SMP Projects

While attending the mid-year SMP projects, Henry Berenstein and Anuli Durulu's work caught my eye.  Henry is an art major with a focus on digital media.  His SMP progression was a trailer for a short film called Gipetto.  The trailer was created by first drawing the characters on paper and then on the computer with a tablet.  The film features many types of animals at a party.  The animals are all asking and trying to figure out who Gipetto is, the problem is that is he so quiet.  The animals each have their own styles and voices  I really enjoyed the trailer, I actually sat watching it for many reels and replays.

With a very different style, I also enjoyed Anuli Durulu's work.  She covered her sectional with a grid like pattern of masks.  Each row was different.  My favorite row was the center one.  This featured pop culture masks, including ones of Mickey Mouse and Lady Gaga.  The bottom row were masks of different plain faces, different ethnicities and skin tones.  The row between the two seemed to feature religiously decorated and outfitted masks.  I really enjoy what she did and find it very appealing.

Over all, I cannot wait to see all of their finished products at the end of the semester, even though that means it is my turn next.  I also enjoyed all of the other work, including the works of Kristen Seymore and Rachel Heiss.  I love going into the gallery and exploring others works.  There were also many astonishing pieces in the studio, specifically I enjoyed the piece about moving water and the photography major one featuring broken glass and a quote on the floor.

Project 3

I'm still working out all the kinks and such in my idea, but my idea is to make a blog about street artists. The blog would include not only just the artists pages, but sightings, controversies, comments, etc.  I chose this topic because I am extremely interested in graffiti and other forms of street art so this blog would hold my attention currently, but also post-course.

These are thoughts I am still working about, but I have found a few links and things I would like my site to have.

Street artists: to name a few popular...
http://www.banksyny.com/
http://www.space-invaders.com/
http://www.obeygiant.com/
http://www.mrbrainwash.com/
http://www.c215.com/

Artist news and input:
http://www.businessinsider.com/graffiti-artist-banksy-coming-to-new-york-city-2013-10
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/arts/design/banksy-makes-new-york-his-gallery-for-a-month.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/20/nyregion/5pointz-a-graffiti-mecca-in-queens-is-wiped-clean-overnight.html


Just merely ideas and research at the moment, since I am notorious for changing my project last minute, since I want to have a topic I am interested in.

Identify Yourself

             This site identifies and describes the relationship between a person and their computer. The main exploration is how we trust out computers to make decisions for us, arguing that they do not have the human features such as compassion that would make the best decisions for us. Although you can personalize your computer in order to let it know what kind of actions and decisions you would like it to take, it still is not able to factor in all elements that another human would be able to do.
             Another problem addressing is the trust we display with the internet. The internet is a scary world in which once you release something into the World Wide Web, rather purposefully or by mistake, it is in its files forever. Yes, you can delete it from the page but it is within the web's archive that are reachable. Social Media is booming and everyone is uploading their bios, pictures, location, plans, and even more information that could be harmful. We are telling anything and anyone everything about our lives, even those we would never tell.
           They touch base of the idea of our quick addiction to technology and the internet. Yes, it has allowed for a world wide spread of information as well as allowing you to communicate with anyone anywhere. This feature assists is academically, in the business world, in our social life, and within many other aspects of life. Sadly, we have taken this privilege too far at moments. We "cannot live" without our technology and social media sources. Taking a cell phone, computer or ipod from anyone would leave them feeling lost and panic driven. This is continually developing our societal view as a need for more, out gimme gimme gimme world.

Identify Yourself site by Krystal South
http://idyrself.com/

Digital Portrait

Complete:

Illustrator Portrait: Emma Watson

Todd R. Forsgren

-A photographer focusing on ecology and environmentalism.

Originally, Forsgren began his college experience in pursuit of a biologist career. At attended Bowdoin College, a small liberal arts school in Maine. Within his senior year, he began to realize his passion was photography, originally of black and white film. With this, he would take time to explore the environment, his other passion, with his camera in hopes of happening upon found intimate gardens, for example his twisting tree photograph.

Forsgren was offered a job with a focus of biology and ecology Australia post graduation. After time at his job, he realized science wasn’t his utmost passion, art was. This discovery resulted in his leave from his job and the start of his backpacking in Australia to begin his career.

