Video Art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZfl5bkUjmw

For some reason, when I tried to upload this directly from youtube it didn't work so here is the link.

I didn't really plan this video at all, it all kind of came together over the last few days and there's a few different ways I ended up "embracing the error". First of all, I recorded myself playing "Victor's Piano Solo" on the piano, and because I recorded it with my cell phone in a room with awful acoustics, the quality of the recording is pretty bad. This wasn't intentional, but it definitely sticks to the theme of error. Also I can never remember the last few chords of the song, so every single time I play it I mess up the ending. Instead of looking up the sheet music or doing something to fix the ending, I just kept it the way it is in order to embrace the error.
Also when I think of the idea of "error", I think of people trying to erase their mistakes. That's why I played all the video clips backwards; to represent the idea of trying to go back in time and fix your mistakes.
On a more symbolic note, the piece of paper that says "I have so much to say" is burned to represent people who don't speak their minds. Whenever someone holds back their ideas, they almost always regret it, and that is a huge error people make in life every day. So the person burning the paper is making a mistake by not saying what they want to say, and they are not embracing the error in a positive way.

Sight

          This video honestly creeped me out a little. I think if technology like that existed, any tasks involving human interaction would completely lose their purpose. The fact that Patrick can't even think of anything to say on a date without his "sight" providing him with ideas shows how dependent humans can and will become on technology. Since Daphne has sight too, she could easily be looking up information on Patrick during their date as well. The two people aren't actually connecting with each other, they are both allowing their technology to do the work for them. Face-to-face conversations would be worthless with "sight" technology because two people aren't actually interacting, but the computers in their eyes are interacting. That totally undermines the value of the human consciousness. What's the point in even having consciousness and ideas and opinions if there is a computer in our eyes that makes all the decisions for us? Sure the "Sight technology would make simple aspects of life more interesting, such as chopping celery, but it would also take away the spark of human interaction. Personally I thought the date between Patrick and Daphne couldn't have been more awkward. I just felt uncomfortable watching the whole thing, and I guarantee if neither of them had screens in their eyeballs to rely on and distract them from what was actually happening, the date would have gone a lot smoother. 

Comments on Performance Art

Liz's performance art video cracked me up. I love how serious her neighbors looked while they were posing, and you can tell they loved pretending to be mannequins. I also thought it was awesome how at the beginning, the girls walked by talking about how "life-like" the mannequins looked before they realized they actually were people. It's great that strangers unknowingly provided their input to the performance on camera. I totally understood where she was coming from with the idea of "perfection" that is constantly thrown at you in the mall because that's what inspired me for my own performance art. Awesome job :)

Michio Kaku and the View of the Future

          Michio Kaku's comments on the future of technology and society are startling. I can't decide if the possibilities of the future are negative or positive, although some are definitely both. In his second point, Kaku describes how "augmented reality will be everyday reality", and this scares me. If people can have maps, scripts, translations and biographies available in their lenses at any point of the day, people won't have the incentive to actually learn anything new. The amount of work people will need to put into their jobs would decrease if technology provides them with everything they need to know. Future actors won't know how to memorize lines because their scripts are laid out in front of them at all times. Travelers and tourists won't need to fully immerse themselves in a new culture and learn the language if all the information and translations are right there in their glasses. I think the possibilities of technology in the future will definitely make like easier, but difficult tasks such as memorizing scripts and learning new languages will lose their value and humans will lose their incentive to learn new things.
          The other point that I had a major reaction to was Kaku's third point about new connections being made between the mind and the computer. I think it is amazing that people with disabilities will be able to control certain aspects of technology with their thoughts; mechanical body parts and wheelchairs as well as video games can be operated simply with the mind. This will definitely make life easier and more enjoyable for those with severe disabilities. Some of the people who are deprived of the privileges of everyday life will finally get to enjoy more things. I think that is a beautiful concept, and if there's anything that technology should be trying to improve, it's the quality of life for those who are struggling.
          Then again, I think technology is improving for the wrong reasons in certain cases. Under Kaku's third point again, he describes how people will be able to upload thoughts, memories, and emotions onto the internet. While this is impressive, I think it is totally unnecessary. Memories and emotions are a precious part of our consciousness that make life worth living. The feeling of happiness you get while hugging your family and friends, the feeling of disappointment you get when you fail a test, the feeling of pride you get when someone you love accomplishes something; these are the moments that define and shape our lives. If these are translated and recorded technologically, they will lose their value. Being able to go back and view memories and dreams undermines how special they are when they actually occur. People will forget to treasure the important moments in life if they know that can just look back on it later. Sometimes I think technological developments can go too far and take away from the value of life, and I sincerely hope that doesn't happen.

