Manifesto

When I first walked through the doors of CVA on that first day I thought I had a solid image of what art was. I believed it was something that someone put lots of time and consideration into, that it was a something that would be preserved in history forever. But after taking Orientation to Art and Design I am beginning to question my beliefs. Art can be something as simple as someone taking a can of paint and dumping it on a wall and giving it a title.

I have always believed that art does not have to be beautiful, it can be highly offensive to some but speak to others. I personally love finding beauty in odd and ugly places.

I still have not made up my mind as to the career path I want to take but I believe that I will be leaning towards animation. I love 2D animation and it has been a huge influence in my life. I was raised with Disney and I know that the values of those movies has shaped who I am today and I want children of the next generation to be able to experience what I did. I want to create beautiful works of art that children and adults will watch in wonder, and forget that what they are seeing is drawn, just because it is that amazing. I want to create characters who will be remembered for years because of there personalities and the great adventures they go on.

I hope to one day accomplish my goals and further my skills and knowledge in art.

MIA

At the MIA I wanted to find statues that showed different posses.

I picked a statue of Shiva Nataraja (top left), because the Hindu deity is shown doing different mudras and is dancing on a baby. The movement is very graceful. The symbolism of Shiva dancing on the baby is known as riding ones self from ignorance.

I chose a statue of an Egyptian (top right). It is shown in a strong stance taking a step forward. This style of portraying Egyptians is from the time of the Old Kingdom.

The last statue I chose is of a Buddha. He is sitting in a lotus pose. The Buddha is showing different mudras with his hands. The statue portrays peacefulness.

Manifesto -defending art

Most people I know think of art as a class you have to take. It's their idea of measuring up the talents of people against each other to tell the majority they can't draw. It's negative. "Oh, I can't draw." "Yeah, those artsy people.. they're freaks." A small town offers quite of a bit of criticism towards the arts. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what makes people go one way or the other, but whether I like it or not, Zimmerman is more willing to publish another article about a hockey win and how proud they are of Paul Martin because he's from Elk River and he's our hero and blah. Blah. Blah.

To be honest, I don't give a rip about the seriousness of sports. I personally believe that they should be played in the spirit of teaching to act as a team and a way to have fun, but it makes me uncomfortable when others put such a bedazzled blue ribbon on someone who can run faster or jump higher than someone else. That is my opinion. I know that offends a lot of the people I love and most of the people I've grown up with, but baby, I just don't give a damn.

Of course, someone gets to then ask me why art is so important. If I'm such a hater of the value our country puts on sports, what makes art so deserving? Well, first of all, I enjoy art. Some people don't, that's fine. Going to an art college isn't for everyone. What irks me is how many people don't understand how broad art is. They don't have to be "good" at art, or be talented at drawing. A lot of artists don't draw well, and it takes a lot longer than a few seconds to draw more than a stick person. I swear, all my math teachers constantly talked about their poor drawing skills. That rolled my eyes several times.

I like to think about art. Having parents who are interested in art made me see how much art there really is in the world (a heck of a lot). I can draw better than my dog can but that's not a prerequisite to loving art. My boyfriend can't crank out anything a snooty art teacher would call "talented" but he loves art museums and appreciates the way something is presented. He has less knowledge than a student at CVA and yet is aware of art in life. He knows it's not some forced class you take in high school. It's kind of like math- I hated it in school but sometimes catch myself admiring it in life outside of the classroom. You don't have to be Leonardo DaVinci to like a subject.

So art is everywhere. I can't just say that and get away with it. Some people need to realize that it's in their house. I do consider architecture art, and I'm pretty darn sure someone designed that house. There's probably carpet somewhere in there. A designer chose that specific pattern of ugly white burber, your parents or the previous homeowners chose it for a reason, and you walk across it every morning to grab another disgusting room-temperature Pop Tart before texting me back and saying "lol so hows ur artsy fartsy school goin". Then you wipe the brown sugar flavored crumbs on a Victoria's Secret PINK T-shirt without knowing that your makeshift napkin was actually designed and carefully considered before being released and sold as part of a collection in the gigantic world of fashion. That's right, art is right on your body. You like name brands but insist art is stupid. Hmm.

