scrapbook vingt-deux

I found these wicker ball lights on a clearance aisle in target during winter break, and hung them up immediately when I returned for the spring semester. I think my roommate and I have had them lit maybe four times (?) this semester. Yea, we fail epically. Yesterday we were having a bonding evening, watching a great classic, Aladdin, and a soon-to-be classic (not really haha) Harper's Island. Disney makes me immensely happy, so I was really hyper and was all over the place. I randomly decided we should have the wicker lights on. For the first time I noticed the effect they had on the room. My attention was drawn the shadows. I don't know why, but it made me feel like I was in a forest. Shadows are such amazing things. They can be beautiful, like this, or they can represent something terrifying, like shadows in the woods on a moonlit night, you can't identify what they are from. Yet, in order to have a shadow, you need light coming from somewhere, and light is a symbol for hope and security. It's interesting to think how something so scary can come from light. I am going to make sure to use these lights more next year.

scrapbook vingt et un

These are my pre-approval of transfer credit forms from the registrar. Due to job shortage in my hometown, my mother and father decided that it would be best for me to take classes and work around the house the rest of the time. I don't think I am going to take all of them, but in the off chance I chose one over the other I need to make sure I get credit for my effort. My attention was drawn to them for a couple reasons. One is that they are symbols for my summer, or in this case lack there of. I only have three more "vacations" in my lifetime. I think before this I took them for granted, but now I realise that I should attempt to enjoy them to the fullest extent since pretty soon I will be working fulltime. Another reason is that they were such a pain in the butt to get/hand in/etc. I thought it would be simple, go to registrar, fill out form, leave, come back, pick up. No. There were like eighteen more random steps in between and about eighteen people (some of whom were nasty to deal with) at the front desk of Glendenning. Its seems like a lot of work just to have more work approved so that once that work is done you can go have more work done to have the grade put on your transcripts. Well at least now I know how lovely the process is...Summer is currently fifteen days away for me. Fifteen days until one of my last summers ever, and I will be doing more homework. Joy.

impressionism reflection

For my second artist talk/lecture/visit I went back to the National Gallery with my French Conversation class to see a guided tour of the impressionism exhibit. Impressionism is my favorite style of art. I took Intro to Art History last semester, but since it was getting near the final, we kind of breezed through this topic, so I only knew that I liked impressionism. The tour itself was really interesting, because rather than just go on and on about the picture, the docent asked us what we saw and what we thought the artist was trying to convey. Also, the information about the artists seemed really personal, and not just a general overview of his or her life. For example, after seeing two self portraits, one by Van Gogh and the other by Gaugin, the docent preceded to tell us about their tumultuous relationship and that they only agreed on one thing. They both thought Gaugin was a genious. I was also fascinated that pretty much all of the artists we looked at were going blind because of their work, and that was a big reason why their "impressions" were so important, because they lacked the ability to see all the details. Monet was my favorite, because I loved his series. Its so true that you get a different feeling seeing something at different times of the day, and his paintings definitely reflect that notion.

film reflection

I really enjoyed the film, La Jettee (I know there is supposed to be an accent somewhere in there). Not only was the story itself kind of interesting, but the concept of that one important image that would last with you for all time rang true with me. There are images, not ones that were photographed or documented in any other place but my mind, that have been with me for years. Some in particular though I see a lot. The image of my mother and father crying as they explained to my brother and I what happened on September 11th is one that will forever haunt me. As a child, I think you just naturally expect your parents to be strong and defend you. I finally saw how vunerable they were, and it shattered my world to an extent. It made everything after that seem slightly more terrifying, because I knew that my parents had the same feelings I did, but constantly had to hide them. I think I am going to use this idea in my narrative project. The single image forever scarred into a man's memory....

scrapbook vingt

These are my newest pair of headphones. This school year alone, I have had to buy four new pairs. For some unknown reason, the right speaker always blows out and dies. At first I didn't think that it would matter, but after a while, hearing only through one hear tends to give you a headache. A really bad headache. I can not pinpoint exactly why they fail me, but every month and a half, they stop. Last year I didn't really think about my headphones, or how vital they were to my existance. This year, however, has been rather traumatizing. I am hoping this pair lasts me. I never thought about how techinical headphones were before. Each of my other pairs looked totally fine, yet the right ear did not function in any way shape or form. They are not art because, since I am poor, I buy the cheap, unaesthetically pleasing sony ones. Maybe they die because they are cheap? Anyway, I think they deserve attention because of how often they are used and the detail put into them (or possibly my case since they are cheap the lack thereof?). They have the ability to provide enormous amounts of entertainment without disturbing anyone else around you. That's pretty nifty. Imagine how loud the world would be without them. They are so tiny too! It's incredible such a loud sound can come from them. Since they are tiny, it's also difficult to find the problem. In mine for example, maybe a wire snapped, or I turned it up too loud. I guess I'll never figure it out.

