So....yeah. Guess I was a little confused on the homework. I didn't know that we could use filters and whatnot. So, my attempts were pretty basic. Anyway, I decided to rework my emotional piece about sleepiness (the one with the Z's). It was pretty boring before so I added the spiral and black rectangle message at the bottom. Adds a little something more. For the next assignment I hope to be more inspired and better acquainted with Illustrator. Then maybe my work will have more direction.

Lecture 9/21- Candy Depew

A rather quirky and eccentric woman. Very cool work though. Depew works in installation art, printmaking, and mixed media. Her experiences take her studio into multiple environments. Working in factories in Wisconsin and Holland, she got to live and work around two different cultures. Both very cutting-edge. Her work is graphic and fun, lots of bright color and imaginative subject matter. But what amazed me most was seeing how elaborate Candy gets. She works with so many different kinds of media, and successfully! This inspires me to try a lot of new things.

Helvetica

This was an interesting film. I had no idea what a breakthrough this font was. It's pretty crazy to think about after realizing we see Helvetica EVERYWHERE. And it DOES have an impact on the way we perceive the world. I can't even imagine how the developer of this font feels, he definitely accomplished something big for design. As ambiguous as this movie sounds, I was actually quite fascinated. People don't think about how something even as simple as type, can define the world in which we live. And I think this documentary does a good job addressing this.

Lecture 9/14- Peter Hanley

This week, we had Peter Hanley come and talk. He works mainly as a graphic artist, but also collaborates with other artists on mixed media pieces. Neat guy, with a neat mohawk. Smart, too. He had an insightful opinion on the studio, what it means, and how it functions for the artist. I liked his idea of the studio being the artist's mind and the computer being a "desk in that space". I think that makes sense. Artists take the studio wherever they go, with initial planning and inspiration always taking place in the mind. He also said that "collaboration makes up the space". Working with others manifests a working environment.
Hanley's presentation was very conceptual, but very well done. Not to mention nice graphics.

Virgin Mobile Ad + TEDTalk

These were some interesting videos. Raised a few points about artists' image rights I'd never considered before. The Virgin Mobile scandal was actually pretty bad in my opinion. I know if I were that girl, I'd be upset about having my picture used in that ad. It's a tough thing because there are some great images out there that already exist. And these images can be reused to make great art pieces. But at the same time, this is not entirely original work. And look at what happened to the girl in the cell phone ad. She was totally offended because no one asked permission. When parties aren't asked to have their images used, it becomes like stealing or trespassing.

The TED Talk video also addressed how reworking existing media can affect artists. One example was the anime video montage on YouTube. Different clips were set to play with one song. (This was done by someone who did not originally create them.) For both the original composer of the song and the original animator, this video could be offensive. Or an unwanted portrayal of their work. In short, I wish there were better monitoring of art/media & its use. The internet is a great tool, but sometimes TOO great....

Summer in the City

So, yep. Ohio girl says Philly is pretty cool. Getting to walk around Center City and Chinatown was fun. It's just amazing how much there is to see! Strangest and most interesting things around every corner. During our adventure, my friends and I picked up some delicious French omlettes for breakfast and Chinese food for lunch. Diversity is beautiful. We also got to pick up some art supplies, generally just walking around & enjoying the scenery/weather. After that excursion, I kicked it down to NJ with some other friends. We went to the Red Bull Flugtag and saw some crazy water contraptions. Entertaining stuff and very creative! Have to say I've been enjoying myself here and sure there will be more fun times ahead.