Final Project

Art Education Final Statement

                One key aspect this course has taught me is perspective.  Art is all about perspective on the world and how one perceives it.  One who looks at a piece for 5 seconds will have a very different perspective than someone who views a piece for over an hour.  Transforming and adapting the world also changes perspectives.  Before I began my final project, I wanted to really convey the idea of perspective and how we view the world.  The more I began thinking about perspective, the more I realized I was really bored and started wandering onto Facebook.  This was it!  Facebook is still a relatively new invention but has completely changed our perspective on identity.  Our generation spends countless hours constructing our profile, writing on walls, and adding pictures to convey our identity in a way to control people’s perspective of ourselves.  I decided at this moment to explore Facebook profiles and the perspective it gives to identity.

                While my roommates thought I was wasting library time looking at Facebook, I was consciously going through many profiles to determine how people construct their own identity to alter perspective.  One key feature stood out among all others: the profile picture.  A picture speaks 1000 words and a profile picture is no exception.  Before one even clicks on a profile, they see the profile picture.  The average Facebook user understands the importance of choosing the correct photo to perceive their identity.  Therefore, the profile picture had to be a key aspect of my final project.  However, a Facebook profile gives much more than simply a picture.  People write on walls, “like” pretty much anything they want, state their religious views, let the world know when it’s their birthday, and my personal favorite: their relationship status.  I find it very interesting that so many people check relationships statuses to determine if their new friend is single or not.  Nonetheless, the Facebook profile tells so much about identity but it’s only the identity a user wishes to share. 

                I decided my artwork would be a video of profile pictures.  Once I added all of the pictures I wanted to use, I decided to add something from their profile to add a little more to the identity.  This shows the limitations and purposefulness behind constructing an identity.  I then added music which I felt best portrayed the profile picture.  This kept the viewer interested in the artwork while it was playing and also brings a new perspective of the identity.  I was constantly questioning the music added to the piece because this was me constructing their identity rather than the Facebook user like the other parts of the project.  However, by adding the music myself, it shows how one can also misinterpret the identity the user was trying to construct.

                There are some key pieces of this particular video that I would like to point out.  The first is the pictures without a picture of them-selves.  These pictures may include a car, a cause, or just something funny.  I find that these people are the hardest to perceive on Facebook, and the users may be trying to hide part of their identity.  On the other hand, the user may also be exemplifying a key part of their identity.  It all shows how users control the perspective we see them with.  Another key aspect which the artwork does not clearly portray is the woman with the cow.  She is one of the most inner city girls I know, but her profile screams agriculture and country attitude.  This is a clear control of perspective and I question why she is covering her inner city culture.  The final thing I want to point out is the last two pictures two of my friends who have passed away.  Once someone dies, their Facebook becomes a static memorial.  The Facebook will never have new posts from this user, but his profile remains and cannot be touched by anyone (unless someone else knows the password).  This is the final epitaph for the user and a nice memorial for people to write their final thoughts about user.   

                The final lesson from this project is our control over perspective through Facebook.  Next time you log onto Facebook, think about the things you are trying to cover up and the things you want the whole world to know!Art Education Final Statement

                One key aspect this course has taught me is perspective.  Art is all about perspective on the world and how one perceives it.  One who looks at a piece for 5 seconds will have a very different perspective than someone who views a piece for over an hour.  Transforming and adapting the world also changes perspectives.  Before I began my final project, I wanted to really convey the idea of perspective and how we view the world.  The more I began thinking about perspective, the more I realized I was really bored and started wandering onto Facebook.  This was it!  Facebook is still a relatively new invention but has completely changed our perspective on identity.  Our generation spends countless hours constructing our profile, writing on walls, and adding pictures to convey our identity in a way to control people’s perspective of ourselves.  I decided at this moment to explore Facebook profiles and the perspective it gives to identity.

                While my roommates thought I was wasting library time looking at Facebook, I was consciously going through many profiles to determine how people construct their own identity to alter perspective.  One key feature stood out among all others: the profile picture.  A picture speaks 1000 words and a profile picture is no exception.  Before one even clicks on a profile, they see the profile picture.  The average Facebook user understands the importance of choosing the correct photo to perceive their identity.  Therefore, the profile picture had to be a key aspect of my final project.  However, a Facebook profile gives much more than simply a picture.  People write on walls, “like” pretty much anything they want, state their religious views, let the world know when it’s their birthday, and my personal favorite: their relationship status.  I find it very interesting that so many people check relationships statuses to determine if their new friend is single or not.  Nonetheless, the Facebook profile tells so much about identity but it’s only the identity a user wishes to share. 

