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Ich bin ein berliner! (Day 4 and 5 Cologne and Kunstmuseum)

Busy weekend, glad I have a moment to relax before the real ride begins. Yesterday we went to Cologne for a quick city tour and to visit an interior design exhibition. The first thing you see when you leave the Cologne Hauptbahnhof is the Cathedral....THE Cathedral. Bloody thing is gigantic and looking at it gives you a feeling of surreality. The real problem with it is the corrosion..it makes the poor church looks so awful and I hope I'm not the only one who things that. It is a glorious landmark for the city and I don't want to be insulting, it just looks sad with the level of pollution corrosion it has.


It looks nicer at night, fortunately. I will get a better image next time I am in Cologne. The interior is quite lovely.


Our next stop was to a little art exhibit hidden in the city. This piece works on a computer program that randomly generates patters and displays them with the mechanical workings of the piece. It is a little strange, but mesmorizing.


Nom nom nom, Berliner! Sorry Brian, but I can't help but take pictures of your first Berliner.


The interior design show we went to was amazing. I didn't know what to expect so, with not having expectation, I was floored. Here are some of my favorite projects:


To end the night, we were all treated to a beer, courtesy of AIB.


We had a fiasco getting home, but with a better understanding of the Underground system, we can work things out a lot better. I also learned that boy never know where their going when they think they do. Sense of direction is trumped by logic, k thanks.

This morning I awoke to see snow on the ground. However, it melted within the hour. Oh well, a white morning is still a nice surprise.


Catie and I headed down to the Bonn Kunstmuseum (art museum) to see what was on display. Again, we were floored. My favorite piece, by far, was this little gem. It is an installation done with nails and candle wax. Ironically, it is called 'Icarus', guess why.


Some other exhibits. Sorry, I am too tired to remember artists. There were also some German expressionist painter's work on display. Kirchner, Marc and others. Lovely, but my images of them were terrible. Here are some of the more impressive, contemporary works:



Now time for some rest, classes start tomorrow and I am not looking forward to the work. Tim promised it would not be as intense as last fall, but intense enough to keep us busy between excursions.

Tchuss!

Half-way Point, Some doodles

Wish I was able to post more sketches, my sketchbook has been an interesting place of late. I wish my scanner were large enough to get scans of work I've done in life drawing. I still have wonderful sketches from the Spring that need recording for future portfolio/demo reel material.

So here's some very gross sketch work, expect better towards the end of the semester.


Ha, a gag drawing of Akhenaten for my art history class. Rockin' like Akhenaten.


A really rough sketch of two principle characters in Monster (one of the best anime I've ever seen). Yeah, the guy with the gun is the good guy, the pretty guy is pretty much a very creepy sociopath and he scares me to death. Thus, the comment about being a 'spore of satan' in my sketchbook. You should really check this anime out, it is now airing on SyFy Ani-Monday at 10 PM central time. (Box set of DVD's out in December!)


Quick coloring of Morgan, expressing my bad mood.



Sketch of the Koala character for my school project.

A Number Cannot Describe Me

This is what I kept as a mantra during my struggle to get into my major. The number to which I am referring is the dreaded Grade Point Average.

I am growing to despise how much emphasis the world seems to put on number like that. This is strictly speaking of GPA; I'm still unsure what a credit score is, I just know it has to be good or I can't rent an apartment or buy a car.

I am tired of being ruled by the numbers and letters in Academia. I realized yesterday that if it were not for my constant worry about grades, I would enjoy all of my classes and make the most out of them that I could. If I didn't have to worry about keeping my 3.5, I would work just as hard. I don't understand what that wretched number has to do with anything, I'm here to learn not to earn a number or a stamp of approval.

My studio professor, Tim McLaughlin, stated near the beginning of the semester: "Don't worry so much about the grades, work as hard as you can and the rest will follow."

What is that supposed to mean anyway? Before now, no professor has even addressed the anxiety students develop over grades. Just work hard? That's all you expect? The best I can do is all you require? But what if my best is not, by your standards, my best?

Yesterday, I ran into my friend Trey at the library. He gave me an interesting perspective on this. He recalled a scholarship meeting he attended and some of the things his fellow students said. Some boasted a 4.0, but really, what's a 4.0? Yeah, you performed like a good little monkey in college, but did you learn anything about real life? Trey explained that people who've had to struggle for grades and work their asses off for their education learn more than the 4.0 dude. We learn about challenges and how to face them. We learn about late nights studying away while distractions gnaw at us constantly. And after all is said and done a 3.2 or a 3.5 is nothing to sneeze at. On top of that, you learn to function in the scary world that is beyond college.

