sydney rector transfer profile, fall 2016 · 2016-12-19 · sydney rector transfer profile fall...
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Sydney Rector Transfer Profile, Fall 2016
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
Sydney Rector AAS Visual Arts, graduation expected spring 2015 GPA 3.51 Academic Recognition I have made the Dean’s List two semesters in a row and have been invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society for three semesters, but declined due to family obligations. Academic Transfer Interests I hope to transfer to the College of New Rochelle or SUNY Purchase. Personal Interests Include Some of my personal influences include; Cornelia Parker, Camille Claudel, Vija Celmins, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
Westchester Community College course descriptions
ART 101: Drawing 1
Working with a range of media, students learn to
draw from direct observation, with an emphasis on
fundamental elements of visual representation,
including mass, shape, line, value, texture, and
principles of composition. Drawing is studied as a
tool to help enhance powers of observation and
imagination, and to cultivate appreciation and
understanding of drawing as a form of visual
expression. Drawing from the human figure is also
explored. Lectures and critical discussions
challenge students to respond perceptually and
conceptually to visual worked presented in the
studio (including historical examples) and to
organize their insights through analysis. No
previous art experience is necessary.
ART 102: Drawing 2
In this continuation of Drawing I, students work
from direct observation and the live model and
develop more sophisticated drawing skills and
technique. Assignments develop a strong
understanding of composition and an awareness of
the relationship between form and content through
representational, abstract, and non-objective
themes. This intermediate-level course challenges
the student to develop a personal vocabulary of
visual expression in compositionally unified
drawings.
ART 103 - Painting 1
An introduction to painting from direct
observation. Students learn basic painting
techniques and color theory through weekly
assignments. In-class projects build skills through
a sequence of monochrome, limited palette and full
palette studies from direct observation. Historical
and contemporary examples are introduced while
painting constructed still-lives and self-
portraits. Final projects place emphasis on
communicating a personal statement through both
form and content.
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
ART 105 - Sculpture 1
An introduction to visual thinking in three-
dimensional form and space. Students develop an
appreciation and understanding of the elements of
line, plane, shape, volume, surface, light, and mass
as they relate to 3D form and space. Texture,
transparency, unification, modification, color, and
other effects are also incorporated. Lecture and
critiques emphasize creative expression through the
interaction of ideas, materials, tools, and expose
students to a wide range of materials and
processes through historical examples to develop a
broad three-dimensional experience. No previous
art experience is necessary.
ART 112 - 2D Design
A variety of 2D design concepts and tools are
introduced to foster visual literacy and deepen
appreciation of the role of design in art and
culture. Students create projects that explore
elements and principals of design, including line,
shape, space, value, sequence and color, while
developing fluency in the handling of media and an
increased awareness of craftsmanship. Lectures
and critiques cultivate verbal communication skills
to foster a facility with language of art and design;
basic computer skills are introduced in the creation
of an online portfolio.
ART 125 - Digital Imaging 1
An introduction to the computer as a tool for visual
art, with a focus on gaining proficiency in Adobe
Photoshop. Students learn photo retouching,
painting, collage, and drawing techniques.
Operation of scanners and printers, file
management, and digital practices are covered.
Includes discussion of digital art concepts and
examples of digital media in contemporary art and
design. No previous experience necessary.
ART 133 - Photography 1
Introduction to black and white photography.
Students learn to operate a 35-mm camera and to
adjust settings for correct exposures. Lighting
effects and the use of lenses and filters are also
explored. Darkroom procedures include film
development, contact printing, enlarging, and final
presentation of matted print. Photographic
assignments develop the student’s ability to
achieve successful photographic compositions.
Center for the Arts, White Plains. Photography
courses require that students supply their own
cameras and film.
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
Transfer Statement
As the only visual arts major in my Drawing I class I surpassed my peers
extensively. I worked hard-ish, but I also knew that by comparison alone I was
guaranteed an A. The following semester I enrolled in Drawing II with the
incontrovertible assurance that I would again be at the top of my class.
Week 1: I’m nervous and have extreme diaphoresis. Professor Steinhorst is
absurdly cool and equally intimidating. I choke on the in-class still life, but so does
everyone else. I don’t sweat it.
Week 2: I arrive late. The critique starts with me. I am smugly anticipating
praise. “Needs more white. The value range is lacking.” (Rm 401, Some Jerk) Professor
Steinhorst agrees. I have found a new mortal enemy. I step back to observe the other
assignments. I am not the best in the class. This stings in a way that is unfamiliar. I have
never really allowed myself to be the subject of criticism before.
Weeks 3-4: Rinse and repeat.
Week 5: I am now seriously considering changing majors. Drawing is not the
only class I’m doing poorly in. Class starts and I smile duplicitously at my rivals. I am
bitter and I am spiteful and self-righteously so. Then it occurs to me, I am not owed
anything. This is do or die. I am determined to surpass my peers. I pour all my
sanctimonious anger into being better.
Week 10: Art is not relaxing. I cannot count how many nights my body has
hovered over my paper in a pulsing pain that radiates through my neck, into my
shoulders, and down the column of my spine. My hands are semi-permanently
paralyzed around my pencil. The taste of charcoal is immutably burnt into my throat. I
only retire because my body and my mind are both so synchronously weary that they
are useless. I lie awake critiquing and re-visualizing every aspect of my work until my
brain caves. This does not feel unhealthy, rather so systematically faultless that I could
not and would not imagine any other reality.
I find a growing common ground with my mortal enemies which develops into
an implicit intimacy. They had been giving this amount of energy all semester long and
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
were self-effacing because of it. By the end of the 15th week I have not surpassed any of
them. But I gave it everything and I am humbled.
I have always understood art, which is ironic because I can’t convey it. Nothing
has felt more organic. While studying sculpture, I was introduced to Jean Tinguely.
Sculpture is it. That’s what I want to do. I love painting. I love drawing. But sculpture is
the thing. I have found my thing.
I want to attend the College of New Rochelle because I want to be challenged
with increasing intensity. With every breaking point, I develop that much more and I
want to be surrounded with exceptionally committed peers, new adversaries that force
my hand. I want to follow new mentors, teachers that do not accept minimal effort no
matter how skilled the work.
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
The Wounded Amazon: Early Feminist Art
Phidias, Statue of a Wounded Amazon Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue, ca. 450–425B.C. Metropolitan Museum
Myron, Diskobolos (Discus Thrower) Roman copy of Bronze original c. 450 BCE
Since the beginning of our existence as civilized human beings, and very possibly
before, we have depicted women as subservient, weaker, dumber, and less than men.
Society has been conditioned to worship men and disregard women. Phidias’ Wounded
Amazon is a hugely important work of art for feminism. Amazons, a mythical race of
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women warriors, were a fierce representation of female potential. It is obvious that
Greek perception of men and women was very different. Myron’s, Diskobolos is one of
many examples of how differently men were observed within Greek culture. They were
idealized and designed to be worshipped for their physical excellence, an image women
could only attain when imagined. (It’s something, right?) The Wounded Amazon forces
its viewer to equalize women, because this particular figure is given none of the typical
female gender boundaries seen in other artistic portrayals of women.
The Wounded Amazon stands in contrapposto pose with her right arm elegantly
extended over her head, exposing a grievous puncture underneath her right breast. She
wears an exomis, a tunic worn by light infantry, with one breast exposed, one of the first
instances of female nudity in Greek sculpture. Female nudity had not yet been
represented. It was typically reserved for male figures, as seen in Myron’s Diskobolos,
which epitomizes the Greek ideal of human (male) perfection. The nudity of these
figures is emblematic of their purity and excellence.
Nude, able, and agile the Discobolus gracefully swings his arm preparing to hurl
the heavy discus. He conveys an incipient, balletic movement, from the position of his
right leg, bearing his weight, dragging the toes of his left foot, propelling his right arm
back and balancing himself with his left. His muscles are clearly vigorously active, but
the expression of his face is almost calming. He has full control.
Like the Discobolus in mid swing, the Wounded Amazon expresses no signs of
physical distress. Although fatally wounded her face projects a serenity and poise. She
shows complete emotional restraint, a reflection of Greek philosophy and
humanism. You could almost assume she is daydreaming. Her body echoes this
composure as she supports herself against a pillar and continues to stare off, despite
her mortal wound. Women, as well as men were often depicted with this facial
aloofness. However, this particular piece is so important because of its context. She is
not the even-tempered Hippodamia, keeping her serene expression as she is being
raped by a centaur (as seen in Libon’s West Pediment at the Temple of Zeus-Olympia,
471-456 BCE). She is not a goddess recumbent and enjoying the spoils of divinity (as
depicted in Phidias’s the East Pediment of the Parthenon-Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 438-
432 BCE). She is a warrior dying a noble death.
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Both the Discobolus and the Wounded Amazon transmit powerful messages of
strength and virtue. However, they do so in very different ways. The Amazon warrior is
still and relaxed in her posture. Her tranquility is almost eerie given her condition. She
is powerful, but resting; her musculature evident, yet relaxed. In spite of dying and the
exposure of her breasts not one ounce of her body communicates any
vulnerability. Instead she eludes a vitality and a dedication to that vitality. She is not
disheveled; her hair is neatly combed and her tunic hangs loosely around her hips,
illustrating her total fortitude as a warrior. The Discobolus, on the other hand, contrasts
this posture. Every inch of his body is tense. His muscles are thoroughly flexed,
showcasing the veins and tendons throughout his body. Nonetheless, he exhibits a
placid disposition, not displaying any gesture of weakness.
It is important to note that the Discobolus commemorates an Olympic champion.
It is not a portrait but was intended as a trophy. The athlete’s body is idealized and
proportioned in the Polykleitos Canon, a set of aesthetic principles used to manage the
dimensions of the figure. The Discobolus along with the Wounded Amazon are highly
naturalistic in style, which is indicative of Greek classical sculpture.
From the creases in her right palm to the definition of the muscles in her arms and
chest, slope of her breasts, and curvature of her calves, the detail of the Wounded
Amazon is nothing short of remarkable. Often Greek classical sculptures of women
lacked this amount of depth. For example, the colossal Statue of Athena
Parthenos (c. 438 BCE) depicts the Goddess adorned in her customary aegis (gorgon’s
hat and goatskin cape). Her body is completely covered from neck to foot leaving no
space for this extraordinary detail in her body. The Wounded Amazon was given the
same attention to detail given to renderings of males like the Discobolus, in her
composition.
The Wounded Amazon did not greatly alter the world’s perception of women. But
it was the first Greek portrayal of a woman carried out with as much thought, detail, and
appreciation as male figures. She was a figure of greatness, beauty, and perfection and
was executed with the same precision, and awe as the Discobolus. It may not have
accomplished much in furthering women in society, but it was a slither of hope for the
female gender.
Sydne y Rector TRANSFER PROFILE FALL 2016
References Online Textbook http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/paganism/amazons.html Other works mentioned:
Lapiths and Centaurs West Pediment, Temple of Zeus Olympia, 471-456 BCE
Phidias, Three Goddesses From the East Pediment of the Parthenon Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 438-432 BCE
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Phidias, Statue of Athena Parthenos The Parthenon, Athens, Greece, 447 BCE
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CHECKLIST
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transcript
course descriptions
transfer statement
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