I just read an article that says that talks about a creations by Sony called the Sony Reader and it's basically an ipod for books. Have we really become that into technology that we need to digitize our books so that we can read it on a screen? I'm sorry but in the first place I don't see many people walking around with so many books that they need to put them all on a digital device so they can read them from a screen. Seriously, when did reading a book become old technology? I don't know about the rest of you but I would rather read a book than sit in front of a screen and have my eyes hurt (even if they made the screen easier to read) because no one needs to spend $350 on a device because they're too lazy to carry a book. I can hardly make it through reading a newspaper article online and someone expects me to be able to read an entire book, I don't think so.

Time magazine has an interesting article called "Who's Really Participating in Web 2.0" which gives some intersting facts and statistics about who is uploading on the web with information on the sex and age of those uploading the most. Even though more people are blogging and uploading and so forth than ever before it is still a small percentage compared to those that are considered "passive visits." For example, of all the visits to youtube only .5% of those visits are for uploading. Another interesting fact is that of those people actually uploading about 76% of them are male while the actual visitors to the site are 50% male and 50% female. In addition to the gap between the sexes of who is uploading and who is just visiting, there is a gap between generations in who is uploading. For example, 42% of the peple that visit Wikipedia are under 35 while 82% of those adding to the site are over 35. Anyway for more info check out the article those are just some examples.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1614751,00.html

I would have to say that after spending a ton of time using flash, I've come to the conclusion that it is one of the most frustrating and difficult programs but also the coolest. When I started to catch on to what I had to do it was a lot easier but things can quickly get screwed up if you don't know what you're doing. I think it's a really cool program and good one to learn but when you have a lot of time to play around with it. The most frustrating part is definitely the tweens; sometimes they just do not want to snap to the path and do what you tell it to do. When they do work, however, it is one of the neatest things. To sum things up: my final project was difficult and frustrating to do but when I finally understood what I was doing it was pretty fun. I would use it again when I have more time to devote to it.

Poem

I recently wrote a poem in response to recent events.

C is for carrying the knowledge.
O is for organizing data.
M is for mathmatical equations.
P is for practical solutions to everyday problems that are recent.
U is for unitarians.
T is for tracking down information quickly.
E is for entertainment and keeping up with what is recent.
R is for recent events....

let me know what you guys think.

Something to chew on

As technology becomes less and less expensive...will it become disposible? What does this mean for our mother earth???!! My 25 dollar dvd player from k mart just stopped working and i plan on throwing it out as will anyone who bought the same dvd player a year ago. I don't feel cheated as I got my money's worth of dvd watching for the money spent. I figure that each time I watched a movie it approximately cost me 17.5 cents. I came to this conclusion using the simple math equation of number of movies watched divided by the cost of the dvd player (again, $25). How can this be prevented? Up the quality of the product and therefore the cost so that people don't need to replace aged technology every couple of months?
How do you feel about this potential crisis?
thx.

New road rules

I went home on Friday afternoon and had the opportunity to watch the new road rules they have on MTV right now. It is ridiculous. I must have missed the first two hour episode dedicated to explaining the process they use now to trade out members of the road rules team so I had no idea what was going on. Now there are two teams.. one of viewers from home or something and then people that used to be on the show... and they blog and viewers at home can vote them into fighting with each other to stay on the RV. Anyway it seems to be a failed attempt at trying to engage the viewer so much that they, as a whole, seem to have control of what they are watching. I don't like that and don't find it entertaining. I don't want to vote for people. I don't care what they have to blog about. I don't need to know how other viewers feel about the people on road rule's interactions. There seems to be a large strain to use every form of media possible so that everyone can find a way to be involved in this show. You can probably watch extra footage on your ipod. I remember the old road rules when no one got voted off or put into challenges.. they just rode around in an RV and had to cross suspension bridges made of rope occasionally to earn money or jet skis. They didn't have the privilege of a sidekick. They were real. Really real.

List of Most Expensive Films Ever

While making my short film for emac, I began to have a better apprecation for how much time and money film-makers put into their work. With actors, props. effects, editing, equipment, and not to mention PR and profit, we're looking at a ton of money. Thats when I came to the conclusion, I probably would never want to become a film maker. At that moment, I stumbled upon the new Spider Man 3 trailer and thought about how much money it must have cost to make the film. And thats when I learned the following: Spider Man cost $250,000,000 to produce; the most expensive film ever!

And not far behind X-Men: The Last Stand ($210,000,000)
King Kong ($207,000,000),
Superman Returns ($204,000,000),
Titanic ($200,000,000),
Spider-Man 2 ($200,000,000),
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($180,000,000),
Troy ($175,000,000),
Waterworld ($175,000,000),
and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine ($175,000,000).

If you want to see the complete list go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_films

List of Longest Films by Ever Made

While making my emac video, I also discovered how much time it takes to film and edit just a little piece of footage. As I said earlier, I have a higher appreication for film-makers and editers for the amount of money and time spent of full-length productions. I, myself do not have it in me to create something on that level. But on that note, I thought I'd be fun to look up the longest films ever made...
Here are a few of them but if you wanna see the entire list go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_films_by_running_time

The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple 1620 min (27 hr).
Die Zweite Heimat - Chronik Einer Jugend 1532 min (25 hr).
Grandmother Martha 1452 min (24 hr).
Berlin Alexanderplatz 931 min (15 hr).
Heimat - Eine Deutsche Chronik 924 min (15 hr).

I don't know if any of you have seen the movie Children of Men, I haven't yet, but I heard that a critic called it the "Blade Runner of the 21st century," so I was wondering if any of you could give any comments on that. The critic that said it was Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times. He said "The best science fiction talks about the future to talk about the now, and "Children of Men" very much belongs in that class. Made with palpable energy, intensity and excitement, it compellingly creates a world gone mad that is uncomfortably close to the one we live in. It is a "Blade Runner" for the 21st century, a worthy successor to that epic of dystopian decay." That is only an excerpt of his review, you can see the rest at http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-children22dec22,0,6890626.story. Basically the plot is that it's 2027, set in Britain, and the human race has been infertile for 18 years. Britain is the only place in the world that is still holding on. The movie is based on a book by P.D. James. She summed up the plot of the book with one question "If there were no future, how would we behave?" So anyway I thought it was interesting since we watched Blade Runner in the beginning of the semester.

Hey just wanted to let you guys know about an art blog specifically for baltimore. The address is bmoreart.blogspot.com. People post things about different exhibitions going on in the area and it's a recent blog site. Look it up...it includes a lot of mica stuff such as the MFA thesis shows and a secret gallery in the bank building. It has stuff about galleries in the area and d.c. as well. I thought it would be a good site for us to know about so check it out.

TIME: 50 Coolest Website

After completeing my website this week, I have so much appreciation for how much work it takes to make one and for the people that design and build them. Therefore, I thought it might be fun to look up some of the best sites. TIME Magazine did an article in 2005 on the top 50 coolest website. So, I thought I'd pass them along and compare yours with the best of the best. Its also interesting to compare how the trends have changed from 2005 to present. For example, is Facebook now a better site than MySpace. I guess it doesn't matter but its interesting to consider content now plays just an important role as its visual display.

http://www.time.com/time/2005/websites/

powerpoint

i dont really have that big of a problem with powerpoint, i never really thought it was that horrible. After the class discussion, i was surprised to find that so many people had so much hatred for this program. I feel pretty indifferent towards it. I dont see why it's so horrible to use it as a tool for lectures- my modernism and after teacher always uses it for her lectures, and i think that usually works out pretty well. But maybe I'm just missing out on something. I dont know.

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Powerpoint Essay

When I first read this essay, I felt that it focused only on bashing powerpoint. After our class discussion, however, I came to the conclusion that it isn't powerpoint that it was bashing, but a certain method of using the program. I was able to relate to the author's distaste for powerpoint because of my own experiences with it. After being forced to sit through countless powerpoint presentations in high school, and also having to create countless presentations, it was a relief to hear that I am not the only person to loathe the program.

PP

While reading The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint I found that the most interesting part was on the first page when the author includes the anecdote of the man turning off the projector in order to force the presenter to talk about his business without the crutch of his PowerPoint presentation. This reminded me of the artist Wynne Greenwood who would interact with multiple pre-recorded projections of herself. When she would choose to directly interact with the audience without having a dialog amongst her projections she would say "Hey, could you pause that for a second". She did this so that the viewer would have a chance to realize what reality was. The images would become so real to the person they would forget that every action between the artist and the projections had been predetermined and rehearsed. The pausing of the projections brought the audience back to the fact that she was presentation... not the projections. She was saying everything even though the projected characters were taking different stances in the discussions they had.... she we was the projections. I thought about that a lot.

I agree that the world has become overly time efficient with such things as faster internet, gadgets to make everything easier and shorthand.. I believe the author has the same opinion but then he goes on to use "PP" as an abbreviation of PowerPoint throughout the writing. He urges the reader to present facts in full statements but I feel most people who use PowerPoint as a tool do use full sentences as they speak on the topic. The slides are used as a visual example of the potential notes the audience may choose to jot down as they listen to the speaker. I see nothing wrong with that.

powerpoint

This article made a lot of sense, and I'm also really happy we weren't asked to make a power point presentation after or before reading it. It is interesting, though, to think about the way we porobably would have utilized power point if we were asked to use it for an assignment. Although this may not be ur presentation method of choice becausewe are so used to using our creativity, I'm sure there would be a lot of the random bullets, changing fonts, and the use of lists simply because power point seems to bind the presenter to show evidence in those limited ways. It seems important that presentations find a better tool for showing evidence, but is that possible? We already have things like photoshop, illustrator, and web browsers but none are nearly as user friendly as power point. Presenters also have the very effective tool of talking which often seems the best way to communicate, yet so many companies stress the power point aspect. This could mean people are lazy in construcitng presentations, or maybe businesses don't trust their people to pull off a presentation and think they need a slideshow to talk beside. It seems businesses are going to have to dig deeper tof ind better ways to create presentations rather than relying on power point or any other program to do thier job.

