Answer to Roberto's Question

3. Is sound and music in different media forms becoming too commonplace? And if we are constantly listening to music, does its message lose its "weight?"

Sound and music are becoming much more commonplace than they have ever been, as the author says we have fairly recently had a major increase in bandwidth which on the internet especially has allowed for much more sound and music to be utilized. Much of the media found on the web is some form of art, whether it be musicians, photographers, writers etc., In most cases the artist has complete control of the sound or music that is utilized and as the author also pointed out many artists can still choose to use silence. With this decision being left in the hands of the artist I believe that it will never lose its weight because the artists constantly have at their disposal the ability to use the sound, music or even silence in different, new and exciting ways.

Week 6 Questions

1. Is it essential to incorporate music in the process of creating media, or could it be added after the fact?

2. Does the incorporation of music and sounds improve on different kinds of media, if so does that mean that media was not as good before music and sound were incorporated?

3. After reading this weeks article do you think you will pay much more attention and put more effort into selecting music that fits the media you are creating?

Show and Tell

1. Will
Wills day, looks like he has to take care of a child. I would guess that Will chose this for his narrative because it is probably one of the most important thing in his life.

2. Terri
Mmmm, bww! Either works there or likes to drink. Looks like a long day at work.

3. Sam
School spirit. What it's like to be an illini student/athlete.

4. Ryan
Maybe trying to stress the importance of friends, family and having a good time.

5. Roberto
School and life.

6. Rahul
A day at U of I. Work at day, party at night.

7. Me

8. Octavio
He likes to eat.

9. Liz
Showing details that you might not normally notice.

10. Grace
She gets up way to early, works hard, eats way to healthy and goes to bed late.

11. Erin
There are tons of things in this world that you need to be careful of, and if you don't watch out for them it could kill you. Sometimes it may be things that you would never even expect.

12. David
Maybe something about speed, life comes at you fast.

13. Bill
Nature and architecture, showing how natural they look together.

14. Dan
Complexity of the world and cities, while humans are still relatively simple.

15. Dan B.
Different forms of art and many of the different aspects of it, from the instruments to the stage to the auditorium.

16. Cynthia
Showing whats important to her, family and friends.

17. Adam
The life of a stuffed animal, if it had one.

18. Sean
Life of a college student... partying.

19. Sara
Advertising, completely changing an image to target an audience.

20. Masha
Showing the features of a person.

Sequential Art Project























The week that the sequential art project was assigned I had spent the whole week anticipating my trip home for the weekend. I live about 3 hours away, so not that far, but it was my first time back home this semester. I was also excited to get home for the weekend because over the past couple winters, since I have been 21, my dad and I have taken a walk across the lake/ice to our local dive bar for a couple drinks. We hadn’t gotten a chance to do it yet this year and it was the perfect time to do it because the majority of the snow had melted so it would make for a nice easy walk. I was also just excited to get my mind off of school. As soon as we head out for our walk I started thinking that a lot of people don’t live very close to lakes and may not have the opportunity to do something like that. I pulled out my cell phone and decided I was going to document the trip across the ice. As soon as we got onto the ice the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. It had just snowed about a quarter inch the night before so we were just about the first people to get out there. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to take 20 pictures, but I immediately started seeing different things that I thought were pretty cool. One of the first pictures I took was of some rabbit tracks across the snow. I was really surprised by some of the features that we could see under the ice. As we got closer to the middle of the lake I got a picture of a crack that looked like it ran across the entire lake. As we were walking a snowmobiler passed us. I took a picture of his track because I thought it was kind of symbolic; first the rabbit, then us, then the machine. We got to one of our favorite local dive bars where we enjoyed a couple beverages. Every time I took a picture I kept thinking of my classmates stencil, the flip-flops that said unwind; some people unwind and relax by spending a day at the beach, but for me a day on the snowy ice was just what I needed. I took a picture of the sun on the way there and on the way back because I thought it would be cool to see how much it went down during our trip. On the way back you always feel a little more confident than the way there, since you obviously make it. So on the way back I spent a little more time enjoying myself. Got in my first snow angel, I can’t even remember the last time I did that. I tried writing WAM in the snow but I slipped and fell down on top of it, so my dad assisted me with that. I was pretty pleased with my pictures, at first I didn’t really know what to photograph, and in the end it all just came together.



Answer to Octavio's Question

Do you really see yourself in a cartoon and what effect does it have on your perception as a simplified conceptualized image?

When I see a cartoon or a comic book the characters are usually all very different. When a character gets stripped down from a concept in a persons mind, who usually has an actual person in mind, to the simplicity of a comic book character, I think it amplifies that characters traits. In order for a cartoon or comic book character to be effective, the specific traits almost have to be exaggerated.

Week 5 Questions

1. Is it a problem if classic pieces of art are viewed solely by their value?

2. The author spent some talking about some portraits in the first chapter, he mentioned that people publish books about the history of artists and the meanings of their pieces. Do certain pieces of art of specific meanings, or is can it be different to every person that views it?

