Stefan Sagmeister, Bobby Logic, Jeff D Ottavio - Essay Example

Artworks Critiques Stefan Sagmeister Stefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic artist who has managed to use graphic art to touch the lives of other people. His latest collections fall under what he describes as “the things I have learnt so far” (Design&Life 17). One of them, as he puts it, is that “Trying to look good limits my life.” This message was passed on through a series of typographic work and the best among them is the one called Good. A single look at this work reveals that Sagmeister poured his soul and mind into it to produce a timeless piece of work. The message in it is feeling good. Although there is a sense of humor in the design of this work, this has not overridden the sense of seriousness in it because his sincere thoughtfulness and intimate approach elevate his design. Evidently, the graphic designer has managed to achieve a commendable presentation of the elements and principles of art in this piece of work. The color selection and distribution has been wisely done and this has created a good tonal contrast, enhanced harmony in the artwork and helped to mark out the shapes of the various components of the artwork more clearly. There is a good contrast between the various components of the art like the acacia trees, the shrubs, the Good design and the sky. Texture and shape are well brought out in the artwork using shapes, color and lines. A single look at artwork is enough to reveal that the acacia leaves are smooth but they have sharp thorns and the branches of the shrubs are sharp and prickly. The artist has managed to stimulate the ‘feel good mood’ through a strategic positioning of the Good design, using color contrast and shape to emphasize on it and the use of the bright color tones around it. The tactful tilting of G and d is powerful enough to provoke limitless feeling of happiness in the viewers of the artwork. There is a good use of space and representation of distance through a careful selection of color shades, use of light and size of objects. For example, bigger and light objects represent the nearest distance while the furthest part of the sky is represented by the dark blue color. Generally, the artwork is of a good scale, it is well balanced and all the components are proportional. No component is too big or small for its location and neither is one-half of the artwork more overloaded than the other one. This work is both directional and emphatic. wiu.edu (1) defines direction as the visual path the viewer’s eye will follow. Direction has been created using color and observers can easily assume their standing point behind the dark leaves and focus towards the artwork’s focal point, the Good design. By paying attention to the smaller details of this work, Sagmeister managed to come up with a piece of graphic art that offers something new every time one looks at it. Bobby Logic Bobby Logic is one graphic artist who strongly believes that artwork is a mood shifter and awakens the inner soul of man. This is clearly evidenced by the artist’s pieces of work including the Sancta Margot, a piecework he produced in 2011. Seemingly, the intention of this art is to enlighten the hearts and minds of those who see it by generating a dramatic mood. The artist has achieved this very well. The selection of bright colors, especially for the Sancta Margot and the bubbles is powerful enough to electrify the mind of the viewers and bring radiant beauty, making life colorful and vibrant. The artist also deserves credit for his careful use of line to enhance the mood of the artwork. The soft sensitive lines of the face and arms were effective in creating a graceful image, which is powerful enough to generate emotional attachment unlike when he could have used a heavy gesture line or mechanical lines. The representation of the bubbles as round, bright and smooth is helpful in drawing the viewers of this artwork into a solemn moment of reflecting on the good and pleasurable side of life. The careful use of lines and color has also helped to enhance shape, tonal contrast, bring contrast and emphasis. For example the art’s point of focus, the Sancta Margot, is brighter and has a clearly marked shape. It was, therefore, worthwhile that the artist did not use clear lines and eye-catching colors for other components of the artwork like buildings to allow the Sancta Margot to dominate. Texture is emphasized using color and lines. The well outlined and brightly lit face, chest, arms and feet immediately stir an imagination of something smooth. By depicting the dress as being shiny, the artist has also succeeded in revealing that it is soft. There is little harmony between the subject of focus and some of the surrounding components, for example, the buildings and the cat, due of the use of highly contrasting colors in some parts of the artwork compare the dress against the color of the building. Principles of design have been considerably observed in this artwork. For example, the artwork is of good scale and this has facilitated a good use of space. The various components are also proportional, for example, the cat distant bubbles and distant buildings are small while the woman and the nearby building are both big. The artwork is perfectly balanced. The woman’s arms and feet, the cat and the bubbles have been distributed in a manner that no half of the artwork has more features than the other has. The use of dark colors on the right side of the artwork has helped to create a visual path for it. However, this is not powerful enough to help a viewer to position him or herself appropriately and mentally. There is also a low tonal range in most parts of the artwork. Generally, there are high levels of personalization, self-indulgence and subjectivity in this work. Jeff D Ottavio Jeff D Ottavio is another artist who although he does not stick to a particular style, he has produced many eye-catching pieces of artworks. A good example of this is a painting entitled Alien. A single look at the artwork sends home the message of the arrival of a new and scary creature or phenomena and thus it is supposed to generate feelings of fear and provoke inquisitiveness among those viewing it. The artist has done a commendable job towards achieving this. By using heavy gesture lines on the face of the creature, the artist has managed to create for it an unfriendly and scary look. More fear is normally generated among people if the scary thing is hard. The artist has used a combination of lines and color to portray the hard body of the creature and its smooth texture successfully. Light color shades have been used to create a form of reflection characteristic of hard but smooth surfaces. However, this smoothness applies to unit parts of the creature, for example, a single piece of scale. Its general texture of the creature is rough as depicted by the numerous lines indicating that the creature has many scales and contours, especially in the neck region. The artwork has a moderate level of tonal contrast because of the use of a mixture of light and dark colors on the alien creature against a bright background. As a result of this, the design has managed to achieve a moderate impact. Lovett (1) explains that tonal contrast is important for defining the centre of interest in artwork. Although the artwork lacks high tonal contrast in most of its parts, the artist managed to secure clearly marked shapes in some parts that represent the various parts of the alien creature. For example, the shoulder region has huge visible scales and the teeth are also visible. However, this clarity lacks in some parts of the creature like the uppermost line of the head region and has diluted the actual shape of the alien creature. The artwork has a clear visual path because of the dark colored background at the right side. Generally, the left side of the artwork is brighter than the right side thus creating some direction. The alien artwork is not well balanced because the right side carries more weight than the left side. It is highly asymmetrical. Despite this, the artwork is not disproportional and it can be credited for having a good scale and use of space. The alien has occupied a proportionally large area of the artwork space and this has helped to neutralize the imbalanced positioning. There is some level of unity in the artwork, which has been achieved by the use of repetition and pattern. The scales for example are of similar shapes and have been arranged to form a pattern. An almost similar scenario is seen in the head region. Generally, this piece of work is not as eye-catching as the first two. Works Cited Design&Life (2009). “Stefan Sagmeister Web. Retrieved on 15 February 2012 from . Lovett John (2010). “TONAL CONTRAST.” Online. Web. Retrieved on 15 February 2012 from . wiu.edu. (2011). “Elements and Principles of Design.” Web. Retrieved on 15 February 2012 from . Read More