Online Exhibition

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Ann Arbor Film Festival

After visiting the Ann Arbor Film Festival on Saturday, I experienced a whole new idea to movie theaters.  I've never been to the Michigan Theater before, but I found that it was very interesting and much different than what I'm used to.  The crowd of people clapped after each piece, the screen was much smaller and was also surrounded by a large fancy stage. Along with just the physical appearance of the theater, the actual films being played were also different. They were pieces of art.  

The main artist that I attended was Bruce Baillie and the works that I watched were Yellow Horse, Termination and Quixote in the series title Retrospective 2. The first piece Yellow Horse gave me a good early judgement of what kind of works he created and the main idea to what his concentration may be based upon.  While watching his pieces, I found that there was a strong emphasis on sound and audio.  There were many different sounds that were created to specifically fit each second of the video.  There was also a strong emphasis on close up shots and an unfocused series of images and clips.  It was difficult for me to understand the Yellow Horse piece, but I found myself trying to piece it apart and looking deeper into the meaning and the artist's concepts. 

The second video Termination had many beautiful shots and was visually captivating.  I enjoyed this piece the most out of his collection showed.  The video focused upon a community of Indian people and looked closely at their life.  Quixote was the third video that I watched and was also quite different than anything else I've ever seen.  This piece looked at many different aspects in the early American century.  It was almost as you were following a timeline as Baillie transitioned between the many different occurrences that have happened in the early years.

Overall, I think that attending this Film Festival was a great experience.  Through taking several video classes, I found that I was more knowledgeable about this medium of art and the concepts.  An open mind is key when attending an event like this because you'll see many different types of art that may be like nothing you've ever seen before.  

Shadow

The topic of shadow makes me think of life, which may seem strange.  But shadows can be created from still objects or moving objects/people.  The objects that are moving cast a shadow that has so much more life to in then a still object.  Like the picture above,  the shadows are of two active people, more than likely their perception of the past and it creates the element of motion. Shadow is an interesting subject because it can be manipulated and converted into organic shapes that are hard to depict what the original object actually is. There are many different directions that the concept of shadow can be taken into.  Shadows of fast paced live objects are always visually appealing because it allows the viewer to nearly have to guess what the actual object is, same could also go with an extremely slow paced object.

Manipulating shadow is the area that I'm quite interested in.  Changing something that should be so familiar, into something that is the complete opposite.  Creating the look of life into an object that is ultimately lifeless if another aspect of shadow that is visually interesting.  The viewer is left having to really think about the project and can be visually beautiful, along with captivating.  There are many different directions that the project of shadows can be taken, so it's quite important that there is a strong focus on the visuals, as well as audio if necessary.

World Travel: Visual Journey

This image reminds me of Jenna's project quite a bit.  Even though this image focuses upon one particular city, it is coordinated by color.  Color makes up so many different things in the world and can define many different aspects of the fine details.  Within the world, there are often many correlations with color and location.  For instance, people will typically think of blues, purples and greens, cool colors when the ocean or regions such as Antarctica or Alaska are discussed.  When areas such as Spain, Mexico or Africa are talked about, the colors of red, orange and yellow may be associated.  Is this because of the geographical region and location they are in?  Or is this an association that society has created because of different landmarks and the surroundings of physical beauty?

Considering many generalizations are made about particular areas and regions, it would be an interesting idea to break those generalizations down into further details.  Besides natural landmarks, plants and water, there are many other elements that can correlate a color with a particular area.  Things like country symbols, animals and fashion trends could also speak a lot to bring more ideas of a journey around the world. Specifically looking at the finer details in regions would also show more about travel, along with the idea of a visual journey. 

Artist Research 2

Historical Not in Field

Title: The Lonely Road

Date Created: 1928

Place Created: Unknown

Dimensions: 21 ¾ x 15 in

Artist: John D. Graham

Medium: Oil on canvas

Art Type: Fine Art

Subject: Emptiness, Lonely

Contemporary Not in Field

Title: Deep Inside my Heart

Date Created: 2009-2010

Place Created: Unknown

Dimensions: 30 x 24 in

Artist: Louise Bourgeois & Tracey Emin

Medium: Archival dyes printed on cloth

Art Type: Fine Art

Subject: Abandonment before birth of children

 