3. Does art have even different meaning when it is used for publicity?

Answer to Rahul's Question

2. Which would you say draws more attention to a picture, one with or without color and why would you come to that conclusion? Also, would you watch even watch a tv if it was only black and white?

I think the effectiveness of a picture, whether in color or black and white, totally depends on what the author or photographer is trying to portray. In the reading the author gave an example of an image of a boy sleeping on a pile of clothes with his arm stretched out, while people were working in the background; in this instance I believe that there is meaning behind the black and white image. As the author suggests, it is cheaper to to make black and white prints, which is very appropriate in an ad aimed at helping prevent poverty. On the other hand, in some instances such as advertisements for products, it is more persuasive to use vivid color images.

Week 4 Reading Questions

1. Does the typeface an author uses affect the way you judge the work?

2. Would the layout of a web page, or a certain method of delivering information make you more or less likely to return to that page.

3. Is analyzing different types of texts and layouts something that you consciously do?

Stencil Project

When I first saw that we were going to have to make a stencil for a class project I got excited. My excitement quickly subsided when I started trying to think of an idea for my stencil. I am considerably passionate about many of my beliefs. Politics and Religion are two genres in which I am especially passionate, so I was immediately leaning toward one of the two for the subject of my stencil. Even with a general subject in mind I was having a very hard time coming up with a specific idea for my stencil. When I got to class on Thursday (2/5) I saw a classmate’s finished stencil of Jesus Christ, at first my mind started racing. When I was about twelve years old I began questioning the credibility of a god, every day since then I have been surer that there is no such thing. So, although I really never intend to offend anyone, I really enjoy blasphemy. My classmate, while indicating why she chose Jesus, mentioned that religion was being pushed out. One of my biggest problems with religion, other than the deception, is that it is constantly shoved in my face wherever I go. I immediately loved the idea of the stencil because I thought it would give me an opportunity to shove my beliefs back in the faces of all those that have done it to me. I had several ideas of anti-religious stencils, but upon further thought I concluded that as an American citizen it is my duty to make a political statement. In recent years I have been in near disbelief at how much my government has done to limit my freedoms as well as terrorize the rest of the world. The United States government has made incredible promises that they not only won’t fulfill but couldn’t even possibly fulfill. I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t do everything in my power to try and make a difference, try and influence the direction of our government. Originally I thought about the obvious and easy choice of doing a stencil of George W. Bush. After much consideration I decided that George W. Bush could not possibly be solely responsible for the problems facing our country. I finally concluded that the majority of the problems facing the American people are the result of big government in general. I thought the best way to sum up government as a whole, as well as the military and most government organizations, is Uncle Sam. I thought that putting Uncle Sam on a wanted poster would immediately get people thinking. When I think of Uncle Sam on a wanted poster I immediately think of all the crimes that have been committed by the US government. The United States steals from every pay check issued in the country, terrorizes other countries, and supports other countries that terrorize their neighbors. The US government has committed some of the worst crimes imaginable. I believe that my stencil would have an impact anywhere, but I would especially love to see it spray painted on any and all government buildings, from public schools to the white house.



Answer to Masha's Question

3)A part of the text talks about brands such as "Tribune" and "Kaiser." Does brand play a role in the way you perceive others or the way you seek to portray yourself? How?

We have all grown up in an era where "brands" play a huge role. We live in the age of Walmart and McDonalds, I don't think there is any doubt that these "empires," as Drucker calls them, play a role in the way we perceive others as well as the way we seek to portray ourselves. For me, personally, as soon as I was old enough to critically think for myself I became skeptical of the flood of comercials and advertisements that these companys put everywhere. With so many humanitarian disasters throughout the world it made me angry that these companies spent so much money on advertising and made so much money with giving little to nothing back, or in the case of Walmart, even causing damage. So in my life I have sought to avoid these brands.

Week 3 Reading Questions


1.What are people missing by paying little or no attention to the little things, like grass and sand, as Elkins points out?

2. Drucker points out many of the uses and meanings of language in landscape, can the language mean different things to different people? For example when I see certain signs, I think decoration, especially if it is a representation of my hometown.

3. Drucker says, "The succinct, instructive language does not encourage discovery." Does this deprive people of that privilege?

Graffiti

I was trying to think of something interesting to say about graffiti, I failed. Basically, all I came up with, is that it looks cool. I tried thinking about what some of the different purposes and meanings of graffiti, still all I could think of, is that it looks cool. I guess I just think that regardless of the purpose or meaning, all graffiti is a form of art. It kind of sucks that some of the only places you get to see this art is in creepy alleys or the backs of buildings like this library, The Oak Street Library Facility (at Oak and Daniel).
This is graffiti that I would have never seen if I hadn't been crossing the tracks to get to my car on the opposite side of Neil. I think graffiti should be a more acceptable art form and not confined to places where few people get to see it.