Talking with Artists.

Soon after our lesson last week I decided to have a better look at some of the recommended websites. One website that I found particularly interesting was Maya Escobars website. Not only was this site well designed but it dealt with ideas of Jewish Identity and posed questions such as "What makes a person culturally Jewish?" and "What does a Jew look like?" There were also many drawings and a few videos exploring the idea of identity. Maya, who acted in each video was able to play extremely different characters in these videos from an orthodox Jewish women to a perhaps lest modest Hispanic club girl.











Though these videos dealt with issues relating to stereotypes, what I found perhaps more interesting yet disappointing were some of the comments that these videos received. Some were extremely aggressive and racist while others were very complimentary and funny. I guess what I am trying to say is that, there will always be people out there hating, there will always be someone who thinks that you are wrong and that they are right and unfortunately most of these people will never be willing to listen to your side let alone to reason.

Without getting to personal here, I understood most of these questions and had thought about them many times myself. Some I can answer while others I am still questioning and trying to figure out. I decided to e-mail Maya, if only to say hi, give her some feedback on her site and let her know that it meant something to me. I don't know if I was actually expecting to receive a response but this morning when I checked my e-mail there it was. At first I thought it was merely a 3D model file that I had made using the program Maya but instead it was an e-mail, yes an e-mail from Maya herself. Ok, so I’m not sure why I was so happy to actually hear back from her, maybe it had something to do with the fact that when you google her name something actually come up… who knows.

Oh yeh, how about those shomer nagiah panties? To some they are probably pretty offensive but seriously... They're just really funny! and for those of you who don't get them just have a look here, panties.

Interactive Discovery.

Over the past week I have had time to think and try to hone in on the concept that I plan to base my project on. Originally I was toying with the idea of having different personalities, those online and those offline. However I felt that this was perhaps a bit too obvious a take on the theme 'identity'. Considering how best I could explore the theme identity led me to a concept that will grow as ones identity grows. 

Identity is a process, one has to build and form their own and individual identity over time. Each identity is unique as a result of who they are, where they are from, what they have done in their life, their religion, their culture, their political views and all of those other factors that in some way contribute to who they are. It is with this notion of exploration that I wish to build my project.

What I am proposing here is that I will create an interactive website that will give people the opportunity to explore who they are. They may have an idea of who they are, they believe in this religion and they were born in that country though do they really know what that means? are they actually are of the beliefs and practices of the religion to which they adhere?

Perhaps this website can be truly interactive, in that it will allow discussion between people from different cultures and different societies, it will be a melting pot in which people can talk freely about who they are while exploring and ultimately discovering who they really are, and perhaps learn something about someone else and their culture at the same time.

Obviously this is only the beginning, and hopefully it will evolve as I wish the identity of the site to evolve.

How Many Identities Makes an Identity?

I've been thinking about different takes on the theme 'identity' and how best to portray a message through an online website. Would it be safest to stay close to home and consider digital identity or as it is also referred to Identity 2.0 or perhaps steer clear from the digital spectrum and consider what makes a persons identity. I could consider what forms a persons identity, whether it is their religion, their culture, their politics or perhaps the country from which they are from. Playing with this idea, we could return to the digital forum and discuss whether these non-digital identities change once a person starts gaining an online presence. Whether these people develop other 'online' identities which in turn affects their 'off line' identity.

Could this concept be considered similar to Schizophrenia or other multiple personality disorders. Is 'disorder' even the right word to use in this context, I mean is it really wrong to have one identity in the 'real' world and another identity that is perhaps separate from your 'natural' one. Though with the creation of all of these identities where is the end? when does one person stop creating new personalities and says that this is him, that he is X made up of X, Y and Z? Ultimately, to the individual who consciously has these other personalities they are all a part of him though to everyone else who is perhaps ignorant of these other personalities he is to them many different people which in itself is a dangerous thought with endless possibilities.

Here is a video that is an excellent explanation of Identity 2.0:

Baudrillard - Post Modern thoughts.

What is the difference between art and design?

In this post I will continue with my musings on this question and try to come a tiny bit closer to understanding what both words are really on about, if they are the same thing and if not then what do they mean?

During class last week we were given a chance to express our thoughts in response to the question that was posed the week before, ‘Is there a difference between art and design? And if so what is it?’ Now, you can see that I have written considerably on my thoughts regarding this issue but perhaps it is worth my while to discuss a few of the ideas that were suggested in class.

The discussion in class was geared in the direction that there is an inherent difference between the two, though quite clearly in my writings I believe that they both work together complimenting each other in synergy. Though I have just suggested that they both are very similar if not the same I realize that it is really open to personal interpretation, as are most things.

One notion that was suggested in class was that the definition of ‘what is art?’ is dependent upon the society in which we live. What has existed previously and was not considered art could perhaps in today’s society be considered art. ‘What is art?’ is strongly dictated by the culture and politics of the society in which we live.

It is quite a challenging question, one that is no doubt open to many answers. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to interpret each word as they like. Yes, there are common understandings of each word though even with these one can take them and read them, as they themselves understand them, in some respects a stage in the process of Baurillards Simulacrum and similarly in Saussurean semiotics.

 

 

www.oculart.com

Art evokes a response,

Design is an intent to evoke the response,

The website that I have chosen to write about is www.oculart.com At first this website appears to be merely a gallery of a persons artistic creations that are accompanied by an eerie digital soundtrack. After playing around with the site it becomes clear that when one enlarges and decreases the windows size the images change. Specific elements stay where they are while others move around which in turn change the artwork. This work is based around fundamental Flash design rules. A person has thought about what they want to achieve and used the appropriate tools to achieve this. The works evoke a response from the audience, be that annoyance from the audio files or fascination by the forever changing patterns and invigorating colors.

So, in keeping with the question, I feel that this project was only achievable by having a design intent which specified something along the lines that they wanted 'moving colorful patterns to change as the viewer changes the window size'. Though with saying that, the artist would also have had to pay special attention to the colors, how they compliment each other or don’t and how to best evoke a response.

Is there a Difference? Art and Design.

Since our last lesson I’ve been thinking about the question posed to us; 

‘Is there a difference between Art and Design? and if so, what is it?’

Before I did any research into these areas I must admit that I was pretty confused. I studied Visual Arts throughout school and therefore had a decent understanding of various theoretical schools of thought and an appreciation for the conceptual framework of art. Though when the question was put to me and I was given a chance to rationalise and use my own logic to answer this question I found myself constantly posing new questions and what ifs?

Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." 

Ok, so now that we know that art ‘is a creation that can be shared with others’, the question now is, how is this art shared? Is it viewed as a painting on a wall, a sculpture in a museum, a gothic cathedral, read as poetry in a book or perhaps listened to live from an orchestra? I would suggest all three and more.

Now we come to the second part of the question, what is design? The general understanding of design is the conscious effort to create something that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Though what if ones design brief specifies the exact opposite? One would need to respond to the brief and in doing so create something that is ugly and doesn’t work.

I will now write my thoughts and work through my questions as I go along. Design has an initial intent, perhaps a problem and a brief, there is a desire to reach a specific goal while with art one works towards a finished work that conveys a message or feeling to the audience. 

Can a person design a piece of art? Or can a piece of art be a design? Yes I believe both can be true. An architect designs a building, he has studied for many years to understand what will stand and what will fall, what will look good and what will look bad, what will be comfortable and what will be uncomfortable and to put it simply what will work and what won’t. He draws on this knowledge to design a building that potentially will be viewed as a work of art today or in the future. 

The second question that I posed for myself was ‘can a piece of art be a design?’ this too is true, to give an example, the artist Dale Chihuly paints and draws free flowing works that many people would be more than happy to frame, though Chihuly uses these works as inspiration for his glass designs. These large glass forms have a science of structural physics behind them, what is the maximum bending moment allowed for a cantilevering arm? What temperature must the glass be melted to be blown? You may say that the drawings are merely plans for a finished product, though somehow they are reminiscent to Jackson Pollock’s works. It appears that he throws paint without thought onto a canvas though he has an understanding of the rules of composition and knows what he is trying to achieve.

Am I merely making this whole topic more confusing? Should I have just said that they were both different and kept it simple and sweet? I won’t say that they are both the same and totally interchangeable though I won’t say that they are different either. I feel that often one can lead to the other and that sometimes they can be one and the same, though ultimately a design can be art and art can be a design.