Valedictory Final

REFLECTIONS:
I think so far in the year, the valedictory unit was my absolute favorite. It was difficult to come up with a theme and really showcase my interests and skills I've learned this past year. Once I had an idea, it sparked into something greater and I was really pleased with what I came up with. By looking at the pictures, you can tell that each photograph was shot from a different time period. If you don't know me well, I LOVE anything vintage. When I was younger, my family introduced me to older shows, movies, and musicals. I began to analyze the history, fashion, hairstyles, and culture of each decade. I think it's important to show that each decade was influenced by major events that changed and effected America and the world.

1920s: 

I wanted to show a "scandalous" expression. The 1920's was a period of rebirth. They wanted to celebrate and have a party after the war. Women were  receiving the right to vote, they were learning wild dances, smoking, and drinking. The 1920's had it's own language and I wanted to show that through this project by using text. Prohibition was a huge deal then and they wanted to keep it concealed and private. I chose this specific picture because she looks surprised and part of the culture was embracing new ideas, which many of traditionalists were against.

1930's:

Historically, the Great Depression is one of the most difficult times for America, a period where money was scarce and people had to "make do" with what they had. When president Roosevelt was elected, he set forth a goal for America. He believed it was possible to regain ground and prosper for a better future. People were starving and jobless. They had to provide for their growing families and Roosevelt wanted to give them hope, regardless of the country's poverty.

1940's:

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was fully involved in the war. Not only were the men a huge part in defeating the enemy, but the women provided the many weapons and tools used to tear them down. Women had to take on roles that no man could even imagine. They felt it was their duty to fully take the responsibility by providing for their family and gaining assurance that their service would help the soldiers at war.

1950's:

This decade was another celebration period, recovering from the war. The fashions really began to change as well as the music, technology, foods, and the media. Everyone wanted the ideal family: husband, house, 3.5 kids. Women were expected to be happy little house wives, cleaning the laundry, making dinner, and to discipline the kids while the husband was at work. Women were utilized as objects and Marilyn Monroe demonstrated how a women should be. "A women should be in the house doing what women do". This decade sparked many ideas and lead to the women's rights movement.

1960's:

The 60's was a very influential decade. Between the early 60's to the late 60's there is quite a gap of differences in the fashion. The British Invasion, Vietnam War, the Kennedies, and so many other events shaped this decade.

1970's:

This decade was a "free spirt" period. Drugs were being over used and new diseases were being discovered. A lot of Americans were angered by the involvement in the war in Vietnam. They wanted to keep America safe.

Valedictory Progress Check

Vintage-Through the Decades

      My vision for this project is to show a blast from the past from the 1920's to the 1970's. There were many major events in history that influenced American culture and the fashion industry. Since I was 9 or 10, I've developed an obsession with antiques. I used to go to little antique stores and admire all the vintage clocks, clothing, jewelery, hats, shoes, furniture, music records, phones, and a whole bunch of stuff. I love how in each decade, some event influenced the culture. If you look at old pictures, not one decade is similar to the next. I think back then it was a much simpler time period and I've always wanted to live in a different time period. For this project, I want to possibly overlay a couple pictures from the same decade and maybe find some objects or important events that happened in that decade and incorporate it in the photo. I still want to have that old feeling of black and white, but I also might want to add a color/tint and some artistic details as well. When I'm done with this project, I want to be able to line all the finished pieces up side by side, displaying a timeline from the past.

Research

1920s:

1930s:

1940s:

Surrealism

I think outwardly, people see me as shy and quiet. I wanted to avoid eye contact with the camera to portray this characteristic. Inwardly, I love music. I've been singing and playing piano practically my entire life and wanted to show it through this photo. I also vacation at the beach with my family every summer and it's one of the only times for all of us to get together. So I took a picture of the clouds during a sunset to remind me of the special times we have!

After getting to know Jessie for a little while, I've learned that she really loves to travel. Outwardly, I first thought she was quiet and kept to herself a lot, but after getting to know her, I found she really funny and nice! As I was looking through her photos, I found a lot of beautiful landscapes of nature and architecture. This is one of my favorite shots and I love the grassy background and how rule of thirds really works in the middle of her body.

I've learned that Jessie really loves to read and travel all over the west coast. Her outwardly appearance shows that she's lost behind a book. On the inside, I wanted to show some of the places she has traveled. I really like this one too because it kind of looks mid evil and fantasy in a way.

Outwardly, I think this picture portrays that I'm shy. I also like playing with my hair, braiding it, curling it, and coming up with new hairstyles. I chose to take pictures of clouds because I love to dream and plan for the future. I have a lot of goals in life and I think the clouds create a calm, dreamy feeling. I also love going to the beach and not necessarily swimming, but I love taking walks, especially during sunrise.

Double Exposure Examples

Rene Magritte & Surrealism Reading & Questions

Questions to answer about the reading:

1.     What is surrealism?

 Ideas developed by strange dreams, using unrelated objects and placing them side by side.

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

Man with a bowler hat, he used to dress that way and it inspired him when he saw other men dressed the same way.

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?

Each “man with the hat” looks very similar, but when analyzed, each man has different characteristics. He uses scale, foreground, and background to create depth.

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

They wanted to bring their dreams to life.

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

He uses imagery and allows to viewers to keep an open mind and fill in the empty holes. He wants people to be apart of the painting/story.

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

There were many theories that inspired the “covering of the faces”. When Magritte was a boy, his mother drowned herself in a river and it was said that her face was covered with her nightgown.

