ten!
I have decided to change my idea for my final project. It is still the same concept of nature vs. technology, I have just taken on a new way of displaying it. I have decided to make this in a sort-of poster design way. first, I found an outline of a dead, leafless tree:
Using this tree, I have placed it on a black background and made the tree all white. Using black font I have placed numerous technology that is used daily: cell phone, interenet, facebook, cameras, etc. Using different fonts these words overtake the tree, just as technology is overtaking or covering up our view of nature.
nine!
For my final project I wish to focus on the theme of Nature vs. Technology. In America today where people are so concerned with what is new and trendy in fashion or what the latest model sports car looks like. Few stop to take time to appreciate the natural beauty to world provides for free. We use possessions as status symbols, not as living things we need to survive. The world would be a much less discriminatory place if technology were not as prevalent as it has become. Nature is beauty in the eye of the beholder; everyone perceives different aspects of nature as beautiful.Using Photoshop and Illustrator, I wish to show this aspect by using a tree. The tree trunk will not change, and the beautiful markings of the trunk will be visible. as the tree reaches the branches and leave, bits of digital lighting will be substituted for what was once natural and beautiful.
I have yet to find a tree that I feel has the proper markings, but i have collected various light sources that i will crop and insert into the tree, here are a few:
eight!
I was very impressed with the Undergraduate Exhibit. The show was perfectly set up and organized and gave room to walk around and truly see each art piece. I was very impressed with the amount of talent in the show as well. There were all sorts of works from paintings to installations and they all were unique in their own way. This show proves how successful Ohio University’s art program is!
The first piece that i really was interested in was a letter-press print by Caroline Welp titled “You Have the Internet”
I like this piece because it explains a lot about society today. Our generation almost revolves around the internet and it’s sources. The piece states; “Why read books when we have the internet”, “Why have friends when e have the internet”, “Why go outside when we have the internet”. Although these statements are not what everyone believes, but in retrospect we glorify the internet so much that it seems as if we consider reading, friends, outdoors, etc, to be less important. I like that this piece is a print because it was obviously digitally made which relates to the portrayal of the internet. The colors are used very well, such as using green for the last one when it mentions the outdoors. The placement of the three panels is very successful as well. It is read from left to right and gives a clear point, whereas if it was positioned vertically I feel it would be less successful.
The second piece I found interest in was a oil on canvas work by Kelly Baldwin titled “Michael”
I think this piece is outstanding. It almost looks as if it were a photograph. The blending of the oil is very successful and clearly shows where the light soure is coming from and gives the subject nice highlights. What really impressed me was his hair and how it is so detailed that it looks volumous and very realistic by the use of various shades of brown. Same goes for the facial features and even the smallest of facial hair is carefully done. I think that the size of this piece is perfect because it is quite large and from far away or up close the details are visible. The use of neutral colors works very well with this piece because with the subjects facial expression it gives off a strange yet interesting vibe yet the cool colors help to make it a relaxed piece.
The third pieced i was interested in was another oil on canvas piece by Katelyn Renner titled “Molly”
This is an enormous piece which is what I like most about it. The use of oil and how it almost looks like its melting is very intriguing and also sets the emotion for the piece. In a way it’s kind of horrifying due to her facial expression and the use of dark colors for the back ground which gives it a sense of mystery. The highlights and shadows of the piece are very affective and also helps with the emotion. Although the oil is a big smudged, the artisst did a great job in still highlighing the details which makes it seem realistic.
seven!
Born in 1957 and residing in New York City ever since, Tony Oursler has graduated on of the West Coast at the California Institute for the Arts. Tony Oursler is known for blurring the boundaries between the organic and the artificial in his sculptures and installations. He is known as one of the first video artists and has been experimenting with and developing video art since the 70s. Tony Oursler animates non-living objects with the use of projectors. He often uses facial features, some distorted, in his projections. As Ourseler says, “In my use of narrative techniques, I always wanted to get my spectator entrapped, build up a certain structure with which one could play, and build on. However, as is the case with my ‘actors’, also my narrative does incessantly get destroyed. The longer I study narrative structures, the stronger is my conviction that no such thing exists. Whatever we could name a ‘narrative’ is, essentially, no structure, rather a mental or physical disposition of theviewer/reader.”
five!
Trisolini Gallery Visit
This piece I was very interested in. from far away it seems to show 6 pictures of different people, but as you move closer you realize that each person is made up of different features from other people. I think it is interesting how these characteristics do not fit the person at all, yet it looks completely normal at a glance. combining a different person within each person show’s a sense of uniqueness that everyone can relate to. I think that the placement and order that these photos were presented work very well and looks very organized. I like that it is only a head shot of each person because it forces the viewer to focus on just the face and its features. The choice of a white background and black frame also works very well for the peice because it gives the surrounding a sense of simplicity which also forces the viewer to focus on the faces and what is included in each picture.
This piece I was not so interested in. I appreciate that it is a large piece and can be placed in the middle of a room like so, but the concept of the piece seems very dull. Maybe it is because I do not know the reason behind making it, but to me it just looks like a cluster of red pipes that were not arranged in a certain way. I almost wish that there were more than one of the pipes hanging above so the top of the piece does not look so bare. I also wish that there were more bends in each of the pipes. Although I do not particularly like the piece, I do like that the artist chose to make the pipes red. It creates a contrast with the wood floor and looks very vibrant witch draws attention to the piece.
four!
