Author: ktb300

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Week 3: Understanding Comics- Kyra Bachman

The first four chapters of Scott McCloud’s book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, offers an interesting outlook on the theory of comic art. The first chapter, titled “Setting the Records Straight” establishes a definition of what exactly a comic is. It provides examples dating centuries back in history detailing ways in which different societies- from Egyptian, to stone age Roman Catholic- displayed their visual arts. I understand the second chapter titled “The Vocabulary of Comics” as attempting to convey that the vocabulary of comics should be interpreted from visuals rather than just words. It shows how non pictorial icons have an absolute meaning due to them being a representation of visual ideas. The third and fourth chapter both focus in the frames of comics, noting the importance of the sequences and panel layout which lead the viewers in a certain direction.

Overall, I found this reading to be a helpful insight on the art of visual representation. McCloud’s step-by-step examples of how to proceed with the design process is one that I found very useful. His articulation of how to appeal to viewers subconscious was something I’d never thought of before and will try to incorporate in my proceeding work- that being websites, photoshop, etc. McClouds concept of utilizing ‘the gutter’ – the spaces between panels- is one that I feel is a helpful insight that could be applied outside of comic books. Whether it is editing a film, or the visual layout of a website, there are effective ways to create an eloquent sequence that will appeal to the viewers subconscious to give them a sense of closure.

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Week 3: Photoshop – Kyra Bachman

I used the technique of laying on Adobe Photoshop from a tutorial I watched online. I found the magic wand tool especially useful in eliminating the original background of this image as well as the brush tool which is helpful in blending images together cropped images. The three images that I photoshopped together is the image of the lavender field, the galaxy background, and the image of the alien in the flying saucer. My inspiration is from advertisements I’ve over the years where the negative space juxtaposes the focal point (in this case being the woman).  For my first time using photoshop, I’m happy with how it turned out!

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Week 2: Response to “The Medium is the Message” McLuhan – Kyra Bachman

The article “The Medium is the Message” by Marshall McLuhan argues that the medium in which information is presented influences the audience’s perspective. The medium shapes and controls the scale of human association and action and is important to effectively communicate a message. To exemplify, forms of physics, painting, and poetry all include different forms of media in which they communicate a certain message. The author explains that then through these mediums people retain some sense of the whole pattern and then function as a form of unity.

Interestingly, this article explains how this importance of media, especially technological, has major formative power on society. I interpret this passage as aiming to bring attention to the fact that people tend to focus on the obvious, being the content, but lose sight of the importance of the underlying and subtle changes. McLuhan explains that media should be valued similarly to coal, cotton, or wheat being a major staple in the economy and a driving factor of either prosperity of instability. As society’s mode of operation change, and as we advance technologically, it is only then that we realize the societal implications of the medium. I found this article intriguing because it seems like most would argue that people should pay attention to the content rather then the media, but this article makes a compelling case as to why the medium in which the content is conveyed is the most valuable.

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Week 2: Response to “Long Live the Web” by Tim Berners Lee and “The Strange Geopolitics of the International Cloud” by Ingrid Burrington- Kyra Bachman

“Long Live the Web” by Tim Berners Lee offers a fascinating insight into the global nature to the internet and the importance of it being universally accessible. His characterization of the internet in itself being a form of freedom of speech that follows principles within the US constitution and British Magna Carta is a concept that I had never thought of before. He also notes the numerous variables that make up the internet- and the importance of it being a free, interconnected space to properly enjoy and reap the full benefits of it. Interestingly, this 2010 article talks about the harmfulness of net neutrality, a concept that has become very pressing in American politics over the last year. Berners explains that net neutrality leads to a discrimination of service, where users fundamental rights to access their internet is dependent upon their degree of service that they paid for. He, lastly, emphasizes the importance of governments, globally, to not intervene of citizens freedom to use the internet. Whether it is China hacking dissidents’ emails, the US blacklisting websites, or France disconnecting the internet of people pirating videos- these are all infringements upon their respective citizens freedom to use the internet and comes at a cost to society. It is important that technological protocols respect the values of humanity and do not constrain the breadth of knowledge that the internet cultures and promotes.

The article “The Strange Geopolitics of the International Cloud” addresses the hidden politics behind the internet and offers some insights on aspects of the international cloud infrastructure that most people likely do not know about. Surprisingly, the article first notes that for an area is it dependent on an areas environmental, financial, and political scene to be rich with internet exchange. Most surprisingly, the density of internet exchange is all dependent upon whether that location is US-friendly. Additionally, the United State’s global dominance leads to innumerable geopolitical disputes. To name one, they are in the midst of a two year battle with the government in Ireland- where the U.S. argues that they have jurisdiction of information acquired by Microsoft, due to it being an American company. This article presents a new perspective in how The Cloud’s global shape and politics and the planet’s global shape and politics are one in the same.