Journal 9 - Week of November 16th

This week's creative act involved painting on a real canvas - something I don't recall doing in a very long time.

This product was intended to compliment the group project for this course. It was a particularly inspired act for myself, and reflecting on the process of creating this art would be especially worthwhile.

For this particular creation, the "incubation period" was longer than any other act I've done thus far.

The theme of the artwork is "H1N1 - How does it make you feel?". After conceiving this theme with my group, I immediately turned to media as a source for inspiration. At first I considered revolving the work around my frustration with the media's coverage of the issue. But after searching the internet and sifting through images in google's image search, I found myself rather moved by children and their response to the "swine flu scare".

I stumbled upon a number of images of kids receiving the H1N1 flu shot, all with different, but seemingly negative expressions on their faces.

Perfect! Two sub-themes came out of these pictures. Kids don't hide how they feel - and there faces reflect how I feel about swine flu hysteria.

After gathering many pictures like the one at the top of this entry, I wanted to showcase them in a way that made people ask themselves - how do I feel about this mess? Do any of the expressions on these faces emulate how I feel about H1N1 sensory overload?

I chose a number of photos, ranging from kids who were crying, screaming, mad or just disappointed. I think the boy at the top of this blog looks disappointed.

The next task was arranging them onto a canvas in a way that elicited a response. I was careful not to over do it, because I don't want the viewer to feel overwhelmed. I placed only 7 or 8 different images on the canvas in a way that didn't overload one side with the same emotion. This way there wasn't all angry kids on one side, all distant and disappointed kids on the other. This is because, after assessing the feelings that enter my body when I think of the h1N1 situation, I discovered that it is never one emotion I feel but rather a combination of anger, frustration and disappointment.

To bring more focus to the images, I bordered them with red paint.

I leave you with an image that is just plain funny:

http://www.reekoscience.com/images/MiscPhotos/KidKissingPig.gif

Journal 8 - Week of November 2nd

For this week's creative act and reflection, I created a mix-c.d for my friend.

Here is the playlist:

Empire State of Mind - Jay Z. ft. Alicia Keys

Alleyways - Hey Ocean!

Belief - John Mayer

Simple As - Kid Cudi

How to Disappear Completely - Radiohead

I Want You - Kings of Leon

Optimistic - Radiohead

Thinkin' 'bout You - Norah Jones

Motion Picture Soundtrack - Radiohead

Stop and Stare - OneRepublic

Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol

Seems as though the creative process for these blogs is alternating between challenging and easy. This creative act was a challenge.

The first question that came to mind was the requirement of setting a "mood" for the c.d.

I searched through my music collection and reviewed some of my most favorite albums, only to realize that to categorize them by a single mood to be ludicrous. Here is a prime example of how studying the past work of creators in this art is vital.

So I decided to stay away from setting a specific mood, and I just chose songs that meant something to me, or that moved me. What's particularly interesting is that, while the sound of the playlist is quite varied, the song titles aren't.

After much reflection on the titles of the playlist, I became conscious of how it mad me feel.

Had I subconsciously constructed a mirror of the relationship?

The next obstacle I ran into was the flow of the song. When I listen to an album, I try and listen to the whole thing, because I believe the artist is attempting to paint a picture with the entire album. I didn't want one song to infringe on another's feeling or message.

For example, does Norah Jones' Thinkin' 'bout You stick out far too much in between the two reflective Radiohead songs? Does following John Mayer with a hip hop tune diminish his effect?

These questions made me appreciate the work of music producers.

I feel happy about the playlist. But since I've created it, I have already thought about replacing songs with others. Perhaps I will revisit this work with a clear head and attempt to revise it.

Journal 7 - Week of Monday October 26th.

This week's creative act was composing a found poem. The content for this work was taken from my previous blogs. I found extracting various words and sentences from my previous entries to be a very reflective act in itself.

