Show and Tell

For my show and tell for my technology class I came across a website which one can explore a multitude of other resources.  The site is titled Exploratorium (the museum of science, art, and human perception).  When reading about the site on their About Us page, I realized that they encourage people to question what is around them to search for understanding.  This site allows one to easily explore their curiosity by giving many self-explorable exhibits.

After searching through many things on this site, I found a really interesting site that I connected back to a lecture, presented by Jana Levin, that we attended in class.  This site documents the "First Annual Art of Science Competition at Princeton University" held in 2005.  The connection that I saw between the lecture and this site, is the incorporation of visual art and science.  These two subjects although at first glance may seem very different, intertwine and overlap in many ways.  I think that many of the artwork displayed on the website found through Exploratorium allows a viewer to take a closer look at things we may not pay much attention to, and we can appreciate it's beauty through these artworks.

Here is a video that (although a little dated) shows some of the past work that has taken place at the Exploratorium.  

I think that the Exploratorium page is a good teaching tool because it allows students the freedom to explore the art world and be drawn in by what attracts them.  This site has a wide variety of visual arts from contemporary metal work to drawings done by Leonardo da Vinci.  This site can be used to attract all different types of learners.

Documentary Video Project

For my 2nd video project, I created documentary exploring the lives of swimming.  I incorporated found clips of interviews of different Olympic swimmers about their daily routines, and also filmed parts of my daily life as a collegiate swimmer.  I hosted an interview with a team mate about the sport and explored different struggles and strengths that I see in the sport that correlate with thoughts of Olympic swimmers.

Here is the documentary that I created!

Video Project: Mash-up

Artist's Statement

Tis’ the season for some holiday shopping on Black Friday once again.  The one day where people line up hours early to get into stores and bombard the doors once the second hand strikes the hour of admittance.  For my video mash-up  I decided to work with the idea of the Black Friday shopping rush and mixing it with something as high tension and exciting, a horse race.  Many aspects of these two ideas parallel each other, such as the horses out of the gate and the people being let into the stores, the race to be the first horse to cross the finish line and the person to get the first good sale, and the winner’s circle with the happy customers leaving with their purchases.  Black Friday is hyped up for its sales, and who can resist during times when our economy is so low.  I decided to exploit the madness of this shopping day and express how mad it really can get.

Tim Lefens: A.R.T.

Today I went to a lecture presented by Tim Lefens, the creator of the A.R.T. Program.  A.R.T. stands for "artistic realization technologies".  I was first introduced to this program in the course Art for the Exceptional Child, where we learned about art for students with disabilities.  

In this lecture, Lefens spoke about a few of his theories.  many dealing with the way that we as artists live our lives.  

1.  Death Bed Theory:  What painting would you want to view hanging across from your death bed?  Is it something beautiful?  Peaceful?  This made me really connect with what I believe art is.  I have always been a firm believer in creating art for the beauty of it.  As an answer to this, I would like to have a large colorful painting, that would submerge me in its beauty, which is a concept that Lefens spoke of as well.  Losing oneself and letting go of oneself when it comes to creating art.  It should be every artists goal to completely let go and not be held back by anything when it comes to creating. 

2.  Truncated Pyramid Theory:  Over the years we have diminished what "great art" is.  We have cut off the top of the pyramid and the only thing left is the "joke art" according to Lefens.  I feel that this is a bold statement because I feel that many artists still today grab my attention and inspire me through their works.  I can still go into a museum and lose myself in a work of art.  

3.  Double Funnel Theory:  Lefens describes creating art as a double funnel.  One needs to diminish themselves to nothing.  To cramps themselves so when they are completely compressed, they can expand and let go larger than they ever have before.  One needs surprise in order to get the free feeling of a masterpiece, and by letting go to create piece, this can be achieved.  

Lefens states that one cannot be drawn in by anyone or told by another what great art is.  For each person it is different.  Different people are attracted to different things.  We are all individuals.

He then brought all of these theories back to his program of A.R.T.  All of his students are severely limited (quadriplegic) when it comes to mobility, and the use of a laser allows them a sense of freedom.  The smallest movement when the right distance away may create a large motion on the wall.  The ability of choice allows these people freedom, something that they are not always given because of their disability.  

