Message Board Topic: Happy Accidents

The “Happy Accident” refers to a serendipitous moment artist’s often experience – meaning something happens in their work which they had not expected or planned for. Often these kinds of moments produce some of the most wonderful pieces. However, there is in an argument that these “happy accidents” are not really in the control of the artist – they just happen (hence, serendipity). Do you think Happy Accidents are good things? Do you think the artist should take credit for them? Or do you think the artist should throw away works that do not bare their original intention?

Message Board Topic: Abstraction & Realism

In this project you are being asked to combine abstraction with realism. These two forms of art are often seen as opposites or at odds with one another. Explain the difficulties you are having with this conceptually. Where are you struggling? Why do you think it is difficult? What have you decided so far and how can you push this further?

Censorship & Obscenity

Over time, throughout art history and the media, art and ideas have been censored. Most new media and fads start out uncensored with a lot of freedom. Then, societies, groups and other forums go in and try to reel it back in. A great example was the first movies – you can actually find movies from the 20’s and 30’s which are more “racy” and more “off color” than you can in the “50’s” and “60’s.”

Art goes through similar issues. Over the past few decades artists continually push the envelope. What is the difference between obscenity and art? When does it go too far?

What about the internet? Right now it is a truly free medium without censorship. Do you think an agency or group will try and censor it? Why or why not?

Message Board Topic: S-Curves, Why or Why Not?

S-Curves are elusive, interesting and eye-catching. Why? What is it about the S-Curve that draws the attention of the viewer? Furthermore, why are s-curves so intimately tied to the female form?

For the most part, art historians and artists have identified the s-curve in the female form, but not in the male. Is this a bias of a male-dominated discipline for centuries and centuries? Is it because males establish the rules and are (for the most part) attracted to the female form? Or is there something inherent in the female/s-curve that is beautiful?

Think of examples of non-female s-curves. The fact that non-feminine s-curves exist; does this prove that there is an inherent beauty not tied a previously male-dominated field?

Message Board Topic: Art & Technology

There are some who would argue that technology ruins the experience of the artist and prevents the artist from being connected to his/her craft. Some will even go as far to say, that an artist that uses technology is no longer an artist but practices in the technical fields (information tech, drafting etc.).

How would you respond to someone who says this?

Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Message Board Topic: Ethics of Editing

With the uses of Photoshop and editing becoming more and more realistic, there is a moral dilemma concerning "what is too much editing?" Here are some examples of how editing has changed reality/history: 1) the Postal Service removed cigarettes from artist Jackson Pollock and Blues guitarist Robert Johnson portraits to align the stamps with the Federal Government's no-smoking policy, 2) airbrushing changes the figures of women in magazines (incresing bust size, decreasing waste line, altering shape etc.) and 3) changing the colors of galactic/stellar pictures to what "scientists believe are the correct colors."

What do you think? What are the ethical problems of editing photos? Is there a line we should not cross?

Message Board Topic: Website Magazine

Please subscribe to http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/. This informative and interactive magazine covers trends in design and website design. Review this month's edition and pay close attention to the web ads. Also look at the article entitled: Principles of Design. Think about these 4 Principles and how they impact not just web design, but all forms of 2D Design including Photography.

Write a short reaction to this webzine - what do you think of webzines vs. traditional magazines? How affective are the ads? Do you think interactive articles are more appealing?

Message Board Topic: Defining Visual Art

Imagine that you are visiting a strange culture. Imagine these people have no art - especially no visual arts. How would you describe art to them? Remember they have no frame of reference - they have no idea what art is! What is art's purpose? Why do we create it? Why do we need it? What does art do for us?

Message Board Topic: Abstraction - What Do You see?

The Rorschach Inkblot Test evaluates what a patient sees in abstract images. This is called "conceptualization" and relates to "conceptual art." Look at the above image and describe what you see. Try to see at least four different things in the above inkblot. Then think how you can take abstract photographs using the same principle. Describe what you would do.

Message Board Topic: Negative Spaces

The above image demonstrates the relationship of positive and negative space. When considering light setups and studio lighting, it is said that the negative space (the emptiness or surrounding area) is perhaps more important than the positive space. The negative space forms shapes from the shadows and highlights - these abstractions can enhance or detract from the image. Can you think of times when you might have seen examples of this? Describe them on the Blog. Then think about ways in which you can control the negative spaces. What should you look for?  

