Question.

Last week when we did the class activity my new syllabus and the reading that Pat handed out got lost? I was wondering if we are having a quiz today because on the syllabus online it says FINAL quiz :S I REALLY HOPE THATS NOT CORRECT. Does anyone know where I can get the reading before class? 

Exhibition in a Box

For my Exhibition in a Box I have chosen to make up my own character/artist.

She is a normal mid-century housewife who has a secret passion for painting. 

She is forced to keep her talent and passion "underground" in order to maintain her housewife persona because she is scared of being scrutinized. 

She fears her family will not support her love for art.

So she paints for years without notice, not even her husband or children know.

Years later after she (Olive is her name) dies her children begin to go through her things and discover a hidden dresser drawer FULL of painting supplies, small works, a journal, and a letter to whom ever found her secret passion. 

As they continue through her room they find many more clues to who their mother truly was and what talent she possessed. 

I want to display the dresser drawer, perhaps just the drawer but maybe the entire dresser. I have some ideas on what will be in the dresser and also other items found around the room like a normal mirror that actually isn't a mirror at all, its a palette for paint that she hid in her room. And paint brushes that she displayed like makeup brushes. I plan on writing in a journal to make it look authentic.

Instead of having my exhibition in a normal setting where the paintings are displayed on the walls, I want to leave it as close as I can to how she left it. 

Private, and secret is the key to this show. I want the audience to feel as if THEY are the first ones to find Olive's secret drawer. 

Lots of ideas. Hopefully this is will work out! 

Reading 307-328

There was some confusion on the syllabus so instead of doing the quiz here is my blog response. 

I thought that this section of reading was really thought provoking. I had always heard the term postmodern and never actually grasped what it meant. After reading this section I finally feel as if I understand the basic "principles" of what a postmodern thinker is, even though putting it into a set of principles is basically the opposite of what it actually means. I think that the one thing that I got the most out of this section, especially after the discussion that we had in class, is seeing the links between generations and how they view the world. I kept thinking about how DIFFERENT my views on everything are compared to my parents and grandparents, and then I realized how my family are all a bunch of modern thinkers, living with a set of rules or guidelines to living life,  they are extremely religious and choose to follow a narrative as it mentions in the book. This way of thinking about life contrasts with how I view the world in every way. I am always open for new experiences, for learning and growing, for questioning the norms of our society, and never claiming to know something that I don't. It was interesting to read about the clashing between modern and postmodern artists over time and how there is this constant tension between them, but depressing all at the same time. I consider myself a postmodern thinker but I dont want to be in constant struggle with my family. Instead of keeping this "beef" with those who mean the most to me, I want to continue on the way I choose to live but also accept the way my family has too. Hmm sorry if this is a little more personal then most blogs but thats what I was thinking while reading this text. I'd really like to understand neo-liberalism better and hopefully we will be learning more about that in the future. 

Tee Shirt Project...

Since the beginning of this project I have struggled with which icons or symbols I wanted to change and use. I first started using the peace sign and came up with a design that had an airplane at the center creating the three pronged shape in the middle but found that to be very offensive and decided against it. I worked on a couple designs having to do with grenades and war, as well as the christmas tree in relation to money. In the end I decided to alter the handicap symbol because I have seen a serious trend of people literally handicapping themselves with the way that they eat and treat their own bodies. I first thought about having the McDonald's sign somehow incorporated but decided that I wanted this design to be as minimal as possible. The first image is of the traditional handicap symbol and on the back side of the shirt I have made the character chubby, and implied the motion of eating with the blob of "food" just between his mouth and hand. I think that the subtle change is good because its just enough to get someone to look twice and perhaps have to think about it for a moment before moving on. I would ideally love to have some witty text or something but I think that for this project it works and is visually interesting. (my guy kind of reminds me of Homer Simpson haha) Enjoy! 

Movie Posters...

Drawing the human body...

During the viewing on wednesday I couldn't help but notice the strange similarities between some works of art by Michelangelo and several other artists in comparison to the current phenomenon of bodybuilders. I know this may seem like a stretch, but in our discussion about the unrealistic and "ideal" body figures and shapes that we saw in a lot of earlier drawings and sketches remind me of the seemingly impossible bodies of professional bodybuilders. The way that muscles seem to burst out, and how you see forms that you didn't know even existed are almost identical. Bodybuilders consider what they do as art, and however crazy it seems, its true. They are shaping their bodies in a way that could be considered ideal, just as Michelangelo designed and sketched hundreds of years ago. Here are some pictures to help you see what I am referring to. :) 

text/image hunt

"The hawk is aerial brother of the wave which he sails over and surveys, those his perfect air inflated wings answering to the elemental unfledged pinions of the sea." 

Walden   

by Henry David Thoreau

page 131

This image was chosen because it is a literal representation of this sentence. There is a hawk flying over the waves, and surveying the elemental power that is the water. 

This second image is describing another meaning through context. This is the USS Kitty Hawk that is part of the US Military, the small planes are represented as the hawk who is surveying the powerful or "elemental unfledged pinions of the sea". The military/ship is the driving force (pinions) in this image and the sea is representational of our country and safety. The image put with the sentence can bring about a completely different meaning from what the original author had intended. 

This last image is of Obama's inauguration and is also representational instead of literal. Obama is like the hawk who is surveying over the pinions of driving force of the sea which is America. 

Simple Beauty.

Reading #1

I actually enjoyed the reading quite a bit. There was a decent amount of thought provoking parts and I especially liked all the photography and history. I was moved by the story of Emmet Till and how his mother made the decision to have an open casket at his funeral as an example of the horrific actions and hatred that was occurring in our country. 

I thought that another interesting point in this section was when they did the composites of the "beauties" in the 50's and 80's and how different the faces were. Beauty seems to evolve and take on different forms but there are still key features that tend to stay the same such as full lips and symmetry of the face. 

Surprised and excited by how the class discussion progressed and how deep we were able to dig into the reading I am looking forward to what else this quarter will bring. :) 

First day...

This blog is for my ART 112 class at Portland State University. I will be using it as a digital diary of sorts and for projects, my reading response, and whatever else I feel is relevant to the class. Enjoy.

Here are some recent photographs I have taken for weddings-