Journal Entry 7

With a society so dependent on technology it should come as little surprise when our government, distant from the needs of the people, decides to closely monitor civilian acts through social media devices. The Internet and smartphones are both things that almost the entire population use but with little understanding of how they actually work. This is the prime opportunity for spying to occur and with many people not knowing their devices well enough to realize it we all fall victim to this heinous act. Being American we believe that we’re safe in some sort of bubble where no spying happens and everything is fine as long as we keep our rose colored glasses on. However, with the NSA debacle, we have been told that we’ve been spied on for years and still nothing was able to stir the public. So little happened in fact that Germany protested for us against NSA spying (http://english.ruvr.ru/news/2013_07_27/Mass-protest-in-Germany-against-US-intelligence-surveillance-5818/).

            Not all people are as oblivious as we can be. China’s government is horribly oppressive and one of the largest candidates for activism is a Chinese artist named Ai Weiwei. He’s made several pieces in protest of things China instates, such as his “Snake Ceiling” constructed in 2009(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121013124209-08-al-weiwei-1013-horizontal-gallery.jpg). It was made out of backpacks to honor the children who died in the Sichuan earthquake. Schools and many buildings collapsed due to the government’s shoddy construction, “tofu construction” is what they call it. The Chinese government surveys Ai Weiwei so much that he was eventually kidnapped and held under arrest at a secret location. Surveillance through technology is too much of an encroachment on our freedoms but like Weiwei we need to stand up for what’s right.

Clary, Greg, and Alexis Lai. "Chinese Dissident Ai Weiwei's Art Becomes His Messenger." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 28 July 2013.

"Mass Protest in Germany against US Intelligence Surveillance." - News. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2013.

Journal Entry #5

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming an online phenomenon being used as a type of game being used to entertain us. A site like Cleverbot (http://www.cleverbot.com/) is an artificial intelligence that someone can use to carry an entertaining conversation with. Literally type in anything and the site will answer and all without a human body behind the controls. The interesting aspect of the program is that the creators seemed to have programed cleverbot with an attitude. It’s nearly defiant suggesting it has something to prove to the user with a snappy response. Another interesting artificial intelligence engine is Akinator (http://en.akinator.com/), a web genius that plays a game similar to twenty questions with you in regards to a person (fictional or real) and answering with amazing accuracy.

            With all these toy-like A.I. programs in existence it begs the question when the next step will occur to solidify this intelligence in all of our lives. The closest thing we have to this is Apple’s Siri (http://www.apple.com/ios/siri/), the virtual assistant. You can ask her plenty and she’ll respond with information “of her own” or set up a Google search for you. With the human race striving for more digital technologies are we prepared to accept what happens when we become too reliant on these artificial intelligences?

"Akinator, the Web Genius." Akinator, the Web Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2013.

"Apple - IOS 6 - Use Your Voice to Do Even More with Siri." Apple - IOS 6 - Use Your Voice to Do Even More with Siri. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2013.

"Cleverbot.com - a Clever Bot - Speak to an AI with Some Actual Intelligence?"Cleverbot. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2013.

Journal Entry 4

GIZMODO: How Regular Movies Become IMAX Movies

I assume a great number of us enjoying going to the movies, especially with all these summer blockbusters like: Iron man 3, The Great Gatsby, Star Trek, This Is The End, Man of Steel and many more. As technology in the movie field advances, us as the viewer are presented with more and more “goodies” or extras, as treats for the public moviegoers. Somewhat recently IMAX has become incredibly popular and as something I thought was exclusive to educational material when I was younger visiting Liberty Science Center, to my surprise has been adapted to major motion pictures. The process to make a film we all enjoy into an IMAX film is a complicated string of events leaving many people wondering why individuals involved in the film industry don’t just film on the 70mm film IMAX is normally filmed on. “When IMAX converted Apollo 13, the first 35 mm movie to ber converted to IMAX, the whole process took three months. Now a team of 20 digital artists can convert a movie in three weeks with the help of a powerful render farm.” (gizmodo.com) It leaves one to wonder how much time could be saved if the film teams just filmed in both mediums simultaneously and how that extra power and time could be used to do other things to advance the industry. After reading the article and this post what do you think could be the next significant advancement in the film industry?  