Upon returning home to Ohio, he found interest in the Fenway Victory Gardens in Boston, MA. This garden was much different than what he was previously use to, being that his garden was not a park yet just in the middle of a city. Here, he discovered his passion in creating large landscapes within small landscapes.

After Boston, Forsgren had the opportunity to travel to Cuba as an archeological photographer in hopes of discovering more small garden communities. Following this opportunity, he received a grant allowing him to travel to Mongolia. Due to the severely cold climate (negative degreed in February), they have minimal outdoor plant growing. Most of their plants are grown in greenhouses, including cabbage, onions, potatoes, carrots, and upon occasions, cucumbers. Here he had the opportunity to photograph the small amounts of growth available within this climate, which is a different view of plant growth than he has been previously accustomed to. This project was stunted upon his return to Washington DC where he began his new project.

         Due to his interest in field guides, a mix between art and science, he began a new project photographing differing species of birds in the act of being caught up in netting. This series was typographic, in which he held his flash and background constant.

         After quite the cultural experience in photography, Forsgren attended graduate school in the Czech Republic, receiving free education due to his connections. Following this, he moved from typographic work and experimented with wet paint photography, in which he used in his pseudo lunar landscape. Here, his Bowdoin thesis was finally put to use in his use of the effects of digital technology on landscapes. Here, he used the text of his thesis as a component in his work, forming it to an image y making it visually similar to that of old camera noise and joined with a clouded sky using lo-fi. He also created an animation replicating macular degeneration and cataracts.

         Currently, as a visiting professor here at St.Mary’s College of Maryland Forsgren teaches photography to liberal arts students. In his stare time, he attempts to continue with his quirky riddle photography, such as Pacman Orange. He also is working on his collection, Unusual Weight, depicting images such as Styrofoam trash and Styrofoam rocks. Forsgren carries his camera everywhere in hopes to find time to explore the county and discover its treasure so he can share them to the world through his photographed interpretations.

Tony Robbin

Tony Robbin

Robbin is an American artist and author born in November of 1943.  He specializes in sculpture, paintings, and digital art. Robbin is also a part of the artists in the Pattern and Decoration (P&D) art movement. That is a movement in the mid-1970s to early 1980s involving the focus in minor forms, patterning, in art. His work shows true exampled of such activism in the movement.

Quasicrystal geometry in architecture is an idea that he discovered.  That is, an object that is ordered but not periodic. These patterns fill the entirety of space and can have only two, three, four, and six-fold rotational symmetries. This imaging is similar to those of a kaleidoscope pattern, with many differently oriented mandala-like objects with countless differing shapes and colors.

His digital art uses the fourth dimension, common among cubists, surrealists, and many other abstract artists. Robbin wrote multiple books; among these is his Shadows of Reality,The Fourth Dimension in Relativity, Cubism, and Modern Thought. He has used this technique since 1981, using Quasicrystal geometry and the fourth dimension.

http://tonyrobbin.net/

http://tonyrobbin.net/work.htm

https://blackboard.smcm.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-94089-dt-content-rid-444320_1/courses/13FA-ART214.01/13FA-ART214.01_ImportedContent_20130826114536/Art%2C%20Code%2C%20and%20the%20Engine%20of%20Change_1.pdf

Logo Remix Design- Twitter

Illustrated Portrait

Portraits

Music Portrayal

Line Art

Helen's Fantasy

Helen Huang

Helen currently lives in Los Angeles, but priorly was born and raised in China. Having this heritage helps her to apply different ideas and views to her pieces. She established a pseudonym of CQcat. although art has always been a factor on Helen's life, pursuing a career in art or as a designer in China was seen as an unfulfilling job. This lead Helen to graduate college with a degree in law. Post graduation, Helen received her visa and moved to the Unites States and graduated grad school with a degree in Advertising. This landed her with an office job in which she did not find challenging enough. She began to experience with a program called Flash in her spare time, which in turn resulted in her new job and a digital artist.

Helen is a digital artist with an expert knowledge in Adobe Illustrator. In her works, her use of Adobe Illustrator is inherently clear. Her main focus is on digital fantasy, fashion, and editorials. She starts by sketching on paper, scans her work, and transforms it on Illustrator to create her ideal image. This allows for her to create her lines digitally after establishing what form she wanted them to take through hand drawing.

