The net assignment in our digital imaging class is to invent some device or object that no one has seen before. Fortunately, this invention does not necessarily have to work in the real world. We will create a 3D model of it in Google SketchUp, and then merge this with a 2D image of ourselves using or interacting with our inventions. As inspiration for how to blend 3D graphics with 2D images, our class was shown the following video:
http://vimeo.com/7993383
This is a beautiful video, with a sense of something surreal being injected into a real occurrence. The cinematography appeals to me, because it transforms the every day into the extraordinary. It begins as any video documenting the work or antics of friends might, feeling almost thrown together and rushed. This creates immediacy and intimacy, as though the viewers are having this shared with them because they are close to the people in the film. The use occasional use of soft focus gives the impression of something spectacular, something that must be re-focused on in order to understand it. I keep returning to the idea of intimacy - what I love about this filming technique is that it makes the viewer feel like a conspirator.
My favorite part of the work, however, is the way that the boxes completely break the laws of reality and expectation, yet still seem to fit within the scene. That is precisely what I would like to accomplish with my own project - an invention that defies reality, but that is made to look plausible in real space. I suppose I am a surrealist at heart, as I may have hinted above. I like to put the impossible into action, because it fires the imagination and creates a sense of something almost like magic. The boxes accomplish this wonderfully, and I can only hope that I will manage to do so in my own image.
-Kelly F.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Further Thoughts on the Appropriation Project
We have been asked to answer the following question in relation to our appropriation artwork:
"If you had a million dollars to spend on creating your Appropriation project in real space (not only as an image built on the computer for our class), what would your final version look like, how would you construct it, what materials would you use, what size would it be, where would it be located, how would it be different than it currently is?"
The first thing I can say in answer to this question is that I would not construct my own smoke-spewing industrial park, as that would negate the environmentally conscious theme of my work. I suppose it would be possible to construct mirror-lakes in public locations near industrial sites, matching a beautiful nature scene to whatever skyline or skylines I could find.
However, if I could really do anything I wanted, I think I would pick a site in the old industrial district of a fairly large city with air-quality issues. I would then invest in air scrubbers or filters of some type, and build them into the dark steel frames of smokestacks. In order for this to still be environmentally friendly, I would have to look in to powering the gigantic air purifiers with alternative energy. I think it would at least need a combination of wind and solar power, which could be built in to the buildings and trees. It would probably require additional power, which would be as green as possible. The trees themselves would be made out of recycled glass and steel girders, and placed around my miniature industrial 'park'.
In fact, I think I would design it as a park for people to spend leisure time in. In the center of this space I would build a shallow fountain, with the image of the beautiful lake visible within it. I could build a few bridges and rock paths through it to an island in the center. There I think I would reverse my mirror images, and have an beautiful island supported by steel structures. This would have real plants and grass on it - in order for a fairly large number of people to enjoy this, the island and the park itself would have to be very large. It would have benches and other trappings common to other parks. My challenge would be to make sure that the park was still cool and inviting, even with its industrial feel. I think this project would take far more than one million dollars, but it would be interesting. It would be working to clean up the air in this city, and it would provide a park that makes a point about the environment. So, if I were allowed to build my project in three dimensions (and was given a very large budget), this is how I would proceed.
-Kelly F.
"If you had a million dollars to spend on creating your Appropriation project in real space (not only as an image built on the computer for our class), what would your final version look like, how would you construct it, what materials would you use, what size would it be, where would it be located, how would it be different than it currently is?"
The first thing I can say in answer to this question is that I would not construct my own smoke-spewing industrial park, as that would negate the environmentally conscious theme of my work. I suppose it would be possible to construct mirror-lakes in public locations near industrial sites, matching a beautiful nature scene to whatever skyline or skylines I could find.
However, if I could really do anything I wanted, I think I would pick a site in the old industrial district of a fairly large city with air-quality issues. I would then invest in air scrubbers or filters of some type, and build them into the dark steel frames of smokestacks. In order for this to still be environmentally friendly, I would have to look in to powering the gigantic air purifiers with alternative energy. I think it would at least need a combination of wind and solar power, which could be built in to the buildings and trees. It would probably require additional power, which would be as green as possible. The trees themselves would be made out of recycled glass and steel girders, and placed around my miniature industrial 'park'.
