So often our minds are blown by what we see day to day. Think about your childhood and how you use to draw with chalk on the sidewalk. What did you draw? How did you draw? Why did you draw? Below are some links to sites that have 3-D chalk designs. Choose one design and really look at it. What is the purpose of drawing such an image? What are your initial thoughts on the image and the work put into it? How is the artwork like a piece of literature?
3D Joe and Max
Signs (Scroll down past the artist bios to see the artwork)
Pulse 2.0
Or, you can try to find your own.
The image I chose was the drawing of an opening in the flooring that was filled with water and alligators. Next to the opening is a rock that states, “Take the more interesting route.” Connected to each side of the crater is a dainty stair walk. Across the staircase are elegant store fronts. Initially, the picture confused me. I did not understand the significance of the picture, but the more I analyzed the image, the more I understood the picture. The aspect of the picture that helped me to understand the picture is the words inscribed to the rock by the crater. I believe that the purpose of this image is for the artist to make a societal commentary. Through the use of the picture and the words inscribed on the rock the artist is saying that individuals too often lack ambition and adventure and take the easy road in different situations. In the picture, it is evident that no matter if an individual chooses to take the easy route or a hard route, they will end up with the same result, which is the entrance of an elegant store. In the picture, the artist drew alligators at the bottom of the crater. The artist is able to say that individuals may run into conflict and trials on the road less traveled and more difficult, but beyond the trials and difficulties is the goal of the journey. Through the use of artwork, the artist is able to comment on the actions of people and society, similar to a writer with books, only the artist is able to do so through a visual representation and little to no words. When an artists comments on society through artwork, he or she is able to attract the attention of people more readily because people are very perceptive of art. This artwork is able to tell a story and raise an opinion/ state of mind to the viewer. The artwork is able to give the societal commentary and perception of the reader just as clearly as a writer is able to through literature.
ReplyDeleteThe 3D chalk design that I chose to analyze is one where a man has set down his metal detector and is digging under the sidewalk to find a pile of gold hidden underneath. It is one of the more simple chalk designs on the page, but I chose this because it reminds me of the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost. The chalk design relates back to the poem because one day the chalk art will be washed away by rain or walked on. Thus, the gold won’t stay. I find this simple design the most interesting because the artist had a reason for drawing this, but why draw a pile of gold that, without a person acting out the digging scene, is unnoticeable as a pile of gold? What I believe the answer to this is that the artist wants to create a fantastical scene he wishes were a part of reality. This is how 3D chalk art relates back to literature. Writers and artists share the commonality of wanting to create a fantasy realm in which one can live only for a short while before being snapped back to reality. If a person were to live in one fantasy world for too long they may begin thinking it to be a reality. That is why the sidewalk chalk eventually washes away and books are put down by the readers and a new book is picked up.
ReplyDelete- Bolger, J. 2
3-D chalk designs have interested me since the first time I saw them. It is amazing that an artist can draw in such a way that can make my heart drop when I see someone riding their bike over a plank spanning a bottomless hole in the road, or from seeing a person jumping from one edge of a cliff to another when they are truly in no danger at all. The pictures taken of the pieces are almost as breathtaking as the pieces themselves. This type of art forces the viewers to focus in on the little details in order to train their minds to see the sidewalk and the chalk dust, rather than the 3-D image they initially see. The chalk designs are ultimately a lesson on perspective. Without changing one’s first perspective, one cannot see the true nature of the sight in front of them. This is much like literature. In order to find the true meaning behind the story, one must focus in on the details and tear apart each simile, metaphor, and word until the author’s purpose becomes clear.
ReplyDeleteI have chosen the chalk design of the waterfall flowing over a wall and a lady holding onto her husband has he leans over the edge. The chalk drawings that make me look twice are some of my favorites. With this particular one, the craftsmanship and the close attention to detail cause the bricks and the water to look so real that one cannot help but take a second look to make sure the man is not really falling to his death. Upon looking this second time, one sees the laughter on the faces of the couple and the lines of the sidewalk showing through the color. The different aspects of the masterpiece are comparable to literature. Authors carefully construct their works to convey certain meaning, some that are often hidden unless the reader chooses to take a second look. For some, diving into literature is like a plunge over the edge of the cliff, but for others, it is a joyous journey which leads them to learn something new.
Woods, L 2
I've always been an artsy kid. I used to draw on the driveway with chalk, but my favorite place to draw was on the blacktop outside Huntington Elementary during recess. I was the only student to request drawing with chalk during recess (I've always been an introvert and still am, so I prefer to do things by myself instead of playing with others). The supervisors favored me since I never caused trouble or fought with anyone, so they gave me special privileges to draw on the blacktop. I drew there every recess for three years. I was featured in the newspaper as a little girl when I'd accrued around forty days-worth of drawings.
ReplyDeleteI always drew animals with chalk. I used to draw dragons on the pavement at school and that's how most people remember that I'm an artist. Everyone knew that I loved to draw in elementary school. I've actually seen these 3-D chalk pastel drawings before and made one on my driveway of the Earth that popped out from the street. Art has always interested me, every piece inspires me to challenge my skills and attempt the techniques I see.
I really liked the piece with the raft going down the river and the crocodile waiting at the bottom. Art can, and usually does, have some type of symbolic meaning that prompted the artist to create it. I think that particular chalk drawing shows the dangers of taking a path in which the end isn't visible. If I'm being my cynical self, it symbolizes how having fun and loving life will lead to death and destruction. Art is just like literature in that it is easily interpreted in many different ways. The fact that an artist would put this much careful preparation and time into these pieces proves that they wanted to send across a message to those who view it.
- S. Bahr 7/8*
When I was younger, I’d always default to chalking rainbows- using all of the colors in the box. Rainbows that took up the entire driveway, rainbows that filled a tiny space in the corner, rainbows that didn’t follow the ROYGBIV color order. But my rainbows were childish and lifeless compared to the 3D images on the website.
ReplyDeleteThe chalk image that stood out to me the most was the one that has pigs with wings under the cracks in the sidewalk. The image depicts an unknown creature, an alien, chalking a world where pigs can fly. The popular adynaton, “if pigs could fly” is proven true and brought to life in the author’s art as the cartoon pigs fly out of the sidewalk. The purpose of this image, and any of these chalk drawings, is to tell a story. The story that is told through this drawing, specifically, is that nothing is impossible; maybe somewhere, over the rainbow, perhaps even pigs can fly.
-K. Brav 7/8*
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ReplyDeleteAs a child, I was never artistic and rarely drew with chalk. In the rare instances when I would pick up a piece of chalk, I would draw butterflies, dragonflies, and trees. These drawings were terribly executed and looked nothing like the real natural scenes I had envisioned. I like to draw, but I was always embarrassed to reveal my stick figure butterflies, or my shrub like trees. Strangely, I felt calmer when I would sit outside on a warm summer day attempting to capture the beauty of nature.
