Video: Making of 3D Art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNYtd0Ayt0

This video is one of, if not the coolest video I have seen concerning art. This shows 3D street art being made with a very cool effect done by the maker of the video. Whenever I see art, I always want to know how it was created and what steps were neccessary in creating the artwork, as well as what materials were needed. This video shows all this, which really amazed me. It was really interesting to see how these people created this amazing piece of public art out of the pathway.

Latte Art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDZs__m5iAI
My belief about art has always been that it can be created out of anything. This video is an example of how art can turn up anywhere, even in a persons coffee. My favorite that the person makes is the burtterfly, I think that it was the most creative and the colors of the latte make it look really cool

How My View of Art has Changed

Over this course, I have really undertaken an appreciation of art. Before I first went to the High Museum for the first time, I never thought about art that much. Like most people, I would walk by something, perhaps look at it for a few seconds, then continue on my way. Many times I failed to even notice the art present around me.

After making the trips to the High Museum, writing the visual analysis of the painting, and constructing the Visual Essay, I look at art a completely different way. Whenever I see some sort of creation around me, I now take time to admire and think about it. I consider how the artist created it, how much time it took, etc. Overall, I believe the work that I have done in this course has really changed my perspective on art, and has also made me a better student of art as well.

Car as Art Addition

Now only is the style of a car art, but its paint job is as well. Personally, I love seeing cars with custom paint jobs. They always make me look at the car for a longer period of time and make me admire it much more because of its individuality.

Cars as Art

Driving down the road, a brand new yellow Chevy Camaro passed me, which is one of my favorite cars. As I watched it pass by (instead of watching the road), I realized that every car has its own style, and that its style and look is a form of art. Every sports car is meant to look unique and different, like paintings or sculptures are, which makes them a great form of art.

Video Games, Yet another Form of Art

This past weekend I played a lot of Call of Duty. As I played, I realized that every part of the game is in fact a piece of art. From the format of the main menu to the battle scenes that you play, much time went into developing every part of this game. The designers and others who put this game together are artists that   work hard to make people appreciate what they have created.

Art Guide Project

In making this Atlanta Art Guide, I've learned much more about how much art there actually is in this city. From learning about information of the Center of Puppetry Arts as well as the Fox Theatre, I have learned that there are so many different types of art available so close to where I am.

Russian Ark: A Special Type of Art

The movie Russian Ark is art being a film, but it is a very rare kind of movie which to me makes it a very special type of art. The entire film is shot in one scene, which makes filming the movie very difficult for a few reasons. The actors do not get any breaks since there are no cut scenes, and since the whole thing is shot in one scene, a scene cannot just be reshot like in other movies. Another interesting thing about this movie is that the entire film was shot in one day. While movies typically take months to shoot, this film was completed in only one day, which is amazing.

Another interesting part of this artwork is that the film was shot from a first person perspective, meaning that you were seeing what was happening from the narrator's perspective. I really liked how they did this, and it reminded me of the movie, Cloverfield, which is shot from the perspective of a person filming on a small camera of a monster attacking the city that he lives in. This perspective is very different from typical movies, which is why I like it. It kind of reminds me of my visual essay assignment involving seeing art from different angles.

Museums as Art

Last week, we talked about museums, the buildings that house art. To me, a museum can be art, considering it is a building, which is a creation, that has a style and a public appeal. The museum, both inside and out, is an artwork itself, with all of its designs and unique shapes that it may have. Unlike the artworks that it contains, a museum is public art, since it is available for everyone to see. It is also functional art, since it serves a purpose.
It is almost appropriate that a building that houses art be art itself.  When a person looks at the outside of the museum, they are looking at art itself.  The outside can make them wonder what kind of art is inside of it.

Food as Art

Everyone envisions art as something we can feel, listen to, or touch, but how about something we taste? Could food be considered an art? If you think about it, food is a creation that was meant for some sort of audience to enjoy, which is what art is. Therefore, I consider food to be a type of art. To me, something that tastes delicious has a beauty to it similar to the beauty of a statue or painting. When I take a bite of something that I really love, I stop whatever I'm thinking about and simply think about the taste, which is similar to how people look at a piece of artwork that they admire.

Artists could not only be people like Dali or Mozart, but also people like Wolfgang Puck or Emerald because they create something that people love and want more of, which to me is art.

Art in Sports

Every sports team has a logo to represent their team or city that the team plays in. This logo is art, and when seen can strike energy in sports fans. Most teams have multiple logos and also different jerseys, which makes it really cool to see all the different logos that a sports team has.