In fact, I think I would design it as a park for people to spend leisure time in. In the center of this space I would build a shallow fountain, with the image of the beautiful lake visible within it. I could build a few bridges and rock paths through it to an island in the center. There I think I would reverse my mirror images, and have an beautiful island supported by steel structures. This would have real plants and grass on it - in order for a fairly large number of people to enjoy this, the island and the park itself would have to be very large. It would have benches and other trappings common to other parks. My challenge would be to make sure that the park was still cool and inviting, even with its industrial feel. I think this project would take far more than one million dollars, but it would be interesting. It would be working to clean up the air in this city, and it would provide a park that makes a point about the environment. So, if I were allowed to build my project in three dimensions (and was given a very large budget), this is how I would proceed.
-Kelly F.
First Project Reflection - Appropriation Image
After many hours working on this project, I have completed my first digital image:
I have titled the piece Clouds: Upside Down. Looking at the finished product, I cannot help but think about the process that led me to it. It was fairly smooth overall, but I did encounter a few snags. My main problem at first was the fact that I was not willing to adapt my original idea. I wanted it to turn out about like this, especially with the strong orange palette of the industrial (right-side up) world in the image. However, I wanted my idealistic mountain lake scene to be in color. I wanted the setting sun in the industrial portion to be mirrored by a rising sun in the mountains.
This goes to show, sometimes the best thing for a piece of art is to finally accept one's circumstances. I kept trying to force the image into what I mentioned above. I could not find pictures that would go together, no matter what I did. Finally, I gave up and converted the mountains to black and white. This not only made the images work together, but also I think it does a lot to help the message of the piece. The variety of grey tones sets the mountain scene apart from the silhouetted, sinister industrial landscape. It effectively communicates how upside-down the landscape is in reality, and how unfortunate such a world would be.
My favorite part of the process was when I finally let go of my first vision, and brought all of the pieces above together. Once I had these elements, I could really see what my image would become. All that was necessary at that point was making sure the various images worked together visually, which is something I find incredibly satisfying. Seeing any artwork come together is exciting, and once I reached the point where I was considering lighting effects I knew that I was close to being finished. I am very satisfied with how this project turned out, and I cannot wait until we begin our next assignment.
-Kelly F.
Video Parody - Appropriation in Music
After watching the video for Weird Al's "Perform This Way" ( parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way"), our class was given the task of finding a music video that featured appropriation. This assignment might seem easy, given the wide-spread popularity of music video parodies on the internet, but it actually gave me a few moments of pause. There are a lot of bad parodies out there, as well as a lot that fall in the 'okay' category. However, it takes true artistry to measure up to that master of musical appropriation, Weird Al. After several searches, I finally found a video that did a very good job of adapting a song that has been popular of late: Eminem's "Not Afraid".
I've never liked or listened to much rap, but I have managed to hear this on the radio at some point. Here's a link to the original video by Eminem (*WARNING - this is Eminem - there ARE explicit lyrics, in case you find these offensive):
Now, here's a link to the parody video, "I Am Afraid" by the comedic minds at CollegeHumor:
This video gives one a glimpse into a wide range of paranoid fears and downright phobias. It's delightfully funny, and plays off of the original tune and visual sequences in Eminem's video. I would recommend giving the video a watch. As with many parodies, it puts a spotlight on the original video and allows one to view it in a new light, while also giving people new material to think and laugh about. In the end, saying something new while retaining a relationship with the past is what appropriation is all about.
-Kelly F.
I've never liked or listened to much rap, but I have managed to hear this on the radio at some point. Here's a link to the original video by Eminem (*WARNING - this is Eminem - there ARE explicit lyrics, in case you find these offensive):
Now, here's a link to the parody video, "I Am Afraid" by the comedic minds at CollegeHumor:
This video gives one a glimpse into a wide range of paranoid fears and downright phobias. It's delightfully funny, and plays off of the original tune and visual sequences in Eminem's video. I would recommend giving the video a watch. As with many parodies, it puts a spotlight on the original video and allows one to view it in a new light, while also giving people new material to think and laugh about. In the end, saying something new while retaining a relationship with the past is what appropriation is all about.
-Kelly F.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ideas for the First Project
During the process of pulling myself out of a rather nasty cold, I have been trying to pull myself out of what I can only describe as an apparently unproductive period for my imagination and creativity. I thought about our project, and my ideas for the themes above. As my previous post suggests, I kept returning to the idea of humanity's impact on the environment. I suppose the image of a smokestack tree, which I began making in class, has really grown on me. With that in mind, I created the (very) rough sketch that appears below.
