Last week...EVER!

holy crap.
This is really tripping me out. this is the last week of school before i graduate. Its been an insanely fast four years. Even though I am awfully excited to move on to bigger and better things, it is weird to think that this is the end. There is no plan, which is scary but exciting at the same time. I have applied to a billion places and have had a few interviews but nothing is locked down. oh well.

I do have a bangin' new website to show off all of my work on. All of my most recent photo work is up and now I just have to get my digital art and design work on there. Thanks to digital art 2 i was able to get the ball rolling on this whole host/domain thing. I don't know how long it would have taken me to get my act together and make a portfolio site for myself.
The best part...I really like it. I like the way it looks, the way it works, and the way it is going to portray me as an artist.
mission accomplished.

AlysonBlair.com

so far so good

So here is my website at this point. I am still in the process of adding, removing and editing content within the site but I think that is is pretty good so far. I need to get to work on the flash intro and see what else I can do with the site. But I like the overall look and feel of the whole thing. If anything were to change it would probably be just the navigation and making the menu bar on the left always visible so it was a little easier to get around.

Best Horizontal Websites

Here is a cool site showcasing all of the best horizontal websites...

Skeleton Complete

So I have the skeleton and layout all finished, and I think I'm liking it. It is very simple (black and white with some red) but I don't want to get too crazy. Now I am looking for tutorials to figure out a good way to display my portfolio work horizontally (possibly using JavaScript). I want to showcase my photo work and my design work but separately. The images of the work will be big enough to view so that the user doesn't have to click to enlarge or anything like that. I am going to begin my search for tutorials and source code and I will check back in when I have more information.

purchased domain name and host...

I finally chose to go with hostmonster.com for my website and it seems to be pretty user friendly. I have already set up an email account with them and they even taught me how to configure it on my iphone with a video tutorial. The website is: AlysonBlair.com but right now there is nothing on it. Hopefully by the end of this weekend I will have all of the different pages done and all linked up to at least have a skeleton of the site. Then I will get started on the aesthetics and the flash intro.
Can't wait for it to be all finished and ready to show off!

AlysonBlair.com
info@alysonblair.com

AlysonBlair.com

For my final project for Digital Art 2 I am going to be creating a personal website for myself. This website will help me in finding a job after I graduate. The site is going to be very simple in style (black white with random red accents) and easy to navigate through. Here is an example of what the heading might look like...

The site is going to be showcasing my artwork and my design work. So there will be two different galleries. On the site there will be contact information, resume, artist statement and more. Since there are requirements for moving objects and sounds I am going to start the site with a flash intro page that can be skipped if preferred.
This week my main goal is to choose a web host and then purchase a one year contract so I can get this show in the road.
I'll be back with more updates later this week.

INSTALLATION

I am in the process of working on a new installation. The thing is, I've never done one before. I am really excited to get working on it but extremely intimidated at the same time. If it weren't for my intense fascination with installations and interactive work, I don't think I would be able to just dive into a project like this.

The viewer is going to walk into the room and stand on the target in the center. The viewer will face the monitor and will be introduced by a talking avatar, introducing the piece (inspired by the Toni Dove piece). The video work will be created in VDMX and will be playing on the main monitor. At the same time there will be additional video projected on the rest of the walls of the room. This way, the viewer will be completely surrounded my mixed video and sound.

The content of the piece is going to be surrounded by the idea of "being present". Commenting on the state of our culture and how we are so wrapped up in the technology of our day and we don't stop to give ourselves to one thing at a time. Most people use meditation to slow down and make themselves present. This installation will be sort of a technology-based meditation. An interesting concept to tackle when the idea behind the piece is about our culture and technology.

The music will start slow and gradually speed up and then slow down again at the end. It will be abstract but still carry somewhat of a narrative. These ideas will continue to grow, progress and get better as time goes on. this is still pretty fresh but definitely coming along.

updates to come...

i am tired, but this is cool

I know i should do a serious blog right now but i can't, i am very tired. But i do want to share this link. I think it is very very cool and has a little to do with what we are learning about. Definitely a mash-up, dealing with reappropriation. check it out

Freakin' Out!

So i just had a wake up call today when i realized that there is only 2 months of school left...EVER! AND THEN I'M DONE! its all very exciting but there is so much work to be done and im feeling a bit behind. This weekend i am going to take time to get lots of photo work done and get some concrete ideas for my tam thesis project. Its hard because i still don't know if i have been approved to use a room for an installation. If not, I am going to be doing print based work. ANYWAYS, I also need to start thinking about what I want to do for the final project in this class. I am thinking I want to create an interactive website project but I need to start brainstorming themes and concepts. I am hoping all of these projects come together and start to influence one another, i think it will make the process go much smoother and be quite enjoyable. It is so ridiculous that this is the close to the last semester of my school career.
Thank God.

nevermind me...

just kidding

what the?

everything on my blogger page disappeared!

