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In this task, you must collect several images and organize these images into a slide show. Your goal here is to represent visual culture through visual means. This might involve collecting pre-existing images or producing original images (of the class or of the groups in process, the community, etc.). Remember that visual presentation isn’t just about photographs but also about ideas. The best collections will be organized around a theme, such as those examples in Berger’s Ways of Seeing, and your blog post must include some semiotic analyses of the key components of your selected images that illustrate how your theme works within the larger set of questions and concerns we discuss in class. Some slides may only include written text, others might integrate both image and text. This slide show should stand on its own, with no additional verbal/spoken commentary, and will be screened in public or private given scheduled deadlines. Please keep these curations short: 3-5 minutes.
Click the "Read More" link to view our image slideshow and analysis.
With Toronto’s annual Nuit Blanche taking place on October 2nd, the theme “Art in the city” just seemed perfect to us. This is where we began our image curation. We learned that there is art all over the city, and not always in a designated or formal atmosphere. From the graffiti murals you can spot from the subway between Keele and Dundas West stations, to downtown’s Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto seems to be the city for artistic expression. We learned about Toronto’s wide variety of events and locations; such as fashion shows, live music venues, pay what you can theatres, comedy bars and artists selling their work in High Park, boutiques, or on the street. The most interesting art will not necessarily be found in a gallery or museum, but can be found anywhere.
The theme for our Image Curation slideshow is 'Artistic Expression in the City'. We chose this theme because art in the city is everywhere. Be it impressionism, architecture, graffiti, music, dancing, Toronto is teeming with talent, talent that begs to be showcased. The clip showcases the most eclectic art forms such as murals under bridges to the most sophisticated gallery portraits. Even the music to the video is local musicians from the city. What better way to show the best of Toronto, but with art, art that is everywhere?
In making this slideshow, each one of us had the liberty of discovering Toronto and the expressive art within it. We were able to immerse ourselves into citywide experiences, such as Nuit Blanche. Individually, we were able to photograph the sort of art that appealed to our eyes, listen and utilize music by Torontonians that seduced our ears, and collaboratively, this slideshow became representative of our view of art in Toronto.
When relating our images back to semiotics, art itself is subjective; so within each piece are billions of different ways of interpreting it. Each piece of art could mean something completely different to any person based on their perception. One might see a mural of birds and view it as a reminder to have a free spirit and spread your proverbial wings, yet another might see it as a representation of nature being destroyed in the city (since the birds are ‘trapped’ in concrete). Our focus on street-art and graffiti brings up a pressing question: is it seen as actual art, or is it seen as vandalism? Some may protest that since it is public property, there is free reign to decorate it with their artwork, whereas others may disagree and see it not as art, but as an act of mischief. There is no real right or wrong when it comes to interpreting art, and that is the beauty of it.