Message Board Topic: Visual Communication

Visual Comunication is defined as: "communication through visual aid and is described as the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be seen or viewed." We actually see visual communication through all of human history ranging from cave paitnings to websites. How is visual communication different than verbal, written or gestural? How is it limited? How is it easier to use than verbal or written?

Message Board Topic: Blogging

Blogging is a form of communication which is considered "viral." This means that it is something that has caught on - it started out small and now "everyone is doing it." Why do you think blogging has become "viral"? Is bloggin a good form of communication or is it just a fad?

Welcome to a New Year

Welcome to Digital Photography and Imaging 2! The new year of blogging has begun! Each week check back to see updates and message board topics posted on the Image Forum. You will also see the exciting new projects, new ideas and new products that the DPI 2 class is making.

Message Board Topic: Reflection

Reflection

This is your last message board topic. I would like to thank you for your participation and making the Image Forum a great place of ideas and artwork.

Would you take a few moments and reflect on this experience. Was it valuable? Did you enjoy the Blog over other forms of warm-up activities or classwork? What could be improved? What was successful?

Message Board Topic: Changing Impressions

Reflect on artistic experiences you have had throughout your life. Think about movies, photographs, paintings, sculptures, poems, literature, music, or other media. Now think about those that have changed you – those that have had such a lasting impression on you that you cannot forget it/them. Now think about how and why this happened…

What about this media was so impactful?

What was the subject matter of the media?

What was the concept of the media? What did it mean?

Why did this change you? How are you different now?

Message Board Topic: Motivation

In lieu of the last few weeks, we have discussed and participated in various activities which promote the monetary aspect of commercial art. Artists often struggle with a balance of making money and being free and creative. Studies have shown across all careers (not just the arts) that people work for two reasons: 1) the monetary reward and 2) encouragement/praise and recognition.

What motivates you? What is a stronger factor in your life; reward or praise? What about your art?

Message Board Topic: Free Market

Like last week’s message board topic, this week offers another opportunity concerning commercial art, competition and contests. At http://www.converse.com/ you can design your own Chuck Taylor’s. Although not exactly like the Threadless Contest, you now have a voice by personalizing your wear. 

The free market system is based on the “best products” competing to survive. In a way this is very much like “survival of the fittest” or “democracy” in which the people “vote” by purchasing the products they think they are best (at least this is the theory).

Do you think this works? Do you think Converse is trying to subvert the free market system by allowing its customers to design their own products? Do you think this is a good idea?

Message Board Topic: T-Shirt Submission

The purpose of commercial art is to generate income from your artwork. Threadless is a graphic t-shirt company looking for new designs. You can find information concerning Threadless contests and submissions, here: http://www.threadless.com/submit. Choose one of your t-shirt designs and follow the submission process. Then reflect on this experience.

Do you think this is a good opportunity? Why or why not?

Message Board Topic: Webcomics

For over a century comics have been created for various reasons: 1) entertainment, 2) commentary, 3) satire, and 4) information. The media has influenced cartoons, movies, video games and other forms of media. And has traditionally been a “paper and pencil” media – being closely related to illustration and layout.

However, as newspapers and other print media are on the down turn in contemporary society, comics have also begun to suffer. Newspaper “funnies,” comic books and manga have made a transition from print to web (as is the trend with many medias today). The webcomic is replacing the traditional print. This has allowed for an exponential growth of comics available (moving away from the big news companies and big comic companies). What are the implications of this move?

Does moving comics to the web add or detract from the media? Look up a webcomic or two. Do you find them as successful as say traditional comics such as Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, Spiderman, Batman and Superman?

Branding

A brand is defined as: A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer and a product line so identified. Examples of brands include a variety of product-lines ranging from foodstuffs, fashion, electronics, and household products. Popular brands include: Nike, Eddie Bauer, Tide, Clorox, Apple, Microsoft etc.

What are the benefits of a brand? Why do brands sell better than just individual products? How would you describe a product-line? How is a product-line presented to the public?

Message Board Topic: The Narrative

Many analysts, sociologists and news writers argue that the modern day audience seeks a narrative. This means that news, information, education, politics and other areas of contemporary life require a story – the audience needs to be entertained in order to understand and learn. The audience needs characters that fulfill stereotypes like the underdog, the patriot, the good guy, the bad guy etc. The audience needs a plot – like a political race, where two people struggle to rise to the top. And the audience will only pay attention for as long as they are entertained. Some say that modern life, modern education and modern information systems have become a soap opera.

