Final Project

Here's my final project that I made.

It's a project alright.


Critique to follow.

Copyleft, appropriation, ect.

After scanning and reading some of the articles assigned I feel as though  appropriation, and copyright each have their own times to happen.  In one case, where appropriation is used, and a method of transformative art happens copyright seems to be pointless. As the art in question has been changed significantly to identify something like a collage, verses ready-made or a direct divination of one object. When using a direct copy and not changing the subject in question in the least bit, that's infringing on what someone else has made. However, if the piece being copied is not used for profit, charity, or individual learning, or given express permission for copying to happen,  then that is copyright infringement. Idea or not, some credit should be given.

Appropriation for art, using something all ready made by someone, if given permission or changing beyond easy recognition, for art is much more acceptable.


Lastly, the ideal that every idea, every image and other creative, or not creative item should be given for free is crap. Every idea can not be given, nor image, or software.  Someone's got to make their living doing something,  and with that living, they have to make money. To pay rent, to buy food, to live in general in our society, what it all boils down to is money.   If you want to give something out for free, that's fine, just don't expect every one else to.

Playgiarism, and Detournement

After reading the two selected readings, I'm unsure how I feel about it. Playgerism continues to reinforce the cut-up method and once again stresses that little is original, much is the work of others turned around and decorated up a little.  Really it makes me feel most unimpressed with great artists, and a little irritated.

The question of exactly 'what is original' was covered in class also, little I'd say. Everything is a piece of something of the past.

What the true question is, is copying, playgirising, or whatever you want to call it, something that you feel correct/morally right doing?  Is it something that should be changed?  We all copy to some degree, or else we wouldn't learn anything.

Detournement is something a little different, remixing to spew your own thoughts and ideals at the same audience. It's a little more forceful and inclusive of what the artist has on their mind, or a message they want to send.

What is it that you want to send?

http://www.remixthebook.com/the-course/detournement
http://www.remixthebook.com/the-course/playgiarism

I am so tired.
My work on this last project has gone poorly, after this break I had ment to have a lot more done. Instead, all heck broke loose.

Work is a pain, and hard to balance.

Something about my art

 I think a while back we were supposed to post examples of our art.  And given that I lack good photos or examples of art that I'm really really proud of I didn't post anything/much.

Today I found some old examples of miniture figurines that I have painted in the past.

The following three are from '09.

These are all the same miniature, I finally finished this mini earlier this month. 

Yay! Maybe I'll work on the other one and post it here, but I doubt I have the time.

Literary Cut Ups

This seems to be part of the constant theme of remixing. Part of, what goes on and how the internet works.  The various articles were interesting reads to be sure.  To physically take something written, or an auditory sample,  mix it all up and make something new.  I feel like most often it'd make something very surreal and illogical.

A start for a word salad of images and pictures that it creates anew.  If we're mixing up topics perhaps of old works that'd be interesting. But mixing up words of works.. I don't know how that would tie in very well to what I have planned. 

Critique for Assignment 4

First:
Pretty good content, and defiantly  a great start. I really liked the list of good things and bad things. I would have enjoyed seeing more links to the words.  To accomplish what he wanted to do it was suggested that he use div tags with png transparent rectangles in it.

Also suggested to take the links he used to more interesting things. Like the best facebook pages, ect.

Second:
Text was all over the page with each new page. That was pleasant. The color scheme is good. However, given the nature of the project, having the links blend makes it not obvious to click.  It was suggested to give the link a background color instead of just having the text change color.  Useful.  Given that the piece was mostly about  time travel and decisions. Someone also suggested that having it all on one page, would fit like a puzzle together. Varying Style of text. Color, font, ect.

Third:
Cash Money! I like the message and vision. The color scheme is simple and fresh. And the links are obvious and simple. A semi-opaque rescript in the background. Formatting it like an ATM. "Do you agree" bits?