Art is on the billboards along the highway. It's what made your pickup truck "more ballin" than Jason's, yes it is partly the way things simply look. If it weren't for the progression and ever-changing ideas of art, everything would be for efficiency alone. And whether you like it or not, you judge things by the way they look. 

There's that kind of art, visual. Then there's "the arts." I do consider writing an art. It's about creating, which is why music and performance is also what I consider art. I think art is something that's created, and also for a reason. Viewers, listeners, and readers are constantly trying to figure out the purpose of the art they have before them. As stated in one of my earlier posts, it's not always about the reason. It's the fact that someone did make it and what it makes you feel. 

I think art is very human. My favorite shows emotion but is interpretable, which is why I'm such a photography nerd. Art has concepts. It requires you to use your brain. Music is a good example of the attraction we have to this. Humans love specific arrangements of sounds. What makes Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune convey such a contrasting mood compared to something with a different beat, rhythm, and melody? That's not vital to our survival as animals; it is as thriving beings. Art isn't your basic food and water, but it's not something we don't need. A lot of people just don't get it that they come across every kind of art in a single day and never see it in the eyes of someone who devotes their life to exploring it, someone we'd call an artist. It's shocking to most to find out that you don't need to be talented with a pencil or paintbrush to be an artist. You need to be aware of yours and others' creativity. 

Ashley Overholser

Photoshoot

Heilvetica!

Before she retired, my mother was the head of the marketing department at Econar GeoSystems. She was a workaholic like my father, and because of that, knew all the fonts and type styles you could find. There wasn't a brochure, billboard, commercial, or item with the company's name that she didn't look over. She always told me how important it was to use a maximum of three fonts, and the impact each had. For example, someone who knows little about graphic arts will still look at an advertisement and judge it if it looks unprofessional. There are looks that marketing strives for. Fonts are incredibly important to companies because advertising involves a lot of psychology. And yes, fonts are psychological.

How can they be? My communications professor at my old college told me that it was proven students who write papers in a serif font get a higher grade. (She probably didn't let this influence her giving me a C, because I definitely typed with Times New Roman.) But it's interesting because if you see something written in Arial compared to Georgia, yeah, the serif font looks more intelligent. That's probably because most textbooks and reference books are written with serif fonts. 

The film Helvetica appealed to me because of my background knowledge in the power of fonts and my interest in the history of everyday things we never stop to think about. Helvetica. One font, but suddenly you realize that it really is everywhere. And it's not like it's the only font to ever use; it's more the effect it had in the history of advertising and style. 

Like the film mentioned, posters before Helvetica were messy and confusing and full of exclamation points! Super Duper! Let's capitalize Random words while We're at It! Italicize it, too. Make it BOLD because we want customers who are masculine. It's too much. With a font like Helvetica, things are cleaner and easier to understand. This is who we are. This is what we have. Anyone in advertising knows that a company needs to grab someone's attention and make their point known in a few seconds. The most effective slogans are the shortest. Think of a few that you know and you'll see what I mean.

When it comes down to it all, I enjoyed Helvetica. Sure, it was a little long and I might've fallen asleep on the floor, but I'm blaming that on sleep deprivation. The history of mundane, everyday things like fonts is necessary in my opinion. Shouldn't artists and designers be aware of the importance of the things they handle? You don't have to love it. It's just good to know why that particular thing works. 

Ashley Overholser

Midway

I'm really behind in posts, but I'm just going to dive in and type as fast as my fingers will carry me after a day on my piano. I have my radio on and everything that could distract me has been exhausted, so here goes. Hopefully this is the last extremely last-minute homework I ever do.

What seems like a long time ago, we visited the Midway Contemporary Art gallery. Walking in, I didn't expect much and didn't see much at first. I had little opinion of contemporary art before coming to CVA, and next to no knowledge of it. When looking at a piece while in junior, senior high school or as an elementary ed major, I saw a mess of something uninteresting. I knew I didn't understand it, but I made the mistake of judging contemporary art as a whole. I didn't like it, and that's all I cared to bother with anything that wasn't pretty. Sure, there was that sneaking suspicion that there's more to it, but it didn't matter at the time.

