Magnetic Movie

In Ruth Harman and Joe Gerhardt's 2007 movie "Magnetic Movie," they partner with UC Berkeley's NASA's Space Sciences Laboratories to explore the invisible world of magnetic forces. Using bright colors and scientific research, Harman and Gerhardt create a world unseen by any human eye. Because magnetic fields are hard to physically see, there are discussions about whether or not thats truly what they look like, but the artists bring to life this mysterious world. Using sound effects from actual documented science experiments, the artists act like scientists as they discover a whole new world.

This article and movie was fascinating because one never realizes how the magnetic field of the earth is all around them. Different shapes of particles and the force of the field create images, as depicted by the artists, that no one has ever seen. Like I have always believed, science and art and closely related and in this you can see the marriage perfectly. Maybe we can use art to discover even more about science that we didn't know.

Relationship Amplifer

In the shape of a lion, Max Lawrence uses something called the Darlington Pair which he also refers to as the "Relationship Amplifier." The Darlington Pair, according to the exhibition information for the piece is "a set of two transistors that amplify weak signals into stronger and sharper signals for both audio and microprocessing" in electrical science. Max uses this in his art to represent the way that two people can come together, as in a relationship and create that separate element that wouldn't have existed if not for the joining of the couple.

This piece is both fascinating and confusing for me. I totally understand his concept but why a lion? Lions usually stand for pride and strength, which can be the result of the union Max is talking about, but I still find it a bit confusing. I would understand that he didn't want anything too corny, but I never would imagine a lion as a symbol for a relationship. I do find his mix of art and science to be fun. As a fan of both, the way that Max uses them together compliment each other, and in a way reinforce his idea of combining two to make three.

Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 Seconds

According to Rhizome.org, Marisa Jahn and Steve Shada's "Thanksgiving Dinner in 5 Seconds" is directly reflective of the American people's fascination with instantaneous gratification. Using "rocket triggered lightning," the entire sculpture plays on the Native American totem pole as the symbol for the first dinner between them and the European Settlers. Everything that makes up this sculpture is American. From the Native American totem pole, to the turkey signifying the American frontier and lightning representing the discovery made by Ben Franklin, a prominent American in colonial days. Bringing the whole rocket science aspect brings this piece to the twenty-first century, even though it is heavily reminiscent of America's past.

I found this piece interesting because it is true that over the years, people are always looking for a quicker way to get something done and have grown impatient. The fact that the artists have connected the past with the future in this piece really says a lot about our country. We have come a long way, and have a long way to go. This piece does a good job connecting the two and gives the audience some thought on what might come next. This is also really fitting because Thanksgiving dinner takes for ever, and everyone dreads the long day of cooking. I'm sure people would be very thankful if they could use rocket power to get it done in a shorter amount of time.

Doesn't everyone love parking?

In "Public Parking", people take guided tours of cities with historic sites of public parking as it relates to "the more general ideology of utopian capitalism." Basically this project is about teaching people how parking affects us and the cities we will in and how parking has changed and how is continues to change as society grows and times change. On their website they discuss that currently they are "looking at the disappearance of surface parking lots" that is happening all over the country, not just in certain areas. Tours have been given in Brooklyn, NY., Chicago, IL., and Hollywood, CA., for example.

I find this project really fascinating because it explores something people often take for granted. It also is a nice mix of media and a public physical attraction. By using a physical tour and putting it on the web, it can read twice the audience. The idea is also really cool. With so many people driving on the roads these days, public parking is such a huge issue. I never would have thought that parking would evolve, but it certainly has and continues to.

Fedex Ships!

For my subversment project I decided to take a fedex print ad and change it. The message from the ad is that fedex shipping is fast and painless. In fact, what they don't tell you is that there are many roadblocks when something bad does happen to your package. Like every other pack and ship company there will be some problems and drawbacks but having more experience with the company lets me see the truth behind what goes on.

Is the internet really forever?

Everyone always says, whatever you post on the internet will stay there forever. Well, until Zack Gage came along, that might have been true. In his project called "Temporary.cc" each time a "unique visitor" visits the site, a piece of information from the site is deleted. So instead of collecting information, such as every website is known to do, "Temporary.cc" will eventually "fall apart entirely," ultimately "becoming a blank white website." The way this whole website works is that every time a visitor visits the site the website deletes part of itself and thus this changes "the way browsers understand the website's code and create(s) a new composition through self-destruction. "

This project caught my eye because it is definitely different than any other website on the internet. Today in the digital age, people would prefer to save something electronically because it will always exist, unless some tragic crash or some other disaster occurs. Computers are not designed to intentionally delete its own material, which makes this project all the more interesting. The end result will be the deletion of the entire project, which can be said of the more typical pieces of artwork such as paintings or other medias, but one would think if it was electronic it could live forever. I guess Zach Gage has taught us wrong.

John Berger

In John Berger's article, he explored the nature of publicity. Many people would find that quite odd because quite honestly, publicity is everywhere but what people don't know is what really drives publicity. First off, publicity is everywhere. In the subway, on the road, on tv, I mean you can't escape publicity. What many might not realize is that publicity deals with the past and focuses on the future, meaning that the present isn't dealt with. It want consumers to see themselves in the future with whatever product is being promoted but it uses the past to hook people into the advertisement. Publicity persuades the consumer to want the product. It also manufactures glamour. Through publicity, glamour plays a key role in selling a product. Glamour exists through personal social envy that is produced by publicity. If this didn't exists, consumers wouldn't be envious of the product on TV and want to go out and purchase it. Publicity also plays on the fact that in today's society, people are measured by "you are what you have." By using inciting images and making the consumer envious of those with the desired product, the consumer will run out and buy whatever is being sold just to be considered "in". This basically is an anxiety that makes the consumer purchase the product.

Just from the tone of the article, one would think that publicity is bad. In some aspects it seems that way, but capitalism thrives on it. Because publicity is all around us, people are basically brain washed to think that if they don't have this product they will be considered insignificant. These companies making these ads aren't helping us by providing us the product, they are making us feel bad about ourselves in order to buy their product. Unfortunately profit is the only drive that keeps this cycle going. Whether this is bad or not, it is continuously used all around us, so I guess it is up to the consumer whether publicity is good or bad for society.

"Pandora's Sound Box"

"Pandora's Sound Box" is an exhibit that features a wide variety of interactive multimedia that has showcased many artists and their talents. Inspired by the 1929 film which Hitler hated because of its suggestive content and material, Pandora's Box was thought of as being light years ahead of anything else in the art world at the time. Now a days, "Pandora's Sound Box" "deals with the identification of fearing contemporary society... as conveyed through the strong material presence of sound." "Pandora's Sound Box" features many artists including, but not limited to, Pierre Bismuth,Django Hernandez and Tanja Ostojic. Bismuth explores what art will look like in the future with his installation "The Bruce Nauman Project." Hernandez takes lamps and turns them upside down on top of record players that project presidential secrets from the lampshades. And Ostojic portrays a woman's existance in "Misplaced Woman."

As far as art goes, this is pretty tame but I can't really fathom how so many diverse topics can be put together into one show. I chose to write about it because it is so diverse and had an interesting story behind why this show was put together. There are some elements that deal with new media, but I like how the artists use some older technologies to incorporate their ideas into something that seems way more modern, like the upside down lampshades for example. I guess I gravitated toward this because it sounded interesting. The mix of new and old media blends well, especially in a day and age where "retro" is popular.

Ubermorgen.com: Media Hacking Vs. Conceptual Art

You would think that most media art books, or any kind of computer type book would be really boring, but fortunately "Ubermorgen.com: Media Hacking Vs. Conceptual Art is not one of those books. Presenting the work of Hans Bernhard and lizvlx, the book reads like an "old photographic or graphic design reference manual crossed with one of the popular web design survey books of the early 2000s." Both controversial and sometimes mainstreamed, the artistic duo has completed many media art based works over the past decade including "Voteauction" during the 2000 presidential election, "Google Will Eat Itself," and "Nazi-Line," one of their more controversial works of art. This book shows how the artists take media art seriously. From "introducing uncomfortable truths and repressed memories into the net and into the gallery," the artists take serious subject matters and display them on a media accessible to everyone.

What caught my eye about this article was the fact that not only was the art getting great reviews, but the the book about the art got great reviews. Taking a look at a decade's worth of media art, which is a long time in the media art world, can certainly show how different the art form has changed, but with these artists, it showcases all of their strengths, even if some of the techniques are outdated. What was really impressive is how they successfully dealt with controversial and non-controversial topics. Both were given the same amount of thought and are well executed, which displays the underlying meaning even more. With hopefully more to come from the media art world and more books about it, these artists are a great foundation for the field and are displayed as such in this book.

