Google Earth.

 

Reading #3 – Narritive Construction as Play.

I really enjoyed this reading, as a female, and also one that enjoys playing videogames, I can understand lots of points about this article. Reading about how the young girls thought of the video games, it made sense to me, I think it’s quite a female tendancy to want to how prior knowledge of the characters, able to watch them grow in the game, having a good storyline.

“Boyish” games like Final Fantasy have that too though, it’s just presented differently, perhaps the girls are put off by the battle scenes or complex storyline? I’m not too sure, because Final Fantasy is one of the most popular games out there and in my opinion for good reason. In the Sims game, the construction of characters and a different world, designing places for them to live and making a life for them is something girls seem to find much more appealingthen men, if I asked any of my guy friends if they played the Sims they would laugh, say it’s boring or pointless, yet, my previous roommate, even at 18 loved the game, because she was so into making lives and personalities for the characters.

Reading this article, sometimes I feel kinda torn, because as a female, I do enjoy the games like the Sims, but sitting in the den with my dad while growing up I’ve been exposed to the more “guyish” side of gaming, like role-playing or even fighter-style games like Tekken, and I enjoy those types just as much or even more then their female counterparts. I find that with male centered gaming, there’s actually so much backgound, good narritive, character development and tactics, but maybe it’s done with graphics that just don’t appeal to a female audiance, with “ugly” characters or something of that sort, but that’s what makes it interesting, and guys are actually pleasantly surprised if they find out they enjoy a game like that, or don’t actually believe you, in the case of some of my friends actually.

Another reason why there is a different degree of gaming interest, if the fact that a lot of females find gaming “nerdy”, “stupid” or “something boys do” and it’s actually tough for a lot of girl gamers, they do get picked on by the guys in the community of their games, and are actually not taken seriously, just because they’re a female player.

Another good fact that Laurel brought up was the object of education in gaming. From what I’ve read, if a game gets too much like school work, or mindset needed to actually play the game, people give up, they’d find it as too much effort, or not fun anymore. A good way around this was like the article says that it “takes the student away from the world of  tests and grades and back into the world of wonder and discovery.” (pg.74) A good gaming example of this could be any stragetical game, if there is money managing, managing a city or building, the “school work” seems hidden, but is actually very aparent, but not it a stressful point of view.

I think Naritive Construction is a very interesting field, I find the world of gaming so interesting because I’m also a part of it, and I think there’s something for everyone on that relm.

 

 

http://courses.ecuad.ca/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=40139

“Narritive Construction as Play”

Laurel, Brenda.

 

Vinyl up!

Put up my vinyl tonight~

I like the way it turned out!

And hopefully it’ll go over well with people, I’ll have to see their reactions!

Tags: diva, urban intervention, vinyl

Google Earth.

So the next project is all about using Google Earth… wow, last time I used it was probably in grade 11! And it sure has changed!

Looking at some of the links on Moodle, I like the GPS Drawing one. I think Jeremy Wood made it a really creative way to utilize the satellites and a neat way to produce an original type of artwork. Documenting the travel of airplanes or something as simple as mowing the lawn, the designs look really interesting while being edited after the first mapping. In the video it was cool to see just how many layers are needed to get to the end drawing, it really reminds me of a photograph taken at night with long exposure, I like that effect.

http://www.gpsdrawing.com/

Another idea I thought was interesting was the Degree Confluence Project, and the idea of people going out to the longitude and latitude intersections and to take a picture. The results are quite interesting.

http://confluence.org/index.php

Other artists working with Google Earth that I found interesting.

http://pongsocket.com/earthart

http://webecoist.com/2010/01/18/nature-of-design-amazing-art-seen-from-above/

http://www.soulcast.com/post/show/79320/Google-Earth-Art

Tags: diva, google earth

Vinyl

I got my vinyl got cut yesterday… a white sheet 12″x12″…

I think I might try again, because I think it might look a little small,

but I haven’t weeded it yet, but it might turn out okay…

 

I’ve also picked a different place to put it, and again, I’ll have to try it out~

Tags: diva, urban intervention, vinyl

Mockup for my Urban Intervention.

Even before we got the rundown on this project I had a good feeling we were gonna do it, and it was then that I knew what I wanted to do.

In the north building, the first staircase on the left I want to put the text “You look cute when you smile” on the back of the steps, because I know for myself that I look at the stairs when I walk up, as to not fall, hah.

I think if I had seen this I would really appriciate it, cause I bet most just feel that stairs are routine and for some not a very joyous/interesting activity, and I thought I’d try and brighten peoples day a little, cause I know that phrase always works on me!

Tags: urban intervention

Reading Response #2 – DARK MATTER

Reading through this the first time… truthfully, I was at a little bit of a loss. In getting what I thought I needed to be drawing out from the reading, I felt a little bombarded by all the information and all the notes. I found it quite wordy and therefore I was overwhelmed at what I thought I should be able to get from it.

I haven’t delved into/read about much “activist art” before so I only had a vague understanding of the term. Reading this through the first time almost all of the article had gone over my head. And even now I’m not quite sure if I’ve grasped a good concept of it.

As described, “Dark Matter” from the Big Bang Theory, all little particles, and same could be said about the art world, there’s so much that’s under the radar, whether it be from a small budget or not being published, as many artists strive for. With activist art, it’s not so much based upon the artist as it is with creating or getting a reaction from the public, and that can be done anonymously, where being “published” or “famous” is not needed, or even cared about. “creative dark matter also makes up the bulk of the artistic activity produced in our post-industrial society.” It was also written that this dark matter is basically invisible to the critics, management or producers. The writer of this article, Gregory Sholette who is an active art maker, explained that there is so much art that survives without have a magnificent public reaction.

I believe many graffiti artists would perhaps go so far as to describe themselves as activist artists, such as Banksy, who creates such politically infused art pieces, something that gets the people on the street talking, and that’s the aim of activist artists, they don’t merely want a piece shown in a gallery, because that alone won’t get their message out and about.

I personally don’t see myself as an activist artist… in any sense really. But it was an interesting read, despite being difficult at (many) times.

http://www.neme.org/main/330/dark-matter

NeMe: DARK MATTER – Activist Art and the Counter-Public Sphere by Gregory Sholette

Tags: diva, reading