Mine:    ad-hoc.zzl.org
- Change background to something not plain/ more tech background.
- Android pic/ robots somewhere.
           - Robot head as the background.
           - Cellphone pic as background.
           - Have text read by microsoft sam. Via quicktime file, ect.
- Make them all pop up in new windows.
- Tying the colors to subject.
- Consistence person/tense.  I spoke neutral then first person.

Fifth:
 Different colors for each topic, some relating to each topic. ie. dark grey for negative, green for help our earth.

Sixth:
Graphics were useful in illustrating what is said. Many questions posed, vs constant speech.  There was a lack of overall consistent layout of  the entire site.

Radiolab: Talking to Machines and Idle update

Radiolab had many interesting points about robots. Both robots in the wires, metal, and physically moving aspect. Along with robots in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sort of way. Artificial intelligence is rather interesting, tricking humans to believe that they're speaking to real people however it's only a robot. A pre-programed response. Or, in the method of cleverbot, learning what you have said to it. Or millions of others, a hivemind of past conversations.

In some respects I feel that this is most dangerous because of the learning aspects. That someone can program a program that will learn and grow due to other humans talking to it.  It is also amusing, because a robot so far, has not been able to learn the subtle bits of speech like tone, sarcasm, and staying on topic.

An emotional Turing test an interesting method of holding something upside down to how long they might feel or associate with the object.  The test of getting someone to bond with something emotionally.




Update for website:

It looks terribly average. A missing amount of time put into this project is really my problem. However, while spending time on this, rushing, ect. I have ideas for my next project. Just forcing myself to sit down and work on something. To make something new and similar to what I have in mind. That's hard.


:/ Finished the website, more or less. I'm insure what to add to it to make it more interesting. I've never been that great at designing websites. I can make 'em just fine if you tell me what you want o.o

At least the colors are nice.

And while the domain name won't make sense, here is the site. http://ad-hoc.zzl.org

Assignment 4- Draft

Below is some of what I have written for our fourth assignment. It defiantly needs some fleshing out in places, but I think it's an okay start.  I'll be working on this more later. 

-What might future tech hold?

Games and mobile devices, we may not have cameras in our heads such as Vannevar bush might have predicted.  But we do have them with us constantly in smaller devices.  One device that can take a picture, record data via journal or document.  Not to mention possess the ability to send a letter without ink or stamp, communicate without a voice and give one access to a library of information anywhere.  Smartphones, tablet devices and web books. These devices we keep close to us to remain connected.  We have ways at our fingertips to access our friends, family, ect.  

But at what cost do we have this information? There are cars with Heads up Displays (HUDs) that will connect with your iPod and report back data.   Along with showing you facebook statuses on your windshield , twitter  updates , and becoming a general distraction.  These small devices can be concealed in classrooms to allow students to distract themselves and others from an otherwise dull lecture, or they can be used to enhance ones knowledge. Allowing a student to look up more information on the current subject.   Or used in a social setting, “I wonder how plants work..”  However while we’re looking up information, we’re not paying attention, or communicating with those around us. 

It’s already in the process of what happens when we decide speaking is too much.  Friends sitting in the same room, text one another, or even other friends.  We as humans don’t speak to other humans  in public places around us.  There’s tons of us, and yet we will ignore one another on  the bus, streets, subway, sidewalk… Why?

How is it that technology will not find its limit, where we will go to far.  Where we become blind to our own thoughts, feelings and emotions, then come to rely on others to tell us how we feel?

Will the future bring us this tech, stream less in our brains, or will it be a robot that does it for us? (Link to helping robot bbc)

As we may think

A response to the article here:At this link.

 VANNEVAR BUSH's article, "As We May Think" makes references to many many things from its time. technology advances that have happened, and already happened in our past and present.  One of his curiosities is the process of photography.   To instead have to deal with wet plates, to deal with dry plates. To use film as we know it today, was his future thought. I doubt he would have dreamed of even seeing cameras as we do now. Instead of cameras in our heads, we have them in our hands, pockets, or hats if you're clever.  We use no film, only electrical impulses that are remembered on a wafer thin chip. Our cameras can be as tiny as a blood cell, or for practical use as large as a cassette tape. 

