Graffiti Case Study

 

Graffiti: Case Study

Who would ever think that beauty could be created?..... Illegally. Using a couple cans of spray paint and the backside of an abandon building as a canvas. For centuries people have been expressing themselves through various forms of art. From cave drawings to the Graffiti. Creating is just another form of text and composition.

1.     What is Graffiti

a.     (TO ME) very cool but mysterious spray, painted artwork on walls.

b.     (TO WORLD) Artwork created illegally because it is usually on private property.

c.      (TO ARTISTS) a way to express themselves and mark their territory

2.     Where is Graffiti

a.     Usually on building, vehicles, the Ghetto, Government buildings.

b.     Big Cities, such as New York City and Los Angles.

3.     When was Graffiti created

a.     Some say Cave men started it with cave drawings as early as 30,000 B.C.E.

b.     Others believe in 1949 when spray pain was created.

4.     Why is graffiti done?

a.     It is a way for people to express themselves.

b.     People use it to mark their territory

c.      It is done just to do it.

d.     It is art.

In conclusion Graffiti is worldwide and is advancing everyday. People will use graffiti to express themselves, whether it is to get the word out or to give props to a gang. It was created to make statement and to this day it is everywhere. It might be illegal but people find their ways around it and people have actually made it a profession, such as the Tag Cru.  Graffiti is art and is a form of text and composition. 

It is hard to admit that without this computer that I am typing on right now, my life would be a disaster. Everything from my school assignments to my calender and my pictures to my music. This computer controls my life. It is crazy to think that 3o years ago computers weren't even around and people lived just fine, but ever since technology advanced it changed peoples lives, some for the better and some for the worse. A good example is my parents. They were both born in the early 60's and lived from what I hear, had awesome times in the younger years. But, as they grew older and technology advanced it changed them into who they are today. My Dad is a successful business man and he seriously not live without the some source of the Internet. If hes not at work hes on the couch with his laptop and if hes not on the couch hes on a ski lift with his I phone. Basically the Internet is is life source. On the other hand, my mom doesn't even know how to turn on a computer. And it sounds crazy but she gets by just fine. 

Now when I read Peter Halls essay and about his experience "Living the Virtual Life," I am not surprised at all about the things he saw. There are a lot of people in the world and a lot of them are just like my old man, and need the Internet to get by. I know girls who check their face book every 5 minutes, so why should I think its weird that Peter saw a giant robot or a cat person. When he said "nothing prepares the uninformed, which I was at the time, for the mind boggling appearances of the SL-ites who openly greet you at your destination." I almost could have guessed what some of the people looked like. I mean its just like an ordinary guy trying to talk business with my Dad. He is going to be confused out of his mind if he asks my Dad about the stock market, i know i was. 

As for the other two readings I agree with Christina Haas when she claims that "technology of words, is a technology that changes how written language is produced, processed, transported and used." But then again this is 2009 not 1815. We don't have to write with feathers and ink or used candles to see our paper. The world changes everyday so of course the writing  will too. And she does a good job a describing this process. She makes it clear in her writing that "writing is technology."

Honestly the last reading is very confusing but I'm going to give it a shot. I want to think that Rashke is saying that no matter how hard we try technology is going to change the course of writing and we just have to adjust to it. All the people trying to prevent it are "attempting to retard the entire course of Western history."

I think Rashke and Haas are dead on.  They both agree that as technology advances so will writing and for the better. Yes I agree with them. I think that with out a doubt that the computers in this class have influenced how I think and how I write in more ways than one. Yes I have advanced my learning. 

Cold

As he stood in the bitter cold not knowing anyone surrounding him, he caught the eyes of a beautiful young woman across the way. It was crowded and noisy, and before he could make his move, the question had been asked. "Hey, are you in a Frat? Being proud of who he was and what he was not, he responded boldly with a "No, but my name is Steve," extending his hand for a formal introduction. She looked down at his hand then at him and qucikly responded with an "Oh!" as she vanished leaving him cold, alone and now confused. As he stood there thinking of a witty response he realized that she was long gone and that the Greeks had won yet another battle. But, let the story be told of the brave young man who would not be known by the name of an organization but by the name in which his parents proudly gave him on the day he was born. That name is Steve.

