Unit 1 Assessment
Assessment Evidence
Note: click on PDF version to see a clearer picture of my reflection on essays, posts, etc…
Unit 1 Learning Outcomes UAL Assessment criteria
- Develop your Project Proposal to plan a challenging and self-directed programme of study
- At the beginning of the course, I was interested in learning the value of aesthetics in art so I wanted to learn more about this element believing that nature around us is the main reference and source of inspiration of all aesthetic experiences. Therefore, I developed my project proposal by focusing on this element after reading and reflecting on several essays:
– First project proposal https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/project-proposal/
– First practical experimentation and Mosaic experience https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/reflections1.jpg
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/islamic-art-in-mosaic/
– Reflection on “A Critique of art and Aesthetics” (Research) https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/analysis-on-a-critique-of-rt-and-aesthetics/analysis/
– Artists’ Influence throughout unit 1:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/artists-influence/
- Development of my project proposal: I started my practical experimentation using traditional tools of painting aided by digital photography as reference material for my paintings. I also used different computer softwares and mobile-phone applications to modify my work digitally. I usually explore ALL possibilities I am capable to produce then select and post the ones I am satisfied with. Along with my practical experimentation I used to dig into the theoretical aspect by reading books, essays, and blog posts and reflect on them by highlighting my points of interest:
– Development of my project proposal https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/project-proposal-updated-dec-15th-2012/
– Photoshop: Completed beginners tutorial through Lynda.com https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/photoshop-experience/
– Mobile phone applications: Aviary, Photo Editor, Fotorus, and Magichour.
– Practical Experimentation page 2:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/category/practical-experimentation/
– Symmetry: https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/symmetry/
- Changing of my project proposal: to be more specific I started researching about aesthetics of natural effects on objects in nature and man-made objects, along with aesthetics of Islamic art and Arabic Calligraphy as two major points of my artistic practice.
– Aesthetics of Arabic Calligraphy: https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/aesthetics-of-arabic-calligraphy/
– Aesthetics of microscopic organisms: https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/nature-inspiration-for-an-aesthetic-experience/
– Arabic Calligraphy Experimentation:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/my-arabic-calligraphy- experimentation/
– My own photography of aesthetics in nature; natural and man-made objects
2- https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/ugliness-from-an-artistic-point-of-view/
– Islamic Aesthetics: https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/islamic-austhetics/
- Demonstrate a critical engagement with practice-based research and contribute actively to debate and discussion
1- Chat sessions: I have been a very active and reflective member in all chat sessions I attended. I had only been away for few times due to serious conditions.
I also demonstrated a clear interest and understanding of all topics given as homework and interactively participated with my personal opinion.
– Processing workshop:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/processing/
– Super-reality Winning Photograph:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/06/08/super-reality-pdf-material-short-analysis/
– The practice of everyday (media) Life (HW3) https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/the-practice-of-everyday-media-life-hw3/
– Aesthetics is for artists what ornithology is for birds:
2- Mid-Point Review:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/mid-point-review-june-17-2013/
3- Research Paper:
https://alaabeseiso.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/research-paper/
- Articulate a clear understanding of the methodology and context of your creative practice in both written and verbal forms
– The way I used to make work:
1- The practical experimentation: using different media (Oils, acrylics, sand, plastic mosaic) along with the aid of digital technology (photography, computer and cell phone softwares) I reflected on all my productions and trials. In some cases, I was satisfied with the results and in others I struggled. Furthermore, sometimes I felt disappointed. However, every material I use has its advantages and disadvantages, but what I see myself working with in the future are oils and acrylics. I would also like to carry on with Photoshop and start the intermediate level.
2- Theoretical Aspect: reading and research web material (essays, articles, blog posts, university studies and research papers…etc.) and magazines and newspapers articles, books, chats with my artists friends. I used to reflect on all the materials I have been exposed to and read.
