When I first moved to Grand Rapids last year, I had to face the terrible realization that things had changed in the four years that had passed between when I first applied to KCAD and when I finally started. The major construction of the highway and medical institution a stone's throw from the school had been completed, the school had been heavily remodeled, and apparently, some sort of international art competition had become a big boon to the city.
I speak of none other than ArtPrize. As I said, when I first applied to Kendall, ArtPrize had not yet been conceived (or at least, not implemented). So last year, when everybody was talking about it, I was very much confused. The confusion increased when I walked outside one day to crowds of people walking along the streets, taking in the sites of pieces of artwork, both large and small, overt and subtle. As a budding artist, I thought that, in the spirit of the season, I'd share my musings on the event.
First, the background. ArtPrize was started in 2009 and is probably the largest publicly voted on art competition in the world. It brings people from all over, both to compete and to take in the three-week event. All mediums are represented and the pieces are displayed all throughout the downtown area. Every venue has different pieces, usually ones that match the area's style (for example, a local gaming shop has a sculpture of a [I believe] Warhammer game piece that is about a foot and a half tall). At the end of the competition, the artist of the piece judged best is awarded $250,000, with other prize money being awarded to the other nine artists from the top ten. In 2010, they also established a jury that votes on the pieces as well, with the jurors picks receiving prize money as well ($20,000 for the top one is what I've heard for this year).
Now, onto my negative criticism. While I certainly think that this is a great way to expose the public to art, I'm not fond of the voting. Most people know absolutely nothing about art, and only know what they like. They have little to no appreciation for the talent, time or effort put into a piece of artwork, and they simply judge it based on how cool something is. I am, of course, speaking generally. I am aware that the event does in fact attract many people who have studied art, either professionally or as a hobby. But the event also attracts a lot of people who are ignorant of such things, not to mention the residents of Grand Rapids itself. That much prize money should be awarded to a truly exceptional artist, one who has created a breathtakingly masterful piece. But unfortunately, the public tends to vote towards the flashy and sensational.
However, for all that I've said against it, I do love this event. First of all, it's a great opportunity to see some very impressive artwork, even without making an effort to take in the event. I was walking to buy some supplies today, and passed a rather nice dragon sculpture made from what looked like scrap metal. Unlike say going to a museum, you don't have to go to a specific place, pay a fee, and keep your voice down as you admire the artwork. You can take it in by walking around town, enjoying the crisp autumn air, while listening to the sounds of the crowds and maybe even strike up a conversation with somebody new about a particular piece. Secondly, as I briefly mentioned, it's an opportunity for the general public to get some exposure to artwork. Art museums are an excellent way to get exposed to art, but they do have faults (most of which I mentioned above), and they also have a somewhat pretentious sort of aura. It can be intimidating to go to a museum for the first time (even if you are an artist). Finally, it's a wonderful thing, to see a city embracing art like this. My art department in high school never really got all that much recognition, nor did it at community college. I never heard people get excited about seeing artwork, save for in my art classes (and even then, it was a fairly uncommon occurrence). It makes me hopeful that one day, my artwork will be appreciated in a similar way.
If you have an opportunity, I highly recommend checking out the event. If not this year, then perhaps some other year. Or even just try to find some quality images of the pieces online. The official website has images of the pieces ( http://www.artprize.org/entries ).
Monday, September 24, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
A Gray and Ashen Road
One of the classes I'm taking this semester is 21st Century Literature. The idea of the class, which studies contemporary literature and attempts to find samples that will go down as especially great novels of the era, intrigued me. We've just finished our first book, and I thought it would be good to share my thoughts on this 'future classic.'
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world. It centers around the journey of a man and his son towards the coast. I'm going to be very blunt. I did not like the book, and not because I'm not a fan of post-apocalypse. The novel has a great many things which I do not enjoy in a book, and also a number of things which make one wonder why the book has received such praise (including winning a Pulitzer). And yet, at the same time, there's... something contained within the pages which makes it seem like more. Much more.
