Valedictory Final

Anti-Racism

I did my Valedictory project on Anti-Racism. I wanted to try and represent my view on racism. Since I'm half black and half white the topic was kind of important to me. There was also talk about it in the news. I kind of ended up editing my pictures as ads. I feel like if I had more time I would of been able to execute the project better. Out of all three of my works I finished I think I like the last one the best. I feel like it showcases anti-racism more. 

Valedictory Progress Check

My valedictory project is on Anti-Racism. I want to showcase in my works that both blacks and whites are equal. There have been lots of stories in the news about white police shooting black suspects. There has even been a protest in Baltimore about the police force being racist, because the majority of the police force is white and the majority of Maryland is black people. Therefore the blacks feel as if they aren't treated as equal. 

Surrealism Final

In this piece I tried to represent how the model, Jess, feels on the inside. On the outside Jess is a very loud and bubbly person. However on the inside her mind is clouded by stress and other stuff. I represented this by putting clouds around her head.

This piece is meant to showcase how on the outside I'm quiet and shy. I represented this in the way I posed. It also showcases how on the inside my mind is clouded. It also shows that on the inside I have so much to say but don't have the braveness to come out and say it. I represented the cloudiness of my mind by putting clouds around my head. I represented the words I wish I would have the braveness to say by using a photograph of a road. 

This piece is meant to showcase how I'm not one for attention. I like to hide at the back of the room and just kind of blend in. On the outside to people I don't know or am not close to I appear mysterious. I tried to represent this by overlaying a photograph of clouds to give the piece the mysterious foggy look to it. The piece is also meant to showcase how on the inside I have so much to say, however, I never have the braveness to speak out and say what I want. I represented that in the piece by using a photograph of the city line of New York City because the streets of New York are always bustling with life. I also used a photograph of a road to showcase the endless thoughts that I wish I had the braveness to say.  

This pieces is meant to showcase how on the outside the model, Jess, is bright, loud and bubbly. This is represented by the colorful and bright flower in the background. I then tried to represent how on the inside she's not what everyone sees. I represented it by layering clouds into her shirt.

René Magritte

Questions to answer about the reading:

1.     What is surrealism?

•    Ideas of strange things that happened in dreams.

2.     What motif did Magritte use in many of his works? Why was this significant?

•    A man dressed in a suit wearing a bowler hat.
•    Because historians believe that he referred to himself when using the motif.

3.     In his work Golconda, why is it important that Magritte varied the image of the man in the bowler hat?  How does it add depth to the work?

•    So that the painting didn’t become boring. Also, so that it would cause the viewer to look more closely at the painting to try and decipher the differences between each man.
•    He varies the sizes in the men. The men in the background are smaller and the men in the foreground are bigger to create depth in the piece.

4.     Why did surreal artists choose to create strange worlds with their art?

•    Because they found that juxtaposing ordinary but unrelated objects could be as disorienting and powerful as waking up from a strange dream.

5.     Explain how the techniques of juxtaposition, altered scale, and language help Magritte explore Surrealism. 

• Juxtaposition is placing two unrelated objects side by side, which helps contribute to the randomness of the art. The idea of altered scale was used to disorient viewers, and language because then the words could be open to interpretation.

6.     What would be a few reasons why Magritte would cover the faces of his subjects?

• A possible reason why Magritte covered the faces of his subjects could be because of an incident that happened during his childhood, such as how his mother supposedly committed suicide and when she was recovered her face was covered, therefore he uses that to connect his personal life with all of his works.

7.     Why did Magritte strive for realism & precision in his paintings?

• Because he believed it allowed the viewers to focus on the subject of a work rather than the technique used in paintings. 

8.     Google more of Magritte’s work and include 2 images that interest you.

•    Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work
•    Hint – review the words in bold from the reading

In the picture above, Rene Magritte uses altered scale to make the fish and the bird look like they are the size of a human man. His mom supposedly committed suicide by drowning herself, therefore I believe he incorporated the fish and bird into the work because 1. fish live in rivers, lakes, etc. so the fish could represent the river that his mom caused suicide in and 2. hawks are known as able hunters with sharp vision, so in the work the bird could represent a hawk that spotted his mom's corpse.   