Why did power point come to be this standard of a presentation? Is it because it is the most accessable tool dedicated to showing evidnece. If it weren't created would businesses have better marketing strategies all together without ever being introduced to the terrible formatted power point presentation.

Okay, so I was pretty sure that I was going to hate this reading. I mean, its about PowerPoint, but overall it wasnt bad at all. It raised a lot of interesting points that I had never stopped to consider. For example, I have has to bs my way through so many pwoerpoints in school, especially in high school, and I never once stoped to think about how much information I was glazing over instead worrying about wether to left or right justify, knowing all along that as long as it looks nice the information doesnt have to be quite as important. I really liked the suestion that on days in school when kids would be presenting powerpoints that they go to the Exploraorium instead, it makes so much more sense, especailly since I cant, off the top of my head, recall anything that I have ever learned in a power point presentation.
Some of the other questions that I was left with:

What would happen if we spoke in the same tounge as PP, in the reading it mentions that it would be "unwise and arragoant" but, I think that it would be more than that, because if people spoke in a simplified hierarchical bullet list there would be a huge shift in how much information was transfered.
also
The idea that the "more intense the detail the greater the clarity and understanding." I agree that for the most part it is better to have a detailed approach, but in a society where information overload is such problem allready can there be such a thing as too much?
also
What are peoples favorite PP effects? I think mine has to be the typewriter sound as it individually places each letter on the screen, for sheer entertainment value it wins.

Microsoft Poked Me in the Eye

I've always thought there was something fishy about PowerPoint—even Microsoft products in general. Now I've got something to back me up.

I loved Tufte's essay. Period. I find it maddening that people could still use PowerPoint as a credible tool to convey information. It's a format that naturally condenses things (in the vein of Campbell's Condensed Soup) and fills the space with clip art and pixel fades. Thank you that someone finally said this! It must be some sort of hegemonic monopology that causes corporations—even government institutions like NASA—to believe that bullet-point culture is a good thing.

I really don't have many questions. Frankly, I've never liked Power Point. I've used Power Point, and I don't like it. I've been forced to use Power Point, and still I don't like it. When you get down to it, it's just cheesy, and the cheeseness usually outweighs the content even if you try to make an informative "presentation". It's amazing that some people—some people in Boeing, for example could think that a "presentation" literally means "Powerpoint slideshow."

Now, I don't think what Tufte is saying is that PowerPoint caused the Columbia accident. First of all, right out, he didn't say that. That's an extrapolation. What he is saying, however, is that bad ways of conveying information are… well… bad ways of conveying information. And as far as he is concerned, PowerPoint is a bad way for expressing the complex ideas of rocket science (ex: you're a rocket scientist. You deal with really big numbers in your craft—exponents. Problem: PowerPoint doesn't have a way of showing exponents. So you have to resort to 10^10 to convey 10 to the tenth power. Multiple layers of these examples and you get jargon. Multiple layers of jargon and your information gets mangled—it becomes indecipherable.) So, for the rocket scientist, use a program that has exponents as a feature (like Word, but Word has its own issues…) and can accurately portray your complex data.

I agreed with his main points that the overall format of a slideshow in-itself has to condense information to be anything worth doing, and I found his humor in the essay (especially the front cover) to be especially delightful. I agree with the point that a basic slideshow, made entirely of illustrations, for example, is fine. Powerpoint can do that, sure. But so can any other Piece Of Software. It seems that the only reason we settle for this is because we don't have or don't know of anything better.

The only questions I have then is…

1. Why do we still use PP?

2. What point is there in using something that is ungainly and unsuitable for conveying even basic information (beyond the level of the six-year-old)?

I think there is only one answer…

Bill Gates is the Antichrist!

3 ways Power Point can be used well...

According to the required reading, I felt the author wasn't so much saying Power Point was a bad medium, but the way in which its used can relfect negatively on its audience. Therefore, I've been trying to think of ways where Power Point is a good tool of presenting information. This is what I cam up with:

1. Digital Images- In the current art world, digital images are become the typical way to submit one's work for scholarships, grants, competitions, galleries. I think if one's work is good, it'll come across just fine in Powe Point.

2. Add campaigns- Well, the point of an add is the influence one to buy the product. Using a power point, can help the customer see what he or she is buying through visuals, exemplars, and facts. The adverister also must use other means besides Power Point, such as handouts and a good preach to sell the product.

3. Other- Really I think any kind of information can be presented successful via Power Point, however, it should only be used as a tool to enchance the presentation, not be the presentation.

Powerpoint Questions...

In our generation, information is thrown at us, to the point and simple. Do we, the millennium generation really care to think critically about the information/educate given to us? Do we confuse learning and absorbing information as the same thing?

Is the issue at hand Power Point, or our cultures lack of creativity and that it is a good form just used too much in a monotonous manner?

Would Tufte agree with getting rid of PowerPoint altogether even when it can be helpful for shows with images especially(relating it back to MICA) with scholarship reviews of portfolios?

Why does Tufte blame some of the wording on PowerPoint when people creating the PP are responsible for what they put on the slides?


