Valedictory

I decided to do my valedictory on cultural appropriation because it is a topic that my friends often discuss with me. When it came time to decide what to do, my friends asked me to do pieces on this issue because it was very important to them and something they saw talked about very little. I really loved making social issue ads earlier this year so I decided to do that with this project. I wanted to really focus on having a serious picture and show how beautiful my friends looked wearing items from their cultures. I also wanted to give the pieces more emotional depth by adding words and had them each write me a statement on cultural appropriation for me to add to the pictures. I had a lot of difficulties finding a time to shoot all of them and if I did it again I would probably not shoot at school because then they could have worn bigger items that they couldn't take to school, Overall, I enjoyed making this because I loved working with my friends and doing something they were passionate about it, but they didn't turn out quite how I wanted. 

Valedictory Progress Check

The aim of my concentration is to create a series of social issue advertisements addressing the modern day issue of cultural appropriation. Race Relations defines cultural appropriation as "typically involving members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups — often with little understanding of the latter’s history, experience and traditions" (racerelations.about.com). Although I have not personally been affected by cultural appropriation, I have seen it and the negative effects that come with it pervade the world around me. Many of my friends have been offended and hurt by acts of cultural appropriation in their lives and I want to help them share their opinions on the subject with people who are not as educated about it. I want to create serious and visually appealing ads that confront the negative racial and ethnic connotations behind acts of cultural appropriation. I want to share my friend's stories and help people realized that this is not a harmless practice and understand the consequences these actions have on other people. 

Surrealism Final

Jess is a vibrant and outgoing person. She appears very confident on the outside and seems very comfortable with herself. On the inside she is a peaceful person who loves the outdoors. I wanted to capture the inner serenity of such a boisterous person, by having a nature scene shining through her outer self.

Jess is a huge joker and enjoys being silly and having fun. However, she can be very serious when she wants or needs to be. I chose to juxtapose these two ideals by having a a dark and grungy picture with a really silly pose. 

Although I can seem distant in person, on the inside I am a fun loving person who loves visiting the beach and bright colors. 

On the outside I appear very composed and down-to-earth but the inside me always has her head up in the clouds and is daydreaming about something or other. I liked the idea having filling my head up with clouds to show this and adding a glittery texture to give it an air of fantasy.

Perception vs Reality

Outward

-Nerdy
-Athletic
-Cat Lover
-Talkative

Inward

-Shy
-Loner
-Cat Lover

Rene Magritte & Surrealism

1.     What is surrealism?

      The juxtaposition of unrelated objects, such as real-life objects side-to-side with stuff from                   dreams put into art.

2.     What motif did Magritte use in many of his works? Why was this significant?

      A man wearing a bowler hat. Magritte, as a businessman, dressed like this and saw so many other       men dressed like this that he became inspired by the ubiquity of it.

3.     In his work Golconda, why is it important that Magritte varied the image of the man in the bowler hat?  How does it add depth to the work?

      It separates from being just dull repetition and makes it more interesting to look at and inspect on       a closer level. The subtle differences make you wonder who or what the artist is painting.

4.     Why did surreal artists choose to create strange worlds with their art?
     
       They felt the world we lived in had already been thoroughly explored and represented artistically        and it would be more interesting to direct their work to the world of dreams.

5.     Explain how the techniques of juxtaposition, altered scale, and language help Magritte explore Surrealism. 

      Magritte invites his viewers in with complicated and beautiful imagery, but leaves them confused       as to the actual meaning of his art.      

6.     What would be a few reasons why Magritte would cover the faces of his subjects?

       Many theorists say the traumatic death of his mother, who was supposedly found with her face            covered, when he was only 12 influenced him greatly.

7.     Why did Magritte strive for realism & precision in his paintings?

      The precise and miniature details in his dream-like paintings help to ground strange scenes in             reality.

8.     Google more of Magritte’s work and include 2 images that interest you.

• Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work

Clairvoyance

   Magritte employs his motif of a man in a suit and makes his painting absurd by having the subject      paint a picture of a bird while staring at an unhatched egg. It is so impractical it is as if it came from    a dream.

The Art of Living

Here Magritte uses mismatched proportions in his painting of a suited man with a disproportionately large and round head and regular sized facial features. 

Inspiring Artists

I like how her face is colorless but the trees are green.

I like how this picture plays with the mind's eye and how we see things.

 I like the smoke coming out of his eyes, it's really mysterious and creepy.

 I like how this artist moved the facial features onto other body parts.

 I think this picture is so beautiful and I love how the arches in the bridge are where her eyes would be!

I think this picture does a really good job of showing how this girl feels invisible and worthless when she looks in the mirror. 

Dada Finals

Cut Copy and Rearrange

Halftone Screen

Color Blocks

Text Overlay

I really liked the concept of having a lot of personal autonomy with this project but I ended up feeling vaguely uncomfortable with the amount of complicated editing decisions I was required to make. I really enjoy editing but I like more simplistic editing and I felt my projects were not "Dada" enough, so I would do more editing but then I wouldn't like the image nearly as much. My favorite one was the color block because I like playing with color and I liked how simple and easy to make the shapes were. I also liked the simplicity of my cut, copy, and rearrange piece and how much negative space there was to play around with. This project made me realize I enjoy photography and editing more when I have a specific goal to achieve and not so much when I'm just working aimlessly, mainly because my sense of time and deadlines gets messed up, and I never feel satisfied with my work. I really enjoyed many of the Dada art pieces we looked at as a class, but did not enjoy making my own nearly as much.