Zaid+Spring+2013




 * Zaid Hamed Ibrahim **
 * Major: Computer Science**
 * Minor: Fine Arts**
 * Year: Junior**

Experience in coding with C, Java and Assembly. Minor experience in HTML, PHP. As well as experience in Photoshop, Adobe Flash and GameMaker.

I have been drawing since I was a kid and have a large interest in animation and game design. So much so that I am hoping to one day work for Pixar or Dreamworks. I mostly work in pencil and photoshop but I also use paints (Acrylics), ink and enjoy working with other materials as well. I plan on creating a web comic sometime soon and hope that will push me to draw more and work more with digital media.


 * __Absence of Art Images:__**

'Interior 1' from the exhibit "Fullness of Absence" by Nguyen Thai Tuan.

'Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence' by Jim Campbell.

__**Absence of Art Exercise:**__



__**Masking Images Exercise:**__



__**After Effects Response:**__

While reading this article I found the tone to be, in a way, upset with how easily media can be made due to technological advancements. I enjoyed learning about the way artist had to work before this “velvet revolution” and comparing it with how new media is created today. However, throughout the article, even though the author described the way software is able to mix different forms of media into a new innovative way of creating art as incredible, when comparing this to the techniques of the past he seemed to show distaste. I myself find this revolution to be quite amazing. In such a short time we have been able to advance visual media in such a way that we have created different forms of expressing it. From my understanding the author may have a distaste of this new form of art because it takes away the significance and purpose that came with creating this art. In order to create a few minutes of film some people would have to wait weeks in order to continue and process their work while now we can do this is a matter of minutes. His comments on mixing different media into a new type of media all together for me sounded impressive but seemed to become another point on how the importance of these individual types of media, such as stop motion and painting, have been lost to do efficiency. Overall the paper was informative and gave me insight on techniques used in the past and how different it was to create media in these ways then it is now. The tone of the article seemed to show disapproval but at the same time showed an acceptance of the relative new form of media that has been created due to technological advancements. Even though the new media created in the past may seem typical and uninteresting to some people today, that does not remove its significance. In my opinion seeing how we have advanced and comparing it to the past should be celebrated and gives insight to humans as a whole. True it may take away some importance that could only be appreciate in the past but moving forward does not mean we lose sight of what we had but learn to improve.

__**(un)Monument(al)**__

__Real Monuments:__

Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser.

 Dilapidated monuments in the former Soviet Union, marking battles during World War II.   The African Renaissance Monument, a 164-foot-tall bronze statue outside of Dakar, Senegal.  __Could-Be Monuments:__   This is an image of a Russian soldier playing an abandoned piano. From what I could find the photographer is unknown but the picture is said to be taken in 1955.   One of the sculptures made by Sayaka Ganz where each piece is made out of garbage and formed into the shape of animals.

A wallpaper that I found of splashing paint. I liked how the paint seems solid and like a sculpture and to me seemed <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">like an interesting idea for one.

__Counter-Monuments Article Response:__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">I enjoyed how the article gave a broader definition to what counter-monuments could be. The many examples helped to reinforce what the author was trying to describe and shows just how broad the design of counter-monuments can be. The overall theme of counter-monuments given by the author is dark or void, rather than the boldness and power given off by typical monuments. However, there was something that struck me as off when reading the article. Not all counter-monuments show this darkness and absence, in fact some are so thought provoking that they actually have a much stronger sense of authority than typical monuments. True, counter-monuments seem to have these themes of apposing a monument or trying to differ from a norm but a few of the examples given in the article actually show similar traits to the typical monuments. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Another interesting point that I thought would have been beneficial to cover more was near the end of the article. The part discussing how some counter-monuments actual failed to bring about what the author intended. The example about the inverted pyramid, how "the inverted fountain reinforces pre-existing representations of the Holocaust as an abyss, persisting as a negative presence rather than actually disappearing and forcing the work of remembering back onto individuals." This interpretation cause doubt in the meaning of the piece, showing that by showing nothing it actually isn't causing the viewer to remember but to forget or ignore. In the end it is all a matter of perspective and what a person thinks a counter-monument means for themselves. In my mind that is what a counter-monument should do, make the viewer think about multiple reasons and meanings of the piece rather than taking it for what the piece is defined as. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">__Monument Ideas/Sketches__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Life Tree: A monument that is meant to represent time and how things grow. It would be <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">made out of a cool bright stone and placed over water so that the roots would be <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">submerged. People would be able to climb it and as the seasons changed, see the light <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> and weather would alter it. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Knowledge is Power: This monument would represent the importance of learning and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">what we have discovered by being curious. This monument would consist of multiple <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">objects floating but emerging from a book. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">The World Maker: This monument represents human kind and how we have shaped the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">world. People will be able to climb and interact with the buildings. The Earth will be made <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">out of stone while the buildings will be made from metal. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;"> Earth Image: A monument which shows that we are part of the earth and belong to something greater. It will have multiple stone faces with straight reflective surfaces that will bounce their reflections off one another. Possible stones floating around over head to create a feeling of absorption into the images. Brain Drain: By walking underneath people will be able to see an unaffected brain with sections discussing what we mostly focus on now-a-days. They outer part will be "melting" representing parts of knowledge that we have forgotten or seem to take for granted. Tech Man: This monument is meant to represent how we are dependent on technology. We have gone to a place in time where we rely heavily on technology to shape ourselves and our ideas. Film of Life: This monument will be a "Green Screen" and a camera which will be set up so that one can look through the camera and see different backgrounds. People can interact with the piece by trying to figure out what scene they are in, giving them a break from the world around them. Shelter: A monument that shows how any place can be a home. Whether man-made or natural, dark or light, we can find a place for ourselves anywhere in this world. Will consist of multiple materials to show different textures and "environments." Inside the Machine: A different look at computers. A way to step inside it ourselves and to image a different perspective of the object we deal with on a daily basis. It would be made of different types of stones and the inside would look similar to the inside of a computer monitor. Rivers Flow: This monument is meant to show how water forms our world. It is everywhere and is needed to sustain life. It would contain a pool of water that will surround the "rivers" and the cloud will be made of a see-through material. The "rivers" would be a durable cloth in order to give the affect of movement.

__**SketchUp Files for the monument:**__

Normal Monument Textured Monument