Art 211 final project

The idea behind my final project is vacation/life experience versus school. The question that is presented to the viewer is which is overall more valuable? I believed this to be video deconstruction because it presents two completely different things but makes the viewer think, what am I going to be more grateful for later in my life? Which one is truly better? My reasoning behind speeding up the vacation/life experience scenes was to show how time travels much faster when you're doing something that you enjoy while the scenes that represented school got continuously slower throughout the video to show how school can seem to drag on. In my opinion I feel like right now I value the vacation side of life, however later on in life I feel like I may end up valuing the school side of life or wishing I had valued the school side of life earlier on.

Art 211 Performance Art Project

Art 211 Performance Art Project

For my performance art project I decided to go out and enjoy the fresh air through the eyes of a simple banana, watch the video to see how it went.

Xerox Project

For my Xerox project I decided to make a star being held up by a basket of hands. This to me represents the idea that if you surround yourself with strong and uplifting people they will help you be a star. However the star in the middle has the most hands which to me symbolizes the fact that you must work the hardest to become a star and the hands around are only there to support you a little bit because they are all after the same thing you are. To create my project I photocopied my left and right hands and used pins to stick them to the pin board in my roommates and I's room. This is also symbolistic of the bond my roommates and I share because we are there for each other and help each other shine, which is also why I found the pin board a good place to put my project on display so my roommates could see it. Another thing that I like about having the project displayed on the inboard is that the hands are allowed to droop and move outwards giving it the actual 3D appearance of a star shining instead of just a plain old 2D flat surface.

Technology

Cellphones are a recent technology that have become a huge part of everyday life for a lot of individuals. Many people if given a choice to bring one item with them anywhere would almost certainly decide on taking their cellphone. Cellphones weren't widely available until the 1980s however in those times the idea of a cellphone was basically carrying a modern day desktop computer with you everywhere you went, the mobile phones in those times were bulky and weighed probably around one hundred times what cellphones today weigh, they were also only available to those that could afford them. A large battery pack that was attached to the phone itself had to be carried along at all times and the phones put out very large amounts of radio waves which was not very good for peoples health. Today, cellphones are lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and their batteries can last for hours to days. I believe that in the future cellphones may actually end up being eliminated for actual brain implants connected to a tiny screen and camera in the retina, microphone around the mouth, and speakers in the ear. This will allow the user to talk, listen to music, take pictures and videos through their own eyes, text, and even use the internet without even needing to carry around a cellphone at all. The device won't have a battery at all but instead it will be powered through the body itself just like our legs are powered when we are running. The device could be connected to vital organs and could have a memory of its own that allows the user to have a photographic memory. The device could also play a big role militarily, in police, and even in the common person by showing the user how there vitals are and if they are hurt telling them what to do or to seek help. In the far future the possibilities and roles this device could have are near endless in the sense of advancing human capability.      

30x30 Project

For my 30x30 project I decided to make a whale and ocean out of pennies, nickels, and dimes. I chose coins because the way I earn my money during the summer is by working on a whale watch boat so what would be more fitting to me than a whale made out of money?? Some challenges I found during making this project was the different sizes of the coins which created some displacement of space so I fixed this by using nickels and dimes alternating which was relatively the same size as a row of pennies.

Electronic Music

For this assignment the categories I chose were girl power, dubstep, house, electronic, and virtual.
First up I would add Alison Wonderland to the girl power movement. Alison is a newer electronic dance music DJ who has became very popular very fast. She advocates for women to overcome relationship abuse, depression, and cheating in her music and her performances. She has been invited to and performed at many highly renowned music festivals such as the Electric Daisy Carnival, Breakaway Music Festival, Voodoo Music Festival, and many more. When performing Alison has been known to become extremely emotional and shows it through outbursts to her crowd which creates a uniquely emotionally charged environment that fans and first timers can all enjoy. Some of her works include U Don't Know, I Want U, Run, and many others. However the best way to experience Alison and her music is to actually see her perform live in concert or at a festival because of the unique energy she brings to the crowd.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5MMV5qULV0  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLCm9lP-3Uk  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-aNL6egpY

