response to media hot and cold

This essay was a little hard to understand I enjoyed it but not as much as the other essays. From what I understood about the reading is that McLuhan us as humans are connected with technology in terms of our nervous and physical systems. His tackle on this theory is that our phones are connected to our voices, televisions to eyes and ears and finally the computer extends to our brain. I feel like I have to agree, I mean we are always using our cell phones that they have become an extension of our selves. We voice our opening on the internet sometimes more openly than we care to do, we become so fixated on what's going on in media that we forget about our surroundings. Some of us can't leave the house without our cell phone so I definitely think it's an extension of ourselves because we are forgetting how to communicate with humans face to face, it's so easy hiding behind a screen. I I also really like how McLuhan talks about the extension of man and it's simulation of consciousness.

response to culture intercom

I really enjoyed this article, I thought it was interesting and a good read. I really like what he wrote about how when we make motion pictures it's really about the experience and emotion that moves art and life together. I feel strongly about that because I know when I make art it's about my emotions and sometimes I make it personal and in the end it ends up helping me deal with that situation. I really liked that he was for the movement of technology in relation to humans and be able to use technology as a form of understanding humans. We obviously have that now a days with the use of cell phones and the internet.

Futurist Manifesto response

The Futurist Manifesto begins with neo-impressionism. The futurist focuses on the spectator's vision as well as intuition and the way that effects the environment. It talks about the change of demolition of people. This article is very avant-garde and claims that art can be nothing but injustice and violence. The article is interesting to me because I also read this article in my History of photography class and reading it once more made me aware of all the chaos that was happening during this time. Manifesto of Futurism was really about the violence and the turning down of the past.

Gannaway_Kino Eye Response

I've actually read Kino Eye in my History of Photography class. Dziga is refering to the idea of cinematography as dishonesty simply because it takes away from the real magic that the art of cinema  represents on camera. He didn't like it and he wanted it for it to be gone. Dziga kind of starts a revolution where he wants film to move towards refinement into capturing what cannot be seen with the naked eye and he was also very interested in the moment of transforming film in terms of composition by getting rid of themes. I really enjoy this article and I thought that it was interesting that he tried to remove cinema from theater.

Crouch_Media Hot and Cold

Media Hot and Cold was kind of compelling but also confusing. His descriptions of the two different types of mediums were interesting but I do not think he did a good job of describing them for readers to understand. I think some readers would have to try to interpret them on their own, but I think there would be variety of definitions.

Overall, I believe the author was trying to explain how people will react or change as film, radio and television expand and get more prevalent in society as the years progress.

Personal Dynamic Media Response

This article was an interesting way to look at computers from a different angle. This idea of a “Dynabook” is basically a laptop or iPhone in today’s time without being as intense for lack of better words. Its referred to as a “personal medium” which is interesting because its geared specifically for the viewers’ needs and wants. It’s funny when they talk about SHAZAM as an animation/moviemaker system, when today most of us know it as an app that can help you discover music. Overall, I think this article is interesting in saying that this DynaBook could be a personal machine and a new medium, when today, in 2015, we’ve come so far with different computer systems. Kay and Goldberg were hitting the nail on the head because there are laptops designed today specifically for gamers, laptops for doctors, etc.  I think this transmission of ideas and programs/software has actually been a revolution over the past decade like Kay was saying. In both good and bad ways, the machine has allowed for more communication in our culture. Its bizarre to think about how much we rely on programs, software, and communication through our laptops, computers, iPhones, etc.

Media Hot and Cold -- Cowart

This article confuses me as it almost contradicts itself. The author describes hot medium as revolutionary and culture changing like the steel axe missionaries provided to Australian natives, but puts the telephone as an invention in the classification as cool medium. I have to disagree with this assessment. Anyone today can look around and see that the telephone has completely transformed culture today. Then the author says that a hot medium provides a large quantity of information but the steel axe does not meet these standards. This article seemed too opinionated with not much factual support for my liking.

Gannaway_McLuhan's Media Hot & Cold_Response

This passage, from the 1964 book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man was interesting yet puzzling. I couldn't quite grasp completely what McLuhan meant by hot and cold mediums. My understanding was this:

hot medium = one that is projecting in "high def", in other words not requiring participation from the audience. Intense and influential, sometimes too extreme for society/people to handle.

cold medium = "low def", requiring participation for it's effectiveness, therefore less powerful as a stand-alone method of conveying ideas but nevertheless integral to society/people.

