Part 2:
For my own crowdsourcing project, I thought about my hobbies
and what was already out there in relation to those hobbies. There are
plenty of quilt circles, and swaps where someone adds a block to a
quilt. Besides, I don't quilt, but I love to sew, and I thought doing
something related to fabric would be a good idea. I have heard of
people collecting fabric squares from people to create a quilt, but I
wanted to do this on a bigger scale. I know for me, I get inspired when I
see fabric; I can see the kind of projects I could make from it, and
have made stops at fabric stores on trips, so I do have some pieces that
can tell stories. My project would be to have people send in squares
of fabric so I could make a giant blanket for an art exhibit. I would
ask people to not just send in fabric they bought (although they could
if it was from a special trip), but fabric from things that mean
something to them. On my homepage, I used the example of a piece of a
wedding dress, a sweater, or a tie. I also said that fabric binds us,
because we all wear clothes, and most of the time, it is more than just
an outfit we are wearing: we tie meanings and memories to clothing and
fabric. If I really did this--which I know I would never have time to
do this--I would want to make it as big as I could, so it would be big
enough to cover the ceiling and walls of an entire room, then cut it up
afterwards to make blankets for charity.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Project 5--Crowdsourcing
Part 1:
I thought this project was a lot of fun. It was interesting to participate in different projects, and to (eventually!!) see my work along with the many others that contributed. I really wanted to do Dear Photograph, but the Submit button was disabled or something--I just kept getting an error message.
The first project I worked on was The Johnny Cash Project. I am not a Cash fan, but I recognize the song: it used to be wrestler The Undertaker's entrance music for a while. I clicked on "Contribute", and I was given a choice of frames to work on, which were probably spots in the video that needed to be filled in. I chose the blank one, since I was not really interested in illustrating the sheep frame that popped up, and the other one seemed to complicated, but you could select other frames. The tools were right on the site to create my artwork, so I created an abstract brushstroke for a frame near the end of the video. Here is my contribution. It is still awaiting approval, but you can see the whole video here.
For my next project, I did Collected Visions. It is a site where you can create a photo essay about the photographs people have contributed, or you can just submit an essay, or submit your own pictures. I chose to write a short essay about one of the photographs on the site because it reminded me of my grandmother:
Pouring over an old photo album for another project, I came across old
pictures of when I was a baby. There I was, 7 months old, and being held by my
grandmother. I related to this picture because I have some pictures similar to
this one in the photo album, with my grandmother looking at me. This is not my
own grandmother, but I can feel the love she has for her grandchild, the way my
grandmother loved me. I think it's sad that we enter our grandparents' lives
when they are older, and we miss out on what they were like as children, or as
young adults. My grandmother passed away when I was in 5th grade, so I never
thought to ask what her life was like at 17, when she left Mississippi and
moved to California. My mother said she grew up in a home where children didn't
ask things like that, so she didn't know either. I think our birth gives our
grandparents a second life: a chance to make right the wrong things they did
with their children, and a chance to hold a tiny hand, the way my grandmother
held mine. My grandmother would always buy us things, including the Holly
Hobbie oven my mother made her return. In my eyes, my grandmother could do no
wrong: she made potato salad for barbecues, baked cakes on birthdays (nevermind
that it was a box mix), prepared holiday meals, and came with us on family
trips. I hope the little guy (or girl) in this photo cherishes the memory of
his grandmother they way I cherish mine. She will always be in their heart
I have not heard whether or not this was accepted for submission, so I hope it will be. The website for Collected Visions is here.
The last project I collaborated on was Young Me/Me Now. I thought it was a pretty fun project! You have to find a picture of yourself as a child, then take a picture of yourself now, trying to recreate that old photo. I had my mom dig out the the old photo albums and found a picture of me, as a very adorable baby, so I used that one. I don't have anything in that blue, and for sure I don't have any footie pajamas, so I did my best. I have not heard whether or not I was accepted, but this is what I came up with:
Check out Young Me/Me Now here.
I thought this project was a lot of fun. It was interesting to participate in different projects, and to (eventually!!) see my work along with the many others that contributed. I really wanted to do Dear Photograph, but the Submit button was disabled or something--I just kept getting an error message.
The first project I worked on was The Johnny Cash Project. I am not a Cash fan, but I recognize the song: it used to be wrestler The Undertaker's entrance music for a while. I clicked on "Contribute", and I was given a choice of frames to work on, which were probably spots in the video that needed to be filled in. I chose the blank one, since I was not really interested in illustrating the sheep frame that popped up, and the other one seemed to complicated, but you could select other frames. The tools were right on the site to create my artwork, so I created an abstract brushstroke for a frame near the end of the video. Here is my contribution. It is still awaiting approval, but you can see the whole video here.
For my next project, I did Collected Visions. It is a site where you can create a photo essay about the photographs people have contributed, or you can just submit an essay, or submit your own pictures. I chose to write a short essay about one of the photographs on the site because it reminded me of my grandmother:
Grandmothers:
A Love Like No Other
I have not heard whether or not this was accepted for submission, so I hope it will be. The website for Collected Visions is here.
The last project I collaborated on was Young Me/Me Now. I thought it was a pretty fun project! You have to find a picture of yourself as a child, then take a picture of yourself now, trying to recreate that old photo. I had my mom dig out the the old photo albums and found a picture of me, as a very adorable baby, so I used that one. I don't have anything in that blue, and for sure I don't have any footie pajamas, so I did my best. I have not heard whether or not I was accepted, but this is what I came up with:
Check out Young Me/Me Now here.
Discussion Questions
- From the reading, "Crowdsourcing: The art of a crowd", I ask this question: One quote from the article states, "Like any tool, it's as smart as the person using it." If we are allowing anyone--non-artists--to participate in making art, what if that person "messes it up?" Is it similar to getting bad information on Wikipedia?
- From the reading, "Rethinking Curating", I ask this question: is it a lofty idea to think that in order for art to be truly participatory and inclusionary, the art has to react back to the participant? For each brush stroke, should the painting paint you too?
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