1-Why is art happening outside the usual art institutions--gallery, museum, art school? Where is it happening? Can you explain why it has shifted?
I think it's because that normal art institutions give off the vibe of being stodgey or old- non conforming, super traditional. You think of gallerys and you think of the classics, almost old school as it were. Art is beginning to happen all around us, on the streets, on the web, places where the artist decides the best place to use as their canvas. Anything from sneakers to buildings has become a place for people to express themselves. Not only that, but our definition of art is changing, evloving. Our tools have changed, no longer are we bound to just a pencil, chalks, stone or a brush. As our tools change, our options become bolder and more varied; we begin to see the world differently and as we see things differently, our minds become more open to the possibilities.
2-According to the authors, is "art" still an important term? Do we still want or need to distinguish it from "non-art"? If so, why or why not?
Art still is an important term, we need art to survive. However, the boundries of what is and what isn't arnt and constantly being pushed, the definition changing any time that someone introduces a new tool. In that sense, it is getting much harder to distinguish it from "non-art". However, the subject of what is and what isn't art is still quite a large one (like the topic that video games aren't/are an art form) and I think humans generally need that definition, even if we still arent sure what it is.
3-How is technology a virus, and if technology acts like a virus, how does "art" function like an antibody? Does this mean that art is opposed to technology? Is the immune system opposed to all foreign bodies (consider mitochondria in every one of our cells, or intestinal friendly flora). What then, is the relation between art and technology as portrayed in The Edge of Art?
According to the reading, art functions as an antibody in that is challanged to evolve in new ways. Art, also is forced to pick up two traits that anitbodies emulate, two traits that viruses lack. These traits are being able to engage attention and being able to endure. Art helps perpetuate technology in that it uses the tools in order to create iself, thus helping determine how these tools are used, and in which way the technology evolves.
1-What are the three transportation media? What is the difference between a transport medium and a transport vehicle?
The three types of transportation media are land, sea and sky. A transport vehicle is what one uses within a transport medium; to either move people, objects or information.
2-What are the three communication media? Give examples of communication media vs communication vehicles. Email uses which communication medium?
The three communcation media are Interpersonal, Mass and the New Medium (many-to-many). Vehicals of interpersonal medium tend to be anything form of communication, so long as it stays between two people. Email itself can be either interpersonal (between two people) or mass, like if you copy/send it to more than one person- like most of todays forms of communication, it depends on how you use it.
3-What are the advantages/disadvantages of interpersonal communication? of broadcast communication?Interpersonal medium allows each member of the conversation equal ability to control the converstation as well as being able to completly personalize the experience. Broadcast communication is adventagous for sending out a message to a multitude of people, and being able to have compleate control over that message; however you loose most, if not all of the personalization. People who recieve this message are also (generally) not granted any control over the content.
4-What are the characteristics of the New Medium? Is a many-to-many communication possible without the new technology of laptop, iphone and internet?
The New Medium allows us to combine both of the Interpersonal and Mass mediums by allowing us to provide multiple people with personalized messages; this has not been previously doable, as it is beyond the scope of normal human interaction. With tools such as the internet and multiple personalized devices, it is much easier to reach people at any time; almost everyone is constantly connected, allowing messages to go between people easier and faster.
1-"Professor Anne O'Dwyer taught me about cognitive dissonance - the psychological discomfort which occurs when you're confronted with a set of facts suggesting that what you're doing or believing is irrational or stupid. You pay $10 to go to a movie, and the movie is pretty bad. But rather than admit that you wasted $10, there's a tendency to say it isn't wasn't really so bad: the acting was impressive, the special effects looked really realistic - whatever you need to tell yourself to convince yourself that you got your money's worth. You want to feel like you're not a sucker. We paper over the cognitive dissonance in much of what we do - the fact that this clearly isn't the best way to be ordering a society, to be living a life - because we've got an awful lot invested in the route we've been pursuing. To admit that it's flawed would be too much dissonance to handle." Pick an issue which you believe the media has "papered over". Describe how you figured out you were not getting the whole truth. What was the more complex truth & why was it hidden (or more important who benefits from the partial truth & who loses? )What is the cost to you and what can you do about it?
I'm sure I can think of plenty of reasons, but honestly, I can think of more than several occassions where the media has blinded us, used fear tactics, hidden truths and done nothing but only tell us things that would keep us from the whole story. I think it's important gives us the whole story, otherwise people continue to come to false conclusions and grow up in ingorance (←proper use of the word, thank you very much :3 )and in some cases, extream bias. What we should be doing, is continuing to create our own news and media sources and relying less on those with extreme corperate and political ties. I think that people need to be more educated, so that we- especially as a country; live more open, and more honestly with those around us. The current, mainstream media, creates nothing but fear.
2-In what way have you been encouraged to "sit back, relax, and enjoy the show" and how can you "grab the steering wheel before we go over the edge"?
Umm, honestly, I think I answered that in the previous answer…… xD
1-In Code art, the artist rarely works alone. Instead s/he calls upon the power of code to assist. Give examples of different kinds of codes that Code Artists use & abuse to create their work. Gievn this "procedural" approach, how do you distinguish this kind of creativity from art made with pen & ink or paint & canvas? How has the artists' role changes? How has the art changed? I don't think there is a difference. Much like artists with traditional media would try and use paints, canvases and objects in different ways in order to expand their art: code artists will also try and use the tools at their disposal to either change the way we view something, or solve a problem. The artist role, again hasn't changed: artists are still shaping different perspectives and trying to communicate with people. The art itself hasn't shifted- just the way that we look at it.
2-What function distinguishes the artistic use of code from a merely technical use? Give some examples of this function in a few art works from the chapter.
In the case of code, I feel there isn't much of a difference between artistic and technical. That's like saying that someone who uses paint to create a masterpiece is more artistic than the guy who paints a house using a myriad of color in order to create something more asthetically pleasing. Yes, there are things of art, like the Paint By Leters against the gentleman who solved a problem using a rather backwards way of code- which is more of a technical use of code (Tom Duff). However, sometimes people can be very biases towards what is art, and what isn't. There are many different forms of art out there.
3-Give examples of three misuses of browser technology to create art. What was the nature of the misuse/creative use and what was the effect? What issues were raised?
I Well the first one I have to go with is the oss.jodi.org website. Using the ability to open and close smaller windows provides a unique visual- however; after about 20 seconds it gets quite annoying and you have to exit your web browser entirely in order to shut it off; as simply closing the main window does nothing. The second I would use is the HTML Hijinks, where a group of peope use framesets in order to tell stories, allowing interesting combinations of nesting and being able to blueprint (almost literally) the stories; I think that this is a very creative use of the code and something that wuld be interesting to try and replicate. The last, of course- Shredder. By changing divs and other elements, the program essentially shows things that the web designers may have hidden. Not only does this provide very interesting visuals, but also acts as if it is uncovering buried treaser- and sometimes what's hidden can be really awesome.
4-Give an example for each of the following: code as syntax, code as tool, and code as experience.
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1. Describe the difference between Political Design and Hacktivist Art. Use an example of each and describe how that work fits the category of design or art.
Hacktivist art and artists are more worried about the area of play in their projects, the creators are a bit more cautious and rather than completely uproot an entire system, they would rather offer alternatives than point out the problems. Political Design, is just the opposite; they want to point out the problem and how to fix them, leaning towards a very direct message.
2. What does execution mean? How does it relate to computers (ie .exe files). What are some example of executatb;e art? How is execution different from representation? In other words how does each realte to the media paradigms of one-to-many vs many-to-many?
execution means to carry out a process, to "do", as far as computers go, it's how .exe files funtion, the tasks in the files need to be carried out. Executa
3. Why do you think Hacktivist artists find themselves hacking capitalist and political structures that most other people revere? What problem or dangers do they see in these forms of power? Use sample projects to answer this question.
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4.How do hacktivists confirm McLuhan's prediction that the "nation-state" wold not survive the advent of electronic media? Do hackitvists challege or question any critical policies of nation-states? Does their practice suggest any alternatives to the nation-state? Or why are they not really concerned about anarchy?
