For my video art piece I designed a flash program that displayed 26 videos that were specially cropped to resemble a skull. I was inspired by Damien Hirst's diamond incrusted skull. I was also referencing some grid art elements as well.
It was painstaking to place each video, but I think the final work was very interesting.
I was originally inspired to do this performance art piece because of a video I saw years ago. In this video, the artist attached a camera to a balloon and viewed himself through video goggles. The point behind it was that he was experimenting with the idea of a soul and what it would be like to see yourself through your following soul.
I liked this idea and wanted to view the world through the lens of technology. I connected my two iPhones via Bluetooth which allowed me to look at the world through the iPhone's point of view. This was one of my favorite projects to create and perform and it taught me that maybe in our world, there needs more humanity and maybe less computers!
It's not surprising that Paul Allen is coming forth in his memoir saying that Microsoft's game plan was to emulate the competition. This idea was mentioned in the documentary, "Revenge of the Nerds" when Steve Jobs mentioned this same sentiment when competing with Bill Gates and company.
"[The competition] can be taken. But the only way we're going to take them is to study them, know what they know, do what they do, watch them, watch them, watch them. Look for every angle, stay on their shoulders, clone them, take every one of their good ideas and make it one of our good ideas."
- Steve Ballmer
While most people would look down on this type of strategy, I think it is actually necessary. If you think about it, if a company is copied in their work, they will be angry. When this anger passes, I think they would be motivated to rise above their competition to be better than them. With this, innovation is born. With this, companies are able to grow and evolve, which is always a good thing.
While this is fine and well, it would be nice to see some original creative content from one of the biggest companies in the world!
The original by Beethoven is rumored to have been written for one of his female pupils. In German it translates to "for Elise". It is said he gave it to her because she was struggling with learning piano, so he composed something easy for her to start out on.
Nas samples Beethoven's "Fur Elise" in this song. I think he chose this sample because of the idea that "Fur Elise" is a beginner's song, but if you keep with it you can achieve even more. I say this because, the beginning of Beethoven's piece is very simple, but it progressively gets harder. I think this is a metaphor for living in harsh living conditions, which Nas raps about. Overall, the message is positive, which I think plays into what the original song's story represents.
Tears For Fears - "Mad World" (Original)
In this heavily synthesized song, the band touches on looking out at the craziness of the world through the eyes of a youth.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_world
Gary Jules - "Mad World"
In this remade version, Gary Jules strips most of the accompaniment down and leaves the track bare, with only a little bit of voice modulation in some parts. I think this makes the track more poignant and compelling, allowing you to really focus on what's being said. They most likely used this track to represent the whirlwind and random nature of the world. If you think about it, in 2001, there were a lot of things happening that made the world seem like it was "mad".
Smokey Robinson - "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" (Original)
Smokey Robinson's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" asks the obvious, will you love me? It's a love song about longing for someone's affection. As the song progresses, the singer seems to be more and more paranoid with the fact that their lover will leave them.
KanYe West - "Devil in a New Dress"
KanYe West's song is a more modern take on love and relationships. He quips about the fickleness of a female, and how they argue because of petty things. There's a sense that he is wondering if she'll leave him tomorrow, and that's a direct relationship to the meaning of Smokey Robinson's song. He definitely choose this sample because of what it represents, and that is the soul of a relationship. I believe that maybe he modified and changed the sample because he wanted to portray the fact that there is still this type of soul in relationships, but it's different from old soul.
For my Xerox project, I wanted to focus on my identity. I decided that I would scan all those things that made me up. For instance, if you have known me for a decent amount of time you would come to recognize the fact that I only chew one type of gum, or that I have used the same cologne for years, or that I love my iPhone and Xbox. Then I decided to place these constituent parts together in such a way that seemed to reflect a perfect symmetry. This is because I am always striving for perfection, but even if I don't achieve it, there will always be beauty in trying. I decided to keep it black and white, because I thought it gave it this "yin and yang" appeal. Finally, I covered the majority of my face because it would challenge a viewer to guess who it is, but it becomes easy once you clue into the surrounding prints.