What is the difference between a Museum and a Store?

And the answer is, nothing. Well, according to artist Borna Sammak and curator Thomas McDonnell. Sammak created videos that were specifically designed to be displayed on HD televisions screens for the best effect, and for an artist with little funds and museums with a lack of such technology, McDonnell thought of a better idea. Being the leading retailer of HD technology and TV's, McDonnell thought that it was the right choice to showcase Sammak's videos. Comprised of a montage of images really, his videos come from footage Sammak shot himself to actual commercials and advertisements Best Buy uses to showcase their TV's. Made into images of landscape, the vibrant colors and shapes were only on display for two hours in the NYC Best Buy store, but it certainly changed the way people showcase art.

What caught my attention the most was where this was showcased. I never imaged art exhibited in a retail store before, but anything can happen. I found it quite logical though, because in order to show the art correctly, or how it was intended by the artist requires the right technology or conditions. If Best Buy has everything the artist needs to portray his art the way it needs to be portrayed, then it should be held there. Not to mention the fact that this artists art uses some of the newest technology on the market don't hurt. In a world where HD is taking over, it is expected that art would be impacted by it. I have a feeling that this trend will continue and with this exhibit, Sammak is on the cutting edge.

Devo-Not just a Band

When most people talk about new media artists, they tend to think in the time frame of the twenty-first century. Fortunately for the world, DEVO, the 1970's and 1980's band can be said to be one of the earliest examples of media artists. Not only has the band been controversial in its lyrics and themes, but they were on the cutting edge of technology when people couldn't even fathom that technology ever existing, especially in the music industry. According to the article, DEVO reveals a "morbid obsession with the decay of technology and an uncanny aptitude for the graphic dissection of pop culture." How did they achieve this? Through video and other modes of media technology. DEVO was one of the first bands to create a movie and project that movie behind them while performing onstage. As well as movies for tours, DEVO was way ahead of the MTV music video age. While MTV was just starting, DEVO had already completed nine music videos. In those videos they started using techniques such as Chroma Key (like a green screen) and 3D graphics. Along with enhancing their music videos, former members of the band worked on MIDI technology, where a computer can regulate and sync other computer based musical instruments. Not only did they stretch the boundary when it came to music, they even created their own "point and click" adventure game years ahead of other bands signing on their music to video games, let alone create one.

First off, combining media art and music can only result in good things. Having grown up with atari, I can vividly remember how pixilated and how "high tech" the graphics were for the 1980's. What DEVO achieved was ground breaking. Not only were they ahead of the music video trend, but they weren't afraid to try new things, especially with all the new technology that was emerging in that time period. It might be hard to agree that they are new media artists but they did use computers in their music as well as using them to construct the various movies and videos they created. Back then, using the computer was very rare and they made it work, quite successfully. Unfortunately like their music, the technology they used didn't catch on right away, but nevertheless, they were pioneers both in the music industry and in the media arts.

"Open Source Embroidery"

"Open Source Embroidery," curated by Ele Carpenter, is a mix of new media art with more physical art forms, such as weaving and patchwork. According to the interview, this is more than just an exhibit; this also serves as a workshop for computer programmers and artists alike. In the article, Ele Carpenter explains that she created this "Open Source Embroidery" because she wanted to combine the open source context with older forms of collaborative production. Not only do expert artists work on this project, but amateurs as well. As for the more digital part of this project is the use of the internet, and how it is keeping communities connected and allowed people to network across great distances. With this exhibition being popular all over the globe, the internet has really jump started it's popularity. Ele Carpenter really puts an emphasis on "collective production" and "skill-share where each person contributes to part of the whole" in the creative process. As it moves from city to city, each city gives their own context to the body of work. That's what makes "Open Source Embroidery" so popular and intriguing. It changes constantly, like the technology changes constantly, the only difference being that physical art is being created, not digital.

I found this article very interesting. It caught my eye because I have never really thought about putting open source with a physical art form before. Plus, I recognized the term open source from one of my favorite movies, "AntiTrust," so I figured I would be more interested in the content of the article. What really struck me about this article is how accessible this is to everyone. The article mentioned that everyone is encouraged to participate, even people who have no background in HTML or embroidery. I also thought it was cool that each city where the exhibit visits puts their own spin on the project. It really gives it that new media feel because in the new media world everything is constantly changing, and that is exactly what happens for this exhibition. It may seem weird to combine the two art forms, but I think that Ele Carpenter has done a great job bringing the two together and making something interesting, not just for artists, but for everyone.

