CHAPTER 3 REVIEW

In Chapter 3 of his book McCloud discusses the relationship between different scenes in comics. McCloud talks about transitions between ideas and transition among different sections of comics. He states that the presentation that the comic takes on greatly contributes to how the viewer perceives the comic. McCloud also reviews the different types of comics that have been apparent in history and in other cultures. The author greatly stresses the large emphasis on comics in Japan. However, the Japanese view of comics is greatly different than how Americas perceive comics.

In Chapter 4 of the book, McCloud discusses time frames. Contents that occur in the frames can alter the duration of the comic. Also, regardless of how many panels the comic features, durations can vary over periods of time. A task of the illustrator or animator when constructing a comic is to have the viewer accurately perceive the comics as they are meant to be interpreted. Time and space can sometimes be irrelevant in comics if the subject matter does not relate to either of those items. I enjoyed the running man jumping scene that McCloud illustrated on pages 108 and 109. 

READER JOHN CAGE

From the excerpt in the book, John Cage seems to be a modern Renaissance man, to say the least. He is widely known not only as an artist, but as a pianist and a music theorist as well. Throughout the chapter it is apparent that Cage is pursuing an art that goes beyond individual expression. Cage also insists that the true function of art in our time is to open up the minds and hearts of contemporary men ad women to the immensity of changes, in order that the might be able to "wake up to the very life" they are living in the modern world.
Part of the chapter also chronicles Cage's history as a young boy and a budding musician and artist. Cage made an interesting point at the part in the chapter where it discuses his schooling and education. He says that one day the history teacher assigned the class a reading in the text. Cage said that the "idea of everyone reading the exact same information just revolted me." He decided to go to the library and read things that had relevance to the topic and he ended up getting an A on the paper. Cage is also well versed in theatre as well as the chapter continues to explain. Cage's ambitions inspire me to explore more fields as an artist.

FREE WRITE WEEK FIVE

As I sit in the library, thinking of what to write next, I can't help but talk about the last relationship I was in that taunts me everyday. It all started last June when my friend introduced me to a girl from his high school that I found extremely attractive and nice to talk to. Throughout my high school career, I had my flings here or there but never had a serious girlfriend. The girl I met through Korey ended being the best girl I've ever been with as I was what I thought in love with her. One reason this girl really meant a lot to me was the way she influence my life with drugs and alcohol. Although I make huge mistakes in the past regarding her and myself, I cherish the memories we had and hope for more like that in the near future. I feel like i was a better, sober person when we were together and since breaking up, I haven't stayed particularly on track. I sit here and think,
do i do all this because of her, or do i do all this because of me.


I write this as my free write to finally confess how shocked I still am to this day about what happened between us. When love someone day in and out, eating, living, breathing them some how turned into nothingness; it almost feels like she died. My grandmother passed away recently and I know I'll never see her again. It's crazy to me the thought of someone's actual death on Earth, and the metaphorical death of a loving relationship. Like I will never get to hold my grandma close in my arms again, I will never get the soft kiss of my dream girl again.

FREE FORM: 4/27/11

READER ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG

          Robert Rauchenberg is yet another artist that used non-traditional materials in his work. Just like Duchamp, Robert Rauchenberg used these materials in innovative ways to promote though among the viewer. The thing I found most interesting about Robert Rauchenberg is not only his use of non-traditional materials in his work, but the source of these materials. Rauchenberg often took pieces of trash and useless items off the street home with him only to later incorporate these things into his work. Rauchenberg's quote on this subject sums up his ideals as an artist, " I wanted something other than what I could make myself and I wanted to use the surprise and the collectiveness and the generosity of finding surprises. And if it wasn't a surprise at first, by the time I got through with it, it was. So the object itself was changed by its context and therefore it became a new thing."

CRIT RESPONSE DOS

Just like last section, I was stoked on the art presented in class in our confession project. As all of the confessions presented so far had to do with relationships or personal hardships, today's crit was different as a couple of students presented work based on religious iconography and traditions. One piece that I truly enjoyed and wish I could own would be the stained glass mural designed by Eddie. My mother and I have always had a thing for collecting stained glass at the beach and other stained glass art we could find at consignment stores. To see Eddie's piece about his mother and her religious background struck a cord with me as I could relate. It was fascinating to see the connection everyone made in class to religion without any explanation. I would like to do a piece like that of Eddie's and admire his hard work.

