Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Practicing for Tomorrow



Take a look at Daniel Sprick's self-portrait, "Release Your Plans."


I'd like you to identify any two "clues" that you think are important to understanding this picture, and then I'd like you to take a guess as to what you think the larger theme of this picture might be.


Remember to read others' comments before reading your own so that you can comment on other people's thoughts (it should be a conversation), and so that you avoid repeating what somebody else already said. Also, please use proper spelling and grammar.


P.S. This picture is hanging in the Denver Art Museum right now.

25 comments:

  1. In the self-portrait "Release Your Plans" i think one clue is the plant in the back. I think it might be a clue to "releasing your plans" because i plant grows which might symbolize releasing yourself in some way. Another clue I found was the string wrapped around the mirror and post. This may be another clue to releasing your plans by releasing the string.

    I think the theme of this self-portrait is that everyone has dreams which are represented with many of the items in the picture, and some how people need to release those dreams.

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  2. One clue that i saw was the string wraped around everything. Another clue is the big vine. I think the bigger picture is simply the title Realease your plans.

    I think the theme is always reamine patient.

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  3. One clue for the portrait "release your plans" is the drapes because it looks like they were going to hang the red ones and didn’t- hence releasing your plans. And there is a rose that dose not have a stem; it had plans to grow but didn’t it not follow thru with the plans to grow. In this portrait I think the bigger picture is to be random and have fun.

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  4. One clue that I noticed about the self-portrait "Release Your Plans" is that everything is connencted by a string even though everything in the portrait is different and contradicts other objects, such as the rose or plant demonstrates life or growth and the skull under neath symbolizes death. I think that it relates to the title of the portrait because the objects included are random, but they all were "releasing plans."

    I think the theme of the portrait is to always express your self eventhough it may be wrong and might not always fit together like it is suppose to.

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  5. This is a hard picture to interpret. I like what Devon realized that everything is connected by a string, but somehow everything contradicts itself in one way or another. I think this could be because everything that you plan in life is not uniform and things contradict and cross with your plans and all your plans may not be advocating for each other. Plans are things that can be fulfilled and not fulfilled and every plan you have will be different and possible contradicting from the plan previous or near future.
    So I do think one clue here is the string and it represents the connection between plans, no matter how similar or distant from each other they may be, they are all plans and all for the same concept of something you do indeed plan on.
    Yes, some may say I am rambling on and on, but peeps open your eyes and your heart!!! BIGGIE SMALLS!!!!
    My second clue could be the darkness in the room showing that maybe these are bad plans and that plans can lead to something bad!!! Possible coincidence with the skull on the table there, eh?
    The big picture is that releasing our plans and overviewing them is a very helpful idea, and that every plan is tied to each other to help you or bring you down and you choose whether it helps or hurts your lifestyle!!! NOTORIOUS B.I.G...

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  6. Personally, I think the two most important clues in the picture are the skulls and the bones. It gives a theme about the picture or almost tells a story about something that happened or is going to happen. I would really like to know if he is dead now, and if he is dead how he died. I think it might be about suicide. He might be talking about plans to kill himself. It is just a guess, but the signs are there, the skulls, the bones, the rose, the red and black colors.

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  7. I think that the skull and the rose are the most important because your eyes go right to the skull and then above to look at the rose. I like what Devon said about how the picture contradicts what it is trying to say.

    I think the theme is about how life always contradicts itself but it all fits together in the end.

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  8. In this portrait "release your plans" i think one of the clues is the skull, which usually symbolizes death and also the rose which is right above it , so maybe it has something to do with the skull also.

    Kinda what sam said i think the theme is that life has some ups and downs but there is always time for a new beginning and it will all work out in the end

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  9. I think that one of the clues is all the string at the bottom of because your life may sometimes go in circles and the string is wrapping aroung the bottom of the picture. I think that second clue may be the skull because the skull may show that his life is passing by and you may not realize it.

    I think the larger theme may be how your life is passing by you and you may not even know it, how your life may be going in circles, and how your life is going to have some ups and downs.

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  10. Two clues in this picture that make up the bigger picture is the skull which is the main focus in this portrait, another clue in this portrait is the use of the black and blood red currtins used in the background.

    A few motifs in this picture would be; darkness, maybe anger, sadness, and loss. The theme in this picture is depressian haha just kiding the actual theme in this picture is that this man is sad and has alot of death in his mind. Thats why the skull is one of the main focuses in the picture.

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  11. In the portrait, Release Your Plans, I noticed one of the most prominent objects was a skull, which may be a symbol, because it is repeated in other of his works as well. Skulls are used in a lot of other types of art to represent the sureity of death, so maybe that's what the skull in this painting represents. The string is a web, which symbolizes interconnectedness. Since this is a portrait, the interconnectedness could have to do with different aspects or time periods within his life, or, like Devon, Eric, and Cody said, it connects everything in the painting.
    A possible interpretation of the painting could be a tribute to other artists that have influenced his work. I came to this assumption because I noticed a soup can (Andy Warhol) and the skull, which is common in a lot of Mexican artwork made me think of Frida Kahlo, another world renown artist. This is just one possible interpretation, though. Another possible interpretation is that the potrait could just symbolize his life, or just life in general and the different, and unexpected, things along the way.

