User:Johnstephens

bio
I'm John Stephens. I guess this page is gonna be all about me and my work. So that's cool. I'm currently in the video program at the Art Institute of Seattle and that's going pretty well so far. I work and live in Everett and that's okay too. I think I like Seattle more, but who can afford to live there? Anyways, there will be more on this page soon... probably.

in-class writing
Ah the first of the in class writing. That was a pretty sweet "Art Trek" actually. It wasn't a horrible weather day which helped out. There's quite a lot of art along the way that's not even mentioned on paper. Seattle's is a really cool looking city by the way. Now, on to the questions. First off, I think all of the art was "public" as in free for everyone to enjoy. Except I guess for the large untitled canvas. That was clearly visible but I'm sure that lobby is closed at times with asshole security guards. Secondly, everything was art. I think just about anything that is made has a certain art to it, wether it's good or not is a totally different question. Lastly, I found the fairly new "red squid" next to the aquarium pretty boss. Other than that just the variety of the buildings is wonderful. I must look like a tourist just about every time I go walking in Seattle because I'm always looking up at the buildings like it's the first time i've seen a building taller than three stories.

reflective assessment
All in all I really enjoyed the class. I didn't really even know what the Humanities course was going to be about when the quarter started up. I learned pretty quick that the teacher was pretty laid back and awesome. I seem to learn much more from instructors like this. I found a lot of the videos we watched very interesting. Provocative enough that I actually sought them out after class to further expand on my viewing experience. "Wizard People, Dear Reader" comes to mind. That crazy ass's voice is hilarious.

I'm also a huge fan of the discussion aspect of the class. I felt like I could comment on the subject at hand at just about any time and that comment would be acknowledged. We weren't stressed about reading assignments and quizzes and I think I learned much more in that respect.

I feel like I participated in everything we we're doing. Even walking down to Pioneer Square to see a rare and live street performance. Sometimes I wish I had more to say during the class discussions but most of the time what I was going to say was brought up eventually. I wish for my final that I actually got to post more sheets and that they could have stayed up longer. For the few that did survive I'll continue to monitor them and see if they ever get a review.

Public art is much more present to me. I always did enjoy public sculptures or paintings and things of that matter. However, I think I learned/realized that there is much more to public art to just the approved, paid-for, corporate, and legal public art. This subject is intriguing to me. I don't know that I will actively try to learn new and crazy things about it specifically, but I do think that it will be in my conscious mind from now on.