Street art

It's semester two and we have started our new topic on street and cultural art. This includes art such as Aboriginal dot art,  Filipino kut-kut, Maori tuku tuku, Cook Island patterns, Niuean patterns, along with Bencab and Mr. G. We started by answering a few questions about street art, different visual symbols, and analyzing two artworks.

Why do we look at street art and, when we do, what is our reaction?

We usually look at street art because it catches our attention. With it's colors, design, and very public placement, how can we not? When we see it we'll stop and stare at the piece with curiosity and wonder, or we'll take a step back to see the bigger picture and move around to see it at different angles.

Why do we need visual symbols and how do we use them?
We usually need/use visual symbols to trigger something, such as emotion, in our brain. Colors such as yellow can trigger us to think we'll be happy if we do this thing (such as go to Mcdonalds) or we'll associate symbols or color schemes to certain companies, schools, sport teams, etc.

What are examples of common visual symbols in our environment?
Common visual symbols that we see are usually letters, anagrams, or logos. Take LV for example, whenever we see the letters LV together we instantly think of Louis Vuitton. Another example would be burger joints such as Burger King (BK) and McDonalds (M). Color schemes that are used as symbols are work uniforms such as purple and green for Jucy rentals, or school uniforms such as yellow and blue for Hornby. We see visual symbols everywhere in our day-to-day lives.

What I was meant to learn?

I was meant to learn about visual symbols in both art and our everyday environment. I also learnt about the types of art we'll be looking such as kut-kut, tuka tuka, dot art, etc.

What did I enjoy about this process?

I enjoyed the class conversations about different visual symbols and the common visual symbols we see in our environment. I also enjoyed answering the questions too and talking to my buddy about them.

What do you think you'll do next?

I'll probably look more into the different art styles and learn more about them, their history, their meaning, etc. I'll also start looking at what styles I find interesting and want to have a proper, in-depth, look into.