Hacking Reaction

This was an amazing documentary. I was blown away that people could figure out how to use tones to dial a phone, and how investing so much time and energy into a hobby could end up as something that is such an integral part of modern life. I wish that there were some similar thing nowadays, or that people would spend more effort trying to "hack" computers; concentrating on that rather than whether or not things will sell could lead to more innovation and faster-improving technology.

I also thought that it was funny how much the world overreacted to Mitnick; how could one man and a payphone cause a nuclear war? I also thought that it was strange that people tried so hard to catch him.

RIP reaction

I loved this documentary! I was really interested that this is the first century that has not been able to legally rip things from other's creations. I wish that the creator had explained why Disney was able to extend the copyright length; if it was a birthday gift to Mickey Mouse, why would they allow it to cover everything created from that time period? and when does that extension end? I was also shocked that Girltalk allows his face to be shown; why is he not sued?

I was a little annoyed by the maker's very childish "us against the world" narration; it would make the documentary a little more mature if he didn't spend so much time building up the "war".

Electronic Music

Response: Contemporary Electronic Music

I really was amazed that the creator of the theremin and the early synthesizer were able to find people that had the skills and imagination to make socially acceptable music with the new instruments. I've actually played a theremin before, and it was amazing to hear classical music coming out of it.
I was also really amused by Kraftwerk; both their robotic "aesthetic" and songs were very fun to hear.
It was interesting that so many of the electronic music groups introduced other forms of art, both visual and tactile, into their work. Besides the pictures embedded in songs, the sculptural aspect of mixing music was very cool.

(kraftwerk wendy carlos)

Synth Brittania

I was impressed by how young Kraftwerk was when they toured internationally, and it was nice how seriously they took themselves. The introduction of the synth into the general public when the price dropped was interesting; I wonder if the quality of synth music dropped?

I really liked Gary Newman, both for his aesthetic and his music. I was glad that the "manly, sweaty, gross" kind of aesthetic was taken over by this smooth, industrial music.

Survival Research Laboratories

I wonder how the people in SRL are satisfied with what they do? Their creations aren't particularly useful in any research, monetary, or aesthetic sense. They remind me of teenage boys who ride around on motorcycles and want to join the army so everyone else will think they're tough. I also don't really consider what they do "art"; it's more like scientific experimentation; throwing random things together just to see what they'll do. I see how social commentary could be taken out of it, but I don't think that's their main goal with the machines. However, I do respect their idea of trying to siphon off some of the talent that goes into the defense industry as to not "destroy us all."

Reaction 4: Fluxus

I'm always kind of shocked at how limited art was early on; how little merging there was between each art form.

I like how participatory Kaprow's happenings were, but I don't really think of them as "art", per se; more like a kind of game due to its unaesthetic and participatory nature. I do think that it's interesting how he mapped out each happening like a score of music; specifically timing each section of his performance, much like John Cage.

I thought it was amusing that the artists went as far to make the "flux pills" and make "flux cooporative housing". In addition with the "flux hall", I feel that the movement was very closed-off and that without the public's influence, flux went off by itself and spiraled into a very weird movement.

I admire their idea of giving the public access to their "art"; especially with the audience-participatory acts, I think it seems very fun.

In some ways, the entire fluxus movement reminds me of something young children would do on their own; send funny things through the mail, record themselves doing weird things, make games, eat jello off of furniture and cars, play with matches, whack a piano.

Reunion Documentary

I thought it was interesting that the man was obviously so involved in his memories and yet the person he talked to had never heard of fluxus.

I don't like how all of the composers and artists dedicate their work towards each other; it adds to the feeling of the fluxus movement being cut-off and a fringe act.

Reaction 3: John Cage

After playing flute classically for 10 years, I have heard a lot about John Cage; mostly about 4:33. However, I never realized that in addition to composing, Cage dabbled in so many other art forms. Having now learned about his work in composition and musical performance, I wonder if his art reflects the same elements; changing the use of something to make a whole new tool. Besides his art, though, I was very impressed by Cage's stoicism during performance. In the Paik tribute, you can literally feel the tension of the people staring at Cage, wondering what in the world he's doing sitting there with the stopwatch and the closed piano lid and asking each other when the music will start. Cage, however, sits there like a statue; seemingly immune to the doubt and skepticism going on around him.

