What if... art was nonexistent?

As artists, we try to see the world from many different ways, ways which can often seem unimaginable. I think Thursday's class was about thinking outside of the box. What if we couldn't see color? What if our destiny was predetermined? What if we all looked the same? Through art, we make those "what ifs" appear a reality. These questions lead for people to look for answers and often times find solutions. What if the Earth is not the center of the Universe? What if we could walk on the moon? What if we could live on a planet other than Earth? It takes creative and intelligent minds to come up with these solutions, but it only takes a wild thought to get us started. In art, no idea is ever too crazy and nothing is ever impossible. Whether we can make these ideas a reality (like walking on the moon) or having to fantasize about it through cartoons is a different story. Letting our minds roam into the world of endless possibilities helps trigger our imagination and allows us to create solutions that have not been done before.

quizzical- questioning or suggesting puzzlement

ubiquitous- omnipresent, everywhere at once

ossified- inflexible, old-fashioned

What's the pattern?

Tuesday's class seemed no different than the others from all quarter. A seemingly unimportant activity with underlying messages and lessons that keep you thinking about the real purpose and objective of the lecture. As graphic designers, effective communication is at the base of every piece of work we will ever produce.  Everything has a purpose and a message that it is supposed to convey, whether it is a solution to a problem, an emotion, or a thought. Tuesday's class was built around effective communication. The message itself was unimportant, what matter was how we communicated and how effective our methods were. Did we think of all the possible solutions? Did we fix all the loopholes? Will our audience understand what we are trying to say? A short sentence (or lack of, in the case of my group) could change the whole outcome of what we were trying to do. The way we communicated (or the way I communicated, since I was chosen as speaker) gave our audience a solution, however, it was not the solution we intended for. Our choice of words or the way we present our information can have a great impact in how the audience perceives the message. Even when we tried explaining our solutions within our group, coming to a consensus or getting everyone to be on the same page and understand what we were trying to say was a task in its own. The most important thing I was able to get out of this activity was that if I can completely understand what I'm trying to do, the specific message I'm trying to send, then convincing others of my ideas will be much easier.

exultant- very happy
guttural- sounding harsh and throaty
debonair- gracious, courteous

Closing In On Winter Quarter

I can look back at the last 8 weeks of the quarter and I'm only able to recall two actual projects that we worked on yet Tuesday's class made me realize that I hadn't just been sitting in class at 8 am for 2 hours drinking coffee and listening to lectures. We started thinking back to all of the concepts that have been covered since week one and as to continue on my post from last week, I see how unconventional this class has really been. Ive learned a lot and a lot of topics have been covered. There was a very long list of ideas, activities, and concepts that we have discussed and learned about but as I try and think back as to which assignment was meant to teach the lesson, I got nothing. This just goes to show that you can learn from the most unexpected people in the most unexpected ways. I can say that I have grown up a lot during this class and I think it had to a lot to do with Jimmy constantly trying to change our perspectives of the reality of the business. We are artists, but the world is not always like the pretty pictures we can make. You have to tend for yourself and have a hunger to grow and be the best. We can only get so far thinking that our art will be enough. We need to be fully invested and put ourselves out there to get where we want to be. I always felt that I was just getting by and having very little confidence in my work. It's still a working progress but looking at the list of concepts that have been covered, I can actually see the progress I have made in this short amount of time. However, I was also able to see how much more I need to go through in order to really be ready for whats in store in my future.
Then came our final project. It was refreshing to know that I wasn't alone being overwhelmed by the lack of ideas for a 1 minute video. 1 minute does not seem very long but I think back to a commercial we made last quarter and 1 minute seemed like an eternity. Fingers crossed that all goes well. We brainstormed together and helped each other refine ideas. It was interesting to see some of the things my classmates were coming up with considering our only instruction was "1 minute video describing our Graphic Design/Visual Communications program". Vague instructions leave plenty of room for imagination and creativity, most of us interpreted the assignment a different way leading us to all go in completely different directions. I look forward to seeing what we all come up with.

