Meme

Richard Dawkins created the term "meme" in his book, The Selfish Gene. He used the word to explain how cultural information spreads. It became more popular when internet memes arose which can either be an image, hyperlinlk, video, website, or hashtag. Usually it is just a picture with an ironic sentence that plays off of either the person or thing in the photo or the character they play in a show or movie. 

Here are a few of my favorite memes:

A meme that I created via Meme Generator:

5 Favorite Examples of Remixes

Wonderland Mafia

I liked this remix because it shed light on the children's movie Alice in Wonderland and showed that the caterpillar smokes out of a pipe throughout the movie. I love how they made me look at the character of the caterpillar in a different way. It was very well edited to show the caterpillar singing a Swedish House Mafia song. 

F**k the Pain Away- Miss Piggy

I liked this remix because they used a well known children's television show and made it dirty. They did this simply by making it look like Miss Piggy was singing a song about sexual things. This was funny because it is something that you have never seen in the Muppets and it changes the way you look at the characters. 

Black Male Black Hoodie

I especially liked this remix because it shed light on a typical news report of a suspect being a black male in a black hoodie. Showing these instances on the news and put together in one video  shows how often this simple description is used to describe a suspect to a crime. It makes the audience think about why this is such a trend and if it has anything to do with race. 

It's Raining 300 Men

I liked this remix because the video played off of the scene of 300 men falling off of the cliff and put it to the song, It's Raining Men. This was funny because in the movie it was a very dramatic scene, but in the remix it is depicted as a good thing that they are "raining" off of the cliff.

MixBit Project: Radio Technology

My intention with this project is to explore the many different technologies used in radio broadcasting. In the video I take a tour around the WUTT radio station at UT. There are applications used on the computer as well as the machines used to air the material. I show the board which controls volume and what is currently playing on the air. I also show the CD and AUX plug ins to show that you can play music off of nearly any format of media. The time reset button is used to give a 7 second delay in what is being said in the studio and what goes on the air. When this button is pressed, it erases the last 7 seconds of air time in case of accidental profanity or obscenity.

Letters To A Young Contrarian- Chapters 6&7

The main thing that caught my attention is this portion of the book was Hitchens take on journalism. When you think of journalism, you think of reporting the facts. As I read on, I was proven wrong. Hitchens explains, "…the suppression and distortion of known facts is the highest duty of a journalist." At first this seemed turned around to me. I always thought that if I were to become a journalist I would be reporting the most important and shocking stories, but the most interesting stories are those which expose the truth on a sensitive issue. Exposing the truth isn't always a good idea for someone in the media because it causes hostility and competitiveness.

I was very disheartened when I read this because I want more than anything for media to become more truthful. This is the main reason I got into communications; I wanted to be a part of saving the media from becoming a business tactic rather than its intended purpose to be entertainment and a voice of the people.

Letters To A Young Contrarian: Chapters 4&5

These couple chapters focused on argument and as quoted in the text, "…the art of challenging what is appealing." This is an intriguing concept because it is so unarguably true. When people try to challenge the way others think, it is an art form in itself. To have the determination to debate to the end is truly what makes an argument a true argument. A person who believes in their position whole-heartedly will find attacks to their concept as personal attacks to them as a person. They see this argument as a part of their being. As an example, the author used religion (what's new?) to highlight the importance of a persons argument. "If you have ever argued with a religious devotee, for example, you will have noticed that self-esteem and pride are involved in the dispute and that you are asking him to give up something more than a point in argument."It means more to this person than to say that they won an argument. They want to change peoples minds to agree with their opposition.

Argument is important because, how else are we supposed to share rash ideals with one another? Yes, they may become heated as both parties defend themselves to the moon and back, but in the end both sides will have gained insight to another way of thinking. This isn't to say that they will change their minds and conform to their opponent, but they will modify their argument with the new information the other person has shared. For intellectual growth I agree with Hitchens when he says, "argument was valuable, indeed essential."

In arguments a person may be proven wrong. They may have heard something irrefutable. In this case, the ultimate victory has been achieved in the art of argument. As Hitchens explains,"…the prime responsibility lay in being able to tell people what they did not wish to hear." No one wants to hear that they are wrong, ever. So in an argument this is basically the objective; to show the other person that they were wrong all along and that you were right.

Letters Of A Young Contrarian- Chapter 2&3

I got hung up on one very plain and simple idea from the text. "…the idea that art can be a religious activity and that poetry can aim to be as exact as sculpture." I love the comparison between art and religion because as someone who has their foot in both the art world and the religious world, I can see the similarity. In religion we look for answers and guidance. In art we look for a way to express our reactions to these answers and how we are feeling about the guidance (or lack there of) we are given. Maybe he meant art can be a religious activity in a completely different way, but this is what I thought of when I came across it. It made me think deeper about the reasons why I do the art that I do and if it in any way relates to my religious beliefs, and I have found that it does.

Another great piece of advise from Hitchens is his philosophy on writing. I personally like to write poetry and am moving into creative writing, so this especially applied to me. I love to write but I dont always have the time. Sometimes I try to sit down and write because I have nothing else to do and I feel like expressing myself; these are the works that I usually delete. They dont mean anything and I realize that when I go back and read it later. My best work is when I am in tears and bursting with emotion. I find that I have a NEED to write at those moments. If I dont write when I need to, I feel bottled up and ready to explode. When I read this in the book, I related completely to every single word. Hitchens advise for writing is to, "Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all; ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write?"

Letters To A Young Contrarian- Chapter 1

I took a lot away from this first chapter of Letters to a Young Contrarian. Hitchens main focus in this chapter was on opposition and the life of a person who is an independent thinker. He starts by highlighting the fact that as a society we see unique thinkers as a good thing. "It can be understood from them that society, like a benign family, tolerates and even admires eccentricity." We admire those who think differently because we learn how to think from these ideas that they share. He also pointed out that we may encourage this way of thinking, but if you veer too far from the social norms, you begin to be less accepted. "Go too far outside "the box," of course, and you will encounter a vernacular that is much less "tolerant." His argument is basically that even though independent thinking and opposition can be frowned upon by the general public, that we should still make an effort to share our thoughts. He states in the text, "The life of an oppositionist is supposed to be difficult."

This resonated a deeper thinking in me because I applied this thought to my life. As someone who dreams of being in the media industry, it is important that I stick to my guns and not have my morality swayed by the trends of the public. How can I be loud and proud about the things in the world that I dont necessarily agree with without the fear of encountering hardship along the way? There is always going to be people that disagree with me, but that doesn't mean I need to be quiet. In the text he spells this idea out very clearly; "A shameful terror reigns, the bravest turn cowards, and no one dares say what he thinks for fear of being denounced as a traitor and a bribe-taker. The few newspapers which at first stood out for justice are now crawling in the dust before their readers…" As someone with a say in the news and trends, they should feel more responsible in their duty to be a voice of the people, not a generic voice that the mass population can simply accept as truth.

In his story about his friend who stood up for the black individual in the military, it shows that there doesn't need to be a giant group of supporters behind you in order to inflict change. One voice can speak to the minds of many, and the power of courage beats the power of numbers any day. "As so often, the determination of one individual was enough to dishearten those whose courage was mob-derived."This is inspiring, to say the least. After reading this it made me want to find my passion and share it with the world. I believe this was the point of the chapter, to instill an urge to break the norms and share individuality and opposition within society. This is the only way that we can change things in the world; we need to speak up.

Hitchens ends the chapter with an inspiring quote on opposition… "It is something you are, and not something you do." Hopefully one day I will find my inner oppositionist and be strong in my attempts to change the world.

Remix Brainstorming

These are some ideas I came up with for the Remix project! 

1) I have seen all of the episodes for Weeds and Breaking Bad. Since these two shows bring light to illicit drug use and distribution, I thought it may be interesting to compare the two. Both of the shows are similar in the problems that the characters face. They both get into the drug business in the beginning to support their family, but by the end of the series the two main characters become more and more selfish. 

2) Another idea that I had was to emphasize the relationship between Jesse and Walt in Breaking Bad. Jesse and Walt always seemed to have a pretty unclear connection, meaning it was a roller coaster. One minute they hate each other, the next they are saving each others lives. The whole time I watched the show, I always thought of their relationship as very father-son like. Walt has a real son in the show that he seems to neglect because of his business with Jesse. I was thinking I could play on the fact that Walt sees Jesse as more of a son than Walter Jr. 

3) My final idea deals with a less prominent character. Walter's wife is a very strong character and determines a lot in the show. For a couple seasons, she is clueless to Walt's shenanigans and when she finds out she goes through many changes in her morality. I thought I might make sort of a tribute to her and how she dealt with the problems her husband brought on the family. A branch off of this idea may be to show all of the times when Walt was weak and Skyler (wife) was strong; a sort of feminist approach. 

Possible Sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6II4EILS_tc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BYhzRW4qDM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djaLf6bgFuU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h-iAZBtNrs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7301dUcrdE (for audio)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFF15PZlA1U (Jesse)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njuIKGNcTVE (Jesse)

How a Video Artist Made Don Draper a Gay Rights Mouthpiece Response

In my opinion, copywrite laws are sometimes too stringent. I think media is meant to be shared among the public; I mean, that’s the point isn’t it? The creators of this media expect people to interpret their work in all different ways, and remixing is just a way to express the interpretations among the audience. I would love to begin remixing, especially television shows. I have a passion for them and I think it would be incredible to make an eight season series into one short and abstract concept. There are so many possibilities with media that it would be a shame to limit it’s use!  Personally, if I every produced any form of media being music, video, or film, I would absolutely love for my work to be used as an alternate form of expression through someone else’s eyes. Remixes are an art form and these artists should have free reign to use material and not have their videos blocked or shutdown. This infringement upon their rights is unacceptable and should be dealt with more seriously. These artists are not breaking laws or rules of any kind and yet they are penalized for their hard work. I understand that people wish to get credit where it is due, but as long as there are proper acknowledgments along with the piece, then I dont see the problem. 

Internet Art: Chapter 1

The two artists that I found particularly interesting in the first chapter of the book Internet Art were Eva Grubinger and Peter Halley. 

Eva Grubinger

What I found most interesting about Grubinger is the interactive piece called Net Bikini. On the Internet, users of ‘Netzbikini' can choose patterns for bikinis that they can make. First they download the pattern, then they print it and piece it together. They can then sew their NetzBikini together on the sewing machines which are provided. Users are encourage to send pictures of their masterpieces to the artist and are allowed to sew their logo or name into it making them all unique to the designer.
"With such simple handmade pieces Grubinger undermines the cult of the cyber body by offering an alternative to it."

Peter Halley

Peter Halley uses his geometric paintings to reflect the increasing geometricization of social space in the world in which we live. He shows this in his work by playing with the relationship between what he calls "prisons" and "cells". His work is known worldwide and he has installations in Chicago, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome, Seoul, and Tokyo. I found his work interesting because of his thought process behind his work. The fact that he sees the world in a prison and geometrical way is fascinating to me. Personally, I see the world as very abstract. Yes, I can understand where Halley is coming from with all of the 9-5 jobs and status quo, but people are all different in their own way and they dont always stay within the confines of society. I like art that makes me think a different way and thats why I expressed an interest in Peter Halley. 

Resources

http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/netzbikini/images/2/
http://www.evagrubinger.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Grubinger
http://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=1367&
http://www.peterhalley.com
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artists/bios/1315

Internet Art: Introduction

The two artists that I found particularly interesting in the introduction of the book Internet Art were Allan Kaprow and Nam June Paik. 

ALLAN KAPROW

What I found most interesting about Allan Kaprow is how he incorporated the audience in his work. Kaprow is a pioneer of performance art because of his work that he called "Happenings". The term Happening was first explained in an essay Kaprow wrote as an idea that art should contain perishable material and that art doesn't need to be permanent.  These art pieces started out as strictly scripted events where the audience had to follow cues in order to experience the art of the "Happening". The viewers reactions decided the where the piece went. I love his mindset and the thought that beauty can be perishable. Kaprow makes a statement regarding the Happenings, "And the work itself, the action, the kind of participation, was as remote from anything artistic as the site was." I found it extremely interesting to learn that Kaprow rarely recorded the Happenings, making them a one time occurrence and unable to replicate.

NAM JUNE PAIK

Nam June Paik is very well known for his revolutionary work that fused digital media into a new form of creative expression. Paik realized the up and coming technology and transformed peoples perception on it.  "Through television projects, installations, performances, collaborations, development of new artists' tools, writing, and teaching, he has contributed to the creation of a media culture that has expanded the definitions and languages of art making." His work explored the many possibilities that technology and the moving image could do. He did this by altering the materiality and composition of an electronic image on a television screen. When I think of Nam June Paik I automatically think of the magnetic television. He discovered a way to change the image on the TV screen with the use of a magnet. Paik is known as the inventor of video art. 

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Kaprow

http://allankaprow.com

http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/blogs/performance-art-101-happening-allan-kaprow

http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/allankaprow.htm

http://www.paikstudios.com

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/paik/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/obit/2006/02/nam_june_paik.html

Project 1 Issues

I didn't have many problems with this project, but I did have a few. Along with the difficulty of printing quality photos, it was really difficult to shape the photos inside the confines of the Yin and Yang sides. It ended up looking sloppy and it took me a few tries before it was shaped correctly. I also had issues with finding pictures of my friends and family where I wasn't in the photo as well. The "self portrait without selfless" concept was challenging, but made sense to me because a picture of my face isn't going to say anything about me. Though it was a challenging assignment I got something out of it and got to express myself in a format that I don't usually use. I also gained insight into myself through this project. Since I separated the photos into the Yin and Yang sides, I got to choose which photos meant the most to me. I struggled with coming up with a creative way to show my photos in a physical format. There was always the option to cut and glue onto a poster board, but that wouldn't meet the creativity criteria for the project. There was a lot of brainstorming needed for this project because you had to come up with a sort of theme and find photos that correlate accordingly. Along with this, you also had to express who you are as a person. I feel like this was the most difficult concept for me to develop because I personally believe that I continue to discover who I am everyday. It was hard to pin point something that I could physically show people to express who I saw myself as. Although I encountered a few small issues and a long list of brainstorming, I love how my project turned out. I am so proud of my work that I plan to hang my piece up on the wall in my apartment!

Good Artists Copy. Great Artists Steal.

In the video, Rise of the Nerds: Part 3, we see the rise of the computer age and how the men behind these companies created this vision. I found it very interesting that Xerox ultimately jump started the technological advancement of personal computing. Xerox Alto began by trying to put computers into the workplace. It was the first GUI (Graphic User Interface) with a mouse pointer. They connected other computers to one another using Ethernet. The discoveries and technologies were way ahead of its time, but the Xerox headquarters didn’t share the vision of personal computing and shut down the project. 

The researchers at Xerox showed Steve Jobs their idea for a GUI. He was so impressed with the idea that he claimed right away that all computers would eventually run using it. The Apple team used the idea of GUI and improved it. When Steve Jobs says that Xerox could’ve owned the entire computer industry, it put things in perspective for me. I guess we look at these large companies and don’t think about how they got their success. The continuous rise and fall of the Macintosh shows that there is more to a company than its product. Apple obviously had a more user friendly interface and contained new and innovative ideas, but IBM and Windows remained ahead of Apple because of the way they ran their business. Jobs looked at personal computing as, what can we make new and better for users whereas the other major computer companies looked at personal computing as how do we sell more and how can we make more money. In business, you must look at your company as a business and not as an outlet to pursue dreams. Jobs, at one point in time got kicked out of Apple because his visions and persistence in an OS called LISA lost Apple a lot of money. Jobs eventually came back to take over the Macintosh OS and formed it into a cheaper LISA. Although Macintosh was revolutionary and very user friendly, it didn’t have as many applications as IBM PC’s. IBM then became a huge threat to Apple.

IBM PC ran on a DOS which was created by Bill Gates. The IBM PC had a plethora of software that wouldn’t work on Macintosh’s and that Apple didn’t provide. It also wasn’t a GUI. Jobs signed a contract with Gates to create bundled applications for the Mac. This is where Gates got the idea that GUI was the future of personal computing. 

Windows OS was then launched by Bill Gates. He was sued by Apple for basically stealing their software. They were mimicking the Mac, but unfortunately Apple lost the case.  Windows exploded with popularity and took over the industry of personal computing. 

All of this history shows us that success doesn’t have to come from your own personal innovative and creative ideas. You can take someone else’s success, and make it your own. Good artists copy, great artists steal... whether we like it or not.

Final Scene from Jobs

"Because the people that are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Project 1 Details

I chose to express the fact that there are two sides to me; the outward expression of myself that others can see and my deeper and more personal side that makes me the independent person I am. That being said, since these two sides play an equal factor into my character, I decided to show them using Yin-Yang as a reference.  On a website online I found a perfect definition of the meaning of Yin-Yang.

"In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin-yang, which is often called "yin and yang", is used to describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another."

My Yin side relays my outgoing and adventurous side which I chose to depict with pictures of my hobbies, social life, places and events that I have been to. For example, I used a couple photos from concerts and music festivals that I have been to because I love music and going to shows with my friends.

For my Yang side, I wanted to show a side of me that people dont usually see. I depict my deeper side with pictures of things, places and events that hold a high importance in my life. For example, I put a picture of my father in uniform on this side because he was recently deployed and I grew a lot as a person by going through this experience. He is a defining figure in my life in which I base my morals and pride in. 

I constructed my piece by printing out all my photos in color and in black and white. I then sorted through them into my Yin and Yang sides. The Yin side was in color and the Yang side was in black and white. I chose to do this to add emphasis on the fact that my Yin side is more prominently shown and my Yang side is more reserved and kept to myself. I cut the pictures out and taped them to a cardboard cake mat and cut the photos to fit the shape of the Yin-Yang. I then used sharpie to make a definite line through the middle and around the circular photos. I did this so that it would be obvious that it was a Yin-Yang symbol because without the defined line it just looked like a collage. 

I am very proud of my project and I hope that you feel like you got to know me better through it. 

FINAL PROJECT

Ohio in the Fall

Skydiver

Roadtrip to Tennesee

Clydesdale

Dozer and Pancake

Shakespeare

Electric Daisy Carnival

Flower Skull drawn by me

Tampa

My Backyard

Insense

Ohio in the Winter

Joe playing guitar

Longboard

Tampa

Valentines Day 2013

Travel

UT

Dad in Oman 

Old Mans Cave

St. Pete

All Good Music Festival

Mandala Flower drawn by me

References:

http://www.sacredlotus.com/theory/yinyang.cfm