Sharniya'

1) How is money power?

*Money is power because people with money are often seemed to have a great deal of influence and respect. Money is able to purchase our everyday needs and our wants. Money can be seen powerful as it’s easier to move up in a society when you have a lot of money. These days the people with more money are able to buy people in just a second to work for them and the people they usually buy are the ones who need money. Wealth is seen to be a negative impact of money when greed lurks in, as people would do lots of destructive things just to get it. The power of money is just so strong that it influences almost all aspects of anybody’s life, any government institution, businesses from small to big, and even to churches. Without money, you feel weak and helpless—money is power because you need it to survive.

2) Who is affected by capitalism?

*Capitalism is the system under which we all live, which is failing so miserably to meet the needs of the vast majority of the world’s population. Capitalism is affecting all of us because under it a small minority of people is in control of the money and resources of the plant. They accumulate wealth and power and move their money and factories around at will to keep their profits high and wages low. Therefore we are forced to compete with each other to work for low wages in order to buy necessities, and as a result the bosses and shareholders of the companies we work for and buy from make profits for themselves.

3) Who is wearing name brand clothing? Is this an affect of capitalism or random?

*These days we see that everyone wears name brand clothing and yes this is a affect of capitalism. Everyone wears brand clothing because they see others wearing it and they think wearing it will be the only way they can fit into society and be acceptable by more people. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit. Therefore capitalism is the reason for everyone wearing name brand clothing as it tries to benefit companies to improve the economy.

4) In what ways in a film’s or photograph’s perspective a form of power?

* Ways that a film’s or photograph’s is a way of power because the person can alter the image by using different angles to shoot to create more power. For an example shooting from low will make a person taller and more powerful. The way the photographer or film maker photoshops their piece will also show power as they can adjust the contrast and photoshop two different images together.

5) Is photojournalism truthful? Is truth a perspective?

* Photojournalism is not truthful because sometimes the photos will only show certain aspects of the issue rather than it as a whole—it may be portrayed as something else in others eyes. Truth is a perspective because a lie is a perspective. These days we cannot tell what is true and what is a lie therefore it depends on what others see in the photo and what they believe is going on the photograph.

I watched the video called ‘Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity’

1) Identify 4 facts that were discussed about stereotypes in the video.

Four facts about stereotypes that i found interesting that was discussed in the video was:

* Most batterers grew up in abusive households

* Boys and men put on this “tough guy” because that’s what society and other people have made us to think— that boys and men are supposed to be like that. It is portrayed that manhood is dominance, power and control.’

* 90% of people who commit violent physical assault are men.

* 1 in 4 men will abuse their partner.

2) Identify how these gender stereotypes can victimize people who do not fit society’s ideal of gender.

        These male stereotypes can victimize males who do not fit in society’s ideal male will be called names such as, “wuss”, “wimp”, “fag”, and “sissy”. This makes these victims pressured and they end up trying to put up this act that is what society sees males as rather than being themselves.

3) Who defines what is “male” and “what” is female in our society?

        It is media who is defining what is “male” and what is “female”. They portray men to be seen as strong and women to be seen as weak. They show how men do these so called “masculine jobs”, that include policemen, firefighters and how women are not to doing these jobs. The media shows that women are sensitive and to take care of the children and to be housewives. Media then shows how the ideal “male” would look like— like a firm, stiff, built body, with short hair wearing jeans and a shirt. On the other hand the ideal “female” is shown in wearing something cute and dressy, who has long hair, a perfect smile, flawless face, a skinny body type, and who are to be seen as sex objects.

4) How can you as an artist break these stereotypes in you art?

        As an artist I can break these stereotypes representing what is to be seen as “male” and “female”, is by switching up gender roles. I will do this by showing women being construction site workers, or a flight mechanic. Then I can show males working as a nurse or being a stay at home parent. This will promote gender quality and we can slowly remove gender stereotypes.

1) Identify the test you took online. What is your first reaction to this test? Explain.

        I took the test called Weight IAT (‘Fat-Thin’ IAT). The test was to reveal an automatic preference for thin people relative to fat people. My first reaction to this test is “what’s this all about”. I was really confused on what the test was going to show me at the end. It didn’t seem right at the end either because it said that I strongly preferred thin people than fat people. It was weird because I don’t have a preference if someone is thin or fat—I like people for who they are. I never had a preference for someone because of their weight, and I won’t ever because there is no reason to. 

2) As an artist what might be the best ways to challenge people’s stereotypes through photography and video?