To begin, the overall tone of the book is very, very bleak. This is not unexpected from a novel about a post-apocalyptic setting, but it's one of the things that tends to sour me on the genre. There is almost no life in the world McCarthy has created, and almost no color either. Gray and ashen are two of the most frequently used words in the book. One of the recurring elements within the book is the black and white concept of good guys and bad guys. This only adds to the bleakness because aside from the man and the boy (they're not given names, simply referred to as "the man" and "the boy") there don't seem to be any good guys, and even their designation as good guys seems to be questionable.
Then there is the language. The book I was reading before The Road was The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, anyone familiar with Tolkein could certainly understand why phrases like "long-winded" and "tediously descriptive" could be used to describe his writing. Cormac McCarthy is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The writing is sparse, bare-boned, and dry as the ashen landscape is describes. I found it very difficult to get a picture in my head as to how things looked throughout most of the book. McCarthy also eschews certain "necessary" elements of the English language, such as punctuation. I don't believe I found a single comma in the entire book. The sentences are often brief, sometimes even fragments. Narrative and dialogue switch seamlessly without quotation marks. The language is hard to read, and it can easily put someone off the book entirely.
There are other things which make me dislike the book, but they are mostly specifics, and I don't want to leave any spoilers floating around. But even though I dislike the book, there is a certain something about it which makes it seem... well, rather good. There are a few passages which make it obvious that McCarthy is in fact a good writer, in spite of his seemingly weak grasp of proper English. I truly wish I could pinpoint exactly what it is about the book that makes it seem to stand out, but if I could do that, I imagine I could make a fine career as a literature professor or critic. There is just a certain quality which it has, and other novels such as The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men possess. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to people, but nor can I say it's a bad book. I think that it is in fact a good book, but just not for me.
In other literary news, I'm taking a break from reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm going to finish it, but as I've been having a hard time reading things lately, I think I need something a bit lighter to read (especially after The Road). To that end, I picked up a new book, Dead Iron by Devon Monk. I'm not terribly far into it, but I have to say it's quite enjoyable so far. It is a gritty western/steampunk novel. The writing is very similar to that of Jim Butcher, so I'm finding it to be an easy, comfortable read. Expect a more thorough review once I've finished it.
Finally, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in The Dresden Files, Cold Days, which is due out November 27th. I've been a big fan of The Dresden Files for about six years now, and Jim Butcher continues to make the series a worthwhile read. If you're fond of modern-day fantasy with a touch or two of mystery mixed with a healthy dose of humor, then I highly recommend the series.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world. It centers around the journey of a man and his son towards the coast. I'm going to be very blunt. I did not like the book, and not because I'm not a fan of post-apocalypse. The novel has a great many things which I do not enjoy in a book, and also a number of things which make one wonder why the book has received such praise (including winning a Pulitzer). And yet, at the same time, there's... something contained within the pages which makes it seem like more. Much more.
To begin, the overall tone of the book is very, very bleak. This is not unexpected from a novel about a post-apocalyptic setting, but it's one of the things that tends to sour me on the genre. There is almost no life in the world McCarthy has created, and almost no color either. Gray and ashen are two of the most frequently used words in the book. One of the recurring elements within the book is the black and white concept of good guys and bad guys. This only adds to the bleakness because aside from the man and the boy (they're not given names, simply referred to as "the man" and "the boy") there don't seem to be any good guys, and even their designation as good guys seems to be questionable.
Then there is the language. The book I was reading before The Road was The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, anyone familiar with Tolkein could certainly understand why phrases like "long-winded" and "tediously descriptive" could be used to describe his writing. Cormac McCarthy is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The writing is sparse, bare-boned, and dry as the ashen landscape is describes. I found it very difficult to get a picture in my head as to how things looked throughout most of the book. McCarthy also eschews certain "necessary" elements of the English language, such as punctuation. I don't believe I found a single comma in the entire book. The sentences are often brief, sometimes even fragments. Narrative and dialogue switch seamlessly without quotation marks. The language is hard to read, and it can easily put someone off the book entirely.
