The Journey by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew



what you had to do, and you began



though the voices around you



kept shouting



their bad advice---



though the whole house



began to tremble



you felt the old tug



at your ankles



"Mend my life!"



each voice cried.



But you didn't stop.



You knew what you had to do



though the wind pried



with its stiff fingers



at the very foundations---



though their melancholy



was terrible. It was already late



enough, and a wild night,



and the road full of fallen



branches and stones.



But little by little,



as you left their voices behind,



the stars began to burn



through the clouds,



and there was a new voice,



which you slowly



recognized as your own,



that kept you company



as you strode deeper and deeper



into the world,



determined to do



the only thing you could do---determined to save



the only life you could save.

http://www.english.illinois.edu/MAPS/poets/m_r/oliver/online_poems.htm

The book I will create to illustrate this poem will have a path throughout the book. A triangular shape to add the the topic of 'direction' as this poem. The Journey path on each page will be expressed differently and will 'move' with the poem. The type will be manipulated using style, size, placement with sometimes following the path and other times not. The book will begin at the end and will end at the beginning (with type). A ribbon will tie the book closed which will reiterate the idea of a path.



Word Visualization

Word Visualization
Clouds

Class Presentations of Digital Artists

The 'Sci-Fi Nightclub' Exhibit on Erwin Redl and Leo Villareal was an interesting combination of 2 digital artists who work primarily with LED lights and music installations worldwide. Redl's background in music led him into musically themed digital light shows such as his Matrix series and Villareal's sculpture background influenced his work in creating 'lightistic' moving sculptures like his piece Hive.
'Independence' exhibit was a combined effort of QS Serafijn who uses people's reactions to his art to recreate his art as in 'The Mouse Hole' with Gerhard Mantz working in large manipulated photos of nature where he starts with nature, changes it as in 'The Left Hand of Darkness'.
'Define Structure' was the most interesting exhibit because Hani Rashid and Erwin Redl together create amazing creations with computers/lighting/and architecture where light really makes structure which is opposite what structure traditionally has been. They begin their designs on the computer and bring them into our real world in installations. They are digital architects in a very real sense.
'Mechanical Creations' exhibit of Ken Renaldo and Ken Feingold both tranfer human abilities, into a mechanical type of installation as in 'Autopoiesis' with the mechanical 'kinex' robotic arms and the very bizarre If/Then 2001 installation of the talking heads.
'Perceptions' was a combo of Oliver Waslow and Gregory Scott's work in playing on distorting our visual perceptions in art. This too was a very cohesive exhibit.
Finally, 'Future Shock Love Sounds' exhibit was an unbelievable tribute to 2 up and coming loud sounds artists who I assumed attract the young who do not mind permanent hearing loss. Their installations include sound as loud as possible and digital video displays of Dan Deacon and Danny Perez's work as in Wham City and their ideas of Future Shock. Where does love sounds come in I guess it's just that...love the sound or not. In all, the presentations were all very informative as I knew nothing of any of these modern digital artists before. I think the success in all the exhibits were the videos and pictures that showed more clearly than any words tried.

Collaborative Project "Living Computers"

In the collaborative presentation by Stephanie Byster and I, an artist exhibit titled "Living Computers" was created by combining the works of Laurent Mignonneau & Christa Sommerer with Rafael Lozano Hemmer. The overall theme of the exhibit was to establish the similarities of the artist's use of creating art that resembles something living. This was illustrated by the works selected for the show. Laurent and Christa's Interactive Plant Growing, The Living Web, Wissengewachs, and A-Volve exemplify their use of human interaction combined with natural yet intuitive interfaces to create living moving digital installations. Rafael's work's Sitestepper, Displaced Emperors, Wavefunction, and Pulse Park are pieces from his collection that also show his technique of including human interaction, sound and sensors, and architecture to create an organic, life like, movement in his art.
The art as an exhibit brings an invitation to the viewers to become an active part in the making and remaking of the work as a means of experiencing the pieces. For example, Pulse Park utilizes viewers heart beats that are recorded in order to pulse his lighting to the beat of 200 heartbeats similtaneously. This large installation located in the heart of New York City was the artists attempt to unite the city in the wake of 911.
Websites:
www.rafaellozanohemmer.com
www.laurentmignonneauandchristasommerer.com

Triptych

Triptych
Mounting is so important!

Triptych

Triptych
His Everlasting Arms

Triptych- Self Visualization

My concept for my self visualization is to create the left panel to represent my past, twisted and confused, when I was younger and before I became a Christian, and the right panel to represent my present life, with my 3 children as my focus. My hands are in the process of sculpting, molding, forming my children as I am doing in not quite a literal fashion. The center and most important panel is the symbolic representation of God and His love for me, this is the bridge that unites the panels to tell my own personal story. The tree, solid, strong, and old, represents God. I also chose the tree because the cross was made of wood. The red tulips, represent the blood that was shed for me. The final mounting had its importance as the branches were indicative of God holding me up, I am leaning on His everlasting arms.

Illustrator Project #2 Vector Drawing- Live Trace, Live Paint

Illustrator Project #2 Vector Drawing- Live Trace, Live Paint

Abramovic, Kahlo, and Xuiwen, Self Portraits/ Female Portrayals

The artistic contributions from three portrait artists of the 21st century are insightful, emotional, and at times even painful. Marina Abramovic, Frida Kahlo, and Cui Xiuwen share many similarities in their work and yet very unique, standing on their own conceptual approach and techniques. These artists offer various expressions of self and interpretations of their own personal world of struggles, pain, and passion.







