3 truths For Doug

For this final project for Doug we were required to create 3 abstract 1 minute videos utilizing one of the many truths that Doug had listed. At first I had trouble because a lot of my ideas are representational so creating something abstract was a big challenge. So what I did was brainstorm by reading each of the truths and generating ideas from the ones that seemed easy. The first one I chose was the truth that; "Some people can never finish a....". I filled the ending with sentence because not everyone can finish a sentence. I decided to connect my computer to my t.v and generate random sentences that were incomplete along with sounds effect I completed my first truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tgfjr02QYw My second truth was; "Love cannot be faked" and what I did was record my dogs from their perspective to represent that no matter what we do dogs are always willing to show affection and love at anytime. I also added sound effects like the first truth that I completed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a_LoANTkV8&feature=youtu.be Last but not least was the 3rd and final truth which turned out to be in my opinion the funniest out of all 3 and the truth was;"Once someone has a piece of your heart, they will have that piece forever". I decided to create a love story around lactose free milk since I'm lactose and tolerant It's the only milk I can drink. I also added sound effects to give it the tone that I desired. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1miz-Vb6IRg&feature=youtu.be

3 Designs for Doug

For one of Doug's CW assignments we were required to design 3 different designs that need to be positive, negative, and metaphorical in nature. The trick is that it needs to be something that you carry with you on a day to day basis. I usually carry my mp3 and my wallet with me everyday. I decided to go with my wallet just because it looks cool. I designed each one in Photoshop and I started with the positive side to carrying  a wallet which allows you to keep money safe, that is if it's in a safe spot like you back pocket. For the negative side to it I created a design that shows that they are also easy to steal so make sure they are kept in a secure location. Last but not least is the metaphorical design where I created a design in which one could have a digital wallet where you could grab it out of the computer or store it for later which would be cool if possible.

Magazine Design for Doug

For Doug's CW exercise we were required to create a magazine cover utilizing the color blue in it somehow. My first instincts were to create something involving the blue sky that we see everyday. Once I had the background I liked I then wanted to fill it with a guy on a hang glider because I've never been on one plus I had a genius title for the magazine in mind that went along with the hang glider. Once I found a picture I wanted I had to edit it on Photoshop and cut around the edges because the background got in the way which took a little while because I didn't want it to be sloppy. Once I finished I added the title and a few advertisements from made up pages along with a chance to win a free hang glider to give the customer more of an incentive to purchase the magazine which only costs $6. Once I got most of it finished I added the finishing touches to tie up the magazine as a whole.

Website for Doug

In Doug's class we were required to do a website using html. Our objective was to create a website that was either social or political in nature. I thought about what I wanted to do but I couldn't find a solid idea and since Doug said that we should take this opportunity to speak our mind I wanted to pick a controversial topic. Then one Friday my brother and I were just relaxing while eating breakfast I felt inclined to watch this movie that I heard about called 180 by Ray Comfort. After we got done watching it, I immediately got inspired by the film and decided to make my website on abortion. So once I got a hold of a good html app on my Chromebook I immediately started gathering links and images I would use in website. We were also required to implement a table into our design. I know that this is a very touchy subject but my reason why I'm against abortion is because is the bible God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and by having an abortion it's disobeying God's command. I also realize that women that have been raped would want to have an abortion but it takes a stronger women to keep the baby and they have my respect 100% and I give them props for being so loving to take care of an innocent child born of rape. While those considering an abortion should receive counseling and a ultrasound checkup to show them that they are actually carrying a living person inside of them.

Documentary For Doug

For Doug's video class we were required to film a documentary which was a bit intimidating because it was my first time ever doing a documentary. We worked in a group so together we needed to figure out which topic that would be perfect for a documentary. For our first idea we were considering about doing a documentary on consumerism but due to time constraints and scheduling issues we decided to go with our group (John Go) member's exciting insight into voice acting. So once we decided which days we would film we needed to have a plan about the content we would have in the documentary. So we brainstormed with various questions that beginners or those that may want to voice act would benefit greatly from. So once we got the filming done our next stop was in editing which didn't take too long and once it was set up in the documentary style the final touches were added to complete it as a whole. This is the end result: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3uap0kHSIk

