Update on the website and other things...

Nahomi and I met with Kathy today and showed her what we have for the website. Kathy gave us some helpful feedback and went over the schedule for the 12th. Each group has 10 minutes to present their projects, which is 2 min. per person to talk about what they did. I'm going to have to get everyone together to go over this as well as to practice as a group. 10 minutes isn't a lot of time, so everyone needs to get to the core of what they want to say and have it plotted out so not too much rambling and Uh-uh-ing goes on.

As far as the website, we have some technical issues we need to work out... namely the sound for Bethany's page. Also the actual layout for our main page is a bit not pretty enough for me... so Nahomi and I will go in once Colin has everything linked and working, to make it more pleasing to the eye...

I'd also like to take sections from the seminar presentation and somehow include them on our website... but first I gotta figure out how to get the footage... then I'd have to figure out how to put it on the website... so it might not happen. We'll see how the rest of the weeks goes.Other than that, things are going well... hopefully we will be able to work out all technical problems in the next couple days and then it'll just be tweaking. Or at least, that's the plan.

Seminar Page...

For my seminar page, I'm discussing the 4th wall and how it affects the relationship between the Window and the Viewer. I reference a scene in Mulholland Drive, but since I can't embed the movie clip directly onto my page (because its from youtube) i'm going to post it here and have a link to it on my page.

Seminar Presentations

I think our seminar presentation night went off very smoothly. Both speakers did a great job of covering the topics. My personal favorite was the panel at the end. Both speakers made interesting points... but also involved the moderators into the discussion. Which I thought was fun and different than what had been done so far.

I asked Anne a question and she asked it back to me. At first I was a little take aback, but since I like talking... and like talking about myself, I had no problem giving my opinion. I was just hoping all the classmates behind me didn't think I was a big dork.

Our topic is pretty big and covers a huge chunk out of art, technology, how we work as humans, where we're going in the future, etc. It was easy to get into philosophical discussions... i kind of wish it could have been more of the discussion it was almost turning into. Where we just ask the big questions. the whys and wheres and so on.

My head was full of lots of really really interesting information from the speakers, i wanted to wait a few days to process everything before i wrote about it.. but now i'm worried I waited too long. i guess i'll probably rewatch the footage from the night to refresh myself on everything, so that when we're putting together the website i can retell more accurately everything that went into the evening.

anyway... i started working on my own individual page. Basically I'm exploring one side of the discussion we had--about the 4th wall. i'll talk about my painting and interaction with the viewers as well as what Anne had to say on that and I'll bring in other examples. as i'm writing it, its starting to become about What is real? What is an illusion? that sort of thing... everything we make is a recreation.. but some things feel more real than others even though none of it is real. Anyway, that's the sort of thing I'm exploring...

I'll be posting examples of my work and hopefully images from some of the sources i'm references.

that's it for now.

5 Questions and summary Chapter 3

Questions:
1. With new styles of image gathering technology like motion and performance capture and artificially intelligent models that are based more on tactile data than on vision, is this creating a greater divide between the visual artist and their design?
2. What role will actors play in the future of film where they are no longer required for a visual design after their image has been sampled?
3. Video games and interactive media seem to provide for an infinite number of opportunities for re-framing and altering perspective. In this new media environment, will there be any room for the artists unique voice to resonate in a single image? Will the ability of the artist to have a point of view diminish? What benefits/opportunities could the desire for infinite perspectival views on the part of the audience provide for the visual artist?
4. When media has moved beyond the need for replication of vision but connects to all of our perceptual devices, will there still be a use for the frame in popular cinema?
5. Are there tools associated with Zbrush that could help make digital sculpting a more tactile experience for artists who are used to working in other mediums?

Nahomi's qustions

1. What is the border of frame and frameless in Art? For example film if framed in screen, but music, dialog and sounds are framed, too? Literature? Musical?

