Coursework – Page 51 – Ways of Seeing

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

My Discovery

The three objects I discovered consist of a metro card, a beer can, and a cigarette end. The reason I picked those three items up was that I saw kind of a connection between them. And there was a word comes up to my mind when I put them together at the first time— PRESSURE. I can imagine that there is a man going into a subway station with his metro card. The subway takes him to his work place. After working for a whole day, he feels a lot of pressure from competition, and his boss. He is looking for some relaxation. So he starts smoking and drinking. And left a cigarette end and a beer can on the street. The metro card is in a geometric shape, having lines, corners, and edges and giving me a neatly feeling. The beer can and the cigarette end are very different from the metro card. They are in organic shape. Both of them are bended, having jagged edges. They look irregular and 3D.

Sketches: each drawing took around 7-10 minus/ an hour in total

Ambiguous:

Stable:

Discovery: Avatars

Avatar: Ruky

What I observe:

A boy that hiding his mouth and one of his hand
Having gloomy eyes
Wearing wrinkled clothes
Having a angel wing and a devil wing

Interpretations:

Hiding his mouth and his hand make me feel like he is shy and not confident
Gloomy eyes to me mean he is not a very positive person
Wrinkled clothes to me means he didn’t grow up in a very wealthy family
The wings probably mean he has multiple personality

Paragraph:

I chose this avatar because I can see myself from it. We are probably the same kind of person. In the avatar, I see a boy hiding his his mouth, by doing this, I feel like he is shy and afraid to talk. And he is also hiding his his hand, that makes me feel like he is not a confident person. The boy’s eyes are gloomy, he also might be a negative person. The wings attract me the most in this avatar. The angel wing means he can be a very good person. But the devil wing means he can also be a very bad person in some situation. From the two different wings, I also feel like he could be different person in front of different people. He might be talkative in front of the people that he knows well, but shy in front of the people that he does not know.

I’m not sure if my interpretations are correct. But I still feel like this avatar and Ruky having kind of a connection.

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1

My Discovery

My three urban artifacts that discovered seems to have nothing in common. Unless you put it in a category, “In a use for everyday life”. The three artifacts were a Kit Kat wrapper, Bobby Pin and a piece of plastic. Each artifact has a little bit of history of why it’s been left the place that I found. The Kit Kat wrapper was found near the gas station, it seems like someone ate the chocolate bar and just left the wrapper outside on purpose. Without thinking of throwing it in the garbage can. Or someone in the car, ate the chocolate bar and throw the wrapper out its window. Wrapper itself was not damaged, just wrinkles and the hint of smell stained the inside. Color is red and the Kit Kat logo stands out. Texture is smooth and no stains. The Bobby Pin was found near the City Tech College. It is a bit rusted, like it was being there when it rained. One side of the pin was broken; making the pin sharp and dangerous. Texture is smooth, there is some wavy part of the pin, which it supposes to grip into its hair. Color is black, I have never seen a colored one. The last artifact that I found was this weird shaped plastic. I found it also near the gas station, and it might be some sort of piece it fell off from the car. The color is light green, and the texture is a little bit rough. Since it is plastic and there is one pointed part, it can be dangerous if it pokes people.

Sketches

Took approximately 5~10min drawing each

Stable:

Ambiguous:

Discovery: Avatars

Avatar: Barralesleo

What I observe:

A deer
Deer made with colors in shape
White background

Interpretations:

He probably likes deer a lot
If this is his art, he probably like to make art in color shapes
White background maybe means he like show himself to people, very honest, nothing to hide.

Paragraph

I choose this avatar is because it attracts my sight when i see through the member list, In this avatar, i saw a deer create with colors in shape, and in front of a blank, white background. The deer shows that he probably likes deer. The deer was create in color shapes, I think if this is his creation, he probably likes to create art like this. And the blank, white background shows that he like to show himself to people, very honest, and nothing to hide.

I can’t really tell that all of my interpretations are correct after I read Barralesleo’s profile. However he does like art.

Avatar of Barralesleo

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

My Discovery

The three artifacts I found are a piece of wood, a flower, and a beer cap.

The first artifact I found is a piece of wood at a corner of the street, its dirty, broken, and brown. It has a rectangular shape with some spikes on it. I guess its part of a chair or table. It breaks off somehow, maybe someone was moving the chair or table and it bump into something, a piece dropped on the street.

The second artifact I found is a flower in a small garden at the middle of a street. Its small, fresh and pink with five petal. It fell off from its branch not long ago.

The third artifact I found is a beer cap next to a car. Its dirty, rusty, and old. It must be dropped few years ago, and it has been stomp or roll so much times,s o it seems so flat. I think someone drank a beer on the street, he dropped the cap and never picked up.

These three artifacts are all found on the street. The difference between these three things are that, the piece of wood is “wood”, the flower is living thing, and the beer cap is a metal.

Sketches: all sketches took an hour to draw/each sketch took around 5-10 minus to draw.

Ambiguous:

Stable:

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

My Discovery

The three artifacts I discovered are a nail, a soda can and a tree twig. The first artifact is a rusty nail. It is a long cylinder with a point at the end and a flat spare at the other end. It is very old, rusty, and solid. It is more geometric but can also be organic. I found this nail on the street near a construction site. It was probably dropped their by a construction worker.

