I’ve gone through some photos from last year and figured a few of them were pretty decent to post. I don’t remember what parade or concert this was but I know this event took place during the same time that I arrived here in Iowa City. Probably some welcoming party for the new students. *shrug*
For the last few weeks, my fellow classmates have been frantically researching and writing our WAC After 1400 term paper in regards to a work of art specific to them and their interests. They have all been toiling away in the Art Library, hunched over stacks of ancient manuscripts, scouring untold pages, scrawling down fragments of information, all to finish their obligations accurately and on time. But not me! I’ve been working on something completely different. I’ve been wasting my time on silhouettes.
Yes, you read that correctly. Silhouettes. I possess great interest in retracing the advent of Photography as well as the complete history of art in general. The creation of a silhouette portrait will be one of many self-portraits I will aspire to in replicating for myself. Partly out of boredom but mostly due to my own narcissism. (Not all of them will be uploaded here however.)
I took a photo of myself from the side (of course). Transferred it. Uploaded it. Traced it. Layered it. Posted it. Take a look. This is incredibly easy to do if you want one for yourself.
After ‘Googling’ some other people’s silhouette images, I was inspired to print one of these off and frame it. Just like if I were alive in the 1800’s. And damn do I look good. I would have preferred finding a circular/oval picture frame but apparently those don’t exist in Iowa. I also don’t have the coloring right, just yet.
Sources
1. Leaf idea: Jenny Lee Fowler
2. Leaf image source: National Science Foundation
3. PS Flannel Patterns: About.com
ABW moments before closing. Empty halls. Locked doors. Cold anticipation for the long walk back.
I love the way Albrecht Dürer signed a great number of his works of art. His initials so elegant, so simple, so exact and yet he used slight variations in style with each print or painting. Dürer, a master of his trade(s), produced some of the most amazing works of art in history. I love his signature so much that I stole assimilated it for myself. And yet my clunky Adobe Illustrator version (below) still can not compare to the simplicity and genius of his typography. A Germanic version of Roman lettering.
With my version, I plan on using it simply as a watermark for photographs. Small and hopefully unnoticeable so that it doesn’t take away from the viewing pleasure of the actual photograph. I dislike large watermarks. When people use large watermarks, I tend to notice the watermark more than the actual photo. Take a look at my (re)creation.
Because I wanted it to be small, I felt that increasing the thickness of the lettering would make it more legible. The exact size is yet to be determined.
Would you consider this more a consecration or a desecration?
: My new favicon 
2/14 – Update: So I made one almost exactly like his.
I lugged my tripod and camera around a cold and deserted campus. Tried my hand at some slow shutter speed photographs. There’s still too much shake in most of the photos. I have since purchased a better tripod and a remote shutter. Next time, I won’t even need to touch the camera.
The year’s end is refreshing. I savor this period of time like a fine wine. Not for the gift giving or the party partaking but rather for the cognitive thought process one utilizes while swishing around and sampling from the events that took place over the course of the last twelve months.
Normally, I would spend days deliberating and painstakingly deciding upon the top ten movies considered worthy of anybody’s consideration. This year, however, either a decrease in funds or an increase in a social life (more so the prior) resulted in a significant decline in the amount of movies ingested. Legally or illegally. So I decided to choose a swift three for your reading and viewing pleasure instead of the lengthy ten per normal protocol and procedure.
Without further stalling…
Top Ten Three Movies of 2011
1. Bill Cunningham New York {IMDB}
Nothing I watched this year has inspired me more to be a greater individual and more active photographer/artist than this movie. Bill Cunningham’s love and devotion to his craft lit a theoretical fire under my theoretical @$$. I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary which encompasses the life of Bill Cunningham, a well-known New York “street” fashion photographer, who lives to do what he loves without much concern for anything else. I have zero interest in the fashion industry but this movie made the fashion world compelling in a way I’ve never experienced before. Check out his ‘On The Street’bit off The New York Times website.
2. Drive {IMDB}
A badass movie with a badass character (Ryan Gosling as “Driver”). ‘Driver’ because his role as the driver is more important than his real name or who he is as an individual. He drives and drives better than everybody else on the road. Driver is the strong, silent type with a super human ability to maintain his calm and stay collected even in the craziest of situations. He’s both a gentlemen and a scholar. A robin hood among thieves. There is an interesting dialogue exchange between Driver and a child where Driver asks the child if there’s no such thing as a good shark (shark meaning bad guy). This scene is a great examination of Driver’s own character.
Then there’s Carey Mulligan as Irene (the leading lady) who makes it very hard not to fall head over feet for in almost every scene she’s in. I had to remind myself to close my jaw on more than one occasion.
3. Hanna {IMDB}
Hanna, a proficient and deadly child assassin. I for one enjoyed watching this girl somersault around, snapping necks and slitting throats. There was even an interesting perspective on nurture over nature (possibly a little over done). I have always regretted that I wasn’t raised to be a top-notch deadly assassin by some underground organization or unsurpassed master of the trade. I’ll make sure my children receive that which I never got. 😉
Check this movie out, especially if you enjoy movies like Leon: The Professional or any of the Jason Bourne movies.
Honorable Mentions: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rule of Margin, The Help, Source Code, The Thing, and Captain America.
Movies I Haven’t Seen Yet (That would probably affect my decision-making altogether):
The Decedents, Sherlock Holmes 2,Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Artist,Take ShelterWorst Movies of 2011: Hangover II, Bad Teacher
Most Anticipated Movies of 2012:
The Hunger GamesDjango Unchained(Quentin Tarantino), The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan), Only God Forgives,Marvel’s The Avengers, Bond: Skyfall, Red Dawn, World War Z, Gravity, and Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson)
Now that my movie listing fetish is satisfied (for the time being) I can concentrate on other worldly matters. 2011 was a tough year for my family as I’m sure it was for a lot of people out there. I can only count my blessings and focus on the positive as I look to the future. 2011 was a year of…
Huge props to whomever helped create that video. You’ve moved millions.
My 2012 New Years Resolutions
Stop using the word ‘but’ so much in my writing.
Stop with the uncertainties and write with greater confidence
Take a writer’s workshop possibly.
Get a bike. Bike the trails.
Walk more. Run even
Climb that damn rock wall like I’ve always wanted to do.
Learn to have more patience.
Stand up straight.
This next year will be an exciting one. Armageddon here we come.
