Final Project: Freedom of Communication

The THEME of our final project was how inventions and advances in technology since the 1970s have given us more freedom of communication. Cell phones, email, and audio storages like cassette tapes and CDs are just a few of the many inventions that enable people today to communicate efficiently and quickly.

In our project, we used large floppy disks, Post-Its, a casette tape, a computer mouse, GRC's typewriter ribbon, high-density diskette, pager, vinyl record, Radio Shack cassette recorder, and studio projector light bulbs. All of these items and advances made to these items since the 1970s allow us to have more freedom of communication today. Floppy disks, casette tapes, the diskette, vinyl record etc...have allowed us to store information and data. Post-its, as well as email and cellular phones (which we had pictures and quotes for), have made communication more efficient. In a matter of minutes, news can travel from person to person or even from the government to the public. The items on our box are only a handful of the many technologies that were used since the 1970s that have improved communication.

To obtain items, my group members and I looked around our houses, before asking relatives. In addition, Ms. Sanderson helped us by passing around a box with very useful items in it that were donated or even hers! (Thank You!!!!!!!!) Every time the box came around, it was like Christmas all over again. :)

Next time, I would start the project earlier. Also, I would pick a more interesting arrangement of our boxes.

My advice for future found artists would be it's okay to procrastinate...FOR ONE DAY MAXIMUM. Then you really need to start finding items and boxes to cover and put together. Check the wonderful cardboard box mentioned above, but also ask everyone (parents, relatives, teachers, etc...) for items. Get more than ten and stick more than ten on your boxes. Make it colorful. The right yellow or red or green can make people very happy. However, make sure they match.

Make sure you have pictures and deep quotes.

Tamara Chang
Period C

We are... the people of rock and roll

Group Members:

Alex D
Jonathan
Bruce

Our theme covered the media revolution of the time period known as "Rock 'n' Roll". We tried to cover the different aspects of rock and roll as well as the different influences that it had on American Culture. We also wanted to show the viewer several of the musical movements that went into making rock and roll. We displayed several topics, such as the anti-war perspective of the American youth, and the rapidly changing fashion choices of the era. We also had a section about punk rock, one of the many musical revolutions that was sparked by the Rock and Roll movement.

Among our "Found Art" items, we had several original album covers from popular artists of the time period, such as Rainbow, Deep Purple, Queen, and Roger Waters. These artists were in the thick of 80s rock, shelling out deep songs which moved their listeners. Among the other items were a pair of headphones, which one would find at their average record store, and a guitar pick, which would have been a concert-goer's collector's item. We also had several copies of original pictures of notable artists of the time period, such as the O'Jays, Robert Cray, Rose Royce, and Pink Floyd.

We used the Internet to obtain our quotes. I scrounged around my dad's expansive rock music collection to select the albums which I particularly liked or thought had interesting cover art. We also found art in encyclopedia's and then scanned the picture into a computer. We also bought some items which would have been around at the time period.

I would plan better if I were to do this project again, as we were extremely pressed for time at the end of this project. If I had a re-do, I would also try to find more Found Art, such as a record to express music or a headband which could have been worn by your average rocker. Also I probably would labor more extensively over the actual assembly of our project, but with more time I am sure this would have happened.


My advice to next year's class is exactly what I would do differently if I could do this project again. Make sure you get your found art earlier or else your project will turn into a mad rush for items and your project will not be as great as it could be. Also make sure to meet all the milestones or else your grade will suffer.

-Alex Doundakov

PS: Go to http://timeline.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page --> interesting!

We are produts of President Ronald Reagan's presidency

For our project, we chose to focus on President Ronald Reagan. This is because he was a major president during the time period (1980-1989). We focused on the things that he did during his presidency for our items.
We took a picture in front of the pieces of the Berlin wall because during Reagan's presidency he gave a famous speech that demanded that Gorbachev tear down the Berlin Wall. We also brought a Newsweek magazine that talked about what he was doing during his presidency. WE also included a program from a Stanford commencement because the guest speaker for that day was Sandra Day O'Connor. She was important because she was the first woman to be appointed to Supreme Court. She was nominated by President Reagan. We also found many political cartoons from the time period which included President Reagan
We got our objects by visiting elderly neighbors, looking on the internet, and searching through many boxes in the garage.
I would have chosen a different topic because the topic that we chose was very narrow, so it was very hard to find specific things.
I would advise people to collect their items early. If they can't find enough items, simply switch your topic! This is because without your items, your project will look blank.

Found Art Project (We are fun and entertainment)

Group members: Tyler, Silvia, Noa, and Melody

The theme was entertainment, under that category was video games, music, and movies. It was something that excited the public and stirred up attention to.

We chose some to bring some cassette tapes, movies boxes, star war pictures, pong pictures, pacman pictures, floppies, lyrics, and stuff from our storage rooms.They were all source of entertainment because these were the activities the people did in their free time. Some songs were on cassette tapes and the lyrics from the singers/band reflected over their thoughts in that time period. The movies also reflected over the time period, and influenced some people about war/politics/movements. Games was a big hit since it filled in the slot of free time and it was exciting to play since it thrilled people to play/re-play/beat the game.

We obtained our objects from buying stuff on ebay, searching up pictures online, looking in every corner of our homes, and finding some of the objects from people around that time period. Some objects are hard to find, so we asked people that were around the 1970s-1980s and borrow their objects to put onto the boxes.

I would try managing my time even because everybody seemed to be too busy and we were every where when we were doing the project. Meaning that we were wondering what to do, how we should assemble the project and how we should structure our outline. Understand the project completely in order to know what the teacher wants us to make the outline and project.

My advice to the next year's class about this project is to put teamwork into it,check your teammate's found object, and check their outline to make sure it is reasonable. Also ask questions if they need it and ask your teammates what information/materials they got from the teacher.

by Melody