Final Video

For my final project I chose to create my own music by using garage band. We viewed videos about this project a few times in class but none of them really made sense. So for the video portion I decided to just capture times in my life that had the same vibe as the music I created. I found the music portion of this project to be enjoyable, it was really the video portion that I was getting stuck on.
The way I see it this video is a glimpse of what my summer is going to be like. Being care free on the beach with my friends and spending quality family time on the boat. Days like those are ones that a cherish and where some of my favorite memories come from.
The song starts off with a calm feeling then towards the middle it develops a very retro vibe. The retro vibe is where the video starts to pick up. Towards the end of the song it slows back down with a calming guitar. I also added a filter to the video to make it seem like it had a techno vibe to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4fz9kkr5S8

Music

House Music:
For this category the artist Frankie Knuckles caught my attention.  He is known for being an American DJ and a record producer. He had an important role in developing house music and making it popular in Chicago. He has the nickname "the god father of house music" according to the Rolling Stones. I chose him because his music has should and makes you want to get up and dance. His music relates back to technology because his music has a very techno vibe to it. For example is song called 'Your Love': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl6uliNCkUU

Punk Music:
I chose the band blink 182 because I enjoy there music most of the time. They are an American rock band their early albums like Cheshire Cat and Dude Ranch are considered to be skate punk and rock punk. The theme of their lyrics constantly involve: love, family, friends, and relationships. I don't really think this particular group relates to technology in a strong way, but you could say without the amps for their guitars they would have a completely different sound. 'All the Small Things' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ht5RZpzPqw

90's Music:
The music in the 90's was known for having high speed collisions of different beats. For this era I chose the artist Brittney Spears because her music back then depended on beats made with technology. 'Sometimes': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0bPrt69rag

Girl Power Music:
I chose the artist Shania Twain for this category because she is well known for her song 'Man I Feel Like a Woman'. The lyrics of this song are all about empowering women to go out and have fun. Shania says, "That song started with the title, then it kind of wrote itself. The whole expression is a celebration of being a woman these days, I think we're kind of spoiled in a lot of ways, with the advantages we have. Feminists may not feel that way, but I do. It's pretty darn fun to be a woman". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL4UGSbeFg

Electronic Music:
Diplo is an American DJ known for either remixing songs with a techno beat behind them or making his own dance music. I chose him because I like to listen to his music when I work out or am out with my friends. His music relates back to technology because without his DJ equipment he wouldn't be known for his techno style. 'Be Right There': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIJ5XvZeb-k

performance art

For this project we were asked to do a performance art in public. At first, I struggled with this idea because I didn't know what to do and I also did not want to make a fool out of myself in public. One day in class we were discussing what everyone was doing for their projects. I told my Professor that I had not a clue what to do, another girl, Brooke mentioned that she also did not know what to do. Our professor said that we could work together on the project and one of our classmates gave us an idea of what to do since she was no longer using.
We decided to get a white poster board and write down things most people hate about technology. For example, that it glitches, when the wifi doesn't work, the negative impact it has on people, and how it can lower ones self esteem. We then got water balloons and food coloring, we filled the balloons up with colored water and out them in a bowl. We decided to lay the poster down by a walkway in my apartment complex hoping that people would get the idea to throw the water balloons at the poster and get their anger out about technology.
I set my phone up on the ground where it wouldn't be noticeable and then Brooke and myself took step back and sat on a stair way and waited for people to come. Luckily, a group of girls just parked their car and came across the poster. It looks like they had fun throwing the water balloons to say the least. Once all the water balloons were popped a cool tie dye effect happened on the poster.
here is a time-lapse we took! https://youtu.be/qPvePE9vszc

Xerox Machine Project

For this project we were asked to photocopy parts of our body and to create something with those images. It could either be 2D or 3D, at first I was not sure which way I would go with this project. I started to brain storm what body parts I could use to make something that would look recognizable. My initial thoughts were fingers, hands, and arms.
For my hands I thought maybe I could make a sign using sign language. If I did that I would not really be creating a 2 or 3D piece so I scratched that idea. Then as I was photocopying my hands I thought I could make a flower out of my hands and arms. I continued to cut out my body parts and form the shape of a flower. I taped all of the pieces together and I hung it up on the wall. Not only did it look somewhat like a flower but the fingers actually moved as the flower sat on the wall.
In conclusion I documented the movement of the flower I created and took pictures. I have decided to call this piece "grow as you go" because a flower is constantly growing just like we are and we are also always on the move.
 https://youtu.be/PJV3_dQnVDM here is the video!

Grid Art

My grid art is a picture of a butterfly with grids filled in with either colored pencils or markers.

Flip Book Animation

Here is my flip book animation. The story it tells is to take care of the ocean!  https://youtu.be/mjKhevLmN4I

more camera obscure pics

Camera Obscura Pics

 Here are some pictures of my camera obscura. Mike has the other pictures!

