Final Project

 
Artist Statement
  I had a couple ideas for this project. A couple of my ideas included the Mirror Lake tradition, Beat Michigan Week, Thanksgiving Traditions, or the chaos of Black Friday.  Black Friday didn't turn out as hectic as the previous year so I took video of my Thanksgiving and The Ohio State Michigan Game.  After viewing my video footage, I decided that I would base this project off of Beat Michigan week at Ohio State using the footage I got from the game.
    As many of you know Beat Michigan week is an exciting week for Ohio State students.  The week consists of a beat Michigan pep rally, craft nights, a blood battle, and of course the legendary mirror lake jump. I am a huge fan of Ohio State football and have grown up around it, therefore being a student and being able to partake in these activities is exciting.
  This project was an attempt to tell the story of Ohio State traditions.  I used three photographs as the background while a soundtrack from the game is playing.  The first picture is from the mirror lake jump, the second was taken during the game, and the third was taken after the game when fans rushed the field with excitement. These pictures tell the story while the audio gives you insight on what you hear while at the game. The audio includes many interesting things such as famous cheers and chants from fans, people discussing the game, and many other things.
   
The Process
I took several videos during the game in order to get a wide range of audio.  I merged all of these videos together and edited them in Garage Band.  Garage Band allowed me to edit and shorten the audio in order to emphasize what I thought was most important. Then I moved the edited audio on top of the photographs in imovie.

Failure Blog

1.What was your biggest failure this semester?

I think my biggest failure this semester was with my map to class and video project. I don't believe the ideas I had in my head came out in these art forms the way I would have liked them to.

2.What did you learn from this failure? (This could be a technical issue or a conceptual issue)
I learned that not everything turns out the way you would like it to. Whether you have a technical issue or a conceptual issue an idea doesn't always look the same once you get it out as it did in your head.  With that being said every project I did in this class has been a learning tool for me.  The micro projects have helped teach me different way to execute ideas in different computer programs (such as Photoshop and Garage Band) and several other things.

     3.What was your biggest success this quarter?
     I think my biggest success this semester was my last micro project.  In the project I was assigned the verbs to split and to suspend.  At first this was a difficult project for me, I couldn't come up with anything. I think this was my biggest success because I worked on this project without any expectations and I ended up liking my final project.

     4.What did you learn from this success?
      This has taught me that sometimes going into things without expectations can leave you open to many possibilities.  Since things do look different on paper it is hard to make a project look exactly like it does in your head therefore there is more room for disappointment.

     5.If you could redo one project, what would you change and why?
     I would redo my map to class project or edit my video.  I would change one of these two because I was the least happy with them.  I don't think my final projects met my expectations. I would try to go into these projects open minded and see what I could do to make them better



 

Blog 10

Final Project Ideas

• Ohio State Michigan Game
• Mirror Lake- Video/Sound
• Richard Serra verb list
• Black Friday-Video/Sound
• Thanksgiving traditions

Mirco Project 5

My object was an old cord/cable. My two words were to split and to suspend.  I tried to use both of the words in my project.  I thought it wold be interesting to split open an old cord and see all the wires that it is made up of.  It is kinda of cool how complex this object is.  It was also cool to see the complexity behind an object that we don't really think much about and sometimes take advantage of.  A lot of the things we use everyday are powered by some sort of cord/cable
First I cut a piece off of the cord (surprisingly much harder than it looked).  Then I split open the cord, and continued to split what was inside until everything was spread apart.  Although I used a couple of tools to use this, a knife is what I used the most. Since a knife was my main tool, I tried to suspend a knife with the newly designed cord.

Micro Project Four

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU7_XRfRR30&feature=plcp

The video takes place in my car.  I spend a good amount of time driving on a daily basis, whether its going to and from work, classes, or other random errands.  Driving can become so much of a habit that you don't always realize all of the other things going on around you. There are always a countless number of things going on in the background when you are driving. For example pedestrians, people on bicycles, polices sirens, the radio, etc.  Not that you can close your eyes while driving but if I were to close my eyes these are the sounds that would make me aware of where I was.

I took video footage of me driving and added a soundtrack to the video.  In the soundtrack I tried to emphasize all the distractions that can occur while driving. Like many other people I am guilty of trying to multitask while driving. Therefore I tried to add some of those noises into the soundtrack.  For example I will talk on the phone on my way to work.  So I added in a cell phone ringing. Sometimes I also use my time in the car to think and simply have time to myself.  Therefore there are points in the video where there isn't as much going on.

Carver Cathedral

      Although I enjoyed reading this article it was tough for me to follow in the beginning.  The guy does have strong stereotypes of blind people.  I do agree that people look at them and treat them differently.  It is hard for many people to believe they can live a normal life just like we do. It is cool to see how the blind man and the women were able to keep in touch through videos. This art form allowed them to maintain a relationship for many years without seeing each other.  Although the man is blind the audio was enough to keep their friendship strong. 
       It was also amazing to see how the guys views slowly changed as he spent more and more time with the blind man.  He even got to somewhat see what it was like to be in his shoes.  The man went from not wanting to spend time with the blind guy to allowing him to hold his hand while he drew a picture of a Cathedral in order to help teach the blind man what they looked like.  The guy said
"it was like nothing else." I think its amazing how a little bit of time with somebody different than you can change the way you think.

Wallace This is Water

I enjoyed the speech given by Wallace.  I think throughout his speech he made a lot of great points.  For example he says your education is not so much about "filling you up with knowledge as it is teaching you how to think". I agree with this to an extent.  I and probably most other college students feel like I am "learning" a lot of stuff in college that will not help me in my career field. Which can be frustrating and make it hard to stay motivated. Although with that being said I don't agree that college is teaching me to be patient when waiting in line at the grocery store after a long hard day.  I also really like his didactic story about the christian and the atheist. It makes you think and I think it proved how the same experience can be taken differently by two different people.  I think a lot of things in life are this way and the way you think does play a big role in life.  Therefore I agree that is it important to know how to think. Thinking in a positive manner can improve life.

Annie Leibovitz- Wexner Visit Blog

I visited the Wexner Center to view Annie Leibovitzs artwork.  She is an extraordinary photographer.  I enjoyed her work but was also surprised that her photographs didn't all have something in common. This shows that she is a very versatile photographer but for some reason it bothered me that they didn't all flow together. I didst realize Leibovitzs has taken pictures of celebrities for Vanity Fair such as the photograph of Whoopee Goldberg in a bathtub full of milk, therefore those were cool photographs to see.
Overall I believe this was a great Exhibit for the Wexner to have. I believe there were a lot of great photograph that showed her skill level and proved her as a great photographer but there were also a couple that I was not near as impressed by. I also noticed that this exhibit was made possible by Express  (yes I know that's random) which I thought was cool because I am currently working for express. Her photograph of Scarlett Johansson reminded me of something you may see in an express ad.

Micro Project 3

 Statement: The photo above is a collage of the six things that I can not live without.  I made the background a bulletin board because I have one hanging over my bed with important things tacked onto it.  A bulletin board is a good way to stay organized and keep different notes on. I made three items look like Polaroid pictures because photography is something else that is a big part of my life. 


Music: I choose music because I love music and listen to it everyday.  I have an emotional
 connection to the music I listen to. Whether I am working out, getting ready in the morning or in the car on my to work music is something that is a part of my life.
One or two words: Incredible emotion

Tennis Shoes: I choose tennis shoes because working out is something that I try to do on a daily basis. Being healthy and being physically fit is something that is very important to me.  Therefore this is something that is important to have.
One or words: Indescribable passion

Planner: I choose this because this is something I use everyday.  I have a hectic life working two jobs and being a full time student so this helps me stay organized.  I wouldn't be able to keep track of everything without my planner.
One or two words: Staying organized

Cell Phone: I choose my cell phone because it is with me at all times and I am attached to it. Not only does it allow me to keep in touch with family and friends it allows me to have access to my email, work schedule and many other useful things.  Although this is probably something I rely on more than I should but it is very important to me
One or two words: Attached

Coffee: I choose coffee because I start every morning off with a cup of coffee. It helps me start my day.
One or two words: Daily energizer

Camera: I choose this because photography is something that I have a passion for. I'm always taking pictures.  Photography allows you to capture special moments in life.
One or two words: Unforgettable memories

Kaprow Art Which Cant be Art

Kaprow as an interesting perspective on art. He asks why we want to see the beauty in just any old thing. He suggests that in doing this we make anything and everything art. I agree with him in that matter. I dont believe that brushing your teeth is considered art nor do I think it should be. He also says that art should be lifelike. I agree with this as well. Art should go beyond the typical photograph or painting. With that being said you cant stretch it to the point where everything you do is considered art.
Kaprow makes some good points in his writing but I don't agree with everything he says.