Here is the poem:

biking home on a cold night

practice for extended periods of time

intensely focused

focused throughout the practice session

a powering urge

a powering urge to know

sparked by the questions asked by me

"does that look right?" and "what kind of tree is that?

think about the last time i drew

dunked into thoughts

a powering urge to new

what's the message?

erase! erase! erase!

no

a little frustrated

a little angry

no

a little memory to keep.

this week will be different

it's time to perform

it's time to be better than i ever have before

i'm doing the right thing right?

a turning point

a powering urge to make mistakes.

I wasn't nearly as critical of this composition as I have been with past entries. This poem seemed to flow from my hands.

Quite different from my last attempt!

Each thought has been removed from its original source to create a new picture. I'm fond of this technique and form of creativity. And I am much more comfortable in this setting. I now have a sudden urge to right more of these!

For me this style of poetry is an attempt to bring harmony to my life. I never felt anxious or negative towards my poem, nor did I feel lazy or vacant of emotion. It was very relaxing, and it made me realize just how tense and frustrated I was with my last composition.

My inspiration came from reading the liner notes on some of Radiohead's c.d cases. What they right seems to be so disjunct and so harmonious at the same time. The combination of free time, the c.d cases and biking home on a quiet street fueled this poem.

When I was biking home I realized just how cluttered my head was.

I chose not to include many commas or capital letters as I am experimenting with how this focuses the readers attention to the subject matter.

Here is a copy of my paper on Jackson Pollack.

Rob Phillips

FA 100

Creative Being

Research Assignment

Jackson Pollock stood at the centre of what became known as one of the first specifically American art movements, Abstract Expressionism. Due to his sensitive nature and exposure to a number of artistic styles at an early age, his art inevitably became a collision of expressionism and traditional flavors. Though he encountered many obstacles, he still managed to define and ignite an artistic movement.

Understanding why Pollock was the central force of such a movement is easy when you consider the new concepts that he introduced to both the surrealist and expressionist styles of his era. Pollock used colour and form solely for their sensory and emotional impact. He also employed innovative techniques in his artistic process to achieve deliberately abstract outcomes, which came to realize themselves as what we now refer to as Abstract Expressionism. He employed and developed various new techniques including the dripping of paint onto a canvas laid flat out on a floor, and the use of less conventional painting tools and methods to elicit a particular response from his audience. In doing so, he distinguished himself from both the surrealist and expressionist.

“On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting. This is akin to the method of the Indian sand painters of the West.”

- Jackson Pollock - Interviews, Articles and Reviews (Pg. 17)(1)

What likely contributed to the development of Pollock’s creative force in the painting world, would have to be his sensitive and perceptive character. He was exposed at an early age to “American Indian Art” and it was at that time that he became particularly inspired by a collection of various sand paintings originating from the region of the western United States. He studied at the Arts Student League in New York City, beginning early at age 17(2). One of his most influential professors, the regionalist New York based painter Thomas Hart Benton exposed him to aspects of surrealism that later influenced his unique take on expressionism (eventually leading to the development of Abstract Expressionism). He became addicted to alcohol use at a young age likely as a means of self medication for the effects of the extreme sensitivity he had to his surroundings. He used it as a way to calm his anxiety and null the intensity of his emotions.

His creative approach was met with resistance as it was not easily understood, did not easily fit into either the surrealist or expressionist movements of the time and therefore had no particular niche. This only further aggravated his struggle with alcoholism and depression that he experienced in his daily life. He was ostracized for his creative style and was accused by many in his field of “destroying the easel picture” with his mural art and his “drip/splash” approach (Jackson Pollock – Interviews, Articles and Reviews [pg. 10])(3), his drip technique was even referred to by Yale philosophy professor Theodore Green as a “pleasant design for a neck-tie (Pg.11)(4).”

Citations:

1. Pepe Karmel. Jackson Pollock: Interviews, Articles and Reviews. (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1999.)
2. B.H. Friedman. Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1972.)
3. Pepe Karmel. Jackson Pollock: Interviews, Articles and Reviews. (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1999.)
4. Pepe Karmel. Jackson Pollock: Interviews, Articles and Reviews. (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1999.)

Bibliography:

1. Friedman, B.H. Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1972.
2. Karmel, Pepe. Jackson Pollock: Interviews, Articles and Reviews. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1999.