Although Tufte makes some interesting points about PP and the ineffectiveness of it, I don't agree with some of his thinking. PP sould be used not by itself but with reports as well. I think PP can be helpful if the point of the presentation is a summary of points especially with images. I know that with my personal experience PP has been helpful when I need to present a presentation with images in such classes as art matters and phenomenon of color. I think Tufte goes a little far in his bashing of PP when he relates the structure of PP to other structures such as Stalin. Stalin?! I mean I don't think PP is that bad where it's dictating a country and killing people, that's a little ridiculous. And as for his point about children in school only doing PP and not knowing how to do a real report, well it's up to the teacher to be responsible for making the children do a report as well, that's not PP's fault. The purpose of PP is not to replace a real report and if people are substituting that for a real report that is their fault, not PP's. I don't think it's plausible to base the Columbia accident on PP, that is an engineers fault and the creators of that slideshow for giving conflicting views on the reason for the accident. I think Tufte could have made his points much more consicely than he did. He repeated himself often, saying the same points over and over. All in all Tufte had some good points but he was a little dramatic in his hate for PP that I don't think is reasonable.

The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

I disagree with some of the points made by Tufte. He makes an argument that the introduction of PowerPoint into schools is “disturbing.” From my experience, I’ve had to write a report almost every time I made a PowerPoint. The point of PowerPoint was to help the students organize and gather their thoughts during the presentation of their report/research. I think the PowerPoint exercises that “typically show 5 to 20 words and a piece of clipart on eat slide in a presentation consisting 3 to 6 slides” are good guides that help students practice their speaking skills during presentations. After all, we learn PowerPoint because we use it many times in our lives.

I’m still not sure what to think about using PowerPoint for business purposes. It seemed like it was unprofessional and inexcusable to be brief, according to Tufte. As long as the presenter knows what he’s talking about, isn’t it better to have a brief outline rather than a long report?

Also, I find it very funny that Tufte said, “By using PP to report technical work, presenters quickly damage their credibility—as was the case for NASA administrators engineers pitching their usual PP decks to these 2 very serious review boards.” It sounds true, and as long as they get all their information across, does it matter what format they use for their work?

1. Tufte quotes George Orwell at least three times saying: "The English Language...becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts." Granted, I don't actually know any other languages, but English seems pretty tidy and a substantial tool for communicating complex thoughts, if necessary. If Tufte is so critical of English and its shortcomings, why is this entire report in English (not to mention the report's overall comprehensive nature, its richness of content, and its density of words per square inch)? Isn't then his frustration with the Power Point format slightly discredited; couldn't an intelligent mind make an excellent and enlightening set of slides if they really tried?

2. Although it is obviously absurd to imagine NASA making cute slides for eachother, is it really fair to blame the entire Columbia disaster on Power Point?

New Knowledge

So today I learned how to copy a website as an image. This may be helpful to some people in the future if they don't already know. All you do is press shift, apple and 3 at the same time and there you have it. Easy as pie.

New Walt Disney Campaign

While coming up with project #2, my group and I can up with stratgies we find in adds to entice the customer. We came up with:
1. Everyone's doing it, you should to-
2. Celebrity Endorsement-
3. Picture you here- don't you look cool

While looking in the latest Vaniety Fair, photogrpaher Annie Leibowitz's new Disney Campaign uses all three of these stratgies to entice customers. If you're still figuring out how to sell your product you might find some ideas from Leibowitz's adds.

http://www.rm116.com/2007/02/annie_leibowitz.html

Whole Foods

As of last week, Whole Foods Market bought Wild Oats Market, making Whole Foods the world's largest natural and organic Supermarket. Because project # 2 has everything to do with marketing and selling an product, I thought Whole Foods would be a successful example on how things are done well. For instance, Whole Food's image is strictly about variety of foods brought to you in "natural and clean" presentation. To them and maybe to us, it seems presentation is more important than having a product be natural and/or organic. The Whole Food Market in Boulder, Colorado grosses over 1 million dollars per week, where at a given time 2/3 of its produce are organic. Boulder's Wild Oats on the other hand, grosses half that in a month, using 100% organic produce. It is obvious that presentation sells more than honesty and health.

It's interesting how the beginning of the article talks about photography, following lithography, was a visual way to keep up with speech. The cult value's peak of photograpy with portraits of loved ones,the dead ect. Then it mentions how captions have become essential for certain types of photography and how that differs from a title of a painting. How will the nature of photography and it's valuecontinue to become different in the future with the rapidly changing technology?
How do we challenge consumerism with a new perspective while living in a country that feeds off of it?

1. Can there ever really be a true replica because of an artworks "unique existence in time and space"?

2. Does the reproduction of an object destroy the significance of the original?

existenz and the making of earth

Museums & Theatre




Is the original work of art necessary in a time when we have so many forms of reproduction (camera, print, internet)? There are websites and image databases. There are prints and copies and reproductions. To see an original work of art, one would have to go to a museum. We spend an excessive amount of time at a computer and rarely visit museums.

Is theatre dead? Compared to the amount of money the movie and television industries gross, theatre is asleep. It has become a cultured, elite form of entertainment, but it is something that all can enjoy. Theatre is considered old and boring. The movie industry takes advantages of the masses. There are more plays written than movies and more movie venues than theatre. It is a war that can’t be won.