                I decided my artwork would be a video of profile pictures.  Once I added all of the pictures I wanted to use, I decided to add something from their profile to add a little more to the identity.  This shows the limitations and purposefulness behind constructing an identity.  I then added music which I felt best portrayed the profile picture.  This kept the viewer interested in the artwork while it was playing and also brings a new perspective of the identity.  I was constantly questioning the music added to the piece because this was me constructing their identity rather than the Facebook user like the other parts of the project.  However, by adding the music myself, it shows how one can also misinterpret the identity the user was trying to construct.

                There are some key pieces of this particular video that I would like to point out.  The first is the pictures without a picture of them-selves.  These pictures may include a car, a cause, or just something funny.  I find that these people are the hardest to perceive on Facebook, and the users may be trying to hide part of their identity.  On the other hand, the user may also be exemplifying a key part of their identity.  It all shows how users control the perspective we see them with.  Another key aspect which the artwork does not clearly portray is the woman with the cow.  She is one of the most inner city girls I know, but her profile screams agriculture and country attitude.  This is a clear control of perspective and I question why she is covering her inner city culture.  The final thing I want to point out is the last two pictures two of my friends who have passed away.  Once someone dies, their Facebook becomes a static memorial.  The Facebook will never have new posts from this user, but his profile remains and cannot be touched by anyone (unless someone else knows the password).  This is the final epitaph for the user and a nice memorial for people to write their final thoughts about user.   

                The final lesson from this project is our control over perspective through Facebook.  Next time you log onto Facebook, think about the things you are trying to cover up and the things you want the whole world to know!  Enjoy the Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW2UOLUTXd8&feature=youtu.be

Final Project Critique

Identity

The big idea for this project is identity and how identity is portrayed in today's generation.  According to facebook, I have 1,094 friends.... damn.  The goal of this narrative will be to compile facebook profile picture from my "friends," and create an identity for each picture.  Due to time constraints with this project, I do not believe I will have time to compile every picture.  I want compile the pictures in a way to show how a facebook profile picture leaves vital information out, can make you seem like someone you are not, or show fake emotions.  As of now, I will create a video, slide show with sounds in the background to convey the identity.  I want to use my friends pictures rather than random pictures, simply because I know the identity they are hiding and do not wish to convey.  I will not use anything offensive to my friends.

Failure Statement

                My biggest failure this semester came during Micro Project 2, where we were supposed to design an unconventional map.  I went around campus and took the pictures I wanted in order to make the map I had in mind.  I wanted to create a Block O with the path going around the Block O and insert a campus with the direction one should be heading.  I spent about two hours trying this out and it was not turning into what I envisioned, in a bad way.  The campus always pointed West and it did not represent my feelings or senses on the way to class.  Therefore, I scrapped the idea and restarted.  The final result is posted on my blog and I think it is a huge success which resulted from a failure.

                I learned a few things from this failure.  First is that it is OK to scrap an original idea if it is not conveying the “Big Idea” you are trying to represent.  However, this failure also taught me that one rarely completely scraps from the original.  I still used the same pictures, the same path, etc.  The only main difference was the way in which I chose to convey them.  Second, this may have been my best project because I failed.  Since I failed the first time, I put considerable more time into the project.  Time allowed me to develop ideas and find new ways of representing ideas.

                My biggest success this semester was the same project I failed on.  I always love geography and map making (it’s my major) so I really spent a good amount of time on it.  I created a map with modern features and antique features combined, and I really liked the final result.  I learned from this success that my best work will result from time.  It’s simple, the more time invested will generally mean a better project in the end.

                If I could redo one project, it would be Micro Project 4, with the sounds.  I really liked my final outcome, but I now that I understand the software a little better, I feel like I could do a better representation.   

Micro Project 5

Word: Crease

When I think of the word crease, I go straight back to 1st grade.  I hated those stupid math problems (addition and subtraction were so hard) and I just wanted to throw that piece of paper as far as I could.  I had a great bud sitting next to me (so great that I forgot his name) and he taught me the beauty of a crease.  Fold your math problem in half, then make some triangles, and open it back up half way.  Now throw it at the teacher and watch the beauty of flight.

Now that I am in college, I realize I have not made my favorite piece of artwork in a long time.  I used to make paper airplanes all of the time with my old (and sometimes due tomorrow) homework.  I realized that my homework became more and more important and the grade was all that mattered.  I forget the beauty that comes from a paper airplane.  It is still amazing!  It takes less than a minute and you create a perfect flying machine that would have the Wright Brothers impressed.