Marina as a pioneer in performance art, and withstands pain, exhaustion, and even jeopardizes her safety for the sake of art! She creates to become the art and is literally present in her work. Each piece is alive and her modern performances physically test her body as in the installation of "The Artist is Present" at the Moma in March 2010. She will perform eight hours a day for three months straight. She generously offers herself in her work as a means to express her ideas and document her own reality. In her sad piece, Happy Christmas,

Marina documents her pain of seperation from her husband in a way that all women can relate. Larger than life black and white, which adds a timelessness documenting an experience any woman at any time may have gone through. Her work tells of the dichotomy of women, life's reality of pain and joy.

Frida Kahlo was most influenced by her own life and struggles. As to why she painted self portraits, she said, "I paint myself because I am alone, I know myself best". Most of her paintings told the story of her own reality. She shares her self-image with us in a realistic way. She does not pretend to be beautiful; blood, sickness, and her unattractive, frowning face. This is realism, and her great use of imagery symbolizes her country through her vivid colors and mexican images like monkeys, flowers, and birds. Ridden with pain, illness, and a tragic accident that left her bedridden for a year, she said of her work, "I never paint dreams, I paint my own reality". Her pieces 'Without Hope', A Few Small Nips', and 'Henry Ford Hospital' depict bloody, painful scenes that exemplify her life. Near death, she said, "I hope to never come back". Much like Marina, Frida expressed herself through her work as an artist documenting on a mission. Her art seemed to be theraputic for her as she dealt with her pain, we can feel her pain deeply. I do not think she dwells on her problems as much as her art is like an autobiography.

Cui Xiuwen, from China, began as a painter but has now changed to video installations as a means to express her views and represent the struggles of women. Cui's 'One Day in 2004' series depicts the struggles of a girl growing up in Beijing. Her work is surreal with a fantasy like quality, yet realistic in the way she portrays the same girl (possibly herself or someone she knows) in various struggles and situations. Her 'Angel' series deals with social and personal issues of a lonely pregnant girl. The concept of maternity in China, much like Marina and Frida's work deals with inner struggles of women in various moments of their lives. Interestingly, Cui decided to stop painting and began her controversial video installations depicting the personal and social struggles of various women. Her video documents women's gender struggles, in a way that we can all relate. Cui feels very strongly about the issues she exemplifies in her pieces, and as we view her pieces we too can feel passionate about these ideas.

In conclusion, all three artists are in some recognizable way, portrait artists who mostly thread themselves through their work as well as real issues for all women. Marina and Frida document their own lives and Cui's subject seems to be that of the social concerns of the woman all three in a very understandable way. Although they are expressing themselves differently through various media, they share the common ground of pain and struggles. This unites women of all cultures creating a sense of comradery, empathy, understanding, and determination for woman. Men may view and attempt to learn much.









































































































































































































































































































































































































































Lesson 1 Photo Alteration

Lesson 1 Photo Alteration
My Crazy Garden...I wish!

My Photographs for Project #1

My Photographs for Project #1
Human Interaction

Photoshop Project # 1

Photoshop Project # 1
This photoshop project was a challenge and a pleasure. I took the photos to purposely assemble a realistic impossibility of a hockey rink for my son in my backyard. He is front and center fighting for the puck in the foreground and again in the background #68 as if he is keeping the zamboni at bay. I adjusted the lighting just on him for empasis. I re-adjusted the color of the photo of the ice rink to match what would be the reflection of the snowy night sky on the ice. I then added snowflakes onto the ice and players to unite both photos. To create the illusion of viewing the game from inside my warm house, the final layer is the window. I learned alot from this project and look forward to using this medium to create and recreate various art. I found that when altering colors, it is helpful to squint at the image and keep reality in your mind if some sense of realism is the goal.

AI exercise #1a

AI exercise #1a

ai exercise #1b

ai exercise #1b

Exterior in a Snowstorm

Sunday, February 14, 2010

"Inherited Traits" Artist's Nina Katchadourian and Heidi Kumao

I have viewed the art experiences of "Inherited Traits" in the TCNJ art gallery two times. The first time I had a surface interpretation of the art, not fully understanding their individual meanings. However, the next time I viewed the work I really was dumbfounded as I pondered the question of how these two very creative artists even arrived at their ideas. The concept of Nina's 'Geneology of the Supermarket' is really quite genius. Who would think of that? This question raced through my mind as I viewed their works again. Where do ideas come from? I think they start with a passion that sparks inside us. I also think Nina's presentation choices of 'our own living rooms' look appeals to everyone, I think we may all have some of those everyday frames in our homes. We can all relate as we look on at the famous faces that not only grace our grocery stores, but our own pantry at home. We grew up with these people in a way that unites us all, although humorously.

I thought Nina's exhibit of 'The Nightgown Pictures' was thoughtful, inspiring in so many ways. To begin with, the book of photographs her grandmother gave her was invaluable in so many ways. By going back to those places to document, Nina was able to create art from what already was art. I might also add, to take those pictures every year was a very disciplined feat...not an easy thing to do, as we saw in the last photo.

Heidi's very profound presentations of historical events in 'Transplant' and 'Trace' exemplifies her as an interdisciplinary artist. Her interesting use of digital arts to present, with such clarity, emotional historical events has an impact. Her technique is precise and exact as she uses digital media in a dimensional genre.

I think both artist's have an interesting way of processing life experiences, and their ability to portray their ideas helps us to all relate. The conceptual part of art is the fetus of all great pieces of art that I think is so often taken for granted.
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