Final Project

What Defines Us?

Admittedly, when I started with this project, I had an extremely hard time defining a direction to go in. I knew I wanted to make something visually appealing but that was about the biggest lead I had. My first thoughts centered around the idea of “upsetting the norm,” doing something out of the ordinary that people would be a little confused by. I wanted to go in the direction of one of my favorite artists and defy convention. The more I thought about my ideas, the less I came up with. It took some talking through to come to a conclusion… I couldn’t make this idea work because it seemingly wasn’t “me.” I was trying to mimic some one else’s work instead of make something that defined who I actually was.

Once I came to this realization, I started to think about what exactly defined whom I was. I started looking at the forms of media that I use in everyday of my life – computer, iphone, Facebook ect. I decided to explore one of these areas and make a piece about it. Ultimately, I settled on Facebook. Then I started to think about this in a different way. Facebook is not only something that can define me, it’s something that can define almost everybody in our generation. We put our lives on this thing and spend hours looking at the lives of others. I wanted to ask everybody how exactly he or she was defined in Facebook, an online profile that publicizes them to the world and that will be with them forever.

In my final work, I wanted to create images that portrayed certain ideas about Facebook: 1) the time we put into them, 2) the public aspect of it and 3) how they will always be there. The picture in the top left describes the first point. We probably spend more time than we should in Facebook and often are distracted from things like class. This shows me sitting in class (the one I usually don’t pay attention in), but instead of taking notes on the material, I was “taking notes” on Facebook. The second point is described by the bottom picture. At a movie theater, the movie posters are replaced by Facebook pages. This symbolizes how Facebook is like a presentation of our lives to whoever may want to watch. Lastly, the third point is described by the top right image. It is supposed to be an arm with a tattoo of “Facebook” on it. Like a tattoo that will, more or less, be there forever, data put on the internet is extremely difficult to get rid of completely. Our Facebook pages will be with us basically forever. This thought may make you reevaluate what all you put on there.

As for my final image, I guess you can say I’m pleased with it. Of course as I look at it I see some things I would change. The contour of the Facebook page overlay on the notebook could better follow the lines of the page (I used GIMP on this project and couldn’t, for the life of me, find the equivalent tool from PS), the movie posters do not have the glare on them that should be there, and the tattoo could wrap around the arm a little better (again, couldn’t find the wrap tool in GIMP). Also, I should have moved the bottom picture to the right a little. Overall, I think it gets my point across and I do like it. It follows my style of clean, straight lines and minimal clutter with a fair amount of negative space. I probably should have budgeted my time with it a little more, but sometimes life is busy. 

And for the last song of the year.... Heres an artist that went virtually unknown until one of his songs become the official song of the World Cup. This is not that song but it is one of my favorites by him. Heres Knaan with "Take A Minute."

Final Project Pre-Blog

So, its time for the final. As always, i have the most trouble simply coming up with an idea for these things. I spend most of my time staring into space not knowing what to do and then take about 5 mins to do it. So for this project i decided to look at some work of my long time favorite artist, banksy, and see if i can't get some kind of idea flowing through my mind.

Banksy's art appeals to me because it is not conventional to anything. In comparing it to fine art you will find that it is not "fine," but is rather rough like graffiti of often is. On the other hand, it does not conform to the usual idea of graffiti either. It isn't big, stylized, colorful letters like most people would think of. His works are these incredibly artistic pieces, but are not "classically artistic," if that makes sense at all. More or less, this is where i got the idea for my big idea - going against convention.

All of our life we are told what to do and how to act, we can't do this, we can't do that. Where is our chance to challenge that? Banksy was told he would never have his art in a museum so what does he do? he sneaks in and puts it up himself. After adhering to the rules for so long, it makes it hard for me to rebel. Out of fear, out of morals, i don't really know. I wish i had the courage (and artistic ability) to sneak something into the wexner center and make my own exhibit. Instead, ill find something a little less drastic to do, just to get my rebellious fix in i guess. It seems I've been in a structured life for so long, its gotten boring and all i want to do something to make it a little more exciting. Now because we aren't supposed to do anything illegal, ill have to find something that doesn't push the boundaries as much. more or less I want to do something that goes against convention to see what it feels like and also see peoples reactions to it.

I want to test peoples reactions (more in simple observation than including the reactions in my final piece) to see what people think of a simple act of rebellion. Anything out of the ordinary seems to make people stop and stare. This is just something that interests me so i figure i can make a sort of side project out of it. worst case, it will give me a little amusement.

So ideas for this project.... I want to do something mainly focusing on the photography with maybe some slight editing in photoshop. i was thinking i could make a narrative of painting a little something on a dumpster in my alley. I don't really have the skill for a picture, but maybe something as simple as a phrase. I was also thinking about doing a series of photos documenting weird places to sit. I would have to find a willing participant, but then i would have them sit in places where people don't usually sit. The center of the oval, the middle of the library, etc. Just something innocent that would make people think "now why in the world would he be doing that?" Part rebellion, part social experiment.


And for music. Heres a song by "you me at six" and chiddy (from "chiddy bang") titled "rescue me." It's a little depressing but i like how the contrast in style from the chorus to the verses works together. Not a huge fan of the video. Don't really think it tells any kind of story. but oh well, here it is.