Website in Progress...

okay, so let me start off by saying that i have been having some issues. For some frustrating reason firefox is rejecting this website but safari is just loving it. Annoying.
Second, I was sick last wednesday so I am not positive what type of banner and flash animation was supposed to be created so I am yet to do so. Don't think it is going to be much of a problem though...have used flash many times before.
And Last, i really don't like using webfiles and usually have a hard time getting it up so i just uploaded the site onto the atlas server. Its working, so check it out (in safari only haha)...

WordCamp

I went to Wordcamp yesterday. It was really interesting because it was all about blogging and it really got me thinking. Well first of all it got me really pumped to be apart of this whole digital revolution. I am an official nerd, and there is no going back.
What it really got me thinking about was my presence on the internet and how I am making a name for myself...how I am branding myself. My Blog, my Facebook, my twitter, my Flicker etc. all make up who I am and who I am perceived to be on the internet. It is so interesting if you really think about it.
This got me then thinking about my website and how it truly is a reflection of myself. Everything we do, say, create is a reflection of who we are even if we don't realize it. We have talked a lot about that in this class and I don't really think I ever thought about it that critically until now.
I got a book yesterday at the conference called Blog Blazers...
(so dorky i know) but I am excited to read it. It is about the 40 top bloggers and their secrets on how they created a high profile, high traffic and even high profit blog. Blogging as a business always has and still seems a little absurd to me and really just boggles my mind how people do it.
This should be interesting...

SICK EWWWW

So i have been sick for quite some time now and i am finally getting better. Thank the heavens. So i have been thinking a lot about my website because i actually have to create a career portfolio website for my TAM capstone class. This page is going to have a very clean look and feel. Probably just white with black or dark gray text. I have been considering doing horizontal scrolling...i think it is a cool look. These are some websites i found and have been looking at. They are all very clean but some are more complex than others.
Check it out...

Matthew Mahon

Graphic Therapy

Eric Ryan Anderson

VDMX

So i have been working on vdmx for my new directions in digital art class and boy is it intense. The interface was intimidating at first and then once you get the hang of it, its not so bad. But there is just so much to learn! I feel like i could spend months on this thing and not even really touch on everything. It is amazing to think of the effort it takes to create such a program.
One thing i wish is that the interface wasnt so small...if only we could do it on touch screens like this...

SITE MAP EXERCISE

A HACKER MANIFESTO

"And yet we don't quite know who we are.
While we recognise our distinctive existence as a
group, as programmers, as artists or writers or
scientists or musicians, we rarely see these ways
of representing ourselves as mere fragments of a
class experience that is still struggling to express
itself as itself, as expressions of the process of
producing abstraction in the world. Geeks and
freaks become what they are negatively, through
their exclusion by others. Hackers are a class, but
an abstract class, a class as yet to hack itself into
manifest existence as itself."
-McKenzie Wark

Types of Fonts I Like...

I really like handwritten fonts,

Websites I Like...

ALBERTO CERRITENO


BERDBER STUDIO


DREW WILSON


JEREMY BOLES

Love Letters for Zimbabwe

my metaphor

_i am an alien because i am lost in space_

all together now...

my life on a table

just a few shots i took for my new directions photosynth project thought it went along with our section on identity.

Identity Management in Cyberspace

When I think about my identity in cyberspace and who i am in the real world, it is interesting to see the difference. Although I do not think that I have a completely alternate identity online I do realize that there are some differences. I think that in some cases I am a bit more honest with who i think that i really am. I am secretive yet also very open in a strange way.
After entering the world of second life and witnessing all of the people that are apart of that virtual world, it made me realize how many people use this alternate reality to escape the banality of their own lives. It really shocked me at first when I heard that people were dying because of games like world of war craft but after thinking about it more, its not very shocking at all. The bottom line is, WOWC is much more interesting and stimulating for them than their own lives...it is a way to escape. It's horrible that people are forgetting to feed their children and even themselves because they are so caught up in the virtual world. What will it take for these people to come back to reality, and why would they?
It's a sick sick world we live in.

I am a ______because _______

lover_hater_thinker_compassionate _strong_weak _creator_wino_writer_curious_apathetic_sympathetic
_ crazy_alien_lost.

I am crazy curious person because sometimes
i think that i'm really an alien.

Word Camp 09

is this real life?

Click Image to watch

my alter ego...roxanne

check it out people

Don Gregorio Anton

TONI DOVE : ARTIST PRESENTATION

TONI DOVE


WEBSITE : www.tonidove.com

INTERACTIVE WORK : (click on image to watch video on youtube)

Questions Answered...