For example, this past weekend the New England Patriots wore  their "throwback" jerseys, which contained a very different logo on their football helmets along with different jerseys. This logo, like the other one, is art, however, it is art that is seen less and therefore catches more attention to the fans.

I am in no way, shape, or form a patriots fan at all. In fact, I dislike them very much, but when I saw these alternate jerseys on Sunday,  it caught my attention and made me feel more into watching this game much more than usual. This shows how changing an artwork that a person sees every week can make them take notice to something that they usually do not.

The Visual Essay Experience

When I was first assigned this project, I really had a hard time in figuring out what I was going to talk about. Not given a specific topic seemed very challenging for me, and caused a lot of stress. At first I thought about just taking specific pictures of a certain kind of art, like a sculpture or statue, and talking about them. Then, I went to Atlantic Station and saw the statue next to Target, and thought it would make a great picture. I took the first image, standing straight in front of it, then thought, I wonder how it would look from a close up angle. I then walked up to it and took then picture, then stood to a side angle of it and took another picture. When I got home and uploaded my pictures to my computer, I was really happy with how they looked. It was at that point that I found my theme.

From this point on, I felt much more comfortable with my project. After finding my theme, I was able to take pictures and generate an order for which to put them in rather quickly. I was able to draw similarities and differences  between the different pictures that I took. At this point, I felt very confident in my project.

I thought that giving a presentation instead of writing a paper made this project easier for me. Personally, I can explain things much better when I talk about them and show people what I am talking about instead of writing about it. I think this is because I am more of a visual learner myself.

As far as time spent went, it took me much less time to find out what to say for my essay, however in total time of taking pictures, choosing the correct ones, and creating a presentation, an essay would have taken less time. However, I do believe that doing this presentation instead of writing a paper made my grade better since I can speak better than I write.

Overall I really enjoyed this project and it gave me confidence in finding a topic for future open ended assignments. On the next project like this, I am sure I will have a lot less stress and nerves and will therefore do a better job.

Visual Essay Assignment

For my visual essay assignment, I am going to show how seeing a piece of public art from a different angle  can change a person's personal opinions and feelings about the piece. When you see things from different angles or view points, your opinions tend to change. Art is no different, which is why it is important to see art from multiple view points, particularly sculptures and 3-D art.

How Perspective can Change an Art Piece

Today, I went to Atlantic Station and saw this statue over near Target. I took these two pictures of it to see how seeing an art piece from a different angle can change it.

From the first picture I took, the audience is in front of the sculpture, about 7-10 feet away. You see it from a flat view, the way most people see it. The second one however, you get a view of this artwork from up close and below the sculpture, which is an angle that most people do not see this sculpture from. I prefer the close up angle, because to me it looks much nicer. I like how the sky is in the background, which gives it a better look in my opinion.

Overall, just messing around with my cell phone camera in Atlantic station for a few minutes really showed me how the same object shown at different angles can change a piece of art. 

Public Art That Conveys a Message

While some public art pieces can be a visual representation of an area, others can convey a message to the public. All the time, people make chalk drawings on the sidewalk, sculptures, or murals on walls depicting public messages, such as spreading peace, helping the needy, or others. When people see these artworks, they are receiving the messages that the artists are trying to send. These public pieces of artwork, such as the art at the Belt line, not only make areas look nice, but also help the community and the environment with their messages.

Public Art

Yesterday in class, we talked about the definition, use, and examples of public art. I found this topic a very interesting one to talk about. To me, public art can not only make a a public area look nicer, but it can also define its culture as well as provide a visual representation of an area. For example, whenever someone thinks about the city of Paris, the first thing that usually pops into their mind is the Eiffel Tower. This one landmark, an artwork, is a representation of an entire city. Public pieces of art like this have this great ability to stick in people's mind and provide a visual representation for an area. People come from all over the world to look at this piece of art, and it is also on almost every postcard for Paris. The Eiffel Tower is essentially a symbol of Paris, and its ability to be a symbol shows the power that public art possesses.

Architecture as an Art

To me, almost any creation can be art, even architecture. An architect is an artist who creates art that people can go inside of.  Buildings all look different, and some have a special artistic look to them, such as the Space Needle in Seattle. When I first saw this structure, I was almost breath taken in a similar way that I would see a painting in the High Museum that I really admired. Even though the Space Needle is far from a painting, I still consider and treat it as art.


http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/space_needle_1.jpg

Cinematography Continued

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC1bNfpHT54&feature=related

Following my previous post about cinematography as a form of art, I found this clip from the documentary,  Visions of Light (1993), which has several film makers talk about film and their personal relationship with how they create art.

