Alec and Shimpei continued

Alec shared q a little bit about his experience as a working artist. He has done an internship with a video game company during the summer. It is cool to learn how students here can go into one field (he's illustration) but learn so many other skills for other art careers at the same time. It seems like he could do a lot of other different things. Its all about marketing yourself.

Shimpei's photographs were very natural moments that occur everyday. I liked being able to see how he placed the photos on the wall but wished I could have seen the actual show. I was thinking of doing photographs for my final project, but I would want to do posed, fantasy photos. I thought it would be fun to mix ordinary events and people with very ordinary settings. The contrast would be perplexing.

More SU art students

Alec Acevedo and Shimpei visited today to talk about their art work and future career plans. Alec's work was really interesting and I especially liked his sand animation video "Phoenix Tears." The images he created with sand were so powerful and detailed.

Shimpeishirafuji.com
moonfoxart.com

My soundtrack is composed of four songs. "Chasing the Daylight" and "Running so Long" by Phillip LaRue and "Lord I don't Know" and "I am Free" by the Newsboys. I included scenes from my daily life, but decided to focus more on a specific experience of my Freshmen year. This clip traces my little, and I mean very little track career this past year. I spent most of the year being injured, but through this experience I learned a lot about faith, perseverance, friendships and life. I am a believer that everything happens for a reason, and though things are still a little fuzzy, I'm sure that in the end I gained much more than I lost.

SU Art Students

These two upperclass art students visited our time arts class to present their artwork and give us insight about the majors at SU. The industrial design student showed us her design book of past projects she has worked on. The format was very professional and after hearing her talk more about her major I almost was considering switching. After all, when I was searching for colleges two years ago, I was first drawn to Syracuse because I liked their industrial design program.

My fickleness soon abated though when Varvara presented. I love all her 2D designs and paintings. It made me remember again why I want to be a surface pattern designer. Her work is great, but what inspires me the most is the process she uses to create art. It seems to be a daily never ending part of her life. She takes things she did in one class and uses it later for s0mething else. She also takes classes where she knows she will be able to make the kinds of things she is interested in. She mentioned a few classes that I am really interested in taking in the future. She also said something that I can really relate to. She said how she makes her art to be pretty, not philosophical. I've always treated my artwork like this. My goal in creating something is that someone else would like it enough to display in their home. I create things for aesthetic reasons, because I like the way they look. Its nice to finally hear someone else who agrees with this method.

My graffiti is an anti-coffee message. On campuses, students drink coffee in an addictive matter. They use it to keep on top of classes and schoolwork. Though it is normally seen as harmless, my artwork is commenting on the bad crash-and-burn effects of coffee. In some ways, coffee can be just as bad as other drugs or alcohol. I hate the way I feel after drinking too much coffee. My brain is spinning and my hands shake and get jittery.

I posted one of the images on the cappuccino machine in Haven hall to juxtapose the dangers of coffee with its presumed harmlessness and accessibility. I sat on the bench near the mailboxes and watched students pass the graffiti as they walked in and out of the building. Some glanced at it while others didn’t even notice. I don’t think most people cared, or if they did, they didn’t want to show it. One girl gave a funny look when she saw the poster. I think she may have wanted to use the machine but changed her mind after seeing the weird image. I stayed for an hour and then went to class. When I came back two hours later, the poster was gone. I figure one of the RA’s or the building adviser took it down. The building adviser’s office is right next to the machine.

Watertower Graffiti

Yay for the self timer camera!


A quick running break :)

“Style Wars” a 1983 film/documentary gives a view into the world of NYC graffiti and the hip-hop subculture that surrounds it. “Bombing” as they call it, is a when a graffiti artists tags something with his name. Usually they bomb trains, subways, or city walls. This enrages city official and citizens who claim it trashes the city and gives “a bad impression of New York.” Those who support graffiti say it is just art. They’re not hurting anyone. Though the film shows both sides of the argument, it seems to give harsh depictions of the authorities. The mayor particularly, is highlighted as a conceited, heartless bigot.

After watching the movie, my opinion of graffiti hasn’t necessarily changed. I have a really hard time respecting the art of graffiti artists due to the method of their art. It’s not so much the fact that what they are doing is illegal, but simply because they are altering someone else’s property without permission. Its like stealing-taking something that is not yours- they are changing something that isn’t their to change. I will admit that I am in awe of some of the huge masterpieces that adorn city buildings and subways, but I just can’t condone the process.

