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This recite has been in my wallet for longer than I can remember. At first glance, you only see a thin sheet of paper with numbers on it. No part of it reminds me of art, yet it drew my attention in other ways. It is from Sheetz, and that alone brings back hundreds of memories. Sheetz has been my savior since my freshman year here at St. Mary's because my friends and I have gone there countless times to get food once the great room and daily grind close. Not only does it provide us with food when we are hungry, but the food is fantastic. They make whatever you order right on the spot and not to mention, their donuts are spectacular. I can't even begin to explain how much I cherish sheetz and consequently, this recite is much more than a piece of paper with numbers; it is a representation of the dozens of times I have gone to sheetz to eat delicious food. Because of this, my sheetz recite is in need of much attention and recognition.

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When you first see change on the ground, most people either walk right by it or pick it up, depending on what coin it is, if they are in a hurry, who is around, and how willing they are to bend over to pick it up. I personally get very excited when I find change, even if it is just a penny. This picture contains a total of 28 cents, all of which I collected around campus last week. Most people would say that such an amount of money is worthless and cannot do anything significant. I feel differently, especially after my roomate and I went to JoAnne Fabrics to buy string to make necklaces and I was literally down to my last penny. In fact, I had to borrow 15 cents from my roomate. Consequently, finding this kind of change on the ground is indeed a significant discovery and therefore, this change deserves attention, even if it has nothing to do with art.

artist: Vuk Cosic

"ASCII History of Moving Images"

When I look at this piece of artwork, before reading about it, all I can note is that it seems to be digitally created and is probably a picture of a particular object or being but I can honestly not figure out what. I then find out, after reading about the artist and his work, that this project converts scenes from classic films and TV shows into short animations. I viewed the animated versions of these scenes and found it hard to depict what was going on. There was a lot of white flashes throughout the scene and it almost gave me a headache and I had a hard time following what was going on in the scene. However, that does not mean that this type of art is not interesting. As Kenda Buster and Paula Crawford say in one of our readings, "Art is at its best when it can be experienced. The experience of a complex work of art involves the perception of a complex structure of some kind." And that is exactly what this work of art is: an experience of complex art, involving complex structure. At first, I was confused because I did not know how to understand this artwork. But as Jery Saltz says in his article, "The Whole Ball of Wax," "people wrongly believe that art is about understanding, when, like almost everything else in the everyday world, art is about experience." 

Japanese movie (watched 02/19/08)

perfect description of a memory (in this case, an event)

After people die, they are sent to a place where they are told to pick their best memory. When they leave, this will be the only memory they will have. The staff at this place tries to recreate everyone's memory. Most of the people are cooperative but one 21 year old is not. He claims that a memory is obviously real but that creating a thought from the future can be just as real as well.
I think this is a pretty cool concept because during life, most people don't have or take the time to sit back and review their life. They don't have time to savor good memories and dwell on bad ones.
-the smiles (especially of woman in red dress) during recreated memory
-the videos of their life (i wish)
-letter to man about wife
-he finally learned that even though HE didnt have a happy memory, he was part of someone elses happy memory

lines project reflection

At first I thought it was tedious to draw twenty separate lines, each one as a different layer. However, after about the fifth line I realized that this project was a very fun, unique creative way to express myself. It also showed me a little bit about myself because I was consciously aware of the fact that there were previous lines under the new ones I was creating so part of me was trying to create a pretty design but at the same time, I took the fact that I had an entire blank sheet for one line for granted and let myself go. That second part of me was very excited to see how my unintentional creation would come out and the result was pretty cool to look at and it was even neater to know that I alone created it.

artist: Shu Lea Cheang

"Brandon"

When I first observed this piece of artwork, I was slightly confused as to what exactly it was portraying but came up with the idea of gender-switching based on the text in the artwork: "she's a he," "swap," "exposure." After reading about it, it turns out that I was on the right track. In fact, this is a Web-based art work that explores the true story of Teena Brandon, a 21 year old woman who was raped and later killed for passing as a man in 1993. Understanding the background to this piece of work really helped me understand it and appreciate it more. Just like Paula Crawford and Kendall Buster point out in one of our readings, "a work of art can simply be read by what the viewer sees but signification in a work is also created by such things as the artist's stated intentions, or the context in which it is shown." Learning about the true story of Teena Brandon and then re-analyzing this piece of artwork allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for this piece. 

