Studio Art 104

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For Motion Graphics Exercise 3

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This was my final for Studio Art 102. We had to do a “Hard Edge Painting” and though i had to assemble the scanned images in photoshop, I am overall happy with this final.

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Journal Article: Cult of Ugly

Link: https://www.typotheque.com/articles/cult_of_the_ugly 

This article, Cult of Ugly, written by Steven Heller, talks about “ugly” design and how we may be at a stand still in terms of new movements and forms of design.

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Journal Article: Metal Logos

Link: http://www.veryinteractive.net/content/4-library/26-crypto-logo-jihad/vandervelden-cryptologojihad.pdf 

This article, Crypto Logo Jihad Black Metal and the Aesthetics of Evil, written by Daniel van der Velden discusses the concepts and aesthetics behind Metal band logos.

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My video for Project 4, A Painter’s Dream.

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Tech Culture Post Option D: Tech & The Body

Video: Lucy McRae a “body architect” briefly discusses her ideas and her passion of both body art and body modification. She also talks about her perfume pill and how it transforms the skin into giving off the perfume’s scent.

Article to Read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/these-real-life-cyborgs-hack-their-bodies-with-chips-magnets-and-other-tech/2016/06/10/2188f318-25ec-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html

In this article, written by Abigail Abrams, she writes about the different ways a few “cyborg artists” are enhancing their bodies from being able to feel earthquakes to hearing invisible colors.

Reference: http://reporter.rit.edu/tech/biohacking-technology-and-human-body

Bill Gerken, a graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology, wrote this article for the student ran Reporter Magazine to discuss “Biohacking”.

Personally I would not implant myself with any sort of electronic for intellectual or physical gain. If, however, I became disabled in any way that would seriously affect my day to day life and there just so happened to be a fix through some sort of electronic device, then I would gladly accept the modification regardless of the risk. Now, if I am able to live my life without a disability or disease then I see no reason to modify my body. I do not see what I gain from it other than the possibility of using money from a chip in my hand; that is really the only practical application. It is possible that I simply lack imagination but I don’t see the point in being able to feel earthquakes from across the Earth or hearing colors as Abrams mentions in the article I have listed above. Gerken also writes in the next article I mention, “There are a plethora of problems associated with biohacking. Anything from the needle to the physical object being implanted has a chance of being unsanitary, which could lead to infection.” Why would I risk my health to hear colors? These unnecessary applications simply do not make sense to me. Furthermore, if I am simply not smart enough to handle a certain problem, I don’t see why I should cheat by obtaining a modification. It is the same thing with performance enhancing drugs. Sure it may make for a more entertaining show, but eliminates any work that a person needs to put in.

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Tech Culture Post: Option AA

Image source and other images: http://www.twocoatsofpaint.com/2011/03/images-thomas-berding.html

An interesting Q&A with Thomas Berding: https://mwcapacity.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/q-a-with-thomas-berding/

For my mandatory Art Event post I attended the Thomas Berding exhibition here at Oakland University. I can tell you right away that I do not like abstract expressionism; I knew that going in but I thought I might be able to enjoy Berding’s work anyway. With that being said, I did not enjoy his work. To me abstraction never seems to display actual thought. It feels random and unnecessary. I can say that I did enjoy Berding’s use of color. Each one of his paintings had a wide range of colors. His work is definitely based on perception. Each person viewing will most likely have their own interpretation. I do not understand how you could have an actual conversation about any of his pieces but I am sure there are those that do. In many of his works he seems to leave pencil marks and even tape on the final product. I’m sure this can be conveyed as some sort of expression, being that his work is abstract expressionism, but the only expression I pick up on his laziness. Why leave your pencil marks and tape in the final product? It seems like bad craftsmanship to me. I think I even saw a dried out yellow banana pepper in one of his works, though I can’t remember which one so take that statement with a grain of salt. Although I seem to be bashing the majority of his works, I did like his piece By land and By Sea which you can see above. This one actually depicts a setting whereas the majority of his works do not. I will say that this color palate in this work is sort of ugly, but it does depict the colors that you would see in a city. It would have been nice if he would have combined his color technique with this piece. For example, he could have shown the pollution in the air using multiple colors, or even just a simple sunset would have been nice. I do also like his use of geometric shapes in this painting. It gives it that feel of abstraction. Berding’s work would be far more interesting if he combined his abstract expression to depicting real life scenarios. Overall I would not say that I hate his work, just that I don’t fully understand it.

