Project 5

Monday, May 2, 2016

For this final self-portrait, I wanted to capture my "dreamer" self. This particular photo was an original photograph of me at a local hiking spot in my hometown. However, I photoshopped and cut myself and the cliff edge out and inserted myself in Italy (yay!). Because why not? 

I have the pleasure of going to Italy this summer on my study abroad trip, which has been a dream of mine for years. This particular background is Cinque Terre, a very colorful, lively, and fun Italian coast that I am planning on visiting for a weekend. 

Additionally, I photoshopped some of the very popular vibrant flowers that Italian is known for. I absolutely adore, adore, adore flowers. I chose to do this particular type of effect in Photoshop because I wanted it to appear as a painting. Something that is dreamed upon but hasn't been achieved yet. I absolutely love the vibrance within the colors of my photoshop collage though. I find it to be truly beautiful and makes me even more excited I get to spend 6 weeks abroad this summer. 

Don't be afraid to make your dreams come true! :) 

Project 4

Monday, April 25, 2016 

The zine theme "Thoughts at 3 AM" made me think back to when I was a child. I wanted my zine spread to depict the outer body experience you face when you are a child and you are dreaming at 3 o'clock in the morning. It's not fluid, most of the time it does not make any sense and sometimes you are not always as you appear.

My zine is made to be abstract and unique in the different elements of tonalities and colors that it utilizes. For my photoshop element, I edited the photos of the girl, who is my younger sister, both are different photos of her and I used different effects within photoshop to create the outer body feeling. The backgrounds were also edited within photoshop using different effects to spin and blur certain aspects of the background.

My illustrator element is the very outer background of all the different paint colors. I hand drew this background and originally designed it within illustrator to show the vibrance behind the child's mind that seeps through their dreams.

Lastly, my non-digital element I wanted to add a different type of texture, so I scanned in multiple different sized and colored pom-poms to create a fun and added effect to the overall dream.

This is the cover of the class zine. We wanted to create a darker cover and utilize the motion of a clock ticking to represent the time that occurs within thought at 3 AM in the morning. We used photoshop to create the background of a black and white watercolored effect and to place the clock outlining on top. We used illustrator to create the font of the title of the zine and lastly we had Sabrina hand draw the hands on the clock and we used photoshop to have the hands in motion. 

Homework 9

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

I believe that Steal Like An Artist overlaps with works within the article Copy Rights in many different ways. First of all, it focuses heavily on utilizing hands within work in terms of appropriation. I found it rather interesting in particular how Kelley Walker described her own thoughts as "Stealing may be a cooler, more street term for appropriation." I believe that the example she used of her "Black Star Press" piece, which is featured below, was a great illustration of the elements of Steal Like An Artist applicable to art. The fact she utilized the melting of different shades of chocolate to change the overall perception of the piece is unique. It is interesting that the tone of Kelley is very laid back and relaxed in the sense that she accepts she appropriates and takes full awareness of what she is doing. By living in a visually appealing culture, Kelley utilizes her techniques to create art that is different. By working through different time periods, it allows her vision of previous famous art to be recreated to fit the time period that it resides within, within this particular piece she focuses on the elimination of each different subject within the photograph to give it new meaning.

In all honesty, I think that Kelley being a white artist should not matter in terms of the piece. Kelley's race did not have an impact on the photo, perhaps her perception since this photo was taken during times of controversy in race, but in today's society it should not have as much of an impact compared to if she created this work during the time there was a significant amount of controversy. Particularly, I think that it is okay for artists to approach different aspects of imagery that are uncomfortable. If artists never pursued topics that consisted of tremendous controversy or could offend someone, people's opinions and perceptions would not be heard. Living in a society where you can create art that is uncomfortable in a sense is a blessing because it allows artists to push themselves to the next level of meaning within their work. Not all work has to be visually appealing or complimenting, it can be offensive and make people uncomfortable. That is how awareness is brought to issues in society.

Additionally, the focus point of Schiller makes a valuable point when he states that appropriation, "...has challenged the way people think about art, challenged the way people think about objects, images, sounds, culture." This relates heavily to Steal Like An Artist in the sense that appropriation is ultimately the use of others' work in order to promote meaning or a new significance.

