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.

Blog 8

I work with the commencement office at OSU and I have to admit, Wallace had a very unique commencement speech.  I appreciate how he laid out what the "real world" is all about.  We all have those days where we feel like nothing is going OUR way.  I admit that life often seems centered around myself for reasons Wallace explained.  However, we are often told to put others first, serve others, and put yourself in someone elses shoes.  While we hear these words everyday, we rarely truly practice this.  Wallace lays out a path for us to begin putting ourselves in others shoes.

I did not like how Wallace wrote this speech with great negativity.  I feel like his point about worklife and adult life was made clear at the beginning.  He kept preaching about how frustrating it all was.  While he did challenge us to broaden our minds, I feel like he should have gone into more detail rather than ranting about Hummers.  It is not something we can easly do everyday, to broaden our minds and gain a new perspective, however it is really important.  I wish he would have overstressed this point rather than stressing how frustrating the real world is about to be.

Micro Project 3

This is my identity based on items I carry everyday.  The background is a picture of one Buckeye arranged and modified to cover the whole canvas.  This way it appears there are multiple Buckeyes.  The Buckeyes represent my hobby of OSU football and anything Ohio State.  I also carry my phone with me.  While it has so many conveniences, it often intrudes in my life.  However, it does keep me connected with the world and I edited the image of my phone into a way to show the connectivity.  Next are my NIKE AIR shoes.  I feel like I am MJ when I wear them and feel empowered.  It also represents my identity as an athlete.  I turned one shoe into two and covered the NIKE symbol with empowered.  My keys represent Access to the everything I need.  I simply edited them so they are visible, however they are always in my pocket and never in sight.  Finally, I wanted to portray my computer and school notebook as one.  I never have one without the other.  They are both valuable, yet controlling.  By editing it the way I did, I think it represents this idea well.

This image leaves a lot of my identity out.  As a Catholic, there is no symbols on me each day that I carry to represent this.  I am also heavily involved with politics.  While I did have symbols during campaign season, I no longer carry this identity with me during the spring.  It is difficult to express my entire identity in one single image.

MP 3 Pictures

  My dad told me a story about how Buckeyes are lucky when I was a small child and I still carry one with me when I need a really good day.  I have always loved Ohio State and what it means to be from Ohio so this tradition of carrying a Buckeye will probably last my whole life.

One Word: Nuts, Pride

So much of my life is now controlled by this device.  My school work, my free time, communication, even my job, require my laptop so I carry it with me virtually everywhere.

One word: Controlling

My backpack holds everything I need to make it through the day.  Not only does it contain school work, but often carries my lunch and even workout clothes.  

One word: Assistant 

These are my favorite pair of Nike shoes.  They are comfortable, stylish, and make me feel like an athletic superstar even though my playing days are long over.

One word: Empower

My keys give me access to places of home, work, my car, even my computer and the grocery store.  I must have these at all times or else my day could be ruined.

One work: Access

Society requires that I carry my wallet with me at all times.  It contains my means of exchange, my identification (who knew you needed to carry something as abstract as identity), my health insurance, car insurance, and a lot of gift cards.

One word: Identity 

Blog 7

Kaprow:
I never thought of brushing my teeth, or walking to class as art.  This is simply the things I must do everyday. However, I agree with the artist that it can be art if we truly pay attention to it.  All the tiny details of our everyday actions turn out to become something beautiful.  Even typing this blog post.  I see how my fingers know which keys to press without even looking at the keyboard.  If I watch my fingers closely though, it becomes a work of art to see them flowing across the keyboard to form words on the screen.
I disagree with the artist in the sense that these actions are always art.  I believe it is only considered art work if you recognize and acknowledge it as such.  I do not consider my walk to class each day as art.  However, when I look at how my legs move back and forth, how I hold my book bag, how I know where to go without even thinking about it.  Once I recognize all of this, then I consider it art.

