Reading response: Whitney

this is so cool, and pretty funny, it's from COMPUTERS: CHALLENGING MAN'S SUPREMACY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eMSPtm6u5Y

Week 5 Readings

I noticed that these readings seemed to focus a great deal on the reversal of viewer and artist;
"activation of the spectator"
"viewer and artist are interchangeable"
etc.

I think it is interesting to now know when this idea of interactive art was first conceptualized. However, I feel that many of the works mentioned did not exactly portray this idea to its full capacity. Carollee Shneeman was given credit for using film as her primary medium, rather than a recording device of her performances. I can understand her work being an example of the statement "Direct use of body is a vital aspect of expanded cinema," but I must disagree with the statement that she didnt use film as merely a recording device.

I just feel that the concept of "kinetic theater" was a little over credited. It's neat and cool, sure. but do I think that its such an incredible break through in the expanded cinema to be considered a movement from "painterly" films to "kinetic" films. No. not really. That was just my interpretation of the reading though.

In short I just think that the idea of viewer and artist being interchangeable had not fully reached its potential at this time and should not be stated as such. I do feel these artists were the beginning inspiration of that though.

Not an image of Death

I got say it very refreshing to read someone not looking at the transition from film to digital as a tragic death of a medium, but a new role for it to play. Each time I see or here about the art pieces Walley describes, it always with this air of film being stamped out by the soulless digital age. Granted film is becoming more and more technically irrelevant, I don't feel there is the complete and tragic loss with the transition to digital, its just the way time works. Thats why I'm glad to read Walley's view of these film art pieces as representations of the death of a medium, but an expansion of it.  

week 5

I think what these two articles  were implying was moving beyond the concrete idea of expanded cinema. Of course thats what we have been talking about the whole time but what carollee discusses with kinetic theater is making the performance more of a visceral experience that moves the audience beyond the celluloid images. Something that enhances all your senses and is a true expression of the artists. the article with john spoke of how working with film and film projection is still relevant to this day. He states that it opens up   a whole new meaning of work in the materialist vain than in the digital vain which i agree with.  Working with film is alot more hands on and personal. it creates a experience for the audience that takes into account the effort it put into creating this sort of art form. For the Artist working with film in the digital age its truly about expressing yourself and creating a unique and personal work of art.

Duncan White and Jonathan Walley Readings

While Duncan White reminds us that "as reality and its representation take on equal status they offer us a multiple of perspectives" ...he uses an Andy Warhol film of Edie Sedgwick appearing to be in a conversation with a televised version of herself...--this can be done successfully with video technology. ( Lacy and I did a version of this for a video final project)... Duncan ends with merging thoughts with Jonathan Walley about the value of film in "unfixing the stable qualities of traditional cinema".
Jonathan Walley is blunt---Video does it for you, and Film you do it yourself. And he adds "raising mechanical error to an artistic value"--in other words...glitch it up. which perversely restores the meaning of film..."vitality in a digital age".....I like that.--old school glitch restoring film to a new artistic height. I actually agree here with Jonathan Adams last post about using this in some new ways to restore a bankrupt culture to some new political awareness...etc...Maybe maybe...pretty sure we've explored the outer body plenty,-- time for some telepathic art projecting directly in your brain. ha. I saw a documentary about how our brains in fact put out an image- when concentrating on visualization of something- that can be picked up as an image by a brain scan.. Freaky to know our minds can be read/ scanned to see what pictures are in our heads. Keep it abstract people, lol.

There was an exchange at one point in the interview that made me shudder and I had to read it a few times:

CAROLEE: We go to the theatre in search of inner realities because

of the bankruptcy of the myths and conventions we're used to

dealing with in everyday life.

GENE: Perhaps in the near future, the whole process of living will be

in this active seeking out of experiences

I found this pretty fascinating and I feel that this could be very true in a lot of ways within experimental cinema. Looking at the works of Belson and Brackhage, I feel there could definitely be notions of "therapy." I feel this idea is something that could be applied to all film in some form or fashion, however. I think that we are bankrupt as a culture and I think that most people are onto that whether they're completely conscious of it or not and I feel that in bringing expanded cinema to its greatest heights, we, as artists should expand on these psychoanalysis and political principles and use it as a force to be reckoned with throughout society.

Also a bit off topic but I think these two bands do a pretty wicked job of intermedia musical performance:

Godspeed! You Black Emperor has a person running several 16mm projectors while the band performs, overlaying and moving around and switching roles of film, its really quite a performance in an of itself.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7xbADHyv8k

The Residents also do a lot of really cool, bizarre performance, projections, intermedia, music, music videos, etc. that folks should check out.