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This is a three "branched" leaf that I picked off a tree. Like I said in a previous scrapbook entry of a leaf, I usually think of leaves as all looking the same. Yet just comparing this one to the one in my other scrapbook entry shows how different they are. The other one resembled a Christmas tree while this one seems more like a three-leafed clover. Even though it is not art, a three-leafed clover is a sign of luck and on a bad day, finding a leaf like this can brighten someone's day; I know it brightened mine. Therefore, although it is not art, this leaf that is shaped like a three-leaf clover deserves attention. 

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At first glance, this empty water bottle is just like any other empty water bottle found around campus. Unless it was custom made, it is not art. However, an empty water bottle still has significance. People need water to survive and when a water bottle is empty, it means that someone drank it to quench their thirst. Personally, I need to have a water bottle with me at all times. Even when it is empty after I drank it all, it is still useful to me because I continually take it to the water fountain to refill it. Without this handy little water bottle that allows me to quench my thirst throughout the day, I would have to take time out of my day every time I need to go to the water fountain for a gulp of water. Because of this, even an empty water bottle deserves attention. 

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This is an empty eminem wrapper that has been sitting on my desk for days. I never usually pay attention to empty wrappers since they are no longer of use to me. And they are most certainly not art. But taking a second look at this empty eminems wrapper also brought back childhood memories. I remember as a child, I would savor each and every eminem and getting a bag of eminems was like getting a million dollars back in the day. Therefore, this bag of eminems deserves attention. 

artist: Natalie Bookchin

"The Intruder"
When I first look at this piece of art I see a girl happily skipping along the street and falling into a pothole of some sort. But after reading about it i discover that it is a critical commentary on computer games and patriarchy. More specifically, it is based on a 1966 short story also titled "The Intruder" about prostitution, jealousy, and violence against women. It involves two brothers who fall in love with the same woman, share her, and then sell her. It ends with the woman's murder and the brothers' reconciliation.
By combining literature and computer games, Brooklin builds a bridge between art and culture. This relates to what Jerry Saltz states in his article, "The Whole Ball of Wax" when he says that the best art is ale to "mix the communicative function with the poetic, or in other words, to move viewers by giving them a complex experience, while also giving them information." That is pretty much what this piece of art is doing: it is telling a story while also trying to portray a message/information. 
It seems as though her critique is in the parallel between the violence faced by the woman in the short story and the violence and sexism found in most computer and video games. I personally applaud her for her strong stance in this area. I agree that video games are aimed at violence towards women and that there is also a lot of sexism involved and I think it is both creative and bold of her to express her disapproval through her work. I also find it interesting that most of her work is explicitly political. Again, I think that using art to send a political message is a great idea and a unique way to speak out against society.

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When I first found this object next to my computer, I did not know what it was. After further investigation and analyzation, I realized that it was a mint wrapper carefully rolled up into an almost perfectly smooth, round-edged long rectangular shape. This is clearly not a piece of art, and is barely noticeable in the everyday world. However, it deserves attention because it changed form; I am intrigued how carefully someone rolled it up and smoothed out the edges so perfectly. 

movie about internet

-need internet to talk to friends cuz everyone is on it. its like a curency, you need to use it
-some people act themselves while others act as a completely different person
-parents dont know its going on
-nobody is really in charge
-the very public lives of kids growing up online
-even when on vacation, texting
-teachers almost have to be entertainers
-need to look a kids less as victims and more as participants
-internet is a way to "get it out there"; get things off your chest at anytime and you can say whatever you want and not get judged for it (as opposed to telling family and friends)
-internet has created biggest generation gap
-its easy to go online in places where parents cant control/have any idea (library, friends houses)
what were the people of frontline trying to say?
-things you wouldnt do in person you do online
-internet as new weapon in arsenal of adolescents
-this isnt going away so rather than hating it and trying to get rid of it, accept it and find a way to deal with this fundamental change in a way of life

