A5

          For this assignment, I used an Epson machine to scan different areas of my body. At first, I was not sure how to approach this project. I know I wanted to do something abstract for I have always been inspired by abstract art. I used the abstract art movement, more specially semi abstraction, as my motivation and inspiration for this project. The abstract art movement began in the 1900’s and is still popular today. It includes a variety of visual elements to create a separation of reality. Several inspirations of abstract work went into the making of my own semi abreaction piece, yet I chose one particular work that really inspired me. From this abstract piece, I really enjoyed the symmetry indicated and the curves in the piece; therefore I decided to include similar aspects into my own work. 

(inspiration image)

            To create my own abstraction, I arranged my art according to the shape, color, and symmetry of each piece. I wanted to address the idea of technology and people around the world. On the bottom, I incorporated an abstract layer of various lines to suggest the idea of a computer screen. Since our world is becoming so dependent on technology, we treat it almost as a foundation in our own lives. This statement is true for all groups of people. Unintentionally, I printed out black and white copies of my skin. Though the printer was out of toner (which made the copies whiter than usual), it made the art have an increased ambiguity regarding diversity. I believe that the “different skin tones” in my piece can suggest that truly all groups of people are moving towards a technological foundation in their lives. I also used a variety of hand motions in the piece because our hands are a fundamental element in the creation of an obsession with technology. For the shape of the piece as a whole, I used a significant amount of symmetry. Yet as you can see, the piece swirls and stretches away from the main foundation. This was meant to reveal that if we don’t have a foundation of technology, we can roam free and find something more meaningful in our lives to create a new foundation with. 

            I wanted to suggest this idea of technology as our foundation because it’s happening all around us. Using ideas form abstract art made in the early 1900’s, I incorporated many of these abstract principles into my semi abstract piece. I used a fixed amount of particular items that you can define yet they are arranged to create an ambiguous message.  

A4

     My grid art project is constructed out of 950 of my own photos. I wanted something that revealed many of my best adventures, as well as something extremely personal. My mosaic piece was a perfect way of incorporating 950 different memories into one piece of art. My piece was inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s Love is Callingart piece and poem. In the poem, she writes about the memories of love throughout her life. Though Kusama’s perception of love in the poem was rather depressing, my version of all memories of life is seen throughout my grid art. 

      For the overall aesthetic, I was inspired by the construction, colors, shapes, and concepts in Kusama’s Love is Callingroom. I incorporated a brightly colored, swirl in the center of my grid art to symbolize the colorful, curly shapes within the exhibit. In addition, Kusama’s exhibit had dark “holes” within the colorful shapes. My perception of this was the representation of her sadness throughout her life and perhaps in her afterlife. With this in mind, I created something similar in which I incorporated memories within my mosaic that were both joyful and faulty. As Yayoi Kusama also included mirrors within her exhibit to influence the viewer’s look on their own life, I incorporated many personal memories to spark the meaning of life within my own viewers. I believe that the colors and shapes are essential elements to the artist’s definition of life; the good, colorful, the bad and the dark. 

      From her work, I incorporated my own definition of life into my own piece. Within my grid art mosaic, I incorporated my own ideas of love and sadness within my life and the numerous memories conformed to it. 

A3

The History of Burnt Bread

            Have you ever wondered why we put bread in a piece of technology, burn it, and than eat it? Have you ever wondered how this idea came to be? The toaster is a commonly used piece of technology that has had it’s own outcome on the world. It is a prolonged historical idea that came to life, in which it could continue to influence future technologies to come.  

            The history of the toaster may be more interesting than it appears. What exactly is the history of burnt bread? In 500 BC, the Romans were inspired by the idea of ‘browning bread’ that the Egyptians used to keep their bread from growing mold. The idea then spread to the United Kingdom, when the Romans invaded in 44 AD (1). Since bread was a food that was easy to make and easily attainable, it was a common usage in people’s everyday lives. So, to maintain the quality of the made bread, they would ‘brown it’ in the fire. This ideology and method of maintaining the bread’s ingredients was used until the 19^thcentury, “…a hinged fork was used to hold the bread and prevent it from falling into the fire. With the appearance of wood and coal stoves in the 1880s, a new toasting method was needed. This led to a tin and wire pyramid-shaped device. The bread was placed inside and the device was heated on the stove” (1). The usage of simplistic technology was further upgraded to an easier way of burning bread in 1905. An engineer named Albert Marsh created an invention that contained shaped wires (or strips), electricity, wiring mesh, and a rack for the bread (1). This was the first electrical toaster. Yet even though this was a revolutionary way to the easiness of browning bread, not many people had access to electricity in their own homes. Following an increased demand as well as modernized technology achievements, the toaster boomed in technological advances. “Better models soon followed, some with sliding drawers, others with mechanical ways to turn the bread, but the real innovation was the automatic Pop-up toaster, conceived in 1919 by the mechanic Charles Strite. The incorporated timer shut off the heating element and released a pop-up spring when the slice of toast was done” (2). As time went on, the technological advances increased as well as our knowledge for strategic toast making. Therefore, by the 21^stcentury, we now have “smart toasters” using microchip technology not just for browning bread, but also for cooking other baked goods and frozen meals, some even at the same time (2). The beginning of the toaster’s history seems almost insignificant, yet we discover that through history it was extremely important in the simplification of life. 