Golan Levin

          What I liked the most about Golan Levin's interview is how he relates art and computing technology to the real world. He describes the importance of knowing how to use computer programming and video editing, and how those can be applied to life. During high school and occasionally during college I'll find myself sitting in class asking "how is this going to help me in the future? Is this actually relevant to life?" Levin mentions how being in high school and especially being in college, it is necessary to become familiar with programming and computer technology. That is where the world is going. Society today revolves around technology, and the influence of technology will only expand. In order to survive and be successful in today's world, people need to recognize the importance of technology. 
           I also enjoyed how Levin's face was broken down into technological units on the screen as he gave the interview. It was a nice added touch to emphasize his point; digital programming appears in everyday life all the time and we need to start getting familiar with it. As he speaks, his face is broken down into smaller, simpler units so he no longer looks human, but he looks like a technological invention or a hologram or something. It basically just reinforces the importance, and the beauty, or technology and computer programming.

Performance Art

          I got the idea for this performance art piece from one of the videos we watched in class. I forget the name of the student, but we watched a video of a previous student who was putting on makeup in front of the camera and it inspired me to do something similar.
          First of all, we discussed how performance art is about the decontextualization of certain aspects of life. People put on makeup to hide their imperfections, and it is generally done at home in private so that no one sees their flaws. I decided to take the act of applying makeup and do it in a public area to decontextualize the act of enhancing the way I look with a ton of makeup. I never wear that much makeup in real life but I thought it was necessary to over-exaggerate the process.
          I thought the mall was the perfect place to do my performance art because the mall is place of materialism. Every store at the mall encourages buying beauty products and clothes that hide your flaws and enhance your appearance, even though nothing is more valuable than natural beauty. That's why after I caked on all that makeup, I immediately wash it off to show that I'm still the same person without any makeup. Basically I was trying to convey the message that putting on or taking off makeup has no effect on who you are as a person, and that there are much more important things in life than physical appearance and materialism.

Tumblr photos

I found these photos on Tumblr today and I thought they were incredible. They reminded me of Santiago's "Modern Saints" exhibit because of the non-human images displayed on human faces and bodies. I'm not sure if these were projections or if they were created digitally somehow, but I just think the effect is amazing.

Saturday Night Fever and the Death of Disco

         Disco was born in the 1970's, when Moog machine made electronic sounds popular. Music transformed from being all traditional instruments to being created by synthesizers and other new sounds. Giorgio Moroder was a prominent figure in the development of disco when he took sounds from all different music genres and created the song "I Feel Love", sung by Donna Summer. This is when Disco took off.

          Because disco was everywhere, anyone believed they could create disco music. This led to the quick downfall of disco. Anything was turned into disco, including Beethoven's 5th symphony and duck noises in the song "Disco Duck". People started to hate the genre because of all the crap that claimed to be disco. Then when Saturday Night Fever came out, it is said that Disco officially died. According to the article, "many of the biggest hit disco singles had come and gone". However, the movie Saturday Night Fever reminded people what real disco was all about. John Travolta's incredible and energetic dancing embodied what was so great about disco in the first place: it was a crowd pleaser. Disco music almost forces you to dance, and that's why it was so popular in the first place. Also without disco music, we would not have house music, which is a huge part of music culture.

Breakdancing

          Breakdancing, also known as B-boying, is a form of dance created in the 1970s by young blacks and Puerto Ricans in New York City. It revolves around hip hop music with upbeat tunes. Although it began in New York, the media helped it spread all around the world and turned it into a popular form of dance that anyone can get involved in. Some more experienced break-dancers often incorporate acrobatic and gymnastic moves into their dances, while less skilled dancers just stick to traditional hip hop dance movements. The four main break dancing moves are called the toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. Toprock is standing dance moves, downrock is dancing on the ground, power moves are acrobatic moves that require speed and strength, and freezes are held poses where a dancer must hold themselves off the ground. Overall it is a powerful and vibrant form of dance.

          Here is a video of breakdancing from the 70's. You can see how the emphasis is on floor movements, whether the dancer is suspending himself off the floor or actually dancing on the floor. It takes immense  strength and endurance to learn how to breakdance, and these dancers are amazing.

Matthew Barney

          Matthew Barney seems to have strange sources of inspiration for his work. The most normal is his use of ordinary materials and turning them into art, such as creating sculptures out of vaseline. I also noticed a lot of appearances by animals in Barney's work. He also seems to be intrigued by fantasy and strange creatures. For example, in one of his pieces he used the horns of a ram and in another video he used a person painted as a leopard clawing someones back. He also includes zombies in one of his videos in the Chrysler Building. He definitely stretches beyond the boundaries of ordinary human life and explores different creatures in his work.
           While he does incorporate non-human creatures, he definitely is interested in the phenomenon of human life. He explores embryos and their life cycle, and he represents human sexual organs through the positioning of dancers. Earlier in the film, it is said that Barney uses creativity and human biology to create a "vision of the meaning of life itself". I think that is what Barney's work revolves around. He is using art to discover what life is, and what the human's place is in this world. 

