'Park Like an Idiot' Stickers

This website is really similar to our own project.


http://iparklikeanidiot.com/

Sample

What makes an artist authentic?

Cartoonist Scott McCloud comes to mind when thinking about it. His definition of what art is seems to make him more of an authentic artist than most.

Authentic logo

Google Maps Typography!!!

http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/2009/04/22/google-maps-typography/

VIsual Response #3

Understanding Comics - Video

I found a presentation of McCloud's work on Understanding Comics. I'm a big fan of his so I thought I'd post it just in case anyone else was interested.

Copyright Criminals

I really enjoyed this documentary. I originally that the film was going to be on pirating, it was in a sense, but it mainly focused on mostly hip-hop artists and the use of sampling.

I'm not every knowledgeable about hip-hop and I didn't know that sampling was such a big parts of the genre's history. I hadn't always thought of sampling as a true form of music but this film really changed my perspective, sampling was used as an instrument for some and by using the samples created their own works. Just because they didn't play the instruments doesn't mean it's not personal or not as passionate as a song that does play its own instruments.

I listened to some De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest and it's obvious how sampling impacted their music.

I'm really passionate about music so there's a lot I can say about this but I generally agree that artists should be allowed to sample music from other artists. They should not have to pay unless they're taking a large portion of the track(like that one hip-hopper who basically sampled a whole track but at a slower speed).

And I strongly feel that artists SHOULD give credit to the sample's perspective owner. I don't think they should be compensated but they should be given credit because they're a participant in the music. Whether the original artist likes it or not, they are being forced to collaborate, to be part of someone's music. And because you are making them participate their creativity and hard work needs to be acknowledged.

Anyways, the film was a bit rough in some parts but I really enjoyed it. I have noooooo idea how they're going to get the rights to all those songs and videos they used. I wish them luck with that.

Authntic brands - Authentic Brand Index

http://www.synovate.com/news/article/2008/06/microsoft-overtakes-qantas-as-australia-s-most-authentic-brand-in-latest-study.html


http://www.authenticbrandindex.com/

Brand Logo Evolution

A really cool site that shows how corporate logos have changed over time. I'm really glad that Apple changed their first one...


http://www.instantshift.com/2009/01/29/20-corporate-brand-logo-evolution/

Organic food - Authentic food?

http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/main/authentic/authentic.html

I love this recycle art

I just love everything about this.

Check out more work by irI5 here:
http://www.iri5.com/Home_Page.html

Yum Yum

"Juice Drink"


"Contains 5% Juice"

Authenticity

For some reason when I thought of authenticity and what really is authentic, I thought of what authenticity isn't. I believe that there are different levels of authenticity, it's hard to say anything is truly authentic because artists are often influenced by other artists and other works and so on, I'll save that for later.

But, I thought of one of the lowest forms of authenticity: YouTube Poop. Videos often using recycled footage from movies and cartoons and remixing them in a way that are often abstract or funny, or in many cases: plain annoying!

I think of how little work goes into these, and how some show evidence of a lot of work. Usually ending in the same result, a cruddy movie that often has no point. I do see it as an art-form but in terms of authenticity, I view as one of the lowest. The author rarely puts anything original in these mixes. I doubt many have experience in how to actually edit film and the whole thing is just frustrating, even to type about.

So here's a link to some youtube poop that I actually thought was quirky, but if you click on the links that the video is related to do, you find dismal and almost unwatchable videos.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fLFnBFvU4w

It's amazing how this trend has started and dare I say it? Formed a culture of its own?

Amazing Product Designs

you have to check out these great conceptual pieces!!!

www.creativecloseup.com/15-incredible-conceptual-designs-you-wish-existed

Happy Birthday Futurism!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7894877.stm?lss

Life after film school

Life after film school is a great series of interviews with actors/writers/animators about how they started their careers after school(film or art).

Seth McCfarlene is a definite hero of mine and his interview was reallly interesting in how he got started into the animation business. Check it out!!!

Screenshots

Here are some screenshots for my other rotoscoping animation. I thought I'd change the styles so that it would be more interesting, visually.

Pepsi logo

http://blowatlife.blogspot.com/2009/02/pepsi-logo-response.html

John Gruber - Auteur Theory of Design

Bubble-Wrap Calendar

yes please.

The medium is the message: Shepard Fairey

A really interesting article on Shepard Fairey the creator of the 'obey' giant and the obama poster.

http://www.supertouchart.com/2009/02/02/editorial-the-medium-is-the-message-shepard-fairey-and-the-art-of-appropriation/

Screenshots

Screenshots.

