he Iraqi Memorial Exhibition was held on March 4th 2010 in the Sheppard Gallary in the CFA building at UNR. Pieces were made by many artists ranging from concept art to video installations. The exhibition was supposed to honor thos who died in the Iraqi War, especially the civilians and their affected families.
There were three pieces that I thought were successful in the exhibit. "Kiss Me/Kill Me I'm Iraqi" was a project by Linda Hesh created in 2008. It consists of photographs of different people wearing a t-shirt with "Kiss Me I'm Iraqi" on the front and "Kill Me I'm Iraqi" on the back of it. The photographs are of people wearing these shirts and people's reactions to them. Mostly activists and artists participated in this project.
Some of the photographs in the exhibit showed how the Iraqi people who were directly affected. Iraqi Today is a series of photographs that depict the Iraqi people in their most disparing state. One man who lost limps and had to be bedridden was photographed. The photo looked as though he was a lifeless body on a cot.
My favorite piece in the show is the digital collaborations with Nannette Jackowski ad Richard de Ostos. The composition is edgy and the forms are clean and well balanced. It is the hanging cemetary over a city, depicted in futuristic shapes. It was conceptualized between 2004 and 2005. If piece were to be actually constructed in real life, then it would be meaningful as an artform.
I really thought it was a great idea for the exhibition to be a work in progress of memorial pieces for those who died during the Iraqi War. The message in all the works of art conveyed its message tastefully. The digital media works are on hard copy which makes it easier to see. I would have liked it if I could see the pieces that were supposed to be in sculpture or painting in person such as "Lost Tribe" and "War on Terror". If this exhibit were to have these pieces in person, the artists would be honoring the victim of the war tastefully.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Peter Whittenberg Lecture
Peter Whittenberg held an MFA lecture on May 6, 2010 in the Knowledge Center in Room 124.
His works consist of video installations, scultures, and performance pieces. His earlier pieces included works make from stamps and stickers. In 2006 he wanted to make personal life into works of art. He created a spoon that carries a significant meaning, because it reminds him of his wife. He continues this project by using the spoon for the rest of his life. His Brovado Plaques are also continous, because he updates his resume on plaques. The resume represents the professional accomplishment that he made in his career as an artist.
Some other works he mentioned his his lecture were "False Start", everytime he has a bad idea, he acknowleges it and breaks light bulbs and the light bulbs represent bad ideas and "Trace Edition Signature Diary", when he signs his name he documentent it by editioning it. One of his major projects that he mentioned in his lecture is the UNR vs UNLV. It was a challenge for UNR and UNLV BFA candidates and MFA candidates to compete against eachother in a marathon. Whittenberg's preparation for the marathon turned into a video installation performance where he is excercising. The piece is edited with attention to detail and aesthetics in mind. It flashes himself, blurred and jogging in place and shows flashes of him doing different exercises. It was filmed in his studio and subtitles flashed at the corner of the screen such as "Velocity".
Whittenberg's current piece is shown in the Sheppard Gallery in the CFA building. Because he wants to be more involved with the community and the public, he started an interactive performance, or a game called Community Blocks. It is a participatory game that he created. This piece tests how well people can cooperate and rely on eachother to get something accomplish. This project is also philanthropic, because proceeds for playing this game go to the food bank. After playing the game, the exhibit shows off the pieces created by the people who played the game.
From seeing both the exhibit first and then the actual lecture, I finally understand the intentions of Whittenberg's works. I feel like so far he engages the communityeffectively in his work. I also would have liked to have seen his other works in his exhibit that were not shown currently such as the photos of objects on pedestals in public spaces. However, his previous works were more personalized than his current exhibit. Whittenberg is successful as an artist, because he is able to get the public more engaged in his work, and if I were to make far in art, I would want to do the same.
His works consist of video installations, scultures, and performance pieces. His earlier pieces included works make from stamps and stickers. In 2006 he wanted to make personal life into works of art. He created a spoon that carries a significant meaning, because it reminds him of his wife. He continues this project by using the spoon for the rest of his life. His Brovado Plaques are also continous, because he updates his resume on plaques. The resume represents the professional accomplishment that he made in his career as an artist.
