Stewart Readings 357-370

As I mentioned in other blogs I like installation art. I like the combination of space and objects. I like how scale can vary as well as the medium. I like that its interactive and that you have to enter a space to see the installation. My very first memory of seeing an art installation was at the Henry Art Gallery
when I was touring the University of Washington campus about 12 years ago. Wolfgang Laib was exhibiting his work there at the time. The one piece I enjoyed most was this large bright yellow square that was glowing on the floor. Turned out it was pollen that was sifted and laid out carefully into a square. It was pretty neat. So then on, I had an appreciation for installation art.

Stewart Readings 331-357

I liked the section on commercials. I don't mind commercials when watching TV.  Some of them can be pretty silly, I guess it's a successful commercial if I can remember it. It's interesting to know the different approaches commercials take to get the viewer to pay attention like the hard-sell and soft-sell approaches. Out of the 6 contrasting strategies listed for conveying strategies I would have to say that I like the humorous strategy the best. Super Bowl commercials may be the reason why. For example the E-Trade Baby Commercials are pretty brilliant.

stewart reading 311-331

In all the films listed in this section, I went ahead and you tubed Un Chien Andalou which is a film by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. Its a silent film. Which I think is pretty cool because the film maker has to rely on its actors to communicate different types of emotions and body language when its needed. The intensity of the music also guides the viewer of what's about to happen. This film had lots of weird stuff going on like surrealistic imagery, Salvador Dali's style. Great film!

Reading for 287-311

What was interesting to me in this section of the reading is about Tatana Kellner in the Props and Costumes section. Her book, Fifty Years of Silence, 1992 looks very interesting. Makes me want to read it. The props that go with the book does give it a great deal of personal and emotional touch. Here is the crate that isnt shown in the book. I believe props help tell a story. Its the much needed visual element to art.


This artist does a whole lot with props with meaning behind them. In fact she isn't limited to just one style. Aside from her books, she also does installations, drawings, and photography.
Here are some of her other works:



 

Stewart Readings pgs 256-287

In this section i was interested in the artist George Segal, The Subway. I stayed longer looking at that artist. So i went further and wanted to see more of his work. It was neat to learn that he was the first to use gauze strips with plaster as a sculptural medium. He would wrapped  models with bandages in sections, then removed the hardened forms and piece them back together with more plaster to form a hollow shell. The hollow shell itself became the final sculpture leaving the rough texture of the bandages as part of the art. I like this guy. Here are more pics:

Readings POL 337-343

Very neat to read about Robert Venturi and his partners. Did not know that he was the guy responsible for the architecture that became the Las Vegas Strip. He really embraced visual culture. People to this day love going to the Vegas Strip to have a good time. The use of iconography and signage is what makes the strip. These postmodernism architects were brilliant. After reading this, it makes me want to go now, i want to participate in the tacky and crassness of Vegas.  Who's with me?

Geocaching a Triptych

This cache is placed somewhere at the top of Badger Mountain. Its a fun place to hike and many people know this area. The shoe laces i placed in the cache represents a tiny part of what i like to do, which is outdoor activities like hiking and running. So i hope someone that finds this cache enjoy the same things as well.

Stewart: Plastic

As I'm reading through I see Ron Mueck, Boy and I wasn't sure if it was a real installation, well turns out its made of silicon and glassfibre. So of course I had to see what else he does and sure enough its more realistic sculptures(Hyperrealistic Sculptures) of people that are largely scaled. Very neat to see. It would be awesome to go and personally see this exhibition.
Here are some other pics:

Stewart Readings: Choice of Materials

In early chapters, I understand that brainstorming is good for ideas, when the idea is created now its time to construct. Deciding what kind of materials to use seems pretty crucial. The only experience I have so far is acrylic painting on canvas and gesso painted over plywood. Pretty minor if you ask me. So the worse that can happen is that I paint something I hate and start over on the same canvas. So artist dealing with many mediums may have to play scientist to see what is going to work when it comes to using many different kinds of other materials before embarking on a large scale piece. Makes me wonder if Richard Serra has ever wanted to redo an installation (which I know he has people to do the work for him) and if so does he just scrap the metal and start all over. Sounds like any mistakes he makes can be massively expensive. But who knows, maybe his brainstorming techniques are so well thought out that there isn't any room for mistakes.

