Reflection of Final Appropriation Project

My piece expands on the previous appropriation project.  I went from using two channels to using four channels.  I also Made sound more important in this appropriation project.  I thought it would be great to take the idea of sound one step further and think about sound barriers.  For example, you see a plane before you hear it.  So, I decided to play the sound behind the viewers, making a visual and sound connection. I continued to manipulate footage from The Nature of Sound, making more abstractions and focus on visual aspects (color).  I delved more into abstraction, but also chose to keep  images and video the same from the last appropriation study. 

I feel that since I enjoyed the project in the previous unit that I could do more to make the appropriating more interesting.  I decided that there should be more visuals (screens) to keep the viewer's eyes moving, enhancing abstract aspects.  I also wanted the viewer to question why the sound is coming from a different source and see how viewers react to the work being "scattered" throughout.  I believe this final project made me think more creatively, expanding on a project that I may not have revisited, otherwise.

http://finalartexploration.weebly.com/

Social Media: Past & President

Title: Social Media: Past and President
Medium: Digital Prints on Lustre paper
Dimensions: 20x30

Three posters that focus on 2012's presidential debate and contrast of media and social media, showing how times have changed.  Candidates have gone from newspapers to using social-networking to communicate to the public, receiving public support.  The views and efforts of the candidates are also supported in these digital prints.

Social Media Broadcast

I decided to use Photoshop and Internet images to create three large-sized posters of Obama and Romney, from this year's election. I explored the idea of campaigning and how media/social networking has influenced voters and advertising.  If I did not have Internet and the software I have today, I would have most likely used magazine clippings and newspaper to create the larger images and wording.

Campaigns and advertising were primarily in magazines, posters, and television/radio years ago.  The idea for this project may have been different back 20-30 years ago because there was less change or extreme advances in social networking.  The use of medium would certainly be different, but I feel my idea behind it would be similar.  My project may be the same in the sense that advertising, radio, and broadcasting affects the public's views and opinions.  However, today there is more to compare with a wide range of years and advancement of technology. 

Overall, I believe that our society has grown to be very visual, publicised, and informal.  Social media affects my project, representing how things such as Facebook and Twitter have played a large roll in communicating the candidates' views and thoughts.  It was useful, but also made me think that social networking has taken away from some of the professional ideals or seriousness of elections.  Social networking can be friendlier, but can also make it easier for people to post invalid information and ridicule candidates and other news.

Nic Rad

People Matter exhibition: collection of portraits that feature portraits of media personalities, such as global news or gossip.

Birthdate

 Nic Rad was born in 1982 in Cleveland, Ohio. Rad is an artist based in New York.

Education

• 2007 M.F.A. New York Academy of Art, New York City, NY (completed masters)

• 2005 B.F.A. Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA 

• 2003 Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy 

Facts

During graduate school Rad worked on commercial projects for clients, such as VH1 and MTV2.
Nic Rad is classified as a painter, drawer, and writer.  He has created some amazing projects and interesting objects that reveal a deeper meaning, or directly spell out a purpose. 

 http://www.nic-rad.com/

The World Wide Web: In Search of the Telephone Opera-The Killer App?

The quote I chose from this section was most interesting, and I feel it can be true for art, today.  "The conventions of art are altered by works of art...Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions.  Art can surely influence our perception and views, if it has a strong impact or influence on us.  When discussing art on the web, it is said that this kind of work is "archived and searchable."  Therefore, there has not been an art movement, showing how it has evolved.  Web art has been around a long time and the information is at our fingertips on the net. 

There is no true ownership of some of the first web art or works, which is mentioned in the article.  I remember reading similar information in my internet art class; however,  the first use of internet stemmed from people of the Soviet Union and European countries.  Internet was initially for sharing documents, sounds, video, and military purposes.  Internet led to communication and public uses/ web art.  Web was used for art by public, sometimes as a source of rebellion or way to speak freely. It may be considered as a way to broadcast in media, which was often seemingly abstract. I feel this information is important for understanding this section.  Web art consisted of lines, color, and shape.  It's amazing how it has changed and evolved.

Twitter Account

Creating a twitter account was not something I considered doing because I already have Facebook and do not do a whole lot of communicating on it anymore.  I am more consumed with my education, work, and people in my life.  I understand the benefits of following Twitter, I just don't think I will really use it outside of school and viewing sport statistics. 

