satokoarvr

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Week 11: Reflection about Thursday by Matthias Hoegg

The city depicted in this work looks like New York to me. This is because it reminds me of Broadway Boogie-Woogie  by Piet Mondrian (1943). But what attracted me to this work more than that is that it evokes not only the human world but also the world of birds. I am not very good at English, so since I came to the U.S., I have been speaking with living creatures a lot. I do not know the scientific names of birds on this piece, but I often see them. For example, when I changed the water in a small fountain in a community garden I volunteer, all these birds swooped down and bathed pleasantly in spite of the presence of humans. I am always encouraged by their happy appearance. Aside from the birds, this piece is exquisitely well developed in terms of scene development. The protagonist gets out of bed and boil a cup of coffee. There are no unnecessary cuts, and they are all very humorous. Also, the little designs such as the wallpaper are so stylish that I wanted to imitate them. The unpredictable storyline is also wonderful. I was excited until the very end. Also, the title "Thursday" is wonderful. On Friday, it is just before the weekend, but on Thursday, I am sure everyone is excited about what they are going to do this weekend. These urban lovers also capture my imagination in many ways.I imagine that their relationship is independent, not interfering in each other's lives, and that they spend their weekends absorbed in their respective hobbies. In other works, the sounds and music were too strong, and I felt as if the viewer's emotions were being controlled and I wanted to rebel. However, this was not the case at all with this work. In fact, it resonated so naturally with my heart that I could not remember what kind of sounds were used. That is one of the main reasons I was attracted to this work. I applauded many times to the birds that played pranks and to the birds flying in the last scene while looking at the overhead view of New York.

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Week 10 Collage "Four seasons" (incomplete)

It is quite a novel expression. What a sad and sad story. Despite some dislike, I feel a longing, difficulty, depth, and purity in connecting with others. I think this work expresses something invisible at the core of the body without showing the physical body. The reproductive organs become active at a certain age, unlike the digestive organs and the heart, which are active from birth. Hence, they are affected in many ways during the growth process. This work reminded me of a video interview I once saw with a man who was a sex addict. He was a modest middle-aged man. He does not really want to have sex. So, he says, he never gets an erection. Yet he holds his genitals with his fingers and tries to forcefully insert them into the female genitalia. This is not his intention. And he cannot stop. The disease of sex addiction has taken over his life. For him, sex is torture. It is rare to find someone with such a terrible condition, but I think everyone has more or less complicated feelings about sex. That is why this piece resonates with us. It is a very ambitious work of art.

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Synopsis and storyboards of the final project by Satoko

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Reflection about MOMA Exhibition.

Broken Mirror by Song Dan is a simple but powerful. It was shot outdoors in Beijing. His camera captures a mirror held in his hand. Inside the mirror is the reflection of a passerby. When he smashes it with a hammer, the image in the mirror shatters and the real image on the street emerges. MOMA describes the work as follows,

"His intervention in Broken Mirror literally shatters this impression of truth, suggesting that video technology can easily be put to insidious and invasive uses."

I do not believe that such commentary limiting the scope of the viewer's perception is necessary. I think that the hammer is not merely a metaphor for destroying a visible image, but for destroying a thought. By the way, I came across this work at the right time. Recently, a friend of mine watched a short film I made and said that he was thrilled the whole time and could not take his eyes off the film until the end. But when he told me why, I froze. His answer was not what I had expected. If my thoughts were a sphere like the earth, his statement was a hammer, and being struck by it, part of the sphere of my thoughts peeled away, through which I could see the outside world. This experience taught me a new way of looking at things. The realization was a pleasant one, but it was also, in fact, a shocking one. First, I felt the limits of how I thought and felt as an individual. His statement still blows my mind to this day. This may have been due in part to the difference in the way he and I felt due to our genders. In addition, Song's work also reminds me of news video. His destructive act with his hammer stirs the surprise and curiosity of passersby, but only for a moment. When we see news images of war, at first, we are shocked. But after seeing them repeatedly, our senses are numbed, and we become accustomed to seeing the images. I felt an irony from this work that the scarcity of images is fading, that we are becoming inundated with them, and that they are becoming merely consumed.

[satokoarvr]

Week 8 

Collage and puppet tool work: An old funky guy🎧

Reflection about “Legal Smuggling with Christine Choy”

I have seen a variety of 2D animations works in this class, and they are wonderful with great attention to detail. On the other hand, however, I felt suffocation and eye fatigue as if my vision was confined to a small screen. I wanted more openness. But this work is different. I wondered why? When I looked at it again, I realized that although it is 2D, there are various ways to create depth. For example, the background. Some are photographs, some are drawings, and some are clouds made of torn cotton. By moving them, the artist creates a sense of speed, or blur them to create a sense of perspective. Whether the viewer is on the ground, in the sky, or from the world of the gods above the clouds, there are a thousand different perspectives. The hair of the gods in the painting also moves as if the wind were blowing on the screen. The sounds are also interesting. Despite the various advanced techniques used, the work have the simplicity of a child's drawing. This makes the work more enjoyable and attractive.

[satokoarvr]

Week 7 on March 15, 

Reflection about: TENSAI BANPAKU Opening Animation

This is a very enjoyable work. Colors and shapes divide and, conversely, fuse to form various forms. It is like cell division, or the energy hidden in a seed waiting for the moment of flowering. It is somewhat reminiscent of Klee's works. However, upon closer inspection, the background remains unchanged and continues to move in the same way. Rather, this is what gives the work its dynamism and vitality. The music is also enjoyable. It is an enjoyable work that makes you want to dance hand in hand with everyone while watching and listening to it, rather than silently appreciating it.

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March 8 Whale by Al & AF

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text with sound

Reflection about Saul Bath.

I have long been a fan of Saul Bass. When I see his work, I immediately recognize it as his. My short clip has made me discover something new. I've just put the text together and changed the way they were displayed, but they started to look like people dancing, not texts. This was a fresh surprise. His text, too, is all so active. I wondered if perhaps he felt the same way. But it is very interesting where he got his inspiration from and what method he used to create it in an era when there was no software like Adobe. His sense of color is also wonderful.

[satokoarvr]

#2 Stop motion 1

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Week 3 stop motion storyboard.

"Wonderful world Revealed at Your Fingertips and Ears"

Reflection: Coldplay - Strawberry Swing   

It's amazing. From above, from the side, from below, and from an angle, there were many different perspectives, approaching, straying, and flying through the air, my eyes overflowing with extreme delight.

[satokoarvr]

When love at the risk of octopus’ 'life ends’

The life span of an octopus is only one to several years. Octopuses mate only once in their lifetime. Only the male octopus that survives the fierce competition for the female octopus spends the remaining time with his beloved female octopus. I tried to imagine the cycle and transience of life at the bottom of the sea. Incidentally, the female risks her life to protect the eggs until they hatch.

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Octopus_Rotoscoup

I really like MAD MOON ‘B.A.N’  https://vimeo.com/479135460

I had an image of rap music expressing anger, impulses, etc. at high volume, but this animation is completely different. Unfortunately, I cannot hear all the lyrics accurately. However, thanks to this animation, I feel that there is something magical about it that resonates with me. Also, the colors and collages are wonderfully beautiful. I even felt a sense of fragility, as if their world is about to disappear. I was impressed that rap music can be expressed in such a lyrical way.

[satokoarvr]

I like flipbook by Satoko.

I was very interested in milk crown. But in fact, when I tried to draw it, it wasn't that interesting. I felt that something with movement was better suited for flipbooks. So I searched on youtube. There were many great ones, but the most interesting one was made by an elementary school student. I took my hat off to this nonsense and outlandish idea. I want to regain my free spirit like this boy.

[satokoarvr]

Reflection on Hamlet on the Holodeck, Ch10

"Every age seeks out the appropriate medium in which to confront the unanswerable questions of human existence." (p.259)

With just this one sentence, I was completely convinced.

As someone with no programming experience, the ar-vr class made me keenly aware of my limited abilities (in terms of programming, language, and understanding of new information). But at the same time, it gave me the thrill of discovering an unknown world. If I ever come across this book, I'm glad I did. It gives a bird's eye view of the history of expression and the atmosphere of each era and the way the expressionists challenged themselves was conveyed to me. I have just stood at the entrance of ar-vr world, but I would like to go on with the help of my predecessors as an expressive person.

[satokoarvr]

Reflection on Hamlet on the Holodeck, Ch6

I am very interested in virtual reality therapy.

Suddenly, however, something else caught my attention. It was sound. I was reading this article while listening to various music I know on Youtube, and suddenly many memories came to mind. For example, the first time I heard the song, or the instrument I learned as a child, or some other random memories that came and went one after another. Then, as soon as I clicked on another song on the laptop, a different memory came back. But it was my own memory, so my thoughts were not confused or split. However, if someone from a long time ago were here today, and listened to different music one after another, he or she might just be confused. It must be that our brains have adapted to the new way of listening to music.

[satokoarvr]

Reflection on Hamlet on the Holodeck, Ch5

I am always amazed at the author's erudition. But to be honest, I am tired of it. I know the main reason is my lack of knowledge, but by what efficacy does a story in computers become more like an electronic story? I have no idea. If we were to put Shakespeare's Hamlet into the system, what method would we use? Do we let them choose the scene? Do we let people click on icons to bring up conversations? That would not make it any more interesting than reading the play. I wonder if the author was able to come up with the answer to this question.

Personally, I enjoyed Chapter 2 the most so far. I'd like to read In Dreams Begin Responsibilities by Delmore Schwartz.

[satokoarvr]

Reflection on Hamlet on the Holodeck Ch.4

"people can fall in love very quickly over the Internet, ant they also express their angry very easy" (p.99)

It reminds me of one of educational programs of Japanese TV. They researched crimes against youth on SNS. They created a fictitious "14-year-old school girl" Twitter account in collaboration with a victim support group. First, they tweeted, "I want a friend," in less than a minute, nearly 10 people sent direct messages. All of them were thought to be male and suddenly started unilaterally sexual topics.

But one of senders in his 40s who had only one son, initially never touched on sexuality and continued daily conversations such as school life and family stories. For example, when they posted as a 14-year-school girl that 'My school teacher scolded me', he tweeted, "Don't be depressed." He sent these kind messages almost everyday. As they interacted with the man, the thoughts came to their mind. "He might be a good person who genuinely wants to support a 14-year-school girl." But the content of his message changed completely. When they posted that stress built up while studying for exams, the man showed a way to relieve stress. It was sexual activity. He emphasized it was important for any girl. In addition, he also emphasized that masturbation was important for that. He said he wanted to teach it. They didn't reply. A few hours later, the man sent them a message saying, "Good luck with study!" They realized that he was unaware that he had harmed sexually.

It may not be related to this article, but I am concerned about such crimes against youth on internet.