Eldon Booth and The Movie Elephant

On thursday 18th August, one of an old student from M.I.T that use to study here, came to our class and told us what he dose and love to do in his life. His name is Eldon Booth an film screening, his techniques are to deal with experimental films and to investigate film conventions of documentation/ drama techniques that he looks in to fact and fiction. What I thought about Eldon mix of fact and fiction experience was useful because he gave showed us ideas, to make short films. He gave us experience how to shoot short films, by showing us examples from his channel and his work that he has been working on. While I was watching his short films, I did not know what was his footage was about but as i follow through I started understanding what was short films about. Eldon showed us a lot of useful shots that he told us, how to use the camera, the angle of the camera, wide shots, long shots etc.. I know this because he is my teacher in studio. I like Eldon work because he inspirers me not to give up in class and keep working on when he tells us funny jokes.(he talks about him not making it to HOLLYWOOD in a funny way) :D

After Eldon presentation, Telsa showed us an movie. The movie was called Elephant, an drama film that is an true story, the film takes back in an high school called Watt high school, in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. This epic drama event surrounds a school shooting massacre. The movie is an achieve(my point of view), because it has many main character in the story, so in this movie, every body in this movie has there own story to tell when they wake up in the morning to go school but didn't expected that they were gonna die. This movie is an example to what Eldon was talking about, an genre, camera angles , wide shots, etc.. What I like about this movie is the ending because it felt alive, shocked, sad, and angry because he killed people for no reason. The reason why I didn't like the beginning because i felt confuse? board? didn't understand? and LOST!! but at the end i understand what this movie mean. This drama movie is kind of similar to Eldon work, because this is what i feel when i watch Eldon work and the movie, confuse in the beginning and at the end it all comes together. But i really enjoy watching the movie and especially the drama movie.

LEILANI KAKE and My Trip to Te Tuhi

Leilani Kaake: Tino Rangatira Tanga

The work of Leilani explores about Richard Kake (Leilani father) and his Ta moko( Maori facial tattoo) and his last breath where he ends at their Northland family Marae, where he laid to rest. I choose to discuss about Leilani father because Leilani presented to the class about her father that Richard Kake was a BIG IMPACT in her life. This film/ documentary speak about her father being the strongest supporter of her Artist practice, because he is always being consisting o be filmed. Mr Kake said "he felt it was his obligation to record the living culture and history of tangata whenua(family)". This film/ documentary shows an effect, an heart felt, emotional loving film about the death of Leilani father, while i was watching this film, this made me feel apart how Leilani feels because i too lost someone close to me, my grandma, this film made me feel close to Lielani film.

My response to Te Tuhui show;

To today we had to go to Te Tuhui Gallery to look at there show that was happening and when I arrived at Te Tuhui Gallery, the show was called Rapid Change. Rapid Change explores issues faced by cities that have been transformed, responding to the dramatic changes that have been affecting, for example Auckland. For the photo that has a frozen house with ice around it, that has been covered with water for 30 days in winter to create this effect, but before they were gonna take this photo they used Hollywood set up lighting effect. The background for this photo is to show that things like global change, urban change and increase of empty houses in Detroit can be due to these changes.

Thursday 5th August 2011 (Merry)

MERRY CURTIS

How has Mery used collection or a display?

In Merry work she puts a lot of effort in her art work and presentation when she was telling us about what she does and do in her life as a jewelry artist and what she finds out, she can use to display on her work. Merry uses a lot of features like brooches, rings, earrings and necklaces etc, which all focused on her experimental and her exploring direction with in her collection, because she said she use many techniques she show us about Art. Its interesting looking at her art work because she inspires me when she was presenting to our class today. She takes photos of a lot of her art work while working on her jewelry designs, thats why i am fascinated with her art work.

what is your experience, postive or negative of an artwork or collection?

My experience to artwork is sometime negative and positive, because there are many things that i don't know about art. Mary talks about many things in what she does and think about collecting stuff that makes art. In my thoughts in my head, I never knew that collecting many stuff like objects and materials in the streets could be Art??

In my experience when I was young, I look back into my mother and father history where they came from, in the Island's called Samoa. Samoan people are very easy to tell, for example, there Traditional patterns, how we dress, the way we talk and many things. But I am always happy and positive of our cultures patterns and fascinated where it came from? and how it was use to tell many stories in the form of Art? I don't know the answers but i know that it all began from our ancestor back in the days. I am always positive when it comes to the Art of samoa, especially when it comes at looking at the patterns, how they collect patterns and objects and form it into a 'story telling sequence' (like reading comic books). I know an Artist who does the same thing as using patterns to tell story's too, his name is John Pule and his methods are similar to the samoan Art form, but the difference is that Mr. Pule talks about his life.