For Dubstep I decided Bassnectar fit the bill perfectly. Bassnectar's music is known for its heaviness and like his name states: bass. He has gained a cult following of head banging fanatics over his time performing and many of his shows now go sold out. Myself even though prefering more relaxed electric dance music and not being a huge fan of dubstep found myself enjoying Bassnectar's set at EDC Orlando and found myself joining the crowd around me in the heavier dancing and head banging. Some of his works include Basshead, Timestretch, and Speakerbox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRftXCiqfQ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M-jOZRe0-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVl2oQ__GDE

For Electronic and Producer/Dj culture who is more known for their catchy electronic dance music than The Chainsmokers. The Chainsmokers have put out hit song after hit song, and have gained a massive following. They are easily some of the best known artists in the US despite a somewhat recent come up and they have performed as headliners at many music festivals across the country. The reason for their success is that almost everyone can enjoy their music, especially during their performances, even though most of their released songs are more chill and catchy than bass heavy, when they perform they include a great variety of chill and bass heavy remixes of their songs that appeals to both relaxed concert goers and individuals that are more into raging and head banging. some of their works include Roses, Don't Let Me Down, and Closer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyASdjZE0R0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io0fBr1XBUA  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2_F-1esPk

Finally for Virtual I chose Porter Robinson. Porter is mainly an electronic dance music Dj with catchy synth heavy songs, virtuality plays a big role in his music videos. This can be seen especially in one of his newest hit songs Shelter ft. Madeon. The music video which is in anime explains that the song is about a girl that is trapped in a virtual world that her father created for her during a cataclysmic event that ended the human race. Without this music video the song would just be a song however through using anime Porter gives a great and touching backstory to his song which is why Porter is unique in the way he creates his music. Some of his works include Shelter, Sad Machine, and Divinity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQ6gRAEoy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIDqt2aUek  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si81bIoZRJQ

Madama Butterfly

My initial reaction to Madama Butterfly by Pjotr Sapegin was a feeling of strangeness and discomfort, the dolls are somewhat creepy and them having intercourse was not exactly what I expected. My initial feelings grew into pity for the woman since the sailor had left her pregnant and alone on the island. When she then gave birth to a crying fish which proceeded to morph into a child which she then happened to fly like a kite my feelings turned into a bit of confusion. I thought that when the sailor did come back that it was going to be a happy ending however he took her child with him and brought her to his family with his beautiful blonde wife and again I felt pity for the woman. The last part I actually did understand and that the man leaving her and taking her child literally tore her apart this made me feel sorrow.

My Thoughts on Raul Cuero's Interview on Creativity

I enjoyed and was somewhat inspired by Raul Cuero's story. His family was too poor to even afford books but he still excelled in school and was given a chance to enter higher learning with a basketball scholarship. He still faced adversity and was told by his basketball coach that his best attribute was his ability to play basketball, even though he was very smart his intellect was not recognized. This lead him to take a scholarship to an American school where he could delve deeper into enhancing his mind. I liked that he pushed his students to fix their own work if they messed something up and that he taught them that they are capable of anything as long as they try their hardest.

I liked how he described how creativity is doing the unknown instead of doing what is known like most others do. However I disagree with his statement that computers, and new technology doesn't play a part in creativity, I believe that technology plays just as large of a role in creativity as well as nature, because there is infinite unknown in technology and if there is infinite unknown in technology then there is an unlimited amount of creativity that can be tied to technology.

Overall I think Raul Cuero is an amazing man that sets an example that if you put your mind to succeeding in something then you can do it, you just need to put all the effort you can into it.

The image that I chose for this assignment is a picture that was recently taken of me and my friend Maddy who I met for the first time on my way down to school. However this was not the first time I had ever talked to her, which is why I chose the picture because ASCII code is used in computers and telecommunication devices, thus playing a part in us meeting.

My first feelings about this class are a mix of anxiety, excitement, and curiosity. Anxiety because art is usually not my strong suit in school, but this leads to my feelings of excitement because this is unlike any art class I have taken before. My feeling of curiosity comes from wondering more about what we will be doing in this class.

A little bit about myself: My name is Nathan Winkler and I grew up on Cape Cod, throughout my time there the ocean was a big part of my life, I got a job on a whale watch boat when I was 15 and have been working there since. Some of my hobbies are boating, going to the beach, and in the last couple years I have gained a taste for going to concerts and music festivals. The individuals that I go to these festivals with have almost become family to me. I am also a member of the Sigma Chi Kappa Omega chapter at the University of Tampa.

What I expect from this class is to learn more about a different kind of art.