Thoughts on Electronic Music

This past week was by far my favorite lecture this semester. Being a long time fan of various genres within electronic music I was very interested in learning about the roots of the genre. One of the things that came to my mind was the the question " is all recorded music electronic?" Well, technically speaking I'd have to say yes. the sounds we hear on a CD or MP3 are just representations of the original music. Even if that original source is 100% acoustic the recording is by nature electronic. This argument made me recall Depeche Modes release of "Black Celebration." (here he goes ranting about Depeche Mode again, ok we get the point you like Depeche Mode.) Electronic music purist were enraged that the band opened the song "striped" with a chord from an acoustic guitar. In 1991 when the band was preparing to record "Violator" the producer Flood made the statement "If you want to use guitars then use guitars." The band has never looked back and continue to produce good music. Music is music and , I think, people get to caught up on the medium used in it's creation. Electronic music still suffers from the stigma that it is just repetitive noise but I would argue that these critics obviously haven't been exposed to the vast variety in electronically created music. I don't believe that technology has hindered music, rather it is liberated it. I like the fact that I can sing and have a computer correct my pitch and tone. I'm grateful I can incorporate a full orchestra into my music without having to foot the bill for contracting the London Symphony Orchestra. I don't think the aid of a computer diminishes the value of music. I believe it enhances it. I am excited about the sense of newness when I listen to recordings by Aphex Twin, Faunts, Uffie, Erasure, and Rex the Dog. I don't feel cheated at all when I see M83, Cytoplastic or other electronic artist perform their music live. Although I'm not a fan, I hope Britney Spears continues to augment her voice electronically. Change is inevitable. Really, when you think about it, when you bang two rocks together you are creating sound and in effect using an instrument. Music is just becoming bigger, embrace it.

Thoughts on Surveilance

After viewing the Surveillance documentary in class this past week I left feeling shocked and a little conflicted. To begin, I must admit that I was pretty ignorant about the amount of surveillance all of us are under. I was aware of red light cameras, security cameras in public places as well as the advent of satellite imaging but those methods of surveillance only scratch the surface of what is really going on. I had no idea that my printer was being watched nor was I aware of the scope of information that was being collected about me and then sold to the highest bidder. It is not so much the fact that this is going on that bugs me so much as it is the fact that I’m not aware of it. Are these companies telling us about their information collecting when we buy their products, I don’t know; I haven’t really been looking. I do know that I think they should and that I’ll be looking and thinking a little more as I purchase new products and services
as well as any time I give my personal information out.

Now I do believe that our government does need to observe the flow of information globally to protect our society. In addition, with the rise of sexual predators in our society, parents and individuals need the means to protect their children as well as themselves. However, we as citizens have the responsibility to watch the government (and private industry) to make sure they are not going to far. The system of checks and balances is always in jeopardy as we have witnessed in the post 911 world.  Government aside I am troubled by the prospect of private business using information collected about peoples searching habits and then using it for their own monetary gain. I conjure the scenario in my head of people with sexual deviant pasts such as rapist and child sex offenders who have served their time and paid their debt to society (in theory…) being pulled back into their sick behavior by pornography providers who target them using their own past search
histories.

In conclusion, I believe our best defense against unethical use of information trafficking and surveillance is awareness. As artists, we have the unique ability to make me people look at things in a way or from a perspective they wouldn’t normally consider. I look forward to exploring these issues further in my work to enhance my own awareness as well as that of others about this alarming trend that isn’t going away any time soon.

Thoughts on surveillance

Hacker Redefined

My experience thus far in EMAC has altered my view of what a hacker is and isn’t. Up to this point my idea of a hacker was largely influenced by films such as “War Games”,”Hackers” and of course “Ferris Buelers Day Off”. The term has always maintained a negative connotation for me. The documentary really made me aware of the early spirit of hacking. And like DADA and Fluxus before it, This movement was largely built around the idea of changing your preconceived notion of what something is, can and should be…with a little mischief thrown in. I was also really interested to learn some of the early events that lead to the formation of Microsoft and Apple respectively. My understanding it means to be a hacker now is more or less to repurpose something from it’s original intended use. Can artists be hackers? Yes, We’ve seen many examples of this in our lifetimes haven’t we? In Brooklyn artists took turntables, a device meant to play prerecorded vinyl records and used them as instruments, Depeche Mode used the sound of trains and machinery as percussion. College Students are using old X-Boxes as servers. Hell painters have even used piss as paint. As a look back on my life I can see many things I did as a child as hacking. Children, especially boys, are born hackers. I can remember using my dog as a dish washer, a baseball card to make a “motor” on the spokes of my bike, Aluminum foil and comic strips as wrapping paper. These are all really examples of hacks. Most of those were done in fun. When I was a little older I used a hack to alter our POS system in one of the restaurants I worked in to replace our company logo with a picture of a penis on April Fools day, Needless to say the boss wasn’t to thrilled. Which brings up one critical point. As I was watching the documentary in class I was struck by some of the hackers surprise at getting in trouble for what they are doing as if the possibility never occurred to them. Yes hacking can be art, but it can also be crime. These guys like myself really thought they wouldn’t get caught. I think there is a place for hackers in the art world as well as the world at large but just like anyone else there is also the need for personal accountability. 