Nam June Paik

          There were a few major thoughts I had while watching the documentary on Nam June Paik. First of all, I was impressed at how diverse of an artist he is. He paints, he sculpts, he performs. It is difficult enough to perfect one art form, but he seems to be able to do everything. He can take any random object, such as a guitar or a television, and transform it into art piece, and that is incredible.
          I also love that all of his pieces are alive. The shots of the hundreds of television screens all stacked on top of each other was the first one that caught my attention. Every image that came on one of the screens was bright and colorful, and the constant changing of the images made the televisions active and alive. I also enjoyed the "Global Groove" Korean dance that the video showed for a short time. The intensity of the music, the bright green background, and the energetic movements of the dancer all combined to make the piece engaging. Also the "Global Groove" TV Cello incorporates television, music, and technological effects to create an interesting piece filled with color and sound. All of these art pieces are so lively that you can't take your eyes off of them. I can clearly see why Nam June Paik is the father of video art.

Above is a picture of the "Electronic Superhighway". I think this piece perfectly embodies Nam June Paik's artistic style because he has taken the technology of television and mixed it with sculpture. The TV's are arranged in a way that creates the image of the continental United States, and the vibrant colors and energy that radiate from this piece captivate the audience and basically embody Nam June Paik's art as a whole.

Flash Mob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJoIaXZ0rw
I was watching "500 Days of Summer" last night and this scene reminded me of the flash mobs we talked about in class. Obviously it's not a real flash mob because it was choreographed and scripted in a movie, but it still embodies the general idea of people joining together and performing in a decontextualized space. I love this scene!

Xerox Project

This project was a creative interpretation of the human body in an unexpected form. I used my dad's printer to make copies of my body parts, including my face, my hair, my arms and legs, my feet and hands, and my stomach. I then spent hours meticulously cutting my body parts out, and then brainstormed how to display them.

I have always had a love of music, and I wanted to integrate the copies of my body with something that relates to music. My favorite instrument is the piano, but I realized it would difficult to find a piano that I would be allowed to turn into a work of art. Instead, I borrowed one of my dad's many acoustic guitars because it was convenient and accessible. I did not plan any of the arrangements of my body cut-outs on the guitar, it just flowed. I taped pieces down in a way that was visually appealing, and covered the entire guitar. It ended up almost representing the human body with the face at the top, the arms and hands near the middle and on the neck, the stomach in the middle of the front, and the feet and legs near the bottom. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Archetypes

          I learned about archetypes in my english classes in high school because they show up a lot in literature. An archetype is a basic model or pattern that can be copied or represented. In literature, there are certain archetypes that appear in different stories through the representations of different characters. I think because archetypes represent a general idea or pattern, its easy for stereotypes to arise because people have some sort of preconceived notion of what something is. There is already an idea in their head, and that's where stereotypes come from. If people can destroy their expectations and stereotypes then there would be a lot less discrimination in the world. Without archetypes, people can have a more open mind and just accept someone for what they are.

Sheryl Oring

          One of my favorite things about Sheryl Oring is how she takes words and turns them into her artwork. She get real life people to share their personal feelings and ideas, and I love how she displays the connections with people in her pieces. "Writing Home" and "I Wish To Say" both get so personal with people we consider strangers, yet after reading them you feel like you know them. You get insight into the relationships between family members in "Writing Home" and it has such a personal touch that you can't help but feel emotionally connected to the letters. 
          Not only do her projects unveil emotion and relationships, they are also a form of interactive media. She allows the audience to become part of her piece, and she forms a bond between the people that write letters for her. The fourth wall is not only broken, but the people in the audience are also the artists because it is their words that make the art. 
          Another way Oring involves the audience is in the piece "Rilke's Offerings". By placing letters addressed to "A Young Poet" all over the city, she is inviting any random passerby to get involved. Any reader who opens a letter is then given the power because they can choose what to do with it. They can throw it away, respond, or start a similar project of their own. Oring is spreading her ideas in such a way that might inspire other people to do the same.

Howl

          It only took me a few paragraphs of this article to realize that the argument was ridiculous. First of all, the supposedly inappropriate content of the poem "Howl" is nothing compared to what is on the internet today. Anyone can access inappropriate material online at any time, and it's not like people have never been exposed to that type of content before. Everyone knows what sex and drugs and booze is, and if someone feels uncomfortable with those things that they can choose not to listen to "Howl".
          But the part of this article that angered me the most was when the former FCC Commissioner Glen O. Robinson said "Maybe the commission would look differently on it if we were talking about Shakespeare, but Ginsberg isn't Shakespeare."
          Why is Shakespeare allowed to talk about inappropriate topics in his plays but Ginsberg isn't? Some of the content in Shakespeare's writings were just as bad if not worse than what Ginsberg writes in "Howl", and there were no censorship issues back in the sixteenth century. If people stop worrying about what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable and just focus on the art, we wouldn't have controversy over silly things like fines. Just focus on the art. 