Micro Project 2 : My Map to Class

The photo above shows my map to class every Tuesday and Thursday morning. The background is just simply a screen shot that I took on my phone. I did this because my cell phone is always with me. Although I believe I made it to class on time this day, it is a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning. Therefore I thought it was ironic that class starts at 9:35 and the picture was taken at 9:43 (shown at the top of the screen shot).  The green dot is my starting point and the red dot is where the class is.  The blue line shows the route I take to class. I put a picture of the inside of my car because I drive for a portion of my trip.  There is also a picture of me walking because I walk for the other portion. I have to use my C pass to park in the parking lot by the ROTC building so I included a picture of that. Lastly I included a picture of four port-a-potties in a row.  This photo kind of symbolizes all the random/ weird things you can see on campus.
I designed a more in depth map but decided all though this is simple it fits my daily commute better than the first.  I'm usually not very awake on my way to class so I don't over think the things I see or notice as much as I would later on in the day.

Cardiff, Miller and Sound

I thought this was an interesting article.  I think it is a good observation that sound is more linked to memory. I also like the observation that it is impossible to be in two places at once. He notices this after watching the iphone screen. I catch myself getting so caught up in my phone and other devices that I dont notice the things around me.  I find it cool that art can lead us to such observations.  I also liked the 20 by 30 room made from random things.  It was neat how such random items can be brought together as art and signifiy two people.  I never realized how many different forms of art there was. 

Overall I followed this pretty well but there was a few terms that made it confusing such as the movie tittle. The author did a decent job at describing the different pieces of artwork but since I have never really seen pieces like these it is hard to imagine what they are like in person.  Although after reading this I may be interested in going to see something like this.

Mirco Assignment 1

Asymettrical

Person and their surrounding place

Radial

Person up close

My name on campus

Symmetrical

Image from point of view of an ant

Unstable Image

The first ten set of pictures were the most enjoyable because we had more freedom in what we could shoot. We were able to be creative but without guidelines.  The second set was more difficult for me because I was more focused on shooting what was expected as opposed to what I found interesting.  My favorite image is the three pictures that I took and put together to make my name on campus.

Nipple Jesus

I enjoyed this reading. It gave a good perspective for somebody who isn't familiar with different forms of art.  It was a good example of an average persons opinion.  I believe that an non artists opinion can be more honest than somebody who deals with art all the time. It was interesting to hear everybody opinion on this piece.
He doesn't seem to think much of the gallery experience. He briefly describes how boring the experience can be and I agree in some ways.  It is cool to see how this one piece can change his whole perspective. When you actually take time to observe different gallery's and keep an open mind you notice things you wouldn't before. For example from a distance you cant tell the picture was made from nipples. Which I believe this is what the artist was trying to show by filming this.

Ten Pictures

Every Labor day weekend my family goes to a YMCA camp. These are ten pictures I took this past weekend.

Responses to Kidd, Hickey, and Weschler Articles

Kidd The Cheese Monkeys
I enjoyed this article and I think the author did a good job describing how we anaylze and view things. I believe that the author is somebody speaking to an art class. I like how he states that we view things top to bottom, left to right and so forth. He suggests that artists should challenge this but also keep in mind that their audience views their pieces in this way. I believe he gets his point across in a interesting way.
There are points in the excerpt where I had trouble following. This may because I had no context of the author and its audience.

Hickey The Heresy of Defense Zones
I like how the author was able to paint the basketball scene so perfectly by using just words. I like his views on rules in general and how he compares them to changing rules in basketball and art. Some rules are made with good intentions and are supposed to allow us to be more creative but can actually do the opposite within time. For example Pollock states it is okay for you to drip paint. In time this new rule almost become expected in "good" artwork. Overall I enjoyed his opinons on this topic
I do not really follow basketball therefore I am unfimaliar with the rule and guidelines of the game. So there were parts of the writing that was hard for me to understand due to that reason. But I was able to get the jist of it.

Weschler Uncanny Valley
I found this to be incredibly interesting. Its weird to think that a simple thing like milk is difficult to make digitally. It shows all the hard work put into movies and other forms art. Alot of the times people look past the little things and are amused by the big things. When in reality it may be the small details that took the most time and effort. It is amazing to learn how much work goes into things that people take for granted
There were a few points where I got lost in what I was reading but I think it was due to my lack of experience creating things on the computer.

About Me

My name is Alexandra Perry. I am in my junior year at Ohio State studying fashion merchandising. This is my first semester as full time Ohio State student so im pretty excited. I grew up in Columbus and work at Champps Americana. I enjoy photography and traveling. The picture below is from my past vacation. I took photography classes for two years in highschool. My goal before graduation is to participate in a study abroad program. When I am not in class or at work I am either out with friends and family or enjoying a nice quiet night in.
My top five tv shows would be:
1. Modern Family
2. House (when it was still on)
3. American Idol
4. House Hunters
5. Any Design show