RP-Department of Art and Design

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Browsing RP-Department of Art and Design by Subject "Colour"

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    Use of Elements and Application of Principles of Art and Design in the Creation of Pictorial Compositions among Fine Art Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (EANSO, 2024) Wango, Kamau
    In the creation of any work of art, whether in two or three dimension, the use of elements and principles is fundamental. It has been acknowledged across ages that the purpose of the creation of any work of art is to create some form of defined meaning or express some artistic phenomenon. It has also been acknowledged that elements and principles have a symbiotic relationship. In examining the paintings and drawings presented by students, this study seeks to explore the relationship between elements and principles as they are applied in the paintings and drawings to determine the effectiveness of this synchrony in terms of visual enhancement and the eventual creation of meaning. The study features students' work at various levels where they spontaneously created their paintings and drawings with focus on the use of elements and principles. However, their usage and application were spontaneous and not geared towards specific responses, which was necessary for the outcome of the study. From preliminary enquiry, it emerged that although students had received adequate tutorials about the use of elements and principles in the creation of artwork, they did not apply them from an academic perspective but instinctively. It was therefore envisaged that focusing on the quality of their work would ultimately yield better results about their comprehension of the use of elements and principles as featured in their work. This study, therefore, used the execution and analysis of their practical work as testimony to their comprehension. The selection of 35 presentations, including black and white pencil drawings, provided a wide spectrum and depicted how students used and understood the application of both elements and principles and were deemed adequate for the study. The paintings featured the use of colour as an integral element, and the pencil drawings were strong in depicting textural effects and using value. The presentations featured different subject matter which was important for the creative essence of work.
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    Use of Realism as Social Commentary on Specific Subject Matter in Painting: An Analysis of the Realist Paintings of Zephania Lukamba, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (EANSO, 2024-05) Kamau, Wango
    The creation of any work of art often has a purpose or an intent. In this regard, artists endeavour to create pieces of artwork that bear or propagate certain meanings or points of view and also express some social phenomena that are unique to a particular environment or what has often been referred to as a catchment area. This is usually an important artistic undertaking because artists have the innate responsibility to observe certain social peculiarities and visually record them for all their worth. Some of these peculiarities are a reflection of society and its circumstantial behavioural tendencies often brought about by various factors; such as social-economic malaise and bad governance that precipitates social decay. When an artist embarks on such an artistic depiction of his or her own social environment, then there is a need to give it due artistic attention. This study featured 22 paintings based on the subject matter of the overloading of vehicles. Although the paintings appeared generally alike in terms of layout and execution, it is the depiction of the paradox of the repeated occurrence of the same phenomenon which in reality reflects a tendency that is both widespread and bizarre. In this regard, each painting depicts a scene that in reality is in itself a specific curious occurrence. This, in retrospect, can be seen as a type of popular culture of defiance and of the absurd. Since the overloading of any vehicle is ordinarily not only unwarranted and dangerous, but also blatantly illegal, the artist, in his observations which constituted this study, depicts a societal problem that has degenerated into impunity. This study, therefore, sought to find out how effective such focused paintings were as an avenue for social commentary. The artist over a period of time observed incidents of overloading as they manifested themselves in real-life occurrences and made the necessary sketches that were later developed into paintings in the studio. The paintings were examined using formal analysis to delve into their composition and use of elements and principles as well as descriptive analysis to explore their meaning or what the artist intended to convey. The study posits that the essence of such focused paintings in this study is that they become a visual pointer to the wider debate about the debilitating effect of such social malaise upon the psyche of society. The ordinary citizenry subsequently becomes spectators in their own space that degenerates into such recklessness and disregard for individual and collective safety as well as the rule of law.