Category Archives: Visualizations and Statements

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As I progress to the summer session, the height of my research has started to formulate interesting ideas. The visualizations have directed my attention more to the placement and layout of certain types of visual culture in specific locations, rather than specifically focusing on the interpretation that these images might have on my students (although this idea has not been expunged out of my research). The more visualizations that I created, the more some of these ideas started to become more evident and of greater interest to me.
My last visualization consists of two neighborhoods in the Southern portion of the Southeast Quadrant. For the visualization, I continued with the incorporation of collaged maps on the background, and for the other one I incorporated the images of visual culture that was collected through all the neighborhoods I was able to cover. I collaged those images on the background, but I am a little concerned with my use of photo quality paper. The paper had a few issues when I “Mod-Podged” the images. Many of the pictures started to warp and bump as they dried because I was not able to apply the glue in a cross-hatch fashion for all of them. This created some areas of concern when the photos rose from the wood, and when I drew the neighborhood map and applied the nails for the visual culture points.
My concern is that I actually find both maps to be important in relaying information. I enjoy the collaged map because of its reference to Rochester and its neighborhoods. I think it gives the information that is needed to direct the viewer towards the idea that the specific neighborhoods are coming from this given area of Rochester, NY. However, the visual culture also gives information in regards to the purpose of the nails and the textile radiuses. I like the idea that it gives information of what was found in these locations (maybe offering images that encourage others to discover this area).
I have contemplated doing another two. One of the overall Southeast Quadrant of Rochester, NY and another of the last full neighborhood that I was able to cover in the research. For these I was thinking of collaging both pictures and maps to unify the two different backgrounds. Specifically doing this with the overall map of the Southeast Quadrant, and completing the last neighborhood with collaged images of the visual culture that was collected. However, I have a tendency to include more images of murals because of bias on being drawn to the coloration and overall composition of those images.

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Jenn Brannigan
Visualization 4- Last Iteration
May 12, 2017

For my last data set I decided to look at the photos that my students sent to me after the field trip we went on. I check out 10 students and gathered the images that they replicated. If an image is on the board, that means it was taken at least one other time. If they are on their more than once, that means all out of the ten students I looked at the photo was taken that amount of times. From there I counted how many were from each business. For The Green Palette 10 photos were taken. So each student took at least one photo. For American Made Monster Studio, 6 photos were taken. The reason I painted the canvas a blue green was because of the cyanotype. The chemical that we use that is sun sensitive is a blue green, and when exposed is a dark blue. The reason I picked this blue green is because just like the chemical, this data hasn’t been developed to maturity yet.
If I had to guess, I would say that students photographed these images for multiple reasons. For one, location. The American Made Monster logo was in the entrance of the studio. Once students got inside, they were listening to what the craftsmen had to say about their jobs. Two, for the green palette, they were aloud to go upstairs in their make shift loft. The strange palette maze attached to the wall, was right at the entrance to the stairs, The tall branches were hung from the ceiling. Students had a birds eye view of the entire studio, and the owner was talking to them about how he gathered all the branches from Macy’s in Manhattan during the eighties. He told them about how they just threw away all the window displays to get new ones each year. One year, he asked for them instead of them being thrown away. They agreed, but they made him take them all within a night, which he did. He discussed with the students the idea of recycling and using your hands to build what you need, not just buy it. This is why, I believe, students also photographed the fabric butterfly wings. They came from recycled fabrics and textiles that were donated to the Green Palette. I think my students as a whole photographed The Green Palette more because they liked the ideas that were discussed while we were there. Aesthetically it was more kid friendly, and enjoyable to explore and check everything out. They even let the kids take palette pieces to draw on. Overall, these groups of photographs show that students found certain items in each space photo worthy. The reasons, although need to be explored more, show that students like the idea of recycling and connected with the stories that the owner of The Green Palette presented.