Making an account was not difficult; however, it asked me to follow five people before I could start.  This made it difficult because I could not think of who I wanted to add.  I tried looking up people that I know that have one and could not find them.  It may be useful in the classroom once we find everyone to follow.  I am not sure I am comfortable with everyone having access to my twitter feeds.  It will be interesting to see what comes out of this experience.

Color & Sound in Waves

Title:  Color & Sound in Waves
Artist:  Leah Kaganac
Medium: Digital video
Loop 1: 19 seconds
Loop 2: 1:09 min

From the appropriation of The Nature of Sound, this video plays on shape, abstraction, and color.  Both the images and sound are abstracted.  The first loop focuses on the abstraction of waves, which is rather hypnotizing.  The second loop focuses on multiple elements, allowing for the viewer to look from screen to screen. The screens do not always match up in timing, which makes the two works next to each other unpredictable.  Video consists of manipulated footage and how problem solving was used to create something new out of old black and white footage.

Appropriation Unit: Collage vs. Video

The collage assignment felt more personal because it was a study about ourselves and we had control over the images we were able to use and what we could choose images and words from.  This collage was also hands-on and gave us the opportunity to work with real materials, cutting and pasting. The collage seemed more challenging because our task was to describe our strengths and weaknesses with images that related to us by choice.  Sometimes it seems more difficult to talk about yourself in art.  However, it was a good practice and something we have all done before.  The collages I made as a kid would look very different from what I did in this study because i have grown as a person and certain things are more important to me, now.  I view my characteristics and what I do more than what I like.

The appropriation project was interesting because the images and sound were chosen for us.  This gave us the same material to work with; however, everyone's work was very different.  It is amazing how we all manipulated sound and images, as well as, incorporated color into a black and white film.  Some work was very abstract and did not resemble the video, and other work enhanced the meaning of the video through focusing on particular things.  For example, I focused on the movement of waves and people and how geometry/shapes are found in movement, giving certain parts of the video a kaleidoscope effect.  I manipulated the movement of line and included color because it reminded me of wavelengths and prisms discussed in science.  Overall, in my opinion movement, sound, and color all relate.

Both projects were based on appropriation, but were different aesthetically and materialistically. It was nice to work with both and see the way we worked with different options and challenges.

Collage Study- Strengths & weaknesses

Through creating a collage, I had to focus more in depth on who I am and not just what I like.  I already knew who I was and how to describe myself.  Yet, this project was more difficult than I thought it was going to be.  It is not always easy to find images that represent who you are when you are trying to describe a feeling or emotion.  To me, it was more about creativity and how I was going to get my point across to others, making it clear through words and picture.  I struggled most with having a lack of quality magazines to cut from.  However, my biggest challenge was finding images that reflected my weaknesses.  I find myself having weaknesses, but sometimes it is difficult to portray them.  It's more rewarding and exciting to discuss your strengths, but as an artist it is important to know your weaknesses.

Faculty Gallery Exhibit Visit 10/11/2012

I attended the exhibit and artist talk in Mount Clemens.  I was able to see many of my professors' work and was able to hear them talk about their ideas and meanings behind their work.  There were videos, sculptures (3D-collage by Cody Vanderkay), photography, drawings, and paintings.  It was somewhat disappointing to be the only student that attended.  It was nice to see our professors out of the classroom and in the art setting, expressing themselves through art as we do every class.

I had the opportunity to see Leslie in a live performance, creating video art.  There were two large TV screens, two laptops, and switches/controls.  Although it was live, it was very well done and I made sense or meaning of what the images and sound were creating.  For example, a word that kept surfacing was geometry.  Visuals were then transformed into shapes and the screens created block- like colors.  The sound was also subtle and worked well with the piece.  I connected the ideas of simple shapes and forms that make up the universe, and how they are all around us.  There were images that were manipulated and often blurry, leading to the audience's "wonders and questions of the world."  There were some technical difficulties, which made the performance real and it is something that happened out of the artist's control.  This is something that our media classes experience, often.  It makes a connection between us as practicing artists and people with many years of work and studies.

Seth Price (Multimedia artist)

Born 1973 in East Jerusalem

Price is a New York-based conceptual artist and is also a writer. He investigated the field of contemporary art distribution and media distribution.  It was web-based.  He has also worked on paintings, sculptures, video, and media work.  He focused on the commodity of culture.  Price is best known for his "plastic vacuum-formed sculptures of breasts or contributing the same press release of his 'art' to multiple shows."

Seth Price is represented by Freiedrich Petzel Gallery in New York.  He exhibited in 2008 at Whitney Biennial.

Appropriation in Art

Artist: Leah Kaganac
Medium: Video art and appropriation of videos
Appropriation based on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras & Dance Moms
2:09 min

This video I created emphasizes parents need for fame and the way they use their children to achieve it.  The parents become the star and live their dreams through their children. Reality becomes ridiculous when your eyes are open to the truth.

https://vimeo.com/home#/home/myvideos

Game vs. Art

A game is interactive and allows for movement, players, rules, and strategy. A game may very well have a style and purpose to it. A game is relative to new media and how creativity can be taken to a different level. The games we played in class included artistic means, such as the use of photography, perspective, and color. A game can be played by one person or multiples, just like art can be created by one person or in a group. There is also a history behind, both art and games. Art and games have evolved over time, yet they are still played, viewed, and discussed.  Both games and art can also be documented and planned out.


However, a game is also very different from art that we may see or create for a gallery space. For example, an artist can create a video, drawing, or a sculpture. It already has an essential purpose and meaning created by the artist and is interpreted differently among viewers. The art piece remains the same, unless changes are made to it in the future. These forms of art are not very interactive or are influenced by viewers after they have already been created, unless it is an interactive installation. When I say influence, I mean manipulated or altered in some way. A painting is concrete and within reach. A game can be replayed and have different outcomes and possibilities. Art has an aesthetic quality to it and can often be defined by one medium or mixed media, as well.  Art and games have similar qualities, but can also be viewed in your own way.

I Spy, Picture Perfect Game

Players:

-Two people on each team

-There is one picture holder

Idea:

Teams will agree on location or boundaries at Oakland to play at (a building, outdoor court -being specific, OU Center, Recreation Center).  The picture holder will take pictures, sending them to each team.  In this case, Leah will be the first picture holder.

Objective: 

Teams want to try and figure out what the object is that is being captured and sent to each team.  When the teams figure out what the object is they will get points.  There will be at least 5 pictures taken by the picture holder, varying on difficulty. 

Rules:

Picture holder has to impose a challenge to the teams; paying attention to composition and the type of shot (close up, medium shot, etc.)

Teams will have three tries to guess the object in the picture.  If the team guesses it correctly on the first try they will get 5 pts, second try is 2 pts, and third try is 1 pt.  If they do not guess it correctly there will be no points gained.  The team with the most points after five or more pictures will be safe.  The team with the lowest point will have to switch out one of the team members and become the picture holder.  The person that was already the picture holder will then join the other team member with the lowest amount of points.

Game can keep going until time is up…

Goal:

-At least 5 pictures taken per picture holder

-Avoid being the picture holder, based on points

 

Exquisite Corpse Game

Time period: 1930's, or it was argued that it started around 1918.
One of the creators is Andre Breton.  There are pictures and example that are easily accessible on online.

"Surrealist techniques exploiting the mystique of accident was a kind of collective collage of words or image..."

It was based on an old parlor game where several people played.  A player would write a phrase on a sheet of paper, covering part of their phrase.  The next player would then finish their phrase, creating a new one.  Not knowing what it was going to say was the fun part of the game.  This game was also adapted into drawing.  A player would fold up a piece of paper into two or three sections and create a drawing.  It could be anything, or a general person/creature.  The fun is to not see the other sections until the art is complete.

This game is still played, today.  I remember playing it in elementary, myself.  This is something to keep people entertained for hours.

Show and Tell

My favorite work of art relative to New Media is a video I created called Relentless Mind, Calm Body.  The video is roughly 4 minutes and 6 seconds long.  It was completed and uploaded late 2011.  I developed my ideas for this work in my Video Art I class, taught by Vagner Whitehead.  This is a work inspired by my deepest, most personal thoughts.  I represent myself and my insecurities through voicing my conflicted memories.  "The mind is conflicted with memories and how one should perceive them. Demonstrated through painting the body with red paint (memories) and washing them away; soaking in them. Memories are seen through experiences, following me in the water."  -My Vimeo page

http://vimeo.com/33051386

I am most proud of this work because this is when I realized that I had developed a style.  I felt that this video helps people see me in a different light.  I wanted to bring emotion and visual stimulation to the viewers.

Critique: In Progress

Through observing critiques and getting feedback on my work, I have a better idea of how I am going to execute my ideas.  Through hearing what my classmates and professor had to say, I was able to figure out a way to make my transitioning of my statue figure more obvious by incorporating some sound effects that were suggested in class.  Critique pushed me to consider how I was going to make the transformation fit the aesthetics of the overall video.  I went back and looked at the filters I was using and adjusted them to make it less shaky for the viewers, but also added  other filters or effects to make certain colors pop. 

I decided to add to the imagery or changed some things around, visually, in order to make my work an effective multichannel piece.  I would have liked to have kept the single channel with multiple screens because I liked the look of it, but it wouldn’t have met the requirements. Therefore, I am still considering using two desktops or may experiment with the projectors, depending on how I like the feeling of the large or smaller scale.  I feel that I like the way it looks on monitors because of the detail and color is better.

Overall, I was satisfied with the footage I had and the direction I went with.  I want to keep the text and old feel of the myth.  Critique did not change my direction, but helped me better meet the requirements and push my work to be more successful.

Ann Arbor Film Festival

Besides going on this adventure alone, getting lost, and running out of change for parking; I highly enjoyed the experience of going to downtown Ann Arbor.  I loved the atmosphere and thought it was infested with art.  The film festival was great, although I knew no one there.  However, I did see Gerry Fialka. 

The first thing I went to see was Phil Solomon’s American Falls.  There were three large screens that were projecting his work.  Before reading about it, or catching what the title was, I watched it to see if I could figure what it was about.  I thought the piece was really interesting with bits and pictures of history, deformed and blotchy. The integration of images and words was great.  It made me think of politics and how “hazy” independence, rights, and equality are, today.  The way the images looked and how the sound was intense at times made me think of corruption or how history and what the country fought for has been tossed into the “muck.”

I also went through the exhibition where you had to take a mirror in with you and look at it at eye level, as you walked through it.  It made me feel as if I was walking through this different environment with images projected on the ceiling, which were now reflecting at my feet.  It was a creative way to play with perception and our idea of space.

After, I went to the Michigan Theater and listened to Craig Baldwin’s speech.  His vision is collage-based and he focused a lot on using found footage, making it your own.  He looked at film as a form of rebellion, creating your own identity through film.  He loves video and thinks using real film to create work is still relative to creativity, and it is how he wishes to continue his work. He mentions the birth of film from the Kuleshov effect and Eisenstein montage (time of Soviet Union), which is something I have learned in my cinema class this semester, so to me it was relevant. Baldwin stressed how music, Avan Garde, Dada, and culture has influenced him, as well as, filmmakers.

Overall, I thought it was great to see something new because I have never heard of the Ann Arbor Film Festival before.  I would like to go again next year.

Gerry Fialka- speaker/workshop

I thought that the discussions and thought processes presented by our speaker last week was very interesting and uplifting.  It made me feel that my opinions, judgments, and thoughts are just as great and accurate as anyone's.  This is because he is accurate in saying we have all formed into this norm or idea of accepting something for what it is.  There is room for other "theories" and ideas, and ways of completing our everyday tasks.  There are creative ways to explore life and get involved in thinking out of the box. 

Often I was confused by the topics we were covering; however, it was fun to be spontaneous and talk about topics that are not always thought about at school, work, and home.  I agree that is important to combine work and home because you should love what you do.  You should always be critically thinking and observing things around you, connecting your home life and work life.  However, I feel that my work life and home life are so different at the moment that I do not like combining the two.  Emotions and stress, to me, are often brought home from work and school.  Instead, I want my ideas and thought processes to follow me.

I felt that when he asked questions and told us to give one word answers, that my answers were always thought-provoking.  I am unsure this is because I am creative, or because I like coming up with answers that provoke others.  I like to trick or impress people with ideas because often ideas are difficult to come across when we have to think quickly.  I feel it's sometimes easier to think of something when you have less pressure.  For example, thinking of a video topic may seem difficult when you are given certain guidelines and are under pressure to meet the standards.

