FMX 211

Out of all the performance artists I looked at, I'd have to say that Marina Abramovic, the Guerrilla Girls, and the Wooster Group are my three favorite. All of their work is similar in the sense that they don't just use paintings or banners or posters to get a message out; whether it be in a theater, an art gallery or museum, or out in a public area, they use themselves to perform. Marina Abramovic is well known for using her body as a medium, the Guerrilla Girls advocate through their own speeches, and the Wooster Group is a theater group, so naturally they are using their bodies to tell the story of the performance. Of course the three aren't exactly the same since they all have their own means and opinions of performing, but they seem relatively similar if you look quickly enough. As for technology being an essential component to each artists work, I noticed it was mostly only used by the Wooster Group. The group appears to use it in their productions whether it be for m...

I'm going to be honest, I actually didn't take much inspiration from the artists or the art movements that were discussed in class. Now, don't get me wrong, I did like the ideas and concepts of the movements, dadaism in particular, and I thought that doing some kind of collage could be fun; I liked Hannah Hoch's work and considered that I could do something similar to that, but then decided against it. I don't really know why, but I just prefer the simplicity of things, and pulling something out of nature like I had done for my grid art project just seemed reasonable. I had thought of doing butterflies first, but then decided I could turn my hands into birds once I had scanned them and lay them on a poster board in a way that would make them look like they were flying in a flock. Scanning them in black and white also made more sense since I figured it would resemble geese or even just the silhouettes of a flock flying through the sky. The sky in the background is ju...

In today's society, access to radio, television, and computers is everywhere. It is so incorporated in our everyday lives that we hardly think twice about it. Funnily enough, if it hadn't been for the invention of one little but powerful mechanism, that technology would not be where it is today. As impressive as it was when it was first introduced, the vacuum tube is what really took technology to new heights. In the case of the radio, the vacuum tube is what gave it its original capability. When it was first developed, radio did not have a very long range at all and was not very amplified. It also had a weak signal. The invention of the vacuum tube, however, allowed for every aspect of the radio to be better. The range became longer, amplification became easier to manage, and the signal was ultimately strengthened. The vacuum tube also helped to change the current in radio from an alternating current to a direct current. Radio was able to reach more corners of the globe becaus...

For my grid art project I really just wanted to do something simple, and the first thing that popped into my mind was a flower. I was originally going to use a photo I had taken myself on the Canon T3i, but when I put it into Photoshop and changed it to pixels it looked nothing like the original photo, and I really just didn't like it. So instead, I found a basic picture of a rose and used it. It looked a lot better in Photoshop and actually proved to be easier to make color wise since I used tissue paper. I had intended to use beads, but it would've taken a lot longer to put together so I decided against it. The tissue paper was easy to work with, but I definitely wish it had a better variety of shades; that way, the final product would look a lot more like the Photoshopped image and resemble an actual rose more closely. Regardless, I did enjoy this project a lot, and it has made me want to create something else that is very similar.

My flip book is based off of the novel  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. All the images are metaphorical to what happens in the story; for instance, the handcuffs being connected to the briefcase is representative of Atticus Finch's connection to the case of Tom Robinson and vice versa. Though the drawings are not very complex, the hardest part of making the flip book was the drawing. I had to do it backwards so I could trace the images since I can't draw the same thing twice, let alone repeatedly, so thinking about the story backwards proved to be a little challenging. Using the window to trace also wasn't too fun; the way I had to sit to do it didn't exactly agree with my back, and my hand got tired pretty quickly. It was shaking by the time I finished a section! I think by now I can say that I'm glad I'm not an animation major. Anyway, enjoy! 

Fifty Percent My two favorite renditions of Fifty Percent were the ones by Michael Feinstein and Barbara Streisand. It is a beautiful song and both singers voices were perfect for executing it. The ranges their voices could reach was absolutely amazing, and it even gave me chills watching both of their performances. There was so much expression and so much emotion, and it really resonated with me when I heard them sing. Hair What I really liked most about Hair was that it was very colorful. The set and the costumes all had colors that popped, even when the lighting was dim. The colors also really helped to establish the tone of the show, and did a nice job of conveying the message and theme the show was trying to get across. The vocals in some of the songs were almost mind-blowing too; they were very powerful, and the sound really traveled right around the stage and even into the audience. It was really very cool to see so many people singing at once like that, especially since the...

In regards to Madam Butterfly, I was presently surprised after watching it. I didn't think a film adaptation of an opera could quite strike me like this one did, especially since it's short film that portrays the characters as puppets. It is good at evoking emotion, particularly when Butterfly is seen waiting in the same spot all alone for Pinkerton to return. I could almost feel her loneliness just watching the scene. And then she finds happiness in having her child, and it stays that way until Pinkerton finally returns. I actually found myself feeling aghast after he just took her child without a problem. It made me wonder: how could he do that? Butterfly's distress really got to me, and it was upsetting to see her disassemble herself at the end all because of what happened. Another thing that really resonated with me was the music that played throughout the film. I'm not one to listen to opera, but I really appreciated it as I watched the film. It was very beautiful ...