The first part of my stop motion movie introduces my two main characters, or main turtles:
These two turtles live across the room on different desks:
They are hoping to be reunited, but I haven’t gotten to that part of the story. I would put the video up here, but it wouldn’t work. 
three!
Robert Peppers
Blue Trane, 2010
Mixed media (black sand, tempered glass, seashells, acrylics)
While at the Kennedy Museum, this particular piece stuck out to me. I like that it is a very large piece and the viewer is able to get close to it to observe the details. The surface of the piece has various textures, which gives an intriguing appearance from up close as well as far away. The use of black against the light blue creates an intense contrast, especially because the black is flat against the shimmery blue. The shape of the piece as well as the use of lines leads a path for the viewer’s eye. From far away, the seashells just look like a cluster of shimmery colors but as the viewer gets closer the various shapes and colors of the shells are revealed. This piece is fun to look at because its abstract and the style and the colors creates a beautiful look. I also loved the fact that this piece was created by an Ohio University faculty member. It goes to show the talent that OU arts program has to offer!
two!
For my Map/Inhabitance/Occupy project, I wanted my composition to express my connection to music (Owl City specifically). I use music as an escape from reality, to get away from the stress of the real world and forming my own reality. This is the concept I used in my project.
I began by sketching a portion of what i wanted to include in my work. I wanted to incorperate an owl to represent Owl City, but also something that can be mobile, such as a hot air balloon:
Then I needed a concept to symbolize the feeling of escaping reality, which i used a picture of earth:
Along the concept of creating my own reality from music, I pulled up pictures of beautiful skies that included lots of color to have a very surreal and magical look:
Using photoshop, I combined these two photo’s to make it seem as if there was a whole new world above our actual world:
I ended up not being satisfied with this, realizing I did not have much room to incorperate the owl and tree into the picture. I was also considering changing the sky picture as well, and came across a better, more colorful picture:
Combining the new sky and original photo of the world, I was much more pleased with my background and had more room to add more. I then tried to work with photoshop to color and cut out the sketch of the hot air balloon, but it was very unsuccessful. I realized I had to find images with clearer, more defined lines. I started by finding a photo of a tree that would eventually be placed to look as if it were coming out of earth:
I then, fortunately, found a better angle of the photo i sketched the hot air ballooon from:
I cut out the tree and the owl, and placed them on my background to look as if the tree was coming out of the earth and as if the owl was sitting on a branch of the tree. I decided to leave the tree white because it may also give off the impression of a lightning bolt, which is able to symbolize the stress and disasters that occur in the real world.
one!
My Art Work
Portrait of a close friend for Art 116 final. Made with charcoal pencil
Random sketchbook drawing
Hollow diamond form made out of pennies for an Art 113 project
- Jonna Pohjalainen
I love art that involves nature. Nature is already beautiful as it is, but making a creative effect makes it even more intriguing.
- Sayaka Kajita Ganz
Sculptures made from everyday objects interests me. It takes a lot of creativity to grab kitchen utensils and wire and create a horse. Also using a lot of different objects gives the viewer the opportunity to examine all of the objects put into the work. It’s like everytime you look you find something new!
- Ansel Adams
Along with using nature to make art, nature can easily be made into art on its own. I love the effect that the sun or weather patterns creates on subjects and the intense details and textures of nature.
- Tang Yau Hoong
As I hope to become a graphic designer, grapics have always been a favorite art form of mine. I love how clean everything looks and with a computer you are able to access endless creative possibilities when it comes to art.
- Banksy
- Street art has always interested me because it is available for everyone to see and experience, rather than having to take a trip to an art museum. Also, Banksy in specific includes a lot of hidden meaning and themes to his street art. But whether it be good or bad, it is able to the viewers.
I Not So Much Enjoy…
Emil Alzamora
I appreciate this art work, but I don’t necessarily enjoy it. Yes, it is very creative and well sculpted, but I creeps me out in a way. I would rather look at art that I find to be beautiful and intriguing, instead of a highly distorted sculpture of a human.
Van Gogh
Van Gogh was definitely a big influnce in art and i appreciate him for that, but some of his works strike me as boring. For example, this painting is just an ordinary still life with not much going on. I also am not a fan of his style of painting because it is very spotty and almost looks like the colors are blended together and does not have a good sense of lines.
Pravin Gandhi
The Renaissance period is probably my least favorite stage of art. Very dull colors are used and many of the works include numerous people and it gives off a clustered look. I find it to be a bit boring and unpleasing.
I am not a fan of people sculptures. They all seem to look the same to me, and unless I know who exactly the person being portrayed is, it means very little to me. Although the basic act of sculpting a person is something I could never do, so i do have a lot of respect for the artists.
Georges Braque
Along with the Renaissance period, I am also not a fan of Cubism. Distortion is okay and does appeal to me in some cases, but the way the whole image is very geometric and not smooth draws me away from it.
