Final Project Proposal (Digital)

     I plan to do a drawing and bring it into the digital realm to manipulate it. A large majority of my art and passion is in the plastic arts rather than digital so I wanted to find a way to merge the two for my final. The goal of my project is to explore what happens when to two artistic styles cross. I plan to display the two side by side at the same size to show where one left off and the other started and progressed. The digital product will be displayed at the original size of the drawing. I want to experiment and see the direction my fine arts skills go when crossed with the digital.

Final Project WIP (Photo)

     The idea for my project was to tell a story about my identity and how much of who I am is tied to what I own and what I do. I am more of a person working on a drawing rather than standing at the corner of the road. My overall plan is to heavily Photoshop my images to show how the objects I own give me life. I don't want to reveal just a small portion of the story so I will show a few pictures before the Photoshop process to give the basic idea of the image composition. The project will displayed and matted on the wall in varying sizes and show a linear progression from one side to the other to display a passage of time.

Project 5

     The goal of the project was to see how two artists interact in a digital world. This was an interesting project that showed some unexpected interaction based on standard social aspects of the real world that would seem to have no purpose in a fictional landscape. We were simply avatars with a large name plate above our head.
     Things like personal space and eye contact still existed even when we were only an avatar in the world. Chat boxes got rid of the need to talk face to face but it still was prevalent. Little things that are ingrained in our mind still dictated our actions. It was as though the avatars became our body. Many strange quirks like where to place a bed in a small room and the exchange of materials still had a large impact in a place that was completely made of code.
     We survived and build massive structures over the course of the week like two artists sharing colored pencils in class. We helped each other but stayed on our own for the large majority. I suppose it was because we knew little about how the other worked. It was more or less a test to see how the other designed their structure and attempt to match or up the stakes. I hate to admit it but it was more like an unannounced contest to see who could make the better place. It was fun but more time consuming than I would like to admit.

If you own Minecraft and would like to see first hand what we did here is the address to the server
184.56.209.17
I just ask that you do not destroy our hard work.

(Digital) Assingment 5 WIP

     Minecraft is a simple game based on the idea of being able to harvest and place blocks. That's it. Until recent updates there were no real goals or reasons to play past the first in game night. The game looks like it got released with the original Doom but still has that simple charm that keeps people playing for hours. 

     A digital world is randomly generated before you and you are left with nothing and expected to survive the undead onslaught and constant griefing of exploding enemies when night rolls around. This world was perfect for two artists to get together and see what becomes of the interaction. We survive to build and alter the landscape for no real reason other than the fun of it. This is what has become of a week in the digital world. 

(Photo) Final Assingment Proposal

     I plan on expanding the central theme of the last two projects. The idea of being defined by our possessions has really fascinated me this semester and I plan to take the idea further but in a more creative route than the last two. I plan on telling a more cohesive story with my images but while still keeping a mysterious background.
     I will have one central photo larger than the others that displays the overall theme and have 8 or 9 surrounding photos expand and explore the idea of the first in a linear fashion. The photos are going to be heavily Photoshopped much like assignment 5 but in greater detail. The goal is to create a surreal sense of how our possessions and clothing define our being and without them we are a blank slate of thoughts and emotions.

Digital Nation

1. As technology progresses so does our reliance and interaction with it. I feel we're already far too reliant on technology as it is and it will only get worse from here on. Years ago if the home telephone was left unanswered it was generally taken as you were unavailable. Now with cell phones in every pocket you are always available if you want to be or not. It is expected of you to pick up the phone and respond to a call or text. We are all wired into each other constantly feeding information to one another. It is great that we can all be connected in some way but it begs to question if it's really for the best or being abused by petty simple things.

2. Art is already moving forward with the digital processes. Photos can be faked and touched up to look more human than humans. We create this idealistic image and force it upon each other as being who we truly are. Digital art is a fantastic exploration of the impossible but where does the line blur into being abused? My main question is what happens when we can fake something so well it goes noticed. What happens when realistic video can contain no physical elements or object? The car posted below does not exist there physically. It was all rendered in a software and placed there digitally.

Here is a link to a site with 50 more photos like it : http://www.noupe.com/inspiration/50-stunning-3d-car-renders.html

Assingment 5 Proposal

     A lot of video of the video Digital Nation centered on the virtual world. Companies had entire meetings in a social game where they never had to leave their office or home. I plan to make a statement or parody about this idea. Imagine going to school and sitting in a classroom while your already at school in that same classroom.
     A large portion of interaction is lost when you see a digital representation of someone you're talking to. A large portion of the internet is a flaming mass of such human interaction where basic courtesies break down and name calling comes at the drop of a hat. Actions are so easy to hide behind when you're 200 miles away behind a computer screen.
    The plan (very tentative) is to construct a portion or all of Ovalwood. It will be a very crude representation of a physical space everyone in class is very familiar with and allow them to explore an area they're in while already present at that specific location. They could sit in their chair both virtually and physically. It will be displayed in a virtual game world where the viewer can move around, and possibly destroy things, as they please.

Project 5

     I spent quite a while thinking up ways to explain my thought process for this project. The grounds of fiction are so open that anyone can perceive a series of photographs very differently. One's mind can wander and conjure up obscure thoughts and reasons behind the meaning of a single image, let alone a series of five or more.
     I decided to tell a story and only give a single detail about the background. It relates to the basic idea of my last project where clothing makes the man. I want the viewer to fill in the rest because they will always find it much more fascinating if I let their minds wander rather than tell them what to think.
     I went into this project knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I took the photographs, multiple of each setting, and layered them so that I could create a seamless edited picture. It was mostly a simple use of Photoshop layer masks and some careful planning in order to fill in the parts that I once covered up.

Muybridge Project

     I decided to update the Muybridge photo set to the modern art world. The issue was how to show the basic fundamentals of art movement in a four dimensional format. I found by gradually devolving the image into the basic shapes that make up the composition to be the most effective method. It is more Kooning than Pollock but abstract expressionism all the same.
     I also found it to be a commentary on the image quality of old. What was amazing quality back in the day is like basic shaped and shadows to today's 24 mega pixel camera's and thousand dollar tilt-shift lenses. As time moves on the image we take today only gets worse and worse in our eyes.
     The process was just a simple adjustment of one of the art filters preset in Photoshop to slowly simplify each of the twelve images. I found the simple use of the filter to make my own comment on the ease of today's technology vs the processes of old world art. What once took hours of drawing or cutting now takes minutes with a mouse and keyboard. Art is evolving like photography is for better or worse.