New Media Reader Chapters 31 - 35

Chapter 31

Timeline:

• 1982: Bill Viola publishes "Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space?"

Summary:

• 1960's - artists start experimenting with video as a medium
• "artists' video reconfigured public and industrial conceptions of the video image - via means ranging from site-specific installations to "music video" form" (463)
• Bill Viola = popular video artist, created "70 millimeter" video art which lacks grittiness and rough production associated traditionally with video
• Viola used poetic approach to video

Chapter 32

Timeline:

• 1982: Ben Bagdikian's The Media Monopoly is published
• 1997: Disney/ABC Deal

Summary:

• Are old and new media becoming increasingly compatible and similar? (ex. ESPN Online)
• New Media as big business
• 6 top media firms: AOL/Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, News Corp, Bertelsmann, and General Electric
• Where does this leave New Media?

Chapter 33

Timeline:

• 1983: Ben Shneiderman publishes "Direct Manipulation"

Summary:

• Jonathan Swift: writes about project where words are erased from language - bringing the physical into discourse
• direct manipulation = data processed by a computer located geographically versus a coded language
• Shneiderman talks about how arcade interface (visual) can be applied to other computer systems

Chapter 34

Timeline:

• 1984: Sherry Turkle publishes "Video Games and Computer Holding Power"

Summary:

• Turkle writes about how children, teens and adults interact with computers via their use of video games
• Turkle approaches computing from a background in psychoanalysis
• Computer enters our individual and social lives

Chapter 35

Timeline:

• 1985: Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" is published

Summary:

• socialist-feminist mythology
• Haraway argues for "pleasure in the confusion of boundaries and for responsibility in their construction"
• Disruption of binary systems

New Media Reader chapters 26 - 30

Chapter 26.
Timeline:

• 1977: Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg write essay Personal Dynamic Media about use of PC/notebooks

Summary:

• Ideas about notebook computing developed in group directed by Alan Kay at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
• Predicted the versatility of Dynabook - a notebook computer. Previously, notebooks were seen as only tools for engineers or businesspeople
• Dynabook vision led to the development of Star which supported graphical user interface for PCs and helped make Ethernet, the mouse, and laser printer
• Kay and Goldberg emphasized the creative uses of the computer and the usability for children

Chapter 27

Timeline:

• 1980: Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari write A Thousand Plateaus

Summary:

• Rhizomatic writing - used to describe hypertext or the properties of a hypertext system
• Delueze and Guattari challenge dualisms in the piece
• Delueze and Guattari previously wrote Anti-Oedipus together
• "the rhizome connects any point to any other point, and its traits are not necessarily linked to traits of the same nature; it brings into play very different regimes of signs, and even nonsign states.

Chapter 28

Timeline:

• 1967: Papert begins developing LOGO a computer programming language for children
• 1980: Seymour Papert publishes Mindstorms

Summary:

• 1980's - populist ideas enter mainstream of home computer era
• Seymour Papert worked in the 1980s on encouraging children to learn via the process of programming
• Papert argues that programming supports a learning which is self-directed and self-motivated

Chapter 29

Timeline:

• July 1980: Richard A. Bolt publishes "Put-That-There" Voice and Gesture at the Graphics Interface

Summary:

• multimodal interfaces - combine speech and gesture input were inspired by Bolts essay
• today, data is represented spatially on graphic computers
• The New Media Room - described in Bolt's essay was developed by Nicholas Negroponte at MIT's Architecture Machine Group. Used 2-D screens to provide a simulated 3-D space.
• multimodal interface allows a person to communicate with a computer by using speech, gesture, gaze and facial expression

Chapter 30

Timeline:

• 1981: Theodor H. Nelson publishes Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive

Summary:

• Xanadu = Ted Nelson's idea for a hypermedia network that relies on hyperconnectivity
• Xanadu = ultimate media archive
• Problem with Xanadu - security, morality, privacy, content control
• Xanadu - like an interactive electric library

Gallery Hopping

POSTMASTERS

I really enjoyed this gallery and Spencer Finch's line of work. There were two particular piece I was especially impressed with. The first was The Shield of Achilles which is a data visualization piece that is supposed to illustrate a constellation as if viewed historically from the Trojan War. Everything about this piece was appealing to me. It incorporated a new media technique and implemented it in a simplistic yet absolutely stunning way. Please, please check out the piece here.

Another cool thing Finch did was a digital visualization piece that incorporated Emily Dickens poems. This, to me was awesome just because I'm a huge fan of anything that fuses together unexpected mediums. Emily Dickens Poems + Candles + Data Visualization = a steampunk mentality with eerie modern aesthetics.

Bitforms and EYEBEAM

Out of all the art we explored Thursday, I was least impressed by Bitforms. The art was interesting and thoughtful but I think because we came while the exhibit was still being set up, it was a little chaotic and an ill-informed explanation of the pieces. Our guide seemed a little flustered so I think it hindered my enjoyment of the exhibit.

