Blog #5

1. The most significant accomplishment I had in my Final project was creating meaningful artwork. The Big Idea for my final project meant a lot to me because I had a personal experience with my sister going through an eating disorder. I was hoping to show how serious an eating disorder is and I also wanted to show that it is possible for a person to overcome an eating disorder. I feel like I accomplished this goal in my work by my cohorts reaction to the images, they were amazed, not only by the images.

2. My most challenging learning experience in Photoshop was masking. The problem wasn’t understanding what masks could do, it was just knowing HOW to do all of the perks masks offer. By the final project I felt like I had a pretty good handle on how masks worked but I still feel like I could play around with them more to fully understand how they work. Considering I had never used Photoshop before, every concept was difficult at first, but I would have to say learning how to layer and control the color and intensity of images is something I mastered by the end of the quarter.

3 3. The two images I chose to compare and contrast are the images from my final project and quiz 2. They both deal with similar Photoshop concepts but the image from my final has so much more meaning behind it. Anyone could tell that there is so much more thought behind this image. The image from quiz two is just an example of technique and it is not as strong of an image.

Quiz 2

Final

Final: Body Image

Artist Statement

My Big Idea is body image with a focus on anorexia. I chose to explore this big idea because my sister struggled with this eating disorder for four years and nearly died. Since my sister has been healthy for nine years, I had to use photographs taken of her during the battle. For the first image I combined photos and a watercolor that I painted of my sister when she was sick. I hope this image conveys how serious anorexia is and how it can take up residence and consume one’s mind, body and spirit. Ironically, the word “eat” is in the middle of the word “death” and I intentionally positioned the word over her mouth.

In the second image I used a photograph that I took of Ashley after she defeated anorexia. In this shot she is obviously healthy and well with the eating disorder behind her, literally and figuratively. I also used the last stanza of a poem she wrote to further explain her victory. The color used in this image is inspired from the artist in my blog number four. I tried to make everything black and white except for Ashley. I want her to look full of life while everything else looks dull.

In both images my goal in Photoshop was to better my skills in masking and also perfecting all the other skills we have learned through the quarter. I also researched artists that use body image as their big idea in their artwork and I tried using some of their design techniques. I found this very helpful in creating my final images.

Blog #3

Caroline Morin

The illustrations that Caroline Morin creates inspire me so much. I think it is beautiful how all of her drawings are in black and white with just a hint of color and I would really like to use that technique in my final project. Her style is so unique because she uses a lot of implied line to keep her drawings very simple. In this case less is definitely more, which I would also like to use in the final project. I think her Big Idea may be women's fashion or women's beauty and fashion.

Mandrak

Mandrak is an artists that focuses on body image and eating disorders in their artwork, especially anorexia, which is the theme I want to use in my final project. I think it is beautiful yet disturbing how this artist has used old renaissance paintings as a theme in their work. When looking at the paintings the viewer is caught off guard because they would expect to see a beautiful, voluptuous woman, like you would in the time period it represents, but rather they see a very thin, sick looking girl. I also think this shows how our perception of a "beautiful" woman has changed over time. I think this message is extremely powerful and makes the viewer think. I would like to impact people in my final project like this artist has.

Quiz 4

I chose the two movies The Bourne Identity and The Notebook to blend into one movie poster. The Bourne Ultimatum is an action packed movie that is targeted towards adults, especially male adults. On the other hand, The Notebook is a romantic movie geared toward females. The Bourne Identity movie poster has an overall dark shadowed look, as well as a cold, blue/green color scheme. The Notebook movie poster also has just one color scheme, like Identity, but it’s a very soft and happy golden color, unlike Identity. The Bourne Identity poster shows Matt Damon, the main character in the movie walking toward the viewer in a strong manner with a serious expression on his face holding a hand gun. In the background there is a circle outlining Matt Damon, making it seem like the viewer is looking through a gauge of a gun, which means they are trying to kill him. This movie appears to look very serious and definitely appeals to men. The Notebook’s composition has the main couple, Allie and Noah, at the top gazing into each others eyes, nearly kissing. This fades into a sunset on a pond with the aged Allie and Noah in a boat. The poster explains the movie well because the story goes back a forth between the young couple and the aged couple. As most would say this poster appears as a chick flick! The text for each title is very fitting as well. The Bourne Supremacy text is very bold while The Notebook title is very simple and soft.

Midterm

Artist Statement

Through my two images I chose to explore the Big Idea of giving using the themes of volunteering, missions, teaching, and serving those in need. I took a mission trip to a very poor and corrupt part of Honduras mainly working with children. I would like to convey in the first image the deplorable living conditions most Hondurans face everyday. The elderly woman that lived in this home rescues orphaned children off the streets. She most recently took in the little boy shown in the larger image, and his twin brother. As the viewer looks at this image I want them to see and feel something very dark, cold, and depressing. I want them to see what I initially saw, that it appeared that this lady had nothing left to give, but she generously shared what she did have, which was love and compassion. In spite of their very oppressed circumstances, the Honduran people are hopeful, thankful, humble, content, and in many cases godly, which is what I want to reveal in the second image. Ironically, I set out to serve, teach and reveal God to these poor people, but they revealed God to me through their love, acceptance, and gratitude. Funny how God works!