scrapbook dix-neuf

My birthmark on my leg has plagued me for as long as I can remember. Its an eye sore that causes anyone who sees it to wonder what the hech happened to me. I've been asked if I've been injured (which based on my coordination is likely),if I have a rash/disease/infection, if it is a tattoo, or if it is paint (?). Nope. None of the above. It's a birthmark. I used to hate it so much that I never wanted to wear anything but jeans. It was awful. And they used to be worse since I was smaller, they were closer together and the color was way more intense. They are like purple Rorschach blots. Yet inspite of the fact they are ugly, they make me unique. I have never met anyone else with a similar birthmark. At least one that pronounced. I am now proud of it. I was told that once I got to high school it would disappear. I'm glad they are wrong. It makes me "me". If it was not there, it would be like a part of my life/identity was gone too. This doesn't really have a GoogleEarth link, since I didn't know where I was from, since I move around and such.

scrapbook dix-huit

This is a guitar pick I found when I was vactioning in North Carolina. I picked it up, because I had planned on making it into an earring for my high school spirit day. Our color was yellow, and the more creative you were, the more likely you would be on powder puff court (the uber-strict allgirlcatholicschool equivalent of homecoming court aka fun). I attempted all four years, and failed miserably, probably because I never wore this in my ear haha. It usually sits in my shadow box on the wall. Now I look at it and it means so much more. It serves as a reminder from that vacation but it makes me think of who it belonged to. My family is very consistent. Each year we go to the same beach, stay the same week, and at the same house. I wonder if the person that left this has a similar schedule. If he/she is there the week before me. Or if it came from months before. What kind of music did it "create". I'm hoping anything but country...

scrapbook dix-sept

This is fly paper from my garage, it is definitley kind of nasty, but it caught my eye. Fly paper when you think about it, is rather morbid. Insects that manage to fly into it, are stuck, waiting for their slow inevitable death. And we as humans, not only allow this, but are fascinated by it. There are new victims everyday, which when I was younger, was "wicked cool". It simply hangs from the center of my garage as a symbol of our control over nature. You can not help but notice it and what it has done. It's awful. I can't imagine dying that way, yet I am drawn to it. I bet when I go home there will be even more bugs. And you can count on me to look and see.

Rupunzel Reflection

I'm really glad we went over the reading by comparing it to a well known story/tv show/movie. It helped me better understand the cosmological aspect of a narrative. Plus it reinforced how common every story is, themewise anyway. The characters may be different, but the problems/drama are basically the same. I'm excited to see how that will play out in our project. With "x" amount of images for us to use, it will be a challenge to create a story, but interesting to see the elements, literally, structurally, anthropomorphically, and cosmologically that are the same and those that completely unique and different.

artist onze

Although he studied to be a photographer, John Klima worked as a software programmer after college for several years. While the job gave him flexibility to work on other creative projects, it also influence his later work. At Microsoft he started thinking of other ways to organize files and apps, possibly in a three dimensional way. Glasbead (99-00)is the result of this influence. A spherical orb, Glasbead is a three dimensional interface that allows the visitor to create music alone or through collaboration. There are two kinds of stems, bells and hammers, that the visitor can upload music onto. When the hammers come in contact with the bells, a new sounds/music is created. This happens by clicking on the center of the orb and spinning it. I tried downloading it, but it only went up to Windows XP, and not Vista, so it was not working properly. Like the last artist/group I wrote about, I like that this can be done in collaboration. I think that it is important to bounce ideas off of other people. Sometimes it is the best way to learn. I also appreciate that Klima incorporated what he learned at Microsoft into art. It's another example of why collaboration is so important. If that had never happened, neither would have Glasbead.

artist dix

Raqs Media Collective is a group that created OPUS in 2001. OPUS or Open Platform for Unlimited Significance, is a communal website where visitors can both upload their own work and use other submitted pieces to amp up their own. These remixed pieces are known as rescensions. According to Raqs, rescensions are not copies or clones, that there is no stealing of ideas or pieces. Rescensions are like children of specific parents. This is an interesting site because it allows appropriation and collaboration for different art works. The article described that this was an almost utopian ideal for artists, that it seems too good to be true. It does seem to ideal, but it got me really excited. For some reason it didn't come up properly on my computer, probably because of the shared filed issue that St. Mary's is not a fan of.... Anyway, you can search by keywords and descriptions. Then the new work appears next to the old apparently. It sounds really cool. I think it's important to have a place to share ideas, because it is the best way for someone to grow as an artist. Hopefully when I go home/not connected to St. Mary's internet, that it will work!