Micro Project 5

For this project, i had the word "fold." At first i struggled to come up with an idea for this word. Eventually, i thought back to my childhood and remembered the origami my mom showed me (my family is part japanese). Seeing that origami is the "art of paper folding" i thought it would be the perfect thing to base my project on. I decided to make three things: a boat, a crane, and a rose. The crane was the first thing that i ever learned to make when i was young. The rose was a new one for me and took about twice as long to make as the other two combined. As for the final image, i wanted to just show the initial and final states of the paper and leave out all the intermediate steps and just describe them with the word "fold" and the arrow. I did not want to show the intermediate steps and make this look like an instructional image. Instead, i wanted the middle to simply show that it was the act of folding that took 3 plain pieces of paper and transformed them into these things.

Heres a song by Childish Gambino that samples some more Adele. His voice and style take some getting used to but in the end its a different sound and a solid beat.

MIcro Project 4

I decided to choose this situation because i had just been Waldo for halloween. I thought, "why not play hide and seek with the real Waldo?" So this is me running away to hide while he counts. While brainstorming, I just listed out all the possibilities for both a super hero situation and a cartoon situation until i landed on something i liked enough to pursue. As for the work itself, i think it is effective in  conveying the situation but i wish i could have made myself look a little more "cartoonish."

Micro Project 3

  

The place on campus where my art is displayed is Thompson Library. I chose this place because it it basically where I lived most of last year. Living on a very friendly floor in a south campus dorm made it hard to get any quiet time to do work so the library is where i spent much of my time. This is also why i chose to put up a giant iPod. Music would always get me in the zone to do work and provided even more of an escape from the world. My art would be done with spray paint like much of the graffiti people see. I chose this graffiti style just because it is my favorite genre of art. What these "street" artists are capable of doing never ceases to amaze me. Based on where this art is, it is just meant to be seen. I want to audience to see some fun in this. Im hoping it is a way to have just a little fun with an area made for such serious work.

And some music for this week. 

So this is just a song i became obsessed with after being exposed to it. Its a dub step remix of adeles song "set fire to the rain" by skrillex. Not necessarily an unknown group, but a great song nonetheless.

Micro Project 2

Hats – I chose these hats because when I wake up early in the morning, I can jump in the shower, get out and throw a hat on and not have to put that much effort into getting ready. They are truly great for those lazy mornings. I also think they are a good and easy way to express some style and easily change up any outfit.

Ohio State Pin – This pin I chose to represent my school. You put at least 4 years into your school and its always more fun when you have a little school pride. OSU is a big part of my life.

OSU vs Michigan Pin – This pin is for the enjoyment I get from OSU sports. It always amazes me when I see the entire campus wearing red on football Saturdays. People live and die for their team and it is a large part of what bonds our community together.

Headphones – These headphones are what I use to listen to my music everyday. The provide that little escape from the real world and take my mind off of everything.

iPhone – I use my iPhone as much as anyone. From email to music to staying in contact with my friends, this is it. It is my world in my pocket.

Soccer ball – I played soccer most my life and only stopped once I came to college. But just because im not playing anymore doesn’t mean I lost my competitive spirit. I learned a lot more from soccer than just how to play a game.

Swim goggles – Since im not playing soccer anymore, swim is what I do to stay in shape. Ive never really liked running for the sake of running so this was my other option. Theres nothing like the feeling of being brilliantly exhausted after a swim.

Nike Dunks – These don’t represent fashion or brand or anything like that. Nike is where I work when im not at school and these were the pair of shoes I got for free when I started. Work is important to me because its where I make that money.

Rosary – This represents family as much as religion. This was passed down through my family over many years and has landed in my hands. Family ties are an important thing and those family members you may not always like are the ones that are always going to be there for you.

Soccer Scarf – This is a Chelsea FC soccer scarf my sister got me when she was in London. This was one of the first English teams I started watching when I was young and have been a fan ever since. Chelsea fans bleed blue and although I may not be as crazy as some, I still love the team.

Im decently happy with the piece. I wish i would have been able to balance it better between the center of the picture and the edges as most of the foreground objects are around the edges. 

And for some music this week, we're going with one of my favorite groups that gained some attention after their hit "Opposite of Adults," Chiddy Bang. Heres one of their newer songs, "Mind Your Manners."

Micro Project 1

Here is my first micro project, a walk through my journey to class in the morning. Each individual picture tells a part of the experience as well as the picture as a whole.

9:00 am - This picture is right outside the door of my apartment. It is black and white and radially blurred to  give the impression of tunnel vision and a lack of the senses. This is because I am generally still asleep at this time.

9:06 am - This is when i first hit campus. I made an attempt to add a "rain over the lens" effect because it seemed like every morning for the first week I was walking to class in the rain.

9:11 am - On the pathway heading towards Mirror Lake. Again, just showing the lack of senses experienced as I wake up, though a little color is seen as i come out of sleep. Also the picture itself just represents the crappy weather.

9:14 am - This is coming out the south oval heading west. The background picture doesn't have a meaning in itself as it was just a set up for the music notes. The music represents the fact that I am always listening to  music on the way to class. 

9:18 am - Walking along the side of the RPAC. The footsteps show that on my morning walk i am on a sort of "auto pilot" 

9:21 am - Finally to the stadium. No change in color saturation or blur to show that, at this point, I am mostly awake and aware. 

The piece as a whole is an attempt to show a progression from being asleep to awake. The color saturation and blur starts out black and white with heavy blur and transitions to full color and no blur. I kept the dividing lines and text white and very straight just because I tend to like a more minimalistic look.