As a freshman honors SIF, I still have a lot to learn and experience during my career here at Georgia State University. As mentioned in my previous blog post, I am apart of a group that is working on an interactive 3D map of a block that was essential to the height of Atlanta’s blues scene in the early twentieth century. The historic block is at the corner of Decatur St. and Ivy st. (which is now Peachtree Center Ave.), where Georgia State University now stands. In order to create this informative and interactive plane we have to decide which software or program to use. The program chosen will be used to create the old twentieth century blues hub.

In my attempt to shed light on a subject that I know very little of, I used resources readily available to me in order to educate myself. I utilized lynda.com  to try and search for a relevant software or program. When looking through the hundreds of tutorials and softwares available on lynda.com, one program caught my attention: 3Ds max. This program can be used to create cityscapes. When referring to the purpose of the project, this program and its features may render useful and enlightening when exploring the best plane for our interactive 3D model.

When watching  the lynda tutorial: Creating Cityscapes in 3ds max, tutor Adam Crespi, emphasizes the importance of looking to the real world and real photos for architectural details and guidance. He points out  that if we pay attention to this it will make it ultimately easy to create a historically accurate model of Decatur St. and Ivy St. ( now Peachtree Center Ave.). I plan to use this information to be able to contribute to my projects conversation about where our efforts should  turn to next. I have also found through this tutorial that the more we research and investigate this time in history the more accurately we can portray it and truly do the time period justice.

When confronted with the view of Atlanta’s skyline I can’t help but note the differences in the structure, it includes everything from the incredibly old and beautiful to the modern, chic buildings. Although not all buildings are to each of these extremes neither are they all beautiful or interesting ( let’s be honest) but they do share a similar qualities. These buildings all serve a purpose, share a history/story of their existence, and contribute to the culture that is Atlanta. Why bring up such obvious inquiries, you may ask. It is because as human beings we become so accustomed to seeing the same things and eventually taking our scenery or surroundings for granted. We do not realize that the streets and roads we may walk or travel on every day have been there long before we have. They have been there collecting stories of the people before us and eventually after us. Although this may seem irrelevant to those of us who are here in Atlanta to attend Georgia State University and earn our degrees, it is very much applicable to our everyday travels around campus.

When conversing with my fellow SIFs about what project to bring to life this semester, we began to discuss the findings of old maps and historical evidence of our beloved centrally located Georgia State campus. We came to discuss that the block of Decatur st. and Peachtree center Ave. has a historical significance connected with the famous 1930’s blues scene in Atlanta. This block was very important during the times of the depression and was the hub for most all serious African American blues artists. Some key buildings/landmarks included theatre 81, Dinkins-Davidson Hardware co., and PF camp in addition to several small shops that included shoe shops and hat shops.

I was very interested in the topic and when I began to research I found very interesting cultural and social information of the time: When the depression began in 1929, Americans were rapidly losing all hope and their standard of living. Blues artists began to see the possibility of making some money off of playing music in Atlanta so they flocked here during that time. All African American blues artists preferred decatur street because they were free here from the humiliation of segregation and judgement from whites. African Americans enjoyed theatre 81 exactly for that reason. It was a crucial landmark during this time, it housed famous blues artists like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Blind Willie McTell.  The district of Decatur street was very accepting of musicians, peddlers, and prostitutes. People would congregate in this district around parked trucks of moonshiners. When the moonshiners were shut down the prostitutes went on a strike because they were no longer getting any business due to the lack of moonshine. As you can tell there is a lot of history to already tell about this area that seems so familiar to us today but can tell us a completely different story of a different age.

So where exactly around campus was this located? Ironically enough where theatre 81 once stood as a musical hub, is now what we know as the Georgia State University library. You may also ask, how exactly can you create a project out of this especially while our specialty for the project is to use a 3D scanner and a program called agisoft. Although the plans are still in their early preliminary stages, here it is: Our goal is to create an interactive 3D  model/map  of the the block during its time. We are attempting to create an accurate portrayal of the area and display its significance and relevance to the university.

I am very excited to continue to research such a significant time period in Atlanta, and to continue learning more about the campus I walk around everyday.

• So much has happened during my first week at Georgia State University, from starting class and learning my way around the urban campus to meeting loads of new and interesting people to having the amazing opportunity to be an SIF. This week has been a start my research at CURVE. First and foremost I spent most of my time attempting to acclimate myself to all that the CURVE center has to offer. This includes attending the CURVE orientation with Mandy and discussing all the possibilities that CURVE has to offer, researching interesting projects to work on, and looking into workshops to  I am looking forward to working with CURVE’s brand new technology and learning new ways to incorporate it into students’ and faculty’s academic and research endeavors.
• While at CURVE, I will have the privilege of working on a project that incorporates 3D scanning and modeling. When deciding which project to immerse myself in this season, I visited the exchange where they house the 3D scanner. I was able to see the models that were made which included a Darth Vader action figure and a Storm Trooper pencil and pen holder. I found this incredibly fascinating and researched what exactly a 3D scanner was and how it worked. A 3D scanner is a device that examines a tangible, real world object or even an environment to gather information on its shape and appearance which can then be used to build 3D models. This is interesting and very useful in many aspects. 3D scanners are used in the construction industry, civil engineering, design process,  the scanning of artifacts and historical sites, and even the entertainment business. In conclusion, I still have much to learn and experiment during my time as a SIF, but I am excited and ready to begin work on such an innovative project.