I believe that in some form, way, or another all artists fit into the category of appropriation artists. Artists turn towards their role model for inspiration and guidance in their own personal endeavors and journey throughout creation. At times, works of art is a simple collaboration if different backgrounds and thought processes of people put together to form a final concise product. At times, appropriation creates a product that has an entirely different meaning and depiction that the original product carried. By classifying all artists as appropriation artists, it gives hobbies and opportunities for artists to pursue in a new perspective and light within their own work.

When the article addressed the aspects of how appropriation can date back to as early as the 16th century it did a tremendous job closing with Mike Bidlo's perspective. He states, "Appropriation art brings masterpieces to a whole new generation", he also added that "New generations need blood to live." With that being said, it puts things in perspective that although time periods change overtime and society evolves, the blood line within relatives in traditionally similar and that falls back to who our ancestors are and the fundamentals of art that we have established and gained from their generations. Additionally, artists who are designing and developing new found art today are tremendously different than those artists who had been working years ago. Primarily, the invention and expansion of the technological field has allowed tremendous opportunities for digital graphic design and that competes with non-digital art in the traditional sense.

For example, scrapbooking used to be a huge element of my childhood with my mother. She would photograph in film, have the photos developed professionally, and create scrapbooks bound of our family photos. Now, in today's society, scrapbooking seems almost extinct. Families store all of their photos in digital files online and share them for other people to engage with and see on their social media websites opposed to having a sacred and family connection to the photographs. With that being said, as time evolves and new forms of art is discovered, it is going to challenge and recreate old forms of art. Therefore, it is inevitable that appropriation is going to happen since we are living in a digital age that focuses on the sharing and collaboration of life with people across the world.

The artist Marcel Duchamp is attributed to be the grandfather of contemporary art throughout society to this very day. This particular piece, featured below, is known as the L.H.O.O.Q. It is quite obvious that the major piece of art that is appropriated is the Mona Lisa, in which Duchamp changed the context and added facial hair to the work of art. This is an example of a very blatant form of appropriation.

"High" art is art that is appreciated by by those who have the associated cultivated taste. It traditionally is fine and has significant value, due to it's craft or it's meaning. It may possess some type of spiritual or higher power of meaning within the piece. Traditionally, the people who value high art have a different perception of art. These types of people might be seen at the galleries and museums more frequently to look and take in the works of art as an experience. In contrast, "low" art is art that is produced for the traditional public and masses of society, it's purpose is function. Most of the time, this type of art is not absorbed it is just there within society. Forms of this art may be ads or graphic design pieces featured on the internet, or forms of art within public transportation. It isn't magnificent, it just appears to be there and is not special to the everyday human eye. It did not take as much time or supplies to develop, it is rather simplistic.

I think the meanings of "high" and "low" art can definitely change. For example, think of all of the merchandise of the Mona Lisa that has been recreated. Calendars, post cards, t-shirts, the list could go on and on. Even though this is a recreation and print of the work of art, it is not in it's original form. Therefore, the original form of the art that is featured hanging inside The Louvre in Paris (which I have had the pleasure of seeing in person) is more significant and holds more value than a $5 t-shirt that you can buy off the street. 

Sampling differs than appropriation because sampling takes the bits and pieces of multiple different aspects of something and combines the similar ideas or techniques used within the different works of art. Sampling also is not recreating an original piece, which is what appropriation does, it is a combination of resources to create a new idea or meaning to art. Sampling is entirely different because it's purpose is to create something new through inspiration opposed to transforming works of art. Additionally, image transfer can be taking an image and layering it with other elements to create a new form of work. Think back to the example of the Mona Lisa t-shirts that I gave earlier, this is a transfer of a piece of art, I would not classify it to be the same as appropriation since it has a different meaning or technique to the purpose of the piece. 

In terms of Miranda Lichtenstein's viewpoint on "re-appropriation" essentially, anything that is digitally captured even through something as simple as an iPhone is re-appropriation. It is capturing the element of art or beauty in a digital form and more times than not, sharing it with another audience. If "re-appropriation" was not a thing, then what would Instagram be? Thousands upon thousands of people share works of art that have already been created. Think of the Renwick Gallery and all of the people who would photograph and share those sculptures and works of art. Is that "re-appropriation"? It is a topic that is left up to the mind of the viewer and the user of art since there is no real way to measure that aspect of appropriation.  

