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Superheroes

Although the golden age superheroes - considered to be mid 20th century in America - is nearing a century in age and today, arguably, is plagued with mediocrity as its legacy is beaten like a dead horse by modern day film industry, the hero archetype, formed most definitivelly by Carl Jung, is suggested to be around since the dawn of man. For my project, a great artistic inspiration were classic comics, specifically ones by Alan Moore with their subversions, deep tones and gritty realism. Ever since my childhood I found myself idolizing fictional heroes and to feel just about using their tropes I've looked more into the idea of a hero.

I've first looked into Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch. The first mention of it is in Thus Spoke Zarathustra published in the end of 19th century. In the story Zarathustra (also known as Zoroaster, a real Persian/Iranian religious figure) is a hermit wiseman who decides to share his wisdom with society and in his first speech states that mankind's highest goal is to become superior to itself - an Übermensch. "Hollingdale (in Nietzsche) saw in Übermensch a man who had organised the chaos within; Kaufmann (Nietzsche) a symbol of a man that created his own values, and Carl Jung (Zarathustra’s Seminars) a new ‘God’. For Heidegger it represented humanity that surpassed itself, whilst for the Nazis it became an emblem of the master race"(1). To me, it is a personal goal of achieving wholeness within your Self (as in Jungian psychology - the collective of consciousness and unconsciousness) and using that to further the humanity into prosperity. The idea of a perfect human is subjective, but the thought that by everyone achieving their best selves is not only in their own best interest, but in the betterment of the society, I believe can be agreed upon universally. Thus, I believe beneath the marketable mask of superheroes there is an idol and the story of it's own creation by itself. Superpowers are simply a marketable tool - not only literally, but to sell the story as an enjoyable show - and have worked so well that what I believe to be the core of superheroes has been completely engulfed by it.

One of my favourite comic books and movies is Watchmen originally written by Alex Moore. It tackles many topics and I consider it to be one of the best in fiction, however what it does well is subvert the superhero genre. Every character is definitively human - with their own flaws. Even Doctor Manhattan - a being with nearly unlimited power and nigh-omniscience - is swayed by empathy and semantics and anticipated in the master plan. Among its other messages, Watchmen shows the natural imperfection in humanity that cannot be cured even by the highest of superpowers. This brutal depiction of superheroes affirms that the flashiness of the physique and abilities is not the true source of the human greatness. It is a story without a good ending because in truth there were no heroes in it at all.

True greatness was never a peak of skill, but the wisdom obtained by conquering a trial - everything else obtained by it is a trophy. The Epic of Gilgamesh might be the oldest example of a folk hero (written 2100–1200 BC) and its formula is followed to this day to teach that very same lesson. In the story, Gilgamesh already starts as a ruler of Uruk which might seem like a life end goal to many. With the divine intervention he embarks on many quests with his newfound comrade Enkidu, only to lose him and seek the secret of eternal life, which he fails. It teaches that the meaning of life is to enjoy it, and this wisdom is earned though monumental heroic feats that develop Gilgamesh as a person. In a way, Gilgamesh could be seen as a superhero with his mighty strength and power at the beginning (amending his wicked behaviour), however he becomes a true Übermensch only after his quests.

It is my personal interpretation that all superhero tropes are admired because of their physical appearance and abilities, however that tends to dim the true wisdom of the idol - especially today. We see a rise in materialism and hedonism which doesn't pay tribute to wisdom behind it. Michael Hopf says in his book Those Who Remain: "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times”. His proverb is aimed at the cynical cycle of history; however it can be subverted if spoken about an individual - everyone has their lowest points in life, however if we rise from them, we end up better people than before. Trials we face in life give insight and wisdom not only about the physical working of the world and other people, but also ourselves, and superheroes serve not only as a relatable character to associate ourselves with, but also give a hypothetical end goal of our personal development.

References:

1. https://philosophynow.org/issues/93/Nietzsches_Ubermensch_A_Hero_of_Our_Time

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Project 4 Part 4

I’ve been inspired by a music video incorporating an internet series salled Boisvert(1), which is as IMDb puts it “ A surrealist web series concerning depression and isolation”(2). This abstract horror coupled with upbeat energetic music gave me a new idea on how to tackle the animation.

Boisvert creator seems to be Parker Boisvert (a.k.a.  _xreamy_ and _ Boisvert in social media), a (possibly former) illustration student in Minneapolis college of art and design(3), although because of his use of aliases online it makes it not possible to confirm the validity. He is most known for his animations in youtube, which are made in a unique semi-digitial style akin to currently popular analogue-horror genre, incorporate heavily edited real-life footage and horrific audio manipulation. He also makes independant illustrations of his characters in Artstation and other social media(4).

However what really peaked my interest was a video made by user @herne8092 in youtube - a compilation of Boisvert clips and a song I’ve Seen Footage by Death Grips(5). This blend made me want to replicate the energy of the video with my own animation. I’ve been a fan of this particular song for a while and I wish I could use another one as to not completelly copy my reference, however it is honestly the only good one the band has made.

References:

1. _ Boisvert https://www.youtube.com/@_boisvert163

2. IMDb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21365994/

3. Parker Boisvert https://www.mcad.edu/student/parker-boisvert

4. Artstation https://www.artstation.com/boisvert

5. I'VE SEEN FOOTAGE | _ Boisvert x Death Grips https://youtu.be/wJwlZi6J1hY

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With Paul’s suggestion, I looked into superheroes as inspiration for my animation style stems from a motion comic of Watchmen (https://youtu.be/mLdqKIj3-A0). The outcome animation will have microplastics personified as a collossal human who will enter a city which draws a lot of similairities to comic antagonists such as Godzilla.

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To better understand the issue of microplastics I’ve chosen to read “ Freshwater Microplastics: Emerging Environmental Contaminants?” by Scott Lambert and Martin Wagner. It is a scientific analysis of the matter, defining and investigating microplastics and environmental challanges it creates.

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Project 4 Part 3

I’ve settled on the idea of a simple animation consisting of many gif-like animations in a squence with no narrative. The idea of it is to show microplastics (or in general - pollution) being a present threat which is simpy ignored. I will personify it as a collosal monstrous mass shaped like a human that simply stands still in various places and kills everything that touches it. However despite the its unnatural and threatening presence people would simply walk around it.

Steve Cutts is a suggested animator that also tackles ecology issues with his provocative animations. I’ve seen his work previously and gave it another watch. One of my favourite works of his is the animation for the music video In This Cold Place by Moby and The Void Pacific Choir where the depressive message is incredibly clear to any viewer and perfectly matches the song. Although I like his art style, he almost forcefully shoves his ideas to the viewer with on-the-nose symbolism. I want to make my project less of a shock to the viewer and even mildly vague as when looking at it through a biased lens it can give off different meanings - for example the mass could be seen as symbolizing depression (very common theme in modern art). I also don’t want to make it seem scary nor apocalyptic - after all I’m portraying the issue of pollution as it stands now in a very mundane light.

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Project 4 Part 2

After friday discussion I decided to focus on the artistic outcome instead of real life campaigning. I settled on the idea of a subversive infomercial or public service announcement (PSA) inspired by currently emerging analog horror genre in the internet (for example: The Mandella Catalogue(1) or the Backrooms(2) or by Paul’s suggested Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared(3) series, all available in Youtube). Current concept is to start it off with a recycling advert targeted towards kids and slowly turn the atmosphere into an eerie and disturbing footage. I’m planning on integrating live action cuts and learning more editing tricks as they seem to be extremelly effective in the analog horror scene. The aim would be to convey plastic as a monstrous entity to show justice to it’s effect on the entire world - from the eco systems to individual people’s health.

1. https://www.youtube.com/c/MandelaCatalogue

2.https://www.youtube.com/@kanepixels

3. https://www.youtube.com/@donthugmeimscared

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Project 4

For this project I’ve decided to make a journal-like series of posts documenting my entire work on the campaign.

