345 Final - Establishment

For my 345 final, I decided on a triptych that utilizes the glitch art, art form that I used in the 343 class but instead of using an image that only meant something to me, I decided to take a more political standpoint. I can easily say that this is my favorite art project that I've ever made because I feel like there's truly a strong meaning behind it and I really enjoyed creating it. I titled it establishment because I chose three topics that were built on purity, and over its lifespan, has become corrupt, similar to the way the images are depicted throughout the work. These establishments are government, religion, and academia. Government, seen in the left panel, has forever been known and infamous for corruption and scandals, from innocent killings to corporate scandals, more specifically the United States government has been known for keeping information from its citizens. Second, religion has been the cause of many deaths around the world throughout history and has always been a "touchy" subject among followers. In my piece I decided to use the Vatican because most recently, the Catholic church has been under strict scrutiny for the molestation of the younger members among other less than reputable behavior. Third, I chose academia due to it's over obsession with the bottom line, and loss of progression of the pursuit of further knowledge. I want this piece to be a commentary on the over saturation of monetary gain within an establishment that was meant to protect and serve for the greater good.
For this project I used the audio program audacity to databend the respective images. Audacity takes the raw file of the image and creates an audio wavelength. When I imported the image and received the audio file, I used the echo effect to give the audio a changed sound and exported the "image" back out as a .raw file to give me the distorted image. I then saved the audio file in order to create a sound to add to the ambiance of the triptych. From then, I imported the different images into final cut pro in order to create a DVD of the audio and the changing photos to project to the walls.

Light Box Project

For the light box assignment, I wanted to play with the way the light would shine through my image, so I settled with using the image you see above. I thought this image would look great due to its different textures and differences in contrasting colors. When creating the image, I was worried that I'd have to pay very close attention to the brights and the darks but I feel like I got lucky with the way the light shines around the door way and through the floor. Originally, I created the image in photoshop then moved it into illustrator to finish. I wanted to preserve the quality of the image when it was blown up.

Hito Steyerl - In Defense of the Poor Image - Fluff Free Review

The poor image as Hito Steyerl explains is "a copy in motion". An image that is passed around, converted, changed and duplicated among many others. The poor image is not the original but instead, the product of its mass production and consumption. Steyerl takes a stand to defend the poor image making a case that there is a lot to be appreciated from it. Her first point takes a look at the Low Resolutions of the poor image using one of Woody Allen's films as an example. In this film, Allen's character is deliberately out of focus and therefore makes it difficult for him to interact within his world. Inherently, focus and sharpness become a commentary on his characters class standing. While being sharp and focused his highly sought after, being blurry and unfocused become unwanted and lower's one's value. Steyerl uses this to describe the value of the poor image stating that "Obviously, a high-resolution image looks more brilliant and impressive, more mimetic and magic, more scary and seductive than a poor one." but given the advances in technology, Steyerl believes that there are more and more ways to "creatively degrade" the original image. In her second point, she evaluates a "Resurrection (as Poor Images) and how it relates to the current state of the internet and available resources. She describes how many images and video's of even the highest standard have become poor images due to the abundant availability of editing software. Her third point takes a look at the privatization and piracy of the original image. She claims that the situation in which we find these poor images copied from the original makes a statement that looks deeper into the social environment in which these images emerge. "It reveals the conditions of their marginalization, the constellation of social forces leading to their online circulation as poor images." She says, further diving into this unfortunate world in which it seems we no longer value ownership of intellectual property. Further into her work, she also describes the complex of imperfect cinema and the importance of a visual bond. Overall, her work aims to define and further understand the idea of the poor image and give light to its purpose. She concludes by describing that the poor image is more than just a copied and duplicated piece of media, "Instead, it is about its own real conditions of existence: about swarm circulation, digital dispersion, fractured and flexible temporalities. It is about defiance and appropriation just as it is about conformism and exploration."

Final Project 1000 Word Artist Statement

For my final project for Art 343, I decided to take a look at a different art form that I had never tried before, called glitch art. Glitch art is also known as data bending and deals with creating something on the computer that may sound or look "normal" then using a computer program to bend the data to alter the final product. Glitch art is often unpredictable and inherently looks as if there's something wrong with the final product. Glitch art can also be done with physical objects such as circuits and this is called circuit bending, but that's a different project entirely. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed using this style of art especially because of the way I arrived at my final product. For this project, I used the image you see in the second panel from the left. I chose this image because it is the first image that I ever designed for an album cover and I'm very proud of it, and I knew what I'd get would be creepy or wacky and I figured since the feel and colors of the original image prove to be pretty dark, I thought this would only enhance the overall aesthetics. The way I arrived at my "glitch" was done in an audio editing program called audacity. After searching the internet for a few minutes, I happened upon a haphazard tutorial that "sort of" explained how to import a photo and export it with the glitch. So I tried to follow it the best I could and my first final product wasn't exactly what I was looking for, the reason being, nothing happened. At that point I assumed I was doing something incorrectly. So I tried again using different settings and different file formats until I finally figured that I had to import a .tif file to get the proper export .raw file. When I finally got it to work, I imported the photo and the program converted it into an audio file, this is when the fun began. I started to mess with the audio and try as many effects such as "echo" and "fade in" to do as much as I could to edit the photo. I had to have tried at least every effect at least once and most times I tried them on top of each other using more than one effect at once. Until I ended up with the images you see above. I decided to choose these images out of the dozens I "glitched" because I felt as though they made the most difference to the original image and I each photo has their own unique changes. In my opinion the first image looks the most like a "glitch" because it duplicated certain aspects of the image changing the composition and changing the contrast of the colors. I'd have to say that the first image is my favorite because it made the image look a lot creepy-er. I chose the third image because it made it look like the colors are inverted. As well as duplicating some parts of the image. I believe that I arrived at this image by layering many different effects on top of each other. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to see the different effects after they were added so I was pretty much just clicking around to see the different things I could make. Next, I chose the fourth image because it reminded me of a 90's copier that didn't quite do it's job correctly. I got that vibe due to it's black and white coloring and it's weird smear marks. Finally, the last photo on the right was not one that was arrived through bending the audio, but by combining many of the different images together to see what I could get. Overall, I'm very pleased with the way it worked out, but when I do this type of art again, I will use a different image with deeper meaning in order to give my art a bit more meaning because I think glitch art would be a great way to express further commentary on our current events.

Dada Manifestos - Reflection + Comparison

Dada Manifesto by Hugo Ball was published in 1916 and, from my understanding, is an interpretation of what Dada means to him, backed with a rational and thorough reasoning. "Dada is a new tendency in art." He explains, "One can tell this from the fact that until now nobody knew anything about it." Ball opens his manifesto by explaining what the literal translation is in French, German, and Romanian and further explains that it's an international term. That no matter where you go, someone has a definition for Dada. Further on into the readings, Ball starts to "rant" and become nonsensical, in a very Dada fashion. Finishing up with making the statement that Dada, as a word is the utmost concern of the public.

The "Dada Manifesto 1918" by Tristan Tzara is a much longer manifesto when compared to Hugo Ball's version. This being because Tzara goes into greater depth and further exploration of what Dada means, or in his case, doesn't mean. "Dada means nothing" he further explains that Dada was born out of distrust and independence. But one should not waste their time if they believe that it is time wasted on something with no meaning.

Comparatively, both Manifestos arrive at the same conclusion if one is to look deep enough. In my understanding, Ball explains that Dada means everything, and to Tzara, Dada means nothing. When looking at the two viewpoints objectively, it is easy to conclude that they are both trying to say the same thing, that when at the end of both extremes, the word can both mean everything or nothing in every context. Meaning, the word really has no "real" meaning. I believe that this idea of Dada gave both artists the ability to create art with commentary on the social and political environment of the time without fully emerging themselves in the proverbial hot water.

Curating - Photo of My Work, +1, Statement and Reflection

Curating was quite the experience, one I could say that I enjoyed, but also one that I didn't love so much. First, I'd like to talk about my experience curating the show with my fellow classmates. Overall, the process of curating the show seemed a bit haphazard for the most part, but in the end, I think it really turned out great. I was disappointed to see that our original idea for color fell through because I think it would have really looked amazing to see the different kind of works organized by their respective color, but as I was thinking this, I imagined having many more submissions than we did. I don't feel as though that was our fault though, but an unfortunate deadline and lack of outer participation made our jobs a bit difficult. As the process evolved it became a +1 show and allowed us to find a friend and showcase their work. I was actually quite excited for this change because it gave our show a bit of growth. Unfortunately for me, my +1 fell through and I was unable to find a replacement in time for the show. On the day of the show, I had a lot of fun seeing the different works submitted by my classmates and their +1's it was also nice to have a few of my friends come up to see the show and partake in the "grand opening". I feel like our class really came together at this point because although as I said before the process was a bit here and there at times, we were able to create something as a team.

