William Kentridge

William Kentridge's Refusal of Time was an amazing interactive video installation piece and wooden sculpture. The piece of art was set in a dark room at The Met. The viewer was not looking at a traditional piece of art work rather he or she was immersed in the art itself. The viewer was forced to go into a room and be a part of the art. There was a large wooden sculpture at the back center of the room that was moving but it was not the main attraction. There were chairs set up around the room for viewers to sit and watch the 30 minute video installation. There were three videos projected onto the three sides of the room. The videos played all at once but not always at the same speed or even the same video clip.

Kentridge seemed to be reflecting on his past and his relation to time throughout the installation. Kentridge is from Johannesburg and his father was one of the most famous lawyers that helped lead the anti-apartheid movement. In Kentridge's various video clips he shows black men and women in tribal clothes dealing with government like figures. He also uses a character, a white bald man, to show receptive motions throughout the piece. This could be his subtle nod to the way people view different races throughout time.

 I really enjoyed Refusal of Time a lot. I think the thing that struck me most was Kentridge's ability to get the viewer to immerse one's self into the piece. We are so used to observing art and critiquing it from a distance. It usually goes something like the viewer stands five feet away from a roped off famous painting. I think that Kentridge did an excellent job of breaking that preconceived notion and forced the viewer to jump into the piece itself! The strongest part of the piece for me was the fact that the viewers attention was almost solely on the video installation as the wooden sculpture moved in the background and then slowly stopped at the end of the video. I think that the wooden sculptures slow and steady pace was an interesting contrast between the fast pace of the clips. I really liked the short video clip of Kentridge's word map. It went something like: Milky Way, Universe, World, Johannesburg, William Kentridge.

Record Player Animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25QrMCU8pPI&feature=youtu.be

Click the link above to see my Record Player Animation!

Record Animation

Story Board Final Project

Memento

Christopher Nolan's Memento is one of the most interesting films that I have ever seen. It starts off with an exciting action scene where the main character kills someone named John G. At first, the audience is led to believe that the main character is the good guy on a quest to avenge his beloved wife. However, as the movie goes on it seems that our "hero" is not who we thought he was. Nolan, shows the audience the true nature of the character in a series of flashbacks and flash forwards. It is interesting to see time portrayed in a strange stream of consciousness fashion. I really enjoyed the fact that the labyrinth is in fact the main character's mind and the game he sets up for himself. At first he main character seems like he is a victim but in fact he is the one who set himself up. It also makes sense that Nolan is the one who directed this movie since he was the one to direct Inception. Inception also plays with the concept of being trapped within one's mind.

Labyrinth

The Circular Ruins is an extremely strange tale which describes how a man would like to create a man through his imagination. The story follows this man's journey into trying to dream up this perfect man. His story reminds me of the struggle of an artist trying to credit the perfect painting. The man goes through something similar to artist's or writer's block when he undergoes severe mental distress when he is unable to create the perfect man on his first try. He struggled so much that he became an insomniac for a short period of time: "He abandoned all premeditation of dreaming, and almost instantly managed to sleep for a fair portion of the day." The man had to allow himself to abandon his creation for a short period of time in order to mentally recover. This reminds me to any artist or designer who has become extremely invested in his work. It can be mentally grueling and exhausting. Finally, he was able to create this perfect man but his happiness did not last. He soon realized that he was also a fiction of another man's imagination. "To be not a man, but the projection of another man's dream---labors. He walked into the tatters of flame, but they did not bite his flesh--they caressed him, bathed him without heat and without combustion. With relief, with humiliation, with terror, he realized that he, too, was but appearance, that another man was dreaming him." I think that this last quote was when I finally realized what the labyrinth was in the story. At first, I did understand that the labyrinth in this story was metaphorical and would be the mind. I think that I can relate to this story a lot because when I feel completely enveloped in a project then I can get lost within myself and my own creation.

The second story has several metaphors. The first compares life to a Labyrinth. The second describes the Universe being very similar to a library. Each person has a book and can do with what he or she may please. However, sometimes the plot/fate is already set out for the main character. By the time the person in at the end of his or her life or the book then it is hard to remember what was written. Some believe that once a person dies their words will be put back into the cyclical book. The cyclical book is a metaphor for God.

Storyboard

The fictional documentary is set in New York City and follows a middle aged woman named Karyl. She is known as "creepy Karyl" in the lower east side of Manhattan. Karyl got her nickname by visiting Washington Square Park almost every day to watch the chess players. It has been recently discovered that Karyl is the same age as the ex-world Champion Chess player from 20 years ago. However, the ex chess champion had a severe mental breakdown and has been missing for almost 18 years. This fictional documentary investigates this theory. 

Fictional Documentary: Chess

Statement:

This documentary follows a middle age-man who is known as "Creepy Carl" to the Lower East Side locals in New York City. "Creepy Carl" was once the winner of the World Chess Championship and genius.  We follow his daily routine at Washington Square Park and discuss his journey from prodigy to a naive people watcher. 

Priority Elements:

1. Opening: Close up shot of a chess board

2. Context of theme: Zoom out and show first chess players playing and then Washington Square Park.

3. Environmental background shots: His apartment, Carl's watching spot in Washington Square Park, 

4. Transition Shots: Movement of hands on chess board, Newspaper clippings of Carl's World Chess Championship, Newspaper articles about his disappearance

5. Visual Texture: Close up shot of chess board

McCloud Inspiration

• The idea of the mind finishing an action. 
• Letting the reader know what happened but giving his imagination room to fill in the blanks of how the action was done. 
• Showing very few clues triggers the reader to have images and use his imagination
• One panel operating as several panels can depict a single moment
• A single moment can be held or elongated by a silent caption that cuts off
• The shape of the panel or how many panels there are can also represent a longer period of time
• Borderless panel can be considered timeless
• When the panel is silent then it can create a sense of timelessness
• Able to show movement through static medium
• Showing emotion through certain drawings  

Banksy's Fiction Documentary

Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop was a great example of a fiction documentary. The documentary's purpose seems to change as it progresses. This shifting purpose is a great example of a fictional element because the majority of documentaries have a set purpose or message that they want to give to the audience. Also, if their message changes while they are making the film then they usually edit out the extra parts. The things that made the documentary more credible was the fact that they interviewed experts in the art industry. For example, they had interviews with an art collector, graffiti artists, and Banksy himself. Another thing that made the documentary more credible and believable was the fact that when Thierry gave up his filming to become an artist he made a full show. He showed a team of workers who were working on the production of his show. However, Thierry's art did not seem legitimate. The Campbell's spray can seems to be copying Andy Warhol. Another thing that was completely absurd was when Thierry injured himself. Although they filmed an interview with a doctor it is highly unlikely to get an actual injury on tape. It seemed like there was some major acting going on there!

Graphic Novel

Time Lapse Video

I have never made a time lapse video until this project. I took around 200 pictures of traffic on 13th Street and 5 Ave. I decided that it would be an interesting angle to take pictures from up above of the traffic. I went to the highest place that I had access to and took pictures from the 7th floor of the University Center. I got as close as I could to the window and angled the camera downward. However, I also got some of the window reflecting back at me so you could see my feet in the photos. I thought that the reflection gave an interesting effect to the pictures and made them more interesting. I also enjoyed that you could see my feet moving throughout each shot as I repositioned the camera. I have never used Adobe Premier before so I experimented with different effects. I made the video have a two tone red and white effect. I enjoyed the color changes because it reminded me of a graphic novel and comic book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4fVFMEW6JM

Click the link above to see the time-lapse video! 

Ancient vs. Modern

The assignment was to create an art piece that represented the joining of the ancient and modern. I found this task to be difficult because the assignment was so open. I started off by sketching various ideas into my sketch book. I imagined what the future would be like and the role nature would play in society. I imagined that nature was something that did not exist except in an artificial way. I drew sketches of families sitting around and watching trees on TV to portray this message. I also thought about nature and technology in a way that was more literal. I drew a giant tree but the bark as a hard drive of a computer. However, I ended up taking my art piece in a more comical direction. I drew a rock plugged into an outlet. I came to this idea by thinking about something that would seem wrong to try to combine it with technology.

I decided that it would be best to physically put a cord through a rock. I did not think that it would be as humorous if I were to paint or draw a cord through a rock. I drilled two holes into the rock and then put the cord through it. I made sure that the cord was secure by using JB Weld epoxy. Unfortunately, I was unable to plug the rock into an outlet because it would be dangerous. I think that if I had more time to work on the project then I would have incorporated a switch onto the rock. I also think that I would have chosen a larger rock.

Time Map

The Time Map was an interesting assignment for me because it was a challenge to find a creative way to measure time. I decided to examine how long it would take to tie a person's shoe laces. I decided to choose this action for the time map because I liked the idea of photographing an everyday process. I also like the idea of lacing something up because it reminds me of corsets. My suitemate has a pair of combat boots which lace up so it was the perfect fit. I preferred combat boots over gym shoes for example because the process of lacing up boots is much longer. I photographed the lacing of the boots and printed them out. I decided to run twine through each photo. I chose yellow twine to match the yellow shoelaces in my suitemate's combat boots. I also made sure that the time map was split into two one representing the time it takes to lace up a left and right boot. I also made sure that the string had a criss crossing laced up look to it.