Blood, Sweat, & Pixels

Au Revoir...

2010-05-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, as the saying goes. This is my last post of my academic career. I will walk across the stage at commencement and be handed my diploma tomorrow evening. I may bring this blog back to life at some point later, but for now, I look back at the ups and downs in graduate school. I reflect back on my triumphs and failures here in these hallowed halls. Hopefully, I will remember my successes and learn from my failures and as I look toward my future. As I start to ride off into the sunset of my academic life, I have one thing to say, It is about fucking time!

Au Revoir, arrivederci, auf wiedersehen, adios, sayonara, 再會, وداعا , Αντίο, שלום (Shalom), 안녕히 계세요, das vi danya,

GOODBYE!!!

From Somewhere off into the Sunset,

Drawn from Suburbia part 2

2010-05-03T11:55:00.001-07:00

Here is the Drawn from Suburbia video that I recently uploaded. You should be able to just click on the video. Let me know what you think.

Code Aesthetics

2010-05-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

I began wondering about the use of computer code and art. This is not a new topic. I am not trailblazing any new frontier. As the semester winds down, I have had some time to actually read some of the posts from Rhizome and other newsblogs that I subscribe to. I came across an interesting article about the use of computer code as art. (It has been relinked from Rhizome, so go to rhizome.org and search for computer code and the article should be the first one in the search results.) Here is the link: Computer code art (it is a Google document, ask permission to see it, then it should show up in your email.) Of course, Jodi.org has been active since the early 90s and keeps growing. Below is a taste of Jodi, from the first page. You can also go to Jodi from the "little Blue Pill" link on the side of this blog. (Hint: select everything below and view the code!)

[3]_______________________________ \ ___|
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| |_ ___ /=================\ ___ _| |
[4]---------> _||___|====|[[[[[[[|||]]]]]]]|====|___||_ <--------[4] | | |-----------------| | | | | |o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o| <-------------------[5] | | \_______________/ | | | |__ |: :| __| | | | \______________ |: :| ______________/ | | | | ________________\|: :|/________________ | | | |/ |::::|: :|::::| \| | [6]----------------------> |::::|: :|::::| <---------------------[6] | | |::::|: :|::::| | | | | |::==|: :|== <------------------------[9] | | |::__\: :/__::| | | | | |:: ~: :~ ::| | | [7]----------------------------> \_/ ::| | |
| |~\________/~\|:: ~ ::|/~\________/~| |
| | ||:: <-------------------------[8] | |_/~~~~~~~~\_/|::_ _ _ _ _::|\_/~~~~~~~~\_| | [9]-------------------------->_=_=_=_=_::| | |
| | :::._______.::: | |
| | .:::| |:::.. | |
| | ..:::::'| |`:::::.. | |
[6]---------------->.::::::' || || `::::::.<---------------[6] | | .::::::' | || || | `::::::. | | /| | .::::::' | || || | `::::::. | | | | | .:::::' | || <-----------------------------[10] | | |.:::::' | || || | `:::::.| | | | ||::::' | |`. .'| | `::::|| | [11]___________________________ ``~'' __________________________[11] : | | \:: \ / ::/ | | | | | \:_________|_|\/__ __\/|_|_________:/ | | / | | | __________~___:___~__________ | | | || | | | | |:::::::| | | | | [12] /|: | | | | |:::::::| | | | | |~~~~~ / |: | | | | |:::::::| | | | | |----> / /|: | | | | |:::::::| <-----------------[10] | / / |: | | | | |:::::::| | | | | | / |: | | | | |::::<-----------------------------[13] | / /|: | | | | |:::::::| | | | | | / / |: | | | | `:::::::' | | | | | _/ / /:~: | | | `: ``~'' :' | | | | | / / ~.. | | |: `: :' :| | | |->| / / : | | ::: `. .' <----------------[11] | |/ / ^ ~\| \ ::::. `. .' .:::: / | | ~ /|\ | \_::::::. `. .' .::::::_/ | |_______| | \::::::. `. .' .:::<-----------------[6] |_________\:::::.. `~.....~' ..:::::/_________| | \::::::::.......::::::::/ | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | `. .' `. .' `. .' `:. .:' `::. .::' `::.. ..::' `:::.. ..:::' `::::::... ..::::::' [14]------------------> `:____:::::::::::____:' <-----------------[14] ```::::_____::::''' ~~~~~ ============================================================================ ------------------------------- | | | | [1]------------------------------> o

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/ | \ / | \ / | \
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[1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1]

============================================================================

_____________________________________|_____________________________________
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============================================================================

Drawn from Suburbia: a Video MashUp

2010-05-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Below is an artist statement of sorts for my video mashup entitled: Drawn form Suburbia. Tell me what you think. I will upload the video in another post.

There exists a space of consciousness between the frenetic urban landscape and the serene and idyllic rural. It is a space that many of us, myself included, have lived or currently reside in: the suburbs. This subject matter of the American suburb is one that needs no introduction. Everything from movies and weeknight sitcoms to large advertising campaigns delve into this potent and very familiar subject. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the cartoons that are on television.

Since the inception of Hanna-Barbera’s The Flintstones debuted on prime-time television in 1960, the world of pen and ink has been animating our suburban consciousness. From the Flintstones and the Jetsons to the Simpsons and Family Guy, these shows are first and foremost sitcoms that broadcast in the evenings to the masses even though they are cartoons. While children might laugh at some of the slapstick humor, adults will laugh the situations that these characters put themselves in. These cartoons animate the situations and perceptions that we all have while living in suburbia.

