Karen's Compilation

Embracing Change

2005-06-07T23:43:00.000-07:00

Marshall McLuhan states that the medium is the massage, meaning that the process with which we communicate a message has more impact on society than the substance of the message itself (McLuhan). We often take for granted the means of communication that are available to us in the electronic age, but our ways of expressing and exchanging ideas have transformed our society as a whole. Technological advances have redesigned the way we connect, exchange information, and conduct business with one another. Communication is important and it serves as a vital tool for socialization and enculturation (Kapur). Marshall McLuhan examines how our society is changing with what he calls “electric technology” in his book “the medium is the Massage”. He states, “Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the median by which men communicate than by the content of the communication”(McLuhan 8). Declaring print technology as one of the reasons people today are so alienated from each other, one of McLuhan’s main arguments is that the changes in our methods of medium, electric media, now brings us closer, creating a more connected environment (McLuhan 68-69).

An example of the impact made from changes in medium can be seen in the literary genre: the fairy tale. Before the printed word, these tales were shared as oral folk tales within a community. They would involve the listeners, and were interactive and evolved with the community’s changes(Zipes 333). However, once appropriated into printed form the folk tale became a divisive social tool, as Jack Zipes claims in his essay “Breaking the Disney Spell”, “The book form enabled the reader to withdraw from his or her society and to be alone with a tale. This privatization violated the communal aspects of the folk tale, but the printing of the fairy tale was already a violation since it was based on separation of social classes. Extremely few people could read, and the fairy tale in form and content furthered notions of elitism and separation.”(Zipes 335) Marshall McLuhan notes how the written word changed communication from a unifying act into one that encouraged separation. McLuhan states, “The alphabet and print technology fostered and encouraged a fragmenting process, a process of specialism and detachment.”(McLuhan 8) He later goes on to explain that print technology created the public, which “consists of individuals walking around with separate, fixed points of view” (68).

In these days of television, film, music, and the Internet, people have longer reaching and more interactive forms of communication. Instead of rote memorization of symbols that we take in with our eyes and not necessarily with our minds, all the human senses are now stimulated by electric forms of media (McLuhan 41). According to McLuhan, “All media are extensions of some human faculty- psychic or physical” (26). This presents us with new ways to reach the masses- to educate and involve, to express ideas, and in the case of politicians and advertisers, to manipulate. The media creates our environments, both physical and social (26). McLuhan was able to see into the future with his understanding of how the media is intertwined with the structure of societies. We are becoming a global community with the ability to connect with others through many different processes and grades of involvement and interaction. We are also always seeking to discover new forms of media with which to bring us to higher levels of involvement and faster communication. The struggle that McLuhan noted between the old forms and the new are not as pronounced as they once were as society as a whole has adapted to and embraced the electric media. Art is reflective of society, and our fascination with technology and self-expression is evident in works such as Constantin Luser’s Light Typewriter (Artefact). This is evident even in the lives of the students of Greg Bachar’s ENG102 class- without the infusion of technology in education, there would not be a hybrid English class. McLuhan foresaw how the electronic media would create changes in all facets of our lives and encouraged the acceptance and incorporation of it. McLuhan’s words are timeless and will hold true as time goes on. The future holds promise of more amazing ways to convey our messages and we are now more eager than ever to receive them.

Bibliography

Artefact.com. Light Typewriter. Constantin Luser. Accessed May 2005.

Kapur, Vikram. Lecture. HUM105/Intercultural Communication. Seattle Central Community College, Seattle, WA. Summer 2004.

McLuhan, Marshall, and Quentin Fiore. The Medium is the Massage. Corte Madera: Gingko Press, 2001.

Zipes, Jack. “Breaking the Disney Spell”. The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. 332-352.

Cisco Wonders Why... Time Travel

2005-06-03T23:52:00.000-07:00

Cisco put the DVD atop the stack of other already viewed movies concerning time travel. Back to the Future, H.G. Wells’ Time Machine, Superman II, and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure were among the collection- some of them ridiculous, yet Cisco found them all inspiring. Time travel had seemed to be an impossible notion to him once, but he had begun to see the impossible as something that could happen. Many ideas that once seemed incredible and beyond the human capability have occurred- flying in the air, launching into space, communicating with each other instantaneously via computers. They were all amazing accomplishments that were at one time unheard of. Not at all acquainted with physics, Cisco might have known that he was over his head when it came to all the technical aspects regarding the theories of time travel, but he decided he would research it anyway. Up until now, he had been playing with the idea, watching movies made by other such dreamers and looking for inspiration.

Why did he need to be inspired? Cisco had always been someone who had played within the rules, confined in the box, never questioning what was possible and instead learning how to make due with what was given. Inside him, a sadness was growing, a despair for the state of the world and the way we live our lives. Are war, disease, poverty, and inhumanity able to be changed? Is there a way to change events in the past, even just a little, to make things better in the future? Hopelessness had been gnawing at him for some time. Cisco had begun sleeping less and less at night, thoughts of what responsibility he had towards the good of the world and what he could do to change things pervaded his every waking minute. This had been going on for weeks and Cisco began to think that something had to be done.