I’ve chosen the topic of pollution, which envelops modernity and animals (nature). I have been inspired by a reddit post(1) which had users submit frightning scientific facts. After reading through a bunch of them, I’ve noticed one(2) about microplastics which I have heard mentioned often however never looked properly into. This particular one listed a few articles about the dangers of microplastics. Although most user submitions were, to my opition, of equal imporance and severity, I found this particular one intriguing. Other topic mentioned which I put aside as back-up ideas are: expected food supply shortage, facebook shadow profiles, CO2 and pathogens that will be released from the permafrost due to global warming and insect extinction

Articles listed in the microplastic post are referenced 3 to 7

Although in my opinion nothing can be done to fix the damage done nor stop the forthcoming results, I wanted to do a small action against the idea itself. I am yet to decide on names, slogans or messages, however I came up with an idea to gather some friends and do a litter cleaning event in a local Welsh Harp park. I’ve just inquired people related to the park council about the details. I’m expecting to create a short picnic-like event for a couple hours and clean up an area of small litter.

1. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rfavj9/serious_whats_a_scary_science_fact_that_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

2.https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rfavj9/comment/hodk1v6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

3. Damian Carrington “Microplastics revealed in the placentas of unborn babies“ (2020) Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/22/microplastics-revealed-in-placentas-unborn-babies

4. Kristin Toussaint “Our fruits and veggies are sucking up microplastics through their roots” (2020) Fast Company. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-10813-0

5. Mattsson, K., Johnson, E.V., Malmendal, A. et al. “Brain damage and behavioural disorders in fish induced by plastic nanoparticles delivered through the food chain“ (2017). Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-10813-0

6. Nick Lavars “Mouse study shows microplastics infiltrate blood brain barrier” (2021) New Atlas. Available at: https://newatlas.com/environment/microplastics-blood-brain-barrier/#:~:text=Like%20humans%2C%20mice%20have%20a,to%20make%20their%20way%20through.

7. Plastic Health Coalition “Immunology: A dive into plastic toxicity and our immune system” (2020) Available at: https://www.plastichealthcoalition.org/project/research-immunology/

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Project Animal

For my Animals project I receiver the parakeet, in particular the ring-necked parakeet of London. They are a non-native species introduced in the second half of 20th century with varying theories as to how: escaping from Ealing Studios during the filming of The African Queen in 1951, from damaged aviaries during the Great Storm of 1987 or because of Jimi Hendrix releasing a pair in Carnaby Street in 1968 (or all of them being correct!) (1,2).

The main issue linked to these specific parakeets was invasive species and how human intervention impacts natural ecology. However, in this particular case their presence is not as impactiful in comparison to other deemed dangerous invasive species as they only create rivalry to local small birds for nesting grounds and bird feeders. As research done by Imperial College, the Zoological Society of London and the Natural History Museum in 2014 shows, other garden birds tend to eat less and keep away from feeding grounds intimidated by parakeets (3,4). This is without a doubt an impact, however not as gruesome as for example the well known incident of rabbits in Australia.

In my opinion, parakeets in particular should not be considered a problematic invasive species. Aforementioned rabbits should be seen as a catastrphic man-made error as the mistake was on the behalf of ignorance towards the unique, fragile and naturally segregated ecosystem of Australia. In addition, the pests were released from their cages for hunting sport (5), thus showing the ignorant nature of the event. The parakeets, however, in all theories (excluding Jimi Hentrix one, however I find that to be unlikelly to start with) were freed unintentionally (although this is not an argument for the righteousness of the act, it gives better ground for humanity). The explosion of the population was noted and research was done, however no unnerving effects were found. I believe the parakeets be an ever-present reminder of human impact on Earth and nothing more. The only possible debate would be how much humanity is morally allowed to change the ecology of the planet - whenever intentionally or not - and my stance would be indifferent as not only our impact is well beyond repair, there is little that can be done to unite the fragmented industrial society as the progress will continue to tread the Earth disregarding the far future effects.

As such my outcome was a simple animation of one parakeet freeing another. I mostly focused on the technicality of the artwork rather than a meaning or a message. The most importan lesson I learned was that animation is highly time-consuming and it gave me a measurement with which I will better plan my projects.

