Final Project

                                                istance between Ohio and Alaska

                                                           My path of travel

                                       Impressive Aurora (the photos was taken by me)

Before working on this project, I have no ideal what would the finished project look like. It is mentioned in the brainstorming blog that I was going to create a project which describes my attitude towards art from beginning of the class till now. However, when I actually worked on it, there were no thoughts in my mind and I don't know how to present it, which made me realize that I have to come out with another theme for my final project. I went through previous blogs and hoped to get inspiration from them, then I saw Michael's review for my first introduction blog which expected me to talk more about my trip to Alaska during the Spring quarter break. I found it would be a good chance to share my trip with other in the final narrative project.

When I was creating the project, first I need to make sure how to present my tour, using video or images. Making a video would be a good choice which can depict my tour in a coherent way. Unfortunately, I don't have enough photos in my laptop to create a video for a few minutes. Most of the photos that were taken in Alaska are in my friend's camera, who travelled together with me. I realized what a big mistake I've made that I haven't made a copy of all the photos. Anyway, I need to make a project with a few photos in my hand, so using images seems to be best choice. I plan to use three images in this narrative project. The first image is a map which presents my preparation for the trip. The green tab with a capital "A" stands for Columbus, OH where I start my journey and the tab with "B" represents my destination, Alaska. The airplane I used in the image not only points out my main transportation, but also tells my destination since it is from Alaska Airline. The second image shows my main travel path in Alaska. It is clear if we start from the photo at upper left side and follow the little arrows in the image. I also point out where those photos were taken or what's in the photos on the top left of each photos. Therefor, I believe it's easy for others to know my travel path in Alaska by seeing the image and it can be a great reference for those who are planning an Aurora trip. For the third image, I used four photos that I took at the moment I saw Aurora. It was really awesome and I just couldn't believe there is such an amazing wonder in the natural world. Watching Aurora has always been one of my wishes and I'm glad that it has been realized a few month ago. I have to say it must be one of the best experiences in my life, which I'd love to share with others.

After I finished the project, I found that the photos about Aurora I used in the third image can't describe my actual feelings when I saw it. People would be shocked only if they see the Aurora, which is one of the most beautiful natural phenomenon, by themselves. I think it would be better and more impressive if they can see the aurora photos in a larger size, so I upload individually as follows:

        

Final Project Brainstorming

The first time I was trying to do the final project, I stared at the description and my mind went blank. Since there is no specific topic, I am totally disorientated. I would rather to do a project with assigned theme than to do an open one. After a few days, I got some thoughts:

I always believed that I have no sense of art before taking this class, but I really had a good time in the class and realized that art is really not so far away from my life, in fact, it is everywhere. I think I have come to like it. I was thinking of creating a procedure with several images to present my attitude towards art from beginning of the class till now. However, attitude is a kind of abstract thing which is hard to express. Even myself would feel difficult to completely put my feelings of art into words, not mention into images. Most of the images in my mind can only show part of my attitude, no completely. So, I think the transformation process of my understanding to art could be the main idea in my final project if I figure out a way to solve the problem.

I have never used photoshop before this class, which sounds really outdated. I just not that kind of person who would like to share every important moments online with all the friends even strangers, so I barely need to photoshop any photos. Since I have learnt some skills about how to deal with photos by photoshop through this class, I decided to use images not video or other forms in my final project.

Response to Carver "Cathedral"

        This is a short story about a man "opened" his eyes and became seeing the world by his heart instead of judging things by his eyes, which learnt from a friend of his wife, a blind man. At the beginning of the story, it's easy to read between the lines that the narrator doesn't like the blind man at all. I like the way that the writer doesn't use any specific words to express the man's dissatisfaction, but it can be felt from how the narrator described the blind man. I noticed that Carver introduced the story by "The blind man", which is not a name or anything else as if the only thing that the narrator noticed about his wife's friend is that he is blind. It also indicates his prejudice toward blind people.
        I also like the narrator's change in attitude towards the blind man after the interaction between them, although I have anticipated it when the first time I realized that the narrator disliked the blind man in the beginning. The blind man actually has clear eyes in his heart, he might can't see anything but he got everything in his mind. He told the narrator to see the world in another perspective by closing his eyes and perceiving the world by heart.    

MP 6

Hair Accessory

To Twist

To Inlay

The first photo is about the object I chose to use in this project which is the colorful hair accessory on my wrist. The reason I chose it is that I take it with me everyday so it's very convenient to tie my hair up whenever I need. Besides, the hair accessory is unnoticeable and I never paid attention to it even I use it everyday.

