The Latest Technologies

According to the MIT Technology Review, scientists are working on getting all individuals access to a type of "genetic fortune-telling." They are doing clinical trials with millions of people at a time to eventually be able to provide each baby that is born with a DNA report card that outlines chances (percentages) of contracting diseases, cancers, addiction, smarts, etc. based on the combination of your genes and the research that has always been done.

This technology is important because it will allow specific individuals the more important appointments and healthcare to take into consideration when growing up. For example if you are extremely likely to become addicted to a certain substance, you can stay away from it before it's too late. Or if someone knows they are 90% likely to get Brest cancer, they can get more mammograms and screenings to catch it early if it ever shows up.

Beauty in Details

Here is my final creative video! I wanted to capture the details of everyday life and turn them into a fun, dynamic video that makes it into art. Enjoy!

Music Assignment

Electronic/DJ Culture: Flume: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TJa3Z5idVY

• Flume uses technology to create all of his own sounds or remix beats from other artists. Since he is just one individual creating these many layers of sounds to form a cohesive song, he matches well with the DJ culture of this certain wave. 

Girl Power: Beyonce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U

• Beyonce uses girl power to her advantage by constantly demonstrating confidence and women's right. As for technology, she uses her videos to tell a story of a powerful women and always shows herself off as a powerful woman to inspire others. 

Nineties: Nirvana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkcJEvMcnEg

• Nirvana greatly influenced the nineties with their music by creating a culture that praised sex, drugs, alcohol and all the other things related to grunge. They used their music and the technology platforms to change the way music was viewed, demonstrating a real "rock and roll dream" and making things like depression more acceptable and talked about

Disco: Michael Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2AitTPI5U0

• Michael Jackson, while not a traditional disco artist as the other examples are, some of his sounds have that fast tempo, energy, and verse and chorus structure that other disco artists have. His dance moves also managed to become well-known and viral as other disco moves have done throughout history. He has a unique sound with combinations of guitars, beats and synthesizers that made him an extremely popular artist, even today 

Punk: Green Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OqtIqzScI

• Green Day is a rock band that can be considered punk because they really encompass the "garage band" vibe that many other of the punk bands have. There music was not traditional enough to be considered regular rock, and since the genre of punk can encompass a wide range of music, I think the sound of Green Day and the hardcore rock music in all of their songs can classify them as punk.

Xerox Memory Box

My Xerox project, titled "Memory Box," represents the formation of my individuality and personality based on my childhood and family memories.

The background is made up of a collage of family photos and items that spark memories that mean something to me: holidays, vacations, outings, activities and more.

The two hands on either side of the box are ripped and taped back together, emphasizing the main idea of my project that demonstrates the ability a family and a past have to break, restore and build the person that we are in the present day. We can be ripped apart by some memories, but others have the ability to repair us and make us whole once again.

Genres of Music

Even though my music taste is extremely broad, I can still hear aspects of certain older styles in the new songs that come out. The type of music that I listen to most is rock, with some of my favorites including Fleetwood Mac, Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam and Jimi Hendrix. However, this style of music seems to be timeless as indie and folk bands have the same focus on the music over vocals as many old-school bands do.

The guitars and the drums featured in many of the songs I listen to create unforgettable sound and beats that intrigue me and keep me listening. While the vocals are still strong, the music seems to be the focus in certain modern styles that I listen to.

There are also elements of techno is the modern music, with electronic beats throughout a song that provides rhythm and bass that gets listeners excited. It's all about beat drops, which I see as an extension of traditional house and techno music and the beat gets more exciting while still forming a cohesive, catchy song instead of maintaining one beat for the entire 3 minutes.

Robots

While robots and other technological advancements create educational opportunities and more, many people, rightfully so, focus on concerns of destruction or misbehavior before looking at the positives.