When I first started the MA course, I had so many ideas in mind that I wanted to explore and find more about, and I was interested in more than five areas of creating art, from there I began my first project proposal listing down those ideas and approaches. The first area I wanted to learn more about was the aesthetics of painting, as I have always believed that it is an essential element in art creation. As I first started researching, I found out that there are many theories and approaches that had been taken to define and evaluate aesthetics. However, they are no one specific definition or a theory to evaluate this element in an artwork because it is subjective and could never be objective and universal. From there I started exploring the areas of interest using various traditional painting tools along with plastic mosaics.
My first two attempts were a simple watercolour and pencil portrait consisting of Arabic letters and a mosaic piece. I also used digital technology to add a reflected image. I was not satisfied with the way I wrote the letters nor with the simplicity of the digital technique used to reflect the image so I decided to:
1- Learn all about Arabic Calligraphy. (All different fonts and scripts)
2- Learn how Photoshop works in order to learn advanced digital techniques.
I still believed that artists’ main inspirational resource is nature in all its forms and effects, so I decided to incorporate aesthetic natural backgrounds with Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy. Photographs were my reference sources for my paintings background. Moreover, I used simple techniques to manipulate my paintings digitally. In two experimental paintings, I tried to give my work a social artistic essence by focusing on the humanitarian aspect of the Palestinians right of return. I also have to point out that when I select the writing of my painting I choose an inspirational quote or saying no matter what its source is, at the same time when I start constructing the painting I made sure that it is composed as an abstract painting for all audience who can’t read Arabic. To sum up my artwork revolves around three main elements:
1- Aesthetics of the natural world
2- Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy
3- Meaningful social messages
The best thing I did are two pieces:
1- “And give good tidings to the believers” because there were boldness in writing two different fonts in the same painting along with the colour choice. I also think that I is well composed. Some of my MA peers and friends picked this piece as their favorite!
2- ‘ And give good tidings to the patients’ the digitally manipulated piece below, because I love the sharp toned manipulation I was able to attain and the contrast level of a clear digitalized toning option, along with the accurate symmetrical reflection.
Digitally manipulated piece Oil on canvas, 40×40 cm, 2013 (the original piece)
More than one thing worked least for me:
1- Trying to come up with a general rule to evaluate the value of aesthetics in an artwork or a painting. This was because there are many theories that look differently at it from many viewpoints and perspectives, in other words it is subjective and could never have a general rule. However, it is useful to learn different theories and philosophies in this field. Most importantly, I learned that no matter how much you dig into a field to learn about it new information is always developing and never stops. I also learned that the key point to learn a lot about something is to get very focused and narrow down your topic as much as possible.
2- I am a big fan of Photoshop and I am still interested in it, but I failed to master it. I believe that in order to do so I will need to practice it daily. It is an extremely complex software and very time consuming. I found out that no matter how hard I try to move fast I cannot abandon documenting every single step I take to learn and to return back to it the future, which had taken too much time from me to complete the beginners course.
3- In some paintings my intention was altered as I went through the painting process, I could not portray exactly what I had in mind and in some paintings, I struggled and kept on developing the painting until I became satisfied with the result. This is an area that I would like to work on and develop further, where I need to be more sure at the beginning of the initial planning of what I will be doing and how, rather than leave it to the unexpected incidents and outcome. However, sometimes I would look at it as a positive thing, because some creative satisfactory results occur spontaneously without earlier planning, but what bothers me is that it would take a longer time to be completed.
4- While I was doing the research paper, I found an area of me that I have been uncertain of for a long time, a style of painting that I am definitely interested in and would adopt in the future; which is Photorealism. I consider myself a Photorealist in terms of using photographs as reference material for my artwork. Nevertheless, I would like to develop my approach and practice Photorealism or Hyperrealism either by focusing on social art, or abstract painting. I might also integrate it with Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy. Social art is an area that keeps haunting me, and the abstract Photorealism of Gregory Thielker also captures my attention, I will need to be certain and choose the area that I will start working on. I might also switch to the other areas later in the future.
Photorealism will definitely allow me to overcome the struggles in portraying an expression from my mind, while by following its techniques, I will be depicting the real world with all its natural effects and aesthetics accurately, weather it is an expressionist social piece of art or abstract, along with my emotional and intellectual experience which will show in the final pieces.
Ala'a B. 