Art of the Digital Age, Ch 7-9

The first piece that caught my attention was the piece by Cory Arcangel entitled I Shot Andy Warhol, simply because it's a video game which includes characters that were not in the original game which is quite humorous. It's impressive that Arcangel manipulated the video game which sounds interesting but I know that it probably took a while. Another piece I thought was interesting was the piece by Kathleen Ruiz entitled Bang, Bang (You're Not Dead) mainly because your required to shoot people but the weapon brings life which is a very cool concept because life is precious and games know a days video games promote violence and death. Another art piece that I thought was interesting was by Lynn Hershman Leeson entitled Agent Ruby's Dream Portal and I talked with the AI which was very interesting but over time the conversation was confusing, as if the AI didn't understand what I was saying. But it would be so awesome if someone developed a very smart AI to communicate with you similar to sci-fi movies or more like the AI character Jarvis in the Ironman movies.

Art of the Digital Age Chp.5-6

The piece by David Rokeby entitled "Very Nervous System" looked very odd but the movements in each of the photo's was interesting to look at. So I Googled the art piece and saw it on vimeo: https://vimeo.com/8120954 where the artist himself created the sound that matched the movement in the video which was both very soothing becuase it had an Asian melody feel to it which was very nice to hear. 'Another piece that caught my attention was the piece by  John Klima entitled "Glasbead" and as I was reading it I was very curious to find that it could be played on the Internet but sadly I could not set it up because I have a Chrome book with limited space. I tried to look for a video on it but didn't have too much luck with that. It would have been cool to have played it because I enjoy hearing musical instruments even though I don't play any. The next piece that I saw which looked interesting was the piece by Wayne Lytle entitled "Pipe Dream From Animusic" simply because I enjoy listening to instruments that each have unique sounds. The video I saw on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyCIpKAIFyo was epic, all of the instruments were in harmony and watching the animation was crazy and exciting to watch. I would be very interested to do something like this and since my brother and I enjoy animation so much this could be used as a future inspiration for a new project.

Cinema Vérité Project

For this project we were required to shoot footage and compose various shots that could be related to tell a story. Once I got my camera I thought about various locations where I could compose different shots and my dogs were going to be my first target since my brother and I have so many why not show their cuteness on camera. After completing my first draft of my Cinema Vérité using my dogs I later thought about attaching a go pro to one of my dogs so that the point of view would be from my dogs perspective which could be reserved for one of my future art projects. This lead me to my 2nd Cinema Vérité video that I decided to go with because when I shot it I already had the concept in my mind. My backyard was filled with a lot of junk and interesting stuff and composing the man-made and organic shots would fit perfectly with what I had in mind. Once I composed my shots I edited them along with the sound from http://www.bensound.com/ and it really gave it the tone I wanted. My tone for the video is that everything in this world either man-made or organic will pass away in the end but that which is not seen is eternal. I also had the bible verse in mind and once I watched the video a couple of times I knew that it would fit perfectly. Here is my Cinema Vérité:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SalHw_FaMjU

Art of the Digital Age Ch 3-4

A piece that I thought was really interesting was the piece by Dan Collins entitled Twister, which to me was very powerful because most of his body is clearly seen but his head area has been twisted to create powerful lines that lead up to the top which I think is unique since most sculptures are of the whole body. Another piece that I thought was interesting was the piece by Kenneth Snelson entitled Chain  Bridge Bodies, what I really liked about it was the shapes that were used that made up the chain-like boulders which really gave them power along with the ones that floated aimlessly in the sky like sort of like planets. Not only that they were virtual sculptures and since I'm barely scratching the surfaces of the program known as blender, it would be interesting to see what programs and techniques Snelson used to create his virtual art pieces. A very disturbing piece that I saw which caught my attention was the piece by Michael Rees, simply because the shape of the human body created a centipede-gymnastic form that reminded me of a movie I have not seen and do not want to see entitled "The Human Centipede" which my friends told me about. A piece in Chapter 4 by Erwin Redl entitled Matrix II reminded me of the movie "The Matrix" and I'm not sure if the artist was thinking about the movie as well but to me it did but it also gives me a sense of time travel for some reason.

