Visions of Light

The video was interesting.  I never really looked into early cinematography.  I found it intriguing but a long video.  Some of my favorites that were mentioned were:

-Red Dust (1932)

-The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

-The Graduate (1967)
-Blue Velvet

I found the subject on Film Noir to be very cool.  It still amazing to me all the things I notice outside of just photography when it comes to other things like film or video.  Composition & lighting are always on my mind when I watch tv these days...LOL.

I also thought it was interesting they mentioned to put your shadows anywhere but their faces during a certain time frame.  It's interesting to see the changes that evolved.

Also the question, "What is the basic visual need to tell your story?" was a good thing to point out.  Always something that you need rolling around in your head, no doubt!

But my favorite was the quote......."Think about what will make your clients take away the IMAGES as well as the words!"  Ahhhhhhhhhh LOVE IT!

Art 21

I chose to watch the clips entitled Transformation & then Spirituality.

I really, really enjoyed Yinka Shonibare.  His views on race during the British time frame was quite interesting.  The clothing that was designed had truely amazing aspects and reminded me of Leah's dress that she made out of the pages of the bible.

I was wigged out by Cindy Sherman, LOL.  She had an infatuation with photographing herself and different clowns.  Wanting viewers to see her through the clowns or simply hiding herself within them.  She did use a green screen which I thought was cool.  I would like to play with that one day.....The body of works she did with the "hollywood" types was cool.  But she has something with portraying the "old".  It's her thing but was intriguing.  She was influenced by tv & cheap magazines she said and not art history.  So this goes to show you that you don't just have to produce bodies of work that you have studied but can be reality for you as the artist.

Paul McCarthy was the third artist featured in the Transformation clip.  He was mainly involved in early video and it peaked my curiosity to see that he incorporated comedy with his art.  The most facsinating thing, about him, to me was his earlier work where he would use whatever was available in a room to video.  A means to really show you can work with "whatever".

Spirituality

The artists covered in this clip were:
Shahzia Sikander
James Turrel
Ann Hamilton
John Feodorov

I absolutley LOVED Ann Hamilton.  She was into it all....sewing, light thru threads, making still life, pinhole & more.  She made a pinhole to fit in her mouth that was AWESOME!  The curves of your mouth are the same as the shape of your eye so when she took these shots it made the subjects look like the pupils, INGENIOUS I say!

The rest of them I really wasn't struck by.  Sikander was the painter and she was into alot of that muslim stuff and while yes it was gorgeous and she was fabulous at it, it didn't do anything for myself.

John Feodorov was the dude that was from Navajo decent and into creating sculputres that represented totem poles and spiritual alters with animals. Blah....

James Turrell was all about light.  I liked his stuff but it was intense... He built a meeting place for Quakers, was into creating tunnels through a Roden Crater in AZ.  The one thing he said I thought was a good quote was that he was looking to bring the cosmos to the space "we" occupy.  Interesting.....

So there it is.....my commentary!