Five Photoshopped Images

Light Rays Through the Church

Five Fridas (Inspired by her "Two Fridas")

Trapped Behind the Mask of Makeup

Alien Invasion 

She Will Be Heard

Image Challenges

We were asked to take pictures that fit into the following categories: transformation, pictures we would never think to take, repetition & pattern, movement through an image, and emphasizing differences. Most of my images were shot outside either at night or in the morning.

1. Transformation

2. Pictures You Would Never Think to Take

3. Repetition and Pattern

4. Movement Through an Image

5. Emphasize Differences

Responses to Articles

Tracking the Digital Revolution from Pong to 'Gravity'
The "Digital Revolution" art show in London showcases artists involved in all kinds of digital media, from music and designs to computer coding and filmmaking. It is focused mainly on artists from the past but also features some contemporary pieces. The show's curator stated that "People say we're in a golden age of digital media, though we're just at the beginning." I would love to attend such a show that explored this vast breadth of digital media to gain inspiration and appreciate others' works.
The show features many interesting exhibits, including a Rain Room controlled by sensors that simulates rainy weather and several robotic pieces such as robotic pets that roam the museum. I also like that the show features works by female artists that are often overlooked by history such as Susan Kare who designed much of Apple's interface images.

Excursions in a Digitally Fabricated Landscape
At the Museum of Arts and Design, curator Ronald T. Labaco has organized an exhibition showcasing computer-assisted art that has been created since 2005. Artists use computers at every stage of the creative process, allowing them to create seamless abstract images and sculptures.
The show features fractals and other works based on ancient math. I love researching about the Fibonacci Principle and the Golden Ratio, and would love to appreciate works inspired by this concept in person at a show and not just on the internet. While I was in Spain, we visited mosques and observed the geometric patterns printed on many of the buildings in Spain. These geometric patterns remained preserved from the time when the Arabs had control of Spain, and their influence still remains today.
The show also featured an in-house 3-D scanner that took photos of peoples' bodies and made them into small resin objects, which would be an interesting exhibit to experience.

Artists Take Up Digital Tools
Richard Dupont is an artist who takes 3-D scans of his body and then manipulates them through advanced digital techniques to make them appear distorted and otherworldly. The article claims that some people have less appreciation for digital art than traditional paint-and-paper art because they are under the impression that digital art can be created simply by a push of a button. This is afar from the truth.
In fact, many artists today are using computers as simply a single tool in their artistic toolboxes and combining these digital alterations with more traditional methods such as painting or sculpting.
Chuck Close, another digital media artist, takes inspiration by woven media and creates digital tapestries by combining and editing several images into a single woven image, and can spend up to a year on a single piece, proving that digital work is not created simply with the push of a button.
Some artists take it a step further and not only create images and sculptures using digital processes, but they also incorporate their machines used to create the product in the final piece, demonstrating that the process is just as important as the finished work.

 London Portrays Past and Future of Digital Art
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London displayed an exhibit solely dedicated to digital designs called Decode. The exhibit displays works from the 1900's, showing the leaps and bounds of improvement that our computer technology has underwent. Some of the works from the 1960's were previously displayed at other museums simply as "prints" because they were the first of their kind and there was not a deep understanding of digital media. Today, these works are reclassified into their own category as digital media in the Decode exhibition.
The exhibition also showcases works completed with paint programs that were newly emerging in the 1980's. There are even interactive art pieces that allow museum-goers to create works of art with their body movements.
In the future, most digital work will be done with sensors that detect our body movements and interpret those movements as images and brushstrokes on a screen. I am excited to see where this technology will take us in the art world and as society as a whole, and am excited to pursue Photoshop and paint applications in this class.

Digital Studio Goals

Entering the world of mainstream media can be a daunting task. There are so many talented artists creating thought-provoking works and journalists writing perfectly articulated articles, that it can be difficult to find a space to express myself inside the world of mainstream media.
I have written blog posts and created works of art in the past, and most have been a far cry from the works of the artists I look up to, but I have found that as I keep practicing and fine-tuning my craft, I become a better artist in both the forms of writing and visual arts.
Through this class, I hope to master Photoshop so that I can create digital images that compliment my writing and drawing skills, allowing me to grow in a third dimension as an artist.
I hope to use these talents in order to promote messages about social change and turn media into a future major and career for myself.