SRL and the Blurry Line Between Artist and Audience

I think Survival Research Laboratories is awesome. Of course they have a place in the Art world. They same people who go to first Thursdays sipping wine and cosmos may not be the audience who go to participate in SRL event. I like the interactive nature of the experience and the element of danger. Should a viewer be threatened by a piece of art? I don’t see why not as long as viewer is made aware that this is a possibility beforehand. I think about the thrills of playing a video game and the sense of danger that I get from that experience. SRL is just taking that experience to the next level. Technology is definitely changing the way we view and experience art. Art today is becoming more interactive. Everywhere we go art is popping up that you can interact with. In architecture you have shows like HGTV’s “Dream House” where viewers can log on design a log cabin and the network compiles these ideas and builds the house. Designers create apps for cell phones and web pages where the content changes depending on your interaction. Videogames these days are a collaboration of many programmers, Designers and musicians. Sony is releasing “Little Big Planet” this fall, a game that allows users to design their own content, load it to the Sony Network and let others experience their art. Today is one of the most exciting times to be alive for both artists and Viewers and the lines that divide are growing blurrier. 

Fluxus...

                   

I really enjoyed enjoyed learning about FLUXUS. The movement appeals to me because so much of my experience of art has been contained in preconceived artistic boundaries. My paintings were one thing, and my writing was another, the two were separate. Very rarely have I collaborated with other artists to create something bigger than my own ideas. As I get older I realize that this attitude will only hinder me. I’ve always felt my work must be epic,larger than life and have some grand earth shattering meaning. I can see now that much of that attitude is ego driven. That’s why Fluxus appeals to me so much. I really like the simple philosophy behind the movement.The Fluxus artistic philosophy can be expressed as a synthesis of four key factors that define the majority of Fluxus work:

*Fluxus is an attitude. It is not a movement or a style.

*Fluxus is intermedia. Fluxus creators like to see what happens when different media intersect. They use found and everyday objects, sounds, images, and texts to create new combinations of objects, sounds, images, and texts.

*Fluxus works are simple. The art is small, the texts are short, and the performances are brief.

   *Fluxus is fun.

Humour has always been an important element in Fluxus. I like the fact that the fluxus artist were seen as pranksters. I don’t really think that John Cage, George Maciunus or yoko Ono really lost much sleep over being misunderstood. The fact that the artists were all so strong in their identities as individuals made it possible for them to make such an impact as a collective. Like Dada before it, The Fluxus movement was not dependant on the support of the market driven art world to validate them. As an artist I think we sometime loose this quality. I have to ask myself why do I make art? Is it because I want a paycheck? Well, yes, you gotta eat and have a roof over your head. But it is also because I like being around other people who enjoy making art. I enjoy being around others who just have to make stuff and really don’t care if we are understood.  I think that is why I’m so attracted to the atmosphere here at MICA. It is the community. Fluxus is all about community and having fun. Isn’t that what life is all about anyway.

Past, Present, and Future Tense...Reaction

Upon reading Gregor Muir’s “Past, Present, and Future Tense,” I am convicted of the shallowness of my view of what new media is. Up to this point I would’ve labeled websites and digitally produced 2D and 3d animation as new media. This article has prompted me broaden that view. If I were to create a website with nothing on it but a white back round on it would that be accepted as new media? If so would it be considered “good” new media? Many of the works described in this article would not fit the bill as aesthetically pleasing. This in turn raises the question does art as a whole need to be aesthetically pleasing to be art. I think not. But I think it helps if it is to be accepted by the public at large. This truth makes me question what I want to get out of my time in E.M.A.C.? Do I want to make pretty pictures that make people smile and serve more or less as decoration? Am I here to just learn software to communicate others ideas and sell their products? Do I want to be like these artist who used these emerging technologies to expand the boundaries of art and force people to look at these mediums differently? I think I want to do all of these. Another thing that struck me while reading this article is all the new ethical questions that popped into my head. Is it ethical to film people jumping off a bridge to their death? Or is this a way of using art to draw attention to this occurrence? Is it ethical to create websites that people visit that leads them to think that something wrong with their computer? Is it ethical to use others work in new ways if it violates copyright laws? As I try to answer these things I’ve come to realize that I don’t have all the answers. Who am I to say what is ethical anyway. Am I responding solely to the art or the artist? Is there a difference? What do you all think?