A Justice Site
Check Your Values with Those of Your Sources
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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: September 30, 2006
Latest Update: Setpember 30, 2006
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
jeanne's Critique
Velda, I heightened the colors a little because they were very dull on the web site. You are welcome to change them.I see that you chose the Cornel West quote. I'll get more up on Hanssen soon. She teaches German literature. Interesting source for us, hmm?
I like that you used the Sharpie to outline the figures. That helped a lot to give enough contrast to make them stand out. Now it's the people we focus on as we look at the image. I like that many of you actually used what you found in the issue of the paper that we used. Good tie to current events. Might encourage more people to take a look at their papers, at least when time permits.
I like both the contrast of the black slash across the page, and the quote. I think you need to tie the two together conceptually - that means tell us why you tied these people and this image of them to that quote. Was it "Read Between the Lines," as it appears in the star field that you were trying to tell us. If so, very good point. With all the commodification lately, we need to read like lawyers.
Strong imagery and good start. I know I took it away from you before you had a chance to elaborate. I promise to bring it back. jeanne
Questions and Suggestions
- Who does the devil represent? I'd guess Bush, based on the clue, "Bus's Goal Is Terrorism." But it's a woman. Also that statement of Bush's goal is made up of scrabbled words. You'll want to explain that, either through imagery or verbally. One palusible explanation I could think of is the current literature that suggests that the War in Irag and the Bush administration's strategy have increased, notquieted terrorism. If that's your gist, you should cite some sources. I'll try to be sure I get some up for you.
- I could also imagine that the fear of terrorism plays into the fear that has been used by the present administration to frighten people into voting for the aggression of violence as protection for Americans. If that's your gist, let's find you some sources.
- What about the illegal drugs? Do you want to be more specific there? Do you want the viewer to understand what you're alluding to, or do you just want to pair Bush with illegal drugs. That's kind of sneaky, if you have no real connection in mind. I'd fuss about it as an unethical technique in political behavior.
- On the other hand, it might be interesting to use this piece of art as a stimulus for a dialog, not mention it yourself, and then ask whoever you're talking to how they reacted to that "illegal drugs." Maybe they didn't even notice it. Maybe they thought you were just trying to say every bad thing you could about Bush. Would you like to know what their reaction was?
- You'll need to make "Read Between the Lines" more legible, at least for some of us who need glasses.. You could do that by Printing out the script and putting it on colored paper to get a deeper tone. You could make it a little bigger.
- This was a first version, meant to be worked on later. One way to get texture and a professional touch to the effects when we are using construction paper and newspaper is to stamp images on the paper before you start. Notice how much that gave texture and interest to Juliette's fish/bomb card. Another technique is to outline objects you want noticed with a sharpie pen. We used black in class. But red is sometimes a good outline color, too. Experiment.
- How were you planning to use this piece as a stimulus to dialog? The pieces might fit into a card if we had a color printer to reproduce them. You'd want to worry about getting strong blacks for wording, but there are lots of card techniques that might work. For example, you could put some of your answers or statements into little pockets. People like that. Maybe it could serve as a poster, if you wanted to display it in an adult venue, like the university. I wouldn't want it in a children's venue because the issue is one that families need to feel in control of with their children. jeanne
Try a number of versions like this on computer, using something like the paint program, to experiment with different colors, different textures, different effects. If I've scanned the early work in for you, then you just open its file in the Paint program, and play.
Added texture and messages. Notice that you can pretty much play with texture and drawings without making the work seem crafty. But writing by hand presents a problem. That's easy to handle. Print what your message in a computer font you like, then cut and paste on a textured background or on a colored frame, etc. Makeds the work look more professional, if that's the effect you want.
Clouds are often a good texture of background, They're easy to make with the spray tool on most paint programs. Notice also the effect of cutting down the number of different colors. Try these different techniques to see how they support the feelings and message you'd like to project with your image.
Maybe more emphasis than you'd like on reading between the lines.
Found this texture on Corel's Photo House, very old version. You could get a similar effect with stamps.
Peer Comments and Questions
- You don't have to be original on this. Most of us will appreciate simple compliments. (The equivalent to our "Good dog." - The compliment most of us forget to give, which is why it is so empasized in dog training. People forget to compliment their dogs on good behavior, too.) I'll ask questions and make comments. Let Velda know if you have those questions, too. Agree or disagree with my comments as you like. jeanne
