Eboman

Everyone in class seemed to find him a bit annoying, but I really liked “Eboman”. This guy was a nominee for the people’s voice division of the webby awards. 

I found a really cool bit of “sample madness” made by Eboman from and interview of Chris Cunningham (praised video artist/director). This is it:

 * People’s Voice winners will be announced tomorrow!

SL

Our class met in Second Life instead of Real Life towards the end of our time together. It is an exciting thought that this is possible, and I feel very fortunate to be able to be apart of such a revolutionary idea. I really enjoyed having class in Second Life. At first, I was intimidated by the idea, afraid that my computer skills would not be up to par compared to some of my classmates. Once I started exploring the world of SL, however I was facinated by what I was discovering. Second Life is really pushing the limits and already crossing boundaries that most people wouldn’t dream of. I don’t think I would be shocked to find out that in the not too distant future, what we did will become commonplace. I wish we would have held class in SL a few more times. I thought it was a really great experiece especially when we were able to talk to the artist whose gallery we were visiting.
The internet has always blurred geographical boundaries, but this was my first time to experience it visually. While I was still on orientation island, I met a girl from Jordan who spoke three languages. It was so unbelievable to me that we were able to have a conversation undelayed and “face to face” in a way, despite the miles. I suppose for all I know I could have been talking to a 14 year old boy in Michigan. SL can be used for so many positive things, I just hope the inevitable doesn’t happen: That it will greatly contribute to the lack of personal interaction that our generation has so comfortably adapted to. I think SL could be an outlet for people to live vicariously through and not give enough attention to RL. Nevertheless, it is an amazing place. I’ll just try to be optimistic and believe that it will only be used for the betterment of people and culture. Here is a snaphot of our class while in SL. (I’m “Lafawda Kornberg” with the leapord pants)

“Computing Machinery and Intelligence” by Alan Turing

“Computing Machinery and Intelligence” was written by an expert in the field of artificial intelligence. Alan Turing created the “Turing Test”, which I found exciting and interesting. This whole concept is over my head, and naturally so since I am not an expert in computer intelligence. I think that art and technology are seperate entirely, but can work together to create new and interesting concepts and mediums of art. They will always be different things with different goals and meanings. They will develop simultaneously as two parts of our growing and developing world, whether they work together or not. Can computers really become more intelligent than us? Some people believe they already are, and that could be seen as positive or negative. I think it could be very beneficial to the human race as a whole, but the impications are a little frightening…

“Art in the Information Age: technology and conceptual art” by Ed Shanken

“Art in the Information Age” was not particulary of interest to me when I first read it at the beginning of the semester. I feel like a understand it more now that I have been exposed to more conceptual art. It has always seemed to me that anything can be considered conceptual art.  The idea or person behind the piece is more important than the artwork itself. Essentially, I could display the wheel of a bicycle in an empty room and call it conceptual art because to me it represented a bikeathon I was in to raise money for a friend with cancer. No one would understand what the piece was conveying without previous knowledge of the story behind it. Maybe this is too simple for an example, but it is bare bones basic idea that conceptual art is. Shanken’s essay, however, was representative of the relationship between conceptual art and art-and-technology. Conceptual art does not have to involve technology. Art-and-technology, on the other hand, is the collaboration of its counterparts. There will always be new ways to express what is going on in the present day through art. Technology is a prominant growing field in our world and effects all walks of life. It should be represented through art as it is representative of our time. Another relationship is the use of technology by artists and designers now. I agree with a previous comment on the class blog about designers becoming more reliant on computers. This is true for other artists as well. Graphic designers, for example, would not exist sans technology. That is one birth-child of art and technology. Computer graphics are a facet of the world economy. This is an example of the relationship between conceptual art and art-and-technology. There are infinite combinations of technology and art. The blending of mediums and use of new ones in the art world will be constantly changing and altering social order bit by bit. That is the natural evolution of culture.