Critierion A (=15/sep/09)

Identify the problem
This project, as I understood it, was a combined project between art and Information technology creating a self-portrait using various media, including computer graphic software. This project is very important in my life because as a teenager, I sometimes feel unsure and insecure of my personal identity, but through this project, I believe it is an opportunity to explore myself and really see who I am from a standpoint that I did not have before. This project is also important in society because by understanding yourself, you can become confident in life, and when you join another community and meet new people, they will have a tendency to like you, because they know that you understand yourself. For example, when one is doing a job interview, or a college interview, the judges would naturally choose someone who is confident and somebody who knows him or herself.
The main Areas of Interaction in this project includes Approaches to Learning and Human Ingenuity. This project is closely linked with ATL because this project makes one learn who you are and gives a chance to explore yourself. It also explores the difficulties one might have in life and by exploring the inner side of oneself, it can help to get through the conflicts. Because this is a school project that is graded, this is a disciplinary activity and students may also collaborate to share ideas and suggestions, which are essential parts of ATL. Furthermore, this project would include information literacy because we would have to research various artists and paintings to get an idea of how a self-portrait is made. Finally, at the end, we would have to evaluate our work and reflect upon it, so the reflection part is included in the project. Human Ingenuity is also closely related to this project. Because we are creating a piece of art, this is included in the features of HI. We will identify why we created the piece of art and what it symbolizes to us. We will be involved as creators of the product. We will also celebrate our creation while also criticize and evaluate at the end. We will be questioning and peer-reviewing our product, so this project is mostly closely related to human Ingenuity.
The questions that will guide my investigations include:
- What materials will I use, and how will they symbolize me?
- What are the different ways I could present this product to the audience?
- How would I express my character efficiently so that people would understand my intention?
- What will my product look like?
- How will I make my product look artistic and pleasant to look at?

Develop your Design Brief
Here’s my design specification:
-Something black for my hair.
- Something brown for my skin
- Something for my glasses
- Something for my teeth
- Something for my lips
- Something for my eyes
- Something for my clothes (not like pieces of cloth, but something that will express me)

What we did in class
In Sep 8 2009, our I.T. class was introduced to an interdisciplinary unit of art and I.T. It was a unit called "Self-Portrait: Who am I?" Our class looked at various aspects of portraits, and how it must contain various elements. A self-portrait must be created by yourself, and it must be something that expresses yourself, and explains yourself, such as explaining your personality, your background, what values you have, etc.
In Sep 9 2009, our I.T. class went outside to begin working on the project. We took pictures and we came back into class. We started to edit those pcitures using online photo-editing programs such as flauntr.com and picnik.com. I used mostly flauntr.com. However, at home, I also used photooshop CS3 to edit my photos because it was the software that i was most familiar with.
Research-
A portrait is a picture, illustration, or an artwork that shows an image of a person. It can be made by various media, while it can be also created by traditional brush and paint. A portrait should explain and contain the emotions of the subject. It should also portray the subject's personality and character. Artists such as Vik Muniz, Gabriel Zubilaga, Frida Kahlo are portrait artists. Portraits have been around histroy even back at the 4th century BC, but self-portraits have begun to appear shorlty after 1400 AD. The reason is because before self-portraits appeared, artists usually drew the nobles, kings, and the people who have great power in the society, but beginning from 1400s, which is close to the Renaissance Period, artists have begun to draw themselves too. Also, the decreased price of mirrors greatly contributed to the advent of self-portraits. Also, each artists have different styles and media they use for the self-portrait, so every self-portrait can be considered unique.
In art class, we had to research a portrait artist. I researched Gabriel Gonazaga and his piece "Daniel Corcuera Robbins." I found this piece very interesting because of the unique spacing and the composition. The artist used mostly warm colors, but he also balanced it well with some cool colors. I also found that the child was missing the lower half of the body and made me wonder if he was trying tp portray the idea that the child was legless due to an unfortunate event. I liked this piece on how it portrayed a normal 6-years old's life. The face expression of the child was so natural that I was quite amazed. I also liked the painting because it was in-motion rather than just sitting or staring the audience. However, I was curious what the scribbles meant or symbolized and I wanted to know its relation between the child and the artist.


bibliography-
Sudra, Anna. Art lecture. International School of Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia. 3 Sep. 2009.

Sudra, Anna. Portraiture Technology. Powerpoint presentation for MYP Visual Arts.
International School of Ulaanbaatar. Sep. 2009.

"Gabriel Corcuera Zubillaga." commissionaportrait. 7 Sep. 2009. <http://www.commissionaportrait.com/artistsportfolio.asp?id=199>


"Self-portrait." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Sep. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-portrait>

Wilson, Melanie. An Introduction to an Interdisciplinary Unit between Art and Information Technology. International School of Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia. 8 Sep. 2009.

Zubilaga, Gabriel C. "Daniel Corcuera-Robbins." commissionaportrait. 9 Sep.2009. <http://www.commissionaportrait.com/media_viewer.asp?id=3303&all=true>

Design Specifications
Essential characteristics-
- Multi media (many different forms are used, outside of traditional paint and brush)
- Technology (Photo-editing software)
- Photo of self and no one else, and something that expresses self
Desirable characteristics-
- An artwork that tells me my personality/characteristic
- A unique aspect/ something special
- A work that I really like
Testing my product-
I will project my product on the wall. Then, I will hand our a sheet of paper and ask 5 people to write a paragraph about who I am (what intentions I had for the portrait.) Then, I will discuss with everyone what my original intentions were orally. Then, I will use the sheet of paper to use it as my evaluation. By doing this, I would be able to know what they thought of my testing and receive feedback while I will also be able to clarify my intention of the artwork.