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.