Eyebeam on the other hand, I loved. Absolutely loved. I have been raving about it since our tour on Thursday and have sent out links to co-workers and professors. I would have really enjoyed seeing extreme 'tubing in action, but sadly had to babysit Friday night. I could honestly see some of my peers participating in the YouTube Tournament and was also really amazed by the tablet technology they used for the game set up.

Data Visualization, Gehry Building, Highline

Data Visualization

I really enjoyed the article on data visualization because it fused together a lot of different things I have focused on lately digitally. In terms of physically visualizing data, there are tons of web apps out there right now that let you track twitter trends and graph/illustrate them for analytic purposes. Wordnik uses data visualization (check out "bacon" for example) to help illustrate how frequently a word is being used on Twitter.

I think for larger consumer companies, especially, data visualization can be a great tool for understanding consumer behavior patterns in a new way.

Another thing Tanneeru mentioned is a trend towards hyperlocal news and how data visualization is contributing to that. Rachel Sterne, CEO of Groundreport founded a company based on the democratization of journalism via the Internet and hyperlocal news. With tons of hyperlocal online companies emerging (even the New York Times has hyperlocal blogs), I'm curious to see if data visualization will play a role in shaping these news sources.

Gehry Building and Highline

The Highline has to be one of my favorite new spots in Manhattan. Prior to our trip, I had only visited the Highline at night so I'm glad we got to check it out during the day time. The aesthetics in day light seem different and I think the landscaping was particularly stunning when it was bright enough outside for me to appreciate it.

The Gehry Building adds extra grandeur to the already breathtaking piece of art/history/architecture/public park that is The Highline. Looking over the Hudson, the building is typical of Gehry's work and actually is reminiscent for me, of a ring I have in sterling silver that he designed for Tiffany and Co. The ring has the same sharp, contrasted, geometric shape and if multiple were stacked, the structure would create a miniature sterling silver structure. This is part of what makes Gehry's work so fascinating and aesthetically pleasing, it is both unique and ubiquitous.

New Media Reader Chapter 21 - 25

Chapter 21

Timeline:

• 1974: Theodor H Nelson publishes Computer Lib/Dream Machines - predicted the effects of the first personal computer kit.

Summary:

• Computer Lib/Dream Machines two books conjoined and in the middle, the two texts meet.
• Computer Lib: predicts the impact of the personal computer, challenged what a computer was for.
• Dream Machines: Nelson recognizes the comptuer, as a new form of media
• Computer = media to be designed. Therefore, it should be both creative and acknowlge its audience (the user)
• Nelson suggested new media experiences be published in a public network --> Internet

Chapter 22

Timeline:

• 1974: Theater of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal is published in Brazil
• 1992: Augusto Boal runs for public office as a political/theatrical act - surprisingly he becomes elected in Brazil

Summary:

• Augusto Boal = went to jail for practicing his interactive techniques and was eventually exiled from Latin America to Europe
• Boal = one of the first to consider the physical body in conjunction with new media

Chapter 23

Timeline:

• 1967: Negroponte founded the Architecture Machine Group at MIT- developed methods of managing data spatially
• 1975: Negroponte publishes "Soft Architecture Machines"
• 1985: Negroponte opens MIT Media Lab with help of MIT President Jerome Weisner

Summary:

• Structures for human activity = basis for architecture and human computer interaction (example: virtual reality applied to architecture)
• Nicholas Negropnte = a user should be empowered by a computer
• MIT Media Lab - researches future applications of technologies via academic disciplines
• Negroponte = co-founder of Wired Magazine ("sought to chronicle the digital revolution and promote it as a concept" pg 353)

Chapter 24

Timeline:

• 1964-1966: Weizenbaum invents Eliza - system which can interact and respond to humans via a script called Doctor

Summary:

• Joseph Weizenbaum - criticizes the dangers of new media
• Weizenbaum = computer programmer who invents a chatterbox system, Eliza
• Weizenbaum - the influence computing has had on how we use language

Chapter 25

Timeline:

• 1977: Myron W. Krueger publishes "Responsive Environments" about virtual reality

Summary:

• Myron Krueger - worked on virtual reality concepts and was both praised and rejected by the art community. "Father of Virtual Reality"
• The technology Krueger invented gained a lot of critical response for its lack of humanism
• Critical Technical Practices (CTP) - coined by Phil Agre of MIT - creating technology within the traditions of art & studies of culture

Microcosmos, Burroughs and Cage

Microcosmos

Other than the uber-graphic snail copulation scene, I was utterly enchanted by Microcosmos. Growing up, the only "late-night" TV I was ever allowed to watch was on the Discovery Channel. Needless to say, this was right up my alley.

