Component 2

A Rorschach test (also known as inkblot test) is a psychological test where people's perceptions of the shapes inkblots are recorded and analysed.  The results of inkblots can be used to determine a variety of characteristics; such as personality and emotional functioning. It can also detect any underlying though disorders, which is disorganised thinking by disorganised speech. For example, thought blocking or illogicality.  The process of an inkblot test follows 10 inkblots printed on cards (5 of which are in black and white and 5 in colour. This test was used primarily many years ago, but it is still used today but rarely.  The results aren't often just the response the individual gives on what they see on the inkblot. It can also be influenced on the time taken before the individual provides a response, as well as any other comments they may make based on the inkblot. 

To do this technique, I dripped large amounts of paint onto the canvas. I did this so when I spread the paint there would be different amounts of paint on the paper in different areas, making a 3D and rough texture on the canvas.  At first, I applied the paint with the brush directly. However this way the brushstrokes would be even and controlled and therefore wouldn't give the thick 3D texture I want in my piece. I then used a sharp edge to scratch into the wet paint, creating lines that replicated a sound wave on the piece.  Keeping the paint thick on the canvas would also make the scratches deeper, creating more of a texture when the scratches are placed. This technique is inspired by the artist Zachary Brown. I feel this technique provides my work with the appropriate texture, line and pattern that will make my project effective. With the addition of sound waves in this piece, it gives my work an appropriate meaning to show the important to s...

To do this, I created a shape of water and splashed ink onto the paper. The ink will then move with the water and with more colours added, blend and move together to create the shape made by the water. I feel this makes the ink move in a way that is unique and abstract.  While experimenting with colours, some of the ink blends together in the piece while some of the ink separates in lines forming a type of barrier between the two colours. The ink, when placed in water creates different tones depending on how much the ink dilutes into the water. I experimented with the same colour to see what different tones I can create with just one colour, as well as several combination of colours as well as all together to try and find colours that will blend well together.    At first, I experimented with the technique by putting ink into the water as a dot, which then expands and dilutes with the water as it moves. The water was spla...

Freud's Iceberg model represents the configuration of the mind. In the model, there are 3 levels of the iceberg (the consciousness).  Conscious (small): Part of the mind that you are aware of. Contains the thoughts and perceptions you experience in daily life. Preconscious (small-medium): Ordinary memory such as knowledge or memories. Can be brought into the conscious.  Unconscious (enormous): The part of the mind that is not accessible to the conscious (awareness). This stores the feelings about urges. anxiety, conflict and pain. They influence all of our actions. It also holds the Id, ego and superego.  Id: Functions the basic needs and feelings of the mind. (Too much = self-gratification and the uncaring of others). Ego: Develops the awareness that you cant always get what you want. (Too much = extremely rational but cold and distant). Superego: the moral. Stores and enforces the rules and strives for perfection. (Too much = feels guilty all the tim...

False memory is a psychological phenomenon where a person recalls something that did not happen.  This could happen for several reasons.  Someone could be spreading information, where details are altered as it is spread around so people have incorrect information.  Memories may get scrambled inside of the memory so details are switched/lost, therefore people lose the memory of what really happened.  Some may have mental illnesses which can affect their memories. These can also be altered with trauma. False memory was investigated by Pierre Janet and Sigmund Freud. They wrote The Aetiology of Hysteria. This was represented in April 1986 and describes the sexual abuse in children below the age of puberty and its possible causation of mental illness and false memories in adults.  False memory syndrome is an illness that affects someones mentality in day to day life as false memory has taken over them. False memory can tie into many mental disorders...

How we remember:  Visually: Thinking of the image of the object. Acoustically: Thinking or hearing the word of the object. Semantically: Thinking of the meaning of the object. Once a memory has been encoded, a link is created leading to the memory. This link can be triggered by cues of any of the 5 senses (see,touch,hear,taste or smell). This cue can be anything. For example, a toy could remind you of a childhood memory, or a piece of music can remind you of another memory related to it. These memories could link to a particular positive or negative emotion.   How we forget:  There are 5 main reasons as to why we forget memories. Retrieval failure: Retrieval failure is the most common reason for forgetting. It is the failure to retrieve or recall a memory due to missing stimuli that were present when it was encoded into the memory. These are sometimes temporarily forgotten, they can be remembered if given the proper cue to trigger the memor...

