12-22 Feb schedule :: weeks 5-6

12/13 February
in class: quiz on audio, digital, and mac osx basics (see studysheet below)
LAB: Lynda.com tutorials: introduction, opening/closing documents, about the document, interface and palette tour, undo and history

14/15 February :: no class, FHT at College Art Association meeting
LAB: in lieu of class, you must COMPLETE these Lynda.com tutorials:
Resizing, Cropping and Rotating, Image Adjustments, Saving Your Files, Selections, Layers
HW: post to your blog about Dada. Explore the following website from the National Gallery of Art. Read all 10 descriptions of the 10 art TECHNIQUES used by Dada artists:
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2006/dada/techniques/
Then, choose an artist from list in the BIOGRAPHIES section of the site. Discuss how she or he used the techniques by analyzing at least 2 of his/her pieces. Use the site to zoom in on the images for more detail. Some of the examples also have audio descriptions that will give you more insight about the work. I will be grading these while I'm away so make sure you have posted by your class time otherwise they will be considered LATE.

19/20 Feb
-HW: Read imaging info, pg 2-17 (until figure 13) of this PDF. Write the answers for the review questions 1-20 that are listed in the back of the chapter: I WILL COLLECT THIS. Associated tutorial exercises are not required, but may be helpful to you. Find them here: "Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Digital Imaging"
-in-class: Finish the tutorials and be prepared to discuss the Dada art and techniques that you blogged about last week
-intro to exercise + project 1

21/22 Feb
-HW: each of you will demonstrate a Photoshop technique to the class
1-gradients: Cassie, Winnie
2-brush tool: Gina, Merry
3-clone stamp: Tom, Anne
4-lasso + magnetic lasso: Teresa, Marc
5-quick mask: Emily, Alice
6-eraser + erase to history: Ashley, Shinae
7-healing brush + patch: Elizabeth, Rachel
8- sharpen + smudge + magic wand: Casey, Mike
9-dodge, burn, paint bucket: Alexis, Carly

study sheet for the quiz on Mon/Tues 12/13 Feb

PDF of the study sheet
(no, it won't be open-notes)

how to FTP

Using FUGU, or any other File Transfer Protocol program (aka FTP), you can access space to store your files. Later we will use this to publish some simple websites, but for now we are using it so that you can make a link from your blog to your MP3s. You must use "SFTP" (this is set automatically Fugu).

HOST: www.smcm.edu.
USERNAME: smcm system username
PW: smcm system(email) password

For more information, consult the SMCM Tech Resources site.

I always had this idea that doing art was just a masturbatory activity, and didn't really help anybody.

Interviewer: What led you to become an artist?
JB: I always had this idea that doing art was just a masturbatory activity, and didn't really help anybody. I was teaching kids in the California Youth Authority, an honor camp where they send kids instead of sending them to prison. One kid came to me one day and asked if I would open up the arts and crafts building at night so they could work. I said, "If all of you guys will cool it in the classes, then I'll baby-sit you." Worked like a charm. Here were these kids that had no values I could embrace, that cared about art more than I. So, I said, "Well, I guess art has some function in society," and I haven't gotten beyond that yet, but it was enough to convince me that art did some good somehow. I just needed a reason that wasn't all about myself.

LINK TO MP3 CONVERSATION OF BALDESSARI AT THE HIRSCHHORN MUSEUM, DC

Art & Art History department lecture: Heather McGuire on John Baldessari
Wednesday, Feb 7th, Library 321, 4:30
Heather McGuire was graduated from the University of Virginia (B.A. English) and VCU (B.F.A. Crafts). She worked as a curatorial assistant on the Hirshhorn's Visual Music exhibition and curated several gallery shows in Richmond, VA. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Art History at VCU and beginning her dissertation on John Baldessari's Blasted Allegories. Visit http://www.1708gallery.org/ and click on Exhibitions: Current for a show Heather curated of 2 contemporary artists.

digitizing your recorded audio

There are various sizes for audio cables. From left to right these are:
- 2.5 mm mono
- 3.5 mm (aka 1/8" or mini) mono and stereo
- 6.3 mm (aka 1/4") stereo

You can tell if it's mono or stereo by the number of rings on the jack: one = mono signal and two = stereo signal.



To bring your recorded audio in to the computer, it is necessary that you have a cable with two 1/8" jacks at both ends. This is an analog, not digital connection. It can be used with both cassette tape and mini-disc.





The jack on left is the 1/8-inch stereo audio input jack, which allows you to connect any audio source directly to the Mac, including a microphone. After you connect, you will need to press play on your tape player. Then press the RECORD button in the Audacity interface, and you will see the audio signal visibly as a track.

The jack on the right is for output only.