The Cat Returns- One of My All Time Favorite Movies

The Cat Returns- One of My All Time Favorite Movies 

Ever since I was about eleven I have loved the studio Ghibli film The Cat Returns. Unlike the many other award winning films this studio has made, The Cat Returns is commonly unknown in the United States. I find this to be a terrible shame. Not only is the tale enduring, the artwork has this simple serene appearance. Our female protagonist Haru is one of the most realistic teenage girls I've seen in animation. The plot of the film revolves around the clumsy, but kind Haru who saves a cat from death. Soon after she finds that the cat she saved was actually a prince from the Cat Kingdom and a hilarious line of events ensues. Eventually Haru is abducted and brought to the Cat Kingdom, a place where only those that believe in themselves should enter. Slowly, Haru begins to turn into a cat. Soon she must find a way to escape, by learning to believe in herself, or she'll be a cat forever. I just love everything about this film. The overall look of the film connects with the simplistic storyline. The characters are just as adorable as the plot. Haru is incredibly relatable and her fluid movements easily portray her insecurities as well as personality. Baron, Haru's knight in shinning armor, is a valiant cat that comes to her aid along with his companion Muuta. Muuta is an extremely large cat with an ego to match, but has a heart of gold. Each character interplays so well with one another and creates this funny, yet endearing cast. Also, the cast has a number of respectable actors from a younger Anne Hathaway to Tim Curry, Cary Elwes, and the late Peter Boyle. Their voices add another layer to the adorableness of the film. The overall message is also great for young girls, which is to believe in themselves. Overall I just find everything about this cute little movie endearing. From their use of light colors and simple character animation to the well-designed characters themselves, The Cat Returns creates a world all its own. A place that I will frequently revisit for years to come. 

Kendall Buster- Written Reflection

Kendall Buster Written Reflection

I really like Kendall Buster's work. It's both beautiful to look at and so unique in style and material. I feel like it can communicate a number of different subjects depending on the shape and context of the piece. The image above makes me think about a never ending cycle with the shape of the subject and its continuos ridges and billowiness. In my opinion, I respond this way because of the light and translucent appearance of the work. It not only makes me think about never ending time, but the transitioning and eventual fading of life through its coloring and opacity. My own experiences make me highly judgmental of this work with my limited perspective. Although I feel I relate and comprehend Kendall Buster's  work better than Puryear's pieces. In some ways, I notice an emotional connection forming between me and this piece. I created a meaning for the work and now it has some sort of significance in my mind. The material gives the piece its essence and presence. Not only is is transparent, but it adds just a hint of color to the otherwise barren shape. As the form gives the piece its character and purpose. I really love how the indentations add to the roundedness of the work. The smell of the piece would be breezy almost as the shape is so light and transparent or maybe a slight smell of cloth of some form. I think the overall textural appearance of the piece is smooth, but my mind keeps suggesting it will feel like a cotton fabric of some kind. This artwork will take different forms from the perspective of the viewer and I think that was Kendall Buster's point. The shape will be consistent, but the overall appearance will vary depending on the viewer's position. Kendall Buster uses form as well as his use of opaque material to emphasize shape and space. In my opinion, Buster references various forms of everyday elements through his use of roundness. The piece could easily be imagined as large tires or various other everyday round objects that people subconsciously comprehend. In someway it could also be metaphorical and represent a cycle or the monotony of everyday life with its ups and downs as well as it ridges and bumps. 

