Crit and the beginning of the end :/

The critique was different than any other in class crit I've had recently. In courses, we're comparing our personal responses to a similar assignment amongst peers of our concentration (most of the time). However, in this case, everyone got blended up and spit out. We experienced video, sculpture, photography, design, painting and print all in the matter of a few hours. We've all worked through our foundation classes together and have grown so much since. It was eye opening and surprising to see the talent and theories that have been uncovered throughout our time at Mason Gross. Thesis is going to be really interesting, because our different concentrations and different artistic styles and personalities. I'm really excited to see everyone work and share this experience.

On another note, I'm taking my first printmaking class this semester and it's super awesome. I wish I had introduced myself to this earlier. Were working with silkscreening and I ordered a whole bunch of supplies and inks to experiment with. I'm still up in the air with I want to do for thesis and I want to keep my eyes open and my mind clear. Last week, I wanted to combine technology and design, like in information design; now I want to include silkscreening?! If I dont know, I guess no one does. 

This is my first print........YAYYYYYY...... nothing spectacular, but I'm just getting the process down, there will be more to come!

The cool things I find on Design Observer

http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/feature/dont-flush-me/30078/

Cory Archangel “Our Renditions of Reality: With ProTools”

Humanity has succumbed to a technological realm that has shaped contemporary life. New media has diverged to the point where old media has become obsolete. The interactive audience has become absorbed in expressing themselves. Cory Arcangel experiments with the digital medium and it’s impact on our culture in his 2011 exhibition, Pro Tools, featured in the Whitney Museum of American Art. Ultimately, Arcangel explores the disconnect in the users relationship with technology regarding expectations, as well as reliability. 

            The most prominent work in the show is “Various Self Playing Bowling Games (aka Beat the Champ),” which engages the viewer from the moment the elevator doors open. The room is transformed into a bowling alley with projections from a 1977 Atari to a 2001 Nintendo GameCube. Archangel worked with an engineer to construct a chip that was attached to the controllers. “Video game Tivo,”as they call it, recorded his actions and replayed them for the viewer, allowing only gutter balls in play. These life size pieces become an extension of our world through realism and three dimensionality. Our culture’s expectations in technology are frustrated which is mirrored in the avatars reactions, as the games advance from system to system, still resulting in failure and limiting our interactions. The artist intentionally plays with our dependency on typically functioning technology as well as our yearn for success in sports, as well as anything we do.

Another of Archangel’s pieces, “Masters,” allows the viewers to digitally play golf, bemusing us once again. If the player is in fact Tiger Woods himself, the ball will never successfully reach the hole. Although using a similar technique to the bowling game, Archangel has now crippled our physical experience through the technological limitations he has created.

The works in “Pro Tools,” tend to show practicing, composing and remixing; however, the odd ball of the bunch, “Volume Management” presents technology, as we’d see it in a store, excluding artistic significance. It boldly stands out among the pieces, and creates a conversation between consumer’s and Archangel’s perceptions of technology. What is the point of the boxed flat screens? Well, it depends on the extent of your imagination. With the deprivation of the screen, the content becomes undermined by the idea or theory behind it. The frame becomes superior to the power of the screen, commenting on mass consumption, through which flat screens have lost their aura in our culture. No longer does a large flat screen hold our eye for more than a moment, unless we are entranced by the artwork shown on the vehicle. The flat screen has moved to obsolesce just as other popular technology has.         

Cory Arcangel plays with the, “absurdity of technology’s lifecycle,” within our culture. These product demonstrations not only help us to understand technology’s place in our everyday lives, but also show how both professionals and amateurs make use of them. Arcangel has created a commentary on technology itself, claiming that technology is on a redundant road to nowhere, where eventually all fads become stale.  However, his main focus is on, “ ‘the human factor’- the way we express ourselves through technological tools and platforms.”  The importance isn’t in the rise and demise of the technology’s superiority over us, from our first introduction to our growing familiar relationship with it; it’s how we make use of, “Pro Tools” as individuals and as a culture. The use of different technologies blurs the lines between pop culture consumerism and fine art. These DIY products allow minor to major alterations that create an opportunity for self-expression in our culture. Arcangel recently told an interviewer,

“The Internet makes it very hard to keep ahead, the question of who ‘did’ something is moot. It’s just guaranteed that some kid somewhere has executed any idea you have. I mean, where is art left when everyone is a producer?”

