Stormylat@ART245
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Second Life Avatar
Hello-
This is my real-life avatar after applying the face map. I know this version looks odd and even creepy, but considering I have to create a new appearance for the fantasy avatar, I figured it would be best to finish this one and move one. Here's the snapshot from second life.
As for my fantasy avatar, I got some inspiration from Assassin's creed.; I just tried to modernize it. This character is pretty much like an modern day ninja assassin. This is probably the weirdest idea I came up with, but considering that this is the last project of the semester, I decided to have fun with it. The sketch idea is rather specific, so I'm little nervous on how it will turn out. I'll post the sketch latter tonight.
This is my real-life avatar after applying the face map. I know this version looks odd and even creepy, but considering I have to create a new appearance for the fantasy avatar, I figured it would be best to finish this one and move one. Here's the snapshot from second life.
As for my fantasy avatar, I got some inspiration from Assassin's creed.; I just tried to modernize it. This character is pretty much like an modern day ninja assassin. This is probably the weirdest idea I came up with, but considering that this is the last project of the semester, I decided to have fun with it. The sketch idea is rather specific, so I'm little nervous on how it will turn out. I'll post the sketch latter tonight.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Final Art Essay
Stormy Lattimer
12/1/12
Paul
D. Miller and Paul DeMarinis: critical analysis essay
Digital media has
become so incorporated into daily life that it’s hard not to see it;
technology, after all is evolving into something new with each passing day. And
with that consistent changing, artist now have a vast amount of tools at their
disposal to share their philosophy in ways that are somehow more immersive than
before. While traditional paintings and sculptures by themselves pull in the
viewer with details in both the aesthetic and contextual sense, digital media
has a somewhat different effect. Because of this, artist’s works can have a
different effect on the viewer that certainly differs from a traditional piece.
Paul DeMarinis and Paul D. Miller- AKA DJ
Spooky- have certainly use these new tools to create pieces that immerse the
viewer in ways that more traditional pieces can. Paul D. Miller is an multimedia
artist that combines graphic design, film, performance, and music to make an
interactive remix. He is also a notable author and accomplished DJ, publishing
numerous books and selling hundreds of CD’s. His music though, is the most
notable aspect of his pieces for he combines elements of hip-hop and
electronica that is often dubbed “Trip –hop”. Paul DeMarinis has also made huge
contributions to digital media though his pieces. Like Miller, DeMarinis
incorporates sound into his computer installations, making most of his pieces
appear like a livening machine. Though the sound itself is considerably
different from Miller’s own musical creations. DeMarinis uses more organic
sounds, and for the most part, don’t have the musical appeal that Miller incorporates
into his works. But nevertheless, these ambient sounds add more to the context
of his pieces. Both artist are so similar, yet are strikingly different from
each other, that it serves as a example of how dynamic and subtle digital media
is.
For a more detailed
analysis, one needs to examine the more prominent of the artist’s work and see
exactly the philosophy behind then. DerMarinis, has a notable collection of
works to choose from, but for the sake of efficiency we’ll focus on his piece The Edison Effect. This piece combined
mechanical, electronic, and audio technology from different eras. The piece
itself looks like a small ensemble of old record players and other
miscellaneous items that are traced with red lasers. What the lasers
essentially do- along with other interactive systems- probe the inscriptions on
the venial and then turn it into sound. DerMarinis also added sounds form other
audio devices, like “March” from John Phillipp in a techno-recording and
“Etaion Shrdlu” which makes it possible to hear how a phonograph inscribes
sounds of its own machinery into the waltz. Just the structure of this piece
and how the artist built these complex sound machines is amazing by itself. But
the context gives the piece a beautiful philosophy and context behind this
creation. This piece, believe it or not, was the result of an chance experiment
that started in 1986. DeMarinis after moving to a area in upstate New York to
which he described as “Rural Hell”. During that time, he took a memory chip out
of his Apple computer, attached it to an audio amplifier, and though some
modifications made it run when light hit it. He further developed this idea,
while simultaneously thinking of the first phonograph. This later manifested in
ideas about how the impaction the invention of recording had on sound and music,
how Thomas Alva Edison laid claim- now you might call this a copyright or
patent- to the light bulb, along with some recorded sounds, and in general how
it serves as a metaphor to the Edison Effect, which describes how atoms cause
that relatively slow transition of a light bulb dimming down. My own thoughts
on this piece though, were somewhat different. While receiving the artist
interpretation was present, I still couldn’t help but form one of my own. To me
the sounds coming from theses’ devices, how the sounds of different objects
formed this ambient sound gave the piece an sense of life. The machines served
as this metaphor of how technology can take sounds that would on any radio or
other digital format would sound so robotic, now have sort of this life-like
quality. It’s difficult to explain, but perhaps this is what digital media is
bringing to art, a life-like quality that you cannot hear from anywhere else.
Like the Edison Effect, Paul D. Miller’s work
consists of combining different sounds and media; but instead of organic
ambient sounds, Miller uses elements of hip-hop and electronica to create a
audio and visual remix. His approach is relatively new, in that he’s using what
most would call “dance club music” to express deep thoughts about the world and
human nature. One of his more recent works involves a exploration of man’s
relationship with nature through the sounds and aesthetic beauty of Antarctica.
Miller’s exhibition Ice Music, is
compiled of three different works that center around the same theme. Book of Ice for instance is described as
an part science, part art, part history, and part manifesto which explores the
current state of the region. Interestingly enough, for all the explorations and
research done on this content, Antarctica homes no country or any sovereign
nations. While other countries lay claim to some of it’s territory, none have
set up a government there. Miller explores this relationship through photos,
historical documents, and other resources to illustrate the contents beauty
that is disappearing from global warming and resource depletion. Another
installment to this is a performance video called Terra Nova which depicts the dynamic beauty of this environment; he
also records sounds from the melting glaciers and uses it to create a musical
score, one where the viewer can hear the sounds of the content. Another piece
that compliments this is Miller’s graphic designs from Manifesto: For a people’s Republic of Antarctica in which it
creates a story in which a government is actually forming in Antarctica. What this
exhibition highlights Miller’s skill in bringing different layers of media and
making it into one coherent whole. Not only, that but it also shows the
philosophy and human nature in this remix. Miller’s work is unique from the
other artist in that it combines elements of what could be considered pop
Culture into philosophy.
After researching and
analyzing theses artist work, I found that both had more similarities than
differences. Both combine elements of performance, design, and sound into their
work to make a coherent whole. They also, through this method, add a deep and philosophical
piece. Granted their both have their unique style and signature that stands
apart from each other; this is due mostly to how their work approaches the
viewer. DeMarinis work, as stated before, uses more organic sounds, sounds that
are taken apart then layered upon each other. This creates an eerie but
life-like sound, making the aesthetic of the mechanical structure come to life.
Again, this seems to have a effect on the viewer, making them be immersed in
the piece that is new and unique. Paul D. Miller’s work is immersive as well,
but not in the way that DeMarinis is. Miller is more current in a way, because
he uses these elements of hip-hop and electronica in his scores. They are not
something one would normally expect in an art piece- or at least that’s what
the critics say- and it makes the viewer examine the piece more closely. With
that said though, the artist methods- the layering and element of performance-
are so similar. I myself asked the artist if they were somehow inspired or
influenced by each other’s work- Miller never commented back to me though, and
DeMarinis’s website is down-. What I find most interesting though is that both
their work had an effect on me as a viewer. The way these pieces immersed in in
the details and philosophy were different from previous work from different
artist. I felt more like a participant than an observer. And perhaps that’s the
appeal and nature of digital media; with new technology and tools, will art
become more immersive? Will it become something similar to virtual reality?
Whichever the case, it is evident that artist will push this boundary more and
more as time progressed.
Works
Cited
Monday, November 12, 2012
Response to Reading
1) The first half of Manovich's reading addresses the six generalizations made about the computer, and when reading this list, I myself couldn't help but point out the flaws in some claims. For one, when one generalization said that digital images keep their quality when converted is wrong; the image compresses than looses some information or quality. My question then is, that with the evolution of the computer or digital media will there be new assumptions about it or still remain the Same?
2) When Manovich talked about the interactivity of digital media, and how this physical activity is present in other forms of media, I can't help but wonder if digital media will keep pushing this? What would Manovich think about the concept of virtual reality?
2) When Manovich talked about the interactivity of digital media, and how this physical activity is present in other forms of media, I can't help but wonder if digital media will keep pushing this? What would Manovich think about the concept of virtual reality?
Monday, October 15, 2012
Vido Project: The Enternal Frame
This project was fun to do but very taxing, due to some unseen factors. But I like My interpretation of this video and working with Final Cut was interesting. Any ways, the video has the same message as the original but Instead of dressing up the actor in a wig and making him shave, I decided to just make him wear a suit. This is suppose to enforce the idea that image is everything, that showing a regular guy who has no previous publicity will most likely be ignored. Hence the line in this video " Without which, I would be nothing.
Here's the link to the orignal.
http://www.ubu.com/film/ant_farm_eternal.html
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