Pecha Kucha Presentation Selections

Video 1

This was my favourite presentation due to the presenter's comical approach to a subtle theme. He jabs a wide variety of people and situations with his use of structural design, using everything from subtlety to slapstick inanity to crack a joke.

Video 2

This man's presentation on one his process of thinking, sketching, and crafting ideas was particularly engaging because of the strong connection to our previous discussions regarding design. Much of what he discussed was familiar to me, making the process of connecting with his presentation easier.

Video 3

I found the presenter's differentiation between complexity and complication in the way people approach and deal with situations intriguing. He localizes the definitions of the two in relation to one another rather than particular situations which helps to see the difference between the two approaches to problem-solving.

TED Lecture Posts

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.html

David Merrill demos Siftables

This lecture started off interesting, but got much better as the presenter delved deeper into the technical capabilities of these motion-sensing digital domino-like devices. The siftables are basically just small square computers with motion sensors and infrared monitors built into them. Each computer talks to the other computers to create an environment conducive to interacting computing. Specifically, the purpose was to help manipulate digital information using newer, more efficient, and more user-friendly interfaces. From utilizing motion and light sensors to “mix” digital colours to new means of approaching song creation, these little computers open up interesting possibilities for future computer interfaces that are better designed to facilitate motion as the primary means of interaction with digital media through computers. Basically, we want to be able to tell what computers do in the quickest, most efficient manner available. These little trinkets look like they will contribute to advancing the ergonomics of digital interfaces and their efficacy in providing users with intuitive designs and easy use.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

I recalled thinking fondly of the previous lecture we heard by Ken Robinson on education so I approached this lecture hoping to hear some greater depth on the matter. Unfortunately, the 20 minute video was probably a solid 10-12 minutes of random jokes, audience banter/pandering, and tangents, none of which added anything to the actual presentation on the importance of creativity in education. Robinson’s rail against the established hierarchy of studies and established approach to modern “education” falls on my friendly ears, but I would have enjoyed the lecture much more had it remained far more focused and pointed and structured with some type of visual aid to help communicate the idea. I liked Robinson’s three-point definition of intelligence as varied, dynamic, and distinct – I think that shows a good, well-rounded understanding of an individual’s analytical abilities. And as always, I found myself agreeing with his closing call to rediscover the richness of human capacity in order to being servicing a new fundamental approach to education.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html

Jeff Jan demos his breakthrough touchscreen

I enjoyed this presentation for many of the same reasons I liked the siftables talk: the speaker concentrated his efforts on communicating how the advanced touch screen serves to create a user-friendlier interface. The multi-point contact touch screen seems to be the new way of introducing and understanding a more intuitive approach to computing, as opposed to trimming down the size and price of modern point-and-click systems. The speaker isn’t nearly as engaging as Ken Robinson, but delivers an amiable presentation with passion. It is also nice to hear him remark on the nature of the future of such interface technologies; too often people don’t keep pace with their inventiveness and new ideas and technology can be hampered by non-friendly user accessibility. The approach to how we use technology is just as important as its utility.

Two Reviews of Classmates' Trips

RYAN FRAZIER - FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT EXHIBIT

I enjoyed Ryan's choice of POINT and LINE for his new words as they related to the Organic Architecture Exhibit of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs. It was interesting to compare how my choices of BALANCE and MODERN compared with POINT and LINE - all four words seem to be strong visual cues in defining Wright's unique approach to architectural design.

RONNIE CRUTCHFIELD - MMOCA

Ronnie's exhaustive approach to unraveling the ideas behind HARMONY and COMPOSITION is intriguing. He gets a good breadth of answers from the four people he interviewed and the definitions appear well thought out. His detailed experience of first laying eyes upon Shinique Smith Menagerie's "Favorites of the Gods" is inspiring and informative. One can imagine, based on Ronnie's description, the enormity of the impact seeing the digital image in real life must have had on him, and others.

The Field Trip - Milwaukee

Frank Lloyd Wright Exhibit - Milwaukee Art Museum

I interviewed a group of four family members - a grandfather, grandmother, young boy, and young girl. I didn't get their names because I wanted to make the interview quick, so as to avoid spoiling their visit. I split the words MODERN and BALANCE between the grandfather and young girl and the grandmother and young boy, respectively. In this way I hoped to maximize the breadth of perspectives between the two words and people of different ages and genders.

DEFINITIONS

MODERN

Grandfather - "Ideas that keep pace with the times"
Young Girl - "The Future?"

