http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmh5091/Self%20Portrait%204.JPG
"Lounging in the City"
This was a fun assignment that I enjoyed thoroughly. I chose to represent my self as a golden lab for a couple of reasons. First off, my family owns a golden lab that we love and admire very much, she is a huge part of our family. Secondly, I am extremely jealous of our dog, all her daily life consists of is sleeping and eating. I mean, who wouldn't want to be a dog, really. I'd definitely trade in my life of working hard to maintain school and relationships and the ongoing job of making money for a life of lounging around on the couch as a family dog only having to worry about when you're going to eat next. It's not that I don't enjoy my life as a human, but being a household dog would definitely be ideal. You may be wondering just why I chose to keep my human arms. Well, I thought about it, and I would still want to do a lot of the things I do as a human if I were to be a dog. Most of all, I wouldn't want to lose my ability to play the guitar, I love playing music and I would never want to lose that. Another thing to notice in the photo is my new habitat, New York City. I've always wanted to live in that city, and hope to after graduation. I have dreams of going to baseball games and Broadway shows and other various activities on the streets of New York City in some point of my life. My thought process was, "If I was creating my ideal life as a household dog, I might as well live in my dream location, the city".
I tried to use realism as much as I could in this project. I used all real pictures of myself. Three different ones for my face and two arms. I also used a real picture of a yellow lab and obviously a real picture of New York City. These three objects are obviously real separately but a hybrid dog-human is nothing close to reality. It was helpful to think of Frida Kahlo's Wounded Deer while doing this project, and I even tried to match the pose of that deer in the image to the pose of myself in my new habitat. I feel much like Frida Kahlo's work represented how she felt she was being treated at the time, my work represents how I feel about my life. All the pressure of being a human being in college are so intense, that I feel life as a golden lab would be my ideal life, life as a dog lounging around in the greatest city on the planet would most definitely be magical.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Modernist Poetry Experiments
http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmh5091/Lesson%208%20poems.htm
http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmh5091/Lesson%208%20poems.htm
For this lesson, we read Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein. Reading Stein is a unique experience, as her writing is off the wall and all over the place. In the poems I created based on her Objects, Food, and Rooms writings I tried to have aspects of Stein's uniqueness come through, just not as evident as she did. These poems were unlike anything I had ever written before. I tried to get outside my comfort zone and write more abstractly like Stein did.
I chose to write about my Guitars for the objects portion, describing them as in depth and logically as I could. For the food, I chose what I ate over the weekend, Meatloaf. I chose to personify the meatloaf saying it was rough and had a hard life. Finally, for the rooms portion of the poems I chose to write about my room here in my apartment. I chose this because it is the first time in my 20 year life that I have had my very own room. I tried to get the point across that I was actually in love with my room, using as many romantic and loving words I could.
After the poems were written, it was time to experiment. For my Guitars poem I chose the method of the First/Last word poem. This totally takes a lot from the poem but also lets the reader look it at in a different light. Since I wrote the poem, reading it in this new form, I can still tell it is about my guitar. It still contains mere references to guitars with the words, but can be interpreted to mean something else as well. In the Meatloaf poem, I decided to add an excerpt from a Wikipedia article on the singer Meat Loaf. Mostly, I did this because I find the singer Meat Loaf very comical. I don't like his music at all, but I couldn't resist myself with this one. The comment about him breaking the sound board is just funny to me and can't be true. This brings some humor to the already comical poem I wrote. In the last poem about my very first room, I decided to take every object in the room that I wrote in the poem and replace it with the very literal description of the object. For example, bed becomes box of springs. It makes for an interesting read and causes the reader to think of how the things we use every day and how very simply they can be described. It also shows how one word can change into many words, it depends on how descriptive an author wants to be.
Overall, I enjoyed this assignment, as I always like to put my thoughts on paper (or this time the web). I also enjoyed experimenting with things that were already written. The writing process could go on forever as one work can transform for eternity.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmh5091/Lesson%208%20poems.htm
For this lesson, we read Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein. Reading Stein is a unique experience, as her writing is off the wall and all over the place. In the poems I created based on her Objects, Food, and Rooms writings I tried to have aspects of Stein's uniqueness come through, just not as evident as she did. These poems were unlike anything I had ever written before. I tried to get outside my comfort zone and write more abstractly like Stein did.
