Class 11/29

We watched the film "Beautiful Losers" which was VERY engaging. The film was about a group of artists whose paths crossed as they were venturing in their artistic careers. This group of artists clicked, continued to have fun and work together, and eventually/unintentionally made it BIG as professional artists. The film shows each artist and their upbringing, how each of them got started as artists and then leading to the meeting of the group of artists at a studio in New York. They partied, drank, exhibited their work, and genuinely enjoyed/fed off each other's character/personality as artists and friends.

The film then shifted to their success as an group of artists, travelling to Japan and getting paid shit-tons of money to make art and have fun/promote their work. Then, the film began to show the artists' shift to more professional work, i.e. work for Pepsi and Volkswagen, of which they retained their true artistic integrity, whereas many adapt to what the corporations want.

What is artistic integrity? I define artistic integrity as what an artist teaches themselves, their personal style and tendencies as artists; all of which are the result of artists' inspiration's to become and remain artists. Where they came from and how they got to where they are at. The underlying theme of the film; from nowhere to somewhere, having nothing to having it all.

Class 11/24

This class session was very interesting because we all presented our homework assignment; we were instructed to generate ideas as to how the Graphic Design/Visual Communication could promote and recruit students to study GD/VC. There were a few very good ideas that are very possible and that would be very fun for current GD/VC students. The idea I had, which was also very similar to a few other classmates, is still my favorite and in my opinion it is one of the most possible of the presented ideas. My idea was to request table space in the main walkway by the Bookstore and have a student work exhibition, but we wouldn't be tabling like the rest of the organizations on the walkway. The actual table will not be the focus of the exhibition, it will contain vital materials (pamphlets, flyers, etc.), however the student work (digital and print) will be the center of attention at the exhibition. We would do this the first week of school, definitely Fall quarter to promote the option to both new and current students, but also we can do it for Spring quarter if we would like to promote to current students. Using GAUGE as the organization putting on the exhibition, we can request from CSI (Center for Student Involvement), the table space (2 spaces), electricity (extension cords), and food permit (to give out free candies, snacks, etc.). We can bring out easels to display the student work and computer monitors to present digital media (possibly slideshows/videos). There are multiple other ideas that can go into this event, these are just the options of this particular type of event that I came up with...

Class 11/22

Biggest part of the class session was the breakdown of the class into pairs and one group of three. We were instructed to pull a few random objects out of our pockets and bags, place them on our desk, and between each team we were to create a story based upon the items in front of us. My partner and I discussed what we needed in the story, beginning and end. Being that we didnt have a lot of time to prepare, we just went with that and began figuring out what our story was going to be about. We felt that a realistic story would be more interesting so we went with that. In the end, Jimmy thought our story was no good. But he also felt the same way about all the other stories so we didnt feel bad. We learned that creating a good story is very difficult, and that it takes a lot to make one that is captivating and successful in attracting the audience.

Class 11/17

so we watched a pbs documentary on dreams, what are dreams... Also for hw we were supposed to dream! Well I had the most F'd up dream ever. Im one of the type of people that never remembers their dreams, but this dream had me waking up with my heart racing. in my dream an old childhood friend called me while I was driving, I recenlty got a ticket for talking and driving so I hesitated to answer in the dream. I did answer and just as I begin to speak I can see a kid falling out of a suv behind me, watching him tumble and getting ran over, very explicitly. Nasty ass shit!

sorry that I had to share that but I feel its relevant because I think that since I was challenged to dream I was able to remember. I'll be honest, I didnt remember the others because I fell asleep intoxicated (heavily buzzed and/or drunk :/). However... I have a whole week of catching up on dreams, I am going to try dreaming about my final project. I already know the concept im going to use so hopefully some interesting things occur in my sleep

Class 11/10

Im this class session we spent most of the time working together in a group to solve the problem Jimmy put up on the board, which was to figure out as a group numbers 8-10 in Binary. He put up for us numbers 1-7 and we were to as a group solve the problem. As we had come to what seemed as a logical solution, there were still skeptics in the group. We then discussed other possible solutions and the group chose one different, one that I felt was incorrect. In the end I was alone with my answer, while the rest of the group was split between 100% certain and uncertain but willing to go along with the group. Here are my answers, 8 = 1000, 9 = 1011, 10 = 1110.

In trying to convince my peers, I failed because of the lack o-f the ability to explain my reasoning. It was extremely difficult to find the right words as I was put on the spot without any time to prepare. Would I had time to prepare my reasoning I might have had a better chance of convincing others, but instead I even began to feel unsure of my answer while discussing the two possible solutions on the board.

Overall, I feel it was a fun and effective exercise becuase it allowed for everyone to think critcally and get involved in making a group decision.

Now..was my answer to the problem correct?

I dont know! hahahahahahaha! I'll check and then post it up right here.

Class 11/8

Biggest thing,i got out of this class was the creative briefs, mainly being able to see some real profesional ones. It gives me more stuff to practice for my work and trying to get more work. This allows me, well, all of us designers, to present ourselves professionally. I know its not really that big of a deal being that these practices are relatively common, but its an eyeopener for me, kind of exciting because I see it as a new tool for my toolbox. as a matter of fact, im going to start using a creative brief for all my projects, school and work (more paper! $$$). I am confident that this will force me to create higher quality work. How can it not? Making a CB calls for a precise direction in the creation process, which theoretically should result in a concisely thought out and executed creation. You feel me?
Anyway.... Im about leave this one other class and on to the next one, ive got to write some quick stiff down and put my things away. I'm out

Class 11/4

The one thing that I would like to pick out from this class was the Eames video we saw at the end where the camera zoomed out a large multiple of 10 meters every ten seconds until we were extremely far away from even our own galaxy, then right back to earth and zoomed into a mans hand, into his molecular structure. Then the movie ended! I was waiting for something to happen, maybe an explanation as to what the point of the movie was. As our homework assignment, we are to create a Creative Brief. As if we are the ones about to create this movie, and I need to generate ideas, plan, and a purpose for this movie.

It will be very interesting to see what the rest of my classmates have to present because of the innumerable possibilities that can be created from such an open-ended movie.

Class 10/27

Game day.... I didn't know what to expect, so I figured I'd bring one of my favorite games from when I was very young, Chutes n Ladders. I was bummed to see I wasnt the only person with the game, whatever. I played LIFE first.
, I chose college instead of work and was forced to get a loan! hahahaha, college sucks. It ended up being funny because all the other players h as d hella kids, houses, good paying jobs...i was an artist making barely any money, got fired, became a summer teacher, h as d no kids or a house and I still won the game...hahahahaha, again life sucks!

In monopoly, I had a couple properties that I maximizes with houses and a hotel, while the others were going crazy buying all kinds of shit. I ended up taking someone out of the game who went broke getting all kinds of stuff. I came up on all her stuff and became the leading player.

Moral of the story, greed doesnt pay. In both games played I was the weakest player and ended coming up big! Keep life simple and you have better odds of bad stuff NOT happening to you.