At the Pictures (Lauren Reimnitz, Caitlin Clark, and John Haenle)

FINAL STUDENT GALLERY ENDS HERE

The pieces above represent some of the work students have done in VA10. Below you will find some of the inspiration that lead to these works.

this is a video by the french artist camille. i really like what she does in the first part of the video, and i think it is using stop motion animation, but i'm not sure

Andy Furnas: Tutim

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5C2LJE2SYfE

This is a video for the song "Tutim" by Ethnix. It is a song in Hebrew about how instead of making war we should go and buy and eat strawberries! It is incredible how it is edited together so that we see images of war in the middle east, images of really really, cute babies eating strawberries, and the images of the person playing the piano. I especially like the section from 25seconds to 45 seconds where it goes through a set of images related to war interspersed by the piano. Here is a copy of the lyrics for all of us who don't understand Hebrew! The song title, "Tutim" means Strawberries. The line "Your Grenade is not fruit" doesn't really make sense in English, but in Hebrew the word for Grenade is also the word for a type of fruit.

Strawberries:

The coldness in your garden against the warmth of my garden
the bunker to your left against the artillery shell in my hand
your grenade is not fruit and it's ready in your hand here,
they are each ready in my rifle magazine.

Chorus:
The light goes up from the east,
a new day has arrived.
The two of us will overcome the terror
Strawberries, strawberries, come we'll buy only strawberries
Instead of other war-machines.


You blocked the bed with many sandbags,
and on your head is the helmet from the bunker on the left
You wished that my soul'd be bound forever,
here, they are each ready in my rifle magazine.

Repeat Chorus

human flipbook - Oona

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HClNcAvD1AY

I thought this was pretty cool, relates back to the idea of tshirt design as well. I like the use of the human and clothing as a flipbook.

Rassi - Raymond

I found this clip browsing through a list of videos entered into the Computer Animation Festival at SIGGRAPH 2007. I chose Raymond as my clip as it features a host of animation techniques I got the impression we may be studying, including stop-motion with human subjects. It stands on its own as well as an art piece with a silly plot and reflects well on the sense of humor of its creators. Enjoy.

Caitlin Clark- Tony V. Paul

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AJzU3NjDikY&feature=related

I remember watching this video with some of my friends a little while ago and being so amazed. Its five mins. long and some of the moves make you wonder how they did it. You can also see the changes in the seasons while they were filming because it took so long to shoot. About 2 mins into the video is my favorite, he floats across the pool and then they do a series of jumps where they appear floating... its crazy!

Jee Hyun Choi: Pancakes

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PnCVZozHTG8

This is an awesome video that uses many many individual pictures (or at least it seems like it). It's pretty famous on Youtube and has been on public TV too. And I think the video definitely deserves its fame; when it came out on Youtube, it was really a one of a kind video. Incorporating music into the animation added a huge effect to the short film. The beats match up with the motions in the film, engaging the viewer both through hearing and seeing.
I think the advantage of stringing individual images together in this manner is that one can make special effects pretty easily which can make the video infinitely more interesting. For example, the video features a guy who can jump out of bed backwards, jam jars that slide around the kitchen counter without any hands touching, pancakes that disappear bite by bite without touching any mouths, etc. These effects give the viewer a fun time.

Janice Kim: Origami Animation

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3iVP0tzwhVc&feature=related

As a person who really likes origami, I enjoyed watching this photo animation. It seems like a pretty effective way of teaching people how to do origami (as opposed to giving out written instructions) :D

Lauren Reimnitz: Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Whirlwing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXIzyquw-kc

This is Architecture in Helsinki's video for "Do the Whirlwind". I saw the lizard jamming with the bass guitar and instantly enjoyed it. I really like each of the individual characters( the fire boy, the girl in the bubble); I think this makes the video really unique and interesting - its a big out of this world, which connects with the animation. Also, the characters bob to the music and I really like the ending with them getting eaten and turning into ghosts. Basically I just rally enjoyed this animation. 

If you want to check out another video and have time, check out "like a call" on youtube by the same band - really soothing song, but the video is a bit sad. However, really touched the heart : ) enjoy.

