Interactive gallery

Tatiana's (this is probably misspelled and I apologize) presentation made me think of an idea that is probably way outside of the realm of possible, an interactive giant light-bright in the gallery. How fun would it be to allow people to come into the gallery and make their own picture. Or even better (sorry, I am literally thinking as I type) the space is lit with black lights and portions of the wall are covered with black boards where people can draw or write anything (obviously regularly monitored because people can be inappropriate. Or hey short of hate speech let whatever remain on display, this isn't elementary school) using neon gel pens.

The Gallery

How do we get people on campus to get more involved in the Gallery? Even though it isn't in the main building students still are over there pretty often, for the library or in the new cafe so proximity isn't the problem. Do any of the other majors on campus take advantage of the space? We have lots of engineering and a variety of sciences that could demonstrate some of their work. Or if as part of class we could learn how to curate a show using our own work. I'm just thinking out-loud here (in a manner of speaking), I just know that students are not always the most likely to show initiative without a little nudge. 

Gallery Field Trip

I'm kind of curious about what everyone thought about going to the gallery last week. I really enjoyed being able to see everyone as we talked but I prefer the round table approach to class discussions. Is that something we will do again? I hope so.

Trippy

Oh Saturday Night Live last week Rihanna preformed her new single Diamond. Instead of the usual SNL stage though she sang in front of a green screen with a hodgepodge of images projected that created this very unusual effect. The response seems largely positive, my favorite tweet was "I wonder what stoned viewers are thinking right now". Worth the time to watch.http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/rihanna-diamonds/1423637/

Slit Scan Photography

My husband saw this the other day and thought I may like to blog about it (all of my best blog finds seem to come from him). I know people have a hard time sometimes considering photography art but viewing these I truly do not see how they could. These beautiful and sometimes disturbing photographs are pure genius in my eyes (for whatever that is worth). This is a brief selection of some of my favorites. I unfortunately did not have time to research each of these practitioners individually but I still wanted to include these works on my blog. These all come from google images so they are easy to find more information on.

Well, he did create the platypus ...

Ever walk into a museum or gallery and immediately what to leave for fear of desecrating some "holy of holies" you never knew existed? I have plenty of times. This also applies to church, and I love the story of St. Philip Neri. A pope who shaved off half his beard to make fun of himself as he walked to a ceremony meaning to honor him, wearing a cushion on his head as he walked down the street another time. These acts of performance art, or as St. Phillip Neri called them "public acts of silliness" are only a hint at how this man earned the nickname "The Humorous Saint". If whoever is reading this has the time you should really click on the link below. The author tells stories like this about several saints and even a few popes that are hilarious.
I guess in thinking about "high-brow" versus "low-brow" work I make some strange connection between the stories told in the article and the world of art. I am serious about art galleries. They are intimidating or flat out scary at times. When it is intentional it is one thing, but when it comes from a feeling of unworthiness it is another. People seem to assign sacredness to things that is really unnecessary, I think Philip Neri would agree. Reverence for the sake of reverence, be it religious or otherwise, only seems to hinder the experience rather than enlightening it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-james-martin-sj/the-saints-were-yes-funny_b_2057837.html 

Censorship in Wyoming

I saw this today and all I could say was wow. Art has a long history of depending on benefactors, and thus having to cater to them. The response from Thomas Hart Benton was I think exactly the type of response that should always be given in this kind of situation.http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/10/carbon_sink_sculpture_at_university_of_wyoming_mining_and_energy_donors.html

DVC pg 110

These questions are tough (duh) and important to discuss but I have to wonder if we are trying too hard to keep "art" confined to a specific space. Not only that though, but does anyone wrestle with similar questions in regard to non digital work?

digital Art pgs. 232-237

Issues of ownership are a very obvious problem with digital works, art outside of the gallery is wonderful but in a way an artist is leaving their baby out unprotected and vulnerable which is a frightening thing. Over the past couple of days I have been educated on some aspects to this issue that have forced me to broaden my understanding a bit. First, on Merlin's blog she presents some work that the artist created by taking apart some elements of a gaming system. She rightly points out that this in fact destroys another artists work, despite being mass produced. Then I read this part in our book on blogs and look at The Dumpster which really gets me thinking, Are a person's written words public domain by default or like photography are individuals afforded a certain right to control how their image is used? Or by putting something online do people relinquish that right? I suppose in a way they do, like hanging a letter on a bulletin board would. I guess, as with any new technology, people tend to get caught up in the novelty of it before truly thinking about the consequences of improper use.