Cinematography as a Form of Art

Although we have not yet talked about cinematography in class, I believe that it is a very special form of art. In fact, it is one of my favorites. The art of cinematography can have many different aspects, just like any other type of art, such as a painting. Directors over the years have created many different and unique films, and currently with the way technology is rapidly growing, film will become even more popular and people will be able to create even more. Even in the past 80 years, we have gone from black and white films with no sound to scenes with special effects, CGI, and surround sound. Who knows where film will be in the next 80 years.

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Benjamin

"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be."

After reading this essay, I found myself to agree with Benjamin's position of the reproduction of art, particularly the quote listed above. Current technology can almost perfectly reproduce a piece of artwork. The key word in this previous sentence, is "almost." An artist creates a piece of art and puts in a specific place that he or she wants it to be viewed. To view a picture of a beautiful piece of artwork is not nearly the same as seeing the actual piece, no matter how high the quality of your camera. The area in which the artwork is located has a very large effect on many aspects of a painting, including the meaning, the painter's  message, and the mood. To view the original piece of artwork in its original place gives it so much more value and meaning than to see it in a magazine or on a computer screen. 

Although you can tell from a picture of a piece of art that it is beautiful, you can never fully capture its beauty unless you go an see it yourself in person.

A Connection Between Winterson's Art Objects and Sontag's Against Interpretation

The writings of both Winterson and Sontag both involved interpretation and communication of art, which I found quite interesting. Winterson talked about how art can convey a meaning to a person, and to understand a painting, you must stare at it for a long period of time, and try to notice things in it that aren't usually noticed when the painting is viewed for a short period of time. Sontag however, took a diferent approach to interpretation of art. She talked about how people can search for meaning in a piece of art, when the actual artist did not intend for a meaning in his or her work. Sontag says that people can also gather their own opinions about the meaning of piece of art and then believe that the artist was actually trying to convey this message, when in reality it was only the viewer's opinions. 

Personally, my position on this matter is more in between of these two ideas. I believe that art can convey a message, however, I also believe that people do search for messages in art that simply aren't there. People in any subject matter always have their own opinions about what something means, and are likely to always believe that their opinion is the right opinion. 

High Museum of Art: European Design Since 1985 Shaping the New Century

The European Design Since 1985 exhibit was very interesting to see. I thought the exhibits in this area of the museum were the most interesting, particularly the one with all of the dresser drawers connected to one another. It was something that was relatively simple, but it was also something that I have never seen or even thought about before, which made me very interested in it. Much of the exhibit was based around everyday furniture that was made into artwork, which I found to be really cool. I especially enjoyed the bench that was made to look like a dog.

I really liked that this exhibit contained different kinds of art. It was very cool to go from one exhibit that mostly had paintings, to this one that contained many different types of art. After seeing so many paintings, it was very cool to see a form of art that I did not even know existed.

Trip to the High Museum of Art: The Dali Exhibit

My trip to the High Museum of Art yesterday was a wonderful experience. I saw many things that fascinated me, including some of the paintings from the new Salvador Dali exhibit. I found Dali's paintings to be quite interesting to look at. What I really liked about them was that in each painting, there were many things going on, and he also paints things the way he wants to see them, not others For example in his painting Christ of saint John of the Cross, Dali did not show neither the crown of thorns on his head nor his arms nailed onto the cross. Instead, Jesus is seen hovering on the cross, not attached to anything. I really liked what he did with this, because it was different than any picture I have seen of Jesus on the Cross before. The picture is also on angle, as if you are on looking on Jesus from above like you are actually God, which I thought was different and was something I liked.

Although I found Dali to be somewhat bizarre, I really did enjoy looking at his paintings and trying to understand them.

My Definition of Art

Defining art is not an easy thing to do, and in fact, there has been debate on if art can even be defined. To me, art can be any creation that is able to transform a person or make him or her stop and contemplate the creation, such as a beautiful statue in a garden. People mostly think of paintings or drawings when they think of art, but I try to see art as being more than that, such as a song, or even a sculpture built out of sand (See picture). Art is a creation that allows people to form their own opinions about it, such as a painting, song, or film. After seeing a film for example, people form their own opinions about it, such as if they liked it. There are infinite possibilities of art, because art can be anything that someone creates, and is something that can be created out of almost anything.