Tuesday, October 25, 2011

MP3


My spot on campus is in the building that I spend almost all my time, Scott Lab. The computer lab shown is one of about six that ME students can use. This lab is one of my favorites because you can see through the windows and into a classroom. It can make it difficult to concentrate and get work done, but there is at least a window to look through.
My personal object is based off of my wallpaper here at school. It is the stick figure shown in the bottom right. I decided that I was going to make a distraction that would last and put him on the window, like a fat head sticker. In an effort to make him come alive motion blur was used. The top left picture is what would be a shoulder shot from the stick figures point of view. The top right picture just shows what it would look like when the lights go out and there is still work that needs to be finished. The stick figure will always be there watching the people work in the computer lab.

MP2


This collage of objects is based on the ten personal objects that I had chosen from the last post. Some of these things help bring order to my life while others just add to the chaos. The images were put into an order or pattern that shows how I try to have an overall plan. The pattern is set up for nine Polaroids set up in a three by three fashion, even though there are ten objects. The top left starts off neat and organized. Unfortunately somewhere along the way I stray from the trail and no longer follow the plan. This is represented by the Polaroids being jumbled in the middle. Then to the bottom right the pictures start to reform into the pattern, I may stray from the path but I know can put myself back on it. Polaroids were chosen because I have never had a Polaroid camera but always wanted one.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Objects


 Calculator - I use my calculator more than I would care to admit. As an Engineer, the more my calculator can do the better, which is why shelled out for a complicated TI-89. To be honest I don't completely know how to use it...
Life Line




 
Cell Phone - I can't afford a iPhone or any other smart phone. This phone can makes phone calls and send text messages, it is simple but works. This thing ties me to my friends and family I am tied to this thing.
Connecting




GPS - I enjoy traveling and seeing new places. This can be difficult when you are by yourself and have to navigate. I don't want to try reading a map while traveling or have to look everything up before I head out. The gps is convenient allows me to be spontaneous.
Compass




Book Bag - It isn't a book bag, but rather a big bag of everything. I have rulers, stapler, posits, markers, text books, pencils, pens, highlighters, paper, binder, note book, lunch bag, playing cards, head phones, water, camera, calculator, plastic wear, gloves, a hat, and quite often the news paper. My friends love to make fun of my book bag, until they need a pencil or fork.
Be Prepared





Locker -I never expected to have a locker in college. Now that I have one I don't know know what I did the first two years here with out it. I no longer have to carry 3 or 4 books back and forth. It also makes a great snack cabinet for the nights were I am up late doing work.
Welcomed Convenience







Desktop Computer - When I needed a new computer I opted to build one on my own. I put a lot of time into understanding how all the components work individually and together. When I get home the first thing I do is power on the workstation.
Geek







Scott Lab - This is the Mechanical Engineering building, my home away from home. I am not proud to admit I have spent more than one night here. This is where my friends and I "hang out."
House


 


Xbox 360
- I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. When I was little it was a great way to spend time with my grandma and pass the time. Now the 360 just sits, waiting to be used. For some reason the only time I really want to play is when I know that I should be doing homework.
procrastination






98' Dode Stratus - My car, Monica, can clean out the wallet. Because she is an older car things are starting to break and need replacing. That being said we have been on many memorable trips together and I don't look forward to passing her on to my sister.
Memories
 


Futon- Most of the time I pile clean clothes on my bed. It makes a great place to fold or organize things. The only down side is that you can no longer sleep there. That is when the futon comes to save the day. Not only is it my big comfy couch, but it also changes into the weekend getaway.
Sleepover



Sunday, October 9, 2011

Mini Project 1



For this project I focused on using opacity with layered images. The background is a C pass, the very thing that allows me to park close to campus. Over the parking pass is a map of the normal morning commute. The opacity has been changed so that the C pass is still visible and can be read. In the top left is a picture of highway traffic with Tylenol layered over it. This picture represents not only the massive headache rush hour causes but, it is also located by the part of the trip that is the worst. From a time perspective, the majority of the trip is getting to 315. In the bottom left the stadium arch is shown. I get to walk by this every day and remind myself of the history I have here. The highway picture and the stadium are both tilted. Finally there is a bit of text to emphasize the amount of time it takes to reach my final destination, art educ 252.

