Frances Hansen

Today we had a guest speaker Frances Hansen who did a seminar on her current and past work. Her area of expertise is ranged from Painting to mixed media and does a lot of installation works too. One of the main ideas behind her works is collection. She uses collection in different ways from the weeds project where she got the collaboration of MSVA students/Staff and Newcastle Art school to produce a respond artwork towards weeds. She gathered them all then carefully position each drawing on a very large and wide panels that is all linked together and becomes a collection of artwork frames.

I don't really collect objects or have some sort of collection but photo albums is a some sort of collection that's associated with everyone. My mother used to collect stamps and put them into a catalogue. I remember going over to cousin house and saw how he uses his collection of toy soldiers. He decorated and displayed them throughout his home because the importance of that specific object to his childhood life. I did have a collection of marbles from my childhood life. They were really important to me because most kids in the islands love to play marbles and like collecting them to show off because it showed others that you are really good marble player.

Another artist who works with collection of stuff is British Artist/Designer Stuart Haygarth quoted "My work is more about giving overlooked things a fresh significance by putting them in a new context." Haygarth collects numerous objects, man made scraps and materials that are ignored and uses them in his artwork. Haygarth work "Tide" 2004 is an example of his collection habit which he created a colorful chandelier out of man made scraps he collected from the Kent coastline in England. The scraps are in different shapes and sizes but he some how organizes and places them carefully to create overall a sphere that he intently did as a resemblance to the Moon which results the tides that washes up fragments and scraps.

http://www.stuarthaygarth.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1080

Steve Rood

Last week Our DVA class had seminar on practicing artist and tutor Steve Rood. He discussed about his expertise around the field of photography and the type of fields of photography he has worked in from food magazines, fashion to advertisement. The one thing that stuck me with déjà vu was his childhoods story how his first photograph he took back when he was a kid was the starting point that influenced him into photography. Rood story reminded me of the twelve stations of the cross-paintings that were the influential images that sparkled my love for art.

In truth I suck and hate photography but Rood works in the field were very mind changing and cool because of the techniques and tools he usedto create his work are something I never think about and had no knowledge about till his discussion. One of his ideas behind photography is to be anti, his works in fashion photography used the out of focus technique and bad lens to create a simple identifying silhouette figure that is obscure and mysterious. His linking of photography and painting got an impression on me because of the theory on Johannes Vermeer painting that Rood assume that Vermeer used the camera obscura method in his paintings. Did a little Internet search and found out that Vermeer paintings were perspectively perfect outlined and the composition of human figures were too perfect and unusual in his time. In 1891 Joseph Pennell, an American Lithographer was the first to sparkle the theory behind Vermeer work being "photographic perspective" through camera obscura with evidence being the work itself.<http://www.essentialvermeer.com/camera_obscura/co_one.html>

Another subject that got my interest in Rood presentation was Interactive design. I was amazed and fascinated with digital works because I've never seen it before and wanted to find out more about. Did a wikipedia search and in simple art format it for my understanding, Form is important but it's main subject is its behavior. Found out that interactive design has been around for a years dating back to the mid 80's. I recently found that its being used in the performance art field and concerts. A school of Art and Design in Switzerland posted a summary video of students works with interactive design and I thought it was amazing.<http://vimeo.com/795136>

The magic that digital media can create is awesome and something I know that will be used more in the future. Beyonce "Run the World" performance @ the 2011 Billboard Music Awards is evidence of my theory.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkqUTY3G13M>

Money In The Bank was exhilarating and real

The Money In The Bank paper view was just absolutely exciting and the lead up to the most anticipating match in years was very absorbing. John Cena vs Cm Punk was gonna go down in wrestling history as a classic and the story element behind this match was the real seller to fans. CM Punk remarks about Mr McMahon and associates behind close doors were very direct and real to the world. The conclusion of the story was not what I had predicted because the lead up to the match was connected with the Brett Hart Montreal Screwup in 1998 where Brett Hart on the night he versed Shawn Michaels for the WWF title was Hart Last day of contract with the WWF before going to WCW.

Apparently he was supposed to win the match and retire the belt the next edition of Monday Night Raw but Mr McMahon decided on the night before the PPV that he was gonna get Shawn Michaels to do a sharpshooter and as soon as Michaels did McMahon call out for the bell to ring with Hart not tapping out and in disgust with McMahon actions, Hart spit @ Vince as a last action towards him before he leaves. CM Punk contract with the WWE ended that night of the paper view at twelve o'clock midnight and what occurred was CM Punk winning the title and gapping it through the crowd with McMahon plan of Del Rio cashing in his Money in the Bank case failed after Punk super kick Del Rio before exiting through the strong home crowd of Chicago.