Elanie Sturtevant is an American conceptual artist whose work is very similar to artists such as Andy Warhol. She was an original replicator in the sense that it is instantly recognizable that it is as a Warhol silk-screen. Particularly, one piece caught my eye. It was the remaking of the original "Crying Girl" by Lichtenstein. His original piece sold for $78,400 at an auction. When Sturtevant reworked the canvas, she sold it for $710,500. Her piece is pictured below. Why do you think the reworked and recreated piece was more valuable than the original? Thoughts? 

Homework 8

April 7, 2016

Within Chapter 9 of Steal like an Artist, I found several examples of Kleon's work that I implement into my life on a daily basis in order to achieve my short term goals, which are daily and weekly, as well as my long term goals which are monthly and yearly. First of all, he discusses the importance of having a calendar. Not only do I have one calendar, I have several. I absolutely believe that organization can help lead to major successes. By writing everything out and planning a concrete schedule throughout my days, weeks, and months, I find myself to be incredibly successful as a result and very organized. I am never, ever late to any event or any assignment that I have upcoming and due. It allows me to work ahead of time and to visually see the responsibilities that I have to accomplish and in what fashion. Additionally, I believe lists and post it note reminders are a blessing. I have an entire drawer filled to the tom of every size, color, shape of post it note you could imagine. Followed by several different list makers. Each day, I write out a daily list and each week I write out a weekly list of objectives. This is all in addition to my giant wall calendars and my personal planner that I live by. Success can be achieved through organization, I agree with that whole heartedly.

Secondly, he states that one should take care of themselves. I completely agree. It is necessary to have proper sleep, nutrition and exercise in order for your body to be healthy and full of energy for the day. I put my physical health and well being high high high on the priority list, otherwise, I do not have the ability to accomplish things to my full potential if I am tired, hungry, drowsy, or even sick. It's incredibly important that everyone maintains their own personal health and strive to better it on a daily basis. There is always something everyone can do to improve just a little bit. It's easier to start with daily goals with your health and progress them into becoming habits and apart of your everyday routine.

While I am here at this fine institution, I plan on enjoying it. I plan on learning and growing, evolving into the best possible version of myself that I can. I plan on pursuing things that interest me and make me happy. I am doing absolutely everything I can get my money's worth for while I am here. That is exactly why I added a second minor. Not just because I didn't want to leave and stay here forever, but simply because I wanted a challenge. I am still graduating on time, within four years. I wanted to pursue an additional interest and have fun while doing it. On the contrary, I want to meet so many different people and build connections that will benefit me not only personally but also professionally with the years to come. This entire journey of college is all a learning experiencing in discovering who you are, and that is my goal and my motive for my success. If at the end of the day I am still growing and learning and evolving, then I am doing something right.

Once I graduate, I want to continue to grow. My college degree will only be the foundation of my knowledge and on a continuous basis I want to achieve to gain more information and experience in order to expand what I already know. I believe that it is so important to never stop learning. The moment people "stop" learning and give up and refuse to take in anything more, life is simply over. It's a continuous journey to expand and explore yourself to different measures and across different times. So, creatively, who knows where I could be. I could discover my new love for a different passion elsewhere after college that I never knew of. I also believe that just because you study one particular topic, or in my case, three different topics, it won't define you professionally. I believe individuals still have the room for growth and can pursue multiple careers throughout their lifetime.

Personally, currently, my creative work is film photography with a combination of a series of papers for my major, communication. The one thing that can be relatable to both of those field of study that is incredibly important to me is the time and effort that is put into each one. I constantly believe that just because you "finished" something does not mean it is truly "finished". You can always go back and make the extra step and put in the extra effort to better it into a more finalized and polished document or piece. On average, I probably edit a single paper 15+ times. I do a series of reading aloud, reading it to someone, reading it to myself quietly, silently, etc. With that, I am able to not only find my errors, but better myself as a writer. In terms of photography, it simply is not a shoot and print method. It takes time of working with different methods, such as contrast filters, burning and dodging, chemical processes, etc that take producing the right combination of blacks, whites, and grey within a piece. I have spent countless upon countless of hours on one particular piece just to get all the different elements as best as I can. Some call this perfectionism, I call it challenging yourself to the next level up.

I choose to leave out the unnecessary elements in my work. The pieces and parts that will not contribute to the overall meaning or context of the work. As far as limitations, those are set by the individual. Currently, I do have real time limitations, I am limited to the location in which I reside, I see this particularly strong within my photography class because I can only shoot areas that are local to Northern Virginia or the DC area because that is what is attainable within my reach since I live here at the university.