Rotoscope

Here's the sample I showed in class, it didn't turn out so well on youtube but the facebook video is excellent! enjoy:

Digital Praying

Seems that you can do close to anything online these days. Even praying. And best of all, it's free!


http://www.prayabout.com/

The American Dream post Deux

The American Dream - An idea that shaped the nation


The American Dream has been a large part of our history. The idea was formed before the country was even created. Puritans, middle class men and women, came to the unknown country seeking religious prosperity. Their dream for religious freedom was only the first step of what was to become the American Dream.

After time as the towns were being created in the colonies, people were enjoying the fruits of their labor. The Dream was changing and people were working hard to move up ranks socially and economically. With hard work, it was near-possible to achieve anything. The sensations of Upward mobility enticed the people and caused them to work with diligence and effort.

The Dream was prosperous as immigrants flooded the borders of the US. The Dream had expanded past its boundaries and reached the people of other nations looking for the good life. Even today immigrants continue to come, and every day a new Dream lives in the US.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for equality, equality for all. The American Dream was not only for a few, but for anyone willing to work hard and do what they truly believed in.

Unfortunately the Dream has taken many hits in the past. Technology and automation, globalization, outsourcing, generation gaps, marketing and more have been factors in the deterioration of the American Dream.

The essence and integrity of upward mobility had vanished with the invention of the assembly line. No longer were workers and managers equals, working side by side, being paid close to the same amount. A gap had begun to form between lower and middle/upper class jobs, especially in wealth. No longer would hard work get you far, as you were easily replaceable in the assembly line. Automation destroyed incentive to work hard with the intention of moving up, or going somewhere.

In recent events, outsourcing has played a big part because not only are you replaceable with workers in the US, you're replaceable with workers in the globe! And with that, a reduction in middle class jobs has occurred and even greater separation between rich and poor has never been so obvious.

And as the years go by, it seems that people are becoming out of touch with the American Dream, especially the youth. They are so caught up with technology and the newest reality show that they rarely give it a thought. They're so caught with today's spectacle that they seem to becoming out of touch with much of history.

Others have associated it with a 1950's lifestyle. A family, dad goes to work, mom stays at home, kids go to school. They have a home in a suburban town with a white picket fence and a milk man who comes every Tuesday. But that was not, and is not the reality of the Dream. The Dream has changed and even evolved over time. It's such a broad term, and such an expansive meaning, it encompasses many topics.

So I'm not writing a manifesto, or calling for revolutionary change here. I'm just asking for some awareness about this fascinating oddity which is the American Dreams. It has taken a beating, one from which it may never recover from, but it is not dead. Not as long as immigrants are crossing the border, risking their lives in hope of a better life. Or small business owners hoping to succeed. This country was founded on hopes and dreams and that's why it should never be forgotten or over-looked for future generations to come.

PLease HElp!!!!

So I've been preparing so Interview questions on my project about the American Dream. I'm posting my questions here and it'd be really great if you guys could give me some feedback, or offer new questions, or possibly answer some if you feel like it.

Please help! thank you!!!


They aren't in any particular order:


1. What are you thoughts on the American Dream?

2. When did you first hear about it?

3. What is your American Dream?

4. Do You believe that is still exists today?

5. Why did you come to America?(for immigrants)

6. Do you believe that is still exists today?

7. Can anything negative arise from ideal such as the American Dream?

8. Can the stigma of such an ideal lead to some becoming oblivious to their failures and pursuing an unachievable goal?

9. Do you think the dream has evolved over time? has it fundamentally stayed the same over all these years?

10. Has your dream changed over time?

11. Have you achieved your 'American Dream'?

12. Many have tried, few succeed. Some that say that the 'Dream' is all that it is, that you have to be asleep to believe it. Do you agree with this? why or why not?

13. What's the latest exapmle of the American Dream that you can think of?

14. WHat makes the American Dream so unique? how come it's not as popular as the 'British Dream' or 'German dream'?

15. The American dream was taught over time and led by example over generations. Was there someone you looked up yo, or inspired you to follow your dream?

The Society of the Specatcle

Now I knew that Debord was a director but I didn't know he had a made a film based on his own book. I found it on youtube and it's something you might enjoy:

Room

So I thought It'd be fun to show you what my room looks like on a busy day. Basically a bunch of stuff just laying everywhere!

It's a pain still having to live in my parents house and there's almost no space to put things since I live in just a single room. So all my stuff is stuffed into one room and to make things worse my best friend is living in my closet! Yup, you can see his mattress and computer in there.

It's very tough having to take care of things around the house and doing chores and favors for everyone, especially having to pick up my brother every day. It's a pain, but it has to be done.

Right now I've been working on Indesign and have built a new layout for my portfolio so that it makes editing it much easier. That way I can go to just one file rather than having to edit each individual page. This way to format is nice and clear and it will also be convenient just in case I need to add further work in the future.