Fine Arts 333

For our project #3 we had to make a music video which could be from any style genre. Once Doug announced all of our projects that we would be working on this semester, the music video was one that really caught my attention so I listened to over 100 of my Christian Rap songs that I have, but there was one in particular that I knew I wanted to use but their were so many to choose from. Once I decided which one to use I started working on it for a while, but I changed it over three times and I went with the very first choice I had with in the beginning which I knew I wanted to use. So once I had the song picked out I needed to choose a location where I wanted to shoot my music video at. Since most music video's have a story my song didn't necessarily have a story becuase it is a sermon/christian rap song. I chose this song simply becuase I wanted to give the audience something to learn from and take with them rather than the traditional music video where one gains either a laugh hear and their or a moral lesson about life. Once my brother and I shot all of our footage that we needed while also applying a variety of shots Doug showed us, the next step was to edit them on final cut pro or adobe after effects. Doug also required us to use different editing techniques in our music video such as different transitions, text, transparency, etc. Once I finished the editing I looked at my music video over 20 times to get the timings and fix minor errors. Once I finally rendered it, my masterpiece was finally completed. Here is my music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2SiFkzomrw

Art of The Digital Age Ch.1-2

A piece that caught my attention was the piece by Toshio Iwai entitled Piano-As Image Media simply because I really enjoy the sound from piano's and the bright lights that move upward really add to the harmony between both visual and sound. Plus I also like how piano's can easily transition from an intense fast paced sound to a more calm soothing type of sound which I greatly enjoy listening to. Another piece that drew might attention was the piece by Charles A. CSURI entitled Horse Play, the very elegant lines that form the shape of the horse create a lot of energy but at the same time there is a calmness because both horses are in a relaxing stance as if they are communicating to one another. At first I thought the horses were made up of cassette tape film which would also have been interesting to see. The next piece that I saw in Chapter 2 that I thought was interesting was the piece by Kenneth A. Huff that looks like bones laid on top of each other along with the different colors and the way they are laid out creates a sense of protection and stability because without bones our body would fall apart.

Fine Arts 332 Product re-design

In this class we needed to design a package and re-design it to give it either a satirical element or give it a better design as a whole. When I bought this set of animal cards I knew immediately that I wanted to give it a satirical element simply because it was asking for it. We we're required to either scan something or take our own photo to use in our re-design. The picture that I decided to use was a picture of my dogs and the satirical element that I wanted to add was that these dogs may seem adorable but in actuality are vicious killing machines that won't hesitate to attack. I made some minor adjustments to the logo of Nat Geo and created a different version called "Pet Geo". Also since these are animal cards I exaggerated it by writing that these "life-sized cards come to life". I really liked the color no the original design so I decided to use a similar color plus it matched well with my dog in the middle since he has sort of the same color of the lion. My next step will be to shop drop it back at Walmart so that another customer could enjoy it (:

New Media in Art Chp.4

A piece that I found interesting was the piece by Lillian Schwartz entitled Mona/Leo simply because everyone knows the piece known as the Mona Lisa, but this piece contains only half of it's face. The other face is connected to the Mona Lisa which I think is interesting because it's more like a sketch with less detail but fit's nicely, sort of like a yin and yang type of thing. Another piece that is similar to the Mona/Leo that I saw was the piece by Shirin Neshat entitled Rapture and what I noticed was the separation between the male (white) and female (black) genders. This piece is also reminiscent of the yin and yang symbol and for some reason it reminded me of a blind date which is probably due to the black cloth that divides the two. Some more pieces that caught my attention were by William Latham entitled The Evolution of Form and when I saw this for the first time I was really impressed that these organism like things were computer generated. Latham's pieces are very mesmerizing because they have a lot going on using both color and pattern to draw ones attention.

