Focus on Shape and Form Selections from AMERICANA

Examples of Contemporary Art Explores the standard grid system Explore shapes in new ways Discussion Points This presentation explores contemporary art and artists using the standard grid system to develop and progress ideas about shape and form. These artists use geometric or organic shapes to create works that develop an overall logic and follow an order of operation within each work. Vocabulary Contemporary Art Contemporary art refers to the work of artists of the last 50 years; and deals with events and issues that affect our time. Form Form has two meanings: the first has to do with all the parts of a structure you can see and how they come together. The second, is an element of art has to do with a three-dimensional shape (length, width, and depth). Geometric shapes Geometric shapes are any shapes made with straight lines, angles, or circles and have defined borders. Examples of geometric forms include square, triangles or circles. Order of Operation Order of operation refers to rules used to solve a mathematical problem, scientific experiment, or artistic endeavor. For example, in mathematics multiplication is done before addition. In landscape painting, the background is usually painted first and objects that are closer are added last. Organic shapes Organic shapes are shapes that look like natural elements and are typically irregular or asymmetrical.   Progress Progress is the process of improving or developing something over a period of time. Standard grid system The standard grid system is a framework of criss-crossed parallel lines. The horizontal and vertical lines come together to form a network of right angles.

Discussion Points Grids are all around us. Here are some example of grids that may be familiar to you. Do you recognize them?

Sarah Morris, Le Meridien [Rio] 1, XXXX 84 ½ X 84 ½ inches Discussion Points How does Sarah Morris change the standard grid system in this artwork? Describe this artwork. Look at the whole composition. Now close your eyes for 10 seconds, now look again at the whole image. What colors are your eyes drawn to? How does color effect the grid? Imagine you were in the room while the artist was painting this artwork. What tools would the artist use to create this work? Consider the definition of progress. In what ways is Morris progressing the standard grid system in this piece? About the Artwork Meridien [Rio] (2012) by Sarah Morris is part of series of paintings that emerged from the artist’s explorations of Rio de Janiero and reflects the city’s unique architecture. Morris works between film and painting, creating lush and charged portraits of places. Her works usually address the power of architecture corporate, political or commercial buildings. Morris uses household gloss paint to render these facades as flat blocks of bright color, which she organizes into hard-eged grids on square-format canvases. Vocabulary Composition A composition is the placement and arrangement of the elements of art in a work of art. Progress Progress is the process of improving or developing something over a period of time. Standard grid system The standard grid system is a framework of criss-crossed parallel lines. The horizontal and vertical lines come together to form a network of right angles.

Sol LeWitt, Untitled (Cube), 1966 Black and white photo, 2007 8 x 10 inches Lower grid element –81 x81 x 28 inches Discussion Points Let’s look at this work and identify the grid. How is the artist using it with the standard grid system in this artwork? Let’s identify the two-dimensional objects versus three-dimensional objects in this work. What shapes are repeated in this work? How are the forms in this work similar to each other? How are they different? Imagine you were in the room when the artist created this work, describe step-by-step how the artist made this piece. Think about order of operation: what section did he work on first? What next? Now that you have a sequence in your mind. Imagine the artist came back to add another element to the piece. What would he add? Why? About the Artwork Sol LeWitt was born in September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007. He was an American artist and the founder of two major contemporary art movements, Conceptual Art and Minimalism. He was a prolific artist whose works range from drawings, paintings, sculptures, wall drawings, installations, and outdoor sculptures. Many of his sculptures or “structures” as he prefers to call them derive from the a grid system. This structure is a progressive modular originating from the two-dimensional grid system to three-dimensional forms. The cube has influenced the artist’s thinking from the time he became an artist. Many of his modular structures are conceived on a large scale in aluminum or steel by industrial fabricators. Vocabulary Standard grid system The standard grid system is a framework of criss-crossed parallel lines. The horizontal and vertical lines come together to form a network of right angles. Two-dimensional objects Two-dimensional objects that only has two dimensions, width and height, and no thickness. Squares, circles, and triangles are examples of two-dimensional objects. Three-dimensional objects Three-dimensional objects have three dimensions height, width, and depth or an appearance of depth. Cubes, spheres and pyramids are examples of three-dimensional objects.

Eugenio Espinoza Otro Geometrico, 2005 Discussion Points Acrylic on Canvas 122 x 144 inches PAMM Collection Discussion Points Describe this work’s in relation to the standard gridding system. Let’s recap the ways we’ve seen artist manipulate the grid so far. How does Eugenio Espinoza’s work fit in that progression? Espinoza created artwork that relates to his personal experiences. What are some things he might be saying with this work? About the Artwork Espinoza lives in Miami and New York. Espinoza belongs to a generation of Venezulan artists who emerged in the late 60s and 70s, during the kenetic art movement. Espinoza has always considered himself a painter, yet gone to great lengths to emphasize the nature of painting as an object rather than an image. Since the early 1970s, the grid has been the dominant motif in Espinoza’s art as he sought many ways to work both with and against it. Otro Geometrico are several canvases comprising portions of a grid lean against the wall and are held by a pair of car jacks. The fact that they are all painted with black and white grid reminds us that they could be rearranged and reformed as object.

Damian Ortega, Organism, 2012 Pigmented concrete (7 pieces) 12 ¾ x 12 ½ x 12 ½ inches Discussion Points How would you describe the forms Ortega created in this artwork? Define organic versus geometric shapes as a class. What associations come to mind when you look at this work? Would you like to have this work in your home, yes or no? Why, why not? Where would it live in your home? How has the artist used the standard grid system? The artist titled this artwork, Organism, who has heard that word before? Where? This is the final work we are going to look at in this presentation. Do you think is work contains progressive shape and forms? If yes, why? If no, why not? About the Artwork A former political cartoonist, Ortega was born in Mexico and lives in Germany. His works ranges from a wide range of mundane objects, from golf balls and pick-axes to bricks, rubbish binds and even tortillas. He is well known for his sculptures, installations, videos, and photography. Ortega is interested in the slow, articulated succession of things and situations where something generates something else resembling a large organism of communication. For him the importance of objects lies in the ideas they generate. Damián Ortega is interested in the rawness of materials, the attention to simple details of everyday life and the sensitive use of matter, matter, irony and humor. All these features add a central layer of significance to Damián Ortega's work and validates these binary concepts in today’s world. Vocabulary Form Form has two meanings: the first has to do with all the parts of a structure you can see and how they come together. The second, is an element of art has to do with a three-dimensional shape (length, width, and depth). Geometric shapes Geometric shapes are any shapes made with straight lines, angles, or circles and have defined borders. Examples of geometric forms include square, triangles or circles. Organic shapes Organic shapes are shapes that look like natural elements and are typically irregular or asymmetrical.