Mosaic Project / Spring 2022

In the era of selfies, this digital art project poses a question: What is portraiture in the digital age? Consider the history of portraiture, especially self-portraits by artists, and how the era is reflected in the style of the portrait.

STEP 1: Start a collection of images, all original… photos, drawings, designs created by you… to be in your personal MOSAIC project imagebank. These should be portraits, selfies of YOU by you. They can also be designs or drawings that represent your creative work, tools you use, colors, visual textures that are strong representations of your personality as a creative artist. No images can be borrowed or appropriated, these are all original images by you.

SEE IN CLASS: Mosaic Project Intro Slideshow / Low-rez
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/mosaic_project_intro_lowrezLinks to an external site.

Look at these: https://mymodernmet.com/famous-self-portraits/ (Links to an external site.)

Find more diverse examples of artists working in mixed-media with portraiture and mosaic ideas here:

https://www.antiracistartteachers.org/artists/medium-and-technique (Links to an external site.)

ART 2016 Mosaic Project : Create a self-portrait that reflects your own identity as an artist in this contemporary age. Your portrait must also engage the concept of mosaic in digital media and should be assembled from multiple pieces that together form the whole. Allow the divisions between these pieces to play an active role in the image dynamics of the portrait. As tiled images these should reflect the multiplicity and fragmentation of personal identity in the digital age. Consider mixing traditional techniques (drawing, painting, etc) with digital techniques. Employ art principles to strengthen image unity (color, line, texture, etc). Assemble a dynamic image that contains both unity and surprise. Work at appropriate image resolution for quality output. Plan ahead for a final work at large scale (at least 24 inches in both directions… so the final print can be: 24″x24″ or 24″x36″ or …) Assemble mixed-media to highest quality final craft.

Digital Narrative Project / Spring 2020

Fairy tales and Myths can provide a rich starting point for a digital media project. Passed down from oral storytellers through literary traditions to new media, they are always altered by retelling to reflect the needs of the storyteller and the aesthetics of the time. Because the story is so well known, it can be altered significantly and still remain resonant and recognizable to the contemporary audience. In 10 images, tell a a very old story in a new way. 

This project will be the focus of our work over the next month. First 2 weeks on pre-production tasks of storyboarding and design plan. Then working toward a series of cohesive images that contain both visual unity and surprise. Stay in touch on Zoom for class each Tuesday. Thursday class is a work day, but I will be available on Zoom for feedback or questions.

Beginning STEPS (Week 1)

1. Select Story to work with (It must be so old that no one knows who told the first one, this could be a fairy tale or myth from the oral tradition. )

2. Break down the story into 10 key moments (thinking about how you will be updating it for the digital age)

3. Create 11×17 digital MOOD BOARD, filled with inspiration images for your digital narrative, story, visual style, media, techniques, colors, textures…

4. Do thumbnail sketches of storyboards (two times!) to quickly work out ways to compose your 10 images

5. Create strong storyboard images for each of your story moments.

MORE INFO ON THE NARRATIVE PROJECT below…

RESOURCES + LINKS

Digital Art + Culture > B L O G 

Fairy Tales

https://jrockdigitalart.wordpress.com/category/narratives-fair/

https://jrockdigitalart.wordpress.com/category/digital-narrative/

Link to my powerpoint:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/dignarratives/narratives.html

Digital Culture Viewing Assignment

Digital Culture Viewing: Select 1 Video about Digital Culture from the list below.

The Facebook Dilemma > PBS

Digital Nation > PBS view online

Rip! A Remix Manifesto > view online

Assignment: Choose one video, then watch the entire documentary online. Make notes and write a short reflection on what you found most interesting or surprising about the topics. (about 150 words) Be prepared to discuss in class after Spring break. Reflective writing due on March 17.

LINKS / Descriptions of Digital Culture Viewing Choices:

The Facebook Dilemma

The promise of Facebook was to create a more open and connected world. But from the company’s failure to protect millions of users’ data, to the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation, mounting crises have raised the question: Is Facebook more harmful than helpful? This major, two-night event investigates a series of warnings to Facebook as the company grew from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room to a global empire. With dozens of original interviews and rare footage, The Facebook Dilemma examines the powerful social media platform’s impact on privacy and democracy in the U.S. and around the world.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/facebook-dilemma/

Digital Nation on PBS Frontline

Watch the full documentary, write a short reflection on how your personal life is impacted by pervasive technology and any resonance or surprise you found in the video topics… LIVING FASTER  / RELATIONSHIPS  /  WAGING WAR /  VIRTUAL WORLDS  /  LEARNING

Digital Nation on PBS Frontline (viewable online)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/

RiP! A Remix Manifesto (about 86 minutes)

https://player.vimeo.com/video/8040182

Please view full video online. Take notes on what you find most revealing or surprising about the contemporary practice of remix artists. Does the video raise issues about your own use of digital media… in your artwork or your life? How do you feel about the artistic practice of remixing? Do you side with the CopyLEFT or the CopyRIGHT?

