Marzuk+Ahmed+Fall+2014

====My name is Marzuk Ahmed, and I am a graduating senior at the George Washington University (GWU), majoring in Economics. I have always found interest in art, but I have never had a great deal of knowledge regarding art. For me, if it simply looks interesting than I will like it. Due to my field of study, I have not been exposed to different types of art. As a Economics major, I deal mostly with numbers. ====

====For this project I have decided to pick works of Anthony Gormley for gathering inspiration and ideas. I find him to be an extremely interesting artist. Gormley is British and was born 1950. Gormley explores the relation of the human body to space and moments in time. Additionally, many of his work are black and white, which I absolutely love. His work "Apart IX" is from a series of works called ‘Blockworks’ which dates from 2003 to 2009. This work is made of mild steel blocks measuring 2,5 x 2,5 x 2,5 cm and 2,5 x 2,5 x 5,0 cm. Depending on where you are standing, this work may look charcoal gray or black, and at times both colors are visible. This work is essentially is man cradled up. The figure sits on a all white stand roughly about 2 feet tall. The contrast of the stand and actual figure is highly interesting. The structure of this work is open and closed. The concept is quiet. The element of design is form. ==== ====I find this work interesting because it is so simply, but yet so beautiful. He used so little material to make a work that has so much depth and meaning. ==== ====His second work that I truly enjoyed viewing is called the Clearing II, 2007 which is a original lithograph measuring at 30 7/10 × 44 9/10 in 78 × 114 cm. This work is also black and white. When I look at this work it reminds me of a tornado. The structure of this work is volumetric. The concept is dangerous. The element of design is line. When I look at this work I see many circles. Circles that are drawn in all directions. The circles are painted with black ink and it is painted on a white surface, which truly emphasis the black paint. There are also splatters of black paint on the edges of the circle which, in my mind, shows speed and creates a sense of danger. ==== ==== His third work that I have chosen to use is called Grip I, 2013. It is measured 5 1/2 × 7 1/2 in 14 × 19 cm. This work is highly interesting. If you look at it long enough you can see two black cubes, inside of lighter shade of black cubes. This work, like the other two that I have mentions above, is black and white. He used black paint for this work and the surface has a creamy white look. The structure of this work is open and closed. The concept is transformative. The element of design is space. ==== ==== Anthony Gormley has a very unique style when it comes to his work. What I find most appealing is the simplicity of his work. He is able to create beautiful work in a manner that is not over-the-top. I also like his work because many of them are simply black and white. I believe things that are simply tend to be in style and and appealing for a longer period of time than things that are just way over-the-top. For this reason I have chosen works of Anthony Gormley as my inspiration. ====

Other interesting works of Gormley My Understanding of Art Now I have never been an “art person”. Before, if an art looked good to me I would like it, and it would be the end of that. However, after taking this class and working with different materials I appreciate art much more. I now look at art in more depth. When viewing art now I look at its material, structure, concept, and element of design. These four concepts allow me to capture the overall beauty and dept of each art work I view.

Understanding art has increased my appreciation of art. For example, yesterday I watched an HBO documentary called Banksy Does New York, which I found fascinating. His work really stood out to me and captured my imagination. If I had seen his work before this class I would just think some random guy made it and would not have been able to fully appreciate its beauty. Now looking at his work I can appreciate his use of color, different material, and message.

My trip to the Hirshhorn Museum was a wonderful and exciting experience. While there, I was lucky enough to view art of all different types. The two that really caught my eyes were the Henri Matisse, French, b. Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869–1954 and Tomonori Toyofuku, Japanese, b. Kurume, 1925.

In summary, I now have a much better understanding of art and in a sense art is all around us, thus I now have a better understand of what is surrounding us.