BALANCE

Grandmother - "Putting life into perspective and staying in that mindset"
Young Boy - "Not falling over or tripping over yourself"

OBSERVATIONS

The following are observational sketches of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs classified by MODERN or BALANCE as I believed they fit best:

MODERN

BALANCE

Restaurant Visit

Restaurant Trip (Zaffiro's in Mequon)

Timeline of Events:

- arrived at about 100 PM, sat at the bar
- made note of dreary-sounding light jazz music being pumped through the speakers
- made note of only a family of four and an elderly couple occupying the restaurant - I thought this interesting as there seemed to be at least one person of each stage of life (toddler, child, young adult, adult, senior)
- ordered turkey panini and a diet pepsi - small talk made with the waitress, with whom I was prior to this visit acquainted
- after putting in my order, the family paid their bill and left, leaving quite a mess behind on the table - more than I would argue was reasonable for them to have left
- Made some more small talk and banter with other staff members I was acquainted with before this visit
- about 15 minutes later my meal arrived, which I promptly began to eat
- I noticed a relative mediocrity to the food - not amazing, but done well enough and with enough care that I didn't think it worth it to complain
- it smelled of grease and fat despite a lack of leakage on my hands, but a single bite confirmed my olfactory system's theory - there was far more grease than I anticipated
- as I tried enjoying my meal, I observed a large poster of painted bricks with a "Zaffiro's" logo on the west wall of the restaurant - I thought it and the plastic ferns tacky
- while eating, an older gentleman entered the restaurant, sat at the other end of the bar from me, and ordered a beer
- after a final chatting engagement, my waitress brought me my check after about half an hour to 35 minutes from my initial arrival
- I left a $10, leaving her a healthy tip with it
- after saying a few more goodbyes, I left and returned home




Questions:

1. What are the connections between food, art, and culture?

There is a vend-diagram-style relationship, with each component influencing the other. There is an interrelationship between the three - art influences how food is created and the process used to create it, as well as utilizing culture to influence how we think of food. Culture drives art to new, unexplored territory, and dictates what defines "good eating". The linkages go on and on.

2. What are the connections between food, design, and culture?

The same as those connections with art, food, and culture, but more narrowly focused on particular elements of art, not the general practice.

3. Where do you find design in this "context"?

As a component of art, design, in this "context", is in everything all around us, wherever we go. Any more narrow a definition begins to drag in particular cultural perspectives that distort the discernment of design from being understood.

4. How do you define design?

Design is the markings of something created by an artist - the residue of creation and ideation, usually tangible, but sometimes not so much.

5. How do you define art?

Art is anything that gives an individual's life meaning.

6. Are the definitions separate or do they overlap? In what way? Describe.

Design is a microcosm of art and as such, the two concepts overlap with design residing in art's frame. They are intrinsically tethered - one cannot exist without the other. Art cannot be made without some sense of design philosophy on the part of the artist and design cannot be left behind unless art is being created. In addition, design helps fuel ideation and the creation of new art, which in turns produces more design. By these two definitions, art and design are cyclically bound by their natures.

"How To Look At Halos" Notes

- the 22 Degree Halo is a brownish-blue corona that forms around the sun and/or moon when water suspended in clouds freezes
- these mostly occur in colder regions or during winter time

It is interesting that the interior arcs of these halos will never exist all in the same sky at once - the rarity of these phenomena is so profound that Elkins supposes some people merely hallucinate their own viewings of the halos (but surely there is a more qualitative scientific reasoning for their scarcity?)

I am intrigued that although Robert Greenler's book extensively maps the formation of these halos and their arcs, he fails to make a distinct connection in the most famous recording of the phenomena in the 18th century by Tobias Lowitz.

I think, as Elkins, that the mysterious and undiscovered elements of these halos creation and existence lends them a provocative voice. It speaks wonders to how we look at things that sometimes the less known about something makes it more appealing to us. If we could reason through how all these arcs are created and map out how, when, and where they would form, it would perhaps dull their effect on us.

On the other hand, an inability to explain such a phenomenon does not automatically bestow value on it as an art. It could also be said that whatever  appeal is lost as a result of a comprehensive understanding of these arcs' formation is compensated by our newfound ability to realize and understand our environment. That is to say, by understanding the process we better appreciate the product.