The first thing I noticed about John Cage was how happy he was about what he does. I never realized what he was trying to do via his music; "to begin to like what we dislike makes the world more open". After hearing this, I became much more appreciative of his art. It was shocking that Cage started so early in his life to move away from the conventional approach to music; the music he composed for the dancer, "In the Name of the Holocaust" was already very indicative of what he would later move on to do. However, much of his work does not speak to me. Maybe it's because I have a preconcieved notion of what music is, ingrained by my classical flute playing, but much of his work does not appeal to me as much as his pure intention does. However, John Cage was also classically trained; it makes me wonder how he can separate his instinct from this training apart from his completely unharmonious composition.

Entlastungen Pipilottis Fehler

Entlastungen Pipilottis Fehler

The stop-start kind of imagery taken at such a close-up that it’s impossible to tell what’s going on and what the images actually are in combination with the scales in the background give an interesting effect. The held note in combination with the freeze-frame was also interesting, and was a good leadup to the shocking images and creepy voice on the black screen. I do wish I could understand what she was saying, but I don’t think it’s really necessary to get the full effect of the video. The emotions the girl shows and the way the video warps her face is very strange, but it gives an interesting effect; the rainbow-greenish static crossing the screen in front of the falling girls seems like it has some connection to the voice and music; the timing is very similar. The striped shirts of the mimes also seem like they have some connection with the static. This sort of experimental video isn’t anything I’ve ever seen before, and I still think it’s a very strange concept. Her juxtaposition of unreal and graphic images with the realistic ones are very reminiscent of the sound of the piece; the voice and the strange crashing sounds.

Reaction: William Wegman, Bill Viola, Michael O'Reilly

William Wegman
I was really amused that William Wegman ended up doing such “safe” art for calendars and etc, after seeing his early video work. His work is hilarious and kind of strange; very different than the work of his that we see now. My favorite clip was probably the singing stomach; I’m guessing all of the people who watch that video go home an try it. His videos also remind me a little of some of the youtube comedians that are around now. They’re also gross at times, and make you wonder what kind of thought process led to such strange videos. I think his work fit well into the short clip of dog baseball he made for sesame street.

Bill Viola
I like Viola's work much less than Wegman's; due to its experimental nature, I find it unsettling and sort of confusing. The first video; him sitting on a couch and screaming intermittently; reminds me of Silent Hill. I don't really understand what he was trying to portray.

Michael O' Reilly
I like the narration overlayed with the tones, illustrating the story. The different voices make the narrator's description of his hallucinations and difficulty understanding apparent to the viewer, and the way he speaks; first-person and robotically; enhances the feeling of empathy. It's also interesting how he connected the images with the narration even if they are not overtly related; the part about lowering the mask while the images are of a blender's lid closing. I also was interested by how most images are taken so close-up that it's at first hard to tell what's going on unless you listen to the narration at the same time.

Video Art Notes

4 Major areas of video art
Video Installations; extended sculptural formats through the use of video technology
Live and prerecorded video; video is either prerecorded and played back on a transcription device, or captured on-site and processed and projected in a live setting.
Image-processed video; utilize synthesizers like the one developed by nam jun paik to alter the video waveform electronically.
A video which usually contains a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events throughout its running time.

Charles P. Ginsberg; first to research and develop the first practical Video Tape Recorder (1951). Converted information to electrical impulses; converted onto magnetic tape.
In 1965, Sony introduced the first video player for home use. Betamax; pre- VCR

Artists started using video as a media; First exhibition exploring video’s possibility was “TV as a Creative Medium” with 12 artists including Nam June Paik.
Exhibited May 1969
Many were interactive and participatory; Wipe Cycle transposed present-time demand to disrupt video’s flow of information.

-Nam Jun Paik; father of video art
Also interested in music and performance; started to add video to this
Collaborated with Charlotte Moorman, a cellist. Added video to her body and to cellos

Brian Eno; “I see video as a picture medium rather than a narrative medium. Video for me is a way of configuring light, just as painting is a way of configuring paint.”
Thursday Afternoon- required viewer interaction; had to turn television onto its side

Mid- 80’s; PXL-2000 became popular; $100 home-video maker, geared towards children. Commercial flop, but resurfaced a decade later as the choice tool for many video artists
Sadie Benning; first artist to become known for using Pixelvision. Started at 16; father bought her a camera. Started to use camera for a video diary
Michael O’Reilly; glass jaw, used toy keyboard and pixelvision to document his experiences with healthcare

Pipilotti Rist; Swiss- based video artist; started out as punk rock musician. Incorporates teenage angst and unrequited love into her pieces, does things such as “sip my ocean”, involving her music and video.