My piece for the show is titled "dream" and was projected onto a shattered mirror. I was unable to get a photo of the piece inside of the gallery, but above is the image that was projected onto the mirror. I really enjoyed creating this piece because it allowed me to work in photoshop, and I always appreciate when I'm able to work in the adobe suite programs. Throughout the creation of the piece, I struggled a lot with composition and color the most. It took me a while to get the shattered effect to a place where I felt that it worked most effective and I struggled with giving the letters their own shatter, or share the same one. I also struggled a lot with color because I wanted it to be monochromatic (to match the show theme) but I also wanted it to have a strong contrast with the letters and the background. I finally settled on red because I wanted it to have a strong presence but also have a fierce feeling. In the end, I really enjoyed how the piece turned out and I was really excited to hear that others enjoyed it as well.

Art Lecture: Adventures in Taxidermy, Melissa Milgrom

            Before my entrance to the Nevada Museum of Art to listen to some artists talk about some art, I truly had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know what the topic was before I sat down in my seat. Much to my surprise, I was taken back by its topic of Taxidermy for the only thing I’ve ever learned about the topic, was gathered from a middle school project. So I think it’s pretty obvious that my understanding of taxidermy as an art form was quite scarce. When I finally realized what I was in for, I had a weird feeling in my stomach, shortly met by extreme curiosity. Melissa Milgrom was the one who guided the talk along with a power point to aid her lecture. Milgrom started the lecture by describing taxidermy as complicated, and just by that sentence, I felt as though I could relate. I remember saying to myself “Well, duh. It can’t be easy stuffing things that were once alive, and making them look alive again.” But little did I know that Milgrom was speaking to taxidermy as more than just stuffing animals, but also to the artists that perform the art.

            Milgrom continues the lecture, expanding further on the intricacies of taxidermy and her philosophies of art. Claiming that artists aren’t obliged to tell the truth and I found that to be quite contradictory considering most people understand that taxidermy is primarily about telling some form of the truth. As when one generally uses taxidermy to preserve an animal or being of some sort, they try to make it look as life like as possible, therefore, preserving the truth of what once was. Bringing Milgrom to her next point that taxidermy is a very intricate process and that every single hair is just as important to the shape and color of the animal in order to keep its character. At this point Milgrom also explained that taxidermy is a dying breed (no pun intended) and that those who still practice the art are actively trying to separate themselves from other categories such as science.

            Further into her lecture Milgrom addressed the stereotypical thought of taxidermists as people who have no regard or respect for the living organism.  Fortunately, I can’t say that I’ve fallen pray to such thoughts because I’ve always understood taxidermy as nothing more than a job for most, but those who have a passion must love animals in order to want to preserve them. I was happy to hear that I share the same kind of understanding as she explained and made a case for taxidermists that they love animals more than most.

            Throughout the lecture I truly enjoyed Milgrom’s enthusiasm for taxidermy as an art form and I really do see it differently. As I stated before I only ever knew taxidermy to be the preservation of animals through a rigorous process all from a middle school paper. But after hearing Milgrom’s case on why and how taxidermy is an art form I look forward to truly appreciating it more.

Above is the instrument I created and used for our class. It is made from duct tape, 10 feet of PVC pipe and rubber bands. It is played by plucking the rubber bands at the top sending air and vibrations through the pipes and creating the sound. I used pipes because I thought I'd be able to create a unique sound and I'm pretty happy with the result,

Instrument Scores

Above is my score created for my classmate and buddy Zach Cordisco. I designed this 2D score with his instrument in mind because although his instrument is well put together and well crafted, in my opinion it is rough around the edges. I really enjoyed the way Zach interpreted my score and I think in the end, it worked out very well. My original plan was to use the computer such as the way Zach did and make it digital and easily read. But after much thinking I decided to go with duct tape because its an unusual material and I was still able to do with it what I want.



Above is Zach's score to me. Due to it's symmetry and color, I was able to use my instrument to play in my opinion, a terrible song, in the best of ways. I labeled each color to a string or rubber band on my instrument and played throughout the piece working my way around each module. After talking with Zach he said that I interpreted it the way he anticipated and I was happy with the end result.

Shirts

For this project, I wanted to take a look at vanity and the social stigma of making yourself into what others want, but in the end, doing what makes you happy. I started off portraying a character who is getting ready to go out, happy with what he is wearing, but second guesses his shirt. He then goes through may different changes but ultimately decides on the first shirt as he is the most happy with it. Through life, we try so hard to make others happy in our actions, in our decisions, and in our appearance, and through my piece I hope to analyze this with a positive message.

Collage Art Back in the Store