 It seems like the notion of hot/cold medium reflects the history industrialized society changing with the advent of radio, film, and TV. This reminded me of the Futurist Manifesto, describing the fast-paced changes that confronted the industrial world during the early 20th century. I wonder what McLuhan's view on the Internet would have been because the Internet among other technologies has been impactful in creating today's society of seemingly ever-expanding modes of information and connection.

Gannaway_Cultural Intercom Response

Stan VanDerBeek's Cultural Intercom is an exciting take on future roles of technology and human interaction/communication. Written in 1966, this work is surprisingly futuristic. I say this because VanDerBeek mentions how his Cultural Intercom or "movie-drome", or "life theatre", or "experience machine" or whatever other name he calls it is essentially a "world wide library source". This notion seems futuristic because someone today might consider VanDerBeek's Cultural Intercom to be the Internet, or the World Wide Web. This connection is impressive, considering the Internet as we know it today didn't exist in any part of the world during the 1960s.

I also like VanDerBeek's ideas on an "appreciation of individual minds" and "the interlocking of good wills on an international exchange basis." It seems like VanDerBeek had inspirational and exciting ideas about the future, although his notion of an "non-verbal" "international pictorial-language" seems a bit unrealistic. The drawings were also evocative and thought-provoking, overall emphasizing VanDerBeek's Cultural Intercom idea.

Culture Intercom: Jarik

It's interesting to see how cinema has become the bridge between man cultural gaps, and truly many gaps in general when comes to understanding one another as human beings. It is something truly special in how cinema allows us to view things from many different perspectives and allows us the ability to interpret things in our way based on how we see other people interact with different stimuli.

"Culture: Intercom" - Sam

I enjoyed reading this article by Stan Vanderbeek, where he talks about his dream of communicating with different parts of the world with new technology that uses motion pictures or motion murals as the new developed communication language that everyone in different parts of the world can understand. The non verbal pictorial language indeed should be developed, which will definitely boost up the communication around the world at present time of technological explosions.

Movie-drome is another interesting thing to think about that will definitely give people the massive scale of information to work on and bring out their own thoughts and conclusions. Overall, at the verge of technological development, a new way of communication is indeed a need. 

Culture Intercom

I'm not really sure what to make of what I read. All these readings seem to be just a bit out of my grasp. However, what I can say is that it was interesting that he felt the future was video and that everyone needed to be on board immediately. The idea of having a global pictorial language created by artists was also interesting, though I'm not entirely sure how it would work.

The movie-drome seemed to interest me the most, I think. I liked the idea of showing what sounds like somewhat random images and having an endless amount of perceptions about what was shown. Pretty cool.

Crouch_'Culture Intercom'

I actually really enjoyed this technological manifesto, it was over all a good read and I anticipated what was going to talked about next. Although,  I don't necessarily agree with all of it. You can tell right from the beginning that he seems to have a great interest in motion pictures as an art form. He wants to use it to as a global means of communication. Telling readers to film their experiences in the world and turn it into art. I liked how he spoke about the art form of motion pictures and how it could possibly change the world.

He wanted to achieve this advanced level of human understanding through the use of technologies, asking you to stray away from the normal use of language referring it to something destructive. I do believe that advances in technology are important, but spoken communication is one of the reasons we have even gotten to make such advances.

I was started picturing his description of the "Movie Murals" in the "Ethos-Cinema", but I began to wonder if his dislike towards the emotional-sociology approach of things was deep rooted and had a personal connection to him. All in all he was warning everyone to be prepared for the future, and in order to be prepared had to turn to international picture language. Overall very interesting!

Hernandez_Venderbeek Response

I have to agree with Vanderbeek's first notion that this relatively new technology of motion pictures is the new, revolutionizing art of our modern society - "the art form of our time." Is it the most important means for world communication? Perhaps, perhaps not. However, the common man may certainly be able to more closely relate to video or film, the motion inherently develops an emotional response within a viewer as the human brain creates connection between life experiences and the presentation. In contrast, the static nature of a print or painting requires a deeper level of investment that any individual may be reluctant to develop while viewing a piece. This is how it is understandable that Vanderbeek calls to action that it is imperative that "the entire level of world human understanding rise to a new human scale." Such wishful thinking, but perhaps one day we will indeed reach that level of understanding among us all. It seems Vanderbeek insists on a sort of cultural exchange, that too seems like it may aid in the pursuit towards world human communication.