1. Barnaby, Julianna ‘ So… Why On Earth Are There So Many Parakeets in London? ‘ (2022) London x London. Available at: https://www.londonxlondon.com/parakeets-in-london/

2. ‘ Feral parakeets in Great Britain ‘ (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_parakeets_in_Great_Britain

3. Brown, Matt ‘ London's Parakeets: Everything You Need To Know ‘ (2018) Londonist. Available at: https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/london-s-parakeets-everything-you-need-to-know

4. Copping, Jasper ‘ Noisy parakeets 'drive away' native birds ‘ (2014) The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/10776252/Noisy-parakeets-drive-away-native-birds.html

5.’ Rabbits in Australia ‘ (2022) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia

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Response to Berger, J. (2009) “Why look at animals?”

In his essay, John Berger takes a deep look into the warped relationship between humans and animals, in particular it’s history and, at the end, the current state of huam connection to nature. Essay starts with connections between human and animal species at around 19th century - he argues that the first error in our collective history was the end of existance in proximity. With animals being a part of daily life, they had a bigger significance with that alone, not to mention their critical role in human survival. John brings up a view entirelly lost in time - animals had both the practical uses and both equally important religious and spiritual ones. They were used in sacrifices, worship, metaphors and art because of shared existance - "They are both like and unlike" ( Berger, J. (2009) Why look at animals? ). Berger states that unlike modern view of animals as an asset, people acknowledged their own perception of animals equally as animals’ perception of them - essencially giving (appropriate) consideration for indescriminative equality of living creatures. He gives many examples of such view overarching in many civilizations accross different ages and spaces proving this to be not caused by religion or culture, but rather human nature. John connects this relationship to human lonelliness as a species and anthropomorphism. As we progress in time, the writer shows a clear change in our views towards animals during the era of industrialization through such phenomenon as toys of animals becoming more common and realistic (possibly due to rarity of them in city nature), the creation and increase in the concept of pets and finally the zoo. These prove the withdrawal and marginalization of nature and in turn the effects which show the true significance of animals. Cities subconsciouslly attemt to bring back more nature - including animals of course - as there is an inherit need for them. In the past natural lonelliness of existance was, in addition to human contact, subdued and comforted by the presence of animals and their perception of humans, however in today’s era the lack of anything a feeling of a kin is dreadful without other species and is only ampifiled by global alienation. It is easy to overlook romanticism of nature as simply an artistic expression or a fad, however it is yet another sign of industrial society failing as a system. Animals, once considered equal partners of Earth, are now alongside entire natural world put aside as “the other” and not only marginalized, but trumped over with industry like a boot, which classifies them as assets, commodities, items of possession. Animal rights activists and similair movements give an impression of hippie tree-huggers loosing sight of reality. In truth that only shows the cold face of the masses and inherit pervertion of relationship between species. If one would imagine animals and nature as a whole in the same way one sees people, current “progressive” new age outlook would seem like nothing less than the German Reich.

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Identity Box project outcome

For my Identity project I chose national identity as a topic. I made three matchboxes contained within one big matchbox sleeve within which all matches (a total of 18) were miniature scrolls containing an illustration and a brief description of a notable event or person in lithuanian history. Each box focused on a theme and rough historic period that I summed up with a word (first picture left to right): Laisvė (freedom), Palikimas (inheritance, legacy) and Kalba (language, speech).

Freedom contains events and people from the last 100 years, within which Lithuania fought and achieved independace from Soviet Russia;

Legacy focused on important events and people roughly from 11th to 16th centuries when Lithuania was in fact the biggest country in Europe;

Speech is about cultural phenomena and people who gave great input into national identity around 18th century, including bookcarriers who saved the language from russofication;

The message of the box was about the fragility of national identity. Without culture, history and tongue national identity crumbles. Lithuanian language is one of 2 remaining baltic languages (alongside Latvian), making it trully unique on itself. “It is no nation we inhabit, but a language. Make no mistake; our native tongue is our true fatherland” Emil Cioran, Romanian Philosopher. With the addition of history that forms culture, it all forms a unique identity in the pool of nations worldwide and needs to be protected. From extremes such as book burning and genocides, to the slow rot of globalization, cutlural identity changes if not disappears as time progresses, but it is important to preserve history and culture, as with it your home has roots, but once it’s background gets inevitably torched like a match, it becomes just a place.

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Visiting Cuts in the Day by Dani and Sheilah ReStack

For someone who honestly despises abstract modern art and generally sees it as pretentious and tasteless, this exhibition was a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the given puzzle of symbols presented in a 3D space. I went in blind with only the brief paragraph about the exhibition and to my surprise it started making sense.

For me, video installation Blood and Water for FCB was the starting point of understand the meaning of Cuts in the Day. It gave no direct answer to what it is and rather asked the viewer to understand through emotion. Installation was fragmented in many ways - from the display of the video to the narration spoken from the speakers. The subjects of the video radiated intimacy, vulnerability, discomfort and exposure leading to themes that were very personal. Two people could either mean the duality of a person or, more likelly, two partners, clear reference to Dani and Sheilah themselves. I believe the installation focuses on love from a realistic lense with it’s discomfort, confusion and exposure. Underwater setting, littered with unnatural man-made objects, may portray conflicting background of nature contrasting modernity, which may mean the litteral background of modern day life in the city being an odd merging of the two. Halfway through the video, red dye saturates the view, which likelly stands for blood and gives a guttural, physical feeling which I believe to stand for sex and the transforming effects of it. Although I couldn’t make much sense of the audio recording, the phrase “one of us swimming, one of us float” might give ground to this being a symbol for a love relationship and the polarity in creates.

As the installation gave me a sense of how to properly perceive ReStacks’ art, I had to review the single works again. They started making more and more sense. I saw the red being a deliberate outline to the partner, either directly exposing them under a red tint, or highlighting the objects that indirectly show the existance of them. Most “photographs” were protruding so that the viewer could see what’s behind them and their backside. Some had a red “stain” where the painting would’ve been should it have been fixed flat to the wall. This shows the pictures being “ripped out from the flesh” as they are highly personal - “a part of the author”. On the backside of the picture there were images of intimacy and personal space, which may mean the Invisible side of the relationship - one that is only known to the pair.

Lastly, there was May You Choose Your Own Form of Recognition - a collection of gold leafed polaroids. I believe it once again shows the two-dimentional aspect of life in a relationship in two possible ways. We can interpret the polaroids being factual memories being either “concealed” or “preserved” under the golden glaze. It could either mean the memories being preserved as happy moments, and although they are no longer readable, they give a golden aura of happiness which makes them worth while, or, portraying a toxic relationship, show how actions and mistakes might be concealed under the blanked of relationship either deliberativelly by a partner, or due to ignorance.

The experience the exhibition gave me was of relationships. Through symbols and metaphors the authors tried to illustrate the physical aspects of love. Tieing it to the topic of identity, true love is the only way to come close to experiencing another’s true identity. It takes courage to take off all the labels given by the outside world and trust in another to show your real oneself, both of which form love.

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Sherry Turkle, "Always On"

Sherry Turkle’s "Always On" excerpts made me realize from the first paragraphs that this is a deep dive into what I am accustomed to as a “digital native”. Without meaning any offense, it surprised me that a person in her 60s can comprehend the youth’s social nuances so well. I believe this is proof of internets overtake of social life being a proccess that started well before the generation it is blamed on.

Mention of Second Life instantly reminded me of the extreme ends of withdrawal from real life I have encountered in the past. It was an experimental project that surpassed its time, as back in the 2000s technology wasn’t as accessible as it is today, but now we can clearly see virtual life slowly becoming the norm as VR becomes more popular and obtainable by day. Although not directly involved, I am well aware of how virtual reality exists today - on the good end, it is a melting pot of internet cultures uniting people by interest who due to geographic location or mental issues such as anxiety or social withdrawal would never interact and form friendships in real life; and on the bad end, an escape from responsibilities only furthering the mis development of social skills and depravity usually leading towards extreme depression, nihilism and hedonism.

I wholeheartedly agree with Sherry’s statement that the internet provides a social space without the negative aspects of real life. You can easily glance at the profile of the person you’re chatting with to remember otherwise embarrassing details, hide your online presence to evade interaction and, most importantly, have the safety of anonymity or disassociation which nullifies the sense of responsibility, which by day makes real life interactions more intimidating.

Turkle's mention of how people ten to escape to their phones, particularly the story of Sal, who started “blogging” a conversation while in it, is another case of me finding it odd that this issue existed even before me. It only proves how the internet is overtaking social life, as a great number of modern youth don’t even bother going out, being completely fine with dedicating their human relations to online space, with Second Life (or more present today, VRchat) being the extreme end of it. Objectively superior form of interaction through the screen proves to be a progressive disease, which has already rooted itself in society overall, and personally I see this being a depressing unstoppable process unraveling before my own eyes.

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Randowis and Modernity

Randowis, formerly Random Wisdom, is a singaporean webcomic artist active on facebook, twitter (with 170K followers), instagram and youtube as well as on his own website randowis.com. He is known for his four panel comics and an ongoing series called “We Live In An MMO?!”. All of his content is free for the public. It is unknown if he is currently a full-time artist however he has claimed to be a firefighter in one of his blogs. Additionally, he often makes gaming videos with his friends in another youtube channel called SaltyGeese.

    As he himself claims on his own website: “RandoWis started in 2011 as a series of short comics that I made for my classmates back in animation school. It was only within our closed group back then, but eventually, in 2012, I was convinced to publish these comics publicly.” His comics are inspired by his own comedic everyday interactions which are exaggerated by his use of hilarious faces which, as of lately, have been elevated by using defining digital painting. His main characters are himself and his cat Puss and he often includes his own friends.

    His lighthearted and relatable humor simply makes me laugh and I admire his chaotic and care-free artstyle. Apart from being art that is there just to admire and enjoy, if put into question to its relation to modernity, the comics depict a happy life that’s stories are inspired by Rando’s past. As he himself stated in a panel at AniManGaki 2022, these are stories of him and his friends before adulthood. Rando, at the time of writing, is stuck in a creative block as he is “out of ideas” as he is no longer making such memories and therefore lacks inspiration for his work. This could be used as an argument for modernity changing adulthood from a natural step in life into a negative period when it doesn’t have to be. However he does give good advice to artists that is trying out new things to overcome creative blocks, even jokingly suggesting crawling out of home instead of walking as it is still something.

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Reading Communist Manifesto excerpts

Communist Manifesto excerpts take a deep dive into history and evolution of master - servant relationship in recent human history. Marx starts off by explaining how the complicated scheme of servitude has changed from medieval feudalism that consisted of three or more classes “In ancient Rome we have patricians, knights, plebeians, slaves; in the Middle Ages, feudal lords, vassals, guild-masters, journeymen, apprentices, serfs” (page 3) into simplified two parties that consist of bourgeois and proletarians. He continues that modern industry is a product of market growth and the technological developments of navigation, transport and manufacture are “in the same proportion the bourgeoisie developed, increased its capital, and pushed into the background every class handed down from the Middle Ages” (page 3). Marx explains his theory that the bourgeois stripped the ruling class of the past their veil of nobility and sentimentalism, reduced every prodigy into low-level laborer and destroyed the value of family. However, he predicts that the over-industrialization will bring the downfall to the ruling class as “The productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of the conditions of bourgeois property” (page 6). However, as he remarks that the size and power of the bourgeois is constantly growing, he brings hope that the proletarian evolution is also taking place with the start of Trades’ Unions and their occasional revolts.

From the start, it is really difficult to approach this piece unbiased, as not only it is a controversial piece, but Karl clearly implies the “us versus them” mentality into every point made. However, he does bring a good point that there is a clear correlation between the industrial revolution and the evolution of modern lifestyle. As he puts it,“The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production” (page 4) and this suggests technology being used in deliberate pursuit of suppressing the working class. Although just a theory, this has an odd linkage to modern issues of the surveillance state and technology used as a depressant in shapes such as TV, videogames and social media that subdues human mind not only metaphorically, but also literally.