ISTA 401 Blog: Vorticist Composition

   
      Well that didn't take long . . week two and already some programming! Using a sketching tool called Processing we were challenged to recreate a work of art chosen off MOMA's Inventing Abstraction website. There were a thousand great pieces to choose form but I chose the work above. This is a piece painted by Lawrence Atkinson in 1914-15. It is oil on a canvas 41x33 inches large. Lawrence Atkinson was an English artist born in Manchester in 1873. He initially painted almost exclusively landscapes until he was introduced to Vorticism. Since then he became a leader in the movement. To me the painting caught my eye because of its color pallet, is possibility and its simplicity. First the colors are an unusual combination in my opinion. Pale pinks in the back and bright lime greens in the foreground. This creates an interesting depth in the painting. Also the black diagonal lines in the middle draw your gaze up and vertically stretching the painting. The abstract image also bring huge amounts of possibility to the viewer. There are many angles and views to think about this image. Its not so abstract to the point of unrecognizable to its to quite clear either. It teeters on the edge of clarity. Lastly its not overwhelming to the viewer being that it is mainly large rectangular shapes. It would be boring without the color choices. It is also interesting that there is little shading but rather solid blocks of color on each shape.
      My sketch which is below simply finds a random point in the image, averages the pixels around that point and draws a supper pixel in its place. Over time is draws and similar picture to the image but incomplete and in a sense blurred.
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Source: http://richardawarren.wordpress.com/about/

ISTA 401 Blog: Introduction to Multimedia Installations

      At last a new semester and that means new classes! This semester I'll be taking ISTA 401 thought be a follow up for ISTA 301 which was the reason this blog was created. The first day was fun and I think the rest of the semester will be similar . . . hopefully. As am introduction I should tell you a little about myself as relating toward this new class. I'm an Information Science and Technology major so a I have a little programming experience with Java but mainly Python, HTML and CSS. Using these I've created many programs and websites for a variety of different objectives. Last semester I also was exposed a sketchbook called processing. I had fun working with the program as it was very easy and you could seemingly do anything with it. Further I have extensive CAD experience with Solidworks and Autocad.

      This class covers multimedia installations which is a very general and broad area of art. It encompasses very cool technology innovations crated by a very large and diverse population of artists. For example Martin Fussenegger and Michael Sebastian. They have created one of my favorite machines ever the Facadeprinter. Check out their website HERE and one of their cool videos below.

Great idea and an even better result in my opinion. Multimedia works are about pushing the known boundaries of mediums to the limits and creating extraordinary art. I love this type of art because it is using technology that was meant for one thing and adopting it to complete something unrelated to its original purpose. Another great innovator is Johnny Lee. Check out his website HERE and a video of his presentation at TED in 2008.

This I think is where my true love is. Lee is once again using existing technology and adapting it to meet other goals. I especially love the human computer interaction part of his work. Human computer interaction has always spurred my interest and I would love to explore its possibilities even more during this class.

One last one that its an interesting mind stretching examples is that game company. They have created many games with the idea that video games can be art. Their most popular example would be Flower. Check out some PS3 game play below and see what interactive art looks like.

Its pretty boring looking in my opinion but I'm not an art enthusiast. Its just a great example of the range of multimedia art. Really its endless but from what I've seen its pretty interesting. Hopefully this class will continue to amaze me with different and mine blowing projects - Laters