ReplyDeleteThe 3-D art piece that stood out to me the most was titled Scotland for Visit Britain in Delhi, India. In this design, the mysterious loch ness monster is shown coming out of the river. A small row boat with “Visit Britain” on the side floats in the middle of the river with a serene wilderness setting behind it. Besides promoting Visit Britain’s GREAT campaign, I think that this artwork’s purpose is to demonstrate that anything is possible and that things are not always as they seem. The loch ness monster innocently comes out of the water, careful not to tip over the boat of scare the male deer and the man who appears to be a knight, with pond weed around its face. This slightly comedic portrayal of the presumed to be vicious loch ness monster shows that people’s perceptions about a subject are not always accurate and that the unexpected can happen. I thought this image was beautifully executed. It contained many realistic elements such as, the ripples in the water, the flow of the water down the water fall, the appearance of the row boat, and the design of the male deer. Not only did this peace contain vivid colors and a detailed natural landscape, it also contained many unique small details that I did not notice until the second, or third time I looked at the picture including the castle, deer, knight, fish, and the mountains. Like a piece of literature, the artwork gives people a general overview of the story, but looking closely viewers find subtle details that they could not find before. This artwork has many layers and people need to actively examine the piece, just as they would a piece of literature, in order to discover the entire meaning of the artwork.
Judele C, 2nd
As a child my drawings were usually failed attempts at things way beyond my artistic levels. Usually there were horses and houses and many other things that did not look anything like the real items. I would usually draw because I was bored, or my friends were doing it. However, the 3D pictures are amazing, and it would be awesome if I could actually create something like that. The image I chose is the one of the ski slope going down into the ground. The reason for drawing the image was probably because it was around the time of the Winter Olympics. My first thoughts were that they were really cool. The image looks so real, and it was disconcerting to see because the first thing my mind thought was that he was skiing into the floor, and it was awesome. I wish I could create something that awesome and cool. The piece is like a piece of literature because like literature the art was not what it seemed to be at first glance. I had to look more closely at the piece and actually examine what was going on in the picture, and that’s how it is with literature as well.
ReplyDelete3-D pictures have always interested me. I always thought it was cool to look at a 2-D surface and see a three-dimensional drawing. Although literature and 3-D paintings are very different, they share many similarities. One of the biggest similarities is the message that is behind each piece of art. Literature is all about perspective. The way someone looks at different text can truly change the message they perceive. Just like 3-D photos, they can be looked at in many kinds of fashion. One can see the effects of 3-D, while other just see the 2-D picture. How one interprets each piece helps create a perspective that is unique to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteThe one picture that really caught my attention was the second image with the Christmas theme. The purpose for drawing this image is to add a new spin on a holiday classic. To many times, the pictures of Santa and Christmas tree get old. This image is very different and it brings a new perspective to the holiday art. I feel that the work put into this drawing was amazing, and the mindfulness to detail is fantastic. I find it amazing that the artist can make the 2-D ground three-dimensional, and make the image look as neat as it is. This piece of artwork truly demonstrates the layers of a piece of literature. The drawing represents the “3-D” version of literature, where there are different themes and literary devices worked in. Overall, the 3-D photos are a lot different than regular photos. Their ability to carry different layers and bring a new perspective to the table makes each piece unique and one of a kind.
Wasylko, G 7/8th
The drawing that I chose was the one in the city with five people standing over an icy waterfall enclosed in the canyon, brick walls with the words “Reebok Crossfit” on the wall on the left-hand side. The reason that I chose this drawing was because of its depth and how complex of a meaning it actually has. Though the drawing is focused more towards cross fit and exercising, I looked at it as more of the obstacles that life throws at us and the things we have to do to overcome them.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this drawing represents a life metaphor for the obstacles that people come across during life and the feeling that is had when we come across these hindrances. When a problem in life arises, we often feel very scared and anxious towards the unknown. In these feelings, it is almost as if we are standing above a 20,000 foot deep cliff, just waiting for something or someone to push us over the edge. Because of this feeling, we are required to find a way out of all of the madness. I can honestly not even imagine the amount of time and energy that were put in to each of these drawings. Making them 3-D is difficult and astonishing enough, but even just the drawing itself has got to be some of the most intricate work out there.
In a sense, this drawing as well as all of the drawings on this website are a form of literature; they all have literary merit. What allows them have literary merit is their depth and the meaning behind them. The fact that they can be analyzed and broken down into different meanings, and they really don’t have one given meaning, but many meanings just depending on how the viewer looks at them. The artwork itself is able to present commentary on society and is able to be discussed, therefore it can be considered literature.
Shaniuk B, 7/8
As a young child I always tried my best whenever I drew with chalk, knowing that everyone would be able to see what had been drawn. I made the best effort when using chalk because I never knew if the rain would wash it away regardless of the drawings worth. On the driveway cement I always drew faces, trying to make them look like cartoon characters from television shows. It was fun and simple for me. Also when using a pencil and a paper there was a limitation of how large to draw and pencils are odd objects overall. If you hold onto it and use it too long I always find my finger veins pulsing, fingers aching. I used the chalk with delicacy and used specific colors such as blue and green.
ReplyDeleteOne of the designs of 3D art I greatly acknowledged was the killer whale drawing. The artist made such a small tank for these animals that live in the ocean, they are in captivity. It is somewhat odd on how the chalk artist had the entire earth to use ( or whatever’s concrete or stoned surface) and made such a small picture for these large mammals. It is a strong message that turns to the ways humans mistreat animals. They are given a selective amount of space to live in. They live in captivity. Plucked from their infinite home and placed in concentration. The artwork resembles literature because it has a strong motif or issue behind the picture. It is almost like a political cartoon in a way because it is grand to look at but you truly have to analyze it to convey what the author wants to show the viewers. It shows that animals should be free and not placed in captivity to be displayed for entertainment.
Turnea, D 2nd Period
When I was younger, my sister and our best friends, who were also sisters, used to play this game that we called “Chalk Town.” We would spend hours out on the driveway, creating this town of chalk. My friend Paige and I, being the younger sisters, would be the children, and our older sisters, Emily and Cassie, would be our mothers. We would have our own houses and bedrooms and we would bring out Barbie dolls to play with in our rooms, there were kitchens and living rooms and roads and parks and schools and offices. It was intricate. We would spend an entire day just running around the driveway, creating new lives for ourselves, and never get bored. And we would do this, day after day, all summer long. We never tired of playing Chalk Town. Once Emily and Cassie got older and stopped wanting to play Chalk Town with Paige and I, it became a little dull, and after a few summers of just the two of us playing, we stopped all together. It is still one of my fondest memories from my childhood.
ReplyDeleteThis being said, we never came close to achieving anything that looked as incredible as any of the 3D chalk drawings from those websites. Any of the chalk drawings of cliffs or craters made into the earth I think are amazing because they look so realistic. It is incredible what some people can do with a little bit of chalk when I was sitting there, poorly drawing a town. The one that really caught my attention was the 13th picture down on the second link. It shows several little cliff edges jutting out over this huge drop. It is such an incredible image, and drawing it must have taken hours upon hours, but it achieved its purpose. There are several people standing on this portrait, pretending to be involved in the scene, and having fun. I believe that this was the artist’s purpose – just to see people having fun with his art. This is comparable to a piece of literature – the authors just want readers to enjoy their work, most of the time. Additionally, the piece itself has so much depth and detail, similar to any piece of literature with merit. You could spend hours analyzing the artwork, only to find something new every time you looked at it.
