GDES Classwork

I found this podcast to be very weird, but the topics discussed in the podcast are things that I’ve sometimes thought about, as well. Maybe I’ve watched a few too many episodes of The Big Bang Theory or Doctor Who, but I have always found the concept of time to be interesting. Likewise, I thought that several of the points of the podcast were also interesting.

I liked the idea that humanity is so fascinated with time because we have a strong desire to transcend it. Humanity is fascinated with the idea of time and with the idea of sustainability. Not only do we as people want to be sustainable, but we want our belongings, our material possessions, to come with us. Anything we become attached to becomes a burden to let go of.

Additionally, another major point that caught my attention was that time hates, destroys, and outlives (if it can be considered to have a life) anything that humans might create. I mean, this is fairly obvious if you look at anything that is worn or antique. The most prominent things that have been destroyed by time are architectural structures, like buildings. There are ruins all over the world leftover from early civilizations, and their evolution from what they used to be at their creation is not yet over. I remember finding an image a long time ago of a “graveyard” of cars in Belgium that were left behind when the world broke out into World War II (Chatillon car graveyard).

Below are the two most recent works I’ve done; assignments for my Visual Studies 1311 class.

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 1 of 5
Digital collage, 10″ x 8″

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 2 of 5
Digital collage, 8″ x 10″

These two images are part of a collection of five digital collages that I created for the second project, “Harmony”, in my other Visual Studies class. Out of the five collages I did, I think I liked these the most because of the overall effect they had. My theme for the project was “portals”, and I felt that these two images conveyed that idea the best. Below are links to the other collage images and their descriptions:
-Collage 3
-Collage 4
-Collage 5

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 5 of 5
Digital collage, 8″ x 10″

Last of the five final collages that I created for this project, and this one played around with the idea of being on the inside of one of the portals. However, it can also be seen as though objects from the portal (in this instance, a window) are extending their reach across both destinations. One might look at the collage and see a bird that has flown into the portal and this is where it ended up, or this may look like the end of a journey back from the mysterious portal destination. I also liked matching the blurriness of the plant on the left to the original blurriness of the larger brick wall to give it a more seamless feel, as though the plant was there originally, even though it wasn’t.

Project 2 Screen Captures
Collage 1

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 4 of 5
Digital collage, 10″ x 8″

Fourth of my five collages, this was actually the first collage that I began working on when I was playing around with my idea of “portals”. In this one, I like how the various sizes of the bricks creates a movement as if the portal had just opened and the bricks are falling inside. This collage was fun because I actually created the bricks out of various paving stones that I had cut out from the original image, and transformed them to make 3 sides of each brick visible instead of the top.

Collage 5

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 3 of 5
Digital collage, 10″ x 8″

This was the third out of my digital collages that I was considering to use as the final collages. This collage, rather than a “portal” that leads to a different area, this collage acts as a more literal barrier between one setting and the next and creates a sense of transparency in a brick wall that we normally perceive as always being solid.

Collage 4

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 2 of 5
Digital collage, 8″ x 10″

My second collage, and one of the two final collages that I used for my critique, this image also focuses on a portal, but has a different destination. In this collage, a sewer entry that one might pass by and ignore every day was turned into a “doorway” that might lead to a home.

Collage 3

©2015, Loren Gamez
Harmony 1 of 5
Digital collage, 10″ x 8″

This is my first collage, and one of the two final collages that I used for my critique. For my collages, I was interested in the idea of “portals”; a hidden place that could be hidden in plain sight in a mundane location like as a busy street such as South Congress. In this particular collage, the pavements on a walkway are the hidden site of a portal that leads to another part of the city.

Collage 2
Project 2 Screen Captures

I really enjoyed the film Memento. It was both confusing and captivating. The use of a split, reverse relation of time within the film’s storyline (half of the scenes leading up to the ending from the beginning, and half of them receding from the ending to the beginning) helps the viewers to see things through the main character’s point of view, as if they also only had an ability of seeing scenes in a short time period before things changed. It adds a sense of mystery that keeps the viewer interested until the resolution, or at least it did for me.

Additionally, the choice that was made in regard to the sequence of which scenes would go first was an interesting one that is unlike pretty much any other film I’ve seen. While it is split/reversed, the scenes don’t feel “choppy”, and viewers don’t really feel as though they’re missing anything. Instead, I felt as if I were putting together the same puzzle that the main character was putting together. There was an interactive feeling to the film which was unique and intriguing.

Lastly, the narrative of the film was also unique, as was the way it impacted the story overall. The main character was telling the story from two different time periods, although his reflection of events in the black/white scenes seemed to be the dominant story-telling method.

Not to be cliche, but I think I would definitely watch this film again, or have my friends watch it. As confusing as the story line can be to follow, and as frustrating as the main character’s struggling is to witness, the way that the film was constructed was really what captivated me and kept me watching it.

-Part 1-

Lynne: I enjoyed Lynne’s presentation of her photography, and I liked her point that it is important to figure out how to make your work in your everyday life. I liked how true this was, because we can’t be college students with free time for the rest of our lives, so its important to get into the habit of finding ways to work while you’re busy and how to balance your work life with your art life.

Miranda: I loved Miranda’s “diagram” kind of outlook on graphic design careers. As a graphic design major, I thought it was extremely helpful, and she helped to answer some of the questions I’d been having as far as what kind of career I might pick up with my major.

Dustin: I loved Dustin’s photography, and his powerpoint with diagrams of lighting was also very helpful as a visual. His insight on wedding photography, and photography careers in general, was very interesting to hear. I like his idea of word of mouth referrals and its something I could see myself using.

-Part 2-

Internship #1: http://www.internships.com/graphic-design/Graphic-Designer-I9989357

Internship #2: http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?k=Job&c=q419VfwT&j=oNOY1fwk&s=Indeed

Internship #3: http://www.glassdoor.com/job-listing/graphic-design-intern-sage-environmental-holdings-JV_IC1139761_KO0,21_KE22,49.htm?jl=1566535808

It might be nerdy, yes, but as the Tenth Doctor once remarked: “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly…timey wimey…stuff.” Sure, that was a statement in a work of fiction, but perhaps the Doctor (or the writers of the show??) were on to something. To the Vietnamese language, time doesn’t really exist at all. There are no verb conjugations for time the way there are in languages like Spanish, or Russian. Instead, time is only gleaned from context of the conversation.

It was this idea that sparked Father Martin Nguyen’s interest in his latest art exhibit, Drawing/Painting TIME (using portraits). Father Nguyen is an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, but also an artist. He has a few exhibits in Indiana, California, and now he has a temporary exhibit here at St. Edward’s. I stopped by this exhibit this morning after my first visual studies class, and was simply astonished by the amount of portraits that Nguyen had completed for the exhibit. There were many faces, hundreds, and each one was strikingly unique, as people are. Every shade of skin was highlighted throughout the exhibit, and every color of hair (or lack thereof, in some cases). Additionally, some of the portraits were completed in grayscale. There was also a related set of images that were all depicting a single young girl over the course of a year; there were exactly 365 portraits of this girl.

I think the thing that stood out the most when I saw these pieces was the uniqueness. Unlike the precise, identical nature of machine works, you could truly see Nguyen’s work as an individualized piece, and if you get close enough, you can see the thoughtful brushstrokes. I think it made it more real, in a way. I think the natural shape of each portrait’s facial structure is common, but only in a way that it is used to guide your eye around the whole face and separate each one from another. They are all related because of their “snapshot” sense of time, and yet each is unique because of the person that they represent. The variety of each portrait depends primarily on genetics, through skin tone and the color of each person’s hair. However, to me this wasn’t at all distracting. As I stated before, it makes the portraits, and exhibit, seem more real. The grid-like rhythm of the portraits’ spacing between one and the next is consistent, and adds to the overall balance of the exhibit as a whole.

