Warhol by the Book

dsc_0399dsc_0380dsc_0401dsc_0423     On October 8, 2016, I attended the Warhol by the Book event at Blaton Art Museum. This event was truly amazing. As a life-long art fanatic and huge fan of contemporary art, getting the chance to see one of the most popular and influential artists, who, to this day, is still a very prominent figure in society, was a dream come true. Although the gallery had been up for a little while, I decided to wait to go see it the day of the event. The event staged a similar atmosphere to that of the well known “The Happening” as it was decorated with silver foil and entranced by psychedelic band performances. On top of this, attendees of this event were encouraged to dress up as Andy Warhol himself! As enthusiastic and excited as I was for the event, I took full pride in partaking in this request. When I finally arrived, I did not know which pieces were displayed. I wanted to leave it a surprise for myself. Despite the few posts I had seen on twitter and Instagram from friends who had previously visited the gallery, I practically fell to my knees when I stumbled to the back of the gallery to find one of the many Campbell’s soup cans hung neatly on the grey wall. Once I was able to compose myself and clean up the drool I left on the floor, I once again found myself weak at the knees when I turned to my right to see two Marilyn Monroe heads hung side by side. Now, I am happy to say that I can check several pieces off my “Art Work I Need to See as Soon as Possible” bucket list.

Blog Post #11

Bill Kennedy’s art work consists of a series of abstractions of random objects. These objects start off as photographs which are then edited in Photoshop. Professor Kennedy said it himself that he does not have any idea as far as direction and final product. Although the final product is abstract, Mr. Kennedy uses titles for his pieces as a form of manipulation to implant a general idea of what is represented in the final piece.

Hollis Hammonds work follows a general theme of detailed collages of storms and the destruction caused by these natural disasters. I really enjoyed this work in particular because I appreciate the interjection of personal experience and thought that is expressed through her artwork. I find that most often the best artwork is related or fueled by personal experience such as her work about her house burning down at the age of fifteen. Also, I noticed that many people did not catch this, or simply were not as taken aback as I was, but I thought it was pretty damn cool that Professor Hammonds had been able to see Shepard Fairey at work.

Alex Robinson’s work seemed to be quite opposite of Professor Hammonds in the sense that her work is very minimalistic. Yet her work does feature the use of trash. Her work is mainly linear and revolves around the underlining theme of being “too loud” or “too subtle.”

Tammie Rubin’s art work is (or at least everything that was shown) solely three dimensional. Her work focused on studies done with cones/ funnels and turning things that are already made into a conceptual piece of art. One of the things that I really enjoyed about her work was when she stated that her work gives the viewer a slight sense of dissatisfaction. The textures and colors used in her pieces are visually stimulating to the point where one desires experience her work using other senses such as touch and taste, yet due to the fact that it cannot be touched, the viewer is left slightly dissatisfied.

Joe’s work was a series of photographs that focused on ranchers and everyday life of ranch owning families. What struck me as rather interesting about his work were the moments he chose to capture. A lot of the pictures he took were things most photographers would not give much attention to.

 

5-Year plan

My dream job is work as an animator or imaginer at Pixar or Disney.  Now, in order to achieve this, I have set a series of goals for myself that will hopefully increase my chances of attaining my dream job. The first goal is to finish my undergraduate studies with a strong foundation in the arts. Throughout this time span, I plan to intern at Pixar or Disney, or anywhere that would benefit my chances of attaining this position. Secondly, I plan to go to graduate school, but I would attend an Art specific college in order to receive a more in-depth education and involvement.

Blog post #10

In all honesty, I do not recall much of what was said in this past lecture.i continue to be caught up thinking about all the issues I am having to deal with outside of school, But from what i do remember, the speakers work for a video game company in which each plays their own part in the designing of video games. As of now they are focused on video games that are created for mobile phones. They have already released one game that has shown a great deal of popularity. It is interesting to me that amount of coding and programing that goes into creating these games that we take advantage of everyday.

Blog Post #9

I greatly enjoyed Matt Lankes’ presentation as i found it very interesting and note worthy as he has shown us the capabilities any one of us has and what we can accomplish under the teachings of our current professors. One of the main points that stayed with me from the presentation was when Lankes was talking about how so many of his pictures would not exist if he let fear or shyness keep him from asking to take a picture. This reminded me of the phrase ” carpe diem”. In order to achieve more and and go beyond our limits, we must step out of our comfort zone. In doing this, we may find that something so small could have such a large impact on your life.

http://www.pixar.com/careers/Available-Internships#

http://camh.org/about/employment-internships

https://laika.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=214575&company_id=15887&version=2&source=ONLINE&jobOwner=992326&aid=1

Blog Post #8

My future is not very well planned out. As far as i know, i have just set a couple of goals that i would like to accomplish. I would like to go to do my graduate studies at an art school. (looking into Ringling) After that my dream job would be to work for Disney as an animator or imagineer. As far as study abroad goes, I am all up for it. I think it would be an amazing opportunity to take advantage of, but I am not quite certain of where i would like to go. I am not part of a student group, although i feel that i really need to get more involved in campus activities and organizations. Once the art club is officially established, i would be more than happy to join!