-Dushek, K 2˚
3-D chalk drawings have always amused me. No matter how many times I tell myself it is only a drawing, it is still difficult for me to put the image into perspective. I suppose that speaks to the artistic ability of those who create the images. I decided to choose an image near the bottom of the page that shows a road falling apart. There is a car sitting on a piece of a road with a raging current underneath. There are a few other cars that are floating in the water beneath. It seems as if the artist may want to communicate the collapse of society. The earth has opened up to reveal water beneath and all of the earthly possessions have begun to fall in. What caught my attention in this piece was the contrast between water and fire. The ‘core’ of the earth in the image is fiery and molten rock, which sharply contrasts the raging river below. The image also takes up an entire street. It’s amazing to consider that someone put so much time into a piece of artwork that will be washed away before long. The design is incredibly detailed and every aspect is accounted for. For example, rather than drawing over a sewer, the artist incorporated it into the design. The car that is parked on the street is shown hovering on a piece of the burning ground. It is clear that the artist wanted the image to look as realistic as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe image can easily be compared to a work of literature. The contrast between fire and water represents the contrast that is often seen in literature. What’s amazing about literature is that often the contrast works together to create a more unified interpretation of the work. The same is true in the painting. Despite the contrast, the colors and images of the drawing blend together to create a visually stunning piece. The artists’ use of what was already present is also much like literature. No writer starts from the ground when they write- there is a common story that every other stems from. Authors make use of these elements in various ways to write new and exciting literature for audiences. Compare this to the way the author used what was already available on the street. Overall, 3-D street drawing is much like a work of literature, and both can be equally stunning.
-Ryan M 2
After moving to Brunswick as a child, I picked up playing with chalk. I lived on a street with two other girls my age, and we spent hours using chalk. Sometimes we would play house: making our own little house in my driveway and pretending we were a family. Maybe we were all trying to show how grown up we could really be. Other times we would draw horses and other things we liked, but they never turned out how they were supposed to. Once, we got in trouble for drawing martini and wine glasses, once again showing how grown up we were.
ReplyDeleteThe image I chose is composed of a small green alien, seemingly drawing apart the sidewalk into a world where pigs can fly. I liked this piece because an artist who is mostly likely mature chose to draw something child-like. It is a stark comparison to what I chose to draw as a child. This piece was most likely done in attempt to make people stop. So often we are consumed with being mature and the world around us that we forget to stop. It is on the smaller side but clearly so much work went into creating a focus on something so child-like. There is so much personality put into four very simplistic ‘characters’ to tell the story that it does. This is literature because it does tell a story and attempts to create a change in the world, even if it is only a small one.
M. McGregor 2
It’s a bit funny how important art was to me as a child. Besides wanting to be a paleontologist so that I could dig up dinosaur bones, I wanted to be an artist. Chalk was one of the many mediums I used in my create my masterpieces. I remember in fourth grade I created a Georgia O’Keeffe like flower out of chalk. Drawings were not quite as formal on the sidewalk. I created flowers, my name, and even sceneries. There were beaches and sunsets with birds flying away. Sometimes there were other animals prowling across the concrete. Even when the chalk was too small after so much use and my knuckles were scraping the ground, I would continue my work. It was fun and I loved showing my creativity. I drew because I wanted to.
ReplyDeleteOne design from 3D Joe and Max is Scotland for Visit Britain - Delhi India. It is a picture of the famous Loch Ness Monster that is from Scottish lore. There are subtle Scottish accents, like the man playing the bagpipes, the castle standing in the distance, and the plaid blankets next to a picnic basket. The said purpose for drawing this monster was for the Visit Britain’s GREAT campaign, where Britain is actually trying to attract tourism competitively, but I believe it was also created for the enjoyment of others. The image looked fun and playful with a lot of thought put into it, like the piece of seaweed on Nessie’s nose or the shine in the water from the sunlight and the ripples. It looks like it was fun to create, but also very difficult to ensure the dimensions turned out to be correct so that when looking at the right angle, the view is proportional and gives the look of it being 3D. The artwork is like a piece of literature because every piece of artwork tells some kind of story. This tells of a long sea creature that resides in a loch in Scotland. Although the story is a myth, it is known far and wide. When seeing this artwork, people will either remember the story of this monster or want to know what this creature that is riding in a river on the concrete actually is.
Hornung, A. 7/8
To be completely honest, my childhood drawings never went beyond stick figures and flowers. I loved chalk and I loved to lay out on pavement and sketch, but those sketches were always pretty basic. My favorite part of these drawings, funny enough, was not the drawings themselves – but the speech and thought bubbles I chalked in above their heads. I was always way more interested in what my drawings were saying than what they looked like. Even when I sketched, my writer side crept out. The words in the bubbles meant more to me than the lines and colors that made up my visual.
ReplyDeleteThe chalk design I chose was the image of a crater and waterfall in the middle of a sidewalk, over which a woman was riding her bike. Initially, I was astounded over the detail put into the work. I was caught off guard by how realistic it looked, and I know that if I were walking down that sidewalk, I would do a double-take and probably end up walking around it… just in case. I think that the purpose of the drawing was to catch pedestrians off-guard and make them question their perceptions of reality. The crater appears real – real enough to fall into – but upon closer examination, is nothing but chalk and color. I think this makes people realize that not everything is what it seems. This chalk drawing is like a piece of literature because it adds depth in a normally flat and lifeless sidewalk. Stories give shape and form to life, and though those stories might not necessarily be true, they are a still a reflection of reality and should open our eyes to the possibility that more goes on beneath the surface than we know.
Keller N 7/8
I have never been a sidewalk chalk wiz. Nor have I ever really been an artist to be completely honest. That is more of my sister’s department. However, I always enjoyed being outside and doodling on the sidewalk. When I was a little kid, I was not big into drawing common things; I was more of a dreamer. I wasn’t allowed to go down the street. So, I would make things like carnivals, amusement parks, putt-putt courses, etc. in my own backyard. Yes, this is kind of sad, but I created imaginative and detailed words in my own backyard on 144 squared feet of pavement. It was never about how pretty it looked, the fact that you could not ride a two dimensional rollercoaster, or that the golf ball would never fall into the ground, but it was in those times that I would let my inner dreams come out on those 6x8 squares. Drawing was my way of getting away, being happy, and getting outside of my own backyard, figuratively of course.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed looking at all the sidewalk artwork. I really enjoy the pieces that look like if you walked across them you would fall straight into the ground. To name one, I really liked the Dos Exquis advertisement. I like the piece because a) it is artistically beautiful, and b) it combines the beauty of written and interpretive word to convey a message. Although an advertisement, I think the true purpose of the piece is to live on the edge, and avoid the safe route. I enjoy the Dos Exquis model, not for the alcohol, but because it teaches people to live outside the box, and to thrive for adventure. Initially, when I was the piece, I enjoyed the artistry of the crocodiles, the rickety bridge, the water, and the jagged edges. It gave me a feeling of fear. Then, I saw the words that went without the image and I got a whole new feeling of anticipation and excitement.