            The toaster has had many technological advancement, in which there is possibility for more. The toaster could also inspire many new technologies. For an example, with the current technology from a toaster, there could be a machine that is a conformed microwave, toaster, and oven. This could simplify life complications, and it could decrease the cost spent on kitchen appliances. The toaster could also inspire technology more complex than itself. Using the idea of microchip technology in modern toasters, the same idea could be transferred into a technological ideology of a possible toaster that could read the owners mind. All you would have to do is think about how you want your bread or baked good cooked and the machine obeys. There could also be another attached setting in which you could think which topping you want on the product and inside the machine, it makes it for you so you don’t have to! With the many technological advances of the toaster, it is highly possible that we could reach many more levels of ingenious toaster technology. 

            A petite machine can make a tremendous difference. We see this throughout history and we can see it within the future. The toaster is a piece of technology that has impacted cultures in the past, but will also impact others in the future.  

MLA

1.  Advameg Inc. “How Toaster Is Made.” How Products Are Made, 2018, www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Toaster.html.

2.  Ramos, Ana Lopes. “The History of Toasters.” John Desmond Ltd., 20 May 2016, www.johndesmond.com/blog/products/the-history-of-toasters/.

X2

When looking at Christopher Johnson’s ASCII Art Collection, it wasn’t what I expected. I looked at several of his 23 different categories and within all of them they were extremely unique. I had seen computer images like this, but I had never seen it in an art form. It’s interesting how he could take his passion for computers and art and conform them. One of my favorites categories was the Mickey Mouse section. It’s crazy how similar it was compared to a drawn version of Mickey! When I searched through the animal selection, he didn’t have a turtle category ( my favorite animal), but he still had a variety of different animals. Out of the given, I liked the dolphin category the most. I enjoyed this one particularly because each of the 5 dolphin designs were so different from one another, yet they were using the same computer programing to achieve the desired effect. Each dolphin was made up of letters, words, lines, and special characters. The usage of them uniformly made a realistic outline of a dolphin. My most favorite of his work was the astronomy art. With multiple examples of different space sceneries, it was eccentrically interesting. I loved both of the Saturn designs and one of the Earth designs. The ASCII gallery was something I was not expecting, but it was super interesting and made me question the coding on how to achieve art pieces like his. 

A2

Flip Animation Video  (10-9-18) 

Artist Statement (10-10-18) 

This is my flip animation project about a rocket and a UFO’s journey through space. From the outside, the rocket is afraid of the UFO because it contains aliens and the UFO is afraid because the rocket contains humans. Yet, we find out at the end, that each space aircraft is more similar than they think. 

            I wanted to show the idea that we should not automatically judge things we see on the outside because things on the outside are much different than things on the inside. This statement is simple but powerful. We can apply this to the animation and in everyday life. The way my animation displays this is that they are both fighting for what they think is acceptable, yet they are on the same side. I also wanted to touch on the issue of stereotypes and the pride that comes with it. Here, the rocket assumes the UFO has an alien in it, so the rocket shoots the UFO without knowledge of who truly is inside the UFO. 

            I wanted to create an animation involving my passion of science fiction, astronomy, and scientific theology while incorporating two toxic issues in society today. I wanted people to see how it is truly the inside that you should see instead of making misinterpretations about someone or something. 

B4

        Throughout my life, I have been blessed to be able to attend several Broadway productions. I have been to The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Waitress, Rent, Chicago, and others. Going to the theatre is one of my favorite activities to do—I love to watch the talent of the actors and actresses. Their meticulous chorus and choreography amazes me, and it surely demonstrates their intense practice schedule. With very show I’ve been to, I always find myself glued to the stage, entertained for the entire duration. I love the plot of the original stories, and when it’s turned into a musical production, it makes me gloat. I highly appreciate the dedication of the staff; it makes the show genuinely extraordinary. 