Gannaway_Kino Eye Response

Dziga Vertov's "Kino-Eye" reading is a great example of how considering the context of time can help in understanding the work. Given that Vertov lived during the birth of cinema I can imagine the boldness and enthusiasm his writing has. As Vertov mentions and as we have discussed in class, early cinema was largely inspired by theatre. Such terms like mise en scène are reflective of the theatre. However, I enjoy Vertov's attempt to reject or remove cinema from theatre. Vertov claims that the Kino-Eye has a power, along with editing and special effects, that is something greater than what theatre and the human experience can do. Like Vertov, I am interested in the powers of editing and the notion of creating a narrative or theme with imagery and sound from neither similar places or time. As we saw in such works like Leighton Pierce's "Viscera" (2004-05), the camera with editing can create a exploratory world different from typical human experience.

Cowart_Kino Eye Response

I found it interesting how the eye or camera lens was referred to as more perfect than the human eye. I would have to disagree. I concede that a camera can be perfected and can capture detail that might otherwise go unseen but a video or photograph can't envelope you in space and surround you. The article talks about the camera being able to capture everything that is rapidly happening but what if the experience is meant to be overwhelming and rapidly fleeting. Capturing every detail seems to almost make the details less impactful. I see how being able to capture minute details and being able to control what the viewer seeing could be useful and open up new avenues for artistic choices but the physical experience shouldn't be down played.

Hernandez_Kino Eye Response

"We cannot improve the making of our eyes, but we can endlessly perfect the camera." This statement especially resonated with me as I read the passage. Human limitations are not usually something we think of frequently. In contrast, technology, such as cameras and lenses and such, have endless opportunity to evolve. If one considers how long humanity has had to evolve to where we are now and how cameras have evolved since their conception to now, cameras may even become more human than man. Or rather, cameras will get to experience more than humanity has the opportunity to.

Moore_ Manifesto Response

I believe the ideas for the Futurist Manifesto are actually quite radical.The ideas of what it would take to influence the future in a new artistic light seems to only want to get rid of the grounds they are currently standing upon. Though through context I can see why this was created, but the way it was crafted really limits its acceptance and the audience it impacts.

Moore_Response to Kino Eye

This article is actually pretty interesting in the way that is goes about describing the difference between human perception and how we can alter it to match our specific vision based on how we choose to shoot something when we put in on film or in a digital video. Perspective is what differentiates our perception from one another, Being a visionary in this sense allows the director the ability to dictate what he or she wants the audience to see and based on that, they can do it in a way that is capable of evoking different reactions and emotions. I'm into sequential art and many of these same visual elements are present when deciding what is the best way to relay information to an audience based on the factors you are trying to include and deal with. Film is quite an interesting media in its artistic capabilities.

Crouch_Kino Eye Response

This article was interesting and defiantly made me look at what being behind the camera and filming really in-tales. You can't have one without the other, you need the visionary to have the Kino-Eye. I am a  free lance photographer (non-professional) and it also made me think about the Kino-Eye in that perspective as well. You can tell that the author Dziga Vertov really had a passion for filming and seeing different angles and views as not just that but something more.

I really loved how toward the end he talked about being "the masters of vision" and the "organizers of visual life" stating that they where "armed" with the Kino-Eye, almost making it seem like it was a weapon not used for destruction but for creation. It was inspiring!

Dawson_Kino-eye

This proved to be a rather interesting article. The way kino-eye and man work together sounds almost fantastical. It seems to me that kino-eye is like an extension of man's eye. The article talks about a fresh perspective; of different angles that aren't just from the viewer's focal point. It may be talking about a machine developed in the 1920's, but it still sounds relateable, like you can picture someone of that time using this kino-eye.

I also found it interesting the way the machine was put into first person, as though it were writing about itself, saying things like, "I, am kino-eye," or "I am a machine," and how it can "make the perfect man." It was interesting the way the author talked about manipulating images and video with the kino-eye to create this 'perfect' something, whether it be a man, or a motion such as ballet dancers.