Some other works he mentioned his his lecture were "False Start", everytime he has a bad idea, he acknowleges it and breaks light bulbs and the light bulbs represent bad ideas and "Trace Edition Signature Diary", when he signs his name he documentent it by editioning it. One of his major projects that he mentioned in his lecture is the UNR vs UNLV. It was a challenge for UNR and UNLV BFA candidates and MFA candidates to compete against eachother in a marathon. Whittenberg's preparation for the marathon turned into a video installation performance where he is excercising. The piece is edited with attention to detail and aesthetics in mind. It flashes himself, blurred and jogging in place and shows flashes of him doing different exercises. It was filmed in his studio and subtitles flashed at the corner of the screen such as "Velocity".
Whittenberg's current piece is shown in the Sheppard Gallery in the CFA building. Because he wants to be more involved with the community and the public, he started an interactive performance, or a game called Community Blocks. It is a participatory game that he created. This piece tests how well people can cooperate and rely on eachother to get something accomplish. This project is also philanthropic, because proceeds for playing this game go to the food bank. After playing the game, the exhibit shows off the pieces created by the people who played the game.
From seeing both the exhibit first and then the actual lecture, I finally understand the intentions of Whittenberg's works. I feel like so far he engages the communityeffectively in his work. I also would have liked to have seen his other works in his exhibit that were not shown currently such as the photos of objects on pedestals in public spaces. However, his previous works were more personalized than his current exhibit. Whittenberg is successful as an artist, because he is able to get the public more engaged in his work, and if I were to make far in art, I would want to do the same.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Eddo Stern Lecture
Eddo Stern Lecture Critique
The Eddo Stern Lecture was held on April 14 2010 in RGJ Room 2006. His works consist of digital media and game art. He is from Televiv, Israel. He has experience working with sculpture, video, performance and fame design. His main focus in digital art is videogames as an art form. The content of his work varies from cultural, political and dark to comical and ironic.
Stern’s first performance work was the Tekken Torture Tournament which consisted of the hack version of Tekken, reconceptualized. Micro controls sense the life bars in the game and take control over the players’ muscles. This performance featured Tekken champions from Australia who could not even take the pain. Videogames usually are disconnected from the player even when the gamer is completely disengaged in the levels. This tournament proves that gaming experiences can be fully brought to life.
Unlike his Tekken Torture Tournament, Stern’s Waco Resurrection fully programmed and simulated performance installation based on the Waco incident with David Koresh. It consists of one to four players and has headsets that are modeled after Koresh. It also has voice recognition and players can chant “super powers”. The goal of the game is to collect as many followers as possible before the compound burns. More followers increase aura. There is a ten minute countdown before the character dies in the game inevitably. The content in the game mixes history with fantasy. Its intent is to relive the Waco tragedy.
Eddo Stern’s current project is a videogame that is playable for blind and deaf gamers. Like Waco Resurrection, this new installation is based on real life accounts. Gamers are played as Jon Walker Lin. The game has headsets that are designed to accommodate those without sight or hearing, and they are supposed to create a way to trade physical attributes for extra powers. Stern says that one of the biggest challenges to this game is creating heads-up display to fit the needs of blind and deaf videogame players. For this game, he has an audio HUD instead to accommodate blind gamers. Those who have all senses can experience the blind/deaf experience in this game.
Stern also creates sculptures that embed technology and hacked games. Keyboard Castle is one of his works where the mechanical bot plays the hacked version of Everquest in everlasting loops and it randomly talks to those who are engaged in it. The structure of the sculpture is modeled after a castle. Fort Paladin is a hacked version of America’s Army. Like Keyboard Castle, Fort Paladin has a bot that runs on itself and is structured like a medieval castle.
I had a second to ask Stern if he has ever presented any of his games at videogame conventions such as PAX and E3. He answered yes. When I asked him about their reaction, he tells be that he has either been well received or met with scorn by the game designers there.
