Finding #4

I thought this was extremely clever. The dog's body, shape, coloring, all embody a loaf of bread, ready to be sliced. The way the artist has used the wrinkles of his back to resemble the cutting line for stacked slices is fantastic. The copy is tiny: "you eat what you touch," letting all dog lovers know that when it comes to petting house pets, there's a price to pay. The product is to help sterilize whatever harm you may have inadvertently caused yourself, preventing any further damage.

The simplicity, the cutting board, the design is outstanding. Very clever!

Movie Poster Born Into Brothels...Frank Finan

Movie poster!

I feel that this poster represents well what the movie is about and it draws people in to look at it and want to see the movie.  

When people actually have the time, care, and creativity to do something with fruit as intricate as this, it deserves to be on our blog. I am constantly pressed to consult my mother when it comes to chopping up an unfamiliar piece of fruit for family dinner. Watermelon is no exception. Someone saw the 3D elipse and saw a turtle. WHO does that? Genius it is, to think of carving in its contours atop the fruit to mimic the reptile amphibian. On top of it, other green pieces have been added to include limbs, extremities, and garnish. The berries are genius, although I'm not quiet sure where the actual inner contents of the fruit have disappeared to.
This is creativity at its finest.

Why I'll never be a slutty indian man - RUT #3 Brady Edwards

     I feel like the closest thing I've seen to an international film is Slum Dog Millionaire, and only because it gave me a small taste of what Bollywood and the lives of Indian citizens are like. Watching Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids was like watching home movies of the humanitarian trip I never took and reliving all the emotions, moments, and experiences that were never mine to have. The lives and stories and events Zana Briski was able to capture and share with the world were consistently breathtaking in that they were among the most horrible things kids could ever be raised around. 

    The lifestyle of prostitution was exposed as a kind of vicious cycle in Calcutta, bitterly inherited from one generation to another. One might assume that breaking free of the shackles that hold a generation down would be the only thing the would parents want for their children. It came as a great shock to me when, at the end of the film, updates regarding the children's' whereabouts frequently stated that parents refused to let them leave. They were held back, forced to drop out of school, made to stay in the brothels, and ultimately were doomed by their miserable progenitors to suffer the same fate as them. I feel like that alone demonstrated why, generation after generation, families didn't move on from the filthy lifestyles and try to find something better. They held each other back, they wanted everyone to live in misery with their decisions, and they didn't want anything good to happen to just one of them. 

     It was interesting to also see how mature the children were. Their observations, made through the lens of their new cameras, were insightful and unique. The pictures they took captured what the dirty world of Calcutta looked like from about four feet off the ground. The way Avijit was able to expound on how the subject of a picture seemed to extend outside the framework of the shot showed the bright mind that was being suppressed by his environment. It was easy to see why filmmakers like Zana Briski felt compelled to share their story with the world. Humans with sweet personalities, genuine curiosity and infinite potential were wasting away in these awful whore houses. They were taught to embrace what life they had been handed, expect little else, and cling to it jealously.

     What amazed me was after all the excitement that came with having their photos displayed at shows, and after getting a real taste of what's out there and available with an education and a bit of hard work, many of those children still decided to return to the brothels. Was it because it whoring was the only life they knew, and because of their origins and upbringings they felt like they didn't qualify for a better life? Did they shy away from new opportunity? 

The film moved me and left a lingering desire to, in some small way, do my part to help children in my immediate circles of influence realize their own infinite potential, and make sure they try and reach it.

Finding 3

Born into Brothels-Nate

Born into brothels was an eye opening film. Of course I knew places like that existed, but what sad lives they live. Kids born into the worst situations. However, some of the things I took away from the film are the kids still seem to be happy despite their poor circumstances. Despite being worked and treated harshly they still seemed to have a sense of happiness. They still giggled and laughed and were eager to learn. My favorite line of the movie was one girl said that if she could live anywhere else she would live somewhere with education. That put things into perspective for me. We are blessed with an amazing opportunity at BYU. There are people who would do anything to have a chance to learn and grow and gain skills at a school like BYU. I need to redouble my efforts to take away as much as possible from BYU.

Rut #3 Frank Finan

Last night I had the opportunity to watch the documentary called Born into Brothels. So i'm not going to lie, I was really NOT looking forward to watching the movie and "wasting" my saturday night with my wife. It's the only night we have together where we can go out and do something so going to go see a movie that was an assignment was the last thing I wanted to do. After watching it, my wife and I both said that we loved it! Reading the subtitles was kind of a hassle a first but after you get the hang of reading it, it's not so bad. I understand why this movie won an Oscar because it is very well done. It really grabs your attention from the beginning and keeps your attention throughout the entire movie. I was hardcore routing for the photographer the entire time to get that one kid his visa so he could go to Amsterdam. The movie is very emotional on many different levels and I think that is why it was so successful. The emotion of the parents, the children, and the photographer. I really did enjoy this movie. This is the second film that i've seen in the international cinema that have been assignments and they both have been awesome! I guess I should go more often.