I wanted to explore these cartoons and how they relate to the suburban landscape with a new work. I created a video mashup of sorts between various cartoons. I mashed up vintage episodes from the Flintstones with Family Guy, the Simpsons, The Jetsons, and American Dad. I even used mashups that I found from Creative Commons and the internet and spliced and cut the video into various segments. Through the use of these video clips that loops and exaggerates the timeline gives the viewer a heightened sense of mass-production, conformity and utter frustration. The various ways of cutting and re-cutting the video led to characters from one show interacting with characters from another. This manipulation of the timeline along with the layering of various timelines created a new dimension that was not there before. With mashing up the various animated characters and scenes, this new work investigates and highlights the mediocracies and conformities that seems to thrive in the very suburbs that we live in.

fingerprints, ghosts, and identities

2010-04-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

After looking at a fellow artist's work last night, it got me thinking. His work entitled "Friends I have not met yet" were beautifully crafted bas-relief sculptures from profile pictures on Facebook.

If you have been living under a rock on the supposed island where the television show "Lost" takes place, then you may not know what the hell Facebook is. Facebook is an online social networking portal that has been in existence since 2004. It is part of the web 2.0 moniker, or social online networking. People signup for a free account and can network with friends, family, colleagues, etc. regardless of distance, as long you can access the internet. People posts their random thoughts, photos, chat online, send emails, etc. without having to give out all that information to the various individuals. Many people post their entire lives on this and other networking sites.

The technology makes this so easy nowadays. You can do everything described above from your computer at home, at work, a public computer in a library, or the airport. Many of today's cell phones (which over 80% of Americans own one) can also update and upload the same information. Even some of the newer digital cameras and camcorders can directly upload to YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, not to mention the digital imaging sites like Picasa, Flickr, etc.

I digress. Back to the artist's use of Facebook photos. I started to wondering about what kind of digital/virtual footprint, fingerprints and identity does the average person create when going to these sites. In the IT realm, these are called ghosts, or digital fingerprints. This is what computer forensic scientists use to find out information about a person. Yes, Big Brother is watching you! I started to think how many times do I login and update various things. (In case you are wondering, updating this blog that you are reading is leaving a fingerprint.) So, I started to count how many times I update, upload, view, chat, email, tweet, etc.

I would say that I am someone who may spend more time online than say your grandmother Rose, but I also am not the 14 year old that is spending her entire waking life online and not interacting physically with the world. I am about average so to speak with most of Americans. So, here goes:

From 9 am to 3 pm:
Email: Read 42 emails
   Replied to 10 emails
   Sent 9 new emails
   Clicked on 18 embedded links in the emails

Facebook: updated my status 3 times
   responded to friend requests 3 times
   responded to event requests 12 times
   added 2 friends
   chatted with 1 friend for 18 minutes
   accepted 6 fan pages
   wrote on someone's wall 9 different times

Google: I "googled" 47 times
   Using iGoogle, I read 14 news articles from Huffington Post, NY Times, CNN, etc.
   checked my gmail account 6 different times, read 10 emails

Fickr, Picasa, YouTube: I uploaded 28 photos to Flickr and Picasa
   I organized a slideshow on Flickr
   I uploaded 2 videos to YouTube
   I searched for flash animation videos on YouTube
   I watched 4 videos on YouTube

Blackberry (my cell phone): updated a status on facebook
   commented on someone's picture in facebook using my phone
   check 8 emails, replied back to 1
   tracked a package from UPS for work
   used Google maps to find directions to a new restaurant
   took 4 photos from my phone and uploaded to Facebook

Blogger: I read 3 new blogs that I am following

I commented on 2 other blogs

I read 5 comments

I am currently updating this blog

And that's it so far. My day is not even finished. I usually do not finish work until 6-7 pm and like most people, "facebook", "tweet" or read and send emails some more from home.

So, I ask you to take up this challenge. How many times do you "tweet", upload, update, "facebook", "google", email, blog, etc. in a day. Keep a tally sheet of everything you do online, then ask yourself this,"So, how many digital fingerprints and ghosts do you leave behind on a single day?"

From Somewhere in the Digital World,

Blending of the Old with the New

2010-04-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

As a New Media artist and verifiable video junkie, I subscribe to many different newsletters that deal with art and technology, specifically anything that deals with new and emerging media. I particularly subscribe to Rhizome, a weekly (you can have Rhizome in various ways, from once a month newsletter to several posts a day depending of how much of a masochist you are!) Rhizome is part of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in NYC. From Rhizome's mission statement, "Rhizome is dedicated to the creation, presentation, preservation, and critique of emerging artistic practices that engage technology." I do not have the time to read all of the posts when they come in, so I put them into a folder named 'Read for Later' on desktop and then read them at my leisure. I came across an article from March that I re-read and became intrigued by the article. The article can be found here: Studio visit with LoVid

The article talks of the artist duo known as LoVid. LoVid are Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus and they hail from NYC, (of course!). What they do is alter video feeds, wiring, etc. into resin, quilts, etc. They mix the old with the new. I will repeat the entire article,, you can read it for yourself at the link above. But, it made me think of one artist that has been thrust into this new digital world "kicking and screaming". There could be a way to blend the old art and, dare I say it "craft" with emerging media that becomes a symbiosis of the two and creates something completely new and engaging. We do live in interesting times.