Weschler:
As a Catholic, I think the timing of this article is perfect since it coincides with our tradition of Lent.  Lent is about how Jesus spent 40 days in the desert to figure out how to be the Son of God.  I feel like the artist had a similar experience where he went out to the desert to find out how to improve his art.  Both came back with a completely different perspective on how to do their missions.  The whole point of the desert is to built a perspective and one's personal perception of the world.  Once this perception is developed, then one can apply it to what they do.
The artist took time to think of ways to show this desert and sense of perception in his artwork.  I believe this is something you cannot and should not pursue since as the author stated, each person will develop a different perception.  It seems that the artist learned the correct lesson that one should do their work with their perception and thoughts, while understanding others perceptions and thoughts will be different.

Saunders:
This article contains so much information on such an incredible guy.  I appreciate Saunders views on death and how we should not ignore the idea, but truly face the idea and how it can make us better.  They talk about how we have a heightened sense of what life is truly after experiencing a near death experience of the loss of a loved one.  This is a feeling which I think almost all of us can agree on and which happens to us at times in our lives.  I never recognized it before, but the author is right that these feelings tend to die out once time goes on.
On a different topic, Saunders talks about how it is a slim chance that what a student will write will someday reach the "real" world of audience.  I agree in the sense it is very unlikely, but at the Undergraduate level, I fell like students do not write towards a worldwide audience.  The current system wants us to write for the purpose of a good grade.  It is not until one goes to graduate school (which many of us choose not to) when the writings are meant to be for a broader audience.

Blog 6 Reading Cardiff and Miller

   I never thought of sound as art.  I always imagine art as something visual which can invoke all of our senses and broaden our thought.  However, using sound to invoke all of our senses should count as art as well.  I particularly like the end of the article where the guard stated that some people just cannot find peace.  After reflecting about all of the sounds I hear each day at OSU, I agree that most sounds I hear do not represent peace.  The buses, people on the phone, the silence in the library... all of these represent work.  However, out of context and just listening to the sound, they could be viewed as peaceful if the visual was removed from the situation.
   I wish the artists would explain in more detail about why they chose the sounds that they chose.  I understand that often times it is better to come up with these thoughts yourself, but sound is one sense which most of us feel a visual context.  This might be the point of their artwork, to make hearing the main sense instead of sight, but I think this would take a lot of getting used to.

The Clock at the Wexner Center Blog 6 Part 1

   Last Wednesday, during our usual class time, I went to the Wexner Center for the first time.  I first saw the American Photo exhibit, which was cool but not really exciting, and some exhibit on light.  However, my favorite part of the exhibit was The Clock.  I walked into the very dark room around 11:49 (kind of nice to always know what time it is) and stayed until 12:30 before my next class.  This was by far the longest I ever spent with artwork.
   My favorite part was when the clock struck noon.  The artist used clips from action movies, and built some suspenseful music into the background to lead up to noon.  Then he had Big Ben strike noon in London and clocks from movies of all eras began chiming, ringing, etc.  During the whole time I was in there, I only recognized two movies (Titanic and James Bond).  I found this odd since I watch movies on a fairly regular basis.
  I believe the whole point of the clock was not about how far the movie industry came, or how many clocks are in movies, but to recognize how time controls almost everything we do.  I even pulled out my phone to check the time (while I was already looking at a clock!).  My schedule, the time of day, the season, the month, the year... all these times control my day to day actions.  I am glad the artist made me think about how much time really affects my life.

Nipple Jesus

   I really enjoyed this article about nipple Jesus.  I liked the style in which it was written (being a big guy myself and even doing a bouncer gig a few times..I can relate).  I also found it interesting that he felt he knew the photo even better than the author.  While the article spoke about the artwork, I feel like the goal of the article was to capture a story of the bouncer.  He went from not really caring about his jobs or his life, to finding something which expanded his mind.  I think this was the entire point of the painting.  To expand the mind and think about how pictures can be put together.  Even something as holy as Jesus Christ, can still be constructed with nipples from a porn magazine.
   One part that bothered me, and bothered the author as well, is the fact that the artist wanted to artwork to be destroyed (sorta).  While to camera did capture the artwork being destroyed, I think about how humanity has a hard time expanding their minds but that's about it.  If the artwork was still there, the controversy would still be there also and our minds would be forced to expand.  I would rather see humanity look at the world from a different perspective than see humanity destroy the new perspective

- I am sorry this is posted late.  I clicked save rather than Publish so you were probably unable to see it.  I understand if I am not able receive credit for this blog post.

