Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Poll results...

What is your favorite Art movement?
Neo-Classicism
0 (0%)
Romanticism
0 (0%)
Realism
0 (0%)
Impressionism (etc)
3 (30%)
Art Nouveau
2 (20%)
Cubism
1 (10%)
Expressionism
0 (0%)
Surrealism
2 (20%)
Abstract Expressionism
1 (10%)
Pop Art
1 (10%)

Votes so far: 10

So...Impressionism (etc) has it! With 3 of the 10 votes....a very poor voter turnout.

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Website and Blog comments

I am doing a new project of making a site of all the images that I find inspiring for design. Feel free to comment and follow my blog. Click here.
I am also working on a flash website to become a portfolio of photography and artwork.
It is currently under construction but I would love any comments and suggestions you have to offer. Portfolio.

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Websites and Google

I am not sure how many of the designers are presently working on web design but I found that this website is a very helpful tool in Marketing the company/product or just getting more traffic onto your site.
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/docs/en/about.html

I hope this is helpful

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Horse's Mouth: How to Look at a Picture

© 1958 Knightsbridge Films Ltd. © 2002 Criterion Collection

One of the best ways to look at art and design was actually written by English author, Joyce Cary in his novel The Horse’s Mouth (1944). Dordt’s library has two copies and the last time any of the books had been checked out was the early 1970s! Which is a pity because Cary’s work should be considered and read more. Actually, Sir Alec Guinness wrote a screenplay based on the novel and starred in the movie, made in 1958, with the same title — I’ve ordered a DVD for the library. The lead-in picture for this post is, in part, a copy of the original British movie poster that forms the re-release DVD package design for distributor Criterion. The Horse’s Mouth is the third story in a trilogy and is full of British irony, wit, and humor that is summed-up by the idiom of the title. The main character and narrator is the artist-painter, Mr. Gulley Jimson. In one scene, Jimson with his friend Coker are looking at a painting and all she can see is ‘A totty.’ ‘You don’t know what a picture is, Cokey’ says Jimson.

Jimson then explains what happens when you tell the truth and that the artist is a form of genius. Jimson (over) states, … ‘Now I know. And I’m not only a genius, I’m an artist. A son of Los’ ‘Los?’ says Cokey. ‘Los was the Prophet of the Lord,’ states Jimson, and he then goes on to quote a passage from the poem, ‘Milton,’ written in 1804, by Romantic artist, William Blake:

And the sons of Los build moments and minutes and hours
And days and months and years and ages and periods,
wondrous buildings;
And every moment has a couch of gold for soft repose,
And between every two moments stands a daughter of Beulah
To feed the sleepers on their couches with maternal care.
And every minute has an azure tent with silken veils;
Every time less than the pulsation of an artery
Is quality in its period and value to six thousand years,
For in this period the poet’s work is done.
Jimson follows this with how to look at a picture:
‘You haven’t got six thousand years this afternoon.’ Half a minute of revelation is worth a million years of know nothing.’ Who lives a million years?’ ‘A million people every twelve months. I’ll show you how to look at a picture, Cokey. Don’t look at it. Feel it with your eye. … And first you feel the shapes in the flat – the patterns, like a carpet. … And you feel it in the round. Not as if it were a picture of anyone. But a coloured and raised map. You feel all the rounds, the smooths, the cools and warms. The colors and textures. There’s hundreds of little differences all fitting in together.’
The author, by combining a portion of Blake’s poem and Jimson’s philosophy, I believe, is referring to the dimension of moments and time leading to simultaneous views of the same subject and multi-faceted vantage points. Doesn’t this sum up much of 20th century art? The complexity of Cubism per se?

I’d like to acknowledge professor Roy Behrens, University of Northern Iowa, for alerting me to this passage. Behrens, in his book, False Colors: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage cites Cary’s text, but, I needed to read the novel to find where the passage occurs and the context in which was stated.

First Trilogy, The Horse’s Mouth, copyright © 1958 Harper and Brothers. Page 90.

