Video Art: Bulimia

Looking Into the Future

As I sit to write this, the only thing I can ask myself is, "Where do I begin?"  After reading "A Scientist Predicts the Future" by Michio Kaku, it is safe to say that my mind is blown.  To think that the incredible technologies and scientific advancements that have only been possible in movies will most likely become reality one day is very hard to grasp, but I do have faith that it will happen.  This article not only gives readers a look into the multiple types of technologies that will become available, but also into how they will benefit society.  For example, as media and industries are digitized, society as a whole will be able to gain knowledge on everything about services and products, which will ultimately lead to understanding exactly where the supply and demand curves meet, and this will perfect capitalism.  Advancements in health sciences will allow complex organs such as livers to be reproduced, allowing the term "organ failure" to become a thing of the past.  Further cancer research will bring scientists to be able to target individual cells and kill them, making cancer become that of the common cold.  Meanwhile, censors that can be placed in toilets or bathroom mirrors will be able to find early signs of tumors or other harmful health issues, thus saving lives.  It is these health advancements hat truly make me thankful for technology, yet it is the inventions that will reduce basic human skills, such as driving our own cars or cleaning our homes, that make me a little nervous.  Technology is already such a huge part of our lives, to the point where obesity and simple face-to-face communication skills are becoming issues.  If this continues further, I worry for the future generations that may lose simple skills as they allow technology to run their lives.  Overall, he world of technology has a bright future, but as with any part of life, their are both benefits and drawbacks to this reality.

Tumblr Findings

My daily explorations on tumblr had me stumble across this beautiful series of photographs using the camera obscura.  It is titled Guest Relations and is by the artist Robyn Stacey.  I immediately felt the need to blog about it because before taking this class I would have just assumed that these were done using a simple projector.  Now, I can immediately recognize a camera obscura series when I see one, and even understand how it is done.  I really enjoy Stacey's use of people in her pictures because it brings a new element that I have never seen before.  Also, I love how the color and liveliness of the scenery from the outdoors contrasts with the very plain and dull interiors.  I'm always finding great things on tumblr, but I was SO excited when I came across this!

SNF

After reading the article "The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack helped spread disco--and kill it," the movie itself has become much more to me than just some 70's film my parents showed me.  I can now see how it helped to define a generation.  The article explains that disco was already at its peak, or even possibly passed it, at the time the movie was released in 1977.  However, what made he movie different from the disco culture that everyone was used to seeing, was that it showed how disco was a form of escape for a working class boy from Brooklyn.  For the main character Tony, going to the club on Saturday nights was his way of forgetting his parents, his friends, and his future as a hardware store employee.  The article quotes one of Tony's best lines and states, "There are ways of killing yourself without killing yourself."  This spoke to me, and I think that it can speak to every generation.  It is basically saying that if you aren't careful, you can find yourself with a job or a life that doesn't allow you to truly feel alive.  This was Tony's problem, but going to the clubs and being the best dancer is what got him through the week and what got his adrenaline pumping.  As for the soundtrack to the movie, the article explains why it was considered the disco album to many buyers.  It stayed at number one on Billboard's album charts for a little over half a year, and it had one of the 10 biggest selling LP's of all time.  Despite the fact that bellbottoms were packed away and the genre of disco is a term of the past,  Saturday Night Fever and its soundtrack will forever represent a generation that was "unwilling to let economic uncertainty and social divisions keep them from having fun."  It is a great movie with great music that showcases an even greater era.

Performance Art: Mall Mannequins

I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out what to do for my performance art, and before I knew it i was on my flight home to New York.  I thought about it during the break, and realized that posing as mannequins in the mall during the holiday shopping would not only be the perfect spot for a large audience, but it would also be kind of fun.  Who did I find as soon as I stepped foot in my mall?  My adorable neighbor and her best friend; two girls that LOVE to be in front of the camera.  Once I told them about the project, they begged for the fun opportunity and of course I was thrilled to let them do it.  As I thought about what it could mean, I felt that posing as mannequins symbolizes societies desire for perfection.  Whether it is about body image or clothing, people today go to ridiculous lengths to achieve what they see as "perfection."  It has come to a point where we would rather be plastic than be ourselves.

