2.)Anitei, S. (2007, July 28). Why Do People Enjoy Watching Horror Movies? – Some really enjoy the feeling of fear – Softpedia. Latest news – Softpedia. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Do-People-Enjoy-Horror-Movies-61286.shtml

3.) Carroll, N. (2002). Why Horror?. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 17). New York, NY: Routledge.

4.)Perlman, S. M., &  | , G. C. (2005, April 18). The art of mobile technology – The Boston Globe. Boston.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/04/18/the_art_of_mobile_technology/

5.) Brooks, X. (2009, August 20). Is James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar the shape of cinema to come? | Film | The Guardian .Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk . Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/aug/20/james-cameron-avatar-3d-film

6.) von Bergen, Jan. “Jan von Bergen.” Jan von Bergen. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2010. <www.janvonbergen.com/index.

Art and Censorship

Original Post:

For the art exhibit research I visited the Multnomah County Art Center in Multnomah Village in Portland. Front and center there was a glassed display of a lady by the name of Jan von Bergen. Her art was on display as well as promotion for a class that she will teach at the art center. The particular art that was on display was called Solar Plate Intaglio. The style was sort of transparent print making that I’m assuming, based on the name, are left under light or out in the sun to achieve a certain effect. It reminded me of block prints that were old and had been weathered. The piece in particular that I focused on had a photograph of a man and a woman smiling, who looked like they were in some sort of relationship. However, layered on top were these beautiful block prints of varying earth tone colors.  The artist has a website that shows her various other art collections and inspirations behind her different styles and motifs.

After doing some outside research on Jan von Bergen you can tell that she has many different emotions, perspectives and experiences that influence her artwork. For example, she took a trip to Asia, and has a kimono inspired collection of artwork that she displays on her website. There is also ceramic work that she has on display as well. The jars are painted in cool colors, have unique shapes and varying textures. I then returned to the exhibit and could see the range of her work and how they were all interrelated. It was moving and inspiring to see multiple collections because it is as if she is telling a story and all the pieces make up her identity. It makes much more sense now, the way she uses colors, textures and patterns in her art at the art center, after viewing and researching her other pieces.

Reflection:

Going out into the community and finding local artists to observe and reflect on was one of my favorite assignments of the quarter. I really enjoyed seeing Jan von Bergen’s artwork in person and then doing further research on her and finding out what some of her personal inspirations were. I have attached a few photos of some of her artwork that are on her website, but not the same pieces that I viewed in person. I really enjoyed her style and the fact that she is teaching a class to help others find their artistic passion.

Although I could not find the objectives for this past week I think I was able to fulfill the expectations in viewing a local artist. I was really surprised by the craftsmanship of Jan and to see that her artwork is on display in the community center I pass almost everyday. It is really motivating and inspiring to see people show off their work to the general public. I think it takes courage to put yourself and your artwork on display to possibly be judged and criticized by many people.

• Become acquainted with copyright as a historic, cultural and economic paradigm and its value and pertinence to creative works.
• Explore the changing nature of copyright in the context of “Remix Culture” and the “Fifth World”
• Examine your own and others values and paradigms of ownership and authorship of cultural media.
• Evaluate the meanings of real and fake and examine their intersection with personal and cultural identity and authenticity.

Original Post:

The words I chose for my google image were: passion (represented by the passion flower), beauty (tree scenery), aesthetic(background image), creativity (the colored brain), and imagination(the light bulb)

Reflection:

I really enjoyed doing this project on finding representative images for ideas and inspirations that fuel artists’ artwork. It truly got me thinking in an artistic sense, since I usually express myself through words and concepts. Different ideas and thoughts can have a wide plethora of representations and that is why I appreciated putting my thoughts into images. For one person passion may look like a burning fire, but to me it was a beautiful passion flower. But that in itself is the beauty of creativity and imagination.

I feel that after doing this assignment I really focused on the objective of: Examine your own and others values and paradigms of ownership and authorship of cultural media. In deciding what I personally thought each of the aforementioned five ideas that inspire artists are, I could create a culture media form that reflected my ideas. And thus, everyone in class did the same, yet we all came up with different images to represent that. It is interesting to me to see how differently we can all interpret a similar project concept.

• Become acquainted with copyright as a historic, cultural and economic paradigm and its value and pertinence to creative works.
• Explore the changing nature of copyright in the context of “Remix Culture” and the “Fifth World”
• Examine your own and others values and paradigms of ownership and authorship of cultural media.
• Evaluate the meanings of real and fake and examine their intersection with personal and cultural identity and authenticity.

Original Post:

After viewing and listening to the speech Free Culture given by Lessing I was amazed of how it made me think of creativity and the idea of free culture. The refrain, almost his mantra, that he mentioned made me think about how we as a people have developed and evolved in all aspects of society. Because we constantly are building off of the past, there seems as if there can’t be anything new that doesn’t haveany reference to something that has come before. We are humans and in being so we like to share our ideas, thoughts and creativity. We are inspired by others, either positively or negatively, and thus create things accordingly.

Reflection:

The presentation given by Lessing made me really think about how we as a culture and as a world society have evolved and built upon what has come before. It made think if any thoughts are truly original because how do we know if someone hasn’t already thought of that idea before. Just because someone puts a patent on a product, a piece of artwork, or an idea doesn’t necessarily mean they were the first to think it or make it, just the first to patent it. I posted a picture of people of all different colors cooperating and joining together, and then how that makes a beautiful image. I feel like it is representative of what free culture is: building, joining and connecting off of others to create something beautiful.

In doing this reflection I have become more aware of the objectives set for this week. Especially pertinent was the idea between real and fake. It is so hard to decipher what is real and what is fake in all aspects of society, from works of art to people. How do we know when something is real or when it is fake? If you feel like you know the “real” side of a person, for instance, how do you not know that too is a facade? It is a difficult paradigm to try and pin down.

• Learn about the history of computer graphics
• Examine the role of technology as force for cultural maintanence and change
• Discuss the validity of art created with the aid of machines

Original Post:

1.) Perlman, S. M., &  | , G. C. (2005, April 18). The art of mobile technology – The Boston Globe. Boston.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/04/18/the_art_of_mobile_technology/

The first article I found by Stacy Perlman entitled “The art of mobile technology” is about how technology has allowed people to mass produce and mass share their artwork even if it only is seen by one other person. The idea is that people want to be able to share their ideas and creativity to the world and are able to through art projects like Yellow Arrow which is located in New York City. The Yellow Art Project is a system where people can place yellow stickers shaped as arrows on things or places they find important, significant, or unique. “Each arrow, which is ideally placed in a location that holds significance to the person, has its own unique code that can be sent to a mobile phone via text messaging, allowing others to read the message that was left.” This project allows people to notice the things that go unnoticed everyday. Even if you don’t like the story or the beauty of a place it can be noticed and recognized.

After reading this article it made me think of readings from the beginning of the term like Art for Art’s Sake. The Yellow Arrow Project reminded me of the reading by Dissanayake in that art can mean really anything to anyone and this project proves this. If someone recognizes something beautiful on their walk home from work it can be appreciated and shared with the masses. Even if another person doesn’t believe that a place or thing is beautiful it is recognized for the sake of being art.

I really like the idea of the Yellow Arrows Project even though I am not that in tune with various modes and methods of technology such as facebook or twitter. (Even though I am currently blogging) But I appreciate that people can find things beautiful and want to share them with others. And this project allows them to. People want to feel connected with other people and can do so through projects like this

2.) Brooks, X. (2009, August 20). Is James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar the shape of cinema to come? | Film | The Guardian .Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk . Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/aug/20/james-cameron-avatar-3d-film

The article, “Is James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar the shape of cinema to come?” by Xan Brooks is about the future or present, to be more precise, of cinema as we know it. There have been many new 3D movies that have been released in the past few years and it seems, from this article, that is the direction in which our filmmaking abilities are heading. The article also explained how 3D films are made, a sort of layering of images filmed by different cameras that once laid on top of each other look as if they are in three dimensions. The author also relayed the idea that many of the theaters worldwide are not equipped to handle the 3D images, and thus will need to be updated to handle the movies to come.

