Photography_Composition_Workshops and Classes

Marina Graves is an active Denver artist and a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her current works are in 2D and 3D mixed media. She completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard Radcliffe University, later enrolling in the Art Students League NYC, and Pratt Graphics Institute, also in NYC. She has shown her work in numerous galleries, including Ridgefield Museum of Contemporary Ar, CTt; Ward-Nasse, NYC; in Colorado at Ironton Studios, Space Gallery, Flash/A Working with Artists Space, and Pirate. Her work has been collected by the Ridgefield Museum of Contemporary Art, The Connecticut State Bank, The NewHaven Savings Bank, and numerous private collectors. She taught painting and design at the New Haven Institute of Art and is an incisive and challenging teacher. Instrumental in the creation of a museum of contemporary art in Denver, Marina continues to encourage and support contemporary art institutions. Recent development of a new Board of Directors and additional programming at Working with Artists have been due in part to Marina's influence.

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS WITH MARINA GRAVES

FINE ART COMPOSITION: End at the Beginning
Starts: 10/10 4 Wednesdays
$195
Just as there is no completely satisfactory way of defining art, there is no way of defining composition either; and of course trying to define composition, rather than art, is simply to perceive another side of the same problem. But, of course, it's difficult to perceive art without a composition. Even the most minimal art occurs within a framework, or without that structure, still within an environment.

Nevertheless, composition is often assumed. Courses on painting, sculpture, design and photography all quite naturally touch on it, but often as one ingredient among considerable other elements of information: materials, colors, techniques, etc. Our proposal is to study the elements of composition within any discipline, but with special emphasis on photography. And photography is perhaps unique among the arts in that it begins with a composition and proceeds from there. And in that sense, it is the opposite of the other arts. It may literally, begin at the end; and end at the beginning.

We will try to assess the many elements of composition, if not all (perhaps impossible) in an attempt to heighten awareness and gain some clarification of the processes involved.

Among the topics to be covered are: balance versus imbalance, using the frame or not, frames of reference, attacking the cliché and there are many, the frontal vision‚ if there is such, or skewed, surface qualities and the opposite: depth (one perspective or many?) and more. Class discussions will be supplemented with visual materials and a few formal exercises. But above all, this is an awareness class, to make you more aware of the elements you will use to define your art.