More Human Than Human

Watch the More Human Than Human video and answer the following questions on your Blog:

1. What are the most interesting discoveries you made watching this video?

-A lot of the images we see that are meant to represent the human body, are just that; Representations. Many sculptures and everything to advertisements are mostly just representations of the body. They don't exactly look like a humans. 

-These things started long before our time, when people made the first drawings and sculptures. The same idea has been present. 

-Over time, the image of the body has changed with the time period. The styles have changed, but the underlying intent of the body not looking realistic is still there. 

-The body is there to represent the body and get the point across that there was one, not necessarily to make it look realistic.

2. What do you think about Vilayanur S. Ramachandran theory with the chicks?

I believe Ramachandran's theory with the chicks is that they are mesmerized by the stripe on a beak the way we are with certain artworks. His main point is that their eye is attracted to something for a reason and the more they get of it, the more they can't keep their eye off of it. Same goes for humans. Certain things attract out eye more than others and therefore some artwork affects us more than others. 

3. Do you see any connection between the art/subjects  in this video (Venus of Willendorf, the Herring gull chicks, Egyptian images of the human body,Kritian Boy) and the way the human body is portrayed today?

The connection that I made between all these things is that we make art in the way that is most appealing to us. The things that we see as most important, become the most important. Whether they are realistic or not, we represent them the way that we chose to. We each decide what we see when we look at the human body and put that into context. 

Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts

Questions and Topics for Your Blog Posting:

1. For each video and article list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

http://digital.films.com/play/M27YLB
-Art used to be viewed for beauty and not for aesthetics.
-Order, symmetry, and definiteness became popular.
-More people tried to determine was beauty was
      -This changed a lot over the years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0TKYxAYGGA

-People started to miss the point of art
     -doesn't need to be realistic
-laws of art

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/health/art-brain-mind/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

-We see the elements of artwork, and our brains communicate them to be actual objects/works of art
-Art is appealing and draws our attention to it.
-Art is telling us there is something there even though it's really not

2. Which philosopher's theroy on aesthetics do you feel is most important? Be sure to mention the philosphers name, era (time in history), and contribution to the aesthetic theory in your response.

Aristotle (4th Century B.C.) came up with the concept of paying attention to composition. He figured there were certain rules to follow in order to create the beauty that we saw. He saw that defining technique was important. I think this was the start of us beginning to care more about what artwork looks like and not just creating because we can. 

3. What do you think about Changeux and Ramachandran scientific view of aesthetics and art? What was the most interesting fact you discovered from each speakers lecture? 

Both of these speakers have talked about the way art and science somewhat go hand in hand. The brain has a way of interpreting artwork and over the years it has changed immensely. We have changed our laws of thinking and started to apply those rules every time we look at art now. 

4. What is your opinion of the films and article? 

I found the videos to be rather dry. There was a lot of good information in it, but it was really hard to spend so much time watching. They clearly had a lot of insight and knowledge on artwork though, which I appreciate, it just wasn't something that was very good at keeping my attention.

The article wasn't bad to read though and it gave a lot of information. It started out talking about what we know about art and what we see when we look at things. It discussed the way that even though it's just lines and shapes, our brains communicate it to be something real and engaging. 

5. How do the theories discussed here relate to "Visual Culture"?

The theories discussed have summed up the way we got to this point in our visual culture. Everything started out so basic and on a different level than what we are at right now. It has shaped us to appreciate and understand what we think is important today. All the theories have really had an effect on the way we view and interpret visual culture, whether we realize it or not. 

Marc Prensky Ted Talk

Watch the following video clips and answer the following questions:

1. What do you think of the term: Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants?

Digital natives are the ones who have grown up using digital media such as gaming, social media, cellphones, etc. Digital immigrants are those who have learned to use digital media later on in their life. 

2. Where do you fit in?

I feel like I was  born during a time where we were more so digital natives than immigrants. We basically grew up with the technology. When it came around, we were still very young. Our generation was one that adapted to it quickly and made it into something bigger. 

3. In regards to the Digital Divide, how do you see it impacting education?

I find that we are experiencing a digital divide in the sense that our teachers grew up differently than we are.  Our life of technology is not something that they grew up with. They are teaching in ways that aren't necessarily ways that will engage us or make us want to listen to what they have to teach us. 

4. What are the most interesting concepts Prensky presents? Why?

I think the most interesting thing that Prensky brings up is engaging students. He talked about using different tools that students today are familiar with, such as their digital medias, in order to create lessons and keep students interested. He thinks that if we bring these medias into schools, we will be able to keep our students learning and it'll be something they love to do.

Also, i found it interesting when he brought up the way kids are completely engaged outside of school compared to in school. Then he went on to discuss what they are engaged in and why. It brought backed up his idea of bringing these medias into schools. 

5. Is there anything Prensky presents that you are skeptical about? What is it and why do you think so?

Prensky presents multiple ways to use technology in the classrooms. Some of the things he suggests, like having kids create their own wikipedia pages and things like that seem like good ideas, but I'm not sure that would work any better than assigning an essay. Another thing he suggested was group work. I don't always think that group assignments work. For some classes they may be necessary, but I don't think most kids prefer working in groups. I don't think it'd be a successful tactic, mainly for my art classes. 

6. Do you think technology is important in an art clasroom? Why or Why not?

I do think technology is important in the classroom. I think it's good for students to get online and discover new things. They can use technology to take photos, share photos, find new artists and artwork. They have such an opportunity to learn new things and stay creative. 

7. How do you imagine you will (or will not)  incorporate technology in your classroom?

Personally, I would love to use technology in my classrooms. I think it's important for students to take photos for references and to always be learning new things. I would use the internet for research and to share artists and artwork. I would introduce programs such as photoshop to my students to get them working on their own ideas. I think it would really help my students explore and experiment with their work.