Another ideal he's had is the thought of preserving human history. Of methods to catalogue our existence in the smallest state possible, and accessing it via connected links and routes.  

I suppose this is a reference before his time to hyperlinks and the internet as a vast network of information. 

Critique on Kinetic Text

First-
The simple three color scheme and one font choice helps the image move through
and stay consistent.  The artist had a mass amount of contrast, and a great message that
engaged me. There are a few points I would change like the smile frown animation. Instead of jumbling off, it should have done something else... or not condensed at all. Also some slight tweaks to
pacing at points with more text, to give the viewer a few more seconds to read.

Second-

Awesome job. My favorite part was the laugh track part with all the Ha's coming in.  Using audio is a big challenge and she did a great job with it.  The end of the flash part with knocking down the stairs isn't quite synced with the words. It's the length of the knocked that throws it off. And perhaps instead of every stair, every other would make it quicker.

Flash works well with playing audio while scrubbing the text. Though someone else mentioned using iTunes while working.


Third-

Interesting job, and her transitions are an interesting choice.   Though the biggest complaint is that the size and speed of the text. My complaint is that the text is white with such a light background,  a darker color would be great.  Though the message of the flash is also lost on me. There's image and text theme, and then there is the poem...

The music is cool, but doesn't quite fit what she was trying to go for.

Fourth-

Alignment isn't quite right on some, and the aggressive text needs to be a different font and more red.
The last feels a little more interacting, which is pretty cool.  The diagonal text would be better in a smooth curve diagonal. However the alignment is throwing me off when they're all there.  Perhaps having more questions coming, or bringing more on the screen, letting pile up with different size.

Fifth-

The spinning subtle background gives and extra sense of space.
With audio it's great. There's a few alignment issues. However his idea to use the camera feature would be awesome.  The various texts went well.  One thing I would have liked to see was LCD-HDTV's animated somehow. Perhaps spelled out, or flash on. But I see again how the camera effect would have made that a lot better.

Mine-

Color code the text a bit better.  Separate fonts, with serifs.  Should be different.
something about sound,  or narration, or sound effects

Some people say that it reads like a book without sound.
Defiantly change the color scheme. Cookies brown does not work well. Brighter/primary color for child.
Brighten up background. Flashing cookie in the background/ low opacity.

Personal notes- Changing some pacing around No, what are we having for dinner, ect.

My assignment:

http://youtu.be/_RMREnH_hX8

(Editing a few things before I re-post it on you-tube.)

Artists of art and design

I'm clumbsy, and bad at this. We had an assignment to find an artist who designed as well? I didn't quite understand the assignment as well as I thought. That, and I can not seem to find the paper that I had written down the assignment on.


Failing that, an artist of design? Isn't any sort of design usually some sort of art?

After a little searching around I stumbled across a rather lovely set of images regarding furniture
Bill More had built. It combines elements of art, given the small designs ere and there. Not to mention influences the architect himself draws on, Frank Gehry , Richard Serra, and Andy Goldsworthy.  I feel that the art he has produced is functional, and beautiful. The design of some of his pieces, like his Glacial Till table could easily be in a museum. Or even stand out by themselves. If you thought of each piece of the table as an individual panel to be hung.


And I probably missed the point of the assignment again.
    - Here's him featured in area of design http://areaofdesign.com/featuredartist.htm#view1
    - And his website: http://www.billmoredesign.com/

Assignment 3

Apparently our assignment wasn't due last week, so I spent some time trying to tidy this one up. It's interesting to say the least, though I'm sure it looks so... pre-made. I guess.

It's more or less what I saw when I was making it.

Debrah Bright's talk

I sadly did not get to make it to the lecture last week. Which is a shame because I desperately wished to attend and see this artist speak.  My car decided to loose break power in the morning and I could not make it to the lecture. After spending three hours, and 200 dollars later in the repair shop I manged to get to my later class.


One thing I can talk about is the Artist Loop that I attended Friday, which was a lot of fun! We saw interesting galleries, many I didn't know existed. The Collingwood Art center is one of the more interesting places we visited. I looked forward to visiting the Secor gallery, however by the time we got there it was closed. Bozarts looked very crowded, and we didn't go in, as it was late.

Much of the art was fantastic, and I really enjoyed seeing a lot of the younger art from high schools and such.


... We'll defiantly attend the spring loop, hopefully it's announced a little better.

Messing with After Effects

I've learned a little from the Lynda tutorials, but then we did some work in class.

It's most frustrating to not be allowed to follow around, as I sure as hell can't see what tiney icons he's clicking on to do what.

Regardless, I've created a small mastercrap. :D

Check it out:
Rather, this is something I uploaded in attempts to show a friend what the puppet tool is like.

.

Assignment 2

Here is my submissions for our second assignment. Critique to follow.

Included, and some left out text.

Our worlds shifts with how we access information,  in the past it was in the form of newspapers,  and word of mouth. Letters to one another, and perhaps a telegraph if you could afford it.

Newspaper- The invention of the newspaper came with the invention of the printing press. Not simultaneously, however the ability to distribute words across the country freely be it monthly, weekly, or by season, it was a marvel to behold.

Invention of the newspaper, telegraph dates, example of word of mouth in a pub or tavern

Now, in the times of iPhones and the internet we have a multitude of ways to access information, but one of the main ways is through the internet. 

Access information - Through our Phones that we always keep on our person.  Or our Laptops, that areas mobile as we are as people. Or at home on our computers,  that no longer take an entire room to fill.

The internet is our gateway, our path to knowing, to knowledge itself, our  Entertainment,  and even our doctor. All easy accessed by one small device (access information) that gives us a connection to this wide world of data.

Gateway-  With original maps, we had a flat lay out of the world we live on. The boundaries, the heights of the lands, the lay outs of the buildings. A very static image of the world.  With our new maps, our digital changing world can represent traffic flow, or perhaps the new restaurant downtown.  Depending on the map you access, you might even get one of those snazzy satellite views, of the roof. Or, the street view of it. 

Some maps can even allow us to visit a place in it's entirely.  For example, you can search "Metropolitan Museum - New York" You can visit their website, you can zoom down to the museum itself to see what the building looks like.  If you're particularly curious, you can also search "Google Museum". You'll get a result of Google taking images of a walkthrough of the museum. You can visit the Metropolitan Museum of New York, all without leaving your comfy chair or putting on clothes if that's how you roll.

Knowing- (Questions) Our path to learning and knowing facts figures and other things can easily be accomplished with various videos.  A how-to of nearly anything can be viewed and their knowledge imparted to you. However, if you're searching for a temporary fix, that might serve as  a mentor.   You don't even have to talk to anyone.

Knowledge -  The ability to learn and impart knowledge to others, or gather the vast amount of information from the   plethora of websites and networks interconnected. 

Knowledge of distant lands, and cultures that you've never been to.  First hand accounts, videos, and sounds. You can teach yourself history, if you want from Wikipedia and other  encyclopedia sites like Britannica.

The web is your oyster, and through links and with time you can pillage it for all it's worth.   On the other hand there are people who argue if knowledge should be free.

Free to impart to whoever who wants it, perhaps through the creation of open source programs, or an online tutoring program. Such as sites that have the intention to impart their knowledge on you for money, in exchange for a certificate.

Entertainment - Accessing entertainment,  such as music , silly videos, or full movies can also be easily obtained from the internet.  Illegally as your usually not buying the music, or movies. Unless you're using  a movie sharing site. Like Netflicks, accessible from all sorts of gaming consoles, and your computer. 

Music in itself can be sold from various distributors without the need or use of a record company. Given that individual tracks can easily be downloaded.

And in the instance that music, video, and other media can easily be downloaded, it can be stolen, or  torrented with the intention to 'borrow'.  A concept that doesn't quite exist on the internet. You could be called into  question as defiling copyright.

Copyright -  Copyright is a set of rights granted by state and country for the purpose of setting a controlled method of establishing an ideal or method.