Project #2 for Fine Arts 333

For this assignment we had to make up a sound for something that we are not familiar with. I started to brainstorm different ideas about sounds that I wasn't familiar with so I started with locations in the world. I didn't find any locations that interested me so my next choice was exotic animals but then I decided I know what they sound like since I've seen them in movies. I finally went with the idea of dinosaurs since no one knows exactly how they sounded like. I looked for various dinosaurs but the one that stood out to me was the T-Rex mainly because of the Jurassic Park movies. I decided to give the T-Rex a different interpretation of what I think it could have sounded like. My first step was to record my background sound for at least 1 minute. Then I decided to make a roar sound which sounded kind of funny. Once I gathered a good amount of sounds I moved my way to Final Cut Pro and there I inserted my sounds and added effects to my voice to make it sound more monster like. Then I added the T-Rex footsteps and also made it into a chase scene where you hear the T-Rex chasing a animal and finally catches it along with a loud burp at the end. Click here if you want to hear it!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYmKvw7xKi4&feature=youtu.be

Project 3 for Fine Arts 332

In this project for Doug we're required to go and look for a package out in the world that attracts us. Once we find our package that we are attracted to aesthetically when must then alter the piece to either be satirical or simply because the design needs an update as a whole. I found a package at Walmart of animal cards that I'm considering to re-design and give it a satirical element. We are also required to employ a photo that we take or a scan and utilize it in our new design which is going to be a challenge. Then we're required to scan at least two surfaces on our package that we're willing to re-design or add the satirical element to it. I'm not sure what kind of photo I want to use or a scan because my main goal is to over exaggerate the lion or something and also phrasing some of the words on the package to make it seem like the cards will come to life when played. I was also considering adding a warning label that states something along the lines that these "animals cards may seem harmless but are very dangerous when played". Doug also gave us the option to shop drop our new package so that someone else would purchase it. I think it's quite humorous simply because the buyer will either be shocked or may blame Walmart for the product they are selling which could be controversial.

New Media in Art Ch. 3

The piece by Nam June Paik entitled Electronic Superhighway was an interesting piece to look at simply because of its vast amount of television screens creating repetition and also the size's of each television screen which gives the piece variety. The neon lights on the far right also sparked my interest because there is a lot going on and when I looked closer it appears to be the layout of the world map, (but I could be wrong) which I thought was very interesting to look at. Another piece that I was interested in was the piece by Fabrizio Piessi entitled Bronx and the first thing that caught my attention were the shovels and I thought it was a grave site but when I looked closer I figured out what they were. This is a very powerful piece because in this life material items are not eternal and we are constantly buying new gizmo's and gadgets when our "old stuff" gets old and worn out, which is a recurring cycle that will never end. Another piece that caught my interest was the piece by Mary Lucier entitled Last Rites and for some reason the first thing that popped into my head was the scene from poltergeist where the chairs awkwardly floated above the table.

Fine Arts 332 Secret Word

In Doug's class each student was given a random word in which we had to compile a set of images from Google when we typed our word in the search menu. From there we had to personify our word using those images and also including 1 picture or scan of our choice that went with the word. Then at the end we would have the class guess each student's word based on the image that was created. My secret word was Disaster and the first ideas that popped into my head were natural disasters. So when I typed the word in Google there were so many natural disaster's to choose from so I grabbed as many images I could and compiled a load of them on one page and utilizing the masking tool I cut the corners of each of the images and compiled it to fit the background of the earth image. The image of my choice I decided to go with was a picture of my garbage that I had in my room simply because to me that is a disaster in it's own right. When I completed the work this is what I ended up with and I think it turned out well because when I think of a disaster I think of chaos and disorder, sort of like the average person's room and I tried to personify that with the different disasters that happen all over the world. I also wanted to incorporate the hand of God because I believe that everything happens for a reason whether we understand it to be good or bad in our human mind, we can't comprehend the reason for why things happen in this world but only God knows "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts Isaiah 55:9.

New Media in Art Ch. 2

A piece that I found interesting was the piece by Dara Birnbaum simply because I recognized the iconic women superhero Wonderwoman. I saw the video which was quite humorous because Wonderwoman is spinning repeatedly until she finally explodes and since the editing was well done the video flowed well, which also got me thinking about project 3 in regards to Cinema Verité. Another piece that I remembered seeing in Peter Christenson's class was the piece by Chris Burden entitled Through the Night Softly which was disturbing to watch because Burden actually used his own body to move along the glass ground. It's crazy because Burden actually used his body as art which is unbelievable and seems to be reminiscent of the Saw films since suffering is a key element in the films.The piece by William Wegman entitled Two Dogs and a Ball was quite humorous because my brother and I have 11 dogs so we know how to get their attention and in Wegman's piece it's almost as if the dogs are being teased not to move and wait patiently.

