Final Video

Music

Music Movement 1 Disco: Diana Ross is an extremely influential and popular singer during this time period. This genre of music was prominent during the 1960’s and 1970’s and played in night clubs. The theme of this music was meant for people to dance so many of the tunes were upbeats and portrayed an echo effect. 

Music Movement 2 Dubstep: A famous dub step artist was Excision. His music perfectly fit into this category because it incorporated electric rhythmic pattern of beats using a base frequency. This music was developed fairly recently and uses advanced technology to create these beats and sounds. 

Music Movement 3 Techno: The Prodigy was a group that formed as a result of techno music. They achieved popularity in the 1990’s through their underground rave scene which combined a mixture of funk, electro, and electric jazz with a futuristic theme. 

Music Movement 4 Girl Power:  Beyoncé is an example of an artist who portrays girl power. Even though Beyoncé did not perform during the same time as the other artists listed, many of her songs include lyrics that are uplifting to women and provide them with strength. Many of her songs are upbeat and involve repeated lyrics to emphasize her message. 

Music Movement 5 Punk: Blink 82 is an extremely popular group who emerged in the 1970’s as punk rock group based off prior rock bands from the 1960’s. The punk rock culture usually involved rebellious youths wearing spiked jewelry and leather. Punk rock is usually described as louder and more intense than the rock in the years before and usually the message is to rebel the social norm.  

What if the World was a Simulation?

            Trying to think of the world being a simulation is a difficult concept to grasp. Even after thinking about it for a while I cannot imagine living in this world and it not being real. Everything that I do or touch is so real to me and if we were living in some type of simulation my mind would be absolutely blown. However, this concept is not completely out of the question. With the technology we have access to today, it is possible to make things feel real that are generated by computers. I have personally experienced different types of simulations such as amusement park rides and headgear that provide a real-life experience.  I remember having to tell myself that it wasn’t real because when I experienced this it all felt so realistic. This is something that even if certain aspects of simulation are not possible today, they will be possible in the future.

Can You Create Art with Technology?

            I strongly believe art can be created with the use of technology. With all the access we have to technology today, it would be a shame not to use it to create different types of art. Some of the most beautiful art I have seen has been used with computer programing and other devices on located on computers. Just because people are not using their hands to create something does not take away from the fact that it is a piece of artwork. Sometimes these pieces of art created using technology require a lot of thinking and creativity to ensure that they are unique. The benefit to creating art with technology is the convince when deleting a portion of the art. When painting or coloring, it is not as easy to just get rid of a color that was already drawn. As a whole, we have already come so far with using technology to create art. I am thrilled to see how much further we can advance and a see the pieces of art that are created in the future.

Xerox

           The Xerox project was not necessarily the hardest project yet, but I did find it to be the most thought-provoking project so far. If you just had to copy your body parts and randomly assemble them into a random object, then this project would have been easy. The challenging part of this assignment was thinking of an original object to create from the copies of my body pieces into a piece of art that I can relate to and is important to me. The other challenging aspect of this assignment is arranging your body parts to correctly portray the image you are trying to create. The good thing about this project is that you can be creative as you want and use other accessories you may wear such as hats and watches to achieve the look you need. I found this project very challenging but rewarding once I was able to assemble my body parts to look like a flower, which was my intended goal.

Grid

Doing this grid helped me understand how pixels were originally created. This made me realize how TV's were started and how we got the pictures that we now have today.

Advancing Technology

            One of the biggest advancements in technology and most useful devices today is the cell phone. The first cell phone created has evolved over time and is completely different from the iPhones and Android that we now have. Not only has the design and size changed, but also the use for cell phones have changed as well. Many people store pictures, files, calendars, reminders, social media accounts, and all their personal information within this small device that travels with them where ever they go. Some people would not know what to with themselves with a loss of this item. A few decades ago, people could not have even imagined having internet access on their phones because they were solely used for calling one another. When we look around at everyone, the majority of people have iPhones, which seem to be the leading brand of cell phones.  

            Trying to think of how the phones we have now could advance anymore seems to be impossible. Personally, the iPhone I have appears to be able to do everything I could ever need and has even more features that I do not use or do not know about. The newer phones that are being released every year are only advancing slightly in picture quality, size changes, apps, etc. The next big change in the iPhone’s I think is going to be invented is something that has to do with 3D projections or holograms. This idea could be far-fetched and not even be possible, but it is the only entirely new thing I could think of that would be something that could be completely different from the cell phones we are used to using today. This idea may have already come up with cell phones and could in the making of incorporating into new devices. Overall, thinking of an entire new device can be hard when the technology we have in the 21^stcentury is already so advanced. 

Performance Art Description

             I have found the project on performance art to be the hardest thus far. Making a video and editing it was actually the fun part which I really enjoyed. This is not something I would typically do or have ever done before so I am glad I was able to learn this skill which could help me in the future. The hardest part, in my opinion, was trying to think of an original, creative idea that would be performance art. When deciding a topic, I wanted to make sure it was relevant to my life and others in present day. Technology is something that overpowers our lives today. People are so engrossed in their phones that they often forget to interact with other people during events, dinners, etc. I have seen many people not even know where they are walking or know they are about to run into someone because they cannot stay off their phones. My performance art piece is to mimic this behavior and tape real people in the acts as well.

Performance Art

Flipbook

Flipbook Description

     The flipbook assignment was something I had never done before. This type of art is common amongst many young kids while they are bored in school and decide to draw a stick figure or bouncing ball in their notebooks. However, I never explored this type of artwork until I was here in college. Going into this making this type of art I was honestly scared because I am not good at drawing at all and this project requires a lot of that skill. I discovered that this type of art was actually a lot of fun to do. Being good at drawing wasn’t even a necessity in making this art look good. For instance, I used a balloon floating throughout the page of the book, being popped by a needle, and then falling to the ground in one section of my flipbook. None of these art pieces required a huge amount of artistic ability but I was able to make this look realistic. Overall, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed making this flipbook. 

Camera/ Photo Extra Credit

            Learning about the camera in class was something I had never seen. To be honest, I did not even know how the first camera and digital pictures were even made. Since I grew up in the 21^stcentury, I have always had digital pictures and the technology to just snap an image on a phone. I never really thought about how these first images were made. I have a great appreciate for this art because It took several hours to make one image versus today where we can take a picture in less than seconds. Today I could not imagine having to wait hours and having to make sure there was the correct sunlight to even have an image. This made me want to look more into detailed videos on this process.

Broadway/Stage Door Blog

Angel de Quinta’s Stage Door Blog incorporated many of the songs, tunes, pieces of the show from different shows on Broadway. My personal favorite clip was Michael Bublé singing “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The reason this video was my favorite is because it has sentimental value to me. Every Christmas, my grandmother and I make Christmas cookies with a few of my cousins and my brother and every time we do this we are always listening to the Michael Bublé Christmas album as we are baking. Also, another one of my favorite videos was the excerpt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Broadway. This was one of my favorite movies growing up and even today when I am flipping through the channels and I see that it is playing, I instantly turn it on. I did not even know that this movie was performed on Broadway and I am interested in looking up when the next one is playing in New York City that I can see. Even though I was unable to read this blog because it was in Spanish, I enjoyed watching the videos of singing and acting from the various Broadway shows.   

Madama Butterfly Animation

             After watching Madama Butterfly I was intrigued not only by the message, but on the creation of this video.  Since this video appeared to be made out of plastic or clay dolls, I wondered how the director shot this film.  I learned in my film class in high school that in some animated films in order to make the doll move it needed to be shot frame by frame for it to look like the doll is in motion. If this were the case for this particular film, there would have been so many hours put into making this ten minute film. The ending of the clip left me slightly confused. It appeared that after her child was taken, she was falling apart. This was literally shown, she took off her skin and all of her body parts detached. To me, this showed that she was so distraught from losing her child she was slowly withering away. The end of the film was what confused me, was when she reappeared with a butterfly in a much brighter setting with vibrant colors. Was this her in heaven? I still am unsure the full message of this animated version of Madama Butterfly, but I did enjoy watching this video because it made me really think about what the video is trying to show. 

