In the past few weeks of reading the Journal of Film and Video I have come to enjoy it’s material quite a bit. Even more so I feel bad that I like it so much, because part of this blog exercise is to find something you usually would not read as to broaden one’s horizons. My typical periodical that I read for arts and new media contexts is the New York Times, and to a point the BBC online. However, these are less in depth articles (except on Sundays) than the current periodical that I am reading for this class. These articles in this journal do not, though, review movies as in the times but rather has a more analytical approach such as in the article Making Light and Dark: The world of His Girl Friday, which I mentioned in one of my previous posts. Another contrast to the times is articles will also explore current cinematic movements such as Beur cinema in France, and Kino international a micro cinematic movement originating from Canada.
The two articles I chose to comment on for this assignment, are the two previously mentioned. I will start of with Kyle Conway’s article Small Media, Global Media: Kino and the Microcinema movement. This article discusses the role of small vs. large media, or Local vs. small. I thought it was a really interesting concept that these to poles were not exactly poles contracting off each other, but rather one composing the part of the other. Trying to define these small and big media, he talks about the obvious size of the medium Network vs. Public access, cinema screens to that of a slide projector. He elaborates, though, not just on the size of the medium but the role in the culture it creates. Small media is thought of to be an alternate, or more of a local movement. He made the example of revolutionary Iran when the Ayatollah sent around tape cassettes of religious revolutionary speeches to compel the masses to over throw the Shaw. But, the majority of this article was portraying the kino movement that derived from the Montreal film scene from the government subsidies that were given out to all types of filmmakers. In this case the big media device of the cinema was used as in a small media context. Filmmakers no matter what their status were able to show their productions on the large screen for the public to see. But, generally their was not a wide public for these gatherings instead the public mainly consisted of other filmmakers who were also showing, or devising to show a production. It was compared to the public access of cinema, but some of the differences being Kino mostly showed comedy and experimental types of modes where as public access tends to be more on the informative/political mode.
The other article I wish to talk about is Alison Murray Levine’s article Mapping Beur Cinema in the New Millennium. I always enjoyed finding new areas of movement or cliques, such as the underground punk in China. Klaus Nomi in New York, or the climate in which Throbbing Gristle came and created to be. The Beur movement, which some inside don’t like to call them selves, is a metropolitan movement within France. These filmmakers are of North African decent, but are 2nd or 3rd generation within France. This group made global headlines last year during the Parisian riots. The riots expressed how theses social groups felt that there was no upward mobility within the society in which they lived because of their ethnicity. These films express their “fractured, multilayered identity within the culture”. What I found most interesting about this social climate portrayed throughout this cinema is “not the dream of integration or belonging, but the desire to affirm”, or what else is quoted “a search for a third space that would transcend binary options”. Even though I have yet to see any of these movies, which came from this climate, I am already engaged. The last thing I wish to say the fascinated me about this was another quote form the article
Culture can be viewed not as territory at all, but as something constructed and lived by the individual.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
ArtMyReaction
I got to the museum early on a Friday morning. A few people where waiting, as well as me, outside the doors before the doors opened. But, I was the first person to enter the ActReact installation, and had some time to really take in some of the exhibits in solitary.
When I first approached Scott Snibble's piece 'Boundry functions' (I think that was the name of the piece anyway) I thought it was broken. It is a screen on the floor which creates lines between people demonstrating personal space. But, when I stepped on the screen alone nothing happened. It did not occur to me at first, but how can you have a personal boundary when no one is there? When I approached the piece later when other people were present on the screen the sections of your personal boundary shrunk with the more people on the screen, so I asked my self 'does person boundary expand with the presence of less or no people?' Do I feel more of an expanded presence within a room when no one is around? I do not quite have an answer to that, but the question itself really has me wondering about my relationship with my space which Liz Phillips's installation had me question in another sense.
