Photoshop Technique

In the coming weeks, we have been tasked with learning a photoshop technique and creating educational materials for the class. I plan on teaching a trick in which one can add reflections to glasses, thereby making it seem like the individual is looking at whatever is desired. I plan on using this website as my guide:
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/sunglasses/

"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"

It's a question that has plagued the masses for ages. We have all these great artists: Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Rembrandt, Picasso, Warhol, etc., but why are none of them women? Some may argue that women simply are not as talented as men, and there is something about the difference in femininity and masculinity that allows men to naturally be more suited towards creating art.

However, the article, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? by Linda Nochlin, puts a different argument into place. "The fault lies not in our stars, our hormones, our menstrual cycles, or our empty internal spaces, but in our institutions and education-education understood to include everything that happens to us from the moment we enter this world of meaningful symbols, signs, and signals."This is an argument that I think is overlooked in a great deal of discussions on inequality. People tend to argue that, women have the same opportunities as men to go into any field, and that any differences in employment, or other types of thinking, are due solely to differences in gender. That may work for something like bodybuilding, where the strongest woman still will not be as strong as the average man, due to physiology and anatomical differences, but that does not mean that both are not extremely qualified for the job. When it comes to other practices, that do not require physical strength, the playing field should be more even, but it is not. People tend to ignore that things are stacked in favor of men, and while not discrediting their success, it is set up in a way that many women can never succeed.

In Believing is Seeing, by Mary Anne Staniszewski, she makes the claim that, "the ability to do something- the power to achieve, rule, invent, and create- is founded upon on individual's belief that he or she has the right to do it. An individual must have faith in his or her ability, and then, most important, there must be access to the arenas of achievement and power."(pg. 128) In the beginning of the Western Art scene, many women did not have access to this arena, as they were instead expected to be homemaker and rear children, which is not conducive to really any other sort of activity. Things have become better recently, as there are many distinguished women artists, but they still have not achieved the status that their male counterparts have. 

Old School Arcade

As promised, here is the stop motion animation that I worked on with a few of my classmates. Everyone really brought their A-game to this work, and I think it shows! A few things are different than in the description, but what will not be different is how much you enjoy it.

Old School Arcade is the story of a few classic arcade games, Pacman, Tetris, and Snake, who find themselves a bit wonky after a stick figure inserts a bit of mischief into the games.

What is Art?

This week, we were to read the first chapter of Believing is Seeing, by Mary Anne Staniszewski, in which we were faced with the dilemma, what exactly is art? It's simple, the idea of art is something  that is created with the sole purpose of evoking some sense of emotion. It is important to note that it is created by the artist, not due to purpose or decree,  but due to the artist finding the need to create this piece of art. That is the distinction between historical pieces of "art", that were not necessarily art back when they were created.

Which causes this to not be art, as it was commissioned:

http://webneel.com/daily/sites/default/files/images/daily/02-2013/13-pavel-stroganov-old-painting.jpg


But this is, as it was created for expression:

http://feedurn.com/web/upload/1427428899-michael-jackson-art-hd-wallpapers-231r1lx.jpg



Similarly, this is not considered art, as it is meant to reflect God's magnificence, and had religious intentions

http://dreamatico.com/data_images/jesus/jesus-5.jpg





But this is, as though it is religious, there is no outward forces otherwise causing it to be created, other than the act of expression.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/jesus-art--cloud-colored-christ-come-ashleigh-moore.jpg

Portfolio

After many weeks of work, I am proud to present my digital photography portfolio for this class! It was challenging, but I do think I got a great deal out of it.

Project Synopsis

I am very excited to give a brief overview of my group's idea for a stop-motion film. The working title is, Old School Arcade, and it follows the basic plotline of the viewer being an individual playing various arcade games, namely Pac-man, Tetris, and Snake. Everything will be made out of skittles, and it will transition from game to game. However, at various points in each game, a stick figure, drawn on slips of paper, will interrupt the game, and ruin it somehow. Whether he causes Pac-man to be unable to escape the ghost, ruins the flow of the tetris blocks, or wrangles the snake. However, at the end, all three games get their revenge, and all is well.

Stop Motion 2

Again, we were tasked with finding another stop motion video. This one, is very similar to my group's idea, as it uses candy pieces to create the design.