Strategies

A Respone for VISA 3F96


YOMANGO! Just hearing the word sparks your interest. The name alone makes anyone who hears it want to know what it is and what it means. Yomango is a campaign to promote a lifestyle of shoplifting. The creators are in strong support of anti-consumer lifestyle. Those involved with the promotion of Yomango aimed at diffusing practices of social disobedience. To really communicate with the public Yomango was promoted to the public through advertisements. The product was a fashionable oversized bag that had plenty of room to lift merchandise from any type of department store. What really makes the piece work is the fact that it is advertised as a legitimate piece of fashion. Although it is meant to be a little humorous it is done as if it were a truly serious ad campaign. To really get the viewer to adapt to this lifestyle Yomango had to have some appeal. It needed to be enticing enough to make the public bring Yomango into their life. For me what makes this campaign work is how it was advertised. Just like fashion the shoplifting bag was marketed as a fashionable item. There were billboard, magazine and poster ads. To really get the word out it was put to use. They even went so far as to steal from a store then use the stolen product to organize a fashion show, which was held back at the store the clothing was taken from. By advertising the product as part of the fashion industry helps those involved in Yomango promote their over all idea of living such a lifestyle. It is also an amusing commentary on the way we live are lives.

The idea of promoting a lifestyle really intrigued me. I found it amusing that they incorporated fashion to support this lifestyle. We have become a consumer culture and I found it very creative to use that to an advantage in selling this idea. I would love to try and work some of the same sort of ideas and strategies into my own work.

Journal/Blog: VISA 1Q98 (Second Half of the term)

October 22nd, 2007: Visual Culture and Mass Media


Mass media is always a fun topic to read and discuss about. Media itself has become such a part of everyday life that it now has the power to manipulate the way the viewer thinks. Over the years many have been taught to believe what you see, the news is always valid and when it comes to content we have the right to say whatever we want. When in reality almost all mainstream media is own by a certain few. There are a certain few major media conglomerates that control what is being broadcasted to the world. Many networks work with political parties. I know I am being vague, and just blurting out points and facts but really no direction. It is hard to explain everything when it comes to mass media, but the main issue for me is finding truth in what you are told while watching T.V. Mainly referring to the news, its hard to find a broadcast that is giving you the complete truth. There are advertisers to keep happy, political parties to support and the general public un-offended. With so much to worry about the news tends to be filtered so to not insult the viewers that watch and those who advertise.

The upside to all this is that the Internet has become a major part of mass media with the introduction of video streaming and sharing. As of now the Internet is still very much uncensored so anyone with a computer and the Internet as an outlet to express themselves.

October 29th, 2007: Visual Culture in Cyberspace


This week was spent discussing Cyberspace. The newest form of medium that has the potential to send information to anywhere in the world. With the Internet there is no censorship (with the exception of certain things), with this type of medium everyone has an opinion. There is really no limit to what you can find, what you can learn, and whom you can communicate with. With all that is good about the Internet there is also many drawbacks. Sources aren’t always valid, videos and pictures can be manipulated and personal information can be stolen. Even with the bad, the Internet still seems to be a primary media source for the general population. With the Internet it is easy to come to your own conclusions as to what you chose to believe is the truth.

November 5th, 2007: Politics and Activism


This week we watched a film on Manufactured Landscapes. The film gave us a glimpse into the industrial world of China. The film gave us a small glimpse into the life of a Chinese industrial worker. Jumping right into it, I found it interesting that they really enforced the workers to take pride in her work. It was almost like employees were brain washed into thinking that no matter what the job is there is respect in being a worker. Besides that the movie also shows where North American jobs are being outsourced. China is the most populated country in the world; it has to many people and not enough jobs. Which means that they can pay workers low wages to work in these factories. If the employees do not like the money they are being paid there is easily another worker to take their place. It is unfair that these corporations take advantage of the situation the majority of the Chinese population is in. It is nice that these people are finding jobs, but there are not treated fairly. In a perfect world everyone would be treated fairly. Watching the video it seemed that the employees were convinced that there was much dignity in their jobs.

