Pitbull Misconceptions

For my final project I decided to do it about my dog Trinity. I rescued Trinity from the Humane Society about 2 years ago and she has been the best dog I have ever had. What is heartbreaking about Trinity is that people assume she is dangerous and vicious because she is a pitbull. This could not be further from the truth. I have had labs that are more aggressive than Trin is. I made this video to debunk some of the misconceptions that the media puts on pitbulls. Such as, they are all aggressive, they can turn on their owner at any second and so on. Owning a pitbull is a big responsibility because each owner has the ability to prove that pitbulls are funloving and loyal dogs. It is more about the owner of a pitbull than the breed itself. 

Blog Post 5: My Favorite Performance Artists

My favorite performance artists are actually from very different genres of music.

Luke Combs, a country singer is by far my favorite performer and singer. I really enjoy his music and can relate to the things he talks about. I have been lucky enough to see him in concert a few times which is always a crazy experience. Most country singers like to keep it as modest as possible when performing so they minimize their use of a lot of lighting or special effects. All the concerts I have been to ,involving him, there has been a few lights on the performers, his band, and him playing the guitar. But, technology is used by making the sound that he produces louder so that even the people in the back of the amphitheater can hear him sing and play the guitar and enjoy his concerts as equally as the people in the front row.

The second favorite artist is Post Malone. He is a young performer that I have not been lucky enough to see in concert, but I do listen to about two or three of his songs a day. He emerged into the Hip Hop world but now he blurs the lines between all genres and you have no choice but to just appreciate his singing and rapping and try not to put a label on it. From what I have seen on the internet, for some of his more upbeat songs he likes the affects and big lights and DJ mixing but for his other slower more meaningful songs he likes a more intimate setting for instance, for his song "I Fall Apart. He likes it to be just him and microphone while his fans sing with him in a very emotional and powerful song.

My third favorite artist has to go to the group Migos. Whether you are a fan of rap or not I am almost positive that you have heard one of their songs. Migos came on the scene a few years ago and have turned the genre of Rap upside down. Some of the old timers call it "mumble rap" but despite what you want to call it, the sound these three men have all together and how they can make each other sound twice as good is undeniable. I mainly listen to this group when I am working out or doing something strenuous in order to get excited and forget about what I am doing. Migos always has a flair for the expensive things in life and their performances show that. They always have thousands and thousands of people there and a lot of lights and effects. Out of my favorite artists this group definitely uses technology the most.

All these artists have one thing in common, they try to get their message across and make life a little better for their listeners, one song at a time.

Performance Art

Kenny and I did our performance art together. He came up with the concept of going out into the public and trying to see if people would join in on our "Free Compliments" or "Free Insults" offers. We went to Target and then Whole Foods on Dale Mabry during lunchtime, in attempt to get people's reactions. What we found in even asking people to pick an insult or compliment is that people were either "busy" or wanted nothing to do with it and ignored us. After discussing on the car ride home we can up with a conclusion. We think that the fact that we were men and strangers to these people that they wanted nothing to do with our offers. One of the best reactions we got was an old man walking by and reading my sign and saying "Free insults huh, that's good". We immediately chuckled and told him to have a good day. Another thing we found was that people were caught up in their personal technology and some did not even pick their heads up when we asked them if they wanted a Free Compliment. Lastly, while we were on the elevator on the way to Whole Foods, a middle aged woman rode with us. We asked her if she wanted a free compliment or insult to which she replied "No thanks, I'm good". Here is the video of the process, enjoy!

https://youtu.be/U7TYU7Lj6M0

Xerox Project

I did my Xerox project with a contemporary art style in mind. Using a truck rim I have been using as a table in my apartment, I created a rim with the body parts I copied. The six spokes of the rim are my arms with my everyday watch in the middle as if it is the wheel company logo. The circular part of the rim is my feet. Lastly, the tread of the tires are done with toes. This adds the "off-road tread" look I was going for.

Final Product

Almost done, just need the toes

The beginning

Grid Art Piece

I did my 30x30 grid art piece by using thumb tacks to create an American Flag. I chose the American Flag because it is a symbol everyone in the world knows and I think it came out really cool looking due to the spacing of the tacks.

My flip book is about sports and a basketball popping into a "alien". I came up with this concept because I always thought about what if there was a creature inside basketballs and footballs that we use without even knowing it. So I ran with that concept and had some fun with it.