He began his research on the Internet, looking into websites that could explain time travel in a simplified way. He discovered the theory of the “grandmother paradox”- that changing something in the past would change the future. Everything is interconnected and so impacts each other- what if Cisco managed to change something in the past that directly affected his presence in the future?[1] He stared at the screen, thinking to himself that it would be well worth the sacrifice if the past were changed for the better, but can he be assured of that? As he scrolled down, he read that there were solutions to the paradox. The first solution works under the idea that the past is what it is, and there would be nothing you could do to really change it. In trying to do, a person would be thwarted by the laws of nature, their efforts prevented by happenings beyond his control. The second resolution to this paradox involved parallel universes and the suggestion that if a person went back into time and disturbed it by changing something, a new universe would then exist. This new universe would be the one that was altered, but the original universe would still be real, existing alongside the new one.[2]

All the technical jargon muddled Cisco’s thoughts and he had to simplify the information into its most basic forms. From what he read, it seemed impossible for Cisco to really change anything in the future through altering it in the past. He did not want to create a parallel universe, nor did he want to change the entire scope of things. What he was beginning to realize was that by changing even the smallest event, a ripple effect would occur and thus new futures and events would result. These futures could be better, but the scary part of it all was that they could be much worse. Cisco had no way of knowing if his actions would produce the future he wanted. There did not seem to be a way for him to control the span of his alterations. Suppose he traveled in a different direction?

A few more clicks on the mouse and soon Cisco was at a PBS website for NOVA, a popular documentary television series. On the site for their time travel episode, Cisco began reading about how time travel could work. The first theory he encountered was that time is relative to where you are and what speed you are traveling at.[3] Cisco thought back to Superman II, when Lois died and Superman began flying at the speed of light around the Earth, opposite to the direction in which it turns. By doing this, Superman traveled back into time and was able to save her.[4] Cisco glanced up at his clock. It had been two hours since he had started his research, but yet it felt like minutes. In this way, he thought, time is also relative.

His research continued, hours flying by as he read about Einstein’s theory of relativity, black holes, and wormholes. What Cisco found was hopeful about the possibility of traveling into the future.[5] If he studied, experimented, and networked with the right minds, perhaps he might one day see it actualized. He then asked himself one more question- was this really what he wanted to attempt? Perhaps his reasons were noble enough, but the technology wouldn’t be kept a secret forever. At some point, wouldn’t this knowledge become a tool for exploitation? Would he regret his decision to pursue this? Cisco understood that nature also has its way of adapting, evolving, and what may be found in the future might not really have a place in the past. Traveling into the future had just as many ramifications as travel into the past, and perhaps he was not so wise as to make all the correct decisions. It then struck him, and he understood what he had to do. Cisco closed down all the windows on the screen and began looking up ways he could change things in the present and the now.

Notes
[1] Dr. Steve Preston and Professor Kenton Hammonds. “Time Travel in Simple Terms”.

[2] Dr. Steve Preston and Professor Kenton Hammonds. “Time Travel in Simple

Terms”.

[4] Superman II. Dir. Richard Lester. Screenplay by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

1980. DVD. Warner Studios, 1990.

[5] Clifford Pickover. “Traveling Through Time”. NOVA online.

Bibliography
Hammonds, Professor Kenton and Preston, Dr.Steve. “Time Travel In Simple

Terms”. http://www.scifiscience.co.uk/easy.htm

Pickover, Clifford. “Traveling Through Time”. NOVA online.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/through.html

Superman II. Dir. Richard Lester. Screenplay by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

1980. DVD. Warner Studios, 1990.

Pervasive is Art

2005-06-03T23:23:00.000-07:00

Art is a timeless language. The language of art communicates its messages through its impact on our senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste, kinesthetics, and proprioception. By stimulating our sensations, a work of art also touches our memories, emotions, and intellect; thus resulting in a unique interpretation for each individual person who experiences it. To begin to speculate about art in the future, it should first be examined in the past. The future derives from the past, building upon knowledge gained from experience, constantly evolving. For any idea to form, there must first be an inspiration.1

Art is another form of documenting life during a certain age- capturing the artist’s perception of life at that particular time. In this way, art acts as a historical document. Art is also used as an educational and social tool. Medieval art was saturated with religious themes, visually depicting stories from the Bible and communicating them to a mostly illiterate public, which is very telling of the social situation during this period.2 Social messages are often embedded in artwork, allowing its audience a glimpse of the socioeconomic structure of the day. Nineteenth century realists such as Courbet, Millet, and Daumier defied convention at the time by portraying everyday working class people and illustrating the reality of their lives for all to see.3 The website for the Metropolitan Museum of Art states, “Rejecting the idealized classicism of academic art and the exotic themes of Romanticism, Realism was based on direct observation of the modern world.”4 Once a modern world to Courbet, but now a time long past for us in the 21st century, art continues to act as a platform for artists to express their views on societal issues. Now in our modern day, we have groups like the Billboard Liberation Front. The Billboard Liberation Front expresses their opinions of capitalism, consumerism, and the current state of advertising through their artwork, calling it on their website, “The fight against the use of billboards as commercial adverts rather than as a medium for public self expression, protest, and communication for social issues.”5 Also on the BLF website, D.S. Black asks the reader, “…is this world out of balance, or what? And what do you intend to do about it?”6 Human rights, social criticism, culture, and politics are themes that will always be found in art. While future art may comprise of exciting and cutting edge technology, many of the themes will be familiar to those found in the past.

