Lucy Ravens: China Town Animation
After attending Lucy Ravens lecture on her history and her animation displayed in the Nevada Museum of art, I went and watched her animation play. Having just gone to her lecture and having seen the entire behind the scenes photography and work put into the piece, I had a predetermined bias coming into it. I felt with all of the work put into the piece and all of the time spent traveling and the emotions put into the animation that it was going to be phenomenal, a recreation of the process of one of our most vital resources in the electronic age, copper wire.
As I walked into her gallery space at the Nevada Museum of Art, I went straight to the viewing area. The viewing area is a few modern benches sitting in a screened off room, with white and red images, playing to the China Town theme. Her animation was an repeat, as is transitioned through different sequences of photographs of both her journey and the journey of the copper product as it transitions from dirt, to refined dirt, to Vancouver to be transported, then packaged on a ship and sent to China where the copper is smelted and turned to wire which then is transported to a hydroelectric plant in China. The whole time ambient noises to add to the aesthetic feel, like you are there experiencing each one of these snapshots in time. The room, the colors, the projections, the sounds all adds to how elaborate this process is. A good denotation, an essential production of a valuable resource and the transformation the copper industry has gone through.
Regrettably, the way in which the animation was put together was almost sickening, literally. The stop frame animation was a great idea to explain the process in an artsy way, without using video. Her previous hand drawn animations where fantastic as they pulled you through the emotions of the dust bowl of the 1930’s. But, the manner in which this was captured, freehand photography, without a stand and some of the time while on moving objects made me sick to my stomach. The images were often blurry and laced with jolting camera angles, it couldn’t pull the viewer in. It was hard to sit through more than five or ten minutes of the twenty seven minute piece without feeling ill. The greatest part about the whole viewing process was getting to see the pictures of the grand size of the operations it takes to make such a seemingly simple wire. This left me wanting more, simply because she had put so much work into capturing this process.
At that time I stood up to walk around the gallery space to look at the other photographs and notes and other object she included to explain the history and the magnitude of this project. That was when it clicked in my head. This piece did not have as much to do with the artistic visualization or creation of the copper process as much as it has a message and a meaning behind it. A message to me showing how much we take for granted our society where everything is provided to us, but what really happens, what waste is really created, what companies are really doing to get that wire in my hands. This animation was not about the artsy photography and it didn’t matter that it was hard to watch. It was the magnitude, the whole process and explanation of the copper process that was the art. To get something small one must understand the steps it takes to simply get that one object, and that is why I respect and enjoyed her art.
Questions: I want to know why did you choose to sequence and scroll through the pictures so fast, why not do more of a slideshow with the ambient noises to make it easier to view from the audience’s perspective? Out of the 65,000 different pictures you took, why did you only choose 7000 and what made those 7000 pictures make the cut, and to continue now that it is done would you have changed your images and if yes, why?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Lucy Ravens- Lecture
Lucy Ravens: China Town Lecture
Lucy Ravens had a unique idea and a determined attitude to create a stop animation piece that goes beyond just art. Ravens in lecture explained the process, the time it took, her luck, and the determination it took to make this art/ environmental project work. Her trials and tribulations in finishing this project sing praises of her fortitude and commitment to the project. The idea and eventual finished product of stop frame animation with ambient noises plays with the perception of the piece.
Lucy began her lecture by outlining her history in the art world along with a short example of her past political pieces depicting the hardships of the dust bowl in the 1930’s depression. Her work at first seems simple, yet explanatory. The simplicity of the animation draws the viewer’s attention in at the hardships of the time. The quiet of the room and the buildup of the piece show you the artistic talent and time Raven’s take in creating a piece, for more than art, but to explain a hardship in America’s past.
Her style of art went through a major evolution when she transitioned from art stop frame animation, to shutter speed digital photographic animation. Her artistic eye did help her in explaining the story and evolution of the copper process. But, it was not about her photographic skill or about the capturing of one artistic photograph; the art was the journey, the art explaining the evolutionary circle of the copper process. It is hard for someone to understand the magnitude and the time it took to make this animation, and that time she spent traveling and uncovering the whole history is intriguing.
To understand her animation and understand the process, one must understand her journey. She had to wait most places up to thirty days just to take a few hours of photography. She had to convince the mines and the factories she was not an environmentalist, so she could get in. She had to travel to multiple factories and facilities just to understand the transition from the old copper mining industry to today’s. She showed us the Colorado mine that is trying to create a livable area out of the copper mining waste depository. She showed us the ghost towns resulting from the boom and bust of the copper industry. She showed us pictures of the last standing American smelting facility. The behind the screens photography and stories, that one could never understand without first had experience. Without the understanding of the process, without the knowledge of the amount of work she had to do, or where the inspiration came from. The viewer never really understands this artwork.