What does this mean for information or education? What does this mean for art? What does this mean for society?

How has the movie industry affected contemporary life? Are we moving into a soap opera orientated world?

Message Board Topic: Silent Films vs. "Speakies"

Prior to the addition to matched soundtracks and dialogue with imagery, films had much in common with photography and other forms of permanent, stationary art.

Think about how sound and dialogue affects the experience of a movie. How is a silent film or photograph more open to interpretation? How does it engage the viewer in a more mentally or metaphorically, as opposed to more literally?

How are the silent films more closely related to photographs? How are they different from “speakies?”

Message Board Topic: Visual Communication

Your artwork is intended to be seen. That is the purpose of art – to visually communicate with a viewer. The collective of viewers whom see your work is known as the audience. When designing your work, especially in visual communication, it is crucial to keep your audience in mind. Target audiences are key to the success of a work.

This is why the most popular television shows are usually shown between 7:00pm and 11:00pm, at a time when most people are at home and available to watch television. Advertisements for acne medication and sneakers are more likely to be found in Seventeen magazine than U.S. News & World Report magazine. Toys are more likely to be advertised on children's television shows than on other types of television shows.

Google search an advertisement. Analyze two things: 1) audience and 2) message. Explain in your own words who the audience is and why? Then explain what the message is and why?

Finally describe if your feel this ad is affective, and why?

Message Board Topic: Memes

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist, coined the term “meme” in reference to a “cultural gene.” Modeling culture after biological evolution, Dawkins proposes that ideas are like “living things.” Ideas infect people like viruses, and just like viruses that are stronger at defeating white blood cells and are able to spread among people, those ideas that are strongest survive.

Dawkins proposes these viral-ideas are memes, which include catch-phrases, melodies, fashion ideas, fads, and other cultural phenomenon. Internet memes are those ideas which spread quickly through cyberspace and infects popular culture: examples include LolCats, Rickrolling, Chocolate Rain, Potter Puppets etc.

Other memes exist as images. Think of images that have meme-like qualities. Then describe why you think these images are so memetic – have such infectious power.

Message Board Topic: Futurist/Vorticist Writing

Tarr, by Wyndham Lewis, is the typical example used of Futurist/Vorticist writing. Here is an excerpt from Tarr:

...Anastasya's laughter had upset and ended everything in his ''imaginary life.'' He told himself now that he 'hated' her.==''Ich hasse dich! Ich hasse dich!==he hissed to himself, enjoying the wind of the 'hasse' in his moustaches.==But (there was no doubt about it) the laugh had crushed him.==Ridiculous and hateful had been his goal. But now that he had succeeded, he thought, chiefly in the latter affair, he was overwhelmed. His vanity was wounded terribly. In 'laughing' at him she had puffed out and transformed in an extraordinary way, also his infatuation=

The entire book can be found online here: http://books.google.com/books?id=hj2sAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=tarr+Wyndham+Lewis&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Look over the test and notice the stark differences between the way Tarr was written compared to literature we are used to or more comfortable reading. Remember, this was written for English-speaking audiences, even if it does not look as though it was.

Create two sentences concerning your project but in this Futurist/Vorticist style.

Message Board Topic: Picasso & Einstein

During the early 1900’s two men perhaps had the greatest impact on 20th century culture: Picasso and Einstein. They shared one thing in common: trying to find a way to describe how things can happen at the same time, in the same place. Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity (special and general) while Picasso co-developed Cubism with Georges Braque. They both were influenced by one man: a mathematician named Henri Poincare.

 

How do you think math could have helped Picasso and Einstein develop their ideas?

What do you think is the relationship between these two men?

How did they impact the 20th century?

Message Board Topic: Artistic Theory

Other disciplines like science, psychology, anthropology and sociology use a theory system. This means there is an initial premise or idea which guides the work. The standard system works something like this: 1) observations of the world inspire an idea, 2) a theory is constructed (this is a hypothesis or statement), 3) the theory is tested through practice or study and 4) the theory is solidified by combining the initial observations, hypotheses and studies in a single, succinct statement.

Artists use a similar mode, such as the futurist or surrealist manifestos. Describe in your own words a theory exhibited by: 1) current artist(s), 2) past artist(s) or 3) yourself (make sure to include the type or movement you follow).