Intermedia: A new perspective

I think the main emphasis of Intermedia is pushing boundaries. In the “Cerebrum” physical societal norms were slowly lifted away, leaving the audience with only each other, their own lightly shrouded naked bodies and their senses. I thought it was interesting as how when so many elements, such a clothes and privacy, etc., are removed that this Cerebrum was not devoid of reaction from the audience but actually encouraged interaction and heightened the senses.

                My first initial thought after reading this was “How does this relate to cinema or ever art in general?” That’s just it though, I think Youngblood is trying to get us to open out eyes to different forms of art and how engaging it can be. Here the audience becomes the art, not just a part of it but they embody it. The audience gets to be a piece of the art, experiencing and observing it all at the same time.

Similarly “Multi-Projection Environments” pushes boundaries as well, that is the physical boundaries of the screen. Both types of art are questioning the relationship between the visual and sensory aesthetics of art and the audience’s role.

Intermedia Examples

John Cage - HPSCHD Soundtrack to Vortex concerts Carolee Schneemann on UbuWeb Gibson, Recoder, and Block

Sandra Gibson, Luis Recoder, Olivia Block from 25 FPS on Vimeo.

Bruce McClure

Bruce McClure from 25 FPS on Vimeo.

Kerry Laitala - The Color Red Bleeds Blue

OneTake #8 - A Few Moments with Kerry Laitala & John Davis at the Other Cinema Benefit Show from Chromavision on Vimeo.

"The Color Red Bleeds Blue"-Documentation of an Expanded Cinema Work By Kerry Laitala from Kerry Laitala on Vimeo.

Kyle Evans Phil Solomon

AMERICAN FALLS (OPENING SECTION) - DV, stereo from Phil Solomon on Vimeo.

Intermedia -Predictions and Myths

I have to say that we are already in Youngblood's predictive world and beyond, though some of the reasons he gives for past intermedia art being about myth I disagree with. Like the riots of the sixties being linked to a "body theatre"that they needed to represent physically... I think flash mobs are about that. But so much of the first part of the article has come true. Virtual environments, interactive video games and Disneyland has a 3D animation process that did in fact hit me in the eye!  I reacted to a cartoon bug that hit me in the head! I felt its wings, the buzz in my ear...was completely sucked into an animation environment. We do have films the size of a wristwatch, but when he poses the idea that we will communicate on very high psychic levels of neurological reasoning...I think not. Look at our fake reality shows engrossing a nation, people somehow still prefer Duck Dynasty over Occupy anything.We are internationalizing art though--maybe artists will break through the boundaries through intermedia.

Artist as Ecologist response

Wasn't quite sure what Youngblood was getting at with this part of his book. I understand his idea of artist interacting, and adding to the surrounding man finds himself in, but not sure what he saw for the future for it is? It kind of sounded like that at some point artist and scientist will advanced so much that they would be able to virtually create anything their minds can think of. If this is what he's saying, then I am looking forward to the future.  

Intermedia

The most interesting idea in this section of expanded cinema for me is the idea of "Filmstage" I think this idea has not been used enough, nor has it recognized it's full potential. I'd like to see more films that have a live/ interactive accompaniment. Here are links to all the current examples i could find of Filmstage. You guys please add more if you can think of any.

Live performance supplementing film of the Rocky Horror Picture Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VpgYgH9_MU

Depeche Mode- Devotional
A performance filmed by Anton Corbijn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VuN0g2zkrI

University of Hull drama and technology performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85nUEDgd-DI

At one point, Paul Mccarthy's Caribbean Pirates had a live component but it was only performed as a whole a few times, and apparently not recorded. 

computers and blues interactive film 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwAvNRv7J34

 

INTERMEDIA

Im glad we are finally talking more about more artists and their installations. This reading kind of made me a little sad because i will never be able to see most of these installations, but i must say this is the easiest read we have had to do and it didnt introduce concepts i haven't thought about before.(Except for how certain artist went about creating what they did and the methods they used) So it was nice just reading about artists  and their interpretations of their art and how and why they did the things they did. I am hyper aware of the concept of artists as ecologists though i never thought of it in those terms. It was nice to read about artist who are trying to evoke their audience with out being a spectacle.  I like how in the Carolee interview she talks of bombarding the audience with these images and multiple visual elements  because they are so use to the narrative structure. Ive brainstormed a number of installations that resemble some of the ones that i read about in the text and it gave me a new perspective on my ideas and how i can transcend what i am doing with my art to create a entirely body transcendent experience. Im a huge fan of Barbabra hammer and the other day in class you showed us something from the Tate or MOMO but i saw in the you tube suggestions Barbra hammer on the right and immediately speeded home to watch her installation. Anyway, i think she has some good things to say about the audience and the environment she wants to put her audience in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLobRZk4SF8

