Journal 6 : Are we losing Real Identity to our Virtual One?

There are two ways of looking at this. Parts of ourselves are used in some of the cyber world or in this case for security. We don’t have ourselves as a whole rather instead, pieces of what we we’re made of. Fingerprints, retina scans, palm scans, voice recognition, and other sections of us have been transferred into the digital world today as of security locks. However, this isn’t what I mean when I’m getting to the main question.

The other self we have are our online avatars that we may have in different sites, games, or forums. In our online personas, when we first create them, we have our own perceptions on how they should look, and we eventually change them when more options become available. In a study at Stanford University with support from the National Science Foundation, they observed from through some various experiments, that whatever the subjects’ avatar had been changed, there was a slightly different influence that they saw in themselves. These influences can either affect one’s physique, appearance, or preference when it comes to socializing or hanging out with others. The personas we have in our daily physical lives and our online lives are blurring together. Which leads us back to the original question, are we losing our real life personas to our virtual avatars?

Here’s a link to the article:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/virtualself.jsp

Journal 5 Artificial Intelligence and AIs

Normally when we hear the term “Artificial Intelligence”(A.I.), we think of the science fiction super computers that can do everything on their own without the need for people. However, fantasies aside, A.I.’s today have their part in digital artwork through their programming, simulations, analysis, and calculations. In reference to the previous journal post on games, upon examination, all games essentially contain an A.I. to control, react, and change things according to interaction. Even sites that we use such as E-bay, Amazon, Facebook, and other marketing or social sites use A.I.s, but they are more like “agents” according to Jaron Lanier in Christine Paul’s book. These intellectual agents use the similar properties of A.I.’s in order to place recommendation for purchases or advertisements for products or pages according to the history of previously bought items or visited pages. With the turn of digital technology into art, artificial intelligence is not excluded in this integration. Though they “cannot be simply labeled ‘AI projects’” (Paul 2008 p. 147). they create a larger expanse in the capabilities that interactive art pieces can now include.

Although, A.I.’s are essentially almost used for everything computer/electronic related, do A.I.s used in games, the Internet, and art pieces really differ from each other? In what ways has artificial intelligence influenced your perspective and work?

References:

Paul, C. 2008. Digital Art. 2nd edition. NY: Thames and Hudson, Inc.

Gaming and Art Journal 4

Videogames have come along a far way, evolving around the same rate as technology does. Digital media and gaming are essentially parallel in their evolutions. It’s the technological advances into digital tools that affect the abilities of what can be done which in turn also affects the new possibilities that are available for games. Improvements such as higher memory capacity chips, allow videogames to reach higher limits on qualities and lengths on what can be in a game. Besides physical technical capabilities due to hardware, videogames have spread out into almost every category; they’ve come a long way since Pong, Space Invaders, Snake, and Asteroids. Christine Paul mentions in “Digital Art” that “games are an important part of digital art’s history”(Paul 2008  p. 197) as “they explored many of the paradigms that are now common in interactive art.” (Paul p. 197).

Nowadays, there are teams of different artists in videogame companies that collaborate on making high definition and exhilarating worlds for players to explore not being exclusive to game genre. This growth has also encapsulated pop culture and society, which can be seen in artists’ work by the references they make. In examining videogames as a whole, would you classify videogames as art or not? Meaning that this would include all genres of games which includes “’shooters’ that seem antithetical to art”(Paul 2008 p. 197). ; Do they count as pieces of art?

Being born in the 90’s allowed me to experience most of the stages that videogames have gone through. Although not everything pertaining to the creation of these games maybe related to art directly, but it’s the collaborative product in the end that gives them their worth as art. Also, even though game types can have high contrasts against each other, those differences don’t distinguish whether they can be classified as art. Instead, look at the similarities beyond the graphics, where the paradigms that Christine Paul mentions that are contained in interactive art. These nuances that create immersion do not always have to involve a deep plot such as role-playing games(RPGs); for example, simulation games, first-person shooters(FPSs), and “god” games still provide a sense of immersion by giving the player a sense through the camera view and actions. Games like Modern Warfare 3 compared to games like Sims or Okami may not be viewed instanteously as art, but the way each game immerses the player to a different world through visuals, music, sound, and interaction make them more than qualified to be called interactive art.

References:

Paul, C. 2008. Digital Art. 2nd edition. NY: Thames and Hudson, Inc.

Journal 3 "Interactivity"

Journal 3 “Interactivity”

            Digital technology today, has provided the digital media many new innovative ways of creating media art pieces. When I hear the term “interactive” associated with digital art, I think of a person’s involvement within the piece to create their own visuals that can differ for every individual audience. This is also in compliance when Paul mentions that “far more fundamental changes take place with virtual art objects that are open-ended ‘ information narratives’ with a fluctuating structure, logic, and closure where control over content, context, and time is shifted to the respective recipient through interaction.” (Paul 2008 p.68). It’s the involvement and interaction that change a piece into something unexpected beyond our normal standards that we would view a sculpture or painting.

