Project Ideas

For my project, I want to address the theme of perfection.  We so rarely notice the natural beauty in the world, and instead are constantly trying to improve and perfect everything we see.  I am not entirely sure of how to address this, but I know what the first of my (probably) four vignettes is going to be.

I am going to do a stop action film of my sister getting dressed to go out, and putting on make-up, and doing her nails.  She is naturally beautiful, but in her effort to improve herself, she is going to over-do it, and create something much worse.

Mid-Term: Architectural Art

Architecture as art is a concept that I can fairly easily comprehend.  Think, for example, of Frank Lloyd Wright, and creations of his such as Falling Water.

His integration of nature and architecture truly requires an artistic eye, and you would be hard pressed to find someone who could not identify the artistic nature in his work.  At the same time, there is also a sort of art to the e

ndless copycat office buildings, and identical concrete apartments covering urban cities and suburbia now.  While they are more functional in use, they are representations of what our world has become, and can evoke strong feelings in those who do not see them every day.  Not all art is beautiful.

However, art as architecture was a much more difficult idea for me to grasp.  It was not really until I saw examples of such pieces that I understood how architecture involves space, and art creations can either occupy or create spaces.  The concept of space was very important to my initial understand of the art as architecture idea.

The first example I encountered through my multimedia class was by Leo Villareal, a media artist, and the creation was his light installation featured at the National Gallery of Art.  A description of the project does not really do it justice, but I will

 try.  The project is called Multiverse and it is in the tunnel between the east and west buildings of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  It features over 40,000 LED lights which turn on and off as programmed by a complicated series of algorithms.  The lights create patterns and shapes and stepping into the tunnel is truly entering a surreal world.  This work was a good introduction to the idea that art is architecture because it actually utilizes the architecture of the building.  The tunnel was originall

y just functional to allow passage from building to building, but as an art project was built into the structure of the tunnel, it became an experience to walk through the tunnel and view this artwork.  The piece could not exist without the tunnel, and the tunnel would be nothing more than a walkway were it not for the art, but together they create something magnificent.  Once I realized this, I also realized that the shape and construct of the tunnel is actually a part of the piece.  Though I do not know whether the gallery had commissioned Villareal before or after the tunnel was built, I do know that the artist takes ad

vantage of the space to shape his art.

Another work I saw at the National Gallery of Art, called Roof, by Andy Goldsworthy, was a group of nine slate huts which were actually built to look as if they were outside and protruding into the building.  Goldsworthy was experimenting with the dome shape that is so reminiscent of Washington DC architecture.  This piece would fall into the category of sculpture, but there is no denying the resemblance of the huts to an igloo type shape that one could live in.  THough they are art and not functional for living, they are very architectural to the extent that they resemble a form of home.  This is an example of architectural art outside of the multimedia realm.

The next architectural work I encountered was Vibeke Sorenson's work.  I viewed a few pieces both in class and at her presentation.  They combine animation and sound, and a key thing to realize when viewing her work is that music does not have to necessarily be created though sound.  Some of her pieces can be viewed with the sound on, and then when re-watched with the sound off, you can still see the music and rhythm through the graphic animation.  Architecturally speaking, however, Sorenson's animation actually creates space and shapes.  Though it is only 2-D, the animation she uses evokes a sense of 3-D and creates a new space and place.  In fact, she actually acknowledges this fact in one of her works, Voyage, where she takes the image she has created, and spins it horizontally so the audience sees that it is just 2-D.  This is one thing I like about multimedia, there there is no limit to what you can do, because an act such as this would not have been possible in the physical world.  Additionally, the increased potential for motion in art is undeniably an advance.  In Sorenson's 1976 work, Temple, she uses images of lights to create a rotating structure that turns in time to the electronic music she has created.  While it is presented on a flat screen, it appears structural and therefore she has created a new structure and space for it.

If architecture is a mixture of visual, aural, and spatial components, then Sorenson's work would definitely qualify.  While the visual and aural aspects can be easily understood by a description of her work, the spatial aspect can probably only be understood by viewing her work.  In description, an animation on a flat screen cannot possible have a spatial element.  However, when you see how Vibeke Sorenson uses the animation to create new spaces, shapes, and structures, you can understand how she created additional space in this world and how her art is very architectural.  I like her creation of the term liquid architecture.  To me, this means that her form of architecture has the power to create space, and then make it go away if she chooses.  Though she is able to use multimedia to create new space, should she change the shape, her original space goes away.  It is liquid and constantly changing.