I returned to Liz's installation twice. The first time when I was alone it had no real impact on me, but he second time it was not it's impact on me which grabbed my attention. It was how I impacted the room which grabbed my attention the second time around. I was in there with a few other people, and a woman within the group suggested to stay as quite as possible to turn off the lights, and it occurred to me. The installation changed the way I would normally impact a space, not the other way around. We enter in rooms, turn lights on a and off, run hot or cold water but Liz's space seemed to be constructed for people to impact a room in very new way. How I talked and moved effects the sounds and lights emanating within the room, when all I noticed he first time was how the neon lights lighted up in certain spots and there was sound to accompany it. But, the woman who suggested we keep quite was not the only factor which lead me to this conclusion, it was the piece that I visited between the two visits which was Janet Cardiff's To Touch.
Janet Cardiff's installation is what really drew me into the whole ArtReact exhibit. I was a little surprised by that fact, because in lecture that was the piece I was the least interested in. But, when I entered that room the lighting on the table drew me in. I went strait to the table to touch and listen to the accompanying audio speakers. I continued to do this for several minutes trying to figure out how the whole thing worked. I then came to the realization that I was no longer paying attention to how the table felt. It was like that part of my mind which processes touch went on auto pilot. It was almost like I was experiencing the act of conditioning, and I was realizing it happening. I looked around a bit more and stood by one speaker for a while and discovered that each speaker has some sort of loop playing. I didn't really look for a motion sensor, but I had the feeling the speakers were set of randomly.
Revisiting the healing pool I came to the conclusion that this is a pacers dream. It makes the act so much more engaging when you are already walking around deep in thought. It even makes me wonder what a cat would do on that floor. But, for the long periods of time that I pace around and think, that thing would keep me captivated in my own thoughts for an extended period of time. So, while pacing over the piece I thought about the differences between floor pieces and wall pieces especially that of Camille Utterback. I wondered about the direct interactivity with the floor pieces compared to that of the wall pieces which required you to stand several feet away from the piece. Unlike in lecture when we saw people moving in all ways to manipulate the piece, i found standing still in untitled 6 to be the most pleasing. The other two were ok, but I like the way the rose like shapes moved around as I stood still. It was like I made a picture composed partially of me, which I guess was part of the concept behind Daniel Rozin's snow mirror and peg mirror, but I felt something a tad different with those pieces.
The peg mirror at first I was interested in because of how I could place my had in front of the sensor and completely manipulate the piece with one stroke of my hand. It was the snow mirror, though, that really felt like something different than any of the wall installations. I felt like I was looking at another person when I was looking into the piece. It was like this person was in Canada, and he was a more down to earth kind of guy. I don't know why this came to mind, but this must have been the most intriguing of the pieces because of what I was able to make out of it.
Other than the ArtReact installation I went to go see the infinity room in which I wish I had one in my own home. That thing would make a great meditation chamber. The matrix room did not strike me in any certain way, and its impact on me was quite diminished compared to the other pieces in the gallery such as the sculpture made up of all the T.V's. Overall I had a new grasp on this new idea of art and interactivity.
I have been going to the Museum for years. My father use to take me and my sister when we were little when the sail porting of the building was still a miniature. For the first time, thought, the space itself engaged me into the art to the point where I even viewed all the other pieces in a new way. I went to the portrait gallery after visiting both exhibits, and felt a whole new seeing when I was looking at these pictures. When I was at the Steven Shore gallery at Marquette I was drawn in by the pictures themselves, but now I feel a new relationship with the gallery space. A new way to make things out of pieces within the space.
When I first approached Scott Snibble's piece 'Boundry functions' (I think that was the name of the piece anyway) I thought it was broken. It is a screen on the floor which creates lines between people demonstrating personal space. But, when I stepped on the screen alone nothing happened. It did not occur to me at first, but how can you have a personal boundary when no one is there? When I approached the piece later when other people were present on the screen the sections of your personal boundary shrunk with the more people on the screen, so I asked my self 'does person boundary expand with the presence of less or no people?' Do I feel more of an expanded presence within a room when no one is around? I do not quite have an answer to that, but the question itself really has me wondering about my relationship with my space which Liz Phillips's installation had me question in another sense.