In the picture above, Magritte uses precision to attract the viewers eye to the surrealistic qualities rather than having the viewers attention on wondering what the painting is of. He wanted to make the work seem as life like as he possible could so people would focus on the real reason of why the painting was made. 

Secondary Photos

Surrealism Contact Sheet

Perception vs. Reality(Outward vs. Inward)

Outward:
Nice
Go with the flow
Cohesive
Shy
Outgoing around friends
Weird
Awkward
Sarcastic 

Inward:

Over think 

Bubbly 

Anxious
Sarcastic 

Dada Final

I thought that the project was fun. I loved having the freedom to edit the pictures and come up with a unique way to make them our own. The abstractness to each individuals project helps with lessening the pressure of it looking like other peoples. I like how my projects turned out and I feel like I achieved the goal of what Dada Art is supposed to look like.

Exquisite Corpse

We split the paper into four different parts. Each person was free to draw whatever they wanted to in their box. Surrealism is meant to unleash the creativity of the unconscious mind, and by not being able to see what was drawn before us makes our mind unconscious in a way. So I think that this exercise did clearly illustrates the surrealist concept. 

Dada Studio Experimentation

MoMA and Dada

What is Dada and why did it come into existence?

Dada is an art form that is though of as imperfect and different. It came about during WW1 when everything was changing because of the war. Everyone was upset and depressed, so they took their anger out on art, which at the time was though of as something that only had one look. The Dada movement changed that one look.

“Readymades”-What are they?

A readymade could really be anything. As long as it is a product that can be recognized to have one use, but is shown in (any) work being used in the wrong way. Whether its turned upside down, hanging on a wall instead on on the ceiling, is outside instead of inside, or anything else out of the ordinary, could be classified as a readymade. The purpose of their creation was to show that ordinary things can be made dysfunctional, but still classified as "art'.

How do they change your expectations about what art can be?

Personally, i believe that anything can be art, if it means something to the creator, and send s a message to viewers, its art. No questions asked. Even if its a rake hanging on a wall, if it has an explanation and reasoning behind it, it means some things to someone obviously, even if it isn't visually pleasing there is purpose behind it.

 What did they embrace?

The concept of chance and improv. As well as accidentals.`
Why did they take this approach?
These concepts were not highly thought of at the time, so they were being used as actions of revolt.

What is the value of art made by Dadaists?

The belief at the time was that it wasn't the art itself that was important, it was the process to make it that was more important than anything.

How and why did Dada artists work with words?

They jumbled around words and phrases and cut them up, just to piece them back together. They did this, again, as an act of revolt, because the English language at the time was a delicate topic, and not it be "messed with". So the artists, did to get back at the war, so to speak.

Questions About Art

1.     What is a work of art?  Describe qualities found in artworks.

      A work of art, to me, is something that someone has put effort, time, and thought into in order to convey a given theme. The piece usually comes out better if there is some sort of connection between the artist and the piece. The deeper the connection, the better the piece. But there are no guidelines for art, it can be as simple as a poem, or as different as an abstracted piece, it's all up to the artist, their ideas, connections, and their viewpoints. Common qualities of art are color, use of words, scale, shapes, material, texture, and space.  

2.     What should an artwork provide to both the maker and the viewer?

       It should mean something to the maker because it needs a purpose in the creators mind, that is more important than a purpose in the viewers mind. However, the purpose to the maker, is usually to provoke emotion or feeling in viewers. The way I see it, if the artist conveys a message or issue through their artwork clear and concisely, they have done their job, the viewer attention is just an extra bonus for them.

3.     Why do people make art?

      I believe that artists create pieces of art to fill a void in their lives. Most artists have a story behind each piece and there is usually a common theme between their pieces, hence between their stories, which basically etches out their life. Whether the void is boredom, depression, loneliness, or some other issue, they create pieces of art to fill it, resulting in the artists to create masterpieces.

