Art in the News

For my art in the news project I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I saw the 3D hologram video and it almost seemed too cool to be real so I decided to try it myself. I cut up a plastic q-tip box into trapezoids and taped them together. Then I found hologram videos on youtube and played them. The class thought the holograms were very cool. I also showed a bunch of my friends and family. Some of them begged me to make them their very own hologram! Next I want to use maya to make my own video to use with my holligram player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YWTtCsvgvg

Glow in the Dark Trees

Glow in the dark trees is the most perfect combination. I love things that glow in the dark and I love trees. I think it is a great idea to use glow in the dark trees instead of streetlights. This article makes me think of the glow in the dark rabbit. Imagine if scientists made a whole town of stuff that glows in the dark. I have to imagine if both trees and bunnies can glow in the dark humans can to. I hope there is a glow in the dark human in my lifetime.

Light Bending Dance

I think the light bending dance is effective because a proper interaction between a natural human and technology can be beautiful. In this case instead of distracting from the dancer, the technological aspects added to how the dancer was moving. The technology emphasized her strengths and did a good job hiding her weaknesses. I think technology without personal interaction is missing something. No matter how amazing technology becomes it can never fully replace human art.

Code Bending Super Mario

 I would like to tell you I understand the article on code bending super mario but its way over my head. I wish it wasn't because I think coding is a really cool concept. I did some very basic coding in beginning digital arts. I think I will likely be doing more in Advanced digital arts. I think coding is an especially import skill in this era because so much of a humans everyday life revolves around his or her computer. Almost everything we look at all day long has been previously coded. I hope to someday create an ap and I need coding ability to do that.

Devo

I used to not know who DEVO was but last semester my intro to sound image an motion teacher had a really weird obsession with the band. He always made us edit video of them. I can't say I particularly like DEVO but they are interesting mostly because they are really weird and move in awkward ways. Satisfaction is the only song by DEVO that I know.

Icona Pop I Love It

I personally find the Song "I love it" to be kind of annoying. I always changed the radio station when it came on in the car. I like that it is about girl empowerment but I feel like the line "I crashed my car into a bridge" is a bit extreme. I think that line may promote suicidal ideations and actions in teens. It is sad that a pop stars words can have some much influence on the youth, but that is just the truth of how things work today.

Tomorrowland

The Tomorrowland Festival looks amazing. I think the amount of people in the crowd might give me anxiety. I hope to someday perform at an event like this, but the catch is that I will be in the air above all the people doing circus apparatuses. That would be my dream. I think next year I might go to Tortuga get which is similar but has country music instead. Tomorrowland really doesn't miss anything between the fireworks, lasers, and lights!

Yves Klein

Yves Klein's work is interesting because it says a lot without actually saying anything at all. He use's abstract art to play with the human perception. I have to imagine that he know the mind immediately sees unknown objects in sexual ways. With just ink blots in contrast with the background he forms shapes that can be inferenced to be a woman's naked body. I like that the work makes you think without bluntly telling you what you should be thinking about. He very subtly gets his message across.

Speedy Graphito

Im not sure what I think of Speed Graphito's art as a whole, but I definitely like his Mona Lisa made of spray cans. The reason I think it appeals to me is not because the finished product is beautiful, but because the process was beautiful. Each one of those spray cans was used to make a previous art, and although one could consider them useless, he brings them together to produce a final art form. The coolest part it that he had to use each and every spray can or they wouldn't have the color stained on all their tops. I've seen another pixelated Mona Lisa recently but I can remember where.

Andy Warhol's Forgotten Floppy Disk Art

Andy Warhol's lost art makes me very nervous about the way society produces art today. I think that in 100 years all of what we are producing right now will be on some sort of unreadable file due the the extremely quick progression of technology. Just as the computer Andy worked on is a Dinosaur now, are computers will soon be dinosaurs too. We may not be able to go back to less advanced technologies to recover lost work. Hard copies of work are dangerous because they can get accidentally destroyed by water, fires, or people, however, digital copies of things can be lost in the multitude of files or locked away by the changing times. I wonder what else was produced on the same computers that Andy used that no one else bothered to recover.

