Performance Art 11/28

Within the class examples and the other performances shown in class, everyone's goal seemed to be to get a big reaction. This reaction usually was shocked or surprised. So, for my piece I tried to go a different direction. I wanted to get the opposite reaction everyone else seemed to be going for, which is the reaction of instant rejection or just ignoring. I dressed up and acted like I was a person taking surveys, and went to the mall to ask questions. Every single person that passed me turned me down or just straight ignored me. I kind of thought at least one person would have stopped to take my fake survey, but I guess no one was interested! Even the people standing at the directory told me they didn't have time. I am seen in the top right corner in the blue shirt and tie holding a notebook.

Music 11/16

Kevin Wagenheim

11/16

Music

Dubstep:

From looking at the links posted to the site, most of the early dubstep tracks were nothing like any track I would hear today. I found this to be true with other categories as well. Being a fan of electronic music myself, I thought I'd share some songs I know in these categories and explain why I think they can fit into the category. To begin with, I thought I would use Bassnectar as a good choice for Dubstep. I specifically went with him because he is one of the few dubstep artists to produce some of his music live (not all) like the early dubstep artists. This is an extreme rarity now for the genre since everyone uses music producing software. When he is preforming live, he uses dj equipment, but on the side has equipment to make sound live. So, he kind of uses both together. 

Electronic:

For this category, what really stood out to me was the Infected Mushroom link. Ive actually had the opportunity to see them a few times live, and really enjoy their music. What is cool about this group is that they combine the music they produce on the computer with actual band instruments. Believe it or not, this is more on the rare side of electronic music. The majority of artists make everything on the computer and play it live. There's nothing wrong with that it is just impressive when someone can mix it in with live music. So, I decided to go with an artist that does the same thing. Griz is a producer/dj that plays the saxophone on top of his tracks. So, when he plays live, he actually mixes on dj equipment, and then plays the saxophone at the same time. I thought he fit into this category since he uses computer software to produce his music, but adds his own little live taste on top of it. 

Techno:

I really had to do some researching with techno. As it is not too popular now a days, I am not too familiar with any recent artists. So, I when looking through some old music of Tiesto, a popular club dj now. Some of his old music was pretty close when it comes to sounds, and it is identical when it comes to the speed of the beat. So, that is why I chose this track.

House:

The house category shocked me the most. So many links, and through them you can literally see the evolution of it. The difference between what is on the blog and what I know as house music is completely different. So, this choice was pretty tough. Most importantly I wanted to stay away from those who use production software (which is extremely hard). So, I chose Madeon. I really wanted to find someone with the similar beat pace as most of the links, and I thought his tracks mostly resembled those in the links. When preforming live, he uses equipment such as a drum pad hooked to computers to make sound. 

Disco:

 From researching the links, I found that disco was not really what I thought it was. I listened to a couple of the links and thought that I knew a few sounds that sound just like it. The only thing that shocked me a little was that I considered them jazz. Growing up, my dad always played jazz in the car traveling. So, I have a collection of jazz songs I like. This Herb Alpert song is actually almost exactly like some of the disco songs posted on the website. The trumpet melody is very relaxing, almost that you don't notice the upbeat background. The beat in the background sounds very similar to something that could be in this category, so that is why I chose it. After researching, I found the beat was recorded by a drummer, the altered electronically so speed would match the trumpet melody.

Xerox Project 11/14

Kevin Wagenheim

11/14

Xerox Project

Picture:

For my Xerox Project, I decided to go with a style from the Dada art movement. When I was looking at other Dada pieces to try and get inspiration, I came across the photo shown below. I thought the extension of the guy's fingers was really cool, and I thought that I may be able to create something like this using the scanner on my printer. So, I scanned my face, hand, and eye. To add a background and a little detail, I decided to scan my foot and my hair. Since my scanner was not cooperating and scanning in black and white, I adjusted the photo using Photoshop. The pieces are glued to a piece of cardboard.

Inspiration:

Original Scans:

Photoshop Screenshots:

Pixel Project 11/2

Kevin Wagenheim

Art 211

11/2

Tie-Dye Pixels 

Project:

For my pixel project, I chose to use cotton balls, dye them, and arrange them into a tie-dye swirl. A couple years back I was very into tie-dying, and used to dye many shirts, bandanas and tapestries. So, since I am familiar with the material I wanted to try and use them for this project. Using a picture of one of the shirts I dyed, I made a solid color 30x30 grid using Adobe Illustrator. I then took cotton balls and dyed them using the dye I used to use. Then using the grid I made in Illustrator, I arranged and glued the cotton balls to a piece of cardboard.

Shirt:

Reference Picture:

Illustrator Process:

Dye Process: