Week Twelve - But is it Art?

Source: http://bellanta.wordpress.com/

Media. But is it art? Media and art have always been interlocking subjects. It could even be pushed as far to say that art is media. It is a form that communicates a message to an audience. But they are not wholly one and the same.


A couple of months ago I went to the White Rabbit Gallery to see the new exhibition 'Down the Rabbit Hole'. Two pieces in particular captured my attention. They both use the media technology of light in an aesthetic way, but they also both explored the cultural workings of modern society. The first piece, titled Solar was made by Taiwanese artists Chang Kenghau, Chang Genghwa, Llunc Lin and Ken Chen, used a variety of light sources (lamps, lightbulbs, computers) to "convey a sense of optimism... (to demonstrate that) humanity can take control of technology and turn it to good". I found the circular form of the artwork to be representative of the Earth, with the sequences of lights turning on and off in different patterns reflecting generative human activity, the classic image of a city being brought to life at night by the human use of electricity.

Solar description.
Image: Alexandra Potter

This video shows Solar in action:






The second piece, Scripting, from the same artists, uses light rods to "express the wonder that everything in the universe has its own special rhythm". The artists use the rods to depict different concepts in life, from the movement of water to the formation of calligraphy. The most important element of this work, as in the first one, is the dependency of this art on media and technology. Without the inout of media, these artworks would not be created, nor their message communicated.

Scripting description.
Image: Alexandra Potter

This video shows Scripting in action:

The Tida Dome exhibition embodies the future of art exhibits. Galleries and exhibitions are now moving into the virtual world and we no longer have to attend a physical gallery space to look at art. This shows the ever growing relationship art has with media. The way we appreciate art will change as it becomes more interactive in the online space. Laika's Derive emphasis this interactivity as this site shows that art is not just made by a professional in a studio, but anybody can participate in, and create, art. In the readings, Andrew provided a link to Mortal Engine, a dance production that I have seen on two occasions as it toured through Sydney. I trained as a dancer for 12 years and have always found dance to be one of the most powerful forms of artistic communication. Mortal Engine is quite a contemporary dance production as it not only incorporates media into the work, it uses media as a foundation upon which the dance is built. The show is also quite inclusive of the audience as the work projects light beams into the audience; at one point the audience becomes trapped in a lattice network of green light beams. Art is a communal experience that engage anyone and it is an important tool that brings people, aesthetics and ideologies together. As time progresses, the influence of media on art will open a wide variety of new possibilities, endeavours and processes for the art world.








References




Chunky Moves dance production, 'Mortal Engine', <http://chunkymove.com.au/Our-Works/Current-Productions/Mortal-Engine.aspx> 

Mori, Mariko (2011) Tida Dome, Adobe Museum of Digital Media, <http://www.adobemuseum.com/#/exhibit/tidaDome> (explore site)

Waterson, Sarah (2011) Laika’s Dérive <http://laikasderive.sarahwaterson.net/>

White Rabbit Gallery 

Week Eleven - The Future, Again

Source: http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/back_to_the_future_movie_image__10_.jpg

Can we still call the future 'the future'? Are we already living in it? 

The Keller Easterling reading explores the importance of interactivity in the future of media and communications. Interactivity allows for users to connect with one another via their media. Interactivity in media allow for audiences to keep in contact not only with their friends and family, but strangers, events, the Media, as well as public and private information. The internet of things is growing at an unbelievable rate with anything and everything available with the click of a mouse. This video extrapolates on the potential future of mobile media and communication, and it highlights Easterling's point about the importance of interactivity:

One of the most important points that this video discusses in relation to the future of media and communications is privacy. Media privacy is an issue I have long been concerned about, and it woud seem that the issue is only going to get bigger in the future. This area is critical to my research project as I will be dealing with the way in which people use and abuse their own privacy, and the implications this will have for future media usage. Companies like Google are working to develop products like Project Glass: Augmented Reality Glasses.







Whilst this will be a convenient future product for checking subway timetables, the chance of rain or the location of the music section in the bookstore you're standing in (which you could probably see yourself if you took off the glasses), I think it raises potential issues around the concept of privacy. I personally would feel my privacy had been severely invaded if my friends could see how far away I was from them. The other concern about this future direction of technology is the removal of human instinct, human experience and human capacity. In the video the guy wearing the glasses does not investigating for himself, when the subway is shut he uses his augmented reality glasses to give him directions to the bookstore. He even needed directions to get around inside the bookstore. If everyone in the future was equipped with a pair of augmented reality glasses, what would happen if they broke them or lost them? Would they still have the necessary skills to read signs, remember locations and navigate their way around without high-tech aid? Would we experience things in person, or would our experiences be limited to what we see through a screen? Would people across the world be serenading their partners through virtual screens instead of taking them to the actual location? I don't quite see how Google thinks watching the sunset through your webcam is better than being in the actual place when the sunsets. I worry that in the future technology and media will grow at a rapid rate, whilst human capacity, intuition and experience will decrease, at an equally rapid rate.












References


Easterling, K. (2011) ‘An Internet of Things’, e-flux journal, <http://www.e-flux.com/journal/an-internet-of-things/>


Pescovitz, D. (2012), 'Google's augmented reality glasses project', <http://boingboing.net/2012/04/04/googles-augmented-reality-gl.html>

Week Ten - The Generosity of New Media (Science, Technology and Innovation)

Source: http://www.brightlabs.com.au/content/Image/science-social-media-graphics.jpg

For my entire university life, I've been keenly aware of the blending of media and science. The experience of my first degree in forensic chemistry gave me first hand knowledge of the role new media plays in developing science and technology. Most modern medical facilities are completely dependent upon media forms; radio, tv monitors, computers, phones, communication systems. Science would not be able to develop without media technologies. Open science would not be so open without media. However, as technologies advance, our ability to manipulate science has also developed. As the Guardian article explores, scientists can now create artificial life forms that have the potential to disrupt the natural environment if released. The debate around this is very heated; to what extent is it beneficial, and to what extent is it detrimental?


The DNA Database article raises the interesting point of the discrepancy between the 'real' science and the 'reported' science, demonstrating that the common belief of DNA being like a database is in fact an untruth. I think this article demonstrates that whilst on a practical level (computers, monitors, medical equipment), the relationship between media and science is very important, the relationship between media and science on a more theoretical level is more dubious. In the same way, the Skeptical Science blog demonstrates the publicised errors of scientific judgement which people have taken as scientific fact. New media allows for a much greater exploration of science, technology and innovation, however, this exploration does not exclude unverified 'facts' that can be published and spread through media.


Discussions around 'open' forms of communication, whether it be science or media, relate quite strongly to my research proposal. As I am investigating how people reveal and conceal information, and this topic can be explored through the notion of 'open' information, and the benefits and detriments of being so open with information.


Whilst the video below is a comedy sketch, it demonstrates the real interaction between science and media, and more importantly, how science is represented in the media. The sketch questions how the representation of science in the media is unbalanced, and how the media agenda dictates the presentation of scientific events.













References


http://www.brightlabs.com.au/content/Image/science-social-media-graphics.jpg


Fish, Greg (2009) ‘Why your dna is nothing like a database’, Weird Things <http://worldofweirdthings.com/2009/10/21/why-your-dna-is-nothing-like-a-database/>


Sample, Ian (2010) ‘Craig Venter Creates Synthetic Life Form’, The Guardian May 2, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form>


<http://www.skepticalscience.com/>