Performance art

For my performance art piece I had no idea what to do. I knew that it had to do with art and technology but the rest of the information needed was really vague. I decided to use all of the technology in my life that has broken. I knew I had a pile of things that I could easily find around my house that are no longer useable. I managed to find a broken computer, charger, hair straightner, blackberry, and last but not least our television. I obviously could not transport that to the class room so I brought in the remote control as substitution. Then I proceeded to make a slide show explaining how each broken. At the end there was a life line that was a metaphor saying that I am still breathing without the technology, implying people are way to wrapped up in it.

xerox project

I did not have any direction going into doing my xerox project. In fact I ended up making two trips to Kinkos before finishing it. First of all the looks I was getting xeroxing myself was project in itself. It was definately an experience. Once I had the xeroxes I went home and laid them on the floor and for some reason I saw a butterfly. Maybe it was because butterflies part take in most of my art works but I returned back to Kinkos to make more copies to form my butterfly. I decided to add the quote "butterflies don't lie" because I just believe that it is true. Butterflies, whether they are applying to seeing them and feeling peaceful or getting them in your stomach, don't lie. I also enjoyed the fact that you can see my butterfly tattoo and I was making a butterfly. I thought it made a statement. Although it came out a little strange the form of a butterfly was definately apparent. You can be the judge of how it turned out.

Evaluations of xerox projects:

Adam Bass: I liked the fact that you only used your hand to do your project. The hands had all of the fingers touch which I thought was very interesting.

Coleen Kumka: This project was unique because there was color added. I really liked the pink and yellow. It made the xerox stand out. It was also interesting to see the message written on the projects. Especially the one that said be yourself because the xerox makes everyone pure.

Shawn Rubin: This project was made by using a digital machine. The layout came out nice. I liked the fact it was in three different areas and had two heads. I also liked how the background was red.

Ashley Noeson: This xerox was made in the form of a collage. The copies of the body put together randomly came out very nice.

Perri Landsberg: This xerox project was very long. I liked how you used the different body parts and attached them. Even though they did not go together the copies that were attached flowed together nicely.

Matthew Norton: I liked this xerox because it was 3D. The idea of putting on a cardboard box gave the project more character. It was also really original the materials that we xerox, for example the back pack and pockets. Overall it came out very nice because motion was incorporated and it looked as though fire was holding up the head.

John Dolan: I liked the fact that you played with it. It was cool to see that it faded into white. There were four hands on the top and on the bottom it had not only hands but a face too. It came out very nice.

Victor Valery: This project was the first to show legs with hair on it. Although it was not exactly appetizing it came out very nice. I liked that you xeroxed as much as possible. Well done.

Taylor Asermely: I liked this project because the concept of the tree. The fact that you made a tree with hands was a good message. The xerox flowers also added a great touch to the piece.

Ciara Ross: The part that stuck out to me the most was the orange ring. It was different to see that jewlery was xeroxed as well as body parts. It put a new twist on the project. It was also interesting to see the hands as the feet and the feet as the hands. It made the viewer guess what you were thinking.

MaKayla Dorland: I liked the fact that you used your hands in this project because you use them alot in everyday life. The tattoo that was xeroxed came out very nice aswell it was nice to see someone elses tattoo showing. THe tattoo says life which is a statement in itself. The leaves and how it over followed out of the frame were nice as well.

Ryan McCallister: This one was also very orginal because it was done on a lamp that was capable of being turned on. The xerox's glued to the lamp made a whole new statement when lit up. They became almost transparent it was very cool.

Bernadetter Miller: The first thing that stood out to me in this project were the double faces in the center. It was cool that there were two heads, a middle, and feet. I also liked the fact that there was different writing all over the poster. For example, palm readings $10 and property of the government, this gave story to the piece.

Murad Fadhul: It was interesting to see that henna designs were incorporated in this project. The hands were enlarged and there was a tracing of a real hand. It was put together nicely and it was cool to hear that five photo copies were made to enlarge the hand.

