Project #4 - Society vs. Self (Final Project)

This is my final project for this class. The goal here was to create a video that captures my reactions to what society says about me versus what I think of myself. This project made me think about the struggle of giving into societal norms to be a certain way and the times where I almost sacrificed my own self-image to fit other people's standards. The video is a fairly literal "portrait" of me, because I am literally saying what I think of myself. I wanted to show how I am not defined by the things that society says about me, and I can only truly show who I am by the way I see myself.

If you want to see this video on Vimeo, please follow this link. The password to access it is: selfportrait

Zine Collaboration Project

Here is my final zine project. I was after Kyle (Bono) and before Arissa (Powerpuff Girls)

90's Nostalgia (Video Games)

This homework is in response to "What Makes a Video Game Great?" by Alistair Brown.

I will be completely honest, I was never one to play video games as a kid. I was the one girl who couldn't figure out any of the basic controls in the first Halo. My expertise in video games extends to the Wii or Super Mario on the Nintendo DS. Nonetheless, I will talk about the relationship between video games and art and whether or not it relates to each other.

Is there a difference between video games and art? In particular ways, no. For me, I like the video games with a storyline. A good plot line is what makes a video game great. Video games with those intriguing storylines are like watching a movie, and to me, movies are a form of art. As far as MoMA getting video games as part of their design collection, I think this is a great idea!

Why shouldn't video games be considered art? It is art! The people who draw out the graphics and put detail into the way a character appearance, spend hours and days and months putting it all together, just like an artist with a paintbrush or using Photoshop or Illustrator. The visual qualities of a video game deems it as art because of the conceptual thoughts behind the characters and where each item is placed within one frame of the game. I am not a big gamer, but the Last of Us, a game for the PS4 showed really great quality when it comes to characters and the detail put into all of the background information.

Lastly, I would be wrong if I said that video games weren't art. As someone interested in producing and film, video games is the same kind of medium, just more interactive. It's almost like interacting with an animation movie, where whatever you choose affects the overall result of the movie. Movies give people feelings and introduce storylines that evoke emotion; video games do the same thing as well. I feel like the future holds great things for creators of video games. As far as the video game realm has come, it really just has to keep growing. I have no doubt that one day I will walk into a museum and see a video game on a wall of an exhibit and sending me into something that's bigger than life. And that right there, to me, is good art.

Zines: A DIY Type of Art (That's Still Around)

This homework is in response to the articles "Anatomy of a Zine" by Meredith Melnick, "Yes, Zines Still Exist, and, They're Not Antiques" by Chris Berube, and "How to Make a Zine" by Emma Dajska

Zines are more personal because they are handmade, according to the first article. In this way I agree, zines are something that is handmade to be published. As the Girl Crush zine tries to embody, zine editors say, "I have something to say, so it's time to publish". Zines are also described as fan magazines and are ways that an artist can create uncensored, identifying, tribute publications. I really enjoyed how this first article described zines in a way that showcases feelings and emotions, and is greatly able to show a message that the artist wants to convey.

The second article was interesting because it showed how zines aren't just a 90s norm anymore, it's still around. Zines in the 90s were small, homemade publications by anyone who wanted to handcraft a piece of work. Nowadays, zines are still around and there are fairs and exhibits that showcase them. In this article, zines seem to be handmade and crafted or even created on different softwares and printed out. The good thing about zines, as this article points out, is that it contains so much personality and personal expression and is a great type of art piece that is able to convey an experience and provoke emotion.

This last article talks about how to create a zine. Zines are self-published and, as this article states, usually contain content that is too "controversial" for mainstream media like official magazines or television. Zines are part of a creation of culture, especially in the underground realm. There is not set of rules on creating zines because they can be anything. Zines communicate different types of feelings and can be absolutely anything. This article also states that handmade zines are more personable, but digital zines are also something that came about and helps the artist reach an audience across the world a lot more quickly.

