Final Presentation

Pedestrian by Paul Kaiser & Shelley Eshkar(2002)




Description of the work:

• Public artwork
• Using a projector to project an animation of moving tiny human
  onto sidewalks or concrete floor
• It shows the movements of 3D tiny human  moving in busy streets,
  plazas, opening umbrellas, etc. 
• The 3D models are from kids to adults. Their outlooks include school
  kids up to businessmen. 
• These models are derived from database of motion. They capture and
  re-edit the sequence for each model in different scenes
• The animation is in a 13 minutes loop
• Audience have to hover above to see the 3D models moving
• There are no narratives, but music to let the audience think and talk about
  the work freely
• 

Thought provoking parts of the work:

• This work let us, the audience act as omniscient observers.
• Audience can only look at the models moving but no interactions between,
  this let us really think about how we are in reality.
• There is no narratives, but a soundtrack. This allows the audience to think about
  the work with the others freely.

Quotes:

1.All of this looks strikingly real at first. The movements of the people are at once weirdly robotic and life-        like. But then you realize that it is all animated. The combination of trompe l'oeil illusion and artificiality            gives the effect of a hyper-real dream.

Ken Johnson, ART IN REVIEW: Shelley Eshkar, Paul Kaiser -- 'Pedestrian', March 01, 2002.

-->Ken is trying to point out that we are like falling into a dream world when looking at the animation. It              allows us to think about our lives through this dream.

2.Pedestrian positions us as omniscient observers, panning over the city as if from a police helicopter.              Removed from the figures below, we witness the movements of the city's inhabitants without the ability to      interact with them. At the same time, because these figures occupy the actual physical space in which we        stand, we are somehow implicated in their lives.

Kelly Salmon, Pedestrian By: Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar , SEPTEMBER 2, 2009
https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/MarkTribe/Paul+Kaiser+and+Shelley+Eshkar

-->Kelly is trying to point out that audiences act like omniscient  observers here. And we will be like                  involving in the city as we are stepping on it.

My Opinion:

• Allow us to stop and think about how our lives are like
  Apart from being that rush, we should actually stop and take a little rest.
• Get a chance for us to discuss with people looking at the work what is going on
  as there is no narrative to square our mind
• Let one know that we should care more the world instead of just rushing in streets

Related websites:

http://openendedgroup.com/artworks/ped.html
https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/MarkTribe/Paul+Kaiser+and+Shelley+Eshkar
http://www.gmu.edu/depts/gallery/2003/kaiser.html

Video about Inter-discommunication Machine

Bus Uncle

1. Do you see videos such as “Bus uncle” and its copies  as a good addition to creative culture?

I see the copies of ''Bus uncle'' as creative culture. Take for example, the original video of "Bus uncle" is a real incident captured by the passengers, while its copies are being put with other ideas or ironic features. These newly put ideas make the copies having new meanings which are different from that of the original one. The copies may become ironic or even a joke, but since people put in creation and transfer the incident into a totally new idea, I think this is what by mean as creative culture.

2. Is the wide availability of such videos a good thing for society or not?

I think the wide availability is good for the society in some ways. This let people do their creations freely.  Wide spread of such videos also encourage people to create and get involve in the society since one make creations on really hot topics. Also, others may see these creations as a way of relaxation. However, if the videos were made with negative ideas like bullying, discrimination or bad messages, they would create negative effects on the society. Since the online platform is so popular, negative ideas may then be promoted and affect the thinking of the people especially the youngsters. 

3. How many viewers are estimated to have watched the Youtube video?

Over a million people watched the Youtube video. They have a really big influence not only in the city but globally. 

4. How would you rate the video?Is it of high quality in technical terms? Is it interesting aesthetically eg camera angles, use of light, the narrative and so on?

The video is not of high quality in technical terms and not aesthetic I would say. This video was just one taped to capture an incident on the bus but not made as a film.  The one who captured the video was just a normal passenger, so it is not of high quality nor aesthetic. He/she was not able to made it great either since there isn't any equipment.  However, the video contain others' voices or conversations, these funny 'narratives' made the video even more interesting!

5.      Do you think it deserved the attention that it received from the internet community?

 I think it deserved the attention it received from the internet community in some ways. Firstly, it points out some problem that we may have come accrossed . Secondly, it shows how stressful it is of the Hong Kong people, this may provoke emotions of many people. And can bring out social issues for us to focus on. Thirdly, this incident somehow become a way of relaxation for the viewers. However, it is so popular that may be easily seen by kids, which may affect them as it includes foul language. 

Questions on new media art

1.Dada and new media art both described as reactions. What did they react to?

Both Dada and new media react to the the digitization of cultural forms and information technology revolution.

2.What are some similarities of new media art to Dada, Pop art and Video art?