Even though these robots can mimic and behave like humans, mimicking facial expressions, resounding to commands, and programmed with certain personalities, it is important to understand that the Artificial Intelligence that operates these robots are always programmed by humans. The amount of knowledge, power and capabilities that a robot has is up to its creators and programmers.

Robots can easily have an impact on the amount of jobs, causing loses in industries that are repetitive and autonomous. However, I do believe that these technologies open up many opportunities for knowledge-heavy positions like mathematics, psychology and more. All these professions must continue to grow in order to help engineers better understand how one can program a robot in a way that mimics a human being. It is also important to not that some entirely new industries are being created while others are being taken over, having both positive and negative effects on our society.

I also believe that no robot will ever be able to replace the value of a human being. We are the ones who innovate and create, not the machinery itself. As of now, we have all the power, it is just a question of whether or not we will take these technological discoveries too far.

The Many Expectations

Here is my performance art video: The Many Expectations of Women Today. Refer to my previous blog post for a description and meaning if you'd like.



Thanks for watching!

Performance Art: The Many Expectations of Women Today

In my performance art piece, "The Many Expectations of Women Today," I examine the double standards created by our greater society that pressure women of all ages to look and act in a specific way. I am exaggerating certain aspects of insecurity and self-confidence issues to prove the harsh and damaging implications of these standards that every girl and women subconsciously tend to live by.

This is an important idea to bring awareness to because as a college-age female, our looks are constantly being judged by those around us. I see so many of my friends struggle with body confidence, complaining about looking too fat or too ugly compared to the other girls they see around. I want to bring awareness to this issue because a lack of self-confidence can last a lifetime, and I want to prove the ridiculousness of some of the physically impossible standards so many girls try to reach.

I will be using myself and my friends to demonstrate the wide range of insecurities, what people think about themselves and how they view other women. I hope to show that others do not view individuals in the same negative light that they see in themselves, and those little insecurities are taking up unnecessary time and energy in everyday life. I want people to learn to embrace their natural selves without a negative view that can ruin an entire day.

The audience of my piece can profit by observing the exaggeration I present, maybe realizing for themselves that something about themselves that they are fixated on does not even catch the attention of other people. As women, we have many different sides to ourselves, and we have to learn how to embrace every single one.

In my video, I will include...

• Shoes: These shoes will represent the many different sides to myself and others, playing throughout the video to show different personas that we take on.
• Tape: To tape up insecurities and "hide" them or improve them to make them appear slimmer or to my standards.
• Interviews: To demonstrate insecurities that others have about themselves that many would never guess.
• Mirror: To dramatically show the self-judgement that many participate in on a daily basis.  

21st Century Technology

Virtual reality (VR) has existed for many years, with the purpose of creating some sort of illusion, placing someone or something in a different setting, virtually. It is said that the first form of VR can be traced back to 360 degree murals, creating a landscape or setting all around a person.

The first form of technology that VR can be traced back to is flight simulators. While the quality of the images does not compare to what we have developed today, the images allowed potential pilots to experience "flying" without being in the air.

It was not until 1987 that the term "virtual reality" was launched, when the first pieces of headgear that we see versions of today were introduced to the market. However, they were large, wired, clunky and not nearly as accurate as the technology that many kids receive for Christmas in today's society.

Headsets continued to flourish in the markets, created by high tech companies including Google and Nintendo for video game or otherwise recreational purposes. Today, it is used by both individuals and large corporations for entertainment, product marketing, sports and medical training, education, and even military operations.

The possibilities seem endless as wireless and animation technologies continue to improve, making it possible for images to become even more realistic, and on bigger scales. VR as well as Augmented Reality (AR) are working together to improve user experiences, letting users see all that the world has to offer from their own homes.

Artist vs. Inventor

While there are many similarities between an artist and an inventor, there may be some aspects that separate the two. It is important to note that one individual can be both an artist an inventor, such as Leonardo DaVinci.

In my opinion, the two terms can be interchangeable, but the word artist can be defined as producing a piece of work, or art. It could also be that one has a specific skillset, such as painting, drawing or sculpture, that they can create or reproduce.

