ART 350-EyeCon Update 3

My project is coming along nicely. I have finished building my canvases, five in total each 2' x 2'. I've also continued to play with the angle of the camera from above and have found a way I think works best. This of course will change once the piece is installed, but I at least feel better about the general angle and distance. After finding that both the Front Door and McNamara Galleries will not be available for me to install my piece on May 3, I've decided to try and install the piece in the northernmost stairwell of the CFA Building (near the painting studio), the one covered in graffiti and other artworks. This environment seems appropriate to invite people to interact with my work and express themselves on the canvas, hopefully drawing inspiration from the art surrounding them. I will ask Wendy to make sure it is okay to install my piece in the area and also if I may borrow an easel from the painting studio for the installation. I am glad to say I accomplished all the goals I set for this project in the last update. For next week, I need to confirm I can install in the stairwell and borrow an easel, play with how to incorporate different sounds in the same field, and be prepared to install (i.e having everything tested and ready).

ART 343-Mini-Golf Hole Update 2

I've finished modeling my mini-golf hole in SketchUp and have started putting the pieces together from the 2D pieces that Pepakura unfolded. There are a lot of pieces for this hole, and it looks as if it is going to take a long time to complete, but I am actually very excited to put it all together and see the finished product. I printed my pieces on the standard white printer paper from the lab, but plan on painting the hole once it is all assembled.

ART 350-Eyecon Update 2

Since last week I have narrowed down the number of tracks I am going to be using from twenty to nine. I believe this helps for it to sound more like a song, and less like a jumble of sounds going off all at once. I have also replaced most of the single time sound effects with looping beats. I played around with the camera position a bit and have found it difficult to create fields that work as well as I want from the overhead position, so I think I am going to have to work using the polygon tools, or find a different angle that will work better. I contacted the gallery to see if it would be possible to set up my installation in either the McNamara or Front Door Galleries on April 27, but was denied due to the Student Art Show the following day. I was just informed that these projects will not be due until May 3, so I will ask if it would be possible to install my project on that date. If that does not work I will try and find another suitable place to install. For next week I would like to have the camera position and angle figured out and working, have the polygon fields positioned in the areas needed to fill up the canvas area it is pointed at, and have the canvases built and ready to be painted on.

ART 343-Mini-Golf Hole Update 1

Having worked with Google SketchUp now for many hours, I am starting to feel like I am getting somewhere with this assignment. I have had spent numerous hours testing out different ideas for my mini-golf hole, trying to make the curves and bends the way I want, only to get frustrated and start over. Now, however, I am at a place where I feel like each hour I spend on this is truly productive and getting closer to what I imagine this hole looking like. I am definitely behind where I feel I should be, but intend on putting a lot of hours into this project over the next several weeks to make sure it is up to the level I want it to be.

ART 350-EyeCon Update 1

I have made some great progress over the week on my EyeCon project. I set a goal to play with the program a bit and test it's capabilities to see what I would and would not be able to do. So far I have been able to create 20 separate fields within EyeCon, all of which have their own .wav file. Each field is activated when EyeCon recognizes a change in the white background, such as paint being applied. I've set each field to "Expansion," which just means that the more of a field that is taken up, the louder the volume is for that certain .wav track. I initially downloaded a variety of sound files I thought would work well together to make a unique song, but after playing with them found that they do not actually all work that well together. I plan to continue looking for more sounds that mesh together better than the ones I have now. As for installation location, I don't have a specific location in mind yet. Somewhere where people would be able to be walking by a blank canvas and paints and be intrigued to let their artistic juices flow. Perhaps in the Front Door Gallery or in the McNamara Gallery.