  http://merlindtcfa.blogspot.com/2012/10/landscape-study-4-cory-arcangel.html    

another idea for display

I found this article on art thread that is a fun idea for the gallery space. It would be a lot of work obviously but some of Duran's photos a really nice, and we already have a strong photography element to DTC. Maybe this could be an addition to any sculptural pieces we may add.
http://artthreat.net/2011/11/litter-made-lovely-washed-up/

Digital Art pg. 219

This has a really neat concept to it. The whole community being able to recognize the overall emotion of their environment. I have to ask though, when someone is driving down the street and they see the color indicates some sort of negative emotion, be it sadness anger or fear, does that not in turn affect their own outlook? How much does the color of the statue determine others feeling rather than just communicating them?

Digital Art pgs. 204-211

The Town Square truly is digital. While reading about internet activists overwhelming government servers in an act of protest I was reminded of the group "Anonymous". As I researched it I began to realize how the redefinition of Space has forced our language to change. Instead of marching to raise awareness for a cause or blocking access to a building, which may or may not have a direct affect on operations, activists are instead able to effectively shut something down. If people have to worry about their information being stolen then networks such as Facebook or Sony will be forced to change their operating procedures, or if the CIA can have its system breached, then what faith will people have in its ability to protect the nation from cyber attacks?
Their is one thing, though, that bothers me more than anything, and that is responsibility. I am a fan of people who are willing to sacrifice much in order to inform the public or draw attention of weaknesses in systems we rely on, but if this is being done in someones living room and they never have to stand up for their beliefs does it not cheapen their stand? American's right to assemble peacefully is something that we must never take for granted, and if we are able to do this without ever having to truly defend what we believe then I think that is exactly what we are doing.
So many people in countries that lack freedom of speech and expression sacrifice their lives in order to take a stand, and even though so much of internet activism can be more effective at getting your point across I cant help but wonder if we are changing the very definition of protest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LulzSec
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)

Censorship

http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/dyn/DisplayCase.cfm/id/97

In issues of censorship I often find myself torn. While obviously our freedom of speech is an integral aspect of our culture and national identity, sometimes I feel that we lack a respect for this right. This article that I found on the File Room website is a perfect example of a time when censorship may be appropriate, but then when a reporter discovers evidence of a general's war criminal actions maybe that is a topic that the public should be aware of in order to hold him accountable, regardless of "national security" concerns. This is definitely a difficult question that deserves serious thought.

Talmud Project

David Small's Talmud is really interesting on many fronts. First, the thought of seeing architecture in the written word is a new approach to reading, but then to use a spiritual text in order to present it adds a new dimension. People tend to look at anything that involves "scripture" with a different eye, I guess the way someone understands any particular religion paints things that represent that religion any sometime objectivity gets thrown out the window. I wonder why he chose the talmud instead of another  type of book.
Then again, displaying this in a way that puts the whole thing right in front of the viewer adds new insight into the reading of scripture. I have no idea if this was his intent but I know that people have a tendency to "proof text" when looking at religious texts, pick versus up individually to prove a point even if the full context makes it mean something very different. This presentation makes that a little more difficult I think.

Text Rain

The piece Text Rain on page191 of Digital Art is an interesting way of using type in art. I would love to see this in action, and see how people interact with it.

vector exercise

I had never worked with Illustrator before this project so I had more than a little trouble with it. To do this exercise I started with AQA and just figured out what tools had an effect that I found a little fun. I started with the first A on the left hand side of the canvas and just played and by accident thought I made some sort of spaceship. Then I used the swirl tool to make the Q look like a black hole.  Then I used the warp tool to make the A on the right look like it is getting sucked in.

I think my head is about to explode

After reading, and rereading, about McLuhan's Hot or Cold medium I feel like I just ran circles in my brain. It filled me more with questions than understanding I guess. I understand, I think, the basic idea and agree that the theory does not find a solid place in our "high-definition" world the same way it may have fit with the times in which it was first developed, I wonder though if the very nature of any media being hot or cold is so closely determined by the person(s) who are experiencing(?) it that the very act of defining it is futile, or further the defining requires so much additional user interaction that it unavoidably becomes cool. I seriously am still a little dumbfounded by the essay, even after sleeping on it before writing this. I would appreciate a little more class discussion on this if we have the time, I wonder if I am the only one who feels that this one went right over their head.

