Welcome to Art Room 161

This blog was created as an extension of the dialogue that began in our classroom and the purpose is to share creative ideas, images, and critiscm. All posts should be appropriate for the high school classroom and critiscm should be helpful and positive.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Media Art: The Oscars







This Sunday is the Academy Awards Show and today we'll be taking a look at some of the nominated films that you might not have seen or heard of such as some of my favorites shown above: Philomena, Nebraska, & Her along with clips from some of the films nominated for best documentary such as: Cutie and the Boxer, The Act of Killing, & The Square.  You may want to watch some of these films on Netflix Instant, Amazon Instant, or Google Play before the show so here's a link to WNYC showing which films are available where instantly.

AP Senior Artshow 1: Sabrina


 This week we held our first AP Senior Artshow of 2014 and Sabrina started us off in style with an eclectic and intricate arrange show including her fashion designs, drawings, prints, sculptures, and paints complete with electric candle lighting and corrugated birds! 

February 26- Sabrina

March 12- Gabby & Harry

March 19- Michelle

March 26- Zachary

April 2- Andrew & Juliana

April 9 - Lisa & Erica

It was a fabulous beginning and above is the complete schedule for upperclassmen shows this year which will be followed by group shows of undergraduates and an alumni show later in the school year.



Thursday, February 27, 2014

Studio Art: Art History Test


Today we will have our test on the sculptors and designers we studied in studio art.  It's a straight-forward matching test so look at your notes about what the different artists work looks like to be prepared.  I choose artists like Saul Bass who created the work shown above who are influential and distinct so they wont be confused with others.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Media Arts: Our global PSA Project


We held our second Global Nomads Group video-conference with the G/9-4 school in Islamabad, Pakistan in Media Arts class yesterday and had another interesting global conversation.  In addition to discussing our collaborative community project the topics ranged from stereotypes to cars to war to media and some of the biggest surprises included learning about some of the things we take for granted such as mascots, You Tube, and lockers.  Our next video-conference in early April when we'll show our work on our global community PSA project which we will begin brainstorming today.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Media Arts: Videoconference #2 with Pakistan



This morning in Media Arts class we will have our second Global Nomads Group video-conference with the G/9-4 school in Islamabad, Pakistan.  During this conference we will discuss our upcoming collaborative community project, our personal and global history work, and the short videos that we created this week about where we live (ours is posted above).

Monday, February 24, 2014

Studio Art: Cutie and the Boxer


Today we'll take a look Cutie and the Boxer, one of the 2014 Oscar nominated films for best documentary, and the artists it focuses on: Shinohara and his wife Noriko aka 'Cutie'.  We will continue reviewing the sculptors and designers starting tomorrow with a test on Thursday that includes Shinohara.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Shanti Peace Poster Contest


Congratulations to Mr. Needles AP Studio Art students Lisa Sacco and Andrew Chang who's artwork was selected to be included in the 2014 Shanti Fund calendar.  Students from across Long Island created images to celebrate the idea of peace in honor of Gandhi's birthday and the Shanti Fund chose 12 of the best for the calendar which is distributed throughout New York.

Happy Valentines!



Happy Valentines Day everyone!  Today we have an abbreviated schedule due to the 2 hour delay so most c lasses will be taking a quiz or turning in work and going over what we'll be doing when we return from next week's break.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

AP Art: Japan Society Visit



Today we are welcoming guests from the Japan Society education department into classes in preparation for our upcoming Japanese student visitors in March.  Above is a video from JS's Waku Waku series reminding us how to say 'konnichi wa'!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Media Art: Frank and Ollie's Twelve Basic Principles of Animation.