Rachel Rieder- Beck's Not a Loser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJN3PGqDRNg

In 1993, Beck came out with his first real single "Loser". Not only were the lyrics slightly off putting, but the video that accompanied it was thought of as bizarre and frightening. The video uses several different methods to achieve the mood of the song. The movement of the coffin is done with time-lapse, while at certain points they use different color filters and blurring techniques to make the video more interesting. The film was also filmed from several different perspectives. Beck's music has since become less controversial,yet the theme and atmosphere set by the music video is even now undeniably creepy. 

Ephraim Dagadu - South Park

Since the 12th season starts this Wednesday and it's one of my favorite shows of all time, I thought I'd do this on South Park. The animation style of South Park is very recognizable and while it is now animated on computer, it is supposed to recreate the look of the cardboard cutout animation of the pilot episode and Trey and Matt's earlier works. The clip here is from the movie. The computer animation allows them to recreate the cutout animation style's movement and feel while also improving on the style like having better frame rate and smoother lip syncing.

Ju Li Khing - Animation vs Animator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo1d6ttbAq8

This is a sort of animation within an animation of the revenge of stickmen against the artist, who is portrayed here as the cursor. I find videos like this hilarious because the characters are aware of their creator and seek to destroy it so they can stop the abuse inflicted onto them. There really aren't any restrictions in this video; the stickman vaults way out of its space and onto the toolbars, pulls more stickmen out as reinforcement, and is actually successful in its retaliation against the cursor. It makes one wonder what goes on in the mind of the animator who made the video.

Lucinda Ng- Walkie Talkie Man

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7Z564GUIK7s

Everything in this music video by Steriogram is 'made' of yarn and a series of stop animation. It's really cool how the instruments are also 'made' of yarn because normally, banging sticks on yarn doesn't make any noise, but in the video, they contrast this with heavy rock music. I also love the scene where they use yarn to portray light coming from the projector. They did a good job with mixing reality, (frames of the people and certain things) and fiction (yarn).

Meleha Ahmad - Sunflower and Beans growing

http://youtube.com/watch?v=khiCoog_98E

This video might be really nerdy (seen it in Bio class?!) but I think it is a great example of how time lapse photography can show us things that we might not be able to see ourselves. As human beings, we are incapable of observing slow processes like plants growth by ourselves. It is interesting that viewing consecutive but time lapsed glimpes of the same plant uncovers a concept that was otherwise pretty much unnoticable- growth! For me this video gives sunflower and bean stalks new life - maybe they're not as boring as they seem!

Serena Ho- Animation

http://youtube.com/watch?v=X7nVyVgz8GY

This is a hand drawn animation which I found to be pretty cool. Although the figures and the motion of the animation is rather rough, I like the creativity. While the character in the animation is drawn, the background is a real life office space, and I like how the creator of this animated short juxtaposes these two elements. He also takes advantage of the possiblities of animation to create a fantasy world in an everyday space.

John Haenle - The Scientist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Kd7IGPyeg

This is the scientist by coldplay. It's pretty trippy watching it because at times it seems like it's actually moving forward, but then you realize, nope, it's still going backwards. It's also crazy because I heard that Chris Martin had to take special classes to be able to speak backwards, and it was filmed regularly, just with him speaking backwards, and then they reversed the whole thing to get the effect. Just what I heard, but if it's true, that's pretty intense.

Ariel Isaacs-Waking Life

This is a video from waking life, an animated film directed by richard linklater that came out in 2001. He took live action film, and then had different animators draw over the film to express whatever philosophic content is going on at that particular moment. The film is meant to express what it feels like to walk in a dream. I really like how the background changes and the talking figure changes as well, especially how his hair changes shape to fit whatever he is saying. I also like the figures that pop out to give depth to what he is talking about. though I think what he says is somewhat overdone and overwrought, i really like the animation techniques of this film.

Asia Del Bonis - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

This video uses some type of fast motion on a selection of the frame. It definitely creates an unsettling mood and a perfectly goes with the theme of the song... how the world is moving so fast around people who are waiting and so dependent on others.