Though the movie didn’t effect my overall stance on graffiti, I was surprised to learn a few things about the culture. For one, I didn’t realize how much bombing meant to taggers. These guys are looking for a way to spread their name as far and big as they can. They want other taggers to admire their work and say, “That guy is the king of bombing.” When it comes down to it, graffiti art is a real pride thing. They are also extremely dedicated artists. I was surprised to learn how serious some of the artists are, planning large murals far in advanced. It’s not just some act of vandalism for them, but a real lifestyle. One man describes the deserted subway tunnels as his “dungeon under the city.” For him graffiti is an emotional release and a double life creative outlet. Graffiti art is foreign and interesting to me. It represents a culture that I don’t necessarily understand. When I look at a piece I wonder about the artist. What the artwork means to them, and I imagine how they had to sneek around to do it. From the movie, I have learned how special this art is for a select group of people, but I myself would never want to participate it that kind of art. These guys aren’t making a political stance or statement. They’re just disrupting the city through art.

This American Life

The radio station, This American Life, had a really great Fathers Day special. It included touching stories about father children relationships with the focus on how fathers try to protect their children but how children also try to protect their fathers. The first story tells the tale of a father who jumps through numerous hoops to recover a lost bear for his son. The father wants so badly to help his son track down this lost teddy. The son had had the bear during a serious time of illness which put added sentimental value on the Teddy Bear. I think that in a way finding the bear may have meant even more to the father than it did to the son.

The second story shows the opposite side of this type of protection, where the son is looking out for his father. A son tries to help his father with Alzheimer’s by taking him on a road trip from Florida to New York City. He documents the trip through film and along the way he asks his father to remember things about friends, family, and different places. This story is powerful because it describes something that is very emotional and real to a lot of people. In many families, there comes a point when the roles flip. The parents grow older and need their children to care for them. Eventually everything comes full circle. I really believe that family is extremely important. They are a permanent support system that I can turn to no matter what.

The last story on the radio described a father who led his daughter to believe that mythical little creatures lived in their home. At first it was just a fun little game, but soon the father had created a complex tale. The father continued to deceive his daughter so that she wouldn’t be disappointed. It is hard being a parent. This father wanted to protect his daughter from the truth but he also wanted to protect her from the disappointment that was sure to result once she learned the truth.

When listening to this radio program, I picked up on certain things that made this program successful. It was only an audio presentation yet I was still able to understand everything that was going on. By having the music fade in and out, I was able to tell when the speaker was changing to some one recorded at a different time. Voice inflection and music choice was key to setting the tone of the program.

Visiting Artist Lecture: Faythe Levine

Faythe Levine is an artist who cherishes all things handmade. She works in a various assortment of media but her biggest and most recent project has been the creation of her film “Handmade Nation.” The film is a tribute to the indy craft movement, what some say is a revolt to consumerism and production. For the film, she interviewed 80 different artists in 15 different cities. She traveled to craft shows across the nation and found artists and businesses that create and sell handmade objects.

The film includes a variety of artists, from Nikki Mclure, the bookbinding specialist who also makes original art pieces from cut paper silhouettes, to Jenny Hart, the edgy owner of “Sublime Stitching” who has transformed the traditional practice of embroidery into a provocative art form. She visited some businesses that sell the artwork of multiple local artists. The artists in her film admit that their work takes time and patience to make, but it is part of the charm. Her film describes how in recent years this appreciation for handmade crafts has gained support as craft fairs like Renegade draw in the public and show how fun crafts can be. What is really interesting is how the commercial industry has tried to harness this fascination by creating things that look “Do It Yourself” or handmade. Some are worried that capitalism could try to swallow it up, much like the way big companies overtook the organic movement.

Aside from the story of her film, Faythe’s own story is also quite compelling. She is an artist and an entrepreneur. She never went to college and took a huge risk with her movie. She calls the expenses of her movie “what would have been my college debt.” She wasn’t able to hire a camera crew or a lighting set, but did everything herself. She set up a blog to document the progression of the movie. She networks and gains support through blogs, twitter, and Facebook. Currently her “Handmade Nation” Facebook page has 7116 fans.

At her presentation to Syracuse University, she gave some tidbits of advice to fellow artists. She said to always document one’s work through photography or blogging. What may not seem important at the time may be important later on. She also stressed the importance of keeping one’s personal life a part of their work. It may sound contrary to typical advice, but as an artist, it is the only way to create genuine artwork. I really appreciate this advice, especially since I sometimes find that the multiple activities in my life conflict with my life as an artist. It really is important to maintain balance in all things.