Based on what I read in the articles, zines sound like one of the best ways I can be completely honest with my feelings if I want an audience to see them. For my digital zine in class, I want to do something personal from my childhood. Since the theme is nostalgic pop culture, I wanted to do something that was kind of popular during my childhood yet hold significant meaning to me. My grandma and I would watch Tom and Jerry together when she got sick. Every time it was on, I would run to the phone and call her. We would sit for two hours on the phone watching Tom and Jerry. I would like to create a zine from this cartoon because it gives me memories of my grandma while she was alive. I will also be incorporating Lilo and Stitch cartoon as well because I watched that as a kid and it is also based in Hawaii, where I'm from.

Classmate's Project

I have decided to color in Nadeen's monster. I chose it...because it looked cute lol.

Project #3 - Monsters

Monster (well at least I tried) :P

New Media Art Exhibits

Part 1: The focus of this homework will be two exhibits: Test Pattern by Ryoji Ikeda and Long March by Feng Mengbo

These two exhibits were the most interesting to me because of their visual and almost interactive feel they give off. Both of these exhibits, in their own way, show movement and visually appeal to an audience through that similarity.

I like the Test Pattern exhibit because of the black and white flashing colors. The pulsating colors almost give me a headache, especially since it's like looking at strobing lights at a party or club. Nonetheless, I like the way the lights moved with the sounds. The video showed people interacting with the lights and sound in a personal way. The main thing about the test pattern is that it contrasts the light and dark with each other and pairs it nicely with movement. I also enjoyed how the people were just doing normal things or sitting on the ground and the lights and sound moved all around them. The way everything was shot looked just like an actual testing screen that you would see on a television. I believe this message is supposed to show the relationship between real life movement and the contrast between light and dark movement.

I liked the Long March exhibit because of the overwhelming color and movement on the screen. This is a huge display of a similar Super Mario game paired with other characters from different games. I like that it is a larger-than-life display of a video game. I believe the message here is to show the way gamers see video games, as sometimes more than just a game but huge, come-to-life type of way. I also liked the interaction of the game. The man in the video seems to be playing the game and turning around to the other screen after or in the middle of each level. This just brings to life the idea of video games and the bigger than life appeal.

These two art exhibits were my favorite of the five choices and I actually really enjoyed getting to see them. If these exhibits came to DC, I would most likely go see them just to physically see the exhibits come to life.

Part 2: I commented on Katie's project.

Project #2 - Pauahi People (Bodies)

Since the theme for Project 2 was Bodies, I have decided to create this picture and call it Pauahi People. This picture is supposed to embody the dream Pauahi had when she founded Kamehameha Schools. Pauahi created the school to help children of Native Hawaiian descent to have proper education and to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture. The background picture is significant because just behind the hula dancers is the huge portion of land in the mountain that Kamehameha Schools is built upon. The red and yellow kāhili in the background is a symbol of the Hawaiian chiefs and nobles. Pauahi is a descendant of the prestigious Kamehameha I and was raised as a royal princess. The hula dancers that are blurred in the background are symbols of the culture that Pauahi wanted to preserve. Finally, the opaque picture within Pauahi is my Kamehameha graduating class of 2015 and we symbolize the "good and industrious men and women" that Pauahi wanted us to be as we left Kamehameha Schools.

Unspoken Rules of Appropriation

This article is a homework response to the article "Copy Rights" by Barbara Pollock. This response is a continuation of week four's homework assignment.

Sara Krajewski was correct when she said that appropriation has been made simple by downloading or scanning an item. Appropriation really is a hard topic to interpret because the word can have different meanings to different people. However, to be a true appropriation artist means to add a different concept and meaning to another artist's piece of work. It honestly takes more than just slapping an emoji over a hand and calling the art "appropriated". It takes actually thinking and having a new vision for a piece of work. Not every artist adheres to these "appropriation rules" but some of them do have outstanding pieces of art.

