Gabby Deck 2/6/19

English 10R

Final Project Paper

Art has always been something that many people have been interested in. The different

materials used and the creativity involved has captivated people for centuries. Learning how to

paint lifelike images or portraits using watercolor or oil paints is something that a lot of people

desire to do. To be able to have that artist spark, that when given a certain material, a piece of art

can be created instantly. Art is a window to the brain and can help many people be able to

express their pain, knowledge, and experience. It takes classes and many hours of practice before

being able to get to the point that many famous artists did, but you don’t need to be a

professional to realize that art can soothe an open wound and help in times of need and joy.

Many aspiring artists visit various galleries to gather inspiration for their art. For example, over

the summer I went to the Norman Rockwell Art Museum with my dad. It was amazing to see the

thousands of works of art that he had created, from magazine covers to paintings. In his career he

produced over 4,000 original works. Many artists aspire to see professional artists like him to

inspire their ambition. Art and music can go hand in hand. A lot of artists can be interested in

music and vice versa. An example of this is David Bowie, he was a world-renowned musician,

he had adoring fans all over the world, but he was also known for his artwork and great talent in

that aspect of his career as well. As an artist I find myself also being interested in pursuing

music, not singing though, because even though it can be fun, I can’t sing. Even though some

aspiring musicians can’t sing very well, they can be talented in other aspects such as playing

instruments. Playing instruments is proven to improve concentration and improve overall mood,

which explains why many people turn to music for a stress relief in difficult times. For example I
played the clarinet in middle school and am currently learning how to play the ukulele and the

piano. Learning these instruments has enabled me to become a better student and listener. A

multitude of people have found learning new instruments and experimenting listening to

different types and genres of music beneficial to their concentration and mental health.

Alternative music can be calming, upbeat music can make others feel productive, and

instrumental music is proven to help people focus and destress.

As mentioned above, art has always been intriguing to me as well as a lot of my peers

and people in general. So far in high school, I have taken studio art, beginning painting and

drawing, and photography. In beginning painting and drawing, many different art materials are

used in order to achieve the desired image. There are an array of art materials that can be

experimented with. Some of these materials are easier for beginners more than others, such as

colored pencils over charcoal, however there are tons of art materials to experiment with, and

preference may depend on the artist using the materials. Charcoal is easier to work with in terms

of getting a darker value, however when it comes to lightly shading and adding the lighter values

it becomes more difficult to get the charcoal to blend in the way that you need it to. It smudges a

lot, which is to be expected when working with this material. Ultimately it is needed to go back

and forth with a click eraser and charcoal several times before the area looks the way it needs to.

It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to produce a piece of art, this helped me to improve in

that area of character. Another art material that is commonly used is Prisma colored pencils,

which is basically just a fancy brand of colored pencil. When working with colored pencils, you

can’t just use one specific color when coloring in an area. For example when coloring part of a

leaf red, what is really needed to get the color was to layer different shades of reds, oranges and
possibly yellows to get the desired color. In order to make the colors appear more bright and pop

off the page you often need to add a layer of white colored pencil beneath it several times.

In addition to talking about color with colored pencils and how to effectively layer and

use it, the colors we use can also have an affect on our brains. In art or just in everyday life,

when we use specific colors it can trigger memories or emotions in our brain. The human brain

is so complex in many different ways. Without it we wouldn’t be unique, wouldn’t have

emotions or any kind of feeling. The human brain allows us to see and perceive art differently as

each person. The saying “to each his own” can apply to the way each one of us perceives art and

how it makes us feel or connects with us.

I have read different articles written by experts to determine how color affects our brain

and what mood is often associated with each color. According to the website Funderstanding and

the article, “Your Brain, On Color”, color is often associated with different memories and each

specific color, even slight changes in shade can help us associate to things in our past. When

asking people to remember or memorize certain things such as an object or a word, color had the

most long lasting effect. The person wouldn’t be able to recall everything about the object or

subject but for the most part could remember its color (Effect of Color on Memory, par 2).

Different colors can often be associated with different moods or feelings as well. It is

shown that red is affiliated with anger, aggression and hostility. Blue can be affiliated with

loyalty, stability and calmness. Black with power, dominance, mystery. Orange with energetic,

purple with spirituality, yellow with happiness, and so on.

