Semester Long Internet Research Project

1. Semester Long Internet Research Project Developed by Anne Brye

2. The Internet has captivated all of us. It is magic. It collapses time and space with a flurry of digital information: images, videos, text, updating constantly, faster and faster, more and more, all the time. The Internet has the capacity to escape time from us in sometimes positive and sometimes negative ways. An afternoon searching the web could lead to complex thinking and making connections that result in inspiration and new ideas and actions, or it could lead to the brain dead state one feels after watching 5 strait episodes of Honey Boo Boo on YouTube. The Internet creates infinite possibilities, which is thrilling yet intimidating. How do you choose what to look at on-line, and how do you use the Internet as a tool to fuel your thinking and develop your ideas?

3. This project is designed to help you use the Internet as a valuable tool; as a sketchbook for ideas. Most artists keep a sketchbook or have a research practice that has a huge effect on the art that they make and show. Part of what this project will do is help you to develop your own workshop for ideas.

4. In order to use the Internet properly for this assignment, we need to understand what it is we are looking at when we view the different images, videos and texts online. Through the themes of Vision, Reality, Representation, Appropriation, Communication and the Unit Topics, (Raster, Vector, Sound, Stop Motion, Video), we will establish a firm grasp on what we are looking at online. The 5 Themes and Unit Topics guide Internet exploration and search guidelines.

5. Each week I will give a guideline for your search. For example, I could ask you to find a music video that uses appropriated footage, or I could ask you to go to a specific web site such as a video archive site and ask you to choose a video that you find exceptionally interesting. Guidelines for the search will vary drastically and be assigned weekly. The guidelines are designed to keep the subject matter and content of your research wide open. This is supposed to be for you and your interests; don’t try to pick something that you think I would like, pick something that you like and that you find interesting.

6. The quality of your search is very important. The idea is that you are spending time online looking for something interesting and not the first thing you can find that fits the guidelines. You will have to write a paragraph about each selection you choose, so if you aren’t interested in what you chose it will be difficult to write about it. In your paragraph, you should include the URL to the page where you found it, 1-2 sentences explaining why it fits the guidelines and a few sentences about why you chose it.

7. You will post your choices to the class blog along with your paragraph. If possible, imbed the photo or video into your blog post as well. Research choices need to be posted to the blog before class each Wednesday. We will begin each Wednesday class period reviewing each other’s choices and having a discussion.

8. Find an image that challenges the idea of “Truth and Photography” from any internet source of your choosing. Krystal Aguilar: “Instagram Girlfriend Hand” http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-10017879.html I chose the Instagram-catered images of Keisuke Jinushi because “every joke has some truth to it.” This image perfectly aligns with challenging the idea of truth and photography because in these images it looks like his girlfriend is being playful and affectionate with him, but in actuality there is no girlfriend. We are inclined to think vision and photographs always tell the truth; hence, the phrase, “seeing is believing.” This is a false. Although the images themselves are not manipulates, Jinushi does use a sleight of hand. He appropriated the usual snapshots we see in our Instagram feed of lovey-dovey couples spending time together, all, in order to represent exactly that. His other half … of his body, specifically his arm, is supposed to represent a girlfriend. If I were first to look at the photographs and not pay attention to the article’s pretense; the image would communicate to me that this gentlemen is happily in love with his sweet girlfriend. That is visual cyber communication for you, not really reality. The ways we use technology to communicate and live in an online community has it’s positives but also, its downsides. We share our photographs and updates our “friends” on our live’s but this does not always reflect the truth or reality. We are a brand whether we realize it or not. We manage our digital persona with shaping perceptions.There is an extreme people can go to however. This can be in part to a combination of societal pressures and the newer “needs” of the youthful generations.

9. Find an image, article, or video etc... that is an influence for your Raster Project on Vision and Reality Research Image Raster Project: Kristina Ricci

10. Research Image Raster Project: Tess McDonald

11. Research Image Raster Project: Teresa Shannon

12. Find an artist using appropriated images in some way. Kristina Ricci: Artist- Chad Gordon http://instagram.com/chadgordon Chad Gordon is an artist that creates art about our consumer culture. He started by collecting (stealing) price tags off of loafs of bread from the supermarket since the late 90's. He uses those stickers alongside appropriated images to help commentate on our societies obsession with consuming. The images with the Native Americans jumps out at me because our current fashions are inspired by Native American designs but not necessarily following their cultural ideas or backgrounds. Instead people are appropriating their fashions and making them their own even though lots of people following the trends know nothing about the meaning of those cultural designs. I chose him because he keeps his work simple but his messages are strong. I found his work on the juxtapoz magazine website.

13. Find and consider an example of a piece made with vector graphics and how it relates to the idea of representation. ChequamegonBollinger: Alyson Shotz http://alysonshotz.com/ Alyson Shotz is an artist living and working in Brooklyn. Her work explores our perception of light, space and natural form. Her focus is installation and she uses a wide range of synthetic materials such as glass beads, mirrors, string, and nails. The forms she creates mimic nature’s design while referencing algorithm and string theory. I chose this vector based 3D work because it vaguely represents many natural forms. I mainly see figurative birds or features of different insects. The movement in the graphic also gives a sense of flight and fluidity in the form. This play with the viewer’s perception is engaging and challenging. Seeing the different views of the object gives new perspectives of the form to explore.

14. Find a typeface designer and select your favorite typeface they have created. Krystal Aguilar: Mestizo Font byJohannes Konig http://creaviveroots.org/2012/08/mestizo-typeface/ The "Mestizo" font illustrated by Johannes Konig particularly appealed to me due to its representation of culture through typographic elements. I was curious how artists could portray culture through typeface and if it was done successfully. Overall, his use of white space within and around the letters makes the form legible, aesthetically pleasing, and incorporates enough balance of the Spaniard and Latin influences. I searched for Mexican typefaces and Konig's work was executed the most, what I felt, truthfully. "Mestizo" is a term used to categorize people of mixed race from Latin American and Spanish parents. I chose Konig's typeface because I recognize myself as Mestiza. I have both Mexican-Native and Spanish ancestors. In my findings, I observed how other artists used Native-American patterns and colors. I felt their interpretation was a poor representation of the Mexican culture. On the other hand, Konig's typeface, both in caps lock and lower case, shows exactly what the concept of Mestizo is. If one really thinks about it, it can be offensive, being lumped into an inferior category due to the blood in one's veins. The Spanish were and are, whether subconsciously or deliberately, thought to have finer blood and superior physical features. This can be seen with the bold white lines, forming the letter, just as the Spanish tried forming the government and conquering Mexico. The more flavorful, artistic, wild-yet-ordered shapes that make the other half of the letter are supposed to represent the Latin American blood. Konig chose to use English words of things or ideas that have been infused into the American culture like "Tequila". In his other pieces, he also chose to use the font he created with a backdrop of classic photographs. Those photographs are what he perceived to be ideal-looking Mestizos - his reality.

15. Find a Stop-Motion Animation that you LOVE ChequamegonBollinger: Lauren Gregory - Poppin' Bottles - Artist Video Projects – MOCAtv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksi1JV_EBJI#t=37 This stop motion video is painted, directed and edited by Lauren Gregory. She is a painter and digital artist living and working in New York. In this video a female and male figure dance to music by Josef Kraska, aka Babe E called Poppin' Bottles. The wet brush stroke painting technique used in the frames give the figures fluidity. The movement of the paint fluid helps their repetitive dance motions while traveling through a psychedelic background or New York City. The facial distortion of the figures gives a sense of intoxication during their exploration while “Poppin’ Bottles.” I chose this video because I love the painting technique used. It is also extremely playful and reminds me of late nights of expression on the dance floor with friends. The colors, patterns, and dance moves are reminiscent of previous eras of art history, and choreography but the artist has also captured 2:24 of modern day and post modern culture. The craftsmanship of the stop motion animation is high quality. She repeats some of the imagery but you can tell she created a great number of paintings to make this animation possible.

16. Explore the website for the Museum of the Moving Image. Follow the internet rabbit hole until you find something you are extremely interested in. Your final choice does not have to be directly from the website, but you must use the website as your starting point. ChequamegonBollinger: Atmospheric slide, Cameo Portrait, undated, “You had a heart like mine” http://collection.movingimage.us/index.php?g=detail&object_id=67700&representation_id=2017 This atmospheric slide depicting a cameo of a woman caught my attention immediately. The centered cameo is a photographic image of the woman with a painted face, dress, and hat. I’ve always been drawn to this hyper real technique used in photography. The color palette is also very interesting because it references nature but an exaggerated version. The use of real object to complete the composition is also very exciting. The fern leaves take up the majority of the screen competing with the cameo at the apex of the image. There are also 5 carnation flowers that are embellished with pink paint under the cameo. These remind me of pressing sentimental flowers to mark an occasion. This slide has a piece of tape with printed writing that reads, “you had a heart like mine.” This statement leads me to believe the image was composed to memorialize a woman by her loved ones. The carnations could represent her children or five devotions by her beloved? We don't know anything about the history of this slide or it's subject.

17. Go on the UBUWEB: Film database and find a video that suits your interests. Kristina Ricci: BBC Documentary, “ http://ubu.com/film/alchemists.html Exploring the UBU website, I came across a BBC documentary about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The workshop was established in 1958 and served as a venue to create new sounds and effects to enhance the television and radio experience, in a cheap way. The group used a method of recording individual sounds, later cut and spliced into new segments of magnetic tape. Then layered with other reels of sound, each with different tones or melodies. This experimentation turned into a new and developing genre of music, which became the beginning of electronic music. I chose this video because it broke down the history of electronic music, as well as the group that revolutionized the way sound effects were made. Within the BBC documentary I also discovered other artists that I did more research on. Delia Derbyshire and John Baker stuck out to me the most because of their unique sounds.

18. Outcomes: • Students grow as self sufficient thinkers and researchers • Students contribute to class content • Students engage in a critical dialogue through cooperative learning • Students are inspired by eachother • Students are exposed to resources and ways of thinking