I returned to Liz's installation twice. The first time when I was alone it had no real impact on me, but he second time it was not it's impact on me which grabbed my attention. It was how I impacted the room which grabbed my attention the second time around. I was in there with a few other people, and a woman within the group suggested to stay as quite as possible to turn off the lights, and it occurred to me. The installation changed the way I would normally impact a space, not the other way around. We enter in rooms, turn lights on a and off, run hot or cold water but Liz's space seemed to be constructed for people to impact a room in very new way. How I talked and moved effects the sounds and lights emanating within the room, when all I noticed he first time was how the neon lights lighted up in certain spots and there was sound to accompany it. But, the woman who suggested we keep quite was not the only factor which lead me to this conclusion, it was the piece that I visited between the two visits which was Janet Cardiff's To Touch.
Janet Cardiff's installation is what really drew me into the whole ArtReact exhibit. I was a little surprised by that fact, because in lecture that was the piece I was the least interested in. But, when I entered that room the lighting on the table drew me in. I went strait to the table to touch and listen to the accompanying audio speakers. I continued to do this for several minutes trying to figure out how the whole thing worked. I then came to the realization that I was no longer paying attention to how the table felt. It was like that part of my mind which processes touch went on auto pilot. It was almost like I was experiencing the act of conditioning, and I was realizing it happening. I looked around a bit more and stood by one speaker for a while and discovered that each speaker has some sort of loop playing. I didn't really look for a motion sensor, but I had the feeling the speakers were set of randomly.
Revisiting the healing pool I came to the conclusion that this is a pacers dream. It makes the act so much more engaging when you are already walking around deep in thought. It even makes me wonder what a cat would do on that floor. But, for the long periods of time that I pace around and think, that thing would keep me captivated in my own thoughts for an extended period of time. So, while pacing over the piece I thought about the differences between floor pieces and wall pieces especially that of Camille Utterback. I wondered about the direct interactivity with the floor pieces compared to that of the wall pieces which required you to stand several feet away from the piece. Unlike in lecture when we saw people moving in all ways to manipulate the piece, i found standing still in untitled 6 to be the most pleasing. The other two were ok, but I like the way the rose like shapes moved around as I stood still. It was like I made a picture composed partially of me, which I guess was part of the concept behind Daniel Rozin's snow mirror and peg mirror, but I felt something a tad different with those pieces.
The peg mirror at first I was interested in because of how I could place my had in front of the sensor and completely manipulate the piece with one stroke of my hand. It was the snow mirror, though, that really felt like something different than any of the wall installations. I felt like I was looking at another person when I was looking into the piece. It was like this person was in Canada, and he was a more down to earth kind of guy. I don't know why this came to mind, but this must have been the most intriguing of the pieces because of what I was able to make out of it.
Other than the ArtReact installation I went to go see the infinity room in which I wish I had one in my own home. That thing would make a great meditation chamber. The matrix room did not strike me in any certain way, and its impact on me was quite diminished compared to the other pieces in the gallery such as the sculpture made up of all the T.V's. Overall I had a new grasp on this new idea of art and interactivity.
I have been going to the Museum for years. My father use to take me and my sister when we were little when the sail porting of the building was still a miniature. For the first time, thought, the space itself engaged me into the art to the point where I even viewed all the other pieces in a new way. I went to the portrait gallery after visiting both exhibits, and felt a whole new seeing when I was looking at these pictures. When I was at the Steven Shore gallery at Marquette I was drawn in by the pictures themselves, but now I feel a new relationship with the gallery space. A new way to make things out of pieces within the space.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Choice of Journal
I have chosen the Journal of Film and Video for my blog posts this semester. I was searching in the periodical portion of the library when I stumbled upon this. I found it under one of the periodicals suggested by Carl, and noticed a few of the article names on the cover which grabbed my attention. Even though Making Light of the Dark: Understanding the world of His Girl Friday, which first caught my eye, is not of the criteria assigned for this project. I still happened to find articles relating to the current environment of media making. Skimming through one of these articles I have come to find that they are not just on the media making itself, but also placing media in a political context in which I am very interested in. Also to mention, there are instructional articles in this periodical as well. I still do not have the full ideology behind this publication, but with further exploration I do mean to discover and report my findings.
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