A1- Opera Essay

Giulio Cesare: An Opera

            One of the most famous Roman leaders, Julius Caesar and the elegant, Egyptian ruler, Cleopatra were two of many influential icons of the ancient world, yet could you picture them as opera stars? In Giulio Cesare written by George Frederic Handel, the emotional and complex storyline portrays an ingenious range of sentiments including betrayal, vengeance, agony, and love through music. Displays of considerable “mise en scene” using detailing and technology emphasized the viewer’s reality of the show itself, which therefore resulted in a pragmatic opera that twists history with the modern world of entertainment. 

            When watching Giulio Cesare, the usage of the “mise en scene” detailing is what made this opera come to life. All of the details about the actors and actresses looked their part, which resulted in a believable character. The performers also used fantastic body language to express their emotion, which made viewers essentially jump into the story. The lighting detail in the opera was exquisite. Lights would shine directly onto the actor’s face during scenes of deep sadness, which would result in an emotional angst. The lighting seemed to be strategically lit to express the actor’s costumes. On Caesar’s costume, the lighting would make the red fabric of his cloak prominent and the metal of his armor shine. A large part of the décor used throughout the production was part of the lighting detail. There was lighting on a blank wall to make it appear as ancient architecture. The simplistic décor of the production was appropriate considering how extravagant the costumes and the actor’s voices were. Each costume was meticulous. The necklaces, makeup, hairstyles, dresses, togas, jewelry, accessories…it fit the characters precisely. For an example, in Act 1 of the opera Cleopatra is introduced. She is wearing Egyptian clothing made of sequins and silk. On her head there is dark kohl around her eyes, and her hair is tied up in a bejeweled, gold crown. By the details in her costume you could sense her royal status as well as a realistic idea of how Cleopatra looked in 47 BC. Some of the props used were war armor, exaggerated pilums, chariots, gold accessories, fabrics, and many others. The detailing of the props showed the time period of the opera and made it seem extremely realistic. Overall, the usage of the “mise en scene” details in Handel’s production was simply astute. 

            When watching this opera, the details used made me discover numerous things about Giulio Cesare. The conformity of the diverse “mise en scene” in the opera made me discover emotion and a sense of appreciation for opera. The way that the actors used their body language while they were singing made the show more realistic, in which created realistic feelings. This made me feel similarly to what the actors were feeling and I found that I seemed to be connected to the story. I found that the actors, lighting, décor, props, and the costumes, could take you back in time to 47 BC (1). Although the production was performed in Italian, there were clues to what was going on in each act. This helped me drastically to know what was happening and helped me to connect better to the emotions of the story. I discovered that the detailing in the costumes were significant because they historically matched nicely, therefore making the opera that more realistic through the details. Watching Handel’s show helped me discover the importance of technological detailing in opera through the “mise en scene”. 

            When this opera was first presented, I would suspect the audience to have several reactions to the detailing within the technology used. I believe they would have a sense of awe in the appearance of the costumes. For an example, just in Cleopatra’s costume, there were carefully placed jewels and gold sequences. Her makeup emphasized her beauty, and with her extravagant costume, her character took your breath away. As with my mentality, the original audience was probably transported back in time during Caesar and Cleopatra’s reign. I would also suspect that the audience had several emotions during the production. During Cornelia’s grief of her dead husband, the audience probably felt deep sadness. When the news of Caesar’s death flooded the stage, the crowd was probably shocked, yet they discovered later that Caesar was still alive. This most likely brought them hope for his future relationship with Cleopatra as well his aspiration for seeking vengeance. During the growing romance of Caesar and Cleopatra, the audience probably longed for their love to be made official and for them to finally be together. Along with triggered emotion and costumes, I believe that the audience would probably be astounded at the detailing within the décor and props used throughout the show. The aristocrats who attended the opera were most likely astounded at the detailed technology that constructed the production. 

