ayokayuek-blog

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Final Project

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About Me

My name is Ayok Ayuek, I am currently studying creative communications. I chose this course so that I could get a broader understanding of what it means to be creative in terms of communicating. I’ve learned that even as a writer or a reporter I can execute the content learned from this course into my future endeavors like public relations or teaching.

When it comes to creativity I believe that I am a hands-on artist. I like to explore mediums that give works a certain texture or outlook that most wouldn’t consider as traditional, in a more artist term; postmodern art. During my secondary education, I’ve explored many mediums like lino print, paint, sculpting and creating mini models of installations that utilize hair as its main material. These explorations have given me the opportunity to express myself in many ways.

I view myself to be quite passionate when it comes to art and tend to focus a lot of my creativity on my culture, expressing my personal views on young women and their roles in a Sudanese home/tradition. Also focusing on the main features black women use to define or express themselves; hair. In my opinion, its what makes me, me. I style my hair in a way that makes me feel happy and somewhat comfortable. 

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Previous works

This painting was created by me in my final year in secondary school. It is a personal artowrk that was created with acrylic paint, some blended colours. This artwork focuses around the message and meaning I wish to express in my current project (African art on a focus on female individuality and hair). this work directly express the idea of different sides to Sudanese or African girl (expectations). created by either familiar, community or society. 

This artwork was also created during secondary. It is a lino print that  express the meaning of female African's (Sudanese) and how they express themselves through hair and the different pieces to each and everyone of them that make them who they are.

I took a photograph of a wig that I set up on top of a small stool placed on a foam head. To give myself a perspective on how it would like on a human head, while adjusting the style of hair to my liking. I guess is creative due to the making of the stand and the process of the hair making.

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Processes

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Mini Exegesis

My creative project focuses on the concept of hair and the different ways in which women of African descent would wear it. My project is an overall sketch with the inclusion of coloured pencils that represent the concept of various hair personalities. The focal point of the image is the woman at the centre of the page, who showcases the main idea. Including a slight replica of my features, but others that are not mine, to make them a little more diverse. The meaning and messages behind the overall artwork are that as African females, a lot of us are placed into a single category in terms of behaviour and character, making it sometimes difficult to express one's personality as an individual. Making our appearances our best solution to that, especially in our hair. The concept of braiding and extensions is thoroughly more explored by Africans, due to their constant need to create something new and stylish, essentially for woman and their everyday activities and events. Having the opportunity to experiment with our hair and flaunt our personality in the way we decide to do our hair this week and every other week. I have incorporated a lot of ideas around the readings that I found best represent my creative choices, in both my current and previous projects. Mainly consisting of collaborative aspects that have allowed me to expand my ideas, expressions of my personality and the elements and principles of design that reflect my style.

A lot of my inspiration came from my own interpretation of culture, specifically mine. The way I perceived my culture in the perspective of a woman in my culture and the different ways we express our individuality through creative ways, like hair and clothing. In relation to my project hair and how the way we style it shows the various ways, us as Sudanese women convey our personalities through the way we decide to wear our hair, one day. The concept of a community and their own expression of creativity was one of my main inspirations, for wanting to base my project on my culture and one idea of what I find creative about it. Understanding that a community "enables people to express local feeling and experience" Dickson (1996). Which is what hair in my cultural community allows us to do, it is just another form of expressive art that is a part of our bodies (body art). That also allows one's personality to show also. Much of which the decisions into making my project was to ensure that all stages are done at a pace that allows each aspect of the work to be completed in a consistent manner.

The inspiration of the overall design concept came from many different roots, but they were already stored in my mind, making the execution the easy part. The two had to work together well so that I stayed on task and on the subject. My personal cultural standpoint on a woman and their individuality have allowed me to utilise those cultural notions, that gives me the motivation to explore these artistic thoughts. One of the main cultural inspirations is that we are a very creative group of people, who aim to be as novel and unique as much possible. My most favourite medium is sketching, because it allows you to create so much in-depth detail with one little HB pencil, influencing my decision to create my whole project with just a grey-lead.

The context behind how my project came to be, doesn't consist of much aspects or stages, but a lot of what allowed my final piece to happen did heed on what my main ideas and messages were. The thought behind my idea was inspired by my culture and the different aspects within it that stuck out to me. But I had to figure out a way to express those main aspects in a way that allowed that collaboration to stand out, but for my own creativity to be the focal point. Deciding what I wanted my medium to be was the straightforward part because sketches for me are were the best details come from, allowing me to express more understanding and leave room for interpretation. Especially when a lot of what I'm trying to say is in the pencil created portrait. Social impressions behind my work focus on African women in society today, that are regularly categorised for many features we hold. Our hair and the way we dress are large ways for us to express our individuality and step out of the box that is given to us by society and our own culture. Making my project an artwork that explores social ideas too, in a way. 

My personality is quite reserved and as a quiet and kept person, I tend to express myself through my works. Mainly sketches, based on my environment (both cultural and societal). Understanding what type of personality has, gives them a specific characterization as to what makes them creative. For me, the thing that makes me creative, I guess is the way I allow my own perspectives to be expressed into the works I create, making them as personal as I can. In detail, my works main idea is a woman, with some of my own facial features, but made to be an incorporation of random black women, whose headshot and some of her neck and arms are drawn on to the paper. Her hair consists of different styles, from, braids, twists, natural, and puffs. Each style was created in an angle that showed that they were all connected to the one scalp.

Concluding my exegesis, much of my final project is based on a personal perspective of women and how we create our own personalities and express our individuality, through our hair. Hair was an aspect in my project I made evident, to show the creativity my culture community holds, and the different ways in which small things like hair can have such an impact on ideas like a group of people who are categorised into one image or reputation. A concept I aimed to showcase in my final project, that I hoped was obvious in the design decisions I have made in the making of it.