Lydia Magyar – Three years passed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55YYaJIrmzo

Caitlin Clark- "becoming one"

I really like this interpretation of the human form because it takes the idea of interplay between parts of the body in a more literal way and portrays their connectedness... There is also more of an emphasis on the movement and emotion rather than muscular details which I see very powerful.

Lydia Magyar - Manet

Manet made this painting, Dejeuner sur L’Herbe, in 1862. The nude is central and heavily lit; the background is loose and unfinished.

The White Stripes - The Hardest Button To Button

Asad Jan - Picasso's Bathers

I found this image in a book I borrowed from the RISD Library for the grid assignment. It's by Picasso, titled "The Bathers". Very unlike historical convention, I think it's striking that while most usually the human form is depicted quite realistically to convey a sense of the beauty and perfection of the human form, especially vis-a-vis all the sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome, and the paintings of the personification of beauty, Aphrodite herself, this, however, for me has the opposite effect. The figures in this painting are quite distorted and misshapen, and they are not reclining on couches surrounded by cherubs or admirers. I find it an interesting portrayal of the human condition: in their natural state - nudity - human beings are not always perfect. Instead, as I read from the painting, human interaction must surpass the boundaries of physical perfection.

Oona Curley - Nude

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This is a painting by Haolong Ma. I think its interesting that the nude form is used here, and i think it supports the simplicity of the painting. The image is very calm - its not overdone or complicated, its just a woman. I think the fact that she's nude fits into this mood very well, because its just the woman, nothing else. Its not perfectly accurate or realistic, but it conveys the woman's form with clear lines and slight shading. the form is then lost into color and sort of amorphousness, but it starts in a clear, unpretentious, simple way. I think the most clear, unpretentious (when done correctly), and simple way to portray a human is in the nude.

Andy Furnas: Nudity in Ancient Greece

In ancient Greece male nudity seemed to be common. Many athletes performed in the nude and the nude male body was seen a measure of prowess. Male nudity was seen as a sign of "triumph, glory and even moral excellence." (http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/nuan/hd_nuan.htm) That is the link to a fascinating article about "The Nude in Western Art and its Beginning in Antiquity" from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had no idea that the male body could be held to such incredibly high standards and seen in such a way. What I found absolutely fascinating also, is that the article claims that the life-size sculptures for the male athletes were not necessarily replicates of real people, but rather idealized bodies with pre-calculated mathematically perfect ratios.
In contrast to the male body, the female body was often clothed in ancient Greek sculpting. That is, until Paxiteles in the 4th century BC decided to sculpt a nude of the goddess Aphrodite. And, Paxiteles also paid careful attention to the beautiful mathematical proportions and used them in his work of the female body as well.
I find it fascinating that the sculptures in ancient Greece were supposedly built with such precision not to reflect reality, but rather to reflect an idealized position... maybe as a way of providing something aesthetically pleasing, but knowledge that it is only symbolic? I wonder if instead of having plastic-models all over our modern day magazines and tv sets we should bring back this idea of the idealized and mathematically well-proportioned nude. It may be a nice way to keep young men and women from falling into depression with eating disorders and low self-esteem. Hmm...

Jee Hyun Choi: Nude Painting

Before I move on to the painting I selected, I think Lauren's painting below is absolutely amazing. It's almost fun to follow the curves with my eyes. It's dynamic, full, and succulent (maybe that's not the best word choice..but the lines remind me of fruit...) Wow.

The painting I found is not exactly the nude that I'm used to. It's not a body, but yet it is a body. Despite the complete distortion of the nude body in the painting, I immediately perceived it as a nude painting. I guess it's a very unique way of expression- it delivers a common subject matter in the painter's own "words."
I personally like this painting. In the process of simplification it captures the strength, movement, and power of the woman body. The spine is expressed with a straight, powerful stroke, while the legs are curvy and soft. The variation of "tones" in the strokes bring out the diversity in the subject's body. I don't feel like this painting is empty or lacking at all. In fact, I feel that it conveys just as much or even more than what a faithful portrayal of the body would.