RiP: A Remix Manifesto from Laurent LaSalle on Vimeo.

MOSAIC PROJECT: Spring 2020

In the era of selfies, this digital art project poses a question: What is portraiture in the digital age? Consider the history of portraiture, especially self-portraits by artists, and how the era is reflected in the style of the portrait.

Mosaic Project Intro Slideshow / Low-rez
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/mosaic_project_intro_lowrez

Look at these: https://mymodernmet.com/famous-self-portraits/

More examples:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/self_portraits/

ART 2016 Mosaic Project : Create a self-portrait that reflects your own identity as an artist in this contemporary age. Your portrait must also engage the concept of mosaic in digital media and should be assembled from multiple pieces that together form the whole. Allow the divisions between these pieces to play an active role in the image dynamics of the portrait. As tiled images these should reflect the multiplicity and fragmentation of personal identity in the digital age. Consider mixing traditional techniques (drawing, painting, etc) with digital techniques. Employ art principles to strengthen image unity (color, line, texture, etc). Assemble a dynamic image that contains both unity and surprise. Work at appropriate image resolution for quality output. Plan ahead for a final work at large scale (at least 24 inches in both directions… so the final print can be: 24″x24″ or 24″x36″ or …) Assemble mixed-media to highest quality final craft.

Woven:Traditional Swedish Hair Jewelry

Don’t miss this fascinating exhibit made with unusual art media. Duluth artist Karen Keenan went to Sweden where she was trained in a traditional technique passed down from her ancestors.The work is gorgeous!

Friday, Sept. 20, 2019 from 5-8pm at the Nordic Center, 23 N Lake Ave, there will be an opening reception for Woven:Traditional Swedish Hair Jewelry.

Art & Culture / Viewing Assignment

Please choose ONE of these options to attend and view. Write a short reflection on what you found most inspiring or compelling about the cultural experience.

(~200 words) Due at the final exam, in the google folder. YOUR CHOICES:

1. Attend at least 3 galleries during the Downtown Arts Walk 5-8pm on Friday April 26. Where did you go, What did you see, Why did it intrigue you?

Full list of galleries and venues found here:

https://downtowndulutharts.org/2019/04/24/friday-april-26-2019-arts-walk/

2. Attend the reception for the Annual Student Exhibit in the Tweed Museum, 3-5pm on Sunday April 28. Write about at least 3 works in the show that interest you: Who, What, Why? https://sfa.d.umn.edu/department-art-design/news/ase19

more about the exhibition and the student work: https://z.umn.edu/47za

3. Watch : Digital Nation on PBS Frontline

Watch the full documentary, write a short reflection on how your personal life is impacted by pervasive technology and any resonance or surprise you found in the video topics… LIVING FASTER  / RELATIONSHIPS  /  WAGING WAR /  VIRTUAL WORLDS  /  LEARNING

Digital Nation on PBS Frontline (viewable online)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/

Spring 2019 Digital Narrative Project

This week we move from Pre-production into image development and completion. Use your pre-production design plan to guide your work with an eye to unity and surprise.

ALL PROJECT WORK  DUE THURS APRIL 25, 2019 : 

as PRINTS + DIGITAL Versions in jpg or png format

• Mood Board (11×17 horizontal)  (only digital)

• Pre-Production Design Plan w Storyboards (11×17 horizontal) (print + digital)

• Post-Production  (all images on one 11×17 horizontal) (print + digital)

• 10 Images (print + digital in size and media of your choice)

MORE INFO ON PROJECT STEPS BELOW…

Fairy tales and Myths can provide a rich starting point for a digital media project. Passed down from oral storytellers through literary traditions to new media, they are always altered by retelling to reflect the needs of the storyteller and the aesthetics of the time. Because the story is so well known, it can be altered significantly and still remain resonant and recognizable to the contemporary audience. In 10 images, tell a a very old story in a new way. 

Digital Art Mixed-Media Students: Narrative Project 

This project will be the focus of our work in April. First 2 weeks on pre-production tasks of storyboarding and design plan. Then working toward a series of cohesive images that contain both visual unity and surprise.

START HERE:

1. Select Story (fairy tale or myth)

2. Break down the story into 10 key moments (thinking about how you will be updating it for the digital age)

3. Do thumbnail sketches of storyboards (two times!) to quickly work out ways to compose your 10 images

4. Do an 11×17 digital MOOD BOARD, filled with inspiration images for your digital narrative, story, visual style, media, techniques, colors, textures…

NEXT:

Please Create your own folder… NarrativeProject_YourName

DIGITAL FILES Uploaded to folder  by FRIDAY APRIL 12:

Pre-Production :

• Mood Board (11×17 horizontal)  

• Design Plan w Storyboards (11×17 horizontal) 

• jpgs of 10 storyboards

Examples of Pre-Production Design:

 Link to powerpoint:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/dignarratives/narratives.html

 

Move from Pre-production into image development and completion. Use your pre-production design plan to guide your work with an eye to unity and surprise.