Student Artwork at Syracuse University

At display in the Shaffer art building are large scale mixed media pieces done by graduate student Daina Mattis. Her artwork features life-size images of people interacting in various ways. I like how she chooses to fill in some parts with detailed painting, but allows other parts to remain as just sketch lines. By painting some things with greater detail, she points the viewer to what she wants them to see in her scenes. She puts a lot of detail in the facial features. Daina's pieces are uniquely constructed out of large sections of paper piled together. It makes for a really cool effect and I feel like I am given a glimpse into her creative process. Its like I stepped into her studio and found all theses sketches and paintings lying around together as she found different ways to explore the same subject.
This image is really great because it highlights the perspective of the woman on the ground. She is heavily detailed but so is the thing she is looking at, the spot where the man is holding up his foot.
Guy Carlos' photographs are very real in a laid back sort of way. He seems to know that he is merely a photographer recording the natural world around him, but the beauty is in what he chooses to capture. His photo Guy Carlo in type writer keys may be an informal self portrait. It could be a statement about himself as a writer or as a creator of sorts. He chose to put the key with the symbols "4" and "$" at the top of the pyramid above his name. Does that mean that he is ruled by money?

Ernie Davis Soundscape

I sat in Ernie Davis dining hall during lunch today and listened to the “soundscape” that was created by all the noises around me.

I was surprised by how many clattering and unsettling loud noises I heard. I heard a lot of plates and cups being stacked and picked up. About every 30 seconds I would hear the clanking of someone trying to pull a cup off from the stacks. I heard workers shoving silverware into their holders. At one point I heard a cup fall to the ground. It made a loud rattling sound as the plastic cup danced across the floor. I was sitting at a table by the windows, but I could faintly here the scraping of metal serving spoons and some one shaking a cup with ice. These sounds were jarring and represent the busy movement of cups, plates, food, and people. Together these intermittent sounds created an atmosphere of chaos and rushed activity.

At one point I heard a loud industrial thud of something happening back in the kitchen. I had no idea what it was and it was unnerving. The people sitting around me made a lot of noise too. I could hear multiple conversations, friends laughing, and people saying “hi” as they greeted each other. The conversations stopped and started in random patterns, but I tend to hear them as one jumbled sound that surrounds me. The large TVs hanging from the ceiling also added to the chattering. It is loud but not irritating. The sound of screeching chairs, however, was very irritating. I discerned about five distinct variations that chairs make when they are being pulled, pushed, and dragged. Sometimes the noise last a good five seconds and other times it was just bumped and made a quick hiccup. The chairs groaned obnoxiously as college kids dragged them around to other tables.

The people in the dining hall made many different noises as they adjusted their stuff, took off their coats, and set their trays down. I heard a soft tap as one guy set down his iPod. I could hear forks moving around on plates and if the person was loud I could even hear them chewing or sipping their drink. I heard the clicking of thumbs quickly texting. I also heard keys moving, shuffling feet, sniffling noses, coughs, and the crumbling of fortune cookie wrappers. These sounds were usually quick and distinct, which made them easily noticeable, but there were also some softer sounds that were harder to identify. For instance, the constant hum of the ice cream machine is barely detectable. The cars outside zoomed by but the sound was muted by the strength of the glass window. The ice cream machine sounds a bit mechanical but nevertheless it is a relaxing sound. The cars are also calming. As a whole though, Ernie Davis is a hub of activity. It has an incredibly dynamic “soundscape.”

Good Copy, Bad Copy

Good Copy, Bad Copy is a documentary that explores the issues of intellectual property that face our culture when it comes to the way we share media. For example, music artists who sample music from others to mix funky new beats cannot legally sell their work according to current copyright laws. Despite the fact that some have a cult-like following of eager fans, these dedicated artists are not able to make any money. In a song that takes from twenty different songs the royalties to pay would be unimaginable.

What really struck me was the copyright protection of older movies and music. Once the artist is deceased, there is no way to obtain his/her permission and the material goes untouched, unused, but also unappreciated. How long is one entitled to the rights of his/her work? Can they still claim something even after they themselves are long gone?

Compare this system to that of the patent system. Utility items, ornamental designs, and even plants can be patented for a period of twenty years. The creator receives the initial credit and has time to market and produce his product. After twenty years, the patent expires and the rights to his idea are no longer his alone. Others have the opportunity to make profit by imitating, altering, or improving the product in some way. In the end, competition yields higher quality.

Unfortunately, due to the availability of downloadable music and movies, and the booming piracy market, a lot of what the artists deserve is lost. It’s easy to see why they would want to ensure their ownership rights for as long as possible.

Untitled, June 2007, by Hannah Starkey

She sets up scenes with unidentified figures and leaves it up to the viewer to decide who they are. This woman seems to be defined by her location- either her physical home or where she is metaphorically in life. She is strong in the way she cares for her son, but her expression feels troubled and uncertain. I wonder if this woman is running away from something?

Yay first blog ever!

This blog is to document my Time Arts class.