Author: amcgrain

SKILLS INVENTORY

For each class ask yourself the following:

1. My greatest strengths in ____Spanish____________ include: willingness to lear, the attention I give
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: ask more questions and tell the professor when I don’t understand things
3. My greatest strengths in ____Visual Studies____________ include: always coming to class with stuff to work on, paying attention, getting things in on time
4. For greater success in this course, I need to: practice more of the things outside of class and not tell myself that I won’t use the material
5. My greatest strengths in ____Problem Solving and Computing____________ include: Fast to learn
6. For greater success in this course, I need to: pay more attention in class, take notes off of my computer
7. My greatest strengths in _____Photo 2___________ include: finishing things early, always being prepared
8. For greater success in this course, I need to: push myself to shoot more on my own time
9. My greatest strengths in _____Modern Irish Literature___________ include: paying attention in class, getting stuff in on time
10. For greater success in this course, I need to: reading the readings before class more
11. My greatest strengths in _____Seminar___________ include: paying attention and staying off my phone
12. For greater success in this course, I need to: not wait until the last minute to finish my blog posts

 

Computer skills:

1. My computer skills include: very limited to average
2. I still need to learn: more shortcuts and how to use more programs

Research & writing skills:

1. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: not just sticking with the first source, seeking out other opinions
2. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: starting sooner so I’m not rushed the few days before
3. I learn best & accomplish most when: I am focused and am in a coffee shop not distracted by my dog or my bed

ACTION PLAN

Choose one class that you are struggling with or are not doing as well as you could.
Now make a list of 10 ways you could improve your performance in this class.

Spanish

1. Not talk about how the teacher doesn’t know how to teach (even though it is true)
2. Study more on my own time
3. Make flashcards
4. Not wait until the last minute to cram
5. Ask more questions
6. Engage more with my class
7. Participate even if I might be wrong
8. Try to connect with the professor
9. Review more with my classmates
10. Work harder on the homework

The speakers in last class were extremely interesting. It was the first time that I saw speakers from the whole visual studies department and got to see what all is involved with my major. The Photo major really interested me especially since that is my major as well. She had some beautiful work and I loved being able to see it. Even though it was beautiful, it helped me see that it was not the type of photography that I am into. I am interested in more portraits than landscapes. The Video Game Studies major was interesting. She didn’t really go into her process but more so gave advice to people of that major which I found was interesting. She showed some work but I would have liked to see more. The design major was very interesting. I believe she was the one who worked at the Mexican Art Museum (I know I have the name wrong). Her art was super funky and visually pleasing so I really liked her. She also had a very funny vibe and seemed to be pretty care free which I enjoyed and was receptive to. The Drawing major was pretty interesting as well. I was amazed at how creative and beautiful her art was. I can’t even imagine how she can create such amazing drawings. That is the area I am probably worst at with art. Overall, it was very interesting to see the different majors that fall into the department. It helped show me that photography is just as creative and demanding as other majors.

 

Links to Websites:

https://www.ted.com – I chose this website because they have such a sleek website with the common three colors being black, white, and red which are very appealing to me.

https://blackswanyoga.com – I chose this because once again the black and white are very appealing and simple.

https://www.instagram.com – I like this website because it is extremely basic. Again, the black and white help shape this and set the theme.

http://www.eastaustinsucculents.com – I chose this because of how the website feels familiar with the font. It feels relaxing and the black and white with the slight bit of color helps bring attention to the pants.

Part 1:

-The goal of this assignment was to learn how to use flash on our analog cameras.

-I went about this goal by finding a subject to photograph. I had the first one try on some fur coats and let her do whatever in her apartment while I photographed. For the second girl,I had her meet me at a coffee shop in Hyde Park and we walked around the back of buildings until we found a spot where there was a ramp and some creepy old carts.

Part 2: Project on low light.

1. The strongest aspect of the work was the lighting that I worked with. It was late at night and there was one lamp overhead and I used it to create shadows and accentuate the creepy faces of my subjects.
2. The weakest aspect of the work was the fact that I could have had more photos and changes up the area where we shot.
3. The project can be shaped conceptually by focusing more on what draws me in to people dressed up creepily.
4. The project can be strengthened technically by applying more sturdy camera work and by taking more pictures to work with.
5. Additional notes: This was a good project for me to discover that I love photographing weird things and unusual people. It made me inspired to go shoot more things of odd people and weird situations.