LoVid's website can be found here: LoVid

Somewhere between the physical and the digital,

LAFCPUG

2010-04-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group, otherwise known as the best source of info on Final Cut that can be found on the internet. LAFCPUG Happy editing!

In Stasis...

2010-04-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have written anything in my blog. It seems that for the last two months my body and mind have been in some sort of stasis. I just recently finished my MFA exhibition in March during Contemporary Art Month. I had my oral defense and passed, thank God (Yehweh, Buddha, the Big Man in the Sky, or whoever might be looking down at us lowly humans). I had an installation at the city's one night art event, Luminaria. I will save the details for another post. I took down my MFA show at end of March.

It is now April, and I seem to be just going through the motions. I still go to class and I am still working, but I feel I am disconnected from everything around me. I am trying to finish the semester, walk the stage and continue on this journey. I guess I am at point now where I am re-evaluating my life. I am just like everyone else. I am in my mid-thirties, married, and still trying to figure things out. I am not middle-aged, but I have already gone through the "quarter-life crisis". If you do not know what the "quarter-life crisis" is, a good definition can be found in Wikipedia, the link is here: QuarterLife crisis . I went to grad school, because I figured out what I want to do. Now, I am about to graduate, I have a good job related to my degree, a family, and I am beginning to worry again about the future.

All of this worry could be stemmed from the amount of debt that I will have accumulated over the last three years in grad school, the economic downturn (can we just call it what it is, the New Depression.), having to move very soon, or the uncertainty for the future. Whatever the reasons are, I worry. Will I still have a job next year? How will I pay for those student loans? Should I stay at the museum, or go into teaching? Should I be looking for another job, in another city? Do I move away or do I stay here? What about my wife? What does she want to do? What about the economy? Can I find another job, much less a career in this economy? These questions and hundreds more plague my consciousness. So, if you see me seemingly detached, disinterested, and unengaged, then you will know why. I am just in stasis...

From somewhere in my subconscious,

Frustrated and fluxomed

2010-02-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

I am deviating from my current topic on "Is New Media art?" I want to give an insider's perspective on how frustrating New Media can be. I recently installed a show at JusticeWorks in the Blue Star Arts Complex for this past First Thursday and First Friday. The show was great. I had a lot of great comments and many people had many nice things to say about it. But, that is only the half of it. What viewers did not see was several DVD tablet players completely crap out, overheat, or just stop working.

Nothing is more frustrating to a new media/video artist than putting your heart and soul into a project and then having the technology totally go to shit! As a new media/video artist, I have seen my fair share of DVDs that I have created work perfectly fine in several DVD players, computers or the like, until those same DVD players are installed in a gallery. These same DVD players start to do some weird things: not reading the discs, not wanting to eject the disc, or my personal favorite, 'bad disc' or 'cannot read' error. This is the curse of the new media/video artist. I am a slave to the technology that I hold so dear. Ralph Waldo Emerson once quoted as saying "Art is a jealous mistress". If that is true, then new media and video art is the bitch that stole your heart and all of your belongings.

My case in point. My installation should have been straightforward and pretty simple. I created several vitrines that were going to rest on four shelves. On each shelf, were two DVD tablet players with built-in screens. Seems easy, except for the fact that in a city that is always in perpetual drought, it had rained for several days before my opening. Because of the rain, one of the walls began to leak inside and down the wall. Despite what people want to believe, water and electricity do NOT mix. So, I had to change my design of my work mid-installation.

I finished the installation the night before the opening. I checked my DVDs that I created on the tablet DVD players, and everything seemed to work perfectly. I should know by now, if something is going to break, it will be 20 minutes before the opening. Which is exactly happened to me. 20-30 minutes before the opening, I found out that one of the DVD players gave me the 'bad disc' error, and would not correct itself.

So, I head off to any store that might have one of these players. After going to two other stores, I finally found a Target that had one. So, I come back 30 minutes after the show opened, $150 lighter in the wallet, and installed the replacement player. I thought I was in the clear, but about two hours into the opening, two more players started to do the same thing. I did get to coax those players into playing through the opening. The next night, I had the same problem with yet another player. After coaxing the player for about half-an-hour, I did get the player to finally play. Then a disc seemed to be scratched. I do not how this happens, as I am the most careful person when it comes to handling the media, but it does. I know now, after much experience, I always carry backup copies of the DVDs. I installed the backup, and it seemed to work. After that, the rest of the night went smoothly without any hiccups.

So, in conclusion, the show was a success. Most of the viewers did not even know there were any problems. I know much of the problems can be avoided by purchasing better equipment, but as an artist, that is not possible. New media/video artists tend to be hard on equipment anyways, because of installation issues, the repetitive use, etc. So why should I buy expensive equipment, when I know that a $200 DVD player can break just as easily as a $20 one? So, my advice to anyone who wants to become a new media/video artist, is to remember that you will be welcoming a world of heartache and frustration. The payoff, is when someone like David Rubin, says he really enjoyed your work. Just be reminded that new media/video art is the Bitch that will steal your heart and possibly everything else.

