Studio Thinking Reading Notes pt.1

Three flexible teaching formats

Demonstration-Lectures: I approach my own lectures as fun and interactive as i can possible make the, almost making them more of a seminar session with music to help me keep my own beat i enjoy lectures as a student but i know most don’t so i try to make them as engaging as possible.

Students-at-work : this is my favorite time to teach, to talk to students one-on-one as they work. to understand their thinking is to see how they understood and are translating your assignment.

Critiques: I believe this is the most vital aspect of the art making process for students. students show be able to speak about their own work as well as interpret the concepts of their peers.

Designing the classroom

Physical set up- lighting, music and classroom set up are all important in creating a proper space for each lesson, depending on how the class will run, from a demonstration to a lecture ic can drastically change the way an instructor may set up their room, these set up can allow for better flow as well as creating the best atmosphere for their students to learn

Social Climate -As a instructor one can control how students interact with each other and their art, through critiques students will understand how to challenge their peers without being mean

Teaching Students to Question and Explain

These type of habit are important for life outside the classroom, but as an artist student students should question now only how things are made but why, students need to understand the social weight art has and how it impacts the world.

Studio Habits

Develop craft, Engage and persist, Envision, Express, Observe, reflect, stretch and explore, andunderstanding the art world

Artist Analysis - Upcyclist

Hema Upadhyay

An Indian artist who was based in Mumbai. Her installations and collage work discussed the joys and hardships of migrants, the over crowding of the city and the constant movement of people. Her work is engulfing, magical and beautiful, Rest In Peace Hema Upadhyay, you were taken too soon.

Yuken Teruya

Teruya is a Japanese paper cutter and sculptor transforming the 2 dimensional to three dimensions, he is also an upcyclist. his work talks about consumer culture by his use of materials coming from large companies like McDonalds as well as high-end designer shopping bags to cut into to not only find beauty, his work is in conversation with the materials.

Bodys Isek Kingelez

An Artist, sculptor, designer, architect and upcyclist from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He creates fantastic, whimsical, futuristic, utopian cities that comments on what some nations have and what others live without. Kingelez said “I make this most deeply imaginary, meticulous and well considered work with the aim of having more influence over life. As a black artist I must set a good example by receiving the light which pure art, this vital human instrument, kindles for the sake of all. Thanks to my deep hope for a happy tomorrow, I strive to better my quality, and the better becomes the wonderful.” 

Final Self Reflection of new media

Through this class and this article, The Mind of the Artist / Scholar: The Howard University Department of Art Takes a Philosophical Look at Art Education by Dr. Tony McEachern, Chairman, and Associate Professor I have gained a better understanding of how I would use new media in my classroom. As Dr.McEachern describes the art department at Howard University I am intrigued by the use of new media. Like my assignment I created in this class, I would like to make all of my art courses research-based, much like my own practice. As a sociologist myself, I find it incredibly necessary for students especially students of color to use their art to amplify their voice. I believe that high school students need to have deeper concepts in order to connect with the work and be more passionate about what they are producing. "Playing" with new media the last 2 weeks has allowed e to see that I do not think it is helpful for the young artist, especially those who might be distracted by the technique and not think of the concepts. as a maker, sculptor, and drawer I do expect to show some technique without informing concepts for I value figure drawing more than I do coding and this class has not changed my perspective. I believe my use of new media will come through the push for research I want my student to me more than an artist. I believe new media tool will allow many students to become artist/scholars, using their concepts to drive their techniques, pushing them to create rather than play.

  Below are quotes from Dr.McEachern articles along with a link to the article to read. 

“Empowered by their knowledge of the arts, humanities, sciences and digital technologies, our artists, designers and scholars are prepare to service society on a local, national, and global level.”

— Dr. Tony McEachern

“And though there are many existing frameworks in philosophy, three significant theoretical positions have strongly influenced the artist/scholar of this paradigm of Interpretive Theory. These three theoretical positions are hermeneutics–the use of textual analysis to understand the inter-subjective meaning of society; phenomenology–the use of subjective experience to understand the social world; and symbolic interactionism–the use of significant symbols with shared meaning to understand social interaction. These positions are frequently used as underlying frameworks for our creative investigation and resulting expression. Art is structured on philosophy, sociology, psychology, and more and these theoretical positions help our art students create expressions that are grounded in theory.”

— Dr. Tony McEachern

“The artist/scholar’s ontological position is that of the social constructionist as most artists adopt the perspective that social reality is based on the inter-subjective agreement of shared definitions and meanings based on the symbolic interaction of members within a specific society or a collective of like publics. These symbolic interactions are embedded with codes that can be interpreted by other members of the society, or learned individuals external of a given society.”