Another piece I enjoyed that was somewhat religious based in personal narrative was the performance from Ashley. As Ashley gave her confession out loud in front of the class with spotlight and alter in front of her, she read her confession that hit deep in her emotions as she began to cry as she read. As she went on I thought that she was confessing or venting what she never got to say to an ex-boyfriend or old friend, but at the end of the performance piece, she announced that the confession to God. I was surprised to hear she was confessing to God, but the setting for her piece and the dramatics of it was the right tone. One thing I could suggest to make this performance better would be to recite it free hand so it wouldn't seem as if the letter was going to a physical person rather than God.

WEEK FIVE LECTURE RESPONSE

      In response to yesterdays lecture, I was once again shocked by the hilarious and meaningful art that Kip presented in class whether it was photographs or video.

      In response to the first video we watched entitled My Father's Lunch by Tony Mendoza, I couldn't help but laugh as we watched the everyday adventures of Tony's  father every luchtime. Personal Narrative is extremely important to fully comprehending some art; this piece in particular is special to Tony rather than the estranged audience because as we just watch an elderly man ordering food at Burger King, Tony is watching the mundane simplicites of his father that he will remember forever.

     One artist I found interesting in this lecture was the work from Sally Mann. When I was younger, my mom was obsessed with taking photos every chance she could to make a collection of memories of our childhood. Sally Mann's photography is extremely naturalistic and simple in it shows her children in action in their natural habitat.
    As much as I enjoyed the photos and the personal narrative it gave to the audience, I have to admit I could do without the nudity. Like early sculptures from Greek and Roman artists, I dislike the emphasis artists use on showing the human body naked. Not to say I'm afraid or embarrassed around naked figures, but i think it takes away from the arts true meaning sometimes taking away the focus of the art.

CHAPTER 7/8 REVIEW

Throughout the chapter, McCloud explains how art is a by product of the human lifestyle and our need for survival. Art is a method that allows us to express ourselves, whether it about your inner emotional or past experiences, and serves for an exercise for the mind and body (It keeps us from going crazy). It also allows the artist to be in complete control, giving them a sense of power and can also be used to discover things about ourselves as well as that which is practical. McCloud also details how each piece of artwork, from comics to the high art of the Renaissance, are constructed from six ‘steps’ and only by applying to all of these in a detailed fashion will any piece of artwork’s message truly and consistently be transmitted to another clearly. These steps are idea, form, idiom/genre, structure, craft and surface.

The eighth chapter of the Scott McCloud’s ‘Understanding Comics’ discusses the usage of colour within comics, how it has been affected by commerce and technology and how it is another tool for creating mood and emotion around elements within these works of art.

Within the chapter, McCloud displays how color, similarly to line, has a great impact on the artistic style of comics (As well as any other artistic medium). However it is more infrequently used than line, as color is both strengthened and hindered by commerce and technology. While color will often boost sales of the product its used it, it often costs a lot more to produce than simple black and white. And while technology is making color easier to use it too is generally more expensive to purchase. But when color is used in comics the effects are easily seen. Colors and tone affect form and the depth of objects, the emotion, mood and sensations of the comic.

WEEK FOUR CRIT RESPONSE

In response to the critique yesterday in class, I was very fond of some projects and disliked others. If i could pick one project that I considered weak was the piece done on the game Mind Craft. As most people in the class confessed something personal like being raped, losing a loved one, or fearing the loss of someone, this project was lame as it confessed his video game obsession. I suppose that the drafting of a video game is hard and takes hours on end, but in my opinion the amount of input did not equate to the majority of the class that seemed lost and bored by his presentation.

Not to sound conceded, but the reaction and analysis of my work was the favorite of the day. I love to draw, paint, and most other medias to work with, and love to hear the amount of stuff people can explain from purely an artwork done by myself. Where as some projects went on and on without any response in the end, I favored my confession the best as it stirred up the most ideas and opened up the class room for a wide variety of discussion. One thing is for me to enjoy making art and hanging it up in my house, but to hear but rant on and on about all these different meanings and symbolism amazes me.