The Google cube music video

The google cube music video has a lot of future potential. I think people will enjoy that they can create their own musical and visual journey by mixing and matching sides of the cube. I also think somebody will be famous someday for mixing and matching the cube to make artists say or do funny or inappropriate things. The cube could be used as interaction between DJ and consumers at clubs or it could even be used as a kids toy. Im not sure which route the cube will take but I'm sure we haven't seen the last of it.

Facial Mapping

I had never seen facial mapping before this class. I think the idea will eventually be highly used. I really liked when the women in the face mapping video turned into a robot. and the projection on her face was dark. I also thought it was cool when light blue eyes were projected onto her. I bet she was actually closing her eyes. This video reminded me of the tattoo projection video we saw in  class where the tattoos moved and changed. I think tattoo projection will also be functional and not just an art form. Tattoo artists will project the tattoo a person want onto their skin and trace it.

Ice Hockey Projection

Video art is a really cool medium. I like the projection that did on the ice hockey rink because it had good movement and depth. Even though we all know the ice rink is flat on the bottom, the video make it appear to protrude both inward and outward. I think it was also effective when they used video of moving substances such as water to make the ice come to life. I think they could add to the idea by having people on the ice interact with the video displays.

Oprah's Flash Mob

I can't believe the shear size of the flashmob at the black eyed peas concert. I don't think there has ever been a bigger flash mob. I have to image it took a ton of practice to get all those people to do the right thing at the right time. I thought it was really funny how excited Oprah was about the flash mob taking a video on her super old phone! Im sad because I feel like flash mobs aren't as cool anymore because people just expect them now.

Banksy

I am a big fan of Banksy's art. I think street art is important because it is a way to see the the truth behind a population. Street art is the one place where things aren't sugarcoated. Street art in the most pure and honest form of art. I hope someday to make street art but I'm not sure I want to get caught! I think for now I will just stick to appreciating it. I think there should be walls in cities designated to legal street art. Street art gives a city character.

Girl Dancing on Butter

The first things that come to mind I think of our Art and Tech class is the girl dancing on butter. That was literally the funniest thing I have ever seen. I feel really bad that she took it so seriously! I really really contemplated doing my personal performance art on a variation of the butter dance. Looking back I wish I did gymnastics in butter or Danced on butter while my friends threw tomatoes at me. I hope that someday in my future I get the opportunity to dance on butter. I will take it very seriously.

1984: Dawn of the Mac

As I sit here using my beautiful macbook computer it is interesting to think about how much Macs have changed and how influential they have been on society. I personally am a Big believer in apple products because they are easy to use and are good quality. Knock on wood I have yet to break an iPhone and I drop them all the time, therefore I think those who break them are idiots for not protecting them with a case. I am also extremely obsessed with my computer, I'm not typically a material girl but between the elegant, clean look and the perfect functionality I just couldn't ask for better. I think apple is my favorite company.

Portraits Made Using People as Pixels

This type of art is really inspiring. I would love to keep looking at more work done by Craig Alan. I think it was very creative of him to use people as a piece of his art. Typically when people are in artwork they are the center of attention, however Craig shows us that when people come together they can make something bigger than themselves. I couldn't imagine orchestrating all those people. I could imagine it would be very frustrating. I think part of the reason the images are so unique is because there is so much curiosity as to how he got all the people in the exact place they needed to be.

Nintendo History

Its so interesting that nintendo didn't start off as a video game company. Im surprised they didn't continue to make the playing cards to compete with Pokemon cards and Yugio cards. Both the card games were very successful during my childhood. Im glad Nintendo wasn't super successful at the start because if they were they may never have come up with some of the amazing things we have today. My brothers were always obsessed with nintendo. I am in love with wii. My friends and I have spent countless hours throwing bananas at each other in Mario Cart. I feel like nintendo has been one brand that truly shaped my childhood.

performance art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw4rwLoIu5I

For my performance art video I knew I wanted to attempt to be a little funny. I also really wanted to use the silk aerials for my project because I enjoy them and I think they are ascetically pleasing. I decided I would do a skit like project. I headed to plant park with a friend and a Tripod. We shot a bunch of take of me doing the silks. Next I edited the videos together in iMovie. After watching the edited I decided I needed something more to help with the story line so I added a voice over of what I was thinking while I was performing. Overall I am happy with my piece.