Did you know the British were the first to establish such a thing?

Copy left is just the opposite, where  use of an idea, method or anything else is given freely and without limits to its use to the public.

Doctor- With various health sites on the web, the ever popular Web-Md can let you easily find out what might be wrong with you with the symptoms checker.  Sometimes, it can be right. But most times it's wrong and is in no way even close to being a replacement for seeing an actual doctor. 

A little something intersting

Today I was researching something of advertisements and cultural symbols. I was reminded of something that has always fasinated me, and that is old print advertisments. It doesn't matter what decade, but the ones from the United States are always particularly interesting. Expecially from the 10's to the 40's. 

Their use of text is always limited to the same font it seems for each decade. Or at least the series I was previewing for the 80's.

Here's a link to a website containing some

What struck me as particuarly interesting is this ad here. 
      - An ad for the Mazda RX-7 GS Sports Car in the 80's.  (Which is a fair sporty car I think)
      - The gas milage is approx. 17 city and 28 on the highway.

Depending on the speed of highways back in the day, may be a lot or a little. However the advertisement states that it is "Excellent".


What I'm trying to say is, that gas milage for sports cars, hasn't particularlly changed in 50 years, I know about 17 and 25 is what my mother's 6 cylinder Malibu 2010 gets, and I find it quite atrocious.

My '97  six cylinder Grand Am gets about 20- and 25ish or so on the highway depending on how fast I'm going.

Well, that's my rant for today. That's all I had to say about that. Besides I really think we should start regulating a certain standard for gas mileage for various vehicles. Though of course, the gas company's wouldn't like the consumers to be buying less gas.


To rant about the actual ads of the 80's via format and text:

I find that the use of photography is used much more extensvively in photos. Except where it's not possible at the time, such as taking a picture of an airplane whilst its in the sky from the wing shot.

It also seems that using them in general to establish the context was very popular. Or using them as some sort of haphazard assortment, then letting the text.... justify it's way around the images was easy accepted.  The 'rivers' that we were so sternly warned against are freely used here. Without much of a reason, save formatting restrictions.  (I'm mainly speaking about to the Right of the Helicopter)

Critque for Assignment 1

There were a lot of good images up for our first assignment. Especially given that most of us haven't done this sort of thing before. I think.

As with any critique I found my own set of likes and dislikes. Along with my own curiosity for how some things were done.

The first set of images was very grungy, but beautiful in a way. The use of black and white photos, with layered text above it was most successful in my opinion, as opposed to the justified text of the other. 

I'll have to remember the layering photo technique for another time. How to make text dirty, and typewriter-esc would've worked a little better for some of the larger words in the image I think. And the 'Kodac' wasn't distracting at all in the background. In fact, it added just the right texture to the whole thing. And gave you a hint to what some of the incorporated materials were. Though I thought it was a negitive of the film. Mm.

I took a few notes down during the critique, but as usual I didn't flesh them out. So some of this, I have no idea what it means.

Courier = my written notes
Where as this = my response. 

images verse text

(No idea on this one.)
Making things with more substance, by using symbols, ect.
(Not sure either, I think I meant backgrounds. Or perhaps the use of the And Symbol in one persons image)
Representing words via pictures.
(I thought to do this at first, in the method of some old childerns books. That would have the picture of a cat, instead of the word. But this really relates more to the second statement below)
What does the word "future" look like/ represent.
(Another snippit from someone's image. They had the words, 'unwritten' and 'redrawn' as litteral interpretations of the words using those words. How would I make future look? Would the word be sleek and refined? Or dirty and un-efficient? Or maybe even a circuit board to represent computers. Would that make sense to others?)
How to represent that with text vs. Pictures?
(Covered by Above.)
Sentences within sentences
(This was much more visual. In two instances. The first, was a sentence written, with other words within the sentence. In a smaller font. The other, was a sentence or two written, with certain words highlighted to create another sentence.)
Text Choice.
(The choice of which the text is most appropriate. Perhaps I meant if something is old, to make the text look old. Or something of the like. Otherwise this is pretty obvious to me.  )
 

My comments [Comments for my critique]-  
 
Not needed photo/picture
(I had an image of a boy screaming, the image wasn't needed as the written sketchy text was enough to say so.)
Changing the text. "ME"
(With the ?! I had [It's actually called something, but I can't remember the name.] IT looked like the written text said Me3l or something.)
Making the text swirls beginning larger, then text smaller towards the center
(My second image was two swirls of text. By doing the above, it made more sense.)
Stronger context on the first one.
(My first image displayed much more of a anger, and had more emotion then the second.)