Colors can have a powerful effect on our brain and our overall mood. They can stimulate

memories, jumpstart feelings, and they help us to understand just how complex the human brain

is, they allow us to connect with the world around us according to the article as well as personal
experience. Colors play a big role in photography as well, they can affect the mood of the photo

and enhance the message that the artist is trying to make. Before color photography there were

some miraculous photos taken, but since color photography has been around it has enhanced

pictures, it has let other people view what the artist was trying to capture through the color in the

photo.

In my sophomore year of high school I have been taking photography class. The standard

camera for that class is either a point and shoot camera or a DSLR. A point and shoot Panasonic

Lumix camera is the least expensive of the two and what I’ve personally used. In photography

courses you can learn about exposure, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Exposure is controlling

light and dark areas of the picture with the camera. Shutter speed is how long light is being

allowed into the camera (the time). Aperture is how much light is being allowed into the camera

(the amount). The ISO is the sensitivity of the light sensor or film, how fast the light sensor can

take in the information. A wider aperture means a shallow/narrow depth of field (smaller

number) and a smaller aperture means a greater depth of field (larger number).

In photo class we’ve done assignments such as rule of thirds, balancing elements, leading

lines, symmetry and patterns, viewpoint as well as many other projects. A more challenging

project was symmetry and patterns because we had to take photos in school, so the extent of my

photos was two windows and matching doors, making the photos pretty boring. But in any

course there are bound to be some boring assignments, but excitingly there can also be projects

to test creativity. An assignment that really tests creativity is called My Beauty. In the

assignment it was required to take pictures of things that you find beautiful but not everyone

does. It had to be unusual and photographed in a way the viewer could see the object just as

beautiful as the photographer saw the object. I took pictures of moss, colorful pens with the sun
shining on them, chipped paint, as well as many other things. All of this is to say that

photography really impacts society and the way we view the world. It helps us capture moments,

bits of history, and allows us to look back at the past and admire what it once was or allows us to

see the mistakes we’ve made. For example, think about the famous photograph Lunch Atop a

Skyscraper. This photo shows a group of workers eating their lunch on a skyscraper during the

construction of the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York. If photography wasn’t around

we may have never known what it was like in the 1930’s, we wouldn’t have as much of an

insight on the past or on our history.

As an artist I look up to other artists and the work they have put in to get to their skill

level and accomplish what they have. These artists had to get their start from somewhere though.

Take Pablo Picasso for example. Pablo Picasso was a painter, sculptor, writing, ceramic artist,

and so much more. Picasso was originally born in Spain but lived in France for most of his life.

Pablo Picasso’s father was a creator and artist whom he looked up to. Pablo’s dad mostly painted

live birds and other various animals. Picasso was taught oil painting by his father when he was

just seven years old. His father also taught community classes and was a curator for a museum.

When it came time for school Picasso went to the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, when he was

thirteen years old. It was very clear that Picasso had talent and ambition and he inherited his

father’s artistic skills. When Picasso was just starting out he painted portraits. He painted a now

famous portrait of his sister’s First Communion. As he continued in his career he began to draw

closer to symbolism and modernism.

In Picasso’s career there was a short time called the Blue Period which was from 1901 to

1904. For about three years most of his paintings were in blue which represents sadness and

some researchers think he did this because a close friend of his commited suicide. A period in his
career similar to the Blue Period was the Rose Period. It’s exactly what it sounds like, he painted

in shades of pink which made his paintings look a little more lively than his paintings from the

Blue Period. There are many things about Picasso’s life and I could go on for ages about all of

his great works of art and the influence he had on others. Picasso is just one of the artists that

influences other artists and myself with his life story and his beautiful works of art.

Another inspiring artist is Norman Rockwell. In my introduction paper I briefly

mentioned going to the Norman Rockwell Museum with my dad over the summer. It was so

amazing to see this huge building just dedicated to all the work he had done as an artist. We even

got to see a little studio that was modeled to what his studio actually looked like. Ever since

visiting that museum I have been interested in learning about Norman Rockwell and about his

artwork .

