the Met: In and Out of the Studio

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(left)WOMAN STANDING BEFORE STRIPED

Artist: Malick Sidibé (Malian, born 1936)
Date: 1979
(right) TROUSER IN NAVY WOOL CREPE
Celine Fall 2015
– The fashion image from Celine Fall 2015 collection was directed by Phoebe Philo who is famous for Normcore. Malick Sidebé, Malian photographer who took the picture on the left sides was stranded for the black and white studies.
-Even the “WOMAN STANDING BEFORE STRIPED” is a black and white picture, but it contains a lot of pattern elements on the woman’s dress and the background. However, the image on the right only uses plain color from the background to the model’s outfit.
-The facial expressions of both models are kind of monotone.
– For the pose, the standing position of both model is T-step,but the model on the left are more posed the the one on the right. The model on the right seems more leisure.
– The models are all standing closely to the middle of the images.

Reading Response: Selfie Sticks & Richard Prince

1. What is the difference between a ‘selfie’ and a self-portrait?

Generally, Self-portrait is considered as a type of art/painting for thousands year. Selfie, as a new term that popped up in five decades, is considered as a type of photo that people take of themselves. In the past, self-portraits were displayed in museums and the owners’ houses for others to appreciate.Self-protrait contains a more serious feeling of art creation. However, selfie, now as a quick and fast way of creating “self-portrait”, gives people more entertaining options. Selfie also conveys a job of documenting the moment instead of just drawing one’s appearance in a certain period of time.

2. Can selfies be art?

Yes,definitely. Even though people concerned selfies as narcissism and not as serious as self-portrait. But taking selfie is still a way for people/artist to present themselves. The formula of art is unlimited. Selfie is also a way of presenting oneself. And to be honest, we do see a lot of selfies containing nice composition,lighting etc.

3. What was your emotional response to each of these articles?

It is very interesting to see these two article which discussed similar topic in two different way — report and personal statement. Kate Murphy from New York Times logically examined selfie phenomenon by doing research and analyzing the facts. I agree with most of the points of Murphy. Selfie, as a new communicative way, reflects people’s mind and emotion well, also enhances the frequency of interaction between one to the other. And I believe there are more things about selfie that we should learn about.Responding to Richard Prince’s statement, I found out he is an very radical artist.His notion of art/photography has been advanced since thirty years ago. From his statement, he denoted his idea and his perspective of self-portrait which is very different from the others and respecting the appearance owners’ opinion. I like the way he keeps himself updated and renews the notion of art.

4. By re-photographing other people’s photos Richard Prince takes on ownership and authorship of these images. What do you think is his message?

Firstly, the notion of self-portrait/selfie is quite showing the best vision of one. At the really beginning, Prince asked others for five pictures they already took and he would pick the best one for them as the final presentation. In this way, Prince gives them a primary chance to choose their self-portrait and he then helps them presenting. It conveys the message of selfies/self portraits take responsibility of showing the appearance that owners will satisfy with.

5. What do you think, from your personal experience, is the significance of selfies in our culture? Why are they so popular? How does the prevalence of selfies affect communication online and in person, from what you’ve seen in your circle of family and friends?

Nowadays, when a lot of people live under a high pressure environment, sharing selfies grows into an accessible method of not only entertaining but also documenting a moment or just simply interacting with family and friends.In my family and friend circle, especially for young who posts selfies more than others, the idea of selfie is much more like sharing a visual expression than just showing one’s appearance on the internet since the image can impress people better than the pure text from the perception of psychology.  People send a lot of stickers to others via the online chatting window to articulate their feelings, it is the same idea as sending selfies which also conveys a better outcome of expressing oneself than plain words. Figure can provide us better imagination then text because it’s explicit and real.

6. Are selfies inherently ‘fake’, or can they express authenticity?

Although selfies undertakes the accusation of narcissism, however, in my opinion selfie does express the authenticity in it’s own way. There are many ways for people to post selfies, Instagram, Facebook, tumblr, snapchat…,People sending snapchat to others with their selfies which will appear least then ten seconds shows that selfie is a way for people to communicate visually. And it feels real and cordial when seeing once’s facial expression instead of pure text. Moreover, people who do a lot of photoshop always get punished by audiences.However, ps their selfies to the level that they want to present in the public, truly reflects the idea from their brain and deep heart.

7. Is there a correlation that you see between selfies and gender?

From what I see through the social networking, more girls post selfies and photos then boys.Even though for a lot of people posting photos and selfies is for a better communication, but there are amount of people(girls and boys, maybe more girls than boys) takes this chance to present themselves and attract others.

#3 IntStudio: Gender- Visual Dialogue

“Playful Envelope – About Gender” created by Lizzy G and Gwendolyn Z is a letter style collage that contains several individual pieces inside the envelope. Audience can either flip over the pieces inside the envelope or open and close the little pieces.

In this project, we hand painted and collected images from magazine,newspaper and postcard to reflect our topic – how gender and mainstream/public interact with each other. And also, through the project,we advocate all gender should be equal and public standard should’t prevent any individual from doing his/her rights.

Rough Draft and story board

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Gender interview with Lizzy-

You are from Chicago and raised there, a very diverse city of United States of America, and now you are study in New York city as an art student, how do you define yourself through your experiences in these open-minded metropolitans?

Honestly I had never considered this question before you asked. Well, You can see I am a woman from physical aspect. But I don’t clearly define myself as a 100% female. You know, every one has a gradient between male and female. People define gender for classify the job/responsibility and things that should be done by different character. Something I really learned from my experiences was I should do what I think is right instead of concerning the public eyes.

 

So As you previous said, physically you are defined as a female, How do you feel about being this character?

I remembered when I was a kid, people always told boys not to cry and be a man, but no one told me to stop crying and be a woman. I guess it’s easier for woman to release her emotion and people will always accept her emotion.

 

So can we consider its a good thing about female because she does not have to hole herself in a unnatural way? But what do you think as the limitation/disadvantage of being in this character?

Well…I hate saying that and I don’t know how to explain, but I do sometimes feel that, generally, when trying to show strength/ intellectual, female is weaker.

 

We know there are a lot of stereotype about two different genders, when the time you grew up, do you remember or know any stereotype about female that you dislike the most?

Yes, definitely. Stereotypes are filled in our society, sometimes it’s very frustrated to see those things but sometimes those stereotype might actually reflect some truth. Even though Olympic games required both genders join the competition(laugh..) but in our real life situation, girls playing sports is still not as common as boys playing sports. Even sometimes when girls play sports, they might be judged by others as lesbian/butch. People are rude…and it’s ridiculous.

 

It seems like you have very strong sense of genders and social issues. So is there any amount of time you don’t like the gender of female?

Well, for most, female characters care too much about their appearance and how to attract guys. I think it’s very superficial. And I really don’t like how female character tried so hard to show their beauties and stuff…Female should care more about other things, it’s such an amazing world isn’t it? ( laugh) Beauties are so insignificant.

 

Thats really true, but fashion today, might not just for women, men cares a lot about their appearance also but probably less then women, generally speaking. However, I feel its kind related to our society, so what do you think is one of most nonnegligible element about social standard of gender?

It’s really funny to say, but I think people are lazy. They want others to play the roles, follow the mainstream because it’s easy for them to understand. They don’t like to spend time thinking about the motivation and reason of why others did some “strange thing” (well, it might not be real strange, its just they don’t understand). They just simply judge.

 

Its really interesting to hear you saying that, and I think its really sarcastic but real.Do you want to talk a little bit about the opposite gender?What do you like about it?

Guys are really different from girls especially in some specific domain. ( I am saying this considering the general) Like I previously mentioned, girls care way too much about their appearances, but guys are more acceptable and chill about these sort of physical facts. And…it’s something I really don’t want to admit, but since you asked, I am telling then. (laugh) More masculine characters control the top of business, politics… then feminine. Feel like it’s easier for them to stand up and present themselves. When a girl do something, people might say “wow,she’s brave ”, but when a guy do something people might just be like this guys is smart. Because it’s not that common for public to see girls stand up as men do.

 

Is there something you dislike about this opposite gender?

Since most of them think that females are weaker, some uneducated people might even think women are just reproduction tool… they disrespect and they don’t believe in us.

 

If you had an option to choose your gender before you were born. After your almost two decades life, would you still like to be a female or you would love to be born in a male body?

Even though there are a lot of inequalities between two sexes, but both of them have their advantage and shortage. I believe I would have so much fun even if I were born in an opposite gender. But there are thousands of good things about being a female too. People should love themselves. It’s about who they are then physical facts.

Paternoster Vents-Heatherwick Studio

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Paternoster Vents,Paternoster Square London,Heatherwick Studio,2002

Created by British Architectural firm Heatherwick Studio in 2002 at Paternoster Sq, next to St Paul’s Cathedral in London, the 36 foot high Paternoster Vents that is established upon a preexisting subterranean electricity substation conveys the job of cooling down the station. Within the client team’s requirement of minimize the scale of the cooling system, Heatherwick Studio designed the Paternoster Vents into two separated part based on tow existing holes to cut down the size of the project. The main element of the Paternoster Vents is cut, glass-bead-blasted stainless steel.

 

Heatherwick Studio is the one makes art responsible,useful and beautiful that can be told by their 2002 project Paternoster vents.The model Paternoster vents was the first object that I noticed after walking into the Heatherwick exhibition in Cooper Hewitt Museum because of it’s extraordinary shape and sophisticated composition. It was built upon the necessity of cooling system for the electricity substation located in a public exposure and sensitive place. Designer firstly experimented it with paperboard which was also used in exhibition model and then build it with glass-bead-blasted stainless steel. By using glass-bead-blasted stainless steel to create the ordered, angled vent shows the great power of how design can have turned life element at an new high that is something I feel admiring and graceful.

 

 

Profile picture credit to http://johnstefanidis.blogspot.com/2012/07/architecture-heatherwick-studio.html

#1 InteStudio: Portraiture Art

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Girl With Mirror is a watercolor based portraiture painting created by German painter and graphic artist Georg Schrimpf in 1930. As the representative of New Objectivity which indicates the new liberal art attitude of Weimar Germany as  “The New Objectivity is Americanism, cult of the objective, the hard fact, the predilection for functional work, professional conscientiousness, and usefulness.”, Georg created most portraiture painting in a straight forward way. In Girl With Mirror, he used cream, flax yellow and cantaloupe combined with light grey blue as the fundamental color of the painting to compose an lethargic atmosphere. The girl on the painting holding a hand-size mirror is checking herself out though the mirror with a very leisured mood. Checking oneself out from the mirror is the thing that basically every girl does, it’s a very usual thing but demonstrated  very interesting under Georg’s capture. I wish that I could have sometimes to be as leisure as the girl in the painting, if I couldn’t, I would like to image that easy and relaxing moment.

 

Self Portrait Project –

On The Mirror