21st century technology

Daniela Avagnano

Professor Roundtree

Art and Technology

February 26th, 2019

Interactive Whiteboards in Education

Throughout the years technology has advanced immensely and has become a huge part of our daily lives. Technology is prevalent in education now more than ever. Public schools in the United States now offer at least one computer for every five students in a classroom causing them to spend $3 billion a year on digital content. With digital content in the classrooms comes the use of Whiteboards also known as Smartboards. Smartboards are known as instructional tools which allow for computer images to be accurately displayed on a board with the help of a digital projector. A previous invention we have to thank for the Smartboard is the computer considering it is basically an enlarged computer board for the classroom. Another previous invention similar to the Smartboard would be a projector but the difference is you cannot use all of the features that come with a Smartboard on a projector.

Elements that contribute to the use of the Smartboard are a mouse that is connected to the computer, a stylus or pen so that a student or the teacher can go up to the board and write things as needed, you can even use your finger to do this if you wished to do so. The Smartboard is mounted to a wall like a regular white or chalkboard and can be used in areas like workplaces and in the classrooms of different learning levels. According to an article posted on ezTalks about the use of interactive whiteboards in education, “The education system has experienced tremendous changes in the past few years as the traditional heavy textbooks are being replaced by convenient ebooks while notebooks are replaced by devices such as interactive whiteboards, tablets and ipads.”

Involving Smartboards in the classroom comes with a series of benefits. For example, just the display of the board have allowed teachers and students to communicate and share information in a more modern and organized manner. Teachers can now record lessons because Smartboards come with video conferencing software, this allows students to take notes and make presentations in a simpler way due to the fact that they can go back and look at the lesson from that day. This also allows teachers to print out saved works for students who missed the lesson because the Smartboard has the option to  automatically records and saves everything. Different learning styles have benefitted from the Smartboards immensely. Recording tools can be utilized for audio learners, tactile learners can come up to the board to touch and manipulate problems, and visual learners can keep track of the material being presented as the lesson goes on.

Another beneficial feature of the Smartboard is interactivity. Allowing students to come up to the Smartboard makes them want to engage in the lesson more because they are not just sitting in a desk all day, the class can contribute ideas while being active at the same time. Games are another one, they are always a fun way to get students involved in the lesson plan. Games like rearranging jumbled text or objects and fill in the blanks improve memorization skills for the topic the class is learning that about. The Smartboard is also an extremely effective tool for brainstorming because notes that are written on the screen can be saved as text and later printed and distributed to students to boost thought process. Overall, the technology of the Smartboard has changed education drastically and will continue to improve and better the education of everyone.

Sources

“Uses of Interactive Whiteboard in Education.” Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet

Communication | EzTalks,

www.eztalks.com/whiteboard/uses-of-interactive-whiteboard-in-education.html.

Opera Essay

Daniela Avagnano

Professor Roundtree

Art and Technology

February 11, 2019

Aïda: Giuseppe Verdi

The opera I chose to research was Aïda composed by Giuseppe Verdi. As I watched this opera we were asked to do additional research and comment on the Mise en Scene. Mise en Scene is the arrangement of everything that appears in the framing of the opera. For example, the actors, lighting, decor, props, and costumes. In shorter terms, it is a french term that means “placing on the stage”. After learning how Mise en Scene can completely change the opera and the message it is trying to send I took some notes on Aida. I noticed how the music before every act was different depending on the mood the composer wanted the audience to feel. The lighting would be dimmer if it was a romantic or sad scene and brighter if there was a breakthrough within the opera.

Act one starts off with slow and peaceful music, as any love story should. The scene is in a castle like setting and it is only men. After researching the opera I learned that it is a love story about a warrior and a slave. In this act a warrior named Radames is preparing to go to war against Egypt. He is in love with a women named Aida, an Ethiopian slave to princess Amneris. By winning the war Radames believes he will be able to set Aida free and marry her. Even though he is attacking Aida’s home country she is still torn between her love for him and her country. Some things that I noticed for the Mise en Scene for act 1 was the lighting change, when one person sings the light on them is brighter, and when Radames is summoned to fight in war it becomes dramatized because the composer added in a chorus.

In act 2 the opera starts off with a scene of all women. The princess seems content because she knows that her country has won the war. All of her servants are attending to her but once she notices Aida walk into the room she sends everyone away. She did this because she wants to find out what is going on with Aida and Radames. The music in the background makes it seem like Amneris is more concerned than mad at Aida, I then came to realize it was because she was telling Aida that Radames has died in the war even though he did not. She does this because as king her father wants her to marry Radames not Aida. During this scene the camera zooms into Aida’s face to show her remorse and broken heart through her expressions.

