Art Creation & Reflection (ANSWERED)

QUESTION

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Textbook: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Lessons: Week 1, 2, 3
Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Instructions

This week you will use your readings from the past two weeks as a point of departure to create your own artistic production and a reflection paper.

Part 1: Art Creation

Select one of the visual art pieces from Chapters 1-6 or the lessons from Weeks 1-3 to use as a point of inspiration. Create a painting, sculpture, drawing, or work of architecture inspired by your selected art piece.

Part 2: Reflection

Write a reflection about the relationship between your art production and the inspiration piece. Include the following in the reflection paper:

Introduction
Inspiration Piece
- Include image.
- Record the title, artist, year, and place of origin.
- Briefly explain the background of the inspiration piece.
Your Art Piece
- Include image.
- Provide a title.
- Explain the background of your piece.
Connection
- Explain the thematic connection between the two pieces.
- How are they similar and different?
- Are they the same medium? How does the medium impact what the viewer experiences?
- How do the formal elements of design compare to one another?

Original Artwork Requirements

Methods: paint, watercolor, pencil, crayon, marker, collage, clay, metal, or wood (Check with your instructor about other methods you have in mind.)
No computer-generated pieces

Writing Requirements (APA format)

Length: 1.5-2 pages (not including title page, references page, or image of artwork)
1-inch margins
Double spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
Title page
References page (minimum of 1 scholarly source)

ANSWER

Art Creation & Reflection – Sculpture, Painting, or Drawing

Art viewing can be a source of inspiration for artistic creation and creativity. Typically, artists find inspiration from viewing other artists’ work. For example, Marcel Duchamp’s “L.H.O.O.Q.” was inspired by Mona Lisa, while Vincent van Gogh’s work was inspired by the works of Jean-Francis Millet, Eugene Delacroix, and Rembrandt (Ishiguro & Okada, 2021). Likewise, inspired by Mona Lisa, I created a drawing featuring a young girl. This paper will reflect on the relationship between my drawing and Mona Lisa.

Inspiration Piece

Mona Lisa was created by Leonardo Da Vinci Circa 1503–1506 in Florence. Although widely contested, historians believe that Mona Lisa is a portrait of the wife of a wealthy merchant, Florentine merchant. The painting’s inherent appeal and Mona Lisa’s gaze and smile are among the things that make it famous and captivating.

My Art Piece (image obtained from Google)

Title: Shadow of Light

This drawing shows a young girl sitting alone with her arms crossed over legs. The girl is staring at something at her side.

Connection

The thematic connection between the two pieces is expression. One of the most intriguing elements in Mona Lisa is her enigmatic expression and tense pose. For years, historians have been captivated by the mystery of her smile, wondering what it means. Some historians think the smile is an erotic suggestion, while others think it is a smile of self-satisfaction (Martin and Jacobus, 2019, p. 10). My drawing also focuses on expression. Like Mona Lisa, the girl is staring at something, and her arms are also crossed. The girl’s face communicates an emotion, and the viewer can interpret the emotion as sadness, resignation, calmness, etc., depending on their experience.

The differences between the two pieces relate to the formal elements of design. The formal element in Mona Lisa is an isosceles triangle, but mine is a square. Mona Lisa’s head is on top of the isosceles triangle and her lead to the triangle’s base (Martin and Jacobus, 2019). In contrast, my pencil drawing is a square image.

Despite these differences, there is some similarity between my image and Mona Lisa’s. Both the young girl and Mona Lisa’s hands are drawn to create an upside down triangle. Another similarity between my drawing and Mona Lisa is the use of curved lines. Leonardo used curved lines to form the clothing, hair, and face, and so did I. My drawing also contains curved hatching lines, which form the girl’s clothing, hair, and skin (face and arms).

Evidently, Da Vinci incorporated more formal elements in his painting than me. He used a different medium: oil on panel, while mine is a pencil drawing. The oil on panel creates a slightly glossy surface and smooth texture, enhancing the painting’s richness. Moreover, the Mona Lisa’s contains warm earthy colors that convey a neutral expression: it shows neither happiness nor sadness. The color blending in Leonardo’s painting creates a sense of unity and harmony between the female figure and the landscape in the background. Leonardo also uses sfumato, a smoky haziness, to smoothen the outlines and create an atmospheric effect. My pencil drawing lacks these elements, explaining why Mona Lisa is artistically richer and more appealing than my drawing.

References

Ishiguro, C., & Okada, T. (2021). How Does Art Viewing Inspires Creativity?. The Journal of Creative

Behavior, 55(2), 489-500. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jocb.469

Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. (2019). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education