So I followed my classmates and looked around. There was a platform. Ok. Two tall columns... Two screens, and noise. That bored me already. And did it have to be so dark? I tsk'd inside my head.

I focused more on my classmates' reactions instead; I'm easily amused by social interaction and the way people act, so when nothing else interests me, I stand back and watch what happens. It's lucky for my sliver of an opinion of contemporary art that I did. They were walking everywhere and all over the platform, talking about each bit and why it was created. I realized how inquisitive some were about this boring assembly of industrial parts, something I previously wanted nothing to do with. That made me curious, too, and I saw the puzzle that contemporary art can be. Challenge accepted.

At first glance, the art showed a couple things. Because the museum was so small, we were confined to one room and forced to look, truly inspect, every aspect of the art. I was forced to understand it, even if it couldn't come right away. Contemporary art showed itself to be a type of art that doesn't have to be pretty. It's more conceptual than anything else, and didn't I appreciate conceptual art with my love of photography already? The more we searched for an answer, the more pieces of the puzzle we found and it got more challenging. Another piece was discovered and it threw off everyone's theories. Starting over, we'd excitedly offer ideas that the artist was trying to convey. In the end, no one guessed "correctly," but it's the process of forcing oneself to see the art and using the viewer's perspective and own creativity to understand it more than what it appears to be at first glance. Contemporary art makes you think. It pulls you in and says, "get out of your stupid, pretty little bubble and think about something different for once." Well, ok. It's actually really fun.


Ashley Overholser

Manifesto

Through this first semester at CVA I have looked at art differently. Before, if I would have see a blue painted canvas I would have gone insane, because I wouldn't have considered it art. Now when I see that blue canvas, I can understand why it is. There is always meaning behind a piece of artwork. If it means a lot to that artist who made it to it just being a little secret between friends. When I look at art now, I always want to know why that artist made it. What was their story behind it? I have to take in consideration of what their life was like, where they came from, and what they experienced. I feel that a piece of artwork is a lot like a book. If it you can't understand it, then it gets translated. If it has blanks, then fill in the missing spaces. If it's empty, then make up your own story.

After taking OAD I view art has it having some kind of meaning behind it.

art = perception of reality

According the the dictionary art is:

the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/art?o=100074)

Although, I believe that art cannot simply have a definition. Art is one’s perception of reality, it is nothing yet everything. Throughout our everyday lives art constantly surrounds us. Art tells us a story one the artist writes. But, who is an artist? It seems as of lately anyone who has the money or expensive art supplies and school can be an artist. Its much more than that, i believe that an artist is formed as soon as one is able to acknowledge the world around them. Artists see things, feel things, understand things different then anyone else. They find beauty in struggle, and pleasure in observation. A true artist creates from inspiration, not funding. Artists embrace things others might find repulsive or strange. Without a true artists art is not possible. The amazing thing about art is that it puts the viewer into the mind of the artist. Art allows one to see things from another person’s point of view, literally. With out this outlet many of us would not know what to do with ourselves. So, art can not be explained it is felt and understood without words.

-carley

Sometimes, the simplest question brings about the deepest answer.

What is Art?

Art is an eruption of my consciousness.

Art is not always beautiful.

Art is bursting at the seams.

Art is not everything.

Art is created when we commit to realization and experimentation.

Art is not always realistic.

Art is the representation of emotion.

Art is not an emotion. You do not feel art; art makes you feel.

Art is flowing through my veins.

Art is not always reflective of the artist.

Art is created and then the idea formulates.

Art is not a secret club that only a select few can be a part of.

Art is accessible to everyone.

Art is visual language; it tells a story, and it tells us something about ourselves.

Art is not always comprehendible.

Art is a concept.

Art is not an object.

Art is process.

Art is finding a way to be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons.

Art is not easy.

Art is simple, sometimes.

Art is not natural.

Art is taking something natural and modifying it.

Art is not confined to one medium.

Art is design.

Art is not fashion, but fashion is art.

