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End Of Semester 2 - 2023

The final journal entry. Scroll down to the bottom to see each week in order paired with the animations. Thank you for everything, and please enjoy the creative journey

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Week 12 - Advertising + Journal Discussions

Wednesday

from comedic ted talks by an advertising specialist, sarcastic rebranding’s of cereal to pants less subway riders in New York City. The 12th week of this semester has led me right back to 2020 where I undertook a diploma of public relations at RMIT. Funnily enough this Wednesday was a delightful mockery of my former studies, the joke that is advertising, marketing, communications deserve to be mocked. Not saying that I don’t think the jobs are important, I grew up with free to air commercials and loved many of them, in fact, I sometimes turn on my old tv just to watch the commercials because I miss them so much, the contradict and redact my previous statement, the advertising material presented in class is old school, its what I grew up on in my childhood then in my teens we were plastered with internet advertising, everything started to become shorter, they needed the click so they threw out the bait. Advertising has now extended beyond the traditional definition of paying for an ad. Whenever creative content is produced and exported to the internet great deals are done in a way to try and get it picked up in a algorithm, whether its with a funny name or over the top thumbnails, people are advertising their content to the public more than ever. The ads that are being paid for now are far shorter than on tv, because people have the ability to skip, open a new tab or even use adblockers (although youtube is trying to crack down on that) advertisers need to be more direct and to the point, people are no longer forced to sit infront of their idiot box for their 6:00pm Simpsons episode to resume.

Friday

The final class just finished, and I am currently sitting in the Glyn Davis building feeling all sorts of emotions, knowing that one of my favourite subjects at university is done. delighted that I found David's World of Perception in semester 1 with remaking reality, but I'm sad that I now only have 1 more of his subjects left in my university catalogue. The electronic arts was an entirely different collection of topics I wouldn’t have expected; I thought the issue would be Photoshop, illustrator, video editing, etc. Instead, I discovered the Bauhaus, the shock of the new optical illusions, the Silk Road. The place I'm sitting is so marvellous that it could have easily fit into the week of architecture. The final EA session ended with a laid-back exchange of people projects; we saw soviet arcade machines and motion painting paired with Prelinger archived films and handmade paper journals. I even got to show the class some of my own animations, which was excellent; the credits rolled with a stroll into the botany garden, where David sent us off with a big thank you (met with a round of applause). Thank you. Let's hope we can get the approval committee to hurry up and get remaking Reality 2, Electronic Arts 2 and Secret Life 2 approved as soon as possible

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Infinite Zoom through Holmesglen #2

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Abandoned 21st Century War Rations

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Week 11- The Vision + Sound Cymatics.

As we approach the end of the academic calendar, the continued topic of sound/vision/music offered some illusion of how close we are to the end of the year. However, compared to the in-depth deep dive of synthesizers and that superb harmonic piano that David created, we took a step back and explored cymatics. These organic combinations are created when you allow sound to be visualized, whether it be through sand on a plate with a connecting block that's vibrating at specific frequencies or a non-Newtonian fluid filled over a glad-wrapped speaker accompanied by lower ones, which causes it to dance and morph in all sorts of fantastic ways. This took me back to one of the earlier weeks where we discussed the overlooked relationship between studies, e.g. Art, Science, Music, Philosophy. It further reaffirmed that these areas are far more connected than we think. Music may not seem like an inherently visual medium, but it is. If you were to play the guitar in a tiny isolated soundproof room, it would have no space/head/atmosphere. If you head to a hall or drain, you will get a different sound. Before recording, we used to document and save music through visual means. Scribing scores on leather tablets. Out of the Roman empire's 1000 years (give or take), we could only preserve 30 minutes of music (less than 1%). Much of the compositions may have dissipated, but the ancient Greek tuning systems Pythagoras overtone system) survived and had mainstream application up until the beginning of the Renaissance. The maths behind these various tuning systems confuse me; even as a musician and guitar player who regularly tunes and intonates his guitar, I just do whatever my Peterson strobostomp VST plugin tells me to do, though these tuning systems were the true VST plugins of the past. That Pythagoras…a Greek philosopher…invented. I don't know a thing about philosophy, but the relationship between the previously mentioned studies is becoming more apparent than ever.

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Week 10 – Sound and Music

At last, I could get in for a more "traditional" Friday session this semester. However, (although traditional is a word that we usually wouldn't associate with something to do with one of David's classes in the context of how he runs the subject) this session was definitely more at home rather than the trips to Acmi and NGV. We opened with an excellent observation regarding the 20th-century mentality of "obsoleting" things. When the synthesizer was first made in the '60s, there was this idea that it would "replace" the piano and other keyed instruments (but the only people who had access to it were engineers; not a single composer or musician was able to use one) if you had an Atari that was now bad because the Nintendo entertainment system had now arrived. The Famicom, etc. contemporality tried to make old = bad- new =good the all-end-all equation for technology, music, Art, and many more. It is hilarious that this was the way of thinking since Westerners pride themselves on being open-minded. This mentality followed a similar suit to the Mao Zedong cultural revolution that coincidentally began in 1966. The chairman mobilized an army of students to destroy old Chinese values to further seal his fate as a dictator that stood the test of time. This mentality has carried into the 21st century, not with everyone but with some. There will be people saying, "You can't listen to your parents' music; it's old", but then other kids will say, "Maaaaannn, I was born in the wrong generation". The idea behind new technology replacing the old is a very 50s American mentality, like those popular electronic magazines trying to predict the future with pop art graphic drawings of stereotypical box-shaped robots and generic depictions of aliens. New technology doesn't necessarily replace the old; it just changes the current landscape that it exists in.

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Shanty Town- PsychedelicA

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Week 9 – a trip to the NGV.

Friday was an unexpected gallery-bound trip. Showing up to the Parkville campus is rare for me on Fridays, but I felt like I needed to get out of the house that week. Unfortunately, I didn't check the emails or subject announcements because I could not locate the classroom when I arrived at the West Wing of the North Arts. This prompted me to quickly pull the laptop out of my bag to see what was going on, and surely enough, I had totally forgotten that people were at the NGV after already tramming up to Parkville. Nevertheless, with high spirits, I hopped on the tram, headed down, and found the group inside the Asian collection. David briefly took on the occupation of a priceless tour guide, sharing his wisdom about different Art pieces. The most notable of moments is when we got a mini-lecture further reiterating the myths of Eastern/western philosophies individual vs collectivism observation in the academic landscape. What started as a simple question turned into a 10+ minute conversation with people outside our class passing by, stopping and engaging with the discussion. After rounding the excursion off, I did something out of character, and I actually went and socialized with some classmates whom I had met a couple times in another subject. Michael and a few of his other friends took me to a bar on the Yarra River for some drinks before heading to Chinatown for some dumplings. Eventually, it went full circle, and we returned to the VCA for a late-night jam. I got to watch some real jazz musician beatniks rehearse live in person.

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Week 8 – on the road, doors of perception – creative film – the beat nicks

An old word to frame a new picture in the period, the beatniks, a subculture of people dropping out of society and starting again. Out with the old in the with new. One of the causes for this movement could have been young people fed up with being told that they were wrong and didn't know anything. Their whole existence has been an experience of being belittled by people older than themselves, then when these young people said "fuck it". They started doing things their own ways, and with no surprise did the oldies act out dazed and confused (when they were the ones who started this in the first place). The cultural phenomenon prompted a new offshoot of media to be developed, even more radical, by people like Arthur Lipsett, a Canadian filmmaker who used discarded films to make his own movies. Re-purposing media. Aldus Huxley opened the doors to his perception by exploring the use of psychedelic drugs (mescalin, LSD). My experiences with psychedelics have been positive but never super enlightening. I've always more or less treated them as a party drug. LSD was my personal favourite. We made mescalin once in an old commission flat, but I couldn't drink the stuff. It was too bitter. My mate Jake said you needed to eat over a foot to feel any of the effects. I could barely get through a glass…the young kid in me wanted to re-enact Hunter. S. Thompson's fear and loathing in Las Vegas experience, but I didn't have the stomach for that bitter green sludge. Oh well, I guess mescalin will have to stay out of my archive of psychedelic experiences….for now.

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Desolate Wasteland in the Middle of the Night

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Week 7 – Design For Dreaming 

"Why shouldn't the home be an efficient factory?"

Design for Dreaming, a 1956 industrial short produced to feature alongside the General Motors Motorama show that same year reminds us of the forgotten inconveniences from the lack of modern household appliances. Being the homemaker was an underappreciated title. Things used to take time before the bahus mentality came in. Homes were NOT run like a factory. They were manual, the complete opposite of automated. The late 50s were literally approaching the space age. It was the start of the future. Popular electronic magazines began to circulate. Characateur-like speculations of the future began with the young minds in the 50s. Kids had colours to draw. The wars were over (the "world" wars), the industrial revolution had time to marinate, and capitalism was in full swing further down the line. Household appliances allowed for more time, the homemaker housewives could start to work, more luxuries could be applied, and more wealth for the West would be had. 10 years after the feminist movements to push for work was the sweet spot for Westernized households. Both income earners could pay off their mortgages and use their additional revenue to better their children with luxuries. The children had more avenues for creative outputs and could stay in school longer. People became smarter. It all started back in the 50s. Cars also being one of the household's most underlooked "appliances", the men could afford to live out in the suburbs for cheaper and drive to places where there was work. The spirit of the 50s was promising. Unfortunately, the utopian projections from brands owned by these big corporations didn't last long. How it started vs how it is in its current state is a far different image from what the brands advertised.

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Infinite Zoom through Holmesglen #1

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Week 6 – a trip to ACMI 

This week's journal entry will be shorter, less philosophical and more journalistic as we head into the Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI) at 3:00pm. The small crowd of Davids's eager pupils gathered near the big screen at Fed Square before setting off to the exhibition. Upon entry, the class collectively watched what I later learned is called a 3D zoetrope. A set of spinning plastic figures powered by a motor, add a flashing strobe light, and you've got a fantastic real-time animation. Strolling further into the exhibition, a wheel below a monitor is being asked to spin. Spinning this wheel makes a skateboarder do the trick. The time can be forwarded or reversed. Visiting ACMI is always a pleasure because they give you these cardboard discs that you can tap on your favourite works linked to a unique code, which can be viewed on your computer when you return home.

Tapping the disc was addictive. I collected over 16 pieces, but my favourites were the next 2 coming up. After getting mesmerized by the displays closer to the entrance, I eventually ended up at a set of computer/arcade machine-like installations. One was fitted with a game called "Umurangi Generation", one of the most unique concepts I've encountered for any game. You are immersed in a pop-art style world, tasked with photography-based requests. My explanation would not do it justice. It is an indie game with enough art style and atmosphere to entertain the consumer. There is so much detail and colour to absorb that one could make Art. Eventually, I had to stop myself from walking around in this pop-art universe and get back to "reality" (ha ha ha). I sat at a multiscreen display titled "Now you see me" - it was simply beautiful. The general theme behind the film was people talking into cameras and self-videography from the very early days of cinema to the present. The differences in time are related to the similarities in human emotion. Technology has changed, we have changed a lot, but our feelings have stayed the same (sort of). Sad is still sad, but how we experience it, and the things that cause sadness might be drastically different. You will see both the differences and the similarity. Once I left ACMI feeling pretty spaced out, I went to a TSG and gazed at the cigarette prices. I was disappointed with the current range; I hadn't smoked or vaped in over 3 months, but I felt like I needed a cigarette in the park. Sensing my disappointment, the tobacco merchant offered me some imported "Marlboro golds" for $27. Thinking I had scored a great deal, I instantly bought the pack and headed to my favourite park with city views. I lit the cigarette, coughed my lungs out and figured out quite quickly that they were not Marlboro golds. I spent the next half an hour walking around, giving the packets of cigarettes away to homeless people. Jumping on the train, I was thankful that the package of cigarettes was fake. It was a sign from the universe that I was done with that chapter of my life. Interestingly, one of the homeless guys I gave the cigarettes to stole one of those pay pass donation screens they had installed at ACMI. He thought it was a new Nintendo.

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Week 5 - Sep. 13, 15 - Wed. Architecture - The Bauhaus School of Design and Utopian Architecture

Week 5 was another trip to the past, the ultimate patient zero for modern living. The internet allowed us to hop in a time machine and visit The Bauhaus School of Design. An educational institute in Germany operating from 1919-1933. It is known for its groundbreaking approach to design, which had enormous influence on many areas of design, particularly the architectural and interior design of the later 20th century and 21st century. One of the main factors for the Bauhaus' success connects with previous weeks' topics. This semester, I've picked up a big perceptual misunderstanding between the information and areas of practice humans choose to study (e.g. Art, Science and philosophy). We look at these fields and separate them from each other. We go, "They're different", and throw any intertwined relationships in the bin and forget. The Germans succeeded at this combination; the Bauhaus saw hidden connections and combined crafts and fine arts. This resulted in the unexpected. The outcome was efficient homes, and the design of these homes has carried into the present. What they were doing at the time was considered radical, but by today's standards, it would be seen as modern. The emulsification of fine arts, design, crafts and other fields created the economic home. This efficient home ran like a machine that the everyday working-class person could afford. How is it that a small institute that ceased operation before the First World War was able to have such an impact on global architecture? Only a design so significant could spread across the Western and eventually non-Western worlds. Next time you stroll around the suburban area, remember that the scenic blocks of human dwellings were a succeeding influence of the German institute that ran for over 10 years.

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Infinite Zoom through Boxhill tunnels

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Banshee boardwalk in the suburban neighbourhood

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Week 4 - Aug. 16,18 - The Shock of the New - The Electronic Century begins! 1900- 1930 

Century 21st. Decade no 2. Year 3. Month 8. Semester 2. Week 4. The fourth instalment brought on the shock of the new. The electronic milestones of the 1900s were about more than just practical conveniences to everyday problems. Sure, opening a can of beans with the touch of a button was pretty cool, but beyond that, it ignited an artistic revolution like no other predeceasing period. Abstract paintings started emerging across the European and Western landscape. An entire "-isims" dictionary describes these different styles/sub-styles of Art. E.g. Impressionism, cubism, expressionism, futurism, etc. The Avant-Garde nature of this artistic revolution planted itself as one of the most looked back on and studied periods of fine Art. Classical Musicians (particularly pianists) often gazed joyfully at the Romantic period. Frederic Chopin's sonatas and nocturnes were so significant that such a short era of music got so much attention. The same can be said about the Modern Art revolution connected to Picasso and Cézanne. The separating factor between the theme of the Romantic period and the electronic century's artistic movement can be found in the movement's success in coincidentally intertwining technological developments and changing the way of thinking. Picasso and Cézanne weren't philosophers or mathematicians, but their Art was on par with Einstein's math and Nietzsche's ideologies. It's essential to de-categorize creativity and factuality. Art and Science can be related. The same can be said with Music and Philosophy. At the end of the day, all of these mediums fall under the family of Knowledge.