While the title of the exhibit alludes to a study of the progression of time, I think it is more than that beneath the surface. It’s about people. I am an introvert, and I’d rather be alone than in a crowded room socializing with people. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate each person individually. In some ways, I feel that this exhibit is similar. Nguyen has focused on each portrait individually; they have each had their own “fifteen minutes of fame” (although I’m sure it took much longer to paint each portrait). But together, the effect is quite different and yet also admirable. As for the portraits of the single young girl, I found them intriguing because I also found them comical. In my mind, I was creating a story from the young girl’s point of view and from her expressions in each of the images. I can only imagine that she would have become very bored or annoyed to have her portrait drawn over and over again, at least once a day (or at the very least, having her picture taken every day). I feel as though I would have had similar expressions to the ones that the young girl had if I were the subject of such a lengthy process of working. Similarly, every single image that Nguyen created has a different expression. Some faces are even turned to the side, or hidden completely. It fascinates me at the vast range of expression that we as humans are capable of, and I admired the way that Nguyen was able to capture so many.

Initially, I honestly did not think that I would be so drawn to Nguyen’s artwork. My first impression was it’s just a bunch of portraits over time. What’s the big deal? Now, though, I look back on that impression as laughable. I think that going to the exhibit in person allowed me to open my mind and really admire the work. And of course, I realized that there’s no way that I would probably have the patience to do something like Nguyen, and definitely not with the skill that he had. While I might not hang one of these portraits in my home, I don’t think that that was Nguyen’s purpose, and it doesn’t cause me to like the work any less. As stated before, I personally admire Father Nguyen’s exhibit primarily because of its element of uniqueness and personalization. Additionally, I like the parallel that while you can see the subjects’ passage of time, especially with the pencil portraits of the one young girl, you can also see the dedication of time that Nguyen himself had (and the patience) to make his artwork possible in the first place.

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I enjoyed Nick’s presentation because I was able to see where my college education can take me, and that my college education and personal experiences can turn into a great endeavor. It got me thinking about the different ways I can use my graphic design major, such as packaging design.

I enjoyed Rebecca’s presentation because of her emphasis on internships and to keep trying. I agree that it’s important to be able to use internships to explore your options and see what you do and don’t like, and I can’t wait to get started with doing that myself.

I enjoyed Alex’s presentation because what he does is perhaps the closest to what I want to do with my degree; independent graphic design work. I liked his comment on using what designs are selling well on the shelves, and to use that knowledge to influence your own work so that it can be ahead because of its recognizable appearance.

I enjoyed Taylor’s presentation because, like Rebecca, she stressed that internships (and volunteer opportunities for that matter) are essential for experience. I also look forward to opportunities to study abroad.

I feel like I most related to Alex, because I agree that knowing what is already doing well in the markets helps with design choices for future things, and that a graphic designer should be versatile in their style. I don’t know who I was most surprised by…maybe Nick, because while his career doesn’t relate directly to his degree, it still influenced what he did. I think the most valuable piece of advice I heard was Taylor’s advice to take accounting/business related classes as something to fall back on if it becomes necessary.

After hearing the critiques from all of the projects, there are three major things that I feel that I could have done differently for a stronger collection of images, in addition to smaller composition changes.

1) Visit South Congress more times. While I visited South Congress three times, I don’t feel that it was enough. I don’t think that I let myself really explore all of the little niches. As a naturally shy person, I think I just felt awkward taking pictures in a very public place; I’d much rather take the pictures at home or along a secluded nature trail. The hustle of the city just doesn’t interest me as much for photography.

2) Selected more images in my composition. I think I just felt very overwhelmed by the project and trying to relate my images to the Gestalt principles that I didn’t give myself enough time to enjoy the task of taking the pictures, and thus I felt limited in the images I could choose from in the final selection.