My reactions to his pieces are unique to any other piece that I have seen in art so far, because I could not fully comprehend the intent of his work. I am both a budding artist and someone who loves to play videogames. As an artist, I found his work to be creative and original, especially his sculptures. From seeing his presentation on his game designs, I am not so much in favor of them. However, as a gamer, I find that his games may not be well received by the gaming world. The idea of creating something for people who are blind or deaf is great. I feel that mainstream game designers can learn from him. I believe that the idea of videogames as art does not sit well with me, unless the game is written well enough to have a tasteful and artistic meaning. I also find that his games that are based completely on tragic events may trivialize what really happened and it may be more received by the digital art world than the gaming world.
The Eddo Stern Lecture was held on April 14 2010 in RGJ Room 2006. His works consist of digital media and game art. He is from Televiv, Israel. He has experience working with sculpture, video, performance and fame design. His main focus in digital art is videogames as an art form. The content of his work varies from cultural, political and dark to comical and ironic.
Stern’s first performance work was the Tekken Torture Tournament which consisted of the hack version of Tekken, reconceptualized. Micro controls sense the life bars in the game and take control over the players’ muscles. This performance featured Tekken champions from Australia who could not even take the pain. Videogames usually are disconnected from the player even when the gamer is completely disengaged in the levels. This tournament proves that gaming experiences can be fully brought to life.
Unlike his Tekken Torture Tournament, Stern’s Waco Resurrection fully programmed and simulated performance installation based on the Waco incident with David Koresh. It consists of one to four players and has headsets that are modeled after Koresh. It also has voice recognition and players can chant “super powers”. The goal of the game is to collect as many followers as possible before the compound burns. More followers increase aura. There is a ten minute countdown before the character dies in the game inevitably. The content in the game mixes history with fantasy. Its intent is to relive the Waco tragedy.
Eddo Stern’s current project is a videogame that is playable for blind and deaf gamers. Like Waco Resurrection, this new installation is based on real life accounts. Gamers are played as Jon Walker Lin. The game has headsets that are designed to accommodate those without sight or hearing, and they are supposed to create a way to trade physical attributes for extra powers. Stern says that one of the biggest challenges to this game is creating heads-up display to fit the needs of blind and deaf videogame players. For this game, he has an audio HUD instead to accommodate blind gamers. Those who have all senses can experience the blind/deaf experience in this game.
Stern also creates sculptures that embed technology and hacked games. Keyboard Castle is one of his works where the mechanical bot plays the hacked version of Everquest in everlasting loops and it randomly talks to those who are engaged in it. The structure of the sculpture is modeled after a castle. Fort Paladin is a hacked version of America’s Army. Like Keyboard Castle, Fort Paladin has a bot that runs on itself and is structured like a medieval castle.
I had a second to ask Stern if he has ever presented any of his games at videogame conventions such as PAX and E3. He answered yes. When I asked him about their reaction, he tells be that he has either been well received or met with scorn by the game designers there.
My reactions to his pieces are unique to any other piece that I have seen in art so far, because I could not fully comprehend the intent of his work. I am both a budding artist and someone who loves to play videogames. As an artist, I found his work to be creative and original, especially his sculptures. From seeing his presentation on his game designs, I am not so much in favor of them. However, as a gamer, I find that his games may not be well received by the gaming world. The idea of creating something for people who are blind or deaf is great. I feel that mainstream game designers can learn from him. I believe that the idea of videogames as art does not sit well with me, unless the game is written well enough to have a tasteful and artistic meaning. I also find that his games that are based completely on tragic events may trivialize what really happened and it may be more received by the digital art world than the gaming world.
Art 245 Written Final
Critique of Artists Lorna Simpson, Martha Rosler and Eisha Liisa-Ahtila
Martha Rosler, Lorna Simpson and Eija Liisa Ahtila are digital media artists who capture the essence of their times with their installations. They are all artists from different parts of the country and from other countries. Their works span through three decades. They use their work to draw attention feminist issues of their respective times.Martha Rosler is a feminist artist who was most active in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.Her work also reflects her home state which is New York. Rosler’s emphasis is on video art, photography and collages.
Martha Rosler, Lorna Simpson and Eija Liisa Ahtila are digital media artists who capture the essence of their times with their installations. They are all artists from different parts of the country and from other countries. Their works span through three decades. They use their work to draw attention feminist issues of their respective times.Martha Rosler is a feminist artist who was most active in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.Her work also reflects her home state which is New York. Rosler’s emphasis is on video art, photography and collages.
