Name: Kee Zhong Jian ( 0309854) Goh Yee Thong ( 0310044) Lecturer: Mr Nathaniel Woon

Photos Attachment

Picture1. Barts Homework by Elaine Navas.

Picture 2. Surface to Air 2 by Juan Alcazaren

Picture 3. Photo of us with the painting, Surface to Air 2.

Picture 4. Picture of us with the painting, Barts Homework

English 2 Assignment 1 Part 2( Kee Zhong Jian& Goh Yee Thong) Taksu Gallery is a leading coexistent art gallery and specialist is Southeast Asia. The Taksu Gallery in Malaysia is located at Jalan Pawang, Kuala Lumpur. Taksu works on to gather artists from everywhere and provide a platform for the artists to share their creative artworks through exhibitions and its residency programs. Taksu Gallery Kuala Lumpur will be bringing the group exhibition entitled No Talking Points to Malaysia after its successful show in Taksu Singapore. No Talking Points features the artworks of seven Pilipino artists who are Juan Alcazaren, Bernardo Pacquing, Hubert San Juan, Nilo Ilarde, Lyle Buencamino, Cris Villanueva Jr. and Elaine Navas. All these artworks have exceeded the struggle between verbal and visual discourse. Even they work independently and assemble the unique style of techniques and methods for the visual satisfaction of the viewers in their own creative ways, but there is an inherent cohesiveness that can be recognized in the selected artworks. The artwork I have chosen is Barts Homework created by Elaine Navas. (Valentine Willie Fine Art,2008) states that her full name is Elaine Roberto-Navas, Fine Arts graduate of the University of Philippines and also a Psychology major from the Ateneo de Manila University. Navas won the Juror's Choice Awards at the Art Association of the Philippines in 1994. The artwork Barts Homework displayed a cross between Russia constructivist painting and crystalline structure. Her source of inspiration was from her sons art project, a cubistic assemblage composed of various geometric shapes. Different tone of mass, light and shadow were adapted. A small degree of roughness was displayed in terms of texture in the painting. Navas picked the monochromatic colours of gray to show various tones of geometric shapes. Thick and bold lines were used to show the steadiness. In Barts Homework, principle of balance was displayed in this artwork. Navas adapted different tone values to show asymmetrical balance. The darker tone on the left was balanced by the brighter tone on the right in Barts Homework. In my point of view, I felt that the painting

was showing a principle of back-to-basic. By using various techniques of coloring and contouring, she transformed the shapes into something which were much more detailed. I learnt from the painting that we have to be observative in order to get inspiration from things happening around us. Monochromatic of gray gave an impression of dullness and slight depression. The assemblage of geometric shapes showed confusion. Personally, I like the artwork. I love the sense of stability Barts Homework displayed. It gives people an impression of calm, harmony and peaceful. The artwork that I have chosen is Surface to Air 2 by Juan Alcazaren. Juan Alcazaren was born is 1960 and graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) with a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture in 1983. From his artwork Surface to Air 2, some elements of art that he used can be easily pointed out. The first element was line. Alcazaren used lines with different thickness for example the thick green and yellow stripes as background and also thin black lines. He also put shapes into his artwork. Many organic shapes with smooth edges and geometric shapes like circle could be found in the painting. The overall texture of the artwork was smooth as the material used were like enamel and varnish on tarpaulin. The next element of art that can be found was color. Alcazaren added in many colors such as green, yellow, black, white and grey to the painting to enhance the feeling of the artwork so that it would not look dull and boring. Other than that, some principle of art could also be discovered in this artwork. For example, Alcazaren used the principle of emphasis by emphasizing the object at the center with a larger size. Besides, the painting was also symmetrically balanced. The rhythm of this painting was shown when the lines and shapes were used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. Based on what I have learnt about the artwork, I think the artist was trying to say the randomness of life. I was once ambiguous as I was distracted by the random shapes and pattern. But after I looked into the center of the artwork, the whole attention was on the shapes that looked like a

vertically placed Oreo cookie. The black lines represented the path of life while the white color shape in between the two black color shapes that indicated the light of hope shine through the darkness. Problems were just like the random shapes that appear so often in our life, but once we overcome them, we would see the light at the end. I personally think that Surface to Air 2 was a good piece of artwork as it conveys positive message and uses different principles and elements of arts. It would be perfect to display it in a museum or gallery for the other to admire at. Barts Homework and Surface to Air 2 are two artworks with great differences in various aspects. Both artworks displayed the principle of balance. Barts Homework was balanced with the darker and brighter value of grey whereas Surface to Air 2 had symmetrical balance of geometrical shapes. Principle of emphasis was displayed in both artworks. Both artists emphasized on the centre of both artworks. Both artworks also displayed different elements of design. In the aspect of colour, Barts Homework was painted in monochromatic of gray whereas Surface of Air 2 was painted in bright colours. The usage of different tones of gray showed the shadow and depth of geometrical shapes in Barts Homework. In contrary, Surface to Air 2 was painted in bright colours of yellow, green, black and white. It gave an impression of positivity, energetic and youth whereas Barts Homework gave an impression of calmness and dullness. Texture of Barts Homework was quite rough and threedimensional whereas texture of Surface to Air 2 was smooth and less three dimensional. In Barts Homework, repeating marks of shapes were used to show repetition of texture. Thick and bold lines were used by Navas in the creation of Barts Homework. The usage of thick lines was consistent in this artwork. Rendering technique was used to create certain depth to the artwork and combination of horizontal and vertical lines to display different values. In contrary, Surface to Air 2 was painted with different types of lines, varied with thickness and length. The thick lines in yellow and green as the background made the painting interesting as

it created a dynamic and strong impression. Geometric shapes were used repetitively in Barts Homework, whereas in Surface to Air 2, both organic and geometric shapes were used. Both artworks had their own styles. Each artist deserved to be respected and recognized by their hardwork in converting their passion into something realistic. Despite all the dejection they faced throughout the way to achieve their goals, they kept their spirit high up and displayed determination in fulfilling their dreams. Art is an important part in our life, it provides us with different perspective of views and it enhances the culture of a social body.

Reference List Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2008. Elaine Navas. [online]. Available at <http://www.vwfa.net/kl/stockRoomDetail.php?sartist=Elaine%20Navas> [Accessed 21 November 2012].