November 12th, 2007: Advertising and Fashion


The topic discussed this week was a very interesting view on culture being directed by the images being projected by advertising. For me the best part of these articles, lectures and seminars is the realization of how much the images direct us through our daily lives. Because of this new mass media generation we are convinced that to obtain the perfect life you need to have certain things. All images in the art world are given cash value because it is appealing to a viewer. We as people love to be entertained and in this age we pay good money for it. Through our visual culture, advertisers pay for appealing images to help sell their product. When you begin to start thinking about you just start to become overwhelmed with thoughts of how the TV (for example) has directed in me in some of the choices I have made to this point in my life. It is definitely true that you can become zombie like while watching television. You are just so into watching something that images are just being burned in your head. Advertises tell you that you need their product for a happy and healthy life and you just don’t notice but the more you see it the more you believe it. I hope I am making sense it is just one of those topics where there is so much to it that you tend get overwhelmed and it’s hard to organize all the information.

This class is good for discussion topics. It is always good to talk to people and learn how the view reality. Everyone has a difference in opinion when it comes to how to live life but the media is such a strong influence it is hard not to be swayed into certain directions.

November 19th, 2007: Museums, Memorials and Memories

This week we focused on the importance of where a piece of artwork is located. We talked about the difference of being located in a gallery, a private home and any other area where it will have an audience. We also brought up the evolution of the museum or gallery. Going from being accessible to only the privileged, to being viewed by anyone that can pay the admission price. It would be nice to truly understand the process taken when deciding on what is art, its value and its importance to the art world. As for the movie it was good I enjoyed it. The classes, readings and seminars are well planned out and all relevant. The combination of a number of mediums keeps the class interesting and never really gets to be boring.

November 26th, 2007: Scientific Images


There was a section in our article reading that really stood out this week. An image as evidence was something strongly agreed to as strong evidence. Now with the advancement in technology it is impossible to say that every picture you see is a true representation of what was photographed or recorded. The most appealing part of the multimedia world is the ability to manipulate any kind of digital image, but the most appealing part of the medium is also one its drawbacks. This appeal can be used to manipulate the way people think and how they choose to live life. Again getting back to advertisements. It is just sad the length some people will go to make money, gain control or hurt another’s reputation. I know may be giving the worst-case scenarios but I am just being vague and dragging on. I just don’t enjoy being lied to. Again I use TV and consuming products as and example, but it’s the best one to use. I just really hate buying something based on an ad, hoping its good and it really just being a pain in the ass. Even though it upsets you there is nothing to do about it. The accomplished what they set out to do, take hard earned money.

Scene From E.T.D. Revisited

Assignment #3: Work Revisited (InterDis)

This project was originaly done last year in a multimedia course and I just wasn't completely happy with it. I wanted it to be reworked and produced a lot better. Originally the movie is a full length feature but because of the time constrants I am only reworking a scene. The finished product can be found under my links list which will direct you to all of my works placed on youtube.

Journal/Blog: Visa 1Q98 (first half of the term)

October 15th, 2007: Imagery, Power and Social Control

I am really starting to enjoy this class. I love how we are now tying appearance, personal perceptions and stereotypes into our visual culture. I didn’t think that topics such as this would come up in the class, I just assumed that we would only talk about art as a visual culture, but its good that we are not only focusing on art. Visual culture is pretty much everything you see and its good that we discuss a wide range of things. Like in this lecture in particular we discussed how a persons exterior can tell you a lot about their personality. In some cases it is very true and in others it is very untrue. With older generations they do tend to base a lot of there beliefs on appearance. This maybe unfair in many cases but the way they were brought up as well as their own personal experiences they tend think this way. The unfortunate thing is sometimes the way someone looks does speak volumes about their personality, but it should be taught that you can’t always judge someone on their appearance.

In lecture we focused a bit on Dr. Hugh Welch Diamond’s belief that the pictures of his patients really reflected their individual personalities. He felt that his pictures spoke for themselves and anyone viewing them would understand and know the subjects personality. I can understand why he would think that but he knew all his patients on somewhat of a personal bases. Its hard to agree with Diamond because I can’t tell anything about a person simply because from picture.

