Itten's Books finally arrived!

These two books are the documentations of the basic courses made by Johannes Itten taught at the Bauhaus and in his later teaching. I was very interested when I saw the Bauhaus exhibition at MOMA last year, and came across the name Itten when looking up Paul Klee, who also taught at the Bauhaus. I'm grateful to have a glimpse of these courses and to learn from a great teacher who lived almost a century ago.

Itten's Exercise #2

10" x 14"1/2 Charcoal.

After done with the introductory warming-up with black and white circles, this free perception and imagination exercise was carried out. Just something representational that involves contrasts of different values and areas. The main objective was to find harmony using values and forms.

Itten's Exercises #1

6"x8" Charcoal

This is an introductory exercise to learn the light-dark contrast. It was to produce a white and a black circle in whatever way I want. I think Itten meant for the students to understand that "all contrast effects are relative." How white a circle should be in order to look white right next to a black circle? How their sizes and positions effect each other and the whole composition? It was a simple but very helpful exercise that let me consider such fundamental questions.

Itten's exercise #3

9"x12" Charcoal
Exercise #1 Light-dark harmony

9"x12" Charcoal
Exercise #2 Balancing out area of various sizes and tone values.

9"x12" Charcoal
Exercise #3 The geometrical light-dark analysis of Valezquez's painting, Juan de Pareja.
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9"x12" Oil Pastel
Personal Exercise inspired by previous Itten exercises

These are some of the exercises from the book by Johannes Itten(1888-1967). Itten was one of the teachers who organized the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany in 1919. I came across his name and works at the Bauhaus exhibition at MOMA in the fall of 2009.
In this book, he stresses the importance of chiaroscuro(the contrast btwn light and dark) as "one of the most expressive means of composition."

Diary

09-10-2010

A new friend#1.

09-07-2009
Labor Day. Went to Bagel Boy with my brother. He had a roll.

08-31-2009
Went to MOMA. I was hungry and tired already when I got there.

08-29-2009

Thinking I need a plan. Hoping a call from Kimmy.

On a tired day.

"Aunt Em was as gray as her land."

- Wizard of Oz -

Finally, the wretched tree bore a single giant apple.

Abstract

04-20-2009

04-02-2009

04-21-2009

04-22-2009

05-03-2009

04-22-2010


04-22-2010

04-22-2010

07-21-2009 ~ 04-22-2010

04-22-2010

05-07-2010

04-23-2010

05-09-2010

05-11-2010

09-10-2010

All done in Guoache except the last one done in oil pastel. All are either 5x8 or 8x5. I first began these small paintings just to paint. I started out with simple lines that I made without thinking and filled each space in first with black and gray markers and then painted colors whose values corresponded the gray underneath.

Sketches on MTA

Sketches were done on subways. I tried to do this without thinking because I realized I was unconsciously choosing people in poses that were easier to draw. So I tried to counteract and just start drawing even when I knew it was a pose that I'd avoid if I was thinking.