I give these artists a lot of credit. I can only imagine the amount of time, work, and stress put into these pieces. However, it is through the beauty they display in this two dimensional world that I found truly amazing. The fact that something so flat, blank, can produce feelings and emotions is nothing short from astounding. It is similar to literature because like words on a page, it can cause people to think. It is yet another prime example of artists taking their medium, either chalk or writing, to a level of display that attempts to display a message for society.
Megan Lear 2nd
As a child, I drew constantly: on canvas, paper, my walls, and on the sidewalk with chalk. I often drew pictures that would involve combat and adventure, and these pictures would often feature images of my favorite toys and movie/book characters. When drawing with chalk I would engulf the driveway in total-war, from corner to corner, my driveway would be covered in the neon chalk. Drawing with chalk is, however, accompanied by the looming fact that any illustrations would be washed away. This is a double-edged sword in that it washes away the image, but it also provides a clean slate. Drawing as a child is indisputably different from drawing as a young adult. As a child, the only concern when drawing is the expression of imagination. But as maturity fills the void naiveté leaves behind, concerns of perception creep in and the opinions of critics seem to loom in the mind as the sketch is completed and the work itself can be molded by this change in perception. On the Pulse 2.0 page, the ice canyon image by Joe Hill. This image masterfully uses perception to add to the visual affect of the image. Hill uses the sidewalk and designs the image of the ice crevasse so that from a specific angle it appears like a deep crevasse. Hill also depicts chunks of ice and a person falling to add an intense element of a steep drop to the chalk drawing as well. Hill’s image, like a text, tells a narrative, albeit a simple one. The image shows the fall of man into the ice crevasse, which can be interpreted symbolically as the man’s fall in one aspect of his life. The steepness of the crevasse represented the severity of the man’s circumstances. Like literature, drawings convey messages that have relatable meanings—meanings that impact the viewer of a drawing as much as they would impact a reader of a text.
ReplyDeleteBruggeman, Jacob 7/8th
Though I did dabble in chalk as a child, I cannot say that I did it a lot or that I was particularly good at it. Simple drawings and things like that were commonplace whenever I chalked, as well as half-fleshed out ideas that were too difficult for me to accomplish back then. Drawing was simply a means to entertain myself whilst remaining outside. I do recall one time, probably around 2000 or so, a couple friends and I chalked an entire section of our street for no other reason than we were bored and no one was there to stop us. Can’t say that chalk played any sort of significance in my life.
ReplyDeleteOne image that particularly struck me was the one on the 3D Joe and Max site drawn at the Franklin Institute. I believe that art is usually either a result of a need to express some emotion, or an excuse to show off, depending on the person. In this case, I believe it is the former. It looks expressive and intricate, but it is extremely hard to say what the motivations of the artists may or may not have been. Regardless, it is a gorgeous piece and a testament to what talent can achieve. Art is deep. There are layers to writing just as there are layers to drawing, and peeling away said layers can be revealing, depending on what is being observed. But unlike chalk, books don’t disappear after a spot of turbulent weather. Literature lasts forever, chalk lasts for a few days, and I think that says all that needs to be said.
Crow, Mike 7/8
I think that 3-D chalk designs are pretty awesome to be honest. They add a depth (no pun intended) to the medium, and I think that speaks a lot to the artist in both their capabilities and the motivation to produce such a piece. The focus and time put in are both things I'm not sure I could replicate in such an area of my life. School and work and golf, yes, but something that is purely for the entertainment of others? It sounds horribly self-centered, but I don't know if that capacity is within me. So no, besides some doodles in the margins of my notebooks, or the scribbles I made on the driveway as a child, neither chalk nor drawing in general have played a particularly transformational role in my life. However, that does not inhibit a profound appreciation for the craft. Especially in 3-D chalk illustrations.
ReplyDeleteThe chalk illustration that I chose was of a plane flying out from the ground, or from what would be the sky, and it is by Nikolaj Arndt. Some of the coloring and the clarity of that piece in particular completely caught my attention as I was scrolling down the page. The blues are deep and blend together, while the edges of the drawing look as if they just dropped away, and the propeller is chewing through the concrete. The way that the one wing is still submerged beneath the ground, while the other looks as if it is tilting up and out really added some nice contrast to the piece as a whole. The time it must have taken to imbed that much detail is admirable to say the least. I can't say mcuh about the artist's motivation because unlike a book or a more abstract piece, there is not too much emotional expression being displayed. If anything, I think perhaps the creator posses a skill that he would like to share with the world. Like a book though, there is a focal point that draws the attention of the person viewing the art.
^ theshedevil is Angie G. 2*
ReplyDeleteAs the child of an art teacher, I was constantly encouraged to experiment in any kind of artistic and creative medium. My mom always bought me huge boxes of chalk, and craft sets for me to do. However, I preferred to spend my time climbing trees and wading through the creek in my park. The few times I did happen to chalk something, it was typically my name, or simple flowers and swirly designs. Needless to say, I was disappointing to my mother. I apologize to my mother for being such an uncultured primate, but I didn’t have the patience to sit on the pavement and draw a chalk masterpiece. I always used to scrape my hands on the pavement and would get annoyed by all the pastel shades. Chalk was not something that played a large role in my childhood.
ReplyDeleteThe picture that spoke to me the most was the giant, icy terrifying looking void. This chalk drawing is massive, and looks as though you will fall in if you get too close. I like this because logically, you know that there’s not a huge abyss in the middle of the road, but you still get just a little nervous. It’s funny how the mind will fight with itself over the legitimacy of what the eyes see. Literature can be an escape for the mind so much so that you can end up confusing what is fiction with what is real, like this art. I think seeing something like this while you are just walking to work on an average Monday adds a little bit of excitement to the mundane. The artwork is like literature because for me, literature also adds a bit of fantasy to a routine day. Both the street art and literature make the average life just a little less average.
Florek, E. 7/8
As a child, I had a deep love for art. I owned numerous sketch books as well as a variety of different watercolor pencils, pastels, and charcoal suited to my needs. I was fascinated by the art exhibits found at the CMA or in the books that my grandmother would get me. I studied Picasso's blue period with a fervor my parents wished I would apply to my school work. As I got older, my love of art weaned, but it still played a heavy role in my childhood.