From Somewhere in the Digital World,

Element: Water

from Virtualities: States of Existence

JusticeWorks Gallery

Element: Fire

from Virtualities: States of Existence

JusticeWorks Gallery

Element: Air

from Virtualities: States of Existence

JusticeWorks Gallery

Element: Earth

from Virtualities: States of Existence

JustcieWorks Gallery

Is New Media Art? - Part IV: Fluxus

2009-12-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

Fluxus, from the word in Latin meaning "to flow" was an art movement born in the 1960s that contained a loose federation of artists, composers, and designers noted for blending the various artistic disciplines and media. Fluxus has also been called Neo-Dada by some. Artist Dick Higgins also coined the term "intermedia or transmedia" in his famous Fluxus essay. This is also the same early terms used to describe New Media Art. Coincidence?

Many artists have been associated with the Fluxus movement. These include Allan Kaprow, composer John Cage, Joseph Beuys, Yoko Ono, and Nam June Paik. But, the so-called leader of Fluxus was George Maciunas. Fluxus encouraged a do-it-yourself aesthetic and valued simplicity over complexity. Like Dada before it, Fluxus included a strong current of anti-commercialism and an anti-art sensibility, disparaging the conventional market-driven art world in favor of an artist-centered creative practice.

It was also surreptitious that this movement began in the early 1960s. Fluxus began as a backlash to the heavy commercialized European white male dominated art world of the 1950s. Central to Fluxus was the "events". The "events" were small, simple and sometimes impromptu performances. Fluxus artists also engaged in politics and public speaking, and produced sculptural works featuring unconventional materials. Their radically untraditional works included, for example, the video art of Nam June Paik (see previous post on the Sony Porta-Pak) and the performance art of Joseph Beuys. Many historians believe that Fluxus died with the death of its "leader" Maciunas in 1978. However, you can see the influence of Fluxus today in the current multi-media digital art that is prevalent in galleries, art fairs and museums around the world.

Fluxus Manifesto, written by George Maciunas

Is New Media Art? - Part III: Sony Porta-Pak

2009-12-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

In 1965, Sony Corporation introduced the Porta-Pak CV-2400 Video Rover and artists and dads everywhere have not been the same since.

A quote from Wikipedia on the Sony Porta-Pak, "The first ”portable” video system, this two-piece set consisted of a large B&W camera and a separate record-only helical ½” VCR unit. It required a Sony CV series VTR to play back the video. Even though it was clunky and heavy, it was light enough for a single person to carry it around. However, it was usually operated by a crew of two - One shot the camera and one carried and operated the VCR part."

Original Sony Porta-Pak CV-2400 Video Rover Promotional Photo

This became a boon for artists and independent filmmakers as they could more easily afford the $1000 (in 1967 $) price tag, versus the extremely expensive television and motion picture cameras that movie and television studios used. Also, there was an immediacy of being able to record then view the images. Although the Porta-Pak required the use of 1/2" magnetic tape, the price is relatively cheap compared to the expense of film, film processing, processing of prints, etc. for typical film-based cameras.

Nam June Paik is considered the Father of Video Art. The story goes that when the Sony Porta-Pak came out in 1965, Paik got his hands on one and filmed Pope Paul VI's procession in New York City. He then went to a cafe in Greenwich Village and viewed the footage with friends. Sony, though, denies this as the Porta-Pak was not commercially available until 1967. Regardless, of which story is true, the Sony Porta-Pak changed the way artists work. The technology has let artists move from the two and three dimensions to four dimensions. Video was born and art would never be the same again.

Is New Media Art? - Part II: Television

2009-12-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here is the second of my posts on the history New Media. Without this invention, there would probably be no new media as we know it. I am speaking of course, the television. Not one other invention in the 20th century has changed the lives of every person in the industrialized world. In the past 70 years, it does not matter if you grew up in New York City, Missoula, Montana or Beijing, China, the television has had an impact on you. Some people have grown to hate the contraption, some cannot wait to see their shows, and some watch so much that there is a new term in our vernacular, the couch potato.

The history of how the invention of the television came in to being is a little muddy. There were several inventors during the 1900s to 1920s came up with some way of transmitting and receiving moving images. But, the one that is credited for the invention of the television, as people think of, is Philo Farnsworth. He showed a working television in 1928. He invented both a way transmitting and the most important, receiving components for showing moving images. His system, the television, was electronic and a transmitter would electronically send a signal of a specified wavelength then the receiver would translate that signal into a moving image. The term television comes from the Greek "tele-" far and Latin "visio" for sight. By the early 1930s, the television sets were commercially available. Germany was the first country to use the television. The 1936 Olympics were broadcasted from Berlin to around the world. Here is something to impress others at a cocktail party, the flat panel plasma TV that seems to be prevalent everywhere today, was invented in 1936!

How does the invention of the television factor into the new media art? Most pioneers of new media art are from the generation that always had a TV. They watched the 1960 Presidential debate between JFK and Nixon, Howdy Doody, and Gunsmoke. Just look at Nam June Paik, Joseph Bueys, and Bruce Nauman. These artists grew up with the television glowing in their livingrooms. Televisions have become so ubiquitous in our daily lives, that artists, myself included, have used televisions as an interface, a medium and a subject for their art.

Media, Contemplation and Art

2009-11-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

This is a glimpse of artists that have had a impact on my personal work. These artists, some of whom are video or new media artists, have influenced my ideas, concepts, and even understanding of the world around me.

The first artist that has influenced my work a great deal is Nam June Paik. My BFA degree is in photography and printmaking. I would be content to create static hand-pulled prints, if it was not for a show at MFA Houston that showed Paik's TV Buddha. There is, of course nothing wrong with hand-pulled prints. I still make prints, and I probably always will. But, there is something about the moving image, and what that moving image could convey that completely opened my eyes. Paik, not only being the father of video art (or new media art for that matter), uses the aspect of mass media and the ubiquitous television as part of our social and personal identity. You can look many of his works and see that this is the case. His early works tells the viewer that the television can and should be everywhere, in some cases, literally. Some examples of his work in chronological order are below:

TV Cello w/ Charlotte Moorman, 1971

TV Buddha, 1974

Electronic Superhighway: The Continental U.S., 1995

All images courtesy of www.paikstudios.com.

Another artist who influenced my work greatly is Tony Oursler. Oursler is a video artist (although his newer works also delve into computer animated graphics) whose works come straight from popular culture, television and its use of psychological isolation. Many of his works are complicated video hybrid installations. He favors stage sets, immobile puppets, overlapping words sound scores and filming actors that are projected onto all sorts of objects in his own ontological theater. There is also a sense of identity and an anthropomorphic quality to his creatures that Oursler has created. These weird creatures or puppets are staged in these elaborate stage sets to allow the viewer to look at the deeper psychological aspects of human daily life. Some images of Oursler's work can be seen below:

Years/ Months/Weeks/Days/Hours/Minutes/Seconds

Alien Eye, 1995

Cell Phones Diagrams Cigarettes Searches and Scratch Cards, 2009

Images courtesy of www.tonyoursler.com

Oursler's newer works often tackle technology, obsessive desires, phobias, socially acceptable addiction, and self-help culture. Many of us in Western society, myself included, deal with these same issues that Oursler is conveying to us in his latest work, as can be seen the above photograph. These underlying issues identify us as a society and as an individual in this post-modern, post-information age society where everything is to the nanosecond and disconnected to the nth degree.

Another artist that has influenced my work, is Banksy. (aka Robert Banks??) Banksy is a quasi-anonymous graffiti artist. Although Banksy's work is painting, speciifically painting murals aka graffiti-style. Banksy's paintings deal with social and political commentary on society and its effect on an individual's identity within "the System". Although British, his work can be see on walls all over the world. Some examples can be seen below:

Pulp Fiction II

No Loitering, Ninth Ward, New Orleans

Mauer-Bethleham, West Bank near Bethleham, Israel

Images from Wikipedia

These are just some of the artists that have influenced my own work over the last couple years. There are many more. I am also influenced by the everyday things that are around me as well. Whether it is from NPR, the latest pop song, reality TV show or the craziest YouTube video, my artwork is influenced by all of this, as well as, the contemporary art world. Art in my opinion is an internal reaction, if you will, to external forces.

Studio Visits

2009-10-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

I went to the ArtPace lecture on artist studio visits last thursday night. Kim Aubuchon and Donna Simon both were on the panel with their various perspectives on the "dreadful" studio visit. Being an emerging artist myself, I have not had to opportunity to have many studio visits outside of the occasional visit from visiting professors and other grad students in grad school. I also do not have a permanent studio setup in my house either, which makes it more difficult to have a studio visit. And, lastly I do not live in the major metropolitan art centers in the country. (i.e., NewYork, L.A., or Chicago.) Needless to say I wanted to know more of what would make a good studio visit.

Kim Aubuchon had the most to say when came to the studio visit. Having known Kim for sometime now, I found it enlightening when she spoke of her experiences as an artist, curator and someone who works for a large arts organization and the studio visits that she has been on wearing these various hats. She explained to clean up your studio, but still make it look like a studio, not a gallery. The artist should make sure that the studio is safe to walk through and the visitor(s) have a place to possibly sit and talk with the artist. The artist should possibly have something to drink for the visitor, but do not have a bunch of food and drink out. This is NOT a gallery opening, where people are expected to eat, drink and socialize. Think of the studio visit as someone, say a client or boss, coming by your office to discuss business.

Also, the artist should show what he/she is working on currently. This means do not show work that is more than a couple of years old. This is NOT a retrospective of the artist's work. Most visitors do not want to be overwhelmed by all of the work that an artist has done since college. The artist needs to learn to edit his/her work to show what is revelent to the visitor. If the visitor(s) wants to look at paintings that the artist did a year ago, but the artist is currently working on a video, then the artist should show the paintings but also what he/she is currently working on.

As for artists that do not have a permanent studio, I heard two different perspectives from the panelists. Kim, who is an artist and curator herself, said she would like to see where the artist actually works, whether that be in a studio, kitchen table, or in front of a laptop. Donna Simon, the founder of Seeing Art San Antonio, stated a different scenario. Donna runs a tour group that specializes in touring artist studios in San Antonio. Donna states that if an artist does not have a permanent studio, then she will make arrangements to see the artist in an upcoming show that the artist may be in. Her reasons are that the people that go on these tours want to see the artist in some studio setting, although it may not be how the artist actually works. It is somewhat akin to the artist on display, so to speak.

Both of the panelists did state for the artist to eliminate as many distractions as the artist can from the visit. Another words, put the family dog up, turn off the cell phone, house phone, TV, etc. Also, if the artist does work from his/her own house, then make sure that there are no interruptions from family, friends, roommates, etc. while the studio visit is going on.

Hopefully, this will give the artist some help if he or she has a studio visit in his/her future. Now, if I can just get that studio visit from Mr. Gagosian, I will be all set.

What a young artist needs to learn...

