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.