Videos in Class

The first day of class we watched a video about illusions that are used in art. It is amazing how over the years people have figured out little "tricks" to fool the human eye and present something interesting. A trick that was discovered long ago and is frequently used throughout any form of design is that of a vanishing point. This allows for a depth of field and gives any art form a sense of 3-dimensial space.
Another video that we watched was "Ways of Seeing", which talked about several points. A topic that was discussed was the use of cameras. It talked about how the machine shows us what it is seeing and how it gives us different angles of objects and a single moment stopped in time forever. The camera also is able to give us the ability to make prints so famous paintings and artwork around the world can be in the palm of your hand. Another concept that was discussed was how certain things such as music or camera views can change the meaning of a painting. I found that extremely true because most pictures on the television, such as Sarah McLachlan's adopt a pet foundation, that is put with music performs a more dramatic feel. Sometimes pictures are shown with fast entertaining music to advertise a product. The use of pictures and manipulating them to form a need happens everyday and can be seen anywhere. I found the videos helpful in thinking of certain subject matters to focus on for the project. I found that they also helped in giving me ideas for certain viewpoints of pictures to add to the collage that we're working on.