PROJECT# 4 – Paper

Martin Wattenberg has a variety of skills and knowledge. Some are art based, and some are not. His educational/professional background is very diverse. I will discuss topics of his life and art, and why he is where he is today.
Martin is a computer scientist/artist and a mathematician. Wattenberg studies data associated with cultural significance. He uses such data to create useful and informative visuals. Other people that are involved in data collection and interpretation are usually number savvy scientists. Works he has created have been shown at the Museum of Natural Art. Martin is about 39 years old now, and until his mid 20’s he thought only of Math. In his last year at University of California, Berkeley, for a doctorate in Mathematics he began to divert his interests in other directions. He fell in love with the idea of using computer graphics and the Internet to display information in visually interactive ways. An early example of this is his well-known “Map of the Market”.
Martin Wattenberg became one of the founding members of the IBM Visual Communications Lab in 2002. There he continued to create visual representations of data. “The Baby Name Wizard” was an Internet work he placed on his wives website to display baby names becoming more and more popular. Also, “Many Eyes” is a website at which users can input data and create their own interactive visuals. Yet another of his explorations was that of the “Fleshmap” which displays relationships between the human body and its verbal and visual aspects. The visual he made explained how words in songs relating to the body are used. Often the word eyes are used country songs, where the word relating to tush is used in hip-hop songs.
Wattenberg’s art has also been exhibited in other places. Such as the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New York Museum of Modern Art. He is currently living in Winchester, Massachusetts; and was born in Amherst, MA. I was intrigued and visually attracted to the art he has created, and I think his approach using art is very unique.

PROJECT# 4 – Presentation Images

These are various visuals that Martin Wattenberg created. I would’ve loved to have included more detailed info about each and it’s use. I know that one was using NASA data, and another was relating to songs. In more favorable circumstances, I really could have provided broader info on these pictures. These are simply examples to refer to.

PRJOCET #3 – Around the World in 80 seconds!!!

These 10 images represent one persons point of view from 10 different places with the same cigar in every place.

FINAL PROJECT – Wild West Time Travel

This picture is an example of places in the past that I would like to see. Time travel would be the coolest thing. It consists of five simple layers in photo shop. My intention was to display the idea that the birds seen in the image are guardians of the territory.

Project #2 “Got enough room for a pool table?”

Project #1 – HONDA VTEC POWER

0-120 mph in 4 seconds

I was excited to use Photoshop and learn new actions that can be used. My main image was a digital photo of my 2004 Honda VFR-800 motorcycle. I found the actual Honda font on the web. I decided for the purpose of weight, to use a black background. Then, to create harmony within the poster I stuck with the trademark Honda red color. Finally, I arranged all elements of the poster to be aesthetically pleasing as possible. This assignment gave me a good foundation in the use of Photoshop.

Assignment# 4

I think an ad is successful for a number of reasons. First, an advertisement must have emphasis, balance, value variations, repetition, contrast, and proportion. Next, the ad must have some visual and emotional connection to the target audience. Lastly, I believe that emphasis is the most important part of an advertisement.

Assignment #1 (non-art software image) Atomic Wind Colors

I originally was worried about how to get started on this assignment.  I searched the internet, and found nothing much of interest.

Eventually, I found a graphing program called Grapher.  I wandered around in the program until I stumbled across a vector field graph.  When I applied a colored gradient, the main image had more noticeability.  Then, I toyed with the angle of the graph to find the best look.  I used Grab to get this image onto my desktop as a jpeg, then posted it here on WordPress.

I like the image because it has many variations of angles and colors that catch the eye.  What do you think?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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THE COOLEST MOTORCYCLE EVER!!!  THE ’09 VFR 800

I have a 2004 Interceptor 800, and would keep it as long as it drives like it does now!  The 2009 you see here is much  more expensive.  I’ll have to test drive one and find out if it’s worth it.  Except, I already know the 2009 has an advanced upgrade included that IS WORTH IT.

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