Storyboard Proposal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PzbGlvJrmw&feature=youtube_gdata

This is my storyboard proposal. I am going to make a video proposal, justifying the purchase (and use) of 45 GPS units through my school's P.A.I.N.T.S. Program.

If this proposal carries, I can implement the use of GPS devices and provide a field-trip style art lesson for my students. I still need to develop a lesson plan that demonstrates how my idea will meet the Michigan Benchmarks and Standards, plus spell out all the steps involved in administering the lesson to a classroom.

Song Analysis - "Fractured Mirror" by Ace Frehley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zy40rT7G0w&feature=youtube_gdata

This is my video song analysis of the song, "Fractured Mirror," by Ace Frehley of Kiss.

I am not really sure how to implement any of this assignment into an art room, but I can definitely use my mistakes as learning tools. As I finished my original version, my program took a dump and I lost about 25% of my work. I had saved a bunch of the project, but the final stretch work was gone forever. I was furious. I even had a hard time sleeping, waking myself up at 0400 hrs with thoughts of how to fix my problem.

The other way I can use this in an art room, would be to stress paying attention to the details. Just as Ace Frehley introduced many different layers of guitars, each playing minor, yet elaborate, pieces, it was not until you reach the middle of the song, at the climax, before you can hear all of the guitars playing at once. In art, it takes many different pieces to make up a whole composition. Whether it be different colors, mediums, or styles, each piece has a part in the whole composition.

5-Song Reviews

As I try to catch back up from that Art Teacher’s Convention, I see that I still need to post some statements about the “Hook” in music. I listened to the two “On Point” radio articles with Robert Kapilow and read the two chapters from Copeland. I also looked at the “dictionary” of Italian terms used in music. Gary Burns listed a ton of songs that represent different forms of “hooks” in music and I could relate to those. I am Copeland’s ideal customer. I have no musical training, but I listen to music all the time. My choices and yours would be completely opposite and you would never guess what I listen to by looking at, or talking with me. I grew up listening to everything from Elvis to Hank Williams Sr. with my dad as we worked on the cars. I grew into my own style, worshiping Kiss and early/mid 70’s rock bands and now I am into absurd/obscure songs like “Happy Boy” by the Beat Farmers and “Peek A Boo” by Devo.

As I listened for the “hook” in the 5 samples given, here is what I heard:

Dixie Chicks – Not Ready To Make Nice

This song is very slow and methodical throughout the first verse. The solo guitar and voice provide a sense of solitude. This is broken in the second verse when additional instruments (guitar & drums) are added. The chorus is a controlled chaotic area, where the vocals and music get louder and faster, stressing their importance in the song. The third and fourth verses drops back to the tempo of the second, but with additional tone via piano, violin and horn section. The chorus is brought back and eventually drops back down to the slow guitar and voice of the first voice return. The final words, the ones that stand out are “They say, time heals everything. I’m still waiting,” show how there is still pain in the soul of the singer and the fast drop off (no fade exit) stresses that fact.

Christina Aguilera – Ain’t No Other Man

This is a very fast tempo song that covers a broad range of music genre and chronology. While the tempo remains constant throughout the song, the styles change flawlessly. A short pause designates a second verse/chorus set. The constant repetition of the song’s title leaves everybody knowing what song it is, although the interpretation can be left to the imagination, until you hear the lyrics. The sudden drop off at the end stresses the fact that there “Ain’t no other man, but you.” I love the musical history lesson given in this song.

John Mayer – Waiting On The Word To Change

As I hear this song, I am thrown back to a variety of different musicians that sang this format throughout the years. It really smacks of Motown, especially Marvin Gaye. The allegro beat is kept constant on the cymbal and there is emphasis on the one guitar keeping a simple chord progression beat. The break of the song has some scatting and ad-libbing by the musicians that is interrupted by the solos of lead guitar and piano. The repetition of the “waiting” stresses the importance of the ideal and the song to the artist.