Technology has always played a very direct role in the changes that art has undergone. In 1841, John Rand patented the squeezable tune, effectively keeping oil paint from becoming tacky when used outdoors.7 Before oil paint was stored this way, artists were not able to move about outside and paint as freely as they wanted to. Rand’s invention made it possible for some of the most famous outdoor Impressionist scenes to exist.8 The advent of photography also made a large impact on art in the 19th century. No longer needed as a realistic visual representation, artists began to paint more abstractly. Photography became recognized as an art itself, and inspired works such as Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending A Staircase.9 Art movements such as Futurism and Constructivism embraced mechanization and modernity- leaving no doubt of technology’s impact.10

“He does not have to be a painter or sculptor to be an artist. He can work in any medium. He simply has to find the gain in the work itself, not outside it.”
-Robert Henri11

One of technology’s greatest gifts to the art world is the use of new mediums. In the present day, art is made up of any form possible to the imagination. With these new forms come new ways to stimulate our senses. An example of this is the Chicago chef Homaro Cantu, who uses edible paper as his medium and flavors it to taste like particular foods. Cantu’s goal is to give people a different sensitivity towards dining by using technology to experiment with new ways to visualize, eat, and prepare food.12 Computers, film, Internet, and the continuing arrival of new technology has aided artists in reaching larger audiences and creating pieces that are highly interactive. Films connect the viewer to a story and its characters, reaching them through an intellectual and visual basis, while the Internet allows for faster distribution and interaction much broader audience. Constantin Luser’s Light Typewriter is highly engaging, allowing people passing by on the street to write messages that will be displayed in lights for all to see.13 Luser’s Typewriter inspires others to create, bringing out the artist in every person who displays a message. Art in the future will continue along his trend, allowing viewers the experience to be a part of the works themselves. This is not to say that all art in the future will be conceptual pieces. The future of art also holds the potential for new inventions that will have a practical use for the future. Cantu, in his pursuit of new ways to prepare food, is currently experimenting with an ion-particle gun to levitate food, and he has also applied for over thirty patents for other inventions.14 Of his research and innovations, Cantu says, “This will tap into something. Maybe a mission to Mars, I don’t know. There are possibilities to this that we can’t fathom yet. And to not do it is far more consequential than to just say, hey we’re going to stick with our steak and eggs today.”15 Lucy Orta uses her perception and awareness of current events to create Refuge Wear, which “became synonymous for clothes and shelter in extreme conditions; they provide vital mobility and waterproof shelter for the Kurd refugee population; temporary protection and shelter from natural disasters such as the Kobe earthquake; mobile sleeping bags for the homeless; and immediate practical aids such as water reserves, integrated medical supplies and burial bags in an attempt to ameliorate the horrific hygiene problems of the Rwanda crisis.”16

Environmental art and Earthworks will have a large role in the future of art. While you may not see the influence of technology blatantly in every art piece, you can be assured that it has been part of the process of creation. Andy Goldsworthy, a sculptor whose technique involves the use of the natural environment, also uses photography to capture his work, allowing him to see it from a renewed perspective.17 Growing concern over the state of our ecosystem and desire to reconnect with nature will be the inspiration for many artists. Technology also has a hand in this by making it possible and also by creating a need. Overstimulated by all of our technological advancements, people will begin to feel a necessity to reunite with nature and rediscover simplicity and natural beauty. Artists like Goldsworthy and Christo and Jeanne-Claude have already been doing this and have offered the public new perspectives on how we view our landscapes. Goldsworthy believes that we must work to stay connected, and feels that the unpredictability of working with nature is enlivening and educational for the artist, reveling in the “breathless uncertainty” of it.18 Environmental art in the future will be used to give us all a moment to reflect upon our surroundings, to take a respite from our intense daily schedules. This art enables us to see things that we have been blind to that have always been there.19 In this way, Christo and Jeanne-Claude have also been awakening our senses to the world around us. In the 1970’s, the duo ran 200,000 square meters of a white cloth fence atop the Sonoma and Marin county hillsides. Their website reads, “The art project consisted of: forty-two months of collaborative efforts, the ranchers’ participation, eighteen public hearings, three sessions at the Superior Courts of California, the drafting of a four-hundred and fifty page Environmental Impact Report and the temporary use of the hills, the sky, and the Ocean.”20 Christo and Jeanne-Claude viewed the entire process as part of the art experience itself.21 When they were done, the nylon fence highlighted the natural contour of the land and drew attention to the beauty in their shape. Their use of synthetic material to emphasize the landscape was an ingenious collaboration of technology and nature.

