shredder

Mark Napier’s Shredder

This work is typical of much digital art because it is an artwork that places importance on

è  Formal instruction

The user have to enter the webside address and it will be broken down into distorted texts and images.

è  The concept rather than the art object

This artwork does not have the physical object, it exists on internet. The concept of shredder is to restore the website’s originality. Just like Napier explain “I wanted to expose the raw material that make up the ‘design’, ‘content’ and‘information of the web and use of information directly. Of course, this material is a construct of software and the graphics display. It is ‘raw’ only by virtue of the context The Shredder creates” (Green, R., 2004 p.100)

•         the event and audience participation

      When the user enters the web, they have to enter the web address in its interface and it will immediately deconstruct the original site and shatter the web pages' text, images, graphics and HTML code. It encourages audiences to take part .

•      an interest in random events and/or chance

      When you enter different website's address, it will appear different images and texts as the URL of each website is different.

my boyfriend came back from the war

My boyfriend came back from the war is a browser-based art using hypertext to combine the images and narrative together. The artist is Olia Lialina, a pioneer internet artist,

It is a story about a couple reconvene after the war, the girl and the boy talk about the marriage, betrayal, faithfulness and their wish. The text begins with a phrase; my boy friend came back from the war, after the dinner, they left alone’, when clicking on this short sentence, the screen is divided into two pictures, one with a window and one with the boy and the girl sitting on a bench, it symbolize the couple is far from being separated. The next click is divided into two frames, one merge the previous frames together, and one with the image of the boy.

My boyfriend came back from the war encourage users to participate with the artwork, they can determine the story order by their own path through clicking what window they want without any restriction. Besides, the readers have to construct the whole story by their own by the broken dialogues. For example, “Will you marry me”, “ Tomorrow”, “No, better than two months later”, the three broken dialogues are the metaphor about the date for wedding that the boy asks the girl.

It shares some features of Piet Mondrian’, Dada art as well as conceptual art. Piet Mondrian, a Dutch painter, was a great contributor to De, Stiji art movement. His arts mainly focus on lines, different from of square and rectangular as well as using  single color tones. My boyfriend came back from the war is similar to Piet Mondrian’s art. Lialina uses few lines to constitute the frames which make the brilliant contrast with the background. Also, the color of the images, comments and the dialogues between the couple are only black and white.

For Dada art, let’s give a brief summary of its style. Dada movement began in World War I, it has no predominant medium, nonsensical and it never follow any rules. Unlike traditional art, My boyfriend came back from the war

is one of the earliest arts using hypertext from internet. Each link connects with another to ensure reader can browse continuously. Also, it adopts HTML which can show several frames on the screen simultaneously and hide the next HTML document until it is opened. It enables readers can move forth or back without any restriction and manipulate the frame what they want by their own path. The artwork can also be stored on CD-Rom that allows to show it in any computer or even when offline.

For conceptual art, it focuses on idea over the form. My boyfriend came back from the war does not have a physical object but being presented on the Internet. In order to present her idea- the disconnection of the boy and the girl after the war,

Lialina uses the hyper narration that doesn’t present in the whole sentence but in the short phrase or in the broken dialogue to convey the atmosphere of the difficult conversation. For example, When the girl being questioned in her faithfulness, Lialina splits the dialogue into “ Last summer”, “ What should I explain”, “ You don’t’ trust me?”  to create the tensed atmosphere between the couple. 

new media art

1.Dada and new media art both described as reactions, what did they react to? -Dada was in reaction to the industralization of walfare and mechanical reproduction of text and images. -New media art was in reaction to the digitization of cultureal forms and information technology revolution. 2. What are some similarities of new media art to Dada, Pop art and video art? -Dada art Both of them focua on concepts over skilld or forms. Also, the subjects of them are about the collage, political action and readymade. -Pop Art Both of them engage with commercial culture -Video art The artists use the portable video camera to explore the technology and culture 3. When was net art first included in a major exhibition - 1997 4.Is new media art focus in one country? - no,new media art does not focus in one countries .since there is no geographical boundaries,the users can access on internet at any time and place they want. 5. Why were many artist drwan to new media art from other discipline? the reason is the globalization and advanced of technology draw the artists to ne media art from other disciplines. Nowadays, it is easily for people to contact with meadia ar as thw widespread of computer, telophone, ipad and so on. they can appreciate the artwork at any time and places without any restriction.

Bus Uncle

1.How many viewers are estimated to have watched the youtube video?

- More than 1 billion users visit the Youtube every month

2.   How would you rate the video?

- You have to create a account, and then go to then video and click on the little stars underneath the video.

3.Is it of high quality in technical terms? Is it interesting aesthetically eg camera angles, use of light, the narrative, and so on?

- No, it is not high quality in technique terms and is not interesting aesthetically, the reasons are

1) it uses the mobile phone instead of  the professional camera as the pixel of mobile phone is lower than camera

2) the photographer shots the video in a secret way and doesn't use the tripod  so the video is blur and not clear

3.) the photographer doesn't use the light 

4.) there is not narrative 

 Does it raise interesting socio-cultural issues?

