All my postcards were made from photos at the The Bitter End coffee shop near downtown Grand Rapids. Coffee shops have always been a good place for people within a community to form smaller communities, therefore I thought it would be an appropriate place to express the “Big Idea” of community. My definition of community is a group of people who share something; whether it be memories, living space, similar interests, or common goals.
Postcard one represents my own memories within a community. I often meet with friends at coffee shops to have deep and meaningful conversations. Those relationships and conversations have greatly influenced who I am and how I think. When I return to the same coffee shop, I not only see the shop itself but the memories I made there as well. The photos on the wall have been replaced with my own pictures to represent the experiences that could be attached to the coffee shop community.
Postcard two is more of a surreal image that suggests shared dreams or activities. In a concrete sense, communities include things such as pools and vehicles. Communities may also use things such as tires and swimming rings as tools for recreation or everyday life. A coffee shop may offer the same type of recreation to an adult as a pool would to a child. Either way, they are all experiences that are created with other people.
Postcard three includes the statement “everyone is the same in different ways.” This phrase describes an abstract way of thinking about community. No two people within the community are exactly the same, yet the community as a whole is formed by similarities. The same phrase can be applied to coffee or coffee shops in general. Not every shop is the same, and not every brew of coffee is the same, yet all coffee shops serve their customers and share a similar purpose.
Living within a community is both a personal and universal experience. The world is a community broken down into smaller and smaller communities. Where someone finds community depends upon their own perception and needs. For me, coffee has been a useful tool for creating and maintaining community with those around me.
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| Postcard #1 |
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| Postcard #2 |
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| Postcard #3 |
Hi, Amanda. How are you? First one a go go. I enjoy the subtle use of those photographs within the frames. It's a nice conceptual idea that makes the technical change easy and understandable.
ReplyDeleteHA! I didn't even notice them until a second look around, very nice technical skill exampled in the cutting and pasting of those pool toys. Also, a fun image conceptually. The only thing is the color makes them stand out a little more than they should.
Perfect phrase for you concept and the imagery. I mean people are like coffee, the same in different ways. Love it, very nice. Only problem I have is that phrase seems a little too standout-ish. Just a few more blending tricks needed to make it look perfect.
OH MAN I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE TIRES! That's Awe-Some. Also, they look delicious.
Deletelol. I agree, the tires look delicious.
ReplyDeleteBig Idea: communities and relationships
ReplyDeleteThe postcard I am most drawn to is the first one. I like that I can actually see the relationships and community that is formed within this public location. I also like that this seems realistic to me because I have seen small shops that have images of people in their community on the walls. Your third postcard is also very successful. I can see every point that you explained within the image itself.
I think your least successful postcard is the second one. I don't necessarily see the connection of the hopes and dreams in the items. I think a way to address this would be to change the labels on the baskets to say things like "Hopes" and "Dreams," or even "Conversations" and "Ideas." This may get the big idea across a little bit better than just putting the objects in the baskets.
Your big idea, community, comes through the best for me in the third image. It sums up the idea of individuals in a larger community very wall, especially because of all the different types of coffee. The first post card is excellently pieced together. Wonder who showed you those reflection tools!! ;) The second post card is playful, but is the most difficult to connect for me.
ReplyDeletehi ( :
ReplyDeleteI think that your technological proficiency is really nice. Everything is seamed together really well, nothing stands out too much like a stark cut and paste. So visually, everything is really good.
Conceptually, I think that the second postcard is the weakest in terms of portraying your Big Idea. Not that it's bad, it just stretches the idea a little bit and so makes the message a little different than what you intend I think.
The statement you have with your third postcard is perfect! It's all coffee, but they have different flavors. Very clever......i get it.
BYE
Community
ReplyDeleteI think the first image is interesting, I like the way you made this coffee shop as your own. Like your own Cheers.
Your third image is interesting, and the words relate well to the image. The coffee makers sorta look like people.
Hii Amanda :) Your big idea seems to be about community, and you have used pictures of a coffee shop to illustrate your ideas. I think your first image integrates your personal pictures into it very well, but to me it seems to be more about relationships than it does about community. Although, community is about relationships, so maybe I will change my mind. The second image is really interesting to me; I almost wish you had continued this idea into more of the baskets, just because to have a lot of familiar things that would represent community would help show your big idea better. The third image is my favorite – I think you have made a really interesting observation about the relationship between types of coffees and types of people, and the text is integrated really well.
ReplyDeletebig idea= community relationships
ReplyDeletei think that all of your postcards relate to your big idea and to each other very well. the image word postcard really hits home though, it shows that coffee is coffee just like humans are humans, but they can all be different while still being the same. i enjoy it!
I really enjoy your series. I love that they all relate in a whole series. Im not sure if they all form the big idea of community, but then again that is a broad subject. All of your images create great meaning, and draw the viewer in. I really enjoy the second one because of how close the forms of the new objects are to the forms of what the label say. This is very pleasing. The other two have great ideas that I can relate to community and personal life.
ReplyDeleteNow for my real comment... you big idea is community but I don't really get that so much. it seems more personal. Your big idea seems to be more like relationships to me. Maybe they go together. I think all of your images are all wonderful. I love how you changed your personal images with the images that used to be there. It really makes the coffee house seem more like you personal house. However, I feel like the use of only your personal images takes away from your big idea of community. Your basket image makes me think of segregation in different communities. The quote in your last postcard is nice in front of the different kinds of coffee. It is good to think about how much we call have in common rather than focusing on all the different tastes.
ReplyDelete