Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Since I am for some reason not allowed to view my comments on my own blog
I will say TY here to quad, soror, Wizzy, and Nazz. I really appreciate the moral support! and great idea, Wizzy. I will follow up on it.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Digital-Virtual Art Exhibit at the Museum of Science Boston Thrown Under the Bus
I have terminated my internship with the Museum of Science Boston.
In February, after working together for two years on the Digital-Virtual Art Exhibit, the Program Manager of the Cahners Computer Place suddenly told me that he was retiring from the Museum in two weeks. He seemed oddly elated.
I set up an appointment with his boss, Lucy Kirshner, Manager of the Discovery Spaces, and presented the exhibit proposal to her in detail. Her reaction was that she didn't see what digital art had to do with computers. My jaw dropped. Even a quick Google search reveals that most colleges and universities offer degrees in Digital Art and Computer Science. Nevertheless I agreed to do an analysis for her of how my ArtRage interactive, one component of the exhibit, would teach computer STEM. A propos her parting shot that digital art had as much to do with computers as watching a Bruins game on a monitor, a friend commented that possibly she thought I meant finger painting.
I prepared a detailed STEM analysis of my interactive and sent it to her, along with several pages of links to web sites covering digital art and computer STEM. Digital art and STEM, incidentally, go by the acronym STE(A)M in education circles, where it is acknowledged as having the extra advantage of appealing to girls, who are under-represented in the computer field. After many weeks I finally received a reply reiterating her skepticism about digital art and computer science and asking me to fill out an in-house form showing what digital art had to do with Computer STEM. She obviously had not read my materials and gave no evidence of having even looked at my interactive, possibly lacking the software to view it.
Not only did this strike me as a runaround, but it also occurred to me that someone apparently so technologically illiterate would never have the contacts necessary to pursue funding for the project. I put this together with the fact that the Cahners ComputerPlace itself is drastically underfunded (ancient equipment held together with scotch tape and paper clips, outdated software, dim light, '50's decor) and decided that, odd as it may seem, the Museum of Science Boston appears to value neither the ComputerPlace nor visually creative computer literacy. So I terminated my relationship with them.
The strange elation suddenly made sense.
PS The Museum does have a great dinosaur exhibit. And stay tuned - I am retooling the ArtRage tutorial and will offer it on my website.
====================================================
Links:
DIGITAL ART: Martha Jane Bradford
Web Site: http://www.marthavista.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
MJB Blog: http://marthajanebradford.blogspot.com/
VIRTUAL ART: Alizarin Goldflake (Metaverse avatar of Martha Jane Bradford)
Atelier Alizarin (Second Life studio): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/222/189/35
Blog: http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alizaringoldflake/
YOUTUBE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake
Anza Borrego Oak:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/1/5s_KRMi55v8
Acquarella:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/a/u/0/u-lo6JosN0M
Acquarella:the Fable ( a Chantal Harvey machinima)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX1eFMtjV6U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hhO2Rf88uM (Chinese narration)
Metemspyche's Garden:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/2/GfQGuNXWvLo
Requiem for Fukushima Daiichi:
http://youtu.be/2H_ne2XbcNs
Studio Tour:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/3/XDjrLmPpopA
The Maze:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/4/OEa9rtEiINE
The Mysterious Forest:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/5/c6Xv_pAf0Qc
The Winter Bear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMYSYJNkm1E&list=QL&playnext=1
In February, after working together for two years on the Digital-Virtual Art Exhibit, the Program Manager of the Cahners Computer Place suddenly told me that he was retiring from the Museum in two weeks. He seemed oddly elated.
I set up an appointment with his boss, Lucy Kirshner, Manager of the Discovery Spaces, and presented the exhibit proposal to her in detail. Her reaction was that she didn't see what digital art had to do with computers. My jaw dropped. Even a quick Google search reveals that most colleges and universities offer degrees in Digital Art and Computer Science. Nevertheless I agreed to do an analysis for her of how my ArtRage interactive, one component of the exhibit, would teach computer STEM. A propos her parting shot that digital art had as much to do with computers as watching a Bruins game on a monitor, a friend commented that possibly she thought I meant finger painting.
