Lamar Dodd School of Art
This page is for showcasing my works/projects from when I studied Studio Art at the University of Georgia.
Black and White Film Photography (ARST 3200)
This class was only able to get through 2 critiques (projects) before the in-person class came to an end in 2020 because of COVID-19. This was and still is one of my favorite classes and favorite work to come out of a class.
Project 1 can be described as “soft,” and “calm,” while Project 2 has a sharper contrast and “timeless” look. I’m drawn more to Project 2 and think these photos show a bit more of my photography style while Project 1, as much as I love how it turned out, feels more like I was mostly trying to figure out the basics (tech wise) and be able to produce something worth looking at.
Video Concepts and Practice (ARST 3205)
For this project, we were to come up with a narrative (real or made up) and I decided that I wanted to convey the back and forth feelings/emotions I had been struggling with. I’d never been a very stressed or anxious person, but due to all of the uncertainty during the first couple of months of COVID-19, I had been having intense anxiety and felt trapped in a job, in classes, and in a life that felt pointless and like it wasn’t going anywhere. My typical ways of combating stress have always been to ignore those feelings or push them away until I think I can handle it or when it absolutely needs to be handled. Even when I was having fun or trying to relax, it was still there in the back of my mind - this happened a lot the week I was at the beach on a family vacation because I was constantly worrying about my 4 online classes. The physical and mental strain had all been weighing me down and stifling my creativity, so I am happy I was able to work on this assignment that turned into both an emotional and creative outlet.
ARST 3205 - July 2020
Animations by Beatriz Maia (Pupudimpim on Youtube)
Song by The Japanese House
Thematic Inquiry (ARST 4915)
For this assignment I asked myself, “What am I drawn to in relation to this class?” My answer: I’m drawn to the idea of what a material/object/canvas can be.
If it were not for this class, I wouldn’t be thinking about the exact definitions for “object,” “material,” or “thing” which is why I decided to to use the human body as my canvas (even though I wouldn’t normally label the human body as an object or material.)
I think the relationship that we have with our bodies is a really interesting topic and I wanted to explore that. Originally, I was going to go with a theme like “body positivity,” but it turned out to be more “body conscious turned body confident.” I realized that while putting the paint on my brother and sisters that it felt and looked like we were trying to cover things up (freckles, small ears, under eye circles, etc.), but the paint was obviously drawing more attention to whatever body part/feature we painted.
All of the shots are really close up to show detail, of course, but also to give you that sense of vulnerability. I think the eye contact played into that as well which is interesting because I didn't tell anyone to look at the camera, but 2/3 of the models did.
ARST 3205 - July 2020
Song by The Japanese House
Hypermedia/Art X (ARST 2810)
“Students will gain experience in a variety of different media including: time-based forms, digital video, computer and web-based art, digital photography, robotics, sound, performance, durational installation and computer-operated fabrication. Students are asked to consider historical developments, critical ideas and current practices related to time-based art. The area emphasizes creativity, versatility and poetics over computer-based technical skills.. The primary media and practices in this area deal with the research and experimentation of technology and time-based forms of art. Students are expected to demonstrate a proficiency in this area and must be able to work comprehensively, translating concept and idea into visual poetic forms.”
The above project corresponds to the class’s study of installation art, specifically, “land art.” We were to create something interacting with the environment. A lot of the pictures and artists the class was exposed to were on a grander scale than I could imagine attempting, but our professor assured us that it could be anything as long as it had meaning or was an expression.
At the time, I remember being fascinated by photography on Pinterest of models holding sheer fabric. I wanted to expand my photography capabilities and was inspired by beautiful movements seemingly frozen in time - that is where this project comes to life. In the last slide (above), you can see that I have 3 main speaking points to the presentation: I was inspired visually by Pinterest and feelings wise, being stuck. The 5 points of the fabric represent different things holding me in place. For example, my classes, my job, and my relationship status. All keeping me in one place while I was ready to actually begin an adventurous life of travel and work. This project was for Fall 2019 semester and at a time when I was trying to go live and work in South Korea. This was also when COVID-19 was on the rise and would prevent me further from following my dream of world travel. The name of said project is Suspended Self.