Self Portrait
To portray oneself through abstraction is to give a little bit of who are without revealing all of yourself. I subtracted all original color and chose colors that are not usually what people would see if they were standing face to face with me. It was a cloudy day, windy, and a nice walk; something that I did when things were not so hectic. I was attracted to the original picture simply because it was a peaceful time and I am looking forward to getting familiar with that aspect of my life again. Not to show other previous events that I have experienced was alright with me so instead I plainly expose a single event that I remember clearly like it was yesterday. I am fond of those memories.
Not I
SAMUEL BREKETT’S, NOT I
*Denotative: In a small dark room, a screen portrays a close up of a woman’s mouth. Bursts of the whiteness of her teeth against her dark lips and black background portray a pure contrast within the subject. Leaving all other facial characteristics to the viewer’s imagination, the focal point is an important one; a communicative tool.
*Connotative: The woman’s fast-moving mouth expresses “her inability to emerge as a fully functioning person” and it is obvious as you cannot tell what she is saying in the monologue. The black and white view gives a second contrast to the flow of her words and lost translation of her feelings. She is struggling to convey any sense as the viewer sits helplessly, perhaps uncomfortably and with an eerie feeling, to watch on the outside and struggle to listen.
In Samuel Brekett’s piece, Not I, there was an immediate cropping of the subject’s facial features, except the main focus of the mouth. The woman’s lips and teeth were used to animate words and phrases. Flashes of her bright teeth against dark lips were vibrant in the darkened room on a small screen and no identity or reference of who the woman was, was actually revealed. She became a third person as she spoke words and phrases, some fragmented and mostly about experiences. There is no understanding of what experiences exactly due to the jumbled and panicked undertone in her voice. As the film continues, a rise of chaos threatens the already exasperated tone of voice. Almost like poetry. Exactly like poetry. When I closed my eyes and sat to listen, there was a psychotic person almost speaking through this woman, an inner struggling soul, trying to convey her own meaning in the world to others. The concentration of her mouth hurts your eyes; you have to squint as her mouth opens and closes, as her phrases unleash themselves uncontrollably. It seems an intention is made to notice and relate to how difficult it is when experiences have built up inside but there are not always ways to release emotion until the breaking point. An overwhelming sense to try and affirm what is being said, the outbursts, “SHE!” emphasizes this woman’s struggle of identity. The world has no idea how it has impacted her and the constant play of nonstop words shuts out the viewer to make no comment, no interruptions. The monologue gives an uncomfortable feeling when the realization is these are personal things she is saying but seems not to care who hears. No way is there an approach to comfort her as she expresses disconnect with the world.
I thought the woman’s voice sounded vaguely familiar, like Katherine Hepburn’s. Kind of raspy and sophisticated, her voice was mimicking her thought process; ongoing, never ending, a run -on. Without knowing who exactly this woman is, there is something in her voice that suggests disconnect with herself. Who she is we don’t know because she doesn’t even know who she is. She does not seem to want to do anything but project possession of her feelings and how does anyone ever know how to explain their emotions in a way that people would care about except to explode. The explosion only increases the heartbeat and consciousness to find a way to make sense of why this woman is so distraught. However, there is a correlation that once someone who is listening has felt this way inside but never was able to share it. The irritation that sets in when struggling to find how you belong, or how you, too, are in the same place as she is. There is no restraint on what is being said in the monologue which I found to be a perfect fit because, without editing, a woman is sharing her deepest feelings with lost translation and to whom? She did not plan any words or phrases and shows perhaps that maybe we as individuals edit much of what we say instead of just letting it all out in time of need without hesitation. The lack of reliable and trustworthy resources may be the cause of such hindrance and therefore, anyone can be a cause or an effect. She, whoever, she is, has become consumed by her emotions and thoughts within, a passionately obsessed and controlled individual.
what are the major themes in digital art and why?