Today we'll take a closer look at each at two of Disney's Nine Old Men, the team of Frank and Ollie along with their Twelve Basic Principles of Animation.  We'll also be collecting the 5 images for our upcoming look at the town we live in film.  Due to tomorrow's 10th grade Holocaust assemble the quiz will be moved to Thursday!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Media Art: Animation Basics



In Media Art this week we are going to go over the basic terms and principles of Animation including terms like: persistence of vision, stop-motion, storyboards, animatics, table reads, dailies, frames per second, pencil tests, CGI, cells, extremes, in-betweens, key frames, foley, and the Twelve Basic Principles of Animation.  We'll be looking at how animated works like Futurama and Toy Story are made and there will be a short quiz on Wednesday on the terms.

We are also going to work on out ongoing collaboration with Pakistan with out 5 photos of Smithtown due tomorrow, Tuesday 2/11

Friday, February 7, 2014

Extra Credit: ANTI-BULLYING Poster



This month's extra credit assignment is to create an ANTI-BULLYING poster for the Suffolk CountyYouth Bureau in any media.  Below are the basic rules and to get the credit posters need to be submitted to Mr.Needles by Friday
February 14 and mailed by April 18, 2014

To be eligible, middle school and high school aged youth must submit an 8 ½” x 11” poster, containing original content, reflecting, in words and/or images, the child’s perception of cyberbullying and its impact.

The poster must be postmarked no later than April 18, 2014, and must include, on the back thereof, the name of the child artist, as well as the name and address of the school or youth bureau with which the child is affiliated. Poster submissions must be sent to:  Roderick A. Pearson, Executive Director, Suffolk CountyYouth Bureau, 100 Veterans Memorial Hwy. P.O Box 6100 Hauppauge, NY 11788.

The Anti-Bullying Campaign Committee will select 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from the middle and high school age categories. Winners will be notified by Friday, May 16, 2014, and will receive their award at a ceremony to be held on May 30, 2014.  In addition, winning posters will be displayed in the lobby of the County Executive’s office at H. Lee Denison Building during the month of October, 2014, which is Bully Prevention month.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Studio Art- Artist Research Project II



To begin the second semester we will be researching artists who work in three dimensional art, sculpture, printmaking, and graphic design which are the major units we'll be covering.  Below is the master list of artists we'll be covering and just as we did last semester we'll have a test on them after the presentations.  Check the assignment drive to see which artist you've been assigned and complete a PowerPoint with 10 full slide images, 10 relevant facts, and a title page with the artists name, birth (and death) and your name and period by Friday 2/7.

Studio Art Semester II Artist Research Project
  1. Alberto Giacometti
  2. Albrecht Dürer
  3. Alexander Calder
  4. Andy Goldsworthy
  5. Auguste Rodin
  6. Bradbury Thompson Bradbury Thompson
  7. Chip Kidd
  8. Christo
  9. Claes Oldenburg
  10. Constantin Brancusi
  11. Dan Flavin
  12. David Carson
  13. David Smith
  14. Donatello
  15. FAILE
  16. Gian Lorenzo Bernini
  17. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
  18. Isamu Noguchi
  19. Louise Bourgeois
  20. Louise Nevelson
  21. Marcel Duchamp
  22. Massimo Vignelli
  23. Michael Bierut
  24. Milton Glaser
  25. Paul Rand Ruth Ansel
  26. Richard Serra
  27. Robert Indiana
  28. Saul Bass
  29. Stefan Sagmeister
  30. Ushio Shinohara

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Media Arts: Global Nomads Project


Today was the first day of the new semester of Media Arts class and we jumped right in with our first project in which we work with Global Nomads Group to collaboratively work on the Global Citizens in Action along with a class in Islamabad, Pakistan

This morning we held our first videoconference with our Pakistani partner school and were able to ask and answer a few questions and learn a bit about each other.  This week we will follow-up with 3 assignments that will be part of our next videoconference later in February.


Friday, January 31, 2014

Media Arts: Welcome, lets get global!



Welcome to all of the new students in Mr. Needles media arts classes this semester!  In this class we'll be taking part in a very special program from the Global Nomads Group entitled Global Citizens in Action.  The program uses new media to open an exchange between classroom in Smithtown with classes in Pakistan and Afghanistan and we'll be using SKYPE and videoconferencing to actually talk in person live with classes and have an ongoing conversation.

Our first video conference is going to be Tuesday, February 4 at 7:20am (aka the 2nd day of class) which means that we have a bit of important preparation to take care of on our first day!  The theme of the first exchange will be understanding each other's worldviews but before we begin we need to talk about how to have a successful video conference across the world and take a brief survey to understand a bit about what we know and how we feel now.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Smithtown Alumni: Broad City on Comedy Central



"This is so exciting! Wow, a National commercial" -Ilana Glazer

Today is episode 2 of Smithtown alumni Illana Glazer's new Comedy Central television show Broad City so watch and support our very successful alumnus, "it's that simple!"

Friday, January 24, 2014

Last Day of Classes for Semester 1


Today is last day of classes for semester 1 so make sure all of your assignments are in so I can let you know your final grade for the class!  Above is another great entry for the White House Film Festival supporting good uses of STEAM in schools by Cara, Isabella, Erika, and Lesly.  I had a great time working with all of you, have a terrific year!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Final Exam Day


Today we have final exams in Media Art and Photography and all remaining assignments are due in all classes tomorrow as it is the end of the quarter/semester.  I haven't seen some of you since my return from Paris on Monday so the video above of Bon Iver playing on the street is a little taste of the areas I visited called Montmarte.  They're actually playing right in front of what once was Pablo Picasso's house called the Bateau-Lavoir where he painted the Les Demoiselles d'Avignon which you may have seen at MOMA.  He shared the with a number of artists and writers when he first came to Paris such as: Amedeo Modigliani, Guillaume Apollinaire, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, and Gertrude Stein.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Photography and Media Arts: Final Exams


Now that I'm back from Paris we are starting our final week of Photography and Media classes so I wanted to do a review for our final exams on Thursday.  I created a comprehensive quizlet to help you review here: Photography Review & Media Art Review so take advantage of them!  Remember there is some material we haven't dealt with since the beginning of the year so spend a little time looking over your class notes as well and best of luck!

Media Art: The White House Film Festival Submissions



One of our final assignments in Media Art class is to create an entry for the new The White House Film Festival using all the tools we learned in class.  for this assignment students were given create freedom in interpreting how to best illustrate STEAM in schools and how it might be important in the future of their education.  Above is a terrific example from Allie who used clips of our recent SKYPE and Google Hangout sessions along with examples from our ongoing Japan Society program Going Global in her piece, great job!  Make sure you films are totally completed by Thursday this week (we may have quite a bit of snow coming our way so you might want to bring some material home to finish your projects)! 



Media Art: Broad City



In our final week together in Media Art we are going to take a look at  alumni Ilana Glazer and her new show on that premieres tomorrow titled which with executive producer .  Here's a short interview with Ilana and her partner Abbi Jacobson about how the show developed from a web series and what it's all about.  From the previews I've seen this is not the kind of show that would be appropriate to show in class but we are very proud of Ilana and her amazing success and it seems like an awesome show!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Bon Voyage



“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.”
Thomas Jefferson

Today after school I will be leaving for Paris and I'll be visiting some of the artistic highlights of the city in addition to some of the business I'm taking care of there.  Here is a quick look at the Louvre, one of the most important art museums in the world.  It houses work that we have learned about in every class from studio art to media to AP art.  It houses famous works such as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo as well as artists favorites such as the The Raft of the Medusa and The Islamic Art Collection.

I'm also going to try and check out a great photography show by Brassaï about the 'Pour l'amour de Paris' (For the love of Paris) at the Hôtel de Ville de Paris.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Studio Art: Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família



Today we have our test on art deco and art nouveau so as a quick refresher take a look at this awesome animation of Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família and how the exterior is being worked on and will continue to be construced until the 2026 completion date.  I was there this summer and I found it to be one of the most awe inspiring art experiences of my life, especially the now completed breathtaking interior! 

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Photography: Alternative methods, the final portfolio, and the final exam



We are finishing up the semester in Photography with some more alternative processes such as Tilt Shift and the Lens Baby.  After using the tilt shift maker online we are going to look at what an actual tilt shift lens looks like and what can be done with it including uses for video with our White House Film Festival project.  Here are 50 great tiltshift examples to take a look at along with the awesome tiltshift video above from Sam O'Hare. 

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD BE COMPLETED AND TURNED IN THIS WEEK- next week we will work on editing and printing our best images and our final exam which is in class on Thursday 1/23.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Studio Art: Art Nouveau vs Art Deco



In Studio Art we have been looking at Art Nouveau (or Modernisme) and Art Deco styles with classic work from Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Aubrey BeardsleyLee Lawrie, Paul Landowski, and Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret).  This week we will have a test on what we learned and begin our poster design project.  We looked at 4 contemporary poster designers: John Van Hamersveld, Daniel Danger, Jay Ryan, and Tara MacPherson for inspiration so now it's up to you to pick a style, event, and concept then begin sketching out your idea. Five thumbnails are due on Tuesday and then we will talk about your mixed media approach.  The test is on Wednesday.

La tournée du Chat Noir avec Rodolphe Salis (1896)

Sunday, January 12, 2014

AP Art: The Concentration



This week in AP Art we are thinking about concepts for 'The Concentration' so here are a few places to look at examples.  The video above shows a great concentration in urban street photography and below are links to examples from the College Board for the 3 different exams.  Everyone should have their initial concept written in Word and saved in the public drive by the end on Monday.

Drawing Examples
2D Examples
3D Examples

We are also entering the Heckscher Museum of Art Long Island's Best contest so you can look at what works were shown this year at the museum for inspiration here: http://www.heckscher.org/

Friday, January 10, 2014

Media Art: Hand Drawn Animation



In Media Art we are finishing up our hand drawn animation projects this week, all films are due by the begining of class Monday.  Above is a great short done by Allie which was editing on iMovie and Garageband.  As a reminder you can use any media to finalize your film for example: Moviemaker, Vine, Premiere, Instragram, or iMovie.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Studio Art: Art Nouveau and Art Deco



Today in studio art we will begin looking at two major design movements of the early 20th Century: Art Nouveau and Art Deco which will be our inspiration for our next design project.  We will learn about these two diffesnt art styles the incorperate aspects of them into the design of an event poster using both traditional media and computers.  We will also learn about modern poster designers such as: John Van Hamersveld, Daniel Danger, Jay Ryan, and Tara MacPherson and take a look at clips from the documentary Just like Being There which looks at the subject.


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Media Art: School Shorts



Today we are going to look at some really successful short films about school in preparation for our work on the White House Film Festival.  Above is a short from the This American Life series on Showtime, one of my all-time favorites.  The short has a great true story illustrated with Chris Ware's drawings animated by John Kuramoto.  It is a professional example by should help giving you an idea of a different approach to your short.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Studio Art: Zentangles


In studio art we are finishing up our Zentangle drawings by digitizing and coloring them in Photoshop.  Above are a few great examples from: Bella, Georgina, and Brianna from fourth period.  Today is the final day to submit them so make sure you finish up and save them in the public drive if you haven't already.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Welcome back (again)


Welcome back (again)!  We have just 14 class days left of class in media art and photography so we will be finishing up our current animations and photo projects and begin working on pur next assignment, the White House Film Festival, in both classes. 

We will also be finishing up work on the Scholastic Art and Writing awards in Photography and AP Art as work needs to be uploaded and forms need to be postmarked by today (St.James Post Office closes at 5pm today).

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Welcome to 2014!