Most of her images are fantasy female characters created from vector images. Her female focus stems from her past admiration with fashion. Her passion for fashion is prevalent in her work displaying many different styles. Her use of color expands her work because each piece contains a very attractive color scheme. All pieces flow together greatly due to her use of color, mainly pastels or somewhat vibrant colors.

Fun fact, Helen Huang's favorite Illustrator tool is the pen tool.

http://www.helen-huang.com/
http://vector.tutsplus.com/articles/interviews/interview-with-helen-huang/

TutPlus- Top Digital Artists in Asia

Pascal Dombis uses algorithms in order to produce digital art with repetitions. Living in Paris and getting his education at Insa University in Lyon, he began to start his method of art here. Note the fact that his original algorithms are simple, nothing beyond the complexity of the average mind, but when put into his art work become complex and unpredictable.


http://dombis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/01_Spamscape2925.jpg


http://www.drawingcenter.org/viewingprogram/artUploads/4072/med_2123B9DC-C10E-211A-83A7A503D7FA8A01.jpg

Pascal then uses his knowledge of digital design in order to enhance or effect the piece in a way that becomes most pleasing to him. This method has allowed him to create specific rule of procedure to follow within his work.


Dombis works all over the world and has been to numerous showings. He also participates in collaborations and assists with scan proliferations.

A Digital Twist

Paris Street Art with Digital Twist

Incorporating digital design along with street art- combining artists with average objects

Corgies

color editing

Husky pups

color adjustments

scan me

Pup vs the world

TECHNOLOGY DAILY DOSE
7:05- turn off alarm
7:10- check weather and email
7:56- check time
9:47- check time, text, and email
10:00- use word document and internet on laptop
10:33- text and email
12:01- text
12:34- use internet on laptop
2:55- turn off alarm
3:26- check time, email, and text
5:59- text
6:01- text
6:06- use internet on laptop
6:07- text
7:07- watch television
8:48- talk on phone
9:34- call
9:42- text
9:52- text
11:00 and on- work on computer
12:13- check weather

Experimental Scans

 

1. Inviting light to sparking crepe paper
       2. The appearance of purple lights
               3. Tissue, pink
                      4. Plastic light
                              5. Iron-on
                                     6. Miscellaneous
                                           7. Sparkle
                                     8. Barred Broom
                               9. Arts & Crafts
                       10. Mirrored Mirror
                11. Reflection
       12. Orange
13. Ivy

 I really enjoyed experimenting with what presence of light I used: top open, top closed, and quick open and close.

Work in progress

Beauty and Culture

Nancy Burson, Beauty Composites: 

Nancy Burson investigated the theory that specific facial characteristics make a woman more beautiful to the public. With the use of computer-generated composite photography, she was about to transform multiple female celebrities into a single image of a woman, as created in her piece Beauty Composites. Upon her creation in 1982, Burson blended images of Bette Davis, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren in her first composite. The second composite displays the transformation of Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Jacqueline Bisset, and Brooke Shields.This creation displays how simple characteristics make one person appear more attractive than another. (http://nancyburson.com/pages/fineart_pages/earlycomps.html) 

Burson's pieces makes a statement;  Beauty Composites "addresses notions of beauty as defined by society and culture." Through images in magazines, online blogs, and celebrities we have created the "ideal woman" in the eyes of public. Teenagers buy make up while adults get plastic surgery trying to strive towards the social and cultural idea of the perfect woman. Even children have the same dream, thank you Matel for the creation of the Barbie. The body mass index (BMI) of Barbie is exactly the same as the BMI for a person with severe anorexia. Physically, Barbie would not be able to function, yet this is what society is making us think we should look like. Burson's creation brings to light the same focus that Barbie does, society and culture have manipulated the public into creating an ideal woman that is not physically possible. 

By choosing to morph such popular and beautiful women, Burson has made her statement. I believe her choice in celebrities is strong since these women were known in their time is beauty icons and leaders. Showing that they alone are not the ideal forces us to see her theory and helps the audience to see how society and culture has manipulated our idea of the perfect woman. Her presentation and idea is displayed strongly through her image and her point is easily understood.


Resources:
-http://nancyburson.com/pages/fineart_pages/earlycomps.html
-https://blackboard.smcm.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-94085-dt-content-rid-444332_1/courses/13FA-ART214.01/13FA-ART214.01_ImportedContent_20130826114536/ChristianePaul.pdf
-http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20055694-10391704.html