The first action word is to twist. As it shows in the second photo, I twisted the hair accessory to keep my hair up. I think the point of it is that the hair accessory was twisted by me not because I have to do it to finish my project, but that's the way how it works. So it would become useful when it is twisted.

The second action word is to inlay. At beginning, I was confused that how can I inlay the hair accessory in an other object. It must be something soft, otherwise it's impossible to do it. Then, when I was washing my hands, watching the water running out of the tap, I realized that water can contain everything, including my hair accessory. So I put it in a bowl with water in it, which made it inlay in the water as the third photo presents.  

MP 5

        When I considered what super power I wish I could have, the first word that came to mind is "Magic". I wish I could have magic and it doesn't need to be sophisticated like making people effectively immortal or altering some irretrievable disasters. All I want are some little magics that can make life easy. People always bother with housekeeping things like washing dishes and clothes, cleaning up rooms no matter how busy we are. It would be amazing if I can get everything cleaned and replaced in a second with a simple spell. Speaking of magic, I'm a huge fan of The Happy Potter series. So in MP 5, I use a picture of HP with his wand from the movie as my body part and replace his head with mine. Then the two photos in the project were taken respectively before and after my room get cleaned. The photo that presents the room after everything packed up which cost me about an hour contrasts sharply with previews one. But with my wand and spell, all things can be done in a second. I basically satisfied with my project except a small flaw. Since I replaced Harry's head with my head, it looks slightly out of place. It seems I can revise it to make it better.

Response to Wallace "This Is Water"

        The article is a commencement address by David Foster Wallace who was tryting to explain the meaning of liberal arts education. The degree that the graduates are about to get is not just for finding a good job, it contains actual human value that would benefit the graduates in their whole lives. I agree with the idea that a liberal arts education is more about "what to think" than "how to think". As Wallace said, Since people have different belief templetes, it is common that people have totally different opinions towards the exact same experience and there's no right or wrong answer here. So "how to think" is decided by individulals based on their templetes. When it comes to "What to think", it's about selection and there has right or wrong choice. In our lifetime, we are constantly doing muliple-choice questions. People who are successful always choose the right answer which means they always know what to think. Overall, I think a liberal arts education is the wisdom of life.

        I totally understand and agree with the main idea of this article. However, it's really not an interesting commencement speech even it tells the capital-T Truth.   

MP 4

      

        The spot I would like to present is a small corner with a desk which has all my study materials on it, in the Thompson library.  The first picture contains three photos which can be used as a simple map to locate the specific spot I want to show. The first photo includes the panorama of Thompson building which indicates that my spot is right in this building. The second photo was taken on the third floor inside the library which is the same floor as my spot locates. Then, the last photo in the first picture which is also the most clear one shows what my spot looks like. Next, the second picture consists of two photos and both of them are close shots of the desk that I usually use when study. Although they are close shots, each of the photo was taken from different visual angles. Finally, the third picture presents the desk and its surrounding area. It's obvious that this picture was taken from a further angle than the previous one.

        I'd like to mark this desk as my spot because as a student I need to spend lots of time in the library after class, preparing for the quizes and exams. This desk is the most frequency I used in the Thompson. If I wasn't in a class but in campus, my friends can alway find me at this spot. From the pictures above, we can see my laptop with pink cover which also shows in MP 3, as well as a calculator, a big document folder, a pencil case, etc. All the materials on the desk are the things that I need while studying in the library. Everything on the desk reflects the real condition that people would see when they pass by the table. It is a very ordinary scene in the library and I don't think others would take notice of it.

Response to Kaprow "Blurring of art and life"

        An article, "Art Which Can't Be Art" wrote by Allan Kaprow,describes an interesting theory. Kaprow believes that brushing his teeth is an action that related to art or it's better to say it is an art.That sounds a little crazy since we all need to brush our teeth everyday for more than once, but no one thinks about it. It is too normal to be noticed,still less treat this action as art. However, when we try to figure out what art really is, it's hard to say. Is there a clear boundary between art and sociology? I don't think so, at least I can't tell what the boundary is. So, I do agree with Kaprow's thought. I think what the writer wants to emphasize is art comes from life. Everything around us could be the source of art and the meaning of art is to show the world around us.

        There is a sentence in the article said,"an artist concerned with lifelike art is an artist who does and does not make art." I love it and I think it explains the main idea of this article. A real artist must care more about life than how to "make" an art.

PM 3

        These are five objects I choose to grab from the fire and they are my passport, diary book, wallet, personal computer and iphone. First of all, my passport is the most important thing since I'm a internatinal student. It is my real Identification which indicates who I am. So it would be a big problem if I lost it. Then I would pick my diray because it is a relection of my own development and my inner heart. Also it contains my little secrets that I don't want to share with others. I would always carry it with me no matter where to go. Thirdly, my wallet is one of the essential items. With the money and cards in it, it's easy to get food and find a place to stay if I really have to escape from a fire. It can't be denied that money is an essential element for survival. In addition, I'd like to take my personal laptop with me since I have backup all the important files and works in it. I can find all the information I need from my laptop, as well as all my favourite songs that I have accululated over several years. The last thing I would save from the fire is my phone. Because I need to use it to report the emergency situation to the policy and trying to contact my friends and family remembers. It is the basic tool that allow me to contact with outside world.

        I use the image with lights and different colours because I think it can represents the mess of the fire to some extent. Moreover, the size of the items stands for the importance of the items, as well as the size of the words for each items. From the objects I select, it is obvious that I'm a realistic person since all the things in that picture are very useful and I can solve most of the problems with them.   

Response to Sullivan "Feet in Smoke"

        This is a story about the writer's brother, Worth, who was electrocuted when he was preparing for a performance with his band. What surprised me is that Worth woke up from that electrified near-death. To Sullivan, I believe nothing is more exciting than watching his brother came through such a big accident. Even though, Worth almost forgot everthing when he woke up and became a person that Sullivan was not familiar with, who cares it? The most important thing is that Sullivan didn't lose his family member, he can still talk to his brother and stay with him. The writer was so lucky that he still has chance to take care of his brother since not everyone can survive from a serious accident.
        I was confused with a plot in this story. When Sullivan asked the nurse when would his brother become normal, a nurse said,"Maybe, but wouldn't it be wonderful just to have him like this?" why did she say that?

MP 2

        This is a map, which shows my journey from home to the class of Art Education 252 every morning. Since I live in University Village, I don’t drive or use the public transit; instead, I usually take UV’s red shuttle to the campus, which can be seen in the picture. Luckily, the shuttle stop is just outside my house and we all known that time in the morning is so precious. In the shuttle, I’d like to listen to some wonderful music with my iPhone and if my friends were with me; we may talk about some interesting news around us. Usually, I get out off the shuttle at the stop of Lane Ave & Tuttle Park and then I need to walk to my classroom, it takes only 3 minutes. My class is in the stadium and it was a little bit difficult to find at the first time. I should enter the stadium from the door, which is beside Gate 24 and go to the second floor following the instruction on the wall. Finally, it is my class.   

Wexner Review

        I went to the Wexner Center yesterday to see an exhibition named Cubes and Anarchy. All the art works that displays were created by an American famous scalptor, David Smith. Visting the gallery is an special experience to me since I have never been to Wexner before and it is really hard to try to understand works which were made by a modernist of abstract expressionism. David would like to use cubes and geometry in his arts, so I didn't feel amazing at first sight of exhibits. However when I observed the arts carefully, I found they are interesting since all the components combines harmonious to support the whole art work.

        This is one of the exhibit that impressed me a lot. It is called cubi I and was made in 1963. It looks simple without any colours. The work is made of stainless steel and we can see their are five small cubes lining without order. I think David applied geometry in this work and tried to indicate the beauty of geometry.

Micro-project 1

Asymmetrical image

Symmetrical Image

Radial Image- This is a light in round shape

Person and their surrounding space

Person up close

An image from the point of view of an ant

An image from the point of view of a bird- I tried to take the photo in a high place, this picture was taken from second floor.

A stable image

An unstable image

My name on campus- This photo was taken in a study room in Mason Hall

When I was taking the second ten pictures, it was a different experience compared with the first time. Although I got the same purpose when taking the photos, which is to make beautiful and desirable photos, I have thought more about how to take a good picture during the second time. For example, I took all the first ten images from a person’s perspective, but I tried to create pictures from the point of view of an ant and a bird.

I think the most enjoyable process for me is to find what the world looks like in an ant’s eyes. Since the ant is tiny, I believe everything in its eyes would be large like things in close-up. In addition, ant can always be found in the soil under the root. That’s why I use a picture, which includes a root in close-up to represent an ant’s point of view.