First of all, I'd like to point out that this in part came out of my very tired and cold-ridden mind, and that I actually can draw when the mood strikes me. Also, theoretically, clicking on the image should enlarge it (because the one I uploaded is far larger than the one being displayed on the blog). Now, to the fun part - explaining such a rough sketch. My idea for this composition is to present a nightmarish landscape in shades of grey, black, oranges and yellows. The backdrop for the scene is a line of factories billowing smoke into the atmosphere. A person (probably me, since I have access to a series of photos of myself in that pose on a swing) will sit in a swing, which hangs on a branch of the smokestack tree. This tree is on an island in the middle of a dark lake, though not dark enough that you cannot see reflections. I mention reflections because I want the nightmare landscape to be mirrored by an ideal one in the lake. Mountains rather than factories and plants, a beautiful tree rather than an industrial, fiery monstrosity. This should ideally draw attention to the ways in which the environment is being hurt by mindless consumption. And so, with my ideas outlined, sketched, and blogged, I bid the internet a fond farewell for the evening.
-Kelly F.
First of all, I'd like to point out that this in part came out of my very tired and cold-ridden mind, and that I actually can draw when the mood strikes me. Also, theoretically, clicking on the image should enlarge it (because the one I uploaded is far larger than the one being displayed on the blog). Now, to the fun part - explaining such a rough sketch. My idea for this composition is to present a nightmarish landscape in shades of grey, black, oranges and yellows. The backdrop for the scene is a line of factories billowing smoke into the atmosphere. A person (probably me, since I have access to a series of photos of myself in that pose on a swing) will sit in a swing, which hangs on a branch of the smokestack tree. This tree is on an island in the middle of a dark lake, though not dark enough that you cannot see reflections. I mention reflections because I want the nightmare landscape to be mirrored by an ideal one in the lake. Mountains rather than factories and plants, a beautiful tree rather than an industrial, fiery monstrosity. This should ideally draw attention to the ways in which the environment is being hurt by mindless consumption. And so, with my ideas outlined, sketched, and blogged, I bid the internet a fond farewell for the evening.
-Kelly F.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Beauty with Backlash - Environmental Appropriation Art
While studying appropriation art in class, we looked at the brilliant and intricate works of the artist Chris Jordan. His re-creations of such familiar and beloved works as Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Seurat's Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte with pieces of collected trash strive to point out the waste and consumption inherent in modern society. In the assignment that has me blogging today, we were asked to find a work of appropriation art on the same theme which we are using to create our own first work in the class. Given that my theme is humanity's impact on the environment, I naturally gravitated back toward the work of Chris Jordan.
Above is Chris Jordan's Denali Denial (2006), a piece constructed with 24,000 logos from the GMC Yukon Denali. Jordan's website states that the number of logos in the painting was equal to the numbers of said SUVs sold every six weeks in the year 2004. However, rather than showing a landscape negatively impacted by gas-guzzling vehicles, Jordan chose to imitate a photograph of a beautiful mountain lake.
This is a strategy Jordan used in many of the works in his two Running the Numbers series. The function this technique serves above is to make one keenly aware of what is at stake in our consumer-driven culture. What would happen if everyone started driving all over the scene above in their SUVs? And what about the oil needed to make the gasoline for those vehicles? What impact has and will the oil industry have on the beautiful landscape above? I want my piece to have a similar message. Comparing a beautiful lake landscape of today with a semi-nightmarish landscape choked by smokestacks and dark, looming factories will allow me to point out something important: what we have lost, and what we still stand to lose if society as a whole does not pay more attention to the environment.
-Kelly F.
Above is Chris Jordan's Denali Denial (2006), a piece constructed with 24,000 logos from the GMC Yukon Denali. Jordan's website states that the number of logos in the painting was equal to the numbers of said SUVs sold every six weeks in the year 2004. However, rather than showing a landscape negatively impacted by gas-guzzling vehicles, Jordan chose to imitate a photograph of a beautiful mountain lake.
This is a strategy Jordan used in many of the works in his two Running the Numbers series. The function this technique serves above is to make one keenly aware of what is at stake in our consumer-driven culture. What would happen if everyone started driving all over the scene above in their SUVs? And what about the oil needed to make the gasoline for those vehicles? What impact has and will the oil industry have on the beautiful landscape above? I want my piece to have a similar message. Comparing a beautiful lake landscape of today with a semi-nightmarish landscape choked by smokestacks and dark, looming factories will allow me to point out something important: what we have lost, and what we still stand to lose if society as a whole does not pay more attention to the environment.
-Kelly F.
Friday, September 2, 2011
And So It Begins - Meditations on the First Project
In this assignment we have been asked to work through some ideas about our first project in the Digital Imaging class. Continuing in the theme of the posts above, this artwork will be one of appropriation. We were asked to use the internet to find images that could be compiled into a work on a theme of our choice. At this rather early stage in the game, we have been asked to brainstorm just what our themes might be and what images we might pair with them.