Justin Timberlake and Timbaland – SexyBack

This is a very choppy, techno-based song. It reminds me of the early 80’s break-dancing craze music. Timberlake’s voice is electronically altered with the last word of each line held for emphasis. The bridge and chorus are introduced outright and has a lot of overlapping, with the low/high interchange between voice tones. The second verse repeats the tempo of the first. The bridge and second coming of the chorus are introduced and I love the music theory lesson. Even after listening to the song many times, I still cannot hear what they are saying. There is a portion that sounds like Prince wrote it for part of his Purple Rain album. The ending kind of sounds like a back-masking version of circus music and is faded out, but how else would you close out this song?

Carrie Underwood – Jesus Take The Wheel

Hee-Haw! This song sounds just like so many country songs, written by so many storytellers before Underwood. The rhythm, beat, tempo, held notes all sound like something I have heard before; I cannot place it right now. The tempo is upbeat and constant throughout the first two verses, and then the chorus picks up the pitch. A medium length break separates the next verse and the chorus is reintroduced. It repeats the flow of the first verse/chorus combination. The song slow flows itself through a set of choruses and exits with a slow fade. I have been close to remembering where else I have heard this style; I will have to get back to you on it when it pops into my head.

Module 5 - Imaginative Bridges-Part 4

As I read Copeland's "The Sonorous Image" - Chapter 2, I can relate to his analogy of the non-trained vs. trained listeners. I just swap out the listening portions and insert drawing/painting portions.

I can draw and paint. People are always complimenting my work. It is aesthetically appealing to them. You can see for yourself at: http://cep807lialm.weebly.com/artwork.html. Copeland talks about how easy it is to please the untrained listener. I can use that as how easy it is the teach elementary students art. If a teacher actually KNOWS their subject, the passion for teaching it flows easily. The students will see the truth and abilities of the teacher and learn from them. If a teacher is just going through the motions, the students will know that as well.

Copeland also talks about his vision where technology takes over the music world. He envisions something that can overcome all of man's (and instrument) outer ranges. As Copeland puts it, we can only play so high/low, sing so fast/slow, etc. I have seen the Mannheim Steamroller in concert and it is basically composed up of 4 men, with a small sectional orchestra accompaniment. They have electronic "everything," from violins and piano/organs to electronic clarinets. While Mannheim Steamroller actually played their notes, I could see how easily it would be to program a composition and just mime/dance along with the music, taking credit for playing the piece. Art is the same way. Technology has started taking over the design world. Mankind can use computers to draw perfect images, edit photographs, even make exact duplicates of existing masterpieces. Could you imaging going to the Louvre in Paris, France just to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, only to find out that the museum had replaced it with a Giclee (an exact duplicate, made to represent an original artwork, detailing even the smallest brush stroke and build up of paint). It would be a let down.

Work of Art Proposal - Revised

One of the seminars I attended last week gave me inspiration to develop a lesson that includes a cross-curricular, grant-provided opportunity Lansing Schools is in the process of implementing. With your permission, I would like to make a short video of the following information:

• Title: Artistic Global Positioning Cache 

• Audience: Art Teachers first – K-5 students if approved through Art Steering Committee. 

• Goal: To teach students how to implement today’s GPS instruments into real world experiences, while using Art as the basis of the lesson. 

• I will discuss the details of the lesson (grade(s) targeted, duration, benchmarks/standards met, directions, vocabulary, resources and assessment). 

• I will demonstrate how to perform the lesson. 

• I will show end results. 

• I can teach different forms of NDCE through the video by implementing observations of architecture and photography. 

• I can use NDCE’s video and music portions in the development of the movie. 

My challenge would be to find a way to make teaching a lesson on GPS Technology interesting, while using Art as the precept behind the assignment. I can/will use some form of music to accompany the video, livening it up, as I present it to my peers.

Module 5 - Imaginative Bridges-Part 3

I have been listening to Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" for the last two days as I tried to break it down into the simplified parts Robert Kapilow talks about in our listening assignments. I consider myself somebody that fits Copeland's version of a "gifted listener" when it comes to music; I have no theoretical background at all. I like to listen to music for what it is, music.

I am sure that a lot of my students are the same way when they come into my room. They want to enjoy art for art's sake. This is why I want to develop lessons that have an artistic "hook" and draws interest right from the start. This can be done by teaching different art movements, using different mediums or just allowing the students the freedom to experience their own creativity. If i use the "gifted listener" ideal and convert that into "gifted artist" it is so much fun to see when a child finds an art style, or medium they enjoy working with. You can just tell when it all clicks for them.

Music Module/Week 2 Discussion/Group 1

I chose Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” to break down. It starts off with a simple, four-note scale climb with a rolled and held fifth note. Aguilera vocally storms in with a gospel style, extended “Hey” and it is off to the races. The song starts to flash all over with different portions all mixed together. It is reminiscent of Laverne Baker’s vocals and James Brown’s brass band back up, being sung by En Vogue, with a splash of Cameo (from his 1986 song “Word Up”). I question if that is Aretha Franklin’s voice saying, “Do your thing honey.” The break of the song sounds like cheerleader vocalization, with the short choppy chanting of Aguilera. The end of the song has a lot of repetition by the back ground singers, but their emphasis has been heightened with Aguilera’s scatting lowered to the same level. This equalization makes the listener concentrate on the title of the song and the vocal improvisation becomes the back up. The exiting music is a solo disco-style riff that fades out, which sounds like an afterthought that was added to lengthen the song by 10 seconds. If you take the chronology of styles given throughout the song, you have the 1930’s and 40’s represented by the soul and gospel style introductions. The 1950’s to 60’s style is given through the heavy brass supporting music. The 70’s have their place via the disco-style exit and the 80’s have the Tony Basil “Mickey” cheerleading and Cameo inclusion of telling your mother and your sister. There are hints of rap included which cover the 90’s and the whole production wraps up as a 21^st century representation of music without the listener even knowing they have just been taught music history. 

Module 5 - Imaginative Bridges - Part 2

Gary Burns' "A Typology of 'Hooks' In Popular Records" talks about how songs catch your attention in different fashion; whether it be through rhythm, melody, harmony, lyrics, instrumentation, tempo, dynamics, improvisation, sound effects, editing, mix, channel balance, or even signal distortion. As Burns provides his different songs for examples to each sub-section, I mentally float through my own discography collection and think of more songs that can fit the need.

Each song Burns describes has its own uniqueness, just as each lesson I give has to be fresh. I see my students for only one hour, once per week. My lessons have to be "catchy" in their own manner, providing a "hook" which gets the students' attention and excites them enough that they wish to perform the art lesson. If I lose a student from the start of the class period, they usually take another one down with them. I do not have a producer looking over my delivery, but I can implement different ways of approaching each lesson, so that I can keep everybody's attention.

Module 5 - Imaginative Bridges

I have played to the "On Point" articles and listened to how Robert Kapilow describes how music is written with a "hook" to gather the listeners ear and keep their attention to the song. The question presented is how to correlate this information into a classroom.

My first thought would be that a teacher needs certain verbal tone that is appeasing to the students. I have a drill sergeant's voice and I have to watch how loud it gets without my knowing, otherwise it sounds like I am yelling at the kids. I have listened to other teachers and how they control their voices, just like Kapilow's description of the notes being played in a song, and soothe their students into a better learning environment. Repetition of information, just as the notes in say "America The Beautiful" provides for a constant infusion of the lesson. Change the tempo of the lesson, just like Beethoven's 5th Symphony and the classroom starts to speed up.

Kapilow also describes how an tonal change like in "We Wish You A Merry Christmas,"or an octave change like "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is used to deliver the same pattern of notes, but at a higher pitch. This reminds me of teachers that get a tad bit frustrated with their students and their voices start to rise as they try to regain classroom management.

All of the Italian Musical Terms provided on https://angel.msu.edu/section/default.asp?id=SS11-CEP-882-730-896065-EL-14-204&goto= remind me of all of the art terms that are unique to my specialty. It is like a language all to itself, only to be used by those involved in that art form.

More later... I have to go read about "Typology of Hooks."

Moving On Up!

Just listened to the "On Point" articles with Robert Kapilow. He sure has an interesting way of describing what is going on within the music we listen to. I liked how he described the double-up notes in America The Beautiful, the triple-up notes in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and the one-octave jump in Somewhere Over The Rainbow pique our senses and create the hook that draws our attention to these songs. I was not as enthralled by his explanation of Christmas music. In fact, I zoned out a few times and found it very hard to follow/listen to.

