Live Salty @saltycloudjellyfish-blog - Tumblr Blog

hahaha...he’s become a Bush!

Statement: Final 4D Project

Video Project Final: Nature, Momentum and Illusion

Many people like to make a rather arbitrary distinction when it comes to distinguishing what constitutes “nature”. The mainstream concept does not often include “humanity” or people as part and parcel of nature. Mankind or humanity is often set diametrically opposed to “nature” in political rhetoric. I think this distinction is unnecessary, inaccurate and has even lead to dangerous conditions in the present state of our planet. It is for this reason that I will emphasis human action as nature. The concept of momentum is fascinating. We’re all familiar with the acceleration of speed that’s associated with a ball rolling down a steep incline. Here I will offer some K-12 views of momentum that are based on the science curriculum. When science happens well within the public schools it can be transforming to witness. The oobleck, color mixing, and water gels (sodium polyacrylate) were tools I once used as an educator, to the delight of young children. These are non-toxic products and could be made by the children. I chose the the everyday illusion of sound to highlight the last section. Sound is interesting as a physical phenomenon and in scientific terms has very little to do with our experience of sound. It’s most salient qualities as perceived by humans seem illusory in the big scheme of it. This footage was shot in the Tivoli. I have specifically given consideration to the size, resolution and color saturation to enhance the overall quality of this production.

Vanishing and Becoming

So, I did enjoy the article by Sean Cubitt entitled Vanishing and Becoming. Initially, I think he’s trying very hard to convince us that the notion of projection has a historical basis. The first six pages or so he’s concerned with establishing the historical context for “projection” in terms of having a psychological analogy. Although his source for this contends that the ability for a child or infant to engage in mental projections is a matter of life and death, I’m just not sure an appeal to one source is provides enough evidence to make this premise compelling. Although, I will say that the phase is well know in pop psychology and is used with regularity among the general population. The other two historical contexts for projection are “mythical” and “archeological”. The archeological example is interesting but I’m not sure I would intuitively refer to it as a projection. The mythical example is fairly compelling as a record of a projection rather than projection itself. I suppose the same could be said of the “hand” example (our archeological case). I’m not sure if Cubitt would concede to that or whether it even matters. There were several points in Plato’s cave that I felt like I was really getting what Cubitt was trying to communicate. Then with no warning it the light began to dim and the image became a ghost.

Reading Response

The chapter on Time and Motion is interesting. There seems to be a lot of discussion around the addition of time to 3D, or even 2D art forms making them components within a 4D work. On the one hand, everything that is experienced is experienced in time. Work that is executed takes time, works and artifacts are examined and appreciated (or not) in time. Additionally, any art that tells a story through the work engages in a didactic narrative. All visual narratives contain implied time (see Pietro Perugino’s work entitled The Delivery of the Keys p.110 fig. 5.31) That is, there’s some sequencing of events that can be mapped over a psychological timeline. Some event or component is manifest before or after another, etc. There is some 3D art that contains the element of motion and therefore time, for instance the moving kinetic art of Alexander Calder. Then there’s what most people (artists anyway) think of when you say 4D. Somehow, this thing, whatever it is, has as it’s primary element a moving image or at least an image that is shown in such a succession and at such a speed that it appears to rely on time in a more integral way than the above 2D/3D + time artifacts. I’m not sure what the big deal is about 4D art. I think the confusion come in because we’re not use to regarding moving images and other “time-based” forms as “art”. I’m guessing this is because it hasn’t found as comfortable a spot in the museums as it’s less dynamic counterparts. Perhaps it’s because time-base media is often used for informative and entertainment purposes, or maybe it’s the ephemeral nature that is part and parcel of the using time as the primary element. Whatever the case it’s been around a long time. Wouldn’t you have made shadow figures on the cave wall by the light of the fire?

Love both of these!

Project 2: Ten Performance Art Gifs

Performance art. What the heck is it? I thought the more exposure I got to it, the more “the essence” of it would sink in. But the more I view of it, the wider the definition becomes; especially when I consider the beginnings of the movement. It has even been argued that in Ancient Greece Diogenes was so called the “dog” because he often acted like an actual dog, making that our first and oldest documented case of performance art. Whatever the case may be there are certainly a lot of people out there claiming to engage in it. Here are some examples of old, new, famous, and the not so famous student productions of Performance Art. I’ve included a definition just because it can’t make the concept any muddier than it already is:

“Performance art is a performance presented to an audience within a fine art context, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation.”

Some instances are clearly performance art and we know it without further dissection. But what about cases that include a heavy element of choreographed dance, or even spontaneous dance. What’s the distinction between performance art and a short play or monologue? Is mime performance art? What about walking a tight rope? I can find no reason to reject tight rope walking as performance art. To what extent does the context define what that thing is? Eating a lemon, setting ones hair on fire, wearing heavy clothing in a hot climate, putting up fake security cameras, exploding bananas on your face, laying around in a plexiglass box, cramming cookies in your mouth – it’s all good stuff. And until I can hone a better definition – I suppose intellectual generosity dictates that it’s all art.

Project 2: Ten Performance Art Gifs

Performance art. What the heck is it? I thought the more exposure I got to it, the more “the essence” of it would sink in. But the more I view of it, the wider the definition becomes; especially when I consider the beginnings of the movement. It has even been argued that in Ancient Greece Diogenes was so called the “dog” because he often acted like an actual dog, making that our first and oldest documented case of performance art. Whatever the case may be there are certainly a lot of people out there claiming to engage in it. Here are some examples of old, new, famous, and the not so famous student productions of Performance Art. I’ve included a definition just because it can’t make the concept any muddier than it already is:

“Performance art is a performance presented to an audience within a fine art context, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation.”

Some instances are clearly performance art and we know it without further dissection. But what about cases that include a heavy element of choreographed dance, or even spontaneous dance. What’s the distinction between performance art and a short play or monologue? Is mime performance art? What about walking a tight rope? I can find no reason to reject tight rope walking as performance art. To what extent does the context define what that thing is? Eating a lemon, setting ones hair on fire, wearing heavy clothing in a hot climate, putting up fake security cameras, exploding bananas on your face, laying around in a plexiglass box, cramming cookies in your mouth – it’s all good stuff. And until I can hone a better definition – I suppose intellectual generosity dictates that it’s all art!