Martin Puryear- Written Reflection

Martin Puryear- Written Reflection 

Martin Puryear's work is quite unique in my opinion. It doesn't fit the spectrum of art that I usually can comprehend. He utilizes different mediums from wood to metals to create unique pieces that can either have this ornate geometric style to a more organic shape or maybe even something in between. I feel he communicates the simplicity and coherence of his works. Personally, I especially liked the aspect of the contradictoriness of the separate pieces.  His realm of thought is outside my perspective unless he explains his mental process. I respond this way because of Puryear's perspective is dramatically different from my own. The image I placed above is one of the works I enjoyed the most. It makes me imagine the piece as a dinosaur with a small tetherball around its neck. Also, I really enjoy the whimsical, organic neck of the work and it makes me feel intrigued as well as amused all at once. I feel the use of the organic shape of the neck relates back to the original form of the wood as a tree. Its placed against this rough geometric shape of the body and I really like that aspect. The form gives the piece and overall flow from the flow of the head and neck to rigidly shaped body. I feel the piece would have a beautiful fresh wood smell and maybe a hint of wood varnish. Also, in my opinion, the texture would be more fluid and smooth on the organic neck and more rigid on the body. Puryear uses form to give the piece an interesting perspective no matter the location of the viewer. The complexity of the body gives one perspective of the piece, while the smooth organic neck gives a completely contradictory meaning. One universal element Puryear uses is the shape of the neck. Many recognize the neck shape from the brontosaurus dinosaur. He also utilizes  the use of his material to give off a certain element to the work that could otherwise be lost. Even though at first I was bewildered by Puryear's perspective, I have come to respect and appreciate his work. 

Transitioning of Design in Animation

Transitioning of Design in Animation

Recently I've really fallen in love with older Disney films. Especially the ones created between 1950 and the late 60's. They had this simplistic design and style to them that I feel is lost in modern day three-dimensional animation. I watched 101 Dalmatians the other day and truly enjoyed the overall look of the film. It wasn't bombarded with underhanded advertisement or numerous references. Although it did utilize some of the beloved characters of Lady and the Tramp. The best part of the film was I didn't feel exhausted after watching it. Also, I really enjoyed the fact that they placed the credits at the beginning. It took a lot of people to make animated films even back then. This made the audience actually view the credits before they could watch the film. I feel in the present that people who create animated films are taken for granted. That the audience can barely comprehend the amount of time and effort a "child's cartoon" can take. Animated films are very much under appreciated today. The beauty of old animation design is lost and ignored by modern viewers that desire "the new." Also, during the opening credits of 101 Dalmatians I loved how they gave basic visual explanations of the people being credited. An example would be moving dalmatians during the animators credit and background designs being drawn during set credits. These small details are what I notice most about older animations. It's so hard to see these minute parts in present day films. Look at The Sword in the Stone, there are so many details to Merlin's character that I love deeply. His animation is so fluid and he uses his beard as a duster so naturally. They made his character so well rounded that even his bad traits and habits make him adorable in my opinion. This attention to detail is sometimes lost in quickly made modern animation at times I feel characters can be half-baked. I usually have to watch a film once for the plot and then several times to notice all the details. Although I do passionately love animation in all its forms and how it has changed so rapidly in the past few decades, it's sometimes nice to be able to take a step back and rewind with the simple narrative of older films. 

Expressing Different Relationships

Expressing Different Relationships

Our homework for Thursday's class was to express a specific relationship each individual 

has had in their life. It can be with a close family member to an inanimate object. I chose a 

guy that I met at the gym the other week, who I hardly even know. I thought it would be fun 

to talk about a stranger and create crazy assumptions about our short conversation. 

Without further ado here's my work.

Lady Taylor and the Mysterious Commoner

Lady Taylor was a magnificent young maiden. She had every ideal a woman could want: brains, beauty, and unsurpassable creativity. Her talents enabled her to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an illustrator until that one fateful day. It was early evening, Lady Taylor and her fateful Knight Dina had decided to try rock climbing at Ye Olde Recreational Center. This is where she met him. She never did learn his name. He had lightish brown hair and deep dark eyes. At first Lady Taylor thought him to be just another poor gym worker, with his dark red shirted uniform. This man was a commoner, after all, and Lady Taylor just another customer. After Lady and Knight were equipped with rock climbing gear the true meeting began. Music was playing in the background as the brave Dina scaled the rock in just minutes. Lady Taylor noticed the song was by Ye Old Rolling Stones and made a comment about her like of the band. The young man smiled and thanked her for liking his taste in music. In a quick moment Lady Taylor's heart fluttered. She quickly replied with her preference of The Beatles. While he responded with a mention of the two becoming friends over their shared taste in music. Although she did not know this man very well Lady Taylor found him kind. Moments passed as they chatted, but soon it was Lady Taylor's turn to climb after knightly Dina reached the top. Fair Lady Taylor was tied to the rope by the handsome stranger as he slyly remarked about protecting her from harm if she falls. Lady Taylor joked about being able to climb only two feet. She tried climbing with all her might, but being a dainty lady her strength could only get her so far. Soon she fell, but the man kept her tied and in air. Through all her might Lady Taylor made it halfway thanks to the kind gentleman's words of encouragement far surpassing her two feet goal. She only got halfway, but both Knight Dina and the man cheered her for her effort. Both Lady Taylor and Knight Dina thanked the man for his aid in their endeavor and left. After their experience Lady Taylor questioned her feelings toward the stranger, yet could not find a proper label. She tolerated that answer, but hoped to one day learn his name.