2. Virtual window works only for visions? Could it work with other senses?

3. I think artists has to make frames in any way because of limited space. Is it possible to make frameless artworks?

4. Zblush- what is the difference of required skill or knowledge to be applied between Zblush and other 3D program?

5. Zblush- What is the goal? How it could be better in the future? Applying more actual sculpture feeling?

Chapter 1

This chapter is about Alberti’s frame and concept about perspective view and a window as a frame. She explain the elements such as the frame, point of view, the subject to be painted, and the viewer.

Alberti regards the picture as an "open window". He demonstrates his attraction to the illustrative powers of metaphor to enrich his abstract reduction of the phenomenal world of vision to the mathematics of point, line, and surface.

Alberti also supplies us with a Renaissance root for the concept of a windowed "elsewhere", not a realism of subject matter but a separate spatial and temporal view. The spectator's experience of "gazing" through the window had its own spatial effect - and yet this new perspectival realism of representational space did not imply realism of subject matter, nor, as we will see in a moment, did it imply a temporal realism.

More questions...

I have some more...

1. Will we ever reach a point where we move beyond the window, where we are immersed in the art--surrounded by it without a frame?
2. Since technology and ideas are evolving faster than we are evolving physically, what happens when the technology and ideas evolve beyond what we can comprehend? Is there a breaking point? What happens then?
3. A painting is static, but the viewer watching it is mobile. On screen, the images move, change--while we are static. How do each of those affect us as viewers--do we bring more in one form and take more in another?
4. What drives us to create? What is it about us as Humans that fuels this need?
5. Some works of art--paintings or films, break the fourth wall. I did this myself in my paintings in undergrad, i had the figure staring right back at the viewer, threatening them pushing them away... How does breaking the fourth wall change our interaction with the piece? If we are immersed into a work, engaged with it, does the window disappear?
6. It seems like even though technology changes and evolves and we are able to imagine and recreate things in a bigger broader way, we still tell the same sort of stories--we are still trying to understand who we are, where we came from, where we're going. What are your thoughts on this?
7. In the middle ages, religion fueled art and science, the body and real life was ignored when creating art. Now it seems the opposite is true, Science and technology influence what we do and less attention is given to religion and spirituality. Where did the switch happen? Can we ever have both? science and spirituality merging? They are interconnected, yet always seen as separate. Do you see this changing?

Chapter 5

This chapter talks about multiple-windows and multi-screens. The example includes lots of the films with split-screens, or frame-in-frame: such as Suspense, It’s Always Fair Weather, Pillow Talk, Sisters, and The Thomas Crown Affair etc. Other art forms as Andy Warhol’s repeated images and McLuhan’s performance are introduced too. Especially, this chapter talks about computer windows – the history of how computer has developed into a multi-window system that we see today.

To me, multiple windows means concurrency — things or events happen at the same time. For example, programs in different windows of the computer are running at the same time. The scenes in the split screens of a movie are happening simultaneously. It’s up to the receiver to decide whether receiving all information together or pick the one with high priority to him. Because of these multi-screens and multi-windows, people are busy receiving and processing the multi-channels information every day. It is a challenge to stay clear and keep own vision.

Luckily, windows in computer are still FRAMED within the monitor so far. The time of frameless has not come yet.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is all about the Camera Obscura. A camera obscura is really just a box or room with a small hole on one side, and when light shines in through that hole, it makes an inverted projection on the opposite side of whatever's shining in. It was discovered around 1000 AD. She argues with the chapter that the camera obscura's ability to show VIRTUAL reality is what made it so popular and drive the improvements and inventions based on it.
Camera obscuras were used for things like astronomy and architecture, but not just science--they were good for parlor entertainment as well. Some painters used them for getting very accurate perspective, but it doesn't seem that lots of painters did this.
The camera obscura is both a perspective device (for the painters) and projection device--and the projection shows moving images, not still ones, which makes it all the more interesting. Perspective was in fact invented as a graphic technique two centuries before the camera obscura, so it's not as important to perspective as some say.
After all this info on the camera obscura, she writes some more about people's interpretation of its history in relation to painting and photographs. Essentially, photographs are more related to the camera obscura than painting. The part I found really interesting next was about spectators in relation to the camera obscura and virtual windows in general. Most people idealized the spectator's total detachment from the image: being able to watch something without being affected personally by it. These are the "apparatus" theorists. Others, the "surture" theorists talked about cinema's ability to bring the spectator into the image with continuity editing that brings them all around subjects in the frame.
Basically, the chapter is about the history, potential uses and effects of thr camera obscura, the original Virtual window. If you have any more specific questions about the chapter or any points, but send me an email.