To make a piece of this magnitude, she recorded over 65,000 photos and put in hours of editing and processing to create a final artwork. But, her lecture was less about the data and more about the adventure and thought that went into this animation, and I believe this is where we find the true hart of this artist, Lucy Ravens. The art work is beautiful, and tells a story through carefully taken photographs and audio recording. However, one must understand that it is not the actual process not the actual photo sequences, but the idea behind the work and determination it took to make this animation. Chinese labor was the foundation and beginning of the copper industry in the United States, and now we (Nevada) provide the raw materials for the industrialization of China itself. Her art showing the manufacturing of copper from earth to light bulb, the real meaning behind the piece and why it is called China Town. Her lecture was not to explain the piece as much as it explained the journey and how that created her piece of art.
Questions: Why did you want to use stop frame animation so much, was it your history with hand drawn stop frame animation that drew you to it or some other factor? In your journeys and all of the time spent fighting people to see the processes you wanted to see and going behind the scene, according to you what environmental changes need to be made to make this process easier on the worlds environment ?
Lucy Ravens had a unique idea and a determined attitude to create a stop animation piece that goes beyond just art. Ravens in lecture explained the process, the time it took, her luck, and the determination it took to make this art/ environmental project work. Her trials and tribulations in finishing this project sing praises of her fortitude and commitment to the project. The idea and eventual finished product of stop frame animation with ambient noises plays with the perception of the piece.
Lucy began her lecture by outlining her history in the art world along with a short example of her past political pieces depicting the hardships of the dust bowl in the 1930’s depression. Her work at first seems simple, yet explanatory. The simplicity of the animation draws the viewer’s attention in at the hardships of the time. The quiet of the room and the buildup of the piece show you the artistic talent and time Raven’s take in creating a piece, for more than art, but to explain a hardship in America’s past.
Her style of art went through a major evolution when she transitioned from art stop frame animation, to shutter speed digital photographic animation. Her artistic eye did help her in explaining the story and evolution of the copper process. But, it was not about her photographic skill or about the capturing of one artistic photograph; the art was the journey, the art explaining the evolutionary circle of the copper process. It is hard for someone to understand the magnitude and the time it took to make this animation, and that time she spent traveling and uncovering the whole history is intriguing.
To understand her animation and understand the process, one must understand her journey. She had to wait most places up to thirty days just to take a few hours of photography. She had to convince the mines and the factories she was not an environmentalist, so she could get in. She had to travel to multiple factories and facilities just to understand the transition from the old copper mining industry to today’s. She showed us the Colorado mine that is trying to create a livable area out of the copper mining waste depository. She showed us the ghost towns resulting from the boom and bust of the copper industry. She showed us pictures of the last standing American smelting facility. The behind the screens photography and stories, that one could never understand without first had experience. Without the understanding of the process, without the knowledge of the amount of work she had to do, or where the inspiration came from. The viewer never really understands this artwork.
To make a piece of this magnitude, she recorded over 65,000 photos and put in hours of editing and processing to create a final artwork. But, her lecture was less about the data and more about the adventure and thought that went into this animation, and I believe this is where we find the true hart of this artist, Lucy Ravens. The art work is beautiful, and tells a story through carefully taken photographs and audio recording. However, one must understand that it is not the actual process not the actual photo sequences, but the idea behind the work and determination it took to make this animation. Chinese labor was the foundation and beginning of the copper industry in the United States, and now we (Nevada) provide the raw materials for the industrialization of China itself. Her art showing the manufacturing of copper from earth to light bulb, the real meaning behind the piece and why it is called China Town. Her lecture was not to explain the piece as much as it explained the journey and how that created her piece of art.
Questions: Why did you want to use stop frame animation so much, was it your history with hand drawn stop frame animation that drew you to it or some other factor? In your journeys and all of the time spent fighting people to see the processes you wanted to see and going behind the scene, according to you what environmental changes need to be made to make this process easier on the worlds environment ?
Eddo Stern Lecture
Eddo Stern
I enjoyed Eddo Sterns view on the world of art and digital gaming. He was quite hard to follow as a lecturer and seemed timid about his work, but had an overall sense of art in the gaming world we do not see often. His view/perception of the gaming world and of art is not the way a normal human would envision gaming. He is outside the box and it seems like a step ahead of the rest of the gaming world. I was confused in the beginning where his mind was going in the world of art, but it became clear later. He has a different perspective of gaming technology and gaming art than most people. His use of computer mod’s, World of Warcraft art and technology in gaming is fantastic, but a little outside the box for most art connoisseurs.
The computer case mod’s intrigued me the least, I had never envisioned a computer gaming system or computer as art, or that the art of the computer mod could then correlate to the game it was running and then actually playing. It was no great AI experiment; simply code telling a computer how to act like a robot, but it was art and it did have a meaning. However, I simply did not like the majority of the programs being run. The dragons taking off of an aircraft carrier was cute, but had no depth to it. The sculpture was fantastic and creative, but the dragons taking off and flying around the screen was too much of a shock to really enjoy the piece. The best computer mod he did was his first one of the castle where his character in the game ran around gathering information and talking like a robot out in the real internet gaming world, that with a mod like the air craft carrier would have been phenomenal.
