Seminar II: New Media

I chose to do further research on Harrel Fletcher . Where: Born 1967. From Portland, Oregon. He was originally collaborating with an artist by the name of Jon Rubin within Oakland, California. Later on, he made artwork all over America (and beyond). He normally has people in the area that he is in work with him to create the work. He, essentially, helps build communities. He does public work, with other people. He also does virtual work (learning to love you more), as well as installations and performances for various areas and museums. When: He's still a practicing artist, as are most (if not all) New Media artists. His work applies to the here and now due to it's interactive nature, it's social commentary, and candid-ness. His most recent project was Corentine's Turtle , wherein, a young boy's sculpture idea was brought to life by Fletcher. This was done in 2006. How: Fletcher employs many different techniques to create his work. It ranges from drawing and sculptu...

Harrell Fletcher - I enjoyed the idea list that he had on the side of his website. Some of the ideas were very interesting, and it's good to have a whole pool of creativity like that. Corentine's Turtle was particularly touching, as he worked with a child and brought this kid's sculpture idea to life. Quite poignant and touching. I enjoy that he makes work relating the outside world--and his understanding of it. 'More Everyday Sunshine' was also interesting--it brought the art to the everyday passerby with motion sensor technology, illuminating certain objects or areas at night. It was interactivity...sortof like Art 2.0 (New Media) without all the pomp that one normally experiences. Don Ritter -I really thought that the aesthetic quality of Ritter's work was very fascinating. Not so much the south oriented projects, but the large visual pieces, the vast projections, those were quite stunning. The 'FIT' projects is amazing, in terms of technical quality,...

I enjoyed the way that this was written to an extent, but this sort of writing style is too easy to swallow and digest. I'm used to reading things that require deciphering. I also enjoy that style of writing much more, personally. The titles bothered me a little--references to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as well as Hannibal Rising--they unsettle me. So many references to pop culture, while this book is attempting to demonstrate the importance of the right side of the brain. Something doesn't add up. I never saw the right side of the brain as being the less of the two. I already knew that they had to work in conjunction. Perhaps I enjoy studying things of this ilk far too much, hence, why I was unimpressed with the first chapter. I believe that it will develop into an enjoyable and engrossing read as chapters are passed and time goes on. It relates to New Media because it speaks of the future in terms of artistic and cultural strides. I feel that this book will layer upon its...

I enjoyed how Joan Jonas used mirrors and word repetition to speak about the different sides of a human, both physically and mentally, as well as symmetry. I thought the way she used the technology as a physical and valid part of the piece was both strong and effective. I disliked Tony Oursler's presentation as it reminded me of drug induced psychedelic trips across the universe with Frank Zappa and Bob Ross. It reminded me too much of that Heavy Metal movie, and seemed as though he was rambling and randomly animating things. His message was lost to me. Latour's video did not reach me visually or emotionally, however, the concept that it was some sortof parody on the art world itself interested me. I have my own ideas about how faulted our fine arts system is, and this reassured me that I was not alone in my thinking. The Yes Men portion was insanely entertaining and highly engrossing. The idea that they were able to infiltrate and convince the BBC that they were Reps from Dow...

New Media Art is an extensively encompassing term that deals with non-traditional media, mainly electronic, to create pieces of work. Art, itself, is all about communicating one's ideas and one's intent of purpose. New Media Art explores this same universal art principle, however, it is about pushing the boundaries and meanings of reality using film, animation, sound, and other mechanical media, instead of static drawings or paintings. Dimension, time, and function are integral and defining parts within this type of artistic medium. Audrey Kawasaki works in Traditional Media. She paints with oil paints onto wood panels or onto canvas. Her work explores female sexuality and things of that nature. Adrianne Wortzel works in New Media. She uses film in conjunction with machines--namely robots--to explore human behavior and robotic behavior conceptually.