Individual Input:
Jorge Delius Imbert
1.) Did the project take the amount of effort you expected?
For me was difficult at the beginning and I worked with soap and not marble! If you make a mistake there is no way to repair it and everyone can see that mistake.
2.) Explain the challenges you incurred.
I tried three times until I got what I wanted so I used 3 bars of soap. You need to have your sculpture mind in order to remove the exact amount of material. It is not so easy.
3.) Did this experience give you new insight and/or new respect for sculptors/painters?
Of course, now I know how difficult is to make a sculpture and the time you spend on it.
4.) Which part of the paragone could you most relate to because of your recent art project?
…if his art were perfect, through knowledge of the measurements, he would have removed just enough and not too much of the covering material. Excessive removal of material arises from his ignorance, which makes him remove more or less than he should.
The removal of material I think is the most difficult task of a sculptor. I experienced that, but I am not as ignorant as Leonardo explained. Obviously, I am not a professional sculptor, but even so, in painting, it is easier to re-make something.
5.) Which part of Leonardo’s argument was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
The strongest argument was the reply that the sculptor says that his art is more worthy than painting. “This does not make the sculptor more worthy, because this permanence comes from the material and not from the artist”. Leonardo is completely right.
The weakest part was the argument that the sculptor pursues his work with greater physical fatigue than the painter, and the painter pursues his work with greater mental fatigue. The sculptor has more physical work, but that doesn´t mean that he doesn´t have mental fatigue. Like painting, you have to think before doing your work.
6) Which part of the sculptor’s arguments was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
The strongest argument was that if he takes off too much of the outer portion of his material, he cannot add to it later as can the painter. That is true; you can be the best sculptor in the world, and the material can still behave unexpectedly (it can break).
The weakest part was the sculptor saying that his art is more worthy than painting because his work is more enduring – that it could more easily tolerate humidity, as weIl as fire, heat, and cold, than does painting. Painting and sculpture are both forms of art that are equally worthy.
Esteban Aguilar
1.) Did the project take the amount of effort you expected?
The project took more effort than I expected. While I did pay attention to necessary elements such as a vanishing point and orthogonals, the majority of my time was spent with an inordinate focus on minutiae that were irrelevant to the project. The clouds present in my image are one example of this misspent time - I originally sketched them with the intention of achieving a more realistic effect, but after judging their appearance to be unnatural, I opted for the traditional, amateur fluffy-cloud look that exists in the current image.
2.) Explain the challenges you incurred.
Challenges incurred include the measurement and placement of the orthogonals and overall maintenance of perspective. Even in the image's final form, I believe that errors in scale exist, particularly with the buildings.
3.) Did this experience give you new insight and/or new respect for sculptors/painters?
It did make me appreciate their work more; the master artists' and sculptors' attention to detail is one that is clearly not easily equaled. The amount of mental and physical effort necessary to complete a truly great work requires a level of patience that I suspect most people (including myself) do not possess.
4.) Which part of the paragone could you most relate to because of your recent art project?
I feel I could most relate to his discussion of mental fatigue. Simply conceiving an idea for subject matter took more time than I would have wanted.
5.) Which part of Leonardo’s argument was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
The strongest part of his argument was his acknowledgment of greater physical fatigue for sculptors and greater mental fatigue for painters. Sculptors most laboriously chisel and polish stone in order to achieve their desired results, whereas painters must focus on achieving realism in lighting, perspective, proportion, and color on a 2D surface.
The weakest part of his argument was the claim that the durability of painting and sculpture are equal. Time-transcendence and repute could be said to be equal, but the durability of painting (since it is more susceptible to physical abuse, decay, the elements, and even certain rays of light) is arguably inferior to that of sculpture.
6) Which part of the sculptor’s arguments was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
The strongest part of the sculptor's argument was (as already mentioned) the observation that his work is the more physically draining.
The weakest part of the argument is the claim that excess removal of material results from ignorance; there will always exist the possibility that such an error might result from a flaw in the material, the tools, or other factors beyond the sculptor's control.
7.) Do you think one type of art is superior to another?
I do not believe one type of art is superior to the other. I can appreciate both equally.
8.) Do you think a discussion such as the paragone is useful?
I believe that a discussion can be useful. Its effectiveness can only be determined in retrospect by the participants' level of interest and the quality of their input.
9.) How did your week as an artist influence your interpretation of this reading?
Playing the role of artist helped me to understand and relate to the amount of consideration that must go into any thoughtful piece of artwork.
Kimbra Elliott
1.) Did the project take the amount of effort you expected?
This project took a little more effort than expected; just because of the effort drawing the perspectives took. When you are trying to create a vanishing point and certain perspectives, more effort is necessary.