As we gain awareness and comprehension of the way our world works, so does art evolve with our knowledge. Art and technology both rely on the human imagination and desire for discovery and change. Art will take on new forms as well as stay with old ones, and will continue to be used to educate, inspire, and excite us. Technology will inspire and enable us to do things that have never been seen, as well as to change what has already been done into something new and different.

“Know what the old masters did. Know how they composed their pictures, but do not fall into the conventions they established. These conventions were right for them, and they are wonderful. They made their own language. You make yours. They can help you. All the past can help you.”
-Robert Henri22

Notes

1 Ileana Leavens. Lecture. Art105/Survey of Modern Art. Seattle Central Community College. Fall 2004.
2 Ileana Leavens. Lecture. Art252/Art History 11th-18th c. Seattle Central Community College. Winter 2004-5.
3 Leavens.Art105.
4 Metropolitan Museum of Art. 19th century Realists. Accessed May 2005. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rlsm/hd_rlsm.htm
5 Jack Napier. “Redressing the Imposition on Public Space”. Billboard Liberation Front. Accessed May 2005. http://www.billboardliberation.com/response.html
6 D.S. Black. “Fauxvertising, FSU-ism and other Semiotic Attacks on Consensual Reality”. Billboard Liberation Front. Accessed May 2005. http://www.billboardliberation.com/faux.html
7 Answers.com. Science and Technology 1841. Accessed May 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/1841
8 Leavens. Art105.
9 Leavens. Art105.
10 Art Industri. Art Movements/Futurism/Constructivism. http://www.artindustri.com/
11 Robert Henri. The Art Spirit.
12 David Bernstein. “When the Sous-Chef is an Inkjet”. The New York Times.
13 Constantin Luser. Light Typewriter. Artefact.http://artefact.mi2.hr/_a02/lang_en/art_luser_en.htm
14 Bernstein.
15 Bernstein.
16 Lucy Orta. Refuge Wear. Studio Orta. Accessed May 2005. http://studioorta.free.fr/lucy_orta.html
17 Rivers and Tides. Dir. Thomas Riedelsheimer. Perf. Andy Goldsworthy. DVD. New Video Group.2004.
18 Rivers and Tides.
19 Rivers and Tides.
20 Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Running Fence. http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/rf.html
21 Leavens. Art105.
22 Robert Henri. The Art Spirit.

Bibliography

Answers.com. Science and Technology 1841. Accessed May
2005. http://answers.com/topic/1841

Artefact.com. Light Typewriter. Constantin Luser.
http://artefact.mi2.hr/_a02/lang_en/art_luser_en.htm

Art Industri. Art Movements/Futurism/Constructivism.
http://www.artindustri.com/

Bernstein,David. “When the Sous-Chef is an Inkjet”. The New
York Times.

Black, D.S. “Fauxvertising, FSU-ism and other Semiotic
Attacks on Consensual Reality”. Billboard Liberation
Front. Accessed May 2005.
http://billboardliberation.com/faux.html

Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Running Fence.
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/rf.html

Henri, Robert. “The Art Spirit”.

Leavens, Ileana. Lecture. Art105/Survey of Modern Art.
Seattle Central Community College. Fall 2004.

Leavens, Ileana. Lectre.Art252/Art History 11th-18th c.
Seattle Central Community College. Winter 2004-5.

Metropolitan Museum of Art. 19th century Realists. Accessed
May 2005.
http://metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rlsm/hd_rlsm.htm

Napier, Jack. “Redressing the Imposition on Public Space”.
Billboard Liberation Front.
http://www.billboardliberation.com/response.html

Rivers and Tides. Dir. Thomas Riedelsheimer. Perf. Andy
Goldsworthy. DVD. New Video Group. 2004.

Studio Orta. Refuge Wear.
http://studioorta.free.fr/lucy_orta.html

The Spirit of Appreciating Expression

2005-06-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

The art spirit is the embracement of life and its complexities, joys, sorrows, and everyday qualities. Often times gone unrecognized, the things that we pass by during our journeys, those that are easily forgotten, unappreciated, or at first unnoticed have an impact on us even in small ways. By taking time to observe and note our environment and how it makes us feel, we can then translate these emotions into language, visual representations, and music. Every person is unique. These differences are to be celebrated and there is something to learn from every person or instance that we encounter. Art is not conformity, but instead expression and representation of our thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Shown in many different forms, art is our personal individuality and pride in anything that we do- cooking, singing, writing, painting, furnishing your home, or building a fence. There is nothing that you cannot call art because the concept of art should have no boundaries. Art is subjective, and while everyone may not appreciate it, the most important thing is that it serves its purpose for the creator.