1. Isn't it sweet how Paul Valery predicted the internet and the magic of mouse clicks when he wrote "...so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign?"

2. And what about that whole switching sides on the "mechanical reproduction" issue? Benjamin spends unlimited time saying that reproductions destroy the AURA, and then straight up writes: "mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art..." and things of that nature.

Walter Benjamin Essay

This essay addressed many of the questions I, myself, have been asking over the past few weeks. Will man made, individually produced products become obsolete with the new wave of media that has entered the art world? Although Benjamin addresses the idea that mass reproduction of a work decreases its value, the question that still remains is whether we will begine to value originality over flawlessness. Computer programs, like Photoshop and Illustrator, have given us the power to alter the reality of an image and create whatever we want from it.
Benjamin also address the social aspect of art. Is it art if it isn't intended to be and visa versa? The manifesto that accompanied the Benjamin essay had an interesting view from the commercial aspect. Is design art?

post about the essays

I thought that the Benjamin Walter essay presented a very in-depth look at the roles of the viewer and the artist in contemporary culture. I found it especially interesting that he viewed actors in films as mere props to present the bigger idea. It didn't matter who was used in these films, it was up to the person filming it to be able to portray the actors in the right light. I felt that the essay implied that anything can be an art and anyone can be an artist, because in contemporary culture, art is a mode of communication, and the art work is the dialogue of different ideas. The most important thing is to get the idea across in the most reliable, understandable and accessible way. It made me wonder, what role do aesthetics play in contemporary art, and if they play any role at all? Are contemporary aesthetics simply judged on the presentation of the idea, and not on the visual element in the work?

Walter Benjamin Essay

The essay discusses several ways art is impacted through advancements in media. One of which is photography. I feel photography influenced art's direction a lot more than the essay noted. As soon as people could take snap shots the need to realistically draw an image was lessened. Now with digital photography there are instant images available to everyone who can push a button. There is no one of authority who has been trained to use equipment and develop pictures in the dark room. Programs such and Illustrator and Photoshop also give people a chance to manipulate the image into a type of drawing they have created. Is this going to become a more practical way to convey a visual image? Is charcoal going to be abandoned?

The essay also mentions the way that an actor who is interacting with a camera is different from him interacting with a live audience and that all of his actions are conscious of the fact that it will be viewed by the public. Since the camera is a more indirect way of showing something to the public.. rather than doing something in front of people...I think that actors are given the opportunity to be less self-conscious although they are aware that they will be watched. This idea reminded me of a passage I read in an Andy Warhol book which he stated that no one really looks like what they see when they look in the mirror. People contort their faces to the way they find attractive. This makes me question the new fad of reality television more. Of course everyone acts differently in front of a camera just like people act differently in unfamilar surroundings but if this is one of the main ways people get to experience other parts of the world with out actually going there.. what kind of message does this send? What kind of message is received since reality can never be captured?

P.S. My user picture is my first self portrait I did in illustrator...cool,man.

is there room for an avant-garde in post-modern art or is everything trying to push forward therefore establishing a normality amongst the methods of art? art's vision has turned on itself and less on a social climate, so what are the next steps? how do we progress out of this rut, if that's what it could be referred to. Or is it a celebration of art itself. a thorough exploration of art, therefore raising it up and glorifying it, ironically while picking it apart. this brings up the role of the viewer to the artwork. if the viewer has no concept of art, which has been progressed excessively by artists, what then is their relationship to it. film, as the reading suggests, begins to resolve these problems and constructs a meeting point for the viewer and the art. will art make a sudden shift to the community? the gears have started to turn in that direction. will you be a part of this "progression," this shift? stop glorifying yourself as an artist. it's soooo passe to play the role of the enigmatic, tortured artist working out of himself to create something an audience can try to understand but only appreciate it as a manifestation of his own personal struggles. lets transcend ourselves and work for the community. celebrate humanity, for art is made by humans and should be viewed by humans. it's going to be a difficult sepeartion, i know. we'll miss ourselves, but there will always be time to make art out of ourselves in a basement. like kafka would suggest our tango with recognition and fame is distracting us from the true powers art can carry. act in the community and make vibrations, we've lost touch with the voice of our work. art can be more then trend, "the next big thing." if we examine this, we see that these glorifications are dictated by the aristocrats. they pick and choose out of our personal struggles to bring us into their illusive lifestyles. we can work from the self without the exploitation.

sooooooo go to the next pillow fight. be a part of it.