Digital art has multiple themes that have been controversial among the public with its resourcefulness that technology has to offer. Using technology for digital art purposes creates the notion that technology is able to expand a theme and have many interpretations in order to understand not only the theme but also why those specific themes are associated with digital art. The themes of digital art are: (1) artificial life and intelligence, (2) telepresence and telerobotics, (3) database aesthetics, (4) mapping and data visualization, (5) (net) activism and tactical media, (6) gaming and narrative hypermedia environments, (7) mobile and locative media, (8)social networks, (9) virtual worlds, and (10) body and identity. The basis of the major themes of digital art is communication for humanity. How each of these themes represent a set of information that is used to explore depths of virtual reality that can further the evolution of technological creation and eventually become another virtual world that we as humans are able to experience.
artificial life is under constant question due to the ability to create forms that represent reality versus fantasy and being able to express that idea with digital information; making the idea of artificial life a definite digital art characteristic. Whether or not the new exploration of virtual forms blurs the distinguishment of human from a machine. Blurring the line between these two subjects make human and machine become one subject and one identity. Challenging our human thoughts to exceed the boundaries of what is real and what is only our imagination seems to be a theme that requires our imagination to wander whether or not this human and machine can in reality become true.
telepresence/telerobotics are tools that enable the human mind and body to communicate with the natural and virtual world over a distance. The issue of privacy and invasion of being able to sight a location any time of day is giving leeway to the virtual becoming our natural world. It seems the virtual is the nature and the natural is the virtual. When do we experience the natural and when do we experience the virtual?
database aesthetics/mapping/data visualization have taken a physical subject and transformed it into a digitized format. It has become a constant and growing representation of information that we can have at our fingertips and the keyboard. Using technology to fully store all kinds of different subject matters onto a screen, the physical presence of such subjects become a distant visualization, an experience through virtual onlooking. The can be useful to communicate multiple ideas while the ideas are reconstructed and represented.
body/identity questions the way humans present themselves in both a physical and virtual way. This theme signifies our own unique characteristics as individuals and how our virtual selves may be parallel to our physical selves, or we use digital mediums to represent ourselves in a way that we are unable to reach through everyday reality. How do you represent yourself in your physical surroundings and through digital art? The relation between physical presence and virtual experience collide as we are able to experience both and expand our ability to benefit from either account.
narrative
I really like how birds flock together in unity. Using color to emphasize my subject, I will present birds in flight.
100 images
Patterns in Nature
Nature is surely vast and full of beautiful details we are not always aware of. Up close and personal contact with nature can be extraordinary and expand our views on how amazing a simple design in nature really is. The color relationship between different natural objects, the way they are presented as an individual object and cohesively coordinate with their fellow nature is aw inspiring. To me, it shows the characteristics of the natural, how much it owns its unique appearance.
http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/cadyhuerta
ad
An ad should deliver a message directly; to the point so the viewer can receive it immediately. To have the message understood within a brief amount of time with the audience remembering what the message was about is important.
*line: strong diagonal line across the composition; vertical line outstretched from top to bottom.
*color: black and white keep this fashion ad basic and classic even though the style may be out of date.
*texture: smooth silhouette of form; woman and clothing stand out against the background, which has various tints and shades of white.
*repetition: the shape of the leaves on the front of the woman’s dress are repeated in the hat she is wearing and her right hand has a similar shape.
*movement: the diagonal lines of the woman’s arms and hand, her torso and head are prominent in the composition and lead your eye around the ad.
*balance: the amount of white and amount of black in this ad are balanced to make a cohesive whole. White is repeated in the leaves of her dress while her face and background help balance out her black clothing and accessories.
*variety: there is a clear variety of black and white
cup ol’ coffee (14 day project)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47361510@N03/sets/72157623379099827/
I wanted to depict time as picking and choosing a coffee cup per day. Yes, coffee is indeed a usual and casual thing apart of my everyday so by changing each cup’s saturation and hue, they represent different choices made.
“Here”
“Here”
I thought of space as more abstract than in a literal sense. Keeping the Gestalt principles in mind, I wanted to capture space as experience and memory. Physically there is space around us, but how we experience our surroundings and with whom make our surroundings our own space. Fond memories are the ones that are always with us even though time distances us from when we experience them. The bubble of experiences and memories that we create in our own world extends as we adapt to the outside world around us, making our space personal yet general.