Can you see me now?

Blast Theory's Can you see me now? is an interesting look not only into presence/absence, but also a look into culture as a whole through simple observation. As the runners go about chasing the players through their perspective cities I wonder what people just walking down the street think. People in general seem to enjoy acting in the role, albeit unwittingly, of observers while others participate in what is undeniably some sort of game. I am reminded of filling this role of the inadvertent audience member turned participant while I was on vacation this summer in Portland.
 I was with my husband and his parents when we found ourselves right in the middle of, what turned out to be, a city wide scavenger hunt and we happened to have sitting in front of us one of the items on the scavenger list, a box of voodoo doughnuts. My in-laws, who live in Oklahoma City (a far cry from downtown Portland), got a chance to show their wackier side helping dozens of participants take pictures with the iconic box. I would like to imagine people in the cities with CYSMN? runners not only acted as unwitting audience members, but maybe even offered a helping hand now and then.
 I checked out the website for this game and they had a player's thoughts on her experience and it made me wish that there were more statements from both players and runners, I was unable to find any more information though.

"Belongings"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19648095

I stumbled across this a few days ago and it really intrigued me. I am impressed by this artists commitment to his project, and his willingness to ask people what he did. I imagine he endured a fair amount of resistance and the final project is a wonderful look into this society.

Digital Art pg. 143. How truly "natural" can Thomas Ray's "Tierra" be if it is an artificial environment to begin with? I am not a computer science person by a long shot, but I do know that any environment the program evolves in is going to have basic laws in which to operate that have been ordained by the programs developer. This could be seen as an argument for intelligent design I think. Don't get me wrong, it would be amazing to watch in person, I am just curios about the discourse it would spawn.

Wiener and Licklider's Theories are near prophetic in their accuracy, I wonder what they would think of the smart phones of today and our reliance on them. The Galapagos series is fantastic, I love the idea of using today's technology to further educate people on these theories that have been around for so long. It mixes Darwin with Mendel's sweet peas in a beautiful way.

The reading for Art, Science, And Tech. was both fascinating and gross at the same time. I doubt I will be the only one that was a little uncomfortable with the digestive trac idea. Class starts in a few minutes,  I am excited to hear other's responses.

The controversy surrounding this iconic image from The early days of Barack Obama's campaign poke out its ugly head again. How can an artist allow this kind of simple mistake forever fog his career and reputation. By his own admission he knew full well the dangerous area of copyright he was clearly crossing, such a very sad story. A cautionary tale for any of us. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/09/obama-artist-spared-prison/

Thoughts on the Debate

The debate in class last week was very eye-opening to me. It taught me quite a bit about not only postmodern and modern art (which admittedly I knew little about beforehand), it also illuminated personal dynamics in my classmates. To avoid being gossipy I am going to avoid specifics, I can however say that art touches people on such an emotional level that as new to the discipline I have a difficult time responding to certain ideas respectfully. Open discourse is crucial to academia though, and I must become more aware of the different arguments not so that I can argue against anyone, but so that I can appreciate the many perspectives represented and learn from them.

Self Portrait

With this image  I attempted to play a little bit with one life experiences revealing themselves in their eyes. I played the flute from 5th grade till my sophomore year of college, so even though I no longer play the impact of music in my experience growing up warrant the inclusion of some reference to it in anything that is meant to in some way represent me. My wedding day is without a doubt a major life event.

Valazquez self portrait

I am writing this initially just with my own thoughts and will actually read more about this piece later in order to get a better understanding. I guess what stands out most is how bored he seems. Even standing before what appears to be a large canvas he seems disinterested in everything else going on around him. He is looking straight at the viewer (at least as best I can tell given the quality of the picture) as if to say, "yeah I'm here to". I am curious why he chose to include himself in this particular painting, was he especially close with the family, and what is he painting in the painting? Is it a depiction of him creating the very thing we are looking at? I will post a follow up after doing a bit of reading on this.

Awesome!!

Random Find

Ori Gersht: Check him out! My husband saw an article on this artist on the Daily Beast last week and his work in film and photo really helped me shed some light on the issue of prints being so easy to reproduce, therefore artistic work loosing some of it's "aura".