I chose to write about my Guitars for the objects portion, describing them as in depth and logically as I could. For the food, I chose what I ate over the weekend, Meatloaf. I chose to personify the meatloaf saying it was rough and had a hard life. Finally, for the rooms portion of the poems I chose to write about my room here in my apartment. I chose this because it is the first time in my 20 year life that I have had my very own room. I tried to get the point across that I was actually in love with my room, using as many romantic and loving words I could.
After the poems were written, it was time to experiment. For my Guitars poem I chose the method of the First/Last word poem. This totally takes a lot from the poem but also lets the reader look it at in a different light. Since I wrote the poem, reading it in this new form, I can still tell it is about my guitar. It still contains mere references to guitars with the words, but can be interpreted to mean something else as well. In the Meatloaf poem, I decided to add an excerpt from a Wikipedia article on the singer Meat Loaf. Mostly, I did this because I find the singer Meat Loaf very comical. I don't like his music at all, but I couldn't resist myself with this one. The comment about him breaking the sound board is just funny to me and can't be true. This brings some humor to the already comical poem I wrote. In the last poem about my very first room, I decided to take every object in the room that I wrote in the poem and replace it with the very literal description of the object. For example, bed becomes box of springs. It makes for an interesting read and causes the reader to think of how the things we use every day and how very simply they can be described. It also shows how one word can change into many words, it depends on how descriptive an author wants to be.
Overall, I enjoyed this assignment, as I always like to put my thoughts on paper (or this time the web). I also enjoyed experimenting with things that were already written. The writing process could go on forever as one work can transform for eternity.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Self Portrait Option 2
http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmh5091/My%20Self%20Passions.xml
"My Self Passions"
The assignment for this self portrait was to create a triptych. We were asked to create a self portrait using three separate images. After thinking about all of our options I decided that three photographs with my three most prized possessions was what I wanted to do. The only problem was, as I began to think about what I would be photographed with, I couldn't really come up with any sole possessions that I found dear to myself. All I could think of were objects or ideas that I was passionate about. This is why I decided to call my self portrait "My Self Passions", instead of 3 objects that I hold dear, the portrait displays my 3 biggest passions that depict me.
I am a very passionate about many things in life, but number one to me, is music. This is why I chose to be photographed with my trusty bass guitar, which I play in my band Scenic. I also write lyrics in my spare time and sometimes those even get converted into actual songs that the band will then play live. I feel my best when I'm playing with my friends in the band in front of a live audience. I love to share my passion with other people, and there's no feeling like playing live in front of people who appreciate your work
If anybody knows me, they know this one fact. I am very passionate about my sports teams. I can sit and watch all 162 games of a baseball season and know all the players and all their stats. I am most passionate about my New York Mets but am also a huge New York Giants fan as well. I like all sports but baseball and football are my all time favorites to watch. During baseball season, I am completely enthralled by the entire magic of the game and can be found yelling at the TV during football season as well. The photo of me displaying my favorite teams with my Giants banner and Mets hat shows just how much I love these teams.
The third photo shows me staring in the glare of the one and only Darth Vader. This photo symbolizes my love for films, I am a huge movie buff, but ultimately, the photo displays my favorite movie, Star Wars. There is no better film, in my mind, than Star Wars. It has it all, special effects, great story, romance, and action. The movie is the sole reason I am in love with movies today. I used to walk to my older neighbor's house almost every weekend and borrow his VHS of the original trilogy and watch the films with awe. Ask me anything about the film and I will surely know the answer. Some may call me a bit of a nerd on the subject, but I just call myself a fan of one of the best stories ever told on film.
While planning my three photos I tried to keep in mind the way that artists much like Artemesia during the Renaissance period would paint people, mostly of royalty or rich persons. The subjects would pose never smiling and usually not looking right at the artist, much like I did in the photos. They would also pose with some of their most prized possessions or passions in my case, such as loyal pets, jewelry, or even gold. I also put my photos in order of the extremity of my passions, starting with my music and ending with my love for films, showing just how much I loved these three things. It was difficult to narrow down my top 3 passions but if we were to add more photos for this project, I could go on forever. Overall, I enjoyed this project, because it was interesting to think of a subject that would connect the 3 individual self portraits and bring them into one single triptych type photograph.
"My Self Passions"
The assignment for this self portrait was to create a triptych. We were asked to create a self portrait using three separate images. After thinking about all of our options I decided that three photographs with my three most prized possessions was what I wanted to do. The only problem was, as I began to think about what I would be photographed with, I couldn't really come up with any sole possessions that I found dear to myself. All I could think of were objects or ideas that I was passionate about. This is why I decided to call my self portrait "My Self Passions", instead of 3 objects that I hold dear, the portrait displays my 3 biggest passions that depict me.
