Beauty and Presenting

Last week in art 100 we started off the night discussing what the definition of beauty was. A lot of people had a lot of different definitions that all seemed to fit in different circumstances. We watched the dove beauty campaigns which I love. I think that now, more than ever, it is so difficult to be a female. The standards for beauty are unachievable. Young girls are fed so much different information about what you're "supposed" to look like. To me beauty in mass media changes as much as every year. What was beautiful in the 1920's was drastically different in the 50's, and now beauty has a completely different image. The horrible thing about beauty in media today is that technology is making it impossible to look like supermodels on billboards as one Dove video showed. To me beauty is something that speaks to you the second you see it. You have an immediate, natural reaction to it. To me beauty never fades and can't be altered. The most beautiful things to me are the most raw and honest things. People that are honest, kind, and open are the most beautiful. Others think that beauty is pleasing to the eye, which of course when something is beautiful it is going to be pleasing to you, however what makes something beautiful. One persons trash could be anothers treasure. Even in my own family we all have drastically different ideas of who's beautiful, what cities and animals are beautiful. I think what makes beauty so interesting because is that it cannot and will not ever be concretely defined. Abstract ideas are the best kind and leaves it open to let everyone be an individual. I also got to present Banksy last week. I was so so nervous, I absolutely have public speaking. I think over all it went really well though and I am happy about the way everything turned out although I wish I had a few sound bites or videos. Everyone else did a good job and I am excited for the rest of them tonight!

BANKSY

                     His method, message and mystery has given him the notoriety he deserves.

  "The people who run our cities don't understand graffiti because they think nothing has the right to exist unless it makes a profit"

Window Lovers

Bristol, England

Stonehenge using Port-o-Potties

Glastonbury Music Festival 2007

           "People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible, and childish. But that's only if it is done properly"

The death of the Phone Booth

Pink Angel

Exhibition in Bristol

West Bank Wall Barrier 

Created 9 images regarding the illegal separation of Israel and Palestine

 "Prehistoric" piece snuck into the British Museum

Buried British Phone Booth

Created Pounds using Princess Diana and his name

One Nation Under CCTV

Banksy's "Self-Portrait"

 

Maid in London

"A wall is a very big weapon. It's one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with"

"Self-Portrait" using yellow street lane lines

"Graffiti will ultimately win over proper art because it becomes a part of your city, it's a tool"

"Laugh Now"

presented at Warhol vs. Banksy Exhibit

Art Presentation

Last week we saw 4 totally different presentations in class. I thought they were are pretty good. My favorite was definitely Damien Hirst. I thought his diamond skull was incredibly beautiful and different. I wish I could see that in person. His art was something I haven't experienced yet and I loved learning about him. I was also really excited about the Japanese artist Ikeda. I did have a really bad headache in class so listening to those sounds for that long was starting to get to me but I really loved it anyway. I had no idea one could actually make music using such emotionless and statistical sounds but I want to explore it more. I am fascinated by light as well. I think it's beautiful and it triggers something really emotional in me for some reason. I wish I could experience the light show he did outside with all the beams pointing into the sky. It looks like such a special experience. I am so glad people have presented such unique artists, and have opened my eyes up to new worlds. I present Banksy tonight and I am really nervous as I hate public speaking. My fascination with Banksy's art and the world as he sees it makes it worth sharing though. I hope everyone enjoys!

Happy November!

Last week in class we learned about literacy. We opened with the movie The Reader. It really opened my mind about how the image of her being literate meant so much to her. Living in such a free and educated culture, we tend to take the "simple" act of reading and writing for granted. I learned that there are 4 different kinds of literacy. Text, visual, networking, and educational literacy are actively used by all of us. We watched video of Gerbner who talked about the influence of visual literacy on our generation. Today everything is being replaced with images, sound, and technology. Hardly any reading or physically writing is necessary. Interaction and speaking verbally is rarely needed either. Literacy is something that we are all lucky to have and don't put it to use until we are asked to. Reading and writing is becoming more and more abbreviated everyday. Our minds are too full with media and images for them to be thirsty for novels, poems, or fantastical stories. The other night I decided to turn off all the noise and busy stuff that usually distracts my multi-tasking brain and read a bunch of poems by Shel Silverstein. I realized how absent imagination and wonder has been from my head. I used to read so much more and now feel inspired to get back in to it. It led me to drawing a wonderful picture that I will post! So great class! I feel recharged!

Upside Down

Last week in class we discussed how the class should be run, and the lack of discussion we've been having. I agree that there is way too little discussion. Personally for me it is hard to pay attention in an art class that is mainly about reading and discussing. I thought it was going to be an art class where we were learning to draw or paint, and not write about art. Also meeting once a week tends to put the class in the back of my mind as hard as I try to not let that happen. Blogging is also something very new to me and remembering to do that isn't very natural. For the art projects I think we came up with a good amount of expectations and a good rubric to follow and totally approve of us grading each other. I think this will get us to focus a little more. As far as drawing last week, I loved it. I got a kick out of realizing how hard it is to draw once you realize you're not just drawing a series of lines in a row of boxes. I actually loved the way my drawing turned out and so did my friends. I really do wish this was more of an interactive art class. It's hard to read this art book because it vaguely talks about artists and we are supposed to compare and contrast them based on a few paragraphs and it's boring. As much as I have a passion and intrigue to art I am finding it harder and harder to sink my teeth into this book. I really need to get back on track with the readings, but I am curious to know if anyone else is having this problem.

Life Sin Electricity

Our first and last art project was assigned last week to challenge us to go from dusk to dawn without electricity of any kind. Living in a world where everything is powered by electricity this seemed much more daunting than it actually was. I got all of my studying, texting, facebooking, and driving out of the way before the sun set. I stayed so busy and went on a long run to ensure that it would be easy to fall asleep. To be safe I lit a few candles I found around the house to give me some light to draw and read. Not only was my cozy room filled with the scent of autumn harvest and vanilla orchids, the romatically dim area inspired to draw freely. Sitting in such beautiful silence allowed me to doodle whatever images or thoughts popped into my head without the scrutiny of bright lights. I am all about some alone time but with the use of so much electricity this was really alone time. Time to be completely submerged in my own feelings, ideas and imagination. I had a great time and was shocked that I didn't just sleep for 12 hours. This project made me feel inspired enough to consider doing this more often with changing variables and posting the artwork, writings, etc. that I come up with during that time. I might have to use electricity just for music though because that would create a whole other experience that I feel would be incredibly healing and fruitful. For anyone who just slept the entire time I would really recommend trying to meditate or draw by candle light in the silence. You will be surprised what comes up when you silence everything around you.

Mad Love for Graffiti

The graffiti movie last week was rad! I love graffiti art and have a few friends that are artists out in LA. I think it's a magical thing to be able to color the black and while urban world we live in using something as simple as spray paint. The documentary we watched was fascinating. I have watched other documentaries that highlighted artists that were in this video. I loved the color schemes of the graffiti and the acceptance of it in Sao Paolo. I thought it was all so beautiful and truly "wall art". I am not as interested in just looking at tag artist work because writing a name over and over is so repetitive. Artists adopt characters and little stories with their work to cover up the blandness of broken down buildings and walls is much more impressive to me. I really wish in Southern California we were more tolerating of graffiti art, living in such a cement society. I view the world as a canvas and all who inhabit it should be free to color it however they choose, be it with architecture, music, billboards, or graffiti. I do not agree with vandalizing personal properties or places of authority and meant for privacy but the areas the public pays taxes on to keep running are technically "ours" so who is to say we cannot paint some life into it?