9/22 & 9/24

On Monday we were introduced to our third project which requires us to take photos. I have to say this is probably one of the most difficult projects so far since I'm not really proficient at taking photos. Our theme is Ecology so I guess that should be a little bit easier.

Wednesday, our class were divided into small groups or pairs and we were to attend locations on campus to take some photos for ideas. It was a great idea but unfortunately it had to occur on a rainy day. I went to the Greenhouse for the first time and took several photos of the plants and cacti there. They were really interesting because there were a lot of bizarre ones that I've never heard of. It was a pretty fun exercise and it brought in some inspiration. After that we met in our new groups and presented our proposals. I didn't really have anything since I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet. I'll probably just take some random photos and if I like them, I'll start from there. Sometimes when I do plan things out, I usually do something else other than my initial ideas.

ART 21 Responses

Martin Puryear - His work definitely gives me a sense of Time. From the primitive tools he uses to his wooden work, it just immerses me into events of the past and present. His "Ladder for Booker T. Washington" caught my attention the most because it greatly depicts the notion of a progression towards something.

Kara Walker - I really enjoy seeing her work because each silhouette evoke special meanings. Some of her work look grotesque and over-exaggerated but they truly depict the sufferings and torturing of slaves. It's really interesting to see how paper cut outs could create or reference such tragic events.

Sally Mann - At first I thought it was strange how she'd take photos of the most unusual things like dog bones and her naked children. But as I watched through the clip, I now understand how she wants to capture the raw and genuine state of moment. The black and white photos, although seem plain, really show the intensity of what's going on in that exact time/place. The photos of her young naked children are really unique too because they display a theme of innocence and freedom.

Class/Project Notes

On Wednesday, the class was divided into groups and we were to discuss Kara Walker. I didn't see her ART21 videos but from the images I've seen of her work, they're really unique. She is best known for her black silhouette cut outs that are placed on walls. They are not just some small cut outs but sort of like a mural. I've noticed that each of her cut out characters typically have some sort of movement like it's doing something. I guess you could say her work is a narrative and incorporates some kind of historical event.

Thursday was the presentation day of our Time/video projects. I think everything went smoothly and it was really cool to see various work of others. I liked how everyone had their own style of work so it didn't seem like I was seeing the same thing over and over. Overall I think I did okay but I feel like I should have done more to my video. My video consisted of Legos but I think I should have gone beyond that and added better scenery and possibly more characters. However, due to the time frame, I was only able to use less than anticipated.

Group member critique
Libby - I admire the fact that even though you said you weren't keen at doing this type of stuff, the results of your work really show the effort you into this project. It was an interesting concept to see all the shapes converge and stack on one another. I think the setting was fitting too because it seemed like the shapes all came to life within the workshop to have a communion or something. The only suggestion I have is perhaps it would look more fluid if you had increased the frame rate but maybe that was how you intended it to be. But either way, you did a great job.

Wednesday 9/12

On Wednesday, everyone brought in their 3 story boards for their animation. Instead of the usual group discussion, everyone just went around each table and comment on each other's proposals. It was great because I got to see everyone's storyboards and it really helped me come up with additional ideas. I've got a lot of helpful feedback but after reading them, I might reconsider doing something else than what I brought in. I like my current proposals but I think it'd be difficult to pull it off within the time frame that's given. We shall see...

Project Response

Reflection

I was surprised to see that I wasn't the only person to use popsicle sticks for my project. However, the projects were very different as mine was more representational and the other wasn't. Looking back I think I should have done something more interactive and abstract rather than this. There wasn't much feedback from the audience because I guess everyone didn't really know what we were suppose to do.

Group comments

Libby - Your project gave me a warm and welcoming sense. I interpreted it as something that’s nurturing and motherly. I view the colorful balls as children who are still young and innocent who dwell in their mother’s nest. I think the piece definitely reveals the theme of play because you get the sense of playfulness and it just makes you want to interact with the objects. I really liked the simpleness of the work and how it could also be ambiguous. My only critique would be perhaps, you could have made it into something interactive. But nonetheless, I think you did a great job expressing whatever you had intended.

Jesse -  I enjoyed seeing the varied crafts of your origami. They were very impressive because honestly, I don't even know how to do any. I view the origamis as something that's full of life. Something that people and their families come together and just have fun. I think the work does contribute to the theme of play because it involves hand crafting techniques. My suggestion is that maybe you should have involved the class by having them make something.

Tygee - Honestly, I didn't quite understand your project when I first saw it but after hearing your explanation, I thought it was pretty interesting. I like how you used something so simple but yet the simplicity conveys much more. I interpreted your project as reminiscence. I don't know but it just brings me back to my childhood playing with action figures, having my toys fight each other and doing all these movements. My only suggestion would be, maybe you could have filmed like a short stop motion action sequence of the wrestlers or something. But I think the photos you took were probably elaborate enough.

Project

Proposal: My initial idea was to create something out of recycled newspaper. After getting feedback from my peers I decided to choose the idea of creating miniature objects out of popsicle sticks. I decided to choose this proposal because this was something I've never done before in my life so I wanted to give this a shot. In addition, this idea seemed like less of a hassle and a lot easier to work with.

Process work: This project required a lot of popsicle sticks, wood glue and hot glue.

At first, I was having some difficulties constructing a house especially the walls. Some of the sticks were not properly aligned so it was frustrating trying to align the walls side by side. In addition, I couldn't figure how to get the walls to stand straight without falling down. This annoyed me very much and I wanted to change proposals but after numerous attempts and using hot glue, I finally managed to get the walls up.

Research: My research consisted of Googling images of popsicle crafts for inspiration. However, I did find one artist by the name of David Hrobowski that really intrigued me. His work consists of what he calls Riffstick; a repeating idea or pattern of glued popsicle sticks & its variations. When glancing at some of his work, you can't even tell if they're made of popsicle sticks until you look closer. He mainly creates popsicle stick furniture and they're astonishing. He even made a chair out of sticks and surprisingly, it was able to hold him. Mind-blowing!
http://riffstick.net

Overall, I am quite satisfied with the results. It was a lot harder than I expected but I thoroughly enjoyed every hour constructing them. My design of the house turned out to look more of like a chicken coop rather than an actual house so I decided to go with that.