Tuesday, November 2, 2010
NO, MY BLOG *WON'T* LET ME POST PICTURES
I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. It's really annoying...
Jessica Hische
I'm not sure what else to say about Jessica other than I WANT HER JOB. Really, I think she has the perfect life for an artist. She does exciting projects for exciting clients for a lot of money. And, really, she got where she is on sheer talent and by being a nice person.
I love that she highlighted the "being a nice person" bit, because I think that one's personality IS an extremely important variable in whether or not they'll get hired, and I feel like that isn't highlighted enough in life in general. It IS absolutely true that being a nice person can make a huge difference. Now, I'm not sure that I 100% agree with what Hische said about how a mediocre artist who is extremely nice will get hired just as often or more often than an extremely talented artist with a bad attitude, but I think she WAS onto something. People don't want to work with you if you're a temperamental bitch! It's easier on everyone if you're just civil!
I love that she highlighted the "being a nice person" bit, because I think that one's personality IS an extremely important variable in whether or not they'll get hired, and I feel like that isn't highlighted enough in life in general. It IS absolutely true that being a nice person can make a huge difference. Now, I'm not sure that I 100% agree with what Hische said about how a mediocre artist who is extremely nice will get hired just as often or more often than an extremely talented artist with a bad attitude, but I think she WAS onto something. People don't want to work with you if you're a temperamental bitch! It's easier on everyone if you're just civil!
Ben Volta
Ben Volta is an artist whose studio is the world itself. Although he does do art for himself, he works primarily with others. According to him, his role as an artist is to initiate the action collaborative art among others.
One of the projects that Volta told us about was the work he did with students at a school in Philadelphia. He worked with an 8th grade math class using coordinate planes to create abstract art. They added levels and layers and soon had created a highly sophisticated modern art show.
Volta is actually one of my favorite kinds of artists. I love the idea of inspiring young people and helping them see the benefits of art. I think his strategy is a good one -- showing children the practical merits of art. It's a great way to create new artists.
One of the projects that Volta told us about was the work he did with students at a school in Philadelphia. He worked with an 8th grade math class using coordinate planes to create abstract art. They added levels and layers and soon had created a highly sophisticated modern art show.
Volta is actually one of my favorite kinds of artists. I love the idea of inspiring young people and helping them see the benefits of art. I think his strategy is a good one -- showing children the practical merits of art. It's a great way to create new artists.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Doug Bucci: Personal Art
Doug Bucci is "one of my favorite kinds of artist" on several levels.
For one, he specializes in metals, which I love. I myself have next to no experience working in metals, but I can always admire the work of someone who has that experience and talent. He also makes art on a very personal level. His work is very self-reflective, which I can respect. (It's similar to a lot of my work, in that sense, although our end topics are completely different.)
Bucci has Type 1 diabetes, and that aspect of his life has shaped the content of his art. Some of his most notable pieces are his red blood cell sculpture and his abstracted red blood cell necklace and his (fake) emergency insulin kit.
In my opinion, Bucci has the right idea. Or at least partially. Yes, I do strongly believe that the artist is basically Emerson's Poet -- seeing the world and basically putting it to words and articulating it for the rest of the human race who are not quite so articulate. However, I do feel that art should be personal too. I've always had a soft spot for esoteric art. I think I just feel that an artist should feel connected to his work.
P.S. For some reason Blogger won't let me post pictures...
For one, he specializes in metals, which I love. I myself have next to no experience working in metals, but I can always admire the work of someone who has that experience and talent. He also makes art on a very personal level. His work is very self-reflective, which I can respect. (It's similar to a lot of my work, in that sense, although our end topics are completely different.)
Bucci has Type 1 diabetes, and that aspect of his life has shaped the content of his art. Some of his most notable pieces are his red blood cell sculpture and his abstracted red blood cell necklace and his (fake) emergency insulin kit.
In my opinion, Bucci has the right idea. Or at least partially. Yes, I do strongly believe that the artist is basically Emerson's Poet -- seeing the world and basically putting it to words and articulating it for the rest of the human race who are not quite so articulate. However, I do feel that art should be personal too. I've always had a soft spot for esoteric art. I think I just feel that an artist should feel connected to his work.
P.S. For some reason Blogger won't let me post pictures...
Scott McCloud on Comics
http://www.ted.com/talks/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html
I watched Scott McCloud's TED Talks video on comics. More specifically, his talk was on the topic of all the subtle dichotomies of comics.
