Below is a screenshot of my Rhino buildup of the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, and then below that, a rendering. I would be interested in finding out if something like that could be printed using a 3D printer.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Video "Artist": Richard Linklater
Assignment #24: Research an artist who uses video creatively and write a blog entry about it.
Richard Linklater is a film director and screenwriter who has directed two films that use digital film that is then animated over using interpolated rotoscope. These two films, "A Scanner Darkly" and "Waking Life" feature live actors, such as Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves, but are drawn over by a team of artists on each frame on the computer (rather than traced on a light box).
The aesthetics work very successfully in both films, in my opinion. "A Scanner Darkly" is a science fiction about identity and deception in a time period of a drug addiction epidemic - with both the drug and identity themes already blurred, the animated quality is rather fitting. Similarly, "Waking Life" is a philosophical film about dreams, consciousness, and existentialism. Again, due to the nature of the film's theme, the blurred reality feel is met by the strange animation.
A sort of superbaby between traditional digital filmmaking and animation, these two movies don't require artists to work from scratch, but rather adds on additional work to the already existent digital film. While animation allows artists to explore unrealistic territories in color and shape and dimension, both these films require both a sense of reality and non-reality.
Richard Linklater is a film director and screenwriter who has directed two films that use digital film that is then animated over using interpolated rotoscope. These two films, "A Scanner Darkly" and "Waking Life" feature live actors, such as Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves, but are drawn over by a team of artists on each frame on the computer (rather than traced on a light box).
The aesthetics work very successfully in both films, in my opinion. "A Scanner Darkly" is a science fiction about identity and deception in a time period of a drug addiction epidemic - with both the drug and identity themes already blurred, the animated quality is rather fitting. Similarly, "Waking Life" is a philosophical film about dreams, consciousness, and existentialism. Again, due to the nature of the film's theme, the blurred reality feel is met by the strange animation.
A sort of superbaby between traditional digital filmmaking and animation, these two movies don't require artists to work from scratch, but rather adds on additional work to the already existent digital film. While animation allows artists to explore unrealistic territories in color and shape and dimension, both these films require both a sense of reality and non-reality.
New York Aquarium Video Compliation
Assignment #23: Our next class session will focus on video. As we have spoken in class, there are 2 ways of how you can approach this. The first: Find a video online that you would like to use as your template. Choose a sequence or the entire video and redo it. If you feel comfortable go ahead and create the video. Or just present your idea in next class. The second possibility: Create a video or idea of a video which consists of a single 1 minute shot that you don't have to edit or change. If you feel comfortable with the technology involved, go ahead and create the video. Or just present your idea in our next class.
The New York Aquarium sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Sandy and lost hundreds of fish, and despite immense amounts of volunteer efforts and donations, it will be long before the aquarium will be able to re-open. I made this video from a collection of clips I made during my visits to the aquarium, years before and after the storm, with inspiration from one of my favorite musical artists, Barcelona, whose beautiful music is also feature in another aquarium-related video below:
The New York Aquarium sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Sandy and lost hundreds of fish, and despite immense amounts of volunteer efforts and donations, it will be long before the aquarium will be able to re-open. I made this video from a collection of clips I made during my visits to the aquarium, years before and after the storm, with inspiration from one of my favorite musical artists, Barcelona, whose beautiful music is also feature in another aquarium-related video below:
3D Printing Artist: Olaf Diegel
Assignment #22: Research an artist who uses 3D printing creatively and blog about her/him.
Olaf Diegel is a design engineer and professor of mechtronics at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand. He uses 3D printing to design custom manufactured guitars. The 3D printing technology that is used is called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and prints by spreading layers of nylon powder that are approximately 0.1mm each.
Though the rest of the guitar's hardware is just what is normally used in guitars, the 3D printed guitar body is unique since it is not solid or simply with a few holes or shapes. Instead, these 3D guitars take standard body shapes and focuses on the negative spaces created within those standard body shapes.
Olaf Diegel is a design engineer and professor of mechtronics at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand. He uses 3D printing to design custom manufactured guitars. The 3D printing technology that is used is called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and prints by spreading layers of nylon powder that are approximately 0.1mm each.
Though the rest of the guitar's hardware is just what is normally used in guitars, the 3D printed guitar body is unique since it is not solid or simply with a few holes or shapes. Instead, these 3D guitars take standard body shapes and focuses on the negative spaces created within those standard body shapes.
Creativity and 3D Printing
Assignment #21: Think of possibilities of what one can do creatively with 3D printing and create a blog entry that focuses on it.
3D printing is a technology that I was first introduced to about 10 years ago, and my ideas now still coincide with my ideas then. I think that there will be a time when 3D printers will become a norm in the American household, where instead of Amazon.com shipping your products, you can buy the "blueprint" of a toy or even more advanced objects and print it. It may or may not be the replacement for teleportation, but I think it's the next closest thing to obtaining products instantly.
In terms of art, when found objects became an integral part of contemporary art, I think printed objects can take over a similar role in the future. There are already so many forms of new media art using technologies to produce pieces, how should 3D printing contribute any differently. While 3D printing artists will need technological skill to produce these objects, the next step to using 3D printing as creative expression is what comes after the printing itself - is it sculpture? is it installation? or something different all together?
3D printing is a technology that I was first introduced to about 10 years ago, and my ideas now still coincide with my ideas then. I think that there will be a time when 3D printers will become a norm in the American household, where instead of Amazon.com shipping your products, you can buy the "blueprint" of a toy or even more advanced objects and print it. It may or may not be the replacement for teleportation, but I think it's the next closest thing to obtaining products instantly.
In terms of art, when found objects became an integral part of contemporary art, I think printed objects can take over a similar role in the future. There are already so many forms of new media art using technologies to produce pieces, how should 3D printing contribute any differently. While 3D printing artists will need technological skill to produce these objects, the next step to using 3D printing as creative expression is what comes after the printing itself - is it sculpture? is it installation? or something different all together?
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Scanning as a Creative Outlet
Assignment #16: Produce a number of 12 scans with 3 interesting materials or material groups. Let your creativity be your guide. Publish your scans on the blog one image after the next. Add a paragraph of description reflecting the specific outcome and your choices.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Scan Artist: Christian Staebler
Assignment #15: Research 1 artist who works with scanners/scanography creatively and make it an entry on your blog.
Christian Staebler is a French scanography artist who mainly works with materials from nature, such as leaves, flowers, insects, and animals. He creates his scan collages for layouts for books, magazines, and other print materials. He started scanning the living world outside his house, starting with his backyard, which progressed into elaborate and colorful collages.
I found his work to be particularly colorful, but hard to look at. These living things seemed odd - though photography also puts them into a still image, the scanning, on the other hand, gives them a rather fake look (like High Dynamic Range [HDR] photography today). The arrangements seem stiff to be, rather than how nature actually feels - alive and flowing. However, I also think that this way of documentation is definitely valid and successful.
Christian Staebler is a French scanography artist who mainly works with materials from nature, such as leaves, flowers, insects, and animals. He creates his scan collages for layouts for books, magazines, and other print materials. He started scanning the living world outside his house, starting with his backyard, which progressed into elaborate and colorful collages.
I found his work to be particularly colorful, but hard to look at. These living things seemed odd - though photography also puts them into a still image, the scanning, on the other hand, gives them a rather fake look (like High Dynamic Range [HDR] photography today). The arrangements seem stiff to be, rather than how nature actually feels - alive and flowing. However, I also think that this way of documentation is definitely valid and successful.
Photography Artist:Robert Mapplethorpe
Assignment #14: Research an artist who works with photography creatively and put up a blog post.
Robert Mapplethorpe is known for his black and white portraits of celebrities, flowers, himself, and nudes. The homoerotism in some of his photography was highly controversial, especially in regards to funding for the arts, since his patrons gave him large amounts of money to buy space for him to live in and work.
I've been interested in Mapplethorpe for some time - initially due to the sexual nature of his work, from a study of visual representation of sexuality, but my interest began to grow with his work in regards to race and popular culture.
Mapplethorpe had a particular interest in photographing black males (which was some of the roots of controversy). During the time, AIDS was a up and coming issue (he, himself, died from complications related to AIDS) and his interest in nude black males only provoked the already existing rise in homophobia.
He also photographed the famous people of his time, such as Andy Warhol (below) and Patti Smith (who was at time his partner until he realized he was gay). There are many photographers who focus on celebrities today, such as Tyler Shields, but unlike paparazzi photographers, Mapplethorpe and these particular celebrity photographers set up portrait sessions rather than follow their celebrities. This implied the close relationship between the arts and popular culture.
Robert Mapplethorpe is known for his black and white portraits of celebrities, flowers, himself, and nudes. The homoerotism in some of his photography was highly controversial, especially in regards to funding for the arts, since his patrons gave him large amounts of money to buy space for him to live in and work.
I've been interested in Mapplethorpe for some time - initially due to the sexual nature of his work, from a study of visual representation of sexuality, but my interest began to grow with his work in regards to race and popular culture.
Mapplethorpe had a particular interest in photographing black males (which was some of the roots of controversy). During the time, AIDS was a up and coming issue (he, himself, died from complications related to AIDS) and his interest in nude black males only provoked the already existing rise in homophobia.
He also photographed the famous people of his time, such as Andy Warhol (below) and Patti Smith (who was at time his partner until he realized he was gay). There are many photographers who focus on celebrities today, such as Tyler Shields, but unlike paparazzi photographers, Mapplethorpe and these particular celebrity photographers set up portrait sessions rather than follow their celebrities. This implied the close relationship between the arts and popular culture.
Photography and Teaching Children
Assignment #13: Think about photography for a little bit and about its materiality and the process of taking a picture. Make 3 connections to children. (I skipped the photographic lesson plan as I don't want to ask too much from you).
In a search for how to teach photography to children, I came upon several lists of "tips" for teaching children digital photography (i.e., http://digital-photography-school.com/13-lessons-to-teach-your-child-about-digital-photography; http://content.photojojo.com/photojojo-original/teaching-photography-to-children/)
Children can be easily taught to click a button, especially in digital photography, but I think it's important for children to also understand photography from a film point of view. Photography is a lot about physics as well as creativity. And while digital photography allows, as it seems, endless photograph-taking, it opens up both a venue for experimentation and laziness. Film photography, on the other hand, or teaching digital photography like it was film, allows each photograph to receive more attention - guiding children to look more rather than pushing a button seems rather important.
However, on the more positive side of digital photography, children can make lots of "mistakes" and enjoy experimentation. Allowing them to reflect on what they've just taken on a screen gives them another chance to approach a photograph differently, or for them to reach satisfaction with the first photograph.
The portability of a camera is also essential to photography. Children experience new things all the time, and because a camera can be so accessible these days, asking them to journal things that interest them is very plausible. Though writing is obviously essential to a child's education, they can learn that photography is both fun/creative and useful as a documentation tool - like a memory bank.
In a search for how to teach photography to children, I came upon several lists of "tips" for teaching children digital photography (i.e., http://digital-photography-school.com/13-lessons-to-teach-your-child-about-digital-photography; http://content.photojojo.com/photojojo-original/teaching-photography-to-children/)
Children can be easily taught to click a button, especially in digital photography, but I think it's important for children to also understand photography from a film point of view. Photography is a lot about physics as well as creativity. And while digital photography allows, as it seems, endless photograph-taking, it opens up both a venue for experimentation and laziness. Film photography, on the other hand, or teaching digital photography like it was film, allows each photograph to receive more attention - guiding children to look more rather than pushing a button seems rather important.
However, on the more positive side of digital photography, children can make lots of "mistakes" and enjoy experimentation. Allowing them to reflect on what they've just taken on a screen gives them another chance to approach a photograph differently, or for them to reach satisfaction with the first photograph.
The portability of a camera is also essential to photography. Children experience new things all the time, and because a camera can be so accessible these days, asking them to journal things that interest them is very plausible. Though writing is obviously essential to a child's education, they can learn that photography is both fun/creative and useful as a documentation tool - like a memory bank.
Grouping Photographs into a Narrative
Assignment #12: We began in class to create an interesting narrative by using your photograph as a starting point and adding 9 images from the web. As you tell your story, don't use additional captions or titles; have the images speak for themselves. Arrange your images and upload them to a Pinterest board or on your blog in the order you seem fit. If you haven't already, finish this assignment. Add a few sentences about this experience and what you were trying to achieve or were this assignment got you on your blog.
http://pinterest.com/angieartzoo/mistakes/
Rather than telling a particular story with images found online, I looked through my own 23,000+ photos on Facebook and I found photographs from the last few months that I should have deleted for a reason or another, but did not, due to "mistakes" in photography.
After putting the 10 photographs together, I began to appreciate my "mistakes" more, whether it was compositional, or a raindrop fell on the lens, or lighting problems, etc. Each "mistake" essentially had a story on its own, and became very much part of the photograph.
http://pinterest.com/angieartzoo/mistakes/
Rather than telling a particular story with images found online, I looked through my own 23,000+ photos on Facebook and I found photographs from the last few months that I should have deleted for a reason or another, but did not, due to "mistakes" in photography.
After putting the 10 photographs together, I began to appreciate my "mistakes" more, whether it was compositional, or a raindrop fell on the lens, or lighting problems, etc. Each "mistake" essentially had a story on its own, and became very much part of the photograph.
Processing an Idea from a Photograph
Assignment #11: After listening to your peers and their approaches with their image; would you want to alter/redo/change/some of your ideas now? If so, feel free to do so; indicate potential changes on your blog. Homework #5 (Assignment #9) had you come up with ideas about what you can do with your image creatively. Realize one of them and bring the output to our next class or put it up on your blog. If your idea is not feasible in the amount of time, chose another one; stay within reason.
I tried to re-create the effect that I had with my photo. I snapped different parts of a bike, as if they were mistakes in trying to capture the entire image of the bike. I played with Photoshop until I was able to recreate the image of the bike and the circular blur as well. I decided to approach an idea like this because I was curious to how a "mistake" could be intentionally approached, as a creative process.
I tried to re-create the effect that I had with my photo. I snapped different parts of a bike, as if they were mistakes in trying to capture the entire image of the bike. I played with Photoshop until I was able to recreate the image of the bike and the circular blur as well. I decided to approach an idea like this because I was curious to how a "mistake" could be intentionally approached, as a creative process.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Documentation Artist: Guy Delisle
Assignment #10: Research an artist who works with documentation as an artistic process.
Guy Delisle is known as a Canadian comic book author and animator.
He documented his experiences working as an animator in China (Shenzhen [2000]) and North Korea (Pyongyang [2003]) via comics. He also documented his experiences traveling in Myanmar/Burma (Burma Chronicles [2007]) and most recently, Israel (Chronicles of Jerusalem [2011]). Written originally in French, his books have been translated into many languages, including English, Polish, Spanish, Finnish, and Czech, and have been best sellers in France.
It seems as if he writes and draws and photographs about seemingly everything - the weather, the city, the politics, the culture, interesting objects, and his own presence and work, so the end result is a part-autobiographical, part-travel-journal, and part-anthropological-ethnography.
While Delisle is at location, he sketches and writes in his journals and takes photos when he can to document exact structures or objects or experiences. Though he is in "dangerous" areas, he documents the happiness of the people as it exists - the daily life, not the war or politically-torn states.
Guy Delisle is inspired by the comics he attains and artists from the places he is documenting. The following comic is from Burma:
Guy Delisle is known as a Canadian comic book author and animator.
He documented his experiences working as an animator in China (Shenzhen [2000]) and North Korea (Pyongyang [2003]) via comics. He also documented his experiences traveling in Myanmar/Burma (Burma Chronicles [2007]) and most recently, Israel (Chronicles of Jerusalem [2011]). Written originally in French, his books have been translated into many languages, including English, Polish, Spanish, Finnish, and Czech, and have been best sellers in France.
It seems as if he writes and draws and photographs about seemingly everything - the weather, the city, the politics, the culture, interesting objects, and his own presence and work, so the end result is a part-autobiographical, part-travel-journal, and part-anthropological-ethnography.
While Delisle is at location, he sketches and writes in his journals and takes photos when he can to document exact structures or objects or experiences. Though he is in "dangerous" areas, he documents the happiness of the people as it exists - the daily life, not the war or politically-torn states.
Guy Delisle is inspired by the comics he attains and artists from the places he is documenting. The following comic is from Burma:
Storytelling with Photography
Assignment #9: Post the picture you took in class on your blog; write a paragraph that tells the story of this picture (what have you noticed that made you take this picture?). Come up with 2 ideas where you would like to go with this picture creatively and write them down so you can share your ideas in our next session.
I went outside with Becca H., and we were discussing where to go with the assignment, and because she forgot her ID, she had to tell the security officer that she was only stepping outside for a minute without an ID. This caught my attention - the security officer was there every day (whether it was that one specifically or another). So, I wanted to give the security booth a face, so I asked him if it was okay to take a picture of him.
In the process of stepping back and turning on the camera (switching the on switch, and rotating the lens and camera body around to the typical position), I accidentally took the picture below.
Two things came to mind after seeing this picture much later - the picture itself was an accident, and it was taken in a portrait orientation, rather than the expected landscape, also an accident.
There are a lot of accidents that happen in artmaking, but also in just about everything else. There are happy ones and disappointing ones, and in art, you choose to fix it, work with it, or toss it out altogether.
In digital photography, the interesting thing about making mistakes is that you can make "mistakes" over and over and continue to "mass-produce" new images. In Photoshop, we can hide, discolour, and orient a photograph. However, composition and perspective is an important aspect to photography and though cropping is available, composition and perspective (and focus as well) generally cannot be modified after a photograph is taken.
So how can I/we expand a photograph's composition and perspective beyond Photoshop? A photograph is a flat image, so how can we change our perspective while still working with the flatness?
I think it would be interesting to play with various ways to "display" the image, either digitally or physically, to bring out the story of the "accident."
I went outside with Becca H., and we were discussing where to go with the assignment, and because she forgot her ID, she had to tell the security officer that she was only stepping outside for a minute without an ID. This caught my attention - the security officer was there every day (whether it was that one specifically or another). So, I wanted to give the security booth a face, so I asked him if it was okay to take a picture of him.
In the process of stepping back and turning on the camera (switching the on switch, and rotating the lens and camera body around to the typical position), I accidentally took the picture below.
Two things came to mind after seeing this picture much later - the picture itself was an accident, and it was taken in a portrait orientation, rather than the expected landscape, also an accident.
There are a lot of accidents that happen in artmaking, but also in just about everything else. There are happy ones and disappointing ones, and in art, you choose to fix it, work with it, or toss it out altogether.
In digital photography, the interesting thing about making mistakes is that you can make "mistakes" over and over and continue to "mass-produce" new images. In Photoshop, we can hide, discolour, and orient a photograph. However, composition and perspective is an important aspect to photography and though cropping is available, composition and perspective (and focus as well) generally cannot be modified after a photograph is taken.
So how can I/we expand a photograph's composition and perspective beyond Photoshop? A photograph is a flat image, so how can we change our perspective while still working with the flatness?
I think it would be interesting to play with various ways to "display" the image, either digitally or physically, to bring out the story of the "accident."
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Creative Practice vs. Documentation
Assignment #8: In order to investigate the creative abilities of new media and new media technologies, we will work on a number of actions throughout the semester. Action #1 was to bring a piece of technology into the classroom. Action #2 is to document something. This can be a creative process, an installation, an artistic practice, or an art object; try to stay with something that’s related to the arts. The documentation can be done in whichever way as long as you use a piece of technology, be it a camera, a recorder, or whatever comes to your mind. By asking you to document it, I want us to focus on the difference between creative practice and documentation. Bring your results to the next class or just add them to your blog.
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Based off of "Dear Photograph" - one photograph is taken as a documentation, but the memory is revisited. I took a photograph of my painting in progress, and now 3 years later, printed that photograph and "revisited" the painting by lining it up.
"Dear Photograph" example:
Drawing/Painting on a Digital Device
Assignment #7: Create at least 1 drawing and 1 painting on either one or two of those devices: a computer, a tablet, and/or a smartphone; using a keyboard, your fingers; or a stylus. Put some time into this and see how far you can get to make this a creative outlet.
Drawn with Wacom Intuos4 Wireless Pen Tablet and Stylus in Photoshop CS5 (Windows 7).
Drawn with Wacom Intuos4 Wireless Pen Tablet and Stylus in Photoshop CS5 (Windows 7).
Painted with iPad (1st Generation) and Joysticker's Paintbrush in MyBrushes (iOS).
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
E-Etiquette
Assignment #5: Go to http://eetiquette.com and pick three select quotes to re-post on your blog.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Media Art Teacher: Ozge Samanci
Assignment #4: Research a media art teacher and describe how s/he uses technology/media in his/her art class.
Ozge Samanci
Ozge Samanci was a professor of mine at University of California - Berkeley. She taught a special topics class called "Comics and Graphic Novels" that I took three times (to work independently with her concurrently with the rest of the class). Comics and graphic novels are traditionally known to be physically in print, but in the last decade, has emerged into a digital outlet.
Comics and graphic novels, as argued by Samanci, is both a medium and a genre, but also a form of visual narrative, like a film/video.
Samanci herself uses both traditional mediums (collage, drawing, inks, watercolor, etc.) and new media forms (digital, interactive, etc.) in her own art-making. While the other students and I focused mainly on using similar traditional mediums, Samanci used various new methods to approaching comics and graphic novels.
We were presented with different approaches to storytelling through watching short clips of films, experimenting with coloring in comics using Photoshop, and discussing other ways to understanding narratives, such as digital performances and animation or other nontraditional representations of comics/graphic novels (below).
"Planting Comics" on ceramic tiles
"Embodied Comics" using full-body interactive storytelling environments that functions as a comics generator
Ozge Samanci
Ozge Samanci was a professor of mine at University of California - Berkeley. She taught a special topics class called "Comics and Graphic Novels" that I took three times (to work independently with her concurrently with the rest of the class). Comics and graphic novels are traditionally known to be physically in print, but in the last decade, has emerged into a digital outlet.
Comics and graphic novels, as argued by Samanci, is both a medium and a genre, but also a form of visual narrative, like a film/video.
Samanci herself uses both traditional mediums (collage, drawing, inks, watercolor, etc.) and new media forms (digital, interactive, etc.) in her own art-making. While the other students and I focused mainly on using similar traditional mediums, Samanci used various new methods to approaching comics and graphic novels.
We were presented with different approaches to storytelling through watching short clips of films, experimenting with coloring in comics using Photoshop, and discussing other ways to understanding narratives, such as digital performances and animation or other nontraditional representations of comics/graphic novels (below).
"Planting Comics" on ceramic tiles
"Embodied Comics" using full-body interactive storytelling environments that functions as a comics generator
Technology in My Daily Practice
Assignment #3: Give an account about how you implement technology in your daily practice (2-3 paragraphs).
My parents picked up using computers and the internet early in their respective jobs, and my own use of computers started when I was waiting for them at their offices, playing solitaire on one of the company computers. This eventually developed into using a personal email for the first time when I was 8, just so I could play online games like Neopets (virtual pets) and chat on AOL Instant Messenger.
Today (as in the date I am writing this blog, as well as today in the current times sense), I wake up using the alarms on my iPhone 4S, and I check my e-mail and text messages on the phone as well. Throughout the day, I use various phone applications as tools to find my way to places, or to order food, or to simply call. I log onto one of my four laptops to do similar, but more complex and advanced tasks. I play music through my iPod, my iPhone, my record player, and my laptops, using audiophile sound systems and headphones, and if I am making music, I am using loops to make tracks and other software to edit sounds. If I am working on my photography, I am either out using my two DSLR cameras, with multiple lenses, tripods, filters, flashes, etc. or at home reviewing the photos on software, printing some prints on a large format printer, and posting them on my personal websites and social networking websites (such as ~20,000 photos on Facebook), etc. Sometimes, when I read, I use a Kindle Fire or an iPad and I even play games on the internet, my PS3, and on my mobile devices. And the uses go on and on...
While I am well-versed and up-to-date with many technologies, I do maintain a good half of my lifestyle that is unrelated to and not requiring electronics, such as physical activities and travel. On the other hand, with the internet and other technologies available, all of those non-electronic experiences are still influenced, including, but not limited to the research and organization of ideas, information, and plans (i.e. booking plane tickets) and the purchase of related equipment (i.e. bike).
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
New Media "Gallery/Museum": Kickstarter
Assignment #2: Research a gallery/museum that focuses on new media and describe their program, the types of media that they employ, and some of their artists.
Kickstarter Projects
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding website for projects representing a myriad of endeavors, such as films, comics, technology, games, etc. Though Kickstarter is not technically a physical gallery/museum, it certain archives and presents new media projects, which brings me to ask the question whether or not new-media-art-focused museums even need to be physically located.
For one such project, named "Written Images," a generative art book was created and funded. The generative art book featured prints that would be calculated individually, making every single book and print unique. This project collected submissions of from over 70 new media artists that a jury then singled out to 42. These 42 artists submitted image generating software programs that were then used to produce the books and prints.
Another project, "Pixel Portrait Poster Project," an artist named Drew Wise uses pixels as his medium. The project was to create up to 800 8-bit pixel portraits, eventually combining them into an art print. Using user-submitted photographs, the artist uses 8-bit pixels to digitally create a portrait.
While there are many different kinds of new media artists mixed among the other creative projects, such as photographers that use modern digital photography equipment and software, and digital artists that use printing techniques and design software to produce various graphics and prints, there are also many unique new media projects showing up every week, making Kickstarter a host of contemporary projects, in all stages of progress.
Kickstarter also features curated pages from leading creative communities and organizations such as RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design Conferences), Sundance Film Festival, CalArts, and Etsy.
Kickstarter Projects
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding website for projects representing a myriad of endeavors, such as films, comics, technology, games, etc. Though Kickstarter is not technically a physical gallery/museum, it certain archives and presents new media projects, which brings me to ask the question whether or not new-media-art-focused museums even need to be physically located.
For one such project, named "Written Images," a generative art book was created and funded. The generative art book featured prints that would be calculated individually, making every single book and print unique. This project collected submissions of from over 70 new media artists that a jury then singled out to 42. These 42 artists submitted image generating software programs that were then used to produce the books and prints.
Another project, "Pixel Portrait Poster Project," an artist named Drew Wise uses pixels as his medium. The project was to create up to 800 8-bit pixel portraits, eventually combining them into an art print. Using user-submitted photographs, the artist uses 8-bit pixels to digitally create a portrait.
While there are many different kinds of new media artists mixed among the other creative projects, such as photographers that use modern digital photography equipment and software, and digital artists that use printing techniques and design software to produce various graphics and prints, there are also many unique new media projects showing up every week, making Kickstarter a host of contemporary projects, in all stages of progress.
Kickstarter also features curated pages from leading creative communities and organizations such as RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design Conferences), Sundance Film Festival, CalArts, and Etsy.
New Media Artist: Martin Wattenberg
Assignment #1:
Research a media artist and write about he/she uses media to create art. Observe carefully and be specific.
Martin Wattenberg
"My work focuses on visual explorations of culturally significant data. I'm constantly significant data. I'm constantly seeking new ways to represent information to create connection, insight, narrative, and beauty. My research interests include data visualization, collaboration, and collective intelligence on the web."
Martin Wattenberg came up from a Google search of "pioneers of new media art" and I began to investigate his personal website. I'm personally very interested in the visualization of data and it was a pleasant surprise to find that Wattenberg was both a scientist and a artist, using his knowledge of one to support the other (and vice versa).
He investigates the relationship between language and space, translating the data he accumulates from various research methods into physical artistic visualizations.
For example, the above images are from a piece named "Fleshmap" (2008). His collaboration with Fernanda Viegas resulted in "an inquiry into human desire, its collective shape and individual expressions." They surveyed several hundreds of people on their erroneous areas on their bodies. The result was tens of thousands of ratings and data that were derived into visual "maps" of sensual desire.
Wattenberg claims that his medium is "data visualization, a technology developed by computer scientists to extract insights from raw numbers This technique is ideal for investigating a world represented by digital traces, where truth is hidden in masses of information. The resulting studies take the form of web sites, prints, and videos."
I believe that similar to some other new media art, this medium can be considered controversial for several reasons. One of which is that there is no physical craft on the artist's abilities. Instead, there is an input of data into a system that outputs a visual image. However, museums such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, clearly believe that new media art is the creation of art in current times, using current mediums.
Research a media artist and write about he/she uses media to create art. Observe carefully and be specific.
Martin Wattenberg
"My work focuses on visual explorations of culturally significant data. I'm constantly significant data. I'm constantly seeking new ways to represent information to create connection, insight, narrative, and beauty. My research interests include data visualization, collaboration, and collective intelligence on the web."
Martin Wattenberg came up from a Google search of "pioneers of new media art" and I began to investigate his personal website. I'm personally very interested in the visualization of data and it was a pleasant surprise to find that Wattenberg was both a scientist and a artist, using his knowledge of one to support the other (and vice versa).
He investigates the relationship between language and space, translating the data he accumulates from various research methods into physical artistic visualizations.
For example, the above images are from a piece named "Fleshmap" (2008). His collaboration with Fernanda Viegas resulted in "an inquiry into human desire, its collective shape and individual expressions." They surveyed several hundreds of people on their erroneous areas on their bodies. The result was tens of thousands of ratings and data that were derived into visual "maps" of sensual desire.
Wattenberg claims that his medium is "data visualization, a technology developed by computer scientists to extract insights from raw numbers This technique is ideal for investigating a world represented by digital traces, where truth is hidden in masses of information. The resulting studies take the form of web sites, prints, and videos."
I believe that similar to some other new media art, this medium can be considered controversial for several reasons. One of which is that there is no physical craft on the artist's abilities. Instead, there is an input of data into a system that outputs a visual image. However, museums such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, clearly believe that new media art is the creation of art in current times, using current mediums.
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