Stewart Readings: Closure

The artist Zac Freeman is very inspiring to what I have had in mind for using found objects and to create images in large scale. Its interesting to learn that our minds create closure when we see lots of different objects combined to form an image. I liked reading the part in this section about the artist or designer can convey an idea through suggestion rather than description.

Here are some more pic of his work:






Close-up

Stewart Readings: Time

Reading in the section about art and time, I was interested in the artist Claes Oldenburg and his sculpture on page 214. So I decided to look him up. I love how he uses everyday objects and makes large sculptures of them and places them out in the open. His work does created a sense of implied time and motion. And projects surrealism. I love it.
Here are some more pics of his work:











 

Steward Readings: Compression and Expansion

Richard Serra  sculptures really fascinate me. The one image in the book caught my eye so I had to look at more of his work. There was an interview with him and he states,"I’m interested in the clarity of building, in gravity, in the tendency to overturn, in the exactitude of measure, the addition and subtraction of weight, the rotation of weight. I’m interested in mass."
http://farticulate.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/7-december-selected-sculptures-amp-interview/

There is just something about large masses of work that you become very much aware of your surroundings. To me it gives the ability to see the  unlimited workspace that one can work within.

Here are some more images:

DTC-356 401-413

On the section of global brands, the few countries that i have traveled, i have seen McDonald's, Starbucks, Coca-Cola etc... I personally don't go for those brands when I'm out of the U.S. I try to enjoy the culture that is native to that specific area. I shop locally owned whenever possible. These global companies seem to create job for many countries and contribute to many charities, that's the good thing about it. I have some traveling buddies who take comfort in the known products that they are familiar with when out of the country. I guess they are not as adventurous as i am. But that's okay, to each their own.

Women,Fire, and Dangerous Things

So this reading material was mainly about how our minds categorize all things. It's interesting to know that naturally our minds want to group things and have some kind of order to them. So this question of our minds categorizing everything, created the theory called prototype theory. So to understand how we think and function, gives us more understanding of what makes us human. This scientific reading was somewhat hard to follow through without taking a mental break. There were some interesting parts, but I'm going to categorize this reading under the not have to read again list.

Stewart Reading 176-198

In this chapter, my favorite section was Environmental Work. I really love it when I come across an installation when visiting art galleries. They fascinate me, I feel more involved with it. I love the 3D aspect of it. I like examining work of this nature very closely. There is so much information within these pieces of work. I imagine there is so much thought into this kind of work. Knowing the space your going to have it in. Lighting is another element to be conscious about. And I would imaging size of the installation. So yeah, I'm a fan.

Art Exibit at WSU Gallery

This past week I got to see Sena Clara Creston and her partner's work in the WSU campus gallery. Sena Creston's black and white photography was the most interesting to me. Her partners work was a series of collage style art. I liked his work also. The question was asked if the two styles meshed well together as an exhibit. Personally these two styles could easily been exhibited individually on their own. The each had half of the gallery, so it looked fine. There was an interesting light box art piece that separated the two artists works, which was neat to look at. The light box was what I saw first when I walked into the gallery. It was the center piece of it all. Overall, I enjoyed the visit.

DTC-355 pgs. 149-176

Changing things on a art project sometimes can make it feel more complete than it was before or that opposite. I think art work can always be modified, but i think the nice thing about being an artist, is that your the one that decides where you want the process of manipulation to stop unless you create multiple version of the original to satisfy the viewers thoughts and  curiosity. I like seeing stereotypes and cliches in visual images. Maybe its needed to be used to get some kind of message across.

DTC-355 pgs 134-149

I think its nice to see when an artist has a sort of theme going on with their work. Its kind of a signature that one can recognize if they were to see some art displayed somewhere. Its interesting to know that each artist out there has their own habits of mind and work. Perhaps some characteristics can be identified through their work but others may not. As an artist, it seems beneficial to know what habits one possesses so that they best deliver results. All artists should be able to take a critique of their work. Its honest feedback and can learn from it. For a person viewing art, critiquing should a be fun and interactive way to be part of the art process.

