BlogBloghttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2012-02-13T19:21:32ZSquarespaceiBelieve, iCan, iWillhttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2012/2/13/ibelieve-ican-iwill.htmlRene' West2012-02-13T15:26:27Z2012-02-13T15:26:27ZAn excellent article on the positive ways that technology can change the classroom, while simultaneously converting youth to MacHeads ;-) Favorite quote: It’s about changing the culture of instruction — preparing students for their future, not our past.

It reminds me of something I read somewhere: 80 percent of the occupations today's children will have do not currently exist.

]]>-http://www.renewest.net/blog/2012/2/1/arts-pusher-project-expansion-1-collaborating-with.htmlRene' West2012-02-01T18:56:48Z2012-02-01T18:56:48Z

Arts Pusher Project, Expansion 1: Collaborating with Hunter Ingalls
Reception Thursday, Feb 9, 5:30 - 10, Process Art House 20 locals artist with work on display - including me ;-)

]]>Moscow's Banskyhttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2012/2/1/moscows-bansky.htmlRene' West2012-02-01T14:24:38Z2012-02-01T14:24:38Z

I'm loving this guy's work. His name is Pavel, he works in Russia, and he goes by P183, and is dubbed as Moscow's Bansky. Many of his works are sculptural and integrate aspects of the urban landscape. New gorilla art is always so exciting - how do they do it?

Photo Credit: P183, Rex Features

]]>A Kodak Momenthttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2012/1/19/a-kodak-moment.htmlRene' West2012-01-19T21:27:00Z2012-01-19T21:27:00Z

The headline reads: Eastman Kodak Files for Bankruptcy - NYTimes

Sadly, this is not shocking news.

For the entire 20th Century, Kodak owned photography, but as digital came onto the scene in the early 90's, they seemed to have lost their ability to remain competitive. What is perhaps most ironic - since the  inception of photography it was, and is, a technology race - How did they lose that winning edge?

Photo Credit: Picnic - Kodak No. 2 (ca. 1916). One of a set of 12 early Kodak No., Found on Flickriver

]]>Totalitarian Aestheticshttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2011/12/29/totalitarian-aesthetics.htmlRene' West2011-12-29T15:39:28Z2011-12-29T15:39:28Z

What a silly example of photo manipulation. A film crew is removed from the funeral procession for the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il. The reason seems to be one of wanting everything tidy and orderly. Read more, and larger images, at NYTimes Lens Blog.

Photo Credit: Screen Shot from NYTIMES, (orginal source: AP via Kyodo News; European Photopress Agency via Korean Central News Agency)

]]>Camera Clubhouse Newshttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2011/12/13/camera-clubhouse-news.htmlRene' West2011-12-13T15:06:25Z2011-12-13T15:06:25Z

I am the coordinator of a project with Amarillo College photography, students and 4th and 5th grade students at San Jacinto Elementary School. We call the project the Camera Clubhouse, and provide the kids with cameras that they can take off campus throughout the school year. AC students meet with them every other week to teach the kids something new about photography. This is our third year to work with the kids, and it is such a blast. We have received quite a bit of attention recently, which culminated in a couple of big events this weekend.

On Friday night KACV aired the segment about the Camera Clubhouse, and on Saturday, Jacob Breeden's Gallery, Process Art House, hosted an exhibition and fundraiser for the project. Both were a huge success.

My heartfelt thanks to KACV for the artZone segment, Process Art House for their support, everyone who attended the exhibition and donated to the project, and especially the AC and San Jacinto students who make this happen. What a great weekend.

]]>Social Media and Free Speechhttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2011/11/26/social-media-and-free-speech.htmlRene' West2011-11-26T16:37:35Z2011-11-26T16:37:35ZA teenager from my hometown, recently annoyed the governor of the state. Her offense? She tweeted on a field trip to the state capital that he sucked. It does not surprise me that the  spokeswoman for the district, Leigh Anne Neal, said...

“In general,” she wrote, “students on school-sponsored field trips, in which they are representing the school, would be expected to conduct themselves in accordance with school district policies, including use of electronic devices. Students may express their personal beliefs, views, and opinions, as long as they do so appropriately and in accordance with school policies.”

What surprises me is the the governor's office would actually go after a high school student for something they tweeted. Her older sister, Olivia, a sophomore majoring in political science at Wichita State University, probably said it best .... the controversy amounts to Brownback “censoring the opinion of a student.” She goes on.

“It’s unacceptable, first of all, to censor her and punish her for what she said. But for the governor and his staff to waste their time getting a high school student in trouble? That’s ridiculous.”

So much for free speech in the age of Twitter.

We talk about social media and crafting an online identity frequently throughout my courses. As an educator, I think it is important to point how quickly something can go viral, and how things you say as a teenager can be used against you later in life. We also discuss case histories mostly of people losing their jobs or licenses, and now I will add making the governor angry to my list of examples. I do hope the University of Arkansas does not hold this against her.

File this under: Be careful what you say on the internet - you could be writing letters of apology over the Thanksgiving break.

Or: how to get kids interested in politics.

UPDATE: From Emma's Twitter Account: I've decided not to write the letter but I hope this opens the door for average citizens to voice their opinion & to be heard! She now has over 8,000 followers on Twitter.
UPDATE2 1/23/12: I just checked back and she has 14,289 followers, and it sounds like she lost some recently due to her support of Obama and Biden for 2012
]]>Big Moneyhttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2011/11/15/big-money.htmlRene' West2011-11-16T01:10:39Z2011-11-16T01:10:39Z

Andreas Gursky's Rhein II sold at Christie's auction last week for $4,338,500. It is now the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction. That is a whole lot of money; I'm thinking it went to someone in the 1% club. The sad thing is that this photograph changed hands between collectors and Gursky, a living artist, will not get a dime of it. Of course, his new work will be worth more.

So what do you think of the photograph? Why is it worth so much money?  

Photo Credit: Andreas Gursky, Rhein II, 2011

]]>AC Students Make Teacher Proud!http://www.renewest.net/blog/2011/11/5/ac-students-make-teacher-proud.htmlRene' West2011-11-05T10:14:56Z2011-11-05T10:14:56Z

For the past year, I have helped the AC Student Government Association and the Amarillo Museum of Art make the exhibition, Aftermath, by Joel Meyerowitz, a reality. It was funded entirely by the students of Amarillo College, and the reception on Wednesday was amazing. They are all so proud of this exhibition, and they should be, they own it. Congratulations to all of you, what an accomplishment.

The reception was for Jonathan Safran Foer, author of the Common Reader for 2011-12 school year. He was on campus all day, and gave a lecture that evening. Videos of the lecture and Q&A can be found here, here, and here. He was a great speaker.

What an exciting and busy day.]]>Rendering Moving Objects into Still Photographshttp://www.renewest.net/blog/2011/10/24/rendering-moving-objects-into-still-photographs.htmlRene' West2011-10-24T17:48:46Z2011-10-24T17:48:46Z

Rendering Synthetic Objects into Legacy Photographs from Kevin Karsch on Vimeo.

This is an amazing viddie on a new software that enables you to insert objects into photographs, make them move, and light them properly. I heart technology.

h/t to Hector]]>