Final Blog/ Chapter 8

I think Nancy Burson means that by allowing individuals to morph themselves into other ethnicities, we are able to be more like one another. By using the Human Race Machine, people can “walk in another person’s shoes” to see how their life is according to a different ethnicity. We are all aware of how certain people treat others due to their ethnicity. I think the Human Race Machine is a really cool idea; I wouldn’t mind doing it myself to see how I would look as other ethnicities!
I also think that race can be social and genetic. We are born with an inevitable ethnicity; therefore that aspect of race is genetic. But, race is social as well. People treat others in different ways depending on what race they are. It is sad to say, but I don’t think even the Human Race Machine can make racial problems go away.

Gallery Anaylsis #3

The two pieces I chose were both created by Alisha Skeel. “Hiding Place 1” and “Hiding Place 3” were both digital photography pieces. The two pieces chosen are very similar. Both are within the same color spectrum; red is the main focus and there are offsets of black and white in each as well. “Hiding Place1” and “Hiding Place3” also both feature photographs of people, but the faces of the people are not shown. There does not seem to be a lot of differences between the pieces. The backgrounds are different and so are the subjects, but for the most part the two pieces are very similar. I chose these two pieces because I liked how the pictures were captured. I also liked the fact that you couldn’t see their faces; I was able to interpret the pictures how I wanted to which was neat. Both pictures exhibited color very well and there is also quite a bit of texture in the background of the pieces. Both pieces are aesthetically pleasing to me. The colors are warm and I really like how the photos were taken. Alisha Skeel said that she takes inspiration from everywhere. Her intentions in this piece were to get the viewers to look at other things besides the faces since they were not part of the photograph. Since people are usually drawn to faces, she decided to get rid of them to leave the photos open for interpretation.

The other ad I chose was a Nike advertisement. The setting of the ad is taking place in current time. There are many subjects in the advertisement; the most recognizable subject is Tiger Woods. There are also some of his alleged mistresses present in the ad as well. Another key image in the ad is the notorious Nike swoosh. Obviously, Nike is known for the slogan “Just Do It”, but it has more than one meaning behind the advertisement. Nike is advertising their brand, but at the same time they are promoting a very different meaning. In my opinion, “Just Do It” is taken as go have sex with someone, or many women in Tiger Woods’ case. Promoting this advertisement could have a lot of repercussions in relationships and our culture as well. I found this ad as an advertisement on Yahoo in the year 2010. There is a definite relationship between the ad and the audience viewing it. Yahoo is open to the public, so it reaches a variety of people. I think Nike’s biggest audience would be teenagers, and this ad poses a problem to this targeted audience. If teenagers and young adults see this ad they may think Tiger Woods’ actions are okay since they are now being used in a Nike advertisement campaign. Assumptions like this can add to the already promiscuous behavior that has developed in our culture. I think the makers of the ad could be trying to draw any kind of consumer with this ad. But, since teenagers are so easily swayed by advertisement, it is my assumption that the main target of the advertisement would be them. There are obvious “markers” of race in the Nike advertisement. Tiger Woods’ epitomizes the wealthy, upper-class athlete that can have anything and everything he has ever dreamed of; or that could have been the case before the huge scandal broke out. Other “markers” of race are seen in the six women in the advertisement as well. All of the women are fairly young and attractive. All the women in the ad are white too. As mentioned before, there is a definite relationship between the text and the imagery in the Nike advertisement. Nike’s slogan “Just Do It” can be promoting their brand and can be promoting scandalous behaviors as well. An actual product is not shown in the advertisement, but the Nike logo is displayed. I believe this ad is definitely promoting a lifestyle, and not a very moral one. I think this ad is ridiculous. It is one thing for Tiger Woods’ to have committed the acts he did, but it is a whole other thing when this kind of behavior is being used to sell Nike products. In my opinion, if a company cannot sell its products based on the quality, they should not be trying to sell their products through other people’s actions.

