Robert Smithson (1938 - 1964, American)
Earth Art is an art movement where an artist makes an intervention in the environment, that intervention then becomes the art work. This is similar to Andy Goldsworthy’s many projects. Robert Smithson was born on January 2, 1938, in Passaic, New Jersey. His career as an artist started with painting after he received a scholarship in high school to attend evening classes at the Art Students League in NYC. While still in high school, in 1956, he briefly studied at the Brooklyn Museum School. After graduating from high school, for several years Smithson was drawing, painting, and making collages. In the late 1950s, art dealer Virginia Dwan granted Smithson his first solo show at the Artists' Gallery in New York City in 1959. Through his new connections he met many sculptors, including his soon-to-be wife, Nancy Holt whom he married in 1963. By 1964, Smithson was creating sculptures inspired by the Minimalist movement. He used an emphasis on geometry, industrial fabrication, and minimal formal elements of design from this movement. It wasn’t until 1969 and 1970 that Smithson was creating drawings for his Earthworks, the land art pieces he is known for. A few of his most famous Earthworks are Spiral Jetty (1970), Broken Circle (1971), and Spiral Hill (1971). Unfortunately, while traveling to survey the site of his newest piece; Amarillo Ramp, Smithson was killed in a plane crash on July 20th, 1973, ending his life; and his career as a great sculptor, too early.
Spiral Jetty (Figure 1), notably one of Smithson’s most famous works, was built in the Great Salt Lake in Utah in 1970. This piece is a great example of the principles and elements of design. Like many of Smithson’s land art pieces Spiral Jetty is a large scale piece. Taking form all the way across the Great Salt Lake. This piece is so large that the entire piece can only be seen in totality from an aerial view. The natural materials Smithson used are stones, algae, and other organic materials. These materials provide a great actual texture to the piece. Due to the salt and natural elements of the Great Salt Lake, the water often changes the color of the materials used to create the piece. Another unpredictable element to this piece is when it can be seen due to the ever changing water levels of the lake. Compositionally, one can say this piece is almost radial in design or at the very least, symmetrical. The natural materials are organized in a spiral wall like structure so that the piece protrudes from the lake. This organization creates a strategic spiral pattern that moves in on itself in a counterclockwise movement. Along with the counterclockwise movement the piece also has a flowing, slow visual movement as it moves out the lake and though the spiral towards the middle. Smithson uses a variety of straight lines and curved lines to create a transformation between the straight line coming from the shore into a large spiral line in the middle of the lake. The dark colored rocks contrast with the light color of the algae and the light color of the water. Another contrast within the piece is the rough textured materials contrasting with the smooth texture of the lake. This piece creates a little bit of figure/ground reversal between the lake and the figure itself. If the photo was cropped to just include the spiral it would be difficult to tell which was the actual figure and which was the background, because the lake fills the negative space of the spiral. All in all, Spiral Jetty is a great example of the principles and elements of design.
Another of Smithson’s famous pieces is Broken Circle (Figure 2) created in Emmen, Holland in the summer of 1971. Like Spiral Jetty, this piece is a large scale work. The diameter of the circle measuring at 140 feet, the canal at approximately 12 feet wide, and the quarry lake depth at 10 to 15 feet. This piece is one of Smithson’s Earthworks, therefore he uses natural materials such as sand and water to create this piece in a natural landscape on the beach. The rough sand and smooth water create actual texture within the piece. The landscape surrounding the piece, consisting of the beach front and the grass clearing before the tree line creates a unique frame to the piece. Although the large rock, highly contrasting in color, is not directly in the center of the incomplete circle, it fools the viewers’ eye into believing that it is the center, creating a unique point and focal point within the piece. Smithson uses a variety of curved and straight lines to create this piece. The design is similar to the yin and yang design with inverted symmetry. The negative and positive spaces come together to create this beautiful mirrored design. There is a great figure ground reversal in this piece as it is hard for the viewer to distinguish which is the background and which is the figure. The rough and bright colored sand offer great contrast to the dark and smooth colored water. Another use of contrast in the piece is Smithson’s use of solid and nonsolid materials. He uses the water (nonsolid) to fill the negative space of his piece while the sand (solid) creates the figure of the piece creating contrast within the materials. The piece has a slow, flowing visual movement that moves in and out of the circle; almost spiral like pattern. This piece is another great example of the principles and elements of design.
