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.