New Media in Art, Introduction & Chp. 1

In the introduction a piece that caught my attention was the piece by Giacomo Balla entitled Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash and the reason for that was because of the movement it had and it reminded me of a time where I used sticky notes to create movement by drawing separate characters on each pages of the sticky notes (14). In this case the artist created movement on one piece by creating each separate movement similar stop motion animation. Another piece in the introduction that caught my attention was Mieko Shiomi Disappearing Music for Face simply because each picture is a gradual change from a smile back to it's original phase (27). I've done this with pictures before where I move through pictures and it's as if they are moving and I usually scroll back and forth which gives me laugh every know and then. Another piece that peaked my interest was by Nam June Paik entitled Concerto for TV because it uses different materials to create this robot like sculpture and comes alive at the same time (55).

Project #2 for Fine Arts 103

For this project we had to gather any type of materials that we decided to use and I went with wooden cubes about the size of a set of dice. I was thinking about going with the scrabble pieces but I noticed that the each letter on each square had numbers on them and I only wanted the letter by itself. This led me to the plain wooden cubes where I could write each letter individually with a stencil. I also experimented writing each letter on a cube with a thin sharpie and I found out that the ink spreads so the shape of the letter looked weird so I might have to hand write them with pencil and then trace over with sharpie. My first objective was to assemble the cross with the cubes and glue each one individually but I had to build the cross the way I wanted it first. This is what I have so far which is just the basic foundation for the cross and I will add more volume to it to give it more shape utilizing the stability of the cube.

Blog about my class in Fine Arts 332

Repel #2

Attract #1

I'm this class we did a project where we had to take 3 picture and 3 scans about things that attract us or repel us. My first Repel is a scan of Jalapenos and even though I'm 100% Mexican I'm not a big fan of spicy food, simply becuase I don't want my mouth to be on fire while I'm eating. My second Repel is of Ketchup but I like tomatoes but I'm pretty sure it's the vinegar is what makes it gross and that's one of the differences between my brother Richard and I and he loves Ketchup. My third repel is of a fly swatter becuase I hate flies especially when they fly around your ears or face but mainly if they land on food! My first attract is of my cologne collection becuase I'm a big fan of unique scents and when someone smells bad you can immediately notice but if they smell good you might give them a compliment or just keep it to yourself. My third attract is of my hat collection simply because I'm a hat kind of guy and I can represent God at the same time. My last attract is of one of my favorite dogs named Lion-o and the reason he is my favorite is because he is the most playful and the most loyal of the bunch. He is also the pack leader and he makes me smile everytime I look at him and in a sense we have very similar personalities.

Repel #1

Repel #3

Attract #3

Attract #2

The Photograph as Contemporary Act Ch. 6-8

Almost all of the pieces in chapter 6 each have a different story to tell about history or the way people live their lives (167). For example the piece by Fazal Sheikh entitled Halima Abdullai can tell the story about the lives of Somali refugees in Kenya which kind of reminds me of the piece done by Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother just because they are both black and white and the main focus is on the female in both images (163). Another image in chapter I found interesting was the piece by Zwelethu Mthethwa because the two children in the center are surrounded  by magazines about models and the way the two children are positioned as if they were models themselves (175). In chapter 7 the first woman on the Moon was interesting because everyone knows about the first man on the Moon but I've never heard about the first woman on the Moon so it's as if women are making their mark as well (203). The piece by Shannan Ebner entitled Agitate reminded me of the logos we did and is similar to the words I chose because I like powerful or unique words for some reason (238).

