Yau Ka Yee (Anna) talks on StandingNude1961 by Jochen Seidel

INTRODUCTION



-What is the name of the artist?
The artist is Jichen Seidel.

-What is the year the drawing was done?

It was done in 1961

-What is the medium?

The medium is pencil.

-What is the subject matter or general theme of the work?

The subject matter is a standing nude.

 

-What is the purpose of the drawing?

The purpose of the drawing is showing a standing nude.

DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

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

Line is the main element in the work. The nude is expressed by lines. Different distributions of lines depict the contour of the body. The lines are unconnected and irregular.

-How is tone used?

It is a white and black tone.
The tone expresses a sense of loneliness because there are no bright or vivid colors.

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

Thick lines convey a sense of body weight;
Shape is ambiguous because there are no obvious contour lines. Shape depicted by different ways of lines.

The lines are unconnected and in disorder, viewers need imagination to imagine the structure of the body.

-Is rhythm important in this picture?

No. Lines are disorder.

-Is the picture balanced?

No. The distribution of the lines is not balanced. However, the empty background is balanced. The empty background let viewers more focus on the nude.

-Is perspective used in the picture?

Yes. Light and dark contrast makes shading and let the nude become 3D effect.

-Is the picture harmonious?

 

No. There are strong contrast in uses of lines and tone in the picture.

Are there any strong contrasts in the picture?

Yes, there are strong contrasts in tone and line. For the tone, white contrast black; for the line, thin lines contrast thick lines and dense lines contrast sparse lines. Also, different directions of lines cause a strong contrast.

 INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

-What is the mood of the drawing?

The drawing shows a sense of loneliness because white and black colors are constructing a boring mood, and empty background shows the nude is alone. Moreover, it shows a sense of imaginative because the empty background let viewers think about the relation between the nude and the background. And viewers can think about what can be added if they are the artist.

-What does the drawing express?

The drawing shows a nude, as the drawing title” standing nude”, the artist uses lines to create an ambiguous contour of the body.

Also, the drawing needs viewers to be careful and imagine the structure of the body because the contour is ambiguous and unclear, viewers can have different ideas because everyone’s mind is not same.

Moreover, the drawing expresses a sense of loneliness. Colors and tone are expressing the lonely and boring feeling. Although I can’t see the face of the nude, I can feel her loneliness by the structure. The nude is only showing her back and she is alone because the background is blank, gloomy tone gives me a sense of disappointed or lonely.
Lastly, it expresses a sense of casual. Lines are irregular and rough, just like a casual drawing and without planning.

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

One of the specific features of the drawing is imaginative because the empty space let viewers to imagine what it should have and the relation between the nude and background. Also, there are not any obvious contour lines to depict the outline of the nude, so viewers need imagination to organize and combine all the lines together to see how the nude is. And we can’t see the face of the nude, we can’t know the feeling of the nude, we only can through the use of tone, shape and space to feel what the artist want to express.

Furthermore, it is expressive. The gloomy tone and black lines express the loneliness of the picture. And irregular and rough lines show a sense of casual and informal.

Leung Pui Ying(Yota) talks on DaGoyaGiant1810-18

INTRODUCTION

-What is the name of the artist?
The name of the artist is Francisco De Goya Y Lucientes.

-What is the year the drawing was done?
The drawing was done on 1818.

-What is the medium?
The drawing was drawn on aquatint with burnishing .

-What is the subject matter or general theme of the work?
It is a drawing of artist's imagination.

-What is the purpose of the drawing?
The purpose of the drawing is to express the artist's emotion .

DESCRIBE THE DRAWING IN DETAIL

-How is line used?What does it do/express?
We can hardly see the shaped line in this drawing.The line is soft and unclear in order to make the character looks more mysterious.

-How is tone used?What does it do/express?
atmospThere is one color tone(black to white).The tone is black in one-sided generally in order to creat a dismal here.

-What can you say about shape and/or form in this picture?What is the effect?
It is a three-dimensional form since we can the giant has height and depth through the drawing tenique.That can make the object looks more believable(like a real person).

-Is rhythm important in this picture?If so say more about it....
Rhythm is not much important in this drawing since the giant is the focus in this picture.However ,the regular lines below the picture can enhance the sad feeling behind the giant .

-Is the picture balanced ?Explain...
The picture is not balanced .The picture was used in"triangle drawing structure".

-Is perspective used in the picture?If so,describe the way that the illusion of three-dimensional space has been created.
Yes, down-to-up perspective was used in this drawing . The aritist used low-angled tenique to draw the giant in order to make objective looks more big and broaden the contrast between the giant and the small houses.

-Is the picture harmonious?If so ,in what way?
The picture is harmonious in the whole feeling . The artist use the tone of the color(one color tone) and the line(smooth line) to create a harmonious atmosphere .

Are there any strong contrasts in the picture?Say more...
The only strong contrast in the picture is the the size of the objects.We can see the main object(the giant) and the remained objects(the houses) have big contrast in size . Of course , it can let the audiences focus on the giant when they first cantch a glimpse of the picture .

INTERPRETATION AND EVALUATION

-What is the mood of the drawing?Justify your answer using information from your responses above.
The mood is sad ,sorrowful ,dejected and depressed.
The artist only use black and white to draw the picture . And we can see that the whole tone is black in general. Aspecially , the artist use shadow to describe the back of the giant's body ,making the atmosphere become sorrowful deeply and enhancing the lonelyness of the giant. And the artist chose to draw night scene of the background enhancing the sad feeling .
Moreover , The line is smooth instead of sharping in the drawing . We can see the shape of the giant is very soft which creates a meek personality of him .

-What does the drawing express?Justify your answer using information from your responses above.
The drawing expesses the artist's inner world .
First , in the sense of the facial expression . The giant looks at the sky and opens his mouth. It seems that something weighing on the giant mind and telling us that "Although i am a giant , i am fragile and lonely ."
Also , we can see the giant is nude .The artist did not draw clothes to him in order to let the audience focus on his face .
Besides , the artist use down-to-up perspective to draw the giant making the size looks bigger .The giant is big in size ,however ,he does not look like evil and wicked because of his facial expression .

In your opinion,why is this work interesting/moving/clever/imaginative/thought-provoking/......?Choose the adjective(s)that best fit the work,and then justify your conclusion in terms of specific features and qualities of the drawing.
In my opinion , the best adjective that fit the work is lonelyness.
When I first saw the drawing , I think the man looks big but he look small in his heart . Then I chose this picture . The whole structure of the drawing is simple . It does not contain much color and objects .It is simple but meaningful . Because when you looks at the picture for a long time , you will feel the lonelyness of the giant aspecially when you looks at night .
It seems that there is a touching story behind the scenes . Maybe the giant is a description of the artist himself showing the lonelyness and sorrow of his inner world. I really want to add a dialogue at the bottom of the drawing writing that "Looking at the same sky as you but have you even missed me?"