NOVEMBER "4", 2018 BLOG POST
Poster Reflection
This reflection was supposed to be posted yesterday evening, but unfortunately I was still getting my footing from an adventure that occurred over the weekend. Sincerest apologies, Professor Downs.
The process of creating my (e-) poster was a laborious one, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed, as it assisted in further refining my critical photo essay topic. I wanted the poster to first challenge all notions of a poster that I had encountered before, and second, to truly reflect where my mind is at in relation to this class's final project. I mentioned in my previous critical photo essay post that I was interested in pursuing a connection between technology (technological communication) and philosophy, a subject near and dear to my inquiring heart. I began refining my critical photo essay topic per the advise of Professor Downs, who graciously pointed me to a particular facet of technology, that is, the communicative aspect. I further refined this topic, as I mentioned, through the process of composing my (e-) poster, which I hope went over well with audience members.
I identified a personal interest with the communication utilized on social media, more specifically, for Instagram, which I've been separated from for a little less than a month now. It's a liberating experience and I highly recommend escaping when you find the motivation. However, my fixation on Instagram did not decrease with the amount of time I spent away from it, the contrary, in fact, and I optimistically, and somewhat doubtfully, honed in my concentration on Noam Chomsky, Peter Frederick Strawson, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosophers that I had only scarcely encountered prior to the creation of my poster.
So, indeed, the composition process was a learning experience for me just like I hoped it would be for viewers after it was completed. My first order of business was setting a background that instantaneously suggest "PHILOSOPHY," and "The Thinker" statue provided that effect for me. Rather haphazardly, I was able to set the poster background on the word document. I then took to the task of determining which color was the most aesthetic for my "little information boxes." A light shade of red seemed pleasant enough, and then I supplemented a light blue to develop a contrast to go along with "The Thinker." I picked three pictures, one for each philosopher, and then used a filter widget on Word to make them slightly more "epic" looking. You may notice that they all appear to be somewhat facing their quotes in the boxes to the right of them. This was, indeed, deliberate.
I thought I would tie in the Instagram idea visually, so I searched the Internet for a "like badge" and then proceeded to apply this in various places around the poster, as to congeal it. I'm uncertain if this was effective at accomplishing my purpose. Then I isolated some quotes from each philosopher and played the "close-your-eyes-and-point" game to choose the quotes. I followed each quote with an idea, a question, related to the communicative thought behind the quote.
Aside from these aspects of the process, it was somewhat enjoyable design-wise, and I admit freely and openly that I know little about design. I am, however, an "adept" eye for aesthetic. Enjoy.
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Monday, November 5, 2018
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
OCTOBER 15, 2018 (Scott McCloud 3)
OCTOBER 15, 2018 BLOG POST
Understanding Comics By Scott McCloud
In this segment of the reading, I found myself caught up in the color theories of Chapter 8. McCloud discusses how colors affect our perceptions of the images we observe, that is, they enhance our ability to separate physical forms more effectively than images that are just black and white.
This is interesting for a variety of reasons, and I'm inclined to think of how color usage is often symbolic, or perhaps not often, but it has the potential for that intended purpose. Think of country flags, for instance. The colors always mean something, that is, the blood from wars, etc. Now think about how colors typically lead us to a string of associations. McCloud's discussion leads us to many interesting follow-up questions including how the ways we think about color affect our perceptions and associations of visually-informative texts.
Color could also be thought, at least in reference to comics, as an element that adds perspective and complications to images that are originally black and white. The perspective change allows us a certain level of freedom in aligning our perceptions of a colored visual expression.
Color grabs attention. This is why it's utilized in technology and business settings. Color could be said to have a profound affect on human beings, that is, filling our visual experience and complicating our collective reality.
Take a look at this image. Think about how the color on the far left evokes something. Does it feel closer to what we'd see if we were there with those clouds in person? Is our experience colorful only for the reason that we evolved to see color for the purpose of better avoiding predators and poisonous berries? That may be somewhat tangent to my point.
Now let's dive into Chapter 7, which I deliberately put off until now because of an eager sense of philosophical inquiry. The definition of art is an impossible definition, but it helps to begin with a series of terms, like intention, expression, creativity, emotion, beauty. Although, beauty is a typical component of art but not required for art.
Take Matisse, for example, his painting "Woman with Hat," which he painted in 1905. Is this painting necessarily beautiful? Does it elicit a type of emotion? Familiarity? I bring this painting up for a variety of personal reasons but my point is that the impossibility of this painting is a representation of the impossibility of defining art. It's like trying to define life.
Art explores our past experiences and our inner emotional states. Is it possible to suggest that art is a replica of the human mind? An expressive force of the inner conscious or subconscious.
Either way, McCloud's six steps are not a foolproof method of explaining how art is created. I protest this simply because I'm more inclined to follow Hegel, who focused, like Kenneth Burke, on symbols in art, what a piece of art is attempting to evoke in terms of its symbolic relevance or meaning.
Hegel argues that art is "...a mode of absolute spirit...," a type of "beautiful ideal" that humans strive for in expression. This plays with intention, expression, creativity, and has the potential of touching emotion and elements of beauty. Hegel thought that beauty was the ideal for creative expression, that is, beauty was the goal of art, although, like I previously mentioned, art doesn't have to be beautiful.
Back to McCloud though. He writes, "...any human activity which doesn't grow out of either our species' two basic instincts: survival and reproduction" (164). This is McCloud's definition of art apparently, which I protest as well. Anyone is capable of creating art, but I'm tempted to keep my focus on intention and creativity. Couldn't survival be thought of as a form of art? An expression of life? What about reproduction? This reminds me of an essay by Walter Benjamin, who wrote about how technology has had an impact on the "reproducability of art." He means to say that technology has allowed us to experience art, previously a "one-time experience," as many times as we like. It takes away the expression and the luxury of what humans are meant to feel or think in response to art.
Understanding Comics By Scott McCloud
In this segment of the reading, I found myself caught up in the color theories of Chapter 8. McCloud discusses how colors affect our perceptions of the images we observe, that is, they enhance our ability to separate physical forms more effectively than images that are just black and white.
This is interesting for a variety of reasons, and I'm inclined to think of how color usage is often symbolic, or perhaps not often, but it has the potential for that intended purpose. Think of country flags, for instance. The colors always mean something, that is, the blood from wars, etc. Now think about how colors typically lead us to a string of associations. McCloud's discussion leads us to many interesting follow-up questions including how the ways we think about color affect our perceptions and associations of visually-informative texts.
Color could also be thought, at least in reference to comics, as an element that adds perspective and complications to images that are originally black and white. The perspective change allows us a certain level of freedom in aligning our perceptions of a colored visual expression.
Color grabs attention. This is why it's utilized in technology and business settings. Color could be said to have a profound affect on human beings, that is, filling our visual experience and complicating our collective reality.
Take a look at this image. Think about how the color on the far left evokes something. Does it feel closer to what we'd see if we were there with those clouds in person? Is our experience colorful only for the reason that we evolved to see color for the purpose of better avoiding predators and poisonous berries? That may be somewhat tangent to my point.
Now let's dive into Chapter 7, which I deliberately put off until now because of an eager sense of philosophical inquiry. The definition of art is an impossible definition, but it helps to begin with a series of terms, like intention, expression, creativity, emotion, beauty. Although, beauty is a typical component of art but not required for art.
Take Matisse, for example, his painting "Woman with Hat," which he painted in 1905. Is this painting necessarily beautiful? Does it elicit a type of emotion? Familiarity? I bring this painting up for a variety of personal reasons but my point is that the impossibility of this painting is a representation of the impossibility of defining art. It's like trying to define life.
Art explores our past experiences and our inner emotional states. Is it possible to suggest that art is a replica of the human mind? An expressive force of the inner conscious or subconscious.
Either way, McCloud's six steps are not a foolproof method of explaining how art is created. I protest this simply because I'm more inclined to follow Hegel, who focused, like Kenneth Burke, on symbols in art, what a piece of art is attempting to evoke in terms of its symbolic relevance or meaning.
Hegel argues that art is "...a mode of absolute spirit...," a type of "beautiful ideal" that humans strive for in expression. This plays with intention, expression, creativity, and has the potential of touching emotion and elements of beauty. Hegel thought that beauty was the ideal for creative expression, that is, beauty was the goal of art, although, like I previously mentioned, art doesn't have to be beautiful.
Back to McCloud though. He writes, "...any human activity which doesn't grow out of either our species' two basic instincts: survival and reproduction" (164). This is McCloud's definition of art apparently, which I protest as well. Anyone is capable of creating art, but I'm tempted to keep my focus on intention and creativity. Couldn't survival be thought of as a form of art? An expression of life? What about reproduction? This reminds me of an essay by Walter Benjamin, who wrote about how technology has had an impact on the "reproducability of art." He means to say that technology has allowed us to experience art, previously a "one-time experience," as many times as we like. It takes away the expression and the luxury of what humans are meant to feel or think in response to art.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
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