Fine Arts 333

In this class we were required to do a power point on the pages of the History of Video Art book and there was a artist that had a very intriguing piece. His name is Bill Viola and the piece he made was entitled The Reflecting Pool. This piece caught my attention because I didn't expect the technology to be that impressive considering it was made in 1979. This piece to me had a lot of excitement in the beginning because the person approaching the lake didn't jump in till the last minute. Also before he jumped in I wanted him to jump into the water or for someone to push him in because he just stood there for a while. The piece was also pretty creepy since in the water figures moved along the reflection of the water and I could imagine this scene being in a Friday the 13th at Crystal Lake or something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4UCRg3wHc 

The Photograph as Contemporary Art Ch 3-5

In chapter 3 the piece by Andreas Gursky entitled Board of Trade 2 reminded me of a convention or something because it has a lot going on in it. What was interesting in the description of the piece was that it stated that the aerial view gives the viewer a "sense of omniscience" which is true because one can see everybody at one time in the piece which relates to how God is omniscient and omnipresent (84). The piece in chapter 4 by Peter Fischili and David Weiss entitled Quiet Afternoon was a very interesting piece to look at because of the type of items that were used. They were very mundane just as the book states and when I look at the center piece I thought it was a human thumb but then I saw that it was a carrot (114). The background and table are also very dull which matches the piece because the colors are very vibrant.

Steel Gauge Wire Project

This is what I've been working on since Thursday and its starting to get the shape of a dog. My first steps were creating the body and making sure that it has a strong base for it to stand on with it's 4 little legs. I double weaved the legs to give it more support while at the same time giving it that shape of a dog paw. I'm thinking about putting more layers of wire around the body but I'm not sure if I should because their will still be some negative space. I'm thinking about how I can incorporate the 11 heads but the first head will be at the front and then I got to figure out how to make it 3d which will be a challenge and the other 10 heads might have to be 2d due to the amount of wire I possess. So far this has been an exciting project since it's my first time creating an art piece with steel wire which is very challenging when compared to drawing on paper.

The Photograph as Contemporary Art, Introduction, Ch.1-2

In the introduction a piece that stood out to me was the piece by William Eggleston which is "Untitled" but I feel like it could have been called "My Giant Kid's Tricycle" because when I saw this piece reminded me of the movie "Honey I Blew Up The Kid" and this tricycle shot would have fit perfectly in the movie (11). While reading chapter 1 I was very intrigued by the piece by Sophie Calle entitled The Chromatic Diet because of the different colored foods that were on each colored plates and when I read that Calle ate food with a single color for six days was very interesting because I can eat almost anything that's considered food (23). This piece also reminded me of this diet called the BRATTY (Bananas, Rice, Apples, Tea, Toast and Yogurt) diet which was made for people who had to slowly bring easy digestible foods back into their diet and I remember eating this diet when I had food poisoning which isn't very fun. In chapter 2 a piece that stood out to me was the piece by Wendy McMurdo entitled "The  Glance" which utilized digital technology to create an illusion and it reminded me of my brother and I and since were twins we could easily create this illusion without the use of digital technology (63).

Eng 355 Blog

For one of my art classes with Douglas Gast we had to choose an artist to do a presentation on and I had trouble looking for an artist that had something I hadn't seen before. Upon looking through the book I stumbled upon 3 different artists but of the three that stood out to me, the one that peeked my interest was Ken Feingold. His artworks were very interesting in that they were animatronic installations and to me were quite humorous becuase of the voices that accompanied them. Not only that, the installations themselves were brought to life becuase of the voices and the animatronics which felt like you were watching actual people communicating with each other. Overall, I really found all of his works to be very intriguing to look at which were be both humorous and entertaining at the same time. Here is one that I found very humorous. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weP3JKC-IRI

Eng 355 "Helvetica Documentary"

The documentary Helvetica was very interesting and from the beginning of the documentary I was trying to figure out what Helvetica was becuase I had heard of the font but I didn't know the documentary was about the font itself. The documentary really made me look at fonts differently and the way they described them in the documentary gave me ideas about the logo design and the font I'm thinking about using. I didn't even realize how much Helvetica is used for various companies that I have seen over hundreds of times. At first upon viewing various ads I didn't really pay attention to the fonts they used and for some reason it was appealing to the eye even though I was unaware of its font. My brother and I recently got into kinetic typography and we enjoyed how the movement along with the different fonts can create an advertisement that can get the audiences attention.