2009-09-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

After reading Letters to a Young Artist, I would like to comment on some of the "letters" that was written to a "young artist" just starting out. I do not like the term young artist. Although there are many of those graduating with MFA degrees from 100+ universities that offer them that are under 30. Many of us, myself included, went to school much later. The latter had careers in some other field, may have raised a family, or a multitude of other situations that prevented them from getting their MFA degrees until later in life. I like the the term "emerging artist". I believe that is a better term for artists that are just starting out in their careers.

What I think is common thread among most of the letters that are in book, is not to give up. Do not make art thinking that you will be the next Damien Hirst or Jeff Koons. Chances are that will not happen. Make art because something inside compels you to make art. Stop delaying and procrastinating and create. Everyone has things that get in the way of creating art, whether it is family obligations, work (most of us have another job to help pay the bills), friends, etc. Hell, even you want to watch "the game" on a saturday or sunday gets in the way of creating art. You have to be determined to set time aside for the creation of your art. As a fellow emerging artist, I would pose a statement to other artists: If you wake up thinking about art and/or go to bed thinking about art, then you are an artist. Now, stop whining and get to work!!!

Is New Media Art? - Part I: Film

2009-09-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

Film, considered the grandfather of new media, has substance to it. There is actually film that recorded and processed. This cellulose medium has individual pictures on each one of its frames and if one shows it through a projector at a certain rate of speed, a film or movie is shown. Many artists during first half of the 20th century became enamored with the idea of the moving image and what could convey to an audience. These include Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel during the 1920s and 30s to Maya Deren of the 1950s and Stan Brakhage of the 1960s and 70s. Even pop icon, Andy Warhol shot many films from his infamous Factory during the 1960s and 70s. So, what is considered the art then: the celluloid itself or the image that is shown from that celluloid?

Nevertheless, without film and the artists that used this medium, there would not be any "New Media" art as we know it. I will focus on artists using film and not on the Hollywood film industry. (Although there have been beautifully made films from the Hollywood studios and the German counterpart that can be considered art, that must be saved for another time.) Many of these artists/filmmakers, as do many New Media artists, started out as artists in another medium then went to film as their medium of choice.

Film came into being by two surreptitious moments in history. The first was the creation of a latent image onto a plate (then moved to a film backing in a matter of a couple of years.) This invention has been attributed to both WIlliam Fox Talbot and Louis Daguerre. George Eastman, of Kodak fame, invented roll film in 1884. A couple of years later, the Lumiere brothers invented the first movie camera to take advantage of the roll film. An entire industry was born from these two inventions, first starting with the German film studios of the 1910s, most notably UFA to the Hollywood studios that came about in the 1920s and continue today.

Artists started to use film as a means of expression as early as the 1920s, especially artists associated with the Surrealist movement. Luis Bunuel with Salvador Dali created the 16 minute surrealist film Un Chien Andalou in 1929. This film has been considered not just a masterpiece of cinema, but of surrealist movement. Bunuel would also create several other films during the 1930s through the 1960s. His other most notable films were L'age d'or, Viridiana, and El. You could look at Tony Oursler's video installation work today and see associations with the "the Andalusian Dog".

Maya Deren was a pioneering avant-garde filmmaker during the 1940s and 1950s. She started out as a choreographer and dancer then moved to making films. She got started when she bought a used Bolex 16mm camera when she had travelled to Los Angeles and met her second husband, a czech cameraman. Her first film, Meshes of the Afternoon, is also her most famous. It is considered such an incredible avant-garde American film, that the American Film Institute created an award for the best independent filmmaker in Maya Deren's honor. Deren also collaboratively worked on films with other artists, most notably Marcel Duchamp. (Although the project with Duchamp never became fully realized.) Deren's circle of contemporaries included: Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Andre Breton, and Anais Nin.

Stan Brakhage is the quintessential experimental film artist of the 20th century. Brakhage would scratch into film emulsion, paint on the individual frames after he shot and developed the film. His films include the award-winning The Dead, The Dog Star Man Cycle, a five-part film series, and 23rd Psalm Branch, a film in response to the Vietnam War and its presentation in mass media. His influence can be seen in many Hollywood movies, including Fight Club and Se7en. There is even a music track entitled, "Brakhage" from Stereolab's Dots and Loops album. Anytime you see a video or film-based artist with manipulated imagery, scratches, or color over existing images, it is paying homage to Stan Brakhage.

This is a small sampling of film-based artists that have influenced "New Media". Many others, of course, exist. Even Andy Warhol is as famous (or infamous!) for his films as he is for his Campbell Soup Can paintings. His 8 hour movie of a static shot of the Empire State Building can be seen as an impetus for new media artist, Douglas Gordon's 24 Hour Psycho. This entry is to hopefully give some insight on how film has influenced art in general and helped bring about this thing called "New Media Art".

Is New Media Art? - Intro

2009-09-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I posted anything. I can give the excuse that my life got in the way of writing. My job at the museum, my wife, my family, and school all took time away from my writing. I have also been creating new works of art as well. I went on a trip to Berlin and Prague back in March. I could blame any of these factors as why I have not been able to write. But, these are just excuses. I have not written because I let everything else in my life get in the way of it. So, I will welcome myself back and hopefully not take so long between posts.

I am posing a question as both a critic and as a new media artist myself. Can "New Media" be considered art? This is a tough question. Can something that is, for the better part, an ephemeral idea that only consists of 1s and 0s on someone's computer? For one to understand new media, then one has has to understand where new media came from. What is the history of new media? Where can someone trace new media back to in art historical terms? What exactly is the definition of "new media"?