Lastly, Smithson’s Spiral Hill (Figure 3) was created after Broken Hill in the summer of 1971 in Emmen, Holland. Smithson uses natural elements to create beautiful pieces of art work in their natural settings. The natural materials in this piece consist of the earth, black topsoil, and white sand. Smithson uses these materials to create a spiral designed carved out of the hill and filled in with these materials. These natural materials add actual texture to the piece. The materials used also contrast one another. The light colored sand contrasts the dark green earthy tone of the hill. The hill frames out the carved spiral design just as the water frames out the spiral design in Smithson’s previous piece Spiral Jetty. The highest point of the hill and the inner most point of the spiral creates a focal point in the design. Like Spiral Jetty, this piece also has a radial like symmetry in the spiral design with a counterclockwise movement. The piece has a slow visual movement, moving counterclockwise up the hill and inward towards the center of the spiral. Smithson uses a continuous curved line to create the spiral carved into the hill. This piece also has great figure/ground reversal between the carved sand spiral and the hill itself. Like Spiral Jetty and Broken Circle, Spiral Hill is a great example of the principles and elements of design. Robert Smithson was a great sculptor and his pieces of art are still enjoyed by many people today.
Works Cited
"Artnews.org: Robert Smithson at Museum Für Gegenwartskunst Siegen." Robert Smithson. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
"Biography." Robert Smithson. Holt-Smithson Foundation, n.d. Web.
Collier, Ric, and Jim Edwards. "Spiral Jetty: The Re-Emergence." Sculpture.org. International Sculpture Center, July-Aug. 2004. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
"Earth Art Movement, Artists and Major Works." The Art Story. The Art Story Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
"Land Art." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
"Robert Smithson Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works." The Art Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
"Robert Smithson." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2004. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
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Photographer, Jerry Uelsmann
Jerry Uelsmann, born in Detroit on June 11, 1934, is an analog or film photographer who uses multiple enlargers in order to create his pieces. Uelsmann first became involved in photography in high school where he worked alongside a local photographer as an assistant during wedding shoots. As time progressed, he began to shoot weddings himself (Maher, Berman).
He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1957 then went on to receive his Masters at Indiana University studying under Henry Holmes Smith (1909-1986) (Maher, Berman). In 1960, he began teaching photography at the University of Florida in Gainesville. This is around the time that he first began to experiment with printing from multiple enlargers (Uelsman).
Uelsmann uses a spontaneous approach when creating his photographs. Instead of piecing negatives together with a full idea in his head, he works more on the spot with a trial and error method (Maher, Berman). When asked in an interview if his photos had a message to them, Uelsmann explained that he “doesn’t have a hidden agenda that they have to have a specific response to” and people are welcome to interpret them however the want (Harris).
Currently living with his wife in Gainsville, Florida and finding inspiration through his camera, Uelsmann makes roughly 100 different prints a year only to end up liking about 10 of them (Maher, Berman). This proves that even if you are a master at something, that doesn’t mean that everything you do will be perfect.
In his photograph, Untitled 2004 (Figure 1), Jerry Uelsmann blends roughly three different negatives together. The framing and the overall organization of the photograph is what makes it strong. Framing the water with the edges of the boat gives it a starting point, or source. Utilizing the rule of thirds, or dividing the photograph into nine equal sections using 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines, for the placement of the horizon line helps make the photograph strong and keeps it balanced. Although placing the boat in the center of the frame goes against the rule of thirds, it doesn’t affect the overall appearance of the photograph because the boat is the main focus point and is placed on a slight angle. It also expands toward the sides, contrasting the horizon line as it goes down the frame.
Other factors that help in making this a strong photograph is the balance between the highlights and the shadows. The overall tonal balance makes sure that the photo doesn’t appear overly bright or overly dark. By applying different filters and adjusting the amount of light exposer as well as using burning and dodging techniques, Uelsmann is able to keep the photo well balanced.
Burning and dodging also come into play when combining multiple imagines on one paper. By blending the water into the boat, the photo appears as one whole rather than three or more separate parts. This is an example of the Gestalt theory which deals with the idea that an organized whole is seen a more than the sum of its parts. The whole picture is stronger as a whole than each of its separate parts.
Implied movement and implied texture are other aspects that make this photograph strong. The fact that you can begin to see the movement and texture of the water, the boat, as well as the clouds increases the shadows, giving it more depth. This also makes it seem more realistic even though you already know that there is no way that the photograph could be real due to the fact that the water is coming out of the boat toward the viewer.
