Writers

Writers have a great influence on history. Their creative works help to document the environment of the times and it is interesting to note how things shift stylistically over time. Like the glitch art, my research style is pretty spastic. I often tend to select random authors with no rhyme or reason. So, without further ado, some authors who have been influential throughout history, though certainly no where near all of them.

Jane Austen

Percy Shelley

Shakespeare

Walt Whitman

An illustration from Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote

War

There is art in war, however sickening this thought may be, it's still truth. While war has been depicted in art for centuries, I focused on photos and inventions from the last two World Wars, which changed the face of warfare forever due to the technological advancements.

It's especially interesting to note that the final picture (originally of the atomic bomb) is all but completely obliterated. I found a lot of deeper meaning with that.

Architecture

One of my favorite things about history is watching the development of architecture. I find all forms fascinating, so this post is just a variety of cool buildings throughout history. Here you go, in no particular order:

Baroque Architecture

Renaissance Architecture

Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright

Neoclassic Architecture

Neuschwanstien Castle

Versailles Palace

(Not sure why the glitch art turned out so similar for the architecture pieces. Go figure)

The Two Statues of David

Our next exploration looks at the difference between Michelangelo's David, from the Renaissance period, and Bernini's David. Michelangelo's is far more static than Bernini's which utilizes motion.

First Art Piece

Most of these probably won't have much of an explanation, although I will warn you, they won't be in chronological order. At all. First on our list is Starry Night by Van Goh.

On the left, the original piece. On the right, my glitch art remix. I sure hope you like modern art, because it's probably only going to get weirder from here.

Introduction: Glitches, Joseph Campbell, and a History Project

What is glitch art, anyway? Technology has afforded us a new way to make art, by breaking down something to its most basic components and then messing with it. According to Wikipedia, it's "the aestheticization of digital or analog errors."  Glitch art is very broad, you can make images, sounds, a combination of the two...etc. The cool thing is, it's a very random art. It requires a lot of experimentation and patience and you're never quite sure how things are going to turn out. This art form unique, exciting and very fun.

Joseph Campell is an American scholar who, among other things, discussed the importance of myths and archetypes. It's his work that helped greatly influence George Lucas in the creation of Star Wars. Joseph Campbell taught that there are some universal stories that have existed from the beginning of time and will continue to exist long into the future. As humans, we draw upon a universal pool of human experience, nothing we create belongs completely to us personally. We are constantly drawing upon things discovered by our forefathers, who drew upon things discovered by their forefathers...etc.

So, how do these two things connect? These two concepts combine in my project for History of Creativity. My plan: First, find pictures that best cover the span of history that we covered. Next, I get to interact with these pictures through glitch art, exploring the combination of past and present. Finally, I combine all these experimentations into a mosaic of myself, exploring the concept of how I am not only connected to the past, but also have a hand in how it influences my future.

With that, I welcome you. Explore. Enjoy! It's going to be an interesting ride, that's for sure.