http://students.smcm.edu/nkzambrano
Also, my assessment for the final project:
At first, I did not know where this project would take route—but then again, I say that about all my projects. The difference with this one is that I had so many more options and techniques to experiment with. Not only did I have the background knowledge and new skills acquired with Photoshop and Illustrator, but I had the option of using other applications such as Google Sketch Up, Google Earth, iMovie, or anything else that I could apply to my idea for the project. Since this was the final project, I wanted to make something as closely related to my interests as possible as well as have my project embody who I am.
I started out by thinking conceptually about my website hoping that it would spark some ideas for my overall final project, and the best thing I can relate anything to is myself. I think of myself as having a childlike mentality, and one of the reasons being is how animated and magnetized I can be towards anything colorful and luminous. Going with that, I developed a theme for my overall website.
Once I developed the space for my project, I started thinking concretely about how I can approach this project as an embodiment of myself. Since the project is supposed to be based off of exploring an unknown location, I got online to find a place that I was unfamiliar with and print out directions on how to reach my site for “getting lost” in. I stumbled upon Myrtle Point Park in California, Maryland, right off of route 4, and before crossing the bridge to Solomon’s Island.
Before setting off on my journey, I thought about paying close attention to the colors I would encounter at the site. I also thought about what I would be using to capture the area I was exploring. Going back to the idea of making this project relate as closely as possible to my interests, I thought about how I can connect my viewers visually with what I was interested in. Being a film and media studies major and an art minor, I wanted to combine the two to make my project stand out as being a part of who I am. I took both my regular photo camera and a Flip HD video camera to capture anything that I thought would benefit my project.
I set off on my short journey of getting lost in order to complete the first phase of my project; little did I know that I was actually going to get lost. After telling this story to a friend of mine, she said, “You would be the one who gets lost while trying get ‘lost.’” Going off of what she said, I realized that this project was building itself closer the embodiment of who I am. I thought it would be a good idea to show how I usually am in situations like this through documenting my journey in real time. In other words, capture what I was doing at the time exactly how it played out.
As I continued on my excursion, and the more lost I got, I began to feel a little frustrated and out of my element. I had no idea where I was, or where I was going. I did not even know that I would eventually make it to Myrtle Point Park at all! Eventually after making it to the site, I discovered a correlation between me getting lost and the site I was at—the idea of “belonging.”
Going back to what I said earlier about colors, as soon as I stepped onto the trail, I noticed the differences between the colors and textures in the overall landscape. At first glance, the wooded trail is covered in either green or brown. Honestly, I was expecting to see more reds, yellows, and oranges as the trees are changing colors for fall. However, when approaching specific plants, you will see colorful sequences that do not seem to be a part of the overall color scheme. I proceeded with the idea of belonging as I continued down the trail and constantly cam across things that seemed as though they did not belong or where out of element towards the overall framing and landscape of the location.
Taking all of the images, videos, and concepts I gathered, I went back to my website and put everything together. I used specific lines and arrows that indicated where I was and where my projects ultimately took me. In using only two styles of icons, the magnifying glass and a question mark, I was able to portray the clarity versus confusion of what happened and what never happened. Putting all of the pieces of my project together, in a way, was me trying to figure out exactly what happened and how it happened. I made sure to examine the maps thoroughly and connect every image to the points of the map, and identify those locations as where I actually was at what moment.
Taking a step back and analyzing the project as if it were not my own, I would have to say that it would not be too difficult in navigating through the project because there are instructions above the image stating exactly what links serve which purpose as well as which lines indicate what happened. I feel as though my project is pretty well organized in terms of everything being labeled. It is almost as if I tried to save you the agony of going through what I went through, and give you a chance to laugh with me at how I am when it comes to situations like these.
I believe that my project is somewhat a little too personal, and if the viewer did not know who I was or understand what my friend said, which is the essence of who I am, then it might be a bit difficult to understand the personal meaning behind this project. Maybe if I insert a statement of the meaning behind this project, it would make things easier for the viewer to understand.
I think that this class certainly helped me evaluate my thought process in terms of visual communication and understanding. Specifically in the digital age when everything seems to be so normal and straightforward, it had become something I consume without questioning or evaluating why and how the physical and virtual world can be connected. I am satisfied that the course was not a monotonous digital art course where all you get out of it is the technical side of things. I enjoyed the concepts and theories behind digital media and new media, as well as the connections between different ages of art. For example: digital drawing to music, like Kandinsky, and digital self portraits that can abstracted or adapted to your style rather than technique, like Picasso. Overall, I think that the course is good the way it is. Thank you!