4.     Where does one encounter art?

       It's cliché, but art can be found anywhere in the world. It is all around us. It really is, art is creation, and creation is everywhere. Simple as that.

5.     What is the role of the artist?

       The artist is the entertainer, the creator, and the interpreter. First they create their work, then they interpret what was going on in their head, to the viewers, to make it easier for them to understand.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Air Canada

• Make it visually appealing
• Not to much text
• Make it a picture post, not a link post

Jeep

• In the jeep ad they chose a young pretty women with her shades, her hair flying, and her huge smile evoking summer, fun and freedom.
• Could have added the logo "Its a jeep thing" into the photo to make it more visible

Mercedes-Benz

• Too much text
• Poorly placed call to action
• No logo

Subaru

• Boring text
• Not the best photo; wet road consuming half of photo, makes car look small as sailboats
• No logo

Mini Cooper

• Great voice- promises that if you stick with this car you will find adventure
• Driving around with the top down while its snowing captures the viewers attention making them want to find out more
• No logo, but the car is iconic and recognizable even from the back

Philippine Airlines

• Poor use of the platform
• No tone
• Should have found a way to imply that they know a bit about great food.

Selena Gomez: A Golden Touch

• Although the dazzling phone and her hand take up most of the photo, it is unmissable when scrolling through your news feed.
• Selena kept her status text short and playful rather than long

 Amtrak

• Great use of sawdust
• Gamification
• Authenticity

Twix: Having Fun

• No logo
• Clever story telling, strong voice, good use of pop culture

Colgate: Good copy gone bad

• Good text "Did You Know?"

Body Image Ad Campaign

The social issue I chose to do was Body Image. I decided to do my project on body image because there are a lot of people who struggle with accepting their body. People, most of the time girls, worry about what other people think about their bodies. We are always comparing ourselves to other girls, finding qualities in them that we hate in ourselves and wishing we had. I also chose to do body image because people who struggle with being confident in their body believe they have to look skinnier in order to be accepted. When they think that they eat less, which can result in them getting Anorexic. So when people see my ads I hope that they can see that you don't have to have that "perfect" body type in order to be accepted. 

My Target Audience is women ages 13 and up.

My Unique Selling Point is to show body image with an old classic tall, skinny, glass Coca-Cola bottle and the plastic, short Coca-Cola bottle.

My Slogan is "Inner Beauty is the New Beauty"

Final Thoughts: I think that my poster came out good. I like the how the lighting came out. I think I could have done better with my billboard. I don't really like how the lighting came out. However, I feel like my poster and billboard get the point across about how girls shouldn't care about what they look like, they should just love who they are. 

Ad Analysis

TA: People who drink and drive
USP: Have a parking spot with a tree in it for drunk drivers to run into
Theme: Serious, Scare
Slogan: Reserved for drunk drivers

TA: People who smoke
USP: Makes it look like they're being choked
Theme: Serious
Text: Kill a Cigarette and Save a Life. Yours.

TA: People who use nail polish
USP: Shows you can match your nail polish
with your outfit/make-up
Theme: Show speed of how fast it dries
Slogan: Crazy Color, Crazy Fast
Text: 32 cool colors that set in 60 seconds

TA: Women
USP: Her hair is weaved through bamboo to show it's
strength is better from the product
Theme: Show how the product makes the hair
healthier and stronger
Slogan: Healthier Hair, Healthier Planet
Text: Pantene. Hair so healthy it shines

Advertising Shooting Assignment

I have two different ads that I'm trying to choose between. The first advertisement is Body Image. I used three Coca-Cola bottles, two of the bottles are the old classic glass bottles and the third is the plastic bottles we see more of. I used Coca-cola bottles to try and showcase how society feels you should look like compared to reality. The second advertisement is Teen Depression. I used some black olives and a green olive to try and showcase that 10 to 15% of teens have some symptoms of Teen Depression at any one time. I liked the assignment cause it really gets you to try and think of how to showcase different issues happening in the world from different perspectives. I think my shots are okay, but I think I might try and reshot them.