The first ad I chose was advertising Crest 3D White products. This ad takes place in current time and the subject of the ad is a girl. The girl in the advertisement has “3D white teeth”; there are also Crest 3D White products being shown in the ad. The main focus of the ad is the girl, but there are also blurred circles in the background and some text. I think this ad can be portrayed with a meaning of outer appearance. It may be selling Crest products, but it is also dealing with looks. Whiter teeth can make someone more attractive. This ad was made in 2010 and I found it in a Cosmopolitan magazine. Since Cosmopolitan is mostly directed towards women, it makes sense that a girl is in the Crest 3D White advertisement. The main audience of this ad is women; once again, white teeth are seen as attractive and could enhance a woman’s looks. It may also be a sexual turn on for men, since Cosmo deals a lot with sex articles and etc. I don’t think the makers of the ad are trying to draw a different kind of consumer with this ad. The ad could be targeted towards men as well, but since women mostly read Cosmopolitan, I think the ad is being directed towards women. There are definite “markers” in this ad. The ad portrays a white, young, female who is a brunette. I think it is a stereotypical depiction of what beauty is seen like in this country. Of course Crest would use a pretty young girl in their ad, because let’s be honest, most people don’t want to see an unattractive person advertising a product. There is a little bit of a relationship between the text and the imagery. The ad states “Sample a Brighter Smile”, which once again is showing that appearance matters in our culture. The Crest 3D White products are shown in the advertisement, but I think the advertisement is also promoting a lifestyle. A brighter smile can be seen as upping your appearance. A brighter and whiter smile can also give someone more confidence to live a happier lifestyle. I do not mind the ad I chose, it is neither positively or negatively affecting me. The ad is not forcing anything on me and it is not offensive in any way. I have used Crest products before and like how they work so I would definitely try anything that can make my teeth whiter in a day!

Gallery Analysis #2

As mentioned by people in class today, I enjoyed this gallery view better than the first one. The two pieces I chose were Kate Varney's Dream Landscape #2, and Meat Packing Industry. Dream Landscape #2 and Meat Packing Industry were both mixed media pieces. I chose both of these pieces because I really liked the color and textures involved; they are also very interesting to look at. Meat Packing Industry and Dream Landscape # 2 have similar colors and textures involed, but the meanings behind the pieces are very different. Kate Varney worked with magzines and went over old paintings to create Dream Landscape #2. The Meat Packing Industry piece was inspired off one of her other pieces and the movie Food Inc. Both of the pieces show a wide range of colors and textures. There is a lot of line quality involved as well. I think both of the pieces are aesthetically pleasing; I don't think I would have chose them if they were not! There is a lot to take in within both of the pieces, but I believe that adds a lot of value to them. The artist's intention in making these particular pieces was to show art as a part of every day life. Kate believes everything is used for inspiration and there should not be discrimination between trash and treasure. Varney relies heavily on layering, and was inspired by Robert Rauschenberg.

Ad Week Chapter 7 Response

It is sad to say, but I would have to agree with Stuart Ewen's comment to some extent. Advertisements have such a long hisotry in our culture, that it is hard to not find meaning in the commodities being advertised. As mentioned in the text, "Advertising sometimes sells belonging, attaching concepts of the nation, community, and democracy to products." (277) Sometimes it is difficult to detach the product and the meaning behind the product. Even a simple thing such as clothing is a way that people express themselves. We are always going to be bias towards the brands, colors, styles, etc. that we like. Other companies might sway our decisions, but that still does not change the fact that we are using items such as clothing to construct our identites. It is a sad concept, and I wonder how it would be without consumer products to help us shape our identities. I wonder who I would be without some of my consumer products..

Gallery Analysis

I chose "Reflection # 1" and "Who Speaks for Planet Earth?" for my two pieces to analyze; one was a photograph and the other was a ceramics piece. Both pieces were done by Kate McIntosh. Kate believes that photographs and ceramics go hand in hand, and that it is easier to engage in 3D objects. There were quite a few similarities between the two pieces. Both had very similar color schemes and a glossy effect. Also, the two pieces had close textures in parts of the work. Both pieces were representing nature as well. I only detected a few differences among the pieces. The most obvious difference was the different choice of mediums. Also, different shapes were used in the photograph compared to the ceramics piece.
I chose these two pieces because I really like the movement of the photograph and I thought the sculpture was a great compliment to it. Some elemental qualities of the two pieces included: the green and white colors, the texture seen in the water ripples and the insides of the sculpture, and the lines shown in both the photograph and the sculpture. I think both of the pieces were aesthetically pleasing because of the calming colors. I loved the water photograph because it was very peaceful and interesting to look at. The artist's intention was to show the light and textural value of both pieces. Also, it was Kate's intention to show how the moon controls the tide through the photograph of water and the sculpture of the moon.