Final InDesign Assignment

For this assignment we were required to utilize the InDesign program to create some sort of book. I decided to go with a comic book style and I wanted to address issues of social solidarity. Specifically, how our society today is set up to deal with abnormal/antisocial behavior, and how this type of behavior  effects people in their day to day lives. I used a comic book style book specifically to create a humorous or non-serious atmosphere around the book. This is because some of the subject matter could be considered offensive and I wanted the reader to at least make it to the final statement on the last page of the cover before they tuned out. Furthermore, I tried to show on an increasing scale, types of behavior can deteriorate social cohesion. Starting off with small things that could just potentially be funny, to much larger things that are obviously anti social, in which case law enforcement would be required to maintain a safe level in society. The narrator of the book portrays all these actions in a positive light in order to get the reader to think about what types of activities in our present day are “fun” and what types are just anti social, as well as how we as members of a society can seek to build or destroy social cohesion.

Cover of How To Have As Much Fun As Possible

How To Have As Much Fun as Possible

Space Interactions

As of late I have been very much concerned with space and the way in which people interact with it, more specifically, how easy it is to dictate how people interact in space.  I considered these notions for my media arts final project and by the end of the project I felt like I had done a thorough exploration of these space issues. For the project, me and a partner went out into the city and used pieces of packing tape to section off certain areas, or create obstacles. This was done not with the intention of preventing a person from passing through a space, but rather with the intention of modifying how they pass through it. During the critic of our video documentation of the project, many more issues were raised such as power relationships between us and the subjects as well as spatial issues, and notions of control. All in all I would say the project was a success, however, more thinking needs to be done in order to take these ideas to the next level.

Bicycle’s

Since uploading my pro-bicycle poster I feel like I should share my bicycle accident story. I find that just about everyone who cycles regularly in the city has at least one story in which the nice cushions of space we move around in have been breached by an automobile. In early February of this year I was riding my bicycle to school. I had made it onto Granville Island and I was riding in a left turn lane. I didn’t want to turn left so I shoulder checked to make sure there was space for me to get into the other lane.  I’m not sure exactly what I was thinking (or wasn’t thinking) but the car in the lane I was currently in was stopped. When I looked back from shoulder checking I was about a foot away from running into the back of someones car. And so I did run into their car. Very hard. Hard enough that when my chin hit their back windshield it shattered the window completely. The owner of the vehicle was with two other friends who seemed pretty shocked at what had just happened. There were some cuts on my hands from the broken glass. The cuts weren’t deep, but if you’ve ever cut your hands then you know that they bleed  a lot. So an ambulance and a fire truck ended up on the scene. All in all, the accident was completely my fault, but I think that insurance covered the damage to their car. I haven’t had to pay for anything yet so I’m not sure. The moral of the story is that you should watch where you are biking.

Poster Assignment

This is the work I did in Illustrator for my digital imaging class.

Photoshop Assigment

Here are the initial un-edited photos for my first photoshop assignment.

Here are the final, finished and edited photos.

Photo’s

I’ve only just managed to get my own camera. I got it for Christmas. Thanks mom and dad. Its not an amazingly expensive crazy SLR. But it takes good photos. Its a small point and shoot.

So.. as of late I have been taking alot of photos. I’ve never been into photography really. However, I have now been introduced to an entire new world of social norms and rules, some of which take the form of legal issues. Mostly, concerning who I can take photos of, when is it appropriate, how do you engage someone you want to photograph etc. So I have had my camera for only about a month and I have already been confronted many time about pictures I have taken. I got kicked out of a grocery store for taking pictures. One of my friends became extremely irate with me to the point of physical violence when I photographed him using drugs.  And then last night, I took a picture of a bouncer at a bar who physically put his hands on me, and threatened to take my camera unless I would delete the photo.

So, I did some research on the legality of taking photos and dicovered a few things. Some of the important things I learned are

1) No one can force you to delete a photo

2) You can take photographs in privately owned places like malls, stores, and bars unless there is a sign that says not to, or you are asked to stop or leave

3) You can photograph just about anyone or anything in a totally public place like on the street, or in apublic park

Basically, the bouncer who grabbed me had no right to threaten me with physical harm and make me delete my photo. That idea looks nice on paper but when theres a huge guy harrassing you, you have to have a pretty set mind to not do what he asks and just delete the photo you took.

All in all, call me an asshole, but I like taking photo’s of people that might not want their photograph taken. I think I’m going to try and take more photos in sketchy spots.

Kraft Dinner

I love Kraft Dinner. Since I’ve almost ran out of money KD has been doing the trick nicely. Not only is it quick, easy and cheap. Its delicious. I only buy KD when there’s the buy one get one free deal on the 12 pack box. So I get 24 packs of KD for about 13 dollars. That’s about 50 cents a box.  And will cover my dinner’s for almost a month. You might ask ” Wouldn’t you get sick of eating KD all the time?” To which I would reply: “No! Its delicious, its very refreshing, and for 50 cents a box its very much in my best interest not to get sick of it.” You might also ask “How do you get proper nutrition from KD?” To which I would reply: “I don’t. I have to steal multivitamins from my roomate”.

But really, I do quite enjoy KD. I like to put hot peppers in it. Have you ever had Jalapeno Poppers? Well, throw some hot pepper rings into your KD and you’ve practically got them. One of my favorite meals of the day is definitely breakfast. What makes a perfect breakfast? KD. I like to cook a box of KD and fry up some eggs. Sunny side up. Throw the eggs on top of the KD, throw in some ketchup, and you’ve got yourself a breakfast fit for a king.

Burrard St. Bridge Paintings

A few nights ago I found myself walking underneath the Burrard St. bridge. It was very dark, there was alot of garbage and a few homeless people kicking back for the night. As I was leaving the bridge via a path through a small wooded area, I noticed a security car rolling up. I stopped to watch what was going on. The security guard proceeded to turn on his spotlights and drive around under the bridge to hassle the homeless people, none of whom cared to leave and all shouted obscenities at the guard. By the time the security guard had left, all he had managed to do was piss off homeless people.

Security Car

The next night, I was walking under the Burrard St. Bridge again for some reason when I noticed some new and interesting looking paintings. I knew that it would not be long before they were removed. I frequently have seen big trucks with the words “Goodbye Graffiti” printed on the sides parked underneath the bridge. In fact, “Goodbye Graffiti” is so vigilant that any paintings I have seen under the bridge usually do not last more than a week.

The issues here of homelessness and “graffiti” art are both very complex. I don’t thing that I am in any position to start coming up with ideas to solve either of these dilemmas. However, I will say that I can not see any reason why a homeless man or woman should not be allowed to sleep under a bridge when its raining. I also think that if there is anywhere that artists should be allowed to paint publicly, it should be a place like the Burrard St. bridge. All thats under there is dirt, garbage, and the occasional homeless person. I dont see the harm in brightening it up with some paintings.

How to have as much fun as possible

1. Get a cool hat. Usually the thrift store has some good cheap ones.

2.Go to a health foodstore and buy 3 fresh nutmeg’s. Eat them.

3.Go to Taco Bell.