Some similarities are they all engaged with the commercial culture like advertisements and        magazines. They all focus on the concepts rather than the representation or skills. Also, the internet serves as a tool for them to explore the changing relationship between technology and culture. 

3.When was net art first included in a major exhibition: Documenta X?

   1997 

4.Is new media art focused in one country? Why or why not?

No, because internet serves as a worldwide channel for new media art to spread. For example there is email lists or different communication websites for people to spread the arts, for promotion or even exhibitions. 

5.Why were many artists drawn to new media art from other disciplines?

Many artists were drawn to new media art from other disciplines because computer and the internet has been globalized. There is a widespread use of internet, which become one of the most popular thing that people will engage in. Other than this made the new media art convenient to the artist but can also have more audiences easily. 

Comment on Mark Napier's "Shredder"

The Shredder by Mark Napier is a digital artwork that changes the outlook of a normal web page.
Firstly, formal instructions can be found here in the work, you have to follow the instructions or rules to get the work change. Here we can see that changing the outlook is actually being fixed.

Secondly, the work places more importance on the concept rather than the art object. As we can see that the words and images in the work cannot be seen clearly or being distorted, we can assume that the objects are not the real focus. From Mark, the work is to "present the global internet structure as a chaotic, irrational, raucous collage". This confirmed that the concept and idea is put on the top priority rather than the distorted images or words and lines.

Thirdly, the work places importance on the event and audience participation. This work will only work when someone type in a link, so the participation of audience is a must. The audience somehow contribute to the final appearance of the Shredder.

Fourthly, the Shredder also has an interest in random events and or chance. Audience can type in whatever links they want freely. This is by randomness to make the work perform.

Lastly, borrowing and appropriation are part of Shredder too. It has to appropriate data from other websites to make it a parallel web. And in order to make the final look, it has to borrow other websites to display the distorted images and words.

comment on documentary

1. According to the film, what are some pros and cons of playing video games for individuals and societies?

Let me start with cons, individually, video games especially the violence one may develop a kid or teenager or even an adult to be a violent person. In the long run, this may cause potential danger to their families or even the society. And some pros, video games may serve as a way to relax, or even a way for learning.

2. According to the film, is there any evidence that digital games can encourage aggressive values and anti-social actions in the real world? Do you agree?

Yes, according to the film, since some subjects of the digital games are promoting aggressive actions, for example wars. This may promote a thinking to the players that they have to be aggressive in order to get something. And there are even some games involving killing, shooting, these may all provide aggressive values to the players.  And this also applies to anti-social actions, as digital games players involve in the digital world, they may not distinguish between the reality and the digital. In the long term, they may be totally engaged in the digital and develop anti-social values and thus actions.

3. Should the governments have the right to ban a certain game or place age restrictions on it? Why?

Although digital games contain potential danger to individual and the society, I think the government does not hold the right to ban any of the games. However, I agree that having restrictions are acceptable. There should be restriction on the violent games on teenager under 18, as they may develop dangerous thinking if they engage in the violent world since they are young. This may help to keep our society safe.

Video Game - Super Mario Clouds

The game:

Super-Mario Clouds is, according to the producer Cory Arcangel: "an old Mario Brothers cartridge which I modified to erase everything but the clouds." The ‘game’ left only with the blue sky and clouds, moving slowly from right to left. He believed that people who are familiar to the original game would have the total image in their minds.

Is Super-Mario Clouds an art?

I think that Super-Mario Clouds can be partly classified as art.

Being an art, this game is not formulaic, it is innovative and has content in someway. Art should not have formula, and here in the Clouds you can feel it. Unlike other arts we see, this is something new out of the old. You will not imagine the clouds will be the only thing left but not Mario. This is something out of our expectation, and I believe this is why it could be called as an art.

Secondly, having no formula also make this 'game' innovative. Not like other games that you can play with, here you got no characters but the clouds moving nonstop in front of you. This makes a difference between what video games should be, it is a totally new thing. You will never believe that the clouds are the only thing you can see out of the Mario world.

Many people may think that Super-Mario Clouds is boring, however, I think there is something here. Leaving only clouds moving helps make audiences think about what the creator wants to tell. It may not provoke your emotion as Mario should have, like being excited or happy, it does make you feel something or think about what is going on. This also make this 'game' to have some content or message, letting the audiences to think about it when seeing the clouds move.

However, Super-Mario Clouds in someways make it not so an art. Without the participation of audiences and somehow it is boring, this cannot help to link the artist and audience. With no interactions and boring, I believe this 'game' won't be long lasting, which an art should be. And, aesthetic qualities are lacked, it is simply clouds and a blue background cutting out from the original version.  

All in all, I would say Super-Mario Clouds contains some properties to be called an art.