Obesity and the Brain

Obesity and the Brain by Jordan Gray. This is a photograph of a paper, foam core and transparancies sculpture.
I really like how Gray constructed this sculpture to the smallest details like the tiles on a bathroom floor to make this whole artwork complete. The shadows in between each object shows placement, adding a certain depth to the whole photograph.
The concept of this photograph is also very important. I love how Gray conveyed the message through this piece pf artwork, because it works and gets people thinking. I think that Gray is trying to tell people the brains of a person is more important than their appearance. It is inner beauty verses outer beauty, and inner beauty always outweighs the latter. Placing the brain on a scale and have it break the device symbolizes the concept of 'brains outweigh appearance'. I like how one photograph conveys such an important believe, creating the effect of 'one picture is worth a thousand words'. Sometimes it's much easier to create a piece of artwork to convey a message rather than write a whole essay.

SagiPuri

Purikura comes from the word Purinto Kurabu (Print club). This Purikura is basically a photo booth or photo sticker booth, a machine that is popular among Asia, especially Japan. In SagiPuri, Sagi means 'to trick' or 'a fraud'. This SagiPuro machine is also a photo booth, but it has a function that manipulates faces to trick people. After you take a picture from the SagiPuri, you will not look like yourself, therefore tricking people with a photo that does not resemble you at all.

In a SagiPuri, the machine targets your eyes and automatically make them bigger through the photo. If you can find the correct angle, the machine also slims down your chin to make you look skinnier. After they manipulate and alter your face, you will most likely look different. By making your eyes extremely big and slimming down your chin, you can then trick people with this photo you took from a SagiPuri.

I think the Japanese are really creative for coming up with such an idea, but I also think that this concept is leading more people into the stereotypical subject where 'Asians have small eyes'. With all those new inventions like SagiPuri and circle lenses to trick people into thinking one has big eyes, people will be constantly reminded that 'Asians have small eyes', so that is why we have so many inventions to make our eyes seem bigger.

In my opinion, this machine manipulates too much with one's eyes. I admit that some people will look better with the effects of SagiPuri, but I've seen photos were people look absolutely freaky in their SagiPuri photos. Truth is, people who have big eyes originally will look disgusting in SagiPuri photos. Sometimes, going with your natural look will be better.

Example of which the effects will make a person look kind of disgusting or alien-like:

Miriam Sweeney: Subversion

Subversion by Miriam Sweeney
I stumbled upon this amazing photograph when I was on the Internet. I instantly fell in love with the excitement and beauty of this photograph.
To me, this photograph captured the exact moment when the horse is entering a different dimension. This kind of reminds me of a fantasy moment when one crosses from reality to the dream world.
The title of this work is Subversion, which led me into thinking that the horse brings destructive upon a peaceful world. Once the horse crosses into a different dimension, destruction will dawn upon the world. Since the background is of pure white and the horse is black, the horse might act as a symbol for destruction. In this photograph, Sweeney stopped time and captured the horse's movement, showcasing moment before destruction happens. I really like how the black and white contrast with each other to emphasize the horse. The shadows give out the vague form of the horse, foreshadowing that destruction is near.

Postgal

Postgal Workshop is an animation company in Hong Kong.
The producer and main designer of this workshop, John Chan, bases his animation on the common problems among society that tend to be ignored. In order to get the citizens' attention, the designer incorporated characters from an old time anime that people in Hong Kong grew up with. Doreamon.
If you grew up in Hong Kong or Asia, Doreamon is an anime that you are familiar with. Chan even went through the trouble and used the voice actors that dubbed Doreamon to voice act in his animations.
By using familiar characters that Hong Kong people know and love, the designer successfully captured interest. When you put a retro design out there, people will go "Oh! It's Doreamon! I used to watch it when I was a kid!". But since the characters are technically just a spin off of Doreamon, people will stop and wonder about this spin off animation. They will unconsciously pay attention to the contents of the animation.
In most of Postgal's animation, they address the recycling problem. Since people tend to have a hard time accepting new things, Chan made a bold and intelligent decision to reuse and renew retro designs to get his message across. I have watched a few of their animations, and each of those videos inspired and intrigued me. I really like the illustrations incorporated in the animation and the overall style.

An example of Postgal's animation:
This video demonstrate how the power of recycling can help you save money.

Rhinoceros Horn

Sold at the Waddington's Asian Art Auction
Date: December 13, 2010
Realised Price: $893750
Size: 12.2cm x 15.5cm

I remember watching the news a few months ago, reporting about a rhinoceros horn sold at a auction house for almost 900k. The story behind this rhinoceros horn is rather interesting. The women who sold this horn actually bought it at a yard sale for $1 in the 80s. At that time, she didn't think much of this rhinoceros horn other than a beautifully carved object. This rhinoceros horn had been collecting dust at the woman's home ever since. Until the day her husband died and she needed money for his funeral, the women was forced to sell this rhinoceros horn. She never imagined it was actually a rare artifact that has a potential price between 400k - 600k. I find interesting because the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" fits perfectly in this situation. It's really how a person view things in their own perspective. The person who sold it at the yard sale obviously didn't think much of this 900k valued rhinoceros horn, neither did the women who bought it for $1. If the women did not auction this horn, its true beauty would have never had a chance to get recognition. Sometimes, I wonder how many priceless artwork like this horn is buried under a pile of junk.

Source: http://asianart.waddingtons.ca/13december2010/catalogue/320/0355/

Deco Den

Above is a picture of a deco den DS case. "Deco" means decoration, and "den" comes from an abriviation Japenese word that means phone. At first, the Japanese started to decorate their cell phones with charms and rhinestones. Later, this idea was popular enough to escalate into more than just cell phones. People do 'deco-den' to their jewelery boxes, mirrors and like the photo above, DS cases.
When I first looked at the photo, my first thought was: Wouldn't it be troublesome when you actually play the DS?
With all the ice cream charms and biscuits sticking out, it would surely affect the gaming process. People are well aware of that, but they still insist on decorating their DS cases like the one in the photo above. My teacher once told me that girls typically like aesthetically beautiful, but useless objects. Even though it is a stereotypical thing to say, I do agree with her to some extend. Like myself, I have a turtle wallet, stuffed animals on my bed and a whole box full of bead-charms. I can buy a normal looking wallet, but I chose to buy a turtle one that cost more. The stuffed animals and bead-charms are totally useless, but I have them because they look "cute".
I am fascinated by why girls usually like aesthetically beautiful, yet useless objects. Even though I am the same, though not as extreme as some girls, I still can't quite understand why I buy the things I do.

Picture from: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=301760735882&set=a.301756500882.197968.72429330882