During the filming of this, it took me a little while to realize I could easily hide the camera on a table of clothes, and so for a while a was fumbling while trying to conceal it in my coat pocket.  Also, although it was able to pick up some sound, there were many comments made by passerby that are not heard in the video, but that were very comical.  The overall reaction from everyone in the store was either being completely oblivious, or shocked and confused.  Eventually, we were asked to leave by an employee collecting hangers that jolted and dropped them as she bumped into one of my little "mannequins."  Oops...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29GebSX6NgM

Breaking Down the 1980's breakdance

After watching numerous youtube clips of the street dance sensation that thrived remarkably in the 80's, my first conclusion was that it was something I could never do.  For anyone that may have strolled by the gangs of hood rats spreading out their cardboard boxes and spinning on the floor, breakdancing could have looked like utter nonsense.  However, for anyone that can see what true strength, time, and talent is needed to be able to do these moves, breakdancing is clearly an art form. I say that strength is one of the key factors because of the ridiculous amounts of upper body strength that I witnessed in every video I viewed.  Dancers could spin, jump, walk, bounce, and probably any other verb, all while on their hands.  There were handstands, backflips, lifts, and more that just further proved the muscular ability of these dancers.  Many of the videos that I watched involved breakdance teams, and this is where the factor of time comes into play.  These teams of usually 4 or 5 dancers would do their incredible dances and stunts in perfect synchronicity.  They would flip with or over each other, and perform other stunts made for more than one person.  I couldn't imagine being a single dancer and having to memorize and perfect all that is involved in breakdance, so imagining what it is like to have to learn these things as a team is pretty impossible.  The thought process that is needed to create these dances is in itself incredible; figuring out how different dancers will work together to produce a unique performance takes a great mind.  Then, to think of the amount of time needed to learn and practice these dances is just exhausting, and you have to commend the dancers for their dedication.  Finally, there were some moves in the videos that I watched that simply had no explanation.  What I mean is, there is no amount of strength or time that could explain how the move was perfected, just simply talent.  Many of these moves usually involved slow motion or isolation of certain parts of the body, and they took rhythm and concentration to perform.  The dancers make everything they do look so easy, but when it comes down to it, only a minority of those talented and dedicated enough can pull it off.

Xerox Project: Getting Handsy

My xerox project was a little bit like an experiment.  I decided to do it on the fluorescent light in my room with hopes that when the light turned on it would look completely different.  I wanted the layering of the different body parts to shine through to produce something new.  I had a really fun time putting this all together, and despite looking completely insane to the poor, old librarians as I asked to scan myself, this was my favorite project so far.  

Archetype vs. Stereotype

So what is an archetype?  In class, we watched many clips on the life of Orlan, and she spoke towards the end of how her life was about breaking away from archetypes, or what is considered typical.  To me, it is very clear that this was her life goal, and I feel that she executed it perfectly.  She broke away from the norm, and did things for herself and not to impress others.  When I first heard the word archetype, I truly had never heard it used before.  My immediate thought was that it would have a similar definition to the word stereotype.  However, an archetype is something that is typical, while a stereotype is a fixed image that people hold to be true, although it is often oversimplified and sometimes offensive.  I am honestly glad for this quick assignment and feel much better about understanding the difference between the two words.

Sheryl Oring Speaks Out

What I like the most about Sheryl Oring's performance art is that it always involves the audience directly, in fact, it could not be possible without the audience participation that she receives.  Her art makes a bold statement, and it is centered mostly about voices being heard.  Whether through letters to the President or videos on opinions for fixing the country, Sheryl gives her audience the ability to give their opinions on topics that matter. I love the fact that she types her letters on a classic typewriter, because it goes along with the 1960's image that she personifies and it also gives the art a more interesting, less modern feel. My personal favorite art piece of hers is titled "Chain Letter."  This was not so much performance art as it is a sculpture, but it once again allows voices to be heard that otherwise might not have been.  In this case, it is the voices of many Chinese and Yiddish people writing of their reasons for leaving their homelands and coming to America.  Oring types these short explanations on a thin strip of paper and links them together as a chain.  I find it incredible that there is a method to the order in which she linked them; they hung in a pattern that shows the evolution of the Lower East Side/Chinatown neighborhood as these people came to inhabit it.  Overall, Sheryl Oring's work has a clear purpose, and it is beautiful that she has found a way to express herself artistically while also doing a public service to many different communities.

Man Ray's Emak-Bakia: Surreal

After watching this short, silent, black and white film by Man Ray, I can't say that I fully understand it. Then again, Man Ray once said that he never wished to be understood, only accepted, and I fully accept the film.  There are many aspects of it that I find really beautiful and unique, such as the camera angles at which everything was shot.  Whether it was objects spinning, feet walking, or a woman opening and closing her painted eyelids, every angle was from a point of view that normally wouldn't be seen.  I really found this interesting.  I also enjoyed to see how Man Ray experimented with putting his rayographs into film form.  This was a first for him and I noticed it especially because I made rayographs in my high school photography class, yet at the time I was not taught anything about Man Ray himself.  Looking at the short film overall, one can tell that it is under the category of surrealism, as was the rest of Man Ray's art.  Today in class we learned that surrealism involves expanding one's mind and imagination and ignoring all limitations.  Surrealism involves things that are very unrealistic and eccentric, and it is clear to see how this film came from somewhere deep in Man Ray's imagination.  I also found it interesting that Emak Bakia means "Leave me alone," because I'm sure that this ties into the culture of Dada and the rebellious movements that went along with it.  Overall, I find Man Ray to be an incredible artist and thinker, as well as an adorably funny man, and will always appreciate his work.

Grid Art Attempt

When first assigned the grid art project, I was actually really excited.  I had a picture completely planned out in my head and I immediately went out to buy tiles to create it.  However, not surprisingly for myself, I rushed into it and began the project completely wrong, sketching on top of the grid as opposed to using the grid.  I was pretty lost after discovering this and had no idea what else to do.  In a rush to start the assignment, I bought packs of sticky notes, cut them in half, and arranged them on my wall in a grid.  I drew the first thing that came to mind: our own Plant Hall.  Well, what is supposed to look like one of the parts of Plant Hall (the gray blob is a minaret).  It's simple, but given the fact that it was very last minute it was really the best I could do.

First attempt with tiles 

I know it looks like the work of a kindergartener, but I really tried! 

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Steve Jobs addresses the graduating class of Stanford by telling three stories.  Simple stories of his life that all end in a powerful lesson. In his first story, one about his short college career and connecting the dots, he reminds me of myself and of many others my age.  If someone comes to college knowing exactly what they want to with their life at the end of four years, it's rare.  So, like most people, Steve Jobs hadn't the slightest clue of what his path in life should be, and he didn't see college helping.  He took this to the extreme and dropped out of school after six months.  In his time off he was able to explore his interests, and as we know, this ultimately paid off for him.  I say that this reminds me of myself because I often wonder if I am at college for the right reasons.  Do I really feel that this is what I need to achieve my goals in life?  Or am I here just because it is a social norm?  Required classes have always frustrated me because I would much rather learn about topics that are important and interesting to me or that I will use later in life.  Jobs spoke about "connecting the dots" from the point in his life when he made this speech to the point of him dropping out of college.  Like him, I take life on a day to day basis and don't really have an overall plan for myself.  I just try to do the things I love and trust that they will get me to where I need to be.  Hearing Steve Jobs discuss how he did the same thing was really inspiring.

In his next story, one quote stands out: "You've got to find what you love."  In this story he discusses the period in life after he was fired from Apple.  Instead of moping around and feeling like a failure, Jobs took this rough patch and turned it into something amazing.  He used it as inspiration to keep going, and he ended up created more companies that are still extremely successful today, such as the one and only Pixar.  Jobs stated that his motivation to still work after such a low point in his life was the fact that he truly loved what he did.  He stresses that the only way to be successful is to have passion for what you do, and to never settle.  As a college student who also believes this, I truly take his advice to heart, and will definitely use it.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life."  Sure, this may sound harsh, but Jobs has a great point.  His third and final story is one about death.  He explains how the thought of death has actually helped to live a better life.  When reminded that death is inevitable, we realize that it is so important to be happy with what we are doing and to remember that fears of failure or embarrassment are pointless.  With his scare of terminal pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs knew first hand how it felt to be in the face of death.  He knew how death suddenly leaves you vulnerable, and you realize that in life, you have nothing to lose when death is the overall end for all of us, and therefore, you should do whatever it takes to make yourself happy.

In his closing statement, Steve Jobs left the students of Stanford with the phrase, "Stay hungry, stay foolish."  He didn't explain what it means, but it really does not need an explanation.  As college graduates, this should be the most hungry time of one's life.  Hungry for success, hungry for new experiences, hungry for fun and life.  However, it is also a time to be foolish.  A time to have fun and a time to make mistakes that you will learn from.  Jobs is saying to stay this way forever; to have a want and need for life and to make every day a new and interesting experience, and this is some of the best advice ever given.

Alan Turing is the Bombe

Born on June 23, 1912 in London, England, Alan Turing began a life of studying mathematics.  His college studies began at the University of Cambridge, where he was elected to a fellowship and recommended to publish his seminal paper "On Computable Numbers" under the mathematician-logician Alonzo Church.  The two two had written of similar theories, and in the same year Turing went to study his Ph.D. at Princeton as directed by Church.  This is where it all began for Turing, but his real timeline of the contributions he made to computer science doesn't begin until his hypothetical development of the Turing machine.  It is essentially a mathematical model that reduces the logical structure of any computing device to its necessities.  Turing's next great leap came when the device know as the Bomba, a machine used to decode the German Enigma, was rendered useless once the German's changed their operating procedures.  Turing came in and designed the Bombe; a different machine used for decoding that was so ingenious it kept the Allies supplied with information for the rest of the war.  Turing was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire at the war's end to recognize him for his astounding work.  As if this wasn't enough, Turing went on to design the Automatic Computing Engine for the National Physical Laboratory in 1945.  This was the first relatively complete specification of a digital computer.  

If I was to be previously asked who Alan Turing was, I wouldn't have the slightest clue. Yet, here I am using a machine that he was such an important pioneer for.  I doubt than many people know of the numerous contributions this man made to machines that are used in our daily lives, or of his incredible intelligence, but Alan Turing definitely needs to be recognized.  

Battery Power

After typing "who invented the battery" into google, "Alessandro Volta" appeared in large, bold print on the screen.  Clearly, I knew he had something to do with it.  In fact, although discoveries had been made before him, including when Benjamin Franklin coined the term "battery" in 1748, Alessandro Volta is credited with inventing the Voltaic Pile and discovering the first practical method of generating electricity.  It was constructed of zinc and copper discs with brine-soaked cardboard in between each one.  It produced an electric current and is the first "wet cell battery."  By 1859, after various advancements, Gaston Plant developed the first rechargeable battery, one that is now used in cars today.  As 1901 rolled around, Thomas Edison (creator of all things) invented the alkaline storage battery, of which many versions were created in following years.  There was now a high demand for these alkaline batteries, mostly thanks to photography.  Due to this, in 1964, the Duracell that we know today was incorporated.  Today, as technology increases, so does the need for batteries.  They continue to advance, and usually decrease in size and waste, and we owe it all to the contributions of not just one, but many scientists.

The War of the Worlds

My initial reaction to the 1938 broadcasting of The War of the Worlds: a mixture of appreciation for its creativity, and a god chuckle.  The chuckle, of course because of the reaction of audiences everywhere that weren't aware of the fact that it was fiction, and the appreciation because of the imagination and the many layers.  In class we often talk about the layers of a production, and this broadcast seems to be a great example of the way they come together.  It could have been a simple broadcast of a man reading from a script, but the broadcast went the extra mile with great acting and incredible description.  It didn't end there either.  The many background noises, such as realistic screams and explosions, added an extra layer to the narration, and therefore to the overall impact of the broadcast.  The narration in general was remarkable, as I'm sure most radio narrations were, because of its detailed description.  The first example of this that stood out was when the reporter first describes the image of the alien, with its black eyes and saliva dripping mouth.  I also really enjoyed the fact that the story was read as a real broadcast.  Although this caused chaos, I think that it was a really creative way to go about presenting the tale, and it was so nicely done.  I loved little details added in such as the voice of the reporter being cut off to imply that the alien invasion had gotten serious and cut the line of communication.  However, I chuckled once again at every piano interlude.  The soothing, classical music's contrast with the terrifying reports of an alien attack was pretty amusing.  Yet, it worked quite nicely with the more calm, defeated ending of the story, of which my favorite part involved the reporter sharing an emotional connection with a squirrel.  As silly or dated as The War of the Worlds broadcast may seem to us today,  radio requires a level of imagination and creativity that can hardly be matched, and The War of the Worlds will always be number one in both areas.

Who's Philip K. Dick?

Who is Philip K. Dick?  Before reading this article, I honestly would not have known.  Maybe I've been living under a rock, but it seems to me that for a man that has contributed so much to the world of art and technology, he has not nearly got enough recognition.  This is the first I am ever hearing of Philip K. Dick, but I can remember hearing references to the films Blade Runner and Minority Report since I was young.  Although I have never read his novels and still don't know much about him, this article gave me a great sense of all that Dick brought to the world of science fiction.  He was bold.  He was odd.  He was unconventional.  At the time, these were the qualities that made even his colleagues question and judge him.  However, we now see what a pioneer and creative genius Dick actually was.  He saw his genre in a different way than other authors and filmmakers did.  He saw that science fiction did not need to be so "cookie-cutter;" involving the same themes and settings and general ideas in each story.  He broke boundaries and showed audiences a new take on sic-fi that was shocking, yet ultimately appreciated for its originality.  Philip K. Dick was like no other, and, sadly, as the article says, "...we will not see his like again."

"Rape, Ultra-Violence, and Beethoven:" Fun with Droogs

Anthony Burgess: genius or oddball?  Probably both.  In fact, it was probably the oddball side of him that fed his genius.   How else would someone come up with Nadsat?  This confusing language of the teenage crowd in the futuristic society that Burgess created was formed with the input of many other languages and dialects.  According to most sources, it is a combination of Russian and English words that are slightly altered, along with words the author created himself with the influence of Russian and English slang.  Some words go from being as obvious as eggiweg (egg) to as ridiculous as mounch (snack).  The language, although sometimes a burden when reading the book or watching the film, is honestly fascinating.  It shows an extra mile that Burgess went to in order to truly create a futuristic society that was foreign to his readers.  It adds such a mysterious and almost fun element to the story, and keeps things much more interesting.

Flip-book Flower

Unfortunately the video wouldn't load, but when I figure it out I'll get it up! Here are some pictures from random points in the animation for now. 

Ten Thousand Examples of Talent

While scrolling down videoartes.com, the first thing that caught my eye was obviously the frozen image of an overly dramatic girl with ridiculously exaggerated tears of mascara scribbled down her cheeks.  So of course I had to click on it, and, just like almost everything else we are assigned to watch in this class, of course it blew my mind.  I cannot even fathom the technological and artistic talent it took to not only come up with a story line, but to take the pictures and piece them together to create such an awesome animation.  To me, this seems like something not everyone could do.  I feel that the artist had a vision in mind; a clear idea of what she wanted it to look like, and all she had to do was put her ideas into action.  I feel that this sort of a project isn't just something you can create on a whim, which is how I usually do anything and everything.  I am a HUGE fan of stop motion, and I truly respect artists that do it so well because I am aware of how tedious and time consuming it is. This art needed planning, and the end result was honestly incredible.  

Ten Thousand Pictures of You

Cinemagraph Quickie!

I loved that we quickly touched on cinemagraphs in class the other day; they fascinate me!  I had to quickly share two of my favorite blogs that have had their own fun making cinemagraphs.  Enjoy!

Ann Street Studio Cinemagraphs

The Glamourai

Final Shot

         "The Great Train Robbery," so similar and yet so different to Melies' "A Trip to the Moon."  Different in the genre of movie and the lesser use of such theatrical methods, yet similar in the way that it broke barriers in the world of motion pictures and paved the way for new, innovative ideas.  For example, this Edwin S. Porter film was one of the first to shoot on location, as opposed to those before him that used backdrops and props to create a setting.  Porter was also one of the first to employ techniques such as parallel editing, which is basically the alternating of two or more scenes.  In our fast-paced world of technology, the idea of this being something new and fascinating is almost comical, but Porter was paving the way for filmmakers and editors everywhere.  In "The Great Train Robbery," the costumes, suspenseful music, and overall storyline set the precedent for future westerns, and the film will forever be one of the first great narratives.

The final shot of the film, a literal shot directly at the camera that startled audiences everywhere