1.1 Visual Arts Assesment

Due to lockdown, a lot of work has gone off track. So have assessments. I do hope we'll be back soon, but I know that it's only a matter of time until the lockdown is extended.

In the meantime, I've been attempting to complete my work to the best of my ability. This includes the art assessment that we've been working on for some time. Recently, I have been able to complete this, and while I cannot share the final product so I don't get copied, I can share some pieces that I am particularly proud of within the work.

Part of this assessment was describing the artworks of one of the artists we looked into. This is my description of Sofia Minson's 'The Other Sister,' this was the first of the four to be completed.

The painting is displayed as landscape, longer than the typical size, and without colour. The background is shades of gray, white and black, the white shines as if it is light in the upper right corner and it fades into gray and then into black as if it is shadows. A woman’s face is the focal point of the painting, showing from the very top of her eyebrows to the bottom of her chin, she is likely standing sideways and having to turn her head towards the focal point considering the angling of her face. The mentioned light before is shining onto her left cheek and creates shadows across her face, particularly on the opposite side of her face due to her nose and her eyelashes, despite this, light shines onto the left side of her nose, upper lip, bottom lip, her chin and most of the left cheek. She has short hair, that even with the gray scale would likely be graying or a light colour if she was to be shown in colour. The roots of her hair are dark as the light isn’t shining onto them. She has a set of defining wrinkles on her face, a pair that stretches from the bottom of the outside of her nose down towards her mouth, but not connecting, the lines are curved and display the right of her face more prominently as it makes the skin near her cheek where the wrinkle is shown puff out slightly. The woman has a traditional moko on her chin, two images reflecting over the centerline of her face to create a symmetrical image. The reflected image shows two swirls, one stretching from the bottom of her lip and the other stretching from the bottom of her chin, they connect at the center of her chin before splitting off and becoming smaller and smaller. The ink is dark, defining and makes an outstanding image.

In the third Artists picture description, one of the questions we answered for each artwork was 'What particular information can you pick out and explain further to show you understand the meaning of this artwork.' This was my answer about Roy Lichtenstein's Crying Girl (1963 version).

The artwork was created to represent the female identification in the 1950s and 1960s where they were fighting for their rights and against the stereotypical confirmations they were forced into, including how they appeared and spoke and who they were in a relationship with. The crying girl is stressed as seen in her face, she appears to be running from something or someone. This shows us how she can be running from the entrapment of the female identity during those times. She has broken this perfect idealisation of a woman through the outward showing of her emotions, and now is running.






Another question that we answered, for only two of the four artworks, was 'How does the context (time and place) the artwork was made affect your understanding of its meaning?' I answered this question in alignment with the artwork of Lisa Reihana's Mahuika.

The idea behind this artwork and the series it belongs to is to paint the Māori legends in an accurate way while the method creates a way of communicating this across the world. The time in which we do this will always affect the depictions of the people and the legends as time goes by. Years ago, Mori were painted as a dying race and their culture was used as a tourist attraction, but not something they could indulge in otherwise. Now, we see Māori legends and people depicted accurately and without bias, by people who respect the culture and it's ideas.

What makes a good story?

Characters

Another thing about a good story is making a character relatable, it makes the audience feel empathy for when the character fails. That is a key point in a story, making a character break you get to see what they are made of and how they truly are. If you have ever got into an argument with someone that escalated, you may have noticed how different they acted. This is because some people are only completely true when they let out all that anger and aggressiveness, and it releases the truth inside of a character.

Plot

Many things contribute to the creation of a good story that people understand. The ability to understand the plot line is only given to the audience by the filmmakers. If a story is complex with no plot line, it is not an enjoyable film. The climax is a very important part of the story, it is the point that everyone comes to see it for. The combination of complexity and unique story-telling is a rare thing to find in an undeveloped plot.  

Performance

A good story is not created without acting. While things such as characters written into books may not act, we don't realise that the author acts and plays all of the characters themself. This, however, is different in theatre. Performance is the entire encompassment of theatre, without performance, theatre is quite literally none existent.

Term Two Drama Log

02/05/2019 Log

We’ve discussed which musical scene we would like to do, but haven’t decided yet. However, we spent most of the period discussing roles on and off stage, such as stage manager, props manager, wardrobe manager, so on and so forth, we even have some badges getting made for us. I took the role of media manager, meaning I record the progress and do things such as vlogging the practices, writing about the progression and advancement of the piece etc.

Job Done

Discussion of jobs and musical scenes.

Next Steps

Further discussion.

03/05/2019 Log

We believe we are going to do the ‘School Song’ piece from Matilda the Musical. We haven’t discussed it with Mrs Clark yet. However, Chloe and I believe it would tie in nicely with other pieces and go with the flow as it is planned this time. All the pieces from the several other classes are going to be tied together to flow into one larger piece instead of the announcer having to come onto stage in between each singular scene to explain the storyline and characters.

Job Done

Discussion of the chosen musical scene between some students.

Next Steps

Choose musical scene wanted.

09/05/2019 Log

After discussion, we are looking at doing a class piece from Carrie called ‘In’. It’s a very bendable song that can fit into what we want of moulding it with the other pieces. Even though it is from 1988, the stereotypes and song plays into what high school can be like in the modern day. It is all about teenagers worrying about fitting in with their peers and being annoyed with their parents. This is what I believe will be a project for the class.

Job Done

Choosing of musical scene for the entire class to do a project on, we believe it will be ‘In’ from Carrie
the Musical.

Next Steps

Further discussion of the chosen scene and learning how to use the camera.

10/05/2019 Log

We started off by doing improvisation games and learning a new game, where we could only use three sentence words. Afterwards, I got to use the camera and record Nadia, Chloe and Samantha talking and walking through some choreography from Carries’ ‘In’.

Job Done

Further discussion of the chosen scene and learning of how to use the camera and learning how to add the videos and pictures to files.

Next Steps

Learning further how to use the camera and the laptop movie app thing.

16/05/2019 Log

We went through improvisation games using kinetic stuff, meaning we followed along with each other and every action was in response to another someone did. We then moved onto a second game where the theme was dance and we repeated a game where we only could say three sentences at a time. I was able to record some of the games on my phone instead of the camera this time. We also looked through some choreography for Carrie. We were able to decide that we wanted to use the Riverdale version, as it is shorter and with a lot more flexibility. We also decided that every on-stage actor would have an accessory that made them stand out as a stereotype, popular girls in stiletto’s, ‘nerdy’ girls with glasses or cardigans, girls or boys with rainbow bands on. In a certain part of the song, the actors will strip these off and throw them behind or in front of them.

Job Done

Doing improvisation games and discussing choreography.

Next Steps

Work on constructing some physical choreography and discuss roles.

23/05/2019 Log

Today we were able to walk through the choreography a small bit. We got the actors on stage and had them walk around as if they were in a high school hallway. I was able to record a lot of the practice and talking between ourselves about the choreography and the ending of the performance. I got to do a lot with the camera as in videos instead of pictures this time. I mainly videoed for the behind the scenes video that is being created by myself.

Job Done

Work on constructing some physical choreography and discuss roles.

Next Steps

Further work on constructing some physical choreography and discussion of roles.

30/05/2019 Log

We were able to continue with work on constructing some physical choreography and discussion of
roles. We are talking about instead of In we do a different piece due to the lack of effort and
enthusiasm from various actors involved. Instead, we were considering stopping the performance
and instead doing things separately such as Nadia and Sam’s performance, me recording the NCEA
performances, most of the others working backstage. Otherwise, we would switch our performance to
something else, we were considering doing Ex-wives from Six. There is also the chance we will
continue with this, however, many people are unenthused with the idea.

Job Done

Further work on constructing some physical choreography and discussion of roles.

                                              Next Steps

Further work with the camera and discussion of the piece.

31/05/2019 Log

We have decided to continue on with the current piece for now and we have been able to get multiple actors to participate further. I was able to take some pictures and record some small videos documenting our progress and behind the scenes moments. So far I have been unable to continue creating the video of all of this, however, I have chosen to do it in a break time instead, as I do not have much time while helping and rehearsing the choreography.

Job Done

Further work with the camera and discussion of the piece as well as work on choreography.

Next Steps

Further work with the camera and discussion of the piece as well as work on choreography.

Musicals

What is a musical?

A musical is a film or play in which singing and dancing play an essential part in the story or development. 

What are the elements of a musical?

There are many elements to musicals including well-known ones such as dancing and singing. 

There are many different types of songs that are sung, such as the ballads, the ballads are usually love songs, but can also just be songs to do with strong emotion. These songs are normally paired with a slow tempo. An example of a ballad that isn't to do with specifically love is Words Fail from Dear Evan Hansen. This song has to do with the strong emotion of regret and sadness from the singer that is belted out all in one shot, the sheer amount of emotion deeply impacts the audience.

Another form of a song sung is called a charm song, this is used to charm the audience, it is often used in a deceptive way. This isn't always the case though. The Lion King's I Just Can't Wait To Be King is an example of a charm song reflecting Simba and his way of charming the audience into liking him.

The third form of song is regarded as a comedy number, which is quite obviously aimed to create a comedic moment within the musical. This can have many effects on the musical itself, whether it's to further the story along or just stop everything for a moment and create a small part of relaxation for the storyline and its progression.

The final form of song is called a musical scene. These are used to blend dialogue and song, these help with the progression of the storyline. An example of a musical scene would be The Other Side from The Greatest Showman, where the back-and-forth between the characters is blended into the song. This song helps further the storyline in a way where P. T. Barnum convinces Phillip into joining him and helping his business along.

(Apologies I couldn't go into further detail, this had to be rushed because of a short time frame.)

Sharing Messages with Children

Today in Drama, we shared stories from children books and looked at some political satire.