Why do you want to be an artist?

I want to be an artist so that I can convey my feelings, thoughts, beliefs and expressions through a point of view that is unique and very personal. Through art, I feel as though I am given a great amount of freedom to show myself and explore myself. Every time i create a new piece I feel like i learn a little bit more and that is what helps me grow into a stronger and more confident creator.
It is a beautiful thing to be able to express yourself in a non-verbal way, so i take full advantage.

Who is your favorite artist and why?
I have many different artists that i admire and look to for inspiration. One photographer that I always look back at is Diane Arbus and her work. Although she is no longer living and creating work, I find such beauty in her images. Her portraiture raises odd, dark feelings in the viewer and shows every walk of life. I enjoy the personal, raw nature of the images and how it seems as though she spent time with the sitters.



Write a personal biography that might be included in your website.
still need to get to this one...

The Finished Work of Art is a thing of the Past

This article got me thinking about performance art and the finished piece. The finished piece is nothing that can be bought sold or obtained by anyone person. But I do not think that it makes the art any less valuable. I realize that this article wasn't necessary about value of work but it is something that i considered. In New Directions of Digital Art, we just talked about the Aura of a piece and discussed whether or not we thought that reproduceable media had the same aura as old original pieces. I think that we came to a conclusion that art has changed and so the aura has shifted with this new wave of new media.

photoshop brushes

very neat

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/10/50-must-have-photoshop-brushes/

Artist Presentation

For my artist presentation i would like to do it on Toni Dove.
Did not know much about the artist before but after some research, I think it will be quite interesting.

Something to think about this week...

1. Why do you want to be an artist?


2. Who is your favorite artist and why?


3. Write a personal biography that might be included in your website.

Hypermedia: Why Now?

This article about Hypermedia was interesting because I have just recently become more acquainted with the world of RSS. I use blogger for classes, and sometimes for personal use, twitter, flickr, facebook, myspace etc. I always have ad pages to post work and responses but did not always keep up with it. Now i find myself updating multiple times a day. It truly is amazing how many different things one can do with their personal blogs.
I was most recently amazed on the day of the 2009 Inauguration when i logged onto facebook and CNN.com offered the inauguration on a live stream and chat box with other users at the same time. Seeing as though i didn't have cable to watch it on in the first place it was perfect. I was amazed by how clear it all was. Obviously there are places where you can stream tv shows, and other live media but i was especially impressed with the clarity and zero lag time.
CNN basically had a line and once someone stepped out of line or stopped watching the stream one more person was allowed in. This eliminated heavy traffic.
It really is just fascinating to think of how fast hypermedia and technology in general is moving. To think back even just 5 years ago, many wouldn't have ever dreamed of such progress. I guess the craziest part is, there is so much more to be discovered.
I'm happy to be along for the ride.

spirited away, amazing flick

no seriously. If you haven't seen this movie yet, go see it now.

My Presence

Both of these articles were very interesting to me. I myself, have always tried to be very conscious about the decisions made online. My facebook profile is kept pretty tight so that there is little information about myself and no photos to see. I think it is really important to realize that once you put something on the internet, ANYONE can see it. This is especially important when looking for a job. What i thought was the most interesting and what i really sat back and thought about was the idea of "be here now".
Like many others, i am always caught up doing multiple tasks at once and lost in a world of technology. Between always having my lap top in my face, my ipod in one year and my iphone in my pocket at all times, it makes it hard to act out the "be here now" way of life.
That is something that i admire in people when they fully dedicate themselves to whatever they are doing at that given moment. It is hard for me to be 100% focused on one thing...I have always been a multi-tasker (thinking that i was getting more done but really it is quite the opposite).
At this point in time, i think it is imperative that we don't lose sight of the beauty in small things. That is what will happen if we let ourselves be completely consumed with this cyber world of madness.
but don't get me wrong,
i love my technology

notes...

for next class: pdf presentation

Topics to touch on during presentation:
-conceptual themes
-visual themes
-evolution of the work
*where did you work start and where are you now
*give the history of your work

looking forward

I can tell that this class is going to go better than the last. Already, we have had more hands on learning in one day than we had in one semester. All I can say is, thank goodness for that.
This semester is going to be rough...4 out of 5 classes being studios, ouch.
The good thing is, by the end of my school career I will have work I am proud of and a killer portfolio...now I just need to get hired.
Hopefully this internship will be worth while.

much love for slumdog millionaire

can't get enough of this, if you haven't seen the movie you should probably hold off from watching seeing as there are scenes from the movie shown throughout the song.