Blog 5

1. The most significant accomplishment is finding the best way to express my big idea. In my midterm diptych, I set my big idea as "Experience" and it focused on my personal experience of leaving China to US alone to attend college. To show my complicated feelings of this experience, I used many images that contains emotions. For example, I used an image of eyes with tears to show my sadness of leaving family and friends and meanwhile facing some new problems of being independence.

2. I was quite confused about the layer adjustment at first because I thought it was complicated to use brush tool and selection tool to eliminate some parts of the image out of the adjustment. However, after times and times practice such as quiz 4 and final project, I am very familiar with layer adjustment right now and I find it easy and convenient to make some parts of the image remain the same while other parts changes with the layer adjustment.

3. Through midterm diptych and final project, I think I have a lot progress in making my artworks meaningful instead of just showing photoshop technique. In midterm diptych, I just made two artworks that contain using basic photoshop techniques and simply showing to viewers what is my big idea and what I was trying to convey. However, in the final project, I not only shows that I could use multiple photoshop techniques and clearly express my big idea. What is more important is that I learned how to make meaning in my work, showing that I desided to deliever my big idea through designing two magazine covers so that the viewers could really receive something from it such as they might be attracted by the beautiful places in China and US and become willing to experience by themselves.

Final Project Artist Statement

My big idea for final project is also the same as midterm project--Experience while I expressed it through a different subject-travel through China and Unites States. In my final project, I used my own photos which I took when I was traveling, and I apply the idea of quiz 1--making magazine covers, as the form of final project.
The first artwork is about China and I used the photos of my trip to Tibet last summer because I want to use the beautiful natural views in China as the attraction to viewers. The second the artwork is about my travel experience in US and the main photos I used is from my trip to New York this year since I wanted to set the modern and highly developed city views as the attraction to viewers. Besides, I used various selection tools, clone stamps, layer masks, image adjustment, layer styles, adjustment of layer forms and opacity and some other photoshop techniques in both artworks.
Through designing magazine covers, I think it fits my big idea a lot and meanwhile I can really let viewers notice that both China and Unites States are worthy for them to travel and experience the different styles of culture.

Blog #4

My big idea for final project is experience and the subject that I chosed to express this big idea is travel. And I will show the places that I have been to in China and United States through combining my own photos into two magazine covers. I am going to use selection tools, layer adjustment and mainly layer masks to change colors and brightness of the photos. The outcome images will be used as two months' travel magazines' covers and inform people that both US and China have many amazing places of interest so that it is worthy for people to visit and experience.

What inspire me are listed in the following:
"TRAVEL" magazine:

http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/travel-magazine-50-and-beyond-readers.html/shermans-travel-magazine

Marco Polo, a Chiristion Merchant from the Venetian Public explored China from europe and wrote his journal--The Travels of Marco Polo in 13th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo

Street Artwork in LA by normal people.

http://beautifuldecay.com/2011/04/28/support-la-street-artist-revok/

And I am going to apply a newly introduces technique in my final project--Stoke text with a bush and here's the hyperlinik of introduction: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photoshop-text/text-effects/stroke-text-with-brush.php

quiz4

I choose two totally different movie posters. The first one is for Legally Blonde, which talks about a inspiring story of a pretty girl who wants to be a lawyer. The poster uses some bright colors such as pink and blue as the theme colors to imply that this a relaxing movie talking about a pretty girl. And the intended audience is female especially young girls. However, the second poster is from a war film--Mutant Chronicles. There are 8 guys standing on the mountain and some of them are with guns in hand and the theme color is dark, all of which suggest that this is a war movie which most male audiences will be attracted.

Midterm Diptych with Artist Statement

My big idea is experience, and I express it through my personal story of leaving China to Unites States to start my new life alone.
I came up with this big idea by noticing that people are always experiencing through their whole lives and last year, my life had a big change which is I left home for the first time then come to a totally different country to experience college life and I learned and felt a lot.
Finally, I designed my first part of midterm diptych by showing Chinese culture and my emotions of home. I use pictures of Chinese traditional fan and architecture to show Chinese culture. Then, I use pictures of family, young couple hugging at the platform, eyes with tears to show that I miss everything in China so much. The second part is about US. I use a guy coming out from the mouth eagerly to indicate that how passionate I am to explore everything in a new country. And the pictures of the statue of Liberty, skyscrapers in the back and a girl facing the sea alone with her arms open implying that my stronge feelings of freedom, loneliness and amazement of a such a highly developed country.

Blog 3

The first artist that relates me with my big idea is Pierre Botardo.

The artist appeals to me first because of the titles of the image. The first one is "Doomed to walk alone" and the second one is "No place called home". As soon as I saw the titles, I think of my own big idea--Start new life alone. The big ideas of his images are being afraid of loneliness and the depression of travel around without a place to settle down. And I am inspired that the Pierre used various selection tools to combine different images together and to deliever his big ideas to the audience through the combination. For instance, in the first image, he used selection tools to make a shape of a person and combine it into the image of a road without people, indicating that he wants to express the idea of a person walking alone. I could also do the same thing in my final project, using various selection tools to bend different images together and meanwhile show the relation of these images.

The second artist who inspired me is Giuseppe Mastromatteo, who is a famous art director in advertising.

The reason why I was attracted by him is because I noticed that he used clone stamp tool in photoshop to creat these two images. These two images are all advertising images and it seems that the artist is trying to express that people have many different sides that others do not know others are treated by the appearance.  The most inpiring part in his images is he natually adjust the first girls eye to her arm and make a very natual face mask on the second girl's face.I know he has used the clone tool in photoshop, however, I am quite confused how he make everything seems so natual--especially the second image of the face mask! All in all, his art works reminds me to try my best to make my final project seems as much natual as possible so that the whole image will make the audience attracted and surpriced.

Hyperlinks:
http://pierrebotardo.com/#1354899/No-Place-Called-Home
http://www.giuseppemastromatteo.com/art-gindipend.html

Artist Statement Rough Draft

  My big idea is exploration of living in a new place alone and my theme is my own experience of leaving China and coming to US to start my new life.
  I express my big idea through showing different emotions, culture experience and some parts of life. For instance, I think of loneliness and freedom when I try to express my emotions of living in US. And I think of the culture gaps between China and US when I try to show the culture experience.
  I use photos of single person with depression look to convey the loneliness, thanksgiving pictures and OSU jump mirror lake picture to express the new experience in US. And I use photos of my family and pictures of couples to express I miss my family and boyfriend in China.
  The reason why I choose this big idea is that this is my real experience and I have many strong feelings about coming to a exactly new place and start my own life here. And I really want to share everything I feel and learn here.

ModMean Assignment

Blog #2

My three synonyms for big idea are: Independent, Alone, Free. The three clusters are as follows.

And two terms--Away and New World came to me when I serched images for the three synonyms.

Brain Storming Assignment

Brain Storming Assignment

BLOG discussion of Big Ideas and Artmaking by S. Walker

Question: How artists express their big ideas in their artworks?

Answer: In my opinion, artists express their big ideas connotively and denotively in their artworks. As the discussion of last class, I learn that big ideas is the main idea that the artist wants to express, which usually in the aspects of humanity and social science. Artists tend to express big ideas connotively through the subject of their artworks and denotively through the way that the artists depicts the subjects. 

Brainstorming Inclass Blog

human rights

culture gaps

individual

exploration through travel

money

education

home

distance relationship

home

success

culture gaps:

I came to United States for college. However, this is the first time that I leave home and experienced a a world that is totally different from I came from. There are many culture gaps that I noticed, including many aspects such as relationship, individualism, attitudes towards life.

distance relationship:

Since I am far away from home and far away from the lifestyle that I used to live in, I am far away from my  family, friends, boyfriend, which means I have to deal with the long distance relationship with my family,friends, and boyfriend.

success:

One of my biggest reason that I came to US for college is I want to obtain great success in my life. The great success I thought before I came here means great job, high salary, high reputation in society. However, after I came here,my thought has changed. I find out that success does not means only wealth and reputation. Maybe happiness and freedom are more important than material.

Blog #1

I am attracted by two pictures by Maciek Jasik.

This picture is called "Floating through color".

From the picture, I could see that a naked woman with her arms opened freely and her hair blowing which indicates that she is floating in a background of gradient colors--organge to yellow gradually, and then yellow to blue gradually. The whole picture gives me a feeling of softness and freedom. It seems like that the picture is conveying an idea that the woman floats in the color because she is naked, which suggests that people can get freedom as long as they take off their "clothes"--represents the rules and stress of daily life.

This is an portrait by Maciek Jasik. I could see that there's a young man wearing black jacket with the hat on stands in the windy cornfield all by himself. The young man gazes somewhere far away with a lost look. All of this make me think that the young man is lonely and he has lost his direction. It seems that the portrait delievers an idea of loneliness, confusion and depression in life.

Hyperlinks:

http://beautifuldecay.com/2011/04/04/maciek-jasik-floating-through-color/#more-42506

http://maciekjasik.com/

Blog discussion of Interpreting VC by T.Barett

Question:
How important is viewing visual culture with not only denotations but also connotations?
Answer:
It is very important to find out both denotations and connotations. From T.Barrett, I know that knowing the the ideas behind visual culture, such as an image or an object,  will influences our opinions and attitudes in life. If we agreed with the ideas, our opinions and attitudes will be reinforced. However, if we did not know the ideas behind visual culture, we might end up with accepting something that we don't agree at all.