Cultural Identity Contact Sheet

Cultural Identity

    This photo is of me in a Vietnamese traditional dress and sitting on a desk. I am wearing fingerless gloves, a bow, and Chuck Taylor's, reading a manga. I am sitting in a position that is considered "improper." This photo incorporates emphasis on the my white dress, made by the glow of my dress. There is also an emphasis on my shoes, being in focus because it represents a more "American" sense. There is also a sense of movement in my body's limbs.
    I was trying to convey the sense of traditional, yet improper. The idea behind it is that I am Vietnamese before I am American, however, I should be able to express myself however I please. The shoes, gloves, manga, and bow are all the items my parents, especially my mother disapproves of. I wear these with my traditional dress because this shows my breaking free of traditions and my mother's close-mindedness.
    I consider this piece somewhat successful because I believe it revealed my meaning behind it rather well. However, I did not think that this photo was as "interesting" for others to view.

ARTicles 2: . Google Art Project: Exploring Museums Virtually

     If I did not have to keep this blog post more "profession" I would express my deep love for the Google Art Project in many long, capitalized letters. One of the most astounding things about this project is that the zoom is very high quality. It allows me to zoom into the painting and see every detail of that painting, inch by inch, something I enjoy doing at museums. However, my screen is rather small and does not allow me to fully stare at each detail. Also, there is no nice museum atmosphere in my house.
     Viewing art pieces online do not necessarily have the same effect as a real painting. It has the same feel of taking pictures of paintings or just copying and pasting paintings. To me, paintings seem far much more interesting in person and allows me to admire the artist's techniques and creativity.
     Any experience could be considered things "you experienced through a secondary source then later on experienced it in real life." This could be webcamming with a person I love very much. It is just not the same at all. Experiencing something in real life allows a person to use more senses and allows them to have a completely difference atmosphere than just sitting a home staring a screen, only sensing with my eyes and not the other senses.

(Just sayin', this is my favorite post so far because I absolutely love this Google Art Project and am not "just typing things down.")

Interview: Cultural Identity

     I had interviewed my mother and asked her, "what does cultural identity meant to you?" My mother did not understand what I was talking about. I could not really describe it without inputting my own opinions that might have changed a possible answer.
     I then asked a friend, Jeffrey Phung, and he responded with "the definition of your skin and heritage?" being unsure of what it is exactly as well.

Cultural Identity Resource Consulted Page

For the Cultural Identity Assignment, here are some links I used:
Sara Rahbar
http://www.oswego.edu/news/index.php/site/news_archive/exploring_realities
Gina Smith
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-11039821/stock-photo-vietnamese-women-selling-food-on-the-street-in-hoi-an-vietnam-travel-and-tourism.html
Bonchan
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-54970342/stock-photo-summer-roll-salad-roll-fresh-spring-roll-vietnamese-food.html

Cultural Identity Comparison

Differences:
    Cindy Sherman's photo was a self-portrait and did not have that much contrast. Her piece is meant to represent the woman stereotype on how a woman "belongs in the kitchen." There is space, movement, and line due to the items surrounding her.
     Sebastio Salgado' piece is not a self portrait. It has has a larger depth of field and more contrast than Sherman's portrait. His piece shows the difficulties of the working class. There is also balance, due to the pillar's placement that is slightly off center, making it asymmetrical.

Similarities:
     Both photos are in black and white and both show a "dark side" to society.

Outdoor Portrait Lighting

     In this photo is Karl standing beneath a tree that has old shoes hanging in it's branches. In the foreground is Karl, middleground is the tree, and the background is of the sky and a few larger trees. The emphasis is more on the tree rather than Karl. The tree's different textures contributes to its emphasis. There is a lot of line and movement due to the branches of the trees.
     The tree signifies Karl's life and each branch represents a path. I personally liked this photo, however I do not think it followed the assignment. The purpose of this assignment was to "soften" the lighting on Karl. However, the scrim was broken and I was unable to use it and used a bounce board instead, not really "softening," or having much effect at all.

Still Life

     In this photograph, there is a pile of shoes. The main focus is the ragged and ripped up shoe on top of the pile. There are about 9 shoes, however approximately 6 are visible. Each of these shoes have their own unique texture. In the old shoe, you are able to see the lines of the shoe laces and the tares. The white shoe has a "leather-like" texture. Each of these textures contribute to the uniqueness of each shoe. There is contrast between the newly white shoe and the dirty Chucks. I believe this photo has principle of balance as well as line.
     In this piece, I attempted to incorporate the ideas of life; how each STEP in life is different and some are more difficult (the raggedy shoe) than others. I felt that this piece was not as successful as it could have been because the white shoe's brightness draws attention away from the raggedy shoe.

Still Life Resource Consulted Page

For the Still life Assignment here are some links I used:
The work of Bill Gekas
http://www.billgekas.com/p533833279/h20b48c67#h20b48c67
Ingard Jensen
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26721345@N04/3897111774
and Holger Droste
http://holgerdroste.1x.com/photo/63924/4690/