These themes are meant to be weighty, conscious - relevant to the issues of our times. With this prompt in mind, I have come up with the following ideas:
- Industrialization vs. Nature
- the Search for Peace / the Meaning of Peace
- the Passage of Time
I have considered other themes, and still might come up with a few more. However, for the time being, I worry about what will happen if I try to make my mind go in too many directions. Sometimes chaotic spirals of creative thought are good, and can yield surprising results. On the other hand, I often find my imagination going nowhere if I try to send it in too many directions. So, if it becomes necessary, I will discuss more themes later. For now, I will focus on the types of images I might use with the themes above.
Our first assignment is to find one images that could be repeated, used over and over until it forms an image of something else entirely. An image I could see myself using in such a way for Industrialization vs. Nature would be the image of a billowing smokestack.
I'm not sure whether this technically fits the parameters of the assignment or not, but I was thinking that I could isolate the gears in this photograph and use them to re-create something like sand flowing through an hourglass. The result would be something that had a really neat machine-like feel to it. Of course, I could also use them to make a model of the globe or solar system. That might also be interesting. However, this is not the idea that I favor.
The theme I find most intriguing or creatively stimulating is the Search for Peace / the Meaning or Nature of Peace. However, I'm having a difficult time figuring out one repeatable image for this theme. It conjures thoughts of stillness, and of quite.
This is a jade bi, a disc dating back to the earliest civilizations in China. It is associated with heaven, while a solid disc counterpart is associated with earth. I love this image, but as of yet I'm not entirely sure what I would want to construct with it. I thought of using the disc to construct the Chinese character for peace, or perhaps the Chinese character for the sound Om... I am honestly not sure I should do that, even if I wanted to (and I'm not sure I would want that either). Sadly, not every idea develops when you need it to. I will continue thinking about this idea, and trying to come up with more images for it. Once I figure something out, I will write another post on it. Until then, I think it's time to let my ideas work themselves out in my imagination.
- Kelly F.
These themes are meant to be weighty, conscious - relevant to the issues of our times. With this prompt in mind, I have come up with the following ideas:
- Industrialization vs. Nature
- the Search for Peace / the Meaning of Peace
- the Passage of Time
I have considered other themes, and still might come up with a few more. However, for the time being, I worry about what will happen if I try to make my mind go in too many directions. Sometimes chaotic spirals of creative thought are good, and can yield surprising results. On the other hand, I often find my imagination going nowhere if I try to send it in too many directions. So, if it becomes necessary, I will discuss more themes later. For now, I will focus on the types of images I might use with the themes above.
Our first assignment is to find one images that could be repeated, used over and over until it forms an image of something else entirely. An image I could see myself using in such a way for Industrialization vs. Nature would be the image of a billowing smokestack.
This is an image taken from what I can tell by Steve Cole, of the Getty Factory smokestacks. I think this image could be admirably adapted into the branches and leaf clusters of a tree, by isolating the smokestacks and the smoke and articulating them into a tree-like form. This would speak to the interplay between industrial processes and nature - it's an idea that's very much about environmental awareness.
The next idea I want to discuss is the idea of the Passage of Time. Yes, I know I'm not necessarily addressing the ideas in the order of my list above, but as I will discuss below I'm saving the middle idea for a good reason. When I think of the passage of time, I think of the whir of gears and the slip of sand through an hourglass. I'll admit a bit of dissatisfaction with my concept for this one, because I doubt that it will sound very original. Anyway, I think I would enjoy using gears as my repeating image for this theme.
I'm not sure whether this technically fits the parameters of the assignment or not, but I was thinking that I could isolate the gears in this photograph and use them to re-create something like sand flowing through an hourglass. The result would be something that had a really neat machine-like feel to it. Of course, I could also use them to make a model of the globe or solar system. That might also be interesting. However, this is not the idea that I favor.
The theme I find most intriguing or creatively stimulating is the Search for Peace / the Meaning or Nature of Peace. However, I'm having a difficult time figuring out one repeatable image for this theme. It conjures thoughts of stillness, and of quite.
This is a jade bi, a disc dating back to the earliest civilizations in China. It is associated with heaven, while a solid disc counterpart is associated with earth. I love this image, but as of yet I'm not entirely sure what I would want to construct with it. I thought of using the disc to construct the Chinese character for peace, or perhaps the Chinese character for the sound Om... I am honestly not sure I should do that, even if I wanted to (and I'm not sure I would want that either). Sadly, not every idea develops when you need it to. I will continue thinking about this idea, and trying to come up with more images for it. Once I figure something out, I will write another post on it. Until then, I think it's time to let my ideas work themselves out in my imagination.
- Kelly F.
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