"TV Show"

Created by Antoine Catala, "TV Show" is an exhibit about the death of television. Brian Droitcour explains in his review of the show that the "demise" of television has come quicker than expected, especially with the conversion to digital broadcasting eliminating some of the population from the television stream, especially the elderly. Using TV Blobs, which are three dimensional objects that distort live feed, Catala turns television into art. In these blobs are news anchors, shows, even sound which is demonstrated through his Spongebob Squarepants blob that sings. Using both the physical television set as well as the "broadcast stream as readymade sculptural material," Catala puts these on display as historical "artifacts of the industrial age." This show "underscores television's identity as an industrial product" through comic like stills of television broadcasting.

Quite surprised that television is considered outdated, especially with the surge of HDTV's on the market, Antonie Catala makes an interesting statement through his work "TV Show". On the artist's website, there are video's of his TV Blobs which make more sense than just seeing a still picture of them. The blobs make the image both scrambled and decipherable. He doesn't discriminate from any image, including advertisements, news broadcasts, cartoons, etc. Instead of the typical two dimension images from the television set itself, Catala uses these three dimensional images to project the images onto the exhibition walls. It was an interesting take on t.v., especially since a three dimensional image makes more of a presence. Incorporating both television images and the physical body of the television is clever. People are familiar with television as more than an image, and Catala takes that into account in his work. Over all "TV Show" is quite an interesting subject, but in the world today, you are in one moment and out the next.

Charles Cohen Interview for Project 1

In an interview with Charles Cohen, the famous artist known for his "cut out" series Buff, the audience learned just what was behind this and other works of his art. According to Cohen, there are three elements when it comes to "cut outs." First, the viewer has an immediate recognition of the void. Second, there is an "abstract effect" and third there is a "reflective effect." The viewer's reaction is an expectation of the piece. The viewer then starts to question the type of imagery and the "effect of the imagery in general" which is the "abstract effect." The "reflective effect" is when the viewer understands the work through dissecting the experiences and possibly "assumes co-authorship with the artist" Cohen also talks about how Buff is an intellectual exercise to dialog with the viewer about expectation and imagery in general. Analogtime, which is related to Buff, is about issues of attachment and lack there of. It is an emotional narrative where Buff is more lust than emotion. Cohen also expresses how the white spaces in his cut outs "allows the viewer to project thought into both cases [both pieces of art]."

Not only is Cohen's art good but it makes the viewer become involved. For most art, people just look at it and walk away. Cohen makes the viewer really get attached and makes the viewer really try to understand what is going on and what the message is. What is nice about his work is that even though Cohen might have had a particular meaning in mind when creating it, the viewer may have another interpretation which is just as correct as Cohen's. This makes the viewer part of the art experience and the art itself. Taking images we already recognize, like porn or even pictures of couples and cutting out key pieces of them, gives the audience a whole new way of thinking about things they already know about. It is all about perception of what people see and what they don't and Cohen does a great job incorporating the audience into making that decision for themselves.

Damien Hirst

The article I read about in the Art section of The Independent was about a famous artist, Damien Hirst and hie fued with a another artist. It all started when the younger artist, named Cartrain, borrowed a very specific idea from Hirst and proceeded to have the pieces of art sold on a art collection website. Hirst contacted the website and the art works were taken off the market. In return, Cartrain went to Tate Britain where Hirst's Pharmacy was on exhibit and ran off with a pack of pencils. According to the article, the pencils taken from the sculpture are worth millions of pounds. Hirst has taken legal action and Cartrain was arrested and awaits trail. If he is convicted, this will be one of the "highest value modern art thefts in Britain."

This article was quite amusing. I am sure that Damien Hirst is not amused but obviously people will go to great lengths to save their ideas. I understand that what Cartrain did was stealing, in both Hirst's ideas and his physical artwork but I am sure this whole situation could have been avoided if they had only talked to each other. Like the article said, now a days there aren't that many art thefts in the world but they are always fascinating. If Hirst thought of it this way, the theft got his sculpture more publicity than it ever could have.