Assignment A3: Technology

YouTube Paper

Blog Post: 4- Broadway

As far as Broadway plays, I have never seen one, but I think I want to after seeing and reading about some of these plays on this blog. What sparked my interest in one of the excerpts was that I have seen the movie that correlated with this Broadway show. This show is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The bright colors and so many things going on, on stage, definitely makes me want to see this particular show.

The next show that sparked my interest is one that I have not heard of, but I will add it to my must see list. It is the show Guys and Dolls, I like that each the guys and girls take the stage and speak their side on what they want versus what the other sex wants. All the cast members seem to be having a good time while performing and I really like the song beats. This is a show that I could see with friends that also haven't seen a Broadway show and I think they would appreciate it even still.

There are so many different types of Broadway shows that perform all over the country. This assignment made me think about more shows that I would possibly be interested in and it made me want to investigate to find those shows. I have only been to about four performances in my life. Two of which were in high school and the other two were the Radio City Rockettes which I saw here in Florida and in New York as well. I look forward to changing that.

Opera Assignment

Hansel and Gretel Opera Paper

Blog Post: 3-Madame Butterfly

If you haven't seen the stop-motion animation of Madame Butterfly by Pjotr Sapegin, you need to. This animation tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with a US Navy Sailor after having sex with him in Japan in the 1900s. It then goes on to show the man leaving while the animation continues, showing the woman growing and producing his child. As the woman waits for him to return to show him their child together, she is sitting around outside just praying for him to get back. Well, one day he does and he brings his new girlfriend.

Then they end up taking the baby without saying much to the Japanese woman. The woman is crushed, since this is a stop-motion animation and the characters are dolls, it then shows the woman getting very depressed and dismantling herself. After this, the parts end up flying out into the sea, as if to say "give me back my child and sailor". Then, the woman turns into a butterfly and realizes that everything will be okay, after all.

Stop-motion and claymation film, have always interested me just because of the amount of time it takes to create a small story and video. Pjotr Sapegin is definitely talented in this realm and I can appreciate how he used the doll itself and dismantled it, I think this brought the realism of the story out and showed that he is just attempting to tell a story and not pretending like the people are not dolls. I would definitely enjoy watching a few more of these

Blog Post: 2- Raul Cuero's Interview About Creativity Reaction

Although I have never heard of Raul Cuero before watching this video, afterwards I can relate to him and his ideas. He said from a young age he would go into nature and explore plants and small animals. Through this, his creative mind was expanded and it gave him a sense of belonging. I can relate to this specifically because I love nature, and being outdoors. From a young age, I was shooting, riding horses, playing outdoor sports, etc. This is crucial in someone's life because without having a way to escape from society, you will succumb to its' stresses.

I think being in situations where you have to react or think quickly helps your own personal creativity. Rather than just reaching for our cellphones, we should be able to be creative and help society be less stressed by coming up with creative responses to tough situations. Another point I agree on with Cuero is his take on loneliness. We often, especially today's society, associate loneliness with a bad thing and we always feel we need to be around someone. However, if you combine the idea of creativity and loneliness with the idea of usefulness rather than sorrow, when you are alone, you will be surprised how you feel and what you can achieve.

Lastly, I agree heavily on Cuero's point that no matter what a student plans to major in, he or she should be required to come up with some sort of creative project. In my current major, of Criminology, it is mostly facts and theories and I am excited about this class because I will have a chance to be creative and use my brain for a different purpose than memorizing topics for my future career.

Blog Post: 1- Introduction

Blog Post 1:

My name is Ryan Randall. I was born and raised in Odessa, Florida. My major at the University of Tampa is Criminology. In 3 months, I plan to join the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and follow in my brother's footsteps. With my brother being a Sheriff and my sister a lawyer, I have always been passionate about helping others and serving others.

Our first class, I did not know what to expect. In regards to the coursework, presentations, etc. My mind was eased when I got the syllabus and saw that even for a non-art major, this material would be interesting and do-able. I have been at this university for almost 4 years and this is the first art class I am taking. I am excited to see a sneak peak of what art majors study and how their classes are.

Although I do not consider myself artsy with any stretch of imagination, I am hoping to become more well versed in the understanding of the connection between art and technology, specifically, through social media. Social media is everywhere nowadays and is not only for fun, but also has the ability to do so much more. I am looking forward to this semester and doing something brand new in my last semester of Undergrad!