One of the first pieces that captured my interest was in the illustration wing of MIAD. The walls were lined with matte articles and the accompanying art to go with them. Many of the art pieces to go with the art were simplistic, bright, and overall designed to immediately capture the attention of the viewer. However as I looked over this piece I grew more and more attached to it. This work by Emily Bowers is accompanied by the article "The Importance of Greenspace for Mental Health". It's detailed, it's beautiful, and it's got this sort of melancholic peace that fits with the article. When looking at the illustration you get a great sense of calm which helps reflect the intended mood of the article into the reader's perception. Showing that the green spaces are an essential element in the understanding of mental health.
Another piece that captured my attention was this cityscape titled "Icons". I really liked this piece because it seemed so different to me. I often hate cityscape because of their lack of color, they seem bland and unamusing. When I saw this piece however I was stunned by how colorful it was. The windows and building were a contrast of whites, blues, and purples. The river was a wash of greens and teals. The bridge was a burnt red. There was a lot of color without sacrificing the aesthetic of realism, and that really empowered me to be optimistic about the upcoming cityscape project. Not only the colors were interesting but so were the forms. When imagining a city we often think of the boxy forms of the modern. But in this piece Icons there are a number of round shapes to add to the variety in the image. There's the dome of the watertower. The curve of the buildings. The half-circular form on the underside of the bridge. A lot of the forms aren't simple one staccato shape, but rather a fix of forms to add to the interest of the piece.
At MIAD we were able to see the collectivo coffee cup designs that didn't make it to the final, but where still an impressive collection. One that caught my eye was this simple design that I felt was perfect for the Halloween season. Two horses with skulls and pertruding bones on a striking orange background. I don't know why I was so attracted to this image. I found that this artwork, although was interesting I understand why it wasn't chosen as a final. It takes a moment to understand what the subject is and what's happening. The background is simplistic, and the 4th color, a light orange is hardly used in the piece. Not to mention that the orange is striking and rather jarring. I enjoyed this piece and was entertained by it, but I understand some of the flaws in the work.
A sketch that intrigued me in one of the galleries we visited at the end of our trip. It was a simple sketch of an older woman laying down and I was intrigued by the realistic dis-idealized form that she captured. Perhaps it's my interest with human form but this piece I rather enjoyed to look at.
Another photo I took was one of the main street running down the 3rd ward. I really liked the deal of complexity and the angle that it was at, and as I took this photo I was thinking of the potential references I could use for city scape.
To keep with my apparent color palette this trip to Milwaukee I was captured by this graffiti on the side of the collectivo we visited. It was bright and graphically appealing, however I thought it was far more interesting in the context of the alleyway, and chose to capture the buildings in the back.