Project 5

When given the task of "self portrait" for our final project, I didn't want to do a literal self portrait. I'm not very photogenic and I wasn't sure what I'd do with pictures of me anyways. The best way I thought to portray myself was the places I've been/experiences I've had. In the gif, I've included places where I've lived like DC and Italy, places that I love like the National Gallery of Art, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Sacre-Coeur. Some of my favorite experiences like seeing Ed Sheeran at the 9:30 Club and the day I spent looking at the Windmills in Holland were also included.

Homework 9

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Homework 8

What is your plan for success while you are at George Mason? Does anything that Kleon mentions here resemble what you currently do?
Keeping a routine works pretty well for me. My day job is pretty much how Kleon describes, as in it pays decently, doesn't make me want to vomit, and leaves me with enough energy to do other things. This helps me succeed at GMU because it pressures me into a time constraint to accomplish things.

How do you see those same plans translating to your professional and/or creative life once you are done at GMU? What potential suggestions that Kleon puts forth can you see yourself adopting for your own success planning?
Probably the hardest for me to follow is anything concerned with money. I'm pretty good about saving it, but I'm always tempted to enjoy my time in ways I can pay for it. I'm a sucker for going out to dinner and drinks with my friends and love to try out the newest and most entertaining business' that pop up in NoVa. So yes, keeping out of debt will be a struggle but something I should adopt from Kleon. Ideally, I'd like to have a job that doesn't make me vomit, which I don't think will be too hard to find but ya never know.

What's really important to you in your work, creative, or otherwise?
What's important to me in my work and creatively is being clear and concise enough so that others can understand what I'm communicating. Overall, I think it's maintaining an attitude and behavior that will benefit me.

What do you choose to "leave out" in your work?
For me, I try to leave out ideas I hate when processing what I want to do and focus on what speaks to me personally, really, what I want to steal from other artists.

What are your limitations?
An obvious limitation is time for me. Word limits, bedtimes, money to spend. It keeps me realistic and in check.

I actually talked about making a logbook before I read this book. A lot of times I forget when I had a thought or an idea popped into my mind or when I promised to start working out. It seems sensible and doable and will probably help me organize my mind and life a lot. I would also very much like to take a nap!

Project 4

This zine originally came to me when brainstorming for the table of contents. I thought the refrigerator was a pretty obvious symbol of Thoughts at 3 AM, but it reminded me of another thing. Once when I had friends over, someone went into the kitchen and came back and asked me if I had a happy family. When I asked why he would ask me something like that, he remarked on how our refrigerator had no magnets on it. This basically expands on my struggle to not let others influence my thoughts, while also trying to prove myself based off what others think. The magnet and the fridge were photoshop as well as the background. The magnets were made in illustrator, and the pictures were scanned in from a family photo album. 

This zine exemplified the blurring of dreams and thoughts. I have what's actually on my mind, my to do list, which was scanned in, and my passport to London, which was created in photoshop. I found this flower pressed in a book recently and I thought that added to the dreaminess quality of the zine, so I scanned that in as well. I cloned the clouds in the background via photoshop, and made the stars in Illustrator. I always like looking at the night sky, but I have to close my blinds for complete darkness otherwise I can't sleep. 

This is a gif that I could not for the life of me figure out how to put in my final zine. RIP to what could have been.

Homework 7

1. What is your plan to do “good work” (in any field you are interersted in) after you graduate?

“Good work” for me comes from time commitment and dedication. After I graduate, I think the best way for me to achieve that is throw myself into whatever job I begin at.

2. What do you wonder at?

Wonder is a big idea that encaspulates a lot of my thoughts. I often think about pieces that fit together to make civilizationt tick and the type of organizationt that requires. There must be a factory that manufactures the nails that screw into a chair, of which the leather came from some cow, was cured, and sold to a leather outlet, and the screws and leather came together to become a chair in a coffee shop. The mechanics to everything fascinate me, and the people who are behind all the labor to make something so simple. But wondering can also come from “what ifs” and “should haves”, but that’s the most troubling type of wondering I get up to.

3. Share at least one thing that you have come across recently that you think would be interesting for others in the class to see.

Any murals I come across I always like to share. I think murals are a cool form of self-expression and interesting to observe. I’m currently in Richmond, VA, which arguably has the most murals in the close vicinity of Fairfax. I also saw something recently about a recreation of Kim Kardashian’s nude selfie in Australia that takes up 3 stories of a building.

4. Are you in your ideal geographic location for what you want to do? What is your plan for making the most out of your current place?

I think it is dificult in the Washington D.C. area to really dive into media production at a large scale. Most jobs are mostly government oriented, and having interned for the government, I can safely say I’m not that interested in doing media on their behalf. My other internship is at an extremely small private school, and that experience for me has really shed light on what it would be like working for a small business (which I’m not interested in). I believe Los Angeles would be ideal for producing but that’s only based off of my limited knowledge.

5. Who are the people who follow you online (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)? [Name at least 3]. How do those people contribute to your success?

My mom, sisters, and best friend all follow me on my online presences. I think knowing they see everything I do censors me from posting and sharing bizarre news that’s not like me. Simply knowing they see what I post contributes to my success because I’m much more aware of what I post.

Homework 6

Why do you think "writing about what you know" leads to terrible stories?
Writing about what you know only leads to stories that fall flat. If you're only working with existing content, then you won't be able to expand creatively because you're constrained by someone else's.

Within your chosen major or career path, how can you make better stories? Or, what are some of your ideas to progress stories that you think are not finished?
Within communications, I think better stories stem from expectations not met. My ideas flow most when I come across something and it falls short of what I expect from high caliber productions. Mostly, it comes back to what I as a person, not a communications major, would want to come from something versus immersing myself completely as a communications major.

Within a creative practice, is working in a physical and/or non-digital way important to you? Describe how you do creative work (any writing, drawing, photography, playing sports -anything) independently from a computer. How does a computer enhance or take away from your creative process?
I feel similarly to Kleon in that I get more joy from physically experiencing something than observing it from behind a screen. I think the more I'm independent from my computer, iPhone and TV, the more creatively inclined I become. Being outside and without digital access is important to me because it forces me to revert to other means, which isn't exactly always obvious. In other words, it forces me to take the initiative to do.

What are the things you use to procrastinate? How do they then feed into the other areas of what you do or what you study?
I use TV to procrastinate a lot. I also find sleeping and socializing a good way to procrastinate. I relate a lot of my studies to things I've witnessed on different shows I watch and find that is my most relative way of thinking. Sleeping doesn't help much but I do compare studies and theories in Communications to how my everyday life works.

Project 3

So I fooled around with Illustrator for a long time before I settled on A Rush of Blood to the Head album cover by Coldpay. I've come across different art and tattoos that are composed strictly of geometric shapes that are different sizes and thought I'd give it a go.

Homework 5

• What are your standards for yourself when you decide something is worth "stealing" or appropriating?

Appropriating something for me means that I must alternate the original piece into something with an entirely new perspective/meaning because that's the only way I'd feel comfortable doing so.

• How do you think this text relates to the idea of postmodernism?

I think the first two chapters relate to postmodernism because it stresses recycling ideas and putting perspective on old art.

• Is the idea of "nothing being original" indeed depressing? Or is it freeing? Why or why not?

I think that the idea of 'nothing being original' is freeing because it takes the inventive weight off artist's shoulders. It's comforting to know that artists feel this way because I know I'm not nearly as creative.

• What is the difference between creative hoarding and creative collecting?

Hoarders collect indiscriminately, artists collect things that they love selectively.

• What does Marcel Duchamp mean when he says that he doesn't believe in art, but he believes in artists?

Duchamp means to say that you should consume the genealogy of your most admired artist/writer/activist. You'll be much more fulfilled by studying individuals and who inspired them, and who inspired the individuals that inspired them than trying to digest the history of artists.

• Who are Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe? How do you think they "faked it until they made it"? Do you think it worked for them?

Patti Smith is a musician and Robert Mapplethorpe is a photographer. Apparently, they assumed different identities by dressing up and pretending to be something other than they were to the point where other strangers were convinced. Considering they both achieved a celebrity status of sorts, I would say it worked out pretty well for them.

• What's the difference between "practice" versus "plagiarism"?

Plagiarism is trying to pass someone else's work off as your own practicing copying is about taking something to interpret it as you see fit.

• What's the difference between imitation vs. emulation?

Imitation is about copying and emulation is when imitation goes one step further to break into your own creation.

Who is one of your creative thinker "heroes" that you gravitate towards? Give us the name of one person, then start a small genealogy tree - who are three of their creative thinker heroes?
Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, is one of my favorite musicians. He says the band and himself are largely influenced by Travis, U2 and Radiohead.

How do you think what Kleon says is relatable directly to you and your chosen major? How can you apply what he is saying to your own field of interest?
When it comes to communications, I understand how emulation and creative collecting can benefit my work and legacy. However, it's a very sensitive subject in communications to appropriate anybody's work. It seems to be a large part of my education revolves around how NOT to take other people's work. Obviously I have to practice and learn from other people in my field at some point, but I definitely think the circumstances are different here.

Project 2

Homework 4

  Appropriation is taking one thing and stripping of it's associated meaning to use as one pleases with a new purpose. Fair use is any copying of copy-righted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. Appropriation and fair use would be considered enemies in my opinion, as appropriation carries a negative connotation of "taking something" and fair use has a positive connotation of "legitimate borrowing". Donn Zaretsky asks, “How do you decide whether something is transformative or just not quite transformative enough?” This is difficult to answer because I think the truth comes from how each version of the art makes you feel and if there is a difference. Articulating a vibe of feeling you receive from different artworks is strenuous. And much of this depends on a person and their experience or perception of art in general. What is grey about the court decision is that they ruled that an reasonable observer should make the distinction on wether or not the work was transformative, but that's all rather vague. 