We started with looking into political satire, we looked mainly into songs and videos joking about politicians. There was even one called Donald: The Musical, it represented satire about Donald Trump, obviously, Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer and a man named Bruce B. who I don't the full name of because I don't know politicians.
We also shared stories from the books we had brought in, Nadia had one that was made for her called 'Nadia the Dinosaur', Chloe brought in multiple including 'Rough Weather Ahead for Walter the Farting Dog', yes that is a real children's book, and Willbee the Bumblebee. We have looked into these because we are trying to create a play that will keep children interested but still be fun enough for them to laugh at.
We also talked about what conventions we could use and we thought about things such as rhyming, singing, using humour and doing other things to help engage the children and help them remember the plot.

Creating a character

We continue with the production of a play in Drama, as it is still going to be about animals we have been
tasked to create an animal character each.

Species: Goat

Casual Name: Cupid

Full Name: Cupid Duloc Arthur of Camelot The 31st

Age: 6

Talents: Eating everything and anything.

Hobbies: Eating everything and anything.

Personality Type (what's their most common feeling or emotion): Prissy, proud and slightly snobby.

Disliked People: Moxy the cat and Polly the Shepherd's dog

Favourite Colour: Grape

Favourite Food: Anything and everything, but strawberries are preferred.

Least Favourite Food: Peanut butter, as well as apples

Favourite Possession: Dingly Bell, he wears it everywhere

Animaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaals View Pointing

We have continued on with the animal's theme and have moved onto animal view pointing, which is basically looking at how the animals we have 'studied', move.

So far we have been playing with a rabbit, a dog and a turtle, as well as a guinea pig and a second dog. The rabbit was a special rabbit that had been rescued, she had one floppy ear, which I believe was the result of an accident and now she can't use that ear, her name was Lightning. As known, the bunny hopped about. But instead of constantly hopping, Lightning put her front legs in front of her and stretches out before moving the back legs up with them into a more comfortable position.

There was also Mr Mitchell's turtle, Yurtle. He was a little rascal who almost sent me into a panic attack because he decided it would be a good idea to crawl under the deck. It was terrifying and the only other person there was Kaela, who thankfully stopped the turtle and brought it out. The turtle seemed faster than I thought it would be, but it still was quite slow. It had very sharp claws and an even sharper beak.

Chloe and Gizzy

Finally, I got to meet Mrs Beer's dog, Gizzy, a short little fluffy thing who is adorably excitable. I and a few others spent most of the period sitting and playing with the dog who couldn't stop moving. Gizzy has short and fast legs, she could only sit down for a moment or two before running around again. It was hilarious to watch as the dog left from leaning and lying down next to a person to go and bark at Mrs Beer.











The next week we got to meet Jakita's guinea pig, George of Durham, a pedigree, who has to have a certificate to state that he is pedigree bred. He's quick to move and has really sharp claws. When he's scared he tends to hide under things, particularly the towel he was brought with. While I am writing this he has pooped on Jakita and Chloe multiple times, thankfully, it isn't messy. Unfortunately, my phone doesn't want to connect and upload the pictures.

On the same day, we got to meet Kaela's dog, Rosie, a scruffy dog who can't stop moving for a moment. It was a bit of an extravaganza, seeing as the dog came fashionably late and then got dressed in a unicorn onesie. That wasn't the end of it though, Kaela had brought treats so she could get the dog to do tricks, as you do. But, when Kaela wasn't paying attention, Chloe opened the treats, intending to give only one accidentally lent down and the dog started eating from the container.

Lollipops

We have been discussing putting on a children's show for some of the children at the primary school right next door. While being on the topic of animals, we have been told to make a children's show that lasts around twenty minutes for children of the age of 5 - 6 years old. During this we were also given a group name for the entire class, seeing as we only have ten people, and we have been named the lollipops, hence the title. We have also been continuing work on kinesthetic response and using space and have been able to get out and do some improvisation around the school.
In the past few weeks, we have also memorising our text for the term,

'Rumour is a pipe,
blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures,
and of so easy and so plain a stop,
that the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
the still-discordant wavering multitude,
can play upon it'

If the language used didn't make it obvious enough, this is a quote from Shakespeare, to be specific the play, King Henry IV, Part 1. Mrs Clark, our Drama teacher, gave us this text to memorize on the account of whenever we are doing an activity and she yells out 'Text!!', we have to recite the text, no matter what situation we are in.

In Drama 2019 we have been working on using our bodies to tell the story instead of words. In the first scene, we were doing an exercise to learn about tempo and lanes, meaning moving with the others and responding to their actions with our own while keeping the tempo (or pace) that is set. In the next scene, we began work on a kinesthetic response, meaning we responded to everyone else's actions with actions of our own while having to keep with the given tempo. In the scene, we also worked on building a story without having to communicate and speak to tell it, basically, we were all a bunch of mimes. We also worked on using the stage and it's different levels and area's to enhance the story and help it progress. The third scene is self-explanatory.