The End

Paperman- Animation Appreciation

Paperman Animation Appreciation

So I recently saw this animated short from Disney. It's really an amazing little animation. Not only was Glen Keane one of the character developers, but the animation utilizes the benefits of both two dimensional art and three dimensional form. Glen Keane is known for creating and animating such beloved characters as Pocahontas, Ariel, Rapunzel, and the Beast. It was also his last work before retiring from Disney. The plot was simple about a chance meeting and a lot of paper airplanes. I really enjoyed the facial expressions  and emotions that are shown through these speechless characters. The animation movements are very fluid and looks hand-drawn although it was made with modern technology. Also, the background music really enhances the overall design of the short. It brings emotion that would otherwise have been lost. I truly enjoyed watching this short over and over again. This is the type of piece I would love to work on after graduating. I really hope that other animation studios try to use this new design form of blending. But overall, Paperman is a real gem of a piece. 

Camera Lucida Reading Reflection

Camera Lucida Reading Reflection

   Chemists were the real creators of photography, when they realized that certain chemicals are sensitive to light and can copy objects that are illuminated. It’s really interesting to find out that originally when photographs were taken it was said that they were extracted.The author believes adding color to photographs just dazzles up the raw nature of the piece. Photographs can also not rekindle the past, but prove that a moment in time did happen. This photograph happened in reality. It did not exist in imagination or other space or time. A photograph can also let a person comprehend life, death, or even situations that occur in reality. I also found it interesting on how they commented on photography giving the world a secondary  presence. It gives evidence that we exist. Photography is violent and at times harsh. It provides the viewer a look into the past. This is the only form of historical evidence that can be completely factual without bias. Although, bias can be formed by a spectator’s opinion of the photo. I think Lucida brings up great information on the subject of photography and made me look at it in an entirely different lighting. 

Ways of Seeing- Video Reflection

Ways of Seeing~Video Reflection

    This show gave viewers an understanding to questions about hidden ideologies with images. We currently see pieces as they’ve never been seen before. The process of seeing is not spontaneous. Our mind reads images from habit and other reasons. According to the narrator, perspective is our eye into the world around us. The eye can only see so much. It can only understand a limited view. With the camera a completely new dimension to perspective was created. Appearances changed in front of the camera. It caused the true formation of objects to be known. That our eyes don’t always see objects as accurately as a camera. 

    A fresh perception can be formed by using the camera’s eye rather than a person’s. With different camera movements a portrait can even turn into a landscape photo that shows the serene of a grassy plain. Details from photographs gives the viewer elements simultaneously. There’s no pause time. The meaning of images can easily be changed depending on what’s related to the image. A really good example of man’s perception is the point on channel changing. Meanings of works can easily be changed to suit different needs and experiences. 

Errol Morris On Photography Video Reflection

Errol Morris 'On Photography' Video Reflection

From the Errol Morris video I comtemplated some of his ideas. He believes that we as a society have forgotten that photographs are connected to a physical world. He tries to create that connection through his work. Photographs can form feelings that not only the photographer can interpret, but the viewer as well. They can exclude something or a part of a piece, but in most cases it won’t feel absent. Most photographs are posed and from this a meaning or even narrative can be created. Errol Morris tries to explain this idea and more. I really enjoyed his example of the elephant just outside the frame of a photograph. I also hope there’s elephants outside of each photo frame. He also mentions the best way to truly understand photography is to seize on the small details to comprehend the overall piece. I agree with this point deeply, because to understand a photo the viewer needs to see all the small detail that make up the larger work or even question.