2.) Explain the challenges you incurred.
My biggest challenge was trying to put the hot air balloons at the correct place on paper to create a vanishing point and a sense of depth.
3.) Did this experience give you new insight and/or new respect for sculptors/painters?
Yes, very much so.
4.) Which part of the paragone could you most relate to because of your recent art project?
I related with the painter when he stated “The… task is to evaluate with care the true qualities and quantities of shadows and lights”. That was also a hard part to accomplish.
5.) Which part of Leonardo’s argument was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
I viewed the strongest argument in the first statement, “the sculptor pursues his work with greater physical fatigue than the painter, and the painter pursues his work with greater mental fatigue”
I viewed the weakest part to be the statement that the sculptor’s ability comes from “material and not from the artist”. I feel like the sculptor has more skill than the materials given to him, and not everyone possesses the ability to sculpt.
6.) Which part of the sculptor’s argument was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
I view the strongest part of the sculptor’s argument to be, “if he takes off too much of the outer portion of his material, he cannot add to it later as can the painter”.
The weakest part to me is, “his art is more worthy than painting”.
7.) Do you think one type of art is superior to another?
I think each type of art is unique – while one artist can hold strengths in painting, the other holds them in sculpting. If you were to ask them to switch professions, the outcome would not be the same because it takes a certain skill for each.
8.) Do you think a discussion such as the paragone is useful?
Yes – it lets you see both sides of the discussion!
9.) How did your week as an artist influence your interpretation of this reading?
My week as an artist helped be understand that skill sometimes doesn't come naturally, and I now have more respect for those that do art for a living because it requires a lot of skill.
Consensuses
1.) The project took more effort than we all expected
2.) Proper technique is difficult, and will often require additional effort, if not an entire redo. Skill in painting or sculpting does not come easily – the work is much more difficult than it seems.
3.) Placing ourselves in an artist’s or sculptor’s shoes has helped us to better understand their work and its complexities.
4.) Both painting and sculpture, despite requiring different skill sets and focuses, are equally qualified to be deemed works of art, and neither is superior to the other.
5.) Paragone is useful because it allows its participants to encounter different perspectives
1. Did the project take the amount of effort you expected?
ResponderEliminarThe project took a lot longer than I had expected. I had assumed that since I was just going to carve a small sculpture out of a bar of soap, that it would not take very long at all. But shaving the bar of soap little by little and having to restart with a new bar of soap, made the project take three times longer than I expected.
2. Explain the challenges you incurred.
I incurred many challenges during my sculpting. I'm pretty sure my greatest challenge was lack of talent, which is ultimately responsible for all the challenges. I was unable to create what I envisioned. I messed up on my first attempt and actually broke the bar of soap. I had to start over with a new bar of soap.
3. Did this experience give you new insight and/or new respect for sculptors/painters?
This experience definitely gave me new insight and respect for sculptors. It is much harder to sculpt something out of one solid piece compared to creating something by molding something, such as clay.
4. Which part of the paragone could you most relate to because of your recent art project?
"The sculptor says that if he takes off too much of the outer portion of his material, he cannot add to it later as can the painter." In my first attempt I carved out too much and just like this quote states, I could not add to it.
Which part of Leonardo’s argument was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
The strongest part of Leonardo's argument was that "the sculptor pursues his work with greater physical fatigue than the painter". I think that argument is true and therefore his strongest point. The weakest part of Leonardo's argument was that "the painter pursues his work with greater mental fatigue." This statement is actually the second half of his point, while I agree with the first half regarding sculptors experience greater physical fatigue, I disagree that painter experience greater mental fatigue. I think both types of art require mental effort equally. In order to sculpt, a sculptor must create an image in his/her mind and use mental abilities to make the image just as in painting.
6. Which part of the sculptor's argument was the strongest? Which part was the weakest?
The strongest part of the sculptor's argument is, "the sculptor says that if he takes off too much of the outer portion of his material, he cannot add to it later as can the painter." This is true and this fact makes sculpting unique.
The weakest part of the sculptor's argument is that "the sculptor says that his art is more worthy than painting, because his work is more enduring, for it to fear from humidity, as well as fire, heat, and cold, than does painting." I don't believe one can argue that one type of art is more worthy; they both serve their purposes and are both worthy.
I agree with Kimbra and Esteban, that not one type of art is superior to the other. They both serve their own purposes and each is appreciated for different reasons.
I also believe that a paragone discussion is useful, it allows for insight into both sides.
My experience as "an artist" did also help me to understand and relate to the amount of skill that is necessary for sculpting.
Yes, our group has reached a consensus!