So how can I get away with simply making a paper airplane for my big art project.  Simple.  Make it out of something really important, like back in first grade when my graded subtraction problem just got thrown at the teacher (with perfect aerodynamics).  Subtraction is still really important, but it doesn't feel as important as it did back then.  But, tomorrow I have a big Geography project to present and it is equivalent to a big midterm.  That is really important.  I am going to make it a paper airplane and throw it across my room before I turn it in tomorrow. (I don't have the balls to throw it at my professor anymore.... how I wish to be a first grader again).

Sure enough, I ripped that front page off and made the simple CREASES needed to create an aerodynamic machine.  It was beautiful... and it took less than a minute.  It was not the time or the creativity that made this artwork.  It was the fact that I finally took something really important in my life, and turned it into a paper airplane.  Sure enough, I was able to unfold it (the beauty of a crease is that it is still not very noticeable) and turn it in the next morning.  I am the man!

The lesson from Micro Project 5: Nothing is too important to turn into a paper airplane.

Here is the link to the powerpoint:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y2ghx6eo12e3fm8/Micro%20Project%205.pptx

Microproject 4

The Water's Perspective of the Bathroom

   We all use the bathroom multiple times each day.  We often think of the bathroom as a quiet, private place where we can simply "do our business."  However, the bathroom is a very quiet place until we enter it.  We then turn on the vent, flush the toilet, wash and dry our hands, etc.  I originally had no intention on doing my project in the bathroom but while I was "doing my business," I realized just how much unique sounds fill the space.
  I want this video to inspire a variety of emotions.  The image itself is simply a camera underneath the sink with water pouring on it.  Nearly all sounds have to do with water when one is in the bathroom.  Therefore, I want the person to have the peaceful emotion of moving water, but hearing the often uncomfortable sounds of the bathroom in the background.  I intentionally made the beginning quite boring with the sound of the vent.  This is all one hears while taking a shit, however it is a powerful and unique sound which we often drown out.  Many of us seem to feel uncomfortable when we hear bathroom sounds outside of the actual room.  This is the point.  The sounds are so distinguishable, but we rarely or never hear them outside the space of the bathroom.
  Then the other sounds are quite distinguishable but I used technology to add the sounds together and create the many sounds on top of each other.  This is because the water has many different paths it may take, and I want to make sure the person viewing the art fully understands that.  The water may end up down the toilet, it may come out of the sink, or it may even end up on the towel.  By placing the sounds together, it uses hearing to track the water's progress in the bathroom.  This was a nice surprise to see the artwork come out the way it did, but most of this was an intentional process.
  The most satisfying part of this project is the fact I successfully manipulated sound.  I have never been a music performer and could never play an instrument.  Therefore, this project was very difficult for me but I was satisfied that a nice piece of artwork was created from such a disgusting place.
   There were many times where I just hated this project.  I am a very visual person and I often have a difficult time picking out sounds.  This project challenged me to change my perspective on sound and learn how to capture it and manipulate it to form artwork.  While this was my most difficult project yet, I am happy with the way it turned out.
 

Blog 9

This is my favorite blog post yet.  We have been practicing all semester on how to look at the world with a different perspective, but this reading reaches the epitome of perspective.  A blind man seems to have a better grasp on how the world looks, reacts, and behaves better than the wife and the man.  The man had a very pessimistic view on life but the blind man helped him find his identity. My favorite part of the story came at the end when he asked him to describe a cathedral.  When he realized he couldn't do it justice, the blind man had him draw it, with his eyes closed!  When the blind man asked him to describe it now, the man said it was really something.
There is nothing in this story that I want to criticize.  I feel like the point of this story is about perspective.  Before I read this, I would have said that blindness is a lack of perspective.  A blind man can only use his imagination along with his other senses to construct an image.  Sight is so important to us and guides virtually everything we do.  It would help us all to remove sight for a short period and construct an image with this "lack" of perspective.

Micro Project 4 Part 1

I place I go fairly often, at least a few times daily, is the bathroom.  My normal activities include actually using the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing my teeth, shaving, washing my hands, and other normal bathroom stuff.  The room contains a toilet, a shower, a sink, a mirror, a shelf, and a tile floor.  It is probably the smallest room in the house, but one of the most important.  Simply by walking into the bathroom, you may not notice that you are in a bathroom.  You must interact with it in order to figure out the identity of the room.  You must flush the toilet (a very distinct sound), turn on the shower and the sink, and turn on the vent.  Occasionally you might even let a fart slip loose.  Most of these sounds are very unique to this particular room so you will probably instantly know where you are once you hear them.