New Post 4/1/09

Hi Everyone!

American Pop Culture Icon: Sign ups

— "You can quote them in an instant. You know them by name. Something they said or did not only changed your life, but affected American life as a whole. Who are they? They are the folks that have significantly inspired and impacted American society..."-VH1

Keep in mind that icons are not just famous- they represent something larger than themselves and nearly everyone in Amercican culture could name them and explain their significance in society.

Sade: Motown
Ana: Marilyn Monroe
Sam: Spiderman
Ashley: Michael Jackson
David: Britney Spears
Jorry: Disney's Tinkerbell
Mark: Basketball
Carissa: Organized Crime
Silvia: Disney Theme Parks
Greg: Walt Disney
Pete: Frankenstein's Monster
George: Warner Brothers
Mitch:Yosemite
Michael: Jimmy Hendrix
Veronica: Johnny Cash
Steve: 1950s Culture

Class Blog on Chapter 5: "Examining Difference" through the Photographs of Nikki Lee

Students were broken into groups of 4 for this activity. First, they were asked to summarize the main idea of the introduction to chapter 5 from Seeing and Writing, our class textbook. The introduction includes a series of pictures by and artist named Nikki Lee. Her photographs show her in different settings, portraying people of different races and backgrounds. Her Korean background makes her work provocative, as she quite obviously doesn't "fit" in some of the pictures.

See http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/seeingandwriting3/exercises/frameset5.html


Here's what the students wrote to summarize Lee's point:
Group 1 (Carissa, Silvia, Ashley and Steve)

The point is to show that you are who you are no matter how you dress. The pictures are stereotypical, showing punk kids as depressed, yuppies like work, Hispanics have fun at the beach.

Group 2: (Sade, Mark, Sheena and Alex)

Chapter 5's intro examines racial stereotypes as Lee portrays herself as many different people of different ages, races and styles. Though people may say they aren't racist, stereotypes still confront us.

Group 3: (Ana and ???)

Lee is trying to be ridiculously stereotypical to prove that even though she is trying to fit in, the group image will always stick out. Portraying a culture doesn't mean you are part of it; it also doesn't define who someone is.

Group 4: (Jorry, George, Veronica and Sam)

Lee tries to capture the authentic lifestyle of those she studied, though she does so with stereotypical images.




This series of pictures showcases student opinions on "Examining Difference."

The idea for this photo series came from Jorry's socer shirt. They are portraying soccer fans making fun of a Mexican guy who doesn't know anything about soccer. The idea is that it is wrong to make assumptions based on appearances.

(photo taken by Veronica Gonzalez)

(photo taken by Veronica Gonzalez)

(photo taken by Veronica Gonzalez)

The idea for this group's pictures was to show that people look the same from the back. But when turned around, differences show. You can't tell a person's color until they turn around.

(photo taken by Sheena Romero)
(photo taken by Sheena Romero)



This groups idea was to show that you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. It shows asense of style and a person's habits. If a shoe is well worn, if it is in perfect condition, it communicates information about what that person is like.
(photo taken by Danna Whittman)





This group's picture shows a comparison of hands. The different hands show the skin colors, the habits, and the gender of the group's members.(photo taken by Danna Whittman)






(photo taken by Danna Whittman)

Expectations: What I'm Looking For in Your Blogs

When I'm grading blogs each week I'm looking for the following:

1) That directions are followed. See the syllabus and previous blog entries for tips, examples and directions.

2) That you have 2 entries per week. Each one is worth 20 points = 40 points total per week. Late entries are accepted, but after 2 weeks, the grade goes below a C. IOW: make sure you complet blog entries within 2 weeks of deadline for a passing grade.

3) Each entry should have an image, a reference and main idea summary of an article from the assigned chapter, a quote from that article and then an explanation of how that inspired your image.

4) I have my camera and can help with your images if needed.

5) MAKE SURE your images are YOUR original photographs. Do not upload other images without giveing credit to the artist/photographer and ONLY se other images as examples. They can supplement your entry but don't replace your original images.

Capturing Memorable Moments

The baby boomer generation knew where they were when JFK was shot. It is said that Sep 11 creates that memory for the current generations, as the know where they were when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center.

Where were you on September 11th, 2001?

(photo courtesy of http://www.cbc.ca/news/background)

Notice how other artists capture memorable moments. How does their storytelling and photograhpy capture the moment? How do you determine the most memorable moments of your life? What moments transformed you, changed you, made you realize something new about yourself or about life iteself?



This chapter asks you to look at the work of other artists so you can see how you want to capture and documents memorable moments in your life.



See week one blog entry for example formats.

Yahoo

http://www.yahoo.com/

Blog Requiremnts

For each blog entry:
1) See syllabus for list of requirements
2) See example blog entry "Ode to a Toothbrush"
2) AD the following:
Summary of 2 articles, 1 per blog entry. Summarize the articles you chose from the chapter that you used for inspiration for your piece.

Include one quoted passage from the article that exemplifies meaning or the main idea of the article

Then explain how the article inspired your blog entry and choice of photograph or image.

See example blog for appropriate length and detail.