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  12. In this painting, "Release Your Plans", I think 2 clues are the skull and the string. Many people have said this and I agree with them, that they are the most prominent. I think many of the objects contradict each other, just like Cody said. The red and black colors are kind of depressing and may symbolize death. There is a plant growing and the rose drooping. The skull symbolizes death. The string looks like it's wrapped around many objects trying to keep everything together without letting anything being released. The string seems to go every which way. This may mean that plans may become other plans and keep on extending. You need to be open to doing anything and always get back on the path you started with.

    The theme of this painting is all plans normally lead up to one huge plan. The string looks like it leads to the top of the stand where the skull is.

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  13. One clue I found in this picture is the mirror next to the main item. I don't really understand why it's there but I think it might be symbolizing seeing yourself as others see you and I think the string is also an important clue because it's tied to the mirror so maybe that means people are "tied" to the image of how others perceive them.

    I think the bigger theme of this picture is "releasing" yourself from that image.

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  14. In Daniel Sprick's self-portrait, "Release Your Plans," I believe one clue is the trail of plates in the background because it shows different plans could trap you in circle of many thoughts or other plans. Another clue I noticed is that the room seemed dull and boring because on both sides of the painting are two pictures with the same frame. I believe this shows that as soon as you release your plans then you can open your mind and be more creative.

    The theme of this picture is to at least "lighten" or release all of your plans and you will be able to see a new and different world that you never knew about.

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  15. Two things that i notice in this self portrait are the colors used in the whole set up, and the skull on the stand. I think that its over all meaning like other people said that its almost a tribute to other artests that contributed to his art stile.

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  16. I noticed the sring attacked to everything, and the bones off to the side.

    I believe the theme of this is everything ties together, basically there is a reason for everything, the bones resembling death, the plant resembling life, and the glasses on the table in the corner standing for relationships because there are two glasses. There is also a plate off to the right side seeming cut off, maybe a metaphor for: Take whats on your plate?

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  17. I noticed the little man in the painting in about the bottom left and the mirror.

    I think the bigger picture is that this person doesnt care much anout how this place looks and is at a low point in his life so he gave up notice the title "Release Your Plans,"

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  18. WOW, all of you guys have had such unique and great ideas about the painting, and they are not all the same. I agree with the idea of the string conecting all of the parts in the picture, but how the parts contradict eachother. It is similar to our plans and how they are connected but can be contradicting (as many of you have mentioned). I also think Jake's idea of death and suicide makes a lot of sence looking at this picture with the skulls and the black and red colors repeated in the self-portrait. Cody also noticed the darkish tone to the room and i think that has something to do with it. In the end however, I think the main couple clues to this portrait are that all the different parts to it are in dissaray, like the curtains, the cluttered floor, the string everywhere, and the many objects on the central "platform." The second clue being the skulls, bones, and the dull darkness to the room.
    These clues reveal the theme, which I think is that when plans are released what happened in the picture (chaos) happens in real life and particularly in his life. The bones, skulls, and darkness show that he did not like his life to be in chaos.

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  19. I think one clue is the skull sybolyising death or hate and the other is the rose meaning love or life so i think it is about love and hate or life or death

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  21. I think one clue in this painting is about following your dreams. The painting is called release your plans like what are your plans in life. Are you going to live the life you want to live something like that.That's what I think.

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  22. I think a clue is flower growing out of the plant. It could symbolize the beauty that something can show kind of like someones beauty or talent they might be hiding. Another clue would be the skulls in the picture these could show the pain of something or bad memories you can forget.
    I think the theme is that even though you might have a plan that you think is great and will would out it can turn wrong and leave you feeling hurt.

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  23. This picture is probably the most difficult one to interpret so far. I like a lot of the ideas that people had. I like Devon's idea of everything contradicting itself. I also like what Cody said about the string and the connection between plans. My interpretation of this picture is that, like Austin said, everything is in chaos. I would say that chaos is also the motif of this picture. The first thing I noticed was the skull sitting on the covered stand. I think this could be a symbol of death. I also noticed the plant in the background was kind of tied up in the string at one point. That kind of symbolizes maybe the feeling of being trapped. The last thing I noticed was the mirror on the left side of the covered stand. Maybe the artist thought that discovering who you really are is an important part of releasing plans. I think the theme is that you can control the chaos in your life by releasing your plans and discovering your true potential.

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  24. I really like the idea that someone had about how that string is conecting everything in the picture that is really cool I never thought about it that way.
    Also another clue I think is the slekiton head. It really comes out to me as some thing like a skeliton in the closet or somthing.

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  25. Two clues in this portrait are the skull adn the plants. The bigger picture or theme could be that the artist is suicidal and he wants to "Relese His Plans." This was reperesented by the skull meaning death and the plants would represent his life fading

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