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I found this rice krispies treat wrapper on the path towards the great room. Usually I pick these kinds of wrappers up and throw them away but for some reason, I kept this one because it is not only one of my favorite snack foods, but it brings back wonderful childhood memories. An empty  wrapper is certainly not art but that does not mean it doesn't deserve recognition. The wrapper itself pretty much only serves one purpose: to wrap a snack food. However, in performing this function, it brings happiness and satisfaction to thousands of children and even adults throughout the country. Because of this, it deserves attention. 

google earth placemark

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I found this leaf in the middle of Lewis Quad. I usually think of leaves as looking all the same but when I picked up this particular leaf, I realized that it also resembles the shape of a Christmas tree, which drew my attention in a positive way, bringing back fond memories of family, joy and happiness that revolves around Christmas trees during the Holiday season. Normally, I would not regard a leaf on the ground as a piece of art. However, that does not mean that it cannot resemble something more meaningful that what it is originally. The fact that a simple leaf can trigger such fond memories makes it something that deserves my attention, despite the fact that it is not technically or usually considered art. 

artist: Heath Bunting and Kayle Brandon

"BorderXing"
At first glance, this piece seems to be a realistic painting or even a picture that is attempting to portray nature and humans in it. However, after further reading, it seems to be a representation or documentation of the artists moving illegally from country to country. This concept is very interesting to me and completely changes the way I see this piece of art. I would not normally think of this type of project as art but after reading "What is Art For?" by Waldemar Januszczak, in particular, the sentence that says, "there is a specific connection between a place and the art made for that place," I start to realize that although it is not what most people envision when the think of art, but it is still art nonetheless. 

video response

These different artists all had their own unique styles and their works were very different from each other but what struck me the most was that no matter what, everything they did is art. Some work was conventional while other work was more radical but regardless, it is also considered to be art; there is no descrimination with art, which I consider to be a great thing.

Vija Celmins
Her work looks like pictures of the objects and images she has drawn. For example, this picture of the water could not look more realistic. It is my favorite piece of hers out of her work that I have viewed because of how realistic it is.
Her work includes oil paintings, charcoal, pencil drawing, and printmaking.


Elizabeth Murray
Elizabeth Murray is an American painter, printmaker and draughtsman. I found her work to be very unique but also very cool. In the video she talked about how painting is very physical because it involves squeezing the paint, mixing it, and physically moving your arm to paint. She used very intense colors.
What I found most interesting about her was how she wanted both "conflict" and "tension" in her work yet at the same time also wanted this "conflict" and "tension" to "live together."

Ann Hamilton
Ann Hamilton is a contemporary American artist known for her installations, textile art, and sculpturs.
What I found most interesting about her was not only the fact that she was the American representative to the Venice Biennale, but the work she presented there. She created a series of class and textured walls o address the topics of slavery and oppression in American society.

Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. It is difficult to define exactly what type of artist he is, but is work ranges from a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, video, drawing, printmaking and performance.
What I liked most about this artist was his attitude towards art: "accidents keep it real." Rather than stress over a mistake or accident, he not only accepts it, but he praises it as something that contributes to art.

Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney started as a sculptor, then did performance work, and is now a filmaker. He is both the producer and an actor in his films.
I found his work to be strange but interesting. The props used in his films were very intricate and real. What I found to be the coolest part was how he portrayed dead horses. Each one was different yet they all resembled the same thing: death.

What is Art?

Art is different things to different people. Some people consider art to be limited to paintings and drawings while others include everything and anything as long as it has meaning and appeals to the senses and emotions. Some artists, such as Elizabeth Murray, create work with no intentions and see what happens while others, such as Vija Celmins, have a specific object or image they are trying to re-create. To me, art is a way to express oneself and that can include any type of art form, even the radical works of Matthew Barney.