2007년 12월 16일 일요일

15th weekly classes (Tue11, Thu13 Dec) - Summary and Comment after class about "the extent of the 'extension of man'"

* This weekly summary *

This week is the last week of this semester's class. We learned about concepts of media we have learnt so far. After a student's presentation, professor gave us short summary about what we learned during a semester. It was what art is, who I am and the changes of media artwork as time passes.
At thursday, The 2nd international digital image forum was helded in Han Kyung-jik memorial hall. I attended this forum from 1 p.m to 2 p.m.

* This weekly my comment *

1. The extent of the 'extensions of man'
Media is the extension of the part of man. Books are the extension of eyes and Wheels are the extension of legs. The more technology develops, the more media people use extends the part of man.

2. Short summary of this semester.
Before 2000s, media art didn't open to public and remained itself. But after 2000s, media art exposed to the audiences. Also academic, cultural, social barriers is being broken. Anyone who wants to make a piece of work even if he is amateur, it doesn't matter. I think boundaries of all fields of artwork will be destroyed.

3. The Future Direction and Current Development of User-centered Digital Imaging technology and Art(The 2nd International Digital Image Forum)
I arrived at 1:00 p.m and listened to the presentation of Professor Kim Hyung-ki. He introduced some existing works and his own works. He explained Cyclorama and Panorama. I think he is interested in visual elements. 'A Regular Tetrahedron' that is one of his artworks composed his body and fitted to tetrahedron. Included this work, many works represent visual changes. I felt comfort because of immersion what I was surrounded in his works.

2007년 12월 5일 수요일

14th weekly classes (Tue4, Thu6 Dec) - Summary and Comment after class about "determing or determined 2?"

* This weekly summary *

We talked about opinions of Mcluhan and Williams, especially the difference between Mcluhan's opinion and Williams's last week. This week, we had a try to map Mcluhan and Williams. Besides, we discussed the many virtues of Saint Mcluhan.

* This weekly my comment *

1. Mapping Marshall Mcluhan and Williams
Mcluhan had an opinion like these as to a narrative of redemption.

Primitive Oral Culture - Literate Culture - Mechanical Printing - Electric Media

Mechanical printing was new technology in those days. Because of this printing, popularized culture started to emerge. Ahead of this, literate culture can be used and enjoyed by only the intellectuals. But, a content was passed by many people because many people must use and enjoy. In this process, a content was transformed. For example of drawing, a painting is painted by a drawer, passed to draftsman, carbor and printer. Thus, ancestors disliked and disrespected the mechanical method.
I think mechanical development is good to people but I'm against blind support about mechanical development.

2. The many virtues of Saint Mcluhan
We moved on to a discussion of three core theses that emerge from former ideas.

  1. the extension thesis
  2. the environmental thesis
  3. the anti-content thesis

Mcluhan thought that these processes were going gradually. He said that "The medium is the message". In those days, a content was more important than a medium. People thought that newspaper existed for only transmitting contents. But People started to know that contents is harmed because of medium itself and thought that we should fit our contents into medium to transmit efficiently.

These days, environment around us is being changed everyday because of technology growth. Thus, the relationship between system and us, people and people is becoming new. In the new internet environment, I think words is being changed because of messenger and text messages etc.

2007년 11월 28일 수요일

13th weekly classes (Tue27, Thu29 Nov) - Summary and Comment after class about "determing or determined?"

* This weekly summary *

We talked about the Frankfurt school critique in the popularisation of new media and different opinion of Mcluhan and Williams this week. Especially at thursday, we learned the difference between Mcluhan's opinion and Williams's. From that, central culture and popular culture are discussed, after that I thought where the interactive art is in art now and where the interactive art must be in art.

* This weekly my comment *

1. The return of the Frankfurt school critique in the popularisation of new media.
In the Greek Ages, governors said the word to civilians. That is, the way of communication in those days is one-way. In the 18c and 19c, there are three groups which are artists, viewers and theorists but they are small groups. In the early 20c, Frankfurt school emerged and insisted these groups had been bigger than the past. So popular culture started to emerge.
At this point in time, I think we can't divide those groups. viewers(users) can be artists. I can't see the boundaries of those groups.

2. The status of Mcluhan and Williams.
Mcluhan and Williams had different theory about the media. Mcluhan persisted New media change everything. That is, he saw the media is active. On the other hand, Williams said the medium is only the part of our culture and he saw the media is passive.
Mcluhan said the medium is the message. This phrase means medium is more important than any "meaning" or "content" that the medium conveys. McLuhan proposed that media themselves, not the content they carry, should be the focus of study, he said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not by the content delivered over the medium, but by the characteristics of the medium itself. There are many opinions about this Mcluhan's saying.
Also, we talked about the central culture and popular culture. Why is the central culture in center? Is popular culture really low art and central culture really beautiful art?
Only limited people understand and like central culture but most people like popular culture. Central culture has been protected by the upper classes and people study easily. On the other hand, popular culture of the public has been handed down by oral tradition.
These days, interactive art is being known well to the public but people thought interactive art is the low part of art. I think people understand that way because people can't encounter interactive art a lot. Thus, I think we have to get near to public with the interactive art more frequently.

2007년 11월 21일 수요일

12th weekly classes (Tue20, Thu22 Nov) - Summary and Comment after class about "dissatisfaction with old media and the discursive construction"

* This weekly summary *

We discussed people who were dissatisfied with old media and the reason they were dissatisfied. Also, we learned about discourse and the discursive construction of new media in this week.
People who were dissatisfied with old media casted some questions and we talked about the questions.

* This weekly my comment *

1. The question that people who were dissatisfied with old media presented
Jaron Lanier we already talked in VR class said mission number one is to kill TV. Actually, many people present dissatisfaction about the contents and physical things when watching TV. Also, TV is used to propaganda of political authority and people can't choose, people only get the information by one direction. To solve these problems, people need to construct discourse and improve new media.

2. The discursive construction of new media
Discourse is spoken or written communication between people, especially serious discussion of a particular subject. In this part, our new media needs to be constructed by people's discourse. Victor Burgin said object, theory, meaning has been formed through these discourses. These days, visual culture which includes visual contents like still images and videos is being formed thorough this discourse.

2007년 11월 14일 수요일

11th weekly classes (Tue13, Thu15 Nov) - Summary and Comment after class about "the middle ages and a sense of deja vu"

* This weekly summary *

We learned about history of new media overall. In the last class, we took the concept of teleology and modernist. In this week's class, We went back to the middle ages and the former. We listened to thoughts of various scholars. Deja vu is also mentioned and we talked about the memory from deja vu.

* This weekly my comment *

1. the return of the middle ages and the former!
Kevin Robins said that it is important to look into history to understand present digital culture. And we could see the history of movie and game from the view of Homo Ludens. From it, People saw the spectacle of panorama. After that, we went back further and met sophists of rhetoric. They taught how to speech to audience well. They did good work what enlighten many civilians but people finally recognized they had only the skill pretending the good person.
I think the middle ages started from 4C when Christian religion was chosen as a state religion by Rome empire and are finished at the Renaissance. At that time, because the center of world is god, it can't help but activity of human be shrinked.

2. A sense of deja vu
Deja vu is based on memory. But our memory is not believable and the content of memory is different according to the main body. Today, computer also does a role of people's memory part. But computer is only nomadic, it doesn't give any cultural impact.
I also have a memory that was different between my memory and another person's memory about identical situation. Therefore, nobody is right and nobody is wrong, so we need to respect each other's thoughts.