Put Something Here Part 2

For Put Something Here Part 2, I've manage to explore the figure of the shadow that is cast by another. In my last Put Something Here Project, I was straight forward with the casting of my shadow with the first movement that came to my head. On my second take of this project I managed to discover many other images that my body casted making me both puppet and puppeteer. I mostly played on chance and random movement as much as a dancer would change to a different motion. I remained true as possible in front of my car lights and close enough that my shadow was still readable to the occasional viewer.

(picture soon posted- see camera for now)

Craig Kapp

Craig Kapp came to class and talked about Augmented Reality. At first I didn't know what to really think until he showed us a simple Valentines day card. He set up a camera connected to his computer, uploaded a certain program and the next thing I know the characters on the page pop out and start preforming. At that point I was sucked in, i was seriously at the edge of my seat wondering what else he has to show us, and after seeing that card I know what kind of card I'm gonna get my girlfriend for her birthday.

The revolution of Augmented Reality is defiantly going to be our near future. One iphone game app he has showed us made me seek it out. The app was a game where you can go and hunt ghost located with in an area near you. You use your iphone or ipod touch and hold it up near the area until you see the image of the ghost. Then on the screen you attack and capture it. This game app remind me of a game for the PSP that is all to real in its concept. It's a mix between Pokemon and the app Craig introduced us too. They game helps you track monsters within your home, and once you find it you try and capture it, once caputred you can then use the creature to battle with your friends .

Augmented reality isn't just for entertainment purposes only, they are also used for educational uses as well. Craig show us the learning use of this new age of technology. It can show diagrams and and processes in the use of text books to help explain certain diagrams as a more interactive image. He then showed us a pop out memorization game little children can play and help with their motor skills as they develop. As the future continues, technology improves and from what I saw what augmentative reality today has for us, makes me want to stick around to see what and how this technology is going to improve.

Sarah Drury

Sarah Drury's presentation was very interesting to both my ears and my eyes. Her voice box installation was unique in the possible viewing of three different images. As people interact with the installation, it flips between images. The third image comes into play when the interaction of the piece intensifies, the outline image of the person interacting then overcomes the video itself, only showing one of the other two images within the outline of the person interacting with the installation. The technology used fascinated me flipping between images making it different every time someone interacts with the piece.

Another piece of technology that caught my interest was the performance that she showed us, the Robot Dancer. Created by Margie Medlin, the Robot was an assembly of metal that is able to bend to the dancer with rotational motion sensors. As the Dancer moves and bends, the robot then repeats similar movements showing a mirror image of the dancer. I enjoyed the whole concept of the technology and the way it was used throughout the whole performance, if present I can defiantly see myself being mesmerized for hours on ends.

Technology has seized to amaze me after watching this one documentary for this one piece. It's called Under Scan by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, after recording a thousand short clips of random people laying down looking up to the camera and interacting with it in their very own way, they would have a tracking system in an area and when someone would pass through, it will then project one of the random clips where ever the pedestrian will be walking. I was blown away when I saw this technology in use as well as the thousand of recorded random clips, making wish I was there until I've seen all one thousand clips, more or less.

Reading 5: Locative-Media Artists

While reading Locative-Media Artists in the Contested-Aware City, I came across the explanation of top-down systems and bottom-up systems. I became very confused with both aspects, the examples that were giving were difficult to apprehend. For the bottom-up system, I feel it reference to search engines like google or yahoo where you can type something in on the fly and find results. I'm not too sure if that's what it was referring to. As well for the top-down system I'm still confused as for the example.

Continuing the reading it makes the statement of the rise of mobile phones and/or smart phones creating awareness for many users. I myself use my phone to find a navigate my way through any situations. If I see a billboard that promotes a new movie, out of curiosity, I would jump on my phone and look it up either watching a trailer or reading a synopses. I even would then look for the closest theater and get directions leading me to that same theater.

Next what I found interesting of what could be possible in the near future is the invention of "Geo-Annotation." Geo-Annotation could possible be the future for advertisement, when walking by a restaurant or even an outlet store you can access deals or sales that the store is promoting. This evolution can bring a new change in society and how it operates. To be able to receive knowledge on a location will be amazing and very productive as well as fortunate to businesses to the average visitor.

Reading 4: Critical Vehicles

While reading Wodiczko's Critical Vechicles, I came across an interesting social norm in between the concept of strangers and infants/children. Stranger to stranger they treat each other the same, they have these protective barriers where they have this discriminatory alien outlook between each other. They view each other as hopeless, voiceless infants shielded from the "New" world. While the children don't have those barriers and they are free of those social norms. They can go up to a random homeless guy and get to know them by asking way too many questions, but they are the one's who care enough to approach another complete stranger.

Concerning the State hybrid, Wodiczko uses a quote from John Holusha describing how mixing metals together can help obtain different properties making a new material altogether. "The new materials represent a new state of matter that was previously unavailable." Fussing these social differences can later mix and form a hybrid of what is already there, and for the better with none of it's flaws, so to say.

I also found interesting the cry for help to de-alienation toward society. To change and bend the minds of society is absolutely impossible. The image of this utopia, just like every other utopia, is a dream far out of reach. The value is just, in the way it can open up the minds to many others creating a new feel of society. The main obstacle for this utopia is human's nature to protect it's self from leaving their space around them.

Reading 3: Site-Specifics and Media Artist

In "Site-specifics," there was a phrase underlined reading, "exchanges between the work of art and the places in which its meaning are defined." Right when I read that, it made me think of this one photographer (don't remember the name) took pictures of fabrics that people have stained after their deaths of either suicide, murder, or sickness. From looking at each photo, you can receive a sense of a story or a happening that has taking place on that specific fabric.

As I read "Locative-Media Artists..." the idea of of having collective information on the fly in the near future could change our society as a whole. For people to be able to have this technology at their expense would probably have us glued to our phones even more then we are right now. Information would own our lives where ever we go.

On the subject of Social Authoring, I feel that movement is already in the process of becoming a reality. I wouldn't be surprised if locational advertisement already exist, whether it's to promote a store or an aspiring musician. I remember recalling a commercial of a singer standing on top of a building, and it would clip to people in the streets downloading a song of his and listening to hit. This quality can be really useful to music lovers, seekers, and bands to help get their music out there.

Am I an Artist?

Well first of all you have to define "what is an artist"? In my opinion there is a branch of types of people who are considered artist. From singers to painters, to actors to writers. There is a very thin line between all these categories. People can say that a certain movie scene was a piece of art more so then a crappy painting of nothing. I feel like the piece would have to blow your mind upon experience as the emotions you get from two actors or the thought that one sculpture might give off. So now the question is, Am I an Artist? If someone asked me that question on the street, I honestly wouldn't say yes. I really don't fall in the stereotype or social aspect of what people consider an artist. I love making films, either to amuse or entertain my audience. Thats my goal in my life and if people consider my stories to be art then so be it and then I would be considered and artist to those who think so.