is there room for an avant-garde in post-modern art or is everything trying to push forward therefore establishing a normality amongst the methods of art? art's vision has turned on itself and less on a social climate, so what are the next steps? how do we progress out of this rut, if that's what it could be referred to. Or is it a celebration of art itself. a thorough exploration of art, therefore raising it up and glorifying it, ironically while picking it apart. this brings up the role of the viewer to the artwork. if the viewer has no concept of art, which has been progressed excessively by artists, what then is their relationship to it. film, as the reading suggests, begins to resolve these problems and constructs a meeting point for the viewer and the art. will art make a sudden shift to the community? the gears have started to turn in that direction. will you be a part of this "progression," this shift? stop glorifying yourself as an artist. it's soooo passe to play the role of the enigmatic, tortured artist working out of himself to create something an audience can try to understand but only appreciate it as a manifestation of his own personal struggles. lets transcend ourselves and work for the community. celebrate humanity, for art is made by humans and should be viewed by humans. it's going to be a difficult sepeartion, i know. we'll miss ourselves, but there will always be time to make art out of ourselves in a basement. like kafka would suggest our tango with recognition and fame is distracting us from the true powers art can carry. act in the community and make vibrations, we've lost touch with the voice of our work. art can be more then trend, "the next big thing." if we examine this, we see that these glorifications are dictated by the aristocrats. they pick and choose out of our personal struggles to bring us into their illusive lifestyles. we can work from the self without the exploitation.

sooooooo go to the next pillow fight. be a part of it.

I attended the workshop held last week by Ellen Lupton on how to create your own exhibition catalogue and I wanted to share some of the stuff I learned. She is part of the graphic design MAT program here and has written and published some books herself. She talked about independent publishing and the most economically efficient way to do that. She gave us some great websites for doing this. If you go onto her own website elupton.com you can access all of the info that she gave during the workshop. Another great website is lulu.com which is pretty cheap for publishing your own books. There are only a few options on the website, black and white or color, but they're good quality. If you want to publish your own book or catalogue or even other things you can do it on lulu; you have to develop the pages and work on photoshop. She also talked about the different copyrights available. If you're interested go to her website which again is elupton.com and then click on indie publishing and all the topics are available.

I have a few problems with Benjamin's essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" because of the way he goes back and forth between his ideas about the way film concerns art. He says that it's not art for a number of reasons but then counters that with reasons that film is art. I also don't agree with his idea that because the "masses" are crossing the line between artist and audience, writer and reader, there is some sort of "crisis." Why is there a problem if more people want to create art? Shouldn't everyone have the opportunity to do this? If there is more art in the world then I don't see the problem. Also, if reproduction is bringing more art to people in the world then what is the problem there? A person can't experience art just became the original piece is not in front of them? I think mechanical reproduction has done a lot of wonderful things for the world of art; it has brought art to people and places that wouldn't normally have access to it.

1. The author says that with photography, the first process of reproduction, art "sensed the approaching crisis." Why is this a crisis if it gives almost anyone the ability to experience art? Yes, it's different than seeing it in person, but does that mean that only a person that has the ability to physically visit a work of art should see that work? And if that is true then does he only want art available for the bourgeoisie since they would be the only ones able to view these works without reproductions?

2. Does Benjamin think film is a work of art? He goes back and forth in that he says that film actors don't have an aura and that it has no cult value but then he also says that film offers a more significant reality than painting "...precisely because of the thoroughgoing permeation of reality with mechanical equipment, an aspect of reality which is free of all equipment. And that is what one is entitled to ask from a work of art." Does he think that film could be a work of art but film actors can't?

Walter Benjamin worte this in 1935, when he thought the "new" technology affected the place of art in the society. However, he had nothing on the techonology that we have today. Do you think that he would still hold the same position even with the advanced technology (e.i. digital reproduction)?
Do YOU agree with his whole argument that certain mechanical reproduced art loses its authenticity? After all,,,, it does feel a whole lot different when we actually go to galleries to see artwork than seeing them in magazines, internet, etc.

This Film is Not Yet Rated

The movie on Monday reminded me of a documentary called This Film is Not Yet Rated. It's about a man named, Kirby Dick and his exposé about the American movie ratings board. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) claims that all its members are "average" parents of children ages 1-18 years old. Dick hires a private investigator to track members of the board. You'd be surprised to know who's actually controlling the ratings for all films you and I see everyday. There is an interesting line drawn for what is rated R verses NC-17. For example, any scene with public hair, a female orgasm, or a gay sex scene most likely is always going to be rated NC-17.

I highly recommend seeing this film the next time you rent a movie...

The World of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Is film really the only form of art that can be duplicated without lossing its authentcity because one can experience this form in both time and space? Can't a duplicate of a painting do the same?

Does this article really apply to our modern day way of thinking? For example I don't know if I agree with the quote, "The uniquiness of a work of art is inseparable from its being imbedded in the fabric of tradition.

Headlines for 2029

HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR: 2029

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California . White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.

Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.

Baby conceived naturally. Scientists stumped.

Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

Last remaining Fundamentalist Muslim dies in the American Territory of the Middle East (formerly known as Iraq , Afghanistan , Syria and Lebanon ).

Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica .

Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.

Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and Exercise is the key to weight loss.

Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.

Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed, they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.

Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.


Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.


Average height of NBA players is now nine feet, seven inches.


New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2036.


Congress authorizes direct deposit of formerly illegal political contributions to campaign account


IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.


Florida voters still having trouble with voting machines.

