DAIJ Sheet

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Describe, Analyse, Interpretation, Judgment

Before starting the DAIJ Process, answer the following questions to get started:

• What is the name of the artist who created the animation?

Miwa Matreyek, a Multimedia Artist created the animation.

• What is the name of the animation?

Factory

·       When was the animation created?

The animation Factory was created in 2004.

Describe: Write what you see (the visual facts).

• List the literal objects in the painting (trees, people, animals, mountains, rivers, etc.).

The objects in the animation are factories, men, smoke, air balloons carrying ships through the sky, a hand, computers, machines and large spanners.

• What do you notice first when you look at the work? Why?

The first thing I notice when I look at this piece of work is the colours and shades. I see the black and white colours.

• What kinds of colours do you see? How would you describe them?

I see the colours black, white and grey as these are the colours of the whole animation.

• What shapes can you see? What kind of edges do the shapes have?

I can see the shapes on the defined outlines of the factories. These shapes are symmetrical as the building are equal on both sides. The artist has used geometric shapes to show the audience that its very industrial and congested.

• Are there lines in the work? If so, what kinds of lines are they?

The artist has used lines with in the video to bring the audiences attention to the moving object or the most important thing in the animation at the time.

• What sort of textures do you see? How would you describe them?

The sort of textures in this animation are very rough and defined. These textures also are very up and down left and right. By this I mean that it is giving a very serious and perfect affect.

• What time of day/night is it? How can you tell?

As the animation is black and white you can not exactly tell what time of day it is, but as it is a factory and theres are objects flying through the sky I am assuming its day. There is also smoke rising and you can only see this during the day.

• What is the overall visual effect or mood of the work?

The overall mood of this animation is a very serious, focused and repetive. It is serious as the people are always doing there work and movements are very straight to the point. It is focused as the people working look like they are concentrating so hard that nothing could disrupt them. Lastly it is repetitive as the movements in the animation just go over and over again. For example, the machine going up and down, the people walking in and the lady tying on the computer.

Analyse: Mentally separate the parts or elements, thinking in terms of textures, shapes/forms, light/dark or bright/dull colours, types of lines, and sensory qualities. In this step consider the most significant art principles that were used in the animation. Describe how the artist used them to organize the elements.

Suggested questions to help with analysis:

• How has the artist used colours in the work?

The artist has used the colours black and white in the work to keep the mood serious, focused and bland. These colours suggest that this isn’t a very exciting place to be and is boring.

• What sort of effect do the colours have on the animation?

The colours have a large effect on the animation, as they are a large contributor to getting the mood across to the audience.

• How has the artist used shapes within the work of animation?

The artist has used shapes in the animation to also convey the very serious mood across to the audience. When you look at the artwork within the animation what you see is the shape of the buildings and the factories are very symmetric which is making the shape of this animation also geometric. This conveys the mood of seriousness across to the audience as you see how defined and straight to the point the animation is.

• How have lines been used in the work? Has the artist used them as an important or dominant part of the work, or do they play a different roll?

The lines have been used in the work to draw the attention of the audience to the focus of that particular part of the animation. The artist has used the lines not as a dominant part in the animation but as more as a contributor to help the audience see the dominant part of the animation.

• What role does texture play in the work? Has the artist used the illusion of texture or has the artist used actual texture? How has texture been used within the work.

The artist has used real texture in the animation to put a more realistic effect to the animation. The texture is not an illusion in this part of the film it is more actual texture. The texture has been used within the work on texture on the sides of the buildings and the smoke rising in the sky.

• How has the artist used light in the work? Is there the illusion of a scene with lights and shadows, or does the artist use light and dark values in a more abstract way?

The artist has not used light at all throughout the animation. You can tell this as there is no shadow and the brightness of all the animation stays the same throughout the whole film.

• How has the overall visual effect or mood of the work been achieved by the use of elements of art and principles of design.

