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.