Video Art

I spent around 10 hours on this. Finding clips online and cutting them exactly how I wanted was much harder than I expected. YAY it's done!

Good luck everyone on finals-this was such an interesting class and I have enjoyed everyone's work this past semester =)

Drowning

Bill Viola was a very interesting man to watch a documentary on. His exhibits look so cool. I really loved that we were able to see his creative process unfolding on the page. He documented his work so well. I really liked watching the video because it really got into the psychological mind of the artist. I really was able to connect this class to my major. I understand the creative process and the mental work that goes into the process of creating art. I also loved the fact that his art was greatly influenced by his near drowning experience. I thought about how I used to swim down to the bottom of pools and look up and pretend I was in a different world with the sun beaming down in rays.

Pipilotti Rist

SO WEIRD. I watched this and was slightly disturbed. I couldn’t stop laughing! First of all she looked deranged and like a little kid throwing a fit during the first segment. I was entertained when the man was jumping around naked. I thought all the video effects were really interesting. Rist portrays very human images. You really need to pay attention to what is going on in her videos to sense a theme and understand the messages. I really like “I’m not the girl that misses much”. So funny to watch both in and out of class!

Television Delivers People

At first I didn’t quite understand what this video clip really meant. It was really interesting to think about how invasive television really is, it truly does deliver the people to advertisers. The commercialism of the television really provides an advertising tool. Advertising allows television to be so inexpensive. We don’t even usually realize how we are being bombarded by advertisements over the TV until it is pointed out to us. After watching this video clip I started watching television commercials more analytically. Especially the fact that television targets its audience so well.

Dinner For Two

when you're 21 you're no fun.

I LOVED this class. This really resonated with me, probably because we are getting closer to the current time. Yet we are still far enough back for me to appreciate the historical importance of the type of music and art was being produced. I was really interested in the Moog Synthesizer and I liked listening to “Switched on Bach”. I liked learning about the house movement and how it was created in a Warehouse in Detroit.

It was really fascinating to see how the culture shaped the music and in turn the music shaped the culture. Also, it was interesting to see the practicality in using a rhythm box/synthesizer, when the police would come it was much easier for the artists to pack up and get our quickly.

I loved hearing groups such as Ladytron, Gorillaz, Blur, Massive Attack etc. in the context of this class. I really loved listening to Michel Cleis ft. Toto la Momposina- La Mezcla. This was such a fun mix of songs. What we listened today in class was so interesting to me because I love synthesized songs, and combinations of songs that seem polar opposite. Great class!

Whip It

I really liked George Ligeti and the visualization of the score, made by machine in the 1960’s. I know this is very “easy” today but at the time it was very revolutionary. It was really interesting to see all of the metronomes going off at once. Diamanda Galas is quite an interesting character. I really liked where this class was going and how we began to talk about synthesizers. I think it is so neat how a machine can change the whole aura of a sound.

I loved when we watched “Whip It” My Mom loves this song, it’s funny to see the evolution of songs like this. I also liked when we listened to “Tainted Love” because I have always like Marilyn Manson’s version and I thought Soft Cell was the original creator and not Gloria Jones. One aspect I absolutely love about this course is that I can finally see so many connections. Connections in culture, music, and art can be seen even now in the current culture.

I also really was interested in the New Psychedelic movement and how culture impacted the art forms of the times. Of course this culture was centered on drugs which made the art that much more interesting.

Isadora

Klaus Nomi rocked out Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead. At first when we watched Klaus Nomi I was impressed by his voice but I didn’t think I really connected with any of his songs. However, when we watched this video and Falling In Love Again I started to understand his strangeness. Everything about him was so bizarre, his look, voice, behavior.

I thought what we watched about AIDS was really interesting. During this time it was common that if you had AIDS you only would have around two months to live. The body would become frail and this allowed for expression through art. People saw how important the body was and at the same time whom non-important the body was. This opened the door for piercing, body modification and other ways to alter the body.

Leigh Bowery was so wild looking! It was really interesting to his how he dressed and how everyday was a performance for him. It is really crazy to think of how people commit their whole lives to this type of art.

I researched The Wooster Group a little bit. It is interesting to see how they have combined so many different types of media and art styles.