Poetry is another art form, one that uses language to express ideas and emotions. Futurists such as Marinetti used the written word to create both visual and literary images, often also incorporating sounds to further the experience. Poetic language is different from everyday language in that it opens up the reader’s imagination to adaptation and their own personal interpretations. Poetry uses language in innovative ways to convey ideas. We often hear phrases in everyday language that have a poetic quality to it, the arrangement of words might have a rhythmic or musical characteristic to it, or they evoke images, memories, or emotions from the listener or reader. The form a poem takes, whether literary or oral, makes a large difference in the way it is interpreted. There is no one right way to write a poem, but instead there are numerous ways to express yourself using language. Is it important to have a conventional form to follow when writing a poem? No, because convention actually sets boundaries that limit creative freedom.

My own art spirit is manifested in different ways. By trying to enjoy life and see meanings and lessons in my everyday encounters, I draw the inspiration I need to try and live a full life. In the end, satisfaction and contentment with your life is important. One of my greatest drawbacks is that too often I let what is in my heart become hampered by what others wish instead. By living to please others and do things the ”right way”, my spirit is too often squelched and my confidence becomes weak. Rather than paint on a canvas, it is easier for me to express creativity in forms that are deemed practical- crafts and handiwork. There may be no profound political message or insightful look into the depths of my mind, but if you look hard enough, small remnants of my personality can be seen. Henri’s book “Art Spirit” would be a valuable read and something that I could draw inspiration from in terms of learning how to fully be myself.

Poems of the Frye

2005-06-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Messy but with Rhythm
Empty to Those Who Don’t Want to Understand
Absurd with a
Profound Message
But Hopeful
And Looking
Towards Change

-Inspired by NSK

A study in light
Filled with color
Shades of the same
Yet so different
2 dimensions
Flat but alive

-Inspired by Joseph Park

Old friends and familiar
You are the ones whom I love most
You make me feel my happiest
These ducks I come to see

-Inspired by
Ducks
Painted by Alexander Koester

Wake at night and play your games
In the dark at night
Slide out at night of gilded frames
Before the day does tame
Revel in the guests who come to see
In the light of day

-Inspired by all the artwork as a whole

Snapped together
To create the symbol
A child’s toy has become
We are molded
To create the symbol

-Inspired by NSK- Irwin’s Lego Crosses

What Moves You

2005-05-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

The large and heavy doors of the Frye Art Museum towered over Teddy as she looked up at them, grasping the handle and pulling them open smoothly and effortlessly. What she saw inside was a circular lobby, one woman manning the front desk as a security guard rested ever so lightly on the wall behind him. It was quiet inside, like a church. Teddy used to attend church when she was small, and her memories of it were of detachment, silence, and forced reverence. These feelings often came back to her whenever she entered a museum.

After checking her bag, Teddy walked around the museum unsure of where to begin. She began at first very slowly, her steps careful and slow as she made her way from painting to painting, waiting for something profound to come to her, for a revelation that would prove to her that she understood and appreciated what she was viewing. There were many pieces that she held no fondness for despite the acclaim of the artist. She would walk away from such a piece thinking to herself that maybe she just hadn’t spent enough time staring at it, or perhaps she didn’t “get it” because she wasn’t knowledgeable enough. Oftentimes Teddy felt that she was ignorant of art and how to appreciate it. There were times that she would look at a piece and feel nothing, no jolt of excitement or awe. What was it that she was missing?

Portrait after portrait and landscape after landscape, Teddy slowly made her way through the museum. She found a bench in the middle a room and sat down, staring at the frames before her. As she began to grow comfortable, she began to notice details that she normally skimmed over without a second glance. It was remarkable how the frame accented a piece, becoming part of the artwork itself, as in the case of Die Suende by the artist Franz Stuck. The heavy gold frame was very clearly part of the composition, two large columns flanked either side of the woman portrayed in the center, the gold accenting the green tones of the paint. There was an atmosphere that emanated from the painting, one of darkness and malevolence. Teddy bent her head to one side and thought to herself that despite its sinister aura, the painting was still beautiful, and in fact might be made more so by its powerful impressions.

Teddy continued to make her way around the museum when she came across the paintings of Joseph Park. Immediately her interest peaked as she walked over to a painting entitled Casa de la Penumbra, a purple and maroon colored depiction of a small house with a backdrop of the night sky. The style was simple, almost abstract in its shapes, with little detail and a 2-dimensional characteristic. She leaned close to admire the precision with which Park painted his subjects, his attention to light, and his liberal use of the chosen colors. She was shocked to find herself drawn to these images that did little to depict their subjects realistically, instead choosing to portray and evoke a mood rather than a realistic image. All that she had ever learned in grade school about art was that she should strive to represent things as accurately as possible. Often giving up because of her lack of skill, Teddy believed that if she lacked technical ability then she could never be a great artist. As she roamed the hallways of the Frye, she began to understand that art was not about how well you could copy something, but rather how it affected the artist and the viewer. Her real emotions and reactions to these abstract works that touched her far outweighed her recognition of those that could depict a tree most accurately.

“Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them.”
-Robert Henri [1]

After inspecting all of Park’s works, Teddy made her way to the NSK exhibit. NSK stands for Neue slowenische Kunst, or New Slovene Art- and is an arts collective comprised of painters, an industrial music band, a theatre group, a graphic design section, and last but not least, a philosophy department. [2] A large room filled with mixed media art pieces of all sizes and shapes overwhelmed Teddy as she walked in. Absolutely fascinated, she approached an immense, circular piece entitled Kapital-Public Technic by the arts collective Irwin. A large stag head was painted with a dark green backdrop, the antlers and countenance of the animal portrayed a very regal and masculine presence, as did the colors, size, and material used to produce the work. Off to the center, a small cross was placed in the center of canvas that had been cut out into a circle. Teddy thought that it resembled the scope of a rifle, with a Christian cross at the center of the aim. What she felt was disturbed, and she was almost sure that Irwin had made their point clear to her without the use of words.

Moving further, another piece caught her eye and she instantly recognized the work of John Heartfield, a Dadaist from Berlin whose photomontages were politically charged and captured the turbulence and upset of World War I.[3] In this piece, Irwin used Heartfield’s depiction of the swastika as a medieval wheel- an instrument of torture used to break the limbs of its victims. As she continued to make her way through the exhibit, she noticed more and more the military-like quality that NSK projected, their use of unconventional raw materials, and the juxtaposition of unlike objects. On the wall at the front of the exhibit, the text explained that NSK regarded themselves as retro avant-garde. Avant-garde, as defined at Anwers.com is “sometimes used to refer to people or actions that are experimental. …derived from the military practice of deploying an advanced guard, a small troop of highly-skilled soldiers which would explore terrain ahead of a large advancing army and plot the course for the army to follow. The avant-garde was originally identified with the promotion of social progress, seeing the group or individual so described as the pioneer of a social reform movement.”[4] This definition of avant-garde helped shed more light on NSK’s methods of projecting their messages. Within that text the question is asked, “What is the current investment in originality?”[5] Teddy pondered the question and thought to herself what she had realized earlier. Her most vivid reactions and true emotions were spurred on by that which was completely unique, passionate, and expressive.

Notes

[1] Robert Henri. The Quotations Page.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Robert_Henri/

[2] Frye Art Museum newsletter. Spring 2005: 5.

[3] Ileana Leavens. Lecture on Dada. Art 105/Survey of Modern Art. Seattle Central Community College. Fall 2005.

[4] Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/avant%20garde

[5] Robin Held. Frye Art Museum. Spring 2005.

Bibliography

Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/avant%20garde

Frye Art Museum. Spring 2005. 5-6.

Henri, Robert. The Quotations Page. Accessed May 2005.
<http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Robert_Henri/>

Leavens, Ileana. Lecture on Dada. Art 105/Survey of Modern Art. Seattle Central Community
College. Fall 2005.

The RetroFuturistic Universe of NSK. Frye Art Museum. Seattle WA. Spring 2005.

Playing With Nature

2005-05-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Primer is a movie about time travel and the exploitation of its power. Four friends take time after their 9 to 5 jobs to work on projects and small inventions they hope to patent. Appearing tired and rumpled in slacks and ties, it is inferred here that their regular workday is mundane and unfulfilling, and a sense of frustration at their lack of veritable achievement can be detected in the opening scenes. Two of the friends, Abe and Aaron, stumble upon an accidental success- a sort of anti-gravity box that works as a time machine. This is discovered when Abe takes a fungus that grows in the machine to a lab for analyzing, and it is found that what they are wiping off the machine everyday is roughly five years worth of growth. As a non-physicist, the lingo and the concepts pertaining to the way the boxes work is far over my head. It is understood that there is a parabolic loop, and the box can take an object to one point, then loops back to the point that it began. The two men have doubles that appear from a different thread of time, and they utilize them as part of their original plan to acquire useful stock information for financial gain. They had the foresight to know that they must get what they can out of their invention before even considering bringing into a larger scope of attention. What the two men did not see was how this power to manipulate time would change their lives and not for the better. There are moral issues involved with technological advancements, and the power to control nature is not always for the good of all humanity. The complications began to spiral out of control for Abe and Aaron, and the end of the movie was not a positive and happy one- a family and a friendship dissolved.

Time travel is something that we have all wished we could do at some time in our life because when it comes time to pay the piper we all end up regretting a decision or two. Our mistakes make us who we are and life is not meant to be rewound and replayed. Enjoy as much of your life as you can and remember that every action has a reaction that may not only impact us, but others close and far away. If we were to decide to change a few things in the past, these other people may be affected and not always in a positive way. We do not live in a vacuum.

The film Primer brought up the valid issue of responsibility and science. Science is knowledge that can be used as a tool for healing and improving our lives, but can also yield a deadly and destructive force if in the wrong hands. The creators of the atom bomb shrugged off the responsibility for its use and the thousands upon thousands of lives taken by it and those still affected by its after effects. It is wrong to not take into consideration the consequences of your actions, whether it is pulling the trigger of a gun or developing technology that can be abused for exploitative purposes.

