Extra Credit Assignment

You will have the opportunity to earn up to 10 points of extra credit for posting the following assignment to your blog by 11:59pm on Tuesday, Dec. 4th...

I'm planning for a new 112 class next semester and there are a few assignments that I may sub out and work on a little bit. I'm relying on your collective creative genius to provide me with some ideas for replacement assignments. So, the extra-credit assignment will essentially be a proposal for a new lesson/assignment that I could include in the course next semester. Here's what it would involve.

• A description of the primary concept(s) addressed in the in-class lecture/discussion/activity. For example, you might have found some idea in 114 to be particularly interesting and applicable to our class' objectives of exploring the location, creation and presentation of artistic expressions, developing your individual artistic voice, and gaining experience in collaborative creative projects. Well, summarize that idea in a few sentences and discuss how that concept might contribute to one or more of those objectives (including what unit it might fit into). And then provide one media example (a film clip, painting, audio doc, whatever) that would help illustrate both the concept and its relationship to the course objectives (with a written explanation of these connections).
• An assignment description (like those on the syllabus) in which you introduce a creative project, address some specifics of process and/or product, and then encourage student reflection on certain aspects of that process and/or product (this is where you connect the creation to the conceptual foundations in your previous paragraph). You do not have to complete the creative project yourself (but I guess if you wanted to you could).

There was a question about tweaking existing assignments. You can use an existing assignment as a starting point for your proposed lesson/assignment, but what you submit should be substantively your creation. If you're just tweaking a few things on the Textual Poaching or the Concerned Citizen, that won't be enough to earn you much (if any) extra credit.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Fireside Chat

Dana Atchley, "Next Exit"

Above is a photo of something that helped inspire our upcoming Fireside Chat. Below is the Radiolab episode we listened to in class for which many of you requested the link.

Protest Poster

Shepard Fairey, "Reforma Migratoria Ahora!"

 Shepard Fairey, "Legislative Influence for Sale"

 Barbara Kruger, "I Shop Therefore I Am"

Barbara Kruger, "Your Body is a Battleground"

Adbusters, "Corporate American Flag"

Adbusters, "Are We Happy Yet?"

So, there are some examples of what you're finished piece might look like. But remember, don't feel limited by these examples, feel empowered.

As a reminder of the process I went over in class today...

• Select an issue that matters to you. My intention is not to cultivate any particular political or social perspective in you. Rather it is to encourage you to develop some kind of political or social perspective.
• Research that issue across a range of media. In what ways do the representations of the issue exhibit uniformity and/or unity? Which voices, images, ideological perspectives, information, responses, etc. are included/addressed in these representations? Which are absent?
• Create a piece of 2D visual art--using text and image--to address your selected issue. Be sure that your piece reflects your research of the issue, and your developing perspective on the issue. Remember, the point of this assignment isn't for you to just make media--it's to encourage you to engage with an issue that interests/affects you, develop a better understanding of that issue, and then make something that reflects your perspective on it (and raises awareness of it).
• Then, post it on your Facebook page, Tumblr, Twitter, etc. and engage in a conversation about it with your community online.
• And lastly (as always) reflect on this process. Talk about why you selected your issue, what research you did, what you found, how your understanding of the issue has grown, why you chose to represent this issue (in regards to form and content) in your poster, and what it was like to discuss this piece with your friends online. 

I will be grading you with all of these points in mind. And remember that the same day that you post  your Protest Poster, you will be responsible for posting an artist's statement for the Webspinna in which you reflect on your experience composing and then performing your mix.

And here's a Ted talk from Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie called "The Danger of a Single Story" that addresses some of the negative consequences of the uniformity of media representations and advocates for other, varied voices to be heard and stories to be told. It's worth watching.

Webspinna links

Dark was the night..

I know how to pray

In B flat

Tapestry

Raindrop melody 

Star Wars Soundboard
Darth Blues

Cool Stuff I Mentioned

Here's a video of The Lucky Dragons' interactive concert I mentioned. Here, music truly is all about the relationship between creators, me and you. All the music you hear is produced through the physical contact made by those attending.



Here's a link to the article I mentioned about PhD's in science-related fields presenting their dissertations through interpretive dance. And here's a video just in case you're one of those link-averse peoples.