Lucy

I think the way the actual content of TV shows has changed is fascinating. In the old days the TV shows were based on the concept of the average everyday americans. They focused on the perfect nuclear families. Todays  TV shows are more likely to focus on the abnormal. Sci-fi is a growing TV genre. people today love their vampires, werewolves, and superheroes. Today many shows with reality characters are not just for adults but for kids too. Cartoons used to be the only shows geared towards kids. Reality TV is another growing type of TV that I love to watch.

Television

I can't believe how much televisions have evolved in my lifetime alone. When I was born every household had a TV, however, the functionality of the TV was terrible compared to today. I can't imagine going back to a time when you didn't know was was playing on a certain channel until you actually flipped to that channel. If there was a commercials on, you had to wait until they were over to see what was on. It was a major waste of time. Now we can see whats on the channels without ever going to them, we can even record shows and watch new movies. I am completely obsessed with TV and I am thankful for the progress that has been made. The first TV's ever made were so funny looking.

Telephone

It's amazing to see how far the telephone has come. I can't believe it has been just a little over 100 years since we had no form of communication besides face to face interaction and letters. The other concept I think is so interesting is that people actually had to use switch boards to connect people. People could only make calls from 8 am to 6pm. Telephones have allowed us so many freedoms that the people before my generation didn't have. Even in just my life time, we went from having nothing but the ability to speak on the phone to being able to do just about anything on our phones.
When I was younger my parents left me with a babysitter. My parent's left their phone number on the fridge for the babysitter. The power went out and it was dark. My babysitter couldn't read the phone number to call my parents. Times have changed so much since then, now our phones light up an have all the contact numbers in them.

Nontraditional Grid

For my non traditional grid I first started looking for objects that were laying around my room. Believe it or not I had both mini red solo cups and ping pong balls already in my room. The colors reminded me or an american flag. I soon decided I could use the cups and balls to make stripes. I could have put the stars in a grid form too but I decided to use my creative license and scatter the stars because it looked more appealing to the eye.

Flip Book

My flip book was inspired by the process of life. Things that are beautiful are always fleeting. We can't hold on to beauty and we can hold on to life, so we must appreciate both in the moment. I also thought I was very funny with my poem. I wanted the assignment to be both serious and Fun. My flip book came out a lot better than I thought it would.

3D Printed Toy/Weapon

My 3D toy/weapon is a robot. When you press my robots head button his fists shoot out of his arms and stab people directly in the eyes. He looks cute and innocent but he is actually a very dangerous robot. I created him using Maya. I am very happy with how well the print came out. My 3d animation teacher gave me some tips and tricks to a successful print. My only regret is that I didn't print him in pink!

Stencil

My stencil centers around the idea of gay pride. Although I'm not gay, I believe everyone should have the right to marry whoever they love. I couldn't image being told that I wasn't allowed to like boys. I wouldn't be able to help liking boys. I'm glad to see that the world is changing and being Gay is becoming more and more socially acceptable. Love makes the world a better place and everyone deserves to experience true love.

For the stencil process I drew the picture and hand wrote the words. I used a box cutter to cut out my design. I then used gold spray paint to make an image with my stencil.

William Little Wicked Cool NASA Guy

I'm so glad we got the privilege to listen to someone that works somewhere as prestigious as NASA speak to our class. I really liked seeing what he was working on. Im very interested in the virtual reality because I believe that working with software such as maya will someday lead to the creation of the world within the reality. I think there is a strong possibility that I will be working in the virtual reality realm. Virtual reality relates well to what I did for my art and tech presentation. I made a 3D hologram with plastic and my iPhone. The image that came out of the iPhone screen was almost like a virtual reality. Anyway I just really really like learning about space so I was excited to hear from someone who has first hand experience in the industry.

Amateur Photography

The idea that amateur photography from the past is now considered to be noteworthy to the history of photography really makes me think. At the time people took photography just for the joy of it, and now the works sells for money. I wonder if the same thing will happen after my generation dies. I think the problem is there are too many photos for photography collectors to be about to find photos of importance. By no longer using film, the planet has drastically increased the number of photos that exist. I secretly someday hope that someone discovers my iPhone pictures and thinks they are important, however, I doubt it!

The Making of Walt Disney Cartoons

I can't believe how much effort goes into the creation of one Walt Disney Cartoon. I thought it was funny to see that there is both a night shift and a day shift of animators. The other thing I didn't previously realize about making the characters is that the animators use their own facial expressions. The animators look in the mirror while animating to help show the emotions they want the characters to portray. I'm learning a lot in my 3D animation class about how animations are created now. I think it is beneficial to go back and learn the history of animation. Understanding the old process helps me better understand the digital process.

Camera Obscura

The camera obscura still fascinates me even though this is the second time I have learned about it. The idea that light reflects upside-down and will portray a perfect image amazes me. It mimics the way that the eye works. Our eyes take in light upside-down and our brain flips it around. My digital imaging professor showed us a film that mentioned the camera obscura. One piece of the film that stuck out to me talked about rich women and their use of the camera obscura. Rich women in the old days, who were interested in art, would take the small portable version of a camera obscura, sit by the lake, and sketch the image that came through the hole in the box. One of their husbands got jealous because he had no sketching ability. It motivated him to invent the camera.

Wicked behind the scenes

I have had the privilege of getting to see Wicked on Broadway twice. I was super excited to get a behind the scenes look. The first video I watched was about the wigs. Every wig is custom fit to the head of the actor of actress. The wig makers then sew every hair to the wig individually. They didn't say whether the hair was real or fake. To be honest even after seeing the show twice I didn't realize the actors were wearing wigs. The Makeup people obviously do a really great job blending the wig into the scalp of the person wearing it. I also watched the makeup artists turn alphabet green. I though it was interesting to find out that over the coarse of the show she progressively gets greener and greener. The people behind wicked clearly haven't left out a single detail.

Vaudeville

I will first start off by saying that I though the girl dancing with the chair in her mouth was pretty insane. I bet that takes a lot of skill and really healthy teeth. The trapeze act was fun to watch because I actually do the trapeze as well as other acrobatic acts in the air. I focus on the tricks instead of taking my clothes off though. If I was alive when Vaudeville was popular I think I would have really liked to participate. I'm not sure why the art form of performing acrobats died out. Acrobatics truly are entertaining!

Les Miserables

For my last blog about opera I'm choosing to talk about my personal experience. The closest thing I have ever experienced to an opera in real life is Les Miserables (the movie version). Most people conclude that Les Miserables isn't a true opera because the music is modern. I think it shares many similarities to the opera. When I was a child my mom would play the sound track to Les Mis in the car so I know all of the songs. She always said that when I was older she would take me to see it. At the time she thought the gun violence would be too much for me to handle. We ended up seeing the movie together, but I still hope that one day we can see it together live! My favorite number from Les Mis is the song that Claudette sings Castle on a Cloud.

Ring Cycle at the Met

I really liked the link titled Ring Cycle at the Met. Im not very interested in the opera however I am very interested in staging and architecture. I think the moving piano like pieces really add something to the opera show. It makes an art form that has become outdated modern and exciting. I believe that for opera to continue to compete with new and entertaining art forms producers must continue to come up with creative ways to keep the audience engaged. The moving pieces are a perfect example of the beauty that can be created when art and technology collide.

Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly was very interesting. I thought the most interesting part was that the mother and daughter were attached by her umbilical cord. I also didn't understand why they flew like kites. I think the video was very abstract. I thought that it was a very powerful statement when the mother tor her body apart limb for limb. It shows the importance of family and relationships and how losing such a valuable things can literally eat you alive. My mom always say I'm the most important thing in the world to her. I can see this video figuratively describing how my mom would feel if she lost me. I think this video also emphasizes the venerability that men can sometimes make women feel when they fall in love. Women, typically more emotional then men, can fall so in love that they fail to see what was going on. I think every women can relate to the betrayal the women in the video experienced when she saw that the sailor had moved on and was in love with someone new.

