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RE- mixx

Hito Steyerl defines the poor image as “a copy in motion. Its quality is bad, its resolution substandard. As it accelerates, it deteriorates. It is a ghost of an image, a preview, a thumbnail, an errant idea, an itinerant image distributed for free, squeezed through slow digital connections, compressed, reproduced, ripped, remixed, as well as copied and pasted into other channels of distribution.”

We live in a time that esteems technological efficiency, immediacy, and perfection. Where humans fear failure, and no matter how colorful or disturbingly beautiful, avoid mistakes. This aggressive disavowal is increasingly prevalent in my art. I am attracted to intentional manipulation and technical errors that aim to disrupt convention and expectation. Re- Mixx explores the theory of compression, image transfer and image transformation though a markedly simulated DIY “amateur” aesthetic. The piece is comprised of a handmade video that is created by the use of both the digital camera, hand held video recorder and IPhone camera. The experimental piece is comprised of fashion-like footage recorded and altered with the use of filtered effects, glitches and echoes. For this piece I am to unpack and undo the “clean” and highly compressed visual data that makes up contemporary culture. I wish to expose that sharing digital information will not replicate identically. That there is a loss, change, alteration or transformation from the original source as our content is converted across different platforms, technologies, and softwares. And on the way it is reformatted, translated, compressed, enhanced or diminished: it changes. It is never the same. Re- Mixx is thus characterized by transformation, degradation, and circulation but also by its surprising ability to mutate, produce, and reproduce unpredictable results. This piece comments on the corruption of memory in an age of technology through intentional manipulation of individual pixels and corrupted algorithms. The strategic erosion of my work raises awareness on the passing of time and its ability to affect our understanding of memories. Through filtered effects and glitchy happenings, I attempt to explore the creation and maintenance of memories, as stills that were once clear in our minds inevitably disintegrate. 

This raises the question: When capturing memories through electronic devices, and then later revisiting these crudely rendered experiences, are we remembering the pixels or the event itself? 

It seems plausible to conclude that there is a distinct correlation, an unequivocal, continuous, and constant conversation that exists between human and technology. Straying away from the original copy, I embrace the transgression and entire life cycle of the work: its chaos, control, destruction, and regeneration.

The video really explores the concept of image transfer between technologies and how through the use of sending, receiving, and altering – the video form will change and shift further away from the original source. Re- Mixx is manifested on tumblr, vimeo, instagram and all other social media sources as this process is an additive service to the use of image transfer and alterations from point a to point b. Each and every time an image is reposted, edited, shared, or just viewed – there will be a different experience and a constant change, which is what I am exploring. The piece is also linked to Seth Price’s essay "Dispersion" and Cory Arcangel's essay "On Compression" as there is a present dialogue that exists between me as the creator, and you as the viewer. The piece puts into the conversation my role as a spectator as the moments of abstraction and transformation raises the issues of subverting traditional forms of representation. Inspired by Bruce Conner's film “Breakaway” and Pipilotti Rist “I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much” the film and where it exists on the web brings up questions of the transgression of normal boundaries and the differences between fashion and fine art. 

Links:

·      http://www.e-flux.com/journal/10/61362/in-defense-of-the-poor-image/

·      http://www.distributedhistory.com/Dispersion2016.pdf

·      http://front.nfshost.com/noisenotnoise/OnC.pdf

·      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CHtEASlzG8

·      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvWXiUp1hI

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Copyright is Over - If You Want It

At the beginning of the article, the author starts off by discussing Christian Marclay’s work, The Clock. Deemed the “ultimate work of appropriation” by the New York Times, the work takes minute video clips and strings them together for hours worth of video. While Marclay has appropriated various movies, TV shows, and other videos, no one seems to care that the works he utilizes in work are copyrighted. The artist stands by the fact that if the preexisting material is treated respectively and creatively, people will overlook their copyrights. In a sense, the author discusses that peoples’ unique visions and creativity will be celebrated. While appropriation is prevalent, there is also much controversy and debate over the practice.

In class, we have talked extensively about sharing and appropriating work. This article demonstrated how these trends are not just a part of the art world, but how they are prevalent in our culture today. We see more and more works that implicate pop culture today. Artists are not only appropriating other artists’ works, but instead are turning to movies, television, and music to utilize in their works. I believe that this makes for richer work that is more interesting to us today. In a way, we identify with a work that we can recognize. If aspects of pop culture are in work, the audience, in my opinion, can connect with the art and appreciate it more than something that they feel no connection to. With the internet, sharing is inevitable. Copyright can be a problem. The author of the article, Kenneth Goldsmith, and founding editor of UbuWeb states that we can overcome this. If an artist wants to genuinely use a work for a creative, unique purpose they can, yet it must be free for all to view. In converse, if it isn’t free, it doesn’t exist.

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Interview with Constant Dullart

“The image of external things possesses for us the ambiguous dimension that in external nature everything can be considered to be connected, but also as separated.” This is the first sentence in the pop-up when you enter http://www.constantdullaart.com/. This could be applied to his work in “YouTube as a Subject,” in which Dullaart examines the classic YouTube play button in an intriguing way. He highlights that this is the same button that must be used to play any and every video on the site, yet most users often overlook it. In this sense, the image of play button could be seen as something that connects all the content on YouTube, yet separates because each button applies to a different subject or video content.

In the interview, Dullaart examines the use of video and describes it in three steps. Step 1 - Exploring the technical possibilities of the medium. Step 2 - Find the boundaries of the technical capabilities. Step 3 - View the medium on a metaphysical level. Dullaart then discusses his research in regards to his work as he talks about the limitations of the mediums that one is using. This is important because it is not only the medium in the real world he considers but the limiting factors of technology when making art on the internet. I think that this is a significant portion of his thought process, which gives his art an elevated status as he takes note of video quality and things that people in the past would never have imagined improving or transforming in the future.

I find it rather fascinating to read Dullaart's commentary and belief that Youtube is not a medium, rather a "subject" as he states, "YouTube itself is not a medium. To have the work exist outside of YouTube was important to me. To collect my videos and contextualize them outside of YouTube (on an HTML page with embedded videos) meant it was about the player, and not so much about the social part of the website.” I find this to be rather interesting as sites like Youtube and Vimeo serve as a platform and medium for artists to upload and share their work. However, in reality, Youtube has the power and hierarchy over the artist, and their video to censor or remove anything they feel is inappropriate, and shouldn't be on the site.  

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Peer Blog Review - Julia Russo

For my peer blog review, I scrolled all the way back to Julia's first post from the very start of the semester. As a result, there are a few points Julia made that fascinate me and should be reiterated and examined further. Not only are Julia's responses thought-provocative but she is able to connect to the readings to our current times as she provides excellent questions that make me, and anyone viewing her blog, venture deeper into the topics addressed within the readings. Out of all her responses, I was most interested in what she had to say in regards to the readings on happenings, Cory Arcangel, and Level5.

In Kaprow's reading on happenings and the interaction between the audience and art, Julia mentioned the internet art we viewed in class and the user experience that we partook in. Julia talks about how when seeing these specific pieces that we saw in class, each site or work of art required users to click or move their mouse around the screen to ultimately activate the art piece. Julia then examines the influence that this experience plays on the audience, as she compares the different viewing experiences one has when looking at art through a screen rather than the traditional gallery space. Art hung on a wall verse art "displayed" on a computer screen is somewhat of a different experience - as she asks the reader to think about the level of distraction and attention provided when viewing art in these different environments.

Another interesting topic I explored in Julia's blog was in reaction to  Tina Kukielski's commentary on Arcangel's work. Like Julia, I was able fascinated in how technology prescribes the way we think and behave. Julia states that "Whenever I am on the internet or using technology, I find that there are different protocols for how to act on various platforms. What one might say or post on Snapchat might be inappropriate or out of context on Facebook or text message. This leads me to wonder how much power technology has in controlling our thoughts and behavior." This idea and concept of authority is a fascinating topic to think about concerning the art world and the technological platform that humankind is entirely consumed and partaking in.

Another interesting point Julia addresses in her post on Cory Arcangel's article on C is when the author states, "We get a 90 percent reduction in file size because we only need to send a few DCT coefficients down the line, but we get an image which is only a shadow of its former self. Welcome to the future.” Julia then goes into her own personal take on the idea of an image existing as a shadow of its former self within the realm of the internet. Is anything original or is everything merely a copy or shadow of that original form? Julia then asks, "Can the copy have just as much value as the original?" Which brings into play the ideas centered on authorship, authenticity, and appropriation.

Lastly, I was extremely fascinated in Julia's take on Level5, particularly her discussion of social media and the idea of the "scripted self." I wholeheartedly agree with Julia in the sense that social media enables us to create a character for ourselves and a story of our lives. Julia goes into further describing this idea as she states, "We often craft these in a highly calculated manner through Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat so that our lives seem more interesting and perfect than they are in reality." This notion brings up the bigger issues as to whether or not social media platforms will continue to have this much leverage in the future and whether or not these platforms will continue to play a destructive force in how we view ourselves and the world. After reading her response, I am curious as to how individuals "scripted self" in the future will compare to their actual, real-life self? Will they be the same, or two entirely separate versions/personas?

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Interview with Brenna Murphy

I loved Brenna Murphy’s idea of how reality is just a “trippy entity” and how she incorporates patterns and textures from everyday life into her digital work. I tended to do this a lot in my work from Design I and II, where it was encouraged to draw inspiration from your daily life. I was also interested in her definition of making a portrait as, “exploring the essence of an entity by representing it in an alternate form.” I’ve only really thought of portraits in the traditional sense, so it was interesting to me how she considered her Enchanted Loom as as self-portrait. I also noted that the interviewer (Ian Clover) in this particular article had some really interesting points himself and seemed very knowledgable about Internet art and the different mediums of digital and conventional art (Even Murphy seemed to think so, when she commented back, “Ooooh i like ‘two-dimensional chant’, what a great phrase!”). Moreover, I appreciated how we got a look into Murphy’s other jobs as a preschool teacher and sometimes nanny. I think oftentimes we don’t get to see a well-rounded view of the artist as a whole, so I thought it was refreshing how we got to learn a bit more about the artist’s life rather than just her work.

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Hans Urich Obrist in Conversation with Julian Assange

Hans Urich Obrist's Conversation with WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange is quite interesting. The lengthy interview aims to explain the broader philosophical basis of Assange's projects in an attempt at tracing his work back to where it began. Assange goes into an explanation of his theory of the three types of histories that exist in world - knowledge, historical record, and finally information that is prevented and suppressed from entering the record. Assange ties human behavior, science, mathematics, and quantum theory all into his work, being one of the pioneering hackers of our time. Assange's overall view of information and how it is received, spread and shared is comparable to the rapid exchange of money and its impact on civilization and the human kind as a whole. Whether or not Assange succeeds is something for the reader to decide as I believe that he is creating an active and successful platform for people to access information and inform the world about things they may never know. Among other things, he says: "There have been heroic acts that I have appreciated or some systems of thought, but I think it’s better to say that there are some people I had an intellectual rapport with, such as Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr. That comes when you’re doing mathematics. The mathematics of Heisenberg and Bohr is a branch of natural philosophy. They developed a system or epistemology for understanding quantum mechanics, but encoded within this intellectual tradition are methods to think clearly about cause and effect."

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My Only Idol is Reality (2007) - Martine Syms 

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MidPoint Proposal

Now that I have compiled the clips and have made my video from found footage the next phase of the project is figuring out how to reveal more of my voice in the piece as well as its role within the realms of the web. I truly believe that this collection of footage found and downloaded from the web is one way to show the connection between internet and video, and my role as an artist of finding these clips on such a wide and vast platform, and limiting them down to make a single finished project. I now need to think about how I wish to display my piece and where I wish to install it. Since it is a video piece, I really want it to evoke a specific emotion and feeling. When meeting with the professor, she mentioned thinking about including another additive piece to the work. For my mid-point presentation I wish to receive feedback from the class as to what that might be. Similar to Martine Syms piece My Only Idol is Reality (2007), a video work created from an excerpt of found footage from season one of MTV show The Real World (1992); the piece uses repetition as a framework of abstraction. Syms re-recorded the video between tape deck until the image began to break down along with their conversation which is something that I think may be a good idea in terms of how I can show my role as an artist and the role within the space of the web. Maybe re-recording the video and then manipulating it with some glitches can make the piece both tied to the web and my work as an artist.

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Trevor Paglen in Conversation with Lauren Cornell

I found Lauren Cornell's interview with Trevor Paglen quite interesting, especially considering the fact that it was collected and done via email. As an artist Trevor aims to create self-contradictory photographs that are ambiguous and open to interpretation. Paglen's work is centered on visible structuring hiding in plain sight like CIA drones within the sky or data centers in specific remote locations, however he aims for his photographs to complicate visuality and not be so self-evident. Taylor takes the exact counter approach of documentary photography, as he wishes to create more of a discrepancny in his work. He likes to work on a "spacial axis" by capturing images that appear to be some what of a blurred ambiguious, abstraction. Similiar to Paglen's subject matter and his use of telecommunications and technologies/networks, he ties in the use of the Internet and how it is somewhat of an abstract space that exists nowhere yet is relevant everywhere. While the internet may feel free and open, Paglen is interested in examining and complicating the claims that online culture and digital communication are too totally "free or "open". The use of surveillance as a platform that provides immense power, reach and recollection are things relative in our day to day life and prevalent in his work. Similar to his use of history, surveillance, drown activity and all other forms of telecommunication and technological networks within his works, more importantly Paglen raises awareness to the more pressing issues of our personal role and relationship with the internet as we continue to "privately" live and exist on the publicly sourced net.

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If You’re Not Paraoid, You’re Crazy

Walter Kirn's article "If You're Not Paranoid, You're Crazy," raises many questions about the topic of paranoia and its existence in the world of mass media. While this article mentions the issues of privacy and paranoia, I think it is more than that. I believe that it more about the question as to does the internet control us or do we control it? We all partake in these actions, and it's our personal choice to participate in the use of the web. When supplying information, just like in life, you can never be too trusting. While we may be cheated by individuals collecting our information, we are the ones who are providing them with it! I believe that technology will continue to improve and get smarter with the times. However, we must evolve and grow with it. I believe that the internet will only be dangerous if we let it control us, rather than us controlling it. With the use of pseudo-information and data that the web regularly spits out and feeds us, it's up to us as individuals to pick and choose what we should or shouldn't believe. Similar to new sources or celebrity magazines, people thrive and tend to believe everything and anything they hear or read which ties into Kirn's conception of surveillance and how we must begin to monitor our behaviors self-consciously and think about our actions via the web or just life in general. Kirn also talks about data storage and its role in users life, privacy and human rights which simultaneously ties into my question from the Dark Net reading. With our First Amendment Rights to freedom of speech and expression - is it valid for anonymous users to safely be protected and granted the right always to remain unknown and untraceable or should the government always have access and control as to our engagement and use of the internet?

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Dark Net - Part 3 Response Questions

Q 1. Due to the widespread use of the world wide web and the increasing popularity of the Dark Net, do you believe users should be allowed privacy options or should all web surfing become a strictly public matter?  

Q 2. With our First Amendment Rights to freedom of speech and expression - do you think it's valid for anonymous users to safely be protected and granted the right always to remain unknown and untraceable?

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Dark Net - Part 2

In this reading, Bartlett goes into discussing the overall "darkness" and existence of issues that are not always necessarily talked about and frowned upon by society. Bartlet mentions the issues centered around child pornography viewed on the web and how offenders believe that there is a clear distinction between viewing these acts digital verse performing and partaking in "the real thing." While this information and the examples that Bartlett provides are often hard to read and provide a feeling of unease and discomfort I find it quit informative to shed light on these issues and bring awareness to the darkness that exists on the world wide web. With this, I was very interested in the topics of the  "dissociative effect" and how many believe that there is a clear distinction between one's real self and one's online persona. To me, the web, as well as all technological devices are just another appendage or extension of who we are. These devices serve as just another platform and arena for individuals to personally and momentarily get lost, learn and explore. However the only difference is the fact that nothing on the web is hidden or private - and for most, that is something that is quickly forgotten - which Bartlett ties in when mentioning law enforcement and how this activity has lead to the discovery and capturing of these viewers. Another topic Bartlett discovers is The Silk Road, which is something completley new to me as I truly had no idea that this even exisited. The idea of developing and partaking in a system where no there is no need for trust is simply mindblowing. Bartlett treds in uncharted waters and unravels and reveals indvidiuals use and personal experience around topics that are frowned upon and rejected within society.

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Dark Net - Part 1

The Dark Net examines and explains how the impact of the internet and digital technology on both contemporary life and culture has profoundly altered and shifted the way in which we view the world. The ever-evolving relationship between art and technology in the new millennium brings into questions such as authorship, identity, protection, safety and the role in which art and artists have functioned in this accelerated environment. Internet art is not a new medium, but a "mass medium" as the reading analyzed the widespread confusion and debated centered around art engaged with the web. Bartlett, vaguely explains the meaning of the "dark net" as it is a phrase open to interpretation and engagement. The net can serve as an unchartered territory or a place for darkness to exist. However, it also is a place that provides lightness. Two proponents or opposing functions that work to balance each other. The reading brings up the topics and popular notion of "trolling" and the level of intelligence that these "trollers" obtain. This idea and power of being anonymous provide great protection for all involved, as it provides an unidentifiable and untraceable platform for everyone to express their power of the First Amendment freely. The idea of troll communities and online power provides a place for people to exist and be noticed, a place where one can receive anonymous, uncensored validation and power. That is why the internet is a scary place for some, especially those who wish to maintain private. The dark web has somewhat created a place for users to make a real-world impact, as society is not something that can simply be fixed or altered like a computer code. This reading reminded me of an episode of Black Mirror called the "Waldo Effect" which tells the story of a failed comedian who is the performer of a cartoon bear named Waldo. Waldo, who can be viewed as a "troll," comically interviews politicians and authority figures anonymously, until one day his producer decides to make Waldo enter the ongoing election to become to new towns member of parliament. As a result and with the growing public attention that Waldo receives, the community decides to elect him, someone completely unfitted and trolling, as the towns new elect instead of the more respected, fit nominees.  

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DISPERSION - SETH PRICE

Seth Price's article "Dispersion" examines the relationship between conceptual art and the use of mass media. Price explores the concept of "public art" and the common distriubtion and accessibility that exists via the web. Unlike traditional public art which is often site specific and location based, the internet serves as an expansive and open space for everyone to access and experience. The web's location is unique in the sense that it is a more open ended form of distribution, exisiting and offering participation within the public/digital sphere. In a way I feel as if the world wide web is a higher form of public art as it is open to the vast majority to explore and appreciate rather than having to physically visit a specific place to experience a specific work. I really agree with Price in his exploration and comparision of the internet being somewhat of a modern archive for everyone to access, explore and examine. This democratiziation allows the internet and the art world to be a more inclusive place for all visitors to contribute and learn. Marcel Duchamp is one of my favorite artists and I found it to be quite interesting when he explains that "the artists of the future will be underground". In a way this dispersion of status and the future of artists is extremely relevant to todays society and the distribution and recycling of media within the social sphere. Bringing in the inquiry and question as to what is art and what can be declared as "art" everything today is based on popularity and the publics attention, taking away institutional and hierarchaly control over the art world. In a way this presents the public with a more open ended form of art leaving the public and all those who experience the work to interpret, spread and share with whomever they desire. This also leads to Price's belief that the old definition of art is fairly inconsistent in the way in which anything can be deemed art today.

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Doing Assembly: The Art of Cory Arcangel

The article “Doing Assembly” explains how internet artists Cory Arcangel's began his career and how his work has evolved over time exploring various subjects and occurrences that exist on the web. I believe that Arcangel's work dives into the issues that circulate the internets social structures and how this affects the overall accessibility, faultiness, and shareability that this world wide web has to offer to such a vast audience. I found the question that Arcangel asks, "Where is art left when everyone is a producer?" to resonate with the idea behind this idea of Roland Barthes famous concept of "authorship" and death of an author. This idea of author/producer directly connects to the issues that exist today with apps like Instagram and Facebook in which anyone and everyone can post, repost, reapprioraite and claim ownership over anything and everything that is posted/uploaded to the web. I believe that when it comes to the internet and the technological world that today's society is so heavily reliable on, the question of what is art and who can define what art is comes into play. Today, everyone is a producer, a creator, or whatever they wish to label themselves - and I believe that the internet and the web serve as yet another platform or medium for people to use or abuse as an art form

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Final Project Proposal

For my final project, I will be making a video installation that will discuss the cruel injustices of police brutality. The video will be somewhat of an abstraction, including appropriated clips found on the web that I will montage and put together into a cohesive piece. The film will include footage of nature, dance, movement, and individuals while steering away from the trajectory approach of clips that reveal and highlight the violence. I will use a multitude of sounds that I find on the web and combine them into a story, by finding a poem or speaker whose voice speaks for itself. While the piece will shed light on these wrongdoings made by authority, it will be more about telling a story through other individuals lenses and footage. This idea of appropriation and lineage develops somewhat of a symbiotic relationship between the history of these acts of violent outbursts as well as the history/stories that exist and told through the web. As my final piece, this video will be more about the process of story-telling through the use of the internet, the camera while tying it all back to the history of these violent acts. I want the piece to evoke an emotional response from my audience as I wish to project it big on the wall during class. I am excited to begin this process of finding footage online that fits my vision and working to bring it all together to make up one cohesive video. 

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Interview with Jeremey Bailey

I loved reading this interview between Jeremy Bailey and Greg J. Smith as I found it to be extremely intertwined and connected with what we were assigned to complete for Project Two. Bailey, the Toronto-based media artist work explores concepts within custom software/technology in a performative context. Bailey incorporates a sense a humor and critique in his work as he comments on the uneasy relationship between technology and the body. That being said, I find it quite hilarious and ironic that this interview was conducted via email as a response to Bailey's web art. Bailey explains his fascination with the concept of gestures and performance and how the two play into our general understanding of the human body in relationship to one's psyche. The interview brings up the idea that technology has the power to modify and extend our behavior which in turn can lead to the next and most crucial stage of human evolution. This concept has to lead me to think about the use of bionics and prosthetics with the human body, as technology has played a massive role in the advancement of the human condition. Similarly to Bailey, I too believe that the human kind is now more than ever, consumed and obsessed with the use of technology. Now more than ever, do we view the world directly through our iPhones and computer screens rather than looking up at what exists right in front of us. These devices have in a way, just like the use of prosthetics and bionics, become somewhat of an appendage of us, in which Bailey describe almosts as the glasses one wears to correct nearsightedness. I like how the interview ties performance art into the internet world in the way that both realms incorporate and rely on the use of a machine. I also resonated with Bailey's idea and belief of "imperfection is perfection" in the sense that the internet and world wide web have provided us entryway into somewhat of a limitless vortex to a world which is so purposefully designed.