He talks about the fine balance between the absolute transparency of comics (graphic novels often tend to be cheesy or predictable -- also it is possible for one to simply flip ahead and actually see, in a second, what will happen next, also, text is used to make messages absolutely clear) and their extreme abstraction (things as subtle as style can be used to convey a message in a comic. Also, text is one of mankind's most abstract forms of expression. To us as literate people, text is extremely plain, or transparent, but visually text does not relate in the slightest to what it is communicating.)
He talks about the simultaneous blunt presentation of action in panels, and the abstract space left for our imaginations to fill in the spaces between the panels.
He covers the strange mixing of senses brought about by reading comics. It makes sound visual through the dialogues in speech bubbles and the narrative boxes and through the written sound effects. He even reflects on the fact that comics even make time visual. The layouts of comic pages create the illusion of pacing, and therefore the passage of time. All with the use of line. (And perhaps screentone or color.) Comics also create motion with their panel layouts.
This was an incredibly interesting talk for me, because comics are a facet of the art world in which I am particularly interested. It was strangely gratifying to watch this video, because McCloud addressed some of my own reasons for loving comics. I've always loved reading and creating comics because of the idea that it is possible to, in a way, create time. I have a feeling that most people forget that comics are, in a way, a kind of 4D art, along with music and film.
I watched Scott McCloud's TED Talks video on comics. More specifically, his talk was on the topic of all the subtle dichotomies of comics.
He talks about the fine balance between the absolute transparency of comics (graphic novels often tend to be cheesy or predictable -- also it is possible for one to simply flip ahead and actually see, in a second, what will happen next, also, text is used to make messages absolutely clear) and their extreme abstraction (things as subtle as style can be used to convey a message in a comic. Also, text is one of mankind's most abstract forms of expression. To us as literate people, text is extremely plain, or transparent, but visually text does not relate in the slightest to what it is communicating.)
He talks about the simultaneous blunt presentation of action in panels, and the abstract space left for our imaginations to fill in the spaces between the panels.
He covers the strange mixing of senses brought about by reading comics. It makes sound visual through the dialogues in speech bubbles and the narrative boxes and through the written sound effects. He even reflects on the fact that comics even make time visual. The layouts of comic pages create the illusion of pacing, and therefore the passage of time. All with the use of line. (And perhaps screentone or color.) Comics also create motion with their panel layouts.
This was an incredibly interesting talk for me, because comics are a facet of the art world in which I am particularly interested. It was strangely gratifying to watch this video, because McCloud addressed some of my own reasons for loving comics. I've always loved reading and creating comics because of the idea that it is possible to, in a way, create time. I have a feeling that most people forget that comics are, in a way, a kind of 4D art, along with music and film.
GAHHFACE
We had to do a vector rendering of our scanned faces for class! I had a lot of fun with this because I finally got to use color. Oh I've missed it sooo.
Friday, October 8, 2010
MARIANNE DAGES
Marianne Dages is the owner of Huldra Press, a bookbinding and letterpress studio.
Although her aesthetic was similar to mine, and although I loved seeing her work, the most interesting thing that she talked about, in my opinion, was residencies. Her lecture was about how to start your own studio. She talked about partners and community studios, but really the residencies were, by far, the most interesting topic. She told us about a two-year residency she did where all there was to do was to work on art. All day. Every day. Maybe it's because I'm a full-time art student with a full-time life on top of that, but that idea resonated with me so strongly.
I have so much art to do , but life just will not leave me be and let me do it. I have so much to accomplish, both for school and for myself, but I don't have the space to do it. A week later I'm still tingling with the idea of being able to isolate myself in a studio for two years and just create.
Although her aesthetic was similar to mine, and although I loved seeing her work, the most interesting thing that she talked about, in my opinion, was residencies. Her lecture was about how to start your own studio. She talked about partners and community studios, but really the residencies were, by far, the most interesting topic. She told us about a two-year residency she did where all there was to do was to work on art. All day. Every day. Maybe it's because I'm a full-time art student with a full-time life on top of that, but that idea resonated with me so strongly.
I have so much art to do , but life just will not leave me be and let me do it. I have so much to accomplish, both for school and for myself, but I don't have the space to do it. A week later I'm still tingling with the idea of being able to isolate myself in a studio for two years and just create.
Candy Depew
I think the most interesting thing that Candy DePew (our freshman lecture guest two weeks ago) said was that she thinks of herself as a designer, not as an artist. This has blurred the line between artist and designer for me. I have always felt that to be a designer was a bit more mundane than to be an artist. It be an artist is to have a vision and to be able to physically manifest that creation in a way that evokes an emotion of some kind. I feel that to be a designer is to conceptualize ways to communicate.