Brion Gysin

          Brion Gysin was an artist born in England, but his true artistic talent didn't flourish until he moved to Paris in 1934. Here he became involved with Surrealism, joining the Surrealist Group along with Dali, Man Ray, and Duchamp. Later on in life, he joined the U.S. army in WWII, learned Japanese and calligraphy, and opened a restaurant. 
          While his life was full of achievement, Brion Gysin is most well-known for two artistic projects. The first is the cut-up technique, which he worked on with William Burroughs. They would write on paper, then cut the paper up and put it back together, creating a new, creative piece of writing. This completely relates to the Exquisite corpses we did in class. Like Gysin and Burrough's creations, our drawings combined different elements that were not suppose to go together and the outcomes were incredible. Gysin's cut-up technique displays the idea that art and beauty doesn't have to be planned out. You can take totally unrelated images or words and align them so that they naturally create new meaning.
          The second well-known Gysin art form is the Dreamachine. This is a flickering cylindrical device that resembles a strobe light, where the pulsating light coming from the machine creates bright patterns behind the viewer's closed eyes. It seems to work almost like a drug or like hypnosis; the viewer is transported to a new world with strange colors and images. Some think the dreamachine is harmful because it can cause seizures, but I think it is definitely a form of art. Art is supposed to get a reaction out of its viewers; it is supposed to make the audience feel and experience something. That is exactly what the Dreamachine does. Some people may have bad reactions to it, but not everyone is going to experience art the same way. As long as people have some sort of connection with the Dreamachine, it is a powerful piece of art. 
         

Grid Art Project

I took this picture over the summer while I was at Green Key Beach in Florida. I just love the tropical colors and the interesting shape of the palm tree, so I decided to use it for my grid art.

I took a piece of foam poster board and created a grid out of gluing down party beads so that they all lined up and made a grid. After that I painted the beads, and here is the finished product!

Emak Bakia - Man Ray

          This film was absolutely mesmerizing. From the haunting music to the mysterious mesh of visual effects, I could not take my eyes off the screen. Man Ray's amazing artistic ability shines through this piece, particularly when he distorts and blurs images of ordinary everyday objects, turning ordinary things like nails into art. There are reflections and rotating objects where you can never be sure if it is the camera moving or the object. Because everything is so distorted, I had to second guess everything I saw in the film; I never knew if I was looking at something real or if it was something Man Ray had created with technology. 
          I also found influence from different art forms we talked about in class in Man Ray's video. For example, at 3:32 there was a sort of rectangular prism that was rotating and reflecting light on the screen. This reminded me of cubism, because of the rigid edges of the prism and all the reflecting patterns were rigid shapes. There were traces of order, since a cube is an orderly shape with equal sides, but they were displayed in a disorderly way because of the confusion Man Ray's technology created. 
          I also sensed surrealism in the film, because everything was so dreamlike and surreal. The fact that the viewer needs to ponder whether what they see is reality or not is exactly what the art movement of surrealism provokes. For example, at 4:15, Man Ray turns something as simple as driving a car into a surreal experience. The angle of the camera puts the driver almost totally out of frame, and all you can see is the landscape whizzing past as the front of the car speeds down the road. The vision is shaky and goes in an out of focus so that you aren't exactly sure what it happening. Then at 7:07, the simple idea of the ocean is transformed into a strange montage of motion and images that may or may not be the ocean. The layering of scenes on top of each other create a picture that is constantly in motion, and many things are happening at once. You see fish swimming, then you see waves washing on a shore, then you see reflections in the water; and the whole time the scene is rotating and swaying so that your eyes take a while to adjust and your brain takes a while to decipher the scene. This interesting dreamlike state seems to be influenced by surrealism.

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

          There is no doubt that this speech by Steve Jobs is incredible. It was inspirational and captivating, and I found myself emotionally invested in everything he was saying. One of the best parts was when he explained the calligraphy class that he took, just because it was so unexpected. Who would have thought that a single class taken on a whim could have such great influence on a company that changed the world? This just shows that the littlest things can have huge impacts on your life, so never take anything for granted.
           Also, that story reinforces the idea that you should always do what interests you. Steve Jobs took the calligraphy class because he wanted to. It was a topic that interested him, and he eventually found out that he was very passionate about it. He then took what he learned and applied it to another project that he was very passionate about: the Mac computer. If Steve hadn't followed his passions and done what he loved, the world would not be able to enjoy the benefits of the Mac.
          Similarly, Steve Job's second story about being fired from Apple also revolves around passion. Although Steve lost everything, Apple and the Mac was still in his heart. There was no way that he would let John Sculley stand in the way of his dreams, and his dedication towards Apple is the epitome of passion. This should be a lesson to everybody to never give up on your passions, because when you fight for what you love, everything seems to turn out well in the end.

Alan Turing

          We often take the incredible technology we have today for granted. It is part of our everyday lives; we use technology without a second thought, without really thinking about how far science has come over the past decades. Right now I am typing on a computer, and without Alan Turing I would not be able to do this. Alan Turing is a brilliant British man, with experience as a mathematician, logician, and a computer scientist. He has worked at the Government Code and Cypher School during World War II, breaking German codes, and finding useful information for the British. He later applied his intelligence to computers.
          Turing designed the ACE, which was the first stored-program computer. Although it was a detailed project, there were many delays and the project was never released. However, a Pilot ACE was released while Turing was studying at Cambridge University, so it wasn't Turing's version but he still deserved all the credit. 
          Computers were further enhanced with the "Turing Test". Turing explored the idea that computers have "artificial intelligence", and he wanted to establish a standard for a machine to be considered intelligent. He wanted a machine to be able to think like a human, but to stimulate a child-like mindset so that it could be educated. 
          After Turing's death, the Turing Award has been given for those who contribute to the computer world by the Association for Computing Machinery. Turing's contributions to the technology have basically shaped our lives today since so much of the modern world revolves around computers. So next time you're using your computer, remember to think of Alan Turing and appreciate his research.