ACT OF KINDNESS

     In my apartment building, there are not just students that live amongst me and my roommates like the average apartment building in this area. In my apartment, the tenants are mostly Latino families with three to four children per one bedroom. To think to myself how much i dislike living with over people in small spaces, I look at my neighbors and appreciate what I have and what my parents have built for me.   
     I always feel bad whenever we have people over or bump loud music on account of the young children growing up around us. Although I do not recommend raising a family in Isla Vista whats so ever, I have to admit that I respect the hardships they experience and acknowledge the struggle they live. Every single morning I am woken up by these families as they begin their daily hunt for as many beer cans and bottles as they can find. Rather than sending the kids off to school like what my parents did when I was that age, the parents bring the kids along to trash dig all around town.
      Since my roommates and I drink frequently and have guests over that drink even more frequently, I have begun to collect cans just to give to the neighbors in my apartment. I consider this an act of kindness since I'm cutting out one step of their daily routine. Rather than rummaging through my nasty garbage in the dumpster down stairs, I neatly organize my can collection in hopes of making their lives a little easier.

4/20/11 FREE WRITE

Today I drew a picture to tribute the holiday. Thanks Santa for all the gifts.

CONFESSION CRIT

In response to today's class, I found most the projects to be extremely poignant and powerful in meaning. One piece that I enjoyed the most was the project done by Andrea. As she brought out her materials for the class everyone looked and stared with curiosity of what this random assortment of objects could mean. As she laid out a salad dinner with a glass of water, candles, a pile of sand, and silverware wrapped in a letter to her Father, I was uncertain what her confession was until she read the letter to her dad. I could immediately pick up how hard it was for her to talk about and read this poignant letter as she began to tear up and shake as she went on. As her letter went on, I put the pieces together realizing her confession was the fear she has relating to her Father's health habits with eating that led to his heart attack. I could sense the confession was real and heart felt as half the class joined her in crying. I felt this piece was definitely the most though and emotion provoking.

On the other hand, there were other presentations I thought could have been improved to have the same powerful effect as Andrea's project. One project in particular was the confession of wanting to learn the techno dance. At the same time that the project displayed a new learned talent that might be hard to do, the presentation seemed a little random and not as deep of a confession. While some people displayed their inside fears and secrets, the piece about shuffling seemed a little random and out of place. To improve it, I would have had a better setting for the dance including lights, video media in the background, and a better platform to do the dance.

LECTURE WEEK FOUR

In response to Kips lecture on Monday, April 18, I was shocked to see some of the crazy marketing schemes out there as well as the value of maps and the importance of location as an avenue for knowledge and mastery. As we started the day discussing tools and avenues of design in maps, I found it interesting all the different perspectives of our world out there regarding different views on geography and meaning.

As maps allow us to group, break down, and understand life around us, there are so many different viewpoints of land and symbols, it is hard to distinguish meaning sometimes without mastering the knowledge of the subject at hand. Maps pertain to language, space, sound, vision as well as physicalities, time, and social activities. If someone is handed a map of my hometown and live cross country, they will have no clue what this unique map represents and the numerous meanings that i can find inside it.

Out of the whole lecture, the most shocking thing to me was the piece by Jean-Pierre Gorin entitled Poto and Gabengo, made in 1979.  As Jean-Pierre documented the incredible story of two twins that developed their own language that only them two understood was astonishing to me. At first glance, I assumed the two twins were in fact mentally disabled as they ranted and jibbed in gibberish, until they showed the two twins respond to directions in English. At the same time that I give respect to the two twins, I have no respect for the socialization they had growing up in Linda Vista. I consider the dysfunctionaltiy of their family the most important reason why the two twins language developed as it did and feel the parents are entirely to blame. With a quiet, passive aggressive father, a mother with a horrible German accent, and a grandmother who entirely speaks German, the lack of influence and attention the parents gave to their twin daughters directly correlates to the bizarre habits they developed.

CHAPTER 5/6 REVIEW

In Chapter 5 of Understanding Comics the author, McCloud talks about the different ways that lines can convey meaning. This especially true in comics, but I have found that this is true in real life as well. In my Psych 1 class Prof. Schooler discussed the concept of Westerners making depth perception brain corrections based on lines. The illusion below is perceived by people from Western cultures as two lines with different lengths. However, both of these lines are the same length. We make this correction because of the lines that we are confronted with daily in our modern architecture. So McCloud's concept of lines hold true outside of the realm of comics as well.

In Chapter 6 McCloud discusses how stories within comics come together. The short comic from 157 to 160 shows a person who leaves their apartment in buy an ice cream. He shows how stories can be depicted in different ways depending on how the author chooses to illustrate the point. McCloud refutes the traditionally held idea that works of literature and works of art are best when viewed separately.

HAPPIEST MOMENT

         One confession I have to admit as one the happiest moments of my life was last year during this time. As I was a horrible student in high school, my parents were extremely disappointed when I didn't even have the grades to apply to any college worth attending.

          At the point of high school graduation at Mira Costa High, my mom urged me to go to community college and get my life on track to further myself and my education. With her ideology of moving up the social hieracrhy through the education system behind my back giving me the influence I needed, I entered El Camino College with high ambitions. Everyday for two years I commuted to that school with high hopes of following the traditional plan of acquiring my needed credits and transferring to a better school. As most people I know haven't made it out of community college in two years I hoped to beat the odds.
          The happiest moment of my life was during the end of my time at Community College as admission letters came in. I applied to around five schools all at my parents suspense. As I waited on edge to get a letter back saying I was in or not, the news finally arrived; I had been granted admission to UCSB. As happy I was to think I was moving on and actually accompluished my goal, the one hundred percent happiest moment was when my parents arrived home from work to hear the news. One thing that makes me the most happy is making my parents proud. At sight of the letter, my mother began to cry as my dad picked me up and twirled me around the room. That moment in our living room that day was the happiest moment as I finally proved to my loved ones I could do it, I could change into the person they wanted me to be. 

BEING PROUD

I've had plenty of times in my life where I found myself proud moment after creating a work of art. Although this piece I just did recently made me proud, I cant say it was the best art I've done; rather than being proud of a piece a made in a museum or in a magazine, I enjoy making art in places that people I know and meet are exposed to all the time.  Just recently my roommates and I were redecorating our apartment with poseters and random art so I decided to paint something of my own. As I love to doodle in class and draw in a sketch book, Ive always been a fan of the Suicidal Tendencies, punk rock art scene filled with skullls and crossbones, skateboards and buttoned up flannels. Instead of painting the usual drawing with Los Angeles on the inside of the hats brim, I let my friends add in to the artwork to represent what they like and were their from.

As most people come over to our house are from my roommates hometown, everyone who walks in and takes a look around at place immediately sees the piece and make comments on it. I usually stay quiet and listen to what they have to say about it first, then announce its mine when they ask if they bought it somewhere or payed someone to graffiti in out house. I love the feeling of seeing people into my art, and the fact that making art that relates to more people than myself shows how widespread my art could be enjoyed.

EMBARRASSING MOMENT

         One moment in my life that I was most embarrassed was in high school at my friend Michaels. This particular afternoon the attendees were all buddies from high school hanging around the jacuzzi practically the entire afternoon and night time. As much as I'd love a drink on the couch or laying on the beach, the experience seemed entirely different as we sat around the boiling jacuzzi hours on end tossing them back.
       All the sudden the heat seemed to have my body in a state of dehydration and I immediately ditched the jacuzzi session to adventure into the living room for a glass of water and a short break. This short break turned into the rest of the night. As my stomach turned and mouth turned dry, I was in a bad state as everyone else seemed to be normal as usual. When everyone decided to put a movie on around eleven that night, I had long passed out only to wake up to full embarrassment. Not only had people written paint pens on my arms, in the delirious mind state I was in, I managed to mistake the china cabinet for the bathroom door and did the unthinkable. It ends up Michael and friends were still awake; luckily they randomly felt bad and I wasn't beaten up for this lovely night.

WEEK THREE LECTURE

           For the third week in a row, I was fascinated by the videos presented in class and the themes that come along with marketing and subliminal messaging. From the first video about the guitar man and his lady friends, I was shocked to see such a strange exercise video turned into a guitar lesson video. At first, I figured this was just a spoof of an exercise video, but with deeper analysis realized its marketing function.
            In response to the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, I have mixed emotions and ideas of his work. At first, his art seemed naturalistic and all about mixing nature and human anatomy, but his art seemed to get stranger and more bizarre as the lecture went on.
             In reflection of the works of Tehching Hsieh, I found his limited put out of work extremely significant.  As a man from Taiwan moving to New York in the seventies, his unique culture swap sheds light on his artistic approach and his strange taste of art works. As Tehching called himself  'Sam,' his most infamous works in which he spent hours and days in jail sells hit home to me. The fact that he had that much endurance and determination to put himself in a cell and deprive himself of life for even a year at a time, makes me think about my ambition in art. I hope to create art like Tehching or at least art that provokes feelings like his piece, One Year Performance.