Reading Response #6: The Art of the Selfie Take 2

The reading by Sylvia Martin reiterated an idea that we discussed in the beginning of the semester: that video art is the most dependent upon modern technology discoveries than any other art form.  Painting, drawing, sculpting, and even dance can certainly change over time, but at a much slower pace than the current morphing of video art.  Since its popularization in the 1970s we have seen video art transform from public protest political propoganda to survalence surealism.  There have been many diversions to other forms of videos such as tv advertisements, soap operas, self made you tubes and movies.  However, now more than ever, video art and just plain videos are becoming one in the same.
   
If video art is known for its frequent transendence with technology, then is it possible that ALL forms of videos can be art?  As seen from that Coke commercial Jorges showed us, there were certainly elements of early video art in their advertizement.  Similarly, websites like Vines and Snapchat features 10 second videos in which people film whatever inspires them whenever they want.  Are these types of videos not a casual form of art?  The Moving Art Fair in London had an art exhibit based on this concept of the selfie in which 22 six second Vine videos were exhibited together in a piece called "Shortest Video Art Ever Sold".  Below is a link to an article written about this and other artists' insight as to whether this is self obsession or artistic self expression.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/17/the-national-selfie-portrait-gallery-at-london-s-moving-image-art-fair.html

After spending almost a full semester immersed in video art, I am inclined to think that these are ALL forms of art work.  After all, if video art is moving where technology goes, then the lastest app has the potential to become the newest form of art.  

Fine Cut Critique Response

Response to Andrea's Questions:

1     1) Does the sound work well with all of my clips?

             I think the sound works very well with all of your clips.  Although most of your shots are of still objects, the sound creates the attmosphere to imagine what that scene would look like if it were active...especially the bike one!

2    2) Is there any distracting visual noise that I should get rid of?

             I think you should change the lengths of your clips to be relatively uniform. You spend a lot of time on some rather unexciting stares, but then cut quickly out of clips that are much more asthetically intruiging.  I think there would be less distraction if you made them all a uniform length.  

      3) Did I make the transition from day to night work well or is it still distracting?

            I thought you did a GREAT job switching between night and day.  There was no point at which I thought a night scene and day scene didn't go well together.  GREAT JOB!!

      Response to Haley's Questions:

      

       1) Did you enjoy the subject’s gaze from subject-subject to subject-audience? Did you feel more connected to the video from this detail?

             Yes!  One of my favorite parts of the video is when the man looks at the camera.  It made me feel guilty for watching him and as if I had been caught.  Very well done.

             2)  Did you enjoy the breathing as a tool for rhythm, pace, humanization, and voyeurism.

              I think breathing can be a very useful tool in your final piece, but it needs to be played with to have the intended effect.  Right now if feels like the viewer is in one of those gas masks or has just come back from running a marathon because it is so loud.  I think you could get the voyeurism effect if you made the breath quiter.  I do really like that the breathing stops when he looks at the camera...as if the person knows he has been caught.  

        3)  Did you enjoy the left and right thirds as much as the middle? Did they aid in creating a space? 

               Yes, I thought all three screens complimented each other well.  The main focus is still on the middle piece, but that will always be the case because there are people in that one.  I think the two side pieces do a good job of complimenting the middle without overpower it or getting lost... like classy book ends.  :) 

Videos Like Mine

For this week we are suppose to post videos that relate to our final video.  My final video is a comparison of the symbiotic relationship between nature and science.  The goal of my video is to show how beautiful both science and nature are and how similar they can be, despite the fact that most people associate science with "out of this world" ideas that are far removed from nature.  The video posted below is one Dawn actually suggest I look at before I started this final project and now that I have finished my own, I enjoy this video even more.  I think there is a darker feel to this video that I have intended in my own...especially with the rotting lizard being eatten by ants.   However, the comparison between nature and science, or at least between our idea of nature and the reality of natural processes is prevelant.

Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7iCd4X77AU

Vimeo Curiosities

Seeing as we will have to upload our own final videos onto Vimeo I decided to peruse some of the videos already on the site.  Betwixt a variety of selfies and music video renditions, there were a few select pieces of video art that caught my attention.

Below is the link to the first video I found interesting: "Morphogenesis" by Michael Matos.  It is completely animations and sends a message of technology information overload in the midst of evolution.  Although vastly different from my own final video, I couldn't help but make the comparison between the commentary on scientific aspects in both. Although just a cartoon that often moves so fast it is hard to take it all in, this video effectively comments on the natural and man made destruction that has taken place throughout history, from man made guns, to bacterial protozoan diseases, to the big bang theory wiping out dinosaurs, to man made guns, and eventually foreshadowing the destructive role technology will play in humans' own demise.

Here is the link:
http://vimeo.com/79014618

The second video work worth posting about is "Temporarily Out of the Picture" by Margreet Kramer.  I was attracted to this video because of its split screen.  Although I plan on only having 2 screens in my final piece while this video has three, it gave me some things to think about in terms of composition.  There are times that the same image repeats on all three screens, or just 2 out of the three and there are times when all three screens are different.  I thought the artist's choice of what to show on each screen was interesting, although I am not in love with his video as a whole.

Here is the url:
http://vimeo.com/78981912

A look through Haley Bowen's Blog

So this week I took a look at what some of my fellow classmates have been doing on their blogs.  I chose to primarily look at Haley's because I really enjoy her work that I have seen in class so far.  It is radically different from anything that I have ever produced and has a dream like quality of innocence that I quite enjoy.  Most of my artwork has a darker edge with a harsh message, but Haley's videos, as well as the videos she is inspired by, are all emotionally calm, peaceful, and happy. She does a great job of evoking a feeling of serenity with beautiful imagery that is neither cutesy nor fantasy-like.  One found video that she got inspiration from i quite enjoyed.  It was the passing of time as portrayed by a dandelion.  It showed the flower grow and eventually whither away, letting the wind blow its seeds off into a future of immeasurable opportunity. Accompanied by some nice light hearted music, the piece was enjoyable to watch while still getting you to think about how time passes and what one does with the time they are given.  I like the idea that videos do not have to be painful to watch or depict uncomfortable/grotesque images in order to send a message.

Originality

     Last week we spent a large amount of time discussing the fact that narration plays a large part in how video artists create their work and how audiences view it.  Even before movies became a popular form of entertainment, humans have had a natural tendency to put things in sequential order.  Now that movies ARE a large part of modern society, humans are not only looking for cause and effect, but are expecting a plot and purpose to all videos they view.  This is in serious contrast to many video artists who attempt to break this story telling barrier by remaking famous movies' scenes or creating videos that have absolutely no story plot.
     However, I am skeptical about the idea that artists can completely remove narration from their work.  After all, they make their videos to express emotions, which are often times best portrayed in a story.  If the story telling aspect of videos can never completely be removed from either the artist making them or the viewer watching them, then is there such a thing as originality?  No matter what movie one watches, there are only a handful of plots emotions, and related expressions to help the viewer interpret these things.  I believe that video art is no different.  All artists only use a handful of devises to get the audience to experience their video in the intended way.

Blog Post # 9

The video art piece by Diego Agulló and Agata Siniarska entitled Tuning Love used a lot of repetition and stopping of time to influence the mood of the piece.  The title explains a lot about this video of a man and women essentially tuning their love for one another and their life together.  The piece is stressful with lots of frustration and anxiety.  The man and women both repeat their actions and their words several times throughout the video in order to get the point across that tuning their love has become a horribly stressful activity.   The link to this video is provided below.  

http://video.videoart.net/vlog/?p=3025

I really like this work because it showed me how different techniques can be used to convey a specific mood and emotion.  Although I do not foresee using continuous repetition in my final piece, it is interesting to think about how that would change message of the piece.