First off. I have no IDEA how to arrange the photos on this site, but they do represent the story in more ways than one. The top photo is of Steve after the battle. He might have been wounded but in the end he won through pride. The other photo also represents Steve. Its of a tree standing tall and strong ready to take on the storm. In the story the girls words were the storm and even though he might of not been prepared, he stood strong and took the blow. In the end he was victorious. 

Portfolio

My portfolio presents my work to readers in a way that I want them to understand my writing as well as get to know me as the author. I like to think that I have a unique style of writing and it was not until I made a portfolio that I could fully express my writing. Like I said earlier I want my readers to get to know who I am through my style of writing and my way of designing my portfolio. For example, I like to use expressions in my writing that I use in everyday conversations. I like to let my readers think I am talking to them. I also like to try and add little funny remarks to make the reader feel comfortable. 

When it comes to designing the portfolio I also have my own unique ways. I like to keep the colors simple and make the photos stand out. I am big into photography as well as music and like to express my writing through the two. Through Mac I can apply music to a photo, and most of my writing is pretty laid back, so I use laid back music. I like the reader to feel relaxed and ready to read what I have to say. I like them to feel like they don't have to read it, but I want them to want to read it. 

Having my paper online makes me feel important. I have always loved writing but never been too excited on it. Maybe because after the extreme type festival, all I do is print it out, wait for a grade and then never se it again. But, once I have my own website I always look at my pages and always want to improve it. Like I said I feel important and its cool. 

Having my own portfolio and my own website encourages me to be a better writer and present my ideas in a way that encourages people to want to read.  

Webpage

When it comes to designing a web page you don't have to be Bill Gates. It is simple an easy and buy following a couple tips in the reading you can go from admiring other websites to creating you own. There are four "basic" principles that will play big roles in the creation of a website. These four principles re alignment, proximity, repetition, an contrast.

 

When you are ready to make your website you first start off with alignment. This means that all the content of the website should be all in order and lined up with each other. This allows your website to look organized as well as avoid any problems or mistakes. Next is proximity, which is " the relationships that items develop when they are close together, in close proximity." So making sure that the items on the web page "belong together," allow the websites appearance to look professional and neat. Then there is repetition. The purpose of repetition is to make the pages of a website look as if the belong together. It helps viewers avoid confusion by serving as a guide by liking everything together. Last is contrast. In my opinion contrast is the most important. It "is what draws your eye into the page." It is the color, style, and the overall appearance of your website. Without any contrast your website will be boring. Color is everything and it sets the mood of the site for the viewer. 

After critiquing my own page I realized that I subconsciously already knew the four basic elements of design. I think all four elements are very important and without knowing them a person would have no idea on how to create a webpage. After reading this I want to make sure my site is perfect. 

The Audience

I believe that the two essays that I just read both target completely different audiences, but have the same message. Trask targets a broad audience and wants to get her point across to millions of exact people where as Kniers essay targets a small group of "tech and gadget nerds." 

 Trask, A a native Hawaiian, writes her essay and targets an a broad audience of people whom she wants to feel and understand the pain and agony that her and her people are going through. She wrote this paper in order to get a point across. The tone she uses is forceful yet compassionate as if she is trying to show that she is angry, but doesn't want to solve the problem with violence, she just wants people to understand why she is s upset. She goes on to tell how "The predatory reality of tourism is visible everywhere." Again she is trying to get a point across. That her people are sick and tired of having their home destroyed and taken over by tourists. 