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Reading Responses

Creative Communities

What’s an example of a creative community?

A creative community could be described as a number of things. It could be communication, a voice for all, a team, a family or a group with a common belief. Basically, anything that involves people who have the ability to stay in an environment together and try to coexist with one another, while expressing themselves through their own creativity which comes across as a community collaboration. Which it is in a sense because a communities main role is to allow expression in individuals to thrive so that a community can truly work efficiently. My example of a creative community would be cultural (a global community). Communities from backgrounds like, African, Japanese, Indian or Mexican, all reflect some sort of community-based on their shared values and beliefs that allow that community to strive and grow through future generations. The new perspective of a creative community I have gained has been fuelled by Dickson, (1995), P. 22. Defining the concept of community and art as a coherent whole, “which aims to be closely relevant to the communities in which it happens, enabling self-expression and feeling through experiences like the creativity of that culture of community”. For example, a Japanese community is known for its dramatic and extravagant expression of culture and tradition. Through celebrations that convey so much creativity and culture, collaborated by a community that believes the same ideas and values. Global communities like these are known for their creativity in terms of their expression of culture and their different approaches towards community and interconnectedness.

Charles, C., & Samples, B. (2004). Coming Home - Community, Creativity, and Consciousness. Fawnskin

Creative Psyche

Identify two or more scenes in movies or books that evoke crying or some other powerful motion, that you felt. And what about your reaction did it reveal about you.

Many of the main films or shows that have gotten a lot of emotion out of me were animated. Toy Story 3 and Up. In the concluding scene of Toy Story, it showed Andy the main character of the movie, leaving for college and growing out of his past with Woody and the rest of the toys. I felt that this scene created a lot of sad emotion because to those who grew up watching the Toy Story films and seeing Andy and Woody grow as a childhood befriends, you see your childhood best friends move too. For me every time I watched the scene of Andy leaving his toys at another child’s home I always seem to buckle and the music doesn’t seem to help with that. I ‘ve learned that I have vulnerability issues when it comes to emotional moments in movies or shows. Up was also the same in terms of vulnerability. The movie is made up of both comedy and sadness. The scene that created the most connection to me was the memory scene. Where the old man was remembering his life with his late wife and the journey towards loneliness. The music played during this memory caused a lot of emotion for me. Mostly because of the death of a loved one and how short life is. Overall my reactions where emotional, revealing to me that I have an emotional personality when it comes to things that can actually happen, whether it be the death of a loved one or moving on from an aspect of your childhood. The idea that fictional films and stories that are told “create incredibly detailed and coherent fantasy worlds to frame their narrative” (Jung, C. 1997), is relevant to films like Up or Toy Story. Because, they are the detailed narratives that have come to life through, peoples creative experiences and expressions, allow emotions like sadness and happiness through creative techniques that convey vulnerability through film and storytelling in novels.

Jung, C. (1997). Introduction. Jung on Active Imagination (Ed. Joan Chodorow) File

Creative Personality

What makes a creative personality?

Determining what makes a creative personality can be quite broad, one’s own creativity and how their personality allows that personality to thrive can be express in a number of ways. Because we all have different creative personalities because we are all creative. The many different approaches taken on the creative mind consists of traits that a creative pupil may have. And if not, there are many other traits that creative person holds. For example indecisiveness, control, vulnerability or confidence. In my opinion, a creative person can be anyone who puts their minds to a certain idea or acquisition. Which is what an overall definition of what a creative personality is. The ability to be driven by motivation and persistence and having the confidence to complete or start something, knowing you might not be a naturally skilled or talented person. Because having a creative personality isn’t built on talent or gifts, but the effort you put into that specific goal. So having the right amount of passion for your craft and the consciousness to complete it, is what makes a creative personality. According to Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) “creative people develop a set of personality traits consistent with their biological dispositions that are also influenced by their environments”. Which for me, explored the concept of how one's own experiences and lives can cause a part in their personality to want to utilize these experiences through creativity, no matter the practice. Csikszentmihalyi, M. “personality plays a significant role in creative outcomes” (1996). A statement that is true, because, without the personality that makes a person unique, that opportunity to be classified as creative is limited, since creativity is fuelled by one's personality and their ability to execute that originality into your creative expression is what makes a creative personality.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996, Jul). The creative personality. Psychology File

  Creativity & Technology

What is the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality?

Augmented reality is defined as technology developed into the real world, for example, the game Pokémon Go, a game that placed eggs all around a real-life place. Giving players the chance to play a digital game, while being active in real-world obstacles and surroundings. Augmented reality is also present in real life routines like shopping. Making things like the price of an item present on your phone when entering the store. Virtual reality is creating a fictional world that blocks the real one. For example, the Google-created virtual reality goggles, that allow the wearer of the googles the opportunity to be a part of a show or movie their watching or a simulated game that completely blocks the outside world. When placed in the digital world of VR your interaction with the outside world is very minimal compared to AR. An example of virtual reality would be goggles that give you the opportunity to be in a stadium filled with people, with you as the main act, feeling as if you are in a real-life concert. Blocking out the real world and replacing it with your own dream reality. Because AR utilizes the places, streets, and environment of the real world as the platform for their augmented reality. To give the real world a whole new perspective without being too out of touch with it. Both AR and VR work as a coherent whole in terms of technology and the different ways in which it could be advanced for human use, whether it be games, cinematic viewing or advances in transport. The two realities are making it more and more difficult to tell between what’s real or digital because they are both advancing so much in different ways at different speeds, we never know which we’d be viewing on the streets.

Downey on, S. (2016, October 25). The Gigantic List of Augmented Reality Use Cases.  

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Project Proposal