Sunday, February 27, 2011

Mind Map

Olioboard

I found using the olioboard website to be very enjoyable.  I added many items, and created an olioboard solely out of wallpaper.  Much of my current work includes floral designs.  Some of the inspiration for the floral prints came from looking at wallpaper and tapestry.  This website will definitely aid in my ability to organize the wallpaper designs.  It is easier to look at one olioboard as opposed to flipping through a book going back at forth from the same pages.  http://olioboard.com/users/kristenm

Delicious Bookmarking Site

I found it to be fairly easy to set up an account on delicious.  I haven't spent much time on it, but I'm sure I will bookmark numerous sites within in the next few days.  I would definitely recommend this site to friends.  http://delicious.com/kristenmcmillion

Review of Image Search Engines/Sites

Flickr happens to be my favorite, mostly because I already am a member and familiar with the site.  Something I like about Flickr which I did not find on other sites is the lack of advertisements.  It also happens to be easy to navigate and easy to search by people/subject/genre/etc.  
My next favorite site is myartspace.com.  I actually ran a couple searches and decided to become a member and post my own artwork.  I like that there is a place on the site to find contests, but there aren't many and they are all old.
As for photography, Fotki is the way to go.  There are a number of contests available to enter.  The one thing I didn't like about Fotki is the fact that there are numerous advertisements on every page.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Visual Literacy in a Media Driven Climate

What is the role of art education/ art educators in teaching students to be media literate digital citizens?
I feel that art theory would be an important part of art education if it was brought to light the capabilities it gives to children to view critically anything and everything.  That being said, I have to comment on the documentary Killing Us Softly by saying that perception is everything.  Sex sells, but why?  Isn't it important to view the fact that sex sells mainly because it is an animal urge?  What does this say about the complete lack of sophistication in this media climate?  Does this disconnect between education/ intellect and this animal urge disturb anyone else?  What does this tell the youth of today?
In the documentary Consuming Kids, they speak of the "commercialization of childhood".  How must the youth of today navigate the confounding world of advertising and knowledge?  In an art education class our students must be continually asked to decipher what they see.  This question has no right answer, but allows the critical thinking required to review everything in life.  I doubt most children have been asked to evaluate what advertisements and articles say to them.  I have never taught an art class in my life, so I may be naive is saying all of this, but I think it would be worthwhile to ask the students of today what they see in a piece of artwork.  I took many art classes in high school, but was never asked to decipher a work of art.  What can something as seemingly simple as that teach a student about critical thinking?