Act 3 starts off with Aida alone in a private place waiting for Radames because she knows in heart that he is not dead. As she waits she reminisces about her country that she will miss so much. Once Radames appears he tells her that he still loves her and agrees to run away with her. While this is all happening Aida was told by her father to find out what the army had in mind for their next move. She gets the secret out of Radames and right away her father appears, dramatic music starts to play, Aida cries realizing she has upset her love and Radames has realized what he has done.

Unsettling music starts to play as act 4 begins. Radames waits for his trial to begin because he has betrayed his army and is ready to surrender himself. He is ready to die because he thinks that Aida has been killed. Before he is brought in front of the priest he finds out that Aida is no dead and refuses to confess to anything he has done. He is sentenced to be buried alive, in a cave where Aida waits for him. Once he is sent down below he sees Aida and they express their love for the last time, while up above Amneris waits and prays for his soul.

I think that overall the opera was a pretty standard love story. By watching the opera the music definitely makes it easier to figure out what kind of mood the composer wants you to feel. This particular show is important chronology of opera because we learn about a historical war while still being entertained. Technology was used in many ways throughout the show some examples would be the light changes or the change of scenery in the middle of an act. It would be pretty easy to turn this opera into a video game if I was a 21st century composer. I only say it would be easy because there is war involved and in this generation most video games involve guns and violence.

My video game would start off in a castle just like the opera. There would be a brief video explaining that your character Radames is in love with a women named Aida and that you are going to war with her country. Once the video is over you will have to run around the castle and find all the things you need for war. While you are doing this you are timed and also have to find ways to keep Aida from distracting you. You will have to also pick up things to distract her while you are looking for your weapons for war. Once you are all geared up and ready for battle you are sent off to fight. As the war begins Aida will show up and you will have to find out ways to not only protect yourself but now her as well. If either of you get wounded you will be responsible for going into the middle of the battlefield without getting hurt and finding the supplies you need to regain strength. If you successfully win the war and you both are safe and healthy you will be rewarded with a trophy and it will unlock a new level for you. A new level will give you the chance to have more strength and give you better supplies/guns for the next battle.

Sources

https://www.metopera.org/discover/synopses/aida/

Madama Butterfly Animation

After watching this animation I figured the opera was about heart break. The women clearly fell in love with the sailor and was not expecting to get pregnant. Once she realized she was pregnant she expected the sailor to come back, and he did. She came to realize that he had a separate life and already had a wife and kids. He came to get his child and left her to be all alone on the island. She was left with nothing and self destructed. At the end of the video we are shown that she is actually a robot and that was a real cliff hanger.

Extra Credit: #1

For this project I decided to merge together half of a skulls face and half of a butterfly. I've decided to call it life vs. death. Even though these two things are completely different I can also find a similar balance between the two. Most people find skulls scary and ugly while butterflies are calming and beautiful,I on the other hand find skulls so raw and interesting. A skull is the foundation of everyones face and for a butterfly they all start off as a simple ugly caterpillar. No one ever thinks to praise the caterpillar part of the butterfly, only their beauty after the fact. The skull half of the sketch is meant to represent the caterpillar part of the butterfly while the actual butterfly part of the sketch is meant to represent beauty.

Raul Cuero's Interview

After watching Raul Cuero's interview we were asked to think about how we could apply some of his concepts to our everyday life. As I watched the interview I wrote down some things that stood out to me and that can easily be applied to my everyday life. He is a true believer that art and technology go hand and hand with each other. I honestly always thought they had some correspondence with each other but after listening to his knowledge I now have a better understanding.
Before the interview started a quote appeared on the screen saying "out of difficulties grow miracles". Raul was born in Columbia and was so poor he could not afford books growing up. As a teen he grew to like basket ball and received a higher education through a sports scholarship. He is now a micro biologist. In this case, art is not with paint and sketches but the art of being able to grow intellectually.
He believes that it is important to have a universal consciousness.
He mentions how creative solutions for life's problems will always be helpful. The only way to be creative with problem solving is by changing the expectations of others. For example, doing something others think that you can not do. Creativity to Raul is innovation and something that is not obvious.
Kids and adults today are at a creative disadvantage because they are born into a life of luxury. When you have everything handed to you there is no need to think outside of the box. Raul believes that doing things with your hands creates new thinking so in order to grow art we need to be working hands on with things.

feelings about class

I feel like this class has a lot to offer me and with graphic design as my major I am hoping to really grow and learn from this class. My name is Daniela and I am a sophomore at UT I'm originally from Jersey but I've lived in Florida for a little over a year now. I love art and the messages it can send people. Art can completely transport your mind in the process of making it and I love that escape. I expect to learn how different art would be without technology in this class and I look forward to learning how we as artist need technology.