3) Take pictures as interesting subjects rather than subjects composed of Gestalt. I think I limited myself in general by trying to force the Gestalt principles onto my images, and I let that dominate what I saw through the camera. I didn’t take pictures for the sake of them having an interesting composition.

Additionally, the technical presentation of my images wasn’t the way that I had wanted it to be. Ideally, the images would have been seen horizontally, so that the viewers could see the continuity that united the images, instead of them being viewed vertically. I suppose my shy personality came into play here because I didn’t ask anybody if they knew of a way to make this possible in the blog. The image composition has been changed below to better reflect the continuity of the curve.

For each class ask yourself the following:

VISU 1311

1. My greatest strengths in this course include: Following directions and taking notes
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Open myself to be more “creative” and loose with my blog posts/assignment interpretations

VISU 1100

1. My greatest strengths in this course include: Finishing blog posts early and listening attentively to class discussions
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Take more notes, maybe

FSTY (R&C)

1. My greatest strengths in this course include: Taking notes and getting essays done (mostly) on time; making sure that my essays are “professional” and free of errors.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Procrastinate less and get eassays done earlier

FSTY (60s)

1. My greatest strengths in this course include: Taking good notes, attending required films, and reading required readings
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Study more for test material

ARTS 1316

1. My greatest strengths in this course include: Drawing straight lines and making shapes proportional
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Work on darker line quality

Computer skills:

1. My computer skills include: Advanced in Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as most Microsoft Office programs
2. I still need to learn: Become more familiar with Mac/Apple computers/programs; I prefer PC/Microsoft

Research & writing skills:

1. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: Being able to write sufficiently and professionally about my topic
2. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: More thorough research; finding solid research sources
3. I learn best & accomplish most when: I know more about my research topic, when I have a quiet room to brainstorm/write in

Action Plan

In my VISU 1311 class, I can improve my performance by:

1) Being more creative
2) Giving myself project guidelines
3) Set deadlines
4) Don’t procrastinate
5) Think outside the box
6) Go outside comfort zone
7) Be open to new ideas
8) Use a sketchbook to brainstorm project ideas
9) Spend more time on composing a project
10) Buy a digital camera so that I don’t limit the images I can get

-Part 1-

© 2015, Loren Gamez
Space Awaits Us
Digital painting, 612 x 792px

© 2015, Loren Gamez
Sound the Sirens
Digital painting, 612 x 792px

1) The goal of these assignment were to create a “Future” themed poster design and a “Fairy Tale” themed t-shirt design, as part of contests that Command G is having in the fall (poster) and spring (t-shirt).

2) For the first, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I started playing around with geometric shapes. Then I heard on the news that there was possibly evidence of water on Mars, so I turned Mars into the focus of my image, with its habitation being the future aspect. For the second, I knew that I wanted to do mermaids, because I find them fascinating (the darker, eviller ones, that is). So I started playing around with some ideas, and came up with a silhouette, underwater version.

-Part 2- (critique on the Sound the Sirens piece)

1) I think the strongest aspect of this piece is the illusion of depth given by the different opacity of the figures, and the change of opacity of the background.

2) I think the mid-section “fins” on the mermaids detracts from the image because when I look at the image from a distance, there seems to be an illusion that they have two sets of arms, or two sets of tail fins. This will probably be removed in the final piece before submission to the contest.

3) As stated above, the composition can be improved by editing the mermaid figures to be smoother around their mid-sections. Additionally, I might play around with the opacity of the image to see if darker opacity improves the illusion of depth.

4) Conceptually, I might play around with the mermaids’ poses and proximity to see how to improve the illusion of movement and depth. I might also see how it looks in different colors, like a dark blue/green.

5) Technically, I might edit the mermaids’ forms to see in what ways their shapes can be transformed so that each is unique.

6) No additional notes.

I really liked Dan Phillips’ talk. He had a lot to say, and I found it easy to agree with him. I also found it fascinating the way that he was able to recycle used home items to make something new and unique. This is similar to the art of collage, and the question of how harmony is created in an image.

In the way that Dan Phillips talked about repetition and patterns when he reuses materials in his homebuilding, photo collages use repetition and patterns to create new images themselves. In Phillips’ homebuilding, he often takes an object’s design and repeats it throughout the house (this is especially true for his Budweiser house). In photo collages, a single image can be ripped or cut into parts, and these parts can be reused as a whole in the new image, but in a different pattern than before, thus creating something new from something old.

Dan Phillips also discusses an interesting point that people act differently when they are alone than they are when they are surrounded by other people. In a way, photographs can be like this. A single photograph has a different effect than a collection of photographs. Furthermore, a piece of a photograph in a collage has a different effect than a whole, untorn photograph. Thus, the purpose of placement in a collage is almost always different than the purpose of a photo that is left alone. Both have their strong points and weaknesses, but they serve completely different purposes. I think this concept is one of the most interesting ones about artistic principles. There are certain expectations for photographs, and there are certain, different expectations for collages. And the purpose of these things, and the process of creation that leads to the final product, is the harmony created as a product of these expectations and the artists’ interpretations of those expectations.

Below are screen captures of my favorites folders, collections, different file extensions, and keywords in both Bridge and Lightroom, although Bridge was primarily used for the project.

-Part 1-

Rachel Broussard: I really enjoyed Rachel’s advice to go out and see other artwork. I have never really taken the time to do so. Now that I’m so close to many different galleries and have the time to go, it’s something I hope I will learn to do often.

Caelan Navarrete: I enjoyed how Caelan stressed the need to make work outside of the art classes, and it’s something that I have done before, but I feel like I should be doing more. I agree with Caelan that work outside of the class, perhaps more than work inside class, helps to really refine an artist’s personal style.

Shelby Savage: My favorite piece of advice from Shelby is to find your passion. I agree that if you can do what you love, then you will absolutely be motivated to the work. I love graphic design, ergo I can’t wait to see what I can do with my degree so that I may do what I love as my career.

Paul Young: I like Paul’s suggestions to “hustle” and that mobility is important. While it might seem like a good idea to spend a long amount of time on one piece, it’s just as important to do as much as you can in as much time as you can so that you can constantly improve.

Crissy Smith: Considering that my first art project in my Visual Studies class is due on Wednesday, I liked Crissy’s advice to learn how to talk about your work. It’s one thing to make art, but it’s another case when you have to defend your purpose and help others see your art the way that you do so that the work’s purpose can become clear.

Juliana Ramirez: My favorite piece of advice from Juliana is to keep a sketchbook for basically everything. I’ve never been great at keeping a single journal or sketchbook for all of my reminders and ideas, but I can see how it would be a very useful tool to have for various reasons, and I hope it’s a habit that I can grow into soon.

-Part 2-

Website 1: http://www.endzeit-ausstellung.de/

Even though it’s written in a different language, and one that I don’t understand, I found this website compelling because of the simplicity of its design. There isn’t too much going on to distract the viewer, and you can be straight to the point with what you’re searching for here. Of course, the website also has a really neat way of giving the viewer the illusion of 3D through the way that the image on the home page follows the cursor across the screen. Additionally, you can scroll down seamlessly through the pages, or click them individually on the right, which I hadn’t seen before.

Website 2: http://www.c-roots.com/

I found this website to be compelling because the design of the page is quite reflective of the agency’s ‘mission’, as described on their main page.Throughout the website’s pages, there is a maintained sense of creativity, but it is refined in a way that is still easy to navigate. I also loved how even though the company is based in Amsterdam, they have an option to view the website in English or in Dutch, which is very user friendly.

Website 3: https://nest.com/

This website is different from the others, but I chose it because even though I have no immediate interest in Nest’s products, I still found the website itself appealing. It is simple, image-heavy for easy understanding, and just overall attractive. There is plenty of information, but the way that it is provided through interactive graphics instead of just text is a lot more welcoming to viewers.

