The assignment that I completed on aesthetics involving famous paintings was an eye-opener. I am now eager and ready to "wild guess" the answer to Monet's painting to which the answer I think is that it may be used by a company to advertise its product for allergy medications - "pollen and sneezing" was the first thing that came to my mind when i saw the flowers. I wonder how Monet (had he been alive) would react to the advertising company's novel treatment of his painting's concept in order to manipulate the viewer.
After reading the O'Reilly 's article on Web 2.0 I recalled an article I read on NY Times a couple of weeks ago by David Pogue who talks about Web 2.0 as websites whose content is provided by the people. He also raises a question as to what would Flickr be without its photos, YouTube without the videos, Craigslist without the ads, eBay without the auctions, TripAdvisor without people's travel reviews?, and answers that these mega-sites would be only empty white pages if the audience didn't supply their materials. In his article he cites examples of the two people generated and collaborated Web 2.0 apps that are well-known such as Craiglist.org and Goloco.org - an upcoming carpool initiative in which passengers will actually pay the driver a little something for his trouble. He says that there is a similar cab service in England called Texxi: where you send a text message to a special address; computers field the requests and compare locations; and a taxi comes by to pick you up and other people who share your itinerary. All the passengers save money, and the cab company makes money. He says that this system works especially well when there are lots of people waiting in the same place: a pub or club on Saturday night, a football game that's just ended, and so on.
As I read this I realized that whatever was only talked about in Web 1.0 era such as ability to take advantage of Web services, having rich internet apps, to socialize and collaborate – all this were difficult but now it is realized –thanks to Web 2.0.
Pogue also adds that we haven't even scratched the surface and feels that there are dozens or hundreds of huge Web 2.0 ideas that have yet to materialize and how a website becomes popular is a mysterious thing that is dependent on factors like buzz, timing, software design.
I also wanted to research further on the degree of corporate involvement in the Web 2.0 realm and found this interesting pie illustration charlnorman.comthat shows a moderatly active participation.
These are the thoughts that crossed my mind when I saw this illustration with regard to the economic aspects. I feel that in order for these companies to sustain their service in the long run these companies have to come up with the economic model that is either fee-based or advertisement driven. This is required because Web 2.0 applications are cost-driven and have to be economically feasible
I came across two videos that are great accomplishments of bringing art to life. Both the videos have been made by famous U.K ad agencies for “Johnny Walker” and “Guinness” brand drinks respectively. They are A 60 second Johnnie Walker spot from Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Aardman Animtons. The other one is the “Surfer” spot for Guinness that has drawn inspiration from Walter Crane’s painting of Neptune’s Horses(1893).
In the Johnny Walker ad
, the spot’s central character begins as one of the warriors in Eugene Delacroix’s The Battle of Taillebourg and proceeds to travel through works by Seurat, Miro, Magritte and Hokusai. In this video the animation studio has showcased several art styles but I am going to discuss the paintings that belong to the work and perception of two different artists who lived in different periods of time showing different contexts.
In the first picture Delacroix has painted a battle scene that evokes strong emotions in the viewer. Both in the video and the painting besides the context our eye is drawn to the “white horse” in the centre and the soldier in the red cloth with the head gear. The entangled bodies, the weapons, the soldiers and the surroundings in which they are confronting their enemy (the place looks does not look like a typical battlefield but it looks like trench near a fort) has been painted in a dramatic and striking way. In this painting” color” seems to be the main element that rules the composition. The painter has not paid much attention to the form or outline which is not very clear in this painting. The painting looks magnificent, realistic with the color, tone and visual elements such as the soldier’s fighting each other, the spears and other weapons in their hands (creating visual tension), their head gear, the majestic looking horse which is of light color contrasting with the surrounding that is much darker in tone, the horse that is almost upside down in the background and the trench with its brick wall create the mood and impacts the emotions of the viewer. In Eugene’s own words: The work of a painter who is not a colorist is illumination rather than painting. If one intends something other than cameos, color is, strictly speaking, one of the founding principles of painting, no less so than chiaroscuro, proportion and perspective... Color gives the appearance of life. The ad ends with the central character disrupting the quiet stillness and the languid summer afternoon party that George Seurat’s characters in Sunday Afternoon on The Island of La Grande Jatte are enjoying. It is one of those rare works of art that stand alone. Herethe theme of the work is not some profound emotion or momentous event, but the most banal of workaday scenes- Parisians enjoying an afternoon in a local park. The beautiful landscape, a good use of space when painting a crowded party scenario is surrealistic and beautiful.