ReplyDeleteThe Chalk design I enjoyed the most was the one of the crater and the waterfall with the woman riding her bicycle overtop of it. I really appreciated the amount of detail that the artist put into it; It looks so incredibly realistic. I think that it forces the viewer to question their perception of reality because of its attention to detail. The viewer knows it isn't really there, but its details and vividness makes them question it. This is comparable to literature in that books can sometimes act as an escape. We can get so wrapped up in a text that sometimes we lose track of reality. This is especially true for fantasy or science fiction novels; we know that they can't possibly be true but still we get sucked into their storytelling and are able to believe it, if only for a short time period.
Harris, S. 2*
As a child I loved to draw with chalk on the sidewalk. I would sit in my driveway for hours, entertaining my imagination by creating futuristic worlds and creatures. Often times I would draw neighborhoods and cities, creating houses, families, and cars. Some would be mansions, others shacks depending on how much time I felt like putting into my drawings. When I drew people, I would make an actual person, that person being my brother most of the time, lie down on the cement and I would outline their figure. I would then fill the outline with alien-like features or I would imitate a cartoon character. Each time I decided to chalk, I would start at the top of my driveway and work my way down. I always tried to completely fill the square that I was working on before moving to the next one. I enjoyed sidewalk chalking because I liked creating something that my entire neighborhood would see. I felt that my neighbors would be impressed when walking or driving passed my house when seeing colorful creations covering my driveway.
ReplyDeleteThe 3-D image I chose was an image depicting a city getting destroyed by fire and rocks. Many windows are broken, and the buildings look as if they are about to fall. What drew me to this picture was the shape of the fire. The fire sits at the bottom of the buildings in the shape of a bat, creeping its way up the buildings. I liked this image for the reason that it was a subtle batman reference, yet the bat is inflicting harm. This is contrary to what batman is commonly associated with, that of being heroic and promoting well-being. This artwork is similar to literature because its meaning is hidden within the story. The significance of the shape of the fire could imply a different side of batman or could show that there is some evil within the good. Like literature, the image can be interpreted in any way that the viewer sees it.
Aguinaga, C 7/8*
When I was younger, that is all I would have in my toy chest was chalk and washable sidewalk paint. I am not much of an artist, but I absolutely loved to decorate the boring cement that existed outside my house. My neighbor and I would draw cars and stores and a road, creating this little 'town'. Then we would play pretend and create stories that had our imaginations soar. Anytime it would rain I would get so upset, but knew that it was a fresh canvas for us to go out the next day and restart. Chalk would literally keep the young me entertained for almost all of the daylight hours.
ReplyDeleteThe 3D image that I chose was by Leon Keer of a street, that contained a wide hole, with a thin broken bridge going across. This represents life and how it has its struggles and some people feel like it would be so much easier to just give up and fall. The hole in the image seems dark and deep, and the only way to get over it was by walking over the roped bridge. Planks are missing from it, and if focus is lost, you fall. I see this as saying to make the right decisons and do not take the easy way out. It may be a scary struggle, but the end result is not. The hole in the picture does not take up the entire sidewalk. This shows that problems do not last and things do get better and go back to normal. Bridges represent journeys and this world is one big journey with lessons and memories being made with the people that impact your life.
Asturi V 7/8
I used to draw games in the sidewalk. Lily pads that I could walk across and hopscotch and things. Tick tack toe. Interactive art, really. If I drew pictures they were storyboards. I think this is because art has always held something back for me- it is just beyond my grasp. I love it, and I’m not bad at it, but it is tedious. As I get older I find that it becomes harder and harder to find the same whimsical pleasure in spending hours drawing. I want to make art but I don’t want to spend time on the same 2D scene. Which is probably why my art was always so interactive- I don’t find pleasure in make-believe that stays stagnant. It is unbearably dull.
ReplyDeleteA similar type of philosophy can be seen in 3D chalk art.
One of the artists on the website drew an angry river with a crocodile and a little raft that one could sit on a pretend that they are rafting through the danger, Initially, I would think that the artist drew this for fun- to be like me in my youth and create an interactive sort of art- something that can be played with and not just admired. Art is like literature in that it has layers and if you peel one back, there are likely many others to analyze beneath it. In this piece, one can immediately see the fun of the art, but can peel back layers to see the much more. The people rafting are in a safe place- the concrete likely in the middle of a city, not a jungle with a river ripping through it. This speaks to the irony of the piece. One can close their eyes and pretend to be facing great danger of rafting, but in reality they do not meet the true metaphor of the action. Art is a false metaphor. It can be fictional in just the same way that literature can, and yet also true. One is not no the river, and yet they are. You do not have to act out a book to experience it.
-A. Jankovsky 7-8*
Many of the calk drawings on this page depict people, animals, or other objects breaking through the sidewalk into our world. The reason these types of chalking are so popular, in my opinion, is that people want to believe that a world more exciting than the one they live in is just around the corner, waiting for them to find it and break through. The one that “spoke to me” the most was, inevitably, the drawing of Gotham and a flaming Batsignal holding up a crumbling city sidewalk. I am a huge Batman fan, and if this drawing were real, I would most likely be the first to jump in. And jump in, you could. The picture is so detailed you can see broken glass on some of the windows. One things sticks to me, though: Of all the things to draw with that much detail on a sidewalk, why choose Batman?
ReplyDeleteIt could be just how recognizable it is (the Dark Knight, Brave and the Bold, the list goes on), but I think it goes a little deeper to our general fascination with superheroes. Humans have been fascinated with the idea of superior beings for our entire existence. If you need an example, look at any mythology you care to pick. In Greece, for example, the gods had power to control the weather, the elements, everything down to the lives of petty humans. Today, we have manifested these supreme beings in places like DC and Marvel, where super-powered, super-smart beings work to make life better for the rest of us. Batman, however, stands out because he does not have any special powers. Instead, he uses his intellect, courage, and determination to solve crimes that many of the powered superheroes can’t solve. He represents how an ordinary person can become anything they want to, if only they strive for it (as a side note, I think this is why the Bat family has so many problems and other superhero families seem to get along). This chalk drawing, whether it was done consciously or unconsciously by the artist, is meant to show that your dream is right around the corner waiting for you; you don’t need superpowers to get it, you just need to do it.
This connects to how this work is like a piece of literature. You can just look at the surface story and get a good time, but sometimes you really need to tear open the seam between the pages and find out what’s underneath. I also think it’s about how ideas for stories hide everywhere out in the world waiting for someone to notice and write them. My own stories have started out as the people I meet and situations I’ve had to go through. In my screwed-up head, I can take them to a whole other level, until it’s like this fantasy truly exists right underneath the reality of my life. All that, pent up in someone’s inner inspiration to draw a city under a sidewalk. If you can find all this in one drawing, the possibilities for a multi-chapter work of fiction become both endless and beautiful.
Maslach, K 2
As a child I found myself often drawing hop skotch on the side driveway and throwing stones to skip. I would also draw streets and buildings that my siblings and I would pretend to “drive” around on our bikes and scooters. I drew these things for simplistic fun, the innocence of childhood at its peak. I would use bright colors, mainly pink and purple, my girly side also at its peak.