"How Regular Movies Become "IMAX" Films." Gizmodo. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 June 2013.

Journal Entry 2

“When a work represents “reality” do you think it is ethical to alter an image to change its meaning from the work’s original context? In what ways do you believe this plays a part in Ken-Gonzales-Day’s works, The Bone Grass Boy: The Secret Banks of the Conejos River and Untitled #36 (pp.36-37)?” 

A piece representing “reality” can refer to many things. Physical and emotional realities are just two broad generalizations involving what we can experience as human beings experiencing life. Reality in terms of artwork in this question could be referring to “reality” in context to depicting the human form being “realistic” (anatomically correct) or it could mean the works original purpose (meaning) contextually. As far as the human form or “accurate” landscape, whatever subject is at hand, reality needs to be altered for us to grow. It’s like asking if Surrealism should exist? Or Cubism? Or any other art form that isn’t Realism.

 Altering existing content is a different story. One must be careful and change enough of the original piece as to not plagiarize. Artists to do this all the time and it’s sometimes a perfect tool in order to portray thought through art. Remix theory is something a professor, Eduardo Navas, in our art department is actually an expert on and it refers to an idea that everything we make references so much of something in the past that we almost have to categorize it as a remix. The act of parody within art is also something to heavily consider. Some contemporary work done by Takashi Murakami is often said to reference or parody other works done by Andy Warhol and even works as far back as the famous print, The Great Wave of Kanagawa (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa.jpg). He takes the foam of the waves in combination with motions of the ocean and parodies it into installations called “My Lonesome Cowboy” (1998) and “Hiropon” (close to 1996) respectively (NOT WORK SAFE) (http://www.theslideprojector.com/images/1990s/murakami/murakami.jpg)

He also parodied Mickey Mouse; being fascinated by the icon and created a character he called the DOB man used in many paintings, including this one titled “And Then And Then And Then And Then” discussing the repetitiveness of pop culture in a humorous adaptive way (http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/59952/varieties/Popup_800.jpg). Even Andy Warhol himself made one of his most iconic images from the already existing Campbell’s Soup can. The use and alteration of “reality” in art is almost unavoidable.

Journal Entry 1

“What do you believe are the most significant ways that digital art / new media impact society and culture in the United States?”

Living in a technological age it is essential we identify how digital art and new media influence our culture. From ads on television and on the street to devices found in mostly all of our homes we are all utilizing these tools and absorbing information from them whether we’re aware of it or not. We will forever have to confront “new media” seeing how it is the contemporary element we are faced with as society grows and evolves and I believe that the only way to be the user rather than the device is to develop an intimate understanding of how we are targeted.

One of the largest fields in the New Media profession, practically speaking, has to do with some sort of three-dimensional animation and familiarity with coding (commonly used to write the systems and programs within our favorite applications, including games and other such services offered by our phones and computers). As we advance with technology the limits of these options become near infinite, which is a wonderful plus of pioneering in a digital age. However, with all these shiny new toys comes the other end of the double-edged sword, company influence on the consumer. Ads within the applications we so enjoy target us in an attempt to spend money on various services. Some games and applications even boast about being free but once downloaded in order to acquire full service payment is required. The technologies used on our phones and computers can help us though. There are many apps designed to organize and programs used to assist other technologies, such as 3D printers and laser cutters.

One of the most questionable things found when dealing with these technologies comes when thinking about how we are monitored. Google uses programs to view what we search and record the pages we visit, turning the information into the ads we view on the side of future pages we decide to view. This could be viewed as an invasion of our privacy or a helpful tool being used to aid our future endeavors to purchase a product at a reasonable price.

The art side of the digital technologies ushers us into an era where we can make sleek images of a wide variety with virtually no legwork required. I’ve spent time in the graphic design field and seeing how easy it is to manipulate images to create effects someone with a brush couldn’t dream of putting on canvas. There are some great artists out there bridging the gap though. A friend of mine and alum of Penn State, Brian Alfred (http://paintchanger.com/) is one of the many who plans his paintings out in Adobe Illustrator beforehand.

So technology and evolution can take the forms of many things. It can be a monitoring service, a way to sell things to a consumer, a way of entertainment in the palm of your hand or a useful tool for creating art for the medium of your choice. One thing is certain the field is growing and the possibilities are rapidly becoming endless.