Art 220 Day 10

So today we displayed our beautiful masterpieces of what we thought game day should look like or how we interpreted it. The assignment was black and white to me but I did not care for what I produced. I have been busy with other classes and work and did not get to put in the necessary time for this assignment. Anyways, others works were totally cool. A couple that stuck out to me was the LIFE collage and the Loteria poster with words that had a flip effect. Both looked like a lot of time had been invested and turned out really good. We also watched some short clips about being creative. The two that had a little more depth to me were the Elizabeth Gilbert and the Tony Robbins speeches. I liked how Elizabeth emphasized how artists are looked at as being mentally unstable. The fact that being creative must mean something is wrong or a disability was amusing. I also enjoyed her talking about the Greeks and "Daemons." I have never heard of that story before and it really caught my interest. The fact that in Greek days to blame another being for creative fortunes or mishaps was a fascinating subject. It was also very empowering to hear what Tony Robbins had to say. His entire speech was very uplifting and inspiring. "Emotions drive our lives" and "Contribute more" really hit home for me to do more with my life. Tony's whole outlook on why create made me want to share and produce a lot more than I actually do. Also his emphasis on making decisions and state of being was conceptually intriguing.

iterative-relating to or involving iteration, esp. of a mathematical or computational process.

odious-extremely unpleasant; repulsive. See note at offensive .

uncanny-strange or mysterious, esp. in an unsettling way.

ironic-using or characterized by irony.

daemon-(in ancient Greek belief) a divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans.

Art 220 Day 9

Today we played games! It was interesting to see all the different games people brought to play. We played Scrabble in the group that I was in. Some people in my group have never played Scrabble and needed to be taught how to play. This was an interesting exercise to teach others and to have fun. Our game requires an extensive use of vocabulary and strategy on where and how to use certain words. Since we were not experts, most of our words where short and simple, but got us through the game. We also had to dissect the game and understand why someone would have created it. I liked hearing the different ideas that people thought why Scrabble should be a game. It was fun for a change of pace in class to relax and sit back and just play a simple board game, I hope we have more of these days in the future.

extensive-covering or affecting a large area.

explanatory-serving to explain something.

strategic-relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them.

Art 220 Day 8

Today in class we reviewed our homework and watched two short films. A majority of the class seemed to understand the assignment. Some images worked better with others. I think that the hardest part was selecting a good middle image for our story. It seemed that some of the images people picked were too random to relate to one another, where some where perfect with each other. One story that stuck out in my opinion was the one with the keys, road, and coffin. These images went perfect with each other telling the story of a sports car, dangerous driving, and death. It was all about narrowing down what you actually need to successfully explain a story. I think that some people picked intricate ideas that should have been told in more than three images. The idea of simplifying the bare minimum of what you need to get a story or point across was the main objective. We also watched two films. The first film was "Powers of Ten." This film showed powers of ten by zooming out to the furthest corners of space. It was interesting to see the perspective of how small our little planet is in this ginormous galaxy we live in. To opposite the zoom out effect, there was also zooming in. The camera switched perspectives by zooming in to the smallest cell in a persons hand. For a film being 32 years old, the effects that were displayed were mind boggling. The second film we watched was a series of shorts called "Why Man Creates." This film was quite entertaining to me. There was comic relief, different perspectives, and motives behind. I liked how this film went into the process of creating and the steps behind it. Broken down into seven steps, these shorts displayed aspects that are inside each and every one of us. The explanation of how and why we create was amusing to watch.

remarkable-worthy of attention; striking : a remarkable coincidence. See note atnoticeable .substantial-of considerable importance, size, or worth.ginormous-extremely large; enormous.

Art 220 Day 7

Today in class we had more exercise of changing meaning with images. Our homework was to pick one word, quote, or phrase and to pick 10 images that can change the meaning of that quote. After seeing a couple examples from other students I understood the concept. To change the meaning of a word or powerful quote with an image that is completely opposite can stimulate different feelings and emotions. Showing an image of people fighting and attaching the word love to that image adds depth. Complicating a simple image and creating conflict causes interest. In our group the people that brought images had about 4 or 5 that really worked with their phrase or word. It helps to see other people ideas and it broadens my visual conception of how I perceive things. These group efforts stimulate talk, conversation, and ideas that further my logical intake. I enjoy the contrasting perspectives and to see how the class interrogates each others visualizations.

juxtaposition-place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.

conceptual-of, relating to, or based on mental concepts.

monotonous-dull, tedious, and repetitious; lacking in variety and interest.

Art 220 Day 6

Today in class we reviewed our homework. The class brought an image with ten phrases/words to change the meaning. Some were really good and others not so much. Once we started to go around talking about our pictures, the concept came to me. This exercise brought out our creativity with our pictures. I sort of understood the homework assignment but once I started to see the pattern of what Jimmy expected, it all made sense. The purpose of this was to really bring out bizarre meanings to our images. We all had simple pictures and the purpose of making bizarre comments was to make the image racy and exotic. Changing the meaning completely will inspire different emotions from people. After understanding this assignment I realized how important it is to think of all the "wrong" ideas first because those are probably the "right" ones.

livid-informal furiously angry : he was livid at being left out.

animated-full of life or excitement; lively.

ecstatic-feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.

