Martim+Silva


 * Appropriation Example:**

__**Project #1 - R**__**__econtextualization__**

__Part I: Adding / Removing Elements (5)__

__Part II: Refining Edges (2)__



__Part III: Masks (2)__



__**Cinemagraphs**__ Puppet Warp:



The Dancing Couple is a painting by Jan Steen completed in 1663 and is in display at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.). It’s a typical painting from what is knows as the Dutch Golden Age, an era characterized by the use of scenes of everyday life and the growth of the ‘nature morte’ movement. This is a movement that I’ve had the chance to encounter and analyze in high school; a variety of elements that represent and symbolize the fragility of life are spread throughout the painting. The painting immediately struck me for its complexity and use of movement. It shows a group of people in what can be described as a party. In the center a man and a woman (possibly a couple) seem to be dancing to music played by the two musicians on the right side. Other figures are also present in this painting, these are eating, talking to each other, drinking and enjoying the festive scene. The artist also painted himself on the left side of the painting; he is the man behind the woman holding a child. The painting has a hidden message, as mentioned earlier elements of ‘nature morte’ can be seen, these include the eggshells on the floor, the pipe and the bubbles. A contrast between the energy conveyed by the painting and the hidden theme can be identified, in a way it shows that the pleasures that life gives are short-term and as we look more into the painting we can see that it gets darker in the background, establishing a comparison with life: the longer time we spend the closer we get to darkness (death). Steen also used a variety of techniques to guide the viewers, all the objects such as the table and benches and stares point towards the center: the couple; this gives the viewers a sense of direction and continuity. Other interesting elements are the two cages in the painting with the caged animals giving away a message that we are locked to a certain period of time on earth and we are only alive once we are outside this set period of time When we look at paintings we automatically think that they are old-fashioned, that’s our modern interpretation of art: something cultural and extremely serious. **I would like to change this interpretation and show the viewer that paintings are the antique way of preserving memories (just like a selfie nowadays)**. There is some evidence of alcohol present in this painting and it’s something explore that more in depth as its something that the painter included but can only be seen after close analysis of the painting. My goal for this project is to draw the viewer’s attention to the hidden elements of the painting and explore this idea that a painting doesn’t have to be about something serious by emphasizing the ‘party’ aspect. To do so I will refer to the modern aspects of a ‘party’ such as speakers and LED lights. Using Aurasma and Photoshop I am thinking of adding movement such as animating the arms of the musicians and legs/ arms of the couple. Finally, I am doing some tests with Chroma Key to maybe incorporate a graphic animation in the backdrop of the painting. All of these elements will be combined and will show up every time the viewer taps on the iDevice’s screen (to allow the experience to be engaging and interactive).

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**Video Project** __Krauss Narcissism: Response to the Reading__ In this piece of writing Rosalind Krauss analyses the use of video in the arts and how an artist subtly makes the video about his/her actions. I do not believe that Krauss’s thesis would differ in 2015, as the main idea that she attempts to convey is still very applicable to this year. The main argument that Krauss attempts to make is that when one is the subject of the video the chances of it becoming narcissist (about the subject and not about message that is trying to be transmitted with the viewer) are very high. In a way, I believe that Krauss’ thesis is even more applicable nowadays than it was when it was originally written in 1971. Today, our society has become more narcissistic through the development of technology and social media. Technology has allowed narcissism to grow in an exponential way. Whereas in the past recording devices were only available to a small sector of the population, today a large number of people have access to either relatively cheap video cameras or cell phones equipped with this tool. Video has become incredibly popular, not only within the arts but as a global phenomenon We create a virtual world about ourselves where we rely on others to provide us with ego-boosts, an example of this is YouTube: vloggers produce daily/weekly videos about their lives and people enjoy it, this not only encourages them to keep producing material but also makes material more individual and narcissist - it’s a growing social phenomenon. The same occurs with the //selfie//, instead of taking a picture of the venue of a concert we prefer to take a photo of ourselves and add a small captions to show where we are, why? Because nowadays we would rather show ourselves than anything else (In fact, there are a variety of Internet applications such as Snapchat, Instagram or Vine that partially rely on narcissism to grow) We have the tools to control what goes online and what others see, we control the perception and ideas that others will have of whatever we’re posting or us. This is allowing anybody to create a completely different personality that will be confined to four borders. One thing that could be added if it was written in 2015 is how editing has also shaped narcissism, apart from having the ability to control what goes on camera we can retouch what we don’t want others to se - we become obsessed on how we portray ourselves and use editing software to correct absurd imperfections, everything becomes about ourselves and not the intended purpose of the video. __Test Video__ media type="youtube" key="ZoOvSOAjtjU" width="462" height="346" align="center"

__Airplane Behavior - Final Video__ media type="youtube" key="NLWFKmrkIbo" width="517" height="283" align="center"

**Counter-Monument Project** __Response to the Reading__ This article posted on the Journal of Architecture proved to be very resourceful. It helped grasp the concept of the //counter-monument,// something I had never encountered before, although the resources posted on the class wiki page introduced me to this idea, the article went more in depth and allowed to have a better grasp of the subject. Being able to have had this in my head before going to the National Mall to develop some ideas not only allowed me to develop more appropriate solutions but to look at current monuments in a different way. The concept of the counter-monument takes in consideration the interaction that visitors or passerbys and does not necessarily have to be something monumental (large dimensions) and is often found in discrete places (i.e.: 1995 Deportation Memorial located in a fruit market). I really enjoy this concept as it triggers thought and curiosity and ends up by engaging the onlooker in a subtler manner.



**__Sketchup Exercise__**