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