Her works were created during a time when women's voices were finally being heard, and yet there were still expectations of them during her time. In "Semiotics of the Kitchen", a video performance piece released in 1977, shows Rosler herself in a role of a housewife in the kitchen. She shows and demonstrates the tools and ingredients of the kitchen such as dishes, spoons, knives and forks. This installation holds demonstrates the various gender roles that women are condition to follow, such as a housewife working in the kitchen. It was expect then for women to hold traditional house roles. The black and white coloring of the installation shows how old fashion the stereotypical roles of women are. Rosler’s work “Semiotics of the Kitchen” is one of her more popular, but rarer pieces, because the documentation of it has deteriorated over time due to the shift of technology. Her installation still captures the essence of her time which questions the stereotypical gender roles that women must face in this society.
Like Rosler, Lorna Simpson's works are also feministic. Simpson not only addresses the gender roles in her videos, but she also addresses race. Born, raised and worked in New York, Simpson’s works reflect where she is from. Simpson’s works consist of photographs, drawing and video installations. In her work "Corridor" , a double projection of two women from two different times in history are demonstrated. They are both women of color with the same concerns. Both women in the two part installation are starting the day. One is a woman of the nineteenth century and the other is of the twentieth century during the 1960's. Both times are key moments in black history. The music for this installation switches back and forth between old jazz and piano music. The blending of these types of music represents the common bond that these two women have. Both women in the piece reflect the same idea. The women in both parts of the installation are alone, with husbands who are either gone out of town, or not in their lives completely. The letter writing that the woman in the 19th Century version part of the installation could have been writing to a husband how is far from her, or just writing about her daily routines in her diary. The woman in the modern portion of the installation could have been talking to her husband who happens to be on a business trip, or she could have made her own riches. Both installations are not clear as of why these women are alone. Simpson could have just simply chosen to portray them as independent, and yet lonely women. The cinematography in the double installation portrays various conflicts that most women like her face, such as a woman who is not dependent on a mate to care for her, and yet both women in the installations lead very lonely lives. The lonely portrayed at the end of both parts of the installation demonstrate how women of color are usually ignored in greater society. Most of Simpson’s works show the conflict between race and gender in society. Her works also play on the history of race relations and gender relations in the United States.
Like Lorna Simpson, Eija Liisa Ahtila's video installations are double paneled, illustrating the contemporary issues that women face in her country. Born in Hammelinna, Finland and living and working in Helsinki, her work reflects the concerns of her culture and nation. Ahtila’s “Consolidation Serivce” is a well documented double panel installation. It is almost as long as a featured film, and some scenes are about a husband and wife who are facing marriage issues in contemporary Finland. The double panel installation is successful for this film, because it both captures the emotional and cultural context of the film. One panel shows the characters’ faces, capturing their true feelings, and in the other panel it shows their actions. Unlike Rosler and Simpson’s works, Ahtila’s installation does not directly address feminist issues. It addresses other concerns in her native Finland such as troubled marriages. Finland like most industrialized nations is known for unsuccessful marriages and low marriage rates. The scene in “Consolidation Service” shows the struggle that a couple has trying to solve their marriage by going to counseling.
Rosler, Simpson and Ahtila clearly have different styles in video art. Rosler’s “Semiotics in the Kitchen” is a single video piece that directly conveys its message. The video art was created in the 1970’s when artists were beginning to experiment more with the camera. She does not use editing, or double panels. In fact, her work is in black and white. It is unclear if her work is not colored because it is an old video piece or if it was Rosler’s intention to convey her message about women’s roles in society during the times that she created this piece. Rosler’s video piece seemed typical of its time, because artists were only recently beginning to use take risks in their works with the newly available technology. Rosler’s piece was typical of the 1970’s, although it is not her the most impactful piece that she created. It still used simplicity to convey its message. Rosler seemed to have drawn influence from cooking shows and other television shows for “Semiotics in the Kitchen”.