Bach Home...Lotz To Do

I just got back home from Seattle for the last week. I know I have a lot to do to catch back up, but I will be on the horse Monday. Sorry for any delays.

Week Off?

I am not sure if we have this week off, or not. I have been looking at our Facebook group page and I have been checking ANGEL, but I see nothing that states the time off. I do not see much from the other classmates either. So, I am just posting here, to show I am still involved, but have not heard anything different.

Work Of Art Proposal

I am tossing between two projects for my Work Of Art Project. The first would be a commercial for the National Art Educators Association (NAEA) National Conference, based upon this year’s even between March 16th and 20^th. The second idea I have would be to make a video introduction to an art lesson I could use in my classroom somewhere in the future. Which Work Of Art project I pursue will be determined on how many quality artifacts I could muster together during my trip to Seattle. If I can assemble a respectable video, I will stay with the NAEA Conference idea. I will use the art lesson introduction as a back up to the effects deferred by the conference.

To answer the questions in order:

Q. 1.) Person. Who the subject is of your inquiry?

A. 1a.) The National Art Education Association would be the main subject of my Work Of Art. Every year the NAEA puts on a conference in a different city. Each conference is filled with mini-seminars, where each attendee chooses to sit through a colleague discussing a particular topic. Sometimes it is that person sharing lesson ideas. Another session might be centered on how to adapt an art classroom to fit special need students. The possibilities are as endless as there are presenters.

A. 1b.) In my art room, I like to include some form of technology whenever possible. Sometimes this is a hard thing, due to the fact that I travel between buildings and then between classrooms every week. Each school, and each class, has a different form of technological set up, so whatever I choose has to be easily projected and gain student interest as fast as possible. I love to include art history that centers on a particular artist who worked in a particular art movement. If I deliver biographical information of one artist, the students take notes that can be used for “Tootsie Roll Quizzes.” A “Tootsie Roll Quiz” is very simple: correct answers to: who, where & when (born), where (recognized as an artist), what (art movement) and when (died) – are rewarded with a medium-sized Tootsie Roll, literally thrown across the room for the student to enjoy.

Q. 2.) Experience. What compelling experience do they create?

A. 2a.) The NAEA conference is a very informative conference. Since it is peer-to-peer led, there is very little diversion to what is taught. How much a person takes away from the conference is determined by how many sessions they attend. How compelled they are, is determined by how attentive they are.

A. 2b.) I only get to see my students for one hour, once per week, so every art lesson I give has to gather student interest very fast. If my Work Of Art is an art lesson, I would choose something that fits both realms, my art class and my CEP 882 requirements.

Q. 3.) Aesthetic Forms. What aspects of their WOA you might initially focus on? In other words, what “forms” – as discussed in Eisner – might you look closely at?

A. 3a.) There would be three main “forms” in an NAEA video. The first would be all of the art teachers in attendance. This would be the easy part. How attentive are they? Where are they from? The second “form” would be a bit more difficult; it would be the conference itself. My largest hurdle would be to gather artifacts that effectively represent the conference. The third would be the inclusion of this year’s host city: Seattle.

A. 3b.) The “form” in a lesson video would be based upon me introducing an artist, art movement and art idea in a few short minutes. The rest of the “forms” in the video would be all of those details presented in quality fashion for the students to be compelled to produce art “in the style of…”

Q. 4.) Plan for investigation. What is your plan for how you might explore the work of art that goes into making this experience compelling? Remember that getting at the WOA and the "forms" is very difficult. With this in mind, describe how you think this particular plan is likely to be an effective one.

A. 4a.) My plan for the NAEA is to attend the conference, taking pictures and video throughout the week. I will also take pictures and video of the city when I get a chance to get away from the conference. It will be a very busy time, but I like it that way.

A. 4b.) In order to present a compelling art lesson video, I would have to do my research into a particular artist, their major art movement and develop a quality art lesson for the students to perform. The hardest part will be finding a way to present all of this in a fashion that gains and keeps student interest.

