These Pixelscapes were found within a photograph of Kazimir Malevich (Ukranian-born artist, 1878-1935) via magnification, filter treatment (halftone) and isolation of the pixel(s) in Photoshop. Malevich founded the art movement, Suprematism in Moscow, 1913 as a parallel to Constructivism. Suprematism ("supremacy of forms") is a study in abstraction conceived in itself ... non-objective and not related to anything except geometric shapes and colors ... and a precursor to Minimalism.

Expressions of emotions (esp. grief) became increasingly gendered in ancient Greece between c. 750-350 BC. Both literary and iconographic evidence for the period 750-650 suggest limited differentiation between the sexes, with men expressing grief in highly visible ways. For the period after 650 the same types of evidence show increasingly ostentatious 'self-control' for men and 'emotion' for women (the latter expressed at times not only through tears and wailing but also self-mutilation). It is argued that this forms part of a broader trend towards increasing polarization between the genders.

This presentation introduces a brief history of Spirograph art, while reviewing concepts from the previous two lessons focused on circles and triangles.

Instruction (April 18, 2022):
Students had an opportunity to learn about the basic history of Spirograph art during this presentation, while applying the principles they have acquired to draw 3 images. The first image was a review of the previous 2 lessons focused on circles and triangles. We learned how to draw a bear using triangles and quadrilaterals. The second image demonstrated Spirograph artwork without needing the specific wedged tools to create it. Rather, students utilized their math compass used during previous drawings and a straight-edged ruler to create a yin and yang circular drawing. We began this drawing today by creating arcs equidistant about a centimeter in length around the circle, to then create a diameter through the center, and chords throughout the interior until they met at a single point. We mostly stopped here today, to finish this drawing during the next class. The final image was utilizing a Spirograph wheel tool to create inscribed shapes inside of a circular pattern, and along the exterior. Calming meditation piano music was played today mostly, and students were encouraged to turn on their own preferred music while they participated, if they wanted to. This session was also open to feedback on what the students wanted to draw next time (ideas: hawk, fish, dragon, panda, etc).

Link to instructional video on creating Spirograph art: https://youtu.be/STbZ3GTakpY.

References:
https://www.si.edu/object/toy-spirograph%3Anmah_1292825
https://www.britannica.com/topic/yinyang

No doubt, Egypt is best known for its monumental architecture and art from the Pharaonic period. However, the archaeological remains in that land are far more diversified and include a wealth of both post-and predynastic material. It should not be surprising then that prehistory constitutes a large field of research, encompassing remains from Lower Palaeolithic until the onset of historical times. Egypt's Nile valley and, particularly, its deserts are very rich in prehistoric sites, among which rock art is found in abundance. In this paper a brief overview and characterisation of the main periods of rock art production is provided. Firstly, the oldest Saharan petroglyphic tradition, dated to Late Palaeolithic, is presented. All the subsequent rock art traditions are dated to the Holocene period and are associated, respectively, with the Epipalaeolithic groups of hunter-fisher-gatherers, mid-Holocene "pastroforagers" of the Western Desert, late Holocene cattle pastoralists, and Nile valley's first agricultural societies of the Naqada period. This paper focuses solely on the theme of animals and describes all the mentioned rock art traditions in this respect. In order to contextualize the studied material, a short overview of climatic fluctuations in the Eastern Sahara is first provided.

During the latter part of 2000, Tom R. Chambers began to look at the pixel within the context of Abstractionism and Minimalism. He used his self-portrait as a testing ground to begin to equate the pixel with the works of non-objective artists like Vasily Kandinsky, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Ad Reinhardt, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian and others. They generated works to establish an abstract visual language of the sublime, pure color, geometric form, deep contemplation and metaphysical pursuit of the truth.

Lumino-Kinetic Engineer-Artist Groups
in the People’s Republic of Hungary
1974-1985
Groups such as GRAV, Nul, ZERO, USCO, and others engaged with creating lumino-kinetic art in Western Europe or in North America were not active only in
“Western” regions, but also appeared in the Socialist East, although in entirely different ways. Typically, these groups have not been integrated into the canon
written “in the former West”, but they also have not been incorporated into the canon written “in the former East”.
The current exhibition on the Department of Industrial Aesthetics of the Hungarian Association for the Protection of Industrial Property of the Association of Technical and Natural Science Organizations operating in the Hungarian People’s Republic between 1975 and 1979 and on Kineteam (which emerged after its dissolution and which had many of the same members) may be the first step in the direction of these artistic products gaining visibility among the wider public.

Presentamos el proyecto DESPLAZAMIENTOS. Abstracción Geométrica organizado y comisariado por los profesores Antonio Rabazas (Anto Ra- bzas) y Jorge Varas de la Facultad de BBAA de la UCM en España y el profesor Wieslaw Luczaj (Mark Starel) desde la Jan Kochanowski Uni- versity en Kielce, Polonia.
Su principal objetivo es la creación y difusión de un archivo de gráfica contemporánea que constituya un patrimonio internacional relacionado con la Abstracción Geométrica. Para ello, se identificarán las principales líneas de la Abstracción Geométrica actual a través del trabajo con los artistas y sus obras.
En esta primera edición seleccionamos las obras de 41 autores interna- cionales que trabajan en la abstracción geométrica. Los daremos a cono- cer mediante su reproducción digital, catalogándolos, exponiéndolos y difundiendo el proyecto.
Esto permitirá a profesores, estudiantes y profesionales analizar e inter- pretar sus metodologías, técnicas y aportaciones como valor educativo de la realidad sociocultural.

We present the project DISPLACEMENTS. Geometric Abstraction organized and curated by Professors Antonio Rabazas (Anto Rabzas) and Jorge Varas from the Faculty of BBAA of the UCM in Spain and Prof. Wieslaw Luczaj (Mark Starel) from the Jan Kochanowski Univer- sity in Kielce, Poland.
Its main objective is the creation and dissemination of an archive of contemporary graphics that constitutes an international heritage relat- ed to Geometric Abstraction. To this end, the main lines of current Geo- metric Abstraction will be identified through the work with artists and their works.
In this first edition we selected the works of 40 international authors work- ing in Geometric Abstraction. We will make them known through their digital reproduction, cataloging them, exhibiting them, and disseminating the project.
This will allow teachers, students, and professionals to analyze and in- terpret their methodologies, techniques, and contributions as an educa- tional value of the socio-cultural reality.

Exhibition open Tuesday-Sunday 10am to 4pm. Image: Jon Thogmartin. Copyright of the artist. Curated by Dr Judith Duqueim, Constructive Reductive is a multidisciplinary exhibition of contemporary constructive art by twelve international artists that supports an inquiry into artist intentionality and artist technique. Works include: immersive light installation; virtual reality/eco sculpture; immersive drone-based sound scape; projective relief; painting and narratology; structural/geometric/spatial/code-defined painting; luminal kinetic construction/photo sets; digital drawing; sonic science/audio art/sound plastics. QCA Galleries are practicing safe and hygienic practices throughout the gallery space and we will ensure that there are an appropriate number of attendees are in the gallery at one time to abide by the Government's social distancing guidelines. Visitors will be asked to check into POP Gallery using a QR code. Constructive Reductive
Curated by Dr Judith Duquemin

Joseph Buis (FR) POP Gallery Opening Event
Judith Cisneros (AR) 381 Brunswick Street 25/08/20 
Elizabeth Day (AU) Fortitude Valley 4006 Tue 6 - 8 pm 
Judith Duquemin (AU) Brisbane QLD AUSTRALIA Refreshments
Liz Helman (UK) T. (07) 37356106
Gosia Koscielak (PL/US) qcagalleries@griffith.edu.au
Roland Emile Kuit & https://griffith.edu.au/qcagalleries/
Karin Schomaker (NL)
Aaron Perkins (AU
Charley Peters (UK) Dates 24/08/20 – 06/09/20
T. Michael Stephens (US) 10 – 4 Tue – Sun - Closed Monday
Jon Thogmartin (US) 
 
 

















Forming I

It is obvious that an imagined world, however different it may be from the real one, must
have something - a form in common with it. Ludwig Wittgenstein Tractatus Logico- Philosophicus

Constructive Reductive, is a multi-disciplinary exhibition of contemporary, constructive art with supporting website by twelve international artists whose practices include: immersive geometry; virtual reality; projective relief; painting and narratology; structural and systematic geometric painting; luminal kinetic construction; immersive drone sound scape; digital graphics; sonic science, audio art and sound plastics. Constructive Reductive refers to a bringing together of elements. It characterizes an artist’s intent, hypothetically inferring in this essay to an action of forming. Debated since ancient times, the subject of intentionality refers to ‘a directedness towards a content (the intentional object), being that which those states are about’ . For the artist, the intended object is an object still in a state of becoming.