Opera before 1920- L'Orfeo

          I chose the opera “L’Orfeo” written by Claudio Monteverdi in 1607. After researching and reading about numerous operas, I was intrigued to watch L’Orfeo because it is considered to be the first great opera. Monteverdi is considered to be the “founding father” of opera and is often given credit for creating this work of art. However, he did not actually invent opera. The work of the Italians from over 400 years ago first developed this art, but unfortunately the majority of their work has been lost over time. After Monteverdi died, the opera slowly died down and was not performed for hundreds of years. It was only until recent years that the opera was performed and won numerous awards. Monteverdi’s work of art is now being played today in all different parts of the world. 

            Even though Monteverdi’s opera was not the very first opera, it was in fact the first opera to make sense. Monteverdi’s opera incorporated music, singing, and an intriguing storyline all in a cohesive manner, which is what made it the first great opera. This opera consisted of five different acts with scene changes and elaborate costumes throughout. 

            This image above is from the opera that I watched that took place in 1978. In this picture some of the scene in the background is visible. In this particular opera, the background colors were very light and resembled pastel colors. This created the illusion that the opera was old in a sense, almost like something vibrant that had faded. This helped to show that the setting was in the past when the opera was originally written in 1607. In this image, there are three costumes that can be seen. Like the ones in the picture, all the costumes are large in size and filled with detailed embroidery. The dresses especially appear to be extremely full and seem as if they would even be heavy to wear. 

            This image above was from a later act in the opera. Even though it appears that this picture could have come from a completely different scene, it is the same background. When I was watching this opera, I was expecting to see numerous set changes, where the whole stage changed. I was shocked to realize that the physical set remained the same throughout the whole opera. In order to create the feeling that the actors were in a different place, props were added and the lighting continued to change to set a different mood. One of the most important uses of technology was the different forms of light used. By diming and lightening the stage, it made the performers feel like they were in a different location than the previous act or scene. For instance, in this opera some of the acts take place in the Underworld and the way this illusion was created was by making the stage darker by using different lights and adding props such as vines and dark figures. 

            When this opera was first performed I can image that the audience would have been amazed. One of the aspects that I found most impressive during this opera was how much the orchestra played throughout the opera. I cannot imagine how much time and practice needed to be set aside in order to be able to play an instrument for that long with only short breaks. Considering this opera was the first to have a chronological story and series of events the audience must have really enjoyed the storyline along with the musical elements of this opera. 

            L’Orfeo, being the first opera with a sensible plot, set an example for following operas. Without the creation if this opera, the operas we have today may have been completely different. L’Orfeo included music, dance, and a story that created an emotional response from the audience and established a foundation for other operas. 

            If I were a director, I would not make this opera a video game just because the interests over time have changed so much. Most of the video games that are popular today involve violence and trying to beat others to reach a goal. However, I think this opera would make a great movie because of the changing emotions that audiences love to experience while watching a great film.

International Videoart Extra Credit

        Unfortunately, I was only able to see a little more than half of the clips from the International Videoarts Festival that took place tonight.  However, the ones that I did see truly fascinated me. The man presenting explained how each of these videos had no specific meaning, which I really liked. To me, this meant that the whole video was fully to the interpretation of the audience. During each video the same question seemed to keep popping into my head. I asked myself, how did the artist even make this video? I could not even begin to think of how to create such artwork that was so smooth in transition between different images. Overall, the different videos that I did see were a new perspective of art that I had not thought of before that I would like to continue to explore. 

 

Madama Butterfly

         Madama Butterlfy written by Giacomo Puccini in 1898 is an opera that took place in Japan and was performed in three different acts.  While I was watching this opera, I especially noticed the characters.  This not only had to do with the colors of their costumes, but the color of the background. The scene where this opera took place was white, which made the performers pastel costumes stand out even more to the audience.  Many would have considered the background of the opera boring because it was plain white with few props. However,  the director of this opera achieved his goal of having the actors and actresses be the main focal point of the show. After watching this opera, I proceed to look up the same opera but performed more recently.  I found one that was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 2016. 