October 1st, 2007: Technologies Of Visual Culture
David Hawking Video

The belief that many painters used a form of camera obscura in the 1400’s really affects my original view of works made during that time. Not only does it de value the work in my eyes, but also the artist. Before seeing the video I appreciated these paintings because if the amount of skill the painters had. To create a painting that is extremely realistic with seamless blending, great textures and vibrant colour is to me a form of genius. In hearing that a way of tracing may have been used really hurts these works in my eyes. These pieces have withstood time because we all believed the hand of the artist creates the paintings. In my opinion tracing is not artistic anyone can trace.

I really enjoyed the movie it was extremely interesting and well done. I especially enjoyed this class because I came away learning something I never would have expected to learn. If not for the video why would I ever question the work of an artist from the 1400’s. It was also very upsetting to gain information like that simply because you appreciated the work so much for what you thought it was.

September 24th, 2007: Technologies of Visual Culture – Part I

This week we focused on photography, which is a medium I have always had a great interest in. Especially now with such a great advancement in postproduction technologies, like Adobe Creative Suite 3, it is such a wonderfully fun medium to be working now. Looking back at where history has brought photography it is amazing how much it has changed. The most significant change has been the able to look at a photograph and believe what you are seeing. All though the advancement of the medium has done much good it has taking away from truth a picture once held. With the ability to manipulate, airbrush, add effects and filters to a photograph you not always getting what was originally in front of the lens. But even with its drawbacks I feel that because of technology photography has now truly become an art form.

Now concentrating more on the subject of “photographic truth”, it is hard to believe that any picture has truth. Well I cannot really argue that because most personal pictures are not manipulated, but a picture meant for the masses must always be questioned. There are now jobs concentrating on retouching and reworking a photo. The thing is most pictures are never questioned. We have grown up on believing everything we see and being a technology driven generation that belief has rapidly began to lose its meaning. A perfect example was the photograph that was used in the New York Post (I think that was the paper). When this was discussed in lecture it really makes you wonder if any picture or video used by the media is true. How a picture or video is presented can have an effect on person’s beliefs.
Always examine your sources and ask questions.

September 17th, 2007: Brian Mackay-Lyons Lecture

This week we had a guest speak to us about the new addition to the Brock University campus. Brian Mackay-Lyons was our guest speaker and his firm was given the contract to design the new building. Not knowing what the presentation would be like before hand, I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I really appreciated his approach and his style to all his work. He looks at architecture as art and when designing he considers his work to be art. Architecture and design, in my opinion as well as Mackay Lyons, is an extension of the art world. It is obviously a visual field and requires some sort of drawing skill, but what I appreciated the most about his presentation was his interest in expressing culture through his work.

The most appealing aspect of his work is his interest in the culture and landscape that will surround it. His design always incorporates the land around it. His work never a look like it was just placed and built in the area given it looks more organic. His buildings are almost like they have grown and evolved from the ground up. This has a lot to do with the process taken in the design and construction. Mackay-Lyons always tries to reflect a community’s culture in the buildings he produces. He does this by finding a communities strength in construction and incorporates them in his projects. He also hires construction workers within the community so that their culture becomes part of the building.

Thoughts On Drawing

READING TWO: THINKING DRAWING



After reading this interview with Vija Celmins one thing she said the I could really agree with. “I had been thinking too much about the work and inventing too much, and it seemed to mean nothing” Vija Celmins I don’t know why but when I read this it really struck a chord with me. Being in this visual arts program I have seen a lot of pieces and heard many explanations for them and the majority (to me that is) relate to what Celmins said. Many of the pieces that I have seen in this program have been over thought and over worked. There appears to be some need with artists to create something that has all this meaning and feeling. There needs to be this crazy explanation with all work, or work has to mean something. I sometimes think artists feel they need to not only create but also play the part (by that I mean some of “artists” just play along with the stereotype). For the best part of my time here at Brock I do not feel like I have seen work that just works. We tend to put so much time into the thought and meaning of the work that the product lacks. Or we just create something that we don’t truly want to simply because what we want to make does not have the meaning to back up the work (I hope I am making sense). On the other hand it could just be the time where we are figuring out right balance between thought and style. All in all I just believe that if you’re an artist you should always do what you want to do, take risks, create what you feel and the rest should fall in place.