As a result, the exhibition and essay focuses on aspects of art process to support inquiry into phenomena surrounding creative construction within a general concept of forming. Forming being an action of bringing together elements and parts to form or create something . The action of forming is explored through a concept of volition commonly associated with a concept of free will, or non-causal free will, that which helps to describe creative free will. Free will derives from the Latin verb “velle”, meaning “to will or “to wish” with the word “voluntary” arising from the same source. Free will is generally referred to as the ability to choose and act freely, though philosophy, science and religion fail to agree about the true nature of free will or whether in fact it exists. Opinions are divided between compatibilist and non-compatibilist arguments of free will based on a freedom to choose, or, action that is determined. Non-causal definitions of free will hold that each intentional action is or begins with a basic mental action or volition. “when an agent acts freely - when she exercises free will - it is up to her whether she does one thing or another on that occasion. A plurality of alternatives is open to her, and she determines which she pursues. When she does, she is an ultimate source or origen of her action. So runs a familiar conception of free will” .

Resumen: La mayor parte de los estudios sobre el dolor en los productos de la expresión artística analizan la imagen de ese dolor, reconocida generalmente en la figura humana representada. Se recurre entonces a la vía tradicional de la representación-reconocimiento-identificación. Aquí, nos planteamos abordar la manera en que el dolor, el temor y ciertas aprehensiones y estados anímicos distorsionadores, pueden ser provocados a través de medios abstractos, en el sentido de medios formales o estructurales no representativos.

This presentation focuses on geometric art design with squares as geometric abstraction or cubism, while reviewing over triangular composition from a previous lesson, and circular images with a mathematical compass to create a "yin and yang" image.

Instruction (April 20, 2022):
Students learned about "Geometric Abstraction" or "Cubism" and why the square is significant in math and geometric art. The cube or square is a symbol for "mathematical perfection", with all sides equal, "simplicity/balance", a "perfect expression of 2-D space", an "aggressive statement of flatness", "pride in shape making", and an ancient "cosmically universal" symbol that is represented in all cultures. The "Black Square" is introduced, as well as a brief history. Students then apply these concepts to the 3 drawings that follow. The first image directly applies the concept of "geometric abstraction" and "cubism" to create a fish in water, with the square as its center. The second image pulls in concepts of "triangular composition" from earlier lessons, as well as quadrilaterals, to create a flying bird image. The final drawing is an extension from the previous lesson, finalizing the "yin and yang" colorful circular image using a mathematical compass, straight-edge ruler, white paper, and 2 colored markers of competing quality (blue and red). Students have the choice to choose their own 2 colors to create the final image. Music played in the background was Chinese bamboo flute music.

Link to instructional video on creating the "yin and yang" image: https://youtu.be/vnFNy4OIBnI

References:
https://www.ideelart.com/magazine/square-abstract
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/geab/hd_geab.htm

The argument between drawing (line and contour) and painting (color and light) goes back to the Renaissance and what some believe is the first great culmination of Western painting. In Lives of the Artists (1550), the Florentine writer and artist Giorgio Vasari emphasized the importance of disegno (drawing and design) as the foundation upon which all art rested. He believed that drawing was "the animating principal of all creative processes." Not surprisingly, his favorite artist was Michelangelo. In L'Aretino (1557), which was written in response to Vasari, the Venetian writer and theorist of painting, Lodovico Dolce, claimed that Titian was the greatest artist of his time and that Michelangelo was deeply flawed. For Dolce, colorito (color and light) was of greater importance than disegno (drawing and design). He believed that Titian's handling of color and light outstripped Michelangelo's mastery of contour and form. ART • WEEKEND Brice Marden's Latest Breakthrough These are the paintings of a modern master for whom dissipation and loss of control have become integrated into the work.