Thurs. Feb. 23

Thursday's was mostly a discussion. Various ideas were brought up about what an art class should be and how ideas should be approached. I am often hesitant to speak up because more often than not, discussions have become heated discussions and begin to come off as arguments. Once some specific students begin to get involved, I no longer want to get involved in discussions, I don't like to argue with people who are set in their ways and are stubborn about their ideas. Therefore, although it is not as effective, my thoughts and ideas will be vented here.
What motivates you? I am not exactly sure how this idea came up, I just remember a mention of money, being homeless and a love for art. In terms of finding inspiration for homework assignments, seeing examples of others' work would sometimes trigger inspiration for some of my classmates. I will admit, when Jimmy asked for a show of hands for those who found examples of previous work helpful, I was one of those who raised them. When working on an assignment, we always want to know if we're doing it correctly. Especially in a class like Jimmy's where there is very little instructions and guidelines as to what he's expecting, sometimes you want reassurance that you will not spend hours on a project to later hear "this is not what I wanted". Some sort of direction can go a long way whether it comes from previous work or simply more instructions or guidelines as to what the project is about. However, I also understand that seeing previous work can be counterproductive for our learning. When taking Lanzoni's Fundamentals of 2D Art, she refused to show examples of projects that required trial and error in order for us to understand the concept. She did make a few exceptions in one or two assignments. By seeing other work, we subconsciously set limits to our imagination. We no longer think of the outrageous solutions that are completely out of the box and possible genius ideas because we are now working around the framework that others have made before us. We are now simply imitating, no longer creating original work. So where does the motivation come from? This goes back to week one of the class when we began to think about and understand our creative process. There is no right or wrong answer for motivation because each person's is slightly different than the next. I have yet to meet a person who does not want to live a comfortable and financially stable life, but I can give you a list of those who say they would rather be doing a job they love. Motivation should have a balance between passion and necessity so that inspiration follows shortly after.
I think one of the reasons I chose to pursue my degree in art is due to how different the field is. Growing up, I hardly ever had difficulties in the academic department. I was a good student with good grades who turned in her homework and had little difficulty understanding the materials. It's possible to say that because of the lack of challenge in the early years of my education I became bored with school by the time high school came around and so the subjects I had difficulties with, I didn't even bother to put the extra effort anymore. For college I needed something different and unconventional. I didn't care for multiple choice tests with essay questions that came from studying notes of a lecture or a textbook. So then there was art. Jimmy went around the "panel" of students up for discussions asking if they had ever had a class similar to this Concept Development one. I have, I enjoyed it and that is why I'm still here. My favorite books and movies are those that have me thinking about the ideas and concepts and trying to make sense of everything even after a week of putting it down. That's what art classes have done for me. I am still trying to make complete sense of ideas that were brought up the first week of concept development two weeks shy of finishing the quarter. There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer, just some more effective than others and that is what intrigues me the most about art classes. You can learn the material in 10 weeks but you can spend a lifetime perfecting the ideas and your craft.

garrulous - excessively wordy, rambling
piquant - engaging, charming, stimulant
vacuous - lacking meaningful content

This is a what, this is a how.

Tuesday's class was one of those classes that while you're sitting there you have absolutely no idea how it is relevant to the course. The beginning of class is a bit of a blur with prof. Jimmy talking about the importance of passion for graphic design and the urge to want to learn more and see more in order to succeed in the field in a city that is constantly growing and changing. We learn from our peers to grow and better ourselves in our art and help each other reach our potential. Then, as if not knowing how else to spend the hour and a half left of class, we split into two groups and played a game I've decided to call "this is a what" (whether that is the actual name of the game or not, I have no idea). He explained the basic rules and told us it was game about listening and concentration, then left the room as we were left to figure out if we were even playing it correctly and what the trick was to actually winning the game. I use the term "winning" loosely since there is not actual proclaimed winner, just people that are pointed out to be the reasons for not being able to complete a round as a team. The game does not test your intelligence or your logic, in fact it disproves everything you know by forcing you to believe that a coffee mug is a "what" and a cell phone is a "how". I've always considered myself a listener and having a pretty decent attention span, and then I played this game and my perception of myself shifted. The room quickly got loud as the class laughed, complained and teased each other for failing to understand that this is a what, "a what?" "a what". We were confused, excited, frustrated, anxious but most importantly we were having fun. I still don't completely understand how this game relates to Concept Development for graphic design or if it was even meant to be related and I have a feeling it might be a while until I figure it out. However, it exercised my listening skills and being able to focus in on an idea. Towards the end of the game, we were helping each other out in order to finish the going around the circle which threw in the "teamwork" concept into the purpose of the game as well.
Things don't always have to make sense in order for them to make sense. I don't know how the game will help as a graphic designer, but I know how it will help as a person. Being an effective speaker is only part of the deal. Someone has to do the listening and in order to achieve success in anything, we must be able to play both roles. Playing this game also helped us bond. I was hesitant about the game in the beginning because I was with the group of people whom I had the least amount of contact with in class. Sure, I knew who they were, but the ones I spoke to regularly were playing across the hall. The best way to bond is by having fun and that day I bonded with a different group. Network is key to almost everything and being that I will be in the graphic design program with pretty much the same people for the next two to three years. Becoming friends or at least getting to know each other is extremely important for my undergraduate career at Cal State L.A. to be successful. It is too soon to know if I have already made lasting friendships but Jimmy always tells us to look around the room just in case our business partners are sitting in that same class.

aloof- from a distance but within view, or without sympathy
direful - inspiring fear
highfalutin - arrogant, self-important, egotistical

Game Critiques Pt. II

Thursday's class was a continuation of the presentations of our games.  It began to feel as if towards the end of the class, a lot of the critiques of the presentations were being repeated.  What was more interesting about this class was to see the different ideas and concepts for games that the rest of class came up with.

ruddy: reddish in color (especially in face or fire)
profuse: in great quantity
spiffy: fine or neat

Game Critiques, Pt. I

Tuesday's class we began critiques for our game designs. After worrying so much about it over the weekend, it was refreshing to know that instead of having critiques on the concepts of the games, we would critique our presentations. I learned a lot from this class session mostly because everyone received a lot of criticism that everyone else can learn from.  For most of us, nerves seem to have been getting the best of us, however, we tried to learn from each other's mistakes and tried to make it better when our turns came around to do our presentations.

verdant: green, fresh

whimsical: odd, playful, peculiar

zealous: exciting, fervent