rwarner

[rwarner]

Rumination 16

This week in class we talked about the global flow of visual culture. I was very interested in the topic of anthropocene. This is defined as the "current geological age in which humans have irreversibly altered the global environment". The thing about this topic that caught my attention was we are currently heading into a period of this, if we are not already in one.  The next thing that got my attention was the evolution of artistic images. This is because people typically would paint as a way of expression, but in very different centuries, the 1500s and current day 2000s, the end result is very different. Long ago it would be used as decoration in someone’s house, and while paintings still serve a decorative purpose, there is an underlying, not so subtle, meaning of resounding wealth in most pieces in someone’s home. Art has also become produced by different means than a brush and paint, but through cameras. This has resulted in many famous pictures, including the aforementioned afghan girl we previously learned about in class a few months ago.

[rwarner]

Rumination 14

This week in class we talked about the human body in the medical gaze. The first slide was about the Boeing man, which was a computer rendering of the human body, the first of its kind, in an effort to aid technical endeavors in the future. A few slides later, we see the famous drawing of a human body, created by Leonardo Da Vinci, which would serve as a baseline for some art forms revolving around the human body. These were the first times, that we know of, that the human body was constructed using these mediums with the purpose of using it for later, instead of putting it on the screen or paper for the immediate purpose it serves in that moment. In the renaissance period, there are records of painters performing autopsies, as well as anatomy theaters, showing there has always been an interest with what happens to a human body after they pass, this set the groundwork for autopsies today, and medicine as a whole. The fascination shown in the past may be what inspired many to become doctors today, as the trade began way back then, allowing for as much progress as there has been, to be made. This week's lecture reminded me of an image I saw not too long ago, in which scientists created a rendering of what a human being would need to evolve to look like, on average, in order to always survive a car crash in which the vehicle was moving around 45 miles per hour. While the image could always be fake as I didn’t see any proof, it shows there has always been a fascination with the human body, and the human mind won’t stop theorizing what could happen in the future

[rwarner]

Rumination 13

This week's lecture seemed to focus solely on images such as the Obama HOPE ad and posters that were prevalent during former president of the United States of America, Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. The most interesting part about this week's material was how the creator of the image that we have become so familiar with, was not the owner of the image rights and was sued by the Associated Press for using their intellectual property. Another thing that stood out to me was how the remixed picture, the one used for the HOPE campaign, was remixed itself a fair number of times and some of those were used to put a message slandering Obama for some of the events that occurred while he was in office, most notable in my opinion the drone-killer images that appeared in this weeks powerpoint slides, referring to his unfavorable decision to utilize drones in the middle east, which had the side effect of unintentionally harming civilians, innocent men, women, and children. It always surprises me when people take an image used to convey a positive message and somehow put a negative one behind it instead with the most minimal of changes done to it. Similar to the uncle sam poster where he was replaced with an angry santa and instead of the well known “I want you” quote santa was quoted with the phrase “I want you to spend a lot to prove you love your family”, a quote that could be used in a manner that attacks capitalistic values and diminishes what christmas has become as a way to get families to recognize christmas is about togetherness and not gifts.

[rwarner]

Rumination 12

In class this week we discussed Modernity and Postmodernity and how they differ from each other. The thing about these two subjects that caught my attention is that there was no clear switch that could be pointed out and someone would be able to say “that’s it, that is when the switch from modernity to postmodernity happened. It was also interesting how postmodernity gave up on the ideals that modernity presented to the world and how it tells us to be weary of all the new emerging technology and sciences and how surveillance, a tool for our safety, is something that we should be concerned of due to its controlling capabilities. This week's lecture got me thinking about how in movies and television, oftentimes the presented antagonist is objectively wrong and their mindset and beliefs are so reprehensible that the presented protagonist must be right and can do no wrong. I believe that as an audience member, we can view the beliefs in a postmodern mindset and see past whatever the director or writer wants us to feel. As of recent, I found myself doing just this while watching Naruto: Shippuden. More specifically the fight with Pain. As Naruto yells about how he will defeat Pain for peace and justice in the world, Pain offers his point of view on the matter and how he is seeking the same peace and justice, but with varying life paths, their views on the matter differ and their methods for carrying out their plans seem like Naruto is Lawful Good, while Pain is chaotic Evil, but while listening to Pain’s narrative, the viewer can understand that while Naruto’s land was prosperous due to winning wars, Pain’s was ravaged and desolate as a result of the same wars. Same values, same end goal, different methods, one is true good, one is true evil. However, one could argue Pain is not a villain, rather misunderstood while being extreme in his ways.

