Performances and their lesson
Apr 7th
“I might as well look as alien as possible because it reinforces a point I am making. My whole thing is that I approach everything as an absolute outsider. It’s the only way I can break so many rules.”
-Klaus Nomi-
If you read this by itself you might think this Klaus guy is some anarchist criminal looking for the next way to get into trouble. If I show you a picture you probably won’t even want to read the rest of this post… But hang in there, read along!
Putting it into context, you realize how much these words make sense. Klaus Nomi was an iconic performer and singer from the second half of 1980′s. His approach to art had never been seen before. By breaking rules, he was talking about breaking apart from social paradigms. This was a man who combined classical opera with punk and pop. His performances were bizarre. He used fashion a lot in his works as a way to differentiate himself as being an alien, an outsider. Thanks to this uniqueness he was able stand out, and viewing the world as an outsider empowered him to perform without being held back by “rules.” That right there is his logo, pretty unique huh?
Not going too extreme, this idea is important in the business world as well. Advertisers struggle as markets are being continuously cluttered with ads, and marketers are challenged to position a brand in consumer’s minds differently from competing firms, although their products or services are pretty much the same. What I’m trying to say is a lesson can be learned from Klaus.
To wow people, sometimes you have to see the whole picture and approach it as an outsider. If you do, then you won’t be subject to predefined rules of behavior that can blind you from seeing opportunities. Consulting groups work like this.
For my art class we have to do a performance piece. The way I see it, a break from whats been done before is what’s important. I have to have this in mind when I think of my performance assignment.
For the curious: Klaus Nomi
Using the Grid
Apr 6th
For this project, the importance of using a grid was behind it.
One artist influenced me in this work. His name is Marcel Duchamp. For a while, he followed the cubist movement at a par with Picasso. What I found very interesting about the cubism movement was the notion of capturing different dimensions and attempting to put them all in one plane. The work I got inspiration from was his painting called “Nude Descending a Staircase” . I like the idea of having time represented in one still frame.
Having this in mind, I wanted to photograph a moment in a normal day. Something that we wouldn’t stop and think about. But I wanted to do it differently. Rather than leaving the shutter open and let objects move in front of the lens, I wanted to have different photographs of moments and paste them together. That way we can appreciate every part in greater detail. I used the grid as a way to have different moments represented in every square. Here you see a girl studying for an exam.
For this one I wanted to keep the 5×5 grid as a structure to separate the different times. You can see how the girl is reading in one frame, and then drinking on another. Also, if you see the computer, you can actually see my in the process of making this.
I did another one of a bathroom. For this one however, I broke the grid. It was harder because I took less frames and used a 4×4 grid. I think it needs an interesting subject, other than the water falling from the shower. For that reason I did not present it.
I want to continue this project outside class and capture seemingly uninteresting moments. We can only see so much from our perspective, and I think we can start appreciating more what we do and what is around us by having those moments broken into pieces.
The Bauhaus… house
Apr 2nd
A true architectural masterpiece out of its time. This building was founded as a school in 1919 to be a space where all forms of art could be brought together to be studied and taught. Being one of the first design schools, it quickly became a huge influence for modern architecture and design all over the world. Everything that had to do with it, from conception, to utilization, to the people who lived in it, to the furniture inside it, everything, was created as a working piece of art.
The building itself broke out of the architectural norm of the time. Today we see buildings like this one all around, but the Bauhaus was the first building to use straight angles and embrace the cubic form. Its founder, Walter Gropius, was a true visionary as he offered the world a glimpse of what future residential building would look like.
Its industrial design outputs are responsible for one of the most famous modern furniture we are familiar with today. The Cantilever chair and the Wassily Chair, designed by Marcel Breuer.
_______________
You can see how the Swedish furniture giant we all love so much, Ikea, is influenced by the Bauhaus. Most of its furniture incorporates straight angles. Yes, Ikea’s low price strategy of build-it-yourself is what makes us buy their furniture, but they also look good! And that comes from Bauhaus. It is no coincidence Ikea is a multi-billion multinational corporation you know?
Thanks to the Bauhaus, art design moved from being something we can appreciate, to something that is functional.
You can read more about the Bauhaus at its official site: www.bauhaus-dessau.de
All images taken from Wikipedia
DaDa Collage
Mar 31st
This work I am not proud of. I let time creep up to me and could not create a work of high level, which is why I have the glasses on, because I want to hide from showing this. Nonetheless, there is a concept behind this.
This is me with everything that identifies myself, from the top of my head to the extremities of my body, hands and feet. Anyone who knows me can see these objects and know its me without seeing me. On the top left hand I have my wallet which is distinctive, on the right hand I have my blackberry which anyone who has seen me walking around can instantaneously remember of seeing me with it in my hand. The camera represents my passion for art and I wear it any new place I go. The pencil is my tool to transfer my knowledge onto paper so I can communicate with people, the pencil is the same one I have used since high school.