Leigh Bowery was an Australian artist that blew the doors off the art world in the 1980s and 90s. To call him just an artist would be the undersell of the year. He was a man of many talents that resonate and influence to this day. A lot of Bowery's work seems rooted in the idea of fashion. In the beginning, he just seemed like and advant-garde fashion designer that was taking shots from critics on the front lines for his progressive designs.
His area of effect was so large that he influenced a whole generation of people. These were called 'The New Romantics', which were a generation of young people/club kids that dressed in a crazy and expressive manner. They are kind of reminiscent of what some people might call "ravers", in the way that they dress in a seemingly bizarre way to portray their varying personalities.
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One of Leigh Bowery's most famous works is his performance at the Anthony d'Offay gallery. In this performance, he was the piece of art. From a surface perspective, he basically sat on an old slab of furniture whilst wearing regalia that expressed his signature style. He was behind a one-sided mirror that allowed the audience to view his actions, but not the other way around. He could be seen preening and primping.
For me, it seems like an odd exhibit, but I have to praise Bowery's dedication to character. He has such a distinct way of presenting himself, and he's very consistent. That's why I can view him as an artist. It reminds me of Orlan in the way that he is presenting this unique persona, but instead of using plastic surgery, he is using his forward thinking fashion sense. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1994 from AIDS, which he kept secret until his death. While he is physically gone, his body of work still inspires artists around the world.
Orlan is a French artist who began her art legacy by introducing the idea that the artist can be the art work. Some of her earlier work showed her posing with a physical frame, where her face and body appeared to be the "art work". Later on she began wearing masks and posing as if she was a sculpture. There seemed to always be this underlying idea that changing some small details of the physicality of a human can lead to an interesting and artistic expression.
After this, she did a collection of works where she took on the appearance of a Nun, but it was not your typical nun. To me, it seemed like a sexualized Nun, with her breast exposed. This made me this she was starting to lean towards the idea of playing with beauty and vanity in regards to physical attributes.
This probably lead to her experiments in body modification by way of plastic surgery. I found myself so shocked by this area of her artistry. To paint of draw something is one thing, but to permanently change your physical landscape is something that kind of freaks me out! I laud Orlan for her commitment to her art, but there seems a point where it may be too much. If you look at pictures of her now, she looks like the bride of Frankenstein with small bumps on her forehead that are reminiscent of horns.
If anything, Orlan should be respected for her radical views on what's physically appealing, and what it means to be an artist. She has definitely blurred the lines between the artist and their art work, and she should definitely be heralded for her audacity in the face of criticism.
Joseph Beuys is a performance artist from Germany. His body of work revolves around the idea of the human element, and those social issues that seem to stir his inner being. His work has influences in politics and society according to his Wikipedia page. Beuys' road to fame has been a controversial one, but today he is considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century.
One of Beuys's first, and most interesting performances was one titled, "How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare". In this piece, the artist had his face covered in honey and gold, and he had this heavy, metal boot on his one foot. In his hands was a dead hare, which he carried around trying to explain the works on the wall in his vicinity. This was observed by the audience through a windowed area that was devoid of sound, except for the clunking of his metal boot.
In his explanation of the work, he has said, “The problem lies in the word ‘understanding’ and its many levels which cannot be restricted to rational analysis. Imagination, inspiration, and longing all lead people to sense that these other levels also play a part in understanding. This must be the root of reactions to this action, and is why my technique has been to try and seek out the energy points in the human power field, rather than demanding specific knowledge or reactions on then part of the public. I try to bring to light the complexity of creative areas.”
With his penchant of almost ritualistic performance art that seems to transcend just a physical plane, Joseph Beuys has been regarded as one of the most unique personas in the art world.
Ginsberg's poem was one criticizing consumerism and conformity in the 1950's. It was deemed acceptable for children to hear in 1957. Over three decades later, radio stations are too scared to air the poem because of harsh fines that the FCC might impose on them. According to this story, for every obscenity, the station could be subjected to a $325,000, which in the current state of the radio business, could cripple the whole company.
So what does this say for free speech? It seems as though we have regressed in regards to what can be said in a public forum. This is very upsetting, especially since as citizens we should strive for progression in regards to social issues.
After reviewing the poem "Howl", I thought it was a little colorful, but nothing that should be deemed a leper in regards to public presentation. I could understand if it was just a vacuous piece, but it is actually very intelligible and forward thinking for the time. This piece should be publicly admired, not admonished.
For my grid art project I decided to recreate the famous Andy Warhol piece that was featured on the cover of the Velvet Revolver's album. Originally I wanted to use pushpins to make the piece, but after searching high and low i decided to use beads. The things about beads is the fact that you have to place each bead in a linear fashion, which can be frustrating if you happen to mess something up. In the beginning, I took a picture off Google images and lowered the resolution and zoomed in Photoshop to give me a general grid. Afterward, I wrote down how many white, black, and yellow beads there were in order to start building the banana. It took forever and there are many many beads, but the final work i something I'm proud of!
For my flipbook, I tried to explore this idea of a world where creationism and evolution exist. Then there's a part where it shows the evolution of war projectiles. The process took a long time, and I am not the greatest artist, but it was still a pretty interesting experience. My favorite part was coloring with pastels. It gave the drawings this dusty look, which was different than I expected!
Marcel Duchamp's Rotary Glass Plates piece is considered one of the first interactive pieces of art. My first experience with viewing this lead me to believe that it was a one dimensional art piece. At first sight, it looks like it's just a windmill with a wooden base. It wasn't until after I found a video that panned around the whole piece did I realize the true nature of the art work.
It can be considered as an interactive work because it's up to the viewer to decide how they want to experience it. If you walk around it, you come to realize that the circle is actually made up of several panes of glass that are sized to create a circle when viewed from a front orthogonal view. I think this adds another dimension of interactivity and interest because if you walk around the object, you get a totally different art piece.
For me, it's kind of like a metaphor for life. Your view on it can change with different perspectives.
The evolution of computers throughout the years slightly mirrors mankind's in the sense that we upgraded our abilities in accordance to what we really needed to operate.
In the beginning, computers were birthed with the idea of making life easier for people, but for pioneering inventors this meant making complex machines that could only do the most simple tasks when compared to today's machines. The first computers that were actually built, not just blueprinted, were used in war time. The ENIAC was able to crunch algorithms which would be used by artillery operators to help them better aim the mammoth death machines. After the war, computers were created to help the business sector. Especially businesses that dealt with numbers and records, like accounting and life insurance.
It was not until the Xerox PARC Alto entered the computing ring that the idea of a personal computer came into play. While the concept was a new one, the Alto showed that a computer could be made with a wider range of people in mind. you no longer had to be a programming genius to operate a computer, because there were now features that made it more accessible. For example, it had a Graphical User Interface that was manipulated on a monitor through the use of a mouse. These things would forever change the way people used and interacted with computers.
Around mid-February mankind was able to witness history, as a computer bested some of Jeopardy's most talented contestants. Ken Jennings, of 74 games won in a row fame, and Brad Rutter went up against IBM newest inventions. Its name is Watson, named after the IBM's founder, Thomas J. Watson. Watson is a "room-sized" super-computer built to acknowledge human-asked questions, after which is supposed to present an answer in the Jeopardy format.
While the super-computer was far from a perfect specimen at this point, it is very important to point out how well it did in deciphering some of Jeopardy's most labyrinthine questions. Just reading this question in the article made my head hurt, "William Wilkenson’s ‘An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia’ inspired this author’s most famous novel." This just goes to show the raw computing power of Watson. Its ability to break down such a question into its constituent parts is awe-inspiring.