DTC-356 pgs389-401

The technology of satellites has made it easy for people to learn whats out there in the rest of the world that we are not able to physically see. Its nice to know whats going on in the world around us. I feel a sense of inclusion because of it. I am so thankful of the GPS technology that has been created through the use of satellites. Makes me feel more comfortable about taking a road trip to any destination i choose. And it allows me to be somewhat more adventurous. I embrace cultural imperialism. But as the person viewing, one needs to filter what truths are in the message if its about political content. Media tends to really exaggerate news content for example. So some things need to be taken like a grain of salt. I enjoy watching international entertainment, its fun and different. And it keeps me to continue to have an open mind. 

DTC-356 Lessig 213-234

Can or should information be owned? Yes information should be owned by the owner. I guess if your the copyright owner of something and want to extend the copyright on it, it seems if you have the money to bribe the congressmen to extend the terms than i guess that will happen. Public domain suffers but if that's what the copyright owners want then that's what they get. Doesn't follow the constitutional rules but sound like they can get away with it.

DTC-355 Cultivating Creativity

When reading the part of having an open mind and that artists are not just artist but are many other things, it really puts my mind at ease that an artist can be so much more than what a person sees in the piece of artwork displayed. I want to be an artist but I don't want to stop at just that. I have many interests that I would like to take on. These interest may benefit my range of creativity for my art. As far as the creative thinking process, I feel that I connect with some of these characteristics. I am very receptive to new ideas. I do listen more than I talk. As far as curiosity, I could do a better job at researching topics. My range of interest isn't too broad. I could definitely learn some things by  like I mentioned earlier, learning other things that I'm interested in. I am very attentive to my surroundings. When I go to a restaurant for an example, I always look up at the ceiling, the walls, flooring for details. I like to mentally dissect the place. I don't do much of connection seeking, at least I am not aware of it. As far as conviction, I am a creature of habit when it comes to food and daily routines, but as far as everything else like new products that come out, I all for it. I identify with a lot of what the complexity characteristic has to say. I put a lot of time into a work until I feel its done. I take in everything the world has for me to look at and see if I can project any part of it back through art. I usually have a healthy balance of work and play. School has disrupted that balance a bit, but not by much. I'm more of a safe-keeper than a risk-taker. I would like to balance that out a little more. I'm mostly an introvert. The passion with objectivity speaks true to me. I get obsessed with an idea for my art and I put lots of hours into it. But if it doesn't go in the direction I wanted to go, I just stop and rethink the idea and start all over again. I think I'm pretty good with time management, so I can manage well with deadlines. And lastly, I'm a modest person to begin with so any work that I do, I will always contribute the success to anybody that has helped in the process.

DTC- 356 Advertising and Consumer Cultures

The marketing industry has a difficult task at hand always trying to interpellate consumers with their products. It will always seem like a never ending process. Sounds like job security to me. Consumerism has come a long way to what it used to be. Its so interesting to see how the change of shopping for things in the past used to be only for goods that were of necessity not for pleasure or entertainment. Our society today has fulfilled their lives with shopping as pleasure. I will have to say that I shop for pleasure even if its for something that's of necessity. After a long week of work and study, I relax by getting out of the house and go into town and spend a couple hours shopping or simply "window shopping". I consider it to give me a mental break. With the visuals of art, exotic places, and the inclusion of  images of our multicultural society in advertisements. Companies and their marketing strategies has done a very good job at attaching an attractive image that the consumer would like to find themselves indulging in. So because of all this advertising, they make shopping fun, people just have to know when to distinguish what is actually a good product and what is crap. I used consumer reports on high dollar investments, but with other inexpensive things I just go with my instincts and maybe some interpellating advertisements to coax me into buying their product.

DTC-355 Vector Exercise

Here is my finished product of trying create and abstract image of three letters using adobe illustrator. The letters i chose spell the word Air. Simply it came to mind because its a necessity. And without it you wouldn't be here viewing this. I decide to use a white background for my negative space so that the viewer can focus on the color and image being presented. I choose gray, blue, and red because those colors really pop with a white background. I liked having the image centered with some negative space on the sides. It helps keep the image together but can be cut into three parts as well. 

dtc-356 media

Media to me is the only way I get to find out about what's going on in the world. Its the most communicated source to get a message across to people. It always used to be through television and radio mostly growing up. Now with smart phones, I can easily access current events at any given time.

dtc-355 brainstorming

I never really thought of brainstorming to come up with ideas for art. I may have to practice this way of thinking. From reading about convergent and divergent thinking, I would have to say I'm more of a divergent thinker. I never really know what the end result will be till its done. I like it that way actually. Brainstorming however may help solidify an idea or concept but not necessarily give me whole vision to my project.