And another...


And here's a link to an article from Wired Magazine about the Cow Clicker satirical Facebook game I mentioned in class. And here are some cows.

Medium Specificity

As a supplement to today's discussion...

Here's that Pollock piece that I referenced. Pollock might be exploring painting as the process of applying paint to canvas, painting as paint on canvas (not necessary representational), paint as the dynamic relationship between colors, etc.

Jackson Pollock, "Number 6"

Here is the print from Warhol that I mentioned. Warhol is exploring printmaking as demonstrating the infinite reproducibility of art in the modern era and the commodification of cultural icons (like celebrities Elvis or Marilyn Monroe).

Andy Warhol, "Eight Elvises"

And just as a reminder, here is the assignment description:

Each student will choose an artistic medium (film, photography, drawing, painting, medium, dance, performance, graphic design, poetry, literary narrative, etc.) and produce a work which explores the specific elements unique to that medium--like Brakhage or Daren’s films, Pollock’s paintings, Warhol’s prints, Cage’s music, etc. Students are encouraged to consider how their particular work functions as a celebration, commentary or critique of their chosen medium.

 So, I will evaluate your work with the following in mind:

• Did you choose a medium, identify a fundamental element of that medium, and produce a creative work that both conceptually and artistically engages with that element of the medium?
• Did you provide an artist's statement that explains (1) your decision to explore a certain element of the medium and (2) how your piece creatively engages in that exploration? Also, consider (as mentioned in the assignment description) how your project functions to celebrate, comment on or critique the chosen medium.

Social Media Adaptation

So let's review today's discussion of social media as a venue for storytelling. But by request, here is Star Wars Uncut in its entirety. What a great example of collaborative creative online remixing.

Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

As a reminder, here is the assignment description:

Students will work in groups of 3-4 to adapt a ‘classic’ literary work to a social media platform. All students in the group must have read the selected piece of literature, and the instructor reserves the right to determine what constitutes a ‘literary classic.’ Social media platforms may include Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, Flickr,YouTube, Pinterest,Tumblr, and/ or whatever else you want to pitch to the instructor. Students are encouraged to consider how elements from the original literary work (themes, tone, character development, narrative structure, etc.) are translated into the new medium (which may include images, videos, music, sounds, hyper- links, games, etc. in addition to text).

In class, we decided that our adaptations of literary works to social media might acknowledge/take advantage of the following characteristics:

• Social media allow for stories to be told using a variety of media (images, moving images, text, games, etc. etc.) and platforms.
• Social media platforms have particular cultures, conventions and infrastructural limitations.
• Social media often emphasize social interaction (between characters within the narrative and between creators and audiences).
• Social media allow for instant and (arguably more democratic) dissemination of your creative work.
• Social media allow for storytelling simultaneously from multiple perspectives.
• Social media draw attention to the disparity between the constructed nature of one's online persona and their actual perspectives, behaviors, etc. 

That list isn't exhaustive, but keeping this discussion in mind during the creation of your project would be helpful. Also, I'll be evaluating your work with the following in mind.

• Effective retention of elements of the original work and the incorporation of new elements that speak to your (as creators) interests/strengths and contemporary context. (How is Nolan's Batman the same as Bob Kane's or Frank Miller's? How is it new and different? Why is it new and different--what does Nolan bring to the character and how is the cultural/political/social/artistic context of 2012 evident in The Dark Knight Rises?)
• Creative use of those aspects of social media (multimedia, interactivity, simultaneity, etc. etc.) that are unique to them. (What does Twitter or Instagram or whatever have to offer this story?)
• Collaboration among group members. How are the strengths, skills and knowledge of each group member contributing to the final work? How is the labor divided among group members? (This will be evaluated in part by the 'Grade your Group' feedback forms you'll complete on Tuesday).
• Reflection in artists' statement regarding your creative process, how your work relates to class discussions and outside media. (Ask yourselves: What elements of the original work did we find compelling and choose to retain? What did we bring (from our individual experience and contemporary context) to the story? How did we use social media to effectively present this adaptation? What was this collaborative process like for us? What did we gain from it? What was challenging about it? How does this relate to our discussions of and readings on playing, poaching, remixing and adapting?)

