Street Art Resurgence in Nashville

This mural encourages the adoption of rescue animals.

     Nashville is a city known for it's art scene-- mostly for music. This May, the city is focused on it's visual arts. The Nashville Walls Project is bringing some of the most notorious street artists from around the world to paint murals on some of the city's older, not-so-good-looking buildings ("Juxtapoz"). Not only will this create a better image of Nashville, but it will also bring in a new culture factor with these artists coming from countries such as Amsterdam, Australia, and Mexico.
   

Poem on the wall of a popular parking garage

     If you have been following my blog, then you know about the famous enigma that is Banksy ("Logan's"). Although he was not invited to do one of the murals, posters have appeared across the city with this message: "Banksy. Nashville. May 2016." (Hutson) This is extremely exciting for the art scene of Nashville. This means that the Project is likely to reach people on a more world-wide scale. Potentially having an original Banksy piece along with the several others from famous street artists is bound to increase the recognition of Nashville's visual arts and not just music.

"Logan's Art Blog." : Blog #4. Web. 19 May 2016.

Hutson, Laura, and Person. "Photo of the Day: Banksy in Nashville?" Nashville Scene. Web. 19 May 2016.

"Juxtapoz Magazine - The Nashville Walls Project." Juxtapoz Magazine - The Nashville Walls Project. Web. 19 May 2016.

Things to consider when making my magazine

     Because I am creating a magazine, I want to make it as professional as possible. This will make the magazine appeal to readers and gain respect for it as well. There are many "do's" and "don't's" in the magazine world. This week, I decided to look into these and find which ones are applicable (or not) for my art-based creation.
     One tip that I found extremely relevant was this: Don't be afraid of white space ("Magazine"). When making an art-based magazine, it is tempting to fill the page with color and images. A problem with this is that many times this overwhelms the reader. Closely related to this is the practice of staying away from the edges of the page. Leaving space on all sides makes the text easier to read and focus on. This tip reinforces the need for white space on certain areas of each page. This article also details that readers also frown upon clip art. This shows that in order for the best response, I need to make my images and layout concise but eye-catching.
     Another important thing to do when making a magazine is to keep the audience in mind ("DT"). In my situation, the audience consists of people close to my age who have an interest in the arts. In order to appeal to these readers, I need to use vocabulary that these people can understand but is also relevant to the topic. Because my audience is similar to myself, I can get ideas from all sorts of events in my life. Art is in everything, and it is my responsibility as the creator of this magazine to interpret and broadcast it in a way that achieves the goals of this project.

"MagazinePublisher.com." Design Tips For First Time Magazine Publishers and Designers. Web. 05 May 2016.

"DT Blog Web Design Tips, Tutorials & More!" DT Blog RSS. Web. 05 May 2016.

Organizing My Magazine

     This week, I was able to use the information about page layouts that I learned last week. Thanks to this article and the Canva software, I was able to design two more magazine pages that look pretty professional if I do say so myself. This software is incredibly helpful when it comes to designing each page. It actually allows me to keep one file for the magazine and add a new page to the file at any time, compiling my work in the order that I want ("ImPrint").

     Because I am creating a magazine, I want to be able to get people to read it. This led me to research the best ways to specifically promote magazines. I learned that the most efficient ways of doing so are through emails and social media ("3"). I would have to create accounts on sites other than Tumblr such as Twitter and Instagram in order to reach more of the public. Also, I would have to find a way to retrieve emails, preferably from those who have a profound interest in the arts.

"ImPrint – Magazine by Originalbeard." ImPrint – Magazine by Originalbeard. Web. 02 May 2016.


"3 Marketing Tips for How to Promote Your Digital Magazine." RunMagscom. 18 July 2014. Web. 02 May 2016.

  

Beginning My Magazine

Cover I designed using Canva

    As I stated in my first blog, I plan on making my own art-based magazine to present in front of the class. This week, I began focusing on this aspect of my 20% project. I have the content of the magazine, now all I have to do is design and actually create it. First, I used a program to design my magazine cover ("Free"). This program had an abundance of professional templates and elements to create a realistic cover.