Historical in Field

Title: Video Drawings

Date Created: 1985

Place: Unknown

Dimensions: 6:35 min

Artist: Kit Fitzgerald

Medium: color digital video with sound

Art Type: Video/ New Media

Subject: Human condition, destruction and change of organic shapes

Contemporary in Field

Title: Easy to Remember

Date Created: 2001

Place: Unknown

Dimensions: 2:35 min

Artist: Lorna Simpson

Medium: 16 mm blanc and white film transferred to DVD

Art Type: Video Installation/New Media

Subject: Lips in stillness and in motion

Perception vs. Reality

I completed a quick search of perception vs reality and came across this picture.  Even though this image is not a person, but food, it perfectly sums up the concept of perception vs reality within one image.  Perception vs reality is a concept that is often thought about but not necessarily discussed.  Typically it seems as if people aren't happy with their body image and their perception is an attractive, thin good looking person.  In the case of this image it's the perception of having a big juicy looking hamburger compared to what it actually looks like when you get it.  Perception vs. reality can go in many different directions, whether it be food, landmarks or people.  It's quite common that the perception always looks or seems better because reality to many is just not good enough and people can't be satisfied with everything. 

When I think more about perception and reality, it makes me think deeper into unsatisfactory standards within people and why exactly this is a problem.  Looking into different peoples perceptions is a visual and mental stimulation because it's not something that is shared with everyone and is almost a mystery. There is a sense of the unknown because what people may see themselves as can differ quite a bit from what reality is.  Looking more into perceptions deeper than just the exterior would be visually different and would dig deeper into the elements of perception vs. reality. 

Picturesque Geography, Flint to Detroit

When I think of time lapses, I often think of images or a video like the one above.  It's also common to see videos where the sky is changing throughout the day, but the foreground stays that same.  This type of art expresses time change, and displays existence and pacing.  These types of works captivate me because it draws me into the work and makes me feel as if I were there.  If I were actually at the scene where the images or videos were being taken, I'd being viewing exactly how my eyes saw it in present time.  This is an aspect that is hard to attain from photographs and sometimes even video.  When time lapse works are created, it allows the viewer to key in on the finer details that wouldn't be as obvious in a fast paced video. 

Considering that the objective of time lapses, focusing upon a slow paced change would be add a new aspect to something that can be more expected and common.  It wouldn't necessarily be as interesting to view a slow moving object in a time lapse, but it would bring fourth a new concept and a different meaning to the objective.  For example, a time lapse of of a snail scooting across a grassy yard.  The grassy yard would remain still, while the snail would become a fast paced object even though the footage could be taken within several hours. Time lapses make me think deeper into reality and how fast each day passes.  There are so many different events that will occur within a day, but they always come as fast as they go.

Food and Color

Food and color is a subject that can be taken in so many different directions.  When I think of food, I immediately relate it to color.  Green foods are typically healthy, blue foods remind me of children and red foods makes me think of spicy. Food can be related to color, because that is an easy way for people to justify one type from another.  The color of foods also attract or detract people from consuming it.  I like the vibrant colors of candy, but wouldn't pick up bread that had green on it.  Considering this idea, I think that it would be interesting to have groups of food items sorted solely by color.  It is interesting to see a large group of foods connected by a factor such as color.  For an artwork, the viewer would be able to pull apart what they like in their mind and could be quite captivating.  Many different types of foods combined with one another by color would also be visually appealing.  There would be many different shades of a certain color all next to each other and could make a very interesting piece. 

I think that making an artwork by using one color scheme per work that is created by foods would be visually beautiful.  Not only are there many different shades, but also a variety of textures that would be next to one another.  People tend to be drawn into bright colors, in which a single piece with bright reds would catch the attention of the viewer.  The texture mixed in with the color would most definitely have many interesting elements.  As far as constructing an actual piece with color and food, I think that a large photograph taken of a set that is created would be very captivating.  A large focused image would pick up on every detail and spec of color.

Perception, Stop Motion and The Circle of Life

Stop motion is a very interesting subject and art form.  When I think of stop motion, I immediately think of claymation and cartoons. I think that the visual elements of stop motion are very interesting and something that has always captivated me.  I like the element of the seamless motions that are created into a moving image. even though it's made up of many individual images.  Stop motion is an art that I've personally never worked with, but have always wanted to.  I think the concept of using tons of images and comprising them into one sole work, is a different technique.  It is a combination of photography and video of a sort that is created into one work, or so it makes me think.  Anything that is in motion, would look interesting if it were created as a stop motion work. There are many different subjects that could be photographed and turned into a stop motion that would be interesting.  The subject could be anything from as simple as getting dressed to a dog running into the water. 