"Naked" Walk Information Map

Information Map and Elkins Questions

Elkins Questions:  
1. Why does Elkins choose to open a piece that is intended to open peoples' minds with a waking dream awash in paranoia and confusion?  
2. Is the key to appreciating the extraordinary in the every day simply a matter of knowing what to look for?  
3. Are we to believe that we also benefit from understanding the "badness" of the world that might be hidden right before our eyes? That is to say, are we better off because we can no longer romanticize the galloping of a horse because we now know the true nature of its movement?

Five Images of Sequential Art Throughout History and Mediums

I have always found the prevalence of sequential art peppered throughout human history to be squarely at odds with a contemporary "understanding" that the sequential art medium is to be relegated to the "lower" art forms of social convention. The following images are connected by a common theme: they all tell a story in a visually dynamic construct using sequential images to impart information to the viewer/reader.

This Roman frieze depicts the celebratory triumph of Octavian Augustus - becoming the first emperor of the new Roman Empire.

Egyptian hieroglyphics are among the oldest forms of sequential art known to man, utilizing complex symbolic imagery to tell stories and relay messages. The fundamental element of ancient Egyptian is a pictoral language system - the pictures literally make the words.

This is a modern comic book layout. The illustrations were done by Jim Lee, the man who reinvented the aesthetics of the X-Men and breathed new life into the comic industry in the early nineties, after long stagnation throughout the eighties. The visual composition is far more complex both in dynamic use of distance and image size, as well as the overlapping of images and panels to create and interesting and visually appealing story.

Hieroglyphics are old, but these paintings on cave walls in Spain are by far the oldest evidence of sequential art as a means of imparting messages and celebrating triumphs. These image series are part of a larger construct that commemorates a great hunt, thousands of years before the first comic book was put into print.

This is a Thor comic (circa mid-1960's) drawn by Jack Kirby. Kirby was one of the original innovators in the development of mainstream comic art. He utilized a wider array of emotion and stylistic design in constructing the comics, reinventing the concept of super hero aesthetics in the process.

Andrew Jackson's struggle with the emerging central bank of the United States in the 1830s is depicted in this very old political cartoon. Like the Hieroglyphics, frieze, comics, and cave paintings above, this cartoon tells a story in a single shot, imparting an opinion/message and recounting a contemporary issue all at once. Political cartoons have developed much in the last 180 plus years since this old classic, but the fundamental tenants of the sequential art medium, which help define this image, have remained relatively constant.

Reflection on Rampley and In-Class Assignments

Reading Matthew Rampley’s “Exploring Visual Culture”, I was taken by the breadth of the author’s scope and grasp on the subject of culture. Whereas our in-class reading concentrated on how “we make meaning of the material world through understanding objects and entities in their specific cultural contexts”, Rampley’s discussion focuses more on the definitive and fundamental elements of culture – what it is and how it affects us (Sturken and Cartwright). We learn that culture is the means by which each of us develops a “set of rules about how to express and interpret meaning”, but how then can we discern which set of rules are the correct ones to use? (Sturken and Cartwright)

Through our in-class exercises we learned that our views and interpretations of the real world are subjectively influenced by what we hear and see. In addition, our environment influences our analysis of cultural data we absorb and must interpret on a daily basis. Rampley observes that there is certainly a social divide in what is considered “high” or “low” art in western society, with the upper crust favouring the traditionally “antiquated” and the lower stratospheres of society left to comic books, video games, and trashy airport romance novels. Thus, certain groups within society might seek to establish an order of nobility and hierarchy to the arts, in order that their tastes and aesthetics might retain preeminence.

But taste and value judgements are inherently subjective. The feelings an individual discerns when examining a piece of art will differ from those another experiences when looking at the same piece. Culture is a malleable creature – it is constantly morphing into something new as people change their value judgements and new technology evolves to help facilitate the ease of global mass communication. As more people from different backgrounds exchange ideas and cultivate relationships, the concept of culture becomes more and more malleable.

Although certain sects of society seek to impose their value judgements on others, nobody can take away an individual’s ability to think for him or herself. Ultimately, I must agree with Johann Gotfried Herder's assessment that, as Rampley lays it out, "a culture grows not by reference to some artificially imposed standards drawn from elsewhere - classical antiquity or France - but spontaneously according to its own impulses." (Rampley) Individuals have widely varying preferences and tastes – so long as the cultural attitude does not display antagonism or intolerance towards cultural plurality, there can be no real ordered ranking of cultures, or their values, over one another.

Rampley, Matthew. “Exploring Visual Culture: Definitions, Concepts, Contexts”. Edinburgh Press.

Sturken and Cartwright. “Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture”. Oxford University Press. New York, NY: 2009.