[rwarner]

Rumination 11

This week's main focus was brand culture and how brands have used advertising and trademarks to better influence their desired audience.. Brands have become such a staple in today's society that they are oftentimes synonymous with one's financial standing. Many people may see a corvette and assume that the owner is a young wealthy businessman who has money to throw at any small problem, while a beat up altima may show someone who could buy a car that worked. Brands have also become the deciding factor for many people on the purchases they make in a variety of consumer fields ranging from fast food in the likes of arbys and chick fil a, clothing and accessories in nike and adidas, and even tools. The logo and the colors brands use work subconsciously and influence the market. My personal favorite brand is Adidas and I will oftentimes consider buying an Adidas brand shoe over a Nike shoe that may be on sale just for the aesthetic look of the three stripes over the more iconic swoosh. Companies have definitely learned of how consumers think on their purchases and the phrases, logos, and colors have more influence than most people will let on about in their day to day purchases and routines.

[rwarner]

Rumination 2

The topic of Insert color here washing was the topic that stood out the most to me this week. Many companies have a history of pandering to whatever is relevant in today's society in a cheap ploy to make a quick extra dollar while their known values and morals are nowhere close to being in line with the ideology they now seem to be preaching about. As of recently, while many companies were showing their support for the LGBT+ community, a doctored image of chick-fil-a's logo was altered to look like they were showing their support for the community they have long been known for being opposed to, due to their very catholic founder's beliefs. The company received such severe backlash online despite having nothing to do with the image and caused the need for a media release from a higher up to try to clear the air surrounding the well known food chain. However, Chick-fil-a seemed to have bashed other companies in the release and accused many companies of soliciting to a community in a desperate money grab as everyone is caught up in pride month. While I personally dont have a problem with chick-fil-a’s food, this was something that caught my eye as I believe companies just want to show that despite what may be happening worldwide and the persecution of the LGBT community in countries in the middle east for religious reasons, they are in support of the group and want them to succeed in the modern america, and with enough support, they might start to have global success, with less and less push back from less tolerant peoples.

I tried providing the link for the image but that box popped up... sorry

No author found from the original website either.. tried my best for citing

[rwarner]

First rumination

This week's content, consisting of visual technologies and various ways of reproduction, was very interesting to me and made me think about how much everything in the world is slowly becoming more and more computerized. The comparison of analog and digital was something I was interested in because I had initially thought that there was not a difference in the copy regardless of the technology used to produce it. I also was not thinking about how an analog copy maintains a connection with the original as opposed to the connectionless copy made by digital means. Mechanical Reproduction was another topic that stood out a little bit to me because it shows originality while making it easier to access pictures.. It was also interesting to learn about how 3d printing is limited by the quality of the material used while printing, I had always just assumed that it was either printer that would affect quality or the quality of all 3d printed things were the same. I wish I had learned some of this information a little sooner however, as I would’ve gone and bought an analog camera for my recent 21st birthday trip to help me remember a few things. Something about saving images and having the risk of them being erased from my phone, the chance they didn’t save to the cloud or just misclicking while clearing some space and poof they're gone. Additionally, I wish a few things were less computerized, as it takes the full experience of a few things and greatly diminishes it, making a far less memorable time and one that could easily be forgotten. Picture of camera Gonzalez, L (2016). Nikkormat [Photograph]. Resource. https://resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/nikkormat.jpg