In his photograph, Untitled 1982 (Figure 2), Uelsmann used the rule of thirds to break up and re-blend the two negatives together. Placing the the center of the house and the horizon line on the upper line of the rule of thirds, make the overall photograph more balanced. Having the blended section of the negatives in the center helps create a focal point. The focal point then leads you either down the frame through the roots of the tree or up the frame through the windows and pillars of the house. The harsh diagonal lines of the roof of the house also help guide your eyes to the sides of the photograph.
The implied texture of the roots and trunk of the tree contrast well to the light softness of the clouds. The rougher texture of the house and its lighter value contrast to the dark windows and the darker landscape. The clouds, made by fogging or slightly exposing the paper to light, in the upper section, give the photograph an eerie feeling. They also show slight movement. The fading of the darker regions of the clouds to the lighter regions adds depths and makes the overall piece stronger and more unified.
The small details of the broken windows, the cracks in the the bark of the tree and the houses in the background show the extreme depth and beauty of the photograph. The background landscape shows a range of values which lines up to the values in the clouds. The alignment of the two negatives and the burning and dodging techniques help create shadows in the piece. The simple overlap of the tree and the house bring the texture of the tree bark up into the base of the house.
The highlights and the shadows of the leaves and grass in the foreground as well as the directions of the roots give the photograph a 3D effect making it appear as if the roots are reaching out toward the viewer.
In the third photograph, Untitled 2000 (Figure 3), Uelsmann uses a skewed version of the rule of thirds. The only aspect of the photograph that falls on any part of the rule of thirds is the small crow located on the road. Some explanations for this photograph state that the whole thing represents a face. With our own knowledge of the human anatomy we are able to complete the rest of the figure on our own. The presence of the lips also gives an eerie feeling as if there was someone hiding in the woods.
The diagonal lines of the road act as a guide for eyes and they bring us back through the photograph giving it a strong depth of field. The lines then continue up along the trees and back to the foreground causing your eyes to travel across the whole photo. The branches of the trees and the lines of the lips also work as directional guides for our eyes.
The shadows and highlights in the branches and leaves of the trees and the pathway help add dimension and detail to the overall photograph thus making it more dynamic. Having the rich blacks adds to the overall effect of the image. The shadows on the pathway toward the back of the photo show the skill and technique of Uelsmann.
The blending techniques used make the combination flawless as the lips blend perfectly into the path. The details as well as the shadows on the lips give them an eerie feel. The lips also add contrast to the path because while the path appears to be smooth, you can see the cracks and lines in the lips.
Texture is another being element in this photograph. The texture of the trees and their leaves contrasts well to the smoothness of the pathway and the bright, cloud-free sky. The trees also contrast to themselves due to some of them being very light and other being very dark. Other aspects that contrast each other are the single black crow and the light colored pathway that it is on.
This photograph also contains a wide range of tones throughout it. It has its sections of bright white, the sky, as well as sections of rich blacks, the shadows of the trees and the crow. This wide tonal range as well as other photographic elements help make the overall photograph more balanced and unified.
Over the years, Jerry Uelsmann has become a master in darkroom manipulation and his works have been shown in museums and galleries across the world. In addition to this, his works have also been utilized in teaching film manipulation in different schools.
Jerry Uelsmann Untitled 2004 Gelation Silver Film Photograph
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Jerry Uelsmann Untitled 1982 Gelation Silver Film Photograph
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Jerry Uelsmann Untitled 2000 Gelation Silver Film Photograph
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Zac Posen the Rising American Fashion Designer
Zac Posen has been on the fashion industry’s radar for quite some time now. His designs prove to be feminine and wow the audience from every angle. His creations include effortless beauty and innovation. He has continuously risen to fame in the fashion industry for his designs and they have been worn numerous times on the runway and the red carpet.
Zac, or Zachary, Posen was born on October 24, 1980 in New York City. He was raised in SoHo, N.Y. where he became interested in the fashion industry at a young age. He attended Parsons School of Design, which is now called Parsons the New School for Design. At Parsons he studied patternmaking which soon lead him to an internship with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute for two years. After this he continued on at another internship at the Nicole Miller, a popular fashion designer, fashion house. His experience does not end there. Posen continued to gain knowledge and learn the ropes of the fashion industry when he took up a position as design assistant in 1999 for the Tocca fashion house, a women’s wear clothing brand that started in 1994. The year 2000 proved to be a huge start to his fashion career when the supermodel Naomi Campbell, and English actress, requested to wear one of Posen’s designs. In 2001, Zac Posen debuted his first fashion show, and a year later showed his ready-to-wear collection.