There are other things which make me dislike the book, but they are mostly specifics, and I don't want to leave any spoilers floating around. But even though I dislike the book, there is a certain something about it which makes it seem... well, rather good. There are a few passages which make it obvious that McCarthy is in fact a good writer, in spite of his seemingly weak grasp of proper English. I truly wish I could pinpoint exactly what it is about the book that makes it seem to stand out, but if I could do that, I imagine I could make a fine career as a literature professor or critic. There is just a certain quality which it has, and other novels such as The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men possess. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to people, but nor can I say it's a bad book. I think that it is in fact a good book, but just not for me.
In other literary news, I'm taking a break from reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm going to finish it, but as I've been having a hard time reading things lately, I think I need something a bit lighter to read (especially after The Road). To that end, I picked up a new book, Dead Iron by Devon Monk. I'm not terribly far into it, but I have to say it's quite enjoyable so far. It is a gritty western/steampunk novel. The writing is very similar to that of Jim Butcher, so I'm finding it to be an easy, comfortable read. Expect a more thorough review once I've finished it.
Finally, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in The Dresden Files, Cold Days, which is due out November 27th. I've been a big fan of The Dresden Files for about six years now, and Jim Butcher continues to make the series a worthwhile read. If you're fond of modern-day fantasy with a touch or two of mystery mixed with a healthy dose of humor, then I highly recommend the series.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Smooth
Earlier in the week, I decoded to splurge and get the second of the Transformers in the first wave of the new series. This bot was none other than the legendary Autobot, Jazz.
Jazz (Fall of Cybertron)
"AUTOBOT JAZZ is gifted with a flair for flexible thinking and improvisation, making him the ideal special operations commander for the AUTOBOTS. OPTIMUS PRIME entrusts him with the most sensitive missions, counting on his keen mind and natural leadership to accomplish even the most dangerous objectives, no matter what."
Strength - 6
Intelligence - 8
Speed - 8
Endurance - 6
Rank - 8
Courage - 8
Fireblast - 5
Skill - 8
Though I have few memories of the original series, I do remember Jazz. His unique voice certainly tended to stick in one's mind, but I also remember him being one of the cooler Autobots (which is saying something, given my preference for the Decepticons. From what I remember, the above information about him being special operations commander sounds right, but mostly what I (and I'm guessing everyone) remember about Jazz is his affinity with Earth pop culture. Unlike with Shockwave, this isn't the first time they've made a Jazz figure in a long while. In 2010, another version of Jazz was released, one more closely modeled after the original. I was actually very fond of that particular one, but the one opportunity I had to buy it (for the MSRP or close enough to it to consider it that is) I passed. I regretted that, so I chose not to pass up this opportunity.
The articulation on Jazz is pretty good. Legs have a good range of movement, as do the arms, though the shoulders for some reason lock at a certain point somewhere about half-way of raising the arms up. One thing I like about Jazz moreso than Shockwave is that his head turns. It may seem like a minor thing, but when you're trying to pose the figure, this can offer a much greater variety in the number of poses you can put them in. The figure is pretty well-balanced, despite his overly-large upper body. Over all, he has a pretty good articulation, better than Shockwave's by a good amount.
Now then, onto design. The vehicle mode is, instead of the classic car, a Cybertronian racer (since all these bots are based on the Transformers before they awakened on Earth). It's still quite obviously a car that was designed for speed, but it's very much unlike an ordinary car. The robot mode is, likewise, distinct. For people familiar with Jazz, they would be able to recognize it. But they'd also notice some key differences. The chest and forearms are much bulkier than other versions, and the head and face are also quite different, including the color (the classic black has been replaced by a navy blue). For some reason, the robot form's ankles have what look like a tire as the joint for each one, which makes little sense as the four wheels of the vehicle are all on the upper body. I think they could have done something a bit different with that, maybe even just make it look like a foot and put a ball-joint there instead of the awkward wheel-joint. There's also the problem of his hand being obviously visible from behind when he's in car-mode. I don't think it would have been that difficult to figure out a less obvious way to conceal the hands. Overall, the design of the vehicle and robot forms aren't bad, but I feel they're not quite as good as some of the other figures I've seen, nor as bad.