This article was directly in relation to the Arts and Technology theme of Week 8. After watching the Story of Computer Graphics video, it is truly evident how far we have come in terms of digital arts. The film was showing the history of graphic arts and how they started with simple programs and have evolved in to films such as Avatar, that truly make you feel like you are in the film itself.

1.) Perlman, S. M., &  | , G. C. (2005, April 18). The art of mobile technology – The Boston Globe. Boston.com. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/04/18/the_art_of_mobile_technology/

The first article I found by Stacy Perlman entitled “The art of mobile technology” is about how technology has allowed people to mass produce and mass share their artwork even if it only is seen by one other person. The idea is that people want to be able to share their ideas and creativity to the world and are able to through art projects like Yellow Arrow which is located in New York City. The Yellow Art Project is a system where people can place yellow stickers shaped as arrows on things or places they find important, significant, or unique. “Each arrow, which is ideally placed in a location that holds significance to the person, has its own unique code that can be sent to a mobile phone via text messaging, allowing others to read the message that was left.” This project allows people to notice the things that go unnoticed everyday. Even if you don’t like the story or the beauty of a place it can be noticed and recognized.

After reading this article it made me think of readings from the beginning of the term like Art for Art’s Sake. The Yellow Arrow Project reminded me of the reading by Dissanayake in that art can mean really anything to anyone and this project proves this. If someone recognizes something beautiful on their walk home from work it can be appreciated and shared with the masses. Even if another person doesn’t believe that a place or thing is beautiful it is recognized for the sake of being art.

I really like the idea of the Yellow Arrows Project even though I am not that in tune with various modes and methods of technology such as facebook or twitter. (Even though I am currently blogging) But I appreciate that people can find things beautiful and want to share them with others. And this project allows them to. People want to feel connected with other people and can do so through projects like this

2.) Brooks, X. (2009, August 20). Is James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar the shape of cinema to come? | Film | The Guardian .Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk . Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/aug/20/james-cameron-avatar-3d-film

The article, “Is James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar the shape of cinema to come?” by Xan Brooks is about the future or present, to be more precise, of cinema as we know it. There have been many new 3D movies that have been released in the past few years and it seems, from this article, that is the direction in which our filmmaking abilities are heading. The article also explained how 3D films are made, a sort of layering of images filmed by different cameras that once laid on top of each other look as if they are in three dimensions. The author also relayed the idea that many of the theaters worldwide are not equipped to handle the 3D images, and thus will need to be updated to handle the movies to come.

This article was directly in relation to the Arts and Technology theme of Week 8. After watching the Story of Computer Graphics video, it is truly evident how far we have come in terms of digital arts. The film was showing the history of graphic arts and how they started with simple programs and have evolved in to films such as Avatar, that truly make you feel like you are in the film itself.

Reflection:

This week’s topic was intriguing to me because it is a reflection of how far we have come in the realm of art and technology. As I have written before, I remember when the 3D movies of the past were not as good as the filmmakers wanted them to be. You could tell there was potential in the idea, but it did not like as good as it could. However, with the onslaught of movies such as Avatar and all the different 3D movies in IMAX you can truly tell how far we have come. Not only is technology affecting the way in which films and art works look, but also how we can share artwork over the internet and through cell phones. We are all interconnected now, and if an artist feels like sharing one’s artistic expression, it can be seen or heard by others like never before.