Opera Video Game Paper

I have always loved the story of Romeo and Juliet so for this project I wanted to embrace it as an Opera and put my own spin on it for the video game. I think love is a cool element for a video game because it is not traditionally found in the video game market. I believe my video game would be successful because there are so many variations and ways to play.


Kylie Lowell

Art and Technology

16 February 2016

Roméo et Juliette Turned video Game

The opera Roméo et Juliette is based on William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The opera Features five acts created by Charles Gounod. Roméo et Juliette could first be watched in Paris on April 27 1867, three hundred years after the story was first told by Shakespeare himself. In the original version of this opera Juliette’s voice was sung in a soprano while her lover Romeo’s voice complemented her’s singing in tenor. In the first act of Gounod’s version of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sneaks into a ball he is not invited to and meets Juliet for the first time. Just as they reveal their identities to each other, Tybalt the antagonist of the story realizes Romeo is an intruder and wants revenge. In the following act Romeo and Juliet exchange their vows of love. In act three Tybalt kills Romeo’s right hand man, and therefore Romeo Kills Tybalt. The duke then banishes Romeo. In act 4 Romeo and Juliet spend one last romantic night together before Romeo leaves for exile. Meanwhile Juliet is expected to marry another man. Juliet and the friar devise a plan to reunite the two lovers. Juliette will drink a potion that will make her appear dead, then Romeo can come to her tomb and whisk her away. Unfortunately in Act 5 Romeo never receives the news that Juliet faked her death. He believes Juliet is truly dead, so he too drinks poison. The lovers sing one last duet before the poison kills Romeo. Juliet, unable to live without him, stabs herself to reunite with her lover in death.

In the video Game version of this tragic opera the goal is to reunite the two lovers in life instead of in death, however, there is a twist. This video game is set in the modern era to relate to millennials. The video game operator will play the part of Romeo. The player will be able to customize Romeo’s guns, chains, tattoos, bandana, and outfit. The player will also be able to customize his damsel in distress, Juliet, to fit whatever misogynistic image he has of a woman. Her eye, hair, and skin color will be customizable. The player will also be able to pick Juliet’s body type and outfit. After the player customizes his characters he is ready to play.

In the first level of the game Romeo will start outside of the club. Unfortunately Romeo isn’t 21 and he doesn’t have a fake ID so it will not be easy to get into the club. He will have to figure out how to sneak in with out being caught be the Bouncers or Tybalt. If the player is unable to sneak in without being seen he will lose his life and be forced to start over. The game player can try to get into the club using numerous tactics. He can scale the walls, kill the guards, use disguises in typical Romeo fashion, or find a secret entrance. Once the player is inside of the club his next objective is to find Juliet without running into Tybalt. Juliet looks like all the other chicks at the club dressed in short skirts and belly tops. The only way Romeo can find her is by matching on Tinder. Once matched, Romeo can see how close he is to Juliet measured in feet. Finally the distance measurement on tinder will lead him to a door that Juliet is behind. The player then leads Romeo throw an obstacle course of climbing through lasers and being chased by bouncers until he finally reaches Juliet. The player has made it to level two.

In level two the objective is for the player to kill Tybalt, who wants to get revenge on Romeo, because until he is dead Romeo and Juliet cannot live peacefully. Level Two will be set in an alleyway where the player will have a shoot off with Tybalt. The player is only able to hide behind cars and trashcans. If the player kills Tybalt he advances, if not, he is sent back to the start of the game.

The players next step in level three is to steal capture Juliet from her home before she is forced to marry a man she does not love. To capture Juliet, Romeo has to work his way through the hotel that she lives in sneaking past or killing anyone he sees. If the player takes too long to get to Juliet she may already be drugged and therefore unable to leave with him. The player must find different objects throughout Juliet’s house and mix them up into a special potion that will wake her up. If the player mixes the wrong ingredients together he will kill Juliet. If Juliet survives and wakes up the player will pass the level.