Finally, the transformation. It's pretty darned simplistic, only taking a couple seconds. Pretty much just fold the arms and legs back and you're done. They've changed the difficulty scale that they put on the box. In the previous series, it went from one to five, with five being the most difficult. Now, they're rated from zero to three. Jazz is rated at a two, but honestly, it seemed simpler than that. It seemed on the old scale to be somewhere between a two and a three.
Overall, I'm pleased with the figure, though the one thing that really bothers me is the size. He's smaller than the previous series of bots by about a head (the exception being The Seekers, who were about this size). It's kinda bothersome, but I suppose Jazz would be smaller by a bit than Optimus or Megatron. I just hope the others are a bit larger, especially since these are supposed to be "deluxe" sized figures.
Jazz (Fall of Cybertron)
"AUTOBOT JAZZ is gifted with a flair for flexible thinking and improvisation, making him the ideal special operations commander for the AUTOBOTS. OPTIMUS PRIME entrusts him with the most sensitive missions, counting on his keen mind and natural leadership to accomplish even the most dangerous objectives, no matter what."
Strength - 6
Intelligence - 8
Speed - 8
Endurance - 6
Rank - 8
Courage - 8
Fireblast - 5
Skill - 8
Though I have few memories of the original series, I do remember Jazz. His unique voice certainly tended to stick in one's mind, but I also remember him being one of the cooler Autobots (which is saying something, given my preference for the Decepticons. From what I remember, the above information about him being special operations commander sounds right, but mostly what I (and I'm guessing everyone) remember about Jazz is his affinity with Earth pop culture. Unlike with Shockwave, this isn't the first time they've made a Jazz figure in a long while. In 2010, another version of Jazz was released, one more closely modeled after the original. I was actually very fond of that particular one, but the one opportunity I had to buy it (for the MSRP or close enough to it to consider it that is) I passed. I regretted that, so I chose not to pass up this opportunity.
The articulation on Jazz is pretty good. Legs have a good range of movement, as do the arms, though the shoulders for some reason lock at a certain point somewhere about half-way of raising the arms up. One thing I like about Jazz moreso than Shockwave is that his head turns. It may seem like a minor thing, but when you're trying to pose the figure, this can offer a much greater variety in the number of poses you can put them in. The figure is pretty well-balanced, despite his overly-large upper body. Over all, he has a pretty good articulation, better than Shockwave's by a good amount.
Now then, onto design. The vehicle mode is, instead of the classic car, a Cybertronian racer (since all these bots are based on the Transformers before they awakened on Earth). It's still quite obviously a car that was designed for speed, but it's very much unlike an ordinary car. The robot mode is, likewise, distinct. For people familiar with Jazz, they would be able to recognize it. But they'd also notice some key differences. The chest and forearms are much bulkier than other versions, and the head and face are also quite different, including the color (the classic black has been replaced by a navy blue). For some reason, the robot form's ankles have what look like a tire as the joint for each one, which makes little sense as the four wheels of the vehicle are all on the upper body. I think they could have done something a bit different with that, maybe even just make it look like a foot and put a ball-joint there instead of the awkward wheel-joint. There's also the problem of his hand being obviously visible from behind when he's in car-mode. I don't think it would have been that difficult to figure out a less obvious way to conceal the hands. Overall, the design of the vehicle and robot forms aren't bad, but I feel they're not quite as good as some of the other figures I've seen, nor as bad.
Finally, the transformation. It's pretty darned simplistic, only taking a couple seconds. Pretty much just fold the arms and legs back and you're done. They've changed the difficulty scale that they put on the box. In the previous series, it went from one to five, with five being the most difficult. Now, they're rated from zero to three. Jazz is rated at a two, but honestly, it seemed simpler than that. It seemed on the old scale to be somewhere between a two and a three.
Overall, I'm pleased with the figure, though the one thing that really bothers me is the size. He's smaller than the previous series of bots by about a head (the exception being The Seekers, who were about this size). It's kinda bothersome, but I suppose Jazz would be smaller by a bit than Optimus or Megatron. I just hope the others are a bit larger, especially since these are supposed to be "deluxe" sized figures.
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