Animoto is an easy way to create pretty slick short films, combining video clips (under 10 seconds), with jpegs, and captions. This was my first try. I quickly recorded some clips of myself describing the methods of the class, added some images of student projects with text to label each image.
Animoto gives free accounts to educators. I plan to get my students to make some of these to document their projects next semester.
Just finished taking down the exhibit of 15 years of student work from Visual Thinking. The design and installation was a ton of work, but rewarding due to the positive feedback I received. Looking at the projects made by more than 900 students gave me an overview of where we’d been, which gave me ideas for where to head next. The gallery at Loyola is a gigantic, in some ways difficult to conquer space, but when I saw how good things looked upon completion, I realized that we are lucky to have such a large space in the LMU art department.
(Many of the installation photos are by Nicole Murph, who does so much to keep the art department running in an efficient manner.)
This is the second semester that the students of Visual Thinking have gone out to do field studies in some of the most color-filled neighborhoods of Los Angeles. One goal of this project is to learn more about how much color palettes, signs, symbols, and the foods of the neighborhood establish a very specific and unique sense of place.
This is the second semester that students are conducting interviews of artists, inventors, and creative entrepreneurs, in order to learn directly about how individuals nurture their own creativity, and overcome obstacles.
We are gathering the responses in a VoiceThread. Here is the link: https://voicethread.com/share/4277698/
Feel free to add your own response, or comment on a story about someone else’s creative experiences.
The course focuses on the primacy of the visual experience, so rather than look at slides of art, we try to see as much work as possible ‘in the flesh.’ We study the work of Light + Space artists, such as Douglas Wheeler, Robert Irwin, and Larry Bell, because their work is rooted in direct experiences of art. 
We had our last meeting on Friday. We looked at the Rose Parade Projects, and spent most of the time working on the “Doorway to the Sanctuary” project.
Please try to finish the very last assignment by Friday, December 17th, in which you create your own VoiceThread in which you reflect on your experiences in the class. Those I’ve looked at so far have been very interesting, and helpful in planning future courses.
Thanks for participating in Visual Thinking.
Happy Holidays!
Update: A new VoiceThread was posted on November 29th. Please respond by midnight, on December 2nd.
SKETCHBOOKS ARE DUE ON DECEMBER 3rd. It is crucial that these be turned in on time.
We viewed, and voted on the 2nd round of the chair project. Evaluation was based on the second chair be transformed in such a way that is was the complete opposite of the aesthetic, and concept of the first chair.
We listened to an audio visualization exercise, by Shakti Gawain, titled, “Inner Sanctuary.” For the 3rd round of the chair project, the assignment is to transform it in a way that makes it perfectly suitable for you personal creative sanctuary.
Mindmapping: an introduction. In class we made individual maps about “Happiness.” We then collaborated in pairs on a second mind map.
For next week, create two Mindmaps. These can be notes on a book or lecture, planning for a vacation, mapping out a creative project, or anything else you can think of in which the process might lead to new insights.
UPDATE: No VoiceThread for this week. I’ll add a couple questions to next week’s Vthread.
UPDATE #2: Here are the photos of the first round of the chair project. I will give you a print of your chair tomorrow.
1) We viewed the chair transformation project. Each student was asked to talk about their chair’s “Amazingness.” For next week, the chair is to be completely reconfigured as an opposite in every way of the first chair. One suggestion for this was to think of an “Evil Twin” taking over, and remaking the chair.
2) We watched a short clip on creativity training in dolphins, and then a bio on Jim Denevan, a highly created individual involved in making giant scale, ephemeral drawings, and collaborative food projects.
3) We listened to an excerpt from Shakti Gawain’s book on creativity. There was a list of questions about personal creativity, and if any negative self-talk occurs during this week’s project, try her technique for dealing with “The Inner Critic.”
4) We used the “Visit Ancient Egypt” exercise, in order to solve, or make progress on an immediate and pressing problem.
5) First individually, and then in pairs, we did a classic brainstorming exercise called, “Crossing a Chasm.” The goal of brainstorming is to get into a flow state, in which you develop a vast number of alternative solutions to a problem. This necessitates a temporary switching off of the analytical / logical part of the brain.
6) And we watched Ken Robinson’s lecture, “Do School’s Kill Creativity,” which summarizes part of his book, “The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.”
We began by talking about the effects of early educational experiences on our current creative identity. We watched a clip from Truffaut’s film “The 400 Blows,” and an excerpt from Michael Apted’s documentary “7-Up” in which seven year olds describe how they imagine their futures. I read a description of the creative Italian school called Reggio Emilia, which has a motto, “Nothing Without Joy,” and then we talked about how this school compared with our own early schooling.
We recorded the “24 Objects” podcasts. I am in the process of editing these, and will send a link, once they are uploaded. Podcasts are available at the VT Podcasts page. Click on ‘subscribe’ to open in iTunes, and download into an iDevice, if you wish.
While one group recorded the podcasts, the other three teams discussed eleven creative questions.
A slideshow of “12 Creation Myths.”
Finally, we made two clay chairs, and did a fill in the blank, called “Letting Go Exercise.”
8″ tall black foam core chairs were given out. The assignment due at next week’s meeting is to transform these in a way that is AMAZING!
This weeks VoiceThread has just been posted.
We watched one episode of John Cleese’s video, “The Human Face.”
In the second half of the class the assignment was to make two expressive, well composed photomontages of a face.
Meeting in teams, we selected one object, from the list of three created last week. This object will be described in a podcast which emulates the “A History of the World in 100 Objects” podcasts. The script will be written as a team collaboration.
24 Objects that Define Our World: Complete script before November 5th class.
Main assignment this week is to write the script for a three to four minute podcast (500-650 words). This script will be about ONE OBJECT of the three chosen this week.
The scripts should be developed on the new page which I’ve added to your team Wikispaces site, “Three Objects: podcast script” page.
Also, here is this weeks VoiceThread link.
And please finish reading, “Air Guitar,” and responding to the questions on the last page.
We began by watching two short films about Christo, the famous maker of gigantic site specific art projects. First was a profile from “60 Minutes,” second was a film about the building of an early, large scale piece titled, “Valley Curtain.” Click here to watch the “Valley Curtain” video. And here is a video on, “The Gates” project.
We met in teams, and discussed the Museum of Jurassic Technology visit. We basically restated our responses to last week’s VoiceThread.
Also in teams, we began an assignment which is a spin-off from the BBC podcasts, “A History of Our Own World in 3 Objects.” First step was to quickly brainstorm a list of 30 possible objects that could epitomize our own moment in history. Afterwards, we began to edit this list down to the three most intriguing ideas. These objects, should be highly specific, and topical. They don’t need to necessarily be things we would actually be able to possess. By next Thursday, each team is to finalize what these objects are, by filling in the worksheet, called “3 Objects: Step 1” a page which has been added to the wikispaces sites created for the “Light+Space” project. (Image is of: Steampunk’s “Lightbulb Terrarium.”
Also for next week:
Excellent responses to the night project! We had everything from shoe box dioramas to sophisticated short films, and ‘audience’ participation pieces. Here are photos of some of the projects.
We also watched a film about surrealist / dadaist artist, Man Ray, titled “Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant-Garde.”
No class meeting on October 15th. It’s Autumn Day.
For our next meeting on October 22nd the assignment are:
