My American Beauty: TAKE TWO

MY American Beauty

As inspired by the bag scene from American Beauty, I want to explore the movement of leaves against the wind. I shot footage at multiple locations, where I or friends manipulated or rather added to the movement of leaves, and where I just filmed the movement of leaves in their own element with no interference. I am still unclear  as far as what filtering I may do with my scenes, but here is a more complete or more developed narrative than before.

I want my DVD to open up with the scene "bad" scene from American Beauty .  I want to then pull up my menu:

MY SCENES (tentative):

Scene 1:  " MY American Beauty"

                Will open with footage I took at the Smithsonian interacting two areas of film and the movement of leaves

Scene 2: "Rose Garden"

               With this Scene I want to be able to play with music and color. I shot footage of roses in the Smithsonian Garden and I want to explore the movement of color with the roses to music

Scene 3: "Yellow Tree"

I captured footage of this ONE Yellow Tree in the Smithsonian, I'd like to explore the dimensions and angles of that tree. At one point the wind blew so hard that it looks like the tree is snowing, but its just the leaves falling. I do not yet know how to play with that, but I would like to use these shots somehow.

Scene 4:  " Yellow Tree Stacked"

Again this scene will in someway explore the dimensions of the tree, from all its angles,. I liked the idea of stacking these clips as a way to pull the whole scene together. Except you do not see the tree in a linear order. You may see the top of the tree, than the trunk, or one branch, but not this top to bottom or bottom to top view.

Scene 4 and 5 (may be together, if I decide to include them): "Lonely"

           I shot these images and some linkages were that there were "lonely" benches in some of the footage. I want to put together a montage somehow to the tune of "Lonely". Also i took this shot of a lone leaf blowing on the sidewalk, and I'd like to play with that in this scene  as well.

            My concern, is that my narrative does not really speak as far as a story goes, at least not in the way that one would expect a story to "speak" so I am hoping that I am not grasping at straws.  ANY IDEAS?

Nature

Narrative Outline:

Working with the idea of nature in its elements and how they all intertwine. Goal this weekend November 14-16th is to take as much footage of nature elements to work with so that I can begin capturing and creating my narrative on monday.

My link in this story is that nature itself, and how it moves.. I kind of took my inspiration from the movie  American Beauty. There is a scene where one of the characters is shooting the bag blowing through the air. That scene is sort of my inspiration in really looking and exploring the beauty of nature, at its best.

[Again my problem is trying to create the story that flows well. But I think that the movement of nature tells its own story and I just need to figure out how to make the story speak more about itself (if that makes sense)]

Vignette 1: Exploring leaves falling, slowing them down, reversing the way they fall etc. I think that for the most part my story will be told more through how the videos can be manipulated to make you see nature in a certain light, than actually telling a story.

Vignette 2: The second scene is going to take the leaf falling and moving it throughout other scenes; by superimposing it into other footage that I have captured.

Vignette 3: I took footage of roses on the National Mall. I want to play with color manipulation and see if I can have the color changing on the individual roses to music.  I do not know how well I can actually play with the color and music tempo, but I want to explore this facet a little bit more.

What is the world REALLY?

This idea of a "world distorted" is an interesting concept. I'm finding that as we get more in depth with this class that what we see for ourselves may not be what is the "real" view.. And that life is really a story, based off the perspectives of another person. We are forever filtering information told to us by other people and trying to make the best of it. Most of that information we disregard others we take it in, in its full capacity. Semiconductor by Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt is an example of that technique. They are able to tell the story of Magnetic Fields through the use of this "distorted" view. Personally for me I think that Science would be much more interesting if I could see it visually like this. 

   This idea of distortion doesn't necessarily mean something bad or something destroyed, but it means something that can be manipulated. Some means for a person to tell the story they want, so that it takes the direction, view and ending that they want. The art piece by Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt open my eyes to a new way of viewing Science, it made it fun and interesting it wise quite amusing. 

Virtual Reality?