Module 4 - Imaginative Bridges

Eisner talks about form in art and how art is abstract. To some degree, I am not 100% convinced of their stance. Form in art can mean the elements within the composition, or just the shape of something. Abstract is the intentional misconstruing of that form, giving a general reference to the original, but allowing the mind to see other things as well. In my class, we talk about subject matter within an artwork all the time. Most of my lessons are directed to have certain subject(s) within them, but I allow the students the freedoms to manipulate those forms any way they see fit. I believe art is self-expressionism and, although I am guiding the students toward a particular image, how that image appears is solely up to each artist. 

Computer Form Manipulation

http://www.wimp.com/brucepainting/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB9v-PQr-lY

As an artist, I lean toward the 2-D side of form aesthetics. Photography and film are wonderful ways of expression. I saw these videos about computer generated imagery and thought about how long it would take for a normal person to manipulate the forms into a realistic image. I know they are in time-lapse, but that does not take away the fact that somebody took each pixel, combined them with a lot of other pixels and made a beautiful portrait out of them.

Film & Sound Manipulation

http://www.wimp.com/behindsound/

While watching a video sent by my father-in-law, I got rabbit tracked and watched a ton of different video shorts. This one came up and I could not help but think of Abeer's post about how sound manipulation can effect the overall production of a movie.

Form In Photography

Photography:

I love to take pictures with my camera. I used to do a lot of 35mm work, but that was very expensive and, with my wanderlust lifestyle, I had a propensity to keep my film developer very busy. My wife bought me a digital camera and away I went. I can take as many photographs as I wish, keep the decent ones and delete the rest. I have taken some “artistic” shots, where I intentionally set up and wait for conditions to be perfect. I also have the traditional “vacation” shots, where you just point and shoot to capture the view for memory stimulation.

According to http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/photography-pattern-form-texture/,  “Shape is very two dimensional while form adds a third dimension because of the volume of an object. The eye is immediately drawn to form in an image and the art of creating this form is achieved by showing the contours of a subject. The human body as in a sumo wrestler, or the bold contours of round rocks on the seashore.” To me, this is the manipulative and artistic side of photography. Most people can take a standard picture, especially with today’s technologically based cameras. It takes an artist to tweak (or wait for nature to provide) the lighting necessary for a quality picture. A subject within the frame is just an object until it is placed and lit to create an emphasis on it. Take the following pictures for example:

I took this photograph of the Holland, MI “Big Red” lighthouse a few years back. I intentionally walked around the beach and up and down the left pier waiting for time to pass. I snapped off a bunch of pictures as I tarried. This picture gives you the feeling of the day. It was semi-clear and people were all gathered on the west shore watching the sunset. It was a very pretty day to be outside.

This is the shot I was waiting for. As the sun set along the horizon, I took picture after picture, repositioning myself to get different perspectives. As the sun went down I finally saw this sight. The sun wrapped itself around the edge of the lighthouse and the sky started to glow in an umber tone. The shadows cast by the forms in the foreground created the silhouette imagery and I really liked how it appeared.

To me, this is where Eisner is heading with their discussion of form in artworks. The blending of the known (the lighthouse in my case) and the unknown (the nature setting varied by the minute) to create a visually pleasing aesthetic view of something I experienced. I disagree with Eisner in regard to the constant attempt to link art to abstract. To me, as an artist, I believe art is purely expressionism: it is what the artist says it is. Abstraction is a vague appearance of form within an artistic piece.

Aesthetic Modes Of Knowing

OK...I just read the reading assignment for this week. Can anybody translate all that into laymen's terms? It was a lot of big words that meant absolutely nothing to me. Aesthetics = How something appears, or looks? Form = What we know? Forming = What we are trying to know? Abstract = What we think we see? Plato....?

We talk about what we know. We learn from those that already know it. We can only speculate if we do not know and there is nobody else there to explain it. The only other option we have is to get dirty and physically perform whatever function we are attempting to learn. This way, we learn from our mistakes. There is no abstraction. There is no form. There is only knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge. After reading the assignment, something tells me I still don't know anything and pretty sure I will be accused of not reading again, or following directions, because of my confusion.