To understand the definition of new media, then one must look at where it might have come from. Historically, new media is a very new process-oriented art form coming from technological advances that happened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the invention of photography and later the moving image in the form of films. The technological drive that happened in the 20th century is the basis for this "New Media". It started from films to television to video then to computers. Art followed these technological advances, albeit with force.

As not to bore everyone with trying to read 2 to 3,000 words all at once. I will break down "Is New Media Art?" into several sections that are a little easier to digest, sort of like chapters if you will. I will discuss where New Media (also called transmedia or digital media, although this is misleading.) got its start. The art historical context which new media was borne from. I will talk about the technology that exists that makes new media possible. And, of course I will discuss critically and in art historical contexts if New Media can be considered art. I am not the definitive expert on new media, but I will give my insights as a new media artist, critic and curator. I will also cull from various other art sources that discuss new media as art. There is no right or wrong here. The purpose is to open dialogue about new media. Hopefully explain what new media is, where it came from and what context does it have in the art world.

Girls on Film

2009-01-31T02:16:00.000-08:00

It has been a hectic first part of the year. I did not make to First Thursday or Friday this time around. I did get to see the show, "All Ladies Video Review" curated by Leslie Raymond. I will not go into a critique of the show though. There were too many technical problems (i.e., video projectors not turned on, DVD players not working and the like) during my visit to give an informative review. That is the nature of working with technology and art I guess. If you want to read a great review of the show, read Sarah Fisch's review: Girls on Film in the Current.

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

2008-12-26T08:34:00.001-08:00

Curator posing in one of the works

Installation View of the Media Lab Show

Apt title for what happens when you decide to curate a "New Media" art show. I was given the opportunity to curate a show at the Blue Star Satellite Space in San Antonio. While there has been elements of new media and video art at various gallery openings in San Antonio, I could not find any mention of a full show devoting itself to new media art. There have been shows in Dallas and Houston, even in Austin, but not San Antonio. With such a diverse arts community in S.A., I decided to give it a chance and showcase local and regional artists that work mostly in new media.

I did not want to have painters who wanted to try video. This is where the first of my many troubles began. It was extremely difficult to find local and regional artists that work exclusively in new media. It seems that the artists are primarily painters or sculptors and dabble with video or computer-based art. Successful new media artists, like Paul Slocum, are far too busy to be in a show in San Antonio, even though I tried. I had contacted several artists from Austin, San Antonio, and even Houston. I based my decisions on the artists' previous work and if the artists themselves were "true" new media artists.

"True" new media artists are based on wikipedia's definition:

New media art is an art genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, Internet art, interactive art technologies, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology. The term differentiates itself by its resulting cultural objects, which can be seen in opposition to those deriving from old media arts (i.e. traditional painting, sculpture, etc.) New Media concerns are often derived from the telecommunications, mass media and digital modes of delivery the artworks involve, with practices ranging from conceptual to virtual art, performance to installation.

I chose six new media artists. Then something unexpected happened, I lost two of my artists because of time conflicts and personal issues. I had this very large space to fill and only few works to fill it. With a deadline looming, and no other new media artists to pick from, one of the other artists in the show asked if I just put some of my work in the show. Since I am a new media/video artist, my criteria would be met, but I felt uneasy about curating my own work. But, as they say in the theater, "the show must go on". With all artists finally in place, the show was ready to install.

Installing a new media art show is somewhat like organized chaos. Since the Satellite Space does not have professional gallery installers, all of the installation is squarely placed on the curator's shoulders. I had the artists come and install their own work. In most shows, paintings are just hung on the wall and some lights are placed on the artwork and that is it. With new media though, there is the hinderance of all the technology that is associated with this art. There are televisions, LCD monitors, computers, DVD players, LCD projectors, speakers and all of the other flotsam that goes into installing a show. All of this equipment has to plugged into some sort of electricity. The cables have to be taped down and hidden in some way as to not cause a tripping hazard or electrical hazard. More than on one occasion, I electrocuted myself trying to install the various electrical cords. Then there is the problem with overloading the electrical circuits. Many times throughout the install, breakers kept tripping from too many devices plugged into a single circuit.

Some other issues that became apparent was the overloading of the senses for the viewer. WIth so many monitors and projectors playing at the same time, I had position the artwork far enough away as not to interfere with each other. The other major issue was sound. Many of the works included sound as part of the work. This becomes a huge problem. How do you control the sound, so that the viewer/listener can hear the artwork without audio bleeding from another work? I did that by careful placing of the work and some of the more intimate works had headphones that the viewer could use. This is why many new media shows you only see a few works in the gallery.

All in all, this became a great show. It was well-reviewed in the local alternative newsweekly. It also got some press from art magazines and even the daily paper. This was also a milestone for San Antonio as it was the first "true" New Media art show and a great success. This was a profound learning experience for me as well. It brought the masses, not just other artists and "art groupies", to the gallery to see and engage in art that is on the forefront. I think that is what New Media does better than other traditional art genres, it brings people from all walks of life to participate and relate to the art in front of them.

Photos of various installations at the Media Lab Show

The times we live in

2008-12-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

Getting off subject a little bit. I also subscribe to other blogs and get emails from reputable sources. This one from Freepress.net proved without a doubt that the mainstream media tries to spin the truth. I am not trying to preach to anyone. But, just watch the video below and come up with your own conclusions. Hopefully, you will get some insight and make your own decisions. By the way, Peter Schiff, a financial analyst, was the only financial expert that was right about our economy from all of the experts that were shown. Yet, he was made to be a fool in front of nation on Fox News.