Soundscape: The Next Day

This piece was created using SoundscapePro, and it evolved greatly from my initial conception.  Originally I wanted to make a commentary on gossip and how painful it can be to those it centers around.  While I carried this theme through the versions of my piece, the way in which I did so evolved.

Upon creating my first version, I thought that my main character, a woman, was walking through a crowded hallway shortly after the death of her husband.  As she walks through, she hears people whispering about her and her pace quickens and when she finally gets to the end of the hallway she breaks out into tears.

However, I decided that this version did not convey the triviality of gossip.  With such a serious reason for everyone to be discussing this women, and with a genuine cause for her to be suffering aside from the gossip, I believe it takes away from the message I was trying to send about how gossip creates unnecessary pain.  As such, I added in some laugh tracks and then realized that my character was being laughed at and made fun of because she had exited the bathroom with the back of her skirt tucked into her tights.  At first she doesn't notice anything but after she starts to hear some slight giggles, she figures out that something is wrong and word spreads through the crowd as she is humiliated.

I eventually strayed from this version as well, because I wanted the "gossipers" to be criticizing her character more than a silly mistake, which would create a greater reason for her to be so upset.  I eventually realized the story that I had been creating all along.  As it turns out, this woman had been intimate with a man the night before.  In fact, she is a college student and the hallway she is walking down is the hallway to her school cafeteria.  It is the next night and word has spread about how she slept with this boy the night before and everyone is talking about her.  Nobody knows the details of what happened, and the stories have inflated to ridiculous proportions.  When she finally escapes the room she just breaks into tears, realizing the full extent of her mistake.  It is raining out and she is standing on the side of the road.  An oncoming truck honks at her to get out of the way, and it is all just too much for her to take.

People get hurt too often by the words and lies of others.

Are there any rules defining art?

In his essay, one of the issues John Cage addresses is that "art... is criminal action."  It abides by no rules he explains, but is this necessarily true?  Is there any limitation to what we consider art? It has become popular to support the theory that art is whatever the artist considers to be art, whether it is a life-like representation or merely looks like scribbles done by a five year old. While I agree with this theory that anything can be art, I don't think that means everything is art.  I believe the one rule that we can apply to art in all cases is that it must communicate something to someone, either the artist or the viewer.  In this sense, we would not really be restricting anything that we already consider art, but we would be correcting what it, in my opinion, a false statement, that art follows no rules.

Inauguration Project Reflection

I am really glad that I was assigned a project to cover Obama's inauguration, because I think I got a lot more out of the day because of it.  I was constantly looking for things to record and different ways to do so, which made me a more alert observer and participant in the events.  I remember when I got home and was watching the parade, one of the television hosts asked the multimedia specialist what people were doing, if they were blogging or twittering a lot, and I smiled to myself and though "That's me!"

I do wish that I had been a little more creative in the forms of media I used though, because after viewing my classmates projects, I saw the benefits that one could get from going beyond the requirements of the project.  I am proud of what I created though, and it will serve as a great way to remember that incredible day.

This picture is my favorite of the ones I took, because it shows the spirit of patriotism I felt that day.

Obamamania

The Historical Inauguration of Barack Obama
Tuesday the 20th of January, 2009
Photos and Twitter Messages

History will be made today

I've never felt so proud to be an American

Everyone is starting to arrive and the streets are flooded with people.

Found good spot on mall, in front of a jumbotron-crowd looks great!

Dignitaries are starting to arrive on stage, and we're all getting excited!

Obama is officially our 44th President!

Everybody is bursting with pride and waving their flags!

Aretha Franklin inspires us by singing My Country 'Tis of Thee.

I ran into my dad at the foot of the Washington Monument!

Made it home in time to watch the parade!

The Potential for Art in Cyberspace

While I initially struggled to understand it, my interpretation of Pierre Levy's article could be summed up by saying that there is potential for cyperspace to truly become an artist's canvas and platform for new levels of communication.  Though none of the "great works" have been created yet, this does not mean that cyberspace cannot be an arena for art.  However, if I understand him correctly, there are certain conditions which must be right in order for artists to take this media to the next level and let it not merely be a distributed toy of sorts.

In addition, Levy also makes the point that web 2.0 has begun to truly redefine our daily activities.  For example, when I was in Guatemala this winter break, my friends and I took pictures to remember our trip.  Throughout the trip we joked about how the way we judge a picture is by whether or not it is "facebook usable."  And though we rolled our eyes and laughed at how important a facet facebook has become in our lives, the truth remains that this web 2.0 site has impacted our life outside of cyberspace.  Already having come a long way in a short amount of time, cyberspace has the potential to reach new limits of art and communication.