Magazine Art Self Portriat
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My Take On The ArtworkArt, as many may think, is not only expressed on a canvas or on paper. It is shown in our everyday actions. The way we dress, talk, or work can all be forms of our expression of our own unique art. I have learned over the years that I am fairly good at expressing myself in the way I work and the things I like. For instance, I love to decorate my snowmobile with lights and stickers to stand out in a crowd. I make it loud and proud, but only when I am hidden by the carbon that surrounds my head and the polyester that covers my body. This was my version of art. However, I wanted to learn to express myself in a more traditional way like on a canvas or paper. I decided to take an art class, despite my lack of traditional artistic skills, to learn how to create art on paper. For my first art project, we were assigned to make a self-portrait of ourselves, something that was very out of my comfort zone. The portrait already was challenging enough, but it had an added twist. All of the portraits were to be made out of scraps of magazine paper glued onto a blank background. Throughout the course of the project, the development of the portrait went smoothly. I started with the black coat I was wearing as it was the easiest to figure out… black. For my background, however, I wanted to do something that truly meant something to me. I decided to go with a sunset fade backdrop because it represents the calmness at the end of the day. No matter how hard the day was or how much work you did, the sun will always rise and always fall. Sometimes leaving a colorful trail of colors in the sky to tell you that everything will be ok. The next part that I added onto the background was the combine laying the American flag down behind it. This was very important to me for not only its simplicity in its nature but the deeper meaning that I saw behind it. It showed that the combine was supporting America and all its great needs. Where a year's worth of work is standing, a farmer will turn it into support for the American economy. Other parts like the optic logos and firearm logos were put on my artwork because they reminded me of my love of hunting and sport shooting. The final element I put on my background was the mountain landscape in the top left corner. I put it up there to represent my love for the outdoors and my desire to someday live out in the mountains. The background went quickly and very smoothly, this in contrast to my face. My face and skin started out easy when I was working on my neck, but as I continued to do the rest of my face, gradually mixing and fading the colors of light and dark skin became challenging. I had a general idea of what spots would be darker, but blending those colors into lighter ones proved to be hard. There was a slight relief when I took a break from blending my face to start doing my hair. In my picture, my hair was spiked up in the front as I usually always do. I am just a person that likes to look and be formal and presentable. I am typically a very traditional style person in the way I rationalize things and communicate with others. So I really wanted my portrait to look just like me. I wanted my hair to be spiked up like it normally is. This actually turned out to be easier than I had expected because I could layer the flow of the hair vertically to give it the look I wanted. After I tackled the task of my hair, I finished up the rest of my face, which after doing hair, proved to be really easy using the same “with the grain” technique. I had everything finished except for the facial features. I struggled to make or source any of the eyes, eyebrows, or mouth I needed. After a while of looking, I had an idea. Why not print off the stuff I need onto magazine paper, making it my own. That’s just what I did. I experimented with some trial and error to get the correct color, but after I finished it, I had that extra little part of it that was creative and original to me. After a short time, my identity collage was finally wrapped up. I was surprisingly satisfied with the final product. Being my first art project, I was not expecting it to turn out as well as it did. I think that creating a representation of yourself, such as a self-portrait, can show others how you as an artist truly see yourself. The self-portrait may include things that others would not see when they look at you because they cannot see your experiences in life. A self-portrait can be a great tool to shape how others see you or how you want them to see you. That is why I did try very hard on this project because I wanted others to see what I see in myself; hard work, creativeness, and a little thinking outside the box to adapt when things go wrong. Overall, I think the final product represents me and my values very well. In part, I thank my teacher, Mrs. Tanttila, for all the support and teachings she has given me. |
Anatomy of Technology
My Take On The ArtworkTechnology is an element that is very heavily intertwined in our everyday lives. Everything from our phones to the computer chips in a car's engine. The idea of technology can be vastly different from person to person, especially from generation to generation. For this project, it was required to interview another person from a previous generation. I interviewed my father, Eric, to find out exactly what the idea of technology meant to him. Eric had explained that technology to him was a collection of all the innovations that our human race has designed. Technology is not only subjective to electrical and computer-related components but rather innovations that have been created and are considered “new”. When my father was younger, there were no iPhones or MacBooks. New technology to him back then was a simple boxing game. Most in today's world would consider it to be nearly ancient. Overall, I agree with Eric, technology is not limited to electronic devices, rather it is a cumulative group of everything made to better society.
