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.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, October 15, 2007
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
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.
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