Week 2 - Research Favourites

Here are some examples of text art that I came particularly fond of. I thought it would be nice to share some of my personal favorites. These pieces were found from website www.tutorial9.net

This is a portrait of Barack Obama with his 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech... In his face!

This is a self portrait composed by only using font Trajan Pro - Incredible!

Week 2 - The Text Effect

The workshop today definitely opened my eyes to many amazing examples of how beautiful text art can really be. I absolutely loved examples that were shown by Barbara Kruger and really admired the effects that she created through her compositions. Her outrageous bold statements on dull photographic backgrounds are really outrageous and extravagant. I really admire bold artwork as this is what I usually compose, however for the theme and ideas that I am leaning more towards, I don’t think my text art will be as striking as such. But, I could be wrong.

I was introduced to Illustrator today. It seemed immensely difficult at first. It was only last week that I used a Mac for the very first time. I still wasn’t sure of its many wonderful functions so familiarizing myself with a program with a computer that I hadn’t really comprehended was a little challenging! But it was very fun!

It was today when I started to brainstorm and was able to compose a list of some themes that may be of interest to me. For the moment I am still leaning very strongly towards Melbourne.
But here is what I came up with:



I think this class has so far been a big eye-opener to me. It’s allowed me to perceive and appreciate art in so many different forms. Lovin’ it so far!

P.S: For those who have read my Week 1 blog – I have decided to keep my detox woes outside of my artwork so I will not be going ahead with the Health and Wellbeing theme as that would have been a little boring!

Rhizome.org

While browsing through rhizome.org I particularly became very fond of an installation created by Pae White entitled Smoke Knows (2009). At first glance I didn’t think of it as to having much extravagance in terms of the medium used and so I persisted with the assumption that it was just a blown up photograph of something beautiful. I didn’t know what it was, but I just had the perception that it was absolutely stunning. It had certainly captured my attention.

It was unbeknownst to me at the time... but as I continued to research further about the artwork, I suddenly became utterly stunned when I found out White had used tapestry along with photographic images to create the plumes of smoke - I didn’t quite understand why I felt the way I did, but I just did.

Smoke Knows is an installation measuring 9’6”`x 21’6” and is made out of tapestry and generates the use of photographic images by artist Pae White. White is known to be one of the most significant American female artists participating in design and photography today.

I was drawn to her meticulous, crisp and challenging piece of work. It was wonderful being able to dwell on something that is so transitory in our lives. White’s piece of art really allows us to monumentalize how beautiful smoke can really be and allows us to evoke a vivid impression of smoke.

Smoke Knows is currently being exhibited at a Whitney Biennial - A biennial exhibition of contemporary American art on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA.

Week 1 - Introduction to Digital Art

At the beginning I wasn’t at all keen on the idea of digital art, I thought it was just going to be another tedious subject that I had to get through. But upon taking out time to read the unit guide for this subject, I began to genuinely enjoy what I was reading. I initially misinterpreted digital art, but all of a sudden it sounded like so much fun! And I am already looking forward to all the tasks that will be at hand.

I have started to take into consideration of all the options that I may have for my theme.

Originally I was leaning more towards the theme of ‘Melbourne’. Working two jobs in the city provides me easy access to a lot of things in town and would mean it would be very convenient if I was to do a photo shoot or if I was composing a digital movie. I particularly wanted to capture the restless creative energy and the essence of Melbourne’s flavour and charm. I was also fond of the many laneways in Melbourne’s city centre. Lanes and arcades are Melbourne’s signature, some are 21st century contrivances, while others are simply old service entries, but the majority of them are worth a peek. Splendid Mother Nature manicured gardens are also of interest - Various themed gardens and manicured lawns would allows me to explore Melbourne in a myriad of paths

However with a change of thought, beginning Monday the 8th of March, I will be attempting to complete the Master Cleanse. This will be my third time and hopefully third time lucky. I personally enjoy the benefits I reap from cleansing. I have attempted all the different types of cleanses you can possibly think of all before. They’ve ranged from no meat, no dairy to only fruit and vegetables, juicing and of course the ultimate would have to be the infamous Complete Master Cleanse. It is very similar to the Lemon Detox Diet, in fact it is almost the same. Except most people who undertake the Lemon Detox Diet do not realise that the ingredients for the cleanse is exactly the same and can be found in their local supermarket. Hence there is no need to fork out a lot of money to buy some syrup from a vitamin store!

But to be more to the point, I am planning to create daily videos of my progress on my endeavors. I’m so excited for this challenge that I’m setting before me that even the theme of Health and Wellbeing could be another interesting choice!