Blog Entry 9

I've been really busy with work and classes/exams and such, so I figured I'd discuss a few things that have been floating around in my mind. 

Recently I attended a guest lecture for my Early Greek Art class by a former professor of the Rutgers University Art History program. Jocelyn Penny Small talked about the birth of illusionism, essentially how back in antiquity potters and artists working on ancient Greek pottery had to take into account the shape of the vase while they were drawing, and distort lines and shapes to maintain the illusion of proportion from a certain viewing angle. Unfortunately this idea at the time was so new that the illusion of perfect proportion only maintained from one viewing angle, but often this was overlooked because the inconsistencies within the drawing were hard to see. She explained a problem, however, that when we take pictures or project videos of 3D forms and reproduce them on flat surfaces, the objects they are depicting are flattened, In our minds we recreate the 3D image (what it would look like in real life) and can see both.

This lecture made me think about how this would effect text. Is text effected by its viewing area? How can this be distorted?  

Just a passing thought I guess.

But before I go I wanted to share a video of a kinetic sculpture that I stumbled on on the internet. This kind of goes with my distortion theory but more static. Sorry I Cant embed the video in the blog, you have to click the link. Its amazing how magnets can still hold onto objects when you pass your hand through. 


We've been talking a lot about interactive media in Design, I'm not really good at this kind of stuff. We're getting into circuit Boards and more (queue scary horror music) Programming!! Ahh!
Maybe I should be considering things like this if we're supposed to know it. Touch screens are all the rave now, Microsoft even invented a touch pad... ON YOUR SKIN!
 

Blog Entry 8

I've been really drawn to info graphics lately. We were working on one during our second project for Design this semester and the more I look at it the more excited I get. There's a lot of things you can do with an info graphic. You can show lots of data, or small amounts of data, it can be objective or subjective, impersonal or intrapersonal. It could record an event, make a statement, or even be influential to others thoughts. Exploring this is something I definitely want to pursue.


Ahmet, our professor directed us to this blog, an artist called Jer Thorp, an educator from Vancouver, Canada, currently living in New York. Coming from a background in genetics, his digital art practice explores the many-folded boundaries between science and art. And has recently got some recognition. Not too long ago he did a work for the popular science magazine.

According to his website: "
Near the end of this summer, I was asked by the publishers of Popular Science magazine to produce a visualization piece that explored the archive of their publication. PopSci has a history that spans almost 140 years, so I knew there would be plenty of material to draw from. Working with Mark Hansen, I ended up making a graphic that showed how different technical and cultural terms have come in and out of use in the magazine since its inception.
The graphic is anchored by a kind of molecular chain – decade clusters in turn contain year clusters. Every atom in these year clusters is a single issue of the magazine, and is shaded with colours extracted from the issue covers via a colour clustering routine. The size of the issue-atoms is determined by the number of words in each issue."

This is an example of how a lot of data can be clearly presented, but in an aesthetically pleasing way. I think doing something like this for my thesis is both within my capability and something I'm excited to explore and research.

This may be a bad example, but this is one of my favorite examples I've found. Flow charts are another way to present information except in a more interactive way. I've been thinking a lot about interactivity because of what we're doing in design class right now, and this seemed to be a good merge inbetween the two. The user has to make a choice in order to gain more information. I like the possibilities associated with this.

Blog Entry 7

The next thing I went to on my nostalgic search for my thesis idea was in Typography. Anyone can make a book, anyone can make a typeface (well maybe not everyone..), and text is so ubiquitous we're hard pressed to find something creative to do with it that someone has not done already. I'm not really sure if this is the route I want to be going, but I'm just trying to brainstorm on meaning, esentially, what is design and what are people doing with it? Where do I fit in? What interests me enough about this subject? For this area, I think I'm more drawn to creating images with words. Using text as a medium or as a guide. Here are some examples i've found, plus some other little creative things others have done with text.

 

These I found on etsy. Being sold by a user by the name of BoldandNoble

another text work done by Matthew Cusick 

find this and other typeography wall papers here

This I thought was pretty cool, a font made from a defined circle. Almost like a digital clock

you can download it here

 

Blog Entry 6

Continuing on what I was talking about last week, I discovered this artist I can really resonate with. Matthew Cusick. He does a few different things, mostly Collage and Defacement of old books used in schools, but he also dabbles in video montages and edited sequences. What captured me most about his style, however was the visual language he creates in his Collages. I cant really explain it, only show you.