Simpson and Ahtila use more technology in their works than Rosler, because the technology to create these pieces is at their disposal. They use the more popular double panel method of videography. The double panel installations are easier to capture the character’s emotional reactions while documenting their physical reactions. It also allows them to show two completely different characters simultaneously, as demonstrated in Simpson’s “Corridors”. The double panel installations are also more aesthetically interesting than the single panel installations, because they look like moving diptychs and paintings. It plays on the classic and the
postmodern.
Sources:
Rebirth by Modern Comics (Art 245 Final)
The final project that I chose to work on is the webcomic, because I have always been interested in creating comic, whether they are web comics or comic books. I chose not to go with a typical storyline for a comicbook, because I find that most comicbook story tend to be unrelatable to today's readers. Instead, I chose to go for something deeper. For this episode (4 panels) will be the beginning of the story starting with one of the main characters named Moss who is a student in a small, post apocalyptic society. He wants to know more about the history of his people, because various wars and conflicts wiped out his culture.
Because this comic is a beta (I'm testing to see if I actually like using mixed media for this), this episode called rebirth is compiled using drawings, photographs and some rendering from photoshop. If I could do anything different for this project, I would go all the way by using all markers, a drawing pad and have a clearer idea of the kind of storyline I want to use for this project. The original story for this comic was going to be set in a futuristic setting with a clean cut setting. Instead, I chose the complete opposite, because I don't want the illustrations to take too much away from the premise of the story.
*Note: Read from bottom up
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Proposal for Final Art Project
The final art project I plan on doing is a webcomic. I plan on doing this project as opposed to others, because I believe that this project will utilize the art skill I already have. I plan on using mixed media along with photographs, animation and possibly even a soundtrack.
For the content of this project, I plan on illustrating a storyline that has a philosophical and political meaning. My intent is to get the viewers to think about the content as well as imagery. To do this, I will use placement of color, composition and appropriate script for this piece. I also plan on posting updates of the webcomics until the final part of the project is complete in its own separate blog along with this one.
For the content of this project, I plan on illustrating a storyline that has a philosophical and political meaning. My intent is to get the viewers to think about the content as well as imagery. To do this, I will use placement of color, composition and appropriate script for this piece. I also plan on posting updates of the webcomics until the final part of the project is complete in its own separate blog along with this one.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Second Life Real- Life Self Portraits
These are self portraits that I've created using two different types of media. I used the portrait on the right to create the effects for the Second Life character.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Life as HUD
For this project I chose one of my favorite hobbies which is playing videogames. I thought it would be more interesting to create an HUD of a person playing a videogame. I found this project to be pretty easy. I chose to darken the background to make the television brighter and I used bright colors for the icons to convey feminity in a very masculine hobby. I think if I can do anything differently, I would turn the lights off before taking the picture to enhance the effect. I think I would also use more than just shapes to create the icon.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Three Phases of Man Animation
Here is the link to the animation version of the photo montage:
Hopefully this link works. If it does not, then I'll have to embed the animation directly onto the website.
There were a few changes I made to the montage before the animation process. I chose to add more images and still keep in mind the original montage. I did this to make the ideas for the animation much smoother. I also chose to use a fading method to illustrate different times in the history (prehistory) of mankind.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Triptych: "Three Phases of Man"
The triptych collage is called "Three Phases of Man". In this project I wanted to show humanity in different states. In the left side of the collage I chose to use volcanoes, sinking buildings and broken statues as the end of humanity. The primates and early humans represent humanity returining to nature. On the right side of the collage shows early man in a more cultured setting.The old architectures shows mankind in the beginning stages. The center triptych shows mankind in its present state, living in advanced technological civilizations. The television set represents mass communication and mastery of technology. I chose to use an ocean setting instead of a plain background because I feel that an ocean setting tells a story. The faded image in the background comes from a movie called "Jarhead". I chose this image because it best captures the intensity of war and best represents the fall of mankind.
Putting together the images to tell a story is the challenging part of this project. It would have been easier if I gathered all the pictures before putting them together in a collage. If I could do anything different for this project, I would sketch out my ideas before putting them together in one cohesive art piece. I would also use brighter colors and more "pop" type images to fit in with the theme of this project. I believe that I could also use more different images in variety. I take this first project as a learning experience and hope to gain from it.
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