I prepared a detailed STEM analysis of my interactive and sent it to her, along with several pages of links to web sites covering digital art and computer STEM. Digital art and STEM, incidentally, go by the acronym STE(A)M in education circles, where it is acknowledged as having the extra advantage of appealing to girls, who are under-represented in the computer field. After many weeks I finally received a reply reiterating her skepticism about digital art and computer science and asking me to fill out an in-house form showing what digital art had to do with Computer STEM. She obviously had not read my materials and gave no evidence of having even looked at my interactive, possibly lacking the software to view it.
Not only did this strike me as a runaround, but it also occurred to me that someone apparently so technologically illiterate would never have the contacts necessary to pursue funding for the project. I put this together with the fact that the Cahners ComputerPlace itself is drastically underfunded (ancient equipment held together with scotch tape and paper clips, outdated software, dim light, '50's decor) and decided that, odd as it may seem, the Museum of Science Boston appears to value neither the ComputerPlace nor visually creative computer literacy. So I terminated my relationship with them.
The strange elation suddenly made sense.
PS The Museum does have a great dinosaur exhibit. And stay tuned - I am retooling the ArtRage tutorial and will offer it on my website.
====================================================
Links:
DIGITAL ART: Martha Jane Bradford
Web Site: http://www.marthavista.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
MJB Blog: http://marthajanebradford.blogspot.com/
VIRTUAL ART: Alizarin Goldflake (Metaverse avatar of Martha Jane Bradford)
Atelier Alizarin (Second Life studio): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/222/189/35
Blog: http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alizaringoldflake/
YOUTUBE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake
Anza Borrego Oak:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/1/5s_KRMi55v8
Acquarella:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/a/u/0/u-lo6JosN0M
Acquarella:the Fable ( a Chantal Harvey machinima)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX1eFMtjV6U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hhO2Rf88uM (Chinese narration)
Metemspyche's Garden:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/2/GfQGuNXWvLo
Requiem for Fukushima Daiichi:
http://youtu.be/2H_ne2XbcNs
Studio Tour:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/3/XDjrLmPpopA
The Maze:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/4/OEa9rtEiINE
The Mysterious Forest:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/5/c6Xv_pAf0Qc
The Winter Bear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMYSYJNkm1E&list=QL&playnext=1
Monday, May 16, 2011
Requiem for Fukushima Daiichi Machinima
If you are interested in my virtual goings-on, link over to this new post on my avatar's blog: http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.com/2011/05/requiem-for-fukushima-daiichi-machinima.html
A video about my virtual immersive art installation "Requiem for Fukushima Daiichi" has just gone up on YouTube. Made in collaboration with my husband, Alfred Ajami, it documents the art, a dramatic build of sinister beauty inspired by the nuclear catastrophe in Japan.
The art was made under the name of my virtual reality avatar, Alizarin Goldflake.
=============================================
Links:
DIGITAL ART: Martha Jane Bradford
Web Site: http://www.marthavista.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
MJB Blog: http://marthajanebradford.blogspot.com/
VIRTUAL ART: Alizarin Goldflake (Metaverse avatar of Martha Jane Bradford)
Atelier Alizarin (Second Life studio): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/222/189/35
Blog: http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alizaringoldflake/
YOUTUBE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake
Anza Borrego Oak:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/1/5s_KRMi55v8
Acquarella:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/a/u/0/u-lo6JosN0M
Acquarella:the Fable ( a Chantal Harvey machinima)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX1eFMtjV6U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hhO2Rf88uM (Chinese narration)
Metemspyche's Garden:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/2/GfQGuNXWvLo
Requiem for Fukushima Daiichi:
http://youtu.be/2H_ne2XbcNs
Studio Tour:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/3/XDjrLmPpopA
The Maze:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/4/OEa9rtEiINE
The Mysterious Forest:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/5/c6Xv_pAf0Qc
The Winter Bear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMYSYJNkm1E&list=QL&playnext=1
Monday, February 21, 2011
Two prints in The Boston Printmakers North American Print Biennial 2011
"Hermione" and "Neon Tetra," two prints from my new Big Pixel Series, were selected by curator Jim Dine for inclusion in The Boston Printmakers North American Print Biennial 2011. The Biennial set a record this year with 811 artists submitting 2049 works from which 149 prints were selected by 105 artists.
http://www.danforthmuseum.org/boston_printmakers_2011.htmlhttp://www.bostonprintmakers.org/The show runs from February 27 to May 1, 2011. The Opening Reception is Sunday, February 27th, 3pm - 5pm, at the Danforth Museum, 123 Union Street, Framingham MA. All are welcome.