In the final level Romeo must drive Juliet to a far away land where they will both be safe. On the road to the far away land there are landmines, cars driving the wrong direction on the roads, as well as various other surprises. In this level it seems the whole world wants to keep Romeo and Juliet from being together. If the player can make it through the deadly drive he will win the game.

This video game will be a great seller because it has all the necessary components of a video game. There are girls, guns, violence, and fast cars. The target market for this game will be men because it has the misogynistic ideas that men always save the hopeless women. The game will be something players want to play multiple times because the tactics and locations of the enemies in each level will continue to change. Other features of this game will include a two-player mode where two people can work together to save Juliet. In the bonus pack there will be a version of the game where the player can play as Tybalt and the object will be to keep Romeo and Juliet from living happily ever after.

We're Human

I thought the experiments done on the correlation between messiness and deviation and neatness and positive attributes was very fascinating. I also liked the one about messiness and creativity . I find these correlations very interesting because I struggle to do creative projects when my room is messy. Before I can't start any creative project I have to clean my room first . I can't think with a mess on my mind . I do think there is something to be said for people with messy minds having more creativity . Clean clear minds have no needs to organize their thoughts into art. It helps us people with messy minds make something we can understand .

Paper Airplane

My paper airplane flew surprisingly well. I came in 4th in the contest for distance. Im glad I choose a more complicated design instead of making an easy plane. I personally think my plane should have won for best decorated too. I can also fold paper swans!

Technology and art: Engineering the future

I appreciate that the practice of art making is now being shared on the internet instead of just in galleries because the measure of what is or isn't good art is so subjective that I personally believe it should be up to the interpretation of the individual to decide if they like a piece. Internet has also given exposure to artist who struggled to get it in the past, allowing them to receive the praise they deserve. In the past a lot of art was considered art based on who made it and not what was made. I believe art should be judged on an individual basis and not promoted due to a popular name. The internet has given art the freedom it needs to be shared limitlessly without the effect of status. It is so important to have the internet for displaying art because there are no longer limits on who is able to create. We can all be heard through our art work if we so choose.

Diva

I really enjoyed watching Diva, I didn't think it was too slow. It kept my attention because I really wanted to know what was on the tape that belonged to the girl who the bad guys killed. My favorite part of the movie was when The weird guy who does puzzles met up with the bad officer to trade the tape for the money. I thought it was so interesting how clever he was with his planning so that he was able to "kill two birds with one stone" where he got money and got rid of the people who wanted the diva's recording. The puzzle guy was definitely my favorite character. I also enjoyed where he saved the day by turning off the lights and then moving the light switch so the bad cop fell down the elevator shop.

As far as art and technology is concerned I think that things seem very different from the Diva's perspective than ours. We live in a later society where the recording of music is a regular practice, however at the time where this movie is set recording isn't so common. The Diva was probably right to be concerned with the release of her music. She may have felt that her music would loose its authenticity or her concerts would lose their value. I however think she was just scared of hearing her own voice. I think a good point is that recording can be an effective way to make the Diva's voice timeless so people beyond her lifetime can enjoy her voice too. I personally don't think recordings take away from concert experiences because knowing the music before going to the concert makes it feel that much more special when I can sing along. I want to rewatch Diva and try to keep track of all the switching tapes next time.

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia museum is beautiful. It reminds of a cathedral church I visited when I was in Spain that had the same dome like shape. The whole dome was painted with exquisite over the top paintings that were awe inspiring. The dome shape also fulfilled the purpose of carrying sound throughout the church. Every time I see a dome it brings me back to junior year when I looked up at the dome ceiling in shock because I never thought something could be so beautiful.

