My experience with the Visual essay

Creating the visual essay was in fact an experience I have not done before. Usually I am confined to sitting at a desk with pencil in hand and paper to finish an assignment for English class but I really enjoyed the new aspect of going out and using pictures as words. I thought it was challenging because for my particular project I had to take pictures of Homecoming events which were at certain times at certain days so I had to make sure I was present. Also it was an interesting experiment to play with the angles at which pictures were taken and to test the different lighting. I took some from above standing on a bench, or from the side to also get the designs that are on the side of objects as well. I enjoyed seeing the different types of art in which the students created such as the sculptures of tissue papers (pomp) or from can goods (can-gineering). There were other public art forms like Buzz entertaining people, people’s clothing, and the band parade.  It was great to actually see the different types of art in person instead of merely reading about them in class. It was indeed a neat experience and I am able to show the art instead of describing them with words. After finding the different public art, the next step was to selectively compile the pictures. Because homecoming was a weeklong with events that happened on a timed schedule throughout the week, I decided to organize the pictures in the order of when the events happened. This helped to give my presentation a flow and a connection between the pictures. Finding the theme of the pictures was a journey within itself as well. I knew broadly that my pictures were going to be linked with the homecoming theme but in the beginning I was also going to argue how the artwork displays the traditions and history of Tech. Then about midway I changed it into how public art is effective in displaying current events and letting the public know what is going on. Also, I noticed that I was not the only one taking pictures of the public art displayed. Many people were seen right next to me with their cameras out taking pictures as well.