The Light Factory: Suspicious Minds 1/27/2011

Daily class notes

On January the 27th, we went to the Light Factory to see the work of Malena Bergmann, Tom Chambers, Robert and Shana Parkeharrison, Jerry Uelsmann and Joel Whitaker. My favorite photograph was the Winter Arm by Robert and Shana Parkeharrison. I think it was the most harmonious photograph in the gallery. The person's face and arm shown in the composition was a genius move, because the viewer can actually tell what is the mood and meaning of the photo. My interpretation of the photo was that the mysterious person had lost hope, but by the mysterious person's observing state he almost looks like he is waiting for his winter arm to turn into spring. He knew that there is hope coming and so he is waiting for that life changing event. I also like the background of the photograph, because it supports the mood of the picture. The background has this rainy effect which gives off the sad and hopeless mood. In general, it was the most attention grabbing piece in the gallery.

Photograph URL: http://kautzer.wordpress.com/page/2/

William Kentridge and Nan Goldin text notes

Daily class notes

I liked Do Hu Suh's work especially the Korean houses. He did an exact replica of his house in Korea that was built by his father. When I heard him say that he sometimes wishes he could carry his home in Korea on his back like a snail, I immediately knew how he felt. I always feel homesick and Suh's work really gives me an idea on how to diminish that feeling. I also liked the mini figures that were next to each other. When he explained the figures' symbol (it symbolized the crowded life in Seoul city), I knew that most of his work is going to be about his culture. I admire artists who express their culture to the world in beautiful ways. Hopefully, for my first work in Concept Studio I would express my Palestinian culture in the same way.

Project notes / proposal

I made two sketches for my Identity project. I will hopefully scan it and post it by this week. My work is going to be a combination of the Palestinian flag and a section from Palestine's traditional clothing. It’s going to be a detailed piece (that is the section that I chose from Palestine's traditional clothing) that is encoded with the Palestine's flag colors. It is going to be made from fabric and yarn and it is going to be hung on the class wall. The size of my identity project is going to be between one and two inches.

Text notes

William Kentridge

1. What is the message for both drawings?

2. What is the medium for both drawings?

3. Do both drawings compose a series of some sort?

At first I kind of lost interest as I read maybe because I couldn't relate to what he is trying to express, but at the end I was interested in how the medium, charcoal, was used to convey a message. The residues of charcoal erasures could bother everyone including me, but he transformed this disadvantage into an advantage in his work-- History of the Main Complaint (1996). The residues of charcoal erasures mirrored the past events that have an effect on the current event. I also related to Kentridge when he mentioned that "drawing does not arrive like a photo". Sometimes before I start a drawing I get anxious about how it's going to look like at the end? I want it to be perfect in a blink of an eye. I am always going to remember this Kentridge saying-- "What ends in clarity does not begin that way".

Answers for the three questions

1. Both pictures, which are part of an animated film, are expressing how bad memories of the South Africans during the 1900s affected their daily lives.

2. Charcoal.

3. Both drawings are made on the same drawing paper and they are a part of an animated film.

Three questions that prove my critical and creative thinking

1. How long would it take to make an animated cartoon, today, using Kentridge's technique? Less or more time?

2. What other mediums can be used instead of charcoal for filmmaking with Kentridge's idea of filmmaking?

3.Where and with what device did Kentridge present his film?

Nan Goldin

             

1. What is the message behind these photographs?

2. What or who triggered her interest in photography?

3. Do the subjects in the photographs relate to the artist?

The photographs that were taken by this artist made me wonder what environment was she surrounded with. As I read, I knew that she grew up in a bad environment. She ran away from home when she was eleven, because of her older sister's suicide. She lived in many foster homes and then she was expelled from all of them. Then she settled in a commune. The people who were in the commune also lived and were part of the bad environment that surrounded Goldin. Goldin shared her friends' lifestyle byproducts: drugs, diseases, detox therapies, and heroin relapses. I also noticed that there are no happy or joyful pictures that were captured by Goldin. She mentioned that she did take a picture of a beautiful sky and underneath it there was her friend who committed suicide. Most of the pictures that I have seen and read about in the text start with a happy beginning and then end with a tragedy.

Answers for the three questions

1. Goldin tried to capture daily life's events as it occurs (no alterations).

2. Goldin mentioned that she started taking pictures after her sister's suicide.

3. They were her friends from the commune.

Three questions that prove my critical and creative thinking

1. Was the artist criticized for her exploitive photographs?

2. Did her friends doubt their friendship with Golden after they have seen their pictures in the museum?

3. Did the photographs of her friends leave any impression on her? If so, what impressions?

Project #1: Identity/Place

 Project notes

These are my five touch-points that might relate to my identity project:
1. I am from Palestine (I am Palestinian).
2. My dream is to travel all around the world to learn about the different cultures and traditions rather than only reading about them. I'd like to use all of my five senses to grasp  all the different cultures and tradition. Id like to hear the music, smell the aroma of that certain country, see the customs, touch the history, and taste different foods.
3. I love Mediterranean food.
4. I enjoy drawing.
5. Death of my father was most shocking and life changing for me. 

The 2 touch-points I chose were:
1. I am from Palestine (I am Palestinian).
2. My dream is to travel all around the world to learn about the different cultures and traditions rather than only reading about them. I'd like to use all of my five senses to grasp  all the different cultures and tradition. Id like to hear the music, smell the aroma of that certain country, see the customs, touch the history, and taste different foods.

The adjectives that I chose for my theme are: (They are more like facts)
1. I am Palestinian.
-My cousins are living in Palestine.
-I like to inform people about my culture
-I speak Arabic.
-Attended and participated in UNCC's International Festival.

Materials and Actions:
1.Fabric (Use fabric to make the traditional clothing of the Palstinians)
2.I still don't know which material to use to make Arabic writings on my project.
3. Cut, stick (glue on). (Still more actions to develop but I still don't know the media that I am going to use).

Daily class notes

I am still unsure about my theme. I am leaning more to my second touch-point. I need to make sketches on the weekend so I can get an idea on what will my composition be and what surface is most appropriate for my theme. In Graphic design methods today the teacher told us to make a logo about ourselves and our partner who is next to us. My classmate approached the logo through the traditional way in making logos by using the circle as a base. While I used a known object and then I cut a small section of it to make a logo. So today I got an idea about the foundation or the basis of my identity project. I am going to do my identity project as a logo. 

On Tuesday January the 18th, we brainstormed for our Identity project then we watched Art of the 21st century. Kara Walker's work and the way she approached it was amazing. The part that I like the most was when she added the viewer's shadows into her work so they can feel that they are part of her work. People will not only feel as if they are in a piece of work but they will also develop emotions to the art work.