Coprights and Control: Friend or Foe?

After watching the film RIP! A Remix Manifesto By Brett Gaylor I have a few things I would like to discuss concerning 4 part thesis.
Does our culture build on the past?
When Brett says that our culture always builds on the past I partially agree. Sure, things like music, art, and literature all have ties back to the past. The Beatles stole cord progressions from the classical composer Brahms. Director Quentin Tarantino is inspired by many other older films. However, I now challenge you to look more closely at today's culture. The internet is obsessed with cats. Dubstep, the original music is from the past, but said base dropping is completely original. I agree with Brett but todays culture is not completely unoriginal.
The past controls the future?
I completely disagree with the concept that the past control the future. Maybe in a family the older person will control the younger people. But as a culture? No. That is not to say that the past has no influence. Look at the 90's it was full of grunge and bad cars. How does that define and control us. In the 90's the U.S.  was in debt and that was solved by raising taxes. We are once again in debt and we haven't yet raised tax. That shows that the past doesn't control us in the sense that we learn from our mistakes because we clearly don't. From an artistic point of view we may have learned from our mistakes if you look at the cars that were made. other than that we relive the same cultural phases a fair amount with some but not a lot of variation.
Our future is becoming less free?
We are becoming brainwashed animals with no free will, self-determination, and no education. we have no information.                Wrong          Everyday someone becomes more and more informed, thanks to the internet. Information is the pillar around which freedom is based. It's that simple. I see no way at all that as a people we are becoming less free.
We must limit the control of the past to become free.
Actually we must remember the past more for some freedom. For example, do you remember the time when the government watched all of our lives, read our emails and texts and things like that? Well if we remember that the next time we set up a massive unifying communication system we should be fine and free. Social speaking I see no way how we are not free.

Correction and addition of a missed post.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Attending class?

In today's modern age technology is becoming more and more prevalent. Most people have access to just about everything there is to know just a few taps away. This raises the question are physical classroom really needed anymore?

There are many arguments for and against a traditional class room. For example, Dukunle Somade, a senior at the University of Maryland claims that "technology is giving students more and more reason not to come."

He also says that "students can easily grab material online, including lectures by gifted speakers in every field." Lastly, The National Survey of Student Engagement did a study at the University of Indiana that showed that four of eight "high impact" learning activities required no class room time at all.

There are still arguments for a traditional class room. Teachers and professors are still better informed than the vast majority of websites. Also, the former Director of the Baylor University Academy of Teaching and Learning claim that he does not see himself as a gateway to knowledge but a guide to the class. On top of that a class room creates connections for students that often help them find jobs in the future.

A lot of Teachers and Schools are shifting to more online based method of teaching. For most people this would work however it will not work for everyone. Any advanced degree in anything requires face to face interaction with a teacher. From an advanced Art degree to a PHD in Physics a personal hands on training is required. For that reason the traditional class room with never go away but it will remain mostly for vocational schools and Very High levels of education.

The Creative Process

The creative process is different for everyone. To me James Webb Young's idea that there is a process to new thought and Ideas is incredibly stupid. I do admit that it is possible that people go through these steps. For me it is never like that. For me it changes depending on the issue I am faced with. If I need to create art i use a completely different set of rules than if I am trying to fix a broken lamp.
With art if have a process of either seeing an image that is aesthetically pleasing and then experimenting with that image. If to reach I have a goal to reach while making that art I simply throw that Idea into what looks good.
If i need to reach a goal like fixing something it really is step by step process like Young claims but most people don't do this.
1. What is the problem?
2. How do I fix?
3. What way uses the least amount of materials and time?
4. Is it worth my time?
Once all of these are considered  I will then do something but I understand that most people don't do this. that being said Young's process behind new ideas is incredibly misinformed.

My Idea for The DMA research project will be a collaboration between me and roommate. we will create a video that combines both of our fields by creating art with only light and it's manipulation. Jason and I need to research the best way to combine the design principals I have learned and the technical skill that he has learned. I am curious to see how it will turn out.

What is new media?

New Media…What the hell is new media?

At the start of this class I just thought that it was the internet and things that you find in internet land, it partially is that. Now I think that new media also entails innovation in art. Such as street art, installations, and using technology in new ways. The most shocking thing about art is when you see something totally new and unseen. We seek innovation in art for the same reason Robert Mapplethorpe the photographer was successful. We the audience needs something new.

I often think of today’s artists (with an admittedly biased view) in a kind of split manner. I tend to split them up in 2 groups, the people that stick old test forms of art, and then the experimenters and inventors. The inventors are in the field of new media.

There are a few artists that would definitely fit my new definition of new media.  There is a dance group called Palindrome that blends technology and dance together. Their use of sensors, monitors, and cameras to link light and sound the dancer movement is brilliant and new.  The connection between dancer and technology means that the audience sees things that they haven’t seen before. That is exactly what an audience craves.

The artists Christo and Jean-Claude are a couple who have spent their live creating installation pieces. They were the ones who placed umbrellas all over Japan and California. They put the gates all over central park in New York City. They are probably the most famous installation artists out there. In many interview they say that there is no deeper meaning to their art they simply want to create a beautiful sight. What they do is New Media.

New Media isn’t simply playing with new gadget and making giant sculptures. It is innovation in the artistic community.