Welcome back everyone (for at least a day anyhow) but there are only 14 school days left of the quarter and in some cases the class! Keeping that in mind, here's a project we will be working on next week that you should consider before we begin:



THE WHITE HOUSE FILM FESTIVAL- due January 29, 2014
films must be 3 minutes or less

THE PRESIDENT HAS AN ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU
Our schools are more high-tech than ever. There are laptops in nearly every classroom. You can take an online course on Japanese -- and then video chat with a kid from Japan. You can learn about geometry through an app on your iPad. So, what does it all mean?
We’re looking for videos that highlight the power of technology in schools.
Your film should address at least one of the following themes:
  1. How you currently use technology in your classroom or school.
  2. The role technology will play in education in the future.
Here are some topics that you may want to consider as idea starters when deciding what your video could be.
How does technology help with:
  • Personalized Learning
  • Online Learning
  • Global Collaboration
  • Student Creativity
  • Making and Tinkering
  • Project Based Learning
  • Critical Thinking
Consider showing the following in your video.
These are examples only:
  • The use of technology as a creation tool
  • The use of technology in new and innovative ways
  • The use of technology to access high quality online content and resources

Friday, December 20, 2013

Photography: Scholastic Art Awards


We reviewed all of the photographs we created so far this year this week in class and choose our favorites now it's time to print and submit some of them into contests and shows.  One of my favorite competitions is the Scholastic art and writing awards which has some fantastic prizes such as a $40,000 scholorship, shows, workshops with professionals in NYC, and an award ceremony in NYC.  As an added incentive I'll award extra credit to everyone from photo who enters (due by Monday, January 6, 2014 and there is a $5 fee per individual submission). 
 
Special Instructions- Photographs can be entered into 1of 2 categories based on the information below and you can enter a piece into both categories as well.
  • Identify type of photographic techniques used in the “List Materials” section of online registration. 
  • Editing software (Adobe Photoshop, Corel PaintShop Photo Pro, Photo Explosion, etc.) is acceptable to use for minor touch-ups and image correction in a manner that replicates traditional darkroom techniques (cropping, dodging, burning, adjusting brightness, contrast, color balance, etc).
  • Works that are digitally collaged, cloned, layered, merged, distorted, or heavily manipulated with computer software must be submitted in the Digital Art category
  • Emter Here: Scholastic Registration
Here is a link to some of the previous winners to give you an idea of what has been chosen: Scholastic Winners.  The winners are posted Friday, January 31 at 5pm so good luck!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Art Honor Society: Holiday Party and members show


Yesterday the National Art Honor Society had their annual holiday party and assembled our members show which will open when we return from break and be up for two weeks.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Photography: Tiltshift


Today we will review the tiltshift photos we created last week in class.  Above is a terrific example from Alix that was taken in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum on the Media Art Honor Society's Fall field trip.  Today our double exposures are due and tomorrow we will begin working on a group assignment.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Studio Art: Zentangle



Before our holiday break we will work on a unique drawing called a Zentangle.  There are a few great examples in the Zetangle Pool on Flickr and the video above is an example from Tiffany Lovering.  These are fun, stress-free, and in creating a zentangle the process is as important as the result so try not to be a perfectionist and let yourself go.

Friday, December 13, 2013

AP Art: Solarplate Etching


Yesterday's solarplate etching workshop with Dan Weldon was a great success and above are a few of the results from Paige, Harry, Allison, and Andrew.  You can see some of the different additive and reductive techniques that were used to aid your work on our future printmaking projects but what's nice about these prints is that they reflect the individual style of each artist.

