(The following is an audio commentary critiquing the visual imagery in Pokemon Black, released alongside its partner game, Pokemon White, in America on March 6th, 2011.)
JAC...
Sunday
Assignment 6A...
(The following is a response to Hugh MacLeod's article "How To Be Creative", which can be found by going to Change This, a web site determined to deliver all things non-sequitor.)
JAC...
Friday
Monday
Assignment 5B...
(This is a clip from Tod Browning's "Freaks", a 1932 cult classic depicting the lives of circus freak show artists behind the scenes.)
JAC...
Assignment 5A...
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man (1943).
Cropped Version of Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man.
THOUGHTS:
I was drawn to this original image of Salvador Dali's because of it's interesting use of space. Though the entire painting seems to be extremely flowing (such as the continents of what I subjectively believe to be the earth) there are major breaks in space as Dali uses three people as depth cues. The first is barely distinguishable (a cue that it is at too great a depth for the human eye to see), the second seems to be in the forefront, and the third is up close, at the right/bottom portion of the painting. Breaking the painting into three using the Rule of Thirds, it is clear that Dali has followed the school of thought that believes the focal point of the painting should be in the middle third. It is interesting that despite all of the norms that Dali tended to break, he still followed this rule, seeming to know that it is undeniable that the eye is drawn to the middle third.
Objectively, I chose the portion of the painting that I did, because I believe it is the most intricate and debatable part of the painting. When the other pieces are ruled out, it is easier to focus on what I interpreted to be an egg/the earth. In this cropped version, the "Geopoliticus child" is absent entirely, which seems to leave us with a painting of simply "the Birth of the New Man". I believe that in doing this, I have removed some, but not all, of the subtext from the text. What I mean by this is that without the Geopoliticus child, this painting subjectively seems to have much less political (and possibly religious) subtext. Instead, with the cropped version, I believe the audience is forced to confront the Birth of the New Man alone, and read purely into its text.
I believe that Salvador Dali chose not to zoom in on the part that I have cropped from his original painting because he had a lot more to say than just what lies within the cropped version. Most of Dali's paintings have great depth. Only after Dali sold out and painted purely for profit did his paintings begin to lack this depth and spacial play. Dali chose to expand this painting, because he wanted to show more than just what the cropped version can reveal. Though it is hard to objectively say what all of the pieces of this painting mean together, it is clear that Dali at least believed that each component was necessary to fully express what he was truly trying to say.
JAC...
Sunday
Assignment 3...
(The following is a comparison/contrast of Kanye West's original song "Heartless", and The Fray's cover of the song, also titled "Heartless").
(Original Version.)
(Cover Version.)
ANALYSIS:
The song "Heartless" by Kanye West came out in 2008 along with the rest of his "808s and Heartbreaks". Being a Kanye West fan since graduation, I was extremely excited when I heard one of the tracks from it, "Love Lockdown", on the radio. Though it sounded completely different than anything I had ever heard of Kanye's, I loved it, and could not wait to see where he had chosen to go musically after "Graduation", still one of my favorite albums of all time.
By the following winter, The Fray had come out with a cover version of "Heartless", one that is jarring to hear for the first time for anyone who really likes or knows the original.
Though the two songs have a completely different sound, they are identical lyrically. Despite this fact, the lyrics do tend to come across differently depending on whether or not you are hearing the slow melody of The Fray, or the upbeat, rebellious melody that Kanye mixed together.
For example, when Kanye West says the line, "You've got a new friend, well I've got homies...", it has a completely different feel to it than when The Fray says this line. This is probably due to this direct translation of the lyrics, which I believe was intentional on The Fray's part for ironic affect.
The musical quality, on the other hand, is quite different between the two versions of this song. The original version by Kanye West has a much great intensity, which can be attributed in part to it's quicker pace (speed/rhythm). The pitch seems to be a bit lower in Kanye's version as well, though it is hard to tell, as his voice is vocalized at times.
In Kanye's original version, it is only his vocals throughout the entire song, while in The Fray's version there is woman in the background who can barely be heard. Though this seems like a minor choice, the fact that the song is about a break-up makes the woman's vocal's seem even more applicable.
Her voice is almost referential to the lyrics, or the deeper story that Kanye was originally telling.
The timbre in Kanye West's version is also very identifiable within the hip hop genre, while the timbre of the cover version by The Fray can easily be placed into some category of rock, possibly "Melodic". The instrumentation is also quite different between the two versions. Kanye uses a lot of beatboxes and synthetic instruments while The Fray sticks with the classical bass and guitar dynamic.
Overall, I would have to say that I like Kanye West's version of the song "Heartless" better, because it is more upbeat and intense than The Fray's version.
That being said, I really do like The Fray's version, partially because they kept Kanye's words the same, but tried something different creatively with their sound quality.
JAC...
Presentation...
(All of my presentations for this quarter will be added to this blog post. Refer to this for a look-back at any of my media from lab...)...
Music Presentation (2)
Soundscape Presentation (1)
JAC...
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