One artist in particular that I have come to really like is Barbara Kruger. Kruger takes photographs in pop culture and adds words to them that changes the meaning and context of the original photo. My favorite piece is Thinking of You

because it adds a sense of discomfort to a heartening saying. The term 'Thinking of you' could be posed negatively when looking at the picture because maybe you're thinking about a past lover or ex-boyfriend that hurt you and thinking of them is like pricking your finger on a needle.

The difference between 'appropriation' and 'sampling' is that appropriation is reworking someone's original idea into your own original idea and building off of it to create something new. Sampling is just a gentler way of saying appropriation and seems more "acceptable".  Image transfer is more of a way to take more than one different work of art and creating a new piece from them.

In a way, I kind of agree with Lichtenstein's idea about 'reappropriation' because videos and films are a sort of appropriation of what really happened in real life (such as movies 'Based on a true story'). However, I disagree with her because not everything is technically appropriated, because the filmmakers have prior permission to create the works and do actually consult with the original artist about their work.

Lastly, I will talk about some of the works from Elaine Sturtevant. She was an American artist who is known greatly for her appropriation and conceptual art pieces. A NY Times article describes her pieces as artfully and tastefully appropriated and comments on her flawless repetition artwork. A famous piece of Sturtevant's was a reworking of Roy Lichtenstein's Crying Girl. Although I can't find a good picture that shows the differences between Sturtevant's and Lichtenstein's, I still like how Sturtevant was able to rework other's art into her own and create tasteful appropriation pieces without causing trouble with the original artists.

Appropriation: Neither Black or White

This blog is in response to articles of the Cariou vs. Prince copyright infringement court case. Links and articles can be found here.

Appropriation means taking the work of another artist without their permission and using it as their own artwork. This meaning seems to be closely tied with plagiarizing. However, there is a difference between stealing ones work and slapping their own name on it versus seeing someone's work and using it to influence their own original ideas. But for now, we will focus on appropriation and the idea of using someone else's artwork without prior permission.

First of all, I will take a stance on the issue. I agree that Prince's work was an "appropriate" appropriated art piece. The last question in the NY Times article was thought-provoking. How can we determine if something is transformative enough? It may depend on who is looking at the art, but I personally believe that Prince's work transformed the message that Cariou was saying to make it his own. Cariou's Yes, Rasta was made to capture the life and feelings of Rastafarians while Prince's Canal Zone kept a more dystopian feel with "crude imagery" and completely different message.

However, appropriation is neither black or white but gray. How can a single person determine if a work is appropriated enough to be called an original piece of art? The court defined appropriation as being transformative enough and having a new expression and different character from the original. I agree greatly with this statement because I believe that's the way it needs to be.

Appropriated work is controversial as is, and even I cannot give an exact definition to what "appropriate" appropriated work looks like. It just depends on who is looking at it and how the work is generally perceived. So finally, I do not believe that Richard Prince's work is right or wrong, but it does tackle controversy in a new way and take on a new expression of character. Although Prince's work can be controversial, and he will probably do this type of work again, his method of creating a new expression from another person's work is definitely an interesting one.

Watercolor Art Meets Voice

Artwork by Momilani Ramstrum

This assignment is in response to the article Artist’s ‘Color Conversations’ at Encinitas Library fuses vocal and visual media by Diane Welsh. The artist featured in the article is Momilani Ramstrum, a Hawai'i born woman who currently resides in Bonita.

Momilani Ramstrum's artwork really caught my eye as I was searching something interesting. Her 'Color Conversations' exhibitions are innovative, creative, and passionate. Ramstrum's entire exhibition focuses on the use of watercolor paint mixed with other items such as salt, sand, and soap. Ramstrum has been a visual artist since she was a child and cites watercolor as her favorite type of paint. 'Color Conversations' was on exhibit this past Saturday Sept. 26th at the Encinitas Library.

The reason I chose Ramstrum's work specifically is because of the way she complements the artwork with vocal improvisation. Ramstrum believes that her collection highlights the way that watercolor art can improve her vocal descriptions and also vice versa. Using a Musical Interface Device Instruction (MIDI), Ramstrum records her voice while she paints her artwork. Then her artwork is played on a screen and played in real time, creating a bigger-than-life effect to the brushstrokes and colors put onto the medium.

