narrative

for my final project i took on the subject of art education and standardized testing. Since i'm becoming an art teacher i thought it would be good for a portfolio piece. Sadly so much of the school budget is going to testing, that money for art, music and p.e is becoming more scarce. I hope there is a art education job somewhere in my future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGxnsRMiH_A

photos used in project 3

project 3

for this project i wanted to do a digital portrait, i thought it would look interesting if i did portraits in illustrator. I have a series of drawings and paintings that i've been working on for the past 3 years, in the series i use circles and elipses to define facial traits. I had imagined taking some photos of actresses from the 50's and doing their portraits in a digital medium. One portrait i left the photo showing as the background layer, and left gaps between the colors. While on the other piece i completely eliminated the photo from the piece. The pen tool was a challenge

Chapter 2 response

WE are often taught that fine art painting and sculpture are the highest forms of art. One image created by a master of their medium. This type of art is restricted to its state of being, it captures one moment, one composition, and stays that way forever. The viewer’s concept of the art may change over time, however the art itself remains the same.

Using digital technologies as a medium allows for change to occur within the art, allows for interaction between the viewer and the art. It also allows for the distortion of space. I feel this is the most impressive feature of the digital medium.

Virtual space has always intrigued me, from the holodeck in Star Treck Next Generation, to movies like Lawnmower Man, and The Matrix. The concept of being in two places at once defies the laws of physics, however the more accepting we become of virtual space and avatars as reality, the closer we come to living physically in our body’s, while at the same time, living out our actions, thoughts, and emotions within another special environment detached from our physical body.

On page 94, the author cites Edmond Couchot as saying that the digital does not represent the parameters of space as we know it in other media forms.  Peter Anders argues that what we experience as space is actually  the product of mental processes, and that cyber space is an extension of consciousness. I’m becoming very intrigued by these concepts of what differentiates reality from the virtual. Considering that we can make conscious choices and detailed observations within virtual reality, digital medium is blurring the lines between art and physical boundaries.

Fantasy Illustration Fabrication

Fabrication Project

for this project i created a completely fabricated fantasy illusttration. I incorporated hand drawn elements, brusheezy elements, as well as photoshop painting techniques. I didn't want to appropriate any images for this project, I wanted it to stand alone as an original creation.

   I have always been a fan of fantasy illustration and i wanted to experiment with this concept for the fabrication project. My goal was to create a portfolio piece, however i feel that i fell a little short of this goal.

The hand drawn elements were done on a much smaller scale, about 6 inches, than i would have normaly worked ( due to short deadline). I would prefer to use oil paint for this situiation but i went with color pencil so i could get it done quickly. I learned a lot more about the process of painting with photoshop, and using brusheezy as an illustrative tool.

    Process; First i created the background using a gradient for the sky, then i created several layers of cliffs that fade into atmospheric perspective, put some texture on the cliffs,created a foreground. 2nd i drew my characatures, photographed them, clipped them out, feathered the edges, adjusted some colors and levels, played with the sizing and arangement. 3rd i went to brusheezy got some plasma, lightning, cloud, smoke and dragon brushes, and put the final touches on the piece.

chapter 1 response

Ben Henry

Digital art chapt 1 response,

          The beginning of the chapter talks about appropriation, the idea that by using digital technology as a tool one can take images, with relative ease, from the original source or artist, and transform or collage the image to create something new. Artists have always borrowed compositional ideas and media techniques from one another. Manet (Olympia) borrowed extensively from Titian (Venus of Urbino), but changed enough of the composition and theme to make the art different, and in the process started what most art historians call “modern art”. However similar the overall first impressions may be, the concepts are miles apart. Manet was borrowing but putting his own time, effort and originality into the piece.

          I have to agree with the author that instant copying of digitized images is being taken for granted. However in regards to the authenticity, authority and aura being destroyed by reproduction as debatable, I would have to side with Walter Benjamin. I would rather stand in front of an original, to see what the creator saw, to feel the aura, than stand in front of a reproduction. I would contend that an original sculpture, painting or even digital artwork is more authentic based on the fact of original, creative inception of the concept for the piece, alongside with the physical process of creating or building the original. These factors give an original authority over the reproduction or appropriated, manipulated copy.

          The further I read into the chapter the more I could see the other side of the debate. For example, Andreas Muller-Pohle, Digital Scores III. Although it has been directly copied, this piece has been so far removed from the original it was taken from, that it becomes entirely new both visually and conceptually. It carries its own authenticity. To me, this is not appropriation, but when an image is copied and only slightly manipulated, not only is that artistically immoral, but shows a lack of ingenuity.