Week 5

Assignment:
-The assignment was to come up with an idea for the new project and take pictures that would help convey the intended message.

Craft:
-Before taking any pictures I did some brainstorming to figure out what is it that I want to say with my art. It took some time for me to come up with an idea, but as I was walking the dog I was stuck with an idea. I remembered that a couple of months ago the Cook County Board had a bill that they were going to vote on; this bill was about mandating dog owners to have their pets neutered. Having this opportunity I would like to voice my opinion on this issue. Having figured out what my central idea was going to be I went out and took pictures that would help me get my point across. I visited a couple of stores were puppies were sold and took pictures of them behind the cages. The purpose of these images is to create an emotional feeling in the audience and will create a feeling of guilt if the cute little puppies are hurt in any way. Other pictures establish and link the owner to his or her best friend; this is evident in one of the pictures where it seems like the dog is giving a "high-five." Having taken some pictures of dogs and their owners I proceeded to taking pictures where dogs and their owners spend some quality time. I took a picture of a park where during the morning hours there are a lot of people jugging with their pets and enjoy each others company. Owners take pride in their pets and pet related merchandise is a million dollar industry and some examples of these industries include hospitals, dog grooming salons, and stores such as Pet'Smart. The overall meaning of the message that I am trying to get across with this project is that mandated neutering is wrong and this tremendous decision should be left to the owner of the pet not the "man."

Composition:
-The two photos located in the beginning of this post are possible candidates that will make the cut to be used in this project. The reason why I like the park photograph is because this is an area where I frequently see pet owners come out and play games with their pets such as Frisbee. The owners play a pivotal role in the life of their pets; from the daily tasks such as feeding to taking them to the veterinarian for a physical. It only seems right that the decision is left to the owner. The second photograph appeals to the audience by appealing to the soft side of the emotions. Seeing a couple of puppies in the cage awaiting their unfortunate destiny will make any man cry. When one looks at this picture the puppy is staring back with those puppy dog eyes that creates a sympathetic feeling. Thus creating a situation where a questions arises; the question becomes "How can a law that mandates debilitating procedures on puppies exist in our society?"

Concept:
-By meshing a couple of pictures into a collage using the photoshop program I am trying to get a cross the idea that mandating neutering is best left to the person that knows what is best for the animal and that person is the owner not the elected official on the Board.