“Race In/For Cyberspace…”

“Race In/For Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on the Internet,” by Lisa Nakamura puts a very true and interesting look into the world of cyberspace and what it entails.  It really is like a vacation from the real world; you can sink into your couch at home, with a cup of your favorite coffee and dive into a world all its own on the computer.  Watch videos that people have posted, talk with people through instant messaging, or as Nakamura talks of, create a character in a cyber world built to hide your identity/gender and walk around chatting without worrying about the “real world” troubles of being judged.  It really is a whole other interaction with people and you can create yourself how you see fit.

 

I was actually curious how a male character was treated over a female character in these virtual chat worlds, and I tested it out.  I found that the interaction is not only completely different, but as female you get both female and male characters wanting to chat with you and having a great time, but as a male the other male characters tended to avoid and all together stop interaction with another male because they were only there to talk with a female character.  It was easy on the other hand to talk with the female characters as a male, which was kind of a given when I first tested it out.  It was very interesting to see that the male characters weren’t treated in the same fashion as the females.  I found that females were treated much nicer and you could have longer and more enjoyable conversations.  A complete different story with the male character, females were nice, but the males were rude and wouldn’t say a thing.

So in regards to the article, you can create whoever you want, but you won’t necessarily have the same enjoyable experience when interacting with the many different people you meet.

 

It was interesting to find that race was an issue in the cyber world “LambdaMOO,” mentioned by Nakamura.  I would have to agree to a point that there’s no reason to make rules when dealing with race, and that someone stating that they are of a specific race should expect maybe some form of a comment.  But then I personally don’t understand why it would be such a huge issue in a chat world where you’re interacting with people on the internet.  Why shouldn’t they be able to state that they’re African American or Asian, if that’s what they are?  They’re stating it because they’re proud of it, not because they want to rub it in every one’s face.  Why should they get bashed for stating something, even if it does bring a “real world” issue into a fantasy world that every one has created for themselves? 

The article was a very interesting read, and it does bring up issues that do pertain to virtual chats that we have now.  There’s still that fantasy vacation feel…that wanting to get away from the stresses of real life, and most turn to the internet to do so. 

Check it for yourself: 

  

http://www.hnet.uci.edu/mposter/syllabi/readings/nakamura.html

“DiY Survival”

In reading the first part of “DiY Survival,” it’s interesting to read that artists have tried to teach the viewers that the internet isn’t as secure as most would think.  In fact as much as I thought up till now.  Brooke Singer’s way of informing a viewer on her website was very clever in making people realize that they gave up their personal information without knowing, and in doing this showed that it happens more often then not with what’s done on the computer.  Definitely good information to know if you’re not one to realize it off the bat.  The most shocking was the serveillance cameras that would watch the streets with people nonethewiser.  I had no clue they were even doing this that far back, and more so after 9/11.  To read that your everyday errands aren’t just your own anymore…it takes away that sense of privacy that we all think we have, even when we get on the computer and write a simple blog.  It all changes when you’re informed and it’s good, because then you’re a little more cautious with things, people (as well as me) tend to forget that things aren’t as secure and private and it throws you for a loop when you read what’s been studied in this book. 

A fun part of the book was reading of the Shopdropping trip, I never would’ve thought of that as art, but it is just like anything else that’s created.  I personally wouldn’t want my products/art to be bought by someone especially since it would be worth a lot more then what it’s sold for in a grocery store.  But to see what would happen if someone noticed that it wasn’t supposed to be in the grocery store, now that would be fun and interesting.  I’m sure it was for the artists.

Linkania, I must admit that first reading that made me chuckle, but it really is true.  Our digital world of communicating through emails and blogs really is another kind of world that people live in and brings a whole new outlook on how we all communicate throughout the world.  We’re all people without faces (or even with faces)  that have something to say, and we say it, not thinking of much else other then to get our view across or inform the next person with what’s going on.  In a way, I’m happy that the media on television is loosing it’s hold on informing us because it’s become so corrupt (or always has been) and they censor so much that we truly don’t know all that is going on.  It’s the total opposite when you go on the internet.  There’s mass amounts of information for anyone to find and read and learn from and it’s this world that we have created that’s creating an even more vast amount of knowledge and enlightenment with what not only goes on in your friends lives, but the lives of others around the world.  It’s a culture all its own. 

