Week Two

Assignment:

For Visual Communications, we were asked to collect twenty five Lincoln Era photographs and twenty five photographs from our own era(ones that we have taken).

Craft:

For the Lincoln Era photos, I did a search on Google high resolution images. I also visited various government websites dedicated to Lincoln. For the photos taken in the present era, I whipped out my Olympus digital camera and started snapping images that would fit perfectly for the piece I wish to create.

Composition:

I chose this Lincoln Era image as one of my favorites because it looks as though he just woke up. It is a reminder that even icons are still human.

The image above is one I took at the VFW. It's still raw and unedited but it is one of my favorites. It reminds me of how far we have gone as a nation, a large part in thanks to the work Lincoln did.

Concept:

My concept for this assignment is going to be different than my classmates. I am still doing a collage just not a Photoshop one. What I want to do is to find and incorporate the images I have found and taken into a Lincoln style hat. The inside of the hat will consist of images of the Lincoln era. This is to show how the Lincoln the man has been over shadowed by Lincoln the myth. The outside will show the images I have taken now. The outside images will show how far we have come as a nation, and how far we still need to go. We'll see how this goes. I have found it incredibly difficult to find a hat, so I may have to make one.

If I am unable to do my original plan I will probibly mix these two. Just because I will find it hilarious to see a pissed-off looking Lincoln riding a tank.

Week 1

Assignment-
Create a blog for visual communications.

Craft-
Went to visual communications Monday. Was told by the professor to create a blog. Tried to create the Gmail account in the class room. Google told me I was a spam computer. Went home after class.
Procrastinated Tuesday.
Wednesday, I drove two and a half hours in the snow to my first class. Missed that! Figured for the next three hours I'm stuck at school, I may as well do the VisCom blog. Created Gmail account. Signed up for blogger.com. Now typing first post.

Composition-
Photo:I selected this photo because it is the only one I have of myself on the computer. I'm not a big social website person. I have a total of five photos on Facebook. I liked this photo the best because of the colors and the person standing next to me.
Template: I decided on this template for two reasons. The first is that a computer screen is an over glorified light. Staring at any light for an extended period of time will hurt your eyes. Black lessens the impact of the computer light on the eyes. I wanted to pick something that is going to be easy on the eyes. The second reason is that this is an Art blog. The background should be something simple and muted to make the pieces stand out more. This template was the most subdued, therefore there is no distractions to my work.

Concept-If I had a soap box what would I tell the world?
My answer could be an entire blog in itself. I will try to keep it short. If I could tell the world one thing I would tell them to pay attention to the world around them.

The media which is supposed to educate the masses on the world is a joke. We are engaged in two wars(Iraq, and Afghanistan) Our economy is missing two trillion dollars that no one knows where it is. The U.S. borders are nonexistent. Violent crime is on the rise. Globally nationalistic racism is on the rise. Most of Americas infrastructure was built in the 1950s and will be failing in the next couple of years. Droughts in the South East and Western U.S. are threatening our way of life. Global warming, and the inevitable global cooling that will follow will destroy millions of lives. All that we hear from the media, however is how Britney Spears shaved herself bald, how to make a Caesar salad, or who is pet of the week. The real stories are buried in the papers. I'm sorry but to me the millions of lives and future generations impacted by the decisions that we must make is more important that Paris Hilton's junk hanging out for the world to see.

Instead of paying attention to the world, people shut done. They immerse themselves in something else. Whether it's drugs, video games, drinking to excess, or food; people would rather turn the world out than take it in and try to change it. The public, by non-involvement leave it up to those who messed it up in the first place. For God's Sake people do something! Even if it is the wrong action at least you can say you made an effort! That you tried. When it is time to go fade into the oblivion you will at least know that you've done everything you can.