Next, how do we turn this in? Well, some content should be included on the blog post itself, whether it's a screengrab of the story as it unfolds on the social media platform. Like this...

...or this....

...OR if you are creating content (images, video, text, etc.), embed that stuff in your post. (Including content on the blog is especially helpful when your social media platform--like Myspace--is blocked on BYU's network).

And finally, because your adaptation is meant to be interactive (at least to some degree), include links to help your audience begin to navigate the narrative--for example, links to the public profiles of your characters (remember to set privacy settings to public to allow us to see your work without having to create an Instagram account and follow each of your characters). Though, depending on your story, and how you'd like your audience to navigate it, other links might be more relevant.

And to include, here are those other cool things we watched in class.

Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo from HitRecord

Morgan & Destiny's Eleventeeth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo from marc daly on Vimeo.

How the Amazing Spiderman Should Have Ended from The Fans.

And here's a collaborative fan-created music video for a post-humously released Johnny Cash song. And it's awesome. (I can't embed it because the video changes everytime you view it.)

"Ain't No Grave" by The Johnny Cash Project

Play

Wow, that was a messy lecture. So, let me follow up with some explanation...

We watched The Gleaners and I by Agnes Varda to demonstrate how our creative process can be understood as assembling source material (Rembrandt, cabbage, cats, one's hands, etc.) and recontextualizing or re-appropriating it (making mold into art, organizing this mess of disparate things into a narrative).

We discussed the process of signification in which our experiences are organized into conceptual categories, that these concepts are referred to with the use of signs (marks on a page, uttered sounds, etc.), that those signs denote and connote certain things. Add to that the understanding that any sign only has meaning when compared/contrasted with other signs, and we see that this process of signification is a rather tenuous one (Think about it--You look up a word in the dictionary and you're given more words which you must look up in the dictionary, etc., etc.) Acknowledging the fluidity of meaning--the gaps between experiences and concepts, concepts and signs, texts and readings--is recognizing the play in language.

We watched Rip! A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor to see the historical precedent for the deliberate acknowledgment and incorporation of play in creative work. Bluesmen like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Son House took existing songs (or signs or representations), read them in certain ways, reworked them according to their readings, and re-produced them. Their work (and all creative work, if you think about it) is comprised of both themselves (the artists) and their influences.

This week's creative project addresses that, but rather than simply remake something, I want you to use this exercise in play to understand yourself better. So, to be clear, here are some steps to follow...

1. Pick an aspect of your identity--I am a male. I am white. I am a husband. I am a father. I am a teacher. Etc., etc. Pick one that you think will be interesting to you and to us.
2. Find a mediated representation of this aspect of your identity--Representations of masculinity in Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'. Representations of whiteness in I Love Lucy. Representations of fatherhood in Family Circus comics. Representations of teachers in Frederick Wiseman's documentary High School. Whatever.
3. Now engage with that representation--In what ways does this accurately represent your understanding and performance of this aspect of your identity? In what ways does it not? For example, I might find High School's representations of some teachers as harsh disciplinarians who enforce students' adherence to prescribed gender roles to be problematic. But I also might identify with the English teacher who uses Simon and Garfunkel to illustrate how aesthetic decisions contribute to the communication of theme. Your engagement will have similar complexity.
4. Now, manipulate that representation to illustrate your engagement with how it represents your identity--I'll give you a few examples.

L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp

Duchamp's taken Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, drawn a mustache on it and included the caption "L.H.O.O.Q." (which in the French pronunciation resembles a mild sexual innuendo). Now, why would Duchamp do this? As a Dadaist, Duchamp was interested in questioning the role that art plays in society, and his art intentionally reflects his challenge to the authority of high art (like Da Vinci's). So, while he identified as an artist, he found problematic what the Da Vinci's work communicates about what art is or should be. So, he defaced it--and this manipulation of the image is representative of his engagement with this aspect of his identity.

The Grey Album by Danger Mouse
(FYI, there may be language in the following clip that some might find problematic).

Danger Mouse has taken the Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album and created a series of sample-based songs called the Grey Album. Why would Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) do this? Well, because of his mixed racial and cultural heritage, and the role that both rock and hip hop played in his development as a musician, this approach to music (of genre, culture, etc.) represents his engagement with the hybrid nature of his identity as an artist and as a human being.