Laura Perttunen: I like the fact that you incorporated dragons into your xerox. It was cool to see the dragon tail made out of hands. It was original to see the different idea of what the xerox could make.

grid art

When we were assigned the grid art project I had no idea what to do. I knew that I needed to something in the form of a grid. I remember that in middle school I always made bracelets out of Now and Later wrappers, so I figured why not use that technique to make my grid. I usual I decided that I wanted to make a butterfly. So I went and bought Now and Laters and started intertwining the wrappers. It was very tideous but I was pretty happy with the end result. Although it was not a square grid, it came out better than I expected.



Evaluation on the classes gridart:

Adam Bass: I thought the idea of using lights was very original and came out great.

Coleen Kumka: I like the fact that you used eyes. I thought that it was original to use the small eye and make it into a large one using the grid.

Shawn Rubin: I liked the idea of using the chess board as a grid. I never thought of it as one until I saw the letters on it. It was really good.

Ashley Noeson: I thought the high heel shoe was very pretty. I enjoyed that it was pink and I could tell there was a tiny grid behind it when looking closely.

Perri Landsberg: The badmitton racket was an very good example of a grid. I liked the concept of the lollipop because it actually reminded me of one. Overall it was a good idea.

Matthew Norton: I liked the size of this grid. It was on a sliding door and the drawing of the guitar came out very nice. The large scale made it original.

John Dolan: This one was the most unique grid art. I thought it was very unique that he used coffe beans to make the giraffe and it actually looked that the picture that you went by. It came out very good.

Victor Valery: I think that the pac man came out very good. Now everytime I see a cooking pan it reminds me of pac mac. It was very good.

MaKayla Dorland: The mosaic that you made on the lamp came out very good. It was a good idea and very original.

Ryan McCallister: The pacman drawing came out very nice, but I was not sure where the grid was. It was interesting to see that more than one person thought of pacman.

Bernadetter Miller: I liked that fact that you used to a child hood toy and incorporated it into the project. It was a grid of different flowers. The concept was very orginal.

Murad Fadhul: The grid of your name and UT came out very nice. It was simple and a grid. Sometimes the greatest forms of art are simple.

Brendan Wallace: This grid was amazing. It was a copy of the picture of a wave. I liked how there was a grid as the outline but dark and light were used to make the wave form.

flip book

For my flip book I decided to use a book with a cathchy title. The book I used was called "The Clothes They Stood Up In and The Lady in the Van" written by Alan Bennet. I decided to use pens because I always catch myself doodling with gel pens. A lot of my drawing are with these types of pens as well. I did not really know how to make a flipbook so I just drew whatever came to my mind. I started with a flower and used three colors pink, purple, and turquiose. Then I just tried to make the colors have movement and ended with a peace sign. Usually when I do art work the theme is peace so I just ended on that. I can not say I will ever make a flipbook again but I tried. Overall the projects helped me see how all art is different.



Evaluation on the classes flipbooks:



Adam Bass: I thought it was a good idea to make it like tetris. I really like how it looked like that and then led into a house. It was very orginal. You did a really good job.



Coleen Kumka: I really liked the colors in yours even though it was probably very tideous. Obviously my favorite part of the flip book was Spongebob because I am a huge fan. The shapes were simple and overall I really liked it. Good job.



Shawn Rubin: I really liked the question yours brought up, "War, What is it good for?" It makes people think and I like that about it. As for the drawing it was simple but it was well done. I like how you did it in pencil. I really liked it.



Ashley Noeson: This flipbook was interesting because of all of the geometric shapes used. I really liked the idea of all the shapes floating. It came out very nice.



Perri Landsberg: My favorite part of the flipbook was the butterfly. I love butterflies as you can tell from my other projects. I think that it really looked like it was flying. It came out really good.



Matthew Norton: I really liked the idea of taking pictures of his apartment. My favorite part was when he was standing in the mirror. It was really interesting to see an actual person in the flipbook. Overall it was really impressive.

John Dolan: I thought this flipbook was comical. The Mushroom vs. the Gingerbread man was simple because it was in pencil but I really liked how the stick figure was yelling at the author. The color that was added was good too.

Victor Valery: I really liked your flipbook. The stick figure was so simple but very creative at the same time. I liked how you put different scenes in it. My favorites was the when the shark ate the stickfigure. I also found it interesting your music choice. It went along with the flipbook perfectly.

Taylor Asermely: Her flipbook was called "Exploding Nature". I liked how she used crayons and glitter. The idea of using landscapes and round shapes was interesting.

