Conclusion - Simplicity

So in our last class we looked at John Maeda’s ‘Ten Laws of Simplicity’ and as my last blog instalment I’m going to keep it short and simple, by saying simplicity is the way to live your life, poignant but true!

1.       Reduce

2.       Organise

3.       Time

4.       Learn

5.       Differences

6.       Context

7.       Emotion

8.       Trust

9.       Failure

10.   The one

So overall this class has opened my mind to a whole new capacity of alternative views and thoughts, broadened my knowledge and understanding of visual culture, made me aware of artists that defy the normal and encouraged me to look and research outside of the box.

Sound Theory – Sound Practice

Visual culture and sound go hand in hand, physical sound has the best picture, it creates a visual picture in your head. ‘The world of sound is an event worldwide; the world of sight is an object worldwide,’ so when you hear a sound you automatically put it into a visual culture, as sound triggers certain responses. Sound is immersive; you can have a point of view but not a point of sound, it has three elements; vibration, context and change in pressure.

                Sound evokes emotions, therefore foley, which is the reproduction of everyday sounds for the use of filmmaking, is effectively used within the film industry to intensify the emotions of a certain scene and to make connections with the audiences. Film editors and sound designers like Walter Murch use the technique foley in effective ways that capture the attention of the viewers, for example Murch’s editing of Apocalypse Now, in particular the sound of tanks moving in this film is created by people banging tin trays, although tanks don’t actually sound like the noise that is portrayed in the film, it is purposely designed this way because people believe an army tank should have a ‘tin’ sound, therefore making the scene more relatable and realistic to the viewer. Another cleverly designed example of foley is in the film Saving Private Ryan, in the scene where the leading character loses his hearing, the muffled and disorientated effects emote a strong feeling in the viewers as they feel that they can sympathise with the man. So it is evident that sound contributes to visual culture as much as imagery does.

                The idea that sound is not directional and that silence is not the absence of sound, was tested by John Cage, regardless if everyone is silent there is still noise, background noise cannot be shut out, Cage’s composition of “4’33” developed on this. The composed piece consisted of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, however it is commonly perceived as four minutes thirty-three seconds of silence. Cage wanted to prove a point that silence is sound, and that art is a provocation, although it is debatable whether or not one perceives this as a highly composed piece of music. “4’3” raised much controversy, some viewed it as a masterpiece, while other simply viewed it as silence, honestly I think it did take a lot of patience to compose yourself perfectly for exactly four minutes and thirty three seconds, however I do believe that a piece of music were an orchestra plays is a lot more technical, it involves a high standard of talent. So I do see the significance of “4’3” but I believe that it is only designed to let people listen to the normal noises that they block out, so really this can only be a one off piece because if it was to be repeated people would most defiantly loss interest, even four minutes thirty-three seconds was long enough to listen to.

                Furthermore ‘sound as an event’ was also discussed in class, in Northern Ireland sound can be used for a sectarian purpose, as sound is used to reinforce our cultural belongings, as Catholics in Northern Ireland are recognised with the Bodhrán drum and protestants are associated with the Hash drum.  Catholics and Protestants also noticeably pronounce the letter ‘H’ differently as Protestants are associated with a harsh industry sound, while Catholics are associated with a tranquil soft countryside sounds. Personally I have never noticed the difference but after asking a few friends to spell the word church I realised that in the majority of cases this was true, however I don’t think someone should be automatically judged by the way they say certain words.

                But overall it is clear that sound is an important element in the contribution to visual culture, as they go hand in hand, so therefore everything you produce should be a provocation, not a representative, in other terms don’t add Coldplay or Snow Patrol to the background of moving images because you need to evoke a response and be authentic, although I do think that the likes of Coldplay or Snow Patrol are not “bed wetter’s.”

Net-Art: Designing Virtual Space

Being digital natives it is only natural that we are more familiarised with the internet, as 1990 was a tipping point for internet art, so it is relatively new and main stream at the present time. As I was born in 1992 I grew up with the internet, from that annoying dialling up tone to the wireless we have today, so it is just an everyday object for my generation. Internet art defies the conventional methods of displaying art and circumvented the traditional dominance of the art gallery. It is difficult to have art in this space as it is a public and personal space, it is always micro (you sitting at your computer) and macro (you still have an outlook on the globe), although aesthetic experiences are still achievable, more so if this experience is interactive which is quite common on the internet. Metaphorically speaking we can view the computer as a window that we can see the whole world through, in which the possibilities for new digital art is limitless, as each piece of digital art on the internet is new, as it occupies a new space, as most things on the internet are free floating signifiers and not set in context.