Wow. This “The Medium is the Message” was incredible. At first I wasn’t even sure what I was listing to or trying to understand. It was all so chaotic and fuzzy with noise and talking over the recording of the author. Needless to say, it was hard to stay focused. However, I do know it is about media and how people communicate with the world.

I liked how it began with the beginning of time. From being to meaning, he said. It was all shaped with the practice of recording things and events. This is truly the beginning of everything. It later talks about how words and letters are associated. That when in a straight line, they represent so much. I liked how it was talked about how big of an influence books had on our society. It shapes our culture and the roles that people play out.

It also talked about how everything is an extension of ourselves and things. How this influences how we perceive things. Media is just a way to magnify this. Media is such a big influence on how things are observed and put out in the world.

Diane Arbus
Albino Sword Swallower at a Carnival

A Young Waitress at a Nudist Camp

Fat Man at Carnival

Stripper with bare breasts sitting in her dressing room

Diane Arbus is absolutely phenomenal. She had such a beautiful way of looking into the lives of people that we never get to see. She did so much work with people in the circus, people with abnormalities, and people in the nude. She was able to get in and photograph people when they were in such vulnerable states which I highly admire. This must have taken her being vulnerable as well. Her photographs provoke such emotion and are known to be very provocative, possibly scaring off some people who look at her photographs. She started off in fashion photography with her husband in New York and ended up finding her way to the work she did later on which is far outside of those realms. I also love her work with the twins and other photographs of people being their true selves. Having found myself drawn to more unique people and this type of photography, I really look up to Diane Arbus. However, her work eventually caught up with her when she ended her life.

McGrain_slideshow-2a4ntbv

When analyzing my schedule, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really get a lot of sleep. I never stay up past 12am and I usually get up around 7:30am or 8:30am. This means I spend a good majority of my time on sleep which keeps me rested and able to carry on the next day. I am in 16 hours of classes which is a heavy load but I end up doing only about 10 hours of homework with a few hours of lab time or shooting time for my artsy-fartsy classes. I spend an hour or two a day unwinding with TV but that all depends on how much homework I have done. I try to keep a balanced life to where I am never stressed out at school. Getting ahead and doing homework early is also another way I get ahead.

Here are some pictures from when I first started documenting my travels with a camera. The first set of pictures is from a trip I took to Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. I was taken away by the beautiful people and animals I saw on the trip. The second group of pictures was from when I went to Peru again with my dad’s charity. Some of the pictures are of my siblings. Other pictures are of some children at a school that my dad was going to rebuild. Throughout them all, we had no common language but I managed to see part of their lives and connect with them through a photograph.

 

 

 

 

1. What are the main points of each article?
   1. Article 1 is about what makes up an artist and how they are entrepreneurs and inventors and think about things in a different way than non-artists do.
   2. Article 2 is about the similarities between entrepreneurs and artist and ow they learn and share in the same way.
2. What can artists learn from their “entrepreneurial cousins”?
   1. How to build a network around them of supportive people who help their career and motivate them.
3. Do you agree that artists are entrepreneurs? why?
   1. I do because they are always trying to sell their art and get people to believe in it. Creative ideas are able to make a lot of money too if people are willing to sell it.
4. Which of the 12 characteristics of artists do you agree with?
   1. Artist are humans, artists are craftspeople, artist are like children, artists are comfortable with their ambiguity, artists thrive under constraints, artists are passionate about their work
5. What others would you add to the list?
   1. Artist are weird
6. Additional thoughts.

GRIT: 3.25 out of 5

1. Do you have grit, or is this something you need to work on?
   1. I need to work on it. I have a hard time staying with things that last a long time.
2. List a couple of things you could do to increase your level of grit.
   1. Work on my patience, following through, set more goals to work towards.

Are these images or is there any video? Are these forms in nature? Are the pictures of chemicals? What was the reason behind there being no audio? What are the white dots? Why did it not keep a steady pace and drag out certain photos? What does it represent? How did he create this?

What was the creative inspiration behind this video? I had a constant flow of questions throughout Stellar. I think I feel more confused that I did before the video. I wonder how he made these colorful images and at what pace he thought it would be a good idea to show it. Is it actually trying to represent something “stellar” or is it a representation of something unrelated to space? Could it be a video about space and time? All I have is questions and more questions.