Lecture- Brian Kreuger

Brian Krueger presented a lecture called “The Unknowabilty Center”. He started his lecture by sharing some background stories on his career in the art industry. He worked in commercial art for many years, even animating for Rugrats. He did commercial art for IGT, but hated it and eventually got fired. Once he was done with IGT he wanted to create more meaningful art.

Krueger’s work seems to be mostly dark and abstract. His work deals with identity and also the powers of language. One of my favorite pieces of his was the celebratory documentary that he had made about himself. He’s also fascinated with the idea of frames and how we define and box everything into frames.

The thing I found most interesting about his lecture is how he worked in commercial art for years and is now moving onto a new form of art. His transformation as an artist from commercial art to what he’s creating now is interesting to me because as I approach the end of college I realize I have many different futures ahead of me and I shouldn’t try to put myself in one frame. His work and lecture definitely resonated with me in that way. 

Exhibit- Student Art Show

The student show displayed a variety of student artwork and showcased what my peers have been working on. It was nice to see the creative and brilliant projects students have made over the semester. The show itself was beautifully put together and the gallery looked stunning.

A lot of my favorite pieces from the exhibit were minimalistic in some ways. Andy Gallian’s pieces were very strong, but not overwhelming. The contrast between the complex issues and themes in his work and the empty space on the drawings and the empty space in the Plexiglas book was fascinating.  Rachel Alger’s “Untitled 011” and Colby Stephen’s “A Gown for Lady Liberty” were also among my favorites. I loved the shadow-y, fairy tale images in the lanterns had a dark twist to them. The dress was definitely the focal point of the room and again it’s in some ways minimalistic but it also deals with deeper issues. From a distance it looks like a wedding dress, but it could represent the economy or body image issues and the fashion industry.

This exhibit was one of my favorite exhibits that I've seen in the McNamara Gallery. It was nice to see a wide range of types of art on display – everything from photography, to sculpture to books. It definitely showed the diverse amount of talent in UNR’s art program.  

Hello Kitty Final Structure

This Hello Kitty model was my first attempt at Pepakura. I made the collage which is supposed to represent the tier of power of companies that own products and trademarks. The collage is made up of Sega, Sanrio and Hello Kitty’s logos. Each company has ownership in Hello Kitty with Sega ultimately at the top.

The structure didn't turn out the way I had planned. I tried to scan my own Hello Kitty object, but the scan wasn't turning out very well so I chose a model online. If I were to do this again it think I would have to make the folds more defined and maybe stuff the inside with support material. I also need to make sure I’m folding in the right direction although I double checked while making it to make sure I was folding correctly.

3D Portrait

For the 3D portrait I used an Iphone to capture Angela. The pose is inspired by one of Rodin’s sculptures called “Pierre de Wissant”. The capturing process is similar to taking pictures for a virtual reality panorama so I think that helped with my spacing of images and achieving a good scan. I also had issues with the editing software but tried to edit and fix it as much as possible. This is one of my favorite pieces I made this semester and I love the alabaster look of the print.

First 3D Print

For my first 3D scan, the imagined survival outfit, I made a steampunk inspired outfit. The outfit includes items that I think would be necessary in a future with not much infrastructure. The chair itself would function as needed transportation; the goggles would provide information (inspired by the Google glasses). The object in his hand could be used as a solar panel for energy. One item that didn't get printed and that I forgot to add was the sanitation device which would also be an important thing to have in a collapsed world.

It was difficult painting the detail and choosing colors that would stand out and not blend together. I had to make some extra pieces such as the weapon (made out of a glue cap) and the propeller. Overall I like the end result and it was interesting to see it go from the Sketchup file to a block of plastic and then to a painted, detailed figure.

Hello Kitty Skanect- Scan

Hello Kitty created with 123D catch- http://www.123dapp.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/1284426

I tried to capture the figure with the Kinect, but the shape and features didn't show up as well. The overall shape and features are better in 123D catch, but to get a better scan I think I need to choose a bigger object.

Google Sketchup Model (Revised)

This is the model I created in Google Sketchup. I went with a whimsical, steampunk style as opposed to my original model which was more robotic. The individual objects I used- the pilot, gramophone, blue light in pocket, white goggles, top hat, chair and propeller.

Some of the items on the model hearken back to my original idea. For my original model I wanted something very practical and the technology I chose are all things that are currently being developed. The gramophone is supposed to be a solar panel. The white goggles would be something similar to Google vision. The blue light in the pocket, which was originally the top of a staff, is supposed to be a UV wand for sanitizing water and surfaces. These technologies - portability of solar panels and energy, sanitation and easy access to information could be a big thing in the future and would be helpful in a world that doesn't have a lot of infrastructure.