Sight - Short Film

Sight is a short futuristic film. I really liked it in the beginning when he was playing the game,yet as it went on I found it more creepy. This video is a bit sad because it shows the lack of creativity now a days. When looking at the house and restaurant, it was bare, all anyone could see if what they wanted to see through their own eyes. And, the end especially frightened me, because he had the ability to control her and begin their introduction over again. It is neat to see something like this, but I would not want something installed or implanted in my body to make me a robot.

The Smiths

I never  heard of the Smiths until I googled them and found out who they were. The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982,  and active till 1987. The band consisted of vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce.There music is mostly alternative rock and indie pop. They are known as the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. 

The Smiths really changed what was to come for music. When the Smiths came into play they changed everything. Their electric music caught the attention of everyone and they created a new wave of music for society. I find it really neat to see how so many different things can be going on, yet with the exposure of one entity can change everything.

Massive Attack

I never knew who Massive Attack was until I googled them. They are a group that formed in 1988 and was a very influential group. This band has a variety of sounds from electronic to experimental rock and hip hop. 

I decided to listen to the song Any Love 12, the song sounds very electronic but I enjoyed it! 

Golan Levin Interview & Flong.com

Golan Levin was born in 1972 is an American new media artist, composer,performer and engineer interested in developing artifacts and events which explore rich new modes of reactive expression. I thought this interview was really neat because it was not actually Levin himself presenting the interview, rather a 3D and holographic form of himself. He brought up many good points and answered many good questions. Its interesting when the question came up about should we be scared or excited when computers surpass humans. His answer was interesting, because he said he thinks this will never happen, yet there will come a point when computers become advanced they will fool us.  He says they will be so advanced so many new creations and technologies will be formed. 

Flong.com

I really think Flong is a interesting website. I clicked on Eyecode (Golan Levin, 2007) which is an interactive installation whose display is wholly constructed from its own history of being viewed. "By means of a hidden camera, the system records and replays brief video clips of its viewers' eyes. Each clip is articulated by the duration between two of the viewer's blinks. The unnerving result is a typographic tapestry of recursive observation." 

Presentation Vs. Representation Video Project

When I think of Presentation and Representation, I always thought they were similar. With this video project I gave it more thought and I began to understand the difference. Representation is showing with another meaning behind it. Presentation is mostly just the showing of something. Representation is symbolizing something else, or indicating something below the surface of what you’re presenting. For this video project, I decided to show the presentation of a music festival called Sunfest, in West Palm Beach, Fl. Sunfest is known for there gathering of many people, where they can shop, dance, drink, and listen to live performances. This festival is presented in this way than I went to this event to represent what the actual experience was behind going to Sunfest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Jh0dwVz7s

Roland TR 808

The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer (a.k.a. the "808") was one of the first programmable drum machines ("TR" serving as an initialism forTransistor Rhythm). 


The first song I recognized that used the The TR-808 and popularized this machine in 1982, with the release of the mainstream American hits "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye.

The next song I chose was Kanye West's song "Love Lockdown". 

“Love Lockdown,” in particular, starts with as stark and spartan an 808 beat as you’ll ever hear — a single, echoing beat, its sound quickly decaying into silence.

Another song that uses the 808 is by theTalking Heads , “Psycho Killer” . 

Video Arts. com

http://www.videoartes.com/videoartes/Social.html
This is the first video I watched on this website. This video is very unique and caught my eye. It is broken into 3 sections and in different colors. It had many different things flashing on the screen. There were things like numbers, a skull, guns, planes, American Flag, dropping missiles, and shapes. I enjoyed this video because it was trippy in a way. I liked the flashing of colors and shapes over the picture they were showing.

http://www.videoartes.com/videoartes/Nuevos.html
This is the next video I chose to Watch. Its under the name Nuevos. I liked this short clip because it looks like its putting a robot together. This short clip flashes back and forth of what the parts of the machine its showing.


http://www.videoartes.com/videoartes/Abstracto.html
This is the next Clip I decided to watch. This short clip is very neat because it looks like holograms being moved around. I thought the part with the numbers and symbols was very cool the way it was moving. It looks like your being taken through a time warp or something in space.

Performance Art Piece

My major is still undecided so I had time to brainstorm and think of things that really interest me. I really enjoy kids and am interested in being an elementary school teacher. I decided to go to the international mall and go to the children's play area. It was really hard to think of a video performance piece and use children without parents being concerned or just looking sketchy. In the play area I decided to wear a white T shirt and ask if the little kids wanted to draw on my shirt. I came up with this idea because love to draw and is a way for them to express there mind. It was interesting to see how the kids reacted to something unfamiliar, but once one kid was like yeah I would love too they all seemed to follow! Some parents came over to me and liked the idea and others didn't even acknowledge there kids drawing on my shirt. The kids were fun to be around and I really enjoy the innocence and silliness of young kids. If I do become a teacher I want to be able to come up with fun activities to keep there mind stimulated.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVJzL2j_0xA

Video Mapping

Projection mapping, also known as video mapping, is a projection technology used to turn objects, often irregularly shaped, into a display surface for video projection. The projection is usually done on screens or even on buildings. By using specialized software, a two- or three-dimensional object is spatially mapped on the virtual program which mimics the real environment it is to be projected on.  People can put videos, make objects, put pictures up by using this type of projection. This form of technology has became very popular all over the world. 


My First Example I chose was Kanye West's use of video of projection. Projection Advertising, the UK’s leading projection specialist, has been working on a guerilla-style marketing campaign for rap musician Kanye West. The campaign, which ran from 17th to 18th May, involved projecting West’s video for his latest song ‘New Slaves’ on to 66 buildings around the world. On the first night of the campaign, the premier went live at the same local time all over the world. Projection Advertising was responsible for Europe, projecting on buildings at 21 locations in London, Berlin, and Paris.

The Next example I came across was from the website of http://thetheory.co.uk/. 

"The Theory presents the world's smallest all action police chase (2.5 minutes / live action & mixed media). Directing duo The Theory presents the tiniest police chase ever seen, made using the world's smallest 'pocket video projectors'. Featuring an escaped convict, a determined cop and a fully armed police helicopter, Speed of Light takes 'projection mapping' to a whole new (and low) level. Speed of Light was all projected and filmed FOR REAL - there's no CGI trickery." This was a very fun video to watch and looked so real! 

The last example I used was from the company  Light Harvest. They assembled a whole team of artists for this unusual mapping for Manhattan Bridge. The animation makes great use of the" heavily rusticated facade of the bridge but where it really shines is in the tunnels underneath." The entire curved ceiling becomes animated, when entering the tunnel the audience becomes immersed in the projection. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkkl_4mF9W4

Commercial vs. Propaganda

Commercial can mean a few things. First it can be concerned with or engaged in commerce, or making or intended to make a profit, a television or radio advertisement. It usually is prepared, done, or acting with sole or chief emphasis onsalability, profit, or success.  Commercial has more of advertising aspect, where they want someone to like something of theres so they show it off. 


Propaganda is information that is not impartial and used primarily to influence the people, by presenting facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular union, or using powerful messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of a population toward some cause or position. Propaganda can be more political and religious and can distort facts about what they want you to believe. 

Xerox Projects critique

Gina B,

Gina, your project was very creative! I thought the skirt was actually really beautiful. The luffa used for the main part of the skirt gave it a great looking texture. I thought the concept of your everyday use of things was smart. It was neat to see how those things used everyday to cover your body, and you actually made it cover your body was very clever!

Andrea D,

Andrea I really thought your shirt was very pretty. It looks like a shirt I would wear. I thought the hands and lips were very detailed and look very enhanced on a shirt.

Bryan,

Bryan I thought your project was very interesting. I thought it was unique to see eyes covering a toilet because a toilet is a very private place.

Spencer,

Spencer I thought your project had a great meaning. I love the quote, "As one door closes another door opens". I thought the flower was interesting to portray something new blooming in your life.

Kirby,

I really thought your project was great! I thought it was unique because it ended up looking like the Kali Goddess. I like the idea of you wearing a crown!

Marveen,

Marveen I enjoyed your project because you related your project to your culture! I really like the African masks.

Katelyn P,

I thought your project was amazing! I really like how you incorporated your dog in the project. I thought it looked very lifelike and detailed.


Leah,
I thought your project was very clever! I love the details of your tattoo were very interesting.


Ralph,

I thought your project was amazing! I really like how you related your project to the song Strange Fruit. Your concept of those eggs hanging from the tree were very powerful.

Kyle,

Kyle I thought your hat was a very good idea! I like the spin on the top and it was very detailed.

Xerox Project

For this project, I was inspired by influences of college. Coming to college has made me see and experience new things for the bad and good. I made a poster portraying these things of college.

As you can see the left side is the more negative side of the influences of college. The bracelet I chose that is over the middle finger is "kandi" which I was influenced with these types of bracelets at events at Amp in Ybor and with events that involve EDM music. The pill bottle and pills to represent the drug use I have came across being in college. Then the cigarette, lighter, and pack of white owl, I chose to show that a lot people smoke in college and I started to while being out in bars and realized that it had a huge affect on my lungs. I chose to put my inhaler in there because I am constantly sick and relying on my inhaler to breathe. 

The right side shows more a positive side of college. I love having a car at school which has given me a lot of freedom. The Drake ticket to show that I love going to concerts here. I chose to put my room inspection of approval in this to show that I have been responsible with my room and the rules. The pencil symbolizes school and how I enjoy learning. The peace sign and hang loose to symbolize the atmosphere at school, which is very relaxing and I spend most of my time by the pool or going to the beach. 

I chose to put the money in the middle because the use of money at school has been used for positive and negative things. Money plays a huge role in college, because I spent it to go out, alcohol, or other negatives uses, I should've saved it for concert events, or better things like going to the aquarium.  I've realized the long term affect of using money for the bad influences of colleges has only harmed myself, because I am constantly getting sick, and now saving my money for more positive uses. 

Dada Manifesto Tzara

Tristan Tzara born Samuel Rosenstock, was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. He was active as a journalist, playwright, art critic, composer and film director. He was best known for being one of the founders and central figures of the anti-establishmen Dada movement.

Dada or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. Dada was born in reaction to the horrors or World War I. The Origins of Dada are still unclear. 

In TRISTAN TZARA “Dada Manifesto 1918”, "The magic of a word—Dada—which has brought journalists to the gates of a world unforeseen, is of no importance to us."

He Explains; 

"Dada Means Nothing" 

The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature, poetry, art manifestoes, art theory,theatre, and graphic design. It concentrated its anti-war politics through a rejection of the existing standards in art through anti-art cultural works. Dada was also anti-bourgeois. 

Grid Art

For this project I decided to take 640 push pins and post them onto cork board material base. Then I decided to pick a picture and paint it onto these push pins. The picture I chose was me and my moms new born foal, Josie. I thought this would be unique and special to paint. I did show my mom the project and she loved it! I never really painted much in my life and realized this was a challenge but fun at the same time.

PersuasiveGames.com

I visited this site and found it really fun to learn about these games. 
They explain there games as, "Games communicate differently than other media; they not only deliver messages, but also simulate experiences. Our games influence players to take action through gameplay. While often thought to be just a leisure activity, games can also become rhetorical tools."


The first game I clicked and learned about was Colorfall. It is explained as,  "Colorfall is a puzzle game promoting cognitive health and physical activity. It was created in partnership with Humana Games for Health." Colorfall looks very addictive! 

Video Game Revolution

Growing up I had many different video games. When I was really young I would play Nintendo 64 with my family, and I remember playing Mario Cart, and always falling off rainbow road. Then as I got older I had a Gameboy, and then time went on that they created Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Xbox, and Playstation. 

This 2 hour presentation of the examination of the past, present, and future video game revolution was really interesting. The home computer was partially designed to play games. 
The Video Game Revolution examines first the history of games, beginning with a 1950s engineer named Ralph Baer who suggested that televisions should have on-screen game playing. In 1972,  an ex-circus barker named Nolan Bushnell produced "Pong", a bouncing dot that one would have to keep going back and forth, and this blew up in the gaming industry. 
In this program we also see interviews with game-making creators, many of them still involved in game-creation, including Shigeru "Donkey Kong" Miyamoto, Jason "Crash Bandicoot" Rubin, Will "The Sims" Wright, Chris "Dungeon Siege" and Megan "Nancy Drew" Gaiser. What I thought was interesting in this program was how they talk about violence and it becomes an issue. I actually agree with this. Young kids shooting guns and hurting people in a video game may cause them to act out in real life. A lot of video games involve violence which I am not a huge fan of. I like how this issue was brought to attention. 

Most Gamers today use strictly gaming machines, like Xbox and Playstation for the television. These developers are huge in the gaming industry and involves a lot of money in this industry. It takes a lot of time and development to create these games and machines. It shows how technology has changed over time. People dedicate so many hours developing these amazing games and machines. The future holds so much in store for us. Everyday 
new things are arising and being worked on. This is exciting for gamers! 

Triumph of the Nerds 1,2,3

Before I watched Triumph of the Nerds, I had no idea what this was going to be about. I found this very interesting to watch and I learned a lot. 

Triumph of the Nerds is a 1996 three hour American PBS documentary film that explores the development of the personal computer in the United States from WWII to 1995. It was written and hosted by Robert X. Cringely (Mark Stephens) and based on his 1992 book, Accidental Empires. The documentary is made up of numerous interviews with important people connected with the computer, and helped shaping what technology is today. 

Part 1 is a history lesson by Cringley in the birth of the personal computer and those who brought it to us.
Part 1 starts out by Cringely saying, "Hi, I'm Bob Cringely - and I'm here to tell you the incredible story of how personal computers took over the world. Why am I telling you this at a basketball game? Well, I like the game - but mainly it's because of that guy down there. His name is Paul Allen and everything you see here belongs to him -- the Portland Trailblazer's basketball team, their arena, even the dancers." 
I thought this was a great intro because it goes to show that technology and computers are part of our everyday life. He talks about people such as, Steve Jobs, Paul Allen, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Christine Comaford, Steve Ballmer, and Gordon Moore. These people are very significant in how they changed the culture of business, how they made history in the computer software world. 

Part 2 talks about IBM and how it was started by Tom Watson. It discusses how IBM had competitors such as Microsoft and Apple. It mentions how IBM did not buy Gate's OS. Part 2 ends by saying, "Eventually it because the OS and not the Hardware that drove the personal computer business and let Microsoft become one of the leaders of a one hundred billion dollar industry and IBM left in the dust."

Part 3 discusses the 1971 Xerox. It started in Palo Alto, Ca. at a place called PARC. The goal of PARC was to think of the future of computing and how to dominate the market. For years they developed and soon built a computer they called "Alto.", which cost them $10,000 to build and was never sold to the public. This computer was unique because it had a graphical user interface or GUI. One of the co-founders of Apple, Steve Jobs eventually took a tour of PARC and saw the Alto computer. It was after this viewing that he decided that a GUI on a computer was the way to go and the future of the personal computer and this inspired him to make a goal and create his envision of a computer. 

This viewing of the Triumph of the nerds really educated me on the history of computers and the people who influenced this industry. It gave me a better understanding of why technology is the way it is today. And without these people and creations where would we be today. 

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

The commencement speech made by Steve Jobs was very interesting to watch and I enjoyed it.
This  Commencement Speech delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, was said on June 12, 2005.
I thought this speech was very interesting in learning about Steve Jobs and how he became who he was. Finding out about Jobs's childhood was very interesting. He was put up for adoption because his parents wanted a girl, but the people who were going to adopt him found out that his biological parents never went to college, so they kept him and said one day he will go to college. At 17 he went to college but decided to drop out because he didn't see the value in it,  and said to himself everything will be okay. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UF8uR6Z6KLcA quote I really liked said by Steve is, "Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." 

He then discusses love and loss. He knew what he wanted to do early in life. He started creating Apple in his garage at 20 years old and this is when things began to take off and Apple became a 2 billion dollar company. 
He then talks about death. A quote that affected his life was, "
"If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." 

This stuck out to me because I love this outlook on life. Even though he was diagnosed with cancer he still remained positive and had a surgery and is fine now! He makes a point to only live your life a no one else's because time is limited. 

I love how he ended his speech with, "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.", which we should all remember to do!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

The Mother of all Demos

When I was told we had to read an article about this topic I had no idea what I was looking into and how important it was. Now I have a clearer understanding. 

"The Mother of All Demos" is a name given to Douglas Engelbart's December 9, 1968, computer demonstration at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. This was a live demonstration that featured the introduction of a complete computer hardware—software system called the oN-Line System or also known as, NLS. This presentation demonstrated the "fundamental elements of modern personal computing: multiple windows, hypertext, graphics, efficient navigation and command input, video conferencing, the computer mouse, word processing, dynamic file linking, revision control, and a collaborative real-time editor (collaborative work)." 

This demonstration showed what they had been working on for years and the hard work it took to get where we are today. This was life changing to the technology world. It was recently the 45 year anniversary of this public presentation and this was a big step for the advancement of computers and without this where would technology be today? 

Alan Turing

This article was a shock to me but interesting to understand the past and the unequal rights among citizens. It's interesting learning about Turing but very sad at the same time.

Turing was a young brilliant man, who was a WWII code breaker, mathematician, and founder of modern computers. What came a shock to me was that he was sent to chemical castration for being gay.  This was an innocent man who helped save our country and to be sentenced to death for just being gay makes me cringe. It goes to show how the world was back then and how we grow up in a different generation. I still don't understand how back then an innocent man can be sentenced to death for just having a preference in gender, and this is something I will never understand.
What I really liked about this article is that the magazine brings it to peoples attention that sexuality doesn't matter. Its what a human brings to the world, and clearly Turing was an amazing individual and a Hero!

MarkJStock.com

I really enjoyed browsing through Mark's artwork. Before I looked at the artwork I read about Mark's statement. He explains, "
My work involves still, video, real-time, and interactive installations with seamless interfaces featuring highly dynamic, detail-rich imagery. I eschew an over-reliance on hyper-realistic rendering in favor of detailed and convincing movements and inter-relationships. I am intrigued by the ability of decentralized collections of subjects to, when set in motion, self-organize into complex structures whose ensemble motion is greater than the sum of their original parts and which belie the simplicity of their algorithms. Themes present in my work include: emerging system dynamics, environmental adaptation, the concept of fluid as both material and motion, self-organized criticality of non-linear systems, tension between humanity and the natural world, and computation as a mediator between natural and virtual realities."

I thought this was important to read in order to understand him as an artist and to understand his work.

A piece that really stuck out to me even though looks plain and simple is Wave for Hokusai.

I love waves and for waves to be represented this way caught my eye because it is very unique and artsy. 

This work is a tribute to the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, whose woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (1829-32). It is one of the most-recognized pieces of Japanese art and is also appreciated by researchers as an early representation of the "turbulent cascade" of energy from large to small scales. What I thought was interesting about this piece is that the algorithm used to create the piece was the result of five years of research into vortex sheet dynamics, and still represents the state-of-the-art six years later. 

Another interesting thing I learned about this piece is the tension between the computational and natural worlds became all the more relevant when, shortly after creating the piece, a powerful earthquake struck the ocean floor off the shores of Japan, sending a tsunami over numerous coastal seawalls and causing suffering to many Japanese citizens. 

Singing in the Rain in a Clockwork Orange

This scene in the film of Singing in the Rain, though highly twisted and controversial, proves many points.
In this scene, Alex sings and dances with singing in the rain while beating a husband and raping his wife. The use of art is what Alex and the others use to detach themselves from the violent acts done. With Alex using Singing in the Rain, the scene takes a turn, which is the fact he is so oblivious yet so involved in his actions makes this scene horrific. Alex is able to distance himself from the horrors he is doing rather than realizing the suffering he is putting onto his victims. The use of irony is used because this is a happy song with such a violent act being done. The louder he sings and the more into the song he gets, where the more Alex beats and hurts the couple. 
Though the scene is very violent and hard to watch, without the song this would not be the same. It is interesting to see how different songs, whether good or bad, can be placed into a movie and completely give it a different meaning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWvWyYz9ttk

NYC Broadway

Last weekend I went to New York City with my family. On Saturday night we went to go see Rock of Ages on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theater. The theater was the smallest theater I've ever been too out of the many NYC broadway plays I have seen.
There was a small stage at the back of the big stage, where a small band was set up for the whole show where all the music was being played. Rock of Ages was such a great show, from the characters, to the singing, to the stage set, and the whole story of rock in general. The show is about a young guy and girl chasing there dreams, plus also about how rock changed over the years. The two main roles were done so well. They sang so great and were really connected with the crowd. What I loved about this show was the cast went into the audience and was in with the audience singing and dancing. What I also loved about this show was that they had a narrator for the whole show. He connected with the audience but even with the other actors, he was also so funny.
My family and I enjoyed this broadway play so much!

Flip Book Project

Flip Book


My Flip Book! Enjoy !

War of the Worlds

Orson Welles, War Of The Worlds, which was a Radio Broadcast during 1938.The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. 

It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network, directed and narrated by Orson Welles.

This broadcast was presented as world news, which suggested to many listeners that an actual alien invasion by Martians was taking place. It ran without commercial breaks, which added to the programs realism. This broadcast caused panic, anxiety, and tension, because this is post WWII, and some people took it as a real world broadcast. 

This is very interesting to me because it showed that people relied on the radio to hear news or entertainment. This broadcast sounded realistic to me, so back then to people it must of been very realistic. Even in the beginning of the broadcast it states its a fake broadcast, people would still get so consumed in media, that they think its real. 

Stop Motion

The first Stop Motion I watched was called Bumble Bee Boy, which is the little toy car transforming into a robot. It was neat to see how someone can film something like this and make it seem so real. It reminded me of Bumble Bee from the movie Transformers. I really enjoyed this animation because I loved the movie transformers.
\http://www.videoartes.com/videoartes/Stop_Motion.html

The second stop motion I watched was called Still Moving. This filming was interesting because its filming was of different places and all different angels. It definitely relates to its title name. The filming kept rolling and was capturing all these new places at different angles. I enjoyed this stop motion but not as much as the first one that had more animation and special effects.
http://www.videoartes.com/videoartes/Stop_Motion_II_.html

A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon is a 1902 French film directed by George Melies. In the beginning of this short film we see a group of men listening to what looks like a professor getting them ready for there journey. The astronomers who travel to the moon are launched out of what looks like a missal from a cannon. After they land, they all fell asleep and many things take place such as stars with faces and a comet. Once they have awaken, they go to explore the moon only leading to them being attacked by aliens to which they can not keep away. The men are taken to the head alien king, yet the men attack and escape. They make it back to there bullet and make their way towards Earth, landing in an ocean. Once rescued and brought back, they are congratulated with a ceremony and a parade. This was a fun short film to watch and I like the story being told. 

Professor Vaughn's Presentation

On Wednesday, our class went to Professor Vaughn's presentation in Reeves Theater. I enjoyed this presentation because I thought the way she portrayed her art was very fascinating.
Her work portrayed themes such as gender identity, transgender issues, chronology, and performance.  I enjoyed seeing the way she portrayed hair in this presentation. I also enjoyed this presentation because the themes that were present I thought were unique and I wasn't familiar with them. I am glad she pulled up her website and I recommend people take a look because her work is unique and really shows off her dedication to her work.

http://www.fineartvaughan.com/

The Birth and Life of Opera

I was never one to like Opera, understand it, or really appreciate it. After watching this documentary, I now have a better understanding for Opera and where it all began. Opera began 400 years ago in Florence, Italy, and most of its origins begins there. Opera is the Italian word for "work". Opera over time went through different Era's and through the era's Opera changed over time. Opera's were created to put on a musical show, with using vocals, stage sets, and a cast, to tell a dramatic story. Opera's became a way to portray important life message about social, political, and cultural issues. 
The Camareta," was a mixed bunch of" artists, writers, poets, philosophers, and scientists. It creates an art form combining music, poetry, dance, drama, and design in the manner of a Greek tragedy. 
Controversy in Opera began when Mozart produces an opera version of Beaumarchais' banned "Le Mariage de Figaro."  Mozart uses musical drama as a way to portray powerful messages. Opera's also focused on class struggles. The works of Verdi and Wagner," turn operas into nationalist propaganda." This created problems, and years later their operas are exploited by Mussolini and the Nazis. 
Popularity in Opera today includes the messages of Monteverdi's and his operas back then. 
Opera is significant and important to understand because without Opera we wouldn't of been able to influence Broadway and what it is today. 

Behind the Scenes: Wicked

Wicked is a broadway musical, based of the untold story of the Witches of Oz. I actually got to see this play in New York City a few years ago. This play is probably under my top 3 plays I have seen. This musical was really powerful and very fun to watch. It brought back memories of being a kid and watching the Wizard of Oz and it created more of an imagination with this musical. Watching this behind the scenes short clip on youtube was fun to see. The process of the musical took a lot of work. Seeing the cast and all the people work together shows how putting on a broadway musical takes team work. Seeing the props and technology needed for the production is neat to see because it shows how much it takes to make a broadway musical so great. The costumes and sets on stage are so detailed which shows how much effort is needed to make a production so great.

South Pacific

South Pacific is a broadway musical that started it production in 1949 and composed by Richard Rodgers. This broadway play is known for its strong message towards racism, which is still an issue seen today. One of the songs in the musical called, "You've got to be Carefully taught", is important because racial prejudice is carefully explored in this song. South Pacific is a known as a classic because of its confrontation to racism. It's sad to say because prejudice is still present today. I believe everyone is born equal, and no one can choose where they and born and raised. Everyone is made differently and born an individual, and some people lack this understanding. Thats why this musical is so important because it addresses the problem, which people need to understand the past to grow to a new future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_(musical)#Themes_and_cultural_effect

Article on Oculus

This article was really interesting to read. Learning about the Oculus was interesting because it explains how it gave a new kind of visual experience. The article explains that most of the material to design Oculus was gaming, the article explains, “A videogame system is set up to render any direction in realtime. In film, we are shooting one angle, one direction, and we’re editing it with intent. What this gives you is a whole other dimension of emotional connection.”Theres rumors of a newer version coming out that can take videoing to a new level. The video at the end, "Sound and Vision"  I enjoyed watching. The performers were really in touch with the crowd and I liked how the lead singer used a guitar and then had the back up singers too. It created a nice sound.

Madama Butterfly Animation

I am not a huge fan of Operas and I think the reason is because I barely knows what goes on or know what they are saying. I feel like I understand more with talking and communicating that way. This animation was actually really interesting to watch and I enjoyed it. This short animation and the way it was done kept my attention and I thought it was actually portrayed very well. This animation was beautiful but sad at the same time because she committed suicide. I usually don't enjoy opera songs but in this animation I enjoyed the song and I think this is because of the animation that went with it.

Deus Ex Machina

Deus Ex Machina is term meaning that there is a problem which seems impossible to solve, but is suddenly solved by a higher form. This could mean a new ability from of a character or object. As in simpler terms said by our professor, "technology saves the day". 

First example I can think of is in The Lord of the Flies. These boys are stranded on an island, and they select a leader, Ralph, who makes the rules of order, rescue and survival. Some of the other boys known as the hunters, who is led by Jack become more violent and animalistic by abandoning their responsibilities and lose a rescue oppurtunity in order to catch and kill a pig, plus they also get together to hurt one of the boys, Simon. Chaos begins, and Jack's group leads a manhunt for Ralph, during which the entire island is up in flames. In the end, Just as Jack catches up to Ralph, rescuers suddenly land on the island, the fight stops and the boys are taken home. 
Second example is the movie, The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Elizabeth Swan rescues William Turner, who happened to be wearing a medallion form the stolen treasure that his father sent him from the cursed Black Pearl. In the movie she wears it years later, and she falls in the ocean during a battle, sending a pulse through the ocean alerting the cursed pirates of its location. Then she is saved by Jack Sparrow, who was booted off the ship before the curse took place, now he is on the hunt to get his ship back. 
A third example of Deus ex machina is in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The Sword of Gryffindor, which is hidden in a hat, saves the day. Things change and become in Harry's favor when a Phoenix comes to help him, but then dies, and sheds magic tears, which gives him a magic sword to kill the somewhat like snake creature. 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deus%20ex%20machina

Raul Cuero's Interview about Creativity

Raul Cuero is a very interesting person. Author, professor, inventor and microbiology scientist Dr. Raul Cuero discusses how he overcame obstacles through creativity and is today one of the best known international contributors to gene science and technology. He is an example of a person who was the subject of discrimination and discouraging words, yet, he chose to rise above and become someone great. He shows that no matter what your background, you can still do and be what you want in life. A lot of people today from not so great backgrounds fail to see this. Raul Cuero is a very encouraging person to his students, and tells them to have a "universal consciousness", which is developing who you are as a person. He says the word creativity a lot, he realized that when people expect you to be limited, the only way to overcome this is changing the expectations by using creativity. Do what others don't expect you to do. Even growing up he had nothing, no toys, so he used roaches to play with and study them. 

I really enjoyed watching this interview because Raul is a man that had nothing but used creativity to become who he is today. We can apply this to everyday life by, coming up with ideas, good communication, and growing into the unique individuals we are. "Good things take time", life's a process, and great ideas take time, and "enjoy the process in the meantime".     

Juan Carlos Delgado

The work of Juan Carlos Delgado is something I've never seen before. The way he portrays his work is with the sculptures and with the ice on them. I think this way is very interesting. When I think of art I never pictured seeing something like this. I like how Juan Carlos uses more than one way to portray his work. He uses the sculptures and also ice. This is a way of multimedia. His works caught my eye because it is a form of art I have never seen before. I enjoyed his use of detail and it makes the art more interesting and more meaning behind it.

First Feelings

Hello, my name is Holly and I am a sophomore at the University of Tampa. My major is still undecided and Im still trying to figure out what I want to do. I just transferred into this class, so thats why
I missed the first class. I am interested in learning more about art and technology. This class seems interesting and seems like it will keep my attention. I am looking forward to learning more about art and  technology and to doing the projects that follow with this class.