POST #3

ON ILLEGAL ARTS:

The video talks about illegal art and all of the implications attached to it. As the host says, art in unauthorized places is something that happens worldwide and is almost impossible to stop. Artists can post their pieces of art for several reasons, from making a political statement to just expressing their unique thoughts. In the video we can see the process of organizing a movement in which many people are united to expand the art of only one artist, we get to see how the police are introduced and how they take action, we get to see the adversity these artists face; It is truly fascinating to see the lengths some people are willing to go to convey an idea to their own community through these art pieces.

But, when does the spreading of what is considered street art turn into something that can ultimately harm a community?

In the video we can also see how much power the street art can possess. The video lets us take a look at how gang tags (which fundamentally are considered street art) can impact a community to a degree where it can bring unwanted reactions from certain people. We see how the people in charge to cover up these tags worry because they understand that this particular art has some territorial connotations that can lead to violent reactions from rival gangs. These artistic expressions are so powerful that can bring these kinds of consequences to any place in the world.

Another example that proves that street art has a lot more power than people think it does is how art done by some women even though it is not intended to be serious or political it has a connotation of subversion. In the video we can see how the host is able to talk to a group of women who do street art and do it because they simply have a passion for the aesthetic of it. However, they understand and state that they know even though they do not mean to be controversial they are because it challenges the idea that only men are proficient in this kind of art.

April 18, 2016April 28, 2016 by alejandrocamporami Leave a comment

POST #2

ON MUSIC AND SOUND:

Reaction to music and sound

Music and sound definitely affect us at a biological level. Audio frequencies are actually stimuli to the brain the same way that food, drugs and sex are; these stimuli make our brains release a neurotransmitter called dopamine which chemically puts our brains in a state of pleasure. This chemical reaction will leave your body feeling good and craving more of the stimuli. Though not on the same level music is addictive to our brains just like drugs, food and sex are and creates the same chemical response in humans across the world regardless of the social context.

But does it affect all of us the same way?

Does music have a definite connotation that provokes a specific kind of response in us? In other words, is sad music actually supposed to make us feel sad and happy music supposed to make us feel happy? These are the kinds of questions that are raised when we study the usual reaction that happens when we listen to a specific kind of music. These questions have been answered by many studies that show that the response that we have towards music is very subjective, we only react to certain music with the “appropriate” feeling just because we were taught that it was supposed to happen. It is not a matter of what the music provokes but of what we are expecting to receive.

So is it possible to correctly categorize music as good or bad?

I think it is safe to say that because of our subjective opinions and responses towards music the quality of music should not be defined. As history has proven what was once considered torture for the ears in earlier times is now one of the most profitable and loved genres of music (Dubstep). The boundaries of what is considered music or sound are not set in stone so why should the quality of these sounds be?

February 22, 2016April 28, 2016 by alejandrocamporami Leave a comment

POST #1

ON HOOGERBRUGGE’S “MODERN LIVING”

http://ml.hoogerbrugge.com/

The multimedia object that is presented by Hoogerbrugge is titled “Modern Living” and it consists of a list of numbers from ten to ninety five, these numbers are all assigned an icon which is clickable and once clicked it will start an animation on the right area of the object. Most of the animations contain the same figure (a male adult) and most of these show him participating in what appear to be mundane activities such as reading the paper or smoking a cigarette, however it will change into something abstract with a lot of shock value. For instance the smoke that he blows from his cigarette will become another image of the same man.

Database and Interface

In Manovich’s essay we can see how this object can be considered multimedia. Each of the images have a significance and none is more significant than the other. This collection of individual items are also interactive, the viewer has to click the item for it to actually load the animation; providing the object with a clear interface. I found this particular multimedia object very compelling since every single animation is very open for interpretation. Even though the artist is trying to make people relate these odd images to our “modern life” they do not have a definite and clear meaning.

In this video from the European association for viewer’s interest we learn about how critical thought is imperative when we talk about media literacy and how we perceive these multimedia objects. We are aware that the piece is influencing our ideas; however we use critical thought to question what we see and arrive to our own interpretations.

This video from the University of Amsterdam talks about the role that the media plays in society nowadays. The video explains the role of the media with a metaphor; they refer to the media as the window that will allow people experience things that they may not encounter in their day to day life. This can be applied to Hoogerbrugge’s piece; each animation is an experience that many people will find foreign and interesting.

In this video brought by the Communication for Governance and accountability program we see how it is almost impossible to avoid being affected by the message of a certain media presents, but it tells us that if we understand how the media works we can achieve to conserve our own perception on things and keep a balanced view of the world.

 

January 25, 2016April 28, 2016 by alejandrocamporami Tags: animations, collection, criticalthought, database, europeanassociation, foreign, hoogerbrugge, interface, mediaeffects, mediaideas, mediametaphor, mediaperception, mediawindow, modernliving, universityofamsterdam Leave a comment