War of the Worlds

          My initial reaction to "War of the Worlds" was that the speaker really knew what he was doing. I was only one minute into the broadcast, and I was already immersed in whatever the speaker said. He was so eloquent; pausing at the right times, pacing himself at the right speed, and talking with the perfect amount of intensity. Clearly, when radio was this popular, the speakers had to be very skilled speakers because their voice is all they have to draw the audience in. They can't use facial expressions, body movements, or images to get the point across, so the fact that I was already intrigued by the speaker's voice in this broadcast was very impressive.
          

           As we all know now, the fake alien invasions created fear with the American public because everyone thought it was real. I can see how people believed it after finishing the broadcast. The integration of random bursts of breaking news in the casual music made the news seem legitimate; it was really as though the music was being interrupted because of an alien invasion. This just shows how art has such a great influence of the public. Radio is a form of art that flourished in the 1900's, and it was so prominent in people's lives that it has the ability to terrorize an entire population. Orson Welles is brilliant for this; nobody got hurt and nothing tragic happened, but he was talented enough to use only the sense of sound to scare the public. 

History of the Battery

          The battery is an invention that has greatly improved life for humans. During my research, I was surprised to discover that the battery existed in ancient civilizations, though it was obviously very different than it is today. The earliest known battery was the "Baghdad Battery", a terra-cotta jar discovered from Mesopotamia. Inside the jar was a sheet of copper surrounding an iron rod, and certain chemicals were added to create a reaction and produce power. 
          Many years later, the modern idea of the battery was born when Benjamin Franklin created a set of capacitors, which were glass panels lined with metal. They could be charged and discharged with a static generator, therefore creating electricity. For the next few centuries, numerous inventions and discoveries helped the battery progress into a more efficient invention. Once the 20th century rolled around, scientists experimented with different elements to enhance the battery's performance. There was the nickel-iron battery, the zinc-carbon battery, the nickel-hydrogen battery, and the lithium ion battery. Today, people can use primary batteries, which work immediately upon use, or secondary batteries, which are rechargeable.
          Without all this research that has helped develop the battery, our lives today would be more difficult than we can imagine. Batteries are a convenient source of power that allow us to enjoy amazing privileges and we owe a lot of gratitude to those who have put time and effort into this great invention.

Phillip K. Dick

          After reading about Phillip K. Dick's background, I find that his life follows an expected pattern. Numerous great artists are ridiculed and disliked during their lifetime; people will often push their work aside because of false judgement, not truly recognizing how great it is. Then after the artist passes away, everyone starts to remember that they even existed, and they will study their art and finally realize its value. They say "you never realize what you had until its gone", and this is true for Phillip K. Dick along with many other amazing artists. It doesn't surprise me at all to know that he was constantly deemed an "oddball", only to have his work transform the world of science fiction after he died.
          But regardless of whether Phillip K. Dick was living or deceased, his ideas are revolutionary. He was one of those to question the universe. He recognizes the flaws of technology, and the immense power it has over mankind. He was also brave enough to explore the relationship of humans and our precious technology, and he wasn't afraid to show how dangerous that can be. I think that is what separates an artist from a great artist. An artist observes the world, reflects, and displays his findings in some form of art. A great artist observes the world, recognizes its flaws, and challenges society. They are willing to highlight the not-so-perfect aspects of humanity, and that scares a lot of people. Phillip K. Dick uses his art to show his audience "a glimpse of what makes us human". He exposes who we truly are as a species without hesitation, and its that type of artist that has the capability to change the world.

Flip Book Animation

Here is my flip book animation! I felt like music was necessary, so I included the songs Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey, Snake Charmer by Blink 182, and Up and Up (Acoustic) by Relient K. Enjoy :)

Clockwork Orange

          I'm going to be honest; watching "Clockwork Orange" in class freaked me out a little. The drugs, the violence, the rape, the eyes being clamped open, the whole experience was very intense. But obviously there is more to the movie and the book than those small clips we saw in class. I researched the novel and Anthony Burgess's ideas, and behind the traumatizing movie is the powerful story of a troubled youth finding his way out of the darkness and realizing theres more to life than drugs and violence.
          In order to portray the story of Alex in a more interesting way, Burgess created a language called "Nadsat". This dialect is only spoken by the teenagers in the novel, giving the teens their own sort of community and connection that the adults cannot comprehend. This emphasizes how Burgess wanted to isolate the teenagers and give them their own ideas of superiority over the adults. "Nadsat" pulls pieces from numerous languages and slangs, including Russian, cockney slang, German, and Burgess even made up some words himself. Burgess explained that if he used contemporary speech, his novel would soon become outdated. But because he invented his own dialect, the novel is timeless and his unique speech will never go out of style.
          I also read that Burgess used made-up words to cover up the harshness of some of the book's content. The book is very violent and very obscene, so using words people don't understand to describe horrible scenes can confuse readers, and lessen the impact of the more intense scenes.
          Aside from the novel, the film adaptation of the book that we watched in class had some interesting techniques, such as incorporating the song "Singing In The Rain". I had some ideas about why this song appeared in the movie. First, I thought it was supposed to emphasize the contrast between 1951 and 1971. In between those time periods, the American public became much more liberated due to drugs and alcohol, and the general ideas about sex became much more open. The movie "Singing in the Rain" also deals with lighter topics than "Clockwork Orange" does. Putting that song in Clockwork Orange is ironic because the song is always associated with Gene Kelly dancing happily through the streets, and now people see it associated with rape and violence. It's quite the contrast.

Singing In The Rain - Glee Version

On the topic of "Singing in the Rain", I have always loved the Glee mashup of this song with "Umbrella" by Rihanna. I love how they incorporated similar effects as the original "Singing In The Rain", with the water on the stage and the umbrellas. So here is the video of the Glee version!

Stop Motion

          I think the Stop Motion videos are amazing. It's mind-blowing how still images can be combined to create multimedia that seems alive. Also the amount of time and effort that must go into these projects is extremely impressive, and I can't wait to create a flip book animation of my own.
          My favorite video from the Stop Motion 1 blog was Scintillation, by Xavier Chassaing. I can't figure out exactly what objects he used or what special effects he incorporated to get that liquify, glittering substance that flowed over every surface. No matter what techniques he used to achieve that magical effect, it still intrigued me. 
          The music was enchanting and reminded me of wind chimes, and it made me feel relaxed and peaceful. Then the shimmering colors of the glitter popped against the dark shadows, and the smoothness of the glitter slithering around mesmerized me. Overall I thought it was beautiful.

Albelardo Morelli

          Albelardo Morelli's work is amazing. I find it unbelievable how it is possible to take a life-sized scene from reality and mirror it into a room. It's almost like cloning; the reflected image is just as perfect as the real thing. My absolute favorite is the photo below, the view of the Brooklyn Bridge from 2009.

          I'm not sure what about this photo is more intriguing, the bed that is actually there or the perfect reflection. I know the bed isn't part of the camera obscura, but something about the rich red of the sheets and the intricate styling of the headboard is beautiful. But the image of the Brooklyn Bridge is incredible, with the tall, strong sides of the bridge and the amazing New York city in the background. It looks like you're looking out the window at the actual scene, not seeing a reflection.

Behind the Scenes of Wicked

          Wicked is an amazing musical that I've had the opportunity to see live. When I reflect on it I remember all the songs and incredible performances of Glinda and Elphaba, but the video "Behind the Emerald Curtain" reminded me of how hard the ensemble works. Having been in musicals before, I know how hard it can be to stand out in the ensemble. Everyone always remembers the leads, but the dancers and the chorus put in just as much effort as the leads do. That is what's so amazing about Broadway Production; no matter what role someone has, they're always outstanding and they put so much passion into their performance.
          This reminds me of the videos we watched in class that talked about the evolution of the Broadway dancer. Even though they're in a group, they might have the hardest job of them all. This also relates to "A Chorus Line", which is all about the dancers in the ensemble and shows how difficult and draining it can be to be a dancer on Broadway. I was extremely impressed how the Dance Captain in Wicked will individually work with new dancers for two weeks to help them learn the moves and also find their will to make an impact on the stage. It is amazing how intimate the choreographers work with the dancers, and it always ends in a wonderful performance.

Angel De Quinta's Stagedoor Videos:Pippin

          While all of the videos Angel De Quinta posted were intriguing, the "Pippin" videos stood out the most. I've actually seen Pippin at an off-Broadway production in Boston and I was absolutely amazed, so I'm biased and already love the show. But watching the videos on the musical made me fall in love with it all over again for its powerful message and mesmerizing effects.
          "Pippin" is one of those musicals that has the best of both worlds, and has two completely different dynamics. The young man Pippin is desperately trying to discover who he is and find his place in the world, and the assortment of circus entertainers are trying to manipulate him into joining their parade of glitter and excitement.
         The video of the Pippin cast performance at the 2013 Tony Awards starts off with an innocent and beautiful ballad from Pippin himself. These parts of the show don't need any technology because they are focusing on the desire in Pippin's heart to find meaning in his life. It is all about the raw emotion. Pippin is even wearing a plain, simple outfit to make sure that all the attention is on his song and the meaning behind it. This simplicity emphasizes the character of Pippin, which is a major part of the show.
          The second half of the Tony Awards performance represents the other side of the musical. These videos are all about pizzazz, and technology is essential for this. As soon as the large curtain drops, the audience is wowed with an overwhelming display of incredible acrobatics, colorful costumes, and jaw-dropping tricks. The staircases, the trapezes, the lights, the huge blue feathered fans, the hula hoops, and all the other set pieces combine with the amazing gymnastic talents of the performers to create a scene that is magical. The song continues to reach out to the audience, breaking the third wall and singing directly to us. Seeing the video is amazing, and seeing the performance live is an experience that I will never forget.

