This weeks focus on iconography really caught my interest because its one of my biggest influences when it comes to doing art.  Professor Michael Salter’s presentation caught my attention from the very beginning.  His opening slide with just his name and iconic character was very intriguing to me.  Just the color contrast and flatness of the slide was really eye catching.  In the beginning when he was talking about his life before becoming a professor he mentioned about how he was “overly observant.”  I found this interesting because it made me realize that its ok to question every little thing and wonder how something is made, why it looks that way, what does it stand for.  Every little detail matters and maybe that one image can trigger a great idea.  Another thing he mentioned was to “surround yourself with stuff you love.”  By looking at his work I was able to tell without knowing, he’s into street art, the surfing lifestyle, urban lifestyle, and simple ideas.  And come to find out he’s a surfer and is the only professor wearing the sickest pair of Adidas kicks instead of loafers.  It inspired me to do art not only to please others but also to please my self and do pieces that I feel happy about.  An artist’s surroundings become their greatest inspirations and motivations to produce great work.

Seeing Professor Michael's work I thought of these pair of shoes by Jeremy Scott for Adidas because it plays off of the common wish of being able to fly.  Just like many of Professor Michael's pieces he takes ideas people think about and presents it visually.  Also i thought of this because he mentioned he's into kicks and was wearing a tight pair of kicks during the lecture

In the latter part of his presentation when he began showing his work I was literally going crazy.  His style of art is what I live for and admire.  It is flat, high color contrasts, street/urban feel, playful, fun, and clean.  His work made a statement and showed images that are only thought about.  He takes funny jokes and thoughts and makes them a visual piece.  I also love his work because it never gets old.  For some reason I could look at his work everyday till the day I die and still admire it.  My favorite image was the boy with the extremely large Popsicle in his mouth.  I like this image the best because it had so much emotion and questions to ask that I couldn’t stop looking at it.  It had this combination of Asian pop culture mixed with the clothing style of Billionaire Boys Club.  I was amazed on something so simple can convey so much thought and emotions, that it got me thinking he could put any type of food in the mouth and it would be a whole different piece.

This is the logo for Billionaire Boys Club, a popular urban streetwear brand.  Viewing Michael Salter's work made me think of their logo and style of clothes they produce.

Another artist studied this week was Chris Coleman.  His work really spoke to me because of the issues he tackles through his art.  For example sculpture entitled “Informational Divides” took on the complicated and current issue of race.  Nobody really pays attention to race and how it sets divisions in our society.  I really like how he layered the piece by having the people first and then going to the emotions, land, and ending with government.  It told the story perfectly, shows what’s happening physically, then the emotions felt, how it affects are land, and where the problem all started.  This piece is not only visually intriguing but content wise as well.  His style also has this simple yet detailed look to it that makes it even easier to look at.

While watching his work I somehow thought about an artist that goes by the name of Buff Monster.  Somehow the flat style and usage of color made me think of this artist.  Buff Monster uses a lot of iconography in his works and is really famous for it.  He uses strong outlines with solid colors that contrast with each other, and creates unique characters that capture the eye.  Take a look at video taken at one of his shows.

BUFF MONSTER VIDEO

Both these artists have one thing in common; they use iconography in some way or another in their art.  This weeks reading was all about iconography, how its developed and why it’s so popular in pop culture.  In the beginning I thought it was really cool how it showed the stages leading to an image becoming an iconographic piece.  I was really able to grasp what a true iconographic image is.  I learned that it’s about capturing the important points of an object and flaunting those to capture the essence of it.  This article made a point as well, our society lives of iconography.  Whether its business logos, bathroom signs, street signs, personal messages, and even languages are all icons.  The big part of this reading was about how iconography shapes the comic world.  Before reading this article I never thought of comics being iconographic images.  But now I realize that the reason why comics are so popular is because the art used is so generalized to the point where everyone can relate to the characters portrayed.  I also liked how he mentioned manga pushing the boundaries even farther when it comes to comic art.  Their characters are not only iconographic but started a culture, which proves that cartoons and iconography has a big part in the culture of our society.  Without it there would be no Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, Toy Story, or even the basic four stroke happy face.  Iconography has shaped our society and will continue too for many years to come.

After i finished my blog entry i went to my closet to find this shirt, and it kind of reminded me of everything we viewed and read about this week.  If i were to view each icon separately they each would have their own story and meaning no matter how simple it is.   Iconography is great because its so basic yet makes me think and look at it for much longer than a normal painting.