Sorry my voice is so echoey!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Week 5 Re-imaging Visual Framing
The image I chose is a photograph taken by Sally Mann of a young girl, probably around thirteen smoking a cigarette. She’s wearing a white dress and because of the use of colors and the rules of thirds, a viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to her. She is set in the lower left hand corner of the rule of thirds. Her stark white dress contrasts deeply with her dark background, and because the picture is taken or developed in black-and-white, she becomes the center of focus. However, upon closer examination, the use of lines helps the viewer’s attention be drawn away from the girl in white. Her cigarette provides the perfect line to another girl in the picture, who appears to be standing behind the girl. The use of space is a good indicator here that the girl in white is the foreground and the shorter girl, dressed in a darker dress, is the background. Here, an invisible line can be drawn from the darker dressed girl to a white figure out of focus in the background. All these aspects immediately drew me to the image. I love the way the girl is standing sassily with her arm crossed over her thin torso and her other hand flipped slightly as she holds the cigarette. I also love how the background is a big part of the image; there’s a story here, but it depends on the personal viewer’s opinion. Why is this young girl smoking? What is the white figure out of focus in the background?
I chose to tighten the image and remove the white figure. I used the rule of thirds to emphasize the two girls. I thought the effect of the image would be changed greatly by this minor crop, however, the use of lines and spacing is still the main aspect in the image. I think the author chose to frame the image the way she did because the white, out-of-focus figure was important to her, and I have to agree. The figure adds a certain ambience or visual movement to the photo that is not expressed without it. Mann must have thought the figure added to storyline so she included it, using the figure as the main focus for her rule of thirds.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Week 4 Song Reflection
Here are the links to the songs I had to critique:
Mike Mytnick's Song
And here is the link to my critique, but to warn you, I'm really sick and it sounds awful.
Week 4 Response to "Brainwashed"
"Brainwashed" by Seth Godin
Acknowledging the Lizard Summary
To me, this section of the story was talking about the creative process and having faith in it. It beings with explains what a lizard brain is, "It's the part of our brain that worries about safety and dishes out anger. Being laughed at is the lizard's worst nightmare. And so it shuts down our art." He continues to explain that this resistance we feel to rejection is the only aspect standing between us and our art, and we need to demolish this barrier of fear of rejection to be able to succeed in the world today.
Make Art
This sectioned of the article was my personal favorite because, lately, I have been getting worried. I was sitting through media class after media class, and I would call my friends who attend different colleges and they would ask me what I was did today. My answer would be something along the lines of, "I watched Family Guy... in class" or "I listened to Girl Talk... in class". They would laugh on the other end and remark about how awesome my schedule is and how easy my classes are and I would listen to them laugh and I would think, "I'm not learning anything..." But creating art is a learning process; it's not a waste of time. Being creative is an important part of today, where everyone is battling new technologies and ideas. But, it becomes very easy to forget that when the person beside you is studying chemistry and you're studying sound types.
I think "Making Art" is already occurring with the projects we've been creating in class. And, along with making art, comes the "Acknowledging the Lizard". By forcing ourselves to do the media projects, we are creating, and then by publishing them online and receiving critiques, we are opening ourselves up and making rejection a possibility and accepting it. By doing both of these suggestions, a person can hope to be a better artist and possibly professional. However, in some ways, becoming a better student might not have a lot to do with art. It depends what you are studying.
Acknowledging the Lizard Summary
To me, this section of the story was talking about the creative process and having faith in it. It beings with explains what a lizard brain is, "It's the part of our brain that worries about safety and dishes out anger. Being laughed at is the lizard's worst nightmare. And so it shuts down our art." He continues to explain that this resistance we feel to rejection is the only aspect standing between us and our art, and we need to demolish this barrier of fear of rejection to be able to succeed in the world today.
Make Art
This sectioned of the article was my personal favorite because, lately, I have been getting worried. I was sitting through media class after media class, and I would call my friends who attend different colleges and they would ask me what I was did today. My answer would be something along the lines of, "I watched Family Guy... in class" or "I listened to Girl Talk... in class". They would laugh on the other end and remark about how awesome my schedule is and how easy my classes are and I would listen to them laugh and I would think, "I'm not learning anything..." But creating art is a learning process; it's not a waste of time. Being creative is an important part of today, where everyone is battling new technologies and ideas. But, it becomes very easy to forget that when the person beside you is studying chemistry and you're studying sound types.
I think "Making Art" is already occurring with the projects we've been creating in class. And, along with making art, comes the "Acknowledging the Lizard". By forcing ourselves to do the media projects, we are creating, and then by publishing them online and receiving critiques, we are opening ourselves up and making rejection a possibility and accepting it. By doing both of these suggestions, a person can hope to be a better artist and possibly professional. However, in some ways, becoming a better student might not have a lot to do with art. It depends what you are studying.
Week 3 Soundscape Reflection
Links to the critiqued songs:
Mike Giles' Song
Jason Flood's Song
Chris Faust's Song
And here is my audio reflection:
Soundscape Reflection
Mike Giles' Song
Jason Flood's Song
Chris Faust's Song
And here is my audio reflection:
Soundscape Reflection
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