The perception of stop motion is also an interesting idea.  It can be perceived in many different ways, depending on how the artist decides to portray their message.  The circle of life is an interesting topic to key in on because the idea as a whole has to come full circle, which can easily be depicted through stop motion.  I think the subject of stop motion can be taken in many different directions that can lead the viewer to have different thoughts.  Stop motion can tell a story, whether it is obvious or more subtle.  The circle of life is merely a story.  The story of an animal being born or even the sun rising and setting each day.  Stop motion can record each event to the fullest detail and also accurately.  I think that the overall concept of this art form has many options and creates a new visual technique that combines two other mediums.

In Motion: The Dynamic of The Blur

I've always thought that photographs that were blurred were very interesting and captivating.  This is always a technique that I've wanted to try and would still like to.  I think that when the images are blurred, it brings fourth action and a more interesting visual element.  The focus within in an image also becomes stronger because the surroundings are blurred, and there typically is a stationary object that is perfectly focused. I've always enjoyed the blurred images that have cars and their lights on during the night time.  This gives a sense of motion and the speed that the cars are traveling at. It often makes me think that I'm watching the image as a movie or as if it's in front of my face.

I think that it would be interesting to look at motion blur in photography in a different direction.  Even though I personally like the cars, it is very typical to see.  The simplest of things that require movement would be interesting to see because they are things that people don't always think of.  Something as simple as washing your hands or an activity with more movement like jump roping.  Blurred images always look to be moving at such a quick and fast pace, but it would also be interesting to have a blurred in motion image of an object that isn't considered as fast.  I think that the blur in images demonstrate an expression and pace to an image.

Personal Style & Personal Traits: The Reality of Identity

I think that Allie's idea of personal style and personal traits is very interesting and something that I often find myself thinking about.  Sometimes when I'm just sitting in class or just walking around, I look at peoples style of clothes and try to understand them as a person.  I like trying to figure out a persons personality merely by their appearance, which may be slightly judgmental, but I find it interesting. I think that Allie has a wide potential of areas that she can take this project, but really enjoy the idea of having it interactive as a webpage. 

An idea that would be interesting to me for this project would be to look at many different styles and try to depict the personal traits that are connected with such styles.  Also taking a deeper look into personality and more personal traits would be interesting to see how it's linked with style.  The idea of what provokes people to have a certain way of dressing is also something that would be neat to know.  People's identity can often be nearly revealed by personal style, which can tell alot about someone by just appearance.  This can also be the complete opposite as well, in which a person will dress conservatively but their personality is actually outgoing and more on the wild side.  I think it would be interesting if Allie made the webpage interactive for the viewer to be able to reveal different styles amongst different personal traits.  The viewer could almost make the page as if it's a guessing game to try and reveal the identity just by merely looking at the appearance or clothing.

Artists Project 1

Historical-Outside Field

Piazza d'Italia

1913

Paris, France

35.2 x 25 cm 

Giorgio De Chirico

Oil, Canvas

Historical Painting

City, Emptiness

Contemporary-Outside Field

Ouarzazate and abandoned village in Todra Gorge area; Palmerie/Todra abandoned village

8/1/2007

Kasbah Amridil, Skoura, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Barbara Anello

Photograph

Abandoned Village

Historical-Inside Field

Esterel Village

1890-1893

Esterel Village

30cm x 39.9 cm

Edgar Degas

Monotype

Historical

Abandoned Land, deserted

 Contemporary-Inside Field

Two Sides of the Coin

1996

Harlem at 307 141st Street, between Edgecombe Avenue and Frederick Douglass Blvd. New York, NY

Marcel Odenbach

Film, Audio, Video and Digital Art

Contemporary

Abandoned firehouse, Abandoned building

Abandonment: Potential in the Ruins

The subject of abandonment or the term abandon can have a wide variety of meaning and can also stem off into many different areas.  The focus of potential within abandonment is an interesting point because it looks past the physical elements, but further into the outcome or what the outcome could possibly be.  Looking deeper at several different buildings, warehouses and homes will allow me to dig deeper into the subject of potential.  I think it will be interesting to not just solely skim the matter of abandonment, but the elements that are often not thought about. 

There are many objects, people or places that can be abandoned, but it is fascinating to think about why they are the way they are and what they could be.  Within the project itself, I think that it will be most interesting to fine tone in on the smaller details that make up the abandon term as a whole.  Close up shots of small objects, lonely items and pure garbage will provoke a strong meaning.  Ultimately the viewer will hopefully leave with a certain emotion and also begin to think about the term.  Considering the fact that Detroit contains so many abandoned buildings, it should be something that near communities are aware of.  Prevention, awareness and just overall knowledge of the word abandonment will hopefully make a difference. The potential within these lost buildings are high and could be used for many different things such as, shelters, food banks, homes and new companies.