Norman Rockwell was born on February 3, 1894 in New York City, NY. He was always

very artistic as a child and growing up he knew that he wanted to be an artist. He ended up going

to the New York School of Art when he was just fourteen years old. In 1910 he decided to leave

high school and study at the National Academy of Design and soon after transferred schools and

went to The Art Students League. Learning from such great artists and being a very talented one

himself gave him success at the early age of sixteen when he was commissioned to paint four

very detailed Christmas cards. He was soon named the art director of Boys’ Life which was in

association with the Boy Scouts. When he was twenty one years old he moved to New Rochelle,

New York and set up a studio there. He worked for magazines and made his first cover of The

Saturday Evening Post. At the museum there was an entire room, with every space on the wall

taken up by magazine covers that he had illustrated. There were so many, it was insane. In total

he illustrated about 323 magazine covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Throughout his life
Norman Rockwell had made many more works of art and went on to do many more amazing

things, but these were some his greatest accomplishments. It was invigorating to go visit that

museum because it gave insight on how his life was and showed just how incredible he was as an

artist.

Art affects our everyday lives in such a way that not many of us realize it. That

advertisement you see on your phone, computer, tv, the clothing you wear, even your house were

all designed by someone. Someone designed those sneakers you just bought, someone used

graphic design to create that ad you see all the time, an architect drew up plans to build the house

you live in. Art is everywhere. Art is proven to help the brain with stress and anxiety and can be

a therapy for people. My love for art is also deeply connected in music. Music is an art form, and

sometimes a painting or drawing can make you think of a song or can be a melody of its own.

Just like art, music can create emotion and evoke feelings in us.

Since starting this project I began to reflect on all of the instruments I have played in the

past and in the present. Playing instruments has helped others to be more studious, concentrated

and attentive by strengthening how the brain functions. The first instrument I played was the

clarinet and it first started in 5th grade at Miller Hill Sand Lake school. There wasn’t really a

band, but there was an option to learn different instruments to prepare us for Algonquin or to see

if we wanted to participate in band. I took lessons for a good part of the year and decided that I

really liked it and continued to do band in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. It helped me improve my

rhythm and speed because we had to be in tune with the rest of the band and play the notes which

were sometimes really fast and difficult to play. Learning to play the ukulele and similar

instruments can help improve reflexes and brain function. There are four types of ukuleles:

soprano, concert, tenor and baritone, the soprano being the smallest and highest pitched and the
baritone being the biggest and lowest pitched. Playing the piano can take a lot of practice but can

help you in motor skills in the long run. By taking mini lessons from a friend of mine and

learning different chords and songs as I go, it's been a little easier to learn. Although this is my

personal experience when playing instruments, there have been scientists that say playing

instruments can change you for the better. According to inc.com playing instruments can

improve long-term memory and lead to better brain development. The site also says that

according to new research from a University of Montreal study, musicians are more mentally

alert compared to those who don’t play instruments. By looking at brain scans of musicians and

nonmusicians it can be seen that the corpus callosum (massive bundle of nerve fibers connecting

the two sides of the brain) is much larger in musicians (Inc.com). The type of emotion that music

makes us feel can help us understand why concerts can be life-changing and huge events.

Hundreds, thousands, of people gathered in one place hearing your favorite artist perform

all of your favorite songs live. To know that the person/people who inspired you is in the same

room, playing the same songs that made you calm, energized or that helped you through hard

times, it’s exhilarating. According to Variety attending concerts can lead to a 21% increase in

happiness and well being. Through additional research it is also said that for a music lover to

attend a concert once every two weeks, it can lead to overall happiness and well being and can

increase a person’s life expectancy by nine years.

I’ve only been to two concerts in my life so far, but judging by the way it made me feel

during and after them, there will definitely go to more. The first concert I went to was in August

of 2018. Some family friends won lawn tickets to see Charlie Puth and then gave them to my

brother and I. Since it was my first concert it’s hard to know what to expect. First there was the

opening act and then after about ten minutes after the opening act was over the lights turned off
and Charlie Puth came on stage. There was screaming everywhere and as soon as I heard the first

beat of the bass and his singing I stood there and was like, wow, this is really an artist that I

listen to on the stage in front of me. It was one of the best moments of my summer.

