Artist #15: Paul Robertson

Paul specializes in pixel art animation, and does an amazing job of it I'd say. His medium is that of the digital, creating classic sprites from the 16-32bit era, with stylized figures and wild creations that work to create a feeling of nostalgia for an age passed. His art is fun and entertaining to behold and watch. His style is heavily influenced by eastern style anime, with subject matter mainly focused on figures, with bits pulled from numerous entities to create his creatures.

Moltov Man

The legal battle between Joy Garnett and Susan Meiselas has created a lot of controversy over a single picture of a single man, whose name has been lost as his image has become the icon of rebellion and revolution. The capturing of the raw emotion of anger captured by both the artists provides a perfect image of what the anger and rage felt by the oppressed looks like, and allows others to get a feel for it. The man's action immortalized his image, the icon even being re-printed in Nicaragua for the anniversary of the revolution, and painted on walls to symbolize the same. The symbol of the Moltov Man took a deep root in society, whereas his name has simply fallen from the page.

Artist #14: Richard Serra

Serra has an interesting form of 3D art, involving the twisting of thin, long, tall pieces of metal into organic curving lines, or simple geometric forms. He has also used molten lead, in a more Jackson Polluck style, as well as rubber and fiberglass, all mediums which are rarely, if ever, used. Generally he seems to place his work in with sheet metal in a enclosed or very wide space where people are forced to walk by, being dwarfed by the massive pieces of metal.


His choice of metal and the way he uses it sports a heavy influence from the earlier mentioned Polluck, as well as many of the other abstract artists from the time. His work gives the same feeling of "energy and raw physicality", as his Art21 biography puts it. Some of his material, like the lead, also have a time based quality, changing as years pass to settle and take on a different sheen that they originally held.

Artist #13: Pendleton Finn Ward

A newcomer to the land of animation, Pendleton Ward always succeeds in bringing a smile to my face with his zany ideas and colorful worlds. None more so than Adventure Time, which has lured me back into cartoons with colorful, expansive lands to wander, and dark, deep dungeons abound. It's like my childhood wrapped in a colorful, package of pure amazing.


The art is simple, colors are solid, with shading only present in situations of extreme light or dark. It's a style that reminds me of my drawings in grade school, but done with such eloquence you can't help but smile. Pendleton expresses his knowledge of his audience through this show, hitting exactly where and how it should.

Artist #12: Hayao Miyazaki

The first movie I can recall seeing, in full detail, is My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. It was bright, fantastical, and told a wonderful story. All of the movies this man has produced have had a profound effect on me and my art. No matter how dark the stories seemed to get, they were always light-hearted, and filled with fun adventures. They way he can capture emotion in his characters and the magnificent landscapes he creates always leave me slack-jawed and longing for more.

Calm, serene settings and warm colors help to amplify the feelings of happiness in his work, along with his ability to capture facial expressions perfectly serve to amplify the warm-hearted tale he tells. Even his blues and other cool colors are lined with light and smooth, wavy edges to keep the calm atmosphere. When he does bring forward a darker mood, the darks accompany, blacks becoming deeper and more expansive before being gently pushed back by light as a scene plays through. His work is always a treat to behold, and his animations and art serve to drive me forward and remind me why I love the world of art so much.

Artist #11: Jeff Koons

I have trouble seeing Jeff Koons as an artist. I certainly acknowledge his pieces as art, but I don't feel they're really his per se, since he doesn't actually work the material to make what he does. To me art is about having the knowledge to make something with your own hands, and being practiced enough to do it better than the vast majority. If someone thinks of an idea for a statue, and asks a sculptor to craft it, it may belong to the buyer, but it is still the artist's work. To me, Jeff owns the art, but the art is not his own. Perhaps this is part of what he is trying to do, but I simply don't think he is deserving of having his name placed as a creator of the work.

Artist #10: Clive Barker

While writing for a long, long while, Clive Barker discovered painting in his mid/late 30's. I was unaware that he had come into the art world until last night after watching an interview with him at his studio. In it, he discussed the reason he loved art, which went along extremely well with my own feelings about the subject. He makes art because it's a way for him to clear his mind and get all his ideas laid out for others to see and contemplate. He tries to show what he has learned about the world through his art, and hopes to offer a glimpse into dark and fear from the safety of a well lit room. His wild lines and frenzied paint offer a high level of energy with a great contrast between colors, creating wonderful works of art for ones eyes to simply soak up and admire.

Artist #9: Doug TenNapel

Doug is a comic book artist whose career really kicked off after developing one of my favorite characters of all time, Earthworm Jim. Originally, he started in the video games industry, branching out into comics after he has some success with the afore mentioned Jim and a game he developed afterward called Neverhood, a unique game which utilized claymation for it's graphic art.

