Assignment # 4: Soundtrack for Animation

I wanted to create an atmospheric soundtrack for my animation. I wanted the sound to be somewhat grating, possibly unpleasant yet insidious. To compliment the animation, I added sound taken from two different Youtube members who inform you how to achieve what you want: to be beautiful and get that perfect life.

Project #2 Animation Sequence

I chose to animate the middle panel of my triptych because the it is the most influenced by outside forces, and is the most visually interesting. For both scenes I drew between 4 and 8 line drawings, animated them, and then played with opacity. 

I animated almost all of this in Photoshop - the final blurring and music I added in Final Cut Pro.

Reading Assignment Questions - Walter Benjamin

Walter Benjamin - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

1. In Section III, Walter Benjamin discusses our desire for reproduced art. Is our desire to "get hold of an object" and bring it closer "spatially and humanly"   symptomatic of our modern society or is it inherent in us as human beings? Would ancient artistic cultures have collected on the same scale as modern people if they had had the means?

2. Benjamin states "The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public." Does his thesis hold true today with art produced for the masses? What are some examples?

Project #1 Triptych Collage

I am mainly interested in how people choose or don't choose to appear, how we wish to be physically perceived, our reasons for doing so, and what we will utilize to reach our desired appearance. I'm concerned with the idea that our society does not permit people to be beautiful or sexual unless we look like a specific perfected ideal. However, this work is not meant to be an indictment against modern sexuality and beauty, nor is it meant to be a celebration. I created this triptych in an attempt to illustrate my own confused thoughts, dependencies, and physical insecurities--and perhaps to encourage the viewer to do the same.

This piece is an amalgamation of scanned magazine pages and covers, photographs appropriated from the internet, and products that I own.