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[armandales]

We've been talking about the circulation of imagery. This is very prevalent, especially during contemporary times. If you look back into the early 1900s when media has just been started to be developed and expanded. The circulation of media was a new concept. Those who understood it harnessed it to power. Especially with an audience who didn't understand it, it can be very influential. This is how propaganda by nations was developed, affecting the mentalities and ideals of generations. The idolization of groups, celebrities, public figures, and politicians. Examples would be Kim Kardashian as the perfect woman, Obama as leader of hope or other implications (depending on who you ask), and Uncle Sam as a figure of the United States influence. It's a very powerful thing that I think can be very dangerous if used in the wrong way. Imagrey is known for a quick medium of information through a single moment of time. Pictures convey a thousand words. This is where cultural imperialism come in. imagery of pamphlets is circulation of imagery but how that imagery influences is cultural imperalism. The United State's used Donald duck to impress their power and underlying purpose into latin American countries. That's the basis of curtalism imperialism, pushing subliminal power through media. it's grandure affects generations affecting the values that imageries allow to be seen even with those no able to read or even read a certain language. Promoting a portion of the world's ideals and morals through the liquidable pathway of images. Decentralization of cultural concepts and globalization of media is prompted through all the new contemporty differing media. I think it's great as it allow people to perceive cultural sensitivity and awareness by foreigners. It allows the new generation a whole new world before unavailable to them. It bring out cutral concepts before limited but this new globalization of media throughout the world prompts remixes and fusions before unseen. Wether it may be with a power fact unbenowst to the general society such as disney affecting many's of the worlds kids or general new world of difference appreciation. It's beautiful how interconnected we all are. Despite all the negatives.

[armandales]

The topic for this week was based upon remixed and reproduced images often politically tied. The basis was still life with rhetoric by Gries where the main example was Obama's Hope campaign posters.

We often see a lot of the time a reproduction of essential instances whether it be politically, socially, or economically activated has been manufactured in a way to convey a different message while retaining the original foundations that make it a mimic. The basis of still-life rhetoric is to persuade through an easily identifiable medium that enunciates an idea whether the theme is comically inclined or on a more serious note. Gries made it clear with Obama's Hope that an element can become fuel for a whole other sub-section of commentary of a group just based on visual aspects of the reproduced item. Tiny adjustments reflect ideologies and opinions. In Obama's remix, it's seen that different political figures and adjustments can provide a joke on the political sphere itself and a promotion for it.

It to me personally doesn't make sense why people get so fixated on a certain type of media and feel the need to exploit that singular type. Maybe it's the hilarity of an idea taken for such importance that an opposing group decides to go against it's tide and relay a differing view to present to the world. The possible hypotheticals can go on and on. I feel like though this type of still life with rhetoric is part of human nature. There is no singular "obligation" that we have as humans with an above-average intelligence to retort objective subjects and their media. It brings life a new meaning in the sublime to introduce others to their mental take on the world.

A big example of this apart from the political scape of Obama's hope is the Drake hotline bling. Even though it's not a still image it does represent a still moment within a music video that was collectively focused on. From that "meme" were created throughout the social media dune lands with various remixes by adjusting lighting, prop objects and drake himself.

Images from https://giphy.com/explore/hotline-bling

[armandales]

My photograph originally is of a hand outward reaching towards an abyss. I had changed the color to black and white as the reading discussed the human tendency to relate black and white photos as truth and thus more documentary-styled. Generally changing the color in photographic practice is acceptable as it can enhance an image's details and create more depth, texture, and dimension that a camera lens can lack compared to the human eye. To demonstrate Naturalistic Enthymeme, I added a portion of a different picture into the frame of the photograph as if the hand is trying to reach toward that instead of just the abyss.  This addition had a generally negative view regarding photography as it skews the non-interruptive narrative of the framed environment itself. The added image was of taxidermied mice framed to be in a circus positioned surrounded by clowns. I cropped that image and just focused on the stiff positioned walking tight roped mouse and changed that to black and white as well and tried to make it as if it is an attraction in the back. The context of the taxidermied mice is sad in itself and though the context cannot be known to the viewers the feeling of it I still conveyed through the dark gradient of black when joined with the separation of a hand out reaching for something in a timeless separation of space. Though the viewers may not exactly understand what is going on and may create a fantasy of reality the feeling that I the editor and photographer decided to play with when it came to the neutralities of each photo is what comes across. A feeling that each viewer must asses and relate to their own experiences to come to their own probable "conclusion". An educated guess for the human tendency to fill in the blank of our knowledge. We see what we want and the interaction between creator and viewer and medium that captures the context play a fun game of cat and mouse between mechanical realism and representational realism (also I tried with the editing by that's a whole magical skill to make it look smooth, I tried I'm still baby at it haha) 

[armandales]

This week the topic of realism and perspective in art and media was explored. It begins with a focus on realism and is explored through a camera lens, Cameras are supposed to be indifferent and relay the "truth" of social aspects (social realism), and framed photos of the time. generally, you see this through historic moments but never the less journalism adheres itself to third-person perspective images. The types of realism vary such as physical realism, photorealism, and functional realism. All of which focus on how realism is encoded, decoded, or relays its intention. The intention is very important in realism and often in battles with an abstraction which distorts the main realism into a different view or intention. Usually this tension is present in political aspects such as propaganda used by the soviets. Soviet social realism included types of the material reality transformation and geometric abstraction and objective form. Vary different from french poetic realism or Italian neorealism all politically motivated aswell. On the other hand, perspective focuses on science and art as well as perspective and body. The techniques and intentionality required for a perspective are hard but rewarding in that the camera obscura takes the viewer into a different view of the world. Challenging them to internalize the space and objects within and challenge a new vision. Challenges to perspective like cubism, African art, impressionism, etc. challenge the security of a singular layer of reality. Often both are represented in digital media today.

I took this week's reading as a dominant look into our own security of the truth of the world. Often humans like to control things. They like to know the truth and revel in their newly secured power. I personally have been struggling with emotional turmoil. Thus, insecurity, instability, fluctuating moods to deadened emotions make my brain hurt from the inner voices. Constantly questioning what is the truth?!

That's why I adore this topic. You can forcefully bring others into your world of confusion or security. Make people question their own truth and also be reassured that it's just art or media " I do know what it should actually be". Realism is wanting to share with the world what eyes lack in seeing, our body has a fenced world that realism through art introduces. Perspective brings our natural predispositions of the nature of geometry and natural inclinations of how and what eyes focus on.

This is my forced technique on these ideas. I chose a set of empowerment where a woman could look down upon the bug of a world. Is she tall or is the world small? It doesn't matter what the viewer thinks or if they think she'll stomp on the world. She knows what her decision is in her mind. you should think if she's looking down at you too.