Racism Onstage and on the Screen

          Racism is an issue that appears throughout history over and over again, and it will never truly fade. There is constant debate over what is considered racism, and what is considered offensive. Obviously these ideas will differ person to person, but in my opinion, racism is all about context.
          In terms of the Minstrel Show, a white person painting themselves black and acting insane in order to ridicule the black race is definitely offensive. They are explicitly making fun of blacks, which they have no right to do. But when black people got involved in the Minstrel Shows, that is a whole new dynamic. When William Henry Lane and Thomas Dilward first took the stage as actual African Americans performing in a Minstrel Show, they were essentially making fun of themselves, and making fun of the white people that made fun of them in the first place. This transformed the Minstrel Show from discrimination into a lighthearted tease, because there is nothing wrong with making fun of yourself. For example, the song "Piece Of Me" is three minutes of Britney Spears ridiculing herself, and that is perfectly appropriate because it is a reflection of herself from her own perspective. If someone else were to make that song, it would be considered rude and derogatory.
          Considering this point, Die Antwoord's "Fatty Boom Boom" is absolutely racist. By painting herself black for that video, she is associating the black race with all the vulgar dancing and inappropriate language that she does. She is not portraying the black face in a positive light, so it is definitely racist in my opinion.
          The way a person portrays race is the main factor deciding whether something is racist of not. In class today, Julie Taymor talked about how Lion King is all about race from a black person's perspective, but in a positive way. The musical shows a black man as Mufasa, the King lion. The way the musical holds Mufasa''s status above everyone else's sheds a positive light on the black race, so therefore it is not racist; it actually glorifies African culture.

Opera in Pop Culture

Although this commercial is more pop than opera, it is based on "Carmen", and you can hear the underlying tones of true opera in the background.

Madama Butterfly

          First of all, the video of Madama Butterfly, and just the story itself, was extremely depressing. I can actually feel my mood dropping now that I have watched it, but it was still a beautiful piece. The way the opera played into the video made it that much more magical, and the imagery used in the video was a perfect representation of the emotions.
          I noticed that every time there was a moment of extreme emotion, the opera music in the background grew more intense. Whether it was passion, happiness, anticipation, sorrow, or self-loathing, the opera was blaring over the scene and emphasizing the emotion. It was amazing how the visual images blended with the audio to make a strong, hypnotizing piece of art.
          The animation used was very impressive, and I'm shocked that such a cartoonish display could make me feel so much. The smallest aspects of the video had such an impact, like when Madama Butterfly's lover returns on the boat and she kicks the record player in hopes that the sound of the music will make him remember her. She is afraid of feeling neglected and forgotten, so she is desperate for him to recall the memories they made. Also when  Madama Butterfly's lover takes her child and hops in the car with his new family, they all wave. Their lightheartedness and cheerful attitude makes Madama Butterfly's despair that much more dramatic, because no one else in the scene has any idea how much they are hurting her. It's the little details in the animation like these that make the video so emotional, and the opera combined with those details make for an absolutely heartbreaking piece of art.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E387c5RAhK4

Pentatonix & Lindsey Stirling "Radioactive" Cover

Here is yet another example of classical violin meshing with pop culture. This is absolutely incredible.

Lana Del Rey and the Baroque

         

                                      
          In class we discussed the Baroque Era and its extreme ornamentation. I am a huge Lana Del Rey fan, and I couldn't help but notice traces of classical music in her song "Video Games". Lana Del Rey is such a unique artist that it is impossible not to be intrigued by her music, but I found this song even more fascinating once I compared it to Baroque and classical music. 
          Unlike most modern day music, this song strays away from the usual instruments such as guitar, piano, drums, and a bass guitar. In this song you can hear the deep booming of bells and a mesmerizing blend of strings that rivals a classical orchestra. 

          Lana Del Rey's music incorporates Baroque charactersitics once again in the song "Young and Beautiful". Similarly to "Video Games", she includes classical instruments that form a connection between the world of pop culture and the world of the Baroque. This song in particular represents the over-the-top ways of the Baroque in its building intensity. As the song progresses, the strings become more powerful, creating a strong tension that touches the soul.

Raul Cuero and Universal Conciousness

          Watching Raul Cuero's interview, I felt inspired. He has overcome so many obstacles and followed his passions to the point where, despite public opinion, he is a successful athlete and scientist. Making something meaningful out of your life is hard enough, but succeeding in an environment where everyone looks down on you must be unbelievably difficult. So while his whole life story is impressive,   my attention mostly gravitated towards the term "Universal Consciousness".
          Cuero describes how in order to succeed in life, you must shape yourself and your actions around that which is universal, such as nature. You have to be aware of your surroundings in order to coexist, and you have to understand how the world works in order to flourish within it. But when the world around you is saturated with prejudice, it is that much harder to accept the awful stereotypes and judgements that surround you. The fact that Cuero has a "Universal Consciousness" and embraces all the unfortunate "predicaments" around him makes his life's journey that much more inspiring. 
          This most definitely influences anyone's everyday lives. In order for anyone to accomplish any goal, they must understand and accept the setting that they are in. For example, you won't make it onto the soccer team if you don't assess your competition, the coaches, the competitiveness of the team, and your own conditions. Likewise, Cuero wouldn't have succeeded in basketball if he didn't assess his fellow athletes, the environment in which the team existed, his mentors views of him, and his own abilities. Whether it's a simple achievement like getting an A on a paper, or an outstanding achievement like being elected President of the United States, one absolutely has to have a strong sense of Universal Consciousness. 