MP 2

Before I begin this explanation, I want to first state that I am a Geography major and am currently taking some map designing classes.  I found this project very exciting because I finally had a chance to create a map in a non traditional way.  The first thing we learned in my map making class is that maps are entirely represented by the author and is biased as a result.  The author includes what he wants to represent.  However, in practice, I usually create maps which are very standard and look "normal."  Not this time.

This was my first project where I failed.  I wanted to create a Block O map with my trip circling the Block.  Unfortunately this style did not convey the emotion of the trip to class which I wanted to convey.  I then decided to go back to my Geography basics and use my pictures to create a map.  However, this time I wanted to create a map based on Renascence principles instead of modern principles.  Therefore I used symbols with pictures instead of normal signs we see everyday.  The cloud and the rain are meant to convey the dark cold weather I experienced that morning.  The construction sign dimmed out with a detour also conveys the mood of running into construction.   I overlapped the pictures with the final destination being on top and to the right (since we generally like to read things from left to right and from bottom to top).  To top it all off, the route is clearly drawn to get from my house to the Horseshoe.  

I wanted to stick to my geography skills and used all of the requirements needed for a standard map.  I included the title, north arrow (which is pointing down in this map), scale bar, a coordinate system (I created a new one), the authors name, and the date produced.  Not only will this map pass in Art Education, but my Map Making Professor would be required to pass it as well based off of his rules.  The title of the artwork is "An unconventional conventional map"

My Journey to Class MP 2 Prewrite

   My journey to class today began by walking out of my front door on Lane Ave and smelling rain, which will for sure to turn to snow later.  Cars, busses, and trucks fly by this busy road and I attempt to cross the crosswalk without getting hit.  I then make the leap over the giant woodruff puddle that seems to form during every rainstorm as I cross High Street.  Thank God my class in my favorite location on campus: Ohio Stadium.  As I walk through campus, I hear the loud construction noises and men cussing while building a new building on 19th Ave.  A side walk ceases to exist because of the construction and I have to constantly look back to make sure no cars are coming.  I then make it through the giant wind tunnel between Drees Tower and an adjacent parking garage.  When I pass Oxley's, I can smell the strong scent of Starbucks coffee and a line out the door of students and professors seeking a artificial wake up.  I then continue down the ramp and see the beautiful stadium, without the flags flying.  Not every day can be game day, but lets get to work and create a map of this trip.

Blog 4

   I find this article very interesting.  Ono seems like one of the worst people to hang out in a room with or have a conversation with, yet her views on life are extraordinary.  I think we all appreciate someone who is willing to stick up for themselves and not let the opinion of others wear them down; however, Ono seems to take that to the extreme.  I also like the comment about how everything in the world is already perfect.  Once one decides that everything is perfect, then why would one care to do anything about it.  I like the comment because it makes the world seem like a happier place, but if I truly accepted it as true, then I would have no motivation to accomplish anything in life (which may be Ono's point).
  The author also states that the most important thing in life is to free people, or the sense of freedom.  We often say that we live in the land of the free, and let freedom ring.  Ono seems to take freedom to a new level by literally doing anything (or nothing) she wants.  In order for the world to be a better place, we must sacrifice some of our freedoms for the sake of peace.  How terrible would the world be if mothers gave no guidance to their children?  This may be an extreme example, but it was nonetheless pointed out and constructed a terrible image in my head.  

Photoshop Desert Photo

Added a cayote, the big dipper, and the cactus is a little taller.

Class Notes Jan 18 rules for Project 1

Straight Photography - Do not set anything up, no alteration what so ever, photojournalism

Portrait vs Landscape

We tend to center things in the middle of the picture - static image

Symmetric - side to side or top to bottom

Radial - looks like a bullseye, concentric circles,
ex: flowers from the center, wheels


Dynamic:

Portrait vs Landcape

Rule of thirds (1/3s) - Divide the page into thirds (vertically and horizontally)
This creates multiple focal points

1.    Asymmetrical image - Rule of thirds

2.    Symmetrical Image - Side to Side

3.    Radial Image

4.    Person and their surrounding space - 

5.    Person up close

6.    An image from the point of view of an ant

7.    An image from the point of view of a bird

8.    A stable image

9.    An unstable image

10.  Your name on campus
    
    Barrett
    Connotation - Hidden, what it means
    Denotation - Specific, what you see
    Issues - Too far, sometimes thinking too much

    Walker
    Big Idea - Theme, time span
    Issues - dumbed down, too simple

Video

Micro Project 1

The following pictures are part of Micro Project 1.

