Project 4

For this project, I strayed away from what I was originally going to do. I had a picture of myself that I was working on and noticed how I could block out different sections of my face into geometric shapes. Then I began thinking how this related to the notion that there are a million factors in our environment that shape us into the person we are in terms of personality, physical appearance, etc. 

Homework 8

  Even though people who take them are made fun of, Selfies are big indicator of representing who we are. We choose an angle and a lighting that makes us feel good about the way we represent ourselves on social media. Sometime we edit our photos to look a certain way.
  There have always been those horror stories of people using photoshop to create a ridiculous looking self representation, but they do it for confidence or even to make themselves look more appealing to others. However with the paintings that were shown in the "Before the Selfie, the Self-Portrait" it was clear that the painters wanted to show off their skills and focus more on representing themselves accurately.
  Yet the painters back then were doing the same thing people who take Selfies do now: they check their lighting, pick an angel to paint from, and choose a color palette that they want to be painted in (warm palette vs. cool palette).

Homework 7

  The main question asked in the article is whether or not video art had become obsolete. Video art is treated differently than it used to, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it has gone obsolete. The way it is presented has changed. For example, painting used to done so that it could replicated a landscape or portrait or even represent religious scenes. However once the invention of photographs was invented, the role of painting changed and it became more of an expressive medium.
  Oursler shows us that he is capable of introducing more into video art. Many of his works emphasize the eyes and mouth because he believes those are the core senses when it comes to videos. He also uses organic shapes such as circles, ovals, and oblongs. This brings a new light on how videos can be presented and brings to question the role of video art.
  It isn't a matter of whether or not video art is even relevant any more, but how the role has changed. What can video art introduce now that it couldn't before?

Homework 6

   Although Zines don't seem to be a popular medium, the existence of them is beneficial in the art field. It was discussed in the article that the biggest difference between Zines and magazines is that magazines ask "It's time to publish, what do we say?" While Zines tend to say "I have something to say it's time to publish."
  Zines tend to be privately owned and I feel that because of that it keeps the spirit of Zines alive. Magazines tend to exist to appeal to the masses and eventually, they focus more on the consumer's needs than what they want to represent. In many ways, Zines tend to be more personal and about the creator(s)' voice.
  Zines also often appear to voice some form of activism, however this is not always the case. The entire concept of Zines was started through SciFi fanfiction in the 60s. They have a touch of personality to them since they are almost always handmade as well.
  One is not better than the other, but it is clear that Zines are a rejection of magazines.

Homework 5

  Technology is advancing at a very quick rate. It's only been two years since the last iPhone came out before they introduced a new one. That's not the only thing that has changed though. As a society we interact with technology a lot different than we would in a society without it. As the ArtPulse article stated, that viewer would rather look through their phones at a live event than see it with their own eyes. For instance: when people go to a concert, their immediate response is to grab a phone or camera and start recording as the concert is going on. 

  Our expectation in technology has changed as well. The quality of everything is enhanced in comparison to what we had back then. I believe this is what the author was talking about when he used the term "retinal masturbation." Many people are taking advantage of this new found technology advancements that are made and incorporating it into their own art. 

  Richard Rinehart said in the "Keeping New Media" article that "art is just one professional field that is trying to grapple with the preservation of digital and new media material." Nam June Paik's exhibition is evident of that statement, in that he is experimenting with technology as a form of art mediums. Not only does he use the function of electricity, but he also uses the physicality of technology and includes it into his art. Mansfield says, "Electricity heats up and cools down. It vibrates, it breathes, it powers on and off. Every day it's a new exhibit. And you have to take precautions to care for it daily." 

Homework 3

   GIF's have very quickly become very popular on the internet. They're amazing especially for today's generation since we rate things based on the speed at which they are delivered. A GIF is a clip that loops for a few seconds, and it holds the audience's attention for as long as it needs to before they move on the next one. This way if the viewer missed anything, they can go back and view it again.
   GIF's may hold the attention of the viewer for short periods of time and quickly move on but the same can be said about a painting at a museum. Unless it's a work of art that really speaks to the viewer, they will not be interested in observing it closer.
GIF's tend to focus on the movement of what is occurring in that specific scene. Because there is no audio attached to a GIF, there is no dialogue or background noise that will distract the viewer from the actual actions going on in the GIF. The creator of the GIF can focus on the visual aspect of it.

Project 3 Zine

Project 2

The concept of my project is to show the relationship between humans and technology in that we become creative through the use of technology. The pose between the two hands imitate the "Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo. It portrays how we created technology, and the rainbow indicates how our creativity flows through technology. 

Homework 4

               As far as the production of the film, I found it interesting that they reproduced an older version of the video and overlapped the new version with the original. It provided a different prospective to the same subject based on the different time periods that the both videos take place in. However, the information that was provided in this video was difficult to grasp.

                The flow of the film wasn't smooth and it gave a lot of information at once. I think that the spectacle's affect on society is an interesting topic. It was defined by the video as "a social relation between people that is mediated by images." The video went further into detail about how the spectacle affects society, but it was hard to take in all the information about it. Some of the information seemed irrelevant/unimportant to the idea of the spectacle. For instance, the entire concept of social dreaming, "as long as necessity is socially dreamed, dreaming is a social necessity." 

GIF Project

Homework 2

               Videogame aesthetics are different from other art aesthetics because, artwork such as paintings and videos cause the audience to just become a viewer/witness to the piece. Their main job is to observe the artist's work in a visual sense. However, in videogames, the audience has to both observe the visual elements as well as experience the work as well. The quality of the work is based off of two factors: how well the game looks, and how well it plays.

                Due to the fact that videogames aren't always considered an art medium, people have trouble understanding the aesthetics of videogames. As it mentioned in the article, videogames are being produced rapidly and are mainly created for purposes of being sold and meeting customer demands. I had previously seen a video about how videogames can't truly grow as a medium because of the consumer demands. Games such as Mario and Sonic are forced to follow a set formula because, if the creators stray away from the usual gameplay and try a new approach it doesn't sell as well.

                It's a difficult situation for videogames in terms of their aesthetics; every once in a while a game comes out that is successful and brings something new to the players. Take the original Mario game for example. The remade versions and sequels sold more than Mario Sunshine which strayed away from the typical games. This is because players were more familiar with the typical Mario games. In order for videogames to grow as a medium the players need to expand their horizon in terms of gameplay and try various games that they are not used to and then provide feedback to the creators as to whether or not the game was good. The involvement and dependency of the audience is what sets this medium apart from other art mediums. 

Homework 1

    Images can capture a specific moment in time. The instant that it is captured, it becomes a thing of the past, because that image could never be recreated the exact same way again. The idea of turning images into icons becomes very intriguing, and immediately reminds me of "The Kissing Sailor" photo that became very memorable and turned into a bit of an American icon. As it said in the reading, icons can be created through the content, and the story behind the picture is what made it famous.

    When cinematography was created, people were able to capture moments that weren't frozen in time any more. Though, with photography, the only human sense that was being used was vision. And although, videos don't always have to incorporate sound, the ones that do forces the viewer to use multiple senses, and creates a bit more of an experience for them.

    I looked through Bill Viola's work and the way he chooses to install and show his work adds to the experience for the viewer.  Many of his installations are in a darkened room so that the viewer can focus on the sounds and imagery of the video. This also erases the viewer's mind of any other distractions so that the viewer can put more thought into the piece. 

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