Project 1

This series is about branding. I took away all of the brand names of the products, the first being the Proactiv label on the bottles along with what the cream in each is. The second picture is missing the Starbucks logo on the chalk board. Finally I erased the "Aeropostale" label from the sweatshirt. Each erasure just makes the product an ordinary product or advertisement, in the case of Starbucks. Labels these days are good for only one thing- making things twice as expensive. Once you look past the branding, every similar type product is the same, whether the label is recognizable or not.

The second series was my erase/replace series. I took pictures of trees I found around campus and replaced the bark of each tree with a commonly used paper product. The first tree is a post-it note with ruled lines; the second is the comics from the Washington Post newspaper; the third is a paper towel. Each of these paper products are used everyday by millions of people and yet they can be taken for granted. By replacing the tree with products that come from a tree, I am expressing that people often forget where things come from and take them for granted. By visualizing where the paper products come from maybe we can start recycling more so trees don't disappear forever.

Louise Lawler Art Review

In this article, Jerry Saltz reviews the work of Louise Lawler, an artist who for "three decades" has been "documenting the secret life of art," or the kind of wacky places people keep art. Finding famous art in collector's homes, galleries, auction houses and even in storage, one can not imagine where or how a famous Warhol or even Mondrain will be displayed. When describing the places where famous works of art live, the reporter describes the experience as "seeing how meat is processed." Described as "breezy and mean," Lawler is known for exposing the art world for what it really is. In one particular show, Lawler photographs some works of art by Richter, Lichtenstein and even Flavin to name a few, while the work's await their fate. Overexposing some of the images translates to how some of these works are already overexposed. Showing ultimately where all of this famous art goes gives the world a sense of what makes up the art industry.

I enjoyed this article because I never really thought about where the art goes besides the museum. I personally thought that if you had the money to buy a Warhol or Lichtenstein, that you would place it accordingly, not just anywhere as some of the photographs documented by Lawler show. I think her idea is quite interesting and something I would definitely go see in an exhibit. The idea that even after the art has been made it has another life afterward is very interesting to consider. People usually don't learn where the art is, they usually learn how the art came to be and when. Lawler's concept of showing the art after the fact is an eye opening experience that can often show the darker side of the art industry.

Computer Games as Art

The article I read discussed how computer games are an art form on the web and how new media theorists are giving this art form a whole lot of consideration. Published on furtherfield.com and discussed by Edward Picot, the article covers different types of computer games and how each interacts with not only with the player, but with the art within each game as well. What most often happens, is that the gamer, or player, gets too involved in the aspects of the game, such as points, levels, or winning, that they ultimately shut out the other aspects, such as the art and meaning of the game. In one example, "The Marriage" by Ron Humble, is considered a computer-art game because the two squares, one pink and one blue that represent a male and a female and they have to keep coming together to survive the game. But as the player gets fixated on reaching the goal of the game, the meaning is lost completely. Some argue that games like "The Graveyard" aren't games at all but it is a great example of art. The goal is to help an old lady to church while crossing the graveyard. No points are rewarded, no levels are completed, just a simple task. While "walking" the old lady across the graveyard, the player is able to appreciate and actually look into the art of the game. With computer games evolving, the juncture between games and art is surely going to continue to cross, but until an agreement on what an example of a computer game as a piece of art is, this discussion will continue.

This article was really interesting because I never really thought of computer games as an art form. Growing up playing Oregon Trail and more recently The Sims, I only went to them for entertainment, but not in the same sense that art is entertainment. I always saw art as being in a museum and you couldn't interact with it, but with computer games, they are purely interactive and were created to be played. I agree that the art of a computer game can be lost once the player gets so involved that their only goal is to win, yet the art of the game is still there. Just because the player ignores it, doesn't mean that the art went away. The whole argument this article discusses about whether or not some games are actually computer games makes no sense to me. Computer games are anything that the creator can make it, and most importantly, what the player can get out of it. Even if the game doesn't have a traditional point system or types of levels, doesn't mean that it isn't an interactive form that gets players involved in it. Usually, these type of abnormal computer games are considered more like art because they stray from the normal. This is true, but if you look at any art in a computer game, art is incorporated into the game even if it doesn't have a deeper meaning. Art doesn't have to be complicated, and when it comes to computer games as art, this is one form of art that can be the most simplistic form out there.