Blog #2

My Big Idea is Giving/Volunteering. Calling, Serve, and Helping were the synonyms I chose for each visual cloud.

Artist statement rough draft

My big idea is volunteering/giving particularly in missions. I took a trip to a very poor and corrupt part of Honduras mainly working with children. I would like to convey how poor this country is and what kind of opportunities I had to help the people of this country. While working with children and an all girls orphanage I taught about God, sang, played games, made crafts, gave gifts, etc. I have been on a few other mission trips but this one had to most impact on me. This Big Idea is extremely important to me because it was a life changing experience. It made me realize how fortunate I really am. Before I went I had the mind set of changing lives, helping, and making a difference but in the end, the Hondurans really changed my life. It is just so humbling to see how happy the people are and how thankful they are for what they have, but the thing is, it seems to us like they have absolutely nothing! I am very passionate about giving and I hope to go to Honduras again.

Mod Meaning

Visual Brainstorming

Brain Storming

• Nature
• Disasters-tearing apart, nearly dying, sister, extremely sick, 5 long years, Anorexia, Satan, family, 69 lbs, 5'10, treatment centers, fighting, crying, weak, dull, thin, ten years old, disgusted
• Dreams
• Relationships
• Animals- horses, dogs, healing, therapy, rescue, friends, listen, love, coping, career-integrated animals with therapy, autism, disabled, psychotherapy,
• Identity/ individual-
• Religion
• Volunteering- missions, honduras, canada, children, Christianity, games, helping, praying, giving, time, leading, teaching, learning, growing, caring, support, contact, open up, reaching out, Haiti, poor, language barrier, spanish

JAN OLIEHOEK

A photo manipulator who uses stock photographs to piece or manipulate the images, making the final piece look very bizarre, yet real.

The first image is called "Pickled Foetus." The piece shows stacked, glass jars full of pickles, peppers, lemons, and other fruits and vegetables that were canned, taking up the entire space. This sheets of cardboard is between each stack of jars and water or juice fills each jar. The colors that are mostly used are red, yellow, and green. Three jars are fully showing, while twelve jars are partly shown. Some jars show parts of stickers but nothing you can read. To the left of the center jar there is a human fetus crammed in a jar. It is a fleshy pink color with a black necklace around its neck and black bracelets on each wrist. The fetus is not full term but does have eyes, a nose, a mouth, arms and legs. Two pinkish stickers are on the front of the jar with a cursive name or something written but is too small to read.

When first glancing at the image you don't actually realize the fetus in the jar but when you do realize what it is, it shocks you. The fetus in the jar is obviously out of place with the canned pickles. This image looks like the viewer just stumbled upon the fetus while shopping for pickles at the local market. That is Oliehoek's whole purpose, to make the manipulated images look very strange and surreal to the viewer.

The second image,"Searaffe," shows a normal giraffe standing in the ocean. The image allows the viewer to see under the water and above the water. The neck and head of the giraffe are sticking out of the water while the rest of its body is under the water. Under the the water the picture is a blue tint with coral on the sea floor and an iceberg in the background. Above the water the picture is a brown/tan tint. Eleven penguins are behind the giraffe standing on the iceberg or some kind of rock. The sky is very dark brown and seems like it is going to storm. Way off in the distance an iceberg is on the left side of the picture.

Once again the giraffe is out of place, normally found in the warm savanna not near or "in" the arctic ocean. This is very confusing because the giraffe looks like it belongs in the photograph, like it could survive in the ocean. The image makes the viewer think "what if this were true?" The point behind the image is to think imaginatively while making the image look extremely believable!

I enjoy looking at his images they make you question whether it is true or not!!

To check out Jan Oliehoek's website click here

Connotations and Denotations

Would denotation views differ between age groups as far as being able to evaluate an image, object, artwork, etc. as a whole?

-I believe all age groups can find the connotation, what they see, and denotation, the definition or meaning, of an image, object, artwork, etc. Younger age groups may find it more difficult to find the denotation in something finding it easier to go into detail describing the connotations of a piece. I also think it depends on the subject and how deep or hidden the message is. Obviously, with a piece from Picasso, young children would have trouble defining the artwork as opposed to someone from an older age group who may be able to pick apart the painting and find its true meaning. The article explains this by giving examples of college age students finding the connotations and denotations of the cover of a Rolling Stones magazine, middle school students finding the connotations and denotations of sports team clothing, and finally elementary students finding the connotations and denotations of a teddy bear. Therefore, yes, denotation views do differ between age groups.

1st post

Link to wiki about dogs.