The second artifact I found is a soda can. It has been stepped on and now it is flat. The soda can is organic, I see lines and curves. I found this can on the side walk. I imagine someone drinking out of the can and when the soda finished, they just dropped it on the street, then walked away.

The third artifact I found is a tree twig. The twig is organic since it was created by nature. I can see a lot of lines and curves. I found this twig on the side walk also, I imagine it fell from a tree and was left on the ground.

All these artifacts are completely different. The nail, soda can, and twig all have different properties such as shapes and forms. They are all created and made by something different. They all serves a different purpose.

Sketches: Each one consisted of approximately 5-10 minutes each/ an hour overall.

Ambiguous:

Stable:

Discovery: Avatar

Person Avatar: Jingyi

What I Observe:

Calico Cat
Humor
Anime
Pushing its face on a Glass

Interpretation:

Comical action
Who does stupid things
Making trouble
This is a fictional character

Paragraph:

The avatar that I picked was an animated Calico Cat who behaves in a humorous way. By pushing its face on a glass surface, it makes the viewer chuckle to the cat’s reaction I believe that this cat makes these faces, because he/she is a trouble maker. By making this type of expression, it makes the viewer catch its attention to this adorable, humorous and trouble making cat. Another way to interpret this avatar is how this Calico Cat can make a smile on everyone’s face. Whenever someone is sad or angry, this image of a cat can bring a laughter to cheer and make everyone happy. In addition, the cat looking through the glass can be a hit, that it is curious what is behind it.

Connection to the member:

The avatar does represent Jingyi, because when we introduced ourselves to the class, her humorous personality brought the class into laughter. Making our heavy nervous tension into more comfortable atmosphere. Also, she can be curious about knowledge that she haven’t encountered yet, just like the cat looking through the glass

Jingyi’s Profile Picture

Discovery: Avatars

Person Avatar – Ruky

List of what I observe:

Boy that hiding or covering his mouth
Have a halo on his head
Have a angel wing and a devil wing

Interpretations:

By hiding or covering his mouth, he looks shy, and keeping to himself.
The halo to me means he is a good person.
The angel wing and devil wing could mean even thou he is a good person, he can also be bad if he needs to be.

Paragraph

So I have chosen the avatar of Ruky to write about because it seems interesting to me. In his avatar I see a boy hiding or putting his hand over his mouth, by covering his mouth, I think he is a very shy person, and he keeping his feelings to himself. I also saw a halo on his head meaning he is a good person. He does what is right just like an angel. I also saw an angel wing and a devil wing on the avatar. The angel wing and devil wing could mean even thou he is a good person, he can also be bad if he needs to be.

After reading Ruky’s profile I cannot confirm or correct any of my interpretations because he did not write enough so that I can know much about him.

Ruky’s Avatar

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Writing:

The three artifacts I discovered seem to have kind of a relationship, as each one has a relevancy to the life of a New Yorker, or a “City Person” so to speak. These three items consist of a Metro card, a Starbucks coffee sleeve, and piece of concrete. Considered, all of these have a connection to the lifestyle of the individual living in the big city. When it comes to shape, the Metro card and the sleeve are of a geometric shape, having corners, edges, and clear, distinguishable straight lines. The piece of concrete however, has an organic shape, having jagged edges, and no distinguishable lines or edges or precise measurements. The concrete definitely stands out more compared to the other two items, as it is a much more detailed and complicated shape. The Metro card and the sleeve were obviously man-made, which is usually the case with most objects with geometric contours. The piece of concrete on the other hand, most likely broke off of a sidewalk (more than likely on the very street i found it), which of course, gives it its organic properties, as it was not intentionally “created” so to speak.

Sketches: Each one consisted of approximately 6-7 minutes work time each/ 30 minutes overall

Ambiguous:

Stable:

ENG 1101 Project #1 Discovery: Avatars

To prepare for writing Project #1:

If you haven’t already, register for an OpenLab account and join our Learning Community site, Ways of Seeing (Fall 2015).
From the OpenLab home page, click on People to see OpenLab members
Browse through, looking at the avatars.
Without reading anything about the person, choose an avatar of a member of the OpenLab that you think says something about the person.
Still without reading anything about the person, what do you understand about them based on their avatar? If you click on the avatar, you will see a larger version—but be careful not to read the member’s details yet!
In a post:
- Make a list of what you observe when you look at the avatar.
- Make a list of the interpretations you make about the details you observe.
- Write a paragraph about how you interpret the avatar.
- Now finally read about the member. Can you confirm or correct any of your interpretations or inferences? Do you think that the avatar does not represent them accurately? Add a few sentences to answer these questions.
Submit your post by Monday, 9/7.
Reply to at least 3 classmates’ posts by Wednesday, 9/9 at 9:00am, offering feedback about the avatars they have chosen to write about—do you see an alternative reading they haven’t thought of? Are their details they haven’t contemplated enough?
Choose your avatar if you haven’t already before Wednesday, 9/9, so you can write about it in your brainstorm and outline.
Bring your brainstorm and outline to class on Wednesday, 9/9. It can be printed or handwritten.

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Category: Coursework

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Discovery: Avatars

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1

Sketches

Discovery: Avatars

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

Discovery: Avatar

Person Avatar: Jingyi

Discovery: Avatars

Urban Artifacts: Phase 1: Discover

ENG 1101 Project #1 Discovery: Avatars

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The OpenLab at City Tech:A place to learn, work, and share

Support

Accessibility

Copyright

Creative Commons