Pictures Taken Over Time

Third Thursday

For the third thursday event I went to the Everson Museum. Overall the museum seemed a lot smaller than I expected but the basement area was quite large. The second floor featured a lot of Nancy Jur's work. Her main piece included sever pots, vests, and other articles that were all coated with white. I found one particular tea pot particularly interesting. It had a gun going through it providing the handle for the pot. I felt it was a unique idea. Jurs largest piece, the giant chess board was interesting when i found out the meaning behind it. The chess board is a circle instead of a square to represent the world. The pieces on the chessboard are all different shapes and sizes. They are all white at one end, grey in the middle and black at the other end. The piece is about diversity in the world, the intermingling of different peoples and world peace. On the first floor are several different items that are found in our world today. These items, including books, boxes and bags, are made out of unconventional media such as porcelain, stoneware and earthen ware. It is an interesting concept and the artist did a great job in making them true to life. However beyond that i do not see the point. They are pieces that i can see once and never really have any desire to see again. They are just not that interesting. My favorite piece was Louis Comfort Tiffany's New Jerusalem stained glass piece. It is disappointing to think that a name as famous as Tiffany's is often misunderstood. While Tiffany did design his pieces, he did not actually execute the work. That was carried out by his studio. Yet, this particular piece of stained glass is extremely unique. I have never seen a piece that uses stained glass in three dimensions. It is purposely stacked and layered making it three dimensional adding to the details. The work in the basement is almost all pottery. There is some really impressive well made pieces. However, there are other pieces that just make me wonder why. There are some pieces that look good but really would never be worth having in a home setting. They seem a little bit to strange. One artist that really stood out to me is Ernest Trova. His pottery is relatively traditional but he gets a lot of texture on the outside. Furthermore, he has really interesting designs that make the piece interesting to look at. I did not get a chance to see much of the actual talk. A lot of the artwork is interesting but there is not much explanation for each piece. Without an explanation, the work is rather confusing and is not as significant in my opinion. 

Story

This past weekend in the 179th annual General Conference, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, told a story that happened a while ago. I do not know the exact details or how Uchtdorf was involved. His story is about a commercial airline. The plane was about 20 miles away from its destination. The pilot was preparing all the final procedures for landing. After putting down the landing gear, the pilot proceeded to check the board to see if all the gear was in proper position. This board consist of a series of lights which shine green if everything is in proper working order. However, the pilot noticed that one of the lights was not lit up. He decided to pull out of the decent in order to check the problem carefully. The pilot along with others worked diligently to find out why that one light was not turning on. What they did not realize is that they were slowly descending closer and closer to the ground. By the time they realized what was happening it was already to late. The plane crashed and along with it a few hundred people died. After a careful examination, the officials determined that the plane was in perfect working order. There was nothing wrong. The only problem was that the one light that did not show had blown. That one, single light that costs only a few cents was the problem. However, as President Uchtdorf states the light bulb itself was not the full extent of the problem. Part of the problem was that the crew focused so much attention on one little detail and consequently everything went bad. He did not say this to place any blame on the pilot. He simply said it to illustrate his point. In our lives we can not focus all our attention on one little thing that goes wrong. If we let that one relatively insignificant detail be the center of our focus, then we will fail to think about what matters most. Uchtdorf asks the question, "Are we focused on what matters most?"

Rani

I like her work but I think the experiences that she shared were even more valuable. It was really good to hear from someone who has been in the same position as us and has found a successful career. It is really good to know that she is able to raise a family and have a stable career to support that family. The one thing that she mentioned that I have never thought about is self promotion. I never thought about making a C.D. and getting in touch with companies. I guess I just kind of thought about applying at different places. However she really set a good example of how what it takes to get started. I think that is definitely one of the hardest aspects. However, she set a good example of getting out there and talking to people. I think that is something that is not necessarily discussed much in college but is an essential aspect that everyone needs to hear about. Overall her work is impressive. The exhibits were very professional. I wish we could have seen more of the process. She mentioned working in a company with lots of different people doing different things. I think it would be nice to see what she did and how she arrived at that point. I especially liked her use of color and sound. I think the best example was the coffee table she made. I felt there are a lot of good ideas there and it made a good connection with Blake's presentation. 

Blake

The thing that impressed me the most about Blake's work is the process. He presented some of his work in my Design Odyssey class last semester. He showed one of the pieces again in this class. It was the the piece using the lamp to manipulate the image. The first time I saw it I was confused. I really did not care for the work. The sound was really loud and I had know idea where he was going with his work. Looking at his newer stuff with the cathedrals was extremely interesting to me. I think the process was really neat. To see where he started and to see where he has taken it is really neat. Even though it is a little strange and different, I think he has some really good ideas. Sometimes it takes a really different strange innovation to come up with a new idea. I think if he continues to work on the process and the idea, eventually he will come up with something that will be really interesting to a lot of different people. I think his stuff is so different that a lot of people will not like it right now but with time it will become more popular. 

Scott McCloud

The video on Scott McCloud really impressed me. The way he breaks things down and explains them is really important. His interest in comic books from a young age lead him to pursue an art career. However, the influence of his father played an important role. His fathers scientific mind made Scott break down comics scientifically. He claims that there are three types of vision, one that is proven, one that can not be seen and one which can be. I think that is very true and is one major reason why artists are different from other people. Everyone possesses at least one of those types of vision. I once heard that the ability to draw is based on an ability to see things differently. I think the same is true for these Scotts claim on vision. If we really want to become better artist we have to find a way to develop that other sense of vision which allows us to see things which can be. I believe his four pieces of advice are central to this idea. Learn from everyone, follow no one, watch for patterns and working hard are all essential things that can lead to new ideas and possibilities that would never be possible otherwise. Scotts breakdown of the transformation of comics with the computer is extremely interesting. I think the computer will likely change the way comics are viewed just as the last two examples that were shown. It almost seems like a new reality is being established in comics that allows the viewer to make choices. The viewer can decide which path to take and what reality they want to follow instead of the single solution comics typically offer. It would allow the viewer to make choices and see the outcomes of those choices. Consequently they would easily be able to look back and figure out their mistake or decide upon a new course of action.