Biomimicry

 "Antlers are considered one of the most exaggerated cases of male secondary 
sexual traits in the animal kingdom, and grow faster than any other mammal bones.
Growth occurs at the tip, and is initially cartilage, which is mineralized to become bone." 


If we could figure out a way to artificially growing bone at a rate such as antlers and replace
 it for weaker metals, saving minerals and salaries for extracting them. This could potentially 
save millions of dollars and be another way of our nation going green. Being used for ages 
for similar uses as metals, I'm surprised that there hasn't been research for finding a means to
grow bone artificially. 


The major thing here is doing it within a budget, so that the research doesn't go over the price 
of mining the materials. Also, to preserve the means of it being green.




Information: 


Hall, Brian K. (2005), "Antlers", Bones and Cartilage: Developmental and Evolutionary Skeletal Biology, Academic Press, pp. 103–114, ISBN 0-12-31906-06, retrieved 2010-11-08


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


think how we could utilize this rapid bone growth.


-Nick Love

Manifesto

What does art mean to me?

At the start of the year, my idea of what art was totally different from my views today.  Since starting at the College of Visual Arts the perception of art it has molded me into a art hating, anti-Museum, Modernism bashing self imposed "artist". When introduced to the idea of 'anything can be art' I almost lost all respect for all museum art. I still do not understand most of the work I've seen since visiting most of the sites over this last semester. A pink canvas, an brown square titled "flesh". Though many would argue this is art, I still don't think that these works should be thousands through millions of dollars. I've concluded that art is luck of the draw. That fame is based off who will see it. How I've stated it before, is "Why does everything good take time? That is one thing we don't have enough of..." At this point in my life, when it comes to art I question whether or not I need to be going to school for it. I feel as if the chance of being discovered with my art is higher if I do go to college, and if I don't then I will be working a day job for the rest of my life. Growing up, I watched my mother and father work so hard to just make it, to this day they are working to get by. I know that they are happy, but I know that they don't want to work for the rest of their lives. How I view it though, is things work out regardless of choices you make early in your life. My parents live in a beautiful place, raised two wonderful children and do things they love. I now question everything I see as art, making me respect some pieces less, but more importantly made me respect some even more. This school, and this class has made it so that I can talk about art, and back up my art. It has expanded my art diction and allows me to sound educated while explaining my art.

This year has tested me in many ways, and has taught me a lot about myself. But thats how life is, and this is just another lesson. With a wonderful and understanding teaching staff, it has allowed me to make my way through this year, and progress through expressing myself through art.

-Nick Love

Art Manifesto

What does art mean to me?

-Well....Lets get deep. Ready? Let's go!

Art to me, is freedom of expression.

If we were given the freedom of speech, where else should one express themselves? Art is directed to any audience intended.

I look at photography as a form of art, and I look at photography as a form of expression. I can express my mood, my ambitions, my opinions everything...well...maybe not everything through photography. But you get my drift.

How do you view art?

How do you express yourself?

Xoxo,

KP (and RO)

Presto-Manifesto

Nature, Color, and Meaning. These three things are the drive for my artwork. I grew up surrounded with nature, it is a means of escape from my troubles, and is endless inspiration for my artwork. Colors are the silent words that artists use to create narrative, the world is created with color. Even lack of color is created by color, because without color we would not know what we were missing. Artwork is meaning, a way to convey my thoughts and views. As to what art form or even career I will translate these three things into, who knows. I am inspired by many things, each one of them great in their own way.

Manifesto!

What Art means to me…

There is not a clear definition to define art because art is such a broad topic that many people are not aware of. Before I had done any research on schools, I wanted to become an artist of some sort. I didn’t know the different possibilities there are within art.

To me, art has always been about being creative. What art means to me? It simply means creativity.

In this first year of school, I have learned that anyone can take something and call it art. “Right time, right place’ –Abbi. To me, it’s kind of sad to see that. I believe for something to be called art, it should have some sort of meaning to it, a background, a story, a reason, or something. After researching on an artist, I never knew it would bother me for someone to call himself or herself an artist and not make their own work. In fact it bugs me a lot to see this. I believe that to be an artist, you should do everything from the thought in your head to the finished piece. I don’t understand how someone else can make someone’s thought. That is just crazy because no one thinks that much alike to do that.