Matthew Fuller, and Paul D

Upon my first inspection of these two works you get a true feeling for both of them. Matthew Fuller's work, I get quite the impression. An hour or so later after reading it I found myself bored, and perplexed about where all of this was going.  The type face was a classic 'No-no' if you wanted anyone to actually enjoy what you're writing. Thin, with serifs, on a computer monitor, or an iPod it was terrible to read. Formulaic, exact, boring.

Informitive though. The text iself.

Upon hunkering down to read Paul's work, "Rhythm Science" I found it interesting at least, visually the book was stimulating, and indeed a remix of a book. It broke, all of the rules I know of, except for the justified text rule.  Paragraphs were non-existant, text blocks where all over the place.  Text itself when it came to being a graphical item, spanned over pages, and took a simple color scheme. Much different then text ment to be read at length.  Text was in massive walls, blocks and chunks. Separated by the hole within the page, and squished by various margin widths.

Perhaps the professor is meaning to give us the two extremes of text and see what we do with them.

The texts:
Matthew Fuller's "It Looks Like You're Writing a Letter: Microsoft Word."
Paul D. Miller's "Rhythm Science: The Art of the Mix Creates a New Language of Creativity"

Just My Type

It was at most very interesting to get a brief history of different fonts. A snapshot of why some choices may be better then others. And a blast from the past when digital type was just starting to be. Fonts a thing of the future, and Mac's shipping out with a variety of fonts to allow the everyman to be a designer.  I never thought of the history of some fonts, and the fact that in the past there was only one type of typeface for everything.


In the end, my thoughts for fonts were purely gut. I know that this font doesn't go with another font because it just 'doesn't look right'. As for the how, or why I know that I never thought of. This is most interesting to me.

 --- Written after reading :This Excerpt

Garden of Forking Paths

Upon having a few readings of  "The Garden of Forking Paths" IT didn't quite connect with me until the professor mentioned that it could deal with the internet, and to check out wikipedia.
It soon made a little more sense, but not quite.

My thought was that it had something to do with the manipulation of logic, and how words are spoken. How things can come back on to themselves, or how people can interpenetrate one thing different from some one else.

My last thought was more correct at least.  I couldn't help but on my secondary reading after digesting the story itself, think of Choose-your-own adventure stories.  The ability of people to enter a situation at two different places and achieve different outcomes is one of the bigger themes in the story.

Alright, cool. Then something about infinate possiblities. And the internet, I still don't quite understand. I Suppose the internet is filled with infinate possibilities, anyone can post about anything. A link can take you thousands of places. Say, stumbleupon? Yeah. I guess that makes sense.

I'm so terrible with words. -.- I think in pictures, and short statements.

Artist Statment

My art is a free flowing of my own self. My lines, loose and free flowing within illustrated work. My lines represent my flexibility to various situations. My art will represent not all art is serious, that I’m not serious. What I make is not taking a stand to point out some sort of political or social situation. It is also open to interpretation, you make my art, my art is carpe diem.
The subjects of my art are usually of sarcasm, humor or unrequited truth. Sometimes the subjects don’t quite make sense to everyone, my belief is that people will bring their own background to my art, and make my art, their art.

First post

I'm unsure how all of this will work, I can never keep up with a blog. I simply just, do not have enough to say about a topic.

Given that this is for class, I imagine I'll have at least something to blog about.

If I have an idea, it's put on facebook or elsewhere not to be shared with the world.