About Me

1. What make you choose graphic design as your concentration?I chose graphic Design as my major my sophomore year at Mason Gross. I came in undecided with a love for painting. However, my love for technology introduced me to Graphic Design and I found it very enjoyable. Graphic Design is all around you in everyday life and is functional, which I found very endearing. Also, I find it brings aspects of all different art fields together.

2. Do you have a minor or another major?I do not have a minor, However my second major is Information Technology.

3. What kind of medium you usually use in your works?In Design, I’m relatively restricted when it comes to forms of medium. It depends on the project at hand. I have used many different kinds of papers and adhesive papers.

4. Which medium you enjoy the most?Other than graphics, I enjoy using oil paints and acrylics very much.

5. What have you found to be the most frustrating in graphic design?The only frustration that arises is when you don’t know how to achieve something in a piece. There are times where I want to throw my computer across the room. It’s difficult because trouble shooting may get in the way, but it’s like a communication barrier that you just overcome. Online tutorials really help out in the end as well as Shane in the lab.

6. What other art classes you have taken and how do you like them?I’ve taken drawing courses, painting courses, artmaking, visual thinking, figure drawing and some others. Presently, I’m enrolled in printmaking. I found my figure drawing class with Hanneline really helped me grow as an artist. I found that I learned to incorporate all my artistic abilities in one piece. For instance, you can think of a design as a painting, a drawing, a sculpture and include what ever aspects of art you want. It makes it more interesting when you step out of the box and cross such boundaries.

7. As a graphic designer, seems like you have put a lot of 3D elements in your pieces, is there any particular reason for that?As you said, you like to experiment. I enjoy testing the waters and seeing how far I can go with things.  I like things out of the ordinary and I like stuff that really pops out. I want everything to scream look at me when a viewer passes it.

8. Have you ever taken any sculpture class in Rutgers or elsewhere?I have never taken a sculpture class, yet I have touched on it briefly in other classes.

9. Would you rather using computer or your own hands to make art?I would rather not chose. I like to do both and there are times where one suits a situation better than the other. I enjoy incorporating both my hands and the technological benefits of a computer.
   Which software you most comfortable working with?
   I would say I’m most comfortable with Adobe illustrator, although I’m very comfortable with photoshop and indesign as well.

10. Where is your inspiration usually come from?My inspirations come from everyday life mostly. However, recently I have been interested in using a site called StumbleUpon in which you can browse a subject of websites on the Internet. I’ve found it to be very helpful, in learning new artists as well as their works.

11. Seems like a lot of your works are painting, why choose graphic design but not painting as your major?I chose Design because for me painting is very much a hobby. Also, my paintings are very much design experiences. They aren’y exactly subjects but ways in which to create a design or decorative experience with the medium.

12. The skateboard you made is very interesting, is that an assignment, just for fun or there is a purpose for it?The reason I decided to the show you the skateboard was because people always think it’s so cool. It’s so realistic and almost like product design. Also, it’s probably one of my only substantial experiences sculpting something.

13. Your works are mostly colorful, is color your main element in your pieces?I love color. I find it appealing to the eye. At times, it may not be effective, but it’s part of my artistic personality that does tend to poke through in my works.

14. When you are creating a poster or advertisement, what is the most important thing you will focus on?Lately, i’ve been very concentrated on typeface.  I feel like my work is strong till the text is introduced. Text is very important in a design piece and can’t get lost or be pushed to the side.

15. Would you rather work on 3D object or 2D surface?It depends on the project at hand, However I do find 3D objects to be more exciting because they are a very different beast.

16. Do you have any artists in mind that affect your style?David Carson is inspiring in the fact that he broke the rules and created his own graphic identity. However, I find alot of no names in technological design, such as with data interfaces to be very inspiring.

17. Do you have anything in mind for thesis?I don’t exactly know. I do know that I want to lean towards a technical approach rather than a decorative design.

18. Are you working on anything at the moment?I haven’t been working on anything at this moment in time. I’ve been very busy, I wish I had more time for my art. I’m glad the semester has started cause it will give me a chance to hop back in.

19. What is your plan when you graduated?To get a job, hahhahaha.... I just really don’t know exactly what I’ll lean towards in the end.

20. Is there an ideal job for you in graphic design?Like I have just said, my eye isn’t on an ideal at the moment. I’m hoping this year will help me tie up any loose ends and figure out my calling. Thesis should definitely clear it up some.

His Sculptures!!!!