Website 4: http://thesocietyinc.com.au/

I found this website to be compelling because the background is very unique. It has a hand-crafted feel in contrast to the modern, photographed style of the other layouts I picked. It adds to the character of the business, while also making it aesthetically appealing as a web design.

Below are the images that I selected to use for my Gestalt project. These images focus on the Gestalt principles of continuity and repetition. I used the natural curvatures of the subjects to draw the viewers’ eyes from one side of the piece to the other. The use of the mosaic tiles, triangular stones, and metal rungs of the seat help to provide the eyes with a natural sense of movement and continuity, and they also provide repetition as a guiding force for said movement. Additionally, if these images were to be placed horizontally next to each other, the movement from left to right would still exist across the span of the images. [Link to screen captures]

©2015, Loren Gamez
Gestalt Project 1 of 3
Photograph

©2015, Loren Gamez
Gestalt Project 2 of 3
Photograph

©2015, Loren Gamez
Gestalt Project 3 of 3
Photograph

I’m going to be honest here. I listened to The Medium is the Message 3 times over the last week, and it still makes no sense to me. The background noise was distracting me from trying to listen to the words of the main speaker.

Part of me wonders if this is the point, but I hate trying to think of some abstract reason about how that’s the point, or the “message” of the podcast. Part of me says yes. Part of me feels as though this is the idea behind it. The idea is that we often try to focus on the intent rather than how something was made, and we often don’t appreciate what is simply in front of us.

But in the end, I feel as though I’m just pulling at straws. So I don’t know…maybe I was on to something. But I’m still at a loss of what that is.

However, the reading made some sense. The reading claims that the medium used to create something is just as important as the finished product. I believe that each medium has a different effect, and feel as though a scene that is painted is not the same as the exact scene drawn with pencils. Therefore, the intent of the artist to use paint rather than pencils is selected on the basis of what effect it will give. In my case, I find painted landscapes more appealing to my eyes than landscapes drawn in grayscale with pencils. This could be opposite for other people. But in either case, the artist had the final say and it is up to the viewer to decipher the intention of the work based on its medium and message.

Clay sculptures have always intrigued me, although I have never personally developed an aptitude for it. When I was looking through Beth Cavener’s gallery, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how seamlessly she places human emotion into animal body language. Beth herself is dedicated to this idea that her sculptures mold human and animal behaviors together, as you can read about here.

Specifically, the piece below caught my eye over her others. I first admired the use of a monochromatic color scheme. The dark colors are deceiving; brown is often associated with warm colors, but in this instance, the brown creates a feeling of tension and a physical attachment to the rope that binds the rabbit in place. The addition of the taut rope and the uneven, swirled movement that the clay causes the observer to empathize with this trapped animal. There is a strain both physically and mentally when one is trapped, and both of these are expressed in Cavener’s sculpture through the straightness of the rope that holds the rabbit, as well as the animal’s body language indicating some kind of stress or agitation (this blog discusses signs of agitation in rabbits–backward facing ears and upright tails included).

©2015, Beth Cavener
KEPT
Mixed media sculpture, H 24 x L 12 x W 28 in

©2015, Beth Cavener
KEPT
Mixed media sculpture, H 24 x L 12 x W 28 in
(closeup)

In 2012, Cavener did an interview with the blog Gessato in which she discussed how she takes her inspiration from all kinds of people that she examines on a daily basis. She talked about how her work is the result of how she interprets different human emotions, and then portrays them onto animal figures. I think what I find most inspiring about her work is how much detail she is able to convey into these pieces. There is an ample amount of story behind each layer of clay or each stroke of a brush, and the longer that you look at each piece, the more you can see and the more emotional the piece as a whole becomes. I find it remarkable at how well Cavener is able to observe human emotions, and even more remarkable that she is able to translate these onto an animal subject, whereas I still have trouble drawing a stick figure’s face.