Lynn Hershman creates a world of virtual reality with her projects Lorna and Deep Contact. However, whose virtual reality is it? With the Lorna project the audience is given the opportunity to snoop into th characters past and see where thye came from and how them came to be in that position etc. Hwever, what is interesting about this concept is that in some ways the viewer begins to parallel Lorna in the fact that they are sitting down glued to this visual media. Unlike Lorna the audience however, does have the option to leave their physical setting, but what this brings up is the dependence of virtual games. People do not necessarily stay in one place because they are afraid of the outside world liek Loran, but isn't this attraction to media just as bad as her fear of leaving? I mean she watches TV and becuase of the content of that media becomes more fearful of the world outside. How often do we get wrapped up ivirtual reality that we tend to escape the outside wishing that our lives had some sense of a pattern that was easily attained.
This is the role that Soap Operas take for many stay at home moms etc. The lines between reality and fiction become somewhat blurred. If we rely too much on what scares us will we become like Lorna and hide behind the constructs of media intervention, replacing human interaction with a world of fiction?

A World in flux...

I am a fairly busy person. So I am wanting to try and take a day of my life or two days depending and just go through my daily routine. But in some way be able to mix it all up so that I could be eating dinner in like a classroom or something instead of being at home. 

And the President is?

Change

Previously I had decided to ue the focus of the war as my premise for this project. However, after a response of a recent Bulletin Post I did on Myspace I have found my new direction.

My candidate is still Barack Obama
My slogan or theme is : Change! YES, JOHN MCCAIN

How much longer?

This is not to take away from the great many men and women that are fighting for us to be free in our beliefs. However, I just do not understand the construct of War period. That the idea of divide and conquer is a huge thing in the mindset of humanity, and that no strong country would be where they are without it, however I just don't agree that the means justify anything.

With that my Candidate is Barak Obama .

My Slogan: Why NOT another 100 years?

Morning Glory

Art Evolution

With the rapid growth of the multimedia realm in art, can one even begin to fathom the depths at which the medium will develop and the possibilities that this medium will continue to bring? The answer is no. There are INFINITE possibilities to which this medium will open peoples' minds and draw the attention of the masses. This is a very Modern Day




However, what we find most often in art is that when an artist is creating that breathtaking piece, they often use one or two techniques that really ignite this magical world that locks the audience into place. What we are seeing with multimedia as an art form is that the abilities and the techniques used are endless. A person will not, or rather could not settle on just applying one technique to their pieces. The direction that multimedia art is developing and going is absolutely amazing and something that is simply breathtaking. In this class we have seen pieces of functional, dynamic and well "living" art that has grown and evolved into my vision of the future, the artwork of Jason Freeman. It is as if his pieces are that next step that transition into what bridges the gap between the vision of men like John Cage, William Burroughs,Douglas Englebert, Norbert Wiener and others. It is as if Jason Freeman took his own multimedia class, learned all about these inventors and ingenious creators and took what he could from it to create this collage of work that would grow and develop into the mainstream of the art world.
Jason Freeman explores the ides of John Cage with his pieces titled Flou an interactive computer game that in my opinion further develops John Cage's idea of music as a multimedia response. Instead of having ballet dancers setting of the pitch sensors, Jason Freeman uses a space ship as his "dancer". The Melodic tunes captivate the player as he/she glides through space being active in the musical composition. Like Yellowtail by Golan Levin, the audience now become co-creator of the art. The audience is now a collaborator in a piece that only they can see and in Freeman's case hear.
What happens when Freeman expands his vision with the creation of iTunes Signature Maker? A program where he taps into a person's music library and creates a unique song specific to that library. Who is the artist? Is it even considered art? The concept is new, but the execution is not Freeman's, its not even the owner of the library. The execution it through the mind of the computer, the program that sifts through the songs at random and creates this new sound. So is it to say that the computer now has a mind of its own? Is art now out of the hands of the artist, the audience and dominated more by the adaptation of the electronic mind? Where will art take us, where will these mediums take us? What is the future of art?
These are questions that cannot today be answered, but George Orwell's 1984 seemed to have a good pulse on the evolution of technology and the world. Many of the concepts I think are still pertinent today. To the future of art evloution, "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING".

What will happen to literature?

In his text " The future of the novel," William Burroughs lights fire to the question of what will happen to novels and pieces of literary work as multimedia and technology continue to grow? This to me is a great question and something that we should be thinking about. I mean with technology today, more and more people are dropping books for online and more graphic material. Although there are a few like me who will never tire of books and literary work, there are many who would love to see a transition from what we know as books today into the "space age" of tomorrow.
We can already see a shift in this medium from its textile and very sometimes heavy and uncomfortable use in classrooms across America, as classes are attempting to be more green friendly and turning their everyday classrooms into technological worlds. Access to text, to homework, to having the whole course book online is a huge advancement to the way that books and classes will interact. The thing with a novel though is that ability to make it easier and more consistent with the times. I am sure that if people refuse to sit for two hours to read an everyday novel, the chances of them sitting to read an online novel may be slim to none.
Burroughs proposes that these new novels be literary creations and artwork in and of itself. A melding together of one artists ideas with another. I think that the concept is fascinating. It recycles this "old" idea and turns it into something much more fluid and dynamic. The only thing however I would find wrong with the way that this new "fold-in" method would create is that how much would each author lose intensity of their individual text. Would the fold-in method be lost on the reader? And would the reader be able to catch up and keep up with the flow of the novel?

Just a light show, or art?

But isn't it just light?

The question that Villareal's art brings up for me is whether or not this particular piece really should be considered art. The beauty of the desing and the execution of the design are simply fabulous. I think that my attraction of light and the way it moves is mesmerizing. Is it art, yes, is it light yes, but the thing is it is fluid. It is dynamic, it is ever growing and evolving than any other piece of art that I have seen.. It is more substantial than a regluar lightbulb. It is fascinating for me to see the vision that he had in mind, and even the other designs he has created seem much more advanced than what he wishes to create at the NGA but nonetheless it is fascinating.. What I found when I arrived at the Gallery is that there were three people who were at the time constructing the site. It seemed that they would need substantially more people than that but they made it work. They in a way became a part of the piece because as you are traveling along the concourse you ARE viewing the art being created, not many times does a patron get the chance to really see the process. It becomes a strategic movement by the artist and the creators to work around the patrons and still make a piece that conveys the vision that they had in mind. In a way the construction seems to be part of everyday life, like the bustle of the waterfall in the cafe or even just the everyday noise of the Gallery itself. I also think that if you didn't know what was going on you probably wouldn't even realize that you were walking admist a beautiful creation. I can not wait to see the final product especially after seeing the other pieces that the has, it will be simply amazing. Almost as if it is a Norhtern Light Show, but in these neck of the woods.. :)

What is the audience?

In his writing "Diary:Audience 1966", John Cage creates this sort of future look at the role art will take and how it will interact with the audience. Or rather, how the audience will interact with the art. It is interesting to me to read that in his mind, the audience is not like one or two people. Or even that the audience is less apart of the art they are viewing. For Cage art and the audience go hand in hand, you can not have one without the other and it is like a "family reunion". This secret between two friends, because as individuals each audience member looks at different elements of the art in different ways. But going back this idea of art and the audience interacting. I think this is poignant statement. I mean today with the hustle and bustle of the world, sometimes it takes more than just looking at a painting in order to capture the audiences' attention. I like the idea of audience's participating more in the art than just taking this passive role in the viewing. For me art like Golan Levin, bring so much more to the art than if he had just created something and let it stand. I think it now adds to the flavor of the human interaction. Because each story created is something different, but only for a moment is the story even seen or comprehended and then like the blink of an eye the story shifts and a new idea is formed and a new story is created in its wake. The thing about audience interaction is that it gets the artist to participate more in art, and to have more reasons to want to go to a theater to see a show etc. Like I went to the Lion King off Broadway and it was a amazing. The opening act starts in the aisles of the audience. It brings more to life and allows you to kind of be a part of the show. Then of course the show moves to the stage, but you are already locked in. Simple gestures like that go a long way I think with taking art to the next level.

What do you see?

Years from now what will America and its Institutions look like? What will they represent? Today the vision of what our Founders created is much different than the reality in which we live. Follow me down the rabbit hole...





What we see isn't really what we get.
Or is it?














10 score and 25 years ago, one nation was created with a vision of PROMISE.
How does that vision stand today?













We hold these truths to be self-evident...
that all men are NOT created equal.









I USED to have a dream.








Free at last, Free at last

















STILL FIGHTING to be free at last










Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of IGNORANCE









THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HOCKEY MOM AND A PITUBLL? Lipstick












IT IS AN INSTITUTION OF FREEDOM:






We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity... BY BEING LEFT FOR DEAD WHEN THE WRATH OF KATRINA SWEPT THROUGH














IT is AN INSTITUTION OF JUSTICE:




No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until ' justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream OF FIFTY SHOTS TO PUT DOWN SEAN BELL**










....Like Alice you fell NOW tell me what you see?













O say, can you see by the dawn's early light..... O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?















** Sean Bell was shot 50 times and killed by NYPD the night before his wedding day last November. In June the cops were acquitted and Sean's murder has yet to be brought to justice. Google his name for more information.

What is killing America and How will it survive?

The multimedia piece a Season in Hell, brings up a lot of things to question about the political atmosphere of America. The piece in my opinion builds off of Dr. Martin Luther King's ideas that silent witnesses were to blame for the tragedies during the Holocust and the Civil Rights Movement, moreso than the ones who were actually the aggressors in both situations. The term silent witness means a person who watches these events happening but does nothing to change it.
I think that the piece a Season in Hell touches on this thought. Post 9/11 the American public and myself have been fed these images of what this almost " Brave New World," lifestyle is supposed to be like. We allowed ourselves to be disillusioned enough to give the President power to start a war that we will be paying for in the lives of our children yet to come. The piece argues that it was through the assistance of the media that we were conditioned to let things continue with the government as they were. It is in that release of power that we have slowly killed the foundation that America was based from.
Artist Randall Packer and his collaboraters create this entity through art that sort of says " I will no longer be a silent witness,". The character Orf reminds us and forces us to remember that we can not be held down, that we should not be held down, that it is our duty to keep our eyes open and to call to question those in power for the mistakes that they are making.
The piece even goes a step further in its foundation, the reasoning why it was created to say to Artists in general that this is a call to them to stand up and give America its life again. The role of the artist is to create a mirror of the times in which we live, to interrprut that in their best ideas. However, what we find is that this political media, this political art is being created by the same institution that is destroying America. When the other artists begin to take a stand poltiically it will slowly give America back her heart. I think that the piece was/is very powerful, it brings up so many questions as to what and who is behind this image of our country. Who is in control of the images we see? And who should be in control of the images we see? I think that the biggest thing that this piece does is give us the opportunity to really think, to open our eyes to the realities of the world and to really say " I am not going to forget."

Situational Tour

What a better place than the nation's capitol? The project asks that we pick a location in Washington, D.C that invokes some emotion or image of authority, ritual, ideology, and security. At first I was going to choose the Lincoln Memorial, I would have liked to see what Lincoln sees everyday, looking out on the mall, etc. Or how about what it would have been like "to be" the Lincoln statue during the March on Washington? All of these things were something that I had thought about, and the fact that this monument is like one of the most visited ones, just goes to show how much of a ritual visiting these historical landmarks are not just for Americans, but for the world as well.
Well like I had said, I WAS going to do my situational tour on Lincoln, but getting off on the Metro I got stuck, and well sort of found a new outlook on the life in D.C. I have now chosen to do my situational tour on the CAPITOL itself. That is right, CAPITOL HILL. In retrospect what other location is as ritualisic and an example of authority and security as this location. The Hill is rich in American culture and history. In and of itself the name alone and what it stands for demonstrate the key terms of this project.




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What is the real relationship between mothers and fathers and their daugthers?

Artist Candice Bretiz explores separately, the relationships of mothers and fathers regarding their children; Most specifically their daughters. The piece takes clips from multiple movies: "Mommy Dearest," "StepMom", "Father of the Bride," etc; and they black out the movies only allowing certain footage and one person to be viewed in their speaking. The piece brings up multiple questions regarding how the original meaning of something can be distorted when things are taken out of context.
In the first part of her work, Bretiz takes a display of 6 movies with "mother-like" figures in them. In this sequence of clips you hear from all six characters. They are either yelling, screaming, crying or talking about what it means to be a mother. What is interesting in this piece is that with the blacked out background of the original movie scene, you are left with what seems to be a sort of therapy session. The actors are in a way discussing the trails of being a mother to each other, what to do that is right and what to do that is wrong. But in each piece you see that the women contradict themselves because essentially they go against all of the "right" that they had been trying to display.
The same tool was used to display the fathers in the second part of Bretiz's piece. Except for where you may find the women to be screaming and yelling and getting mad at other people, it is almost as if the father's emotion and anguish is more internal. Like they aren't mad at their children, but more mad at themselves. This was displayed most in the Tony Danza piece where he is conveyed as sighing and getting upset when he finds out that someone he is talking to does not have children. It is as if he is saying, and generally parents do sya this, " Who are you to say anything to me when you have no children of your own?"
When comparing the two you almost see what many may identify as the reality of these parental relationships. The mothers are often more times aggressive to their daughters, whereas the fathers tend to coddle and want to hold on to the little girls they once knew. To the point where they get angry and act out of character as they are faced with their daughters growing up.

Was Alan Kay right?

"Alan Kay declared the personal computer a medium in it's own right," ( Kay, Birth of a New Medium), but was he right?
After reading the history of the computer and being a part of a generation that has watched this new technology expand I can say that I do agree with Alan Kay's statement. "The computer is a medium in it's own right" because it has opened the eyes of many, by allowing them to view many things differently. Just the concept of the computer, being able to more visually type and edit works has given a new life to what seemed at one point impossible.
Nowadays, web navigators have access to multiple outlets, including podcast, music, digital videos, digital media etc. The computer has allowed for all of those mediums, television, art, history, music to grow expand and evolve through it. Everyday new technology shifts the range in which digital media is developed. The more people begin to learn about the scopes and the limitless possibilities that the computer offers the more this medium will expand and grow. It is going to be a continued source of how to receive the most up to date information. The affects of digital media instilled by the manifestations of the computer are already beginning to take more affect especially with the up and coming Digital TV laws. Just the expansion into how we watch regular TV is baffling, but something that is going to be much more prevalent in the near future. So to say that the computer is in itself it's own medium is accurate and true. It has been able to reinvent new ways for technology and art to be viewed, and while it does that it remains the number one leading source where all this information can be played and viewed in a multitude of different formats.

Citation:

Alan Kay, "Birth of a New Medium". 2000, Artsmuseum.com

Artist interpretation

Viewing art in the digital medium has give audiences a chance to really get involved in art. Art in a digital medium gives art a more interactive feel. An almost more lively feel. Art is no longer as 1-dimensional as it has been in the past. It moves, it has sound etc. Digital art has taken everything studied from the first art pieces to now and warped them into this one interesting and multi-dimensional vision.

   Interacting with an on-line medium such as Golan Levin's Yellowtail, gives the audience a chance to actually be apart of the artwork. It allows viewers to not only be a part of it, but to take part in creating the artwork itself. It is a brilliant idea. To an extent the creator of an on-line medium is considered the artist because their idea is what brought the audience to this point. But the fact that NOW the audience has control over the artwork is ingenious. It takes art to a whole other level giving audiences a chance to just be a part of something instead of trying to interrupt what the artist is saying, they now become the artist.