I thought this was relevant to class because of our conversation based on modernist and post-modernist structure. Some of the "Headlines" really made me think about how technology and the emphasis on it in our society might effect the future.

the size of technology

at the rate technology is going, how small will things get? Cell phones and ipods these days are half the size of a potato chip, and theyre getting smaller. I think they will get smaller and smaller until we eventualy start to lose everything, and then they will get larger and larger, and then smaller and smaller, and it will be a cycle.

virtual currency

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/world/asia/05virtual.html?ref=world

-this article is kind of interesting and talks about the rise of interenet in China, and how it has even caused the governent worry that Tencent's (compariblel to our google) "virtual money" might potentially affect China's actual currency.

google earth

I suppose we all know what Google Earth is, but if you don't, it is a website that uses satellites, and you can look at anything on earth that the satellite can see. It is not a live feed. You can see your house or cars or people. I was have been thinking about this for awhile. This is a free resource on the free Internet. Anyone is allowed to use this, although you can pay for a better quality version. If such an expansive resource is available to the public, then what does the government have control of? What are they able to see? Just seeing my backyard on the World Wide Web is mind blowing, but I am sure that that is now calculator technology compared with what the government is using.

Did you know that the origin of the word Pixel comes from Lite-Brite! Strange but true.

cool video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t5YkTnl1RM

In a book on City as landscape: a post-postmodern view of design and planning (E&F Spon, 1986], Tom Turner argues that:

The modernist age, of "one way, one truth, one city", is dead and gone. The postmodernist age of "anything goes" is on the way out. Reason can take us a long way, but it has limits. Let us embrace post-postmodernism—and pray for a better name.

"Performatism" was coined by Raoul Eshelman, as a term to describe or replace the term "Post-Postmodernism". He goes on to describe it as "a new epoch in which subject, sign, and thing come together in ways that create an aesthetic experience of transcendency"...a place where meaning is created.

I think that in post-postmodernism, art is going beyond the idea of creating any sort of object to represent an idea, instead art is the idea itself. An example of this is the "Burning Man" festival, an annual event in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Thousands of people gather there every year to participate in the burning of a giant statue of a human figure. The festival presents the current ideals of art- community, radical self-expressionism, and decommodification. Art has moved beyond the realm of the artist, the spectator, and the artwork. The line that separates the three is no longer there. It's about creating something that can transcend these boundaries, and not tie them to any one person or group of people.

On the topic of postmodernism I found it interesting that there are two different types of postmodernism, that of deconstructive postmodernism and constructive postmodernism. Deconstructive postmodernism seeks to abandon all modernist principles such as reason, truth and self-purpose. The purpose of constructive postmodernism, on the other hand, is to simply revise modernist principles that it doesn't agree with. Constructive postmodernism does not agree with the scientifc approach of modernism and seeks to change that, not necessarily the science of modernism. Constructive postmodernism wants a return to premodern thoughts, those before modernism. Although both types of different they still fall under postmodernism because they are open and not closed in as modernism. I don't really feel that there needs to be a distinction between the two because postmodernism has certain principles that are completely opposite of modernism. Even constructive modernism, which seeks to revise modernism, moves towards more premodern thoughts and thus not keeping modernism as part of its thought.

post-structuralism.


post-modern trends.
http://www.eyeconart.net/history/postmodern.htm

-interesting note on the richard serra sculpture towards the bottom of the page, it became a performance piece when he urinated on it every morning. post-modern art has become about a freedom of acting, in a sense of freedom among art. it is a constant reinvention of material. it was inevitable that modernism collapse on itself, it might not be a collapse but a setting free. it is often viewed as both.

My grandfather just sent me a letter that is pretty relevant to the class discussion. He is anti-modernist/postmodernist values (heads up): "Modernism deals in analyses and reductionism in things and motion: emphasizing the atomi and the void, seperation, discontinuity. The part is seen as greater than the whole. [Modernist] art becomes a cube, a dot, or an empty blank (a void). Poetry is free of verse. Music loses harmony, melody - even rhythm. Truth is always relative, changeable, and individual. All ideas are equal and none is privileged above the others. There is no unifying morality, meaning, or purpose; no intelligent design in nature, no telos. There is no God. There is decreasing organization [resulting in] increasing entropy and chaos. Truth is personal, individual, and self-centered...and Reality, it seems, unknowable."
I thought it was a good synopsis. Whatever.

Iphone

Hey I'm sure you've already checked out the new iPhone, but for those of you who haven't, I thought I'd take the opportunity to show you. After watching Bladder Runner and reading the Interface, it got me realizing how the iPhone is an such a good look into the future of technology; the all-in-one package. Anyways, the new iPhone is an all-in-one package consisting of: a phone, ipod, movie player, camera, internet device with wireless capabilities, gps mapping system, etc.... Even though the item is rectangular, it can be used both horizonatlly or vertically, with a touch pad keyboard and multi-touch sensor. What more can you ask for in a phone?

It will be released here in the US in June for a whopping $650.

Check it out for yourself....
http://www.apple.com/iphone/

new post in old post

http://codygriffith.blogspot.com/

interfaces

1. since on computers we can simply cut and paste text, video, images, pixels, and so on in exactly the same way, does this alter our perception of real life at all? Are we too accustomed to this to be attached to reality?

2. the computer now is a multifaceted tool, equipped with programs for work, leisure, and both. As our society progresses and we get more computer/phone/camera/video recorder/tazer/calculator/etc... will we eventually end up with one tool that does everything possible? Will we end up with some machine that makes it so that we never have to leave one spot?

Having an unrestricted internet, Are we in one of the Last free unregulated social networking time periods? Like many technological advances before it the internet, it is threatened by regulations, most recently Network Neutrality, this one most likely won't go anywhere, but what's next??? ENjoy it while it lasts.

Also, On a Barely Related Note, Matthew Barney was mentioned in the Reading as an techno-noir artist similar to the driector of Blade Runner. Matthew Barney is going to be at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC Wednesday, Is anyone Going?

Hirshhorn Museum

The Interface

What happens when an interface does not allow for the user to access the function that it needs or wants to reach, that is within the construct of the interface? And as a follow up to that, what happens when a user tries to solve the problem and find away around the interface to access the restricted information?

oh cool, telekenesis

QUESTIONS:

- Because the internet has create such a cultural fusion, mimicking a sense of life, it is possible that the evolution of our accessibility to the internet (ie. limited to viewing a screen) could lead to an eventual paralell reality or virtual reality. What does this suggest about our own reality. Could we be lost in some virtual atmosphere left to function on its own with no trace of the creators. Could we lose ourselves in a virtual reality and begin to ask questions about the origin of things, knowledge, purpose, and existence such that philosophers have been doing for centuries? Is the make up of our biological anatomy a possible clue to what technology looked like in another reality and we've become so autonomous that we've lost touch and/or purpose to it?

ANSWERS:

-

The Universe as a Computer

So what if the universe was actually a computer, and atoms, molecules, and even energy can be translated into the binaries: 1 and 0?

Sounds strange, but it might not be too far off. An awesome Wired Magazine article talks about this.

1.Since the interface changes how we view information through a computer and "imposes its own logic on them" won't the same facts appear different to each person who views it, whereas with a book every copy is equal to another therefore everyone is has equal facts. If in the future books and printed information become obsolete how will one know what version of the facts is true?

2.Can any one person claim to be the sole creator of computer based art if it first goes through a programmer and a computer program?

tapirs.

is the technological revolution destorying our ability to perceive reality?

will the non-digital world eventually become obsolete because of the convenience and speed with which everything can be done on a computer?

The Interface

While reading this article, I was especially interested when Manovich spoke about how technology and the use of the computer has changed over the past twenty years. Having grown up with computers I didn't realize just how drastic the progress has been since the early 80s. My first question is, is the progress of computers and our society's increasing reliance on them healthy for our culture? I, myself, sometimes worry that because computers and the work that can be done on them is becoming increasingly more valued, i idea of something handmade, and even something with human flaws is becoming more rare. My second question is a follow-up to that statement: should the work of computers be valued equally to the work of man?

The Interface

While reading the article the first thing I questioned was what does "meatspace" mean and who is the author quoting? I have never heard of this term before and it sounds unappealing.

Question number 2...

The reading discusses how technology has advanced over the years. I'm curious as to what people think is next. The latest creations that have impressed people have just been the combination of pre-existing things. (camera phones, iphone, ipods that can have pictures, blackberries) What comes after mp3s, digital photography and wireless internet? What are consumers going to be interested in buying to make their life even easier and more transportable?

1. If Bladerunner was "dark and decayed" and the GUI's purpose is "clarity and functionality", what is the cultural significance of them being released within two years of each other?

2. If the difference between new media design and new media art is "interface dichotomy" why is the content and interface considered one entity in new media art but not new media design?

1. According to the book, we engage in more activities during a typical day than Karl Marx imagined. Then it states that "Yet in performing all these different activities, the user in essence is always using the same tools and commands: a computer screen and a mouse, a Web brower; a search engine; cut, paste, copy, delete, and find commands." Isn't it unreliable to argue that the user in essence is always involved in the stated activities? It seems more of an assumption, rather than a proved factor.

2. Is it possible to think that the increasing development of technology, including GUI, may result in "dark, decayed, "postmodern" society as in Blade Runner?

1. In discussing the AL evolutionary programs, or whatever, Manovitch writes, "the content of [a new media] artwork is the collaboration" between artist/programmer, computer, and viewer. This does not seem like a ground-breaking, interface-related idea; couldn't it be argued that all artistic content (especially in performance and installation) is partially based on the viewer's response and participation?

2. Why would Karl Marx ever want to overcome the work-leisure divide? Weak.

The Interface

According to the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis, what would the world would be like if the new interface was able to translate all codes?"

The Interface

In the direction technology is advancing, do you think Video Games and other computer enterainment will become the new "interactive" media?

Really Cool Music Sites (and other sites)

Hi everyone.

I know of some great music sights that are free, legal, and interesting indie/electronic stuff. So check them out:

Miasmah (Indie Recording Label)
Hybridized (Downloadable Techno and House music DJ sets)
Subsource (Indie music from Germany)

Mandolux is a really neat photography and desktop website. For those looking for cool desktops, you can go there.

And if anyone's interested, this is my website, Secondseraph.com.

-daniel

Fat Cat

Cats

Everyone likes cat pictures

Little Superstar

Welcome to EMAC

This is the class web log for section B of MICA's Electronic Media and Culture course, in the Spring 2007.