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.


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