing seems to encourage 2 types of viewing."From a distance of a few feet, appreciating the overall shape of the grey masses against the paper, and taking in the structure of the weed, from flower to root; and from a few inches, marveling at the extraordinary level of details. When the view changes, you will find a big surprise of those amazing details."

•How is tone used? What does it do/express?

Although the drawing is monochrome, it still gives the viewer a feeling of live and strength. The roots are long and powerful, flowers are also trying their best to reach the sunlight. We can easily feel that this plant is absolutely fresh and strong.

•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect?

"In a final and surely conscious twist, the artist uprooted the weeds so as to idealize and depict them, keeping them alive as best he could over the many days it took to etch them in such detail. Yet the weeds seem to float against the pure white of the paper as though they were rising, their roots trailing in the air. So these colourless weeds take on a ghostly or spiritual air, and the lethal act of representation, of making beautiful and eternal is a price paid for with life itself."

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?

"From a distance, certainly, it has a conventional aesthetic appeal but closer up it contains a subtle surprise as, despite the abstracting force of monochrome and uniform lines on paper, the collection of bristles, thorns and wilting leaves hints not at aesthetic order but at the weed’s defence, grubbiness and decay."

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?

The drawing seems very simple but focused. There is only a single weed in the paper. And this composition makes people put emphases on the observation of this plant, which gives people a very good chance to appreciate it very carefully.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...

No. I think there is no certain rhythm in this picture. The picture is so realistic.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...

Yes, the picture is quite balanced. The weed “stands” in the middle of the white paper. And every part of the plant spreads very equally, which makes people feel balanced and harmonious.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.
I think there is no perspective used in this picture. This is no light, no shade, it is very 2D.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way?

Yes. This picture is very harmonious. It has a very conventional aesthetic appeal. Every line, every detail makes this drawing harmonious.

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more...

I think the only contrast in this picture is color. Also, from different distances, you will have different feelings. From a far distance, it is only a plant but for closer-up, you will be amazed at those sophisticated details.

3)   INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses above

I think the mood is peaceful and vital. The color of the drawing is black and white. Every single detail of the feverfew is carefully depicted. The composition of this drawing also contributes a mood of peaceful.

•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses above

As I said before, the purpose of it is to render in the traditional style of botanical draughtsmanship. The artist just wants to bring the viewers back to nature. He used old method to make a series of this kind of picture, which also took his big amount of time on them. A constant strand in this artist’s work is just that single-minded and uncompromising focus on what he undertakes. These works made him poring over plants and the etching plates for months, and for as long as the daylight held out (twelve hours a day, he says, in the summer). What the artist wants to express is that “weeds are not just weeds”. He uses his hard work to remind people of these weeds’ names, neglected histories, supposed medicinal qualities and the meanings that people used to attach to them.
For Landy, weeds are not just weeds!

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing. 

I think the work is powerful.
This drawing seems very simple, which is just a little weed, and it even makes people feel it’s weak. But the series of this similar etching contains artist’s hard work. Although the picture is black and white, you can still feel the green of the leaves, the yellow of the flowers and the strength of the root and the stem. The weak weed makes viewers feel the nature, feel energetic, feel strength… that is exactly what I think the power of this picture.


"(Julian Stallabrass,Michael Landy, Nourishmenthttp://www.courtauld.ac.uk/people/stallabrass_julian/reviews/evening-standard/Landy-Nourishment.pdf)

Chuang Kai Po(Clio) talks on p106-Hogarth-Gin Street

1) INTRODUCE THE DRAWING IN GENERAL TERMS
•What is the title of the drawing?The title of the drawing is called p106-Hogarth-Gin Street

•What is the name of the artist?
The name of the artist is William Hogarth.

•What is the year the drawing was done?
The drawing was done in 1750.

•What is the medium? (ie the materials used to produce the picture, for example charcoal on paper, pen and ink etc)

It is a print made from a drawing.

•What is the subject matter or general theme of the work? (eg is it a figure drawing, a map, a portrait, an autobiographical work, a picture about nature, a drawing of the city etc?)

A drawing of society phenomenon in the 1700s .

•What is the purpose of the drawing? (eg Is it a diagram that explains how something works? Does it record accurately record the appearance of something? Does it express the artist's emotion or memory? )

 The drawing is about the artist’s emotional expression about depicting the evils of the consumption of gin as a contrast to the merits of drinking beer. The work has an effect to convey a message of bad influences from drinking gin with the scene of desperation, death and decay.
2) DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL
•How is line used? What does it do/express?
The lines in the front and at the back are contrast. The lines are quite strong, thick and dark in depicting the front figures, buildings and scenes. However, the lines at the back are quite thin, pale, weak and a little bit blurred. In addition, different lines have different functions to draw our attention on different things. For instances, the lines of body shapes are detailed, soft and curvy to express the reality body shapes. Curvy lines are also used in the shape of the shop lanterns. Straight and solid lines are used in the handles of the stair. Moreover, there are many straight lines in the drawing to show the direction and perspective. For example, lines make us focus on what people are doing at the back such as the two arrows in both sides draw our attention to look at the left hand side that people are grouping together and fighting with each other, and then move our attention to look at the right hand side that people are discussing. The hatch lines on the wall in the foreground create strong shadows. Also, the cross-hatching lines parts of the handles of the stair are so strong, pressure and dark which create a contrast with the other parts of the stair.