Spacial Dynamics

As I was reading this section I thought about my photo montage assignment. It fosters a dynamic feel with all the endless pathways that can be chosen. It's intended to pull the viewer into my art and really take the time to see all architecture as well as the strategically placed photos to make this image happen.

Scale and Proportion

In my readings of Scale and proportion, there is sooo much one can find in a an art piece. The meaning of the intended scale of a single part of the art piece. What the artist wants us to let us know that particular image. Emphasis I would say goes hand in hand with scale. If these two are used well it will attract attention.  Contrast is also important in getting the viewer to look. The perfect example of contrast I can think of is Andy Warhols work:



I like this example of scale from artist  Mehmet Ali Uysal, art installation:

Original symbols have changed meanings.

In the readings of POL on pg 202 I was intrigued to look into symbols that have existed from a long time ago, then changed over time along with their meanings. Here are a few sites that I have encountered with some examples.

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-cross-pentagram-swastika-changed-meanings-847725.html?cat=37
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/qt/peacesymbol.htm
http://www.lambda.org/symbols.htm

Mechanical Reproduction

I appreciate the technology of reproducing. We see reproductions  of artwork everywhere. Some people may not have the opportunity to visit an art museum and see the original works of artists. The mass public has a chance to see art in other forms such as in a book, on a coffee mug, clothing etc.....I don't think the value of its original is lost, I believe its more the level of appreciation for it. I know if I were to see an original piece of artwork say in a museum, my level of appreciation for it will be grow.

Gestault psychology pg. 68 Stewart

I think that people naturally  use these principles without even thinking about it when they are looking at art. But it may take some knowledge or understanding of this psychology as an artist to deliver an image to a viewer so that the principles get utilized. But an artist may not need to know these principles of Gestault psychology to make a masterpiece. It seems that its helpful information to know to help compose an image "flow" but not a necessity.

Here's an article that backs up lessig's writings on Piracy

It seems piracy will always exist. Same way how there will always be a black market to get things for cheap. Doesn't make it right but it's a sad reality.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/02/03/you-will-never-kill-piracy-and-piracy-will-never-kill-you/2/

Team America Montage

http://youtu.be/pFrMLRQIT_k

DTC356 pgs 49-62 What Interpellates me?

Apparently this marketing of Hamsters driving the cool Kia Interpellated me into buying my own Kia Soul that i have currently. 
This article below discusses how successful KIA became when they spent a lot of time and money branding their KIA Soul. Its interesting even though a KIA Soul may not be in the likes for everybody it sure entertains the viewers as a whole with their commercials. And its memorable which has turned into sales. 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-26/kias-hip-hop-hamsters-are-a-branding-bargain

DTC-355 The Flexi-Tech Revolution

To be able to have a flexible tablet or roll up phones, are pretty innovative gadgets to look forward to.


http://topkit.com/flexitech-revolution/?utm_source=o_fo&utm_campaign=flexitech-revolution-285

DTC355- Stewart reading on pgs 54-66

I liked the examples discussed on pg.58 of the similarities of the two interior scenes but with two different landscapes giving two different emotions. If I were not to know where the locations of these painting were, the color composition of Andrew Wyeth, Wind from the Sea, makes me feel like its peaceful and relaxing. It feel like its perhaps the beginning of fall weather with the gray sky and breeze coming through the window. I too would have my windows open if it were cool and breezy.  Compared to Richard Diebenkorn, Interior with Book, This scene with the bright colors of blues, greens, and yellow indicates warmth and summer in the country with the fields in the background. This also gives me a feeling of relaxation with the book on the table and a glass of something summesque like lemonade. I see that color composition is very important when creating art. It helps guide the viewer to be a part of the picture or image and perhaps share the same feelings or experience that the artist is trying to convey.

DTC356-News Media

Interesting read on Record labels asking Broadband Providers to collect data on customer illegal downloads. They propose this so that they can monitor illegal downloading of their files but also to send these illegal downloaders notifications "warnings" to customers so that they stop what they are doing, or get sanctioned after three notifications. Does this border our free culture? Does this violate customer privacy under the Data Protection Act?

