Monday, September 28, 2009

Click, and its Forever

Taking pictures of the sunset tonight made me realize just how far you have come with photography, and to thank those early pioneers like Daguerre, Eastman and Muybridge for their discoveries. within 5 seconds i can turn on the camera point and click. and because its a digital camera i can review what i took with that same five seconds. I laugh as gruble at the blurryness of my fast shooting, after learning how earlier photo graphs had to expose for 10 minutes and the anxiousness of a babies would make the picture blurry. I think of photography as a way to preserve life. to remember a moment that can never be relived. film on the other hand can be a means to relieve something that has happened, or something that happened. One thing i love about photography is it can't be fiction, in the sense that what you take a image of must be there, even if it is constructed and not found naturally. (i'm talking about non-photo shopped images.) because of the nature of time in film, i think the artificial, both in plot and in the editing is more natural. for example in the melies films we saw , the "magic" effects he made by stopping and starting the filming made for some wonderful creations and the looks almost liek that could happen. if you never knew that it wasn't possible. i think we take for granted movies nowadays. while watching the some of the early moving pictures i wasn't that impressive, until you really think about it, and try to do it for yourself ( i hate flipbooks). i particularly loved the hand painted butterfly dancer - the effort that it must have taken is incredible to think about.

Before this class i knew about the early daguerreotypes, heard of Muybridge and his horse, but the context real implications were never there. I now feel like I will never look at a photo, film, or cartoon the same way again.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Musical History

the Baroque Time period is where we really started. I knew about the elaborate features of the baroque style but it was awesome seeing the control and lavishness displayed in opera. The idea of the fourth wall is kinda taken for granted today because we are used to film, and media that is very controlled. it was fascinating to learn that this is where and when it began. I especially liked the movie excerpt from Vatel in which examples were seen of the control of the elements was gorgeously displayed. air through the flute, water in the fountains, fire in the fireworks and the earth in the landscapes and even the sets.
I never thought about how different the french vs. English baroque period were , but that was made clear in the excerpt of Shakespeare in love vs. Vatel. As the samples became more and more is got harder to understand sometimes what we were suppose to get out of each. as even sometimes the names of them. I have nothing against opera but its often frustrating when you can't understand them, and you aren't viewing the whole thing to understand the story from the plot.

As time progresses and opera splits off to leave Broadway the more popular form of entertainment i never attributed it to the industrial revolution and the Freudian theories, and i love hearing about this sort of context. I really enjoy Broadway, and i greatly enjoyed seeing the snippets in class, yet i feel kinda deprived for not having seen many of the classics. The Last few classes is making me want to go and have my own Broadway marathon. I really don't like how Santiago tells you the ending of everything, assuming you have seen it , read it, etc. he could just say the ending isn't good or something bed happend to this character, instead of he commits suicide, or she dies. But overall i greatly appreciate and understand opera more now and the evolution it has taken. But i also have realized how much i like Broadway and was excited as we changed subjects and were getting into more modern stuff. I think its the dance component that intrigues me. I love watching all forms of dance, and love shows such as So you Think you Can Dance. i also try to go the ballet whenever i can.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

First Day Reaction

I knew before I stepped in the door of this class that it was going to be unique, and just hearing about the things we are going to cover I became interested, kinda scared, slightly worried, but definitely ready to have an open mind. At times during the class I felt like a was missing things because I hadn't seen a movie, or known about a certain person, and so couldn't really make a opinion. I'm really not looking forward to watching or learning about the graphic things we may cover. I have a strong stance against horror and gore, because I just don't want those images in my head, but this class is required so i really don't have a choice.

i really like when we began the lesson on what is multimedia. its one of those words you think you know but the definition- time controlling tools working together- is profoundly simple. I really like the variety of examples that was given, from the decaying shoes to the salt and glue sculpture, and especially the church example. I always think that a church has art, or is art as a building , or that singing takes place in church, but the idea that it all togeher is a form af art seprate from its parts- that seems logical and very intriguing. even though it makes me realy angry to think about what has happened "i the name of the church"- but that sdegressing. overall its hard to judge something before it happens so i'll see how the class progresses. I'm nervous about some of the standards that have been set for the projects, especially the performance piece, which i'm dreading the most.

All together though i'm eager andf ready to learn a very unique aproach to art and how it is intertwined with technology.

Hello Everyone!!

My name is Lea Rickert. I'm a sophomore EMAT major with a minor in MIS. i grew up in a middle-of-nowhere town in NH, which my dad still lives in. 5 years ago i moved down to Sarasota, Florida for high school with my mom and brother.
with regards to my major, I'm most interested in the web design and programming side of EMAT program because i find the concept of HTML and CSS fascinating: the fact that you can code art rather than draw it is really cool. i mean sure you use pictures and stuff my the bulk of it you really don't need to. along those similar lines i really wnat to learn SVG programming, which is real picture programming.
Last semester we were required to perform an informational interview with someone in a field we might want. with the help of Google and Hire-UT i found someone who happened to be one of the first EMAT students. Finding out what she does as a front end designer and programming made me sure i was in the correct program and school. All i need now is the classes and experience.