Crowd Sourcing Project: Part 1

The Johnny Cash Project

While I had a lot of fun with the Johnny Cash Project I also got incredibly frustrated.  I have never been very good at using any sort of drawing/ painting  program on a computer but I thought this might be a way for me to practice and get better associated with it.  Along with not being good with these programs, I also always seem to need to make my art look as real as possible, a trait that added to my frustration.  I started in on my first attempt, which was an image of a man walking through a field.  I restarted this one three times and never saved any of them.  Then I decided to choose a close up of his face. Again I kept restarting without saving because I though they were just to horrific to keep.  Finally I realized I needed to stop pushing for a very realistic piece.  For the one I finally contributed, I found color blocks and shapes within the face and colored those in as a way to create shadows.

            I like how my final piece came out, and was glad I was able to figure out how to use the program.  Of all the crowd sourcing projects, this one was my favorite.  The final video that is created by individual persons works is just amazing.

Stephen Colbert Portrait

After checking out the other crowd-sourcing projects, I decided to look for a different one to use for our second requirement.  From this I found Stephan Colbert’s portrait project, in which he asked artists to recreate his fireplace portrait. The idea started after several famous guest artists were on his show and each time they would re-stylize the portrait to represent their work. 

            I tried several different ways of doing the portrait, but in the end I came up with this final piece.  The two figures standing on either side of Colbert are from a drawing that I did earlier in the semester.  I scanned and edited them on my computer, and then created the background by messing around with different techniques in Photoshop.  I really like how the final piece turned out and am really glad I chose this project because I had a lot of fun and creative freedom with it.

Crowd-Sourcing Project: Part 2

MASTERpiece  is a crowd-sourcing site that takes the most notorious and recognizable paintings throughout history and has the user recreate/ interpret a small section of each piece.  The sections will be compiled together to create a modern, mosaic-like take on these timeless works of art.  Every two weeks a new painting will be uploaded for people to collaborate on.  During the two weeks the painting is up, it will keep restarting every time it is fully filled. The painting that is posted will be pre sectioned by pixel amount. People can click on an unfilled section of the painting where they will be sent to a site that lets them edit the area.  

Chapter 5 Questions

1. In chapter 5 Lovejoy discusses Aristotle and Plato's theories on what art is. Which one do you think is a stronger way of looking at and judging digitally and/or simulated art?

2.  Lovejoy states that, " in order to understand the basics of a new media 'object,' it is important to understand the dynamics of information aesthetics." Do you think art created by new medias could still be appreciated without this understanding?

youtube remix

http://www.unr.edu/art/site/areas_of_emphasis/digital_media/projects/Liana_Weber.html

Video Reenactment

Hilary Harris's video shows clips from busy big city highways in the 1950's.  I decide to use her idea but rather than just show the highway I decided to kind of do a showcase of clips of defining roads of Reno.

Link to original video by Hilary Harris

http://www.ubu.com/film/harris_highway.html

Response to Videos

Gary Hill: I Believe it is an Image

Gary Hills work is the most chaotic of the three.  His artwork seems to have less of a story but is loaded with flashing lights and odd imagery. Most of his work seems to create an uncomfortable sometimes even irritating atmosphere.  The images are sometimes very spastic and jump from one image to the next and sometimes he will pair sounds and text the  image as a means to portray his message. Hill states that he is trying to show a separation of the senses and study ambiguity.

Marlon Riggs: Tongues Untied

            Tongues Untied is a politically fueled documentary/ art film that shows the lives of homosexual black men during the eighties, and the  prejudices they had to face.  Not only were they discriminated against by whites for being black, but they were also looked down on by their fellow African- Americans because they were gay. Riggs put some of his own experiences into the film which give a face and voice to the black gay community, something he explains most others run from doing.

Shirin Neshat: The Woman Moves

            This film about Neshat and her work looks at how Muslim women are viewed in both their countries and worldwide.  Of the works showed, I thought “Turbulent” was so striking, not just visually, but also emotionally.  The two split images, one of a man singing to an audience of men and the other of a woman facing the same auditorium but empty.  When the woman finally begins to sing it starts off so sad and longing and then turns into almost shriek like agony.  All of the elements in Neshat’s work play off of each other making her pieces very strong.

Thoughts

            I really enjoyed all three of the videos because each showed very different takes on  video art.  I found all of the films to be very visually amazing. Each artist creates very strong works of art in their own subjects, but I especially liked the videos by Marlon Riggs and Shirin Neshat.  These two films had a much stronger emotional value which made them even more captivating.

Discussion Questions For Chp. 4

1. Could feature length blockbusters or even television series be considered video art?

2.  Being such a new and different medium of art, why do you think video art was able to gain such a strong following.

Website

Discussion Questions For Chp. 3

1. Lovejoy talks about the effects that new technologies, like television, have had on art.  She explains that the television is a collection of all subjects are mixed into a mass of information that has changed the ways people perceive things.  How do you think new technologies like social networking sites and the internet have pushed people's perceptions even further?

Discussion Questions for "Medium is the Massage"

1.  McLuhan talks about how electric media has widened the family circle. Before it was just a mom and dad that really shaped a person, but now people are shaped by numerous electronic sources.  Do you see this in your own life, and how do you think it has affected you?

2. According to McLuhan there is a conflict in education due to the need for a switch from traditional instruction to a means of learning through discovery. Do you think this shift is necessary? Why or why not?

Triptych Animation

Tripthych