Curatorial Reflection

Though the curating project had a bit of a rough start, I think the final product turned out great! The theme, monochrome, didn't exactly fit each piece in the gallery as anticipated. However, the layout and installation of the gallery completely made up for it. Colors were brought together along the back wall where most of the paintings were (which is where my painting of the feminized wolf pack logo was hung) . Projectors displayed projects on two of the walls as well as the couch which made the gallery inviting and interesting to navigate around. I think everyone had something to learn from the installation of our gallery. Aside from some confusion and chaos in the setup process, I was very pleased with the outcome of our hard work. 

Light Box Project

The image I created for the light box was inspired by the movie, Interstellar, as well as the location of the light box--in the Church of Fine Arts. When I think of art, I think of creativity. This is where the phrase "think outside the box" comes from. Creativity is an idea of infinite possibility, of which, I related to the vastly unknown and limitless area of space. Creativity requires original thinking and new ideas that usually have yet to be explored. All work was done on GIMP and Pinta. I learned quite a bit about brush textures as well as color adjustment during the process. Overall, I think the project was a success and I'm pretty happy with the final product.

Triptych: Image Consumption

Triptych: Image Consumption 

“The need to photograph everything lies in the very logic of consumption itself…As we make more images and consume them, we still need more images; and still more.” —Susan Sontag (Davey, 11) 

  

Images play a huge role in social media today. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr—all are sites and apps we can access on our phones and computers with the simple push of a button. They are filled with pictures that draw us in and captivate us. These images, whether they are of friends, ourselves or subjects of interest, are consumed on a daily basis by people of all ages around the world.  

I chose the quote from Susan Sontag because of its highly relevant meaning in today’s society. Our generation is infatuated by social media and its corresponding images. It is not uncommon to catch sight of someone scrolling through images on their phone out in public. In fact, it has become somewhat of a problem. Students are known for bringing their phones and laptops into lecture with social media sites on the screens while their professors give lessons. This not only distracts the user, but the people around them as well. Parents now use the punishment of taking phones and computers away from their children because they, too, know just how distracting and mesmerizing all of it can be. It has even become a game at the dinner table; first to grab their cellphone in the restaurant pays the bill. Such an ordeal seems to beg the question we ought to ask ourselves; why have these images have become such a big part of our daily lives? 

The first part of the triptych is a stock photo of people sitting next to each other with their smart phones in hand. No interaction between the individuals is taking place. Instead, they are all preoccupied on their devices. Just about everyone is guilty of this action. Sometimes I find it hard to put the phone down even in social situations which is why I believe this is an important piece in the triptych. It highlights one of the many negative byproducts of social media which is, ironically, creating asocial people.  

Part two of the triptych progresses to multiple images. It is a GIF image that displays the logos of some of the most popular social media sites known for their image posts. Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr are perfect examples. The file was created in GIMP on a 300 x 300 canvas. It was a simple process: placing each logo on a separate layer and exporting the image at about 5 fps (frames per second). Each of the logos are visible but for only a fraction of a second. This correlates to the viewing habits of some social media users. An individual scrolls through pictures (some more quickly than others) until he or she finds something that grabs their attention.  

The final piece in the triptych is a video recording the actual interaction on a few social media sites. Tumblr, the first shown in the video, is a microblogging platform that allows users to find and follow the things they enjoy. Pictures, videos, music, quotes, and links are commonly shared on this site. Facebook is the second site visited. As of September, Facebook had over one billion active users. This is five times more than it’s closest competitor, Twitter (Tappin). Something I noticed when using Facebook was the fact that I only really look for the videos and pictures rather than reading the posts. as Andy Warhol coined, “I never read, I only look at pictures.” The last website, Pinterest, is almost entirely comprised of images. Videos and gifs are relatively new to this platform. It is known as a site of inspiration for projects, fashion, food, and art.  

I think it would be interesting if everyone, for at least one day, put their phones and laptops away. Instead of surfing sites, playing games, watching videos or whatever it may be that one does on their device, they would do something they normally wouldn’t. They might just see the world a little differently by being more observant—more aware of the environment around them.  

  

Sources:

Tappin, Steve. "Facebook vs. Twitter: Who Wins the Battle for Our Social Attention?" PandoDaily Facebook vs Twitter Who Wins the Battle for Our Social Attention Comments. PandoDaily, 6 Feb. 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. 

Davey, Moyra. Notes on Photography & Accident (n.d.): 1-29. Web. 

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock