Final Major Project - SAD

Gradient Experiments

Graphic Wall

     

Since the beginning of this project I have noticed the constant link between colour and emotions. My first link was related to the idea of colour theory and psychology as they present the expressive meaning behind each colour. My second link was the article titled '10 Home Remedies for Seasonal Affective Disorder' as they mentioned "The warmth of color." by suggesting to "Wear and surround yourself with warm colors. Yellow, orange, and red can stimulate your mood greatly!". Therefore, I believe this idea of using a graphic wall will allow me to add in the colour whilst creating a warm atmosphere. Yet I feel some of these designs above link well to the idea of hard-edge painting and the style of Atelier Bingo whose both use colour in bold and abstract way. Below is a video that demonstrates how to create graphic wall by House & Home...

Making Mini Books: Accordion Book

Logo Gif Animation

Art & Design Foundation Exhibition

Planning The Final Major Show

Today we began to plan the promotional side of our show, such as the title and logo designs. After a long discussion we came to the conclusion of '18 Degrees', which I love! Later we began to think about the logo design. Which led us to the conclusion that our logo shouldn't be round because it looks like a birthday badge, and for the same reason 18 should be written as a word (in lower case) rather than a number. However, we also liked the idea of Roman Numerals. And lastly from looking at everyone's designs we came to realise that we liked the pastel colour scheme, that will involve 5 colours to represent each specialism.

After hearing all these thoughts and ideas I felt inspired myself to have a try at creating a logo, to the left is my results...

Jim Campbell - Scattered Light

Jim Campbell is an artist – known for his light sculptures – who was born in 1956, and currently works and lives in San Francisco. Campbell attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were he achieved a B.S. Electrical Engineering, and Mathematics, in 1978.

“Scattered Light, features nearly 2,000 LEDs encased in standard light bulbs, suspended within a support structure spanning 80 feet in length and standing 20 feet high and 16 feet wide creating a vibrant light grid across the center of Madison Square Park’s Oval Lawn. The LED bulbs, programmed to flicker scattered light, create the illusion of figurative images that explore and reflect the human experience amidst the urban landscape, creating the appearance of giant human shadows crossing a floating 3-D matrix of light. As one travels around the piece, the vantage point alters and the light figures begin to abstract, blurring the boundaries between image and object.” –Madison Square Park Conservancy

Ideas From Pinterest

      

Bruce Munro - Light Showers

'In 2008 Munro was commissioned to create a piece for a contemporary highland lodge at the head of Loch Ossian in Scotland. Spending some time in the property he found himself sitting on the main stairs absorbing the magnificent, uninterrupted view of the Loch and range of snow-capped mountains beyond it. It was raining in squalls against the plate-glass window, which distorted the view with rivulets of water streaming down the panoramic pane. The words ‘light’ and ‘shower’ registered in his mind and the idea formed.'

'The first public exhibition of Light Shower came in 2010 when Munro was invited to create piece for the Nave of Salisbury Cathedral. Since then it has gone on to be created as a site specific installation at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania and Cheekwood, Tennessee.'

Source of Information: http://www.brucemunro.co.uk/installations/light-shower/

Creation of Light Showers: https://vimeo.com/66607554

CLOUD

‘Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett (Calgary, Canada) work with diverse mediums and materials, ranging from artificial light to re-appropriated architectural debris. Their practice combines divergent aesthetic and industrial backgrounds, often resulting in transformative public sculptures and installations. Beckoning viewers with interactive contexts and novel materials, their projects invite strangers to share in experiential moments, prompting collaborative viewership. Using mass-produced objects as a reference to cities as an immeasurable quantity of materials, people, and situations, Brown & Garrett’s practice evokes the possibility of renewed understanding through a critical shift in perspective.’

"CLOUD is an interactive sculpture created from 6,000 incandescent light bulbs by Canadian artists and collaborators Caitland r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett. The piece utilizes pull string switches and everyday domestic light bulbs, re-imagining their potential to catalyze collaborative moments and create an enveloping, experiential environment. As part of the process of building the sculpture, the artists collected burnt out bulbs from the surrounding community, forging an informal relationship with non-artists, reducing costs, and asking audiences to reconsider household items in an alternative context. During exhibition, viewers interact with CLOUD by initiating impromptu collaborations, working as a collective to animate “lightning” on the surface of the sculpture, turning the entire cloud on and off.

Simple, bright, and playful, CLOUD functions as an icon of hope and optimism, illustrated by upturned faces, glittering eyes, and a whole that is greater than the sum of its many parts. As incandescent bulbs are phased out in the European Union and various countries around the world, the sculpture gains new meaning as a beacon of transitional technologies and changing futures – where are we going next? On a more symbolic level, CLOUD relies on the universal language of environmental imagery – despite language barriers, cultural differences, and geographic distance, rain clouds are understood by people all around the world"

Source of Information: https://incandescentcloud.com/aboutcloud/

I really like the idea behind this, as by using light bulbs that you can switch on or off, it then presents the constant change in weather and how the clouds colour changes with it. 

Photoshop Experiments

    

When I look at these experiments they remind me of paintings, such as the work done by Guy Yanai. Therefore, I want to try these experiments again but with paint rather than Photoshop.

Blurred Photos #2

More Blurred Video Experiments

Blurred Photos Experiments

    

Blurry Video Experiments

I believe that by blurring the lens and only using light and movement as my main subject it allows me to create a dreamlike state. I definitely want to try this again when the weather is sunnier, however, this time i should use a tripod in order to make the filming more steadier. But what would happen if I did this again on a dark and dull day? when its raining perhaps?

Light Photoshoot

Uta Barth

Uta Barth is a contemporary photographer, who was born in Berlin, 1958 and currently lives in Los Angeles. She received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985. In 2012, Barth was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She has taught at the University of California, Riverside since 1990, where she is currently a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art. 

“For seventeen years I have made work that consists of sequences in order to talk about the passage of time while looking at things that don’t change much at all. The strategy is about duration, and about vision for vision’s sake. Nothing much changes in these sequences except maybe the light or a slight turn of the camera in order to follow it.

I want to slow the viewer down. I want a slow rhythm from image to image and from work to work when the pieces are installed for exhibition. Slowing down the viewer is hard at a time when people race through exhibitions. But I watch people in my shows, watch many of them move slowly, return to the beginning of a sequence, circle the room once again. Viewers who are not art writers talk about my work as being quiet, being slow and being calm. I think that is only one aspect of the work, but I always find myself smiling when I hear it.”

Therefore it is the act of experiencing the photograph, rather than the subject itself that makes Uta Barth work so unique.Her signature unfocused photographs invite the viewers to make their own interpretations, thus creating a unique meaning that is personal to the viewer. Therefore, the majority of her work uses the theme of involving the viewer by challenging their preconceptions in order to find a focus on the image and creating a ‘feeling of familiarity’.

 

Barths work managed to effectively convey a mood and atmosphere that has an element of familiarity, thus giving the location a meaning. For example this image Ground 95.6 creates a tranquil and calm atmosphere that radiates warmth.  Someone once described the photograph as “a place untouched by human influence that belongs only to nature, and I can almost feel the heat of the sun and hear water moving at my feet.” 

I completely agree with this statement and I can fully relate to what they are saying. The gentle warmth of green alongside the angelic glow of white creates a heavenly vibe that seems untouched and un-ruined by human influence. Yet it almost suggests that our human influence has caused nature to fade away. To the extent that we need to help the environment before we can no longer see it. 

On the contrary, Barth has the skill of creating the sense of familiarity within her work. As the unclear background creates the feeling of a forgotten memory that you can only remember small detail to. Thus creating a unique bond between the viewer and photo.

To see more of Uta Barths Photographs go to her website: http://utabarth.net/

10 Home Remedies for Seasonal Affective Disorder - Comments

"Last winter i bought a salt lamp. It has worked wonders for my well being in general.A Himalayan Salt Lamp is made from a chunk of salt crystal rock that was taken from the salt mines found in underground caves in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. The Himalayan salt lamp makes use of the minerals that have been preserved for millions of years, releasing their special properties through the introduction of heat from an electric bulb or from the flame of a candle. These special properties emitted from the Salt Lamp are responsible for promoting the health and wellness of individuals via ionization of the air and the eradication of pollution. The special properties of the Himalayan Salt Lamp consist of negatively charged ions that act on the contaminants in the air by neutralizing them and weighing them down so they can no longer circulate. When this occurs, individuals can breathe more easily and many ailments and allergies that frequently afflict them start to disappear. Having the light on in the evenings is also really comforting in the cooler months. Mine only cost about $40AUS, worth every cent." - Kara

"I have this in reverse. I know it sounds really strange but it’s true. I live in Brisbane, Australia, where summer is really, really hot – the heat in the middle of the day almost makes me panic. I get depressed in summer! How weird is THAT? It is summer here now and my remedy is to talk a walk around the city around 5 pm when I finish work and it has cooled down, the air is fragrant and the city is suddenly beautiful." - Jenny 

"I second the Himalayan Salt lamp. I have one and I LOVE it. It is beautiful and I can feel a shift in the energy of the room when I turn it on, especially if I am having a “down” day. I also love yoga and Nia. Another thing, the writer of this blog, Julia mentioned is getting outside. Sometimes, this isn’t really possible in the winter so I take a vitamin D supplement and find that to be helpful." - Ashley

"Exercise is key for me at this time of year, and I think it is important to note (at least in my experience) that it has to be some cardio everyday, getting your heart rate revving to give the best mood-lifting results. In the past I’ve tried just walking everyday but it just doesn’t do the same." - Amanda

"I use a full spectrum light, it mimics the sun so it’s like natural sun light. You can buy light boxes that have full spectrum lights in them online" - Sylwia

"I have had a history of SAD and moderate depression at other times of year. Some years back, I stumbled upon an article about the connection between sunlight deprivation, vitamin D deficiency, and mood. Because I’m a stay at home mom often tethered to her desk, I don’t get to enjoy what little sunlight we occasionally have during our long, bleak, Dickensian Midwestern summers. I have found combining a regimen that includes vitamin D, St. John’s Wort, omega-3 and other fatty acids, exercise, and tons of sleep keeps me alert, motivated, and able to home school my babes. I like the bone building stack that comes in Schiff’s Super Calcium 1200 with Vitamin D http://www.schiffvitamins.com/product_detail.asp?id=54. I like that the serving size is two softgels. I only take one, and get the rest from my diet. I also use a full spectrum light, like Sylvia mentioned above, and it has been a miracle worker!" - Jackeline

"After being diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, my doctor instructed that I get out in the sunlight for at least half an hour each morning. After about a month of this treatment, I was feeling much better, but the Missouri weather was getting colder and colder. After resraching the top rated SAD lights (source: http://www.lighttherapyreviews.net/ ), I finally switched to using a full spectrum lamp on cold mornings, though I still prefer the sun most of the year. I’d like to attest that both strategies work very well, and my Seasonal Affective Disorder hasn’t come back since!" - Herb

10 Home Remedies for Seasonal Affective Disorder

1. Get your daily dose of sunlight.

I know it sounds difficult (especially to me, I love my sleep) but try and pull yourself out of bed a little bit early each day, allowing yourself some morning sunlight time – go for a run, take a walk, ride your bike, it’s up to you.  If you can’t get out in the morning (or if it’s still dark when you wake up), make an effort to take a lunch break and sit outside for a bit during the day. The added time in the sun (even if it’s cold out!) will work wonders for your mental well-being.

2. Exercise!

Getting your heart rate up and breaking a sweat is a sure way to raise serotonin and endorphin levels – this will be especially beneficial if you do it in the morning.

3. Eat foods containing tryptophan. 

Many who suffer from seasonal depression experience decreased levels of serotonin, the brain’s neurotransmitter.  Tryptophan is an amino acid known to be a precursor of serotonin, so eating foods that contain it may increase your body’s production of serotonin, thus making you feel better. Turkey (get a nice dosage of this on Thursday!), spinach, bananas, seafood, and egg whites are rich in tryptophan.

4. Cut back on stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and carbs.

They might make you feel better short-term but with every high comes a low, and these can lead to mood swings that can deepen your depression.

5. Fill your home with light.

Open up the blinds and let those rays in – not only will they act as a natural form of warmth in your home but every added bit of light you can bring into your home will go a long way.

6. DIY time!

Now that you’re not spending every waking moment outdoors, you have plenty of time to get crafting. 

7. Use essential oils.

Essential oils can be powerful mood-lifters. Jasmine oil is a great anti-depressant that stimulates beta brain wave activity and can make you feel euphoric.  Citric oils like lemon can also stimulate the autonomic nervous system and have a similar effect.

8. The warmth of color.

Wear and surround yourself with warm colors. Yellow, orange, and red can stimulate your mood greatly!

9. Try something new.

Enroll in a class that interests you – whether it is yoga, photography, cooking, you name it! It will give you something to look forward to and take your mind off the gloomy winter days.

10. Laugh out loud!

Laughter is the best medicine – it may sound simple but it’s so true! Laughter stimulates endorphins much like exercise. Take some time to watch your favorite sitcom or comedy films and let yourself laugh out loud. It’s the easiest and most effective way to make yourself feel better!

Information Source: Home Remedies for Seasonal Affective Disorder http://blog.freepeople.com/2012/11/10-home-remedies-seasonal-affective-disorder/#ixzz48F4tV8oU

The One Show - What Is SAD?

What Is A Zines?

A Zine is usually a non-commercial, non-professional publication, kind of like a magazine but with a twist. The main difference between a magazine and a zine is that zines are not out there to make a profit but, rather, to add other, often unheard voices into the mix. Zines are usually made out of interest and passion and are often self-published by the writer/artist/creator. Typically zines are made using collage techniques and are then photocopied since these are means available to almost everyone.

Zines provide a voice to all; outside of the mainstream, of alternatives, from the underground, the margins of society. The majority of the current publications out there offer only a narrow perspective, and zines are the natural antidote to that, especially since anyone can make them. A Collection X zine makes sense because it connects something which has many zine-qualities: Collection X (openness, anyone can use it etc) with a tangible item (the zine itself) and provide a real-world link for Collection X. The AGO Youth Council also uses zines as a medium of expression to communicate on its projects. It appeals to youth because it is much more honest in its intentions.

Before zines became what they are today there was an amateur press movement in which publications were created by people who then distributed them to a larger group of people through mail. Many of the first zines were science fiction fanzines created in the 1920s and 1930s through which science fiction fans would speculate and discuss various topics. Later on, in the 1950s with the Beatnik era, poets and other artists would make small leaflets with their poems as means of self promotion. Many avant-garde movements, including the Dadaists and the Situationists, also self-published pamphlets and manifestos. The 70s saw punk zines being created as part of the punk movement and in the spirit of the DIY (do it yourself) culture that came along with it. In the 80s, a zine called Factsheet 5 began reviewing zines, thus creating a somewhat more formal zine scene. In the 90s, many zines were made as part of the Riot Grrl movement.

Today, zines are still being made, by all sorts of people on all sorts of topics, ranging for comics to radical politics to stories for children to personal zines to literary reviews to teapot collections. Many of these zines are sold in alternative stores but many are also distributed through distribution centres that stock a bunch of zines you can order. There are even a few zine libraries as well; in Toronto this includes the Toronto Zine Library located in the Tranzac at Bloor and Brunswick, and the OCAD zine library located in OCAD.

Source of Information: http://artmatters.ca/wp/2008/08/what-is-a-zine/#sthash.qOJ3Lsdv.dpuf
The OACD Zine Library: http://zinesforlunch.blogspot.co.uk/

Drawing With a Sewing Machine

Today I tried drawing with a sewing machine for the first time. At first I was scared of the thought of having a fast moving needle near my fingers but once I got used to using a sewing machine I found it to be quite a fun and relaxing experience. So because of this I would like to continue trying new techniques with the sewing the machine as its and new and interesting technique for me to use within my illustrations.

To the right is my first attempt with a sewing machine from today.

Camera Obscura

The Latin Words 'camera obscura' can be roughly translated to darkened room or chamber. A camera obscura is created when a small hole or aperture is made in a darkened space, producing an inverted image or the scene outside onto an opposite surface within.

This phenomenon has helped to prove that light travels straight lines. A lens is used to increase the brightness and sharpness of the image. Camera obscura have been use as an aid to drawing and, particularly during the Victorian era, a popular form of entertainment.

Below are images from when from when we re-created the camera obscura as a part of photography week. (not my own images)

Feedback 2

• Try working with camera obscura
• Look up cynotype

     (Both involve sun - would relate well to project)

• Look at sun dials
• Displaying drawings in windows - photograph work in situation
• Colour film exposed to sun

Gemma Anderson: Patients and Portraits

Drawing Projects: An Exploration of the Language of Drawing' by Jack Southern and Mick Maslen, Published by Black Dog, London 2011.

To read all the pages on Gemma Anderson go to: 
http://www.gemma-anderson.co.uk/Assets/publications/drawing-projects-interview.pdf

Portraits: Patients and Psychiatrists, by Gemma Anderson, Wellcome Trust Arts Award 2010

To read the whole whole book go to:
http://www.gemma-anderson.co.uk/Assets/publications/Patients-and-Portraits.pdf

Click on this link - http://www.gemma-anderson.co.uk/Assets/work/wellcome%20essay.pdf - to read an essay on her project 'Portraits: Patients and Psychiatrists' by Dr Tim Mclnerny, Forensic Psychiatrist, Bethlem Royal Hospital.

The Benefits of Vitamim D

Sunshine Vitamin:

While you’re catching some rays this summer, think about vitamin D. Sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because it’s produced in your skin in response to sunlight. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin in a family of compounds that includes vitamins D1, D2, and D3. It can affect as many as 2,000 genes in the body.

Uses and Benefits:

Vitamin D has several important functions. Perhaps the most vital are regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, and facilitating normal immune system function. Getting a sufficient amount of the vitamin is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against certain diseases.

If your body doesn't get enough vitamin D, you're at risk of developing bone abnormalities such as osteomalacia (soft bones) or osteoporosis (fragile bones).

D Fights Disease:

In addition to its primary benefits, research suggests that vitamin D may also play a role in:

• reducing your risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
• decreasing your chance of developing heart disease, according to 2008 findings published in Circulation
• helping to reduce your likelihood of developing the flu, according to 2010 research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

How Do You Get It?

Your body produces vitamin D naturally through direct exposure to sunlight. A little can go a long way: just 10 minutes a day of mid-day sun exposure is plenty, especially if you're fair-skinned.

Besides getting vitamin D through sunlight, you can also get it through certain foods and supplements. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that you obtain vitamin D from all three of these sources in order to ensure adequate levels of the vitamin in your blood.

Beware of "D-ficiency"

Many lifestyle and environmental factors can affect your ability your ability to get sufficient mounts of this vitamin through the sun alone. These factors include:

• pollution
• use of sunscreen
• spending more time indoors
• working longer hours in offices
• living in big cities where buildings block sunlight

These factors contribute to vitamin D deficiency in an increasing number of people. That's why it's important to get some of your vitamin D from sources besides sunlight.

Food Sources of D:

Although few foods contain vitamin D naturally, some foods are fortified with it, which means that the vitamin is added to the food. Foods that contain vitamin D include:

• salmon
• sardines
• egg yolk
• shrimp
• milk (fortified)
• cereal (fortified)
• yogurt (fortified)
• orange juice (fortified)

It can be hard to get enough vitamin D each day through sun exposure and food alone, so taking vitamin D supplements can help.

How Much Do You Need?

There has been some controversy over the amount of vitamin D needed for healthy functioning. Recent research indicates that we need more vitamin D than was once thought.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) reports new intake recommendations (based on international units - IUs - per day):

• children and teens: 600 IU
• adults up to age 70: 600 IU
• adults over age 70: 800 IU
• pregnant or breastfeeding women: 600 IU

Meet Your Needs for D:

Some sources suggest that considerably higher daily amounts of vitamin D - as high as 2000 IU per day - are needed. The NIH emphasizes that people over age 50 generally need higher amounts of vitamin D than younger people do.

Although the exact amount may be in question, the importance of vitamin D is not. Talk to your doctor for guidance on how to ensure you get the right amount for your needs.

Source of Information: http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/benefits-vitamin-d#Uses2

Olafur Eliasson: Playing with Space and Light

I enjoyed listening to this TED Talk because of his ideas and the way he thinks. But you also get a great sense of his passion for art through the way in which he asks questions as to why and who he is doing it who for, and how it will effect them. I believe these are the types of questions I need to be asking myself throughout this project as it will help to think about what I am doing to become more focused.

Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson was born in 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark of Icelandic parentage. He attended the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen from 1989 to 1995. He currently lives and works in Berlin.

Throughout Eliassons career his has used the basic elements of the weather - water, light, temperture, pressure - as his materials. His installations regularly present elements appropriated from nature - billowing steam replicating a water geyser, glistening rainbows or fog -filled rooms. By introducing ‘natural’ phenomena, such as water, mist or light, into an un specifically cultivated setting, be it a city street or an art gallery, the artist encourages the viewer to reflect upon their understanding and perception of the physical world that surrounds them. This moment of perception, when the viewer pauses to consider what they are experiencing, has been described by Eliasson as ‘seeing yourself sensing’.

In this installation, The Weather Project, representations of the sun and sky dominate the expanses of the Turbine Hall. A fine mist permeates the space, as if creeping in from the environment outside. Throughout the day, the mist accumulates into faint, cloud-like formations, before dissipating across the space. A glance overhead, to see where the mist might escape, reveals that the ceiling of the Turbine Hall has disappeared, replaced by a reflection of the space below. At the far end of the hall is a giant semi-circular form made up of hundreds of mono-frequency lamps. The arc repeated in the mirror overhead produces a sphere of dazzling radiance linking the real space with the reflection. Generally used in street lighting, mono-frequency lamps emit light at such a narrow frequency that colours other than yellow and black are invisible, thus transforming the visual field around the sun into a vast duotone landscape.

Information Source: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/unilever-series-olafur-eliasson-weather-project/olafur-eliasson-weather-project

Feedback

Georges Feedback:

• Research - Art of Scandinavia Andrew Gramham Dixon - talks about light
• Research - Olafur Eliason The Weather Project - see also TED Talks
• Consider light within your project
• Working on transparent materials that let light in
• See illustrator Gemma Anderson
• See artists Pipiloti Rist, Nancy Holt, James Turrell

Eves Feedback:

• Think about going big/create an atmosphere
• Create a space to walk into 
• Use UV bulbs
• Create a warm/inviting environment 
• Think/research into the benefits of vitamin D
• Why do people thrive sunlight so much?

Karas Feedback:

• Experiment with the use of lighting and drawing by using a torch and other sources of light
• Perhaps think about the atmosphere you want to create 
• Try writing down different reactions to the subject
  

Survey Questions:

1. What would you define as 'Happiness'?
2. When are you at your most happiest?
3. Where are you happiest?
4. What cheers you up when you're feeling sad?
5. What do you find relaxing?
6. Which colours represent the feeling of happiness?

If you are reading this blog then please can you take the time to answer these questions in the comments as this will help with my research.

Hector and the Search for Happiness: The List

1. Making comparisons can spoil your happiness
2. Happiness often comes when least expected
3. Many people only see happiness in their future
4. Many people think happiness comes from having more power or more money
5. Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story
6. Happiness is a long walk in beautiful, unfamiliar mountains
7. It’s a mistake to think that happiness is the goal
8. Happiness is being with the people you love; unhappiness is being separated from the people you love
9. Happiness is knowing that your family lacks for nothing
10. Happiness is doing a job you love
11. Happiness is having a home and a garden of your own
12. It’s harder to be happy in a country run by bad people
13. Happiness is feeling useful to others
14. Happiness is to be loved for exactly who you are (People are kinder to a child who smiles)
15. Happiness comes when you feel truly alive
16. Happiness is knowing how to celebrate
17. Happiness is caring about the happiness of those you love
18. Happiness is not attaching too much importance to what other people think
19. The sun and the sea make everybody happy
20. Happiness is a certain way of seeing things
21. Rivalry poisons happiness
22. Women care more than men about making others happy
23. Happiness means making sure that those around you are happy