His wacky imagination is what sets him apart from most artists from the same genre in my mind. He creates interesting and original characters with bits, which serve as great inspiration to myself. He breaks away from the normal use of the serious, muscular, perfect bodied heroes, using wonky anatomy and geometric lines to almost run a parody on what most consider appropriate for a comic book hero.

More Sketches

To provide a quick respite from the more famous of artists and their finished products, here are some doodles and sketches.

Dry Erase Marker on whiteboard!Sharpee!
Pen!

Aaaand Tablet.

Artist #8: Henry Moore

Henry Moore sports an interesting take on figure sculpting. He goes to it with a more abstract approach, creating weaving, organic shapes that seems to capture human figure and motion. Some are a bit more obvious than others, depicting things which can be more easily understood, such as the neck and arms of the figure below.


And then there are the harder to read ones. Sculptures that definitely bear the same rounded curves and essence of movement, but are much harder to see the figure in, if it exists within the piece at all even.

Artist #7: Vick Muniz

I first learned of Mr. Muniz my senior year in high school, as our art teacher had taken quite a fancy to his work. I quickly followed suit after seeing a video about his work and his life. And while his life is quite the tale, it's the sheer volume of mediums within his work that drew me in. Chocolate, spagetti, wire, thread, cotton, rocks, pencil, and the landscape itself. If you can think of it, Vick's probably done something with it. And not only that, but done it well.

As I simply cannot find the words to aptly describe his work, I searched out someone who could. Someone from Criticalmob.com named Adriana Szkolnik, who states, "Muniz experiments with iconic imagery recaptured in different formats, designating artificial reality to already frequently-copied artwork. In his best-known process, he replicates familiar pieces using everyday materials like sugar, chocolate syrup, dust and diamonds, then photographs them; these photographs, not their painstakingly assembled subjects, are his true artworks."

Artist #6: Yoshitaka Amano

As a boy, I had no idea who this man was designing characters in some of my favorite games and shows, but I loved his art. His unique character designs and the soft energy that he binds to paper always leaves me with mouth agape and eyes wide.


His style is reminiscent of early Japan and Chinese artists such as Kano Maotonobu or Shen Zhou, albeit, with more of a focus on figures than landscape. They sport lively, thing, flowing brush strokes and lines to create a light feel, even with the darkest of color. His work spans animations, games, books and galleries all about the globe, and he serves as an excellent roll model for aspiring illustrators everywhere.

Artist #5: Bill Waterson

Bill Waterson has a large part in my pursuit of the arts. As a younger lad, I gathered up all his Calvin and Hobbes books over a year, and practically drowned myself in the world he had created. His amazing use of watercolor and quick ink lines always bring a smile to my face, and have had a great impact upon the reason I choose to be an artist.

Waterson has explored many styles, and has a unique way of blending them all together into a single work. In this case, a comic strip. Whether it be noir, cubist, or realism, he tied it all together nicely, weaving a story from images alone on occasion. All of his works have a lighthearted air to them, and it's something I hope to make prominent in my work as well.

Artist #4: Tom Friedman

I must admit that my knowledge in and of the 3D arts is very sub-par. While there are a lot of interesting pieces within a three-dimensional plain thrown about, I hadn't really found one whose work as a whole really stood out to be. Perhaps it was because I hadn't really searched for it, but when entering this class, we were quickly introduced to Tom Friedman, and I was quite enamored with his work. Through his meticulous and repetative folding, bending, cutting or binding of objects, he has created attractive pieces both conceptual and figurative.

I find his patience for working with all the differing mediums impressive, to put simply. Paper, wood, aluminum foil and hair just to name but a few. I find it rather inspiring to simply look at his work and wonder at how many hours he spent slowly putting together things such as the toothpick starburst. His understanding of the various items he chooses to use never ceases to impress me, and has led me into wanting to learn a bit more about artists who off operate off flat dimensions.

Artist #3: Julian Beever

Julian Beever is a man who focuses on the medium of chalk. What is unusual about this is the surface which he uses for application. The sidewalk. With his knowledge of how the eye works, he produces images in tromp l'oeil style. To do this, he stretches the image out to gigantic
proportions, as can be seen below.


His art ranges in what is displayed, from simple product placement to funny concepts and ideas. His art always holds a bright, jovial tone to it, and is always reflected by the smile on his face. To me, art is about having fun making something great, and Julian Beever serves to display that perfectly.

Artist #2: Dan LuVisi

Dan LuVisi is yet another digital artist whom has been a great inspiration to myself, and many others. His knowledge of form and figure, and great application of color, light, and how they both play off each other are simply fantastic, and his realistic style really brings his unreal creations to life, almost to the point of resembling an actual photograph.



Hours of work are what bring his works to life, with hundreds of textures and layers of color. His obsession with creating the smallest of details is what really makes his work, to me, stand out from the others. Taking time to make each stitch on the pouch, every wrinkle of cloth and every little spatter of blood give his creations a unique personality and atmosphere that I find utterly entrancing.