Thoughts On Drawing

READING ONE: MEANTAL MAPS & METAPHYSICS



I enjoy the idea of mapping out a journey or an experience. The work could be very in depth or just simple and easy to read. To me the process is the fun and interesting part. My personal preference would be to come up with a very clean, crisp and informative style of mapping, something very structured and easy to understand. With this upcoming project I want the viewer to look at my mapping and be able to comprehend what I am layout in front of them. Although I enjoy more structure and legibility its hard not to like the angle Franz Ackermann takes on mental maps. In his works the mapping is more of a perception then what is physically in front of us. Not only does he project what he sees but also he presents his take on it. Reality is what we believe it to be. Not everyone is going to have the same perception. So incorporating feelings, beliefs, and opinion into his mapping gives us a glimpse into his view of reality. Looking at his work and going through this reading has placed me in the right direction for this next piece. What I now hope to accomplish in this next piece is a way of mapping my day with structure and a personal perception. I want the viewer to understand my mental mapping and read it well, but I also want them to understand my thoughts, feelings and why recorded certain events and left others out. With this combination of structure and personal perception I believe that the finish product will project what I want.

Night At Nuit Blanche

I think for this posting I can't be creative, expressive, or create some sort of narrative to describe my experience. Well I could but it wouldn't be as much of a narrative as it would be more critical. So that is the angle I will take for this posting I will just narrate my night and be very critical of the show.

I decided to experience Nuit Blanche with my girlfriend, mainly because she was my ride and she can get great discounts at hotels (I am only kidding). We left early in the afternoon so we could get to Toronto at a decent time, check in, and relax for a few hours before we went out and tackled the exhibit. Once settled in the hotel we sat and tried to map out some sort of agenda for the night so we could have a game plan for the night (this turned out to be useless). So once we thought we were all prepared for the night we went out for Thai food and stocked up on energy for our night of walking. After dinner we went out into the streets and just started walking. I was excited to see as much as possible that night and I felt like I would be able to walk until the morning, but once we started walking it just wasn’t anything I was expecting. I was hoping to see a lot of art and just any art but interesting art, enjoyable art. I was at least expecting to see something that I really liked. I am not going to say that there was nothing at all that appealed to me, because there were quite a few interesting pieces, its just I went to sleep feeling unsatisfied like what I wanted to see was not there. Also because there was so much to see I just felt rushed to do as much as possible and not really stop and just take some of the work in. Not to mention the amount of walking and how far apart each exhibit was from each other. There were some clusters of works and galleries but for the most part there were times when we would have walked blocks and blocks and no work anywhere near. As an improvement for next year things need to be closer together, streets need to be closed down and every gallery, exhibit, instillation etc. should be well labeled and in a place that is extremely visible and easy to read. This a massive event for the art world in Ontario so it should be organized so that everyone can have the time and ability to be able to see everything if they wanted. The way it is set up now makes it impossible to experience everything. Now that I have gotten all the complaints off my chest I am going to comment on one piece that I really enjoyed and was happy that I got to see it. My girlfriend and I stumbled on it as we were searching for something else and it was a great find. It was an installation piece called Detail of Crop, 2007 by Andrew Wait.

Detail of Crop was not labeled in the little Nuit Blanche handbook, but we found it on our way to see Midnight Mirage. Which is another reason why I was not happy with Nuit Blanche, many of the work was not highlighted in the booklet. What else was left out? What else did I have no idea was there? Why leave that out of the brochure? Is this art not as important as the others? If anything this work was better than the majority of what was being advertised in the booklet. The booklet was just one big let down after another. I will complement them on how well then hyped up each piece in the booklet. They made all the exhibits seem like they were worth seeing in the book, but once you got to a piece the majority of the time you were let down. Alright now that I have gotten off topic I should go back to explaining what I liked. There was something about this piece that just made me enjoy it. I have no idea what it was but looking at it caused me to become engulfed in the work. My mind was full of questions and all I wanted to do was stare at this crop behind glass. I wanted to walk through it; I wanted to know how and why he did this and most importantly why it was not included in the information booklet. I am not into trying to find meaning in the work as much as I am in to just being told what the point of a piece is.

Nuit Blanche was not all bad. I was with my girlfriend and I was just nice to be able to spend the weekend with her. As for the actual exhibit there would need to be significant changes for me to want to go again.