- Yes, it raises the interesting socio-cultural issues because the bus uncle shouts to the teenagers with foul language and he says ' you have pressure and i also have too' which arouses social' resonance. 

3.   Do you think it deserved the attention that it received from the internet community? 

- NO, i think it is just a dispute between the bus uncle and that teenager and the bus uncle use a lot of foul language to shout to that teenager, it is not a good way to solve the problem and set a bad model to teenagers as well as the whole society.  Also, the photographer takes a sneaky snapshot, he doesn't get any approval from the bus uncle and that teenager, it may convey a bad message that the behavior is right. 

My boyfriend came back from the war

Title: My boyfriend came back from the war
Artist: Olia Lialina
When to release: 1996
Location:  Web 

Detail: 

*Combines the images and narrative
*Love story à a couple reconvene after the war 
*The screen is divided into several frames
*Audiences are able to navigate by clicking on the text and images
*New frames and pages are taken 

Technique: 

*Hypertext to give the user instruction

*contains links to other texts

*The audiences have no limit as it 

share some of features of other artist and art movement:

*Piet Mondrian

    à lines delineate the rectangular forms

    à thick lines make brilliant contrast against the background

   à primary color : black and white color 

*DaDa Art

    à uses the Internet as medium, and which

         could not exist in the real world

*Conceptual Art : focus on the idea and concept of the work over the materials used and the traditional aesthetics

    à hypertext  

Aesthetically pleasing :

 White and black are two mainly colors exist in the web, the big contrast reflect how a  person mentally change caused by the war. The first image depicts two people, one is colored with black while the other is colored with white, actually they are the same people, the white represents the man in the prewar, while the black represents him on postwar.

The noteworthy about this work: 

It is a browser-based cyberfeminist art, the artist  used the hyperlinks and frames to create to the art work by clicking on images and texts. It is considered as a breakthrough in art world because the audience not only can merely look at it, but they can also take part of it by clicking the image. 

Quote: 

1. Lev Manovich,The Language of New Media (First MIF Press paperback edition , 2002), 45.

'The spatial montage of My boyfriend came back from teh war follows the logic of simultaneity of the modern GUI... The user of Lialina's site can activate different hyperlinks that are all simultaneously present. Every action changes either the contents of a single frame or creates a new frame or frames.'

2. Tribe Mark , New Media Art, ( Taschen , 2006) 

 'But what is it that makes this particular work so influential? Perhaps it resonates with other artists because it is among the earliest works of New Media art to produce the kind of compelling and emotionally powerful experience that we have come to expect from older, more established media, particularly film.'

Mary Flanagan, [domestic], 2003 

Feature:

- represents Flanagan's childhood home in Wisconsin which was burnt down when she was seven-year-old

- reconstructs the three-dimensional environment in the computer game.

- In this game, players will enter a labyrinthine room, they will encounter fire and need to shoot    and  blast away enemies

-Unlike other game, domestic is not only a  first-shooter  video game  but also an exploration of childhood memory

-Also, the game is not only suitable  for boy, but also for girl. It is full of feminism  because replaces physical conflict with emotional exploration. 

Do you think it is an art or not?
I think it is an artwork
Reason:
-people can interact with it when playing the game
-it can express the artists emotion 

 Screening of Gamer Revolution:

According to the film, what are some pros and cons of playing videogames for individuals and societies?

The advantage :
Firstly, the videogame can stimulate the economic development, according to the film ,it mentions that the videogame produces almost 25 billions dollars every year,  in view of that , more and more investors are willing to invest money. The industry can not only provide the employment opportunity, but also can  make money to the country. Also, playing the videogame can release the pressure and frustration of players. Nowadays, many people are under high pressure coming from their work and study, they need something to release their pressure and playing videogame can satify their need.

The disadvantage:
the cost of buying videogame is quite high, the buyers need to buy continuously  to upgrade their game. Also, it will arouse their bad emotions, some games are bloody and violate, the players have to shoot all their enemies to win the game, it will evoke their aggressive emotion.

According the film, is there any evidence that digital games can encourage aggressive values and anti-social actions in the real world? Do you agree?

Yes,there are evidences
The games are full of bloody,it is almost about killing and shooting. in the American Army, it encourages players to kill their enemy as it's rule is the more people they can kill,the higher score that they will award.it cconvey a bad message to the society that using violence is the only a mean to solbe the problem.Besides, another game Under Seige which brings the real conflict between ISreal and Palestine into the vediogame.


Should government have the right to ban certain games?Why or why not?

No,the government have no right to ban.
Firstly, the games can bring so many benefits to the economy,for example Suser MArio Brothers sold over 155millions around the world.it can stimulate the whole country's enconomy ,it should be regarded as retail sale but not a game only.

Secondly, banning the digital game is an act of banning the freedom to create.digital game is a new form of art, banning them is as same as banning the films and the book. We are in HOng Kong our laws ensure we can have the right to speak , to assemble as well as to publish. Banning the digital game means to deprive our right to create to speaks and also to publish.

Finally,there is no a correlation between digital game and violence. Up untill now, no evidence or research prove And point out that playing digital games can train children to kill. On the contrary, the digitalgame are something that eencourage children to creat, to imagine, to relax .