While it is entertaining to watch some of the greatest Jeopardy players get beat down by a computer, it is imperative to consider what this actually means to the human/computer dynamic. There are talks that this technology would be put to use to assist doctors by answering their queries by pulling information for their encyclopedic medical memory. Additionally, it is said that it would be used to assist customers' buying concerns by answering and questions they have, as well as operate as a customer support entity. One notion that gets glossed over is the one where the writer speaks of a world in which, "intelligent machines will understand and respond to humans, and perhaps inevitably, replace some of them."
This was a very interesting site to explore. The layout was very clean and it displayed a lot of information without being cluttered. The TVs that were showcased were very interesting. It is exciting to see how the design sense changed over time to accommodate the time periods of each TV! The ones that I liked the most were the ones that were very curvy in style. They reminded me of what I thought astronaut's helmets looked like back in the 50s and 60s.
Televisions are wonderful things, and it was intriguing to see how they have evolved throughout the years!
The presentation we saw in class was a very interesting one. It was cool to see how those artists were able to de-contextualize items and the spaces they inhabited.
One of my favorite pieces was the one were they set up many fans and dumped a large amount of dirt on the ground. Over the next few weeks they would make dunes that were reminiscent to the ones in Egypt.
It was interesting how the artist only strives to attain that "perfect peak" in the sand, and how he was waiting so long for that one element. I learned you can't rush art!
What cataclysmic shift occurred in this time that forever changed the attitudes of Americans? While it would be a huge generalization to say that just one thing changed everything, it would be hard to overlook the pivotal role drugs had in this time. Prior to this, times were straight and rigid, a counterculture aspect of society had not really taken hold in America.
The fifties were wholesome and rooted in the very stringent ideals of generations before. I believe that the counter culture movement started truly gaining steam at the time of the Vietnam War. People were generally upset with some of the motivations and actions taking place in that land, and for once people weren't afraid to stand up for what they believed in. Grass root campaigns that were fervently against what the war meant started to sprout up across the United States, thus the counter culture movement started to blossom.
With this new atmosphere of defying the norm, people started experimenting with things that were new and different. The idea of doing what you wanted to do started to spread across the states, and what people wanted to do was drugs. This experimentation started leaking into even more popular culture after its inception, where it ended up in mass media. In movies, you could see a dramatic increase in the vibrancy of colors and sounds that were not as prevalent in the decades prior. Characters started to lose their roots in the real world and became more abstract.
The War Of the Worlds production that was played on the radio startled man people. It wasn't because it was vulgar or bad in any way, but because of the way it was presented. The performance was in the style of a real life broadcast that portrayed and emergency situation where aliens were attacking earth. The believability of the piece was heightened because of that fact that the announcer never broke character, there were no commercials, and that there was little to no introduction. The real magic to the piece was that listeners would tune in mid reading and think that these events were really transpiring. The performance the actors put on was so convincing that people were literally freaking out that the world would end. To me, this is endlessly interesting and I found it a pleasure to listen to.
Abel Gance's Napoleon was a master work of its time. Napoleon was the story of France's Napoleon, starting from his childhood onto some of his victories as a great leader. While the story is captivating on its own, its the vision and creativity of Abel Gance that really makes this movie legendary. The original cut of Napoleon was a six hour epic that managed to combine techniques that were unprecedented in the world of silent film. Among these techniques were the use of hand-held cameras which gave the viewer a more believable point of view, so that they felt more a part of the action than just a spectator. Additionally, Gance hand-painted many scenes to add that extra sense of vibrancy to the theatrical presentation. Napoleon's ending was also very innovative in the sense that it was presented as a triptych, which means the viewing area was broken up into three distinct areas with their own contents in each zone. Even though the film drifts slowly into obscurity in mainstream culture, the techniques and unrelenting daring of its director will never be forgotten in the eyes of true movie enthusiasts.
I chose to share this video because I thought it was very interesting. It was one of the first stop motion videos that I was ever really fascinated with. The use of the dry-erase board was a smart decision, given the redundant nature of frame-by-frame animation. I think the coolest part of this video is the fact that the artist "interacts" with the drawing so it seems like he is physically modifying it as it goes, but in reality it is just a series of creative editing and other camera trickery. I think the music enhances the viewing experience, and a lot of times it seems like it's the driving force behind a lot of what's going on, especially in regards to tempo and timing. The visuals themselves are very interesting. They go from natural to abstract, but in a way that feels very seamless. You should definitely check it out!