An inventor can be defined slightly differently as one who creates an original process, rather than a piece or multiple pieces that demonstrate a certain skill, as an artist would.

An artist's priority can be themselves, using art as an expression of some sort, but an inventor must serve the general public in some way. The art an artist produces can influence a larger group, but that may not be the original purpose as an invention is.

Fish in the Sea - FMX 211 Stop Motion

Here is my stop motion animation video! I decided to make an ocean scene, showing fish swimming, being eaten, being baited by fishermen, and living happily ever after. The music changes from suspenseful to bubbly and happy once the big fish is captured and the rest of the fish can swim free.



Thanks for watching!

Photography in Motion

In order to capture motion through forms of media made up of still images, artists and scientists had to work together to create new forms of art. As it turns out, these people inspired many various kinds of art involving portrayal of motion in unique ways.

Whether it is tracing an image frame by frame or using video to string images together, capturing natural, human motion proved to be a challenge. However, I can see how these methods inspired things like animation and stop-motion pieces, which use the same exact methods with more advanced technology. Repetition was used to create the motion as naturally and realistic as possible.

The time consuming process that these men undertook led to many variations of motion studies, letting us better understand both motion itself (in both humans and animals) as well as the ways to manipulate photography, eventually inspiring the film stir and cinematography.

Pixel Art

I made my skittles into a smiling cat, and even though the edges aren't rounded and neat like the original picture, I placed the skittles evenly and symmetrically to end up with a cohesive piece of art. I believe it is legible as some sort of cat, and like the way it turned out!

Placement of the skittles row by row made it easy to keep them in line both vertically and horizontally, resulting in a neat and precise final product.

Stage Door Blog - Broadway

The broadway shows featured on this blog represent a huge timeline, showing how the performance has changed over time. The singing and the dancing has always been over the top and entertaining, but the style of the performance has developed.

In the older ones, it seems that flashy outfits and performance OR the voice is highlighted. People were either standing still in front of a microphone or dancing with lots of people, depending on the message and tone of the song being performed. In the newer ones, the more modern techniques help tell a story, with the performers wearing fancy outfits, accompanied with live music and overall a better quality performance as technology has also progressed. The songs are recorded and the performances are filmed in better quality.

All of the broadway performances I watched showed how performance has once again shifted from previous historical ages. Now, it's all about the music and dancing, things that we, in today's society, also enjoy compared to the deadly activities people used to watch for fun. The performers show a true range of talent -- their voices, their acting, their dancing -- they can really do it all when it comes to theater, which impresses people.

Broadway is a form of entertainment that continues to live on even today, with people taking pride in the arts and praising those who are talented enough to do the things we can see in all of these broadway clips.

Decontextualization

Decontextualization is all about creativity, taking something and turning it into something else. Based on the piece of work, things can take on non-traditional meaning and completely change the context of a work. DaVinci, someone known for taking advantage of this concept, took inspiration from things like birds, turning them into creative, sometimes abstract art pieces by turning the bird into something different that most people could not imagine up.

While it may be hard to understand decontextualized pieces, it introduces a chance for the mind to make connections that may not be so obvious. We can dig deep within ourselves to make comparisons or new meaning out of everyday objects that we may not have ever had a second thought about.

It is all about putting things into perspective, even if the perspective is new or harder to understand. It deepens our understanding of our own mind and thought processes while also inspiring others to do the same, allowing more art to be created day after day.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops

The film featuring The Carolina Chocolate Drop's story debuts a group of three talented musicians who work hard to keep the culture of black string music alive. As any band, they have their struggles and their downfalls, but the amount of people they inspired and reached could be enough to keep the tradition alive and thriving for many.

Each individual musician had their own background, culture and personality, and even though they were all very different, the sound and the music somehow worked beautifully. The contrast in attitude and musical style created a unique sound that gave me chills at some points. Each person is so talented in their own way, playing multiple instruments, singing, and more, depending on the composition they create or cover.

