"Connecting my Project to my Definition of Art"

Art is defined for me as something that is meaningful and deliberate from the artist.  It has a message that the artist wants to send to the viewer.  What art isn't is something made just for its face value.  You can paint a pretty rainbow just because it's pretty, or you can paint a rainbow that symbolizes the diversity you'd like to see around you.  For me, the artist's intent contributes almost as much as the visual piece itself.

My project is a good definition of what I think is art because I want people to see what I see.  I want them to see how life is on the other end of the spectrum.  I have a message to send, and it's this: "Look at your fellow man.  They are us.  We all deserve better."

Since I want my pictures to be in black and white, I want them to be kind of stark and somber looking.  I want to catch the viewer's attention, make them have to get used to what they see.  The most difficult part of my project has been actually starting, because a) I've been sick and missed half a week of taking pictures, and b) I can't figure out a respectful way to take a homeless person's picture, because they might not appreciate it, get angry, or just not want me to do it at all.  I think I will get it done soon, though.  Either that, or I will have to come up with another concept for my project.

"Setting the Goals and Trajectory of the Project"

My first week will be spent taking pictures of all the homeless people I see in the city every day.  Then next week, I will upload them and start putting them together in a collage, using things I've learned in Digital Design to make them look interesting.

I really want everyone to see what I see every day.  People begging for money , sleeping on the streets or in the park, and general poverty that shouldn't be here.  We need to be more compassionate and displaying their various situations will be a step toward that.  We need to take care of our own fellow San Franciscans before we can try to heal the rest of California, the US, or the world.

"What is Art?" Part 1 Final Paper

What is Art?

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Response to Wordpress Blog

Response to "Abortion: Social Issue or Shock Art?"

1.  This person's opinion about art is that it is a freedom of speech and that should be protected, but also that sometimes the piece is of questionable taste and can be censored so that society isn't unwillingly subjected to this kind of art.

2. This person uses only their personal beliefs as evidence.

3. This person leans more to the left, and wants to protect freedoms such as freedom of expression and freedom of choice.  But also is more conservative when it comes to art that brings up such strong emotions in people.

4. An interesting point I heard is that art used only for the shock value is not necessarily art, and that when you create something so controversial, you may bring bad attention to the cause you wanted to support.

5. My definition of art is something meaningful that was intentionally created, that isn't there only to shock people.

This. Is. Not. Art.

This is most definitely not art.  This is trash.  It infuriates me that a person can arrange pieces of bent and broken metal and call it art.  Art is deliberate.  You mean to make something.  It doesn't have to be completely planned, but it does have intentional.  You can't haphazardly pile up broken metal and say that it's art.  Art can be trash, but only if it used to create something new.  If we say this is art, we could look inside a Dumpster or go to a landfill and claim that is art, too.  We need to draw the line somewhere.  Piling up trash is not art.

What is art?

This video is from Pointe DVD, and it's the Snow Pas de Deux and the Dance of the Snowflakes.  Ballet is one of the most true art forms to me.  I've never been so passionate about anything as I am about ballet.  I can't count the times I've seen the Nutcracker, and I can hum the musi< Nothing can replace the way I feel when I watch the beautiful dancer make her way across the stage, looking ethereal and weightless.  And when I'm out there on the stage and all eyes are on me, I'm no longer Mara.  I'm as ethereal and beautiful and weightless as all the other dancers, the audience can't even guess the grueling hours I've spent in rehearsal or that my big toe is bleeding or that I can already feel a blister coming on.

Ballet is so amazing because it's one of the most accurate ways to portray emotion.  The love I see in a pas de deux is stronger than I can see in some real life couples.  It also always evokes emotion.  I admit, I've cried at a ballet or two.  Either because the storyline is so heartbreaking, or the dance is so lovely.

Point(e) is, ballet is art.  Plain and simple.  And make sure to watch the video...it's awesome!

Troy Davis Collage