I experimented with different mediums and materials to create different effects. The subject I chose is a cone, this is because it has a variety of different texture however you feel it. For example, if you drag your finger downwards, it has a smooth texture whereas if you drag your finger upwards it has a rougher texture. The section I decided to draw for all my pieces is this: All of these were quick observational drawings that took around 1-2 minutes, excluding the time it takes to prep the materials. I decided to make them quick so they were uncontrolled and therefore all unique in the lines and textures. Making them quick also helped me try out more techniques in less time.  For my first experiment, I used a simple 2B pencil and paper with my dominant (right) hand to create this drawing. Paper is a smooth texture, so it is a contrast to some textures that can be created with pencil. With pencil you can create many different marks and textures si...

There are two types of memory that we have; Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory. Short Term Memory  (STM): Stores information temporarily that is recieved from the senses (touch, smell, sound, etc). It is the memory that is actively changing in our mind, its where we remember a conversation we are currently having, etc.  There is a maximum of 5-9 units of information stored in the STM, and that information in the STM stays for a maximum of 30 seconds before being lost. A way to improve STM is by repetition. For example, if you continue to read a piece of information constantly that piece will eventually be transferred to the LTM to remember longer.  STM is mostly remembered acoustically (sound; will be explained in blog post How we remember/forget memories ).  Long Term Memory (LTM): Information that is stored in the STM can sometimes be transferred to the LTM. It stores memory longer; for either a few days or even a whole lifetime. Currently, there...

When people first think of extinct, many instantly go to the animals. However, more than just animals can go extinct.  Extinct means to disappear; things such as the past and memories are such things that can disappear and therefore, go extinct. I wish to move away from animals for the time being and instead focus on the word 'extinct' and its meanings. I will research into memories as a unique way of meaning extinction compared to animals. 

Extinction hits species for many different reasons other than mass extinctions. Some can be man made, while others are just part of the natural life cycle that occurs between the populace of predator and prey.   Some such animals have gone extinct that many don't even know about. For example, two animals from Christmas Island last year had gone extinct. These animals are: Christmas Island Pipstrelle: Species of bat found in Christmas Island, Australia. Christmas Island Whiptail-Skink: Species of skink (Lizard) found in Christmas Island, Australia. These became extinct for a number of reasons that IUCN had highlighted during their research. These reasons go from the introduction of new predatory species to those who are destroying their habitat for personal gain. Some of the reasons animals can become extinct narrow down to: Diseases in the species (e.g. bird flu and other harming illnesses that made the populace decreas...

"Drawing is taking a line for a walk." - Paul Klee Based on this quote, I created a response that I felt represented the journey a line can take an artist through mark making. In this piece, I used a variety of techniques to create as many different marks and textures as I could using the same material. I used the same material of chalk and black and white paper surfaces to see the difference in contrast between the colours and marks.  Overall, I feel the black paper shows the colour contrast more than the white paper, despite using the same colours.  I used several techniques to achieve the lines and marks in the piece with the chalk. I used chalk on a string to create the lines. Using string makes the lines become less controlled than drawing by hand, making it seem less like the artist is creating the lines and more like the lines are creating themselves. I also threw chalk onto the paper, creating explosion of colour and texture on the page which is u...

What causes extinctions? There are several threats of extinction for species in the world. Disease. Predators (wolf, lion, etc). Disturbance of habitat (man made or climate change). Chemicals (such as insecticide to control other populations). Mass extinctions are the wide spread and rapid decrease of biodiversity on earth. Currently, there are 5 mass extinctions recorded from 375 million years ago to present. 5 mass extinctions  End Ordovian: 444 million years ago, 86% of species lost. Late Devonian: 375 million years ago, 75% of species lost. End Permin: 251 million years ago, 96% of species lost. End Triassic: 200 million years ago, 80% of species lost. End Cretaceous: 66 million years ago, 76% of species lost. What causes mass extinctions? There are 4 theories that scientists have created to explain the mass extinctions. Catastrophic methane release: The release of methane gas that causes a temperature rise. It is caused by Methane Clathrat...

To monitor the status of how likely an animal is to become extinct, there are people who work together to record the population levels of species and compare it to previous records to see if the population has increased or reduced. Based on the threshold of which the population number has reached, the species moves onto different levels of conservation status. The group that works with conservation status is called the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Programme. The program works with IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). They have been assessing conversation statuses of species for the past 50 years to highlight any organisms threatened with extinction and work to prevent it. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is one of the most comprehensive, objected global approach for evaluating the conservation statuses of plant and animal species. To date, there have been more than 76,000 species that has been assessed for the Red List....