•How is tone used? What does it do/express?

 The tone can be reflected by the darkness of the line, shape and form to create a scene of bustle, noisy and chaos. The dark color in the front has some effects on us to strengthen the shadow and shows the depth of some areas. At the back, the color is quite pale and everything is not so clear and conveys a collapsing city that is caused by what people are doing in the front. There is some linkage between the front and the back.

 
•What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture? What is the effect? The body shapes and building shapes in this picture are realistic and detail. For example, the shape of falling breasts of the woman in the front is so real. Besides from the people, other elements in the picture such as the shape of the building and the stair are not soft and like many cubes combining together. The form of the drawing is 3-dimensional with height and depth. For example, we can see lots of elements in the drawing have 3 surface areas and so realistic.

•Is texture a feature of the drawing?  Yes, it appears to feel rough texture by the hard hatching lines of the bricks and the clothes. Also, the little lines are added in every part to increase the rough feeling of the whole picture. But when we look at the individual parts, such as the shop lantern in the front is quite smooth comparing with other parts because of the horizontal lines used.

•What can you say about the composition of the drawing? What is the effect of this type of composition on the overall drawing?The composition in this drawing is stable and makes the overall drawing feel balanced and organized. There are four main parts in this drawing. They are people in the front, at the back and in the both sides. There is contrast between the static people in the front and the crowd people discussing and fighting in both sides. Moreover, the buildings in both sides narrow our sight form the front to the back.

•Is rhythm important in this picture? If so, say more about it...Yes, the repeat arrows draw our attention from the foreground to the back. The repeat shop lanterns make a pause for the rhythm. The quiet position in the front contrasts the chaos in the both sides and movement at the back.

•Is the picture balanced? Explain...Yes, it is balanced. The equal distribution of people in the front, back and both sides makes the picture to be stable and shows the connection between them and the environment. That is crazy people in the ruined society. The composition of the whole picture is balance from the top to the bottom. Everything is filled up in the whole picture and there is no much blank area left. So, I think every part is quite equally arranged.

•Is perspective used in the picture? If so, describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.Yes, the space of this drawing is definitely 3 D as we can see the perspective clearly from the front to the back. In the very front area, the stair and two walls depict a deep and clear 3-D area with strong shadows. The black and write contrast of the bricks, the sitting position of the woman and the man in the front, the falling proportion of the baby are depicted with volume. Our view side changes by the direction of two handles of the stair to the middle of the drawing. Then the two walls of the building and the arrows point to each part narrow our focus to the back .And then the wooden sticks in the back pointing to different direction also draw our interest to focus on the back.

•Is the picture harmonious? If so, in what way? Yes, it is harmonious as I can see the unity of this drawing. The brushstroke used is quite coherent such as the hatching lines used. Also, there are a lot of similar parts and elements in the drawing. For example, four groups of people are equally placed in different places. Also, the Street lamp, shop lamp and arrows are in the front, middle and back which are very balanced. There are different elements with similar properties to make each object has the relation with another and make the whole drawing coherent.

      

•Are there any strong contrasts in the picture? Say more... Yes, people in the front part fill up the drawing, but buildings fill up the back part of it. Besides, people in both sides are quite contrast with each other. People are fighting noisily on the left, but people on the right are discussing politely. Also, two people in the front are dead but no one approach them, however, people at the back are moving the death body. When we talk about colours, the front part is darker than the back. Moreover, we can see the detail depiction in the front, but we cannot easily distinguish the back park.
3) INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION
•What is the mood of the drawing? Justify your answer using information from your responses aboveThe mood of the drawing is quite depressed because every scene in that picture is so unhappy. We can realize the disaster mood by seeing people fighting for the food and the gin and dead people everywhere. Also, there are many destroyed buildings at the back. It seems they are living in the hell. 

•What does the drawing express? Justify your answer using information from your responses aboveThe drawing want to express a destroyed society phenomenon and everyone’s lifestyle is ruined by people drinking too much drink. There are people sitting on the floor. Some are arguing and fighting with others. A baby is falling from the stair and its mum is died. At the back, people are carrying the dead body.  In the middle, people are carrying bottles of gins and arguing with each other.

•In your opinion, why is this work interesting/moving/ clever/ imaginative/thought-provoking/......?  Choose the adjective(s) that best fit(s) the work, and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.

I think this drawing is thought-provoking. In this picture, the artist wants to show the bad effect of drinking too much gin. Therefore, he draws some bad features after drinking too much gin. For example, the woman lying on the stairs is dead of starvation and loses her conscious totally such as unawares she is exposing her breasts and lets her baby falling from the stair. It is definitely unimaginable for such a thing to happen. And this scene is definitely what the artist wants to show us the result after drinking too much gin. Also, the artist wants to show the gin ruins the whole society because everyone uses all their money to purchase gins. As a result, people do not have enough money to buy food and the economy is halted by the declining in consumption. For example, the man sitting in the front is so depressed and despaired because he only has a dog left to accompany with him. There are people fighting for gins outside the shop on the left. There is a boy and a dog fighting for a bone behind the wall. Moreover, if we look careful to the left building, there is a man hanging himself. The drawing wants us to think about want side effects will be caused because of drinking too much gins.