I found this lecture very interesting and very inspiring.  It showed me that I should not be drawn to a certain type of art or to create a certain type of art because that is what is being asked of me.  I need to stay true to my inner artist and create the type of art that I love.  

Tim Lefens wrote the book Flying Colors and also has a website.  Check it out for more information about A.R.T.

Video Projects

So we have been working on a couple of projects using video.  I have never worked in iMovie before and it is very similar in format the the GarageBand program that we used in the previous set of projects.  I think it is a little more complicated however, because not only are you mixing video, you also need to consider the audio as well.

For my first project, a mash-up, I am combining the madness of Black Friday (the busiest shopping day of the year) with a horse race.  There are many correlations between the two ideas, and I am lining up video sequentially.  For instance, the cars pulling into the parking lot and the horses getting prepared.  The people lining up outside of stores and the horses getting corralled into the gate.  The doors opening and the gates opening.  And at last, the mad dash to the good sales with the race for the finish line.

For my second video, I am creating a documentary.  I am using the idea of the sport that I partake in, swimming.  There are many aspects of swimming that are glorified by the many medals that are won by Olympians at the Olympic games.  But what people really do not often realize is the hard work and training that these athletes put in.  As a collegiate athlete, I often find it harder for us because we have a similar training regimen to these elite athletes, however we also have to balance schoolwork in order to participate in our sport.  In my video, I am exploring the feelings of my fellow teammates about the sport as well as using found videos from Olympic swimmers about their training and feelings on the sport.

I look forward to posting the video on here to show my exploration and final product!

Network Publics and a Response to Danah Boyd's Article

For many teens, social networking is a must in order to keep in touch with friends and be able to stay in the social loop.  I find it interesting in the article that it is stated that "Although the luster has since faded and teens are not nearly as infatuated with these sites as they once were, they continue to be an important part of teen social life"(page 1).  I actually believe that these sites are more popular than ever.  Majority of students with access to the internet, have social network sites and I believe it might be rather a normality of daily life which creates this view that the interest is not as high.  It is not a new thing in other words, and because so many people are involved in it, it is not as abnormal and fascinating to explore anymore.

The social networks explored in the article are Myspace, Friendster, Xanga, and Facebook.  All of these sites allow teens to have accessibility to others connected to such networks as themselves.  They are allowed to delve deep into the lives of their peers and search them.
The idea of Network Public was brought up in Boyd's article, and the meaning of this is "a collection of people who may not all know each other but share 'a common understanding of the world, a shared identity, a claim to inclusiveness, a consensus regarding the collective interest.'"

Below are different properties that separate unmediated publics from networked publics,
Persistence: This is the fact that information posted online can be replicated, copied, or reproduced. Enabling communication, but also extending the period of existence of any speech created
Searchability: We may not be able to find one another in a town or state, but by a couple of clicks on a keyboard, a person can be found within seconds. Words or things they may have said can be found just as easily
Replicability: This is similar to Sweeney's article about cloning. Anything in the networks public can be replicated/repeated or copied. It can be made over and over or be used again and again by different individuals
Invisible audiences: This can cover parents, community, administrators, anyone who has access to the internet. It is virtually impossible to know all of those who come across our path online. 

I have been taught throughout my life what is appropriate to put online and what is not.  However, certain sites do not give the option.  Many students have changed their privacy settings so that they are not searchable on search engines such as Google, however on these sites, they are susceptible to searchablility from their peers, who have access to view their network.  I believe that many of these teens do not understand the concept of virtual privacy and many of them find out the hard way through internet bullying.

There is actually an instance that came up in my fieldwork, where a student was threatened via a social network.  These are very serious matters, and as a teacher, is something very important and fragile that we need to pay much attention to.  I feel that it is important to not only teach students the importance of privacy and information that they may reveal on these networks, but also see it as a harmful tool that may increase issues in every day life.
In our fieldwork, Melinda and I are working with the concept of bullying and using websites such as postsecret.com and thebullyproject.com that will help students to see what these ways of networking, although at times very exciting, can also have a dark side.

PEW Internet Article

This article was very straightforward through its information.  I found myself drawn to the charts that were posted throughout because so much of the information could be compared and analyzed at the same time.  It was interesting to see how each generation associated themselves with the technologies around them.

The older generations tend to use e-mail more than younger generations, I find to be very true.  I feel that personally I communicate more through instant forms of technology such as text messaging or through instant chats.  I noticed a change when I got a phone that I can receive e-mails on, which always allows me to be connected.  I e-mail more often now that I can always have access to it.

The research showed that the younger generations were more involved in technologies by a landslide.  However, in schools, I find that teaching these technologies fall short in the classrooms.  If the majority of students are involved with technology in some way, I think that the curriculum needs to form more toward their interests.  I think that once we can associate education with things that are of interest to the students, students would be more eager to learn.

Sound Project II: Interview Popplet

For our 2nd sound project assignment, we were to conduct an interview to discuss the topics of different dilemmas that we face in technology and relate it to the art classroom.  I chose to interview a fellow art education student to see what he had to say about the topic.

I have included a Popplet, which is basically a web program designed to create mind maps, or webs to show my thought process of the questions that I wanted to ask.  I was able to visualize the questions that I wanted to ask as well as add images to the popplets.

Here is the Popplet that I created for my interview!

Sound Project III

For my 3rd sound project the assignment was to create an autobiographical narrative which reflects upon a media literacy that we have learned.

For the literacy that I explored, I talked about my love for Where's Waldo books when I was a child and how it helped me later on dissect different pieces of art to find hidden clues that would bring me to the meaning.  Through constantly viewing the pages of Where's Waldo, I find myself creating very busy and intricately detailed artwork as well.

I created a narrative using the program Garageband, and utilized different editing techniques such as volume control, cutting footage, re-arranging footage, and inlaying different footage to different places.

Media Education for the 21st Century

In Henry Jenkins's article Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century, Jenkins focused on what new media literacies teachers can bring into the classroom. These new media literacies are a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape. This set of skills focus greatly on social involvement and working as a collaboration and network. These skills build upon the traditional skills which are literacy, research, technical, and critical analysis skills.

The new literacy skills allow the student to create as well as learn.

Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving
Performance — the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery
Simulation — the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes
Appropriation — the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content
Multitasking — the ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.
Distributed Cognition — the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities
Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal
Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources
Transmedia Navigation — the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities
Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information
Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting
multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

The fact that all of these literacies now include more social development, gives more options for students who may not be interested in art to contribute their ideas and feel that their contributions make a difference. This all plays into our society's participatory culture.

The new literacy that I found most interesting was the idea of play. In my other class, Theory and Practice, we recently looked in depth into the idea of play. Not only does it engage the students in a different way, it is also a way for them to engage in a project in different ways, much like the way each individuals mind works.

At a young age, children are being bombarded with visual and media information that teach them about the world around them. As they grow older, the focus of education suddenly shifts and textbooks and literature are now the focus. For many students the switch from these ways of acquiring knowledge is a struggle. As teachers I feel it is necessary to cater to many different styles of learning.

The Microscopic Opera

Matthijs Munnik, Microscopic Opera (detail)

In the Netherlands lies the most prestigious Genomics Centers which are now being used by artists and designers to create new artworks ranging from topics of sustainability, food, health, bio-informatics, agriculture, and safety.  There is a competition for Designers & Artists 4 Genomics Award (DA4GA) where they are able to collaborate with these Genomics Centers.  

Exhibited on January 8th at Naturalis, many different projects were on display.  The piece that I most enjoyed in reading about was called the Microscopic Opera developed by Matthijis Munnik with Richard de Boer.  The article explains that the lab worm's (commonly used worldwide in laboratories for research) movements are converted into sounds and images.  The artwork utilizes the lab worms in this piece to cohere to genomics because lab worms are the first multicellular organisms to have fully sequenced genomes.

Matthijs Munnik, Microscopic Opera 

Munnik and de Boer use software tracks to convert the movements to sounds into abstracted opera singing as well as a range of other sounds.  There are images shown of the lab worms on screens of the magnified organisms.  These organisms are kept in petri dishes and each dish holds up to 1,000 worms!

More projects from this exhibit can be viewed at http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/bioart/

This piece is a "New Media Literacy" in that the lab worms are a part of a performance.  Although not staged, they are the subjects that are being viewed and their movements converted to images and sounds.  Munnik and de Boer worked together for this piece and this literacy can be classified as "Collective Intelligence" as well.  More literacies can be learned about in my article about Media Education for the 21st Century post!