-Frank

Rut 2

I did something that I never had done before, like we were supposed to do. It was a simple thing, but it changed my view on life.

I was driving in Lehi, UT by Thanksgiving point. There's a park n ride area just off the freeway. I had met my family to go to salt lake to do various family activities. They dropped me off later and as I was pulling out there was a mother and son (around 20 years old) that were stranded on the side of the road. They had the typical cardboard sign that said, "Help!" Then it read, "Need money for gas and hotel." I drove by and thought what I always think, oh they're just trying to get money or this is probably their job, or how do I know they aren't lying. All my thoughts could have been correct, but who am I to judge. I was driving off and decided to pull out a $5 bill to give to them. As I approached them I felt sincerely bad by their condition, real or not. I put the $5 back in my wallet and pulled out $20. I felt like they need it more than I did. So I rolled down my window and gave them the money. They were elated and joyful. I drove off and thought about it. What are we if we have money and we don't help out those in need? We've all been helped along the way by various people in our lives, both seen and unseen. Sometimes the help is monetary, sometimes its simply time, or an ear to listen or a smile or kind word. This time it was $20 that someone need more than I did. It felt good helping someone who seemed less fortunate and in need of help.

Rut 1

I thought the Plexus 29 was truly amazing. They way the light hit different strings and the way the piece was put together made it a truly unique experience. Its cool to see how so many little strings combined together can create such a masterpiece. It makes me think of the scripture in Alma that by small and simple things/means are great things brought to pass. Now that scripture can be applied to many different things, but I believe it applies here. Just one string reflect the light couldn't create the rainbow of colors that it did. Even two or three strings couldn't produce the array of colors that were produced in this piece. But many many different strings, each individually not meaning a whole lot, but together they create something special.

The block plan series was really neat. I think for me it showed provo in a different way. I often see it as this small college town, but the block town showed it as well thought out, historical, and of great variety. As I saw the different descriptions of the block plan and the layout I thought of many memories I have had both growing up and now living in Provo as a student. Different place remind me of different experiences. I remember walking across the campus drive footbridge to attend one of my first BYU basketball games when I was a younger lad.

Rut 2 Part 2.... Gabe McFadden

So I guess I have to be honest now:

My thing that I did that I was previously too scared to do wasn't getting a lip piercing. I have actually always wanted to convince to a group of people that I did something crazy and impulsive and that I was hard core and a rule breaker.

I don't think it worked.

I have always wanted to see how far I could push some of the gray areas of the Honor Code and I've wondered if I could carry it off with confidence to make it believable. I hope I succeeded in seeming sure of myself and I was able to make my piercing seem real.

So many people here at BYU are very scared of skirting the line and take less and less risks with dress and appearance for fear of the ever looming and omnipresent Honor Code Office. I understand that I have an alternative look and I have been known to wear some weird outfits. I work very hard to temper myself as to not make bad first impressions on my professors and classmates--I have found that if I start out looking crazy, people are less inclined to trust, talk to, and like me. Whereas if I look more approachable at the beginning of the semester and slowly start to pull out my crazier outfits as the semester progresses, people respond more positively and see my crazier clothes as cool and unique instead of intimidating and weird.

I wanted to throw all that away and see how everyone would react to me being crazy right off the getgo...