Colin's 5 Questions:
1. Virtual Window - The camera obscura and TV allow us to be completely detached observers, unaffected by what we see. What happens when the image is interactive, as with the internet, games, webcams and menus. How new is this interactive virtual window, and what do you think it means for the concept in general?
2. Virtual Window - The virtual window is becoming increasingly live, with TV and internet news. We can see things happening thousands of miles away as they happen. Though the image is a virtual recreation, the events are real and happening as we watch, so does this mean the window is not so virtual after all?
3. Virtual Window - What do you think about all the news forms the virtual window can take? They may not be windows at all, but eye-phones or dome projections.
4. Ryan - you use a digital tool to make art. Do you ever have a moment of nostalgia and work with real clay, or do it on a regular basis?
5. Ryan - do you ever animate any of your digital sculptures, or make models for people in animation?

Wen's 5 questions

1. To Anne: This book refers to lots of the works from famous artists or philosophers in western history. What are the target readers in your mind when you wrote this?

2. To Anne: which was you favorite subject when you wrote the book? Painting, architecture, film/TV or computer windows?

3. To Anne: Assume we have a dummy person who does not know much about the western civilization, how can you help him to apply your theory to his daily work/life?

4. To Ryan: what quality is most import to a Zbrush modeler? Patience, good eyes, Artistic background, sculpture skills, software skills…

5. To Ryan: what do you like to model most? Human, animal or digital sets...



I just found most of questions are multiple choices :)

Chapter 4 Summary

I read Chapter 4 of Anne's book "The Screen." To sum up, the chapter was about how the Window as a screen is different than the Window at a still painting or image.

The screen moves while the viewer is still, fixed in a seat in a theater. Whereas the old Window, the viewer is free to move around and look at the painting, which stays the same.

She also talked a lot about "virtual mobility." That within a screen, shots change which means the perspective and vantage point are constantly changing. The viewer is the camera and moves with each shot. We are close , we are far, we are above, etc. Within those shots are also movement--characters, objects are constantly moving in and out of the frame. We are constantly be taken out of and then stitched back into the film.

She also talked about Edison Train film--when it was first showed, it was said people panic at the site of an incoming train. But were they freaked out because they thought the train was real or because the "magic" of cinema was too much to handle--that they knew it wasn't real but it was too shocking anyway.

She gave some back history about the architecture of Theaters, how they started off as churches or pre-existing buildings that had a projecter and screen added and then how they evolved into new building where the focal point became the screen... everything in the room was made to focus the viewer toward the screen.

There were also discussion on Film vs TV screens. The TV is also a window, but how is it different than the movie experience? There's smaller, the screens were full screen instead of widescreen black and white etc. And there were TV programs instead of movies like in the theater. Its interesting how now Home theater systems are closer and closer to a movie experience--bigger screens, better quality, better sound etc. Anne didn't discuss this in her book, but I'm curious about her opinions on this. What does the improvement and sophiscation of TV mean to Film? In the past it seemed Film took it up a notch, they did color, wide screen, 5.1 surround sound, etc. Where will they take it now to bring back movie goers?

She started to discuss the Computer screen but that was mostly discussed in Chapter 5. Where the image on a computer and the interaction there is even more extreme because we have screens within screens and an interactive world. We are no longer merely observers of the Window but participants with it.

Anyway, hopefully this gives you a good overview of Chapter 4. If i think of more, I'll add it later.

My 5 questions..

These are the questions I've come up with so far, I may change this before Wednesday though. Post any research you've done on our speakers and your 5 questions by Tuesday.

Questions for Seminar

1. To Ryan—can you talk about the differences between sculpting with clay vs. sculpting digitally?
2. To Ryan—I understand the benefits for sculpting digitally (cutting costs etc.) but what about some disadvantages to working digitally? What are we losing?
3. Sculpture—in the traditional sense, a sculpture isn’t viewed through a window, but with digital sculpting, it’s a 3D image in a 2D window…Discuss? (what’s the question here?)
4. To Anne—With the advancements in technology, how you see the relationship between the viewer and the window changing?
5. There has always been a line between what is Fine Art and what is commercial/graphic art etc. Where do you see that line? What defines Fine Art?

Reading Virtual Window

After a few attempts to read this book, here are the questions I comes up with

"This book refers to lots of the works from famous artists or philosophers in western history. To understand this book is a big challenge to me. What are the target readers in your mind when you wrote this? (Philosopher, artist or designers?)

Assume we have a dummy person who does not know much about the western civilization, how can you help him to apply your theory to his daily work/life?"

The web site of virtual window is more intuitive and cool

http://www.vectorsjournal.org/issues/04_issue/virtualwindow/

Z-Brush on youtube

Here's a video off of youtube of a cow head being sculpted using Z-Brush. There are more video links on Ryan's website too that you should check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T47wxQ-NZhc

Ryan Kingslien

Here's Ryan's website. He's a digital artist who sculpts using Z-Brush. He believes "that sculpting is entering an entirely new era with the advent of digital sculpting, rapid prototyping and 3D printers. This era will be filled with new and expressive artists who have been freed from the rigours of clay and the physical world to imagine first, design second and, lastly, create."

Also here's an image of one of his digital sculptures.

http://www.ryankingslien.com/

The website

This week Collin and Wen are making a really rough mock up for the website, simple programming and what not to get it started.

Nahomi and I will start creating artwork for the background of the front page.

Bethany will start collecting sounds to use.

Design and Layout Meeting with Nahomi

Nahomi and I met and talked about the design and look of our website. We came up with a rough layout. Nahomi (as usual) had a lot of really great ideas. We'll have to pass along the template design to Collin and Wen to work out.

Bethany will most likely be working on the sound for the website. So after Collin and Wen get a template made, Bethany can check it out and start making notes for different sounds.

Basically the first page will be a big window. In the window is a landscape, green and a cloudy sky. Hovering in the sky are "Paintings" which will be links to each of our individual pages. When you click on the panel, it expands and becomes the new window. There each person can put anything they want related to our topic--They can talk about their own work and process and how it fits under the context of our topic and also bring in examples and references--hopefully people will include animation and videos, short animation and artwork.

It should be awesome.

hello

Here I am, bloggerating for the first time. Huzzah!

Group Meeting

We met today before seminar. I went over everything I talked to Kathy about... er that Kathy talked to me about.

I said each of us should find an area within our topic that we found interesting and build our individual pages off of that--We can talk about the subject and how it personally relates to us as well as putting it in a historical context or picking something more academic to discuss.

Also Collin and Wen will head up the Technical side of the website and Nahomi and I will work on the design and look. I still need to meet with Bethany to fill her in on the meeting since she didn't make it today.

In addition, everyone will be reading their chapters of the book.

Nahomi and I will meet this week and draw up a rough template. Then we'll give that to Collin and Wen to build a rough page. The more design stuff Nahomi and I get, we'll pass it on to Collin and Wen. Bethany can join in on whichever side she prefers--or we can come up with another area for her to explore.

That's about it for now.

Meeting with Kathy

I met with Kathy for an individual meeting. I wanted my group to meet, but half of them couldn't make it. I'm going to try to get them in to meet with her next Tuesday though.

Anyway, I was struggling with trying to understand our topic because I mean, it's huge--and can be anything. Talking with Kathy was helpful--she gave me specific things to think about and also some ideas for the website.