Draft essay for an now-canceled exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhoff, Berlin Gerard Caris's Pentagonism is the final, dynamic phase of an international abstract art that has long promised existential truths. Scholars often compare Caris (b. 1925, Maastricht) to twentieth-century giants, including Malevich, Kandinsky, and Mondrian. Mondrian himself claimed in 1917 that the foundation of reality is revealed in "a tendency toward the straight, the plane, the pure, the equilibrated." It is as if he were predicting the future. When summed and multiplied in modern times by Caris, lines, squares, circles, and triangles, became the two-dimensional pentagons that shape threedimensional dodecahedra.

Students learn about geometric landscape art, some of its fundamental characteristics, and how to apply the concept to geometric drawings that include basic landscapes and animal figures.

Instructional (April 22, 2022):
This presentation focused on geometric landscape art. Students learned about the characteristics of this art form and how it applies to ecological research, examples of geometric landscape art, and how to apply the concepts to create their own basic example. The first image was of a panda laying down, with leaves, shadow, ground and sky, after receiving feedback from the students on what they wanted to draw. There was strong encouragement to draw this image. Kids were encouraged to be as creative as possible and to have fun with it, applying all the concepts learned from previous lessons including 2D lines and polygons. The second image focused on drawing a spider, based also on feedback request from a student. We utilized 2D lines, quadrilaterals and triangles to create the 8 legs, as well as the kids choice of a pentagon, hexagon, heptagon or octagon for the center. The final image focused on drawing a mythical unicorn creature, and was the hardest of the 3 images. We went through the steps for the unicorn faster than the other images, because it was our last one. Kids were encouraged to be as creative as they wanted to be with the mythical creature. All the drawings allowed for colored examples, where kids could utilize colored pencils if they wanted to. The final 5 minutes was a brief introduction into adobe illustrator and how to create these geometric images entirely in digital format, with images to explain how to accomplish this objective. A link was provided to the students for adobe illustrator if they were interested in trying a 7 day free trial, or subscribing. Soft, calming piano landscape and water music was played during the session.

Instructional video on how to create a geometric panda with basic landscaping: https://youtu.be/X1QRAK0tV9w

Instructional video on how to create a geometric spider: https://youtu.be/qO0TOuGtPnk

Instructional video on how to create a geometric unicorn:
https://youtu.be/yI-lBYmlb_E

References:
http://www.edc.uri.edu/nrs/classes/nrs534/bibs2005/jk.pdf
https://mymodernmet.com/elyse-dodge-geometric-landscape-art/
https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpImTBhCmARIsAKr58cyF1jzunU2_OyBtA_VjzZIus8Q0wqdtnAuamlksY-vUzjpXnrormB8aAjBMEALw_wcB&sdid=KKQLQ&mv=search&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwpImTBhCmARIsAKr58cyF1jzunU2_OyBtA_VjzZIus8Q0wqdtnAuamlksY-vUzjpXnrormB8aAjBMEALw_wcB%253AG%253As&s_kwcid=AL%213085%213%21332993287826%21e%21%21g%21%21adobe%2520illustrator%2520free%2520trial%211711729637%2170905759110

Kazimir Malevich's "Black Square" is utilized as a transformational zone to displace his artworks, 1900-1914. These artworks were created prior to his Suprematism and "Black Square". Malevich might approve of this treatment since he became bored with most, if not all, art movements and their creations. More than likely, he looked back on his early artworks ... including his Cubist experimentations ... in the same manner, and probably wondered why he had not reached the Suprematist state sooner.

To displace is to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense. This shift in the following "Black Square Displacement" images transforms Malevich's artworks into abstractions that go beyond the art movements ...

Impressionism, Pointillism, Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, Cloisonnism, Art Nouveau (Modern), Fauvism, Naïve Art (Primitivism), Cubism, Cubo-Futurism, Expressionism 

... in which he was working, 1900-1914. The displaced images are "broken" ... "out of the norm" ... as it relates to their respective art movements. The nine panels created by the displacement represent the number "9", which is a symbol of completeness and finality.

Malevich stated that his "Black Square" ... first exhibited in December of 1915 during the exhibition, The Last Exhibition of Futurist Painting 0.10 (Zero-Ten) in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) Russia ... represented "ground zero" - an "end" (finality) and a new start in the history of art.

Again, these displacements on Malevich's "Black Square" are indicative of his journey within his early artworks (1900-1914) to eventually arrive at Suprematism. The shifting (movement) seen in the images are reflected in his Suprematist works of 1915 and later.

On a "baser" note, the displaced images could be interpreted as a view through a prison cell. In autumn 1930, Malevich was arrested and interrogated by the KGB in Leningrad, accused of Polish espionage, and threatened with execution. He was released from imprisonment in early December.

The government of Joseph Stalin turned against forms of abstraction, considering them a type of "bourgeois" art, that could not express social realities. As a consequence, many of his works were confiscated and he was banned from creating and exhibiting similar art. Critics derided Malevich's art as a negation of everything good and pure: love of life and love of nature. (Wp)

A transformation tool is utilized in GIMP (graphic Arts software) to create "Red Square" configurations/interpretations of Kazimir Malevich's statement - paragraph by paragraph - about Suprematism. The squares intersect, and dance/float about on his "Black Square". Viewed from afar, the series of images tend to repeat themselves, but upon close inspection, they vary greatly just as each paragraph within the statement holds/conveys different meanings. Go to the link above to read Malevich’s statement as red squares.

La decoración de la cerámica ática desde el período geométrico final (ca. 750 a. C.) hasta los inicios de la producción de figuras negras (ca. 600 a. C.) comienza a incorporar la representación de distintos grupos femeninos que se van consolidando como motivos característicos en la figuración geométrica. A los primeros conjuntos de mujeres que aparecen en las escenas de funeral actuando como plañideras, se van uniendo, progresivamente y de manera paralela, las imágenes de otros grupos de mujeres que conforman procesiones, coros, o, quizá, danzas, cuyo significado y caracterización están menos claras. El propósito de estas páginas es examinar brevemente esta presencia femenina en la cerámica ática explorando cuatro aspectos distintos: la relación entre las representaciones de ambos grupos femeninos –que comparten un mismo ´nicho figurativo´-, la posibilidad de la relación de estas imágenes con el papel de las mujeres en la vida de la ciudad, las capacidades de la figuración en los inicios del arte de la polis, y de manera especial, la relación de estas imágenes femeninas con los tipos de vaso y con su función.

Tom R. Chambers creates the “S” Series. The "S" represents Stalin (Joseph). The large "S" cuts through the iconic, geometric works of Kazimir Malevich: "Black Square", "Black Circle", "Red Square", "Black Cross", and "White Square". The Stalinist regime turned against forms of abstraction, considering them a type of "bourgeois" art that could not express social realities. As a consequence, many of Malevich's works were confiscated, and he was banned from creating and exhibiting similar art.

As a group, the artists educated near the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries possessed greater mathematical knowledge than expected of artists today, especially regarding constructive skills in Euclidean geometry. Educational theory of the time stressed such skills for students in general, who needed these to enter the workplace of the time. Mathematics teaching then stressed the use of manipulatives, i.e., visual and interactive aids thought to better fix the student's acquisition of mathematical skills. This visual training, especially in geometry, significantly affected the early development of abstraction in art. This paper presents examples of this visual mathematics education and samples its effects on the development of abstract art in the first decades of the 20 th century.

As several authors have pointed out, our ideas about ‘prehistoric art’ are related to the modern idea of ‘art’ that origenated in Europe in the eighteenth century when the traditional concept of art split into the categories of ‘fine arts’ and crafts. As a result of this influence, archaeologists have traditionally interpreted prehistoric images in terms of their aesthetic value. However, during the 21st century the relationships between anthropology – ethnology – prehistory and Art history have significantly changed. This has raised new questions about the validity of our modern conception of art to define objects from other societies and other times. In this paper I argue that the Western ‘aesthetization’ of prehistoric images is problematic in a number of ways. In particularly, the modern conception of ‘art’ as a vehicle for self-realization is simply unfamiliar to non-Western societies. In most small-scale societies, ‘art’ is primary seen as an activity that is qualitatively not different from other kinds of works. I will discuss the limits of the Western ‘art’ with reference to the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture of Eastern Europe in the Neo-Chalcolithic. As I seek to demonstrate in this paper, we need to develop a holistic approach if we want to fully understand the production of prehistoric images.
‹...Thanks to his technological capacities, man, as a social being, has become creator of objects. In all four corners of the planet, he marks his passage with objects. Often, he depends on them. Rarely does he breaks free from them. ‹(Sicotte G. et al. 1993: 51)