Rut #2, Brady Edwards

      For the better part of childhood, I watched my dad reach out to complete strangers. People pulled off to the side of the road often had a handle on their situations, but on occasion, our stopping the car and asking if we could help yielded great service opportunities and grateful people. It extended past people with cars and mechanical problems, as my dad would sometimes offer rides to strangers walking on the side of the road. I always thought it was cool, and I never once felt like I was in a dangerous situation, because I knew my dad, the adult, could handle it.
     I had a shocking realization the other day: I'm now that adult. I have my own car, I have decent mechanical knowledge, I'd be able to handle any physical threat that could surface; I mean I pay my own bills and everything for crying out loud. In light of this revelation, I determined to start assuming that role in some small, preliminary way. This lined up fantastically with our assignment and so with a deadline looming overhead, I decided to find someone to assist off the side of the road.
     My opportunity came the other night as I was driving home at 2am. I saw someone wheeling a suitcase and carrying a backpack and carry-on up University Ave, presumably from the Provo Trax Light Rail. He looked tired and cold, though he was partially bundled up. I drove past him initially and kept going for about a quarter mile. Indecision pulled me in both directions. What if he was some sketchy hobo? What if he shanked me and took my car? What if he's got a gun? I recognized my geographical location (provo), and realized that this was probably the safest city on earth to pick up random strangers, and so went ahead and turned around.
     I pulled over, rolled the window down, and asked this guy where he was headed. He said he was just getting back into town and that his apartment was a coupe of miles down the road. I offered him the ride, and after loading up his bags, he hopped into the passenger seat. I learned his name was Jeremy, and that Jeremy was actually kind of an odd dude. He avoided answering questions directly and would instead answer with something hardy similar. Additionally, he asked that we go and pick up another friend of his who was also out wandering around on the street, apparently looking for Jeremy. I started questioning whether this was actually a good idea, but went ahead and looked for his friend. We found him, he piled into the car and off we went to their apartment. I dropped them off, they expressed gratitude, and I drove home.
     I don't know if my giving Jeremy a ride had a lasting, meaningful impact on his life, but I know that for me, it represented stepping out of my comfort zone, assuming a new role, and traipsing into the unknown. It ended up working out, and I felt pretty cool for carrying on my dad's legacy.

Rut Exerise #3

Run.

The unthinkable had been thought, but it didn't stop there. The unthinkable had been considered, pondered upon, mapped out, and executed.

You have .3 seconds to book it and salvage whatever portion of reputation you have left. 

I had always wondered what it would be like to "eat it," in the meeting Mecca of all social circles--- Provo, Utah. The land of meaning, the land of love, where everyone cares about anyone. This place, moreso BYU campus, is perpetually teeming with youthful fresh meat. Many may hold your future in their hands. Potential is around every corner, so don't mess up. At least that's what we've been conditioned to think and believe. It all counts on the hallowed grounds of this university, so own it like you would a runway stroll. But what if---- what if there were some divine moment, some happenstance split second to do just what society fears most? What if I were to go against the grain (and ground), by publicly humiliating myself in the most tragic trip-and-fall of all time?

Let me preface this by saying that my brother and twin sister's support certainly served as the catalyst to this sudden outburst of confidence. 

So my brother, a little overzealous to make use of this brand new video camera, beckoned us up each flight of stairs in the Harold B. Lee library. Up we went, to the infamous top floor. It's where scholar-like genius abounds, and Pi's final digit is counted. What better atmosphere for shaking things up could there be?

My brother found the optimum location for catching as much as possible on tape. The three of us carefully selected an array of textbooks from off the shelves. In hand, the books started at my waste and stacked to the tip of my chin. Perfect. With a little strategy, I lined up. Lights, camera, action. 

I took the silent steps that felt like walking the plank. Fifty students studied in mute solitude. Not on my watch---- my foot passed the designated target for eating it. I intentionally allowed moving right food catch the back of my left, stunting a successful step and thus propelling me in to mid-air. Correspondingly, books when flying and landed with a blissful, scattered heap around my prostrate person. I had face planted on the floor, and lie there, arms outstretched. Success.

I held the pose for the space of 3 downbeats, certain that my critic counterparts had had ample time to process the biff. I lifted my head of the floor and dramatically threw my head left, right, forward, then bolted like I'd never bolted before. Up, up, and AWAY. Disregard the hour I'd just spent looking up call numbers for my compiled stash of literature. My fifteen seconds of lame fame were almost up. 

Stewart and Samantha came dashing after me, and the next time I remember any of what happened was when we were outside the building, catching our breaths among the exhausted laughter. 

That, my friends, is what I would call a showdown.

It was SCARY. I literally didn't know what would happen, how I would be judged, what the consequences would be. But, I can now say that I royally ate it, tripped and notoriously fell in a very very public setting.
I have the evidence to prove it, seeing fifty shocked heads turn to process the poor girl who will never know friendship again. 

For the 15 seconds of videotaped gold, Stewart and Sam will now be in my debt forevermore. 

Haha, what a wonderful assignment. 

PS, I totally ripped a hole in the left knee of my jeans because of it. 

#No regrets. 

Peer Pressure and Punk Rock! - Gabe McFadden

Rut 2 - Gabe McFadden - Peer Pressure and Punk Rock!