At the end of the book, I liked how Kleon said "Be as generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done." This particular statement really applies to the college atmosphere since you live entirely with your friends and people within a close proximity. It is incredibly important to think of your own priorities while still being a good friend and having good relationships with other people.

Homework 7

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

My plan to do good work involves collaboration with a multitude of different types of people from different backgrounds and areas throughout the world. I am incredibly interested in pursuing the field of public relations after I graduate. I am undecided if I would like to go into the corporate world of public relations or stay more within the firm world of public relations, or perhaps bounce back in-between the two different types. That is left up to my own discretion as I develop my skills and interests more as I narrow down the type of field I could see myself in. I suppose defining what "good work" is in public relations is based upon the client or the project that I would be working on and is measurable by the success rate on the aftermath. Since a majority of public relations works through bettering the reputation or the relationship between an organization and it's publics, the measurement is based on what the public truly thinks. If it is a positive and successful relationship, then ultimately, it is deemed to be "good work".

Since I am incredibly interested in the field that involves communication between people, I often wonder about people. That means exactly what it says. I am really intrigued by people watching and seeing how different types of people communicate on different levels of status or location. I find it really interesting to see the difference of communication as age increases or decreases or even during different times of the day. I wonder a lot about the type of persona a person portrays to the public compared to the person they are perhaps in their everyday life. I often wonder why people act the way they do and how they live the type of lifestyle they do live. Ultimately, I am really intrigued by conversation between people and the body and facial expressions that they create.

Recently, over spring break I had the pleasure to go downtown to see the Renwick Gallery. I thought that this particular gallery was incredibly interesting since it is based around the concept of "wonder" throughout the different pieces of work that are on display. The Gallery is free and costs nothing to enter and enjoy the value of the art and take it in. I highly encourage everyone to go and tour the Gallery while the collection is still on display.

Personally, geographically, I grew up in the Northern Virginia area my entire life. So besides the realms of traveling, this is the traditional lifestyle that I was raised to know and learn. It will always be deemed as home, and I would not mind starting a foundation here for a career, but ideally I would love to relocate to a different city to have a different type of experience. I could see myself down south or even out on the west coast for a change of pace in lifestyle. However, I am incredibly attached to my family so it would be significantly difficult to move to the other side of the country if my family is located on the east coast. That plays a strong factor into my decision of where I would like to be someday I believe, however, that does not prevent me from my dreams of traveling and exploring. But I could definitely do without the cold, I much prefer a warmer climate and I know that to be true!

Currently, my plan for making the most out of where I am is to explore. I recently have loved going into the different parts of DC and surrounding cities to enjoy the towns for what they are. Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria will always be two favorite weekend spots of mine. I love the layout and essence that the town brings and it is great to get away from Fairfax and go a little bit more towards the city sometimes. I'm just enjoying the days as they come, that's the best way to do it in my opinion. Also, try new restaurants and little hole in the wall food places, they're the best! This area has some great eats.

Personally, in terms of social media, I absolutely love the world of Youtube. I have followed ShayCarl and the Shaytards on youtube for years, they are a vlogging family that captures the daily actions of their everyday lives and it is a documentation of their family throughout the years. I absolutely love this family, they are incredibly inspirational by sharing the struggles and successes they experience with the world. They contribute to my overall perception of the world and happiness significantly.

Secondly, as of the beginning of 2016, I started following "simplegreensmoothies" and "kayla_itsines" on Instagram. I really like both of these Instagram accounts because they promote a healthier lifestyle, which is something I also switched over to a few months ago. Simple Green Smoothies is an account that posts different recipes for different types of "green" smoothies. I am a big supporter of the use of spinach and kale within smoothies, I do it daily. Kayla Itsines is an intensive workout professional that posts different stories of success all in promotion of a healthier lifestyle in terms of fitness. I really love what she offers in terms of her knowledge and workouts and I implement her plans into my everyday life as well. Both of these accounts attribute to my health and are an inspiration to me! Lastly, someone I follow on Facebook is "Cupcaked, LLC" which is a little cupcake shop located out in Clifton, VA. I've never actually been, but seeing their daily posts of their fresh cupcakes out of the oven and the cute designs they have on them just kinda make me smile. So, that attributes to the success of my potential sweet tooth.