        As an artist I can use photography and video to challenge those harmful and misleading stereotypes that people have created. I would want to show how these stereotypes are wrong so we would have to show the truth—the complete opposite on these stereotypes in our work. I can do this by changing a subject’s appearance, their environment, and to portray a certain emotion/ attitude into what people do not expect.

3) In what ways can critical thinking and analysis help in deterring stereotypes in our own works?

        Critical thinking and analysis can help in deterring stereotypes in our own work by making sure we are making allies and not creating enemies in our work. Through critical thinking and analyzing we can think more in depth of the stereotypes rather than the first instinct we have about something. We are able to think through the entire stereotype and show the truth through our art. We show how the situation/subject really is and not what they are portrayed to be seen as.

Task: Read about one light LOW KEY studio lighting.

Answer the following questions about the reading:

1)How would you describe low key lighting? How many studio lights do you need?

It’s quite easy to set up for simple, classic low key lighting. Low key lighting often uses only one key light, optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector. Low key light accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast.

2) List the equipment needed for a low key lighting set up.

-Dark Background

-Key Light w/modifier of choice

-Subject

-Camera

-optional: reflector

3) What is the purpose of a reflector in the studio?

The purpose of a reflector is to be used to either stand in for a light source, or bounce light back from a light source, thereby making them effectively into a second light.

4)How do you change the set up for a studio from low key to mid key? 

By making one key change to the low key lighting setup, you can achieve nice, mid key lighting with a single light source. The change would be the colour of the backdrop, instead use a light coloured backdrop, place the lights in the same position relative to the camera, subject and background and that is a mid key photograph.

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PART 2

Questions:

5)Generally speaking, why is low key lighting a less ‘forgiving’ lighting setup than other options?

Low key lighting is a less ‘forgiving’ lighting setup than other options in two different ways. One way is that the lighting zone is much more narrow than high key lighting, meaning the subject has to be more carefully placed in relation to the light. Second way is that severe side lighting will highlight any natural flaws in the skin.

6)How can you overcome severe side lighting?

You can overcome severe side lighting by simply backing farther away from your subject, shooting full body, rather than tight facial close-ups.  Also you angle the light more towards the front of the subject and use a reflector directly opposite it, which is not only more flattering, but allows light to spill onto the background, providing a level of separation between subject and background.

1) What have these artists transformed? 

Describe the vantage point from which each artist approaches the idea of transformation.

        The artists all have transformed art by using more than just a simple drawing to portray transformation for an example some used 3D art pieces to portray transformation. Yinka Shonibare uses 3D model art pieces with no heads so it wouldn’t be judged on a certain race and used vibrant colors and fashion pieces to really bring out the work. Cindy Sherman photoshops and uses different materials and affects to her pieces to approach the idea of transformation. Paul McCarthy used 3D pieces like sculptures to approach the idea of transformation and has even done a piece of art out of balloon material.

2) What are the artists’ intentions and results? Discuss the media used by each artist. How does the act of transformation differ, depending on the use of sculpture, photography, or video? 

        Yinka Shonibare’s intention is to show art that gets people thinking of what is being portrayed and he uses sculptures with no heads so people don’t judge his work because of race. He shows strong emotions in his videos he has created rather than words and the movies have been a great hit and very interesting. Cindy Sherman’s intentions are that she uses huge photography of her self to portray an overwhelming feeling to the audience. She tries to create different emotions and different characters in her work for the audience to wonder who is the character and what they’re trying to show. Lastly Paul McCarthy tries to bring fictional characters a live by sculpturing them to convey and emotion to the viewer. He tries to go over and beyond and believes he cannot give up on any pieces. He tries different materials as well to try something new.

3) Why do you think that these artists incorporate their own bodies in their work? How does the medium of performance affect the act of transformation and reinvention? How do each of these artists use performance?

        Artists incorporate their culture and beliefs into their work, which would explain why they incorporate their selves in their work. They tend to use their selves in the piece of art like in Cindy Sherman’s work she is modelling in every piece. Each artists’ pieces show a dramatic role especially when they incorporate themselves to play those roles. It gives the viewers a sense of characters and personality. These artists use performance through different methods such as through sculptures, paintings, photographs, videos, and drawings.

4) Why might these artists choose to inhabit a variety of personas to communicate their ideas? In what ways might a persona communicate more effectively than the artist? 

        I think that these artists choose to inhabit a variety of personas to communicate more effectively because there are several different moods and different characters that would feel that way. Like race, gender, and how one may look can help the artist communicate what they are trying to tell the viewer. Also showing a some person over and over again could be really boring and repetitive and tend to spread the same emotions throughout all the images because of the repeating of the same character so with a new character there is a new atmosphere that evolves.