Concession by obsession_inc

Take a look at it here.

obsession_inc has authored a fan-fiction novel based on the character Christine Everhart (the Vanity Fair journalist Tony Stark has a one night stand with during the first Iron Man film). Why would she do this? Well, superhero comics and their film adaptations have been generally pretty sexist--female characters are marginalized and/or objectified, often lack power and agency, and are often in need of saving. (As if you need evidence--go back and watch Spiderman 2 and count the number of shots that include screaming women--you'll be amazed.) So, a narrative set in a comic book universe which focuses on empowered female characters is an attempt to introduce some more balanced representations of femininity into the genre.

There you go. Come to class Wednesday with questions about the assignment. I'll be evaluating your projects with these things in mind:

• your selection of aspect of identity, your selection of textual representation
• your creativity and critical thinking in your manipulation of the text
• your thoughtfulness in the artist's statement (re: your selection of text, consideration of representation, aesthetic choices in your manipulation of the text)
• your reflection of the experience sharing your work online
• your having followed directions

2 Cool HiStory Things

Here's the film we didn't get to in class. My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts (1999) is an excellent example of history as a creative process. It also demonstrates a very valuable type of genealogy--one in which families are sealed together through story.

My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts by Torill Kove, National Film Board of Canada

Also, I came across this piece--Ken Burns on Story--which, considering his approach to mining history for source material for his documentaries, also has something to offer our discussion of HiStory.

Ken Burns: On Story from Redglass Pictures on Vimeo.

And for those of you who didn't hear or weren't present, please post pdf's (as embedded jpg's) of each page of your script on each of your blogs (both partners). Then include 1 artists' statement on which both partners also collaborated on each of your blogs (both partners).

And as a follow up to our discussion about the transparency of my evaluative process, I will be considering the following things in my (admittedly but justifiably) subjective review of your scripts:

• Character 
• Context
• Narrative
• Plot
• Dialogue
• Theme
• Following directions

Screenplay Help & Cornel West

Hey, I promised some help with formatting your screenplays. So, if you haven't already found a resource, check this out.

I also mentioned posting the Cornel West clip from Examined Life. Enjoy.

a process of making a thing

Here's something awesome that relates to both our discussions of processes and things.

Jack White make guitar from GorWo4ek on Vimeo.

Process Piece Treatment

Here's a thing that might be helpful. Obviously, not everything applies. And regrettably, the presentation of this information is very, very dry.

Writing Your Treatment from ShootingPoverty on Vimeo.

And here's a sample treatment from some dude who came up with his own sequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy (awesome). Take from it what you will.

On second thought, this guy uses past tense, pretty atrocious grammar, and has the Witch King get run over by a car. Maybe it's not the best example to provide. Oh well. Just be sure to include 1) a title, 2) a logline (one sentence summary of the piece), and 3) a paragraph or two describing both the content (what is represented) and form (how it is represented) of the piece. And use present tense.

Stoop Sitting

Here's that cool thing that we watched today. FYI. Check out more from Everynone here.

Music & Image in Fashion Design

Hey, I came across this, and I think it's another good example of this interesting relationship between music and image. Here are some artists specifically talking about how music provides creative inspiration for their construction of image.

Thick Description

First off, way to go on the Music Mosaic assignment. So many of you really nailed it. It makes me really excited to work with you all during our mutual time here at BYU.

Next, here's the link to  Walt Whitman's "Life in a New York Market." (You may have to log in to your HBLL account to access it.) Be sure to read it along with the assigned readings from the textbook.