And I must say I love Oscar Wilde’s quote at the end of the Linkania discussion, “life is too serious a thing to be taken so seriously.”

Graffiti, still being debated upon which is very understandable.  I understand both sides of it very well.  On the one hand it’s seen as a crime, something that’s meant to strike fear, or the thought of gang related vandalism to claim territory.  And on the other, it’s art meant to express and show that you don’t need a degree to make wonderful organic pieces that get your point across not only to people that you would see going to galleries, but people walking the streets just going about their day.  It’s there, everywhere, on the walls, on bridges, covering the insides of tunnels that lead you under streets.  I was walking just today through one of these tunnles, and seeing the graffiti, the one thought I had at the time was, “I wanna get out of here quick…”  Because just the sight of it makes you think of a gang starting trouble.  So with that reaction, I can understand where there would hesitation with considering graffiti an art.  There’s so many different views and it really will be an endless discussion and argument with great opinions and outlooks on both sides.  I will have to agree with graffiti being an art form though, because it was created by someone’s hand and is a way to express what they’re wanting to show people.  All art has that motive, and with it being within the cityscape of where you live it makes it that much more available to see on a daily basis.

I was literally dumbfounded when reading about Me_arte.  To think that people actually pee on monuments to make a work of art, or give a different quality to the monument chosen….wow….Can’t say I would ever go this far to make art, and it’s not that surprising I guess that this has been done…people think of everything it seems.  And in regards to Starbucks coffee, first I (ignorant me) had no clue the issue that went on with people dying from the fertilizer use, and the like.  To find that a proclaimed “addiction” of mine is now completely changed in one evening of reading, and that these people would go this far to prove a point to the company as well.  It just goes to show that research is a must.  There is always something that’s overlooked, even when you know it’s a large corporation that’s banking big time on the consumers pocket change for that needed caffeine fix that we all crave…guess I’ll be rethinking things.  I was told awhile ago on a completely different subject and issue that pertains to this….now that you know the truth, you can’t continue to be ignorant to it’s information, you have to make a change. 

I haven’t gotten through the whole 110 pages unfortunately, but with a book like this, it keeps your interest the whole way through and the information is necessity.  I will definitely be finishing this.  Not only was it entertaining with the whole “Fuck off,” Starbucks attack, but the information is one to keep you locked to the computer screen taking it all in.

 The link:

http://www.williamlmoore.com/images/advanced/C6_DiY_Survival.pdf

“What Is Biomedia?”

“What Is Biomedia,” by Eugene Thacker was a lot to follow.  Not being educated in biology to the point of truly grasping all that was talked about, it was hard to realize fully how astounding the information about biomedia was.  It is definitely a leap to think of being able to work with the body with all the technology that just keeps evolving and growing more complex by the moment, but the thought of anything bio-engineered…even if it has the best intentions…doesn’t sound too appealing.  It is, however, in regards to finding better ways to get rid of disease, possibly even cure it.  It was just a lot to hold onto the whole way through the article and was a bit overwhelming.  Biomedia is truly part of our future it seems with the way things are moving and it looks like it could possibly be a positive step forward in medicine and technological advances in general.  I do agree and understand fully that the body is so much more than we all think, it’s complexity is always surprising.  Anyone would be interested in understanding exactly how we all work and what it is about the human body that’s so perfect in a sense.  There’s always questions and always will be, and it looks like technology is making it that much easier in finding out more.

 The article:

http://www.williamlmoore.com/images/advanced/Eugene_Thacker_-_What_is_Biomedia.pdf

“Free Culture”

Reading through “Free Culture,” by Lawrence Lessig, you’re given an inside view into copyrights and overall insight on piracy, property and so much more.  It’s such a vast amount of information, but important to know when dealing with such touchy issues.  How free is our culture?  It’s a good question to be asking nowadays, and it’s as Lessig says…it’s becoming less free than what it used to be. 

To read that Disney once copied material, and the Japanese doujinshi is a copy of an orginal manga, it shows that laws and overall content has become less and less free than before and causing a whole lot of problems.  Why is it such a big deal to be using something as inspiration for a piece?  If it’s changed to reflect an original idea, but still using what inspired them, why is it considered piracy?  Questions like these are always asked by myself when I create something after being inspired by another’s work.  Should the idea be guarded so well that no one can use anyone’s original piece?  Like Lessig says in “Free Culture,” it would change more than just a persons original work from being taken, it would change the overall learning experience of others.  It gives children of this generation less freedom to experience all that our new technology offers.  It just doesn’t seem fair in that sense.  There shouldn’t be such a strict hold on anything if it’s going to do that.  We should be able to test and dabble and learn from our own tinkering to better our own ideas and skills.  Living in fear of being sued or fined for doing this is just ridiculous.

When I read the chapter about Jessie, who was a student tinkering with software (for a class assignment) to make it work better, I was outraged at the fact that he was sued and had to admit that he did something wrong.  What he was doing was the way the class was set up.  He was supposed to be learning from messing with software hands on.  No wonder he became an activist in a way.  It made me think of a quote that I read not too long ago.  “Turn anger into activism…”  I’m sure that’s exactly what Jessie did, because it was truly unfair what he had to go through.  Something is definitely wrong with the laws that are taking hold.

Early in the reading, Lessig speaks of the Causby’s with their chickens that were being scared to the point of dying, all due to air planes flying too low above their farm.  Well like Lessig said, common sense made them think they owned the right to stop the planes from flying too low, the killing of their chickens was a personal issue and hurt them financially so it’s only right to think that you could bring up the issue and make the planes stop what they’re doing.  True this was the air they thought they owned, but it was also their land that was being affected by the air that the planes were taking without thinking of what could be affected.  It reminded me of  a story one of my professors told me.  There were a couple of artists (their names escape me) where they put large pieces of art in the natural land around them.  They’ve covered entire buildings with fabric and lined islands in the water with fabric that floated creating pink shaped letters seen from a helicopter view.  Well, they came to a farmer’s plot of land asking for permission to use his empty space for a piece of art.  The farmer wanted to grant him permission, but he came to find that he had no authority over the very land he thought he owned.  The government wouldn’t allow the artist to use the farmer’s land and the farmer was both outraged and bewildered that he actually thought he had some say in regards to what would take place on the land he paid for.  Of course he thought he had a say, common sense says that if you paid for the land and the fact that you’re living on it, you own it…but it just goes to show that even that isn’t true.

It’s astonishing the changes that are taking place.  Thoughts and ideas once free and there for the taking, to make not only wonderful art and movies, but learning experiences…are now being torn away and given restrictions and causing this so called ”free culture,” to fall into barred prisons under lock and key, where only the higherups have access.  It really makes you think not only about Piracy issues, especially on the internet, it makes you think of what freedom we have left and how law and government are trying to strip it away from us.  It’s something that we definitely have to hang on to, not only for the people now, but for future generations.  There should be no law against tinkering and learning in a classroom.  It’s absurd that something like that could end up in court where you’re being sued for $15,ooo,ooo!

There are limits of course with copyright and using other peoples work, but we shouldn’t have our hands completely tied behind our backs, living in fear that we could become another Jessie, being sued for something that was designed to teach and allow a student to learn from experience.  There are right and wrongs with everything and I feel what’s happening is definitely wrong.  And the changes are happening so fast that you can’t even keep up…  

A must read for everyone:

http://www.free-culture.cc/freeculture.pdf

“Pixels, Politics, and Play”

Rafael Fajardo’s article, “Pixels, Politics, and Play: Digital Video Games as Social Commentary,” really made a wonderful example of how a video game such as described by him, can be both art and politically expressive.  It was funny at first to see that they made games that mimicked Frogger to inform the game player of issues in our real life.  To take issues that are going on now, and put them into game form was a wonderful idea and really does teach the gamer while you play the game and try to help the character run from Mexico to the U.S.A safely without being caught.  It brings our present issues to the surface in a very different manner.  Now they could be seen as making fun of the situation as you guide this pixelated character through dangerous situations, but it also puts the person playing, in the shoes of the character.  It’s a roll playing game that really does affect the player, and teaches something that wouldn’t normally be focused on in such a way.