“Isadora” was SWEET. This would be so cool to play around with this type of technology. I know it is not similar but it reminded me of the stairs with sensors on them to play tones from.

The Body

Stelarc was a really interesting person to watch, I liked how the movie Avatar was blended into this style of cyborg technology. It is a pretty neat concept of making the human body into some machine that is controlled by the body yet many times more powerful. By “expanding the operational capabilities of the body through means of technology” a whole new way of conceptualizing what the body can do is changed.

I went on to VBS.com and explored this site a little. I watched the short movie “Balls Deep” it was about the “Sewer Kids” of Colombia and it showed the horrible conditions these people were basically forced to survive under.

Bob Flanagan was funny! So odd, but his story is depressing. I really liked listening to Throbbing Gristle.

This class was really interesting for me because I always am thinking of the different uses of the human body. Viewing the human body, as a tool is something we all do, yet usually we think in the confines of societal norms. Most of these individuals use the body as a tool for many different uses than just what our culture defines as proper.

The Origin of War=Penis

I really enjoyed seeing all of the Xerox projects-well done everyone! Class was especially interesting, performance art is an art I am very unaccustomed with seeing. I don’t like the whole throwing up/eating feces/hurting yourself. However, I can very much appreciate the art exposed in the viewer reaction. This art seems to play on many aspects of society and in turn how society will interpret the art. I really loved “O Superman” by Laurie Anderson, I love most things involving a syth. I’m listening to it right now and it reminds me of Imogen Heap, I think it is really brilliant and her performance just adds to the strangeness of it. Gilbert and George’s pieces were hysterical and fresh. I thought it was pretty interesting that these grandfather-like men were posing nude and were also gay lovers. I read online a bit about them and I saw that many of their pictures were first produced black and white and then they went in and hand colored them. The colors really pop out at you (along with their penises). What a sense of humor these two had. I am so glad Santiago shared this with us; it added some needed comedy to my day. Orlan reminds me of Edna in “The Incredibles”, mostly just her look.

Now here is an interesting character, full of sexuality and strangeness. One theme in my Xerox project was the manipulation of the body through means of cosmetic surgery. Watching Orlan in class perfectly complemented the meaning of my project. I cannot imagine wanting to be conscious during a plastic surgery but she surely pushed the envelope. On Grey’s Anatomy there is a major surgery in which a patient requests to be awake. Immediately after viewing Orlan’s awake surgery I thought of this episode.

"I'm Speechless"

I really enjoyed learning about Andy Warhol today in class. I never realized the humor inserted in his art pieces. I remember when younger seeing the Campbell’s Soup cans and in class we needed to represent our own drawing off of this. Up until now I of course knew of Andy Warhol’s name and of his famous art pieces.

However, I never realized “the game” Andy was playing throughout his art and throughout his life in the media especially. I would really like to see the collection of films that portrayed a close-up of people’s faces for fifteen minutes. This makes me think of when you stare at yourself in the mirror for a while and all of the lines and freckles on your face become unfamiliar. Yet at the same time you can really see yourself objectively, I would love to have the chance to really look at a stranger for more than a few minutes. This is what is so appealing to me about this compilation of people staring into a camera.

I am also interested in the strausberger emotional memory technique and how actors/actresses were trained to bring back an intense emotional memory into their cognition and the ability to control these thoughts. It was hilarious when Andy was being interviewed because you can really understand the game he is playing with the media and the mysterious mischievous front he is all about.

Happy Accident

I loved that little activity we did in class to help us understand what an “exquisite corpse” is. This type of artwork fascinated me; I have always been very excited about surrealist art and just how you transform your dreams/drug-induced hallucinations on to paper. It is unbelievable to see how history is tied into art and how art in turn mirrors the times. I really enjoyed seeing The Bauhaus School of Design and the integration of function and beauty. The influence of Nazi power impacted art completely, as the artists fled Germany they brought new waves of ideas to the United States. We can see remnants of this style architecture in current art. Hearing of the frustrated culture of the Beats was very intriguing. I really liked how William Burrow phrased his art as a “happy accident” his cut ups were original and a funny manipulation of what already is.

Grid Art

Here are a few pictures from my grid art project. I wasn’t able to show how it would look in a dark room with a light shining through the punctured paper, yet I think everyone understood the idea.

