I have (ART) Issues

IMOVIE PROJECT: FEMINISM

By Emily Horvat and Michelle Haapala

ARTIST STATEMENT

This educational short film of feminism portrays our ideas and opinions on not only being a woman, but also on how women are treated in society. We explore this concept of feminism in a personal way that displays both positive and negative aspects of the role of women in American society. We explore how we view feminism as well as the views of other individuals in our community. Emily and I decided to take a hands-on approach to creating this video by having the individuals write a word or phrase that they associate with feminism. This allowed for other perspective to be represented in our film, which worked well with our wish to include a wide variety of women and opinions. This created more of a personal connotation to the film, which we wanted to achieve. The audience is very important in the viewing process of a movie, and by establishing these relationships on the screen, we hope the audience relates and grabs a hold of our concepts through these emotions.

We wanted to portray feelings that build up to a reality of how women are portrayed and stereotyped in society. This build up from positive to negative draws the viewer into a perspective from a woman’s point of view. How have these stereotypes evolved? How have women been targeted in society through out history? We explore a modern way of viewing these ideas and use strong, specific, women examples to portray this concept.

While creating this piece, we took into account all the technical strategies and concepts that could aid in our idea. For example, the effects and transitions all contribute to the abrupt and dramatic ending. The film has an emotional and riveting feeling that is aided by the quick and stark changes in scene. The gradual change of a positive connotation to a negative connotation is the main experience we wanted the audience to get out of the movie. This feeling is the most effective on the audience with the concept of feminism. If the viewer experiences a feeling during a visual work, that emotion will stick with them. We wanted to use this concept to affect the audience through strong emotional content, forcing them to relate to their own opinion of feminism.

We believe our video is successful in educating the public on stereotypes of women, from a women perspective. We wanted to display a dramatic and raw form of women sharing their opinions. The action of having the women write on a sign to display their view, allowed us to form a relationship with them, and therefore creating a relationship with the viewer. The public can relate easily to reality, and real individuals. This aspect also contributes to the positive education of feminism to the community in this film.

I think our film will portray many ideas of feminism, women, and stereotypes. Our goal for this film is to educate, inspire, and create perspective. We hope that through this real and pure movie, individuals will react, and allow themselves to be vulnerable enough to speak their minds, and act on their opinions. It is when we do this, that we create change.

Research of 3 Artists

I have had a number of artists throughout my life who have influenced me in specific ways, whom I look to in times of despair and artistic mental brain farts. The first artist which influences me in a significant way is Julie Mehretu. Her work speaks of the importance of community, and how society can engulf an individual with pressure and stereotypes, or on the other hand, love and compassion. This world is a busy and hectic rush that we all take part in, our lives are like a blink of an eye, yet we each find our own contribution to the world. Julie's work shows this through her use of line and layers. Her appealing pieces are often ambiguous, yet speak to the audience in a specific, emotional way.

Julie was born in Ethiopia in 1970. She now lives in New York and creates large gestural paintings that often consist of as many as twenty five layers. She mostly works with the ideas of architecture, community, and mapping. She breaks these subjects up to discover the aesthetic relationships that are created. She uses acrylic paint as well as pencil, pen and ink on the layers to create depth and atmosphere.

Here is an example of her work:

Animation Project

Animation Statement                             

Big Idea: Relationships

Topic: Relationships with Technology

For my animation, I worked with the big idea of relationships. I took this in a more literal direction and related this topic to the current generation. I decided to illustrate and portray the relationship many individuals have with technology. This relationship often distances us from our pure, original form of relationships. This idea seems silly and bizarre: we are forming a relationship with an item that is not humane, and certainly cannot take the feelings we give to it and return them. By forming this relationship with technology, we are creating a negative relationship with our friends, family, and acquaintances. We are instead becoming socially incapable of confrontation and communication between human beings. I illustrated an anonymous character that is fully involved in technology. When this gadget fails him he is forced to confront reality and put himself into a realm that is became unfamiliar with. He soon learns that this is not as easy as he thought, and sees the significance of concrete, positive relationships.  Hopefully this short animation will advocate for personal relationships, and will stress the dangers of too much technology in our present community. I hope the audience sees how our generation needs to become a little less technologically connected and a little more personally connected.

The character travels on a short, but meaningful journey from a material relationship, to an attempt at a personal, humane, relationship. The character is abruptly tested when the music device he is listening to breaks. He is forced to recognize the ragged, nature sounds of the world. Because he had turned away from personal relationships due to his technological relationship, the character is unable to identify with other characters, and finds it quite difficult to interact with others. This leads to his feelings of despair, loneliness, and social awkwardness. This journey shows the audience the importance of social skills, and personal relationships in today’s world and community. Without these basic skills, one becomes stuck in virtual realm, which questions the reality of human relationships. This animation touches on this idea through a narrative movement of pictures and drawings.

Towards the end of the animation, the character finds peace in nature and begins to reconnect with the real, tactile world. Once he begins to experience this relationship of self to nature, he is then able to open up to other individuals. He finds this natural relationship first, then begins to create a personal, humane relationship with someone who looks to have come from the same experiences as he. This animation represents this generation of individuals who are beginning to loose a sense of personal relationship and social awareness/ action. We are forced into a technology-filled world, and we are soon losing our skills of confrontation and direct communication. This worries me especially in the scheme of art, and how we will apply it in our own classrooms. Computers and technology have many many positive aspects, but we are slowly losing the skills to interact with each other. Forming relationships is a significant part of our lives as humans, and if this were to ever completely disappear, I feel our world would be in great disarray.