I played the game “The Maria Sisters,” just to see how they went about showing these important issues and I found it to be very straight forward that the place that Maria is working at is very dangerous and she is definitely being taken advantage of.  You’re taken through the game where a worker is trying to figure out why she is ill all the time and realizes it may be the chemicals she’s working with.  So you have to help her collect information to find out if it’s true, all the while avoiding the people in charge that say such comments as; “Take an aspirin honey, and get back to work,” or “You have no proof of danger!”  It’s a learning experience that brings you right into the madness taking place and you can’t help but grow attached to the poor woman that finally realizes something needs to be done.  If you get caught too many times, you get fired, and then it’s game over. 

With subject matter that is based on what’s really going on, it makes you realize something really does need to be done and that there really is some very horrible situations for not only Mexian workers, but all minorities.  They’re always taken advantage of, and things do need to be changed.  These games may seem like a joke, but they’re everything but.  I feel this is a wonderful way to not only express an artform that is beyond creative, but to also bring up political and important issues that we all need to think about and help to make a difference, to make much needed change.

Link to the article:

http://www.intelligentagent.com/archive/Vol3_No2_gaming_fajardo.html

Game called “The Maria Sisters”:

http://www.globalarcade.org/sv/index.html

“How to be an Internet Artist” and “Web Work: A History of Internet Art”

First reading “Web Work: A History of Internet Art,” it was hard to believe how many things took place during my troublesome youth as a teenager.  You never truly know all that goes on unless someone writes or teaches about it.  How would you know to look for it otherwise?  At least, if you were my age at the time.  Reading about all the various websites and ideas that came about, it’s really a wonder this “Net.Art.”  I didn’t know there was a specific title or name for all the things you do on the computer.  It makes sense though and it really is the perfect name for it, and it’s catchy enough to where it’s remembered.  Reading about the history of things and how it all came to be, it brings a new perspective to the next reading, “How to be an Internet Artist,” by Mark Amerika.

Now I will say that Amerika’s, “How to be an Internet Artist,” was a bit overwhelming.  I don’t think I quite understood the point of it all.  There were really funny parts in it, like the ”OK texts,” as well as the part titled, “This Could Be the First Day of the Rest of My Life.”  It was entertaining to read and even though there were parts that were inapproprate, it kept you hooked on reading more.  I will say that the sexual dialogues and stories were a little too thick and there was really no need to read something like that without knowing why in the world that was being written in the first place.  It was confusing in regards to, what the whole point was.  Yes it said “How to be an Internet Artist,” but is that it?  Just spouting out crazy chapter after crazy chapter with no real end or beginning?  I will give Amerika some credit in regards to it keeping your interest in parts, and that the writing for some of the stories (or whatever you would call them) were worded in such a way that it kept your eyes scanning down the page.  In fact, I read this without a break, all 111 pages and my brain literally hurts…maybe it’s the lighting of my monitor…like staring into a lamp for too many hours.  It’s funny, I feel like I’m speaking the way all the authors did in Amerika’s readings.  Isn’t it interesting how that happens…

All in all the articles were informative and fun to read, there were just parts that weren’t really needed, unless that was the whole point, to shock and jolt the reader into disgust.  Then I would say “How to be an Internet Artist,” was a success…

“How to be an Internet Artist”:

  http://www.williamlmoore.com/images/advanced/how%20to%20be%20an%20internet%20artist.pdf

“Web Work:  A History of Internet Art”:

http://www.williamlmoore.com/images/advanced/Web%20Work.pdf 

“Go Green” Video

A video that I made for a class.  I drew 200 pages worth of drawings to make this animation possible.  40 pages just for 4 or so seconds worth of video.  Taking these pages, I scanned them for hours with help…luckily, and then put it all in the computer to edit in photoshop.  Dragging my little character onto his simple backgrounds it was then ready to put into video with some catchy music of course.  And here is my finished piece, short and to the point of what I wanted to convey,  “Go Green.”  I will be adding color to this  as well, so there will be a completely finished piece in the works very soon.  I know the quality is a bit light and hard to see on parts, I’ll try to get a darker version up soon to replace this one.  Hope you all enjoy!    