This first photo is the Asymmetrical Photo.  This is at the Wexner Center of the Arts and while the tunnel has a symmetrical feel, the surroundings of the tunnel are clearly different on each side.

The second photo is the Symmetrical Photo.  I chose to take a photo of our state flag which has a unique shape but still has symmetrical attributes.

The third photo is the Radial Photo.  This photo is the top of a fire hydrant in the North Campus area.

The fourth photo is a person in their surrounding space.  I found a student who came from the outside cold and found warmth in the music of the piano.

The fifth photo is the Person up Close photo.  This is one of my friends who assisted with this project.

The sixth photo is the From the Point of View of an Ant Photo.  It would be scary to be an ant on the basketball courts during the heat of action.

The seventh photo is the From the Point of View of a Bird Photo.  On such a cold snowy day, a bird is still able to see the beauty in a dirty urban environment.

The Eighth Photo is the A Stable Image Photo.  This photo is taken before a basketball game at the Value City Arena in a portrait orientation.

The Ninth Photo is a Unstable Image.  I decided to view the Inauguration Speech in a different view.  I think it is cool that I have a high quality camera but it still cannot capture the light from a television.

The Tenth Photo is my Name on Campus.  I chose to use the letters in the Buckeye Reading Room in the Thompson Library.

Reflection

   I really enjoyed this project using digital photography.  I recently got a new phone with a high quality camera and I finally had a chance to use it.  The first 10 pictures and the second ten pictures had many similarities and many differences.  They were similar in the fact that I intentionally wanted to capture the scene on camera.  I was not really sure why I was taking the first ten pictures so I wanted to capture a wide variety of scenes.  However, during the first 10 pictures, I did not look for the many different qualities a photograph could take.  I just wanted to capture the scene I was viewing.

   The second set of photographs were much more intentional.  I had to search for the many qualities such as symmetry, point of view, and stability.I had to travel across campus and find multiple opportunities for each photograph.  It is much more difficult when there are particular rules to follow, but the images are significantly better. 

   I enjoyed this part of the project because I had to be creative on how to capture the different categories of photographs.  I had to travel to many parts of campus including the library, residence halls, my own home, and even a basketball court.  This allowed me to not only explore campus but to explore campus in a different point of view so I could capture excellent photos.

   My favorite photo is the basketball hoop from the point of view from an ant.  I really enjoy playing basketball at this court, especially at night with the lights on.  I was able to capture the hoop from directly underneath while still allowing the artificial light to be present.  I also enjoy the image of a student playing the piano while still covered from the cold.  While it is indoors, it is clear which season is present outside.  An image does not allow the sense of hearing to be used, but this picture clearly shows that music fills the air.  These two images are by far my favorite from this project.

   

10 Pictures

Blog 3

Walker
   Walker spends a great deal of time distinguishing between a Big Idea and and Artist's theme.  The Big Idea is a very abstract idea which may be hard to define in only words.  This is what I find useful about the article.  I always thought of art in terms of the theme rather than the Big Idea.  By thinking of the Big Idea, it allows me to look a little deeper into the purpose of the artwork and what it truly represents.
   One great flaw with this article is that, while never specifically stated, there is only one Big Idea for each piece of artwork or collection.  In his list of Big Idea's, I believe many of them can be represented in a collection of artwork.  For example, if I were to create a piece of artwork about my grandpa it would represent the Big Idea of family and its importance.  However, my grandpa has done many amazing things that I would consider heroic.  An entire art collection could be created on the heroics of any one family.  Unless this is considered one idea in Walker's perspective, then I would argue that most artwork has more than one Big Idea.

Barrett
   I found it very interesting that all age groups could decipher connotation and denotation with the various objects presented to them.  I really enjoyed the case study of The Game and all the different types of OSU and M*ch*g@n shirts which are in existence.  It will be very useful to understand how certain denotations lead to certain connotations.
   There really wasn't anything with this article that I disagreed with or had much of an issue with.  It would have been interesting to see him present an artwork or situation from a different culture instead of our own.  I feel like if the students had to decipher the Alabama v Auburn Rivalry, many students would not have been able to determine many connotations from the denotations since the culture is not well understood by the students.