ALL PROJECT WORK  DUE THURS APRIL 25, 2019 : as PRINTS + DIGITAL Versions

Examples of Post-Production Prints:

Please follow directions below when you turn in all work on Digital Narrative Project for grading. (See grading rubric ) Please check that all your work has your name on it AND digital versions are uploaded in your own folder, inside the google drive folder for your class. If you are unsure of what goes on the pre-production and post-production 11×17 prints, please look at the examples above / or in the project powerpoint or ask! 

1 – Pre Production : 11×17 horizontal print of  Design Plan / Storyboards

2-  Post-Production :  11×17 horizontal of All 10 images on one page  (quality jpg, png)

3-  10 Individual images (as pngs or jpgs) Final Format: 10 images …paper prints, book, posters, or other mixed-media. Your choice on scale and media. Please tell me in advance if you need extra time to get the printing done.

4-  Any extra images of final format or process work (if you want to show more rough work)

5-  Reflection ~150 words (use format below)

DIGITAL NARRATIVE PROJECT REFLECTION

Your name

Your story title

AND your short reflection on the project… (~150 words)

Reflect on your creative process…What drew you to this tale? How did you update this tale for the digital age? What was the inspiration for your visual look or clues to your visual treatment of this old tale. What techniques or tools did you use to create your own version of the story?

Mailbox >Re-Mixed-Media Valentines

Digital Art students are taking a little detour in the remix project, in response to the confession that many students today are inexperienced with using the US Postal Service. So, we’ve been making some remixed valentines, some digital and some in mixed-media. This week everyone is mailing at least 5 valentines via snail mail… and bringing another 5 to share in class. (of course, we are having a party on Feb 14!)

And do a little research about the history of the heart symbol… if you can!

You might listen to this podcast “WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE” while you work… http://trbq.org/topics/love/ (with some illustrations by Joellyn Rock)

 

Some believe the symbol is connected to the ancient use of the Silphium Seed in herbal treatments…

Project 1 : Climate Remix

Spring 2019 > Over the next month Digital Art students will experiment with ideas and methods of REMIX via collaborative image making on the theme : Climate Remix.

Step one will be creating a class imagebank on google drive. Each student will contribute at least one unique image to each of the 10 categories in the Climate Remix Imagebank. (Abstract, Biological, Botanical, Elemental, Maps, Migration, Seasons, Toxicity, Weather). 

All the images must be original, and at least half of the images should be created by hand, via traditional art processes like drawing and painting. The other half of the images can be photos or digitally generated images. We will use this project to explore various uses of remixed imagery: for prints, installation, projection, animation and mixed-media works.

Remember: each image you upload into the imagebank must be yours to share fully with the rest of the class, and that they have the right to use and alter creatively.

Please title each image to include your name: Category_YourName.jpg   Flatten files and export as jpg or png for the imagebank. If possible, please keep resolution good  enought for printwork, but no RAW files.

Tuesdays we will work digitally, Thursdays we will use mixed-media materials. Back and forth, we will mix traditional art with digital techniques. Plan to work fast and light, generating plenty of versions of your remixed collage works. Come prepared to work and play!

MORE INFO ON COPYRIGHT / CREATIVITY This project stresses the shared-use of imagery, as another way of understanding creative property rights and the creation of public domain content.

More info at: https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/

Wanna Work Together? from Creative Commons on Vimeo.

View More about Remix Culture blog: https://jrockdigitalart.wordpress.com/category/remix-culture/

Cecilia Ramón / Works on Paper / Nov 30, 2018

Works on Paper by Cecilia Ramon On view 5-8pm on Friday, November 30, 2018. Downtown Arts Walk.  Rockingchair Studio  120 A W 1st Street Duluth, Minnesota.

Cecilia Ramón’s creative work explores the cross section of art-making, ecology, and resilience thinking. Her recent focus is on ocean currents, water dynamics and organisms.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ramón is a visual artist, ecological designer and educator, currently teaching at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of Art and Design. Her training includes an apprenticeship with Master painter Anselmo Piccoli in Buesnos Aires, Argentina, post-graduate studies in Visual Arts at University Wisconsin-Superior, and MA in Ecological Design Thinking, Schumacher College, Dartington, UK.

Cecilia Ramón www.ceciliaramon.com

Artist Cecilia Ramón will be showing mixed-media works on paper during the final Friday of November Downtown Arts Walk.  Rockingchair Studio  120 A W 1st Street Duluth, Minnesota. On view 5-8pm on Friday, November 30, 2018.