On top of my head are chemistry words which represent my way of thinking which is very confusing, sometimes even to me. Under that are the words “the real love is the killer app” which is an idea I take very intimate, in which love is what separates us from other people. The calculator is my business orientation, which combines with the wallet and blackberry to enforce it. The formula across my mouth are words of how I speak, which can seem complicated at first, or just not understandable, but in reality is very simple and very understandable if you know how to read the words. The Adidas stripes are from my backpack in which I carry my computer, which is extremely important to my life and how I interact with the world. The small shirt at the bottom is my country of origin, Venezuela, which is becoming smaller and I am distancing myself from because it is being robbed from me by the current government. Finally, the women’s chronology represents women that have influenced me over time; for example my mother.
Yes…
I’m a mama’s boy haha
Old school movies – Flipbook
Mar 7th
Before the large 3D IMAX theaters we enjoy so much, movies were told in mysterious story boxes called kinetographs. Imagine that “going to the movies” implied going to something like this:
Ever drawn consecutive images on the corner of a book and flipped all the pages for a short story? That’s the whole idea of that box up there. So, to honor the history of the movies – if you will – we have made our own flip-book! Mine is *ahem* curious…? Okay, it looks done by a kinder gardener… Its a story about a man who throws a knife at another man but misses him. The second guy then pulls the knife out and throws it back at him. So complex, right! Here’s a sneak peak:
There you have it 
But putting these embarrassing sketches aside, today, movies are one of the top mediums to show art to people. Art in storytelling, photography, acting, production, direction, animation, choreography, etc! so many different types of art are brought together in a motion picture. After many classes with Santiago it seems to me that as technology advances, art converges into a single medium. That is why understanding art and technology is important to me =)
Televized History – Norma Jean
Feb 25th
Norma Jean… Who’s that person ??
None other than the legendary Marylin Monroe that is!! Did you know that in her first appearance in TV she forgot her lines, went blank, and eventually broke down to tears? Being the Marylin Monroe devout as I am (seen most movies, have 5 posters, 3 table books, one portrait, and countless saved pics haha) that came as a big surprise to me. Many people say she was too big for a small TV screen, so FOX just sent her straight up to the silver screen. Lucky for us, pioneers of TV weren’t working hard to get TV sets inside millions of households just to show us Marylin.
David Sarnoff was visionary enough to create the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) as a division of the Radio Company of America (RCA) in order to have regular programming available for the million of TV sets RCA was aiming to sell. Inspirational indeed.
And many people have things to say about television both good and bad. Here are some of my favorite quotes on TV:
“I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book.”
- Groucho Marx – Actor/Comedian
“Anyone afraid of what television does to the world is probably just afraid of the world”
- Clive James – Author, “Glued to the Box”
“But how can you rule without television?”
- Andre Malraux – Author and Government Minister (France)
“Television is for appearing on, not looking at.”
- Nowel Coward – Playwrite / Songwriter / Performer
All these quotes and many more can be found at the Museum of Television
Personally, I believe TV is a very powerful medium. There is theory called the Third Person Effect, in which people disagree that TV has any effect on their own lives, but do believe it affects people around them. I feel television has the power to influence each and every one of us in many ways. Just think about it… do you have a TV character you look up to and try to act like that person? Where do you get your fashion ideas? When was the last time you started a conversation on something you saw on TV? and so many other factors.
Thank about its force. TV has the power to create stars; people just like you and me sometimes elevated to demi-god proportions. Some have been transformed into Legends like Marylin Monroe. Even though she only had three TV appearances, it is thanks to TV that everyone today knows about Marylin and has grown up with her as a cultural icon. She now forms part of society, all thanks to TV.
To leave on a bright side, I also love TV because it escapes reality by mixing art and technology to entertain us. =)
iPad reactions
Feb 20th
Here’s a video my brother sent me about the iPad I think its hilarious ahaha…
Old mystery radio shows – The Shadow
Feb 20th
Did I just find a new pastime ??
In this day and age, listening to a story without seeing how it unfolds is crazy talk. We need a screen to tell us whats happening. A set, landscape, actors, props…! or at least a guy in front of us making hand gestures. Its simple, we need to have our senses focused to pay attention right?
Wrong.
I just listened to a mystery show from the 1930′s called The Shadow. Brilliant! At first I was skeptical like any of you reading this post saying to themselves: “JP lost it. Radio shows?? You’ve gone too far this time kiddo.” Well, being cheap for the listener as it was, radio was the main Great Depression entertainment. Lend me your eyes for this one and I’ll show you the magnificence of forgotten radio shows.