Ephraim Dagadu - Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening

This is one of Dali's surrealist pieces. He depicts his wife, Gala, sleeping naked among a scene of a long-legged elephant walking on water and a pomegranate throwing up a fish throwing up tigers throwing up a gun. I like how Gala's figure brings peace and calm to the chaotic scene that makes up the rest of the painting. She looks so natural lying there which is why I think it has the calming effect that it does. It's also interesting how Gala's nudity serves to emphasize the imminent destruction of something beautiful.

Lauren Reimnitz - The Beautiful Rafaela, by Tamara de Lempicka

I really like this painting because I think it really helps to explore the concept of beauty and the concept of nudity and how they are intertwined. I think in contemporary graphics, it is usually the skinny and tall people who are characterized as beautiful (by media, popular culture, etc.). In this image however, the woman is a little overweight, has very feminine curves to herself, and looks very comfortable in the nude. I think the artist was very aware of the woman's figure, and I like how the artist emphasized the features that she wanted and played with the contrast between light and dark. I also like how the only color addition to the photo is red - the woman's lips and the blanket. I find this piece of art very sensual, romantic in a sense, and yes, beautiful. I think the nudity helps really emphasize these ideas.

Lucinda Ng- Dali Nude in Contemplation

This picture is a self-portrait by Salvador Dali. It was interesting to see that most people posted nudes of women rather than men. Asides from the fact that a woman's body is more curvaceous making it more linearly interesting, it is also more socially accepted for a man or a woman to paint a woman naked than anyone to paint a man naked. However, it's not usual for artists to do nude self-portraits of themselves, but knowing the eccentric and narcissistic behavior of Dali, it's not too abnormal. We see the side view of him and his genitals are covered because it may be too vulgar.

Asia Del Bonis - Woman Nude

I'm not sure of the artist who captured this woman through watercolor.. but the artist had both control (to be able to handle water color paint- it has a mind of its own) and expression (they weren't afraid to use bold strokes.) I do not see many nude water color paintings.. why? My guess is that the human body is so unique that a painter wants to use oils/acyrlics in order to replicate such precise details on the figure that is modeling. I personally like this artist's use of subtle color and soft lines and shadows. I like the pose that is captured. The figure is mysterious- not too much is made obvious. I think a lot of time, less is more in figure drawing and painting.

Meleha Ahmad: Evolution of Woman Nude

I think that these two pieces are good examples of the difference in the way that nudes are depicted in today’s world when compared with times passed. The lower painting, called “Olympia” by Edouard Manet originated from the mid 1800’s. I think this painting is interesting because it depicts a lady who seems almost perfectly ready to attend a dinner or a ball, equipped with shoes, jewelry and even a flower in her hair; missing nothing but one thing – her clothes! Like many other nude paintings from this time period, the subject is perfectly posed and docile, perhaps like the women of this time. This is in sharp contrast with the painting above, a modern piece by a small-time artist, Mark Lahm. Titled, “Nude behind glass,”; the subject of this painting seems anything but tame. The energy of the woman depicted in this painting is reflected by its dark lines and intense brush strokes and is in sharp contrast to the paleness of the woman of the first painting. The claustrophobia, frustration and anger that is latent in this painting’s subject is almost animalistic, compounded by her nakedness and as such may represent the anguish that many women feel in society today.

Serena Ho- Botticelli's The Birth of Venus

This nude of Venus by Sandro Botticelli immediately came to mind when I was thinking about what to post on the blog. I always liked this painting. It is not the most accurate portrayal of the female form; the proportions seem elongated and there is an animated, stylistic component to this piece. However, Boticelli captures a mood and a spirit with the use of color and composition. Venus' nudity seems like a expression of nature, because she is being born out of the sea shell, which is a creation of nature. Furthermore, I like her expression, one of demureness as she tries to cover up her body. The bright, spring like colors add to the painting's exposition of beauty and birth. This piece helps me remember that art is not all about accuracy but also about expression and emotion.