I have never seen this type of artwork, but after reading this article, I became very interested in Ramstrum's work. Her artwork appeals to people of all ages and can catch the attention of anyone who is interested in new media.

To see more of Momilani Ramstrum's work, visit this page.

Project #1 - GIF

GIFs: The Growing Art Form

This assignment is in response to the history of GIFs and the growing sensation it has become in the last six years.

Art can no longer be categorized as paper on walls or simple paintings. It has expanded to the Internet and taken over our lives in one way or another, whether we realize it or not. With the ever-growing media outlets and softwares becoming available on the Internet, GIFs have become a growing sensation for the last six years. GIFs are, to say the least, a form of digital art that captures one moment in time and repeats it over and over, creating another dimension that's unexplainable, yet so easy for the people of my generation to accept and understand.

This generation and GIFs go hand-in-hand. GIFs have steadily become a way of communication between millennials and Gen Z due to the visual message that a single GIF holds. Personally, I use GIFs as reactions to something my friends' say. There is a message in every GIF and it seems like sometimes GIFs can speak louder than any text can. As Maggie Lange from The Cut explains, GIFs create a hyperreality for the audience. And this is true, mostly because an effective GIF is one that immerses the viewer into the message. It should be more than just viewing a repetitive, moving picture, but about feeling the artistic value within a moment in time.

No matter how weird Tumblr can get or how useless a certain GIF may seem, GIFs are a form of art that can be easily misunderstood. A GIF may not start as an artistic form, but can easily become one. Art in general is meant to catch the viewers' eye and to make something that seems completely normal stand out, and GIFs act as the same eye-catcher. Take the GIFs Are the New Graffiti article by Yohana Desta for example. The GIFs that were "tagged" in the streets of London made the viewers stop to look, made them pause to determine what was being said through the GIF. This is what a good GIF does; it makes you look at the moving picture and actually think.

Each GIF has it's own particular meaning, whether to entertain a viewer, react to a certain piece of information, or become an artistic life of its own. Our generation has always learned to accept a new technology and move on. But I think that GIFs have become an integral part of the way we communicate and may be around for quite a while longer.

The New Virtual Reality

This assignment is in response to the article: ""Screen Democracy" or Fascism of the Image? New Audiovisual Regimes in an Era of Indiscriminate Information Dissemination" by F. Javier Panera from ArtPulse Magazine.

Refer. http://artpulsemagazine.com/screen-democracy-or-fascism-of-the-image-new-audiovisual-regimes-in-an-era-of-indiscriminate-information-dissemination

Smartphones, social media, and innovative technology have grown in exponential rates in the last decade. This generation that we are apart of is all about change and the newest thing. I mean, haven't we all seen how the world reacted when the new iPhone 6 came out?

However, these fast-paced changes have almost never been questioned by the Millenials or especially Gen Z. We have welcomed these technologies with open arms and probably very few of us have questioned buying that new iPhone or Samsung smartphone. The way we, Gen Z, view the world is different than previous generations. It is not just because we live in a more modern, advanced society, but also because we are simply...different.

F. Javier Panera, the author of the article, is correct in assuming that our virtual reality is no longer the same as the people of the older generation. We have a constant need to post, tweet, take pictures, Snapchat, and Instagram the moments we want to remember. It gives us a way to store our memories and to make them live on. It is no longer enough for us just to look at an event live and remember; not without snapping a few pictures for our Facebook and Instagram. Does this assumption make Generation Z any less smarter? Is it a bad thing that most of our lives is lived through a screen? Answer for the first question, no. Answer for the second, debatable.

Our generation is just so used to the movement on a screen, whether it's scrolling through posts or simply watching a funny video on YouTube. So when Panera says that art museums are lacking in keeping the younger generations interested is, sadly, correct. It seems to be that, unless you are an Arts major or someone who really loves old things and classical art, no one in this generation will be able to keep their attention trained on a portrait hung on the wall. In my opinion, honestly, it IS Arts responsibility to be entertaining. We cannot force ourselves to like the art, so the only way to keep us engaged is to innovate and to move with the times that our society is inevitably a part of.

