Medium Specificity

Watching

I watched as they forgot about you

I watched as you did wrong

I watched as he decided it wasn’t true

I watched as you did not belong

I watched as you did not make the team

I watched as you loved and lost

I watched as you turned to lean

I watched what loosing your parents might have cost

I watched things didn’t turn out fair

I watched as you said goodbye

I watched as you cut your hair

I watched everyone at the funeral cry

I watch so many of you

And all your problems I see

But here is one clue,

You should have been writing this poem about me

Artist Statement

I have always loved poetry and the simplicity of it. I think that it is a great medium to explore because of all the elements that you are given.

I chose to do a lyrical poem because of the freedom that it has, but I also chose it to rhyme because I wanted it to have a flow. I wanted the flow for one reason: it would be easier to read. If it is easier to read then the reader will be more engaged. (At least for what I was going for.) What I was going for was a kind of poem for everyone, middle schoolers, high schoolers, or anybody that feels out of place.

The medium I wanted to play with was not only the lyrical poem, but also morbid/depressing things in poetry. I almost think that is the root of many poets. I think that a lot of poets have dealt with heavy subjects, but are inclined not to make it dreadful to read. Edgar Allen Poe, one of my favorite poets, did just that. He has beautiful poetry that is not horrible to read, but it is weighed down by his depression and heavy subjects. I also was inspired to repeat by The Raven. It reiterates what the poet is trying to portray. Poe is where I got my inspiration from, he has influence how I go about poetry itself: with an open mind, and open spirit.

Celebrating a medium was more difficult than expected; it took a lot more brainpower than I thought. It was an exercise that tested my creativity along with my intelligence. 

Historical Story

Historical Artist Statement

Our story was based on the Dana Point Harbor. Not only was this beach one of the most beloved surfing spots, it was home to the hearts of most surfers. Dana Point Harbor started construction in the early 1960’s. This angered many locals and they tried to save Dana Point, but alas this did not work. The harbor was officially dedicated on July 31 1971.

We wanted to do something that represented the historical context, but also alter it to what we thought it was like. We talked about the turnout we would have liked to have and we decided that we would want to do a comedy. After watching the video in class, “My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirt” we definitely thought that history is not always serious and does not need to be portrayed seriously. That is the very reason why we wanted our characters to have certain characteristics of Patrick and SpongeBob. They represented someone who loved the ocean as much as our characters and they are kind of unintelligent. They also are very enthusiastic just like SpongeBob is when he goes to work. I think it was the best choice for a couple of surfer dudes.

We decided it would be best to have two surfers try and organize a protest, but in the end fail. We did this because we read and reviewed the facts that covered and we found out that there were not a lot of organized protests. Some tried, but in the end, surfers will be surfers.

This project was a fun learning experience. For me (Libby) I learned how to write a script. I had never done one before and it was very cool to see what you can show through writing. For me (Aralie) I learned that history in film doesn’t always have to be exactly what happened. I can make it my own; I can show what I want to show. I think that is the power of film, to show the extraordinary. This project taught us how to show the extraordinary. 

Process Piece

Process Piece

Artist Statement

This was a bit overwhelming trying to figure out what I was going to do. I wanted to do something really settle so that the build is strong. I think that by confusing the audience it makes the ending even better. Kind of like Perks of Being a Wallflower, in that movie you are unaware of what is really happening right until the end. I like this idea because in some cases it keeps the audience intrigued. The whole time people are listening to my process piece they will be trying to figure out what the process is.

My process is about writing an essay. I think that a lot of students will get what it is like to do an essay and how hard it is to concentrate. After people have listened to it once, I feel like it will make people laugh and giggle a little. I know from experience, that when I sit down to write an essay, only to write essays, I have trouble even writing a sentence.  My brain becomes a big pile of mush and I have to do it in increments. I always procrastinate by eating, Facebook, texting, or even mustering up the power to go to the bathroom. That’s right, I don’t want to write essays so bad, I fake having to go to the bathroom. I also recorded the clock noise because I feel like, as a student, that we are always under pressure of getting things done in a timely manner because we have the next assignment to do. It is a hard situation to be in.

It was really fun creating something from a process that is something that I do in everyday life. I think that all these things that I recorded are the sounds of writing an essay. I stayed to true to what most college students do in the process of writing an essay.

Tiny Stories

Tiny Stories

Artist Statement 

My tiny stories relation to one another is types of death. I turned something really morbid into comical. I did this because I thought I could create two dynamics at once, which I think I did. I think I did this by choosing death as a topic and the way that I animated it. Every single one of those types of deaths are really morbid in real life, but in these it kind of makes you chuckle.

The animals don’t give it a personal feel, and also I did real life situations for those animals. If you talk about what is happening in each picture it would be very sad and gross. It reminds me of Family Guy and how they use really morbid situations and make them into funny situations. To some people, even if it is funny, they still think it is in bad taste. I, on the other hand, think animated violence is very comical.

All in all it was a very fun project and I took a lot from what I learned in class. I tried to show rather than tell. I feel like I have a great median in what my pictures show and what my words show. I used less than 15 words on each one, but I am still trying to decide if it conveyed enough of what I wanted to show. I think that it did, but I know the stories in my head and I don’t know what other people are thinking. This project taught me that I can’t rely on a single characteristic in a film. It has to be well rounded and sometimes, less is more. If I can tell a story in less than 15 words then I can SHOW more in a film than TELL. 

Music Mosaic

RJD2- Her Majesty's Socialist Request

These pictures represent the song I chose, “Your Majesty’s Socialist Request” by showing that everything is connected, but each thing serves it’s own purpose. Uniformity is throughout the song, which is represented through my pictures by showing that all my pieces are connected. The overlay in the song is constantly changing, but all those different parts make up the song. My pictures show this in each picture by having the item or subject something that is as a whole, but each of the parts has its own purpose.

Here are some explanations for my examples:

·    A human being is a complex creature. Humans are made in God’s image and he created one of the most complicated works of art. Walking around in a body, people take for granted of simple tasks. They think bodies are as a whole, but with out their spine, their liver or their bladder the body would not work the same. The body is a whole, but there are pieces that make up that whole.

·    A tree is a tree and yet many things go into making a tree. The picture I have captured shows a canopy tree.  These are trees that branch out wide to cover more surface area. As a whole the tree functions as a tree, but the leaves functions as leaves. The leaves help the tree cover more surface area and gain more light for the tree to grow, while also letting enough light in and moisture for the trunk of the tree.

·    Stories tell many things with the help of words. A book is a great example of what I am trying to get across. For example, one of my favorite books is Ender’s Game and in this book one of the most well known lines is, “The enemy’s gate is down.” Now if I took each of those words and said them by themselves, they would not make a story. Altogether though, the words can make a glamorous tale. Words are words until they are put together to make a story.

These are just a few examples of what I did. I took things that seem to mean nothing together and made them connect, even though they didn’t seem to have any connections. However, they act as separate pieces to show people examples. “Your Majesty’s Socialist Request” is a very interesting song that combines many things that I would have never thought worked. It made me think in a whole new way.