I like how much the music was featured in this piece, focusing on both band life and personal life to form a cohesive story that highlighted the journey, the goods and the beds of the situation the band found themselves in.

I especially like the part of the film that explained Justin's burnout, in a way. While the sound was still amazing, band members did not seem as passionate or excited, something important for that style of music, as it is a performance just as much as a song. I feel like this is a concept that doesn't get enough attention is the music scene -- the tiredness, the tensions, the fights. However, it is important to understand that these people, despite their success, have their struggles and personal issues as well.

Most Creative YouTube Videos & Alternative Math

The first video I chose to watch was "CNN: Most Creative YouTube Videos," highlighting some of the most out-there, different videos on a platform with millions of videos to choose from. All of the videos featured in this clip were referred to as "modern art" by the hosts, proving that YouTube videos can be more than an Internet hole meant to waste time with no real creative substance.

The videos considered the most creative are high-quality and clear with very specific concepts. They are things I have never seen before, forms of art with lots of imagery, real artistry and time-consuming projects. Whether is is food flying into the air or arms being combined into one big picture, these videos spark an interest because they are new and different ideas that show real creativity and thinking-processes.

The next video I watched was "Alternative Math." This video, while a little bit cheesy with bad acting and exaggeration, showed a real world struggle of school, specifically teaching. In today's ultra-sensitive world, teachers must be careful not to offend or over-criticize students. It is important to note that many believe math, with black and white, right and wrong answers, does not parallel to the grays of life, and must be taught to students in a way that every individual will understand, since everyone cannot learn from the same teaching methods.

The teacher being accused of doing something so wrong as correcting a child receives endless backlash, ridicule, and even expulsion from her teaching position. However, at the end, she proves society and her superiors wrong when they pay her severance, confirming that 2+2 does, in fact, equal 4, the answer that sparked so much conflict in the first place. Sometimes, there is only one right answer, and society or schools must learn different methods to teach this so that every one is on the same page and prepared for the future, exactly what teachers are hired to do.

Madam Butterfly

Madam Butterfly provides a unique take on an opera by using claymation characters. The music paired with the character's minimal expressions create an emotional, sad story of something that happened to many different women across the world in our history. The time is sped up, but the creators use interesting metaphors to get the point across and help the viewers understand a deeper meaning.

It takes place in Japan, beginning with a man and a woman waking up in bed together as they had slept together the night before. Once the man goes to leave it is clear after a couple of seconds that the man is not coming back. It represents a disturbing story of American men traveling to various ports while on duty, sleeping with as many women as possible and leaving them behind to fend for themselves.

Unfortunately, the woman ends up getting pregnant, with no one to support herself or a child since she is all alone, The actual birth is represented by a fish breaking out of a glass bowl, a metaphor explaining this child coming into an unfamiliar setting. The creator uses yet another metaphor by showing the umbilical cord as a kite string, representing attachment as well as childhood.

Eventually, the man returns only to take the child along with the many others he managed to father on his journey outside of the United States. The women is now all alone, without a man or child that she once had. This leads her to rip herself apart (literally) representing suicide, as she no longer felt any reason to live. She returns to the screen with small butterfly wings, glowing and happy once again as Madam Butterfly.

Gothic Architecture - Cathedrals

Gothic cathedrals are a beautiful form of architecture with many features that can classify them as such. These features include a bishop, a rose window, flying buttresses, clusters of thin columns, with the entire structure in the shape of a cross. The beauty and uniqueness of these buildings can be appreciated by all, religious or not.

Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Peters Basilica and more all utilize amazing pieces of art on the inside to create beams of light, a mood unlike any other for those experiencing it. The cathedrals are meant to being a form of inspiring architecture, travel destinations for so many. The cathedrals are sacred places, some with graves underneath that only very specific people can experience.