“L.H.O.O.Q.” is an assisted readymade art piece by Marcel Duchamp. Here we see the famous Mona Lisa with a very humorous twist- a moustache and beard! How interesting that this became a legitimate art piece, simply by changing and declaring it as so in a gallery. Here we see how important the understanding of language is while appreciating humor. “L.H.O.O.Q.” is the title, when phonetically pronounced in French it sounds like “ her ass is on fire.” Of course if you did not understand French you may not understand this at all!

This humor can be traced to the Dada movement as a way of breaking apart the long line of traditional art. Duchamp was making fun of what was sacred and attempting to expand our perspective. This made people think differently about what is art, what are the possibilities of art, and how we as the viewer can change art.

“Un Chien Andalou” was a silent film that was very important, it was a film created by two surrealists: Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali. This was a very bizarre film; I was pretty grossed out after the woman’s eye was sliced open. I thought the skull on the moth was really cool. This short film reminded me of a very bizarre dream, where nothing quite makes sense when you think about it later.

Decontextualized

So in class we started to explore Impressionism, which was a major shift in how art was viewed. I liked how it was mentioned that for the first time artists began painting from their feelings. Art soon became all about the point of view and that there was no right or wrong point of view. It questioned reality because one person’s reality could be very different than another’s. I enjoyed learning more about Pointillism because I remember in elementary school looking at Seurat’s famous “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”, and thinking how cool that was. Finally I can connect this to history! Dada was also interesting to learn about, it very much reminded me of the magnetic words you can jumble around on your fridge. Although, there is a major difference between fridge magnets and Dada (Dada does not rely on the human brain’s influence.) Very weird that the human mind is disconnected from this art form. I loved hearing about Hugo Ball and how language can both define and constrain. The Rayograph made beautiful almost fossil like images.

Nerds

We finished watching the movie “Triumph of the Nerds” on Wednesday. I liked this segment the most because we really got to see the nature of the competitor’s personalities. I understood what “Great Artists Steal” meant but it still sounded so horrible. I realize that I appreciate these people much more than previously. I can’t even imagine the lifetime of hard work dedicated to something they found they had a sort of obsession for. I never truly realized how much work was involved. I also never realized how short of a time frame this all took place in. I remember by the time I was in fifth grade all of my friends had a computer at home. My family was the last family of my group of friends to get a computer. I felt so isolated in my classes when my teachers would make the sweeping statement that “everyone by now has a computer.” It felt like without a computer the world really couldn’t have functioned before! I really loved when in the movie the Graphical User Interface was talked about. Finally a computer I could recognize! This is how I think of how computers are supposed to look and feel –in a crude way of course. I was glad we watched this movie, as wacky as it was I appreciate how computers came to be and the fight to produce such technology.

Triumph of the Nerds

I got some materials for my grid art project and I’m going to start working on it tomorrow. I think I planned out about an hour a day until it is due, however I think it won’t be quite that tedious.

In class we watched Triumph of the Nerds. This is a world I would never ever want to be in. I think it is absolutely fascinating however. I really have no technical computer knowledge so watching this movie was eye opening. It really is a whole different way of thinking, language and sub culture. I liked seeing such as young geeky Bill Gates. It is phenomenal to think that these people in the movie were just about my age when they were making it big in the computer industry. I also liked watching the excerpts of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Steve Jobs makes computers sound so magical, which to me they really are anyways, “there was something beyond what you see everyday.” He thought that this same spirit could be put into products. I really liked watching this movie so far and it is interesting to see the competitive nature of this business.

Pacman

I looked around at chris.com/ascii some more. This is exactly what middle school kids used to be obsessed with, especially with those super annoying “send to all of your friends or you will never find your true love/you will die a horrible death” forward messages. My friends would send me characters made into the shape of flowers, hearts and all sorts of funny little things. I remember wondering who actually had the time on their hands to do this. It actually is pretty cool though because the whole picture is just composed of small different characters.

Next, I checked out the History of the Internet, Internet for Historians online. I saw an external link titles “An Atlas of Cyberspaces” I really liked this website. I also felt like I am really computer illiterate. From here I found myself in a subsection titled “MUDs (Multi-User Dimensions) and Virtual Worlds” this page talked all about how virtual worlds are created and people can access and play in this worlds. Maps are produced showing the geography of these 3D role-playing games. One such game is “Ever Quest.”