This show is one of the major print reviews held in the United States. The 2011 Biennial features prints created in traditional print processes that include lithography, woodcut, linocut, etching, mezzotint and screen printing, as well as works produced in new or experimental media such as digital, collage, artist books, and 3-dimensional constructions.
About my images: "Hermione" and "Neon Tetra" were originally drawn as part of my virtual reality installation "Acquarella," which can be viewed here if you have a Second Life account: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/205/234/301 or online here: http://www.marthavista.com/Acquarella_videos.htm Elements of "Acquarella" were used as the set for a machinima called "Acquarella: The Fable" written, directed, and produced by my second life avatar Alizarin Goldflake and filmed by Chantal Harvey. The machinima was shown at the World Expo in Shanghai in September and October of 2010. http://marthajanebradford.blogspot.com/2010/10/acquarella-fable-showing-at-2010-world.html
With the "Big Pixel Series," the pixel emerges from behind the scenes to become integral not only to the process but also to the visual sparkle of the drawings. This incorporation of my technology into my look also extends to the printing of the drawings. They are now output as multiple panels, which function as compositional elements that reflect the modular nature of the digital medium. The digital drawings are drawn just like my charcoals, lithographs, and pastels except that I use digital tools, including a software program called Corel Painter 10 and a Wacom pressure-sensitive digitizing tablet and stylus. The images are printed on canvas and presented as hanging scrolls.
Related events:
Opening Lecture: Sunday, February 27th at 1:30pm, "A Dialogue:" Artist Jim Dine and MFA curator Clifford Ackley at Framingham State University Dwight Hall. The presentation is free and open to the public and is funded by Framingham State University’s Arts and Humanities Council.
The Arches Student Print Show: a companion to the 2011 North American Print Biennial, this show will appear in second floor galleries of the Danforth Museum School. Since 1999, this exhibition has expanded the scope of Biennial activities to include printmaking from more than 20 New England colleges and universities. Sponsored by the Arches Paper Company, this show not only acquaints the public with emerging printmakers, but also gives students an opportunity to exhibit with some of our country’s most renowned artists.
Gallery Talk: exhibiting artists Don Gorvett and Sean Hurley, Sunday, March 6 at 12pm
Gallery Talk: Deborah Cornell, Boston Printmakers Executive Board Member, Sunday, April 3 at 12pm
Panel Discussion Remembering Mazur: Artists Michael David, Joel Janowitz and Betsy Garand present personal reflections on the life and work of artist Michael Mazur (1924 - 2009) Sunday, April 10 at 3pm
====================================================
Links:
DIGITAL ART: Martha Jane Bradford
Web Site: http://www.marthavista.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/
MJB Blog: http://marthajanebradford.blogspot.com/
VIRTUAL ART: Alizarin Goldflake (Metaverse avatar of Martha Jane Bradford)
Atelier Alizarin (Second Life studio): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/222/189/35
Blog: http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alizaringoldflake/
YOUTUBE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake
Anza Borrego Oak:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/1/5s_KRMi55v8
Acquarella:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/a/u/0/u-lo6JosN0M
Acquarella:the Fable ( a Chantal Harvey machinima)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX1eFMtjV6U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hhO2Rf88uM (Chinese narration)
Metemspyche's Garden:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/2/GfQGuNXWvLo
Studio Tour:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/3/XDjrLmPpopA
The Maze:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/4/OEa9rtEiINE
The Mysterious Forest:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AlizarinGoldflake#p/u/5/c6Xv_pAf0Qc
The Winter Bear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMYSYJNkm1E&list=QL&playnext=1
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