The imagery was whimsical and playful and the soundtrack suited the piece. It took me a few minutes in to realize what I was watching actually was real and not fabricated. I think because we're so accustomed to digital, I had assumed the images of the insects were fake, again adding another layer of amazement to Mircrocosmos. The attention to detail in the film was unreal. The film itself took over three years of shooting and then an additional six months in post-production to edit.

While watching, I was reminded of Disney films of my childhood, particularly "Alice in Wonderland." In one particular scene of the film, Alice becomes smaller than the insects crawling around on the ground. With Microcosmos, we (the audience) are taken back to that moment when insects become life-like and fantastic. Check out the film's trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76R2EKEnoJQ


William S. Burroughs

Okay, so I think like most of the class, I have previously encountered Burroughs. For me, the first time I interacted with him and his work was in my sophmore english class in high school when we did a unit on beat poets. From there, I went on to read "Naked Lunch" and half of "Junkie" (the text was a little intense for my liking at sixteen, I need to try it a second time).

The video itself, for me, was a bit intense. The poems that emerged were also intense, however, I understand that wasn't the purpose of writing them. The goal of the project was to shake things up, simple as that. To play with narrative and text in new ways and experiment language. This, of course I liked.

Although I do not consider myself by any means an artist or writer, I appreciated the way in which new technique was applied to the creation of poetry and language. Via this method, Burroughs invented new words, which he then used in his writing. I wonder if Erin McKean knew about Burrough's experimentation with word play....


Cage

I have been engaged with classical music since I was five so I really appreciated John Cage's prepared piano. In high school, I had a quartet leader who was all about shaking things up. We played "bohemian rhapsody" on our violins and she was always experimenting with new kinds of composing and ways to play our instruments. She would often augment her cello in various ways and now I know her muse.

Cage is relevant for us now because of the omnipresence of remix culture. He was the inventor of the original mash-up. I just wish the video we saw focused more on Cage, his life, his inspirations, and some of the music he has influenced.

New Media Reader, Chapters 16-20

Chapter 16

Timeline:

• 1968: Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco, "mother of all demos." Demonstrated Augmented Research Center (ARC)'s work to date

Summary:

• Demonstration = important within the world of tech for success in order for the public to understand new technologies --> "demo or die."
• Douglas Engelbart - demonstrates ARC technology with Bill English
• Live demos in public of interactive tech never occured before
• ARC eventually sold by Stanford Research Institution
• ARCs team eventually went to PARC --> Xerox/Apple/Microsoft ideas we currently have today about computing --> "user friendly" interface
• Engelbart's goal = multiple people working on problems simultaneously. Engelbart thought network was necessary (his ideas appreciated later on creation of Internet)

Chapter 17

Timeline:

• 1970: Software exhibition at the Jewish Museum in NYC organized by Jack Burnham. Visitors invited to demo computers
• 1970: Labyrinth: An Interactive Catalogue - Ned Woodman/Theodor H. Nelson
• 1969-70: Seek - The Architecture Machine Group, MIT - human interaction w/ computers using Gerbils
• 1969: Systems Burn-off X Residual Software - Les Levine

Summary:

• Computers at Software exhibition were buggy however, the exhibit was the first of its kind, and therefore a landmark in tech
• Exhibition had a catalog titled "Labyrinth" by Ted Nelson - first publicly accessible hypertext
• Goal of exhibit = focus on information processing systems
• "Burnham laid out a vision of new media art much more in line with how it is viewed today - neither a celebration of technology nor a condemnation, but an investigation, through implementation, of new shapes for the processes brought into the culture via computation." (248)

Chapter 18

Timeline:

• 1970: "Constituents of a Theory of the Media" - Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Summary:

• Theory of Media + New Left socialism - media without "intellectual property" and "heritage"
• Base = forces and relations of production, Superstructure = institutions (political systems, media etc.)
• Enzensberger - medias as "consciousness" industry. In order to promote positive change, he suggest we work with the media, as opposed to against it
• Enzensberger proposed a NEW kind of organization of media in order to create change

Chapter 19

Timeline:

• 1972: "Requiem for the Media" - Jean Baudrillard

Summary:

• Jean Baudrillard responds to Enzensberger's "Consituents of a Theory of the Media" - media serves a social function --> similar to McLuhan's "the medium is the message"
• true potential for change = refusing to a accept a model of producers and consumers

Chapter 20

Timeline:

• 1990's on: US overnment involved in privatizing the Internet in order to promote competition - the opposite happened

Summary:

• Flow - combination of commercials, programs, etc that make up the experience of watching tv - Raymond Williams
• Technological determinism - framing of tech's impact on culture (McLuhan)
• Doug Engelbart - "bootstrapping" = users constantly participate in in the definition and consturction of tools they as community use
• ICANN = "world trade org. of internet" - involves primarily corporate interests