Activism in Art

Describe- When I look at my image I see a girl who appears one way to the world and another way when she looks at herself in the mirror. The objects I used in this photograph are bathroom objects such as: sinks, bathroom stalls, soap dispensers, mirrors, and a hand dryer. My image is abstract because you can see lines in the image, shapes, forms, and texture.

Analyze- I did use the elements of principle and design such as shape, form, texture, and line. I didn't use much colors, I used more light colors. When I look at my image I see square, rectangle, and straight line shapes. The tone seems sad because the girl looks like she is trying to hide who she is and what she has to do to survive. The image is in focus and I did this intentionally. At first I wanted to blur the image in the mirror but felt it would lose emotions if I did so.

Interpret- The image is not dark, it uses a good amount of light. The photo was taken indoors because I wanted a background of a bathroom or somewhere that had mirrors. My main goal was to have a girl looking in the mirror and seeing the real her. In this case, someone who is taking pills to help survive.

Judge- I think my work was successful. I liked the finishing touch. I did edit it in photoshop and made it look a little different. The only thing I don't like is the brightness of the person. Their seems to be too much light on the person. But overall, I like my finished image.

The Notebook (Literally) Stop-Action Video

Describe: I have never done a stop-action video before, and I enjoyed the task. When I watch the video, I see a girl longing to be a normal person, but her ability to make everything she touches disappear keeps her from doing so. Our group did a great job; however, there were some parts that we could of made better. Such as making sure our shots were in focused, and making sure the notebook drawings looked real when they came to life. It is easy to tell what objects are used in the stop-action video, so the objects are close.

Analyze: In the video, I don't see the elements of principles and design being used. If it is being used, it is difficult to tell. The tone is sad, like I said in the "describe" part, it shows that she is longing to be a normal person. Some of the images are in focus, but in our classroom shots, the images aren't. It is mostly because she is moving while we were taking the photos, which is accidental.

Interpret: The director, Claressa, wanted a story of a girl who likes to doodle. Everything she doodles comes to life and everything she touches disappears. In the end she finds someone who has the same power as her and they go off to live a happy life. In some of our shots, the images were taken indoors inside of a classroom and others were taken outdoors by a tree to match the setting and tone that we wanted.

Judge: Since it was the first time we did this type of project, I think my group did pretty good. There were some images we could of worked on, but overall the stop-action video was good. I liked the message of the story and the story line as well.

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water Editorial

Photo Reflection:

Describe- When I look at this image, I see darkness and coldness. The background in the image and the tree looks burnt; it makes it look like an Indian Reservation campground which is a setting in the novel. The image makes me feel sad because I feel longing. I get that feeling because I have read the book and know what the character wants. She longs for the "perfect" family.

Analyze- You can't tell a lot, but the top of the tree is not focused creating a shallow depth of field. I wanted this in my image because I wanted the paper and hand more in focus.

Interpret- My photo was clear and more colorful before I edited it, but with the effects in Photoshop I used the "extreme contrast photo effect" to make it look more old. I also changed the curves to fix the lighting because as stated before I wanted darkness.

Judge- I like the end results because with the editing that I have done it makes the image match the tone and message.

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Over summer, San Diego SCPA was assigned a summer reading/writing assignment. We were suppose to read a book and write about how we would incorporate our book into our art. The book I read was a Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris. The book had three different parts; Rayona, Christine, and Ida. Each character gave a narration about their life: they talked about their parents relationship, how their parents treated them, how they were raised, and they talked about struggles they had as a person trying to find themselves. In the story, Rayona (Christine's daughter) is longing to have a family she never had. Her dad left her mother, and her mother runs away in the story leaving Rayona with Ida. Rayona then leaves Ida's house and goes to Seattle. In Seattle, she runs into a wife and husband who let her stay at their house. Rayona works at a camp, and at the camp she finds a note on the ground. The note is from a mother and father who wrote to their daughter that is in the camp. When the wife and husband ask Rayona if her parents know where she is, she replies saying yes, and here is a note they gave me.

I chose to incorporate that part of the novel into a photograph because if you read the story it shows how important it is for everyone to have a family. Everyone needs one, and I thought this picture worked with my message. However, the only way for you to understand why I chose this, is if you read the story.