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Monday, May 25, 2009

René Clement exhibit at Dordt College Campus Center Art Gallery

I think one of the highlights during this past semester, at Dordt, was the visit of guest photographer, René Clement. Many of you were able to meet with René, a New York City documentary photojournalist, when he was on Campus for Justice Matters Week in April. We have reinstalled his exhibition, which is now on display at the Campus Center Art Gallery for the month of May — it’s on display for one more week — so if you’re in Sioux Center check it out.

A couple of weeks ago, René was back in the area to document the 'old world' Dutch costumes in the Orange City Tulip Festival, for his current book project. He had just come from a three-week photo documentary project in Bolivia for a Dutch magazine. He happened to stop by Dordt, for lunch, and to view the show — he took the photo above. I believe the show is successful on various levels but most of all through the photographs we can see how René works, thinks and cares compassionately about his subjects. One viewer left this comment in the register book: “Your work breaths life into otherwise nameless faces of war — stunning!”


Copyright © 2009 René Clement

The exhibit includes selected work from his West Bank/Palestinian photo essay and his Haitian conflict essay. If you would like to see more of his work (click here).

René mentions photographer James Nachtwey, Agency VII, as an inspiration for some of his work (click here). Clement’s portrait photography and documentaries have repeatedly claimed prizes in the Dutch Silver Camera competition. In 2003 Time Magazine selected his entry among the Pictures of the Year.

A native of the Netherlands, Clement, who’s a storyteller, is the co-founder of the Foundation for Photography and is a contributor to Dutch, Italian, and New York photo agencies. He has published seven books of photography and has traveled throughout the world.

Speaking of world traveler, what do you think about Anthony Bourdain’s: No Reservations?

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Friday, May 22, 2009

Adobe Product Poll Results

This week we saw a 184.6% increase in voter turnout, if only the recent California state election saw a voter turnout increase even close to that...

Anyways, 11 new people voted (or 11 of you voted twice...), the results are as follows:

Acrobat: 0 votes, 0% of the vote - no big surprise there, I guess all of you hate how Acrobat always seems to open up your pdfs when you would much rather have preview open them!

Bridge: 1 vote, 4% of the vote - I don't know too many people who use this program so...

Dreamweaver: 3 votes, 12% of the vote - I guess...?

Flash: 0 votes, 0% of the vote - again...no big surprise here, this program just sounds like a hassle

Illustrator: 7 votes, 29% of the vote (third place!) - A bit surprised this didn't garner more votes, personally this is my favorite Adobe program, I'm trying not to take this loss personally.

InDesign: 14 votes, 58% of the vote (the majority) - Okay, if I would've known that this program was going to get so many votes I wouldn't have given it one of mine...this is probably my 3rd favorite program, so it was my third choice...too bad the rankings can't reflect that!

Lightroom: 5 votes, 20% of the vote - I'm gutted, my second favorite Adobe program scorned and thrown aside like some cheap specialty font! Come on people! How can you not love the versatility and ease of use that Lightroom offers?

Photoshop: 8 votes, 33% of the vote - Okay Photoshop is one of my least favorite programs of all time, yet it was runner up! How? This might be one of the hardest of the Adobe programs to even be decent with, there is no way that 8 of you consider this your "favorite Adobe product"!

Other: 1 vote - Professor Versluis? Is there an Adobe product I missed?

Thank you all for voting, don't forget to vote on the new poll: What is your favorite Art Movement? I do realize that the list of Art movements is by no means all-inclusive, I did leave out Post- and Neo-Impressionism, but...that's why I put (etc) after Impressionism. I know they are all unique etc, but for the sake of having a short list...bear with me. If you really feel I left something major out, just let me know.

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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Defining the Designer of 2015


Image © 2008 AIGA

Correlated to AIGA and the previous post — this will be of interest to both student and alumni designers as well. Please see the Designer of 2015 Next Steps article (click here). Let me know what you think, about what the piece says, regarding trends (click here) and competencies (click here). If you want to read further, check-out the paper (PDF) written by Meredith Davis (click here).

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