My second concert was on January 15, 2019 when I saw Panic! At the Disco. I remember

coming into school the day of the concert, all of my friends were going and we were all so

excited. Panic! At the Disco is one of my favorite bands and one of the first bands I got into. I

went to the concert with my friends Tiffany, Brittany, and Jack, and when we got there we

looked a couple of seats behind us and we saw some other people we knew. It was at the Times

Union Center and I could just feel the bass penetrating through my chest. The moment they came

out on stage I was so excited my heart stopped for a moment. It was instrumental at first and then

the first level of bass came and one of the singers jumped out of the floor. Not onto the floor

from up above, but out from under the floor. I felt so happy in that moment and it is something I

will never forget. Concerts can make people feel happy and exhilarated, which is why when an

artist goes on tour they usually sell a lot of tickets. Concerts can be a sort of escape, to leave the

burdens of everyday life for a few hours and just feel completely stress free.

Music has a lasting effect on us that sometimes we can’t always understand. Music

affects everyone’s lives in different ways and can create different emotions in the brain

depending on the person because every person is unique, and depending on the type of music

that the person listens to. For example, classical music can make one feel relaxed and rock or

upbeat music can make one feel energized and productive.

On the Bobcat Network, the reporter who wrote the article, How Music Affects Our Lives

? (Adam Crouse) conducted a survey about the music listening habits of people. In his survey he

says about 22.2% of people listen to music for about one or two hours a day and another 22.2%
of people listen for about five hours a day or more. In his survey it is also said that 11% of

people listen to music for less than an hour per day. Music obviously plays a big part in some

people’s lives and quite a smaller part in others. Personally I don’t know exactly how much

music I listen to, but I listen to music a lot, whenever I can.

Music can help us get into a rhythm. It can make us happy, sad, tired, upbeat and any

other number of emotions. Music can help us communicate in ways that just talking won’t

wouldn’t be able to express. They can help us tell stories, communicate an emotion, and it can

even connect us with people around us. For example, say you hear your favorite song or band out

of the blue, and another person is listening to it. You can easily spark up a conversation with

them about the music and the band and how they got introduced to it and bam!, you got a new

friend. Music affects each person very differently but personally I know that it has had a very

positive impact on my life.

Throughout this entire research project, after weeks and weeks of writing papers and

learning more about things that interest me a conclusion can be made that without art and music

people would be lost. Honestly people are still lost and have no idea what they’re doing, but

throughout life as people make mistakes they can share what they have learned with the world

around them. Let’s be honest not everyone is going to be jumping up and down at the

opportunity to sit in a lecture hall and listen to someone drone on for hours. People aren’t going

to listen to that and neither would I. Art and music gives people a platform to express

themselves, to teach a lesson, to help create a more appreciative and stable environment. These

things would not be able to happen if people didn’t have this platform to express what they really

love. Art and music is the icing on the cake, it helps us tie ideas and thoughts together in a way

that nothing else could.

 Works Cited

Brockington, Ariana. “Going to Concerts Is Good for Your Health (Study).” Variety, 29 Mar.

2018, variety.com/2018/music/news/new-research-finds-concerts-good-for-health-1202739766/.

“Color Psychology: How the Colors You Choose Affect Your Mood.” Science of People, 29 Jan.

2019, www.scienceofpeople.com/color-psychology/.

“Your Brain, on Color.” Funderstanding Education Curriculum and Learning Resources, 26

Apr. 2011, www.funderstanding.com/brain/your-brain-on-color/.

Clark, Josh. “Why Do Music and Art Move Us?” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 28

June 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/life/music-and-art-move-us1.htm.

Crouse, Adam. “How Does Music Affect Our Lives?” The Express, 29 Sept. 2015,

www.blhsnews.com/opinion/2015/09/29/how-does-music-affect-our-lives/.

“Norman Rockwell - A Brief Biography - A Career in Illustration.” Norman Rockwell Museum,

www.nrm.org/about/about-2/about-norman-rockwell/.

“Pablo Picasso Biography.” The Weeping Woman, 1937 by Pablo Picasso,

www.pablopicasso.org/picasso-biography.jsp.