 

 

“Being Digital”

Reading “Being Digital” by Nicholas Negroponte, you really get a sense of how many things can be measured in bits or atoms.  It’s something not many would really think about, I know I haven’t thought that complexly about reading something in a book or watching a tv show at home.  Everything is broken down into these atoms or bits and we don’t see the process happening.  If you think about it, it gives a whole new perpective on the things around you, not only technology.

To think of the whole world becoming digital in the sense of tvs interacting with the viewer to show only what that person wants to see…it’s a big possibility with how many changes have already taken place.  To be able to interact with your television and thumb through articles of news as if it were a newspaper, now that would be nice.  With the way major media is being controlled right now, it would be nice to sift through all the garbage and just see the parts that really mattered.  But just like the tv, a newspaper does the very same thing in regards to showing you what they want you to see.  So even if you could sift through your televison in that way, you still wouldn’t be able to find out everything. 

Being that the article was quite technical with everything, it was still explained in a fashion that was easy to follow.  Being shown a whole new way of seeing the world through bits, really gets you thinking and seeing more of the changes taking place around us.  Bits are making not only technological advances, but an easier and more efficient way of living, in a place that is becoming more digital as time passes.

Link to the article:

http://www.williamlmoore.com/images/advanced/beingdigital.pdf

“As We May Think”

The article “As We May Think,” is interesting in the sense that Bush truly was an imaginative thinker in regards to our technology and what it would branch off to in the future.  To read the many thoughts that he had in regards to all this technology, it was a little mind boggling that so many ideas and realizations could be thought up just by one person. 

Bush speaks of dry photography in the article, one where a picture could be produced without getting it wet, the process currently in regards to wet would be developing the film in the dark room.  I’ve done this all myself, and although it’s a long process it’s an enjoyable one.  But people like speedy and fast, as is how our current state has been for the past couple of years now.  We want it done quick and we want it now, well, in regards to this dry photography that Bush speaks of, it’s now possible.  The digital camera with its new ways of taking pictures gives us a new ability to print out our pictures straight from the printer or from a cd instead of having to get into chemicals in the dark room.  Bush also speaks of being able to see the photo before it’s even developed, well there again the digital camera has shown that this has become possible.  I know I have grown accustom to seeing the picture right after taking it.  There’s a whole new appreciation for it when you then switch to a standard 35mm film camera, where you’re stuck guessing if the picture came out the way you wanted it.  The digital camera spoils us in a sense when you think about it, and it provides that fast and quick outcome that people now a days really want and have grown obsessed with in my opinion.

Back to the article though, it was very interesting to hear about what Bush called, “Memex.”  It has the workings of a computer in a sense, but then there’s extras which seem like they would be nice to have on our actual computers; such as being able to make long-hand notes and have them automatically  stored for future reference.  To have that availiable on every computer would be a neat addition.  Typing is faster of course, but to be able to handwrite something straight on the screen and have it saved would be very nice.  We do have that technology now, but you have to buy the higher end, and most of the time expensive, computers or laptops.

To have these ideas and thoughts back when this technology was a dream rather than a reality is astonishing.  And then being able to see the technology that he speaks of as an actual reality for my generation and generations to come, it just goes to show that in little time, something new and amazing is being invented to help make things easier…or complicate them, depending on what it is…  Technology in general really is just continually building and will never stop.  And that thought is amazing in itself.  That we can actual come up with better things then what we have now?  There’s a whole appreciation for all the inventors and thinkers in the world that make this possible, if it weren’t for their curiousity, where would we be now?  Still back in the stone age?  Who knows, I’m just glad to be living during a time where all these technoligical advances are possible, and I can’t wait to see what comes about next.

There’s always hesitation of course when it comes to new technology though, and there is always a needed limit of some kind in regards to what should and shouldn’t be done in regards to making life easier for a fast paced world.  But that’s an entirely new subject to tackle…

The article I speak of:

http://www.williamlmoore.com/images/advanced/02-bush-03.pdf