 
This week in AP art class we will begin uploading the AP Studio Art Submissions  using our etching in the breadth section.  Below is the information you need to know to sign up:

School Code: 335001
School: SMITHTOWN HIGH SCH E CAMPUS
Teacher Key: xwt0100

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Photography: Alternative Process II



In Photography we are continuing our work on Alternative Processes this week with creating double exposures and tiltshift images (look at the awesome example above by Keith Loutit).  Below are a few techniques and the final 2 images are due on Monday:

 Double Exposures: There are a variety of ways to create double exposures the most controlled being to take two images and merge the as layers on Photoshop.  You can also use cameras which allow for two exposures such as the Holga and Diana or apps on your smartphone.  My favorite app is Hipstamatic but not that they are charging here's a link to a few free apps which allow you to create double exposures.

Tiltshift: We are not actually doing tradional tiltshift which use a special lens (which tilts and shifts) but rather mimicing the effect.  The three basic methods are hand blurring the images in Photoshop, using a website such as www.tilitshiftmaker.com, of creating them on the smart phone with apps such as Instagram (using the little teardrop icon) and here's a link to a few other free apps which allow you to create tiltshift images.

AP Art: Solar Plate Etching


Today is our Solar Plate Etching workshop periods 2-5 so make sure you have your prepared piece to work from and meet in artroom 161 at 8am so we can begin on time.   Above are examples of the works from students last year using the three different techniques.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Denmark Day 2013



Today we have students from Denmark visiting so lets take a quick look some of my favorite Danish at art and media and learn a little bit more about the home of the Vikings.

In the world of film Babette's Feast is a modern Danish classic and films such as: Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, and the far out their Melancholia came from Danish director Lars von Trier who was part of the Dogme movement which came about in the 90's with like: Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Lone Scherfig.

In the world of art I've always admired the work of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, who  studied  with Jacques-Louis David in Paris as well as work from contemporary artist such as: Per Kirkeby, Richard Winther, and Olafur Eliasson who did the terrific piece shown in the video above in 2008 titled New York City Waterfalls.

Hans Christian Andersen is probably the most famous author from Denmark and there's a terrific Little Mermaid statue based on his 1913 story by Edvard Eriksen in Copenhagen that you might recognize. Danish design and architecture is also pretty amazing notably Jørn Utzon's iconic Sydney Opera House which earned him the distinction of becoming only the second person to have his work recognized as a World Heritage Site while still alive.  Finally in music modern groups such as: The Raveonettes, Mew, and Lars Ulrich, drummer of the band Metallica are Danish

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Photography: Critiquing our Light Paintings

Last week we worked on learning how to paint with light and all of the final edited photographs are due today so we will critique them along with the grunge filter portraits in class.  The photo above was done in class with Irene, Sophia, and I using lightbomber and edited on the iphone using grunge textures.

Monday, December 9, 2013

AP Art: Solar-plate etching workshop


This Thursday December 12, 2013 students from our AP Art class will be participating in an In-School Field Trip with guest printmaker Dan Weldon from periods 2-5 for a solar-plate etching workshop.  Take a look at some of the solarplates Weldon has done with artists such as: DeKooning, Flavin, Fischl, and Salle through his company Hampton Editions for inspiration in order to be prepared for the experience.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Media Art: Global Nomads



This year Mr. Needles media classes we will participate in a new exciting online exchange program called Global Citizens in Action through the Global Nomads Group.  We are being paired up with a class in Islamabad, Pakistan and the collaborative lessons will focus on cultural exchange, media literacy, and global citizenship.  I recently worked with our partner teachers in an online professional development program and we reviewed the lessons which should be as engaging as they are insightful and interesting!  We will be starting just after the winter break and it should be a wonderful addition to our class!


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Studio Art: 8 Bit Wonderland


We are taking a cue from street art legend Space Invader for our next project and we'll be creating a simple grid version of a famous piece of art which we studied earlier in class.  Below is an example that I created using the Mona Lisa as an example.  I have the grid saved in the assignment and public drive and today I'll demonstrate how it's created in Photoshop.






Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Studio Art: Photoshop Skills


In Studio Art class we have been learning a variety of photoshop skills such as layering (check out Ashley's excellent example above) and design with the poster contest (here's a great entry from Olivia below) which is due today. Our two assignments will be design based computer arts projects and for inspiration you should take a look at Computer Arts Magazine which has some amazing examples of digital art as well as tutorials and we will decide together as a class which assignment we will do next.

 
 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Photography: Experimental techniques I



This week in class we will be learning two experimental photography techniques light painting and creating a grunge filter.  Both assignments will be due a week from today on Tuesday next week. (I'm assigning 2 at the same time due to equipment and space constraints so that everyone can be working on one or the other)

Grunge
Today I will first demonstrate how to use images of wrecked type, scratches. grime, grit, and coffee spills along with some advanced Photoshop tools to create a unique grunge filter. There are also so tutorials in the link above that you might want to try just be sure it is an original image that you are working with and not someone else's.  It is also important to make sure you work with an image that would look good weathered so you might want to take one later today for use tomorrow (there are examples from students in previous classes above).


Light Painting
Today I'll demonstrate the basic techniques involved with light painting and then you can create your own either using our DSLR camera or one of the long exposure apps for the smart phones such as light bomber which also hosts regular contests and require that the image is nor Photoshoped making it crucial that you get the exposure and contrast right for the shot.  The more complex your painting is the harder it is but the cooler it looks so if your up for the challenge go for it!  Above is an example I did by signing my name in light, the trick is you need to learn how to sign it backwards if you are behind the light, tricky!


Here are the two examples from the demonstrations I did in class with Trent, Graham, and I of the two different projects.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Welcome Back


Welcome back! I hope everyone had a terrific break and enjoyed the holiday!  Our Art & Media Art Honor Society trip to the Metropolitan Museum was a great success and now we are fully into the holiday season.  Below is a breakdown of what each of the classes is working on right now as a reminder so take a look in case you forgot!


Media Art: Hand drawn animation (50 cards due Wednesday)

Studio Art: Type Poster Design (Completed Poster due Wednesday)

Photography: 3 Color and 3 Black and White Studio Portraits (due Today)

AP Art: The Scholastic Prize (critique today, final due Wednesday)


Also the art and media art honor society will be putting together our annual gallery show so make sure to bring work in Wednesday to show!!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Art and Media Honor Society: Remembering 5 Pointz


Today we are going on our annual field trip to NYC and what was supposed to be 5 Pointz in Queens.  I stopped by 5 Pointz a week before it was destroyed to scope it out and shot a short video of the murals which I posted above in remembrance of the artspace.  Have a great Thanksgiving Break!

PS- Banksy fans might want to take a look at this NY Times article on the fate of the final Banksy work, the graffiti ballons, which was put up just down the street from 5 Pointz.

Monday, November 25, 2013

AP Art: The Gedenk Award for Tolerance


The next theme we will be working on comes from the Gedenk Award for Tolerance which is sponsored by the SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING AWARDS this year. 'Gedenk' is a Yiddish word meaning “remember” and the award asks us to consider what we can all do to learn from humanity’s mistakes.  Five National Medals and prizes of $1,000 each will be given for work in any of the Awards’ categories (which can be found in the link above).  We will critique and collect them after the Thanksgiving break and submit them in December.

Photography: The Portraits

Today we'll be critiquing the completed studio portraits such as Nicole's images which are pictured above and look terrific along with the results of the three part portraits that were due on Friday, below is a favorite from Nick.

 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Studio Art: Creating Fonts


In Studio Art we have been working on creating fonts and learning the elements and tools of graphic design and below are two great examples of fonts created in class by Jordan and Nikki,  This part of the project is due on Monday and you will use it next week when you design a poster with your fonts in Photoshop.

The theme of the poster is ‘Across Opposites’ from the Typography Day 2014 student poster contest.  You should take a look at these two designs from last year's competition which was 'Between The Lines' by Richard Doubleday and Christine Mitchell to get an idea of the expectations.

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