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The Value of Words
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My Take On The ArtworkThe winner ain't the one with the fastest car. It's the one who refuses to lose. - Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
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Art For Awareness
My Take On The ArtworkEnzo Ferrari once said, "aerodynamics for people who can't build good motors". This is true, Enzo Ferrari did both. His company built amazing aerodynamic cars that were streamlined but also had incredibly powerful motors. It wasn't until Carrol Shelby, a race car legend, that Ferrari lost in a 24 Hour LeMans race. Carrol Shelby built a car with better aerodynamics and most importantly a more powerful engine. Motors have been a battleground for many companies ever since the second car was created. Even agriculture companies are battling at making more and more powerful combustion motors. In today's world, it is not the science limiting the power of these "powerhouse beasts" but rather the emission standards set by law. When this idea of creating a work of art based on a societal or awareness issue, I was lost. I pondered for days to find something I could truly create a piece of art that I wouldn't have to force and push my way through it to complete it. It is not that I don't care about society or awareness, I personally am not a strongly opinionated person about issues. I want to stay neutral; one can keep more friends in life that way. Coming up with a topic was very hard until I noticed a previous student created a piece of art based on Car CO2 emissions. Most would not see what I see in the art. Michael from fall semester 2017 drew two cars advocating awareness about CO2 emissions. To me, I focused less on the subject and more on the car. It was a Koenigsegg Agera RS. I personally and one other person I know truly know what that is. The Agera RS is a Swedish car and an engineering marvel. Koenigsegg's most recent car, an electric hybrid, turned on a lightbulb in my imagination... Cars. I love cars and motors. Anything from the way they look to the large big block powerplants hidden under the oversized hood. Living in an agricultural world, I know that emissions are a huge factor in the production of farm engines. John Deere just passed an 800 hp engine capable of sub-tier 4 emission levels (Less pollution than law). Combustion engine emissions are a large part of my world. Without them, I would not be who I am. However, combustion is not the future. Combustion engines are loud, heavy, burn petroleum, and have CO2 emissions. Electric motors are the way to go. No emissions and no burned non-renewable fuels. At first, I was completely against electric cars when they first came out, but now after major advancements in the field of electromagnetics, electric engines are more powerful than their combustion counterpart. Even farm equipment is integrating electric motor drivetrain into the vehicles. Overall, electric may not have the thrill and feeling that a Deriot Built V8 can provide you, but performance is performance. And electric provides PERFORMANCE. In my artwork, I wanted to show the transition from old school gas power to the needed future of electric power. Electric provides no emissions and does not contribute to global warming. In fact, one average gas-powered car produces about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. 1.42 billion cars in the world gives us a whopping 6.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide produced every year. Electric cars have no emissions, making them ideal to promote the health of the earth's environment. In my artwork, I wanted to showcase both an old and a new car. Ones separated by years of innovation, yet totally different in their own unique ways. Also displayed are the two different motors. One is a Hemi V8 with a blower and cow intake on the top, more of an old school powerful motor. An electric Tesla motor is also shown. Smaller and more refined in its nature, it is a small yet ferocious beast making the Tesla Roadster achieve a 0-60 time of under 1 second. The background of each of the halves is also shaded in a way that represents the engine's nature. The V8 Hemi half is shaded in a choking grey tint resembling the grey colored gas emitted from the exhaust. On the contrary, the Tesla side of the artwork is illuminated in a soft green, signifying it is economically and environmentally friendly. The final part that I wanted to represent was the "2040" arrow in the middle. A federal law was passed that by the year 2040 all manufacturers must sell all vehicles as completely electric. No emissions may come from the vehicle when it is in use. This piece signals the change in time and the needed evolution to better promote our environmental health. Also, with this project being a "Final" piece of artwork, I thought it was only necessary to incorporate all previous technics from previous artworks. The centerpiece paper cutouts are pieces of magazine articles (Used in the creation of our Identity Collages). The two cars utilized the shading technique (From the Real Anatomy of Technology artwork). Lastly, the center dividing line was made using the words "Move Past Gas" (A technique used in the Value of Words artwork). I feel very strongly that in order to progress as a society, we must fix our environmental issues if we intend to live on earth in the future. We can create change by moving to electric vehicles, but this will not come easy. This is why I am advocating and trying to persuade people that electricity is the way to go. The performance is here and the time is now. Enzo Ferrari made some truly remarkable cars, but the newer Shelby GT40 beat him out. Just as the new electric cars will have leaps and bounds of advancements over petroleum engines. Making people AWARE of the possibilities is the first step, now people just have to FEEL the possibilities behind an electric beast. |
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