While somewhat confusing, Primer makes you think and that is its best feature. The concept of time travel is a stretch of the imagination, but the film does a good job of portraying it as realistically as possible. There are no fancy special effects and glamour in Primer, and it isn’t “dumbed” down into laymen’s terms so that we can walk away from the film with it packaged nicely somewhere in our memory. There is not an obvious villain in this film, but instead two normal guys who are not ready for the responsibility and power they obtain. Primer will provoke you to think- what would you do?

Soldiers With Faces

2005-05-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

The film Gunner Palace was a different take from what can be found in the mainstream media because it is lacking in highly glamorized spin, negative or positive, and instead provides a look at the soldiers as human beings, in their own words. The U.S. soldiers are young, and their talents, potential and promise come across the screen clearly. One cannot help but feel a sense of loss for them, even as you watch them dive into the bright blue of the pool at Uday’s palace. You are able to relate to them as people and not merely soldiers, able to see them as anyone else doing a job, making the best of it, and waiting to go home. They are not bloodthirsty but rather desensitized, one soldier remarking matter of factly, “Shoot or be shot”. There is never a strong sense that they disagree with the U.S. presence in Iraq, but the overall feeling conveyed is one of definite weariness and confusion. While the mainstream media presents a more heroic picture, in Gunner Palace a soldier declares that he no longer feels that he is defending his country. In another scene, a soldier jokes that the armor on their vehicles is made of $87 billion dollar scrapmetal. The truth in his humor is so sad.

It isn’t like that with all the soldiers. Also obvious was the thrill and pride that some of these young men and women felt in their experiences- traveling afar, swimming in Hussein’s palace, and exerting a degree of power over the Iraqi citizens. One young man proudly describes the way he would make grown men bigger than he cry. Another speaks of the pride of later calling himself a veteran of combat. These are once-in-a-lifetime events that will provide them stories to tell for years.

As someone who does not agree with the U.S. presence in Iraq, this film affirmed my opinion that we should leave. There is no possible honest way to depict war as anything but destructive exploitation of the poor. For those who saw this war through rose colored lenses, this movie will display the bleakness of the situation in Iraq. “We’re living this movie, it’s not a show”, states one soldier. Another asks us to please respect it, even if we don’t like it. This film does allow you to detach these soldiers from those in government who initiated this war and see them as average people you would know and like. It’s been a refreshing experience compared to the coifed and powdered look of reporters, politicians, and “experts”.

The Impossible Can Become Tangible

2005-05-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

In “To Love the Marigold” author Susan Griffin asks, “Can the imagination save us?” If she is asking if it can it save us from the sociopathic society we live in today, then the hopeful answer is yes. We need to be able to imagine what a perfect future looks like so that we can recognize what steps to take to enact our dreams. Dedicating yourself to that dream might help it overcome great obstacles- Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Thurgood Marshall, Helen Keller; all of them had a vision of what they wanted the world to be in the future. By holding on to their ideas and working towards them, each of these people has made a large influence on our society and inspires others still towards humanitarian philosophies. Imagine the inspiration lost had any one of those individuals lacked the drive and belief to promote their vision. Dreams, aspirations, and imagination are all beginnings to ideas that may one day be possible. It is my belief that people are self-perfecting and strive for improvement and enrichment. Imagination is an important tool towards seeing a goal, and envisioning that goal is the first step towards realization. Griffin encourages the reader to embrace their imagination and use that creativity towards a more harmonious future instead of closing the mind to new possibilities.

The environment we live in today can be an overwhelming one, run by corporations and machines, driven to become ever larger, faster, and more efficient. The rapid pace, hyper-stimulation, and unending growth leave us tired, worn down, and dependant upon technology. Griffin writes, “Yet strangely, in this brave new world with its promise of every possible sensation and comfort, one feels diminished”. This is a brave world. We have accomplished amazing things such as flying in the air, launching into space, curing illnesses, defying and controlling nature with every new invention. How we allow ourselves to use technology is where our problems lie. We are a population consumed by technology, and instead of enhancing our lives it becomes a distraction. As a person who views technology with a skeptical eye at times, the ability to see beyond the misuse of science can be difficult. My perception must transcend beyond the negative to grasp the more positive outcomes of science. The web site for Massive Change: The Future of Global Design has helped alter my doomsday perspective of technology to a more hopeful one, enabling me to view the ways that it could sustain the ecosystem and genuinely improve the quality of our lives. To be able to see technological advancements in this way has given me a renewed hope and optimism towards the future of our world. My imagination has been allowed to anticipate a better future and that has taken weight off of my heart. You can say that imagination has saved me in this way and has given me more motivation to be part of the future.

Tina Modotti, the artist who inspires Griffin in her essay, had a way of seeing the world from different perspectives and capturing these images to share with everyone else. Upon viewing her work, the first thought that occurred to me was how beautiful and unique these seemingly mundane subjects really were. Modotti was able to turn a simple stairwell into a mysterious doorway into the unknown, a composition made of repeating lines, shadow, light, and a dizzying bird’s eye perspective. In her essay, Griffin mentions a photo that Modotti took in 1925, a close up of a cluster of roses, the petals turning into repeating curves and shadow that create depth. Perhaps Modotti wanted to focus awareness to aspects that should be appreciated, but yet are so often overlooked. Her ability to rediscover the essence of an object, to capture something more substantial than the surface qualities, is a talent that we should all try to foster in ourselves. The essence of a being, a movement, or concept never actually disappears, but instead becomes obscured with layers of other complex issues that distract attention from the true heart of the matter. It is vital that we try to reconnect with the basics and revive what we truly want, believe, and love. This is how we rediscover who we are.