These classes have been both interesting and boring for me. Boring in the sense that it is hard for me to grasp the mechanisms as to how the machinery is made/works therefore I have a hard time keeping up. I constantly am trying to think even in the most rudimentary ways in which these things actually work! However, on the other hand I am very interested because I grew up around video games and I can appreciate the societal meaning of these technologies.

Super Computer

I had no idea the power struggles that occurred due to the invention and enhancement of television or “radio television.” It is incredible that a fourteen-year-old boy thought of the original idea of how a television would function. The battles over a Patent were very interesting. Here, the deciding factor was thanks to Farnsworth’s grade teacher who copied down his formula. I never thought of all the glitches that probably arose from television, for example when we watched the segment about the hot studio lights and how they overcame that it made me think of the beginning of audio. When audio was first being played in movies they needed to overcome technical problems as well. It seems like this kind of process is similar as to how we have come to perfect and improve our technological creations.

I took a look at MZVT.com and focused my attention on the pioneers of TV and on Marilyn Monroe. I thought during class the short talk about “Norma Jean” was interesting. We think of her as a major icon who was flawless, it is very funny to think of Marilyn Monroe as once a person who ever got nervous of the limelight. I thought it was also interesting than at this time TV was not the best medium. However, since her death we see other areas that she performed in in partly thanks to television.

Next I went to the website to look at the History of Computing Science. I read about he Abacus which seemed to set the stage for all other computing devices. I loved reading more about ENIAC. It is fascinating to think about how large these machines were, and how small the computers of today are. Yet there are also those Super Computers that we took a look at in class that need so much coolant because of the sheer heat they emit. Looking at some of these slides on the website is like looking at a complete different language to me. I cannot even begin to think of how smart the inventors of these machines are. Even smarter and more creative are the ones who build upon those original inventions.

Flip Book & More

I have developed carpal tunnel due to this flipbook. Joking, but it was more work than expected. I am relieved that it is completed and I think it turned out neat. I tried to think of a general plot line and as I went along noticed that my ideas changed and I was able to accommodate these different ideas into the animation. I tried to keep the drawings relatively simple because I know I can easily become obsessed. This isn’t always a bad thing but I didn’t want to get frustrated with this project. So I planned out to do about 30 pages a day, for a week. It was time consuming but I am proud of the finished project and the process. I think everyone’s came out awesome and I liked how we were able to view our classmate’s work.

So first of all I went for a bit Friday to listen to Tom Igoe. I only stayed for about an hour but what I heard was interesting. He is involved with Interactive Telecommunication devices. I think that devices that use the human body and then can communicate with other decides such as the Wii remote are really cool. I would never be able to do something like this but I am grateful and respect those people who are able to create like this. As technology progresses we see the need for highly interactive communicating devices. I thought it was really awesome when he noted that “we tend to take legacy with us.” This tied directly into our lectures and our study of the history of art and technology. We see that technology is built upon one another. Borrowing and molding different ideas shapes the technology of today. New ideas of course can form but we must always be aware of the ideas that are precedent.

I listened to The Shadow on otr.com. “Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men..hahah the shadow knows.” There was a brief commercial break right after this introduction statement and I didn’t even know it was a commercial until a few seconds in. Probably because I think our commercials now are so LOUD and annoying. I thought these radio broadcasts sounded more like books on tape, which I used to love. These radio stories allow for your own imagination just as if you are reading a novel plus the extra sounds and music. I would love sitting around the fire listening to these stories over the radio during this time period. You can be in the comfort of your own home while being entertained for free. It was funny listening to the differences in time period, for example the question was asked: “Do you have a good car,” the answer was:“ Yes I can guarantee up to 80.” I really had no idea about these radio story broadcasts and think it is pretty quaint sounding, and see how radio really spurred the mass communication and communication across a large distance forward.

Teddy-Bot?