            

TOPIC: CAT SOUP short animation film


This animation is a gloomy, deep animation that is rich in image and sounds, but lacks in speaking. It is up to the viewer to conclude a meaning out of this creation. To me, the animation spoke of a journey with an overall controller of the earth. Two cats are manipulated during this path they take homeward. It has a childlike and fantastical quality which allows artificial ideas to flow. It is a blunt way to describe our journeys as humans on this earth. No matter what we do, death is inevitable, and an end to everything comes at one point. The film has a somewhat negative connotation to it, which evokes feelings of desperation, sadness, and fear.
To emphasize this fantastical and magical big idea, the creator uses specific color schemes, repetition, sound effects, orientation facial expressions etc. It draws the viewer inward through these strategies, which is why animation can be so effective. In terms of art education, animation can help state a point, a view, a moral, a cultural idea, etc. This is a new way of advertising and taking a stance on something as an individual.
The animation showed me what is possible in creating my own work in this medium. It also gave me an idea for portraying an idea successfully with only frames of images. This film allows me to better understand what exactly is necessary for an animated short film in terms of information shared, and information that is just assumed or left to the imagination of the viewer.




POSTCARD PROJECT
BIG IDEA: RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships develop personally to specific individuals. Because of this, the word relationship comes with many meanings. I have chosen to explore relationships in three different ways by developing postcards that represent relationships in different ways.

In my three postcards, I compiled images of the places I have relationships with: my apartment, which I know well, and my new job which is not as familiar to me. Through these postcards, I tried to combine images from a place I know and confide in, as well as a place that is not as comfortable to me. Exploring these relationships is visually challenging to the viewer because it combines places and objects that relate in a different way then we are used to seeing. This combination creates a whole new aesthetic relationship in itself.

The first postcard explores this idea of relationship to nature. I used the concept of repetition to create an environment that is unusual. The fans create an idea of artificial wind. They are a subtle yet harsh factor in the place they reside. The fans establish a relationship with their outside environment, and begin to make the viewer belief they really fit into the field.

The second postcard surrounds the idea of artificial versus reality. I created a fantastical environment with symbols that I have a close relationship with. By combining these two realms, I have created an unnatural environment that brings into question what is fantasy and what is reality.

The third postcard portrays concealment and revealing of text. This image focuses on the idea of everyone having relationships, weather those are positive or negative. The image shows two electric boxes side by side, and the text reads “everyone can relate”. The relationship between the too electric boxes is purely aesthetic, but almost suggests something more humane and conceptual. The way they are lined up next to each other makes the viewer wonder and expand on the relationship of this image. The text speaks directly to the viewer, and evokes a personal experience by the words “everyone can relate”.  The piece relates to an individual specifically, and has a meaning that only they can understand.

Overall, relationships are loaded subject areas, which can be purely conceptual or purely aesthetic. Both can be formed through objects of comfort, or discomfort, natural or artificial, personal or impersonal. Relationships are important parts of our lives as humans, and art is a positive alley to portray this concept.

TOPIC: CREATIVITY AND ART EDUCATION



What is creativity?
How can creativity be taught?
Why creativity NOW? Why do you think creativity is especially important now?
How can technology (digitally made) be used to implement creativity and learning through visual art? 

I believe creativity is an outlet for one's experiences, feelings, views, etc. Creativity isn't defined, but rather, it is discovered. I think that not all people embrace their creativity, but others choose to explore it through many ways. Creativity is such an expansive subject, that it really cannot be put into one category. We all use expression in ways specific to our own definition of creativity. For example, some create for themselves, some create for others, some use creation to help others, and some create for no reason at all. I believe creativity is such a positive link in which to express and convey, and individuals should continue to discover their thoughts visually through creating.

In terms of education of creativity, I think it is up to the individual to discover this act of conveying an idea. Creativity cannot be specifically taught, but can be nurtured and ignited by an instructor, an experience, a feeling, or another piece of art. So, in my opinion, the individual has to gain the yearning to create. This feeling of wanting to express something, is how I was "taught creativity". Similar to most things in life, first, one has to want it, second, one has to become dedicated and passionate in creating, and third, the individual must go and create. This sequence is how I believe one can be "taught" creativity.

I think the real question is WHY NOT NOW? Anytime is the right time to create. In an ever-evolving world and community, it is important to contribute ideas and opinions through visual means. Creation spurs positive movements and changes with in a community. It also strengthens societies through these visual opinions and experiences. Creating and creations can have such a great impact on and individual as well as the community as a whole. We can all create at any point in time, and that creation will contribute to a better community and visual culture.

Pieces like these public installations spur movements, create feelings, and involve the community in positive ways

http://www.contemporist.com/2008/02/29/public-art-sculpture-in-vancouver-canada/

beneaththeivy.wordpress.com

Creativity is very important and successful when it comes to integrating technology into a curriculum of teaching. In terms of instructing in art with technology, it is important to teach students the tactics only to a certain point. If you allow them to discover and create on their own, they will acquire skills of problem solving and critical thinking. This path of discovery through technology also leads to self- confidence and self- direction in the individual. If an instructor can find a balance between digital art and hands-on art, the art classroom will be most successful.