The Sun's Always Shining!: October 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Webspinna

Links to Websites

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/fabric-of-cosmos.html

http://margaretnoble.net/blog/not-the-olympics/

http://margaretnoble.net/blog/salt_pepper/

http://www.jeffwu.net/?page_id=967

http://margaretnoble.net/blog/autumn-leaves/

http://margaretnoble.net/blog/chopped-and-stretched/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8pQG4y/naturesoundsfor.me/Anza/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/30mf62/:hsd81pDx:LcJhWhdS/everyonesmixtape.com/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2oj4wJ/:11ZIwwGlr:LcJhWhdS/balldroppings.com/js?1/

Monday, October 22, 2012

One of the most fundamental aspects of art is the use of color and mixing those colors to make a specific image, whether it be a literal representation of something, or an abstract piece. Unique to two dimensional art forms, like painting, is the use of color in whatever way the artist seems appropriate. Unlike photography where an image is captured in its natural colors and can later be manipulated, painting and drawing can alter color from the beginning. As such, color plays a vital role in artistic works by representing either physical manifestations or altering reality.

I wanted to explore this notion of changing color and the effects it can have when compared to the same piece portrayed in natural colors. I chose to draw (using colored pencils) an already painted landscape; however, I used the original piece's opposite colors on the color wheel in my representation. For example, wherever there were blues in the original, I used oranges. I also used a more detailed color wheel to get correct shades because there are so many blues and greens in the original. By doing so, I wanted to show that because the medium of two dimensional art allows for complete artistic representation, particularly with color, the artist can portray something however they desire - even to it's most extreme, like opposites on a color wheel.

What I found interesting was how easily people could tell what I drew. After showing my work to multiple people, not a one hesitated in what it portrayed. I find this intriguing because although color is so important to a picture, it only changes emotion rather than the image itself. That emotion is the basis of my take on this assignment. Because a person can paint using whatever colors they desire, they have complete control on the emotion forced onto the viewer. This art form then allows for the artist to insert their views onto others more poignantly than other art forms, like photography. For instance, after surveying a group of people, all expressed they received a calm and peaceful feeling from the original. Once I showed them my representation, the majority said they felt more overwhelmed, but also more interested in the picture itself.

Another important thing to note is that most people found the altered picture to be more compelling. This shows how painting and drawing can be a great tool to cause awareness, create tension, and get audiences to think more than if they saw a normal photograph. In a way, Van Gogh's Starry Night acts to create such an atmosphere. He uses similar colors for an accurate representation, however he calls more attention to the colors and the brush strokes than he does to the entire piece. In consequence, the colors seem heightened and the painting becomes more compelling because we can tell there is something unusual about his color choices.

Mark Rothko stated, "we are in a sense mythmakers and as such have no prejudices either for or against reality. Our paintings, like all myths, do not hesitate to combine shreds of reality with what is considered "unreal" and insist upon the validity of the merger." The manipulation of color is a wonderful characteristic of painting and drawing. Because of it, an artist has the freedom, as Rothko states, to combine truth with fiction and present it in a captivating way that other art forms cannot.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Social Media Adaption

An adaption of the novel THE GIVER, by Lois Lowry

Adapted by: Cassandra Mullins, Gina Thompson, Jordan Kartchner, and Kirstin Anderson

Follow Jonas' journey on Instagram! @ReceiverJonas

Or click the links in the order below:

http://instagram.com/p/Q019MvOpOY/

For our social media adaption, we chose to portray The Giver through Instagram. Because this book focuses heavily on visual elements and is written from Jonas' perspective, we felt pictures would be a great way to tell such a story. We chose to use Instagram because it allows Jonas to take spontaneous snapshots of the world around him. We never see his face because the book is told through his perspective, and so too are the pictures. This point of view allows for us to show how Jonas' world changes as the story progresses, because if it was from anyone else's perspective, nothing would change.

This first person view of the story is similar to the interactive artistic collaboration known as The Infinite Oz. The Infinite Oz leads us through several landscapes as if we are seeing them through Dorothy’s eyes. Each new artistic landscape considers something different in her journey, just as each picture in Jonas’s Instagram account tells us something new about what he is experiencing. Furthermore, all the characters in both Jonas's and Dorothy's stories are stuck in their respective areas of the world except Jonas and Dorothy who move beyond what's considered normal. So although the media methods differ, there are some definite parallels between the two, which allow us to experience the journey as if we are alongside them.

Perhaps the most important element for adapting our pictures dealt with the portrayal of color. In the beginning of the book, the reader realizes that the society in which they live is black and white, and all color has been removed. We chose to use black and white photos early on because Jonas also saw in black and white. However, he begins to see glimpses of red as the story progresses. We used photos of specific events, like when Jonas saw his friend Fiona's hair change and turn red. As the story progresses, the Giver gives Jonas memories with color, and this is also reflected in our images.

Similarly to our use of color, we wanted to reflect how we felt society would look. Our adaption shows the sterile society they live in. The pictures in the beginning are completely clear and shallow. They highlight structure to emphasize that there is little depth and excitement to life. As time goes on, and Jonas learns more about the world he is living in, he sees more depth of field and more angles.