To balance out the dark, gloomy environment, stained glass windows and art-covered walls contract the mood and turn the atmosphere into one that everyone dresses up for and gets excited about. Choirs and organs create music that pairs with the art to create a spiritual experience and sound. This is done by recruiting little boys to sing the high notes before their voices changed. This, unfortunately, resulted in castration for the sake of their voices, a darker aspect of the history of cathedrals.

Circus Maximus and Colosseum Observation

In the Circus Maximus, the audience has gotten much more involved than previous forms of entertainment. Sounds have changed from musical instruments to cheering. The entertainment style has also drastically changed as more violence is involved and much more is at stake for the participants since it is a race rather than talent such as singing or dancing.

The next example, the Colosseum, houses another large, rowdy audience. The violence is taken up a notch as well as the entertainment is killing instead of music or races.It's all about the value of entertainment provided ofr the audience, regardless of how cruel the actual acts are. While the idea of watching someone else get killed it gruesome in today's society, the violence was seen as an appeal, giving participants extra confidence and status if they came out on top. The level of danger seems to increase exponentially as years progressed, represented by the shift to horses and tigers within the stadiums.

One similarity between the two stages of entertainment is the large, architecturally impressive structures that are able to house thousands of individuals. The focus is always on the audience, making sure they leave with some sort of fulfillment.

Native American vs. Greek Performance Observation

The Native American footage was fascinating because their focus was on the musical instruments, including the drum and the flute. Their chants and claps were additional elements, but these elements seemed to emphasize the beat and show the passion that every participant puts into the music. The elaborate outfits, with dramatic feathers and headdresses add to the music and prove that this is more of a ceremony, something sacred and special to their own culture. This was their chance to come together and praise the Earth for all it has provided them over the years.

The fact that they created the first performance is an important aspect because this means that the Native Americans figured out, on their own, how to express themselves in a way that has meaning and connection to their religious beliefs and love for the Earth. It was never for show, but for the inner contentment or prayer.

Over time, entertainment has progressed to more of a performance, with an audience and seats, considered a healing center for those in attendance. However, it is still similar to the Native American performance in the fact that the purpose is to bring about a happier state of mind, even if it is not connected to religion in Greek tradition. The theater puts the performer on display, with perfect acoustics and sound-enhancement.

Raul Cuero's Creativity Interview

Raul Cuero's interview regarding creativity emphasized setting yourself apart by taking risks and exploring the unknown, surprising people with something unexpected. I agree with the fact that creativity stems from how one perceives nature, because this is exactly the setting I tend to put myself in when brainstorming or creating. Connecting with nature, whether it is sitting in the grass or simply breathing in the fresh air, always seems to spark my best ideas. By spending more time outdoors, especially in between our long days of classes and work, we can find ourselves and discover the power of our own thoughts and ideas. However, I do not see technology as a detriment to our creativity, but one extra method for people to learn, research and get inspired.

The notion that creative ideas stem from interactions with other ideas is an important aspect of brainstorming and creativity as a whole. Especially in my own classes, my classmates and I tend to do better when we bounce ideas off of each other, letting them change and grow into the best possible options. If you remain stuck inside your own head all the time, we will miss out on so many different perspectives that are all around us.

Lastly, my favorite idea from Cuero is that we must do everything with an intensity for the full creative potential to come together. By having some sort of purpose or desire, we grow more passionate about the ideas we are working with and compose them in a more meaningful way. While a fear of failure often holds people back from this intensity, we must run with our ideas with a sense of confidence in order to be noticed and succeed in our own minds as well as the minds of others. By taking these risks and stepping outside of the box, your work can reach and inspire so many more to do the same.

Introduction

My name is Mia Evans.

Some of my favorite things include going to the beach, exercising, and doodling on anything and everything.

I am extremely passionate about dogs, all of my wonderful friends, traveling and, of course, hammocking.

Welcome to my blog!