artinsociety – Evelyn Thorne's ePortfolio

Student Learning Portfolio: Part B

Assignment Description: Statement of reflection regarding learning objectives posted on blog.

Original Learning Objectives:

1) To use readings. discussions and lectures to work closer to discovering my own personnel and professional goals.

2) To gain a better understanding of how art functions in today’s society and where my interests and role fit.

3) To reshape my comprehension of aesthetics, cultures and transmedia through context.

4) To do my best on all assignments and especially for group work. To work on being a group member, not the leader of a group.

5) To participate in discussion but not dominate the conversation. To listen more.

Reflection on Learning Objectives:

1) I definitely gained insight into the meaning of an art world through readings and discussions. My understanding of topics including aesthetics, power, politics, participation and trends grew and through that understanding I was better able to define my goals. For instance, conversations about participation and power further confirmed for me that I no longer want to work in a museum, while the module on the future made me realize that no goal is set in stone.

2) Through this class and others this semester I’m starting to see my role as less of an administrator and more of a facilitator. The two are not necessarily separate, but I want to be less of a leader and more of a motivator. As discussed in class, value can often be defined by critiques or leaders. This is difficult to avoid as an arts administrator, especially when you’re competing for resources, but my goal is to empower, not define.

3) I think this class mostly broadened my comprehension of aesthetics, cultures and transmedia. So, I would say I have a fuller understanding, but not a concrete one. The more you learn, the harder it is to come to a conclusion. At most I can say that I recognize the complexity of these topics and that transmedia is now on my radar.

4) I feel as though I did do my best on all assignments (particularly the field guide) and that everyone did share an equal part in our module group. Ideas came from the whole group and everyone contributed to the project. However, I yet again volunteered as editor. I’m starting to realize that being the editor is basically signing up to be the leader, since you have final say of the content. I like editing but I’m not sure if I want to keep doing this for a group process. It is good practice for mediation though. I will have to reflect on this further.

5) This is definitely my most difficult learning objective. I feel this constant need to share my opinion and I have to actively stop myself from talking. I tried to only speaking once on each topic and sometimes I was successful, other times I was not. However, at least I didn’t feel like I was dominating the conversation since so many other people actively participated. Yet, I don’t know if more people would have participated if I had spoken less. It’s a difficult thing to balance, but I’m working on it. I hope to one day take a facilitation training in order to help me with this issue.

Transmedia Field Guide: Part B

Assignment Description:

Field guides of art worlds must cover these 4 sections:

Introduction to art world/practice = a brief overview that provides key terms, definitions, and historical context
Setting = a description of the participants, community, and/or context for the subject introduced in Section 1
Transmediations = a narrated tour through a mininum of 7 (seven) transmedia resources that you used to map your subject
Analysis = a critical discussion of the art world/practice under investigation that draws on course materials/texts, themes and issues from course discussions, and any relevant outside sources

My Field Guide Process

I chose to do my field guide on the Art World of AAD Students to learn more about the students’ current and former art worlds. I conducted a survey to gather information on the arts practices of AAD students. The survey includes questions about higher education, arts education, careers in the arts, informal arts practices, location of arts engagement, childhood arts participation and plans for future arts engagement. I compiled common lists and categories based on the answers from the survey and created a Prezi as an overview of the results. I also asked students to send me media of their arts engagement and created a gallery. I plan to hold an informal AAD Showcase at the beginning of next term for students to be able to share their art worlds with each other. The location and time of the AAD Showcase is still to be determined. Lastly, I wrote a reflection of my thoughts on the findings from the survey and I invite others to share their reflections as well.

My Field Guide to the Art World of AAD Students:

Please visit the website to learn more:

aaablogs.uoregon.edu/aadartworld

Here is a Prezi of the results of the survey I conducted for my field guide as a quick overview. Click full screen to see larger.

AAD Art World on Prezi

Transmedia Field Guide: Part C

Assignment Description: One (1) powerpoint/presentation slide along with 5 minute presentation to class. This slide should consist of an image representing your field guide’s subject matter and no more than three bulleted text bits. We will post these together as a gallery on the course site after the presentations.

I present this slide as a representation of my field guide. Please go the website to learn more about my field guide.

Click to see it larger:

Fieldguide Assignment Part A

I would like to do my fieldguide assignment on the art of moss graffiti. Moss graffiti (also known as green graffiti or one of the many types of environmental graffiti) involves mixing a solution of moss, buttermilk (can also use beer or yogurt), water and sugar to make a paint. If this paint is applied to a surface and kept moisturized, the moss will grow from the surface in the applied pattern. Another method is to make an adhesive and attach pure moss to a wall. Moss graffiti is practiced all over the world from America to Germany to Bosnia. Not only do I find this type of art aesthetically pleasing but I enjoy the DIY culture behind it, the earth art connection and the act of displaying art in a public place.

I’m interested in studying moss graffiti for a multitude of reasons. One reason is that while moss graffiti is still graffiti, a larger populace (including schools) has accepted it as legitimate. For example, I watched a video of a elementary school using moss graffiti to decorate their school (see below). And a large number of the how-to videos on YouTube are geared towards children. I even watched a video about a large moss graffiti project used for a beer advertisement. Obviously, this form of graffiti is being seen in a different light than the traditional kind. I’m guessing that this has to do with moss graffiti’s connection to science and environmentalism. However, I did read that the process often destroys wall paint, so it can damage property. I’m curious to look more into why this form of graffiti has been more widely accepted.

I’m also excited about this project because I plan to actually do moss graffiti. I was thinking that this part of the project could include the 7 forms of media. For instance, I already have this twitter that I use to post one-line poems daily (#MetaphorADay). I could take those poems and moss graffiti them around town. That would already be two types of media. Then I could take photos of the process, perhaps create a video and even a map. I’ll have to get creative about coming up with 7 different ways to present my project but that’s the fun of a challenge. I’m open to suggestions!

My plan is to create a fieldguide website to moss graffiti that includes the history, a tutorial and my project. The problem I have is that I haven’t found much on the history of the practice. I found pictures and info on various artists who do moss graffiti, but not many articles on the actual subject. Some of the artists I have found do projects similar to my idea. For instance, the Mossenger leaves short messages on walls (see above picture). Some artists cover objects like chandeliers and cars in moss or create usable moss items like tables. Not all moss graffiti is done outside. Some projects have been done as part of a temporary exhibit. This is the kind of information I have been able to find, but nothing like a critique or a history. This will probably just take more digging, but if you have any tips, that would be helpful.

Another issue I have is that my project doesn’t have a geographical base. I feel that this arts engagement is too specific to narrow it down to a specific location, so I’m taking a general approach. But I don’t know if that will make it difficult to complete the field guide. My project is more of an overview/how-to fieldguide so it may not be an issue, but I was wondering what you thought. Should I look into a specific location?

Other than that, I guess I’ll have to start collecting moss.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdhtSFibQbE[/youtube]

Art in Society: Student Learning Portfolio Part A

Student Learning Portfolio Part A

My Personal Learning Objectives

1) To use readings. discussions and lectures to work closer to discovering my own personnel and professional goals.

2) To gain a better understanding of how art functions in today’s society and where my interests and role fit.

3) To reshape my comprehension of aesthetics, cultures and transmedia through context.

4) To do my best on all assignments and especially for group work. To work on being a group member, not the leader of a group.

5) To participate in discussion but not dominate the conversation. To listen more.