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For this visualization I went through my sketchbook and wrote down the places I visited most and made another section to group the rest. The four groups ended up being Lagrange, where I live, Peekskill, where I work, Outside and Other. I gathered the most data. I noticed that as my research went on, I gathered more data and it was deeper than just the things I saw. I noticed what I was feeling in the space, how the colors inspired me, how the people distracted me, how being alone changed my mindset and a lot of other things. Since I spent a lot of time at home and at work I had the most data. It was important for me to visit these places more than once because I was able to compare and contrast my feelings, people and how my day affected me in those spaces. I like this set up because it is a lot easier to understand and mimics my sketchbook.

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Brette Higgins

Visualization 3 ( Thinking about what makes up a neuron structure)

 

Map:

 

Upper left corner represents my student with AS. He has proven the most difficult to work with which is why I chose the furthest location to place him within the composition.

 

Top right corner represents my LD student ( furthest green form in the corner as he is often distant and angry but is not much concern behaviorally).

 

Closet green form ( also in upper right panel, closest to me) represents my ED student. He often remains close to me in the classroom and is proven to be most helpful, engaged and eager throughout the semester.

 

Bottom left represents my ADHD student, he occupies two forms as he is often very energized and moving. Lately he seems to be occupying two personalities which is why he has conjoined forms.

 

Bottom right represents myself. I am representing the gray matter of the brain. I stand to represent the cerebrum where most the most complex brain functions occur.

 

These panels are done on 4 transparencies, I wanted this composition to be more cohesive and appear as one large work. I did try to use a clear acetate sheet as a preliminary execution, however I found that the individual transparencies held ink and spray paint more efficiently. The color green represents misplaced energy.

 

The surface underneath the transparencies is composed of spray paint, ink, sand, and spray insulation. The granulated areas represent the dendrites that cover brain neurons. The paint splatters were intentionally placed as they are chemical signals received and distributed among the students as they are also received .

 

I wanted this visualization to point to the demands  I feel as the teacher. The attention that these students demand on a regular basis is exhausting. The color red represents the entire neurochemical system. I also wished to vocalize high speed ideas, a flow of messages and a lack of boundaries through unorganized brushstrokes. The green forms are functioning as frontal lobes that essentially receive information from the emotional brain.
My initial idea for this visualization was focused on my progress with four students as I progressed through the final portion of my lesson planning.  I chose organic forms and the color green to represent each individual student. The large bubbles can be seen connecting myself to my student with AS who is furthest away in the work. The bubbles are mirror neurons, which imitate what they see. This strategy proved to be an effective tool when I was working with my AS student earlier. We did have a successful beginning, however due to unfortunate circumstances, he has become completely despondent.  I would like to continue with more transparency studies,  the artwork of both artists Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Greg Dunn have also been an inspiration for my work.

Cajal summarizes many of the properties of astrocytes in this drawing of the hippocampus of a man three hours after death.

( Images above – by artists Santiago Ramon y Cajal, and Greg Dunn)

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This

This visualization is based off of the photographs that my students had taken during on field trip on april 5th. I wanted to keep this simple so I printed out a large map of all the destinations that we went to that day. From there, I looked at all of the students photographs and gathered five that were “taken” 5 times of more. In other words, students were able to photograph whatever they found interesting, or that they thought would give a viewer information about where we went and about the business’s in general.These images came up the most. I found out from this visualization and from reviewing the photographs that students photographed the green palette very heavily. Far more than they did American made monster studio. On our travels, and after, I have heard that students enjoyed the green palette most. It was interactive, and the owners were kind and approachable. The idea of recycling and being a creator also spoke to my students. I used green to outline the photographs for green palette, and red for the amount of “red coloring” within American made monster. I also marked out where KHS is in a blue marker. I have so much visual data that I could probably create 10 or more visualizations, however we are in the thick of it in terms of the giant cyanotype and working constantly late after school has kept me from focusing on the reviewing of data right now, just the gathering.