Lynda Benglis in Season 6 of "Art in the Twenty-First Century"

I really really like Lynda's work. I find the forms she made with the installation material

to be fascinating. Im confused if they are backlit or if they really glow in the dark. If they really glow in the dark that is even cooler! I liked what she had to say about how she wonders weather vertical movement in art is supposed to be read from the top down or the bottom up. I personally read her pieces from the top down because I think that is the way they flow. It's interesting how when looking at the piece from bottom to top it can take on a whole new meaning in its relationship with gravity. I love abstract art because it inspires a whole new possibility for more abstract art. Things don't have to look like anything specific to be beautiful. Forms themselves are beautiful especially when they depict movement. 

The world of wrestling

I don't think I can quite agree with how deep the author got into the meaning of wrestling and it's point. I think the authors points were a bit abstract without a lot of hard evidence. I believe that the author can interpret wrestling to have a deeper level but that doesn't mean wrestling actually does. I agree that wrestling is a spectacle, but I don't think viewers watch it any differently than they watch a play or a sport. Yes viewers are enthralled by each and every movement but that doesn't mean that the viewer doesn't care about the outcome. Why would the individual ups and downs of the battle matter if there was no ultimate loser or winner. No matter how over the top each wrestling move is, the move itself would be insignificant without the sense of competition. In conclusion, wrestling has the spectacle of a theater performance with the competition of a sport.

Panopticon

I think the concept of the prisoners never knowing if there being watched is only half effective. We as humans all face the fear of the unknown, but that doesn't stop of from continuing to live our lives and face the unknown. I find it hard to believe that none of the prisoners (people who are already known to deviate from society's rules) wouldn't test the level of watchfulness of the guards. All it takes is one prisoner to realize they aren't being watched as closely as they thought they were for all hell to break loose. I have watched tons of prison shows and it is amazing to see how creative prisoners are with what they have. Prisoners are great innovators in the field of art and technology. They can make blades out of toothbrushes or sell meth on greeting cards. The word probably got out quickly through the prison that they could continue to cause trouble under the radar. This would especially make sense because although the circular shape helps the watchers, the same circle shape also promotes communication from one prisoner to another.

Foucault

I understand the concept behind making the prison in an oval shape so that one guard can see every prisoner at once, however it scares me that that same concept is being carried into the lives of rule abiding citizens as a means of surveillance. I believe that prisoners deserve the tight surveillance they receive because they are guilty, but for the rest of us what happened to innocent until proven guilty? The fact that Foucault sees this principle as a way to make people fear they are are always being watched scares me. I do feel like I am always being watched. I am especially nervous about the computer webcam that is starring at me right now because the government could be watching me on it. Im going to cover me webcam. I don't think that people should be watched unless they have already done something wrong. To treat everyone as a suspect does not seem just to me. I think the upside of the principle of always being watched is a positive when someone needs to be watched. The circle or U shape is extremely effective for people in intensive care. They may even align new borns in the similar circle shape so that the doctors can see them all at once. In conclusion yes the U shape can be an effective measure of surveillance however the principle that goes with it of making people feel like they are always being watched bothers me.

Art vs Design

I found the Art vs Design article rather interesting because I currently think that I make art and I want to be a designer, but I'm not sure i realized that there was a difference between the two words. The Author explains that while Art is a free flowing expression of passion, Design is a calculated, engineering like way of making something. I tend to like to "wing it" and just see what happens as I go, so at this point in time I would consider myself more of an artist than a designer. I agree with the author that when artist use guidelines from past artists they are in a sense making a design and not a piece of art. I truly believe that art work has to be something that comes from the heart of the wild imagination of the brain. I really hope to be a designer one day because although I value winging it, I have noticed that often times a solid plan leads to a beautiful creation.

Art and Technology

Art -"The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as paintings or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." Dictionary.com

Technology- "The application of specific knowledge for practical purposes especially in industry."
Dictionary.com

Art and Technology- "Branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment" Dictionary.com

My personal definition of art is anything that is created as a means of sharing inspiration. Art can range from a simplistic hobby to a full time career.
I believe Technology is anything that can be used to improve the efficiency of the way we do things.
To me art and technology can mean two things:
1) using technology (computers, printers, exc.) to create art.
2) Technology incorporated into art pieces, such as art that moves or is on led screens.
I also think beautiful pieces of technology can be consider art forms.