This was actually really difficult for me-- I honestly feel like I've done everything that I want to and there isn't much I've been too scared to do. I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend with some friends in SLC and while I was up there, my good friend Tori decided to get another piercing in her ear. With nothing better to do I tagged along. Once there I spoke with Tori and our other friends about how I have always wanted to get something pierced but didn't know what. For a long time I wanted my eyebrow done but I had heard that that hole never closes completely even if you stop wearing the ring or post. I've been toying with the idea of a lip piercing for a long time but never really entertained the idea because it just seemed a little bit too crazy. But this weekend I was apparently feeling super punk rock and so getting a little tiny hole in my face seemed like less and less of a big deal.

I had already purchased my first skateboard the day before and now I was sitting in a piercing studio with my friends and an assignment to do something spontaneous that I have never done before. So 20 minutes and one (surprisingly painless) pinch later, I got a lip ring.

I learned that it actually wasn't as scary and painful as I anticipated, I have the capacity to be very impulsive, peer pressure is real, and lip rings make you feel super punk rock.

I guess I'll have to take it out when I go to the testing center....

I'm writing my full response now but I couldn't wait!! Here is a sneak peek of what I did that I've always been too scared to do!!
Pic!

Gabe

Rut Exercise #2 Frankie Finan.

So as I was watching "The perks of being a wallflower" I was interested by something a lot of the teenagers decide to do in this movie. As they're driving down an interstate in Pittsburgh, one person from the group sticks their head out the moon roof of the car and feel the breeze on their face. I told myself that is hat I want to do but I want embellish the idea a little bit so what I decided to do is the same concept have someone drive my Toyota 4runner as I stick my body out the moon roof and feel the breeze on my face. The thing that I decided to add was that I would sing a song as loud as I could as we were driving down center street. I felt center street would be the best location for this because you can't really go that fast so safety was not an issue and there were many people who could enjoy my beautiful voice (Sarcasm for sure.) I decided to sing Adele's "Somebody like you" song because that is what was on the radio at the time.  I really enjoyed it actually even though I received many disturbed/weird looks from my adoring fans.  I would recommend to anyone that they should do this or at least try, it's super easy to do, it costs no money(except gas i guess), and all you have to do is sing!  No shame guys! No shame!!!

-Frankie

Finding #2 Olivia

If state of mind (and stomach) doesn't explain why this ad piqued my interest, nothing will. I come from New Jersey, moreover New England- the country's superior region for the world's best bagels. Under the search for "bagels," up came this interesting design. Someone has taken a piece of bakery bread, and personified it with PROTEIN. A whopping piece of what appears to be sausage has become a playful, savory human tongue. Combined with the grain, it makes an actual smiley-face, tongue style. How clever is that. There are no eyes, no nose, just the fluffy white bread with a delicious slab of meat to make one's tongue water. Also, the design is simple---and is genius in that the eyes can't help but start from the top-left, note the image, then follow the picture down towards the product being advertised. Except for labeling, the ad achieve a lot, even void of words. Good ad.

Brady Edwards, Plexus 29 & Block Plan Series

Brady Edwards

      Plexus 19, instead of taking what I know and squeezing it through the eyes of the artist managed to take what's familiar and make real the intangible. It was massive to scale, it was captivating to the eye, and, per design, made color fly around and move as you stared up at it and walked underneath. I've seen fleeting glimpses of the color spectrum my whole life in the water of my sprinkler, in the moist air after a storm, and in looking through windows. To see it turned into something that isn't ephemeral, but has substance and can be stared at, was really cool. The artist also gave one of the sides of the piece an interesting bend, like the colors were being bent against something.

      Like me, I imagine the artist has seen spectrums of color throughout his life. You can't catch them, you can only appreciate them until they're gone. With the right kind of imagination and enough color thread, he made a really cool piece of art that transcended a canvas, a frame, even a wall.

     The same can be said for the Block Plan series, but in an opposite kind of way. The city of Provo has been around me for years, and though the city buildings aren't towering or too impressive, they're constant and are a very real part of my life. It's possible that the artist felt the same way, and wondered what it would look like, turning Provo into a piece of art. Containing Provo to a canvas doesn't do the town justice, though. It would only follow that in the same way we've seen portrayals of music flying off of paper, or words coming off of pages, so too should Provo be expressed.

      The artist seemed to allow the familiar imagery to stand on its own to viewers, choosing to use minimal color and detail. They're buildings we all recognize, and so having them stand as basic representations of their larger forms seemed to be impressive in and of itself. The rectangles, the blue lines that wrapped themselves around the cityscape, both on the wall and on the 3D cutouts that ran around on the floor, it all made for an enjoyable visual display.

Gabe McFadden Goes to the Museum!