Schwanebeck_Responses

Futurist Manifesto:

I think it’s hard to describe the tone of the Futurist Manifesto. The language used is very passionate, descriptive, and aggressive.  It paints a very vivid picture, and I think once you step back and read this manifesto for what it is, very interesting statements are made. I think the line that stood out the most to me was the one that said “Art, in fact, can be nothing but violence, cruelty, and injustice.” He talks about history in a negative light, and how museums are damaging to art. I believe he’s saying that the past is terrible, and a new way of thinking and going about life needs to be enforced.  Time goes by so quickly, so the ways of the past become obsolete and it’s on to the next art form. I think he is making the argument that why should people “worship” the past when you can create the superior future.

Olia Lialina

This is a very interesting article about the Internet in the 90’s as an “amateur web” and how the Internet is now this new transformed thing of the future.  One of my choice paragraphs from this article is on page 3. This was two years later from the previous statements she made about the web, and she states that the relationship once to the web is obsolete. So many people are basically invisible on the Internet, and using the Internet is nothing more than an everyday task. The web is basically “accounts, profiles, journals, personal spaces, channels, blogs, and more.” This relates a lot to our first project because everyone is using and creating on the web for enjoyment and as even as an escape from reality. Even if things get personal or intimate, the web will still draw to some understanding of distance and disconnection from reality, which is a thought-provoking thing to think about

Gannaway_The Futurist Manifesto Response

The Futurist Manifesto is an intense document to say the least. It suggests change through violent/destructive means, and a disregard for the well-being of everyone. One thing this manifesto does accomplish is its passionate rhetoric and vivid imagery.

Considering its historical context, it makes sense that this manifesto was created before WWI, during a rapid increase in technological/industrial and social changes in Italy and other industrial societies. There is a "in with the old, out with the new" vibe that is felt throughout the piece.

Overall I find this manifesto to be interesting simply in it's extreme emotion and fiery nature. Regardless of whatever hate or chaos it promotes, the author, F.T. Marinetti, was a vibrant and powerful writer, qualities of great value in an artists.

Gannaway_Lialina Response

Olia Lialina's Vernacular Web 1 & 2 (2005-07) discuss the early environment of the Internet, during the 1990's. This virtual world, as Lialina describes, had its own aesthetic, unique to the Internet referred to as Web 2.0 (late 1990s'/early 2000s'). Lialina mentions the "under construction" logos, and "starry night" imagery which filled the developing Internet.

This early Internet began to change when the "amateur" Internet was "washed away by dot.com ambitions, professional authoring tools and guidelines designed by usability experts." The new Internet, Vernacular Web, starts to bring in "Home Pages", "MySpace", "Garden Gnomes" and more perhaps identity branding images. However, while these new creations or variations of the old creations, Lialina describes that, "by encouraging the user to “feel at home” services create more distance between the users and themselves." Lialina continues to draw a connection between the professional vs. the amateur, and the rich vs. the poor. This comparison exemplifies Google as a professional or rich entity that creates an environment in which the amateurs (or poor) can play in, feeling that they have some individual presence, even if it's only a Google-made customizable "Personal Homepage." This is one part of the reading that I could relate closely to. I don't remember the Internet of the 1990s' but the Internet today is highly commercialized and structured, when compared to past phases of the Internet. This can be problematic because adds and business fills the Internet of today, and seems to only be increasing its presence. As Cory Arcangel (and other artists I'm sure) call attention to the pervasiveness of advertising in his piece "Punk Rock 101". The influx of commercial presence on the Internet serves to de-value and distract from the perhaps more modest information/media/ideas that are not driven by profit.

Hernandez_Olia Reading Response

I have vague memories of the many characteristics of the web that Olia Lialina speaks of. Under construction especially resonates with me as I can distinctly remember times when I’d be left at home with a computer to browse and I’d more often run into these rather cute animations than a functioning site. Being so young these instances were not so much of a bother but rather were almost fun. I personally never really gave much thought about how different the web functioned and how it looked compared to now, but sitting here and reminiscing certainly builds a kind of nostalgia for a little bit of time I experienced. However, from what I’ve seen as of recent we may be lucky and get to experience this freedom once again. There are many sites becoming popular on the web that allow users to customize their own personal pages. If the demand for a renewal of the beginning of the web becomes great enough we can perhaps see history repeat itself for a newer generation.