When I went on my crusade against the College of Architecture, I learned a great deal. I learned how to treat people who spent some time helping you, even if they weren't much help. You learn how to negotiate, even if you want to cry all over their desk. You learn that persistence is both irritating and will, with some effort, get you somewhere, even if it isn't very far. The more I visited with various professors and administrators, the more they know my face, my name, and what I was all about. I let my passion seep through enough for them to see I wasn't going after this on a whim, it was something I truly wanted. Sure, sometimes I hated how manipulative I had to be. I hated thanking some of them and sometimes, I wanted to bludgeon someone with my sketchbook until people listened to me. I came back to my dorm in tears of frustration at the futility of my quest and how much time I seemed to be wasting on people who didn't care. Why was I having such a problem? My GPA was not sufficient.

I came from engineering with a 2.8, an honorable number for a first year engineering student. I tried to explain to the Arch folks that I was not stupid and that I felt the GPA was not very descriptive of my skills, what I could bring to the program and of course, my intelligence. I spent a great deal of time talking with the man in charge of student services, urging them to accept a portfolio or essay to supplement the GPA. Lo and behold, they did.

I got recommendation letters, put together a resume, designed an online portfolio with a modified version I burned to a disk with a README so they knew how to access it. I even wrote the 500 word essay, spent over a month on it to make sure it was perfect and expressed my need effectively. After all that, I received an email saying I was not accepted. And it was because I only had a 3.2 GPA. I was absolutely furious and after a fit of crying, typed up a short, terse email to the head of student services and the dean.

I know it may seem unfair to those who didn't get in. But did anyone else put up as big a protest? I'm really not sure, but I was sure to raise as much hell as I could, but quietly with a frightening, controlled anger.

"The GPA is not who I am," I kept saying.

"How do you know what I can do if you haven't given me the chance?"

So, he did on the condition that I achieved a certain grade for the semester. After all that, it still came down to grades.

I hate feeling trapped by these numbers. After this week, I have needed to remind myself that no matter what, I am not a number. I am not a number, I am NOT A NUMBER!

Talent is empirical and cannot be measured by figures, money or numbers. Talent is who you are and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

To finish before the semester starts:

Sewing
Buttons on the funky pants
Cuffs, hem and buttons on shirt
Balsa's dress


Writing
Chapter 13
Connect ch 13 with stuff I wrote earlier this summer

Arts
Hall Council Logo
Next Panel on jam comic
Glue in the spearhead on Balsa's spear
Finish Noble's Coat of arms


a week and half left, crapcrapcrapcrapcrap

Hello World!

This is a introductory entry for the VIST 206 blog. Here, I will post works in progress, finished projects, frustrations and perhaps a musing or two.

Before today, I used livejournal for this purpose, but I think it is high time my livejournal account became more private. I'm sure no one wishes to hear me rant about my insecurities, emotional issues etc. etc.

So I'm sure I should discuss who I am, why I'm here and what I do.

Firstly, I am a student at Texas A&M University seeking an undergraduate degree in Visualization (called VIST or Visual Studies here). I am very proud to have an opportunity to participate in this program as it was almost an uphill battle to be accepted. Having started my college career in Civil Engineering (ick), my GPA left much to be desired. But through hard work and perseverance, here I am. Currently, I am a Junior at the University but I will probably be here an extra year to finish my coursework (whoo victory lap!).

Why Visual Studies? I could have taken my art to one of the art institutes or something, and yet here I sit. Call it a hunch or divine providence or whatever you choose, I feel this is where I need to be. I enjoy art more than anything and working with computers and programming is also something I enjoy. So why not combine the two? This is the first program I really heard of that stimulates both parts of my intelligence, the left brain and the right.

As far as goals go, I have a few, though I'm waiting to see where this program takes me.

I would like to work as a character technical director. But what I'd really like to do is concept art, though to achieve that I need to take my art to a much higher level. I'm also a writer, at least I consider myself one. There is a story I've been formulating over the last 5-6 years that I'm hoping to someday bring into full fruition. You will often find me drawing my original characters, trying to figure them out on a personal level to be able to write them. Here's hoping my dream of publishing this isn't just a pipe dream.

This about covers it. I should probably mention my obsession with art history, cultures, folklore/stories, archery, birds, dressing in medieval garb and renaissance festival travels. I will probably mention my escapdes at Sea World another time. ha...

Sketchbook pages to come.