War of The Worlds is a movie by Spielberg, but first time it shook the American people was not as a film. The legendary Orson Welles orchestrated a masterpiece story when he aired on Halloween night of 1938 with his adaptation of War of the World book. People who tuned into the show even 5 minutes after it had started went nuts. They didn’t hear the disclaimer saying that the following hour wasn’t a real report, but a mere play. Add to that, the anxiety and tension brought by 1) Great Depression 2) a pre-WW II atmosphere. By the power of his voice, people took the broadcast as a news report and thought that an alien invasion was actually taking place in American soil. Public reaction was devastating, but that goes to show the power radio has. You can listen to it here: War of the Worlds.
This other show I heard was called The Shadow. Its about a man, coinci
dentally stared by Orson Welles, called Lamont who has a vigilante persona named The Shadow. The Shadow is never seen, a voice in the darkness that helps people in need against organized crime. Remember you of any modern character? My favorite quote is “tonight, as we sit quietly… somewhere… an innocent human being might be in desperate trouble… somewhere perhaps… there is a problem that can never be solved… except… by the shadow…” Heck imagine listening to this while driving at night all by yourself… scaaary…
Check it out: The Shadow
The show starts with a grim music followed by a macabre laugh and a ghostly voice: “…who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men… the shadow knows…” That definitely set the tone for me. But more impressive was how I formed the story in my mind as it was being told. My imagination flew into the darkest corners of my mind and found the scariest possible set to play the story I was about to listen to. Oh dear…
And then it took off like a normal show we would see on TV, like a Law and Order episode or something. Commercials and everything haha! Combined with masterful voices and incredible sound FX, I heard through the entire story as if I were watching it on TV. Best part of it was, as professor Santiago said in class, that I could do another thing while I listened. I was texting and surfing the web while listening attentively.
I’ll leave you with another excellent quote that gave me the chills. It was said by the Shadow in a scene where he was listening to the criminals talking about how they didn’t leave a clue on a perfect crime. From the darkness, unseen the criminals heard: “Wouldn’t you like to believe that… keep thinking about it… keep thinking about… the clue… that you forgot…”
tan tan taaaan!
Listen to it here: The Shadow
Singing in the Rain – Encore
Feb 19th
I can’t help but whistle the tune of the song now…
This movie is one of my favorites. I saw it forcefully for the first time around 7 years ago in a room filled with movie buffs and I have to say I didn’t like it *gasp! the only thing I liked was the song, but now after learning more about the history of cinema this film shines in a bright new light for me. Singing in the Rain does a great job at protraying this.
Interesting to see how the introduction of sound into movies was taken as a passing technology by skeptics at first, and all the issues brought by this new technology for the silent movie actors and directors as well. I found it comical when they are trying to figure out where to place the mic to record the audio. Just imagine being in their shoes and looking for a place close enough to catch the actors speaking, but not too close so that they end up recording their pounding heart haha.
But of course the most iconic aspect of the movie is the song. So many productions have incorporated that song in their own manner, using its cheerful tune for their own purposes. For example in Clockwork Orange they use it to boost the disturbing scene of when Alex and his “droogs” broke into the old man’s house just to have fun beating him up and raping his wife. Probably not how the creators of the song imagined it was going to be used! I read there’s a shower scene in a Alfred Hitchcock movie that the actor masterfully whistles the tune. My favorite is the new and updated version of the song used in the VW Golf commercial with the same idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9myUv5b9zc
After seeing this in class I ran to my laptop and saw it like 20 more times and showed it to all my family and friends haha. I even found out Mynt Royal is the group that made this new version and got their CD !! Unfortunately its really the only good song the have haha. But there are tons of more ways people have used it and here are just some of the videos I found interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3zXCVfJSIs – Seth Macfarlane, Family Guy’s creator singing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0P13ucUeJ8 – George Sampson 2008 Britains Got Talent Winner breakdancing to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSVEcneQMd0 – Another commercial that uses the song, this time by GE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFy4NDlS5kI – Usher recreating the same scene that Gene Kelly did in the movie.
doodeedoo doo doo doodeedoo doo doo =D it just puts a smile on my face.
Jobs’ Apple tablet, my reaction
Jan 27th
Although the article doesn’t specify what the tablet will do I can imagine it will revolutionize quite a few industries the same way other products in Apple’s product line has done. As a marketing guy, the first thing that comes to my mind is selling the product, and remember the iPod, which not only revolutionized the mobile gadgets industry, but also the marketing scenario. With its never-before-seen style, the iPod campaign stood out amongst the heavily advertisement cluttered marketplace. It created such a loyal customer base that the users themselves have created some of the best ads for the iPod, for example this one done for the iTouch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QQmU7amhlo
If the Apple tablet turns out to satisfy all the hype it has created, then I am sure that the very loyal fan base will also create very artistic works with it, commercial or non-commercial. Mobility will have a new form of expression I guess…
Article from: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/01/26/steve_jobs_apple_tablet_the_most_importing_thing_ive_ever_done.html