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This is my final draft for project 3. I was going for a landscape poster. The text is pretty small mainly because I wanted to cram a lot of information. I think that if I would have focused on one aspect within this info-graphic than it would have been easier to manage and may have turned out better. Because I won’t for a poster I didn’t think the small text would be that much of an issue as I wanted to sort of lure the viewer in with the graphics and concepts depicted than the viewer would be able to read the text once they got close enough to see what the poster was about. Overall, I don’t think it’s terrible, the only issue I have and couldn’t seem to fix was the text.

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This is my draft of project 3. I know it isn’t much more than a sketch, but that’s because I wasn’t happy with how the other ones were turning out so I kept restarting. I feel with this one I will be able to do more. The boxes for where the text will be probably won’t stay, but I put them in for filler. The circles by the title will be for the legends. Also the research has yet to be placed within the image. I plan on placing it in a clockwise formation like the boxes already are. It’ll be a sort of circular timeline. I definitely need more graphics in this info-graphic and definitely plan on doing so. I have some catching up to do, but I am happy with how this one is coming along.

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Tech Culture Post: Option H

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is extremely useful but does come with some draw backs. Cloud computing is defined by IBM as, “the delivery of on-demand computing resources – everything from applications to data centers – over the internet on a pay-for-use basis.”

Google Drive is an example of working in the cloud. An amazing feature that I use in Google Drive when working in a group is Google Docs. This enables you to work with a team even when you aren’t physically near them, by allowing anyone to make changes and edit the word document. This also allows teams to work with things like Googles version of PowerPoint. Another advantage of cloud computing according to the NRDC is that it’s environmentally friendly. According to their research they estimate that, “all the data centers in the United States consume more than 75 billion kilowatt-ours of electricity annually.” This takes up about 2 percent of the total electrical energy use in America (NRDC). So if organizations were to have cloud computing for their servers in just one location that would be shared across to every one of the included individual organizations, this would reduce the need to have electrical power supplied to run the servers. While all this sounds nice and perfect, working in the cloud does have its share of disadvantages.

I know from my own experience that working in the cloud can be frustrating. You have to rely on the internet to work for one and it can be annoying when someone you are working with changes all the work and progress you made. Also, according to Small Business Computing, security may be an issue. Say for instance a large company has a cloud computing system and everyone in that organization is working in it; what’s to stop someone from using that information negatively? As Small Business Computing puts it, “It boils down to whom do you trust with your business data?”

Sources:

https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/learn-more/what-is-cloud-computing/

https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/cloud-computing-efficiency-IB.pdf

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/the-pros-and-cons-of-cloud-computing.html

Image Source:

http://www.magnetsolutionsgroup.com/a-brief-history-of-cloud-computing/

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These are my sketches for Project 3. Not sure which one I’ll decided on but I’m leaning towards the first one. Once I decide I’ll be able to implement my research into the project and I will get more ideas of how I want to display that information. These sketches just show the different layouts that I am currently thinking about.

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Project 3: Pen Tool Practice

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SA 104 Project 3 Research

Project 3 Final Idea: History of Clocks Infographic

Nist.gov: https://www.nist.gov/pml/walk-through-time-early-clocks

I will design my infographic so that it may be clear how clocks have been developed throughout time. I will start with the first clocks being sun dials and end with the modern watches of today, such as the apple watch. It will go something like this: Sun dials, water clocks, tower clocks, pendulum clocks, quartz clocks, pocket watches, wrist watches, and todays touch screen watches. I may also display side notes like clocks being in phones, time zones, and so forth. I will mention certain aspects of each clock and briefly how the function. I’ll be using nist.gov for the majority of the project but will most likely use other sources as well when I actually start design the graphic.

Also I will throw in various statistics, such as who still wears watches? The website https://today.yougov.com/news/2011/05/05/brother-do-you-have-time/ provides various stats on who wears watches and how most people seem to just use their phone now. Later I plan to also compare that to how many people use watches such as the apple watch.

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3 Ideas for Project 3

Transition of Video Game Controllers

The Battle between Coke and Pepsi

https://www.opinionoutpost.com/en/blog/50-years-of-fighting-the-competition-between-coke-and-pepsi#.WAPwweArLIU

http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/1315611/history-coke-vs-pepsi-war-3-1-2-minutes

Different Types of Trees in Michigan

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_22664-61596--,00.html

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/pine_spruce_or_fir_getting_to_know_michigan_evergreen_trees

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Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvOgW6iV2s

TC Option E:

This is a Ted Talk done by John McWhorter. In it he discusses how texting is used to resemble how we casually communicate to one another rather than how we formally discuss things in things such as letters or papers. He discusses how complex this actually is and why it is not harmful to anyone.

               Texting in my life isn’t exactly one of the major things that I do but I do use it every day and quite honestly couldn’t be without it. The only person I text all the time is my girlfriend. People like my parents and grandparents I don’t really text; not because they don’t know how or are uncomfortable with it, but because I would rather call them and speak with them. Texting people outside of my generation feels sort of awkward to me. I don’t feel as though they know exactly how I am speaking, and with texting it’s sometimes hard to know how a person means to sound. There are also certain times I won’t call or text people. I will not text when I am in class or if I have something else important going on. Also, If I know the person is busy I will not bother them. I would say that a pro to speaking through text is that you can formulate what you want to say but it’s also immediate. A con would be that you can’t take back or erase a message sent, so the immediacy is sort of problem. In ordinary writing you can erase before the directed audience views it, but in texting you can’t. As for the most important information I’ve ever given in text, I’m not quite sure. For important things I usually call as it is more respectable. I guess maybe if you can consider texting about what someone wants for dinner to be important than that’s about it. Maybe telling someone what I want from Taco Bell is important, I don’t know. I probably would never text someone something extremely important unless I was in a hurry or really busy. As for texting as a whole, I don’t think I could live without it now that I have it. Calling someone is much more intrusive whereas texting is quick and easy.

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This is Jolly Metal. Part Jolly Rancher, part Metal.

Final Sources

Images from Internet:

Black Room (Background): http://ledverona.it/punto-vendita/

Rainbow (Background): http://bgfons.com/img/nature/rainbow

Space Nebula (Background): http://theotaku.com/wallpapers/view/229533/a.r.t.p.o.p%257E%2521

Blue Brain: http://www.nootrobreathe.com/

Fallout 4 Power Armor (Arm): http://www.gamespot.com/articles/400-fallout-4-power-armor-figure-stands-14-inches-/1100-6434079/

Jolly Ranchers (Arm & Leg): http://www.playbuzz.com/jillfp10/what-type-of-candy-are-you

Nuke: http://www.wallpapersxl.com/wallpaper/1440x900/nuke-one-color-211390.html

           White Eyeball (Head): http://www.dapiniu.com/tags/640182?page=13

Drawing and Scanned Photo

     JE Initials Sketch: Drawn and scanned in by me.

Self-Taken Photos

     Pen (Leg): Taken by me on October, 3 2016 at about 1 o’clock, was taken on my counter in   my kitchen.

     Headphones: Taken by me September, 22 2016, was taken in my room at home.

     Me: Taken by me September, 22 2016, was taken in my room at home.

     Fossil Watch: Taken by me September, 22 2016, was taken in my room at home.

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This is my work on project 2 so far. I am happy with it so far but I will say it is looking somewhat cluttered. Not sure how I feel about the cut up arm yet either. I would like to find a sort of monster claw but no such luck. I might try to draw an arm, but I already did attempt that and I didn’t like it much. Another thing I may change is the background. I liked the background in the beginning; however, I think a colored background maybe a better option. Overall it’s almost done and I do like how it is coming a long. I will say that it isn’t very monstrous so I may try to go more in that direction.