  The New York Times called appropriation "a controversial but longstanding postmodern artistic strategy". But to me, appropriation is a negative word and doesn't entirely express what happens when an artist makes something new using existing materials. I really have no idea how to make a hard line in the distinction of transformative, which makes defining it all the more harder for legal matters. I think Barbara Kruger's method of appropriation is more accepted than Richard Prince's. Kruger makes an obvious distinction between the original photo by adding her own text that literally states her new message she's trying to deliver. I wouldn't say her form of appropriation is more valid, but it is more obvious and probably easier to understand than Prince's interpretation of appropriating. 

  Richard Prince sucks. Overall, his instagram installation just makes me angry. Who is buying these massive screenshots for $90,000? Why aren't they just replicating them like Suicide Girls? Besides the impracticality of it, it seems like a cheap way to create a gallery and sell it. It angers me that people want to be a part of his collection because they already have his collection, available to anyone with an Instagram account. It's not appropriation to me because a comment doesn't send a message that changes the photo. It just made Prince look sleazy, like the Huffington Post said. I guess to me, appropriation should be obvious. The only way I would accept Prince's installment of one of my Instagram photos would be if they were actually altered. The idea that he sells them for so much too is infuriating. To me, the price of the "art" just tells me that he's in it for the money and is trying to put his name brand on anything and everything to sell it.  

Homework 3

   I wholeheartedly agree with Panera and embrace the concept of a different visual reality versus other generations. Being raised in a household where the television, internet, video games, and movies were all readily at my disposal & then being at the helm of the smartphone movement definitely shapes my visual reality in a way that cannot be replicated for anyone fifteen years older than me. I think because our generations has so much visual stimulation in a variety of ways, we have become obsessed with replicating and creating content visually to either express emotion or consume it. But I don't think visual reality is our only reality. Panera claims that younger generations need an entertainment factor to keep our attention in art museums. That's completely false. Visual media is not my ball and chain, and I can be entertained otherwise. Besides, art doesn't have to be entertaining and entertainment doesn't have to be art. I think Panera is disillusioned to believe that witnessing a group of adolescents document an experience means that they're only doing so for the benefit of retinal masturbation. When I visit an art museum and take photos, I'm not doing so because I am uninterested and am trying to twist my boring situation into an entertaining one. It's because I've found something worth cherishing even after the moment has passed.

   As far as the necessity of documentation goes, I think that from some perspectives she is correct. I personally know people who do activities or plan events just for the purpose of documenting and sharing their ~unique~ experience with their followers or friends. In this way, yes they are proving they exist in a specific light. However, if someone documents something for personal use, I don't believe that's an effort to prove their existence. It's merely a keepsake. And what's so wrong with relying on digital media to trigger memories? I had a hard time understanding the point of his argument here that "memory is becoming more fragile" and that's a bad thing. What is this in comparison too? How is using digital media to recall an experience worse than mentally recalling it? Maybe that's just the difference in our visual realities. Mnemonic memory is using aids to recall something and heuristic memory is relying on the cognitive thought process. I assume Panera is saying heuristic memory is better but I see really no justification in this. I can remember events using my heuristic memory just fine, and I just use digital media (mnemonic memories) to bask in that moment in time.

   If one wishes to become an 'emancipated observer', they must simply refuse to rely on their mnemonic memory and stray from their screens. In my opinion, however, an emancipated observe is someone who can still document experiences but solely for personal consumption and not for the benefit of others. I see no harm in recording my visual reality because I'm able to - and it's something I thoroughly enjoy doing.

Homework 2

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In preparation for Project 1, we should take a closer look at the world of gifs, especially within a contemporary art & technology context.

First, lets read a little bit more about the history of GIFs.

1. Read parts One, Two and Three about the history of the GIF from Paddy Johnson. (via Art Net) [Btw, Paddy Johnson runs the really wonderful art blog called Art F City, posted under online resources.]

Pay close attention to the artists that Paddy talks about - if you start to be attracted to some of their work, you should do some research about that artist. It may help when you develop your own GIF. She also gives a ton of Tumblr resources. Check out those Tumblrs, and if you dig something, follow them.