ReplyDeleteThe piece I chose to analyze was “Sochi Winter Olympics-USA” by Joe and Max. The purpose of drawing this image was clearly to advertise for the winter Olympics. Initially while looking at this piece I was amazed that this was all chalk, as I worked with this medium in art class and found it extremely unforgiving and hard to work with. The depth this piece holds is amazing, it looks like the one viewing it is falling down a ski slope, even leaving space for them to stand on the skis. It is colorful and tells a story like all literature pieces. It offers different interpretations; such as what the audience could be thinking or what story could be told on the day of this “skiing”. This offers many layers like any piece of literature and it is extremely interesting. The way the slope leans could be metaphorical for risk or it could be taken at face value as a skiing trip. Regardless of interpretation, this artwork is no doubt immense in nature.
Mewhinney, M 2
When I was little I use to draw a lot of flowers. My driveway looked like a field of colorful flowers until the rain came and washed it away. I think it was the easiest thing to draw because I had a flower border surrounding the top of my walls in my room so I knew exactly how to draw the shape. The chalk art of Santa by the fire and his elves at work reminded me of my childhood flower drawings. The picture depicts the innocence of a child’s fascination during the holiday. I think the artist that created the art wanted to capture the magical feeling of Christmas that kids feel. This artwork is like a piece of literature because it embodies the creative merit of any literary piece such as a novel or a poem. The detail of the piece is amazing and I love that it looks like if you step off the edge of the snow then you will fall into the room with the mounds of presents, Santa, and his elves. The fact that children are surrounding the artwork in this picture shows that the piece intrigues their young minds as well. Everyone in the picture are holding up their hands as if they are actually next to the fire with Santa, which is really cool too. The intricate details of the presents, tree, elves, Santa, and the snow show the incredible talent of the artist when creating such a vivid picture to bring the holiday season alive.
ReplyDeleteI have never been much of an artist. I can sketch at a reasonable level, but I am not talented. Even know, I find myself doodling on papers in school. And please, do not take this as my boredom, for that is not the case. When I doodle in lines and what not, I get to a stage of relaxation. I am not one who can manage stress very well, so when I get tense, doodling helps relieve the tension. Regarding side walk art, I adored drawing big hearts. Maybe that is my girlish nature, but I always enjoyed myself. But, out of all my fantastic chalk designs, the most frequent design was lines. I used to spend hours just drawing one big line. I would travel all the way down my street drawing one big, long line. You can try to psychoanalyze this as much as you'd like, but I assure you, there is no reason behind that.
ReplyDeleteThe picture I chose to observe is the one of a deep trench and a wooden bridge hanging between the two cliffs. The purpose of creating this type of artwork is to create an initial reaction within the observer. I feel this is the purpose for all types of artwork. The reaction is not uniform, nor will it ever be. Artwork is so powerful due to the fact of it being universal. For this piece specifically, the intended reaction that I had was shock and awe. It is something you must take two looks at it to understand it is not real. The talent these artists possess is incredible, and I love that people like them exist in our world. Creativity is so crucial for humans, whether they know it or not.
Artwork such as this corresponds with literature in many aspects. Just like literature, there is way more than meets the eye. There had to be an insane spark of inspiration, a gratifying light, that leads the way to a masterpiece. What really gets me about this type of artwork is that chalk washes away. I understand that they might have used a permanent type of utensil, but for the sake of my argument, lets say nothing like that exists. Good? Great! Anyway, like I said, chalk washes away. So the purpose of creating that was not for money nor publicity, it was simply for enjoyment. And I believe that is the base of great literature, to not be made for popularity but simply because authors enjoyed writing it. And to me, that is what makes a true artist.
Telfer, Reva 7/8
Chalking was and still is an avid hobby of mine. There was always a specific part of chalking that I adored, this being the fact that when a picture is drawn, there is only a short period of time the drawing is there. Time is usually limited by weather conditions. When I was younger, I was fond of chalking my name or flowers upon my driveway. As I grew older, my drawings became more intricate and slightly more abstract. I spent hours drawing and shading the same picture and had a blast trying to connect one piece to the next. It was hard to get me inside to clean up all the residue left from a day spent chalking. I drew primarily for fun, but also because my sisters loved chalking as well. We would go through buckets and buckets before my mom just decided to start stocking up for the summer. Even now, I have a bucket of chalk that sits in the trunk of my car, just in case I am somewhere and feel inspired.
ReplyDeleteI instantly fell in love with the 3-D drawing of Abbey Road in Los Angeles. I associate Abbey Road with the Beatles. I grew up as a listener of the timeless band and still have a deep passion for their music. At first glance, the photo looks no different than the rest of the city. The pavement looks as if it leads into a walkway to another part of the town. However, with more of an understanding for the chalking, so much more can be brought to the surface. LA is known to be a city of music, as well as a lot of hustle and bustle of people going every single way. Great Britain on the other hand, is very different. It is more relaxed and calm. I feel as though the illustrator of this piece meant to connect these two ideas. LA is being depicted to lead people into the past. This historic picture of Great Britain in the background shows cars from the seventies and an all-around different lifestyle. This picture is leading people into an escape of reality - into the past. The depth of this piece is what allows it to connect to literature. The author is commenting on the business of the city.
Cika, Megan 2
I was never much of an artist growing up. Maybe it was because I was a perfectionist when it came to my artwork. I was notorious for having to skip recess to finish my art projects in elementary school. I would never settle on my paintings, I would take my time to make my very own masterpiece. That is likely why I never did much with chalk as a child. Too much time, not enough of an attention span.
ReplyDeleteIn regards, to these 3D sidewalk chalk drawings, they are way beyond anything I would ever be able to do. One that particularly caught my attention was the one of the man sitting on a balcony that overlooks London. I really like it because I have been staring at it for quite a while and I still cannot determine where reality ends. I do not understand how this was made and that is why I love it. But that is what art is; it is imagination. It is why the artist drew such an elaborate drawing. He imagined a world where he rose thousands of feet above the city of London and he saw it through. It could be compared to a piece of literature because it truly tells a story. In some ways, it reminds me of Peter Pan, where Peter and Wendy fly high above London at night. There is so much to be seen in this chalk drawing that classifying it as anything other than artwork and literature would be illogical.
-Kett J 2
When I was little I didn’t chalk very much because I didn’t like the feeling it had and the scratching of my fingernails on the cement. But when I did chalk, I would draw 3-D boxes and write my name a million times. I would also design obstacles that I would have to follow to “make it to the finish line” and create challenges for myself to overcome. I couldn’t exactly tell you why I would draw the things I did. Maybe it was because I lacked in drawing creative pictures or thinking of what to create. But I always created the same thing because I was good at it.
