As we started thinking of individuals who made a difference
in the community we came up with an individual named Chuck Ryan, a volunteer at
BYU. He was awarded Volunteer of the year in 2012. And as we had the time to
document him it quickly became apparent what a good and positive citizen he is.
Chuck has a passion for BYU sports and his enthusiasm is very contagious. While
documenting one of his tours around the BYU sports facility, he showed his
friendship and positive influence to those around him. I found it very
reminiscent to a section of the readings we did in class entitled Human Rights and Culture: From Datastan to
Storyland. It said, “ In storyland we understand that the resilience that
sustains communities in times of crisis is rooted in culture, in the stories of
survival and social imagination that inspire people to a sense of hope and
possibility even in dark times.” This reminds me of Chuck as I interviewed him
for this assignment. He is an outstanding citizen that does just that. He would
tell stories of survival as he would tell about the athletes who had overcome
certain obstacles in their lives and he read a quote by Muhammad Ali, that he
said he reads everyday. He talked quite a bit about human accomplishments and it
gave a sense of excitement and positivity. I also think about missionaries who
go out into the world and teach stories of survival and give people a sense of
hope in dark times. I also recall the film The
Man who Planted Trees. This is a short animated film of a man who looked
into the future and decided to plant trees that would most definitely out live
him. But as he thought of how future generations would enjoy the areas in which
he planted many trees. This is a perfect example of a concerned citizen.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Protest Poster
The poster that I made is about a subject that I am very
concerned about, and think is one of the most important subjects to address.
The subject is crimes against children. It is a subject that frustrates me, and
sickens me, knowing that there is a huge lack of representation for children in
this world. Adults pay for lawyers and higher people in order to be heard. But
children don’t have this ability and so many issues go unresolved and blatantly
are not given the attention necessary to protect children from harm. The
statistics are very high when it comes to abuses committed against children. My
inspiration was a lady that was on NPR that talked about a girl who was
tortured to death by her mother’s boyfriend. This terrible and appalling act
made me extremely angry, as the lady went on talking about how the boyfriend
was not punished fairly in the trial. She talked about how she made a strong
effort in making sure that the boyfriend did not get of the hook for his
crimes, and she has started an organization that helps represent children. This
topic is very important to me, and as a father it breaks my heart knowing that
there are millions of crimes committed against children on a weekly basis. The
poster I created has written on it a terrible statistic that says that one in
every four children will be victims of a crime. I wanted to isolate the children in the poster that I made,
and I wanted to show how amazing children are, and how happy and pure. I wanted
to drive home the importance of taking care of the children in the world so
that they can have a future without unnecessary evil committed against them.
One of the things that I think I can help out with on an individual level, is research
the different organizations that represent children, and find a way to
volunteer or make a donation, that can possibly help a child in being removed
from a dangerous enviroment.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Webspinna Artist Statement
The Webspinna was a very interesting assignment, and was a
completely new experience for me. Searching the web for sounds that were
interesting to me and that I wanted to share with the class really took some
time. I found it a bit difficult to have good transitions. The combination of
many different sounds, all taken from the Internet was a great example of
thinking outside of the box. I think that it is very important that we find new
ways in which to express ourselves, and this will lead to better work as a
filmmaker, and as an artist. I really liked the idea and thought it was a very enjoyable
Friday night party. Although I didn’t think my work was extremely exceptional,
I enjoyed making it and having the opportunity to share and perform in front of
the class. It was a great experience that we don’t always get as students. I
thought it was nice to show and not tell. The fact that we didn’t have to
explain our projects and just let the audience listen to something that we had
created was refreshing. I also really enjoyed interacting with the class in the
setting of a party; it led to more casual and amicable conversations. The class
was there to have a good time, and we all just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. It
was great!
My process of creating the Webspinna
was heavily influenced by my experiences of seeing someone DJ an event. I felt
as though I should treat my sound the same way. Find a beat and mix it up in a
way that sounds good. It was an experience that the reading titled “Bourriaud” talked about. The whole
process was very eclectic, and made you mix sounds together, which are not
normally mixed together. I have been a big fan of the work of Pixar, and one
film that comes to mind it The
Incredibles. This movie is very eclectic, and shows items such as cars and
buildings in an anachronistic manner, because items were chosen by their
aesthetic appeal, and not their time period. This made it hard to pin point when
the film took place, but in the end it didn’t matter and the inspiration from
various different time periods on the earth worked out well.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Medium Specificity
I have chosen to do a title sequence for the medium
specificity creative art project. I find it interesting how a simple title
sequence has the potential of being beautiful and interesting. Although we have
seen many title sequences with the deluge of films that we have seen, the title
most likely will not be mentioned when discussing and analyzing the film. This
is unfortunate in my opinion, because the title sequence is an art and should
be recognized. We talked about striping an art to its bones in class and
looking at the essentials of what makes the particular piece of art. The title
sequence I created was a simple amalgam of typography and image, woven into a
montage. Image + Type + Music are
the elements that make up a title sequence. I have taken a typography class
that has made me really appreciate the beauty and art of type, and I have also
come to see the beauty and art in imagery. A particular title sequence that I
find fascinating and very beautiful is the title sequence before the film The Visual Language of Herbert Matter. I
have posted a link to this particular title sequence and many others that I
find interesting. I am really fascinated in the minutia or simple nuance of any
art form. When you become more aware of the process and intricacies of any type
of art, you can come to a better appreciation and understanding of the art
medium. Knowing the history of a typeface such as Garamond, Helvetica and
Baskerville give you a better sense of the art. Knowing about the design that
goes into creating a typeface, and every single letter and serif is
fascinating. The image and composition of the image is very complex and also
has fascinating intricacies that make up and image within a frame. The reading
in the book about the image and word being mixed, specifically talking about
comic books was very interesting and I thought brought up a very strong
argument about the importance of the image. I liked his observation about how
the general public thinks that comic books are inferior to standard texts with
only words. How words and image have been pitched against one another, when in
fact they work very well, and are very effective in tandem. I really enjoyed
making this title sequence and plan on creating more as I learn better
techniques in doing so.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Textual Poaching
My creative image has to do with the combination of my
religion and the art in my life. These two areas in my life are a
representation of who I am. The painting Starry
Night by Vincent Van Gough is representative of my appreciation for art,
and the camera on a tripod emphatically states this admiration for good art.
With the camera I have placed my self in the French countryside on a beautiful
night. Another Item that you will notice is the temple in the valley. This
makes the painting all the more meaningful to me as a member of the church. When
I came up with this idea I remembered the pictures in the book, with the
African American version of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Queen. These are both
an attempt to represent your view on life and create a piece of work that is
well known so it has an impact to the public eye. Another thing that influenced
my work was the exhibit of Andy Warhol’s work at the MOA. Warhol is the
quintessential artist for this particular genre of art. He has taken
photographs of Marilyn Monroe and put some graphic artwork and coloring over
the photographs and created a representation of what he feels is true art.
Although Warhol’s art is of a lionized individual and mine is a representation
of a temple and my belief system.
I see the similarities of getting to take control of an existing piece
of art and ameliorating this work in anyway that you can so that it is
connected to you in some form. This activity was very thought provoking as one
tried to come up with an historical medium that could have a historical
representation of yourself. I think that my religion and my choice of study
need to coexist comfortably in order for me to do well in life.
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