Hernandez_Manifesto Reading Response

As an artist and as a woman it is difficult to read The Futurist Manifesto and take it as truth. As you progress through the writing it begins to feel more and more like an angsty teenager with a thesaurus trying to stick it to the man. However, the basic premise and reason for the existence of the piece certainly proves how much it was necessary in its time. Considering the historical context and the immense history behind the population the writer speaks for it is no wonder they have been pushed to the edge and are seeking to reinvent themselves and their future. There is also certainly a cultural barrier between the people of this writing and our very own American society. I believe this piece would resonate more with a wider audience had it attempted to be inclusive with broader populations, and instead of calling to destroy the past proposed to reinvent it and evolve from it without erasing history, no matter how bad it is. It is however worth noting that the author is focusing on speaking with their home people and revolutionizing their country and culture apart from our own and that is to be respected.

Crouch_Olia Response

It was hard for me to fully relate, just because I am just learning about new programs, softwares, and about the computer is general. I only know very little but I have noticed how far we have come since myspace, galaxy wallpapers, dial up connection, playing online pin ball and sparkly icons that can be made on a generator and then post on a page. Just like anything else, we are always evolving in some way. It also sort of frightens me because I feel like one day every single thing we do will be online and there will be no personal interaction anymore. Now I am picturing robots taking over the world haha!

Crouch_Manifesto Response

You can tell from the first paragraph that the Author is obviously angry. The tone of the whole thing seemed belligerent, angry, and preachy. In the second and third sentences they insult the clothes worn, although Italy is one of the leading countries in fashion design. They continue by insulting the museams comparing them to graveyards. Expressing that we are poisoning ourselves by being a part of the endless conducted tours. Museums are a part of history, part of the past and it is only natural to want to preserve that as an artist or from a viewers perspective have it there to look at as a reference to the past and for future inspiration. Art definatly doesn't only consist of violence, cruelty, and injustice. It can be those things if that is what the artist intends, but it can be so many other endless things as well. The most insulting thing of all especially because I am a woman and a feminist was his desire to also destroy feminism and anyone who believed in it. It seems that the entirety of this Manifesto was to destroy in general. I am all but cruel, and I defiantly do not agree or have the urge to destroy so this was not something I enjoyed reading or resinated with. I feel like you had to be around during that time when this was written, to really get some of the points he was trying to make. Still with that being said, he wanted war saying that was the only way to clean up things and move into the future of Italy. Anyone who condones war is no one I would ever agree with!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88BKWQo7U7E

Dawson_ Olia reading response

Reading this brings me back to Windows 98. The first computer I ever had and all that I used was Wordpad and Solitaire along with the other standard Windows games. When we finally got internet, it was dial up. The phone chord stretched across the floor and blocking any incoming calls. Then after the 98 and 99 Windows followed by 2000, came the Mac OS X. The first one. It just amazes me to think about AOL being the only email browser and now there are hundreds. Websites are no longer created through HTML only, there are several programs and online generators that help and create webpages for anyone who wants to make one. Throughout the whole reading I was nodding and thinking, 'yep, I remember that,'.

Dawson_ Reading Response to Manifesto

So halfway through this manifesto I actually wanted to stop reading because it was so off-putting. The tone of the entire essay is rather loud and forceful and a bit negative,especially with things concerning the past for the 'artist'. I am not in agreement with setting libraries on fire, or throwing old masters' works in the rivers. Being against the old ways is one thing, but glorifying war and the entirety of the tenth manifesto statement makes me shrink away. I wonder if the writer's intention is to leave the reader feeling unhappy and rather angry about the context within the manifesto, or if it is a clear revolt against everything that is not what the manifesto says things should be? If this were what you had to be to claim title as an 'artist' I would never call myself an artist again. It sounds arrogant and displeasing.

Welcome to Computer Applications in Visual Art (ASTU 3030) at UNT / CVAD. This blog will be the central virtual space for posting responses to readings and information about associated events. In your responses, please post substantive, original thoughts accompanied by any media that will contribute toward the conversation. For example, this video about Damien Hirst might further our conversation on the art market:

Think of ways you can push the conversation forward this way. Looking forward to seeing you all in class!