            George Handel’s Giulio Cesareis important to the chronology of opera because of how he inspired Europe’s opera movement of the 18^thcentury. Handel’s passion for Italian opera was expressed ever since he was a boy, and that passion followed him as he went to serve King George I. Because the king saw Handel’s talent, he said, “the composer at the center of the (king’s opera) company was to be George Frederick Handel” (3). Because of this, he changed the world of opera in London and eventually throughout the Europe. “It was the music of Frederick Handel that really established the popularity of opera in London. Handel was sent abroad by the Royal Academy of Music to attract the best available singers to London. Senesino the famous castrato was offered the vast sum of £2,000 a year to perform in London in 1710” (2). It was Handel who started the Italian opera movement, with one of his best Italian productions, Giulio Cesarewithin his works. Handel worked with some of the most talented people of the age to perform his original piece, because he longed for a good “score” for his production. Handel’s score consisted of, “A sumptuous, gorgeous score it is with the unusual addition of four horns, recorders, transverse flute, gamba, bassoon and theorbo, a large lute-like instrument, alladded to the usual pit band of strings and winds” (3). This score revealed that the musical details in Giulio Cesarewas uniquely different in sound, which made the opera more majestic. Handel’s production was successful in the following years of its original showing in 1724 (1), as it still is today. Handel’s work can be summarized, “…the current revival of Handel masterworks for the stage, Julius Caesar in Egypt holds the primary position. Its strongly written characters hold the stage today as well as the operatic creations of a Verdi, a Puccini or a Bizet. It is a great piece of music and a great piece of theatre” (3). Giulio Cesare is a piece that will never be forgotten. Handel was extremely important to the chronology of opera because he started the Italian opera revolution, in which Giulio Cesare was one of the products of.

            Technology is used throughout the entire production in numerous ways to produce the opera’s generous detailing. During the modernized production of Giulio Cesare they used pulleys during the transition of scenes. When they pulled the scenery up or down, it was a smooth transition to the next scene. The pulley system has a similar ideology to the original theatre system: In a theatre designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel in the 1700’s, during a performance a pulley system was used for changing sceneries (5). The detailing of the movement of the pulley, added for smooth transitioning and for the audience to admire the coming scenery. The modernized opera used large chariots that were pushed by the soldier actors. They used great detailing on the chariots to symbolize a similar style of chariot in the appropriate time period. The production also had delicate lighting effects that would be shown on the background set. The lighting created a sense of historic architecture that made it seem that the actors were in Egypt. There was also a trap door used in Act 2 of the production. Both details of lighting and trap technology have been used since before Handel’s opera was written. “…the Greeks also used moveable scenery, mounted on wheels or on revolting prisms…plays of the Middle Ages also used stage machinery, including a trapdoor…but the art did not reach its zenith until the Italian Renaissance” (6). Incorporating ancient theatrical technology methods, Giulio Cesare was produced by successful technology techniques. The detailing within the various technology used in the production gave an impressive accuracy to the actual timeline of the story resulting in the realism of the show. 

            If I were a modern director, turning this opera into a video game would be surprisingly similar to today’s video games. Many of today’s popular video games have a common theme of war, violence, revenge, and battle. We see in 2018, that games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield all have these characteristics (7). I would use Handel’s Giulio Cesare by creating a similar video game based off the plot.For an example, I would incorporate the war at the beginning of Act 1 into the game, where players could choose to play as Caesar to fight among his soldiers. So by using small detailing I could create a character that would be extremely similar to the actual character. For an example, by observing Caesar’s dress code from the opera, I could incorporate his Roman armor into the video game’s character. Also players could have a mission to return to Cleopatra by wandering through the desert to find their way back to the royal palace. Players could listen to a recording of the performed music while in battle or talking with one another in the game. If I were to create Giulio Cesare into a video game, it would be in the details of the game that would make it appealing to play. 

            Throughout the production, we see that the details throughout every aspect of the performance, including the “mise en scene” and technology used, are key to a successful opera. Handel’s Giulio Cesare has been remembered for centuries, and so it will be remembered forevermore. 

MLA

1.     Wikipedia. “Giulio Cesare.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Sept. 2018,         en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulio_Cesare.

2.     Museum, Albert. “18th Century Opera.” Introduction to 20th-Century Fashion,    Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London            SW7 2RL. Telephone +44 (0)20 7942 2000. Email Vanda@Vam.ac.uk, 24 July 2013, www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/0-9/18th-century-opera/.

3.     “Beethoven and Fidelio.” San Diego Opera, www.sdopera.org/Content/Operapaedia/Operas/Fidelio/Composer.htm.

4.     Opernsänger DDR, director. Händel: Julius Cäsar (Deutsch, Staatsoper Berlin,     Schreier, Casapietra, Adam). YouTube, YouTube, 1 Aug. 2016,             www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTBbvrVgkm0.

5.     Izenour, George C., and Clive Barker. “Theatre.” Encyclopædia Britannica,            Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Jan. 2018,             www.britannica.com/art/theater-building/Baroque-theatres-and-staging.

6.     Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Stage Machinery.” Encyclopædia         Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Apr. 2017,             www.britannica.com/art/stage-machinery.

7.     IMDb. “Most Popular Video Games.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2018,    www.imdb.com/title/tt0397306/.