Month: November 2017

Sean Pierce

The speakers at our last seminar were individuals who had created their own game. They were a husband and wife team who worked with several other people, including the mans brother in order to develop this game. What was really interesting was the amount of work that actually went in to building this game. I honestly had no idea how detail oriented you actually had to be to create your own game. The wifes’ art style was also really cool. If I could ask them one question it would be how exactly did he generate her art in to the game. The thing that I learned during the talk was that games could be in a 2.5D format. I had honestly never seen or heard of this before and found the concept really unique. I definitely want to start playing this game now.

 

A question I would ask a resident faculty member is: how do you cultivate and practice creativity?

 

Alec Soth

 

 

I wasn’t at the last seminar so last time so I am writing about Alec Soth. Soth is an American photographer based in the Midwest that makes images primarily with a large format camera. He mostly focuses his work on simple, plain subjects, but looks at them in a unique way which creates for a visually interesting perspective. His first book, Sleeping by The Mississippi was focused on showcasing a forgotten and overlooked world to his viewers. I believe his goal was to in some ways commodifies lifestyle. I think he achieved this very well. I also believe his use of color and angles is really strong in his work and I think that’s what sticks out to people first when they look in to him. This is interesting because many of his photographs feature these as subtleties.

 

Three internships I could focus on are Thom Jackson Photography in Dallas http://blog.thomjacksonphoto.com/page/2

A health food product photographer in Austin http://www.internships.com/photography/photography-intern-health-wellness

A music festival photographer   http://www.internships.com/photography/photography-intern-wanted-for-july-chamber-music-festivalworkshop 

Rube Goldberg

 

What inspires me about this work is the level of dedication, preparation, and practice that went in to making this “machine”.  I can’t imagine the amount of time it took this team to create the project, but it must have been countless hours of planning and preparation. I think this inspires me because I can apply me to my own work. If I have a vision I should put in the work and time to see it come to fruition. I think I can also see it as a way to let go. This Rube Goldberg is such a fun project I think it serves as a metaphor for letting go and not taking every project so seriously.

Student Presentations

 

The photography major’s work was very compelling! I think she honestly gave me confidence that I am in the correct major. One thing that I found interesting was her use of large format film. I think it gave her work a really unique light quality and depth. Another insight was her use of the study abroad program to add to her portfolio. I thought her presentation was thought out as well.

 

The graphic design majors was very impressive. All of her work was very strong and you could tell she was really passionate about it. I also found the type face she created pretty which is something I didn’t think I would find myself saying. I think the most inspiring thing about her though was her passion for it. I thought she did a good job answering questions the audience asked as well. The insight into her workflow was interesting as well.

 

The art major’s work was impressive to say the least. I like how she showed her work from her earlier stuff before St. Edwards and how it has progressed to the point she is at now. I think it gives a good insight to art majors as to what they can expect to get out of the program. I actually thought her work was the most compelling and her presentation the most engaging because she was so funny. One take away I got from her was to take all of the projects seriously because you can use them for your portfolio later on.

 

The game design major gave good insight on the gaming industry and what it take to make it in the industry. I think one major take away from her presentation is that there is a lot of competition for jobs in the industry so you really have to put in the work to stand out. I think her work was less compelling than the others though.

 

https://negativefeedback.co.uk/ This is one of my favorite photographers and I think the aesthetic of his sight is well thought out. I also like that he presents his best work on the first page.

http://www.nickknight.com/ His work is amazing I think the way he presents his best photos in a slideshow format is really immersive and effective.

http://www.vivianmaier.com/ Her website is a very effective archive because her portfolio is massive, but it does a good job pf categorizing her work.

http://theartofphotography.tv/ Really interesting videos and an effective way to lay them out. I think he does a good job of presenting videos that are more relevant now.

Faculty Presentation Description

 

Tuan Phan: His information about Zines was really cool because I didn’t know there was such a community that existed around them! I also enjoyed seeing how his doodles and art became printed bags and other items. I enjoyed seeing how his creative workflow happened from begging to end. I also thought how he exhibited his workspace was a really fun, interesting idea.

 

Bill Kennedy: His work was interesting and I can say I haven’t seen anything like it before which is definitely a good thing. The most interesting part of his presentation was his explanation of his working process. I found it really inspiring and liberating as an artist. His ideal of letting yourself go and finding an inner recognition of when a piece is finished is really smart actually. I think it’s the truest form of self-expression in a way and kind of reminded me of Jackson Pollock in a way.

 

Jimmy Luu: His presentation on the unique printing process was interesting because I was not familiar with the process and I found the results really visually compelling. I think his presentation was the most natural and most compelling for me. It seems like the graphic design department has a good sense of community and the professors seem passionate and involved which makes me more interested in the major.

 

Kimberly Garza: Seemed really passionate about her work and made me really want to check it out. I think her ongoing project would be really cool to check out. I think what I garnered most from her presentation was that I needed to revisit old work and focus on improvements. Also that I should begin blocking up time to work on personal projects. Her department seemed really cool too.

 

My five year plan is to complete my undergraduate degree and intern at a fashion publication. I would like to function ultimately as a photographer, but I think I could also see myself working as the artistic director for different projects the magazine was working on. My other goal would be to go on to graduate school to receive my MFA. For this to happen though I would need a lot of scholarships. My long term goals are to make money and be a creative force in photography. To accomplish this I need to practice and create a body of work. I also need to network heavily.

Rhythmus

 

Hans Richter’s Film: Rhythmus 21 is considered to be the first abstract film. The visuals are very visually interesting and keep my attention throughout the film. The only thing that would have made this film cooler would have been seeing it on the bid screen. Richter uses positive and negative space as well as figure ground relationship in a battle over the viewers’ attention. Forms grow and shrink in tandem, single point perspective boxes suck you in as they disappear. Overall a very compelling work.

The film studies transitions by drawing your eye to different locations on the screen by movement and depth in the forms. By keeping the shapes and colors simple and recognizable he is able to have the viewer simply focus on the movement in the film. The black background serves and the space for the objects to interact. Richter uses this as his base for transitioning with the rhythm.

Pulp Fiction

 

One of the most influential and progressive films ever made, Pulp Fiction, has an interesting take on just about, well everything. The topic of focus though is the use of time throughout the film. Tarantino uses many scene cuts that jump back and forth to different periods in the film. Some show a character die in one scene, and then later be riding in a car with another character seemingly at an earlier time during the day. I think Tarantino does this because he is so focused on creating an intense drama that you can’t look away from. An example of this is the scene where Samuel L Jackson recites the bible verse before shooting the character Brett. Later in the film we see that there is another one of Brett’s associates hiding in the bathroom with a gun. We do not see the ensuing shootout in the begging of the film because it would take away the impact felt from Jacksons monologue.

Another way Tarantino uses time is to highlight the overall more important narratives to the story. He shows Travolta being killed by Jack as a way to say that Jack will come out on top in the end and that the viewer should pay more attention to his actions as the film continues than Jackson and Travolta’s. It also creates an interesting narrative in that you follow all these different stories in the film only to see them all come to fruition together. It is a very interesting and effective concept Tarantino executed.