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

He wanted viewers to focus on the subject other than what the artist used to create the subject. His paintings were smooth and very detailed which could be mistaken for a photograph.

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

     

o   Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work

First Photo: This picture is cropped in tightly and uses a lot of highlights and contours

Second Photo: This picture has a foreground and background

Shooting Assignment-Double Exposure

Dada Final

Exquisite Corpse

Each section of the body is artistically different. Surrealism is releasing creative potential of the unconscious mind. It relates because this isn't a normal and original drawing of a person. Different minds portray different ideas and thoughts that create a unique person.

Dada Studio Experimentation

Questions About Art

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

 a visual idea created from someone's mind using materials. Textures, skill, colors, patterns

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

artwork should tell a story and have an emotional connection between artist/viewers

3.     Why do people make art?

To express their feelings and passions on certain topics

4.     Where does one encounter art?

 public, museums, school, advertisements, tv, social media

5.     What is the role of the artist?

To create a piece of artwork that will stir up opinions, ideas, and emotions of other viewers

MoMA | Dada

World War I and Dada

·      What is Dada and why did it come into existence? Dada is an art movement inspired by World War I and doesn't share common styles between artwork.

Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade

·      Discuss Duchamp’s notion of “Readymades”.  What are they?

     Mass-produced objects isolated from their functional context.

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

     In my opinion, artwork would be a painting, sculpture, photograph, drawing, etc., but now, artwork can be any object created by man

·      

Chance Creations: Collage, Photomontage, and Assemblage

·      Dada artists turned to non-art making strategies…

o   What did they embrace?

chance accident

o   Why did they take this approach?

It was their way of protest, showing the violent world they lived in

·      

Artist Collaboration

·      What is the value of art made by Dadaists?

     The value doesn't lay in the artwork itself, but in the act of collaborating with others to create new visions

Word Play

·      How and why did Dada artists work with words?
   sought to undermine the fundamental structure of rational, ordered society. They turned words and letters into abstract forms and stripping forms

DADA

Original Quote: If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will




Random:

Abstract:     

Social Issue PSA

• Body Image: showing that girls will doll themselves up just to fit in but they end up having nothing on the inside
• All girls have insecurities about something in their life. Girls will artificially change themselves to make themselves feel and look beautiful but it ends up being too much for them to handle. They cannot live up to perfection
• I hope people will understand the reasoning for cracking the face to show that beauty on the outside doesn't measure up to beauty on the inside
• Girls ages 10-18 ( girls play with dolls at a young age and it influences them and goes up through high school)
• Using a porcelain doll to show how smooth and fragile her face is. I wanted to show the hollow insides to show that no matter how perfect a doll may look, they don't have any inner beauty which is the most important
• "Painted lips, rosy cheeks, golden hair, and porcelain skin disguise her worth. Artificial beauty doesn't preserve, it shatters. Dolls crack too"
• I think and hope the overall project will effect and relate to a lot of girls in many ways. I think the end result was very effective
• do something that interests you or something you can personally relate to. Try a bunch of different ideas until you get one that you really really like
• Coming up with the text/copy and wording it to make it sound right. I think overlaying the cracks/cracking the doll in photoshop turned out really well

Advertisment Shooting Assignment

My advertisement campaign is on body image. I used a porcelain doll to show that young teenage girls will doll themselves up to fit into the glamorous world. I wanted to show that yes a doll is beautiful on the outside, but mainly to showcase that there is nothing but hollow on the inside. This can relate to many girls who feel that they themselves are obligated to feel beautiful but they aren't happy/beautiful on the inside. I thought this project was pretty easy once I actually came up with a unique way to display the issue. I wanted to capture pictures of the doll before it was broken and later photo shop cracks on top of the layer. But I also tried smashing the face with a hammer, which didn't work at first, but I tried dropping the doll on the pavement and it successfully worked! Overall, I thought it turned out really well.

Ad Analysis

 TA: men between the ages of 30-40
 USP: cars are sketched on the faces/fight
Theme: one drink can turn into the fights for your life
Slogan: stop the violence 
Text/copy: don't drink and drive

 TA: young parents/children/kids walking to school
 USP: uses the mirror artistically to show reaction of baby and child
 Theme: guilty parents don't pay attention to surroundings
 Slogan: think of both sides
 Text/copy: the number of car accidents involving children increases during school holidays. Please be extremely careful!

 TA: women (30s-40s)
 USP: using cigarette to blow candles/aging someone a lot older
Theme: young people in disguise as old people dying
Slogan: smoking causes premature aging
Text/copy: lose the smoke, keep the fire this World No Tobacco Day

TA: Mothers w/ young children
USP: using home like mugs and cracking it, showing the violence
Theme: fear of controlling husband
Slogan: when he controls your life, it's no longer you life
Text/copy: Domestic abuse strips your dignity, your hope and your life. The pain isn't only measured in bruises and wills. We know. We've been there. And we know how to get out.

Project Proposal

What social issue do you plan to build an advertising campaign around?
Body image

What is your personal reason for choosing this issue? 
Everyone has a low point in their life where they feel they aren't worth any value

Why should people be concerned about the issue?
Because it's not just about fitting in, but people want to feel accepted and when they don't they do everything they can to change themselves which destroys unique qualities. It can have a psychological affect on their body.

How can you motivate people to care about this cause?
Using different objects to show how important and dangerous the risks are to put on your body.

• 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies
• only 5% of women naturally possess the body type portrayed by Americans