Contemporary Design - Intro presentation

So here are the pictures that didn't transfer to my flash drive, I really need to get it checked because I think it's been bugging on me.(click on the image to see the large version)


Sketches that I started after looking into Gary Panter:
























































































Here are some notes on the movie that wasn't compled due to the snow:






















































Here are the Examples that I showed in class on the different types of rotoscoping with extras:



A scene from 'Waking Life' by Richard Linklater


Amazing rotoscopped footage by youtube user: bentarthur


A clip from a Scanner Darkly direct by Richard Linklater, orginal book by Philip K. Dick

Songs

So I've been making some music over the past week or so and I thought It'd be nice to post them here:

Listen to them in high quality if you can!!!


This one is about my best friend, Kristian, it's a silly song of course. A friend of mine still needs to record yhe vocals! So this is just the music, instrumental.


Another song I've been working on, me and a friend are going to be ding the vocals. It's a song about oral hygiene...a rap song about oral hygiene, ahhhh yea!


This is the same song with some adjustments and some tasty guitar licks. I posted this because I thought it sounded significantly different.


And for anyone who's heard my 'Unicorns and Ponies and Rainbows' song, you'll understand why I"m not posting it here!

Rotoscoping Movies

So I watch waking life, a movie suggested by Ying and others in class(thank you!) and I have to say I'm a little freaked out because of how heavy the philosophical content was. There's quite of few rhetoric going on, and a lot of interesting conversations and interactions between people but I'd have to say the part of about 'death being a dream you never wake up from' really got me. What if it is like that when you die? I had never really thought about it that way so I was a little on edge when watching the movie.

The animation was terrfic though! I really enjoyed how the animation styles were different. Some realistic, more cartoonish and iconic. It was all terrific, I noticed that it was enirley done with color and I"m wondering how they did that, well, they probably had a budget so I'm sure that made things easier for them. It's unlike a scanner darkley(also done by the same director) where the animation style is constant but really detailed.

I watched both movies today and I have to say they've helped me think of how I want to animate my project. Now I just have to work on my questions. I'll do some indesign work first, then questions, hehe.

Rotoscope Sample

Here is the video that I was suppose to present to class on thursday. I decided to a practice run by animating the figure playing bass guitar. This was just a test to see how it would work out and I was pleased with the results. I took an hour to do it, but that's because I had to figure out how this whole thing was going to be done efficiently, it's my first time doing it too so at least now I'll be a little prepared.




The blogger videos are a bit slow but I'll be sure to find a more reliable video host when I start putting up samples of work for the BFA!

BFA Stuff

So I'm making a recollection post about my review at the BFA. My reviewers were John Park, Ben Young, and Dave Anolik. I had presented well and the reviewers seemed to like it but the only quarrel they had was the concept and what kind of message if was trying to convey. I had a rough time trying to explain because sometimes I don't have a direct or narrow message that I want to send, but I guess to the viewer it could go many ways and in that way it was confusing.

I can't recall which artists they recommended I take a look at, but they did recommend looking into a magazine called COLORS.

http://www.colorsmagazine.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_(magazine)

It's a design-intensive magazine that seems to deal with social perspectives around the world. I haven't had a chance to take a glance, but it seems very interesting.

The reviewers then asked what my inspiration for doing this was and what I plan to do next. I told them that it was initially inspired by my studies on Latin America and then the American dream. The style was of my own, meaning there wasn't a particular style or artist that influenced the outlook of my work( well maybe just comics in genereal, that's probably it).

I then chatted with them about what I would do next, and I ran across one of my original ideas, which was to interview people about their american dreams and their thoughts on the american dream in general. It would be rotoscopped and would have multiple interviewees. The reviewers seemed to like the idea and almost favoured it because it would focus more on individuals, and not be so broad.

They were a great help in forumulating the idea, and the presentation in class helped a lot too. Hopefully I can have my questions done by the end of today, but I'm learning how to use Indesign right now, so I hope I have time!!!

Gary Panter

After reading Understanding Comics I become interested in comics as an art form. I was browsing an issue of Print, and they mentioned a 'comic artist' Gary Panter. It was a review on his new books featuring a large portion of his work. The books, of course, were expensive but much to my surprise the UO had some copies. I wasn't able to pick them up until today because of all the snow.

I've looked through many of the paintings and I have to say I'm a huge fan. I really feel like some of my older work is similar to this, the abstract drawings and colors, the fragmentation, the random lines, the disorientation....it's beautiful.

A lot of the work is related to 'Punk' culture especialy with some of the album covers that he made. A personal favorite of mine is the red hot chili pepper cover, I remember seeing this as a kid and being frightened by it but now I enjoy its crudeness.

His works make me want to paint! I don't paint so I don't have much to work with, maybe there's a place to get cheap acrylics...