Title: Art 30 Assignment #8 External Influences on the Artist
Course: Art > Section: Art 30 Assignments

Personal situations and events in artists' lives affect their personal visions and work. Historical events and the norms of society have an affect on an artists' way of life and work. A specific artistic movement and its works of art are influenced by the members' philosophic theme, stylistic identity and relationship to the community in which they exist. A specific artistic movement and its works of art influence later artistic movements. Imagery can depict an important local, political or social issue. In this lesson we will examine these influences on the work of the artist.
I present a number of possible assignment ideas for you - but I do not want you to feel restricted by these ideas. Any ideas you have are of course welcome. Our focus here is to create art that demonstrates an awareness of the internal and external influences on the artist. You may choose to one or more of these assignments.

1. Painting: Search the net for examples of the Canadian Painters "Group of Seven” . View their impressionistic approach to painting the Canadian landscape. Attempt a landscape painting in an impressionistic style. Use colour applied in an impasto technique. The was the first group of Canadian Painters to come up with a Canadian style of painting that was original and non European spirit: The first school of Canadian painting.

2. Painting, Sculpture or Drawing: Search the net for examples of "Salvador Dali's” surreal art works or any other surreal artists's work. Generate a painting or sculpture or drawing that draws upon surrealist thinking : the land of dreams, contrast and unusual combinations of objects and materials and strange psychological states. Salvador Dali was a master of surrealism in the first half of the 20th century.

3. Study after a historical work: Find a painting or drawing or sculpture or print done by an artist that is historically significant. Create a study after work (copy work) and try to duplicate what the artist did. Try to get some insight as to what the artist did to do this.

4. Painting: View one of Van Gogh's self portraits. "Borrow” his compositional ideas. Create your own self portrait in the same pose. Use similar colours and brush strokes and applications.

5. Art History via internet: Take some time out from studio work and visit some of the book marked sites relating to art history. Create a presentation or work to comunicate your findings.

6. Illustration as art: Interpret an historical moment as a drawing , painting, print or sculpture.

7. Painting:
Search the net for Cezanne's "Pyramid of Skulls”. Look at how he applied his colour and achromatic tones. Paint a similiar composition using a similiar achromatic approach to colour.

8. Painting or drawing or clay plaque: View the works of Vasarely and Escher. Think about their use of repetition, pattern, metamorphosis, grid structures and distorted or altered grid structures that are the foundation of their works. Design a grid structure of your own which moves from geometric to organic form. Take a subject like "face” or "figure” and draw and design changes in the form as it moves through the grid structure. Do the final image as a painting or drawing or clay plaque or tiles.

9. Computer Graphic or more: Scan a reproduction of a Van Gogh self portrait and a photo of yourself into the computer. Manipulate and mutate them together using Adobe Photoshop software (or other). Use this image as a source to draw or paint from based on the theme "me as Van Gogh”. Keep it comical. (try other image combinations too)

!0. Transforming 2 dimensions into 3 dimensions: View a famous painting in a book or on the net. Imagine a sculpture based upon that painting. Create a mixed media sculpture based on that painting, or imagine advancing or receding planes based on the different color values of that painting and make a relief assemblage out of wood. Paint the different layers different colors