Griffin also mentions the Surrealist poet Robert Desnos and his ability to use his imagination to raise the hopes of those alongside him in Nazi concentration camps. Desnos understood the power of the human spirit and that even in the face of death you must celebrate your life. A Dadaist before he merged into Surrealism, Desnos used imagination and creativity to wake people up to the fact that they are alive and that everything in life matters. Dada was a movement that rejected the traditional forms of art and thought, and instead used elements of shock and irrationality to awaken people to new and different ways of thinking and seeing. Surrealism focused on the subconscious mind, dreams, and the outwardly illogical thoughts that may have. Desnos’s philosophy that the illogical can be valid and can breathe new life into our reality is exemplified in the story of Desnos’ trip to the gas chamber and how he and his campmates managed to survive that day.

“To Love the Marigold” is a positive essay that focuses on the power of human kind to envision and create, yet warns us not to allow ourselves to be consumed in fantasy. Griffin is correct in warning about the dangers of fleeing into a fantasy world. Just as despair can cause immobilization and stagnation, escaping into fantasy can render a person just as unproductive. Escape through avoidance or denial of real and important issues does not bring a person closer to realizing their dreams. Only by acknowledging reality and its part in bringing a vision alive can we begin to see true progress. Reality does not have to disillusion, but can be seen instead as a tool towards making change. Change is real and it doesn’t begin with complacency, fear, or restraint. Transformation begins with those who imagine it and then work towards it. Wake up to new ways of perceiving what is around you and let yourself see that anything is possible!

Response to Film: Synthetic Pleasures

2005-04-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

The film Synthetic Pleasures explores how humankind is able to create their own realities, which are based upon but independent from nature. As stated in the film, “Nothing is natural anymore”, which is a frightening concept. Humans play God, creating their own environments- controlled, sanitized, filtered, predictable, and safe. However, when the electricity comes off- the real reality is that we live in a flawed world and that we are the cause of it.

Technological advances that aid us in living longer and more fulfilling lives while also preserving our natural environment may be considered an oxymoron. Western societies are based on individualistic thinking and a worldview that humans should conquer nature to suit their purposes. Our system of Capitalism and hyper-consumerism allowed to go unchecked will eventually collapse because there will no longer be enough raw material to sustain it. The planet suffers ecological problems that are making it unlivable. How is this a balanced and healthy way to exist?
Plastic surgery is another technological advancement that can lead to abuse. It is referred to in the film as another way to control the body, but coupled with our society’s obsession with Barbie dolls this control can be dangerous. Both women and men have been socialized into thinking that the perfect and ideal body for a woman is a thin and almost unrealistic one. In striving to become this ideal, young girls develop eating disorders and a general dissatisfaction with their own bodies. Plastic surgery can be viewed as another way to perpetuate these negative images as more and more women undergo unnecessary surgery in order to fit this ideal. This type of control over the body may not be the best way for humans to learn to accept what is beautiful and wonderful about them naturally. Are we really looking to become a homogenized society, where we all look alike and our differences become imperfections?

Technology is a double-edged sword. In the same instant, it can damage and enhance different aspects of our lives. We can use technology to repair, improve, and enhance our lives or we can use it to create weapons to wipe out whole populations. Where do we draw a line?

Short Sweet and Quick Bio

2005-04-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

My name is Karen, and I first want to tell you all that I've enjoyed reading all your biographies. Many of you are from other states and you have moved a great deal. This is not the case with me. I've lived in Seattle all my life, and I don't travel as much I would like to. I've been out of the country some, but most of my travel stays on the West Coast. In June, I'm going to Paris for two weeks and am gathering a list of the galleries I plan to visit. I'm one of those people who have closets full of knitting, paint, decoupage, books, etc... I have a million and one hobbies and can't keep up or afford them all. I'm also a dog fan and I have three of them- a baby chihuahua, a maltese, and a german shepard mix that my fiance and I adopted two years ago. A lot, huh?
This is my last quarter at Seattle Central, and then I plan on working for about a year as I figure out where I want to apply for further schooling. I've been planning on entering a Radiologic Tech program, but my first love is art history and so I've had my eye on the Art History program at UW. I've taken a weird mix of biological science classes and art classes during my time here. Before coming to Seattle Central, I studied massage therapy at Brenneke, but no longer practice due to injuries. I need a new career and am deciding between what my heart wants to do and what my head says is practical. Writing does not come as easy to me as it used to and I've struggled with it a lot lately. This class is going to be hard for me, but I am very intruiged by the use of visual art as inspiration for writing.
Great to meet you all!