In Harper's Magazine, Jonathan Lether wrote the article, "The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism." He speaks of Bob Dylan and the influence his music has had on society. He says how "Dylan's art offers a paradox: while it famously urges us not to look back, it also encodes a knowledge of past sources that might otherwise have little home in contemporary culture." This is very characteristic of The Giver because the entire society is created to avoid and forget the past. The society relies upon a single person to hold the burdens of the past.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Textual Poaching

President Uchtdorf once said “Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessings of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes.”

Being LDS has been my most defining trait and is the essence of who I am today. Just like President Uchtdorf stated, I believe it is of vital importance to take a stand in this world and choose which team we are fighting for. If we do not, we will be pushed aside and trampled on as the morals of the world take over. This is why I have chosen to do this project and why I believe that I can make a stand through voice instead of violence like The Extermination Order did.

I wanted to show how The Extermination Order violated The Constitution of the United States. Both of these documents relate directly to my roots as a true-born American Mormon. I chose to focus on the LDS aspect of my life, but through further research, I realized that such history directly dealt with being American as well.

This time period is one I am not grateful for – for two reasons. Firstly, I dislike that people invent things about Mormons as they did at the time of The Extermination Order – that Mormons are a threat to society and “must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state.” Many times I have run into people who think they know what Mormons believe. But what they say is entirely opposite of the truth. I wish people better understood Mormons and would not take such harsh actions upon people, like they did at this time.

Secondly, this time period is unsettling to me as a patriot. I believe in this country and the ideals it was set upon. The idea that orders such as this could be created that so blatantly defy The Constitution unnerve me, and I hope, for everyone’s sake, that their rights will be protected like ours were not.

In Jenkins’ “How Texts Become Real,” I liked the attention drawn to what truly makes something real. “It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” This time in history was ugly. It was ugly because it was not real – because people would pretend, make up lies about the Mormons, and have “sharp edges” that were not willing to listen to what others had to say. However, I believe that as this country has grown and as people are more willing to understand Mormons, people have become more “real,” and this is why we do not have orders like this today.

The process I went through creating this piece was very insightful and actually helped me come to terms with this dark past more than I ever had. Researching the topic got me more frustrated that such a thing could happen and that people could perceive such a kind group of people in a negative way. However, after going through the process of reading the order, reading the Constitution, putting them together, and burning it, I was able to come to an understanding I never thought I would get to. Yes, I am appalled that such a thing could happen in my history as a Mormon and an American, but at the same time, I was able to recognize that what is past is past. I was able to throw away and burn everything wrong about The Extermination Order and realize that today is a different day. That today we have those freedoms, and today I am able to worship how I want. I felt very uncomfortable burning even a paper with a picture of The Constitution, but I realized that by burning this joint document, I was getting rid of The Extermination Order and refining The Constitution. We have passed that dark time in history, and I was able to get rid of it through this assignment. Now I can focus on the bright future ahead and that Constitution that is tarnished by an Extermination Order no more.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Historical Story

In our Historical Story, we wanted the style and customs of the pioneer days to meet with the archetypal ideas of love, patience, and stubbornness. We hoped for the audience to be able to recognize these universal feelings in a historical setting.

This script aimed to create a correct setting in which the story could come alive. We researched the time period well, in order to know where Abigail and Matthew would be geographically, what people wore at the time, how they spoke, and much more. All of these little details helped establish a truth that the audience could recognize. We called attention to people's clothing early on in the script so a correct image could be established and the audience could appreciate where the characters came from.

This way of illustrating time and setting is similar to Satrapi’s approach in The Veil. Although her descriptions were almost completely communicated through drawn pictures, they functioned in the same way as our written descriptions. They placed the characters and plot in a specific time and place, and in doing so, helped to bring the story to life.

Another way in which we tried to hold true to history was through the dialogue of the script. We tried our best to reflect the dialect and style the pioneers may have spoken in. We also wanted to use words that a husband and wife would use with each other. This way we could create an intimate setting while staying historically correct.

An outside work that also uses dialogue to help identify historical context is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. In this book, Mark Twain spells out the accents and dialects specific to the various characters’ backgrounds. Reading Twain’s dialogue as he wrote it really authenticates the characters and brings the adventure to life for the reader. In our script, we tried to do the same, by using dialogue that would be appropriate for the time and place in which our story takes place.

Doing this wasn’t easy though. The dialogue was difficult because in our story, so much is expressed through body language instead of spoken words. Also, many emotions are due to a character's inner understanding, and verbalizing such ideas does not sound natural. We cheated this issue in a few ways. First, we painted pictures vividly for the audience. For example, in order to get across that the piano was old and an heirloom, we explained that the piano was scratched up and tattered down. Also, we had Abigail tell a story that references the piano as a belonging to her grandmother. Another way we got around overly explaining things in dialogue was by having Abigail express herself through a prayer. We were able to hold the integrity of the story as a pioneer story while expressing Abigail's true feelings that cannot easily come out on screen.