Memento

Sequence of events play a huge role in telling a story and can greatly influence many factors such as the amount of information an audience will have, how much an audience must pay attention and make connections to fully understand, and how much an audience is kept wondering. Sequence is a tool that many directors such as Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and many other artists use and manipulate in order to achieve such thought evoking works. As we can see in works such a Memento and Pulp Fiction, Sequence is often used to tie everything together by Showing part of the end scene at the beginning of the movie. For example, In Memento, the opening scene shows Leonard killing Teddy, which is the same scene that we see at the end of the movie, only this time, we now fully understand how the two characters got there because we now have key information that was left out the first time the scene was shown. Similarly, in Pulp Fiction, the opening scene begins with a couple about to hold up a café; once the couple draws their guns, the scene changes and leaves the audience wondering “What that was all about.” After this, we are introduced the main characters who, at the end of the movie, find themselves in the midst of the café hold up. Sequence, as it is so brilliantly used in Memento, gives the audience a sense understanding of the Leonard’s disability as the scenes come and go in short, chronologically displaced, cuts which end up giving a short explanation of the prior scene. This just goes to show how the manipulation of sequence can greatly influence how an audience will view a piece of work.

BLog Post #6

  1. My greatest strengths in Rhetoric and Composition include: The ability to analyze a reading, summarize what has been said, and mostly, state my own opinion on the topic.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Give myself more time to thoroughly explain the mess of words and ideas that float in my head.

 

  1. My greatest strengths in Drawing include: My ability to deconstruct the world around me and visualize it through artistic terms such as perspective, proportions, depth, value, contour, ect.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: continuously practice drawing.

 

  1. My greatest strengths in Visual Studies 1 include: my deep interest in the subject itself.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: get my shit together.

 

  1. My greatest strengths in Human Rights in Latin America include: My prior knowledge due to my Latin American roots.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Force myself to find new ways to engage in the lecture based class.

 

  1. My greatest strengths in Visual Studies Seminar include: My love for visual arts.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Find new ways to engage with this lecture based course as well as keep up with the assigned blog posts.

 

  1. My greatest strengths in Social Justice Seminar include: My desire to better this world through means of bringing forth social justice to the community.
  2. For greater success in this course, I need to: attend more of the scholarly engagements.

 

 

Computer skills:

  1. My computer skills include: Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, Google, Corel Painter Essentials.
  2. I still need to learn: Adobe Light room, Photoshop, and most other adobe creative cloud programs.

Research & writing skills:

  1. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: My ability to form original thoughts, as well as multi-point perspectives.
  2. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: My ability to fully explain myself in a non-confusing manner.
  3. I learn best & accomplish most when: The material and information is presented with a hands-on approach. It helps grab my attention while using more of the senses to learn.

ACTION PLAN

Visual Studies Seminar

The first step in improving myself in any of my classes would be to get help or find a way to deal with problems that are being faced outside of school, which are inevitably impeding my academic performance.

Talk to a health counselor in order to find possible methods to combat my mental instability.

Make a conscious effort to grow the courage to find help.

Find a place to work that is free from distractions.

Set reminders or make a schedule that keeps me on track with assignments and due dates.

Find a way to engage more in this lecture based class.

Set aside more time dedicated to do assignments.

Try to find something related to the class that stands out to me and research it outside of class.

Find friends that motivate me to work rather than distract me.

Try finding a friend in the class that can help me stay up to date as far as key ideas that were discussed in class.

Gestalt Sept 26

After having gone out to SOCO for a third time without already having a specific idea in mind as to what to photograph, I found myself paying closer attention not to an object,but rather a thought. I began photographing spaces. These spaces are contained spaces that usually a void in between two objects. These spaces force the viewer to read between the lines in a sense as they are left wondering what could be found inside that void? Many of the photos offer a sense of symmetry which give a relaxing and structured feel, but once they are viewed in conjunction with the other pictures, a thought of wonder interrupts this symmetry.dsc_0164 dsc_0165 dsc_0166 dsc_0175 dsc_0181 dsc_0184 dsc_0185 dsc_0190 dsc_0192 dsc_0196 dsc_0199 dsc_0202 dsc_0206 dsc_0217 dsc_0219 dsc_0220 dsc_0222 dsc_0223 dsc_0226 dsc_0230 dsc_0251 dsc_0253 dsc_0258 dsc_0261 dsc_0269 dsc_0285 dsc_0286 dsc_0290 dsc_0299 dsc_0300 dsc_0306 dsc_0307 dsc_0308 dsc_0309 dsc_0310 dsc_0314 dsc_0315 dsc_0323 dsc_0325 dsc_0333 dsc_0334 dsc_0336 dsc_0337

Contemporary Artists- Marcel Duchamp

As an art fanatic, I often find myself getting frustrated when I hear people look at a Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, or a Motherwell and say, “This is not art. I can paint this.” My usual reply (in summary) to this is, “but you didn’t.” What I find so interesting and inspiring about contemporary artist and contemporary artwork in general is that they push the limits of what is considered art. One perfect example is Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain 1917, replica 1964. Quick background info: this piece, made out of a urinal that was purchased from a plumbing supply house called MUTT, was turned on its side and signed R. Mutt 1917; it was later submitted into an art show that was supposed to accept every entry, yet this piece was rejected.  The original piece was later found missing. What makes this piece and its creator so revolutionary is Marcel’s character. Through his character, Marcel changed the world as to how we view art. The Fountain forces the viewers to leave behind old perspectives as to how we view art. We are now faced with questions such as “What is art?”, “Why is it considered art?” , and “Who determines It?” The reason as to why I find Marcel Duchamp and this piece in particular so inspiring is the fact that it broadens idea of the word art. Art is now limitless as it is only restricted by the imagination of the viewer.

“Can one make works that are not ‘works’ of art?” – Marcel Duchamp

duchamp_fountain_1917 duchamp_fountaine fountain