Just wrapped up my flipbook project. Wow, that took a long time. I am proud that it is complete though! During this past class we watched clips from various films showing how the fourth wall was and is being broken down. The fourth wall is the audience’s security net, it separates reality from entertainment. However, it is scary and exciting to think about what would happen if we could no longer distinguish between what is real and what is merely on the screen. Also scarier to think what are the implications if one day we are able to create robots almost identical to humans, and if there will ever be a scientific breakthrough to create emotional feelings. Could consciousness and emotions be programmed somehow into robots so they experience the world similar in functioning to our brains? What would this mean for humans, how would we interact with technology then? Would robots have rights or would they just be property and machinery? Some of these questions have been posed in some of the film clips we watched such as Blade Runner and Artificial Intelligence. Personally, this class raised the most questions. I really enjoyed it.

Milk Drugs and Honey

Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” is bizarre. Is this movie merely an augmentation or dramatization of true society? Perhaps this movie acts as both a mirror, a warning for the future and a product of the past. Is it possible that a film could combine all of these elements? I believe in this case, “A Clockwork Orange” takes history, the present and leaves room for a warning to future generations. The film weaves all of these aspects together very creatively.

“Singin’ In The Rain” presents a time with no worries, pleasant speaking people and the emphasis of the overall goodness of mankind. However, twenty years later this overall goodness in mankind maybe doesn’t compel the audience. Yet the irony of “A Clockwork Orange” is that the audience understands that this ultra violence is a by-product of once happy, wholesome times. The brutal raping and killings have evolved out of the cheery sounds of the song Singin’ In The Rain.

Film builds upon itself, it can transform into dark and evil messages too. As technology evolves, the plot of film changes as well. “Singin’ in the Rain” explores the problems and wild success of using audio to enhance motion picture. The audience feels the complete happiness when the famous song is sung. This feeling of joy is what we have conditioned our response to be whenever we here this song. That is why it is so odd for the viewers of “A Clockwork Orange,” the simple cheerful feelings soon become distorted.

The irony of watching brutal killings while hearing such a bubbly song is rather odd. It is as if the visual and audio are out of synch. As mentioned before in class this type of irony is only made possible due to the advancements in technology; using two different levels of information of audio and visual. As Santiago mentioned these different levels don’t always need to be emotionally connected. This dissonance between picture and sound is remarkable because it provides the feeling of innocence in parallel with atrocity. It is clear to see the changes in society which have tainted our happiness, and twisted its meaning. However, the ability to layer audio and visual separately really allow us to use this layering of information to either magnify the emotional reactions of a film or in this case to cause dissonance and irony.

I'm Happy Again

I have never been able to watch a scary movie and I now understand how pathetic I truly am. I was scared watching “Nosferatu”, embarrassing, but his nails and funky rat teeth put me over the edge. It is very interesting to see the progression of art through the clips shown each class. I feel like watching clips from this particular class felt much more relatable than anything we have previously been studying. The camera angles, the movement of the camera, close-ups. Editing really has served a huge purpose while making films. I never have paid attention to how the audience witnesses different viewpoints because it seems natural that there should be camera cuts and switches of perception. However, I now see that film had to go through a long process without this ability of editing and how editing evolved. So glad we got to watch a little of “Singing in the Rain” I forgot how funny it is, also watching it now that I am older I can appreciate the historical context more.

MOTO

Creepy that some of the “daguerreotypes” first subjects were the dead. It does make sense completely however, because I cannot think of many people who can hold a pose for over thirty seconds. Unless you are of course an equally creepy living statue performer. I remember going to a children’s science museum when I was younger and looking through a zoetrope of a man riding a bicycle. Now I know what that “spinning thingy” is actually called. Also an interesting fact from last class was the origin of Nickelodeon. Drake Arnold’s flipbook was so catchy, cute and odd at the same time. It had a very innocent yet disgusting plot line. The whistling was stuck in my head the rest of the day, but I loved it. MOTO was out of control good. I cannot wrap my head around the idea that someone took the time to complete this. I would go insane because the work must be so meticulous. It is absolutely amazing. I was slightly disturbed by the bodies, but it was so cool. I enjoyed this class the most so far because I am really fascinated by this kind of fram by frame movie making. I loved seeing Windsor McCay’s cartoon animation.

Broadway

This class makes me realize how much I do not know about my own country’s history. It’s okay though, I am beginning to appreciate the evolution of art forms and how technology aids in this process. This class on Broadway was enjoyable because it demonstrated how the combining of cultures really effects expression and how performances are truly a mirror of the times. I wonder what our art will be conveying to future generations. I wish I could be able to witness firsthand what it was like to go to a speakeasy or go to Tin Pan Alley. Florenz Ziegfeld seemed to find his niche and give the people what they want. It’s odd to think of these periods in time being filled with sexual messages but they were there and even then captured an audience. George White’s dance moves should be brought back!