2. Read this history of the GIF from Mashable.

Now lets read these following articles about GIFs and how they exist today, as well as an attempt to embed (no pun intended) GIFs as Art (just a note, I know that some of these may repeat information - I've included a few because of the GIF examples they show):

Are GIFs Art? (via New York Magazine)

Going Once, Going Twice: Phillips and Tumblr put GIFs on Auction (via Forbes)

GIFs Are the New Graffiti (via Mashable)

Finally, read about GIFs perpetuating a new photography term, "Motion Photography":

Saatchi Looks To Elevate Animated GIFs to Art (via socaltech.com)

GIFs are now an official, snob-sanctioned art form, and these six are the best (via The Washington Post)

The GIF animation is now officially an art form, thanks to the first Motion Photography Prize (via Imaging Resource)

Some questions to ponder: 
Are GIFs "uniquely millennial"? Why or why not? What do GIFs have to do with the way we communicate (we covered this briefly in class)?

What do you think the "hyperreality" might be that GIFs can show?

What do you think about art GIFs being sold for $16,000?

What do you think it is about GIFs that make them so successful? (You can pull from the articles here to back up your thoughts.)

What do you think of gifs as a viable art form commodity? Can they/should they be worth as much as other art objects?

How does one technology (say, Tumblr) lead to the popularity or resurgence of another technology, i.e. GIFs?

Do you all know who/what Phillips and Saatchi are? If not, Google them, stat.

What do you think about the notion of GIFs as graffiti? True? Not true? Why or why not?

Is a GIF capable of disrupting the everyday environment?

Are/Can GIFs indeed be "Art?" What might the difference be between a GIF considered as art, versus, say, a standard cat gif? If so, how can you make a GIF into "Art?"

What can be said about the notion that the GIF art form is driven by the everyday person? Does that lead to it being more artistic? Or not?

Does a GIF democratize art? How? Why or why not?

What philosophical implications do GIFs have on the concept of "time?"

And here's something that I just thought was cool: a graphic novel made of gifs. (via Wired)

Use the questions above as jumping off points to give a three paragraph or more response on what you read. Specifically, I'd also like to know about some of the GIF artists that you responded to. What made you drawn to their work?

Remember to also comment on at least two of your peers' posts as well.

Project 1: Gif

I chose to make this gif when I was scrolling through my camera roll and saw it from last summer. While I think most people understand that there's a little delivery truck rolling out from a building to deposit a square object into a bin, they may not understand why this video gone gif means a lot to me. This past summer, I spent three months in Stuttgart, Germany for an internship with the U.S. Military. During my internship, I stayed with family friends who lived in a small town in the countryside named Waldenbuch (Vol-den-book). This is the same town that the European chocolate factory for Rittersport is headquartered. On nice days in the summer, I could wake up and smell chocolate from outside my window. This particular gif was of a machine in the Rittersport factory museum that distributed a small square of chocolate if anybody were to push a button on the side.

*This is not necessarily the gif I wanted to use - but the one I first made where I played around with speed and duplicating clips. I'm not sure what mistake I made, but when trying to create a shorter clip that involved less editing, makeagif.com was never able to upload one in a reasonable amount of time. So here is my aggressive gif!

Homework 1

I’m very intrigued by what Sarah Lewis had to say about why she curates art beyond honoring a person’s expression. And I think I agree. Visual communication speaks to each individual in their own unique way; it evokes differing sentiments and maybe call to actions, like the Brown versus Board of Education example.  Lewis contemplates the role these visual communications play in our society and I have to admit I wonder the same thing: what instances do we not know of that have sparked change due to an ‘aesthetic force’ rather than rational argument?

The same question also seems to trouble the podcast speakers because it seems as though opportunities for similar epiphanies and bouts of inspiration are being limited by the need to quantify art.  If people only measure art or give attention to art by how much it sells for or how many likes on social media then it loses it’s genuine and purposed reaction.  The Introduction to New Media touches on this as well. They’re seems to be a high level of complaint and criticism of new media when it comes to visual media online, exemplified by the quote “ anything that can be parsed as a subject or noun  has probably been included by a person in art somewhere somehow”. They believe that the inclusiveness of everything takes away from what art is supposed to be – unique and personal. This answers how do you mediate subjectivity’, too. If an artist can draw attention to his or her visuals without drawing the same attitude of data gathering, then they could succeed, we think. The only real example of this is Banksy. Besides his/her private art shows, he is the actual sole example of inventing art and context originally aka mediating the subjectivity. He/she forces viewers to accept his art as is by embedding commentary and not expecting anything in return.

The contempt for how visuals are represented and received online is very real and apparent but looking at the Smithsonian’s ‘Revelations in New Media Art’ calmed the echoes of the prior two opinions I looked at for this assignment. New Media has created the opportunity to craft reality as people see fit. Bill Viola’s The Fall Into Paradise was particularly fascinating to me. I re-watched the video maybe four or five times trying to decipher what exactly was taking place and questioning each conclusion I came to. And that’s because it doesn’t equate to any reality I know or have known. And that’s what new media is and why it’s valuable despite the fault in achieving the desired subjectivity.