What art means to me? Is still unclear, but getting closer what I think.

Manifesto

What is Art?

To me art is something that can't fully be explained through words. Art is what you feel. It's an expression of many emotions that can tell a story. Even the most boring art piece can have a story behind it. you can point at a certain style and say this and only this is art. Everything is art in my eyes. I guess I see art as being more the idea of something rather than the piece itself.

Art is Existence- Noah Christopherson

manifesto... 

manifesto...  something has to manifest... 

why isn't this easy?

For me, art isn't just a painting, or a photograph; though I do consider those art; art is the subtle way a piece of cloth flows over a hip, or the way a necklace slightly accentuates the indentation of a clavicle. My art is fashion, and with my designs I have something to say. It's not just about creating something for a person to wear out everyday, it is about creating a way of life, something that is significant in a person's day. Being a womenswear designer, I am in the market of making pieces of clothing which make a woman feel powerful and in charge of her own life, all while keeping her feminine and sensual. There is often times a slight edge to what I design. It could be anything from a structured shoulder to adding leather detailing on the bodice of a dress. Women deserve to feel empowered, important, and beautiful all at the same time, there is a way to display those through fashion.

"If you ask any lady, they want to be taller, they want to be slimmer, you know, and they want a waist. I'm not here to make people look like a sack of potatoes."- Lee Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen has been a huge influence in my fashion life. His designs always tell an intricate story and display amazing skill and craft. McQueen has inspired me to design things which are a little bit out of the ordinary, and a little more like art. Fashion, to me, has a place in museums. Nothing can express a person's feelings better than clothing. 

"Fashion fades, only style remains the same."- Coco Chanel

For me, truer words have never been uttered. The great innovator of feminine fashion gave women a new face in clothing. Her feministic views on life drastically changed the outlook of women in the world. Chanel started a fashion dynasty. The designs are timeless, and that is what I aim to do. I strive to create things which will be reinvented for generations to come. My goal is to make an imprint; not to just fade away into obscurity.

Fashion is a universal art. One could argue that since everyone has access to it that it is not true art. But think about designers… not everyone has access to Christian Dior or Louis Vuitton. You must work to obtain these objects, just like you must work to have the money to obtain art.

Art isn’t an object to me, art is what I live and breathe everyday. Fashion is in my blood, it keeps me alive, it’s why I exist. To design is to exist in my world.

So if you choose to call a fashion student vain or shallow, imagine your life without your chosen form of art. What would be the point?

a manifesto by aurora judith.

Manifesto: 

To me art is an array of things, i cant really put my finger on how to say it in an organized sentence or in this case a couple of well thought out paragraphs. For me its not limited to fine arts and design but expands much more to things such as styling, performance, and even things minimal or unnoticed such as a table setting.

Art can really be whatever you think it is or at least that is how I see it. I see art  that can be anything from man made pieces of simply found in nature through color, pattern and textures which was created completely by accident.  

I find art to be rather strange yet beautiful, it can be intentional or not. There is something magical about art, it doesn't always need something to back it up or an explanation, the beauty of art is that your imagination can make it whatever you want.  Art is your imagination at its finest, translating whats in your head outward. Your art doesn't have to mean anything to anyone but yourself, art is self standing. Art can be as personal or impersonal as you want it. With art, there are no limitations, It is something that very few people take advantage of. 

At this point I don't really have a plan with what i want to do with my life. Now, that isn't one hundred precent true i have many different plans with an array of art bases careers I just do not know what path i want to take. All i know is that i want to stick with what I love, art and design. 

For me art has always been something that i have respected and wanted to pursue. I do not know exactly what i will be doing over the next ten years but my love for art and design gives me some idea. 

When I was younger I wanted to be a ballerina, but really who didn't? Performance art is an important part of art for me. There is nothing more beautiful than a Russian ballerina floating across stage in her perfect Pointe shoes and full tutu. Ballet gave me the love of intricate costumes, music, exquisite set design, glitter and hairspray. The love of ballet has given me the love of all things girlie which is something that i think shows in what i create. 