Aa Muse: Audrey Flack

#3

Friday night I stopped into the Art Gallery at school. Untitled #53 by Sam Gilliam looked like large calendar days with some very bright colors. I wondered if Obama got a chance to see “Obama and St. Martin” by Joyce J. Scott, it seemed very fitting considering he spoke at our school. Untitled # 12 by Larry Poons reminded me of when little kids draw in their food. I really loved “Aa Muse” by Audrey Flack, the muse looked like Medusa at first, I love the colors and the shadowing. I also really enjoyed Ed Paschke’s “ Pharaoh Series #12”, probably because I am interested in anything Egyptian. Overall I’m glad I took a look and was interested in the short biographies of all of the artists.

I really don’t want to watch an entire opera. I am glad however they have subtitles and I am thinking of trying to find Elektra. The Flower Duet sounds so pretty; I know I have heard it in many commercials but never really paid attention to the voices. It is very beautiful and it sounds filled with both inspiration and sorrow. Maybe I should look for the opera Lakme in case Elektra doesn’t work out. At first I thought this class would be full of unfamiliar material, which in part it is, yet it is all related to the current. Even learning that operas were the precursor for every type of mood enhancement in movies makes me more interested because it is something relatable. I loved seeing the clip from Salome, it was both chilling and entertaining.

Apple & Class #2

When you put Apple’s accomplishments in a lineup such as this it is astounding to see all of these extremely sleek and popular devices loved by so many people. I don’t think “loved” is an inappropriate word to use. I think some people really do love the fact that all of their favorite music can be stored and accessed so easily in such a portable device. These devices are very cleverly designed; they allow people with very little experience with technology to use them fairly easily. My girlfriend’s grandmother just got one and she listens to her iPod everyday and is so happy that she can both work it and that she has it. Having a vision both of what the people want as well as integrate easily into their daily life is very hard. So many people know of the Apple name, know of their service and know that their products deliver an easy and effective means of communication. In this sense I find Steve Jobs to be a very smart man in consistently delivering technology that the people want and can use easily.

So I’m pumped about the larger room. I love organized lectures, yet they tend to get tedious. However this class had the perfect balance of information supplemented with video clips, music etc. It brought aspects from history into a relatable context, for example the Fibonacci spiral and musical experimentation. I am going to sound like a huge nerd but the Fibonacci spiral being found in nature so readily is so cool. I have never seen nor read the Da Vinci Code but now want to see it. I didn’t realize we would be learning about history during this class but I am glad. The Baroque period seems much more fascinating then I had previously thought. I was disgusted when I learned that the average times a person showered during this period was two days a year. Also I had no idea that wigs help cover up the scars from syphilis, or that so much makeup was worn. This time period seemed so grand, ornate and excessive, yet at the same time I got the idea that everything was filthy and covered up instead of taken care of. This is why I liked when Santiago introduced the term “theatrum mundi” meaning the world is a stage, and the world can frame or hide the truth. Some of the scenes from the video clips were absolutely beautiful. I also felt like some of the men performing in these clips looked very much like drag queens.

first day

I shared a dance with Santiago at Sensory Overload last year. Therefore, I was mildly thrilled when I saw this course was being offered as Honors. I admit that the first day of class was both exciting and intimidating. I hope this course will open up different ideas within others and myself that have for so long been repressed and unappreciated. The most daunting notion of this class for me is that there are very little restrictions.

My name is Catherine but I go by Cat, unless you are my mother…and I really hope my Mom won’t be reading this. Mom if you are reading this 1. Who taught you how to use the Internet? 2. Please send me money…just kidding. I am a Psychology major, without any real idea what I want to do. I have lived my life in the same house in MA, my family has never had cable TV-which pretty much sucked as a child. It was character building perhaps? However, I feel like you can build character in much easier ways than people make character building out to be. The way people talk about character is like it is one of the pyramids of Egypt…and we don’t even really know how those were built.

I hope this class provides a space where students can connect on a different level and actually interact in an energetic manner.