On the other hand Knier's essay targets a small audience of people who can will only understand what it is like to want something little and when you finally get it you want i to bet better. He starts off by letting his audience know all about him and his obsession with best buy. He is trying to prove a point that if you wait long enough you will eventually get what you want. His tone on the other hand is humorous and witty. At times he pokes fun at himself, " Truth is, I just liked being around all that tech." he just explains how he loves technology and spends a lot of time around it. 

In "Determine the appropriate tone" it says how " In writing, content, style, and word choice communicate tone. I agree with this, because in order to set the tone of your writing you have to throw in all of your own content, style and word choice. 

Now, ahh the two wonderful movies I cant wait to see. Bride & Prejudice and Pride & Prejudice target way different audiences. The Bride Movie is more of a family, love story comedy, that a Mom and Dad can take the family too and have laugh as well as a cute love story. But the Pride movie is a serious love story that a girlfriend would punish her boyfriend by making him watch it. The plot could in someway be similar but the characters are different and the tones are too. 

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The characters who are shaded are those who have suffered.  Because some are unaware to what is going on(shaded) and others realize(white). It shows you how it really was from a different perspective.  He uses a graphic novel to not make it as depressing as the story really is. It might influence the readers to actually research the real Holocaust. " to go, it was not good, but not to go it was also not good." was remembered because that is such a hard decision to make. You know someone is talking because of the bubbles.

If there were no visuals here i would picture the scenes to be much more graphic. The affect would be having the reader think back to what they know or heard about the Holocaust and picture that instead of cartoon characters. These images make it easy to read and understand because it draws the readers attention away from. The images purpose to help the reader focus on the writing.  He sets the tone by letting you know that people have been affected, yet others don't know what is happening. The layers of meaning  I see here are how the author uses cartoons to draw the readers attention away from their thoughts.

The Old Man And The Sea

I chose this image because it is a photo that I took of an old man fishing on the Jacksonville Beach Pier. It reminded me of my favorite novel, The Old Man and The Sea, by Ernest Hemingway. The book is about an old commercial fisherman who was very unsuccessful. He would go out everyday and come back with an empty boat, but he never gave up. One day while he was out at sea he hooked and caught a giant marlin. It was a long and near impossible fight, but he never gave up. i took this photo thinking about the old man and the sea. I remember watching him him fish and when he got a bite the biggest smile would come to his face, but later disappear when he reeled up a small inedible fish. I knew by looking at him and his fishing equipment that he came to the pier everyday and wasn't going to stop until he got his big fish. The photo I took is when he had just reeled up a small snapper and  was angry, but he cast his line back out and was waiting for whatever was down there. The book and this photo encourage me to never give up because everything takes patience. 

This image represnts me because the ocean is my life and when I look at this photograph, I feel as if I am there either surfing the wave or taking the photo . It influences me to one day either surf waves such as that or take take photos like this.I found this image on a surf photgraphers portfolio site, it is a picture by one of my favorite surf photographers, Ben Decamp. Everything from the angle of the shot to lighting catches my attention. But, my favorite part of the photgraph is the surfers hand piercing through the wall of water.  It is very simple to explain what is going on in this image, a surfer is getting barreled and the photographer took the shot through the back of the wave. But, it is hard explain the feeling of getting barreled or taking an amazing photo.  Everything from the vivid colors to the angle of the shot stands out to me, it make me wonder and wish that i was there.  The tone the image sets is a peace and happiness. When I look at this image, I am in a peaceful state of mind and wish I was so bad that I was there.  It does and at the same time does not rely on previous knowledge. For example, I surf and take pictures and I know that a wave like that is incredible and to capture a image like this would be amazing. But, for a person viewing this photo for the first time they could also feel the same way without having any knowledge about surfing or photography.

These two locations influence my perception of what I have written because looking at image takes me there and I am writing as if I am there.  When my text and the image are side by side i feel that viewers would feel exactly the same way and fully understand my text. My picture is set up on the side as if the text is part of the wave. When I read my blog I get lost in the photo.