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1-What are some of the reasons for a surge in digital autobiograpical production from "home pages" to "wearcams"?
I think a lot of the reason for the surge in digital autobiograpical production is the ease, we have the tools at our fingertips and it is very easy for something to pick up these tools and use them. This is especially true now, I think with blogs that you can literally create within a matter of minutes. You just have to plug in your name and a title, pick a theme that you like and can just go; people who don't know how to create web pages can have it done for them, making it even more accessible- along with being able to select various forms of multimedia that can be simply attatched to these blogs. Not only this, but with the digital formats, they become easier to edit, and even to share with people all over the world, with just a few clicks of a button. The digital forms are evolving, and some people are even mixing more traditional media with the digital to create something that is neither tradition nor media, furthering our sense of self even more.
2-What is the role of autobotography vis-a-vis technology's "narcotic effect"?
3-Jennicam gives us an example of the pleasures of self-disclosure, Mann's WearCams give an example of the dangers of surveillance. Are there dangers in Jennifer Ringley's work (or similar projects)? And what might those dangers be? Conversely, are there any pleasures in Stephen Mann's WearCams?
Obviously there are dangers in things like Jennicam, by putting yourself out there 24/7, just like within real life, you subjecting your self to being watched. While this is, no different than everyday life, there is no way you can prevent someone from watching you. Being able to be anonomyus on the internet provides a very safe shield for some people and it's much easier to bring out some of the "creepers". I think you also have the danger of loosing your own aynonimity; by displaying all of yourself, even most of yourself, you loose your privacy, your secrecy and even the sense of being alone. For some people: that could be self-degrading; or even cause someone to loose their self-identity as well.
Likewise with WearCams, the idea of surveillance 24/7 could be very comforting for some people. Things like, medical emergencies, or saftey issues. People who also despise the idea of being alone can also find comfort in being alone without being completley alone.
4-Explain how 2 of the blogging projects reshapes our sense of self, life, or writing.
5-Pick one of the "moving self-portraits" and explain how the project evokes the mystery of our contemporary lives. What kinds of issues does the portrait raise?
6-Katherine Hayles speaks of the "post-human" in describing the cyborgian entities we have become. How do the artists of this chapter create autobotographies of this "post-human" cyborg? Consider, for example Life Sharing and [phage].
7-How do digital artists examine the commodification of the self? How has the self become another consumer good, or how does a human being get reduced to a "consumer"? Which digital projects raise theese questions and how do they do it?
8-Describe the autobotography of "invented selves" or avatars. How do Female Extension and Darko Maver raise questions about the nature of digital selves. Why do they use invented selves and what are the reasons for doing so and the effects of their choices?
This is a question I'd really like to answer later; so- I will when I am awake enough to do so x.x
1-What is a cyborg, or rather why is thinking about cyborgs useful for exploring identity? Is identity single? dualistic? paradoxical? What roll does gender play in cyborg identity vs conventional cultural identity?
2-Give two examples of cyborgs in books, comics, games, or films you have seen. Describe the cyborg, explain its role in the work, then explain what new perspectives it brings to identity.
3-What does Haraway mean when she writes “ the production of a universal, totalizing theory is a major mistake” How does the metaphor of the cyborg undermine the totalizing theories or dualisms that Haraway feels are damaging to our society?
4-How does her cyborg challenge the white, male, heterosexual bias of our culture? (this bias, for example discourages or punishes white males when acting feminine, or wild or gay; or it rewards women who act like men or like heterosexuals; it is not necessarily good for white male heterosexuals, as it boxes them into this role too) How does the "monstrous&qout liberate us? How is this like code art "perversion"?
5-What is liberating, and what is dangerous about a human/machine symbiosis?
6-Would you consider yourself a cyborg? Explain how you are or are not a cyborg. Would you like to be a cyborg (sometimes, never, only in play, only when serious)?