ReplyDeleteI chose the first image on “signs” link where the man is looking down at the sewage pipes. The design is when you look down underneath the street, it’s the sewage and its oozing of trash and other disgusting things. I believe the purpose of this image is for people to remember what is really going on under our streets. The sewage being filled with trash and garbage that we get rid of everyday, just leading out to our oceans. It reminds people what disgusting things are traveling underneath our very feet. I believe that the artist did an amazing job on the design and making the art look believable. The way that he transitioned from the street to beneath is amazing and makes it look like you’re really looking down into the sewage pipes. The intricate detail really makes the whole piece amazing and its obvious that the artist worked very long and very hard to designing it. When it comes to literature, they are similar with planning what they will design and how specific it has to be to make it believable and real. Art is meant to stand for something, so when an author or artist chooses an idea to create and come to life, they want it to touch the viewer/reader and have them learn and realize something new.
S. Güt 7/8
When I was a child, I loved art. I still do, but I do not have as much time to paint and draw and think about the wonderful things I could draw. I would always draw butterflies when I was little. I loved giving each wing its own color and pattern. I love how I could vary the body shape and wing of each butterfly. They were so colorful to me. I fell in love with butterflies when I went to a butterfly house at the zoo. They were fluttering around, beautifully. The other objects I used to draw were elephants and peacocks. These animals are my favorite. I loved giving each feather of the peacock a different shade of blue and green. Then elephants were decorated with elegant rugs and jewels.
ReplyDeleteFor the professional chalk designs, I picked the one where there is a hole in the ground and city is being destroyed. Deep down, at the bottom, there is a symbol shaped like a bat. I believe this might be Batman, trying to save the city. There is a lot of fire at the bottom of the buildings. I feel that the artist is trying to show a contrast to the setting in which he is designing. He is drawing/painting in a successful city that has high buildings and many people. In his design, the rocks are falling onto the buildings. Batman is trying to save the people from destruction. It is like a parallel universe. I love how the design appears to be 3-dimensional. A person can walk onto the design and pretend that they are falling for a successful picture. The artwork is like a piece of literature in that it portrays a setting, in which multiple events are taking place. People say that a picture says a thousand words, and an entire book could be written based on this sole design.
Patel, D 2
When I was younger I did not draw with chalk often because my artistic abilities were minimal. When I did draw it was because my friends were or I was bored. I usually drew animals, trees, and rainbows, and they did not always look like what they should have. I give a lot of credit to those who can draw, it is hard. Those who drew these 3-D chalk drawings have an amazing talent that I do not possess. The drawing that interested me though was the one where it is a trench of ice that seems to go on forever and has parts with breaking off. I thought that the drawing looked so real that if I passed by I would need to stop to make sure it was not real. The purpose of drawing this could be to express the dangers of going to the edge of anything. The edge of the ice is unstable and looks like it could fall off at any moment. This could easily represent life and how there is always an end, you just do not know when it will happen. But just like a piece of literature we will not know what the chalk drawing is about unless the artist tells us.
ReplyDeleteLoDolce, A 7/8
As a little girl I used to always draw with chalk and for some reason flowers were involved in all of my sketches. Now that I have two younger sisters I take advantage of the days where they go out and draw with chalk and join them too. I chose the artwork with the big monarch butterflt because it was beautiful with all its simplicity. I believe the artist could have drawn it to bring attention and decor to the sidewalk it was on. Well it did. The detail was outstanding. The way 3-D art is like literarure is that is has to have an angle, it is always done with a purpose, and people can interpret it in more ways than one. each piece of art can be viewed from differenr angles but there is one from which you can appreciate the work in its true form and with the artist's intention.
ReplyDeleteGalvan, E. 2nd
I have picked the piece done on Star Wars for the comic con in Dubai. The purpose for the artist to create this image was, in my opinion, to take something that many people are passionate about and bring it to life. Though it is a piece of popular culture, this image portrays how real the Star Wars movies are to those who grew up with them. If I were to see this artwork I would have to take a picture of it and stop to admire it because it is something that I grew up with and that my father and I are able to bond over. This artwork is like literature because it can recall memories and emotions of their admirers.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I would use chalk to create towns in my friend’s driveway. It was also a way for me to enjoy creating art on a large scale that can be admired and then washed away to make room for new creations the next day.
Dame, E. 2
As a child, I would hardly draw on the sidewalk. I lived in Florida and it rained all the time, so it would wash away at the end of every day, making me a very upset little girl. But when I did, I would write my name or stupid little sayings, occasionally venturing out and drawing a flower or butterfly. I was not a very artistic child: I just wanted to go to soccer practice. Drawing on the sidewalk was only something I did when my friends in the neighborhood couldn't play. The 3-D artists obviously have much more invested in their art than I did. The very first piece on the website stuck out to me. I imagine the artist wanting to give the people of the city a glimpse of what's going on underneath and that life isn't just about the hustle and bustle of every day life. It make a commentary that society doesn't stop to think about the layers of society and the work put into their lives. It is like literature in this way. Almost all works of literature have something to say about society and that can sometimes include the same message this incredibly detailed piece of art does.
ReplyDeleteGettle, B. 2
My use of chalk as a child was not as extensive as most children’s. I used chalk mostly to draw things like smiley faces and hopscotch games. It wasn’t until I was older that I actually started drawing with chalk. Once I started to actually draw actual pictures I drew scenery of hills and skies, and random animals. Nothing too extravagant, but more than what I used to use it for. As I got older, I started to use more color and blending. When I started, however, I used one color and drew scribbly outlines that I thought looked pretty. I mainly drew for fun and nothing more. I was not trying to tell a story or make a point. I just drew because it was fun, it was pretty, and because I could.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, professionals like Edgar Mueller draw to make a point or to tell a story. One of Mueller’s chalk designs called “Emerald Cave” was the subject of my inspection. The image, according to Mueller’s website, was made to “show[ ] an eternal, everlasting and immortal source in the midst of an Emerald Cave. An Ammonite which is billions of years old is placed in the centre of the artwork”. He was asked to make it at a street festival to promote a new development called “Emerald Hills”. My initial thoughts of this piece was that it was extremely detailed for such a large outdoors painting. I also found it breathtakingly beautiful: the colors vibrant, the realism amazing, and the overall composition mind-blowing. I could tell that this was a well thought out piece and was not some children’s scribbles. This had a ton of effort put into it, and he did not even know if it would turn out well in the end. To make these types of chalk designs 3D, the image has to be spread out over lots of room, and the image stretched and distorted when looking directly down. Because of this, the artwork is hard to tell what it will end up looking like, much like a book. When an author starts writing, he/she is not sure how the book will end. They are not sure if it will be good or bad, if it will be happy or sad; they only have an idea in their minds and then roll with it and hope for the best. This is like this piece of artwork because Mueller had an initial draft, but did not know exactly how it would end, or if he could make it look good, or if it was going to turn out bad. “Emerald Caves” also has symbolism within parts of the composition such as the “Ammonite”. Which, is similar to how literature with its many hidden symbols. Both literature and this artwork have a literal meaning, as in this it what it is, and that is it, but they also have a hidden meaning within the symbolism that they possess. Both the art and literature tell a story and inspire others. They wow people with their detail and the amount of effort put into their creation. Basically, the painting “Emerald Caves” is basically a picture version of a book.