Fialka made it clear that thinking for yourself is very important and that not even teachers, scientists, or government knows the answers to everything, yet has an "explanation" for everything.  Listening to Fialka's comments and points of view almost upset me because to become an art teacher I have to follow strict courses and procedures.  Yet, he stressed that everything we see and do isn't always the correct thing to do, but is accepted as a norm.

100 Words About Me, Myself, and I

I see myself in different ways, depending on my mood and situation.

1. artsy
2. outgoing
3. anxious
4. funny
5. young-spirited
6. stressful
7. smart
8. independent
9. compassionate
10. thoughtful
11. entertaining
12. sarcastic
13. determined
14. nervous
15. insecure
16. friendly
17. hard-working
18. careful
19. weird
20. kind
21. some-what short-tempered
22. listener
23. dedicated
24. wild
25. stubborn
26. complicated
27. patient
28. dancer
29. procrastinator
30. motherly
31. emotional
32. indecisive
33. teacher
34. reliable
35. fidgety
36. open-minded
37. blunt
38. goal-oriented
39. talkative
40. sympathetic
41. enthusiastic
42. lively
43. cheerful
44. moody "often"
45. opinionated
46. advice-giver
47. responsible
48. resilient
49. understanding
50. loyal
51. regretful
52. self-disciplined
53. fast-paced
54. adventurous
55. fearful of the "unknowing"
56. loving
57. self-conscious
58. realistic
59. thinker
60. problem-solver
61. often pessimistic
62. persistent
63. visual learner
64. hands-on
65. forgiving
66. sincere
67. likable
68. helpful
69. demanding
70. ambitious
71. affectionate
72. risk-taker
73. spontaneous (when I want to be)
74. tolerant
75. road-rager ;p
76. reasonable
77. virtuous
78. rebellious (at times)
79. thrifty
80. gentle                    
81. punctual
82. writer
83. gregarious
84. loud (when I'm comfortable with the people I am with)
85. colorful
86. down-to-earth
87. confused
88. generous
89. supportive
90. a rocker
91. active
92. a motivator
93. busy
94. unpopular
95. thin/short
96. tenacious
97. creative
98. great memory
99. Not set to one crowd of people
100. Me....Myself...and I ;)

60 Second Shot Reflection

What I learned about the 60 sec film is that it is often difficult to come up with interesting concepts or compositions that require a time limit of one minute.  I found that each individual came up with very different ideas, yet had similar ideas when it came to camera movement and the distance at which the shot was taken.  I felt it was very interesting that almost every student played with this idea of using angle or “cropping” to create a certain feeling in the environment in which the students were in.  Some videos were reviewed as performances and others were more personal (autobiographies).  It was great seeing different compositions, colors, points of view, and types of cameras used.

I have become extremely comfortable in front of the camera through applying different emotions and facial expressions, trying to convey certain feelings of curiosity or confusion to the audience.  I felt my work was very different from other students; however, I felt it was important for me to introduce myself through a digital video, allowing for others to get a sense of how I am on camera.  I felt it was a quick and fun experience, jumping into a project that required no editing.  It gets people comfortable in making a video without the “extras” first.  It was a great idea to have no limitations, allowing for students to have the freedom to choose their composition and topic.  However, it is sometimes more difficult to have no guided focus or goal.  This experimentation allowed for me to learn a little about each artist.

Video art- why I love it

Video art was one of my biggest fears in venturing out into new media.  I started by determining I was going to specialize in drawing.  However, with one media class I found myself easily attached to technology.  I enjoy Photoshop and Final Cut Pro has become my closest friend.  I love taping images and voice overs, creating interesting effects and overlays.  I find it to be time-consuming, but so was drawing.  I found more excitement in video art, as opposed to concentrating on a single drawing.  I have freedom in video art and I am able to express myself through image and sound, and it can be both abstract and realistic.  Video has emotion that can be experienced with multiple senses, and the creator has more say in how its interpreted by the audience.  I have found video art to be fun to create, allowing me to find myself.  I have been able to express myself better through video art, rather than painting or drawing.  Video art has given me greater opportunities and the ability to create what I want through a set of guidelines.  I am pleasantly surprised by my growth and change in heart.  I feel many can learn more about me and find that I have developed a style since Video Art I.  I love creating work about emotion (anger, frustration, pain) and life experiences.  I feel that memory and past has a great affect on our work as artists.  I wish only to learn more and progress, showing people that I am a true artist, one that can be taken seriously.