Years later Zac Posen is more popular than ever. Famous actresses like Sofia Vergara and Taylor Swift sport his designs flawlessly on the red carpet. His soft, feminine, and colorful aesthetic makes heads turn in awe and appreciation. Zac Posen will continue to rise to fame in American and global fashion industries. His start in the early 2000s has kept him on the radar for one of America’s most inspiring and timeless designers of the 21st century.
Zac Posen created a spring 2012 clothing line that consisted of several different mermaid-style dresses, like the design seen in Figure 1. This is a silver-gray floor-length dress made out of silk and tulle fabric. This dress is composed of texture, color, shape, and line design principles that work together to provide one stunning garment.
The first design principle, texture, is composed of several different parts. First of these involves the tulle fabric and how it is draped and formed to the dress. The tulle gives a very light and airy feel to the look because of the netting used to create the fabric. This netting also allows the tulle to hold the structured shape of the mermaid skirt. This adds drama and volume to the design that allows the skirt to become the focal point. This added volume is again created by the netted design of the tulle and also the triangular shapes that make up the skirt. The horizontal “stripes” across the skirt are created with horsehair braid, a crinoline braided weave that adds structure and stabilizes hems and shapes for clothing, which further help the mermaid skirt stick out and holds the triangular and exaggerated shape.
The light gray color of the mermaid dress is a very cool and light color. The bodice piece of the dress has a slight gradient to the gray where the light from the runway shines and bounces off the dress. This is what creates the illusion that there are darker and lighter shades of gray. The color of the tulle fabric has a touch of blue in it, which further cools the gray shade down. The skirt of the dress has two varying shades of gray as well. The top portion of the skirt is a few shades darker than the lower portion. This tulle has an actual gradient effect that adds to the design elements of the overall composition. The dress appears as if the color of the dress starts off as a darker gray in the bodice and cools to a lighter shade of gray at the skirt and hem. The model’s skin color strongly contrasts the gray dress because although it is light, it is a warm tan shade that helps warm up the cool gray color. Her skin also allows the gray to pop on the warm background and speak for itself. Even the model’s hair warms up the look since it is another warm brown shade. The look has an added pop of color of a pinky nude that is on the model’s lips.
The overall shape of this dress has a vertical bilateral symmetry and is composed of both organic and geometric shapes. In the bodice, the bust of the dress is made up of two half circles, that come together and create a full circle/oval shape. The tulle covering the bodice that goes up to the shoulder have a rectangular shape to them. The geometric and tight bodice contrasts the organic and exaggerated shape of the mermaid skirt. Although at first the skirt looks like an organic shape, it almost looks like a triangle made up of smaller rounded triangles. This loose interpretation balances out the geometric designs in the bodice and in the skirt to provide a well thought out design.
The lines that compose the gray mermaid dress are mainly curved and subtle. In the bodice, the only lines that are visible are the ones that make up the bust. These lines are short and curved. The tulle rectangular shapes in the bodice are slightly longer and harder to tell apart. The tulle from under the bust just to the top of the mermaid skirt is composed of a few lines. These lines are the longest lines in the dress that are curved and non-parallel. These lines elongate the torso of the model and allow your eyes to start at the bodice and move down vertically to the skirt. This design effect puts emphasis on the torso and also directs your eyes. The horizontal lines made from the horsehair braid are all connected, but look like they are divided up from the lines of the triangular shape of the mermaid skirt flounce. The horizontal lines give an illusion that the skirt is larger than it is simply because of the placement and how the lines are broken up into different proportions.
In addition to the light gray dress in the spring 2012 line by Zac Posen, the black and nude lace mermaid style dress was also a part of the line. This dress is made with silk, tulle, and lace fabric that has four design elements including shape, color, line, and composition. This dress, found in Figure 2, is a loud, fun, but effortless design.
Just like the last dress, this also has bilateral vertical symmetry and is composed of organic shapes. The bodice and torso portion of this dress is tight and formed to the body while the mermaid skirt is flared out and has texture. The smooth torso of the bodice has a sweetheart neckline that gives the dress a very feminine and classic look. The fun and highly-textured skirt is made out of numerous layers of tulle that create a large ruffle and layered effect. The skirt is a direct and high contrast of the fitted torso because it flares outward and has multiple different layers of tulle. The torso of the dress is composed of two layers, the silk and the overlaying lace, that is very smooth and fitted snugly to the body. The high-volume of the skirt also creates a balance to the form-fitting bodice because of this.