Class on Jan 16

Video:
 - Observe something for 10 minutes (very long time)
-  Lady Created a sculpture on a roof (birds)  
- High Line in New York

Inspiration: Father was an architect, she is an architect, the uniqueness of space
Theme: Recognizing art in public places, nature, discover the art themselves, scale
Materials: Dollar Store Materials, Fruit for birds, wood, uses nature and the birds                                                                  

Class on Jan 11

Walton Ford
Materials: Plate, paint, water color, print making, pencil and sketchbook
Inspiration: Nature, 19th century art, passenger pigions, autobon society
Theme: Wild Animals, Disturbed, Future destruction (example of passenger pigions)

Cai Guo-Qiang

Materials: Gunpowder (dangerous and uncontrollable). rocks, scrolls, tigers, cars, arrows, boat with broken plates, confiscated airport sharp objects to create a plane, matchbox

Inspiration: Overcome obstacles. art is about things you don't say, terrorism, Dad with the scroll

Theme: boundless universe, pain, beauty of destruction

Blog Post 2

Kidd
    The article by Kidd made me think about the simplest of antonyms such as big and small, left and right, and up and down.  I found it interesting that Kidd stated that going up to down in un-American and after thinking about it, I agreed with him.  Our American mentality is to start from the bottom (weather in school, job, family, etc.) and work our way to the top.  The reason I am in this class in the first place is to one day get a better job (work my way up) with a college degree.
   Kidd also brings up the idea that Big can always be Bigger and Small can always be Smaller (this idea can also be implied to other terms).  I agree in the abstract sense that this is true but often in reality, this is false.  For example, if my professor gave me a 250 word essay, there is a maximum on the number of words (this number is unable to reach a new size) I can put on the paper without sacrificing my grade.  While I appreciate his idea that big could be bigger (such as a professor changing the max number of words), it is an impracticable idea in a realistic world.

Theme: Our perspective on things, structure/layout
Organizational Elements: Big / Small , Left/Right, Top/Bottom, In Front of / Behind - Compared various words to each other and how we view things.
Issues: Basically Kidd wants us to understand how we view the world and why we do things we do such as read from left to right, or from top to botton, etc. , must be understanding to harsh criticism


Hickey
  I really enjoyed how Hickey began his article with one of the greatest sport moments of all time.  However, the line I found interesting was that bending the rules is considered a boy thing.  I fully agree with this statement because I know myself and my roommates, while we might not break the rules, we do take much more risks in life.  However, whenever a woman is with us, we seem to naturally tame ourselves for reasons I cannot explain.
   "Thus basketball, which began this century as a pedagogical discipline, concludes it as a
much beloved public spectacle, while fine art, which began this century as a much-beloved public
spectacle, has ended up where basketball began—in the YMCA or its equivalent—governed
rather than liberated by its rules." I disagree with this statement in the sense that while Americans do place high importance on athletics, fine art is not nearly to the point of only the equivalent of YMCA.  In general, schools tend to promote the fine arts in conjunction with athletics and while it may not be on a huge "stage," many Americans can appreciate fine art when they come across it.

Theme: Rules
Why are rules important: They create a natural beauty to the game and make it more exciting, the importance of the red light,
Issues: Why did Naismith think the game didn't need coaches?

Weschler
   I never really thought about the difficulties of animated art before I read this article.  I naturally assumed a glass of milk would be much simpler than a complex dinosaur.  However, once I the idea of light and reflections entered my head, I realized the challenges computer animators face.  I was also interested in how difficult it is to animate a face.  The majority of animations seem to show the face and I never appreciated how difficult it must have been to create that.
   The article goes on with examples of how technology, even very advanced technology, cannot capture the 44 muscles of the face.  I believe that one day technology will be able to find a way to make this a reality in high quality.

Theme: The difficulty of digital art
Technologies Flaws: Technology still has a difficult time creating facial features which define emotion.
Issues: Why would you want to replicate the human soul? What gets lost in the process.