Hey everybody,

Now that I'm on this eye torture trip I thought I'd grace us all with a little film by Salvador Dali. You'll love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqdhsrKkck8&feature=player_embedded#

Thanks for watching everyone!

Invisible man

This guy paints himself to blend in with his surroundings.

www.v1kram.posterous.com/liu-bolinthe-invisible-man

Hilary Koob-Sassen

Matt's work made me think about the ambitious metal and stone sculptural work of my college classmate, Hilary Koob-Sassen. Hilary (who is the son of the famous sociologist Saskia Sassen) started making this kind of work in college, where he used classic materials from the European fine art tradition to craft elaborate visual metaphors for the capitalist exploitation of nature and human labor.

Tyler Shields

I came across this photographer recently. He has no formal experience but managed to work his way up and make lots of celebrity connections and has become famous for a lot of his work. He also makes what has been called 'video portraits' where he records his subject much like one would take a picture but manipulates time and sometimes forwards/backwards motion of the film. Mostly it just looks like film that's rolling during his photoshoots that he messes around with later..
Thus, his photos and videos are very over the top, theatrical, and cinematic (with his background in directing music videos)
Some of it's interesting..some of it's boring. Mostly just visually exciting.


www.tylershields.com

Bridging the Physical and Digital World

I forgot to post this last night after several hours of browsing forums and videos on tech savvy things. I thought this was very intriguing since it has a concrete concept and high potential in the near future for technology, possibly surpassing the iPhone generation and other next gen hand held tech.

Pranav Mistry is the mastermind behind this neat concept.

SixthSense Technology

Migrating Forms: Half-Inch, Half-Life

A recent event at the Anthology Film Archives showcasing artists' and critics' VHS collections.

Presented as Migrating Forms’ contribution to X Initiative’s No Soul for Sale: a festival of independents, Half-inch Half-life is a semi-intimate, public viewing room showcasing a 43-hour marathon of selections from the personal VHS archives of artists, critics, curators, scholars and other devotees to the medium, on a large, media-appropriate television set.

http://www.migratingforms.org/mf09/

So, you may have seen me carrying around bits of twisted steel, and maybe you've noticed this around the Building:



That's right: I have a show in the BFA gallery this week! Closing reception is thursday from 6-9 (an open house affair). Check it out if you are passing by

eye writer

http://www.eyewriter.org/

"The EyeWriter project is an ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people who are suffering from ALS with creative technologies. It is a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes."

Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice

I found this to be an interesting mix of both performance art, dance, and cinema. Catherine Galasso took a unique story of a man that was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as being struck by lightning more than any other human, 7 times. She then melded film with a narrative of the man's story, placed the film on a stage, and then had live dancers and performers placed in front of the screen to add emotion and a lively feel to the tale she told. I just thought this was an interesting take on how to tell a story and how it doesn't have to be confined to either a film or a theatrical event. Instead, Galasso shows that you can do both!

A review and summary is found at : http://sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=10&pageid=1408&TitleId=Galasso-Lightning

El Topo

Alejandro Jodorosky's "El Topo" is a surrealist spaghetti western about the dichotomy of mercy and severity in life and spirituality. El Topo, meaning "the mole" in spanish, is a metaphor for the spiritual seeker. Much like the prisoner in Plato's "Alegory of the Cave," the mole scrapes and digs to find the surface, but upon seeing the light of day he is blinded.

The movie begins with the title character riding through the desert with his son on a horse. He is dressed in all black and carries a pistol at his side. As the story progresses, El Topo rescues a Franciscan Mission from a gang of brutal banditoes, and castrates their leader. When the head bandit demands to know who he is to dole out judgement, El Topo replies, "I am God." After the rescue, El Topo abandons his son, leaving them in the care of the missionaries, and rides into the desert with a woman that he has rescued.

In the desert, the woman demands that he slay the worlds four greatest gunfighters to prove his worth. He travels the mystical desert, meeting the masters one at a time. But as he speaks with them, he finds that the key to their skill lies in spiritual wisdom. Each of the Gun Masters has a lesson to impart to El Topo, but by trickery, El Topo is able to slay them all. However, as the final Master dies, El Topo realizes that he has killed the only people in the world that could teach him anything meaningful.

The second Half of the movie shows El Topo reborn as a christ-like figure. Cleansed of all lust for power, he now lives a humble life working to buy supples so he can build a tunnel to free a community of outcastes and deformed people from a mountain prison. But the wealthy village below, where he earns his keep, is corrupt and decadent. And when he finally frees the people of the mountain, the townsfolk gather and slaughter them all before they can reach the town. in a rage, El Topo mows down the townsfolk, then emolates himself.

Through dreamlike scenery and mystical symbolism, Jodorosky uses the cinematic motiff of the Western to display concepts of esoteric wisdom in a mode more easily followed than in dry, dense tombs or stuffy monasteries. It also warns against he extreamism represented by the gunslinging, black-clad hero and the all forgiving, christ-like monk. It seems to suggest that the better way is in between the two ideas.

El Topo

Daily Iowa Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44851277@N08/?saved=1

Here are the Daily Iowa Photos.

-Brendan

Some Robert Rauschenberg Stuff

These things relate to what we were talking about at the beginning of the year with the everyday. This group of work from 1971 was called the Cardbird series. "The Cardbird series of 1971 is a tongue-in-cheek visual joke, a printed mimic of cardboard constructions. The labour intensive process involved in the creation of the series remains invisible to the viewer – the artist created a prototype cardboard construction which was then photographed and the image transferred to a lithographic press and printed before a final lamination onto cardboard backing. The extreme complexity of construction belies the banality of the series and, in this way, Rauschenberg references both Pop’s Brillo boxes by Andy Warhol and Minimalist boxes such as those by Donald Judd. By selecting the most mundane of materials, Rauschenberg once again succeeds in a glamorous makeover of the most ordinary of objects. This is an exploration of a new order of materials, a radical scrambling of the material hierarchy of modernism."

This actually really bums me out because I really want them to just be dirty cardboard boxes that he unfolded and arranged really well.










































































I also thought this print was really nice. "Automobile Tire Print (1953), a 'collaboration' between the two friends, involved John Cage driving his Model A Ford over a length of connected drawing sheets with Rauschenberg carefully directing as he applied black paint to one of the rear tires. The continuity of the recognizable image constitutes a documentation, or 'recording' of this act."

Everyday People

This may be a little late on the project timeline but I've recently found an artist who truly amazes me. Matt Stuart is a street photographer who captures unique events in real time of everyday people in extraordinary poses.

At times they are comedic others look almost surreal. All are great photos.

http://www.mattstuart.com/

Take a look through all of his pictures

Joan Healy

I was researching video artists, when I came across joan healy. although she is more of a performance artists, I found her work very interesting, and decided to share. In many of joan's performances she uses parts of her body to simulate the tasks of machines.

One piece of hers that specifically stuck out to me was her installation, "Meat Market". In this installation, a piece of meat jerks back and forth and "dances" when activated by sound -whistling. It's pretty funny. There is another performance where she transforms her hair into a music instrument. A lot of her work is very strange, but nonetheless very interesting.

The video of the dancing meat is here http://www.dvblog.org/movies/04_2008/meat_market.mov

Joan's website is here http://www.joanhealy.biz/

Iowa City Underground

Here are the goings on this Friday! Going to be a great Iowa City art day. See it all, if you can.

Understanding the Understood

2009.11.06 - 11.29
Opening Reception: Friday the 6th at 6pm
Arts Iowa City
102 E. College St.

A reimagining of the small, unnoticed portions of the days that make up our lives. A return to the wonder contained in the ignored. Words, sights, sounds, and a letter service immersed in the everyday.

Back to the World
2009.11.06 - 11.29
Opening Reception: Friday the 6th at 7pm
Public Space One
129 E. Washington St.

Sean Alexander made these drawings on an old ping pong table in a barn in Longbranch, WA. He was bothered to no end by bugs, bats, birds, rowdy dogs, naying horses, and a cat. He has a problem with detail that causes him to spend way (way) too much time on each drawing. The least you could do is come look at them.

La Dia De Los Muertos

2009.11.06 - 11.27
Opening Reception: Friday the 6th at 9pm
The BS Gallery
220 W. Benton St.

To quote writer Oscar Guzman, "There is a moment where simple belief is confused with faith, a magical moment in which whatever's out there and our world reconcile, and crying and pain suffered in the wake of irremediable loss of a loved one is transformed. And body and spirit are reunited, the world of the alive and the kingdom of the dead, color, tradition, mysticism untie to form one of the most celebrated Latin American parties: La Dia De Los Muertos.



*Additionally, please think about bringing an 'offering' of your own to leave, to remember, in the space. This offering really can be anything.

*Expect: sugar skulls, an alter, masks, candels, La Ofrenda (film), fire, flowers, candles...


Google Map here: Iowa City Underground.

Intermedia/New Media presents Sara Black of the artist collective Material Exchange

Intermedia/New Media: Sara Black of the artist collective Material Exchange

Visiting Artist Lecture

Thursday, November 5

6:30-8:00 PM Adler E105

Material Exchange is an artist collective that creates installations, games, designed objects or spaces, and direct exchanges. They say about their work, "The world is filled with things made for a specific purpose. When their purpose has been fulfilled, or their valued properties diminish, there is often some material remainder. Our projects attempt to extract or exploit that history,

-as a celebration of the human and biological labor embedded in materials,
-as a means of investigating the complex relationships between humans and things, objects and images, representations and their referents,
-as an inquiry into the various forms of being,
-as an elaboration of the western interest in found materials from Duchamp's experiments with ready-mades to driftwood figurines, from Rauschenberg's combines to ethnographic artifacts and religious reliquaries,
-as a symbolic or tactical intervention,
-as an antidote to expansionist economics,
-as alternately apocalyptic and utopian"

The projects of Material Exchange have been exhibited at the Smart Museum of Art, The Experimental Station, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, The Betty Rymer Gallery, Gallery 400, The Hyde Park Art Center, Threewalls, Eyebeam, The Park Avenue Armory, The DeVos Art Museum and others. Other projects include collaborative workshops or courses with art and design students at the Northern Michigan University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Harrington College of Design, Braddock Active Arts, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Street Level Youth Media. Material Exchange is Sara Black, Alta Buden, John Preus, and David Wolf. More information available at www.material-exchange.com

Sponsored by the School of Art and Art History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the School of Art and Art History at 335-1771.

Art for the Issues

National advertising campaign for health care reform. There are 20 finalists on barack obama's website that you can vote for. Its just interesting how far an artist can really take a message these days, all the way to the white house.
Vote Now.

one by graffiti artist Saber:

R. Crumb + Bible = awesomeness.

R. Crumb has a distinct satirical style of illustration, and is credited as the founder of underground comics; he is now taking on the Bible. Not only is this really cool, but I thought it pertained to some of the projects in class. He has basically taken the book of Genesis and illustrated it, neither veering from the story nor adding any commentary. He spent four years studying ancient translations and creating illustrations.
It ties in with KJ's project because of the bible, obviously, but it seems to take on a new translation because it forces his visual on the reader instead of them imagining it for themselves. It also reminded me of our discussion about Caitlyn's childrens book because Crumb is laying out the violence, sex, and victimization that goes on in the bible visually, which normally may not come across fully when only read. He provides a humanistic supplement to a story already told millions of times before.

Check out the article about it on NPR

Climate Action -- Aviva Rahmani

On October 24, people and animals at the bank of the Hudson River on the upper west side of Manhattan will gather with artist Aviva Rahmani, to make a joyful noise and sing to 350, as part of the largest global day of climate action ever. The event-one of almost 4,000 rallies and actions in more than 140 nations-is coordinated by 350.org to urge world leaders to take fast and effective action on global warming. This is the first global campaign ever organized around a scientific data point: 350 parts per million CO2 is the safe upper limit for the atmosphere according to the latest scientific data. It is now 387.

WHO: Everyone is welcome but especially children and animal companions

WHAT: Artist Aviva Rahmani will alternately walk to the water and sing Puccini's aria Vissi d'arte, acapela, a song about beauty and betrayal and stop at the shore to draw pictures of the waters, reflecting on how they are rising in some places under the assault of global warming while in other places, fresh clean water is vanishing. Simultaneously, people in every corner of the world will be taking up to 4000 similar actions, from climbers with 350 banners high on the melting slopes of Mount Everest to government officials in the Maldive Islands holding an underwater cabinet meeting
to demand action on climate change before their nation disappears.

WHEN: October 24, 2009 from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM

WHERE: 94th street and the bank of the Hudson River

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Photos from the event will be available at Aviva Rahmani's website.
Photos from events happening all over the world will be available for free use at: http://350.org/media

For more information on the global 350 campaign, please visit www.350.org
or contact Cosa Bullock in New York, cbullock@mrss.com

###


ABOUT 350.ORG
Founded by author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, 350.org is the first large-scale grassroots global campaign against climate change. Its supporters include leading scientists, the governments of 89 countries, and a huge variety of environmental, health, development and religious NGOs. All agree that current atmospheric levels of
co2-390 parts per million-are causing damage to the planet and to its most vulnerable people, and that government action at the Copenhagen climate conference is required to bring the earth's carbon level swiftly down.

Marisa Jahn's "A Dash of This and a Dash of That"

Here's the cookbook project I mentioned during Tasha's presentation today: http://www.marisajahn.com/art/cookbook.htm. She has an excellent project description on the site.

The House That Herman Built

It seemed that a few people were interested in this great project today when I mentioned it in class. Here's the website: The House that Herman Built. I'm also poting a photo that shows a bit of the wall drawing timeline that I mentioned.

Liam Finn: Second Chance Dirrected by Angus Sutherland

Alright, this is totally late but here it is.

For my contribution to the Archive discussion I decided to call upon a art form that I believe has been marginalized by it's own popularity: the Music Video.

Liam Finn's "Second Chance," hits me as the theme song for our entire conversation over the definition of "the Archive." The song starts off as though it were being wound up with some kind of krank, and has to catch up to the it's own rhythm. What follows is a melancholy melody about a woman haunted by her past and a man who no longer recognizes her. Finn described this as a song about breaking up with a girl that couldn't move on from the relationship. I think the lyrics are infused with the themes of time, memory and the human condition, which seem also to be the core themes in dealing with the archive. Sutherland's dirrection of the video summons a highly archival aestetic as well. The aged look of the film gives us the feeling of looking into Finn's past. The technique of putting two shots on screen at the same time shows us contrasting renditions of the same event, highlighting the faultiness of human memory. Throughout the video, we see snapshots of locations, many including stone structures and buildings, and long stretches of time sped up to seconds. These images ellicit a dualistic sense of the lasting versus the inpermanent. Likewise, the stopmotion animation of Finn's movemen give us a sense of recall decay as time passes us by. All of this esspecially makes the video a wonderful expression of the archive and human memory.

I can't figure out how to get the video on the blog, so here's a link:

Second Chance

Enjoy!

Kiel Johnson: Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse

I see time lapse videos as an archive project because someone is documenting an object/project/thing over a period of time, sometimes years, sometimes days, sometimes minutes, but it shows a growth or movement etc. I find these kinds of projects very interesting.
This is a video of Kiel Johnson creating an oversize camera out of cardboard. (and cameras are used to document!)

Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.

It's interesting how he uses the cardboard, it starts to look like he's shaping wood. Plus cardboard is such a common thing, why is it frowned upon as material for art? It also appears that multiple people collaborated to make this video possible.

originally found on the Juxtapoz Magazine website.

Eight Artists in an Archive

I was researching different exhibitions involving archiving, I found this particular one interesting. The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA had an exhibition in 2000 called To the Rescue: Eight Artists in an Archive, in which eight different artists made artwork inspired by and in response to archived photographs of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which is an organization that helped Palestinian Jews during WWI. The majority of the photos are of saved indiviuals, and of the group's relief efforts. I thought this exhibition was cool because it revealed all the efforts of the JDC to the public, and it also displayed the oppression the Jewish community has lived through. Its really interesting how so many artists now are using archival documents to make their own art, and to rethink history. I couldn't find any photos of the exhibition except one really small one, but the article explains it pretty well.
the website is below:
http://www.thecjm.org/index.php?option=com_ccevents&scope=exbt&task=detail&oid=36


-caitlyn

Song Dong

Watching performance art live is not something that interests me, but what excites me when it comes to performance is documentation, especially when a performance is not done in front of an audience and only meant to be viewed as it was documented.
Song Dong is a Chinese performance artist who has done some things I'm interested in.

Printing on Water, 1996, 36 photographs
"For this performance Song sat in the Lhasa River in
Tibet and stamped the water with a seal inscribed with the Chinese character for water. "


Breathing, 1996
"The artist chose two separate locations: in Tiananmen Square and on the ice atop Houhai (literally, "Rear Sea," a lake in the center of town, surrounded by leisurely locals and newly built entertainment venues). The artist lay upon the pavement at Tiananmen, and breathed onto the ground for forty minutes; the tiny breathed-upon area was covered with a thin layer of ice. On Houhai, the artist similarly breathed upon the icy surface for forty minutes, but the area on which he breathed showed no change at all."


He's also done a lot of work that involves writing down the time with water and has executed it in different ways.

He was invited once to perform this in Times Sqaure.
n collaboration with Times Square Alliance, Creative Time presents a special performance by Song Dong. For one hour, amid the crowds of tourists and workers weaving in and out of Times Square, Song Dong will continuously record the time using water and brush to paint directly onto the concrete surface that surrounds him. Within this hurried setting, Song Dongs modest gesture compels us to focus on the present by exposing our unthinking consumption of time. Writing Time with Water is a compelling example of Song Dongs interest in context and ritual. The performance stems from the artists ongoing series, Writing Diary with Water. For the past decade, Song Dong has employed a calligraphy brush dipped in water, rather than ink, to document his daily reminiscences on stone. The hand-drawn text lasts for just a fleeting moment before it evaporates with the steam that arises from the hot stones surface. This practice allows Song Dong to keep his thoughts and musings secret, while at the same time, provides the mental release inherent in traditional diary keeping.

Thanks,
Brendan

Lose/Lose

Here is a game with an interesting concept: Lose/Lose. You are a spaceship shoting falling aliens in a 2D environment similar to Galaga or Space invaders. This is a huge twist though:
Every Alien is generated from a random file on your harddrive. when you kill that alien, the file it is based on is deleted. Permanently. That could be any file in any folder.
Also, you have only one life, and if you lose, the game is permanently erased from your computer.
This a terrifying game with real life consequences. If you play this game, you will lose something, and maybe something important.
I don't suggest playing it, but at least check out the site: Lose/Lose

Photosynth Demo

I mentioned this during the slideshow yesterday. This is a software in development called Photosynth. It takes images from the internet (from sites like Flickr and Photobucket)and meshes them together in a fully interactive landscape. Every detail in a photo has a closer detail provided by another picture. The zooming technology comes from another program called Seadragon that is demo'd in the beginning of the video (and is amazing in it's own right).



WANNA TRY IT OUT?!? OK! Here is a link to the project's website, complete with a demo!

Photosynth @ Microsoft Live Labs

This is really cool.

Public Collectors

Public Collectors is a project by Chicago-based artist Marc Fischer that functions as a dispersed archive of cultural ephemeral. Fischer publishes the contents of various personal collections whose owners have agreed to make the contents available to whomever wants them. Fischer writes, "Public Collectors is founded upon the concern that there are many types of cultural artifacts that public libraries, museums and other institutions and archives either do not collect or do not make freely accessible. Public Collectors asks individuals that have had the luxury to amass, organize, and inventory these materials to help reverse this lack by making their collections public."

See more at the Public Collectors website: http://www.publiccollectors.org. Fischer is also publishing regularly on Tumblr: http://publiccollectors.tumblr.com

Synchroni-Cities

This is the project I mentioned during David's critique last week where users choose a set of instructions for navigating space and upload documentation of their experience.


Synchroni-cities is about finding similar places in different cities. It's about ways to go.


So pick a trail. Follow it, and take some pictures or even videos on your way. Upload and compare them to trails done by others.. and wonder how people could get in all those different places following the very same instructions. Rate the trails you like. Your trails will be rated, too. Win a prize. Then do one more trail.

High Five New York

Hi again! I know it's not my week, or whatever, but I had to share this with you while we are still on the subject of Routine and Everyday.

This is a video of a guy in New York who rides around on his bike and high fives all the people hailing taxis. The reactions are absolutely priceless. Some people are ammused, some people are angry. He tries a little too hard at the end, but overall it was a great project.



Funny how people act when their normal routine is disrupted in an unexpected way.

I’ve enjoyed the work that this group has done for a while now. I like the colorful installations mostly done with cardboard or other cheap materials. Below is one of the best descriptions of Paper Rad (and an artist they were collaborating with) I could find.

“Seizing upon the technological detritus spawned by advancements in computing over the last three decades, Beige’s inclination is to tinker with the inner workings of ubiquitous platforms past and present. Paper Rad are similarly drawn to the gaudiest fixtures of pop culture, transmogrifying and amplifying them into a kaleidoscopic parallel universe all their own.”

(http://www.eventnetwork.org.uk/programme/exhibitions/625)

They also do a lot of video stuff with both found footage and basic animation. It’s pretty neat, but some of it might give you seizures.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elgv23t_-cg)

The blog with most current art can be found here:

(http://www.paperrad.org/info/art/)


Thanks,

David

Unexpected Collaborations

Last week I came across this video:




I am always blown away by these huge collaborations. To get that many people to fire that many paintballs at the exact places they need to. It takes a huge amount of organization.

Here's another shining example of choreography:




The thing that makes these works so unique is both the style and organization they use. One does not usually expect art (performance, installation, or otherwise) from paintball. Nor does the skateboard conjure up thoughts of massive collaborations complete with high tech lightshows and choreography. While I'm on the topic of using strange media for awesome (in the classic sense) pieces, here's another:



Think about how planning went into this. Think about how many hours it took to get everything perfect. Think about how much work went into the setup. I think it would be great to partake in one of these works, knowing that I am merely a cog in the machine of the final work, a small but crucial part of the success of the entire piece. How cool would it be to organize something like this in the Studio Arts building? Anyone up for it?

Tweenbots

Sorry for cutting it so close, I've been kind of pulling my hair out over the project.

My favorite kinds of artwork have a little taste of social experimentation splashed in. In this piece, the creators built a cute little robot that could only run in one dirrection. A message was attatched to it telling observers where it was trying to go. As it turns out, the little guy got to his destination because passers by kept setting him in the right direction.

Check it out: http://www.tweenbots.com/

Poketo

I found this website called Poketo, which sells products used in the everyday - clothes, wallets, decor, etc. These products are designed promote and showcase artist's original artwork through Poketo's designs, making famous artwork a part of the every day life. A lot ot their products are really neat, and definitely worth checking out.

Post It Up!

I thought what these people did with something found in the everday to things in the everyday was pretty crazy...and colorful! Which