The warm nude and black shades of the dress play off the warm brown of the model’s skin. The three shades of color combine together to tone down the highly textured and layered skirt. If this dress was created with a bright color, the skirt would be overwhelming to look at. These color work together to provide a greatly organized composition of colors. The model’s dark brown hair further adds to the look to make it more sophisticated and to match the sophisticated color of the fabrics. This further contrasts the loud shape of the skirt.
There are a few lines in this look that add interest to the torso of the dress. To add more design and interest to the simple and elegant bodice, there are a few asymmetrical style lines created with the lace fabric. These lines spruce up and add a focal point to the bodice without taking away from the main focal point which is the skirt. The curved lines exaggerate and emphasize the model’s shape at the waist and hip and make them appear curvier than they are. The two lines on the bodice of the dress point your eyes to the neckline of the shape. The lines do not take away from the main focal point, but instead add a small touch of interest to the simple torso of the dress.
Altogether, the shape, color, and lines of the dress make up a sophisticated yet fun and interesting take on a mermaid gown. The shape of the torso is pulled tightly in while the skirt adds contrast and youth in its flared and layered design. The color of the model and dress tone down the overall shape of the gown and make it more mature. The nude and black combination gives the dress the classical and sophisticated look the dress needs to provide a well thought out and careful combination of interesting lines and shape. The lines add interest and emphasis to the look to spruce up the simple torso portion of the dress.
In contrast to the two mermaid dresses in his Spring 2012 line, Zac Posen designed a navy blue and black flared dress. This dress, shown in Figure 3, is made out of tulle and silk to keep the look cohesive with the other designs. The floor-length dress has four design elements that include color, shape, texture, and form.
The colors of the dress match in hues and come together to perfectly combine into a fading gradient from dark to light. The dark navy shade matches the black in temperature and provides an overall warm look. The top of the dress, starting at the shoulders, has the darkest black color, fades in to blue, then back to black and continues to fade out again. This repeating color pattern allows your eyes to travel through top to bottom of the dress and to focus on each part of the dress accordingly. The middle of the bodice catches the most light and it is where the lightest shades of the colors meet. This draws your eyes in and becomes the focal point of the dress. The light color in the middle of the dress breaks up the darker colors and contrasts them heavily. The model’s skin tone, although it is a warm brown shade, brightens up the dark colors of the dress. The skin also creates ad added warmth to the look for a great balance and organization of color.
The shape of this dress is composed out of both geometric and organic shapes. In the bodice, the overlapping tulle organic shapes across the bust draw attention and create another focal point of the dress. The lower bodice part, where the lightest colors are, has a very geometric shaped design that is in the center of the dress. This is the only geometric shape in the dress, which makes sense why it is at the center for added emphasis and focus. The skirt of the dress is A-line which means that it flares out from the waist in and inverted-V shape. The A-line skirt contrasts the other two mermaid dresses as previously talked about. Overall, the dress has bilateral vertical symmetry, like the other two designs.
The tulle fabric in this dress is what creates the most texture in the design. In the skirt of the dress, the tulle is layered over each other that allow the A-line shape to come out even further for a more drastic and exaggerated look. The different layers provide volume and emphasis on the shape that create a loud texture. There is added fullness at the waist where the skirt and bodice meet that again provides an added texture. This added texture is created from the different layers of tulle at the waist and also the natural folds of the fabric. The fullness allows the skirt to protrude off the model’s body, further exaggerating the shape of the A-line skirt. The tulle on top of the bust of the dress is gathered and wrapped around that gives a little extra fullness. The way the fabric is gathered and wrapped around the models neck gives just a touch of texture to the bust.
The form of this dress is both symmetrical and full. The dress has equal fullness on both sides that give the dress a very well organized feel. The dark colors of the dress are warm, which is further enhanced by the model’s warm skin tone that again creates a balanced color system to showcase the design. The bodice of the dress is slightly more subdued due to the fact that it is tight to the model’s body, with just a slight amount of texture and fullness at the bust, and full and exaggerated at the waist to the feet. This provides a contrast since half of the dress is tight to the body, while the other half has an exaggerated and full shape. Overall, the dress is balanced, symmetrical, and the elements are well carried through from top to the bottom.
Zac Posen is currently at the peak of his career and will continue to rise to the top. His effortless and classical feminine designs showcase the women’s body while exaggerating and emphasizing the best parts of it. His designs are innovative but remain close to his aesthetic. Zac Posen’s designs will continue to be worn for many years to come.
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Work Cited
Nolen, Jeannette L. "Zac Posen." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
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Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
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