I have always loved interior design and architecture. I like the idea of building a house from the outside in around a central theme. I like when design can all match together without necessarily being exactly the same. I think there is real art to house design and decoration and finding the perfect medium between over design and not enough. I love looking at a well designed and furnished I think its fun to take a focal point for a house and see how it revolves and all pulls together. I like color and textile a lot, i am excited to move into color theory in school.
Fine arts is another component of art that is important to me. I love photography  and capturing a moment forever. I love painting a lot, i like mixing colors and translating my mind out onto canvas. Its fun to create something out of nothing and make it into anything that you want. Art gives you the ability to take nothing and make it into something wonderful. 

I also have a fascination with galleries and museums. I think that art history is wonderful and would love to be a currator at some place such as the MOMA, the Louvre, or the MET. I think i would also like to own my own upscale modern art gallery which sells all mediums of art.

As you can see i love all kinds of art from words to colors, but what i love most is clothes. I love how you can pair outfits with accessories to create a perfect look, the way you dress is your own very personal artist statement. Fashion has always been something that i have loved and noticed and i think it is one of the most advanced ways of art there is, maybe it is because not everyone realizes it. Clothes, earrings, shoes, and bags, the options are never ending. I think that styling is a big part of art, stylists like Rachel Zoe makes beautiful outfits that are runway ready complete. This is not something that is necessarily easy to do. I would love to work in this field just not necessarily as a designer. I would love to work in the fashion business industry or behind the scenes with runway production or product development. I would also love to work with textile design. There are so many career choices within the fashion industry. I just need to find the perfect one for me.

This blog was helpful for me to get all my end of semester thoughts worked out and reminded me why i chose art and design. 

Manifesto

There are two different kinds of art, the first tries to sell the viewer something, the second is just art for art sakes. Now, selling the viewer "something" is very broad, this could be a belief, concept, or product. A lot of people would argue that if you are selling a product, then this automatically discounts it as art. Obviously there are differences between selling an item and a belief, but are these do drastic that it means graphic design is not art? In my opinion, no, graphic design is comprised of art.

A lot of art is made to sell an idea, to get people to agree with you, or think in the way that the artist is. Good art challenges what most people think, and makes them reassess. It doesn't necessarily make people change what they believe, but it makes them question it, which is always important.

In general "What is art?" is very broad, there are countless ways art can be created, and this is what keeps it interesting. If artists just kept painting portraits, and that is all that was considered art, then consider how small, and boring the art world would be. This doesn't just have to do with medium though, the craftsmanship of the work can greatly vary. If the craft is lower end, then the concept of the piece should be strong, otherwise this would mean that a preschoolers drawing could be considered art. This isn't to say though that highly technical art cannot have a very strong concept.

revised presentation photos: ro

My Manifesto.

What is art to me?

That is a broad topic,
but I believe anything and everything is art,

Art is creating something from virtually nothing,

Art doesn’t always have to speak for itself,

As for me and what I want to create,
I want to take what inspires me,
create something new and wonderful,
and inspire others with it.

One thing that art school has taught me about myself
is that I am not just an artist,
I am also a writer,

I want to tell stories
and illustrate them as well
but I don’t just want to tell a meaningless story,
I want to write stories that can teach people

Illustration isn’t about telling you what to imagine,
it isn’t meant to replace what you imagine,
it is meant to spark imagination,
to get you more involved in the story,
and keep you interested.

 I take my inspiration from a wide array of artists

I like the simplicity of Quentin Blake's art
(he illustrated Roald Dahl books)
and how it keeps you interested in the story,
but doesn’t give you too much information.
it lets you imagine it for yourself as well.

I also love Mary Grandpre’s Harry Potter books,
Mary GrandPre captures the magic of the writing, in an eclectic style
I find something new every time I look at it.

Both Quentin Blake and Mary GrandPre
have a whimsical air to their art.

In my art I want to have aspects of both of these artists’ styles.
but I want it to remain my art,
with my own specific style.

I look forward to discovering my own style,
and eventually becoming the artist I want to be.

x