This is amazing. He takes maps, cuts them all out then rearranges its parts into a coherent image. To me, looking like a map is like a visual language in itself. It has its symbols and words and changes in color, all indicating different information and here he is creating something breathtaking. This kind of thing really interests me. I would love to do something like this for my thesis. Manipulating already existing visual languages?? Hm...

I must share more of his greatness. Here he takes old schoolbooks and sandpapers the words (all except a few) out. How he even did this I cant even fathom. How do you sandpaper paper?

Matthew Cusick also does a lot of work with typography. Check his site out. Its worth it :)

Blog Entry 5

This week we're still working on web design in our Design III class. I'm still finding that I do not really enjoy it that much (sorry!). You get too caught up trying to figure out the technical parts and you don't get enough time to actually design it. What usually ends up happening is that you end up getting whatever the code will allow you to do. haha.  I'm trying to go back to my roots in an effort to narrow down what it is I'm looking for in order to get an idea of what to do for thesis. 

 Learning Photoshop and photo manipulation, in addition to vector drawings was a big part of design one. I've been playing around with the idea of taking photo manipulation a step further or two. What are its limits? What can you achieve with putting limits to manipulation? What about defacement? Mirroring? Panorama? Going in this direction, however makes me a little nervous, how far am I allowed to go away from design? Are designers artists? Or are they people who make art and sell their skills to clients? If we are to do an independent project for thesis, which kind of designer am I? Perhaps the answer is both and I'm worrying too much, but I feel like I need to start somewhere. The beginning seems the best place to start.

 Defacemet, particularly to make a statement is somewhat appealing to me. Here I'm showing examples of a website that encourages everyone to make their own 100$ bill. Most of the time the changes are funny and often look more like defacing a bill rather than being a legitimate option for new currency. But I like the idea that simple defacement or manipulation can make a big statement, especially on something as well known as the dollar bill.

Collaging is another option I'm considering. not that collage would be the topic, just another means to explore another issue that's meaningful to me (which has yet to be decided). I found this video you need to check out! (you might want to turn your sound down)

Blog Entry 4

Putting up the show this week. I found this video and wanted to share, its about an artist named Gerhard Richter. Nearly all of Richter’s work demonstrates both illusionistic space that seems natural and the physical activity and material of painting—as mutual interferences. For Richter, reality is the combination of new attempts to understand the world surrounding us. I thought it was interesting because at the same time it gives an inside look at putting up a show and how everything is carried in, and the involvement of the artist in putting up an exhibition. Enjoy.


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Blog Entry 3

Last week we talked with Heather and about Art/Work, and what people are looking for in Resumes. This week I found a whole bunch of Resume designs that have been floating around the internet that I would like to share, plus my thoughts about the lecture.

Many of the things she discussed during the lecture were things most of us have kind of been known all along but never really cared to hear it out loud. We're going from being in a structured environment, given assignments and having feedback and time to make mistakes, to a place that is more professional and demanding. She cautioned us that expectations were different, and the dialogue we use is important in explaining our work to others (haven't I heard this somewhere before? haha). Heather also made clear the importance media is playing on our lives. With video, blogging, texting, tweeting, and posting your status on social networks what you say is more important now than ever. The importance of being careful what you say as well as being open minded at the same time was stressed considerably. On the other hand, she explains that this new media is a useful tool for recognition and getting feedback from others.  

She also went into a lengthy explanation about legality issues, making sure you're keeping proper paperwork and keeping contracts. She gave us an unbarred look into what to really expect as an artist in the working world. She reminded us that especially now, many artists even have a day job. Although lots of the discussion about getting work submitted pertained to other medias, I think a lot of what she had to say pertained to designers too. I think as a designer we've been taught how to look at working with clients in a similar way to what was being explained, because its a part of our curriculum and its important to be aware of. Her suggestions about the resume's though, were especially helpful. 

With competition in our field so high already, sometimes I think it's a good idea to stand out from the crowd. Here's some food for thought: 

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