Because this is the first time I've assigned the Thick Description assignment, I don't have a previous student's work to provide as an example. But based on your impressive performance on the first assignment, I anticipate that you'll be able to successfully pioneer this project as well. The Whitman reading is a great example of one way that you could realize this project, but it's definitely not the only way. So, re-read the assignment description in the syllabus, and here are a few additional comments that may prove helpful:

• Pick a place that you know. Don't pick a place you've never been. Don't pick a place that you will not be able to visit (at least a couple of times) in the next week. And don't pick your bedroom. That's lame.
• This place, like the home described in the Clifton poem from class, can be more metaphorical, but it still must have some clear correspondence to some physical space. When Clifton provides details like the 'scent of dough rising' and 'splintered floorboards,' her poetic representation of home is grounded in some concrete sensory experiences.
• While many of the places we discussed in class we have fond relationships with, you are not obligated to choose a place you love. The Chinese factory from the Manufactured Landscapes clip is an interesting place precisely because of our complicated relationship with it. Just be sure to acknowledge your experience of that place--the tension between you and it--in your notes and your final essay.
• Pay attention to the aspects of place that we discussed in class. How does this place function as a stage on which human action and interaction takes place? How might this place be understood as a subject or character itself? What sensory experiences do you have in this place? What emotions do you experience? What thoughts do you have? How does this place relate to your understanding of community? How does this place encourage an understanding of deity? Your final essay doesn't have to address all of these questions, but you should at least attempt to explore them in your initial observations and notes.
• Bring your notes/sketches/etc. from the place to class Thursday to workshop your idea. And then be prepared to visit your place at least one more time before you write your essay. Your final essay can be more literal or metaphorical, can have a autobiographical or more 'objective' perspective, can be poetic or journalistic. Just make sure that it has some attention to detail and depth of feeling.

Music Mosaic

The dynamic between image and sound can be navigated in a number of ways. We're probably most familiar with the approach that starts with images (or more appropriately, moving images) and then composes music to accompany these images--film scores. Or on the other end of the spectrum, we're familiar with the approach that starts with music and then creates moving images to accompany the music--music videos. I find the approaches in-between most interesting.

For example, the following video started as a fan creation, and then became a collaboration between the composer and visual effects artist. And the composer attributes his relative success largely to the success of the video.

Or, you're probably familiar with the music/design/performance art project that is the Gorillaz. Here, an artist and some musicians have collaborated to simultaneously create these characters that navigate this cool transmedia narrative (oftentimes, in a cool, camouflage dune buggy). Here, neither image nor music has primacy--they're simultaneously produced and thoroughly interdependent.

One is more abstract; the other is more narrative- and character-driven. One attempts to visually represent tone, pitch, rhythm, instrumentation, etc.; the other is interested in using the combination of image and music to build a world. I invite you to do what you think most authentically expresses your reading of the music.

I know that that's kind of vague, so I'll attempt to be a little more concrete (as concrete as abstract expressionism can be, I suppose). Jackson Pollock was rumored to listen to jazz as he painted. So, if little Jack was taking CRV, he might choose some piece by Miles Davis and then be inspired to paint the following image.

So, he likes this pairing of image and sound and so he continues to listen to the piece, noting different aesthetic elements or emotions or whatever, and then produces a series of images to accompany the piece of music.

Then, maybe he decides to experiment with the size, shape and composition of these images. In this case, perhaps, the layout corresponds with the chronology of moods he experienced listening to the piece a given time.

Ultimately though, Jackson Pollock never had (or at least he never bothered) to justify his artistic approach to anyone. You will. Whatever the medium, form, content, etc. of your mosaic, you'll need to be able to explain their significance.

So, refer to the description of the assignment in the syllabus, our discussions in class, the feedback you got during the workshop. Then get to work. Remember that your completed assignment will include a 300-500 word 'artist's statement' that contextualizes your mosaic within the week's topic--in this case, this delicate process of creative inspiration and execution.

Welcome to 112

Hey everybody! Glad to have you in 112 this semester. It should be a lot of fun.

I'm new to BYU (kind of), so I thought I'd share a story to help introduce myself. Here we go.



Damon from Benjamin Thevenin on Vimeo.

Before Thursday, be sure to do the following:

• Read over the syllabus carefully (to get it, go to learningsuite.byu.edu, find 112 in your courses, and the good-looking syllabus with links will be under the "Content" tab as "Good-Looking Syllabus with Links").
• Set up your own blog on which you'll post your creative projects this semester and then email me the link.
• Read Forbes' "The Power of Story in an Age of Consequence"
• Choose a piece of instrumental music (w/o lyrics) for your Music Mosaic, which we'll work on during Thursday's class. Look for a post very soon with more details about that assignment.