Art 220 Day 5

Today in class we discussed images we collected from home. All images were entirely different and brought different things to the table. We were dissected into groups and had to describe these images using expressive terms and phrases. If an image portrayed a certain action or motion we had to explain the opposite. I think that the idea was to imagine all the wrong concepts and how they wouldn't work. In figuring this process out, the class learned that sometimes thinking backwards or out of context is the way to go about an idea. Thinking strangely or out of the norm to come up with a specific idea might make that idea more compelling or interesting because of the thought process. This concept is interesting to me because it brings out ideas out of order, possibly the good ones first. Sometimes stating the obvious isn't the way to go about an image. Thinking out of context brought different opinions and beliefs and was a good exercise to quickly come up with visualizations of ideas.

conservative-holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.
antisocial- worrisome antisocial behavior: sociopath, distasteful, disruptive, rebellious, misanthropic, asocial.
spacious- roomy, capacious, palatial, airy, sizable, generous, large, big, vast, immense; extensive, expansive, sweeping, rolling, rambling, open; formal commodious.

Art 220 Day 4

Today in class we were shown the movie "Dreams." This movie was made up of 8 shorts that had different themes, symbols, imagery, and metaphors. Each short gave the viewer a different message. The first memorable short for me was "Blizzard." In this short a group of men were traveling through a blizzard on the top of a mountain side. The men could barely walk let alone breathe and were about to give up their adventure through the cold. As the men lay down, a woman mysteriously appears. The woman goes on to tell the men that the snow was warm and that the ice was hot. The men were completely delirious listening to the woman. I think that film maker Akira Kurosawa was trying to symbolize sexes in this short. The men were shown as weak because the did not want to go on and finish the venture. The woman almost added some sort of insanity to the situation by telling the men about the snow and ice. Maybe because she was a woman depicted as a storm is why the film maker made her sound insane. Or because she was a woman is why the blizzard was so psychotic. It was left to the viewer to determine particular notions made by the film maker. Another short that was influential to me was "The Tunnel." This short started with a man walking through a tunnel when a vicious dog appears. I think that the imagery of a mad dog was to turn the man away from entering the tunnel. The dog was shown as a warning sign, DO NOT ENTER. I think that in this short the tunnel was also a symbol. It was seen as a gateway to another world. The gateway to the dead or to the afterlife. The man, ready to enter the tunnel was met by his former soldier who had passed. The man, being a commander, had to tell his fallen solider how he had passed and that he wasn't really with us. In the next scene, a whole fleet of soldiers appears from the tunnel. The commander then has to give the entire group the news of their passing. The viewer was to understand that the soldiers were not conscious of their death. This was a deep scene for me. To cope with the action of a single individual telling multiple soldiers of their deaths was incomprehensible. In my opinion The commander was confronted with mass death as an awakening. Maybe the war he was fighting for wasn't worth it. It seemed as if the commander was challenged with a responsibility he was unaware of. The responsibility of telling the human being itself that they were not living any longer. I think the commander was the one to tell them of their deaths because he was the reason of their deaths. It is the commanders job to bring home his soldiers safely and he did not. The heavy burden that was expressed was deep and felt real considering our country has soldiers at war and these responsibilities are real for some people/commanders. Another short that stuck out to me was the "Village of Watermills." This short started off with a tourist man stumbling upon a very natural yet primitive village. An old man was seen wandering the village as the tourist appeared. The old man goes on to tell the tourist about how the village operates using traditional methods. I liked how the old man went into detail how industrialzation dirties mens hearts and polutes the world. The old man's concept of how life is more enjoyable when its natural was intriging. I liked how the man emphasized that we don't need much to get by and be happy. Death was also a topic from the old man. Funerals in this village were a celebration of life and happiness. Also everyone in the village was a part of the funeral contributing to a festival of one's life. I think that the emphasis of this villages is what we should all live by. I think that living simple and off the land would benefit us all and enrich our clustered lives. Also to celebrates ones life rather than to mourn it would bring a new approach to the way we go about funerals in our society. Many metaphors in this film were deep and inspirational. The way certain things were shot also brought out different emotions. This powerful film had a lot to say and stimulated my thinking process. I liked how different shorts made me feel and how I interpreted them.

conscious-aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.
influential-having great influence on someone or something.
primitive-relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something.

Art 220 Day 3

Mind-Mapping/Idea Mapping was our main focus today. This was a great exercise in my opinion. To think of one particular topic and to dissect it into categories was extremely helpful. This idea/concept is a wonderful tool that will help me in the future. Although it was simple, it helped bring out my concerns and objectives I had for an idea. This tool helped me thoroughly think through what I wanted out of my idea and how to execute my thoughts. The activity was an extended version of brain storming. We took ideas and explored all possibilities and outcomes. To do this activity one had to think of what steps needed be taken to fulfil a desired outcome. It was also interesting to see what ideas other people came up with. I especially liked the Idea-Map of a person that was pulled over for drunk driving. It was not a idea that I would want to explore personally but the outcomes and possibilities listed were dead on. Some of the statements were Do I lie? Do I play it off? Other outcomes were also how to deal with the aftermath of the DUI. From going to AA classes to getting help from friends or family. The Idea map was not recognized but its conclusions from a dilemma such as a DUI were captivating.

discerning-showing good or outstanding judgment and understanding.
anthropomorphize-to ascribe human form or attributes to (an animal, plant, material object, etc.).
critical-inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily.