Reading Response Compilation

Claire Bishop - Digital Divide

While reading this article, I found it very interesting to see Bishop talk about research and curative work. In the past I wouldn’t think of curation or researching art to be an art form. However, after reading the portion about collecting pictures of Niagara Falls, I realize that it can be a form of art within documentation. 

I often times perceive digital art as lesser than other forms of art because I think we have taught to think that way. When more people have access to creativity, it seems that it has a lesser value. I also think this is due to the fact that there is no limit to the art you can find, however this is different when you go to physically see pieces in a museum for example. The museum has a certain number of exhibits and you regard them as important where as the content online is endless and therefore easier to access and worth less. 

Mark Fischer - The Slow Cancellation of the Future

Although the idea of change that will occur in the future seems very far from the reality we know right now, there’s a good chance it will be very recognizable. Time is something that has the power to show change but it might not always show drastic change. I found the reference to a newer versus older generation listening to music from 1995 very funny. If someone younger were to listen to it they would have no clue about the sounds from the music, which indicates that there has been a big change within sound in the past 10+ years. However, when older generations listen to it, they see that not much has changed in sound, indicating that not a lot has changed and will change in the future. 

Susan Sontag - The Image World

Sontag states throughout this article that photography, unlike other forms of art, is more a form of documentation through time rather than interpretive. The perspective of the artist does not change the contents of the photograph too much and the audience has just as big an impact on the photo as does the photographer. Photography documents reality where as other art forms like painting interprets reality. Although photography can be used for documentation purposes, it can also be used to create fiction, especially with newer technologies like photoshop. Photography does not always tell a true story, but tells the story the photographer wants it to tell. Images have the power of being altered and new realities can be created. 

Soda Jerk - Anarchivist Manifesto

This article really pushes us into an existential headspace. Is anything I see, think, and interpret, my own thoughts? Or am I thinking what I am being told to think by society? 

It is interesting to think that many of our own memories are things that are fed to us by big corporations that own the content within the memory. When “who owns the past owns the future and who controls the present controls the past” reminded me of Disney in particular. They have held onto Mickey for over a hundred years. They keep remaking movies and shows just so they can extend their copyrights. Steamboat Willie and Mickey Mouse is such a large part of many peoples’ childhoods and is embedded in their memory. However, they do not own these memories, as Disney will continue to own them, most likely forever.

Errol Morris - Would the Hooded Man Please Stand Up

Photography is often used to document reality, but a photo still has the opportunity to be misunderstood by its audience. Photography is seen to be the most true to reality art form, but it can be quite the opposite when one element is not portrayed in the correct way.

While reading this article I realized that a lot of people see what they want to see in a picture. If they strongly believe a photograph portrays a specific something, they will see it only in that way. I think this directly ties to a lot of political debates and opinions as well. Many people often see politics the way they want to see it, rather than looking at it like an outsider. These previously held beliefs and ideals can change the way we process and understand information; and I think this is what makes it so hard for some to understand each other. Qaissi strongly  believed he was the hooded man in the photo, however it turned out to be someone else’s truth rather than his. Although the photograph is not of Qaissi, it is still representative of him as well. It represents what he also went through, even if he was not the one documented. 

Laura U Marks - Immanence Online

Marks speaks of using generally user friendly interfaces in a way that captures attention and changes the perspective of the user. They state that everyone is emotionally connected to their devices now. If your computer crashes because of excessive advertisements, you beed bad for your computer and stress ensures. It’s very interesting to see that we connect our livelihood to technology so much. This is why these technologies and codes should be free for everyone, so that not just only corporation has the benefits of using it.

Xenofeminism & Annie Goh

Xenofeminism essentially states that we shouldn’t rely on nature to declare our destiny as nature is not always right. We should not use the excuse that living naturally is a way of life. It is simply how we’re born, but we should not accept it. These xenofeminist ideals eradicate the concept of gender and emphasize that you can be whoever and whatever you want to be regardless of the way you were born. After reading this manifesto, I agree with some of the concept here although the way they are stated is very extreme. I like the idea of being able to turn yourself into whoever you want to regardless of the way you entered the world, however I also think the natural world gives me a sense of calm and eliminates the amount of decisions I have to make pertaining to who I will be. I think a combination of people who like the natural and people who detest the natural is the best as it gives every one a chance to live the way they want to. 

It’s also interesting to read about gender hacking in this article as I know many bio hackers are using their knowledge to create affordable HIV medication for those who cannot afford to pay big Pharma a lot of their savings. There is one small bio hacking company that’s started to do this in Austin. I think they’re currently in the process of testing their HIV medication creation on those who are willing to try it. Although it can be a little scary to see these medicines being created by “non professionals”, even though these people often times have the knowledge and experience - just not the right title, it is cool to see people take their health into their own hands when they see that corporations and the government isn't doing it for them. 

Surrealist & Futurist Manifesto 

The futurist manifesto seems like it is arguing for individualism within society. He declares for an end to public commissioned spaces like museums. He emphasizes the importance of devaluing utilitarian ideals, which is what makes me believe he’s fighting for individualism. Imaging a future that looks like this is interesting. He rejects any social togetherness that emphasizes the importance or rights of a group, but wants patriotism to withstand. In many ways these ideals seem like they’re going back in time rather than forward, but I guess that also depends on my political sphere. 

Karen Archey - Bodies in Space: Identity, Sexuality, and the Abstraction of Digital and Physical 

Archey talks about using technology to be a positive and negative, and that there’s an excessive amount of artists today, specifically graphic designers. I think technology democratizes art and this is a positive thing. However, many people are reverting to the older more industrial way of creating art because of the excess. This seems to be a way in which people with revert back to “minimalistic” processes and outcomes. The art online is easy access and is excessive, so reverting back to industrial processes of making art is one way that people could could defy technology within society.