Reflection: Tools and Technique

In the beginning of this project I borrowed a digital camera to take pictures of the people I was going to use for my project.  Once I had all the people, I uploaded the pictures to my school account.  To put together my collage, I used the Quick Selection tool to help me cut the background out of the picture so I only had the person in it.  I then found a photo of San Francisco to use as the collage background, and used the Move tool to drag the photos over this new background.  While revising, I created a duplicate of my background in Photoshop and put that in front of everything else so it would cover everything up.  Using the Quick Selection tool again, I selected all of the area above the skyline of the background, and that would be the area that I would have the people peek through.  I used the Move tool to arrange the images of the people so that they would appear to be a part of the skyline, kind of peeking through.  I also put a layer mask over the layers that had the pictures of the people in them, so that I could use the Paintbrush to paint black over parts of it so I could successfully fade the people into the picture like I originally wanted to do.

Progress Post

It looks awful right now, but I'm in the process of making a duplicate layer and using a layer mask to gradually fade the people into the picture.  Hopefully it will make it look more natural and polished than just having them sticking out in the middle of the photo.

Final Art Project!

"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.