Synaesthetic Cinema: The End of Drama

Synaesthetic Cinema is a really interesting concept that i feel defiantly ties into the the thoughts and ideals that were being circulated at the time. I thought the quote "all the world is not a stage, its a TV documentary" was really profound. We are constantly exposed to the human condition on tv , observing these images told to us in this narrative structure that is immersed in ideology reflects how we go about our lives. This creates a 'thought loop' that never encourages the masses to think outside of the box of the ideology soaked images in an understandable structural  format.This separates our experience from the real human experience. I think its interesting what cinema-verite would do if it was consumed and understood by a mass audience. If we viewed and if all moving image was produced with the intent to capture unstylized reality how would shape our reality. But i think potentially it could have the same effects as tv just expanding our contentiousness in a different way. If we capture reality isn't our reality still caught  up in ideology? so wouldn't that just re manifest itself when we view the human condition through a less structured more artfull lens? just a thought.

Synaesthetic Cinema

"Synaesthetic cinema transcends the notion of reality. It doesn't "chop the world into little fragments." ..... The notion of universal unity and cosmic simultaneity is a logical result of the psychological effects of the global communications network."t As literal as this sounds this reminds of the social media that completely absorbs our lives today. I wonder if he would be approving of it because it is essentially a level of global communication that does not in fact have any kind of physical representation. The concept of communicating with people through the internet, the television, radio, etc. all transcend reality. But then I wonder if he would completely disagree with this form of global communication since it is essential owned and operated by corporations, which may be considered as some form of governmental control. It is this idea that makes me think that perhaps the ideals of Synaesthetic Cinema are not constrained to that of film and art. doesn't "chop the world into little fragments," an

Synaesthetics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IxeroqZSuo

Youngblood on Synaesthetic Cinema

Wow what a mind...Youngblood seems like he has taken all the modern art movements and deepest psychological theories, and critical arguments-added straight shots of Minimalism and shot it out of a lens of New Media for us to express our individual consciousness through cinematic film. And yet I think I get it or at least part of it...I think his writing is endlessly quotable--combining physics and art...Chaos is order on another level--yes. Technoanarchy!  And all thanks to television there are no more secrets or words to be creative. lol...we always knew it.. It does feel like we are already there, layering images of past, present, future in nonlinear personal expressions.. ooh again with the physics..elegant simplicity...I like that. Abstraction that renders fiction obsolete. This guy can write!
The part that really feels like polar opposites in art is the part of technique that excludes the theatrical while trying to evoke emotion from our archetypal consciousness' ...all of them...collective, personal...
I just hope my film is interesting.

End of Drama Response

This reading had a new, and somewhat dark look at tv in a way I didn't think of. As he said, TV captures everything that happens in every day life, thus secrete can no longer be kept, or at least they're much harder to do so. I'll like to add that internet has only amplified this effect, and will only increased in that.
Youngblood saw this as mankind's conscious pooling together, which has its own benefits, but I can't help but think of this as constant surveillance from a government. The whole "no secrets being kept" thing can be used in benefitual way, but this isn't a perfect world, so its most likely going to be used for selfish ends. Hopefully though that can change over the future, where humans become more in tuned to the technology as Youngblood describes.

Save the New Age. Real change please.

  What he discusses in the second section I can get behind - for the most part. It's painfully obvious that he comes from New Age perspective (he even says it himself). Which is great in so many philosophical respects. Radical evolution, great. Connections of people around the globe, awesome. Away with the old and in with the new, down with it. I agree with his overall sentiment, but I think what he fails to address is essentially what brought us to the corporate owned state of things today and what was, in my opinion the failure of the entire "hippie" phenomenon. While he notes that commercial entertainment has in large part taken over our consciousness he fails to take on the notion of modern capitalism and its implications, which is why essentially his ideas never blossomed, in my humble opinion. The ideas he brought forward as to his vision of what media should look like are pretty beautiful, however as is seen throughout American history, whenever something is given to the people for free, the second massive corporations see a possibility of profit in the concept, forget about it. That is, unless it is protected with through and through from their ever growing reach into all aspects of life. Without addressing capitalism's reach, his dreams will never come true and media will never truly become free. The ideas of seeing things in a common artistic language throughout the world via television, internet, etc. are very much real - except for the purpose of selling us the newest thing. Long story short, the language used that at times sounds as if it could have come out of the mouth of an intellectual new age-er standing around on Fry St. can just go ahead and render itself irrelevant in my book.
 

Ordering Film

Your first project is required to be shot and projected on film. This means you're going to need to get your hands on some film. There are a handful of options for ordering film, and it doesn't necessarily have to be expensive, depending on what you need. Here are a few options:

Kodak - http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Products/index.htm

Kodak is still around and still the largest producer of motion picture film. Take a look at their camera films if you're planning on shooting negative and having a lab process it and make a print (ask if you're not sure what you need.) If you plan on processing your own film and making your own print, look into their print films and post production films, particularly a high-contrast positive film called 7363 (often referred to as "Hi-Con"). You may also choose to use a fine grain print stock called 7302. We'll work in class with these. If you want to shoot color, you're going to be stuck with shooting negative.

To order from Kodak, you'll need to call one of their sales offices. Their LA office has been the most helpful to me most recently. You can call them here: 1-800-621-FILM (3456) Tell them what number stock you want and how many feet. Send them an image of your student ID for an educational discount. You can save money by buying 400ft rolls and spooling down to 100ft spools to fit our Bell and Howell cameras. Go in on an order with fellow students to save money.

ORWO - http://www.orwona.com/

Orwo is a German company that has just recently started selling film stock in the US. They have a great variety of black and white negative stocks that are similar to discontinued Kodak stocks. They also have an easy online order system on their website. If you want a little flexibility with exposure and a really beautiful black and white print, shooting one of these stocks and sending it to a lab for printing will be a great option, though perhaps a little more pricey than processing yourself.

AGFA - http://www.agfa.com/sp/global/en/internet/main/solutions/cine/index.jsp

Agfa still makes a couple of stocks. I haven't tried ordering them, but you could give it a shot if you're really curious.

Vanderbeek writes of the ways in which we commonly express ideas and the way we use that expression to interpret the world, to grow within it. He writes "...the world hangs by a thread of verbs and nouns. Language and culture semantics are as explosive as nuclear energy." I think this hits the nail on the head when we talk about the "purpose" of art and of finding the truest forms of expression, because when we do this effectively I think that we can transcend languages, national boundaries, cultures and even time periods. Vanderbeek suggests that we as artists create "a new world language... that we invent a non-verbal international picture language." He goes on to detail a number of ways this can be done scientifically, however I believe it can be argued that this has been done in a number of ways, which maybe accounted for by the rise of the internet but when I watch a German art film, read a comic book from South America,  look at a piece of Japanese street art, I feel that this is being done in very interesting ways.

Expanded enema. Week 2

 From what I could understand  in the reading I belive that both articles coincide with one another. Youngblood offers a theory and critic on the direction society is heading towards (what I gathered from his overall overview of his book) and Vanderbeek offers a solution of sorts.In my theory I attempted to combine the two because Vanderbeek speaks of Expanded cinema as a use of communication and Youngbood speaks of cinema as a way to expand our consciousness and how can we expand our minds without communication. Vanderbeek explains that we have lost emotional comprehension of technology and the cultural intercom will be an emotional experience moving art and life closer. This coincides with Youngbloods theory that we will reach a point  in our evolution when the concept of reality will no longer exist because i feel If we were to learn via Vanderbeeks culture intercom our concept of reality will diminished because one,when that sort of technology arises it will be used against us and two, we are learning about our lives via images and sounds. Dont get me wrong, images and sounds are a vary intrinsic part of our modern life and like Youngblood said cinema is  in fact our lives but my concern with this idea of a picture languge and constently being subjected to them how the governments will use this as a tool to  control the masses. Instead of seeing a Practical Utopian or a society where artists will deal with the world as a work of art, all i envision  is a brainwashed dystopian future similar to THX1138 but instead of pills, people are being controlled by images and every form of creativity is banned. (here is see Alex from a clock work orange with his eyes forced open) Of course though in our current state of living we are already brianwashed by television images and both authors are theorizing how in fact we can create art in a capitalist society that kills creativity. Both authors speak of  how technology will evolve art and realized in their current time that people were disconnected from cinema. Their theory's predated the internet and living in the future with the sort of advanced technology they were getting at we are still all very disconnected from cinema. I fell like in the reading they were preoccupied on how the artist will advance with technology which is true but there is still creative room for the artist to not be on the forefront of technology.
-Alli

Reding responses for week 2

Preface

from

Expanded Cinema -

Gene Youngblood,

Unite art and life, make what’s inside your head-outside your head. That’s the quest.  I agree. I can't really think of anything to add to that, other than that I found this article a while back.... check it out. 

http://techland.time.com/2011/09/23/scientists-can-almost-read-your-mind-turn-thoughts-into-movies/

Culture: Intercom –

Stan Vanderbeek

I can’t imagine 1966. I hope Vanderbeek is still alive, because I feel like his dream of sharing media on a global scale is here, I didn’t find any specific reason for why he thought this mass sharing of media would bring world peace, maybe because it could unify the world under one set of ideas, or by sharing a common experience? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-cashel/can-facebook-promote-worl_b_364766.html