200 Lincolns

Assignment: Go to the Chicago Art Department to view the 200 Lincolns gallery and get extra credit.

I drove up there with my girl friend to check it out. It was really nice. After seeing all the Lincolns from our class, I was very impressed with most of the others. There were many in which the concepts were Crystal clear. One piece in particular that stood out to me was the one with Lincoln on the cross as Jesus and to his right was Blagojevich. I couldn't make out who was on the left of him but artistically this piece was really well done. If there was one that I didn't care I'd have to say it was this piece where Lincoln was part of a swimsuit calender with shirtless guys. I just felt there were too many images and too much going on. I just didn't really get it. There were so many that were very cool. Here are some pictures of me at the gallery.

week six

Assignment: first draft of our second mash-up
Craft: Continuing with the use of Photoshop. Professor Peck showed us the magic wand feature. I also used the quickmask technique which is very similar.
Composition: For the first draft I just used two of the photos I took. I really liked each photo individually. As far as what the combination said as a concept wasn't clear.
Concept: The concept I had in mind to begin with was "stealing music" or that downloading music is still stealing music. I didn't really know what exactly to do with it so I figured something with music would be the next best thing. Professor Peck gave me some ideas that I'm going to use. I think it's going to turn out great. Wait for a picture and update.

Week five

Asssignment: We need to take 25 new photos.

Craft: I chose these two photos because they are two of my favorites. In the one photo I'd like to focus on the drummers. The other photo is of one of my guitar so I want to incorporate the two.

Composition: I plan on cutting out something from one of the photos and pasting it into another. I also plan on utilizing more of photoshop's effects. This will get more indepth once i decide upon a concept.

Concept: I haven't decided upon a concept just yet. I will continue to examine the photos I took and still might take more photos to create a better concept.

week 4

Assignment: The final draft of our mash-up of a Lincoln era photo and a photo we took.
Craft: I changed my photo completely but stuck with the idea with a bench. I took a photo of a bench in Westfield Mall, hoping it would convey a more modern image. I took a picture of the bench empty and then I took one with my girlfriend sitting on the bench. As far as the photoshop process went, I cut out the photo of John Surratt sitting and placed him on the bench.
Composition: I like this version much better than the first draft. There are still some things I'd like to change. I plan on putting a picture of Lincoln in the photo. Also I want to make the writing more noticeable.
Concept: I figure it's up for interpretation but here's what I thought. The photo is of two people sitting on a bench. They appear to be from different era, just by looking how they are dressed. In the background their is writing on the wall that says, Lincoln speaks. So the people on the bench appear to be waiting. For those who don't know John Surratt was accused of trying to assassinate Lincoln, so they are waiting there for two different reasons.

Week Three

Assignment: The first draft: To create a mash-up of one of the Lincoln era photos and one of our photos.
Craft: Using Photoshop I cut out the image I wanted from the Lincoln era photo and placed it into my contemporary photo. This was the easy part. Making it look "good" is the true test.
Composition: I chose the two photos that looked like they would fit really well together and they did.
Concept: When I chose these photos I really had no concept in mind. Then when I was done with the first draft, I thought of the concept that "nothing changed". After the critique, I thought to myself that the "nothing changed" concept is rather boring. Looking more and more at the photo I like it less and less. During the critique it was suggested that it would be a good idea that I take a picture of a park bench that shows more of the "modern world" rather than the one I have now, which could be from anytime in history. I really like that concept much more. Another critique was that I need the man to match the photo, so either have him in color or make the photo black and white. I planned on doing this but I never got around to doing so. I might just abandon this photo. I am also thinking about changing the man as well. The assignment was a civil war era photo and this guy doesn't look so much from the Civil war, I don't know what I was thinking when I found this on google but I kept it more so for the pose. I have other photos of "Civil War" soldiers sitting down and these might work just as well if not better. I will continue to try to figure out what works the best.