artist neuf

Feminine Extension

Cyberfeminist artist, Cornelia Sollfrank, entered the first ever Hamburg Museum of Art's Gallery of Contemporary Art's international net art competition in 1997. This contest, unlike others before it, stated that only truly web based art and not other medias displayed through the internet would be considered. The first museum of its kind to hold such an event, it was suprised to receive 280 contestants. Unbeknownst to the judges, over seventy percent of the applicants were web programs created by Sollfrank. She created a program known as Female Extension that made up various women, from different backgrounds and styles that were backed by legitimate e-mail addresses. Additionally, these "women" also had separate entries. Basically, they were a part of her entry, but had their own lives so to speak. These works took HTML information and played with it in a way that they resembled other pieces. After the winners were announced, she came out with what she had done. All three of the winners were male, which Sollfrank had predicted. Her work was meant to criticize the blatant sexism of the system. Miraculously, even though over half of the applicants were female, the men somehow won. I think this was a really interesting way of calling them out. I'm not exactly a feminist, but sometimes its hard to deny that men have it easier in certain situations. She may not have won the prize, but she won in the sense that the judges at the Hamburg Museum can not deny their decisions. Using art to prove a point is really powerful, yet one little slip and the wrong meaning could be conveyed. Sollfrank was intelligent in the way this was planned out.

robert frank reflection

I really enjoyed the Robert Frank exhibit at the National Gallery. For some reason, unbeknownst to myself, I am drawn to black and white photography. To me, I feel like b&w adds or emphasizes the emotions of the picture. Without color your eyes focus better on the other physical qualities of the images. Although somethings seem to blend together, facial features and other aspects are more defined in way. What was really striking about his work was how he had the sequences so eloquently planned in his mind, yet most of the photographs were candid. Without the information from the tour, he subtle transitions from section to section with a flag indicating a new chapter would have gone unnoticed by myself. I also liked the room with all of the images from the Americans and how he worked hard to create his message about injustice in this country. My favorite things, however, were the images of the miners and the book he made for his wife. You can't help but notice the eyes of the miners. They fade away due to the fact they are blacked out by the coal. It was eerie to see. Some of my family members were miners and it's unbelievable to think that people go through that kind of labor daily. The book for Mary was adorable, it was cute that he strung all of their memories together, and that he cared enough to simply remember them.

self portrait reflection

My objective self portrait was more difficult then I expected it to be. When I think of the work objectivity, I generally think of the terms unbiased and truthful. It's hard to present an image as objective when the majority of your audience has no idea who you are, where you came from, or where you are going. I thought about doing a fake online dating ad, something like eHarmony, since it would be funny, and a statement of the facts. But someone who may not know me may not see what I had as objective. My hair is brown, true, but how do they know I don't dye it (I don't by the way). I don't wear glasses, but do I wear contacts? It was very complicated. So I scrapped that idea, and just decided to take a plain, boring, uneventful picture of myself and add a comment or two. During this project I realized that I can never take a decent photo within the first three attempts. In the end I could have chosen a picture of me that looked more like a school portrait, but I ended up going with one of the ones that had me blinking/wincing. The inability to take a good photo within the normal amount of time before people get annoyed is who I am, no sugar coating. The piece ended up looking sloppy though, so I am not too pleased with it.

The subjective self image was so much easier. The fact that no one really knows me in the class makes it interesting too. I chose my first and last school portrait, because not only do they represent the progress I've made in my life, but they aren't objective images of myself. They are staged, which adds a whole new dimension to it. The background is a scene that could either be inside or outside, it depends on the person viewing it. I wanted it to be more like a room, with a view looking out, to where I want to go. In the window is an image of a run down plantation. I want to work with historic preservation after school, so that's what I am running to. There are also images of my art work from the past year. My parents don't really get why I like art and want to pursue it in some fashion. It's been a source of tension recently. The song is the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home". The lyrics tie in with this notion of growing up. I want to get away from where I grew up, not because I hate it, but because I am longing for something more. It's nothing against my family, and they are having a difficult time understanding. I made it look like an actual note because I liked that element of is it a note, what is it. More subjectivity I guess.

From the critique I realized that I am a very subjective person. People choose to represent themselves in certains ways and its totally subjective, even the ways they are portrayed objectively. A conscious choice went into that project, one that we as viewers can't really understand until we talk to the artist himself/herself.

Rapunzel Notes

-What does this have to do with art?
-Rapunzel: full of patterns, repetition of characters and ideas-this sets up the world.
-I thought it was interesting that simply telling a story sets up the structure of the world with teh relationships of self and other. Interpretation gives us insight into how we think of ourselves in realtionship with where we came from, where we are going, and were we will end up.