Inside the Mind of an Artist

2008-12-01T02:35:00.000-08:00

Deer Spewing Forth by Anne Ferrer

Image Courtesy of Cactus Bra

This past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind. But, lets get down to business. This review is a little late, but better late than never. After seeing the show at Three Walls, I went next door to Cactus Bra to see what is going on. You never know what to expect to see from a Cactus Bra show. I have seen beautiful abstract paintings done on paper with very transparent paint to taxidermy animals crocheted together. So, I have come to expect the unexpected at Cactus Bra. I walk in and notice something not normally seen in an art gallery. An intimate look at an artist's thought process. There are about a hundred drawings made from conté crayon, watercolor, marker and graphite. The artist, Anne Ferrer, is from Paris, as in France not Texas. It is like a fish-out-of-water scenario. A sculptor, Ms. Ferrer was of course not able to bring any of her tools or supplies with her on the plane. She had to improvise. So, she started to sketch, and sketched she did. I wish more artists would draw more. (*I myself, try to draw everyday. I can thank my drawing teacher for that!)

These drawings are wild and gestural. At first, I did not know what these drawings really meant. The drawings are of wild organic creatures that seem deflated or have fire breathing out of them. There are deer, fossils, bugs, and other remnants from the Texas Hill Country that are consciously evident in her drawings. This seems ordinary to many people who have grown up around that, but it is completely foreign to Ms. Ferrer's background. Only when I got o see Ms Ferrer's catalogue from another exhibition, that it all made sense. These were sketches for sculptures that deflate and inflate based on the viewer's actions. Some of these drawings seem more fantastical than others. Some of these could be easily built, as others will only live in the imagination of the artist. It reminds me of Claes Oldenburg in a way. His soft sculptures seem to be the starting point for Ferrer. There is a playfulness that is evident in the work. A polished show, this is not. The pages are just littered on just about every wall in the gallery. None of the drawings are framed. This is more akin to what you would see in the artist's studio. Nevertheless, the viewer should enjoy this rare opportunity to catch a glimpse into the artist's mind.

The show had its opening during the first friday in November and is on view by appointment through the end of November. Ms. Ferrer is the visiting artist in the art department at UTSA. She will be in San Antonio through December.

Blood, Pixels, and Vinegar

2008-11-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

The artist, Taro Hanrahan standing at the entrance to the gallery
Photo courtesy of the artist

Close up of bird animation
Photo courtesy of the artist

That sounds familiar? What a great title for an art show. The artist, Taro Hanrahan is a new media artist that works with video, animations and installations. He combines all of those elements in his first solo show at Three Walls Gallery that opened on November 6.

The gallery gets its name from just that, the gallery is just three walls. The artist therefore has three works that are displayed on these three ubiquitous walls. These are video installations using several flat panel televisions mounted on the walls with fabricated and cut self-adhesive vinyl. One of the works is on multiple monitors that shows video from a real nuclear explosion in a animated city with bombs made from the self-adhesive vinyl adhered to the wall. Next to that work is an animated bird chirping away in a tree with feathers adhered to the wall in the same fashion as the bombs. On the last wall, is an animation montage of humans becoming more like machines and machines becoming more human.

Although 3 different works, each video seems to respond to the other two. The viewer sees three different views of the same story. Hanrahan has the technical mastery of the various programs that he utilized to create these works. These animations could easily have been created by some animation company from L.A. or Japan. In Hanrahan's hands, he transcends the slick animation standards that we have come to expect in this hyper-media world that we live in. The viewer has to provide a little more effort to view these videos than if the viewer was just to passively watch these animations in the comfort of the viewer's own couch.

Maybe it is the times we live in, everything happening in a nanosecond, but I kept longing for a little more from the animations. I wanted the animations to be a little longer before looping. Aside from that, Hanrahan shows the viewer a glimpse of what might be the future of theatre. It is modern day take on the ancient theatre of Greece and Rome, with a principal actor and the chorus responding. The actors are now just animations that really do not exist. Each of these works seem to be vignettes of a story that only the artist knows and the viewer only gets a glimpse of through the artist's use of very short animations.

First Post

2008-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

This my first post on this blog. A little about this blog. As you can see from the title and short description, this blog is about art and technology in the 21st century. I want to talk about art, specifically new media and video art and how it relates to this day and age. There will be reviews of art and artists that have either crossed the technology barrier or work exclusively in new media. There will be discussions of how technology has integrated within the art world. I will crawl through the web and offer posts that deal with these issues. So, sit down, strap in and hold on, as I take you on a ride through the "real" art of the new millennium.

From Somewhere in Texas,

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

2008-11-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

I am starting a new blog called Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. This blog will talk about art in and around South and Central Texas. The topics will include video and new media. There will reviews about upcoming shows and gallery visits. I will discuss how technology has changed the way is perceived. This blog is about art, the internet, technology and how they interact with each other. I invite you to check it out. Title: Blood, Sweat & Pixels.

Another assignment

2008-10-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here is another assignment. Google yourself, and 5 other people that come up to mind in 30 seconds. Go to any of the links that you find. Post any information that you find most interesting to your blog. This could about yourself or the 5 other people that you thought about. You could post photos, videos or just information. Find out who you or the people you are thinking about really are in this second reality called cyberspace. Happy searching....