After I researched this topic I feel like a really found answers to one of this week’s objective that of: Examine the role of technology as force for cultural maintanence and change. As I said before it is much easier for us now to view other people’s art in a the matter of an instant. People can post their own personal pictures and videos online and can have millions of people view them, not to mention other works of art. I feel like this changing our culture as we know it. The possibilities for being seen and for sharing art are almost endless, and thus it seems that anyone can be an artist.

• Become familiar with ways in which spirituality influences artists
• Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion
• Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity

Original Post:

1.) How do you define “spirituality”?

To me, spirituality is any way in which a person or groups of people can find inner strength and a connection to a greater being, whatever that may be. I think it can take many forms from organized religions such as Buddhism, Catholicism and Judaism to Rastafarianism or seeking guidance from something in nature. Spirituality is a way in which people can explain the unexplainable, when they don’t understand the circumstance or events in their life, it is a way to find enlightenment and answers.

2.) Does spirituality differ from religion?

I think this really depends on who you ask and what your beliefs are. Like I said before, I think that spirituality can take many forms and for some people that means religious expression. I don’t think it has to be a black and white dichotomy, I feel spirituality can entail religion and vice versa. But they do not necessarily have to overlap.

3.) How do you define “creativity?”

Creativity to me can mean a plethora of different things. To me, I feel that it is an expression of yourself in any way shape or form, thus I think everyone has a creative nature. Many people believe creativity mainly only pertains to artistic abilities. However, I feel people can be creative in so many other ways. For example, I played soccer most of my life and felt like on the field I was expressing my own creativity in the way I played the game.

4.) What is the source of creativity?

I think the source of creativity comes from many different inspirations. It can come from the experiences in our lives, our feelings and emotions, our thoughts, the relationship we have, or the passions that propel us through life. Creativity spawns from every person’s reaction to how the world has impacted their life.

Reflection:

To me this assignment helped me to review and more clearly solidify what I believe spirituality is and how it can be extremely influential in the creative process. I feel like spirituality can derive from many different things for different people, for some it is found in nature, others in the relationships they build, and for others it is in an organized religion in which they practice. The important part is to make sure that it is realized and directed in a positive way. I think that artists do use their own personal spirituality to define and help create their artwork. It is usually an artists’ driving force, and in doing this assignment I was able to understand this more fully. I have attached two photographs of things in which can be considered spiritual, but are not typical symbols of spirituality.

In doing this assignment I feel that I touched on a few of the objectives for this week. One being, realizing the differences between spirituality and religion. I think these two things are not totally separate, but also not the same. They can be overlapping concepts that help people to realize what they are passionate about. I also feel like after doing this assignment I was able to realize the last objective which was: Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity. I think that people have many sources of creativity, but one’s spirituality can be one of the biggest and most influential. For many people, their spirituality is what they feel defines their character and thus is destined to come out in their artwork.

• Explore the psychological and emotional curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society
• Analyze the unique aesthetic qualities of horror art.
• Understand and utilize some basic principles of film and television analysis.

Original Post:

1.) Rafferty, T. (2006, June 4). The Thinking Reader’s Guide to Fear – New York Times. The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/books/review/04rafferty.html

This article was a synopsis of why people either love or hate to read scary books. The author, Terrrence Rafferty, himself, is a big horror book fan, but states that it can be a bit “repulsive, juvenile or plain stupid.” He also acknowledges that it is counterintuitive for people to enjoy horror. In thinking of things people love and enjoy, it doesn’t make sense that people truly like horror films and books, we shouldn’t like it but we do. He states that fear or the emotion that these forms of media try to conjure up are seen to be very barbaric, but are similar to “hunger, thirst and sexual desire.” It is an emotion or feeling that we despise, but at the same time some people, not all, love to experience it. Horror can seem to be “the derangement of all the senses,” which is in fact a stimulation of the aesthetic nature of our existence, but in a more negative way than positive. Rafferty also brought up the idea that horror is typically aimed at teens and fatalists, because most adults have better things to worry about like their work, finances and health. Why force yourself to think about horrifying things?