     One thing I knew would be difficult is the layout of the interior pages. Because of this, I wanted to know what to do, but also what not to do. I learned how to accurately place headings, photos, and text. This article explained how readers react to certain placement of these elements ("Magazine"). My new knowledge of organizational flow is bound to make my magazine look a lot better and more professional.




"Free Online Magazine Cover Maker - Canva." About Canva. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

"Magazine Spreads – Good and Bad Practices." Magazine Designing. 04 May 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

Blog #5

     One of the things I love most about art is that it is everywhere. This inspired my recent post: Overlooked Art. In this blog, I chose three cities that are not known as very artistic and showed that even in poverty-stricken cities, art is still there.
   
     The first city that I showcased was Atlanta, Georgia. I went to Atlanta to years ago and although I thought it was a cool city, I did not see much art at all. I was surprised to find that the city has started a program called Living Walls in an attempt to change the perspective of the "dull" areas that surround Atlanta. Every year, several artists are invited to create extravagant street art for ten days, then a conference takes place for four days after that ("Living"). This is a great way to change the way many people view the city.

     The second city I depicted in this post was Detroit. When most people hear Detroit, they think of industry, poverty, and crime. I've never been to the city, but I thought that there must be something creative beneath all the generalizations I have heard. Luckily, I was able to find just that. In an abandoned neighborhood in a dangerous part of town, there is a monument paying homage to the city. The Monumental Kitty not only represents the city's teams: the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions ("Ferretti's"), but also shows that as intimidating as the city might be, there is still good hidden inside of it.


     Lastly, I chose another northeastern city: Pittsburgh. Much like Detroit, Pittsburgh is known as a hub for industry and crime. It turns out that the city is not only home to Steelers, but givers as well. A local artist came up with a great way to get kids off of the streets and expand the city's art scene. In Pittsburgh's most violent neighborhood, Vanessa German opened the Pittsburgh Art House- a place where children can come and create whatever they imagine. This effort hasn't completely cleaned up the area, but many say that it has caused a more positive environment ("Young"). This shows how well art can bring people together and benefit the community.


"Ferretti's Monumental Kitty Sculpture Makes Its Home in N. Corktown." Model D. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.

"Living Walls 2014 Brings 18 New Murals to Atlanta." Living Walls 2014 Brings 18 New Murals to Atlanta. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

"Young Artists Find Home And Healing At Pittsburgh Art House." NPR. NPR. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.

Blog #4

     This week, I decided to do a post on breaking news for the underground art scene. Ask any street artist who their inspirations are, and I guarantee that  Banksy is on the list.  Banksy is perhaps the most notorious street artist of this day and age. He (or she) has managed to makes millions of dollars from his works while still being viewed as an outlaw. The reason for this is that no one knows exactly who Banksy is.. until possibly now.
     A new study revealing Banksy's most probable identity was released over the past few weeks. The researchers used geographic profiling to connect locations of Banksy art with Robin Gunningham, a young man who grew up going to a private school outside of London. Although the researchers are extremely confident in the find, the Gunningham family denies any ties to Banksy.
     I was compelled to share this story on my blog because it was not only interesting, but it is also very relevant to me. I have been a Banksy fan for years now, and even have one of his pieces hanging on the wall in my room. Because Banksy is a very low-key artist, it is very hard to find any new information about him, making it even more important for me to share any news like this when the opportunity arrives.Check out the post here.





Rosenberg, Eli. "Banksy Identified by Scientists. Maybe." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Week 2

     To start off the week, the artist, Demotus, that I interviewed last week contacted me wanting links to the interview and my pages. Demotus then shared my blog and the interview with his 20k+ Twitter followers. This was great for gaining interest from groups other than those I know.
     The first post that I made this week was a collection of photos I took on a recent hike. Because one of the things I want to accomplish with the 20% project is to see how my own art changes, I wanted to document something of my own early on the blog to have something to use for comparison. You can see the post here.
     The second post I made was a showcase of a graphic design artist named Ian Woods. I showed off three of his graphic designs and one of his abstract-style paintings in this showcase along with a short description. I wanted to do this because I really enjoy his work and feel like more people should know about him, and I plan on doing many showcases like this one in the future. You can see the post here.