I suppose complaining about others work within my own is a negative connotation. I try to be inspired by others work and acknowledge their success in order to bring myself success. I think that you have to look for what you can learn from someone else in order to bring yourself success and open up the doors for inspiration and influence. For example, in my film photography class I am currently taking, it is entirely based upon trial and error. You learn by doing and experimenting. Often times I find it that some of my classmates are really intrigued and interested in different methods of printing/working with the chemicals. I learn ultimately through their mistakes and they learn through my mistakes. It is an open environment where one photographer to another photographer can share ideas and methods that worked or didn't work for them.

Homework 6

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

I believe that "writing what you know" ultimately leads to terrible stories because your mind is only limited to that much information, what you know. Therefore, without the influence of outside factors or other sources, the story is not necessarily represented to its full capacity. With that being said, it also creates an element of bias within the story line just solely writing from a basis of opinion rather than fact. There is also two sides to every story. Now, if you only wrote what you knew, that would skew the full representation of the story since it is entirely opinionated.

Within my field of study, I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and a double minor in journalism and photography. That is a heavily intensive writing based major focused on the elements of stories everywhere. It differs between journalism and public relations in the sense of who the story is about, what the story is for, where the story is going, and why it is happening. Although the two fields seem incredibly similar, the entire field of communication is unique for it's purposes and the messages that are being displayed through the use of stories and written communication. I believe that stories can be made better by collaboration with other people, especially within the field of public relations. This field of study relies heavily on the input and ideas of not just an individual but a group of people in order to have the most successful product. I believe that by collaborating with other people an individual is able to grasp and create more ideas than if they were simply creating on their own. It doesn't hurt to have some added inspiration! Don't be afraid to reach out for other ideas/thoughts!

Currently, I am enrolled in my second semester of film photography. This is entirely non-digital and truly created and put together by the use of my thoughts and hands. I truly, absolutely love this form of a creative outlet. It is incredibly important to me because although it is a lengthy and timely process, it is beyond rewarding. I love the different factors that film has to offer in comparison to digital. Yes, the click of a button things are done and printed. But, with film, until you have worked with it, you do not have an appreciation for the art and the time that the art takes. Also, you do not have an appreciation of the history of evolution of photography. By working from a first hand experience, locking myself in a pitch black darkroom to roll a roll of film onto a metal holder and toss it into a canister without light, to perform chemical developing in the light and in the dark, is truly, just awesome. I absolutely recommend film photography for anyone who is looking for a challenge or to step a bit outside of their comfort zone. I think that's why I truly like it the most. It's so different and unique in comparison to digital and I appreciate my prints that much more.

I believe that computers are incredibly distracting. They truly are. I feel like in some regard all of the technology inhibits the physical creation of art. There is a process that goes through the human body and mind when art is physically created, whether it is through drawing, film, painting, dance, etc, you name it. It's a tangible item much outside what is easily stored on a flash drive. For that, I am appreciate of the authenticity of art outside of the digital realm. Just simply walking through the art and design building this morning and admiring the massive hand drawn portraits and wall sized paintings on display, I am just in awe. There is something different and more memorable about looking at physical art that is displayed in person rather than online.

Honestly, I truly try my hardest not to procrastinate. I believe that I am really, really well skilled within my time management here at college. If anything, I typically procrastinate assignments that I know I will be able to achieve within a short period of time and put the highest priority items ranked based on importance first. With that being said, I am a major that works on short deadlines and quick turn arounds. Being within the communications field you instantly become adapted to working under pressure and on a time basis, so, with that being said, I am adjusted to that quick turn around with a high quality product or my best foot forward effort. As far as the photography minor goes, you absolutely can not procrastinate working with film, you immediately have to become used to leaving yourself "extra" time just incase something gets ruined or does not turn out the way you anticipated.

Project 3

Tuesday, March 22, 2016 

I decided to focus on the fun little aspects of spring when I chose to do my coloring book page since the first day of spring was just a few days ago. This is my first time working in Adobe Illustrator and I really enjoyed playing around and figuring out the different tools the past few days in class. I hope you all enjoy!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

I decided to choose Semaj's coloring book page to color! I really loved how this flower reminded me of the flowers from the 70's, that's why I chose to color it all different colors!