I enjoyed Block Plan Series much more than I enjoyed Plexus. I liked that it was relevant to provo and I thought the style of illustration was very unique. I think the artist’s voice was very prevalent in her work which, to me, is the most important thing it art. That is the reason I actually didn’t like Plexus that much. I’ve seen that type of art before and I’ve seen it done better. I love color theory and studying the way colors work together and I think that rainbows and sun rays are kind of generic, tired ideas. Some of the other similar exhibitions I have seen have used their respective space and colors much more effectively.

I think Kim  comes up with her ideas seeing the world slightly more in a unique way than Gabriel-- I feel like her instillation took more skill in balance as many of the sketches were juxtaposed with colored almost cubist looking elements.

Art is difficult and very subjective, so I judge it purely based on if I react to it. Positive or negative, a reaction is a reaction and art should make me feel something. For example, I hate Rothko I think his art is basic and boring and I have never been able to see the hype behind it. However, I soon realized that my vehement reaction was a very strong reaction which, to my displeasure, forced me to give credit to his talent. I feel that Gabriel bored me, I saw it and basically thought “this again?” Whereas at least I hadn’t really seen something that looked like what Kim had created.  

Rut Exercise #1 FF/ Block Plan

Plexus No.29

Well the artist certainly succeeded in piquing the interest of all to enter the building. Never have I seen a piece of artwork that has so quickly made people drop what they were thinking, doing, or where their feet were taking them, to understand what was going on before or above them. This piece of artwork is creative in the sense that it can make anyone stop and reflect on what they are beholding. There are not many things in life that are striking enough to distract someone from a crazy agenda in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.

There are several strands of various colors of the rainbow, all in the ROYGBIV order, juxtaposed next to each other. Assembly must have taken quite some time to order to string them closely together and secure them to the wall at different angles. The light that floods in from the window adds to the beauty of the piece, as it bouncing off and illuminates the vibrant strings even more.

Block Plan Series

The first thing I thought of when I saw this exhibit was M.C. Escher's work. I remember being astounded by the way that man could mold and mesh dimensions to dissolve in to one another, as staircases became eternally impossible to escape. Also, the graphic image of it, with geometrics and stencil-seeming technique make the piece captivating. It would take a creative mind to invent such a design within one's head. Someone was certainly going for form versus function, because the design would be difficult to construct, should each element be 3-Dimensional.

It is not something that I would hope to recreate in my living room, it simply doesn't have that kind of appeal. It is, however, proof that reason can be defied in art.
Creativity really factors in, as the shapes twist. It is amazing how it starts out on the wall, stretches across to the middle until it finally pops off the wall, then descends in a stair-like fashion below, until it falls again on to the floor, back in to the second dimension.

It was interesting to see the photograph of this similar piece of artwork stretching across Provo roads. It seems to demonstrate ambitions of the artist to extend this new type of art to different locations, and stretch the barriers for art confined to the flat wall of a museum gallery.

Rut Exercise #1 Frankie Finan

Plexus No. 29:

-With this piece of art what struck me as creative was the way it presents itself.  At first glance you don’t even realize it as being a tangible work of art but as a prism effect that has entered into the MOA.

-What made this piece creative was that someone took simple things like different colors of strings and made it into an astounding prism –like work of art that really makes you look at its detail.

-Honestly, I have no idea this idea came about. I would think that maybe one day one artists was sitting in the MOA looking up at the skylight and wanted to use it as art. Why not take advantage of all the space of the art museum. It seems like he noticed the light coming in and decided that you could make a prism out of that light.

Block Plan Series:

-What struck me as creative was when I walked in the room and it looked as if the pieces on the wall weren’t actually on the wall but that they were extensions off the center piece. The trick of the mind was really interesting.

-I think what was really interesting about this piece was kind of what we talked about in class last time about how everything is a remix or a copycat of something and this is exactly that. The artist has taken different parts of a historic town and turned it into a contemporary piece of artwork.

-I think that the artist started seeing some history/growth in the town of Provo and noticed that it would be nice for people to know what Provo is all about in a cool and new way.  Show the audience who are either natives to the town or are just passing by for a short time. 

-Frankie Finan.

Finding #1

If that isn't the finished product of bizarre, what will be? I have heard of physical bodies being compared to certain foods before, but never have I envisioned the legitimate crossing of the two. Someone took the step to make an inanimate fruit become animate. He or she has provided the piece of produce with a pair of seemingly humanistic legs. The legs are not simply attached  to the fruit, but have truly become part of it. The artist has chosen an interesting texture for the brush strokes, which almost gives the pair of legs a somewhat furry look. There is perspective, shadow, variation, chiaroscuro, and everything a viewer could want. It's just that darned pair, or "pear" of legs that makes this image so exciting.