I am a very passionate about many things in life, but number one to me, is music. This is why I chose to be photographed with my trusty bass guitar, which I play in my band Scenic. I also write lyrics in my spare time and sometimes those even get converted into actual songs that the band will then play live. I feel my best when I'm playing with my friends in the band in front of a live audience. I love to share my passion with other people, and there's no feeling like playing live in front of people who appreciate your work
If anybody knows me, they know this one fact. I am very passionate about my sports teams. I can sit and watch all 162 games of a baseball season and know all the players and all their stats. I am most passionate about my New York Mets but am also a huge New York Giants fan as well. I like all sports but baseball and football are my all time favorites to watch. During baseball season, I am completely enthralled by the entire magic of the game and can be found yelling at the TV during football season as well. The photo of me displaying my favorite teams with my Giants banner and Mets hat shows just how much I love these teams.
The third photo shows me staring in the glare of the one and only Darth Vader. This photo symbolizes my love for films, I am a huge movie buff, but ultimately, the photo displays my favorite movie, Star Wars. There is no better film, in my mind, than Star Wars. It has it all, special effects, great story, romance, and action. The movie is the sole reason I am in love with movies today. I used to walk to my older neighbor's house almost every weekend and borrow his VHS of the original trilogy and watch the films with awe. Ask me anything about the film and I will surely know the answer. Some may call me a bit of a nerd on the subject, but I just call myself a fan of one of the best stories ever told on film.
While planning my three photos I tried to keep in mind the way that artists much like Artemesia during the Renaissance period would paint people, mostly of royalty or rich persons. The subjects would pose never smiling and usually not looking right at the artist, much like I did in the photos. They would also pose with some of their most prized possessions or passions in my case, such as loyal pets, jewelry, or even gold. I also put my photos in order of the extremity of my passions, starting with my music and ending with my love for films, showing just how much I loved these three things. It was difficult to narrow down my top 3 passions but if we were to add more photos for this project, I could go on forever. Overall, I enjoyed this project, because it was interesting to think of a subject that would connect the 3 individual self portraits and bring them into one single triptych type photograph.
Comic Quilt Strip
http://www.personal.psu.edu/kmh5091/Comic%20Quilt%20Strip.jpg
This assignment was a fun one for me. I got to relive a piece of my family's history through a mere drawing. It took me a while to plan out my cells of the comic strip because I was trying not to use words. Without using words it can be extremely challenging to tell a story successfully. Although, with my work, I think I got my main point across.
The story is about my family moving to the U.S. from Ireland. I tried to make this point across with the first three cells. Obviously, the Irish flag and suitcases being carried by my family all are signs of their trip to the U.S. finally symbolized by Lady Liberty. Now, I'm not sure if my family actually owned a Pub in Ireland, but I like to think that they would have.
Many immigrants found some sort of rejection from the public once they moved to the States and my family was no exception. My family's last name "O'Hanlon" was thought to be too Irish sounding and they were forced to change it against their own will. I tried to show how difficult it was for new people, including my ancestors, coming to this country during the massive immigration waves. This was an interesting way to tell a story but I did enjoy doing the assignment. As I was drawing these events it really made me think of just what my family went through to ensure that we all would have a better life here in America.
This assignment was a fun one for me. I got to relive a piece of my family's history through a mere drawing. It took me a while to plan out my cells of the comic strip because I was trying not to use words. Without using words it can be extremely challenging to tell a story successfully. Although, with my work, I think I got my main point across.
The story is about my family moving to the U.S. from Ireland. I tried to make this point across with the first three cells. Obviously, the Irish flag and suitcases being carried by my family all are signs of their trip to the U.S. finally symbolized by Lady Liberty. Now, I'm not sure if my family actually owned a Pub in Ireland, but I like to think that they would have.
Many immigrants found some sort of rejection from the public once they moved to the States and my family was no exception. My family's last name "O'Hanlon" was thought to be too Irish sounding and they were forced to change it against their own will. I tried to show how difficult it was for new people, including my ancestors, coming to this country during the massive immigration waves. This was an interesting way to tell a story but I did enjoy doing the assignment. As I was drawing these events it really made me think of just what my family went through to ensure that we all would have a better life here in America.
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