Hector and the Search for Happiness

Source for more movie clips:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hector+and+the+search+for+happiness+movie+clips

Martin Seligman: The new era of positive psychology

Meyer-Lavigne

Meyer-Lavigne is a Danish design duo - Kristine Meyer and Sabine  Lavigne - situated in Copenhagen.The pair work with a variety of materials, including ceramics, textiles, wood and print. "Meyer-Lavigne has a quirky, delicate, poetic and amusing style which often expresses a sense of humour. Joinly the different products create a wonderful universe of odd beings, friendly souls an fairytale images.   

”We believe it is important in today’s society to be surrounded by items that have been given time and consideration.” The materials used, the sensual and the “presence of hands” is always a high priority, just as the quirky and surprising elements that tickle our curiosity, inspire us to continue the delicate tale of Meyer-Lavigne.

To read more about them go to: http://meyerlavigne.dk/about/#more-6

 

SAD - Webmd.com

Anyone can get SAD, but it's more common in:

• Women.
• People who live far from the equator, where winter daylight hours are very short.
• People between the ages of 15 and 55. The risk of getting SAD for the first time goes down as you age.
• People who have a close relative with SAD.

More information on: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/tc/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad-topic-overview

SAD - Mind.org.uk

"For years I suffered from depression. It started in the autumn, as the evenings drew in. By Christmas, I would be so low that I could barely get out of bed… One year, I felt so bad that I went to bed on Christmas Eve and refused to move."

"I first started feeling low in the winter months in my late 20s… Now, every autumn when the clocks change, I feel like I’m being buried alive. I want to hide away and hibernate until it’s all over."

"I find keeping warm makes me feel better. I go to the gym – I do a short work out, around fifteen minutes and then sit in the sauna. Ten minutes in there and a nice shower and I feel a lot better."

For Information go to: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/seasonal-affective-disorder/#.VwubMOIrKUk

Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian, one of the founders of the Dutch modern movement De Stijl, is recognized for the purity of his abstractions and methodical practice by which he arrived at them. He radically simplified the elements of his paintings to reflect what he saw as the spiritual order underlying the visible world, creating a clear, universal aesthetic language within his canvases. In his best known paintings from the 1920s, Mondrian reduced his shapes to lines and rectangles and his palette to fundamental basics pushing past references to the outside world toward pure abstraction. His use of asymmetrical balance and a simplified pictorial vocabulary were crucial in the development of modern art, and his iconic abstract works remain influential in design and familiar in popular culture to this day.

 

Source of Information/Photograph: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm

 Key Ideas:

• A theorist and writer, Mondrian believed that art reflected the underlying spirituality of nature. He simplified the subjects of his paintings down to the most basic elements, in order to reveal the essence of the mystical energy in the balance of forces that governed nature and the universe.
• Mondrian chose to distill his representations of the world to their basic vertical and horizontal elements, which represented the two essential opposing forces: the positive and the negative, the dynamic and the static, the masculine and the feminine. The dynamic balance of his compositions reflect what he saw as the universal balance of these forces.
• Mondrian's singular vision for modern art is clearly demonstrated in the methodical progression of his artistic style from traditional representation to complete abstraction. His paintings evolve in a logical manner, and clearly convey the influence of various modern art movements such as Luminism, Impressionism, and most importantly, Cubism.
• Mondrian, and the artists of De Stijl, advocated pure abstraction and a pared down palette in order to express a utopian ideal of universal harmony in all of the arts. By using basic forms and colors, Mondrian believed that his vision of modern art would transcend divisions in culture and become a new common language based in the pure primary colors, flatness of forms, and dynamic tension in his canvases.
• Mondrian's book on Neo-Plasticism became one of the key documents of abstract art. In it, he detailed his vision of artistic expression in which "plastic" simply referred to the action of forms and colors on the surface of the canvas as a new method for representing modern reality.