The overall mood of the art would not be conveyed if it weren’t for the elements of art and the principles of design.  The lines have been used in the animation to get the audiences eyes to the dominant thing in the picture and the shape has been used to also get the mood across.  The colours of black and whit really contributed to the seriousness of the whole film and lastly the texture has been used to make it look more realistic.

Interpretation: An interpretation seeks to explain the meaning of the work based on what you have learned so far about the animation, what do you think the artist was trying to say?

• Was the artist making a statement in this work? What was the Statement?

The statement the artist is trying to convey the statement of how much todays society is being taken over by machinery and technology.

• What do you think it means?

I think that machines are now doing the little things that we used to use manpower to do. But what am I’m trying to work out is this pure laziness or is it technology improving?

• What does it mean to you?

This animation actually shows me how little we do to contribute to the things that we are producing in this world. This is a bit depressing as you actually realise once we have a machines to do everything, what are we going to do?

·                         How does this relate to you and your life?

This relates to me in my life as I have realised how my school life s changing. It is changing as we use to use pen and paper with now computers and now we are using ipads.

• What feelings do you have when looking at this animation?

When I watch this animation it makes me feel depressed and sad. It makes me feel like this as I have realised how everything is so easy and boring now.

• Do elements within the animation represent other things/symbols?

Only some elements within the essay represent other things. Such as the tones of black and white contribute to the depressing feelings the audience gets from watching the animation. Another element within the animation that represents another thing is the shape. The shapes in the animation are all perfect and geometric. This gives me the impression that now every thing is so perfect because it has all been made by machinery where as when humans made it, it was never perfect and more smooth.

• Why do you think that the artist chose to use this style of animation and make these kinds of artistic decisions?

I think the artist chose this style of animation and made these kinds of artistic decisions to make sure she got the point across to the audience that she wanted to. She chose the colours and tones to show how with factories the earth is all pollution where as with people it’s a colourful and happy place. The shape also contributes as it shows how perfect everything is now.

Judgment: After careful observation, analysis, and interpretation of an animation, you are ready to make your own judgment. This is your personal evaluation based on the understandings of the work. Here are questions you might consider:

• Do you think this work has underlying value or worth? What value have you found in the work? (For example, is it a beautiful work of art, does it convey an important social message, affect the way that people see the world, make insightful connections, reaffirms a religious belief, etc.)

This piece of work I think is of high value as it tells the audience a very important statement. It is an amazing work of art that everyone should watch and interpret. The way the artist gets the message across by using the elements of art helps viewers to connect with the animation.

• Do you think that the work has a meaning for others? (Do you feel that the work communicates an idea, feeling or principle that would have value for others?

Yes I think this part of work has a meaning for everyone if they interpret it properly. This piece of work you really have to think about to realise its true meaning and understand what message the artist is trying to get across.

• Does the work lack value or worth? Why do you think this is so? Could the reason you find the work lacking come from a poor use of the elements of art?

I don't think this animation lacks value or worth one bit. For me this animation was really useful as I actually realised how little we do in this modern world. The elements of art are used extremely well in getting the message of the animation across to the audience, as the emotions they are portraying are really easy to interpret.

• Could the subject matter be unappealing, unimaginative, or repulsive?

The subject matter of this animation may be unappealing because it is a sad and depressing thing that technology is doing everything today. But in the perspective of the elements of art being bad they are definitely really good and a lot of hard work has been put into them which you can see simply by watching the animation.

• Rather than seeing the work as being very effective or without total value, does the work fall somewhere in-between? Do you think that the work is just o.k.? What do you base this opinion on? The use of elements of art? Lack of personal expression? The work lacks a major focus? Explore your criticism of the work (s) as much as you would any positive perceptions. Realize that your own tastes and prejudices may enter into your criticism. Give your positive and negative perceptions.

I personally did not understand the work at all at the start. But once I watched it a few more times I realised what the animation was about. I realised that all of the elements of art were very big contributors to the animation. I thought this animation wasn't that great at the start because I didn't understand it. But now I do I actually quite like it.