These days, digital preservation IS key. When Panera suggests that our generation needs documentation to prove a memory is real and has actually happened is partly true. Generation Z has adopted the saying "Pics or it didn't happen", which basically means you must take a picture and send it to Instagram, Snapchat, your friend, etc., to prove that an event actually happened. It is not a bad thing, per say, but it does show exactly how much the generation depends on documentation, especially digital preservation, to be able to remember certain events. In the end, it doesn't prove our existence, but it proves that the way we move forward is different than the other generations (digital preservation vs. physical memories).

A mnemonic memory is remembering or recalling a memory right from the brain. A person will talk about the concert from last year and immediately begin talking about the details of that event because the picture will pop up in their head. A heuristic memory is all about connectivity. Ask a different person about the same concert and they will bring out their phone and show you the pictures they took of the concert. It seems that heuristic memory focuses on sharing the picture with the world around them rather than about the actual event itself. The more I think about it, the more I believe it to be true. We speak through our pictures and our phones. Our lives are intertwined by our posts and our memories live on through that little SD card or the gigabyte storage on iCloud.

Panera says that we are "sacrificing [the human being] phenomenological relationship with the world in favor of "visualization"". As much as I hate to admit it, Panera is right once again. I have already stated that we (Generation Z) crave that connectivity, the internet to preserve the memories of important events. And sadly, we are giving up a little part of what connects us to the basic cores of nature: direct experience. We favor viewing pictures and videos of certain places. We can go to the most coveted places on Earth and still have our phone attached to our hands. We can barely look, touch, taste, smell, or feel anything of this Earth without taking a picture or video first. Are we missing out on something so little and so big at the same time? Are we giving up a part of our humanity because we prefer screen time to physical experience? The truth is sad but this is the way we were raised and the way our society has played out the newest innovations. The very definition of "being human" has been altered with every technology that has come out. Being in nature and being connected to the world itself in a physical sense is no longer enough for this generation or the generation to come.

Ask anyone before Generation Y or Z and they could tell you an event that happened forward and backward just by recollection. These days, we can't even remember what our friend said last night without having to check back on their text. However, I don't think Panera is right when he suggests that the human memory is becoming more fragile. Our memory is simply being stretched in different ways. Generation Z may not be able to tell you all the things that happened at an event, but ask one of use the newest iOS software or press a series of buttons to make your laptop do a weird trick. The best example I can think of is a classroom full of frustrated students trying to tell the teacher how to full screen a video or make it reload and play while the teacher confusedly hits random buttons and takes five minutes to find the right button. Our memory is not becoming fragile nor are we becoming more stupid. We have grown up with certain technologies and have become advanced in ways of preservation and innovation; we have become a modern norm and changed the way we think and act.

When Panera suggests a "fascism of the image", he means that we are not aware just how much we are controlled by our technological devices. However, this isn't a bad thing. To us, technology isn't a fascist device that's controlling our mind. It's not scary to us. It's the norm these days. Do I believe we should limit our technology usage? Slightly yes. Do I believe we should completely stop using technology? Definitely not. My cell phone and my laptop is such a big part of my life that I couldn't ever imagine not being tied to it all the time. There is no need for a democratization of images because we have grown up with these technologies. Limiting our usage as well as bringing government into the way we communicate with others and selling and buying will not move us forward. Our communication should be our right since we grew up with it in the first place. In this fast-paced society, we have no room for nonessential censorship.

Needless to say, not everyone can agree that technology has advanced our world. There are going to be people that want to move the world forward in a different way and believe today's innovation is inhibiting our society. But change is unavoidable in this day and age. And soon even the people who want to keep the world around them a certain way will have to change if they want to survive in this society. Although Panera seems to be on the fence about the way this generation is moving in society, I believe that technology has always moved us forward and innovation is inevitable.