Music

It's incredible to witness the vast change in music over the centuries. The different beats, instruments, styles, cultural influences, discoveries, all these things mixing into one to create sounds that please the ear and bring people together. One of my favorite music discussions was the video about the electronic keyboard and its origins. To think that a man one day went through a junk pile in the back of the stereo building used the broken keys to put together the instrument and make a whole new sound board instrument is amazing. Now they can be found inside our homes as well as being used by professionals on stage.

Digital Storytelling in the Physical World (Interactive Art)

For our last reading section, I loved watching a short Youtube video on the Rain Room. A group of British artists engineered a room to allow rain to fall indoors but the visitors that walk in do not get wet. How? They set up censors that stops the rain from falling on the viewer while the rest pours down around them. At first I thought it was a projector animation, much like a video with trees and crow shadows that we watched in class, and was thoroughly impressed when I learned that was not the case. Technology was greatly used for this project and the results are breathtaking.

http://sobadsogood.com/2012/10/31/the-mysterious-rain-room-will-miraculously-keep-you-dry/

Nonsensical Project

For my project, I developed LED lights for water bottles, glasses, margarita glasses, etc. The purpose of the lights were to create a new, stylish, and fun way to drink your beverage. The LED lights could change colors, so that party goers could identify individual glasses, provide as a night light for kids, and be used to help joggers be better seen at night with their glowing water bottle. The product was cheap and only for $15 (must pay separate shipping and handling) and if buyers call in the first five minutes they get a second glowing wine glass free! 

Final Video Project

Final video project. The coloring portion was sped up for time purposes and audio from a recent beach trip was added for the last part. Three shells I collected were used and placed in stop-go animation to move with the wave action on the sand.

Performance Art Video

Inspired by Joseph Beuy's Filz TV.

EDMODO

Choose your three favorite performance artists and study how are they related. What do they have in common? Is technology an essential component in their work? Answer also this question "What is to be done" in the field of Performance Art.

The three performance artists I have chosen are  Joseph Beuys,Yoko Ono, and Nam June Paik. All three of these artists have a central figure that is acting/performing tasks/or interacting using various objects for their performance. In Joseph Beuys Filz TV, he has a man watching a television and working around it, such as cutting a sausage. Although it has nothing to relate to the television, the placement makes it seem important instead of simply a background prop. Yoko Ono also has a central figure, a woman. Slowly her clothing is snipped away with scizzors, exposing her to the viewer. Small snippets are made for the majority of the performance and the woman does not object or say anything for that matter. Nam June Paik integrates himself into the work, but reconstructs technology, such as TV's to create a cello, and thus gives more importance to the object made. All three have the central figures performing with their specific objects.

Technology is extremely apparent in Paik's work, where in comparison it is not as important in Ono's. Ono simply uses a woman, her clothing, and scizzors where Paik uses a lot of different technology to create other tech and artworks. Joesph uses technology as a focal point and background object for his performance.

From what I have seen of the performance art links and from my own personal observations on television, stage performances, street performances, etc, it is hard to say "what is to be done" with performance art. The more correct answer is "what HASN'T" been do. With sites such as youtube, vimeo, and vine, people are constantly performing or demonstrating something that could be considered a "performance art." It is decided by the viewer and audience if it is actually successful, or just obscure.

Xerox Project

The objective of this project was to create a 3D art piece based on the art movements in class. I aimed for a more surrealist look to create a type of "globe" and to make the hands seem to hold or pull it apart. I used pieces of black matte board, double sided tape, black and white scans of my hands and arms, glue, and floss to construct it. The open palm hands seem to be holding the "globe" together, where as the clenched hands try to pull it apart. Suspended in the center is two up-side down hands, back to back, to create visual interest and to represent a peace symbol in a obscure, and almost chaotic pose (hanging in the balance).

Flipbook Animation Project

Video quality is awful. Ask for original video on my computer if you want to see better results.

Grid Exercise

Our assignment was to construct a grid for class. I chose a very simple grid design and used post-it notes, black colored pencil, and sharpie to create it. The darker background makes the neon colored Post-its pop off the page towards the viewer, creating a more 3 dimensional look. A student pointed out that the swirls of the blacks reminded her of Van Gogh's painting, Starry Night.

Opera and Video Games

The similarities of opera and video games was quite surprising. They each tell a specific story and are often dramatic, and even violent and tragic. The use of sound, expression, lighting, setting, and costumes in both opera's and video games are meant to excite the audience and draw them into the story being told. The opera I used for my video game paper, for example, was The Valkyrie. I loved the suspense and mythological tale being told of the two forbidden lovers and the winged warriors that chose which men died in battles. It was interesting to think of how to turn the opera into a video game, but I feel it was quite successful.

In regards to the videos we watched, it was shocking and rather disturbing to learn about castrodoes. To learn how valued the uniqueness of the voices of men who were castrated was surprising, but also interesting to learn about what people valued most back then. The importance of acting and opera's has rather metamorphosed and lean towards plays and movies now rather than the actual opera itself. The origins of opera and comparisons to today's entertainments is fascinating to say in the least.

Art vs. Design

http://www.aiga.org/art-vs-design/

In this article, Craig A Elimeliah discusses the differences and similarities of art and design and what sets each apart. He goes to say that the line that draws the difference between a designer and a artist is how they approach and do the projects assigned. An engineer will use a carefully thought out process, such as using grids and measurements, where as the artist does not limit themselves to such things but instead does their work with more chaos and emotions flowing through it. He goes into saying that designers should consider being more "artistic" with their work, to create uniqueness. They need more chaos and emotion to their work, but with their designer background, there will also be unity.

Raul Cuero's interview about Creativity

We watched this the first week of class. It was amazing to hear the story of this man and all the trials he overcame. To get to where he is today, Cuero had to overcome the obstacles from his country, growing up, racism, and education. In doing so, he had to find creative ways to overcome the challenges and progress forward with what he was capable was. He warns people about the use of technology and how it can prevent us from being as creative as we can be. Looking to nature can strengthen our creativeness and push us to try new things and expand our minds. I feel like his interview was very inspirational and serves as a reminder to me that as long as I try to stay creative, I can overcome obstacles. That things can get better even if things are looking rather bleak. Everyone has the potential to succeed and go far. I hope to exercise my strengths and even my weaknesses so that I can face the future more confidently.

Who Am I

Hello! My name is Lindsey Davis. This is my third year at UT, but my second year as a graphic design major. I am also pursuing minors in Writing and Digital Arts. Hobbies I have are drawing and writing. I enjoy poetry but I mostly write short fiction stories in genres of fantasy, paranormal, and occasionally realistic fiction. I'd love to write, illustrate, and publish books someday.

My feelings on the class are rather unsure, but interested in the topics we will be discussing. So far the discussion on technology and how it has changed over the years has been enjoyable to learn about. I look forward to the flip book assignment. I expect I will learn a lot more about the basics of technology and how it has changed and influenced art, and apply them to my own knowledge and work with time.