Readings
Presenting and Preserving New Media
When dealing with the preservation and presentation of “new media”, us artists must be wary of how we form our medium into the existing energies of society. How can we make sure it can be understood by everyone regardless of their technological experience? We cannot, however we can design our UI as seamlessly as possible to allow the widest range of audience to understand how to interact with our creations. However, we should never limit our capability to adapt to people who are out of touch with current technology. We will simply have to let the world adapt to us.
It is important when creating art with new media that we weave our creations into our already existing reality, providing a bridge between possible gaps in consciousness between both the physical realm and the digital realm. By making the invisible visible, we can allow a greater audience to understand our form of presentation and create a wider grounds for understanding the world and capabilities of digital art mediums.
One question brought up in this text is the idea that digital media may not require enough of an audience’s attention span to make the work of art permeable to our perspective. I don’t think this is an issue with digital art itself, but rather the design of every individual work. This is an issue regarding interaction. As long as the artist is able to grab the attention of their viewers through the implementation of high levels of attention grabbing features, without overwhelming the mind, they can surely make every work of new media mentally accessible to the average person.
On the other hand, digital art mediums have a greater advantage than more permanent, physical art forms such as painting and drawing. Due to the nature of interaction, collaboration from the audience can be used as a tool for not only the expression of the artwork, but also as an important element in the creation process itself. By utilizing the reliance that digital media has on audience interaction, we can let go of the idea of permanence and allow for the medium to adapt to the audience throughout every stage of its existence, from creation, to expression. In this way, I believe new media has the force to broaden our understanding of artistic practice as a whole. By using interactive media to expand all parts of the artistic process: idea generating, creation, testing, expression, and preservation, this allows for the artwork to more adjust to the mindset of the audience and flow with the ever changing nature of reality itself.
Collecting Experience: The Multiple Incarnations of Very Nervous System
Very Nervous System, David Rokeby
I highly enjoyed watching the video of this interactive installation, which is now regarded today as an artifact of interaction. It embodies the self’s connection to the outside world through the creation of sound waves with emulate the feeling of movement within the interactor. The “sculptural presence” of sound that vibrates throughout the installation allows the interactor to more understand their body as a work of art and a component of their relationship with the rest of reality. By understanding more about your own movement and feeling, you can further understand the connection of the outside world to the internal world.
However, one thing mentioned in this article is that this art piece highlights new media art’s lack of a stable object. While this leads to an impermanence in the presentation of the artwork, I don’t think this is a downside at all. This phenomenon only shows the capability of media art to highlight movement, remodeling, alteration, and flow. It also highlights the importance of experience in the presentation of media art. Because it relies so heavily on audience interaction, this ensures that the experience will be more personal, and more easily connect with the audience due to each interactor being able to experience the art only through themselves and their own actions and desires.
Another beautiful thing exemplified by Very Nervous System is the capability for media art to evolve through its documentation and experimentation. If an artists paints a beautiful work of art, its a final product. However, due to the malleability of the digital world and its capability of emulation through experimentation, this genre and the works that occupy = always capable of evolution and growth. This ability for constant transformation means that as artists, we must understand the capabilities for experimentation. However, this does lead to some media art occupying enigmatic qualities due to not being a solid piece of reality.
Due to the enigmatic and transient nature of new media arts, the question is brought up in this text, can we even define a finished product, or are our works always under construction? It is hard to say, however I believe this is all up to the will of the artist. However, at the end of the day, the ability to make artwork adapt to us through our own interaction will better allow each audience member to understand what they are experiencing.
Due to the evolutionary qualities of a lot of digital art, it is important that we pay attention to the curation of the now, no matter what direction our artistic visions may go. So even though we take advantage of a highly adaptable medium, we also remember where we started and how our art and technology has evolved over time.
Collection Activation Update
My ideas are totally in place and collected, however due to being mostly busy with the Humboldt Foyer Project, time to develop a fully detailed working document has not been available, so for now, here is a very brief abstract answering all of the questions detailed in the report example.
• All background research accomplished
• Modernization of the traditional institution
• Media sources are 99% photographs, however this is totally doable as mosaics and stained glass are already perceived by the mind as 2d figures
• Technologies used: image detection, raycasting, UI functions
• A sketch mockup of the final product will be available on the final completion of my report, however image it as this: a room full of many different pictures of mosaics, all arranged into their own fantasy world. The goal is not set entirely clear, however this lack of direction will simply entice the user even more to walk up to all the different mosaics and stained glass windows. The simplest level of interaction will be a UI interface alerting the user that they can tap on the different artworks. Upon tapping on the artworks, more in depth information will be surmised.
• The user experience will allow ambiguity and curiosity to guide the interactor through a previously unknown world. This AR experience will be a work of art woven through previously established pieces and the mystery of exploration built through the design of my application.
• The essence of mystery and beauty in one complete experience.
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