Although this video isn't exclusively frame-by-frame, I wanted to bring it to peoples' attention. I think it's important because it shows that frame-by-frame can be used in conjunction with conventional filming techniques. Here we see that there is a segment where the AT-AT appears to be running next to a dog that is fetching a ball in the park. In the "making of" video, it shows that they used meticulous frame-by-frame capturing techniques on a green screen to make this shot. In post-production, they edited each frame to make it seem like the AT-AT was running along side the dog. The subject matter of the video was very entertaining to me. In the video, they breath life into an old toy, which acts like a dog and shows a day in a life of this hypothetical creature. It was beautifully shot and was a perfect example of how frame-by-frame can be relevant outside of its own little world.
Last but not least, I present you with this amazing stop-motion animation that is made with just a blanket and some coins. When I watched the animation for the first time, I was blown away with the technical skill involved with making such a complex animation in such a non-conventional way. They were able to "draw" some pretty realistic figures with the use of just coins, which is a very laudable achievement. The story is about a videogame type environment that is reminiscent of Tron. Watching movies like this are very inspiring and I hope that maybe one day I'll be able to make something just as fascinating!
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was unprecedented in its ability to crumble a countries morale and business structure in one fell swoop. It wouldn't be until nearly eight decades later that something equally catastrophic would happen, and that was the Stock Market Crash of 2008. If you can look past how dramatically it destabilized a whole country and look at the similarities instead, it starts to get interesting. The biggest of the similarities was the banks' willingness to partake in "abusive practices" that ultimately spoiled the whole system, which then eventually crumbled under all the bad business. There are many other factors that played into it, but the bottom line was that the greediness of man led to its downfall, twice.
After researching the topic of jazz, I have discovered that even though its origin can be generalized to the Southern regions of the United States, it's birth is much more expansive. It has an interesting beginning in the fact that it has been influenced and morphed dramatically since its older Ragtime days to what contemporary jazz is at the current. Jazz is a fusion of soul and technical prowess that can be played in a laid back way, or a very emotionally binding way. It can be whatever it wants to be. To put it simply, jazz is a chameleon, but in no way can it be overlooked in the history of music and performance.
On a technical note, the stop-motion and sound design was fantastic. The stop-motion was superbly done and had elements of great cinematography, which can be absent in a lot of conventionally filmed pieces.
The metaphors and story were powerful, and I was captivated the whole 10+ minutes. I especially like the way they made the child a fish in a fishbowl, where her water literally broke before birth. This fish-human symbolism kind of reminded me of evolution, but that may be a stretch. Also, I thought it was a interesting touch to make the second couple Barbie and Ken. It made me consider the fact that such an "ideal" entity could be so cruel, almost like America's relationship with foreign companies maybe? Finally, I like how it showed the Asian woman dying and then becoming the butterfly that was shown in the beginning. It's a great bookend and makes you feel like all things are cyclic and that something beautiful can come from something ugly.
Name: Rupert Azarcon Major: New Media Production Home State: New Jersey Interests: Photography, music, food, video gaming, and social networking.
First Impressions
The first thing I experienced in this class was a quasi-presentation of a interactive art installation that was reminiscent of something that Hunter S. Thompson would really be into. The class was very interesting, and seems like it will open up my eyes to topics that I wouldn't normally get to explore in my day to day life.
My classmates seem to be nice enough, and there are a lot of personalities which will definitely diversify the commentary that goes on throughout the duration of the semester. I don't know everyone yet, but I can imagine that by the end of the class we'll all be pretty close.
Expectations
I assume we'll learn about all different kinds of interactive art and technologies that are available to us today. Also, I hope to learn how these techniques have evolved over time, as well as what inspired these certain movements. Finally, I look forward to learning and growing as the semester goes on!