Monday/Wednesday Commute

When I first moved off campus I was thrilled to be away from R.A.s and the rules. Then when I lived on summit I was shocked to learn how terrible off campus housing was. This all lead to getting a place further from campus and by myself. Now that I am finishing school I can't help but find myself FAR from campus and with what can be a hefty commute.

(8:30 am) I usually leave the apartment
(8:45 am) I finally break away from the horrible traffic and start to merge onto 270 W
(8:46 am) I realize the traffic on 270 W is just as bad as 23 S. Luckily I don't have to change lanes. I just ride it out and merge onto 315 S.
(9:05 am - hopefully) I get to the Stadium and begin hunting for a parking spot. A couple years of experience have taught me a few things. If you get to campus after 7:30 don't look in the lot closest to Tuttle garage. After 9:15 you will be lucky to find anything in the lots off of cannon, and after 11 am you really need to find someone who is done for the day and take their spot.
(9:10 am) I walk by the stadium arch. This is probably my favorite part of the whole stadium. I have seen the band and player walk through here many times and seen so many O-H-I-O pictures here.
(9:15 am) I begin the maze to art educ 252

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Experience at Wexner Center with Connotations and Denotations

     While visiting the Wexner Center I found myself spending more time studying Alexis Rockman's work than anything else. In the exhibit, A Fable for Tomorrow, it was not only the size of the work that I found interesting but his ideas.



The Farm


     The piece titled The Farm, made with oil and acrylic on wood, shows different animals in different points of time as humans began to bio-engineer them. The last version of the cow is an enlarged version of the one today with a square body and with an abnormal amount of nipples. The chicken appears to be featherless and has 3 sets of wings. The pig is enlarged to a point where there is so much excess flesh that it is hanging off towards the ground. The pig also has a kidney, a set of lungs, and a heart painted on the side. The last animal is a mouse. The mouse has gone from brown fur to pink skin and now dawns an ear on its back. The last versions of these animals seem a bit farfetched but not out of the realm of possibility. Animals and plants are constantly bio-engineered for better yield. In the case of the cow, we need more meat so the cow is bigger. We get our milk from the cow so there are more nipples to provide more milk. People like to eat chicken and by increasing the number of wings on a chicken you are getting more from one animal. The plants in this piece are also altered. The tomatoes are shaped like pies and the watermelon is rectangular. When reading more about the piece I learned that the background, a soybean field, was chosen because soybeans are one of the most genetically modified crops in the U.S. By combining real instances of genetic modification, a human ear on a mouse and soybeans, with imagined modifications, cow and watermelon, the piece becomes more real. Rockman's big idea comes through as concern for what the future will look like and questions the ethics of toying with genetics.



     The second piece that caught my eye was titled Biosphere: Hydrographers Canyon. This piece was also done on oil on wood; it shows a various forms of sea life. There are some animals that look like fish, jelly fish, crabs, and even worms. There are some other animals that are not so easily recognized. Many of the animals do not have a lot of color. This could mean that they live in deeper parts of the ocean. In the background there is a light colored spiral that contrasts the rest of the black background. Though out the painting there are also white circles of different sizes. The circles are bubbles rising to the surface of the water. The light colored spiral could be some light source at the surface of the water, like a boat or moon. Hydrography is when the oceans are charted for depth, tides and currents. This reminds me that people often say the ocean hasn't been fully explored. With some of the animals being more difficult to identify, Rockman could be saying that there are many more animals that we do not yet know about.



Biosphere: Hydrographers Canyon