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This past weekend I finally had the chance to go back to MoMA. Since the last time I was there, one of the previous shows I visited had closed and two new ones were opened. I attended the two shows- “Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection” and “Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction”. I started off with similar note-taking that I have done before, recording what is on display, information provided, set up, etc…

Upon looking at these findings, I ended up coming up with a method to better organize my findings.The title of the exhibition is shortened in the middle, with the number on top symbolizing the spaces available to contemplate the art/rest and the bottom number any additional resources immediately available (such as exhibition catalogues or books about specific artists). The color/line around it represented my overall feeling/mood while in the exhibition. The dashes in the circle represent each piece and label on display and are meant to be read clockwise in the order of the exhibition itself. It ends up coming full circle as the exhibition spaces at MoMA always lead back to the start of the exhibition. The orange “i” coming out of each represents additional information provided about the piece or artist that made it. The red lines along the outside represent what I observed as acting barriers between the viewer and pieces. “MS” (Making Space) additionally catalogued all of the works according to genre type so I chose to demonstrate that by separating them off into colored sections.

“Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction” Data

“Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection” Data

I’m really liking this organization style and am working on transferring the data I have already on past exhibitions into this same format. I am hoping to go back to MoMA again for a third time in the next couple of weeks, perhaps on a weekday where I will be able to directly compare the experience of visiting the museum outside of the peak weekend times that I have visited during. I will be utilizing data collected about the museum visits as well to create another data visualization similar to the current setup I have.

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For this visualization, I set it up like my sketchbook. Of course, I had this idea now! Perhaps I’ll go back into my old visualizations and redo them to be set up similarly. In my sketchbooks, I have four swatches of paint based on the colors I’m feeling. What I did for this visualization was look at the sketchbook experiences as a whole and choose four of the most prominent places I visited multiple times and choose a color the best represented those times. Home, outside, work and other. Other was a combination of some places I visited only once. I looked at the words that I had written down and compiled them around the color. I color coded them just like my last two visualizations. I started to notice that warmed colors make me feel more comfortable. In this visualization, I only focused on words and feelings associated with the places. In the next visualization, I think I may take a more specific approach and group the words based on their meaning. Place really does affect how you feel in a space. It affects me based on how many people are around, how I’m feeling, how the space is set up and if I have been in that space before. Each time I went back to a place I felt something new based on varying factors. Even though I spent generally the same amount of time in each space, I didn’t have the same outcome each time. It became more like a reflection time and encouraged me to look around and just notice. Notice how I was reacting in the space and how the space was reacting to me, especially in public places.

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The first visualization, regarding my research data set, had a few areas with hiccups. I followed the same methods of my first two visualizations. I collaged imagery to the background and placed a final image on top of the collage—in this case one map of a neighborhood that I researched. There were a few areas where the threading proved to actually be a bit of an issue. While researching, all the visual culture images collected did not fit on the map. I tried to stick to a small radius for the thread component, but I was not able to fit all the actual visual culture imagery on the map. I decided to stick with the same size circles because I cannot determine from the research which images have more influence on the community than others. The threading was the main area where I faced an issue. I decided to buy smaller nails in height as well as head size for the next data set. I am hoping that will help fit all the needed radius that represent a form of visual culture.
The second area of concern was the maps. I enjoy the use of the maps to continue the theme, and give recognition to the size of the vicinity of Rochester. However, I was contemplating actually collaging the images I took for the research, and collaging them underneath the neighborhood map that is painted on top. My concerns are that I took this route with my second visualization that dealt specifically with my topic, and the images that I printed on tracing paper did not print well or collage well. The imagery disappeared greatly the more images I applied. With the amount of visual imagery, I was trying to document with thread circles, I am afraid it might be too many images to collage with tracing paper.
With these two areas being the major areas of concern, I plan on creating visualizations for the neighborhoods that had the most amount of documented visual culture during the research process. I would like to document each neighborhood that was covered, but I am not sure if that might be redundant.

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This collage-narrative generates relationships among complex issues of intercultural engagements in several contexts: boarding school era, Catlin’s ethno-tourism art, usufructuary rights guaranteed through treaties, resistance performance demonstrated on Lake Bemidji, and the multitudinous influences of Christianity. Themes of deculturalization, assimilation, essentilization, eradication, and survivance. Each signification is a metonym that suggests partial access as a means of “coming to know.”