            With both Bill Seaman’s and Jeffrey Shaw’s works, what actually makes them interactive, is the hands on experience. However, each experience is different depending on the choices that are made. For instance, in Bill Seaman’s The World Generator/The Engine Desire, there’s a lot more variety to be made in choices and also the arrangement of components. In Jeffrey Shaw’s The Legible City , the participant is physically active, where they not only ride a stationary bike, but their decision on their speed and direction effects the projected visuals on the screen. In a way, the ability to customize the components that are available in a piece to create a unique experience that are similar yet different for each individual is in essence what an “interactive” piece should be able to do is what I believe.

References:

Paul, C. 2008. Digital Art. 2nd edition. NY: Thames and Hudson, Inc.

Journal 2

Topic: Altering images ultimately changes the meaning of the original work. When a work represents “reality” do you think it is ethical to alter an image to change its meaning from the work's original context? In what ways do you believe this plays a part in Ken-Gonzales-Day’s works, The Bone Grass Boy: The Secret Banks of the Conejos River and Untitled #36 (pp.36-37)?

            Ultimately, it depends on the purpose of the alteration; otherwise I’d say that completely changing the meaning from the original work is not ethical. The fact that it could be changed to any meaning, including the direct opposite of the original ruins the purpose. For example, say if a piece was for just aesthetical looks, but someone else took that art and used it in a marketing design, then it not only does it not benefit the original artist, but the other person is making money without trying.

            However with works like Ken Gonzales-Day, one can look toward an entirely new meaning from the piece with just a touch of added content. The fact that everyone is different, each of us can conjure up a multitude of perspectives; it all depends on what we individually think on what makes “reality”. It can be from uncovering the disgusting actions of people such as racism, sexism, or pollution, to identifying stereotypes, television tropes, and pop culture.

            In today’s world, we have access to photo manipulating software like photoshop and GIMP, and although they may be fun things to do, depending on the audience that views the end product can produce a false reality. Take for instance, ads in magazines that feature models, not all of them are “picture perfect”, they are made that way through photo manipulation. This in turn can give people a false standard at which they need to look at. In other instances, some pieces can be easily spotted as photo manipulated especially if filters, and other objects are noticeable, which obviously deny reality. In the end, photomanipulation is going to constantly be around for years to come; I just hope we don’t abuse this or get lost in it.

Journal 1

Topic: What do you believe are the most significant ways that digital art / new media impact society and culture in the United States?"

In comparison to today’s society as compared to two decades ago, our generation of people have been more media and visual based than ever. In a previous class that I took for when I used to be an engineering major, we had to survey several people on the creation of a new toy. Throughout the various responses that I’ve received, the most common answer was that it had to be either visually attracting, or digitally based.  As mentioned in Digital Art by Christine Paul, the technology that we have today offers a multitude of new methods for creating visually stimulating pieces. (Paul 2008 p. 7).

Throughout my childhood in the era of the 90’s, although I didn’t notice until I looked upon the past now, the use of the computer gradually became more of a portion of my life. Whether it was the infantile stages of when the Internet was dial-up connection, educational computer games like JumpStart or The Magic School Bus, or even movies/shows that were coming out like Toy Story or Reboot, digital media has been ingrained as a major component of not only the 90’s generation, but inspiration for now and the future ahead.

However with today and everyone being on computers and the World Wide Web, digital art takes a different eye to look at rather than how one would observe the content of traditional media. “Digital art projects often require audience engagement and do not reveal their content at a glance.” (Paul 2008, p. 23). Apart from the computer art, the artwork presented upon sites like Deviantart, give an entirely different aspect for the pieces. The fact that Internet art is made to be seen by anyone who has access to the Internet, changes the whole “gameplay” of the necessity for physical galleries or museums; for instance, one could immediately access a piece of work anywhere that had Net access and would not have the need to package the art.

At the same time, I believe that sometimes with Internet art, there is a slightly dangerous aspect to it, whether you’re critiquing a piece or are the original poster, with the fact that people can hide under the Internet anonymity, responses can be as harsh as with a piece that can be placed in a museum. Another aspect about the Internet would be copyright/crediting issues; it is so easy for another person to steal another’s piece of art. However, positive responses can come up just as much in the similar situation.  Like with traditional art techniques or themes that became known to other artists shortly after their birth, the same could be said with digital art; especially with people posting tutorials online or creating Internet memes that people start using in real life. The main matter is, whether the artwork is traditional or digital, with technology being as advanced as it is today, digital and media art will continue existing in our lives and creating influence among our culture.

Here’s a link to a gallery of CG work that inspires me:

http://www.andywhiteley.com/

Paul, C. 2008. Digital Art. 2nd edition. NY: Thames and Hudson, Inc.