C. Lenhoff 2nd period
I was very anal as a child and small, subtle things irked me, and the sound of chalk against pavement was one of those things. While I love art, chalk was never that appealing, yet I appreciate those I looked at this week greatly. One piece that stuck out at me was that of an ice cliff leading into a dark abyss. The lack of objects in the artwork made the blend of colors that much more important. Many other pictures portrayed something similar but each had a bottom whether it be monsters, or a lake, or a whole new world. I found this specific piece to be special though because it allowed the audience to fill in the bank. Art is very much interpretational and I love pieces that have no one meaning, or obvious answer. Art is also a process, a question, an idea. The blackness of the ice cliff to me represents the unknown which is both frightening and intriguing. The image shows a man pretending to fall off into the black hole with his friend clutching on to save him, but I wonder how they know that what lies at the bottom is so bad.
ReplyDelete-Grabowski, H. 7/8
As a child I would draw as many scenes of whatever popped into my head, so that they overlap and created this busy scene on the sidewalk in front of my house.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of drawing with this form of art medium is to bring awareness that art is never confined to the limits of a canvas and a frame. the use of chalk allows the drawing to appear anywhere the artist chooses, for all to see. it allows for a bigger audience and for the message to be taken to new crowds. The piece I like the best is by Nikolaj Arndt, the rope and plank bridge across the gorge. The drawing is realistic, and mirrors how lifelike it would be to be standing on a plank on the bridge. the artwork is like a piece of literature because though it is only made of chalk the drawing actually has quite a bit of depth. It allows the viewer to stand atop what could possibly be their biggest fear and look down. The image allows anyone who views it to draw their own connection to the scary sight.
Supina, R. 2
I chose the 3D drawing of the modern art painting. I think this piece was created to recreate the modern art paining of squares and lines with it's own twist. I personally love modern art. I think modern art, especially simplistic art with maybe only a few shapes and lines, are so important in our society. These few designs can make someone feel such intense emotions, much like literature. Literature can be very simple or complex but nonetheless makes you feel things you never thought you would feel. This drawing reminded me of that. It may be three squares and some lines, but it has depth. Many people don't like modern art because they think it is too simple, or simply not art. I disagree, these people look at the art and immediately get angry, that must count for something. Even if they are angry at the art, it did that to them. The art itself created that emotion. This chalk drawing was created to make people feel, and remind them what art can make them feel.
ReplyDeleteParey C 7/8
As a child, I loved to draw with chalk. My brother and my sister, who are five and seven years older than I am, would always draw on our sidewalk. Being significantly older than myself, their artwork was the most beautiful I had ever seen at that point in my life. The simple images they created inspired me to be as artistic as I possibly could. I drew pictures of flowers, rainbows, and unicorns. Occasionally, I would write my name in bubble letters and color in each letter with a girly design, or sketch out lyrics to my favorite song and draw pictures that related to the fragment around the outside. Drawing has always been a passion of mine and most definitely sprouted off of my love for sidewalk chalk, which I still to this day cannot shake, I might add.
ReplyDeleteThe image that really stood out to me was the one that covered the cement as far as the picture could reach. It was a giant gap in the ground with small, snow covered cliffs and a huge waterfall in the back, with people using different types of workout equipment all around the edges. Near the left side of the drawing was a drawn-in advertisement for Reebok CrossFit. This image stood out to me most because it is so simple, yet so detailed. The image utilizes only neutral colors, and yet it still radiates an immaculate amount of beauty. I believe the purpose of this particular image was to show the dedication of the people posing in the picture. They are all participating in some sort of physical activity in a winter themed setting. Not everybody would stand in the snow and do CrossFit. This picture highlights the hard work these people put in to keeping themselves healthy. This drawing must have taken an abundance of not only time, but patience, just based off of the size of it. I am absolute amazed by the effort put into this image. This image compares to a piece of literature because, like literature, it is obvious that there was a great deal of effort put into it. A work of art or literature is only as incredible as the dedication it took to create it.
Cruse, S 2
I was not the most artistic child; this is still something that holds true today. My abilities to draw were not up to a standard that I approved of, even as a young child. I always enjoyed art however; my best friend Sierra was very creative. I enjoyed watching her draw and paint. So when we used sidewalk chalk it was always me feeding her the things that I wanted to see. We made up worlds to play in and would paint maps of them out on the driveway. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting on the ground with her and playing in our own little world.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many incredible art works in the world. Things I could have never even have imagined creating. The first time I had seen 3D artwork was in my French class, these types of work are very popular in their culture. I have always looked forward to taking a trip to see these pieces of art one day. So when I saw this is what the blog was for the week I was very excited. The piece that I found to be the most impressive was of a normal street in which the earth had started to fall in on itself. The way that the artist created the work all the way down the street was crazy to me. Everything was placed perfectly; a car was even on a patch of the earth that was still holding on. The time and effort that had to have gone into that is insane to think about. When looking at I could really feel the blood, sweat, and tears the author put into it. It is insane what we can do with our minds and a little bit of paint.
Sansone, A 2
When I was little, I had a gallon tub of sidewalk chalk. I can not remember what I drew, but I remember my goal: fill the entire driveway with drawings. I would take sections of my driveway at a time, filling them with as many different colors or doodles as I could. None of them had to be related, they just had to get the job done. I do not think I ever succeeded in shading in my entire driveway. I think that I wanted to do it so badly so that I could drop my stick of chalk after i t was all over and just see what I had created: a rainbow driveway. And even if I did not succeed, I could still appreciate what I had dmodern One of the chalk images that caught my attention was the one of the fist holding a tape and busting up out of the sidewalk, like an undead limb coming back to life. I think that the drawing was made to reflect upon the previous generations believing that they're superior because of their olden ways. In modern times, this generation is shamed for their love of selfies and modern technology, and the older generations belief that we're in the wrong. The fist represents this previous generation and their refusal to adapt to the new ways as they're stuck in the prime years of their past,. It's like the dead refusing to die.
ReplyDelete-Javorsky, R 2*
Okay so I wrote an entire blog post in Word and somehow it still got deleted so....round 2.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I drew with chalk frequently, I had two older sisters but since they were 10 and 13 years older than me I was basically an only child and resorted to solitary activities I could complete by myself, such as drawing with chalk.
I used to draw pictures of anything and everything, though not very good, I never finished them. I would always end up running away screaming bloody murder because of a bug that crawled near me. That's how all of my pictures were, unfinished.
The chalk drawing I enjoyed was the one of superman coming out from under the sewer. Many of the chalk drawings were from famous shows or movies like TMNT or other superheroes, so I'm not exactly sure the artist had a deeper meaning in mind, however with my AP senses tingling, I would say the deeper meaning would be that heroes can come from anywhere and everywhere. You don't have to be well known or in the spotlight to save someone. You just have to decide to be a hero and act upon it. Chalk drawings are art, like you would see at a museum. In front of the Cleveland Museum of Art are chalk drawings which are sometimes more impressive than the art seen inside. Every piece, similar to literature has a story to tell.