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/01/record-labels-broadband-database-illegal-downloads

DTC356- Lessig Readings

Where does information come from? In my opinion information comes from everything. History certainly repeats itself. This free culture that we still have in our possession allows us to reinvent or modernize ideas that were once utilized in a certain time period. The example in the reading of Steamboat Bill that was "copied" and changed by Disney into Steamboat Willie in my opinion was a from of  reinventing something worth keeping fresh in history. Being that Steamboat Bill wasn't a huge success in box offices on its own, it should be flattery that Disney wanted to reinvent the 111min film into a 7.75min short cartoon film that brought the debut of Mickey Mouse and joy to children all around.

As far as the Manga and Doujinshi culture in Japan. Its a huge market. Because its too big a market to regulate as far as the stealing of ideas. There is not enough lawyers to prosecute offenders of piracy, so they allow the illegal marketing of Doujinshi to run parallel with the Manga Industry. Its interesting to know that Doujinshi actually helps the Manga market financially. They fear if Doujinshi was banned the Manga market wouldn't be as successful as it is today.

I agree with Lessing about there is a lot of free culture still around but there will always be areas that one needs to be aware of that is un-free or permission needed. I think a society will exhaust themselves if everything had to be asked for permission which in my opinion would slow down the evolutionary changes of the culture that we embrace today.

DTC-355 Video with Great use of Color and imagery.

I came across this French music video called Stromae - Papaoutai on You-Tube. The video has a nice color scheme. It contributes a great story of a fictitious life. I don't know French but I have a pretty good idea of what's going on here. A young boy wants to have a relationship with his father who isn't in his life. He seems to be imagining how it would be if he were there. Its neat to see all the other father and son duos in the neighborhood dancing together showing their close relationship with each other. Great video!

http://youtu.be/oiKj0Z_Xnjc

DTC-355 The Element of Color

Color has a very important role in a art piece. Its really interesting to read the meanings behind a color choice or placement of the color within the painting. Having a basic knowledge of color theory can really help interpret what the painting is trying to convey.

Here is a painting that Jay Alders created called, "Burning Inspiration". This paintings color palette is mainly blue and yellow. Its a great example of complimentary colors. It has a warm and cool feel to it. The placement of the two figures have a nice balance. It clearly tells us that these two guys are probably buddies hanging out around a fire at the beach jamming out with their instruments among the beautiful moon light. Its a great painting.

DTC355 Self-Portrait

This is my self-portrait being represented by a water bottle that was drank half-way. This point in my life, I am thirsty for knowledge and ready for a change of direction. When i'm challenged with obstacles, i sometimes feel overwhelmed and consider myself as the bottle half empty. My perseverance however, changes that state of mind and i later consider the bottle as half full. Overall i'm an optimistic person but sometimes life hands me some pessimistic lemons. Just missing the vodka right now.

DTC 355 Shape Pgs 10-38

In the section of Marks and Meanings, I identify with the style of Vincent Van Gogh. The heavy textures that he creates is a lot of how I like my paintings to look like. I like paintings to have energy in the form of texture. Every artist will have a different way they apply texture. I see it as a unique style of the artist. This can also be said for a tradesman who textures drywall. Each individual will have a unique way of texturing. One may notice inconsistencies if two people where texturing in the same room on different walls.

DTC 356 Meaning of Images

In the reading section of "How We Negotiate the Meaning of Images", I found the part about the representation of smiles interesting. It natural to think of smiles being a positive expression. In Yue Minjun paintings, the smiling connotes the Chinese art movement of cynical realism, and reference to both modern and traditional China and the legacy of the laughing Buddha. I put that information in the real world. As humans, we sometimes smile even if we really don't feel that same way inside. People use smiles as a mask to hide their true emotional feelings that they don't want to share. So depending on the context and having an understanding of "The Principles of Semiotics", that I just learned about, images will have a different meaning than the obvious.

DTC-356 Realism

Realism is like a time machine. It takes you back in time to see what went on in that moment. It gives the view of the artists perspective and insight how people lived and what political issues where occurring. The styles and trends that were of that specific time. Its a great way to envision and understand the past.

DTC355 Basic Element- Line

Lines are essential. Artists use lines to direct you around their piece of work or to show levels of intensity to the subject at hand. My favorite example was from Stewarts book figure1.5 Barnett Newman, Stations of the Cross. As a whole the art piece has a simplistic image of two lines, one solid line of continuity and the other implied. I appreciate the meaning behind the piece, of strength and fragility.