— Dr. Tony McEachern

“We as artists/scholars are, indeed, social scientists in our own right. And as such, we have to adopt, support and teach a method of inquiry that is in line with our philosophical commitments and values. For the most part, we reject the rigidity of the systematically procedural laden scientific method, as we seek, not to explain the world around us from an objective-realist perspective, but to better understand its quality and richness. ”

— Dr. Tony McEachern

When the light leaves the city: white flight in a new direction

This prototype really has me intrigued by light, I have had used lights in paper sculptures before but never in such a way that I had to work with circuits and conducting materials. This is something I definitely want to explore again by programming lights and installing small led much like these.  I wish I would have time to further explore the lighting aspect, I focus the majority of my energy on the concept and the building of the sculptor, and i am happy with the form and it will inform how I create this larger sculptor.

I image the actual sculptor to be installed in a 5x5 space, I would like to also explore motorized mobiles as I think about moving birds to show predator behavior an aspect of the white birds I feel is not pushed enough. The colorful lit birds (residence) are flying out of the city and the white birds (gentrifiers) are diving in, the addition of the circling vulture like style could add to the predatory feel gentrifiers have. 

White Flight in a New Direction

Now that I have a better grasp understanding the layout and objecthood of my sculpture I know that less is more when I comes to the birds representing migration. as I create these birds I don't want the city to feel too overwhelming, I believe I will make 4 color birds and 4 white ones, but I'm not sure if iI should install all of them.  

White Flight coming to Light

As I go deeper into assignment 3 I am able to apply my own concepts onto the idea of a light box. having Met's project allows me to play with narrative by using lights. I am playing with the idea of white flight and using birds as a representation of population shifts. The birds of color are being pulled out and the white birds are flying into the city. Playing with wires and power I realized conduction materials are importance for the function of my sculpture. I'm using aluminum and wire as conductors along with power to show off the lighting.      

Data Art lesson Plan

MIT : intersection of art and technology. Can it be interesting and aesthetically pleasing?

The robotics workshop had its highs and lows but I'm not seeing its direct connection to art. when at the Museum and List galleries I was more interested in the new media artwork they had on display.

The TV Cello by Nam June Paik was particularly interesting to see in person due to the research I have done on assignment 1.  seeing the work in person allowed me to understand and accept Paik as an artist and sculptor, the TV cello can talk about entertainment, changing of attention spans, yet to Paik this sculpture was a way to "humanize technology" these types of objects are convincing me of the intersection of art and technology can be interesting and aesthetically pleasing. 

The illustrations and neon lighting at the LIst gallery was underwhelming and almost disappointing, the lack of understandable concept and technology I was surprised that List would display this work. IF able to view the performance of Delia Gonzales I may have been more impressed by her work. I wanted to see her work before this class due to the lack of women of color whos work is displayed in List. I often have high hopes for the artist of color, particularly women of color. "The last day of Pompeii" the title of her work and the concepts behind the pencil drawings are so deep yet I was unable to see that in the work at all, I wonder if the performance would make it more clear. The work was semi aesthetically pleasing, yet I don't feel like this artwork intersects with technology, rather them sitting next to each other.    

Data to sculpture: Research

Nathalie Miebach

"Starting in 2006, I began building low-tech data collecting devices that extract weather data from specific environments. Living on Cape Cod at the time, I went to Herring Cove Beach for 18 months on a daily basis, rain or shine, to observe and record the interaction between weather and environment. The data was then compared to historical and global trends in weather and finally translated into a series of sculptures".

Huang Yanying

"What better representation of a bird than its song? I screen captured the music visualization of a nightingale song at regular time intervals. The resultant shapes of the music visualization are then traced and laser cut onto clear acrylic. Each shape represents a single moment in the nightingale song. All the pieces are arranged together in their time sequence. The final assembled form is a physical translation of what is an aural experience of a nightingale. The moment of a nightingale in full song frozen in a crystalline form".
 

Iohanna Pani

"this set of tableware by designer iohanna pani uses statistical data to generate its forms. the ‘form follows data’ collection embeds personal statistical data into everyday objects altering their design in the process. the plates in the series feature a pattern based on a visualization of blood tests, while coffee cups were designed to represent the amount of coffee consumed daily. the cups represent corresponding volumes to the amount of coffee consumed each day. the effect of all the cups is essentially a bar graph represented through functional objects. the coffee mug uses the same statistical data only represented through a topographical map inside.

"Vanity ain' my thang" Selfie

Using past self portraits i have made through upcycling materials, the short audio clip added from The Internet "Hive Mind" album, the song entitled "come over" had a short outro in the song that i felt connected with my own relationship to vanity and the use of materials highlights the lyrics.

"These bitches want diamond rings, Birk' bags and other bling
I just don't feel the same
Vanity's not my thing
These bitches want diamond rings, Birk' bags and other bling
I just don't feel the same
Vanity's not my thing
These bitches want diamond rings
These bitches want diamond rings"