Ciara Ross: I liked how the flower became a star. It was very colorful and simple. The star became really big and it came out really nice.

MaKayla Dorland: This flipbook reminded me of when I got my second tattoo. A friend of mine went with me while we were on a rode trip home from school and she actually filmed me getting it done. It gave me the idea to put my road trip video to music. I really enjoyed what you did with the music in the background and the different clips. It showed how the process repeated itself. It was very unique.

Ryan McCallister: This flipbook was interesting because it had one figure growing and then eating another. It came out nice how the figure just kept getting bigger and bigger. The book came out really good.

Bernadetter Miller: I really liked this one. The colors were very vibrant and the images were simple. I really like simplicity.

Murad Fadhul: This flipbook flowed really good. I really liked it. The concept of the sun rising and setting with rain drops was a good idea.

Brendan Wallace: This flipbook was very simple. I liked the concept of the arrow and how his name was put in it.

Overall the flipbook project was successful. It was interesting to see how different people interpeted the assignment.

WIRED NextFest 2008 Exhibits

At first glance I was confused at what the website was about. I mean I saw all the different exhibits but I did not know how they related. The only thing I got out of it was that they are all some sort of inventions.

The first exhibit that caught my eye was the "Cell Phone Disco". The exhibit has changed the conventional way a cellphone is used. The thing that caught my eye though was the fact the artist decided to use the cellphone with a different technology. This is showing the different ways technology can be used. I never considered using a cell phone to "draw" on a canvas. It is impressive that someone would even think to do that.

The next exhibit that I was interested in was the "Solid Ink". I never considered that ink could be related to technology. I think it is interesting how two different aspects of art are incoporated into one. The ink is a drawing tool and the printer in the techology made to transfer documents from computer to paper. The solid ink was invented to help the environment.

The last exhibit that I noticed was C-Leg System. This invention hit close to home because I have known two people have needed synthetic legs. This just proved that technology has come so far and can impact lives in may benificial ways.

This website has made me come to realize the different aspects of technology. Before this class I had no conception of what the real meaning of technology was. But I am growing a new respect for the aspects of technology I did not realize before.

damien hirst

The first thing I noticed about Damien Hirst's art work was how unique it was. He incorporates live animals which are preserved. I guess I never realized how much art can range. It would be nice to be able to get into his head and experience what he was thinking when composing these pieces. Its interesting how he mixed science and art. I, personally, would of never thought of that, but I guess that is the beauty of art. I respect his work but I can not say that I would be interested in owning a piece of his. 

As an art minor I realize that everyone has their own perception of art. I am learning slowly how to appreciate art that I do not exactly care for. Damien Hirst is an example of an artist that I probably would not of recognized as an artist before this course. I would of just interpreted him as an scientist that was doing a project. 

The one painting, Butterflies and household gloss paint on canvas, made me realize all of this. Butterflies are my favorite and the fact that he used them in art work made me look at his shark piece in a different light. I incorporate butterflies in most of my art work and he has inspired me to look into other ways to use butterflies in my work.

I think that Damien's art work is kind of disturbing. I just can not imagine handling dead corps of animals. It just intense to think that he played around with the different organs and insides. But it is like a bad car accident. You do not necessarily want to see it but if it is in front of you there is not way you will not look. I respect him for that and it is crazy that is artwork raised millions of dollars. 

music

I believe they added external music to the movie because people like to relate music with everything. In today's world, people have been able to relate to music in many ways because music gives us something to hold onto. There are so many different varieties that it can satisfies human feelings and emotions. People as well as the artists themselves have found music to be therapeutic whether in the melody or in the lyrics. 

The movie satisfies our sense of sight, rather, but the music draws us into the picture; into the movements. Music brings an emotional character that captures our attention and keeps the motion alive. Watching a motion picture without music seems so blah, plain, boring. Music gives it life, music makes movies. If you have an incredibly good directed film and the music simply does not fit, the movie will not be good because no one will understand what the director is trying to portray. Music is what gives it meaning, helps us express excitement, fear, loneliness, happiness and success. Music makes the world go round, it is a universal way of expression found in all cultures and found in almost all movies for viewers to react to.