 

Above is an image from that opera. I was in awe after seeing these costumes. The colors and design specifically stood out to me and would have to anyone sitting in the audience. These costumes very closely resemble the outfits that would have been wore in Japan as well. 

            Additionally, I wanted to add about my own personal experience seeing an opera. A few years I saw “The Tempest” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City with my music class. At that point in time I would have not considered opera an art. However, now I view it as more of an art than music, even though it does involve a lot of vocal practice. Luckily, the opera I watched was in English but there were still subtitles displayed in front of each seat because of the high and low voices that made it difficult to understand. I can vividly remember seeing all the amazing costumes, mostly consisting of blues and darker colors since the opera was about a storm. There was one character I could never forget. Her costume was so elaborate with detail and large in size, it almost appeared to be like icicles extending from her body in every way. Not only was her costume memorable, her voice was as well. The voice of this actress was so high in pitch, unlike anything I had ever heard before and she, in particular, was very hard to understand. Overall, at the opera I had a great experience and would most likely go back again to see another performance. 

The Birth & Life of Opera/ Howard Goodall

           Watching the video on the origin of opera by Howard Goodall helped me to understand how the world obtained opera and how popular it is. Before watching this video, I had very little knowledge on when and where opera was originally created. I was surprised to find out that opera was created over 400 years ago in Italy. Since then, it has only grown more popular and spread throughout the world becoming a global art. In this video, Goodall made a point that I never thought about before. Goodall said “opera is a form of music that interfaces with the real world through love, death, and politics.” After thinking about this, I realized it is very true. Whenever I used to think about opera, I would always categorize it with plays and theater rather than music. But now after watching the video, operas are equally musically with acting, which is extremely hard to master simultaneously. Overall, I really liked this video and thought it was very informative to those who do not have any knowledge of opera to learn how it began. 

Above is an image of Jacopo Peri, the writer of the first known opera, “Dafne.”

Raul Cueros Interview

Raul Cuero's Interview          

         After watching Raul Cuero’s interview, I was inspired by his drive and motivation. As a young child, Cuero grew up in an extremely poor family even to the point where they did not have access to water.  Through his strong determination and hard work, he was able to become an intelligent microbiologist. 

         Within Cuero’s interview the topic of creativity was discussed, in which I agreed and disagreed with some of the different points he made. With today’s technology, it is believed that people have lost their ability to be creative.  In some ways, this can be true because children are so engulfed in technology that they sometimes forget to be kids. Instead of playing outside, children can often be found inside watching television or playing on their tablets.  However, the way that people show their creativity has changed over time. Today, people can show their creativity through graphic design or by using three dimensional figures on computers. This type of creativity is now possible because of the technology that was created, which was not available in earlier generations. 

         Another subject Cuero talked about was intensity. This is something that directly relates to my personal life. When I was listening to his response, I entirely agreed with everything that he stated. In order to succeed with the best results possible someone must use full intensity and effort. I noticed within my own life that if I try my hardest in school, athletics, and working I will receive the best results. Many people are scared to try their hardest because they are afraid of rejection or failure. Failing is one of the most productive ways to learn from the mistakes that were made. Learning by experimenting and doing is another important point that Cuero made in his interview. Rather than just reading and trying to absorb information, a hands-on approach may be more helpful. I find what Cuero said to be true because I have realized that I retain information better by actually experimenting and working with it. 

Introduction

Hello, my name is Anna Anderson. I am from a small town about an hour and a half north of New York City. I like to stay active by going to the gym and playing sports such as volleyball and softball. Some of the things I would do at home with my friends are go out to different restaurants, the movies, hiking, day trips to different cities, or just hanging out at home. I went into this class very hesitant because art is not one of my strengths, but after going to class the first day I am very excited to explore how art has developed into the technology we have today. In high school the art classes that I took were mainly about drawing so I am excited to learn about a new side of art that I may be more interested in. In this class I expect to learn more about how art is applied to my everyday life through the modern technology.