Gillian Wearing; “Drunk”. Live performance-esque video

Paul Slocum; hacks atari cartridges, creates music

Matthew Barney
Considers himself a sculptor; scultpures incorporated into films as part of complex environments. The sculptures, banners, and drawings,
Characer; each selection from the Cremaster series focuses on one character. All protagonists undergo a rite of passage and overcome physical and emotional challenges.
Genre and Narrative;
Each film has a distinct look invoking a specific time period and style. Includes; gothic western, aryan films, road movies, romanic tragedies, musicals

Subject

Jellyfish!

"Overture" Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality

I never imagined that people had thought of making a Pangaea of sorts of artistic media even before the invention of technology able to do so. Before reading this article, electronic multimedia did not even strike me as a form of art; instead, I imagined multimedia and the internet a a kind of museum system that housed art. However, now I see that the very act of combining all media into a single, all-encompassing experience by definition changes that media into a whole new animal.

In addition, it's hard to remember that before the computer, before the internet, ideas that seem commonplace to us now; the ability to communicate wirelessly and speedily via e-mail and IM; the ability to download seemingly from midair music, movies, and other media; the computer as a work tool that could create animations, presentations, and sounds. Even making the jump from the earliest computer, one used only for military calculations, to the idea that a computer could be one's own personal assistant is amazing when you stop to think about it.

I also never thought of the internet as a series of hyperlinks; in fact, when I first read it, I was confused. Like a "choose your own adventure" book, from this page alone I can access at least... fifteen different pages and places on blogger's site. Hyperlinks are our method of navigation on the internet; before reading this article I took them for granted.

It's amazing how many ideas and plans and schemes for an interactive virtual reality people have made over time; even in the early day of the computer, people were planning for a fake world. After reading this article, I suddenly hope that virtual reality is not so far away with the new influx of 3-D systems.

Man Ray- Reflection

Out of all his accomplishments, Man Ray's most impressive and most important was his ability to stay with a single, clear knowledge of exactly what kind of art he wanted to create. I was very impressed by his ability to bend all media he used into fitting in with his dada-esque vision. Man Ray's dedication to a single idea made me question my own dedication to what I like. Though I wish I had a single ideal to be devoted to like Man Ray, there is nothing I have ever felt so strongly for.

I was also interested by how hard Man Ray took criticism. In spite of being quite a high-achieving artist, he left New York for the rest of his life when his art was not accepted, saying "Dada cannot live in new york. New york is dada." Nowadays, it would be seen as silly to leave behind such an art "hub" and journey to a place whose language you did not even speak, just because your art was having a hard time breaking into the public.

In addition, I was amazed at what a big influence Man Ray's various liaisons and romances had on his art, and the fact that many of his partners were artists as well. I think that they had a lot to do with how Man Ray's media and symbols of choice changed over time.

Man Ray was a fearless artist, charging into every media that came his way with the bravado that comes from having something you love.

Man Ray- notes

variety of media, mysterious past; emmanuel redinsky, father a tailor an immigrant from russia
artist in high school, went to art college, scandalized family, moved to manhattan
Met alfred stieglitz, photographer and art dealer, who promoted new ideas in art

Moved on to other styles; cubist and expressionist, took influences from other artists after seeing Nude Decending a Staircase

joined community of artists hoping to practice art undisturbed, marries adon la croix; pubished Richfield Gadzook, visited by Marcel Duschamp

Returned to New York, divorced Adon
Dada starts in Zurich, people such as Tristan Tzara want to liberate art from all restrictions
Man Ray and others form a group promoting Dada, are met with confusion "make something useful useless", discouraged by lack of response, writes "Dada cannot live in new york. New york is dada, and will not tolerate arrival" and moves to Paris, where he meets friends of Duchamp, shoots portrait of Pruce on his deathbed. Joins group promoting all arts, not just painting

Temporarily abandons painting and turn to photography, takes portraits of very influential people, creates rayographs--> avant garde filmmaking

Meets Kiki, incarnation of Paris, together four years

Meets Lee Miller, live together, she leaves him, he makes "observatory time"

takes up fashion photography, turns it into art

interested by process of creation

begins relationship with guadelupan dancer

moves back to america, closes studio in fear of war, meets Juliette Browner

painting his first love, took up photography just to make a living?