1. Clifford Geertz says "every culture loves its own form of violence". In what way do video games confirm this? What forms of violence do they represent? Geertz says the forms of violence are not always the actions that are bloody, but rather the unequal systems and structures that are created by violent means and then perpetuated. Pick a game that reveals not the superficial violence but the deeper structural violence of our culture and explain that form of violence.
Video games, often give us a doorway to things that we are unable to access otherwise. With things like violence, acts like stealing cars and beating up people we perceive as "lesser in society" we are allowed to experience things without the punishment. Much like telling someone that they are not allowed to do something, we are more compelled to do it. As much as I'd like to use
2. What is arrest and why is it important to art and specifically to game art? Can you describe a moment of arrest in any kind of game you have played?
Arrest is, from what I could gather, what is considered a shock. When you are almost snapped out of suspension of disbelief, but only because you have begun to question a moment, or the story that you have become so invested in. Arrest done correctly can strengthen the suspension of disbelief, causing the view/player to continue playing and become more invested in the game; likewise- arrest can completely yank the viewer out of the experience and ruin it. For me, personally, it has always been the Assassin's Creed series; them being so well written and due to the nature of the story, every ending in an entry always has me at the edge of my seat, looking at my screen going "what?!".
3. What happens when a game breaks out of representations of violence (Grand Theft Auto) and actually engages (executes) violence (Tekken Torture Tournament)? In what way does representation sensitize or desensitize us to violence vs in what way does play (real enactment) re sensitize us? When children play do they ever resort to violence? Can you describe its possible uses?
Mmm, I think that it's desensitizing us- jut physically instead of mentally; but the way to look at it is that it is desensitizing us in a way where it is turning around to sensitize us as well. I don't really know how to put it into words, but I'm pretty sure that's where I stand.
4. In what ways to some games re-inscribe (IE make it seem natural by so much repetition) rather arbitrary gender roles? Why do games geared to adolescent boys have such strong gender stereotypes? What biological phase are these boys going through? What is the danger if they do NOT adopt gender stereotypes but pursue alternate gender definitions for either women or men? Pick a game that begins to questions gender roles for women and for men (these can be two different games) and describe how they challenge stereotypes.
Games, like movies, tend to conform to gender roles in order to relate with the audience. It's about expectations- when gamers first played Metroid, there was no indication of gender at all from the main character- it wasn't until the end when Samus was revealed to be a girl, did people become shocked. They were expecting a male, when what they got was a female. Games with strong sterotypes with gender roles are such because they are catered towards young men- naturally, hormones and the way our bodies work cause younger men to be more aggressive- which is probably why games like FPS' and free roam games like inFamous and GTA/Red Dead Redemption are so popular. Not adopting these gender stereotypes can have either a) effects that have a more lasting impression (like the Tomb Raider games as previously mentioned) or b) it can kill the game entirely. Games like Gears of War resisted from female leads until the last entry, not only due to it being much harder to model/program female frames (← this is an entirely different conversation altogether, but it is a fair augment) and wanting to ensure that the fans would be accepting of a female lead in such a male dominated game.
5.Why do US Army recruiters use games to both recruit and train soldiers? What is being trained or learned? Why is it effective, or is it?
I would assume a lot of it has to do with the fact that you don't particularly realize they are being trained; the more realistic it is- the more of a possibility you have for people to go "Oh hey, this is really cool, I want to do that!". I think it isn't really as effective as they would hope, because there are things that are never going to be translate well into a game. Also because most people who pick up a game are looking for exactly that-- a game.
Alex Galloway quotes Bruno Reichlin when describing a kind of realism applicable to games:
"A surgical examination of matters of society, an almost documentary attention to the everyday, an adherence in thought and language to the social origins and personalities of the characters, a more-or-less direct criticism of current society and morals."
To reiterate:
social analysis
documenting everyday
character development (and background)
critique of current culture
Pair up with a buddy in the class. Each of you pick one game that you find "realistic" and one that is "fantasy" and describe each of these 4 characteristics from each game. Take notes on your partner's descriptions trying to keep them on track for the 4 traits. Then come up with a few insights about how games shape our perception of our living reality. Exchange and post notes.
I'mma pick Emily! … I think… Hoping she picks me then I guess.