The author’s analysis of horror and why people do enjoy it reminded me a lot of our readings for the week. Noel Carroll reiterated the idea that enjoying horror is a counterintuitive concept, that we should not want to experience the emotion of fear, although many people around the world choose to do it over and over again. As Carroll stated, “many people… do seek out horror fictions for the purpose of deriving pleasure from the sights and descriptions that customarily repulse them.” (pg. 275) It is similar to people watching a car accident, it is not like people really want to see a bloody mess of dead people, but it is something that we cannot take our eyes away from.

2.) Anitei, S. (2007, July 28). Why Do People Enjoy Watching Horror Movies? – Some really enjoy the feeling of fear – Softpedia. Latest news – Softpedia. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Do-People-Enjoy-Horror-Movies-61286.shtml

This article was somewhat similar to the last one, dissecting the reasons why people enjoy or seek out horror films. The author, Stefan Anitei, poses the question of why people are willing to spend ten dollars on a ticket for a movie that is only going to leave them feeling disgusted and possibly scared. He also offers up two theories or explanations as to why this is the case. The first one: “that the person is not actually afraid, but turned on by the movie” and the second is “that people are eager to endure the terror just to experience a euphoric sense of relief at the end.” However, the author shows that there is new research done by Eduardo Andrade (University of California, Berkeley) and Joel B. Cohen (University of Florida) that suggests that “horror movie watchers really enjoy to be unhappy” that they can “experience both negative and positive emotions at the same time and they can actually enjoy being scared, not just wait for the relief when the threat is gone.”

The two older explanations of the reasons why people enjoy horror are more supportive of the ideas of Carroll, in that he also thought that people just wanted to see what happens and thus will derive pleasure from the outcome. Noel Carroll stated,”Pleasure derives from having our interest in the outcome of such questions satisfied.”(pg.277) However, this new research is quite interesting. It is hard for me to imagine experiencing both negative and positive feelings in a given situation, especially when viewing a horror film, knowing that I can only experience the negative side, since I am so terrified of those types of movies.

Reflection:

I chose to highlight my research on horror, because it has always been intriguing to me as to why people do in fact enjoy watching horror films and reading scary books. As I have said in other posts, I really do not understand the reasons why people enjoy this sort of entertainment, but am interested in what the possible explanations could be. I posted a few pictures of scary movie characters from horror films that have been popular over the past years. And albeit they aren’t that scary when staring back at from this post page, I’m still unable to watch these films with out covering my eyes.

One objective that I felt was very intriguing and led me to furthering my research on the topic of horror was: exploring the emotional and psychological curiosity for and impact of horror art on individuals and society. I feel like after doing research it is a little more clear why people and society in general are so fascinated with horror films and books as a form of art.  The explanation that I feel is most representative of why I think people enjoy scary things is that they want to see what happens at the end. It is a sequential journey to watch the main characters face danger and fear and to finally find out what happens to them in the end. As Noell Carroll stated in one of our readings from that week, “Pleasure derives from having our interest in the outcome of such questions satisfied.”(pg. 277) We want our questions to be realized, whether they are positive or negative.

After doing some outside research on Jan von Bergen you can tell that she has many different emotions, perspectives and experiences that influence her artwork. For example, she took a trip to Asia, and has a kimono inspired collection of artwork that she displays on her website. There is also ceramic work that she has on display as well. The jars are painted in cool colors, have unique shapes and varying textures. I then returned to the exhibit and could see the range of her work and how they were all interrelated. It was moving and inspiring to see multiple collections because it is as if she is telling a story and all the pieces make up her identity. It makes much more sense now, the way she uses colors, textures and patterns in her art at the art center, after viewing and researching her other pieces.

The words I chose for my google image were: passion (represented by the passion flower), beauty (tree scenery), aesthetic(background image), creativity (the colored brain), and imagination(the light bulb)