Juan Carlos Delgado; The Master of Nature

               The first stage of Delgado's masterpiece is an incredible piece of art. It is unique, it is detailed, it tells a story. But the bust of a girl alone is not multimedia, she is frozen, only existing in the present time. However, Delgado transforms this girl into multimedia by manipulating the natural world and intermingling the elements. 

              Delgado's use of natural elements to transform a stationary object into an amazing piece of multimedia art. First, water in the form of frost envelops the bust and encases it in a frozen, frigid layer. What impresses me the most is the immense detail that the frost brings to the statue.

http://www.revistaexclama.com/nuevoblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/63.jpg

              Looking at the above photo from Delgado's masterpiece, you can see how the delicate the fragments of ice cling to the statue, creating a gorgeous representation of the natural world. Although Delgado set everything up himself, the nature created the detail on its own. This glorifies the power of nature, showing how not only human artists are capable of creating art, but nature can be an artist as well. 
             Not only is nature an amazing artist, but Delgado proves himself to be an amazing artist by working hand-in-hand with nature. He used the creation powers of the natural world to his advantage, setting up the freezer so that water transforms his work and then setting up the statue with the flame so that fire adds an extra element to his work. The idea is genius, in my opinion. Delgado has become a master of nature; taking that which usually acts on its own and causing it to act in his favor. That is incredible.
            By taking control over the natural world, Delgado succeeded in creating a stunning piece of multimedia. There are a series of pieces all working in harmony; the statue, the refrigerated room, the bars around the room, the fire. And together, all these elements combine to turn the bust of the girl into a phenomenon that transforms and exists throughout time. Any artist can make a statue that remains static, but only an advanced artist like Delgado can make a statue that is immune to the boundaries of time, and that is true multimedia. 

Art Vs. Design

           Craig A Elimeliah's article spoke absolute truth in my opinion. The basic idea of the passage is that design follows a structure and set of rules in order to reach a goal, whereas art follows no rules or guidelines at all in order to convey an emotion.
           The essay then dives into the separation between art and design, and when that separation disintegrates. Often, artists will follow the methods used by previous artists when they are creating, which then makes their final piece a design, and not art. 
           What I took from this article is that art and design are connected through the creation process, and completely separated in the outcome. While a painter is painting, he/she will take ideas and techniques from other pieces of art they have seen, which is completely natural. It is extremely difficult to find inspiration that has no link to past experiences or memories, because people are influenced by their past all the time. If an artist saw a particular piece and fell in love with it, that piece is a part of their memory and their past, and it could easily seep into their current creations. That being said, Elimeliah was spot on in saying that an artist must put their OWN twist on a piece in order for it to be art. If they simply copy another creation, they are not creating; they are copying.
           Copying in the art world is a sin, because there is nothing creative about reproducing another piece of art exactly. Copying is somewhat part of the design world, however. Like Elimeliah said, design follows a specific pattern, and therefore many designs end up in a similar way. That is how you can differentiate the designers, from the artistic designers. An artistic designer will inject their creativity and their emotion into a design, whereas a regular designer will simply copy the archetype they are supposed to follow.
           So art and design can exist in "harmonious balance" when artists and designers are creating their work, but an artist's work should be fully unique for it to be art, and a designer's work should follow any guidelines for it to be a successful design.

Introductions and First Impressions

           Hello! My name is Gabrielle Boucher, but I prefer to be called Gabby. The Arts have influenced my life for as long as I can remember, and they definitely helped shape who I am today. I am a huge animal lover and I've played sports since I was a kid, but the power of musicals, movies, TV shows, and all other forms of art have always overshadowed other parts of my life. Watching movies (especially Disney) was my favorite past time when I was young, along with playing dress-up and having fashion shows, performing one woman shows for my family, and singing. Even to this day I am involved in musical theater and the arts are a huge part of my life.
           Because music, writing, musical theater, and even just talking are all passions of mine, I decided to major in communications. Although I am still far from knowing what job I want in the future, I am hoping my time at UT will lead me in the right direction. 
           The class Art and Technology seems like a great way for me to enhance my communication skills through visual arts. The fact that we will be doing a lot of online work makes me feel comfortable because technology is such a prominent force in today's world, so I'm glad that I'll become better acquainted with it. After only one class I'm excited to see what's to come, and I am absolutely thrilled that we will be looking into theater and different types of music. The videos of the Castrato's blew me away because I was so impressed, and it's amazing knowing that we'll be exploring more parts of the art world.