In Seurat’s words This is a world both real and unreal - a sacred world. We are often harried by life's pressures and its speed, and many of us think at times: Stop the world, I want to get off! The use of light, the contrasting colors make the characters look real. The elements that create hierarchy are the several human characters, especially the ladies with their umbrellas and flowing gowns reminiscent of the bygone era. The scenario looks like a scene from a film corresponding (romantic) to that era. The landscape with the trees and bushes painted in a striking green and the grassy knoll is contrasted with the color of the landscape. The painting persuades its viewers to immediately relax and transports them to a world of pleasure. The animation video shows the varied emotions, experience, people that the central character encounters and when he is just about to relax in the party(Seurat painting) the ad ends as if supporting the theme related to the product being advertised.
Jonathan Glazer’s 1999 “Surfer spot for Guinness, inspired by Walter Crane’s painting Neptune’s Horses.
This is an illustration by Walter Crane who is a famous children’s story illustrator. The video's theme is an inspiration drawn from this painting. The makers of this video say that the aim of this spot was to persuade the viewers to think that power and danger are synonymous with “surfing”. This illustration is an allegory, a striking visual narration of Greek mythology, the ever-powerful horses are here like Eugene’s painting but they are shown here for their resilience, they appear to be more like mythical creatures, they symbolize power, masculinity and epitomizes adventurous spirit found in the men doing the ad. The strong tidal waves showing the danger and risk involved in the sport. Elements such as light, color contrast, symmetry, line and shape are present in this picture. The sunlight’s effect on turquoise color water, and the water droplets create a visual tension. Unlike Eugene’s painting this one uses pastel color palette but the man in this ad is contrasted and dark in tone compared to that of the horses. The picture showing the "motion" of the horses and the use of space between them and around them creates a visual tension that has been dramatized in the advertisement showing a group of men on thsir surfboards. The natural rhytmic wave pattern found in the ocean and the hooves of the horses splashing in the water creates a 3D effect you can almost hear the splash and feel the water in your legs.
I think to paint four moving horses in water each one showed with a visually striking posture (creating line, symmetry and visual tension) is a difficult one- the effect created is dramatic, magical and a timeless, beautiful visual expression.
This video makes use of an interesting pattern of visual design elements in a steady flowing video stream. The foremost thing that attracted my eye was the bright, bold color and richness of imagery. The video is characterized by a tinge of brashness accompanied by a loud music.
On this video typographic images alternate with the pictures and drawings and they follow a steady and interesting pattern. A unanimity and balance is found among the design elements and visual interest is created by the combination of colors enhanced by the linear nature of the text and image.
The disparity used in the placement of the typography, images is well balanced. There is a good interaction among the design elements within the composition of this video. The typography used also enhances the shape, space and shows some texture. The size of the letters, their shape, color and texture establishes an internal hierarchy when used with the images. There are some words that are depicted pictorially (such as girl, town) providing balance, rhythm and proximity to the composition. The eye is attracted to a constant rhythm and visual tension created by the visual design.
The typography plays a versatile and creative role in the way it's been used and the colors used are complimentary for example, words like "puppets" (attached on a string) and word "fly away" (depicted with wings). Some drawings are used to enhance visual imagery matching the flow of text. There is an alternate pattern of space and shapes and the use of both organic and geometric patterns exists along with the creation of positive and negative shape/space relationships.
The typography used establishes a moving line, as an edge and line implied. The typography dominates and unifies all the visual elements in the composition of the layout design. The color used in the background conveys a mood and compliments the color of the typography, its size, color, font and graphical nature. The visual texture of the letters used enhances the image of the video which is cow- boyish, strong and loud. In this video the use of Typography and its dominance over the other elements of design is remarkable.
Crocs - Color UR World:
I chose this video because it is somewhat similar in the use of colors and imagery to the Lions roar video. It has the same bright colors and uses rich imagery but the main difference is the absence of the typographic element. Except for the elegant and well designed logo with the word "Crocs" there is hardly any text to read. There is a rhythmic flow of the image (that is the numerous "crocs" image) that forms visual patterns like flower, kite and the image of the product that is marketed itself. The white space is used creatively to form a backdrop that let the colors float by. The role of the type is replaced by the use of other shapes that draw the eye to its line and length. There is a heart shape with wings to fly similar to the "lions roar" video. The video opens and ends with the Crocs logo with a picture of the crocodile that forms the focal point where the images and color converge.
This video is easy on the eyes and the colors used depict a fun, lively and quick movement that provides an interesting visual treat.