The WoW time in Mr. Stern’s life seemed to have a great effect on his life. The shadow art and two ton virtual tunnel that came out of his year and a half of WoW was interesting. The virtual tunnel is one of a kind. A collection of codes and programming put into one to be presented and view both in and outside a gallery space, breaches the formal art environment. It is a connection of how technology is art and how much progression has been made from the days of painting to photography to digital media to and artwork bigger than one man. It is the conceptualization of pulling in internet resources and years of gathering information, and long with actual sculpture art, to be put together and realized as art. He should see that as a revolution and advancement in his field.
Lastly, and probably his most impressive work is that of his video gaming work. To incorporate political activism, visual gaming, code writing, creation of audio and sensory feelers all into one game, is not only erratic, but simply crazy. He is making the game of the future. It is the WII, but a strategy game to be played by all people blind, deaf, and so much more. I do not see the art side of the project as much as the emotion and creativity he has for the game. I think he is light-years beyond actual gamming, but with the right graphics, a good price and changing of the mind frame of gamers everywhere, his sensory game could work, and could be the future, even if he doesn’t intend for it to be. From his lecture I learned that an individual, torn by passions for art and video gaming can come together to make some unique and very futuristic art projects that are obscure but fantastic.
Question: Out of the year and a half you spent playing WoW along with your art background, how well do gamers conceptualize and relish in more than the game, but the art that is in games? You have a funny view on putting politics and real world event into games, do you think games need that extra edge today to pull in the high educated and more able gamers of the future?
I enjoyed Eddo Sterns view on the world of art and digital gaming. He was quite hard to follow as a lecturer and seemed timid about his work, but had an overall sense of art in the gaming world we do not see often. His view/perception of the gaming world and of art is not the way a normal human would envision gaming. He is outside the box and it seems like a step ahead of the rest of the gaming world. I was confused in the beginning where his mind was going in the world of art, but it became clear later. He has a different perspective of gaming technology and gaming art than most people. His use of computer mod’s, World of Warcraft art and technology in gaming is fantastic, but a little outside the box for most art connoisseurs.
The computer case mod’s intrigued me the least, I had never envisioned a computer gaming system or computer as art, or that the art of the computer mod could then correlate to the game it was running and then actually playing. It was no great AI experiment; simply code telling a computer how to act like a robot, but it was art and it did have a meaning. However, I simply did not like the majority of the programs being run. The dragons taking off of an aircraft carrier was cute, but had no depth to it. The sculpture was fantastic and creative, but the dragons taking off and flying around the screen was too much of a shock to really enjoy the piece. The best computer mod he did was his first one of the castle where his character in the game ran around gathering information and talking like a robot out in the real internet gaming world, that with a mod like the air craft carrier would have been phenomenal.
The WoW time in Mr. Stern’s life seemed to have a great effect on his life. The shadow art and two ton virtual tunnel that came out of his year and a half of WoW was interesting. The virtual tunnel is one of a kind. A collection of codes and programming put into one to be presented and view both in and outside a gallery space, breaches the formal art environment. It is a connection of how technology is art and how much progression has been made from the days of painting to photography to digital media to and artwork bigger than one man. It is the conceptualization of pulling in internet resources and years of gathering information, and long with actual sculpture art, to be put together and realized as art. He should see that as a revolution and advancement in his field.
Lastly, and probably his most impressive work is that of his video gaming work. To incorporate political activism, visual gaming, code writing, creation of audio and sensory feelers all into one game, is not only erratic, but simply crazy. He is making the game of the future. It is the WII, but a strategy game to be played by all people blind, deaf, and so much more. I do not see the art side of the project as much as the emotion and creativity he has for the game. I think he is light-years beyond actual gamming, but with the right graphics, a good price and changing of the mind frame of gamers everywhere, his sensory game could work, and could be the future, even if he doesn’t intend for it to be. From his lecture I learned that an individual, torn by passions for art and video gaming can come together to make some unique and very futuristic art projects that are obscure but fantastic.
Question: Out of the year and a half you spent playing WoW along with your art background, how well do gamers conceptualize and relish in more than the game, but the art that is in games? You have a funny view on putting politics and real world event into games, do you think games need that extra edge today to pull in the high educated and more able gamers of the future?
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
My Final Project
My proposition for my final project is the life comic strip I will call: The Chronicles of Banana Man and The Gorilla. It will be the story line of the complications a human banana and a gorilla would have if they were best friends. I am going to also animate this project to add a little extra difficulty and make it more of a story board. I think it will come out great especially because of the awesome banana and gorilla costumes I have.
-Drew out
-Drew out
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Second Life
Here is a visual representation of me in second life. I had to do it away from the lab, but here is my best shot.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Fight Against Myself
This Is a representation of my life and the continuous fight I have every day against myself along with my goofy demeanor.
Enjoy
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