Whatever DePew's profession, her medium is certainly an interesting one. She claims that she works in ambiance. (Or, rather, that is one of her specialties, as we have seen her work in basically any medium one could think of.) That, in my opinion, is more art than pure design. (At least according to my definition.) She executes her spaces using specific elements to evoke a certain physical reaction/emotion from the audience/inhabitants. It's more than just designing something to look a certain way. It's manipulating the mind of the viewer. That, in my opinion, is art.
Whatever DePew's profession, her medium is certainly an interesting one. She claims that she works in ambiance. (Or, rather, that is one of her specialties, as we have seen her work in basically any medium one could think of.) That, in my opinion, is more art than pure design. (At least according to my definition.) She executes her spaces using specific elements to evoke a certain physical reaction/emotion from the audience/inhabitants. It's more than just designing something to look a certain way. It's manipulating the mind of the viewer. That, in my opinion, is art.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
TEXT!FAIL
For this assignment we had to make three drawings in Illustrator, using only the keyboard.
This is what I excreted.
I ended up wasting a lot of time trying to make textures and communicate shading just by editing line by line with the area type tool.
About half an hour before I had to stop working, I figured out how to free-draw lines and layer. My life would have been a thousand million times easier if I'd figured that out about three days earlier.
Wurrs tha Studio?
Last week Peter Hanley raised the fascinating question of where exactly an artist's studio is. With the growing popularity of digital art, the answer to that question has become increasingly ambiguous for some. Does the computer count as a studio if it's the place in which the art is generated?
Hanley's answer is no. According to him, the studio is the place in which concepts are conceived. (Which, I assume, is why he still considers the traditional idea of a studio -- a room in which art is made -- to be, well, a studio. He even said that he, as a digital artist, was jealous of his traditional artist friends' physical studio space.) According to Hanley, the computer is more of a surface for the art creation -- it's like a desk or an easel. In this age of digital art the mind is the artist's studio, because that's where the art is conceived.
I actually really like this concept. There is no anchor to art now. When a studio was, well, a studio, art was a static act. Now, if I wanted to, I could take my tablet on the train with me and do an entire painting, digitally, in transit. Yes, i could have conceivably done that with traditional paints, but computers allow this action to be socially acceptable. People don't stare at you and think you're an eccentric for just using the computer on the train.
Hanley's answer is no. According to him, the studio is the place in which concepts are conceived. (Which, I assume, is why he still considers the traditional idea of a studio -- a room in which art is made -- to be, well, a studio. He even said that he, as a digital artist, was jealous of his traditional artist friends' physical studio space.) According to Hanley, the computer is more of a surface for the art creation -- it's like a desk or an easel. In this age of digital art the mind is the artist's studio, because that's where the art is conceived.
I actually really like this concept. There is no anchor to art now. When a studio was, well, a studio, art was a static act. Now, if I wanted to, I could take my tablet on the train with me and do an entire painting, digitally, in transit. Yes, i could have conceivably done that with traditional paints, but computers allow this action to be socially acceptable. People don't stare at you and think you're an eccentric for just using the computer on the train.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Bauhaus
One of my favorite aspects of the Bauhaus movement, which Professor Glahn emphasized strongly, was the collaboration between students and teachers. In the Bauhaus school, students were not apprenticed to their teachers. They were not simply following their teachers' directions and connecting the dots and coloring in the lines for them. They were taking an active role in the conception and creation of the art, alongside their teachers.
It deviates completely from the old master-apprentice. In my opinion, it is a much more effective way of teaching art. I believe that it is easiest to learn art by discussing and actively doing, rather than by submitting and following. How can one learn to be creative if they are not given the change to exercise their brain?
The other aspect of Bauhaus art that fascinated me was the fact that the way a piece functioned was important. In Bauhaus art, it is imperative that the viewer - any random passerby on the street - can see how it works. (Bauhaus art was largely functional - buildings, windows, interiors, etc.)
When Do We Lose Ownership?
In class we watched a news story about the 2007 Virgin Mobile ad scandal, and a TED video about the openness of the internet and its effect on our perception of boundaries. The latter addresses the former -- although unintentionally.
In 2007, Virgin Mobile Australia ran an ad campaign based entirely off of a picture of Alison Chang - a teenager from Dallas - that they had found on Flickr. Virgin Mobile never alerted Alison and her family to the fact that they were using Alison's picture for their campaign, nor did the Changs receive any royalties for the use of the picture, the case being that, because the picture was posted on Flickr - a public website - the picture was part of the public domain and therefore did not require legal clearance for its use. The Changs sued Virgin.