                 More and more commonly artists are experimenting with this new digital space, take Tracey Moberly for example she saved every text message she received from 1999 and printed them out onto long scrolls, creating a temple like installation and displayed this in a series of exhibitions, from this she continued to create a book and called it ‘Text Me Up’. I love the idea behind Moberly’s work as not only is it a new idea but it’s also a personal memory for her, which I find inspirational.

Using the same concept as Moberly a Belgium digital artist Wim Vanhenden created a similar piece of work, although instead of collecting text messages he uses software to collect data from what people are looking for on the internet and constructs this into a piece of art. He is most definitely a digital native who uses innovative technology to produce master pieces that are both interactive and artistic. On his website http://www.wimvanhenden.be/ there is an interactive space in which we can contribute to his art, which is titled ‘We Are the World’ this has a cleverly constructed technique and this video describes more:

http://vimeo.com/7292596

In my opinion Vanhenden can most definitely be viewed as a great art of the digital generation and as a great internet artist. So even though the internet can be a personal space Vanhenden proves that it is an interactive space which can connect the public through new artistic means.

VJ

V Jing is the process of connecting manipulated imagery with sound, to create a live experience within a realtime visual performance. Vjing was first connected to the New York club scene of the 70’s, however now-a-days it is more commonly associated with nightclubs, concerts and music festivals. So as VJ is relatively new it had a strong connection to the Fluxus movement, which began in the 1960’s, it is also related to synaesthesia (mixing of the senses, in this case sound and vision) but it was also viewed as a dominant postmodernism take on visual art performances, which proved to be a new postmodernism experience that pushed boundaries. So it is evident that VJ brings together sound and artistic understanding of images using three carefully crafted yet simple elements; up to date technology, artistic understanding and visual space, it is a collaboration that works in collectives that coexist.

Pioneers of VJ were the likes of Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead, who were brave enough to try something different in the attempt to alter people’s minds. It had a major impact when bands like the Grateful Dead experimented with VJ as it was previously unheard off, it was new, exciting and had connections to psychedelics, which could have been the inspiration behind the vivid colours and motions. Although from 2000 onwards there seemed to be an explosion of VJ as it subdivided and spread into different areas, including more main stream artists like David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia as it is repeatedly used in clubs and music festivals. Having been to Oxegen I witnessed the overall experience of VJ combined with complementary remixed music, from artist such as Calvin Harris, Chase & Status and Swedish House Mafia who managed to mesmerise me by the visual combinations and lights that contributed to an overwhelming atmosphere.

This video of Swedish House Mafia’s intro is a spectacular array of visual culture; although I don’t think the video does it justice because when your there all your sense combine into an experience that is driven by the atmosphere!

When it concerns VJ culture there is only one name that can be described as legendary, ‘The Light Surgeons’, a pioneering collective of multimedia artists, this company was founded in 1995 and has pushed boundaries to create masterpieces from print to live performances. The name ‘The Light Surgeons’ also contributed to the companies fame, as it gathered publicity from its references to drugs, LSD in particular, which I’m sure they probably had experimented with as it is known that alternative art like this has some close connection with psychedelia. But never the less they still produce captivating and astonishing pieces of work, and without doubt I’m sure their success and popularity will continue to in grow.

Bill Viola

Christian Marclay a Swiss-American visual artist and composer, he concentrated on the sound that no one wanted, in other words the scrapes and cracks on a record, so alternatively he composed music and art using this method, it was a provocation of sound. But in my view to be determined as art or not, can only be judged by those viewing it and to be honest listening to parts of that small documentary in class was more like torture than music, it is also ironic that he shows a guitar being dragged by a truck, which was a method of torture used by the ku klux klan.  I like that he raised controversy and questioned American society with that brave piece, so therefore I do like some of the ideas behind his art, but ultimately I don’t think I would listen to too much of it.

                I do believe that when making moving images it doesn’t have to be an obvious idea, but it should make its audience think, it should always be an aesthetic experience and emotionally crippling. Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist who covers all of these aspects to gain himself the respect of being recognised as a leading artist. Although I do believe majority of his fame comes from the controversy raised about his art pieces, also his use of site specific art, as he displays some of his work simultaneously alongside each other in order to achieve the full impact of what he is trying to convey. The most controversial piece in my eyes is ‘the passing’, I really don’t think it is ethical to video each moment of your mother’s death, even she gave her consent or not, it is a completely inhumane act that lacks compassion. Pushing the boundaries of ‘art’ went too far in this case, why would you want a video to remind you of your mother’s slow death? Although my response to this video may be Bill Viola’s aim, in other word he may have wanted the audience to detest this video and be infuriated by its concept, he wanted to uncover these emotions in the audience, because watching the video I could not help but personalised it, so maybe the emotional response of the audience is the art? Without a doubt Bill Viola is influential, mesmerising and somewhat eerie to a certain extent.

Reality or Simulacra?

Reality or fantasy? Or can you determine the difference?

In this week’s class we discussed Baudrillard, and his ideas of the virtual space in which we live, Simulacra. We live our lives through simulations of life rather than real life, our reality becomes secondary to our virtual space. This is a predominately postmodernism take on life. Being digital natives we could say that facebook is our simulacra, that the photos we post up on facebook the day after a night out become the actual night out itself. Therefore we construct lifestyles that we have to adhere to, just look at celebrities for example, they view themselves in magazine and online all the time, and so does this become their reality? This is the danger when you can no longer distinguish between reality and the simulacra, the line between public and privacy is blurred. Activity like this arise the question is this why so many celebrities develop mental disorders, such as Mel Gibson and Catherine Zeta Jones who both struggle with a bipolar disorder. Is this due to the unrealistic expectations of this virtual space we live in?

                With modern day technology the simulacra is more and more accessible, the development of smart phones for example, they change the simulacra, compressing time and space to determine how we behave. The development of the iphone was a game changer; it alters how we think about our lives and how we live them, it allows us to be in two places at once, the virtual space created by the ipod and physical space. Even with the new ipad, we carry with us more technology than was available in the 1960’s, I can’t help but think are these developments sustainable, surely there has to be an end, because I believe if we will continue to live within the simulacra then we will eventually live in a very inhumane and unsociable world, where human interaction is less abundant. However when I was shown an app of Alice in Wonderland, I too became a fanatic, maybe this was because I viewing with a post modernism opinion, in other words ‘it’s pretty, I must have it’ but it proves that the more interactive it is the more captivating it is.

                Appadurai a contemporary social-cultural anthropologist who has interesting views on the simulacra; he believes it is made up of spaces:

- Ethnoscape (multicultural space)

- Finanscape (a virtual space where u never handle money)

- Mediascape (difficulty determining if a show is set up or reality e.g. - only way is Essex.)

                I believe these simulacra in which we live our lives can be dangerous to a certain extent just look at interactive video game players for example, they have created a character and live their lives’ as if they are these characters, many develop mental health disorders, or physical illnesses, like obesity or clots due to their addictive personality and the belief that the simulacrum is reality. So it is safe to say that our consciousness shapes our reality, if we allow ourselves to become too absorbed in the simulacra we could loss ourselves.

Digital Natvies.

Visual culture has changed dramatically in the past forty years, as digital natives our generation doesn’t think about operating technology, it comes naturally. The time space compression generations of the past forty years have seen a huge development of technology, as the first handheld mobile phone was invented in 1973 and now-a-days we have the development of the iphone. The thunderbirds TV show is a prime example of how technology has advanced as it was seen to be completely insane that you would be able see someone on a small object portrayed by a compact mirror in the thunderbirds, where as in reality we now have video phone calls.

Technology has became so commercialised recently that people don’t care about the program, they only care about what’s on the back of the program, known as the ‘long tail’ therefore industries have invested more and more money into merchandise, which I think is madness, surely the merchandise can only be as good as the original product? But then again figures show that this method works as an episode of Doctor Who cost one million to make and made ten million in return.

It can be said that ‘the world just shifted’, the growth of technology is accelerating at greater speeds, which relates to Moore’s law. With this growth of technology the simple way of life has changed significantly. But I think this growth of technology can also hinder our lifestyle as well as benefit them, technology such as texts or Facebook messages can decrease people’s social skills, especially teenagers or young children. They feel the need to voice their opinions over Facebook or text, yet when you speak to them in person they have nothing to say. This technology can also allow for intense bullying, take a school student for example, bullying occurs during the school day but also when the day is over, so the bullying is prolonged over social networks like Facebook. But on the other hand technology has improved education significantly; a school in Lisburn is a perfect example of the benefits of advanced technology in schools, as each member of staff and the student were given iPads and results showed a huge increase in the level education at the school.

Texts and social network messages are destroying the art of conversation, they corrupt the natural way of life. In a postmodernism way of life we view ourselves as celebs having to post things on Facebook just to prove ourselves to others, regardless if statistics show that in reality you have 6.4% friends, and on Facebook you still communicate mostly with the same 6.4%, you still need to post things just for show, so that the other 3.6% know who you are, or who you are trying to be. So in reality is this digital revolution hindering or benefiting some aspects of our social economy? The space in which we live in is radical, it has a huge impact on our life but in order to understand this impact we must play with the space and learn more.

Presenting the New – Exhibition and Publication

The manner in which art is displayed plays a role on how the public perceive and judge art, take Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, 1921 for example it challenged the conventional methods of art and had a huge impact on Dadaism. This anti-art movement redefined art and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain certainly increased the publicity of Dadaism as it is said that ‘Fountain’ is equivalent to the Mona Lisa.

Can the comparison really be justified?

The idea of using a urinal and calling it ‘Fountain’ and signing it R.Mutt suggested the questions, what is art, are set ideas as important as representational art? So Duchamp managed to disrupt art and create a new representational method of art, therefore consolidating the fame of the ‘Fountain’. Another factor in the fame of the Fountain was how it was presented, hung from the ceiling without any restrictions, in the Louvre museum, therefore allowing the public to experience it fully, proving that the positioning of art is as important as the art itself because I believe if this piece of art wasn’t displayed in the Louvre it wouldn’t be as famous as it is.

                The idea that positioning art was as important as the art itself brought about new revelations for artists, take Robert Smithson he took this idea quite literally and altered the landscape to make art, in turn he became best known for his ‘land art’, creating magnificent pieces like the ‘Spiral Jetty’ positioned in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Although to be honest I don’t believe that natural sites have to be altered to be considered art, they are already art within their own right. Another example of positioning art is site specific art where art is created to exist in a certain place and connect to its surroundings and to the communities in which it occupies.  Even though we are the digital generation site specific art can also apply to us, as we judge a website within four and a half minutes to determine whether or not to stay on that page. On a more traditional note Susan Philips used site specific art to gain herself a Turner Prize; she created sound art and played it from underneath a number of bridges, it was said that this piece of sound art altered the way people viewed the bridges by hearing things differently.

                The real question concerning site specific art and sound art is how do get the message across and how do you exhibit sound art? The artist Jem Finer combined elements of both site specific art and sound art to create a ‘New Musical Underground’ as described by The Independent.  He composed a piece of music by digging a hole in the ground and using a brass structure in the middle of a forest which is operated by rain. So ultimately he used nature to compose a beautifully serene piece of sound art that is site specific in a remote forest. Although this remote location could have tainted the success of this art, the controversy over its price brought great publicity and contributed to its fame. Personally I think spending £70,000 on a piece of art is ridiculous, surely it is a creative idea that opens people’s minds but there are better ways to spend money especially in the current economic conditions, given that millions of people live in poverty. Having seen this poverty first hand when I visited Africa I was seriously disheartened to hear that that much money was invested in a piece of ‘art’.

Is there not better ways to spend that amount of money?

Modernism/Postmodernism – Who Cares?

Modernism and postmodernism is algorithm poetry of the 21^st century. Pop art was considered to be an art movement of modernism on the other hand some is considered to be early examples of postmodernism art. Pop art challenged tradition by exploiting popular culture.  The breakthrough of pop art was made by the English artist Richard Hamilton 1956, with his collage of ‘Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? This collage rivaled tradition as it depicts objects of everyday life, employed techniques of commercial art and popular culture; it also contains connotations of sexuality, which was highly frowned upon in the 1950’s, therefore showing sign of modernism through progression. However it was seen as the pivot where modernism switches to postmodernism, as it portrays signs of superficial tendencies. So the real question was ‘what is pop culture?’ Roy Lichtenstein’s art poses this question vividly; especially his pop art piece named ‘Whaam’ which was an adaption of a comic strip that cleverly portrayed the onomatopoeic word ‘whaam’. It was also considered to be one of the earliest pieces of pop art. So through the revelation of pop art, pop culture is considered to be just as important as classic culture.

                Regardless of faith collectively Modernist believe in a higher truth, that there is a grand narrative in life, that we are progressing, we should strive to succeed, build better and bigger lives’ for ourselves.  Take Marxists for example, the belief that there will eventually be a revolution, the abolishment of capitalism and the new creation of a society where no class system exists, no private property and everyone will be equal. In simpler terms a communist society. In the terms of visual culture modernism involves using up to date material to achieve the best possible outcome, to fulfill the assigned brief to the best of quality, therefore helping mankind to achieve this ‘grand narrative’.    

On the other hand Visual culture questions modernism, take the Vietnam war for example the photo of a naked and terrified young Vietnam girl running down a road near Trang Bang, 1972, photographed by Nick Ut or the photograph of Thích Quảng Đức self-immolation, 1963. Do these photographs support a modernist movement or was it a sign that postmodernism was prevailing and therefore it served as an icon for the peace movement that was prevalent in the 1970’s.

We live in a mainly postmodernism society that is consumed by a dominate shallow lifestyle, where media and reality have collided and are consequently difficult to distinguish one from the other, key examples of this is shows like big brother. The postmodernism society that we live in is said to have become so commercialized that we only live for present and have no interest in history. Although I hope this is not the case, as I have always had a great interest in history. The traditions that a family follows, the surroundings in which we live and the everyday activities we carry out are determined by historical events, therefore I believe that it is difficult to escape history. Even though this postmodernism society may have ‘no interest’ in history they still have connections to it and maybe one day when we are finished with our self obsessed lifestyles, then we might realise our roots and take an interest.

To be honest I am torn on this matter of postmodernism and modernism, I hate the fact that we live in a society that is driven by commercialization and peer pressure, and the belief that if it is good looking then it’s acceptable, therefore I hope that some factor of modernism remains.

Fusing the Visual and the Aural – The Art of the Record/CD Sleeve

Sound is a piece of visual culture. Both music and art are universal, yet still an expression of the social time. Many famous songs were heavily inspired by current events, for example the song ‘A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall’, written by Bob Dylan in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was described as one of the most idiosyncratic protest songs ever written. On the other hand there were particular bands that devoted the majority of their music to protesting against particular events such as Country Joe and the Fish, who were widely known for their musical protest against the Vietnam War, although they familiarized with means of psychedelic rock. One song that stands out within my era is the song ‘Dear Mr President’ by Pink, it was most definitely influenced by current events, as it challenges the President about current economic and social turmoil, and it is without a doubt one of the most influential and inspiring songs of my generation.

Each period of time was defined by its own aesthetic appeal. The 60’s saw an explosion of pop culture with albums such as Tommy James & The Shondells - Mony Mony (1968), which portrayed a new outlook on album art. The 60’s also experienced the greatest increase in psychedelic art, containing many connotations that disrupted and challenged the conventional methods of album art. Nevertheless a sign of postmodernism art is appearing in the music of contemporary artists today, one of which is the music of Christina Aguilera who drew inspiration from the style of the 20's, 30's, and 40's jazz, blues and soul music but still keeping a modern element, which is clearly seen through her music , album art, her music videos and her unique fashion and styling, especially within the album ‘Back to Basics’. So it obvious that music and art go hand in hand to create the overall image of the artist or band.

Album cover of the single ‘hurt’ from Christina Aguilera’s album ‘Back to Basics’

Even with the growth of the music industry authenticity and the realism of album art has been eliminated by the availability of downloads. It is said that if you can digitize it, it’s worthless, therefore digital downloads have destroyed the music industry. Whether or not this is correct I believe that downloads are corrupting the music industry, as you could easily download any album but on the other hand you wouldn’t go to the shop to buy the same album. Downloads are too convenient, it removes the excitement and authenticity of being able to hold the album in your hand; it also removes album art from the limelight. Although in contrast the iPod is an excellent example of the success of digital, as it creates a fourth dimension that allows you to be in two places at once, the physical space and the mental space created by the music on the iPod, so it is debatable whether or not digital is an improvement or a disadvantage to the music industry.