My favorite picture is the one I took in Alaska a few days ago, which includes the white snow mountains, the dark blue lake and the clear sky. The picture presents a real status of nature, which makes the scenery spectacular. I love this photo because I took it without any goals and all I want to do is to keep the beautiful scenery in my mind.

Photo

Response to Hornby "Nipple Jesus"

        The story is about a picture which is "Nipple Jesus". The  main character in the story is someone who has nothing to do with art. I like the form of expression in the story. The writer gave a perspective of this picture from a bouncer. Actually, our main character like this picture, this is the real and honest feel from a bouncer who has never thought about art before. I think this is what art brings to us, it is not only for that artists but for all the people who appreciate it.
        In the story, it said that a religious person came and in front the picture, he prays but the narrator can't tell why he prays, I am a little confused with it.

Response to the Walker and Barrett Articles

        What an artwork represents is not its existing form or anything we can see with our eyes. The real meaning behind the artwork, which can only be seen by heart is the theme of the work. To artists, the theme of a work may not be as same as his or her big idea, but should be a part of it. Thus, a big idea usually is the theme throughout an artist's career. As it indicates in Walker's article Big Ideas and Artmaking, the great painter Van Gogh spent his whole career life to portray human emotions. Apparently, chosing a right idea is important to an artist. The idea should be connected to the artist's personal experience so that he or she can better express the idea in different forms of artwork. A real art can only be created when the artist has a deep understanding of the idea.

         I like Walker's article and didn't find anything difficult or problematic in it. I agree with Walker's opinion of big ideas of artwork. The most important thing is that he did a really good job on writing an understandable article about art, since art is always abstract.     


        In Barrett's article Interpreting Visual Culture, he indicates an opinion that people may have different interpretings to a image based on their own culture and experience. It is ture and really normal in our daily life. People always have different understanding of a same image because they get used to link the image to his life, different backgrounds create different interpretings.

        The writer also shows that people in different ages have their own understanding with an experiment of preschool children. I think that sometimes adult sometimes can't understand what kinds thought. Maybe our interpreting of their behavior is not what the kinds want to express. 

Response to Weschler Article

In the article "Why is this man smiling?", Weschler describe the progress that animators made to simulate the facial expression. A viewpoint that I really agree with the writer is that we don't need a completely replication of human being with soul and consciousness. A really replication is a kind of action that broke the balance of natural and things may grow out of control. What animators should focus is that how to make the animation more vivid and this is exactly the purpose for animators to improve the technology on simulation.

I was wondering if it is possible for us to replicate a real human. Though our technology improves day by day, but there must be something that we are not able to do. We are just a part of natural, maybe a little special but still have to follow the natural rules.

Response to Hickey article

Hickey talks about rules in The Heresy of Zone Defense. By analyzing the rules in the basketball games, he believes that rules sometimes are harmful. Just like basketball game, rules may decrease creativities and slow the pace of improvement. However, people used to create rules and following them to simplify things. As a matter of fact, rules sometimes lead to the adverse results. It is interesting that the write make connection between rules and basketball to illustrate his points, which may impress people who are huge fan of basketball games.

The writer may over reject rules. I think rules play an important role in our daily lives, though it sometimes bother people. In fact, the advantages of rules overweight the disadvantages. With rules, people can deal with problems based on a common view, which made everything much easier.  

Response to the Kidd article

In the article, Kidd explained several basic design tools like Left to Right, Top to Bottom, Big and Small, and others, which are quite important to students who are interested in design. Although these skills only deal with Form, which is a small part of design, a successful designer should become skilled in using them. At the end of the article, the writer said a good work must contain something special, something that represents the designer himself or herself. I really agree with it even I've never learnt design before. I believe all the excellent designs are imbued with meaning and maybe even with soul and spirit. A design without soul can't touched other people.

Actually, I found the article was a little difficult to understand especially in the prelude part. I can find the connection between the prelude and interlude. I am wondering why Kidd describe those enermy things in prelude? Is it because they treat the process of learning design as enermy?

Introduce Myself

My name is Wenjing Hu. I came from Nanjing, China. I'm a Junior student in osu who major in Accounting. I like watching movies and listening to music during my leisure time. Also, in common with other girls, shopping is one of my favorite activities. Besides what mentioned above, I'm quite interested in travelling. During the quarter break, I went to Alaska for aurora which was really awesome.