The TED presentation addressed this same idea/issue: once a picture or work of art hits the internet, who owns it? Everybody has access to said work, and everybody is open to interpret it however they choose. The presentation also asked "Is this a good or a bad thing?"
I believe that there is no straight answer to that question. There are times when borrowing another's work that one finds on the internet is a good thing, and there are times when it is not.
I believe that things like AMVs and films made of stock footage are a legitimate and necessary art form. I say "necessary" because I believe that this new "mixed-media collage" media that has sprung up as a result of high speed internet is teaching us to interact with each other as artists and to be creative in a whole new way. It teaches us to interpret, rather than to pull something out of nothing. If all we did was create, rather than interpret from time to time, than the art world would be a much more cold, isolated, and frankly boring place.
Also, I believe that issues of copyrights are a generational thing. I believe that my generation has become so accustomed to things cut-and-paste interpretations like AMVs and "*Insert TV Series Here* Abridged" and even things like Chad Vader that we usually assume right away that the person doing the mash-up is not responsible for the creation of the raw content.
However, I believe that Virgin Moblie went too far when they used Alison Chang's Flickr picture for their entire ad campaign. For one, there is the issue of money. It's her face, and Virgin Mobile made money from it. She obviously deserves a cut. The ad campaign also violates Alison's basic right to privacy, unlike AMVs and "*Insert TV Series Here* Abridged." Frankly, it's creepy.
In 2007, Virgin Mobile Australia ran an ad campaign based entirely off of a picture of Alison Chang - a teenager from Dallas - that they had found on Flickr. Virgin Mobile never alerted Alison and her family to the fact that they were using Alison's picture for their campaign, nor did the Changs receive any royalties for the use of the picture, the case being that, because the picture was posted on Flickr - a public website - the picture was part of the public domain and therefore did not require legal clearance for its use. The Changs sued Virgin.
The TED presentation addressed this same idea/issue: once a picture or work of art hits the internet, who owns it? Everybody has access to said work, and everybody is open to interpret it however they choose. The presentation also asked "Is this a good or a bad thing?"
I believe that there is no straight answer to that question. There are times when borrowing another's work that one finds on the internet is a good thing, and there are times when it is not.
I believe that things like AMVs and films made of stock footage are a legitimate and necessary art form. I say "necessary" because I believe that this new "mixed-media collage" media that has sprung up as a result of high speed internet is teaching us to interact with each other as artists and to be creative in a whole new way. It teaches us to interpret, rather than to pull something out of nothing. If all we did was create, rather than interpret from time to time, than the art world would be a much more cold, isolated, and frankly boring place.
Also, I believe that issues of copyrights are a generational thing. I believe that my generation has become so accustomed to things cut-and-paste interpretations like AMVs and "*Insert TV Series Here* Abridged" and even things like Chad Vader that we usually assume right away that the person doing the mash-up is not responsible for the creation of the raw content.
However, I believe that Virgin Moblie went too far when they used Alison Chang's Flickr picture for their entire ad campaign. For one, there is the issue of money. It's her face, and Virgin Mobile made money from it. She obviously deserves a cut. The ad campaign also violates Alison's basic right to privacy, unlike AMVs and "*Insert TV Series Here* Abridged." Frankly, it's creepy.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
AMALGAMATING ADVENTURES!!!
Our first assignment for this class was to walk/ride/bike and take pictures and gather things while adventuring. Either as a result of poor time-management on my part, or just as a result of my rampantly hectic class schedule, I didn't have time to take 25-30 new pictures of new adventures...so I improvised!
I gathered about 10 pictures from my own home over the weekend, could not make it to Center City (or anywhere interesting, for that matter) before our next Wednesday class. I was worried that my photos would all be dull and cliche snapshots of my cats in my back yard. I was frustrated, because I have been on some amazing adventures in my lifetime! In fact, it is probable that I've been to many more interesting places than most Americans my age.
Then I realized that nowhere in the assignment does it say, specifically, that the 25-30 snapshots had to be from the week between our first two classes. (I feel as though that were the implicit assignment, but, well, there's no textual evidence!) So, this first batch of photos, objects and drawings is a composite snapshot of my past adventures.
This gathering-of-past-adventures was actually very helpful to me. It's a mix of both my most domestic, everyday adventures (noticing the lights and textures around my own home deep in the bowels of suburbia) and my most extreme, distant adventures (in Budapest, Vienna, Moscow, Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg.) Gathering these things have shown me that, although my life at this moment is nothing more than frantically throwing art together for classes and studying for quizzes, as a whole it is full and beautiful, and NOT A BIT TAMED!
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