Interface Ideas
1. Comic book panels--with some animation within the panels
2. Comic book panels--take you to different pages
3. Each person can have an area under our topic that they can explore on their own page
4. Since Wen and Collin have Website experience they're big part of the project will be making the website
5. Nahomi and I are more of a Fine Art background and can work on the Look and Content of the website
6. Bethany is our wild card, she could work on content or sound

Other stuff: Kathy gave me some videos to watch related to our topic The Mind's Big Bang and Leonardo's Annuciation. We talked about how People have been using Art to understand and explain our existence and this need to express ourselves goes all the way back to the early days of man and cave paintings. They can be looked at as some of the earliest narrative work--they are almost a comic book how they are drawn and show sequential action. Then we discussed the Renaissance and how many frescos and paintings tell a sequential narrative... and how animation
is a natural progression for us to tell narratives.

She told me to think about the following questions:

1. Why do we need to create?
2. Why do we create these alternate worlds?
3. What drives you?

Our topic is big, but if we can focus it in a couple areas that we're interested in, it should be less intimidating for all of us.

We're going to meet today before Seminar. I'll go over everything I talked about with Kathy and see what they think and if they have any ideas. In the meantime, Nahomi and I can start working on the layout for the Website so that Collin and Wen can start building it.

Right... so that's about it for now.

Dividing the Reading

We met briefly today. I got my copy of the book in the mail. Its in 5 chapters, which is nice since there are 5 of us. This is how we divided the book:

Chapter 1: Wen
Chapter 2: Collin
Chapter 3: Bethany
Chapter 4: Joanna
Chapter 5: Nahomi

Once we've read our respected chapters, we'll summarize what they're about on a Blog entry. This week my group will be ordering their own copies and will do internet searches on our topic and speaker.

Collin also gave me a copy of his demo reel which is a flash website. Once I figure out how to publish the website, I'll post a link so the rest of the group can check it out and then we can start figuring out what we want to do for our website for this project.

and that's about it.

The Book

Well... i tried to post the link to get the book on amazon, but the blog keeps cutting off the end of the web address... so...

go to www.amazon.com

type in: Anne Friedberg

and it should be the first book listed called, "The Virtual Window"


this address has spaces in it so it would all fit on the page, but it won't work as a link...

http://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Window-Alberti-Microsoft/
dp/0262062526/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-3076300-2144444?
ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189658502&sr=8-1

1st Meeting

Our group finally met today after seminar.

I think everyone is planning on getting the book. Once I have a chance to look over the book, we'll decide how to divide it.

Collin and Wen have a little bit of website experience. Collin is going to be getting the website "started", Wen will assist with any needed programming and Nahomi and I will help with "the Look." Collin said his demo is in the form of a website and will be giving me a copy of it to show the rest of the group--this may be our starting off point for what our website will be.

For now, we'll be spending a little bit of time web-searching our subject and speaker to start gathering info for Nov. 7th. And we'll be starting to plot out the template for the website.

As my group researches and finds interesting information, they will be posting it on this blog--or at least post a link to it, so the rest of the group can see.

Next week, we're going to meet before seminar--at 6pm to touch base about our project.

~Joanna

Fine Art, cinema, and the Virtual Window

Sooo.... I started a blog.

So far I've contacted all my group members and we're trying to coordinate our schedules, which is proving to be a bit dicey. But we'll see. We may just need to communicate via Blog for now... and meet in person next week. Or soon. Or ever. Hopefully soon.

Right then... so Group. Hi. Here's what we need to do basically before Nov. 7th

1. Blog everything we do in regards to this project and our topic
2. Research our guest speakers and topic for Nov. 7 (who is so far: Dr. Anne Friedberg--she wrote a book that we'll probably need to read.)
3. Start brainstorming and planning what our website will be on our topic and guest--the website doesn't need to be completed until Dec. 9.
4. Moderate the panel discussion on Nov. 7 (we need smart innovative questions to ask our guest(s)).

Okay... so now what? Well, here's what to expect week to week:

1. 1 to 2 hours of your time to meet, plan, research, and work on our project
2. Whatever we do, it has to be awesome--because, goddammit, we need to win the sweet Adobe prize.

and that's it....

...jojo out