Digital Project II: Digital Collage

Who we are and who we want to be are many different things.  In this piece there is a combination of different people.  Through Sweeney’s article, I researched the topic of identity in regards to the Internet and how much we really know who is looking at us or becoming us through the web.  Then I played with the idea of identity and how affected our own identities are through media.  In a sense, who we are and how we see ourselves rests in the palm of our hand.

Digital Project I: Magazine Cover

This is the first Photoshop project I have ever done.  It took a while to get a hold of all of the tools that Photoshop had to offer.  I ran into some trouble when my flash drive crashed and I lost this project completely.  However, I realized that it was much easier to recreate something that I already had experience in doing!  So it was a great learning process at the same time.

In this piece, I focused on the theme of Connotation and Denotation.  I focused on driving the point of these young girls being made up to look older than they really are.  In these beauty pageants, the parents of these young girls are forcing them to dress up and parade around like young women.  Some even resort to putting false body parts into the costumes to make them appear older than they are.  My question is, why can't these girls be judged by their beauty without having all of these prosthetic things to enhance these young and naive children?  Why should these toddlers be dressed up and paraded around as if they were older and more mature?  

Digital Project III: Self-Portrait

Garden gnomes are said to watch over ones garden and property.  I have grown very fond of gnomes over the years and have even acquired a few that I keep around me.  Since I have lived in the same dorm room for all four years of college, there is a sense of home there.  I decided to put myself on my windowsill with my collection of gnomes.  From there I can keep watch over the room that I call home. 

Before these 3 digital projects, I was not very educated in Photoshop.  Through this series of projects I have learned a lot and was able to also learn a lot through my own explorations of this program.  In this project in particular I started off with a completely different topic.  However, it did not allow me to really utilize all that Photoshop had to offer and I wanted more of a challenge.  By integrating some of my features, I was able to create a composite image with many different parts of images. 

Sweeny's Internet Connection

In Sweeny's article "Lines of Sight in the 'Network Society':  Simulation, Art Education, and a Digital Visual Culture", he touches upon many different aspects of technology and how it affects its users.

In one part of the article he touches upon how different internet-based technologies have become a leading form of "research, a method for community building, [and] a forum for interaction"through the "simulation matrix".  This brings me back to last semester when a professor had us create a SecondLife account.  Discussions were held through this life simulated program where students could converse with different artists and professors worldwide.  Through this form of technology, we are allowed to be a part of the technology, as opposed to simply operating it.  Through the use of this program we were able to explore what the world wide web truly has to offer us as aspiring art educators.

Now I ask you to imagine your life without the internet.  Difficult right?  I feel that through the internet I am constantly being bombarded with information, whether visual or textual.  I think that through this constant flow of information, we are able to have more and resources available to us to use.  

The idea of SecondLife also attaches itself to the Cyborg Vision in that through a computer screen, we are able to create an identity that can interact with other virtual beings across the world.  A Cyborg is defined in Sweeny's article as a cybernetic organism.  SecondLife is a little different than Stelarc, who attached electrodes to connect his body physically to the internet.  It has no physical attachment whatsoever, yet allows a person to virtually connect to others making different connections and discovering different resources by meeting different people in a virtual life.  

The internet allows for an endless supply of information for teachers.  It creates a system where ideas can be shared, critiqued, and borrowed in order to present such information to students.  Through the internet, teachers are able to travel around the world and with the click of a mouse, tap into different resources that will benefit their students.  

Digital Collage: Response Part I

In Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", it was interesting for me as an artist to think about how much artists rely on technology.  The question of whether something is art if it's original idea inspired the artist to create something different.  I think as artists it is important that we take ideas from one another to learn different process, and learn about ourselves.  Being able to take something and create something completely new from its original state, is a great challenge for artists.  Each person sees things differently, and one artwork may inspire one artist one way, while another a different way.

The article that stood out to me the most of the first three readings is the article by Terry Barrett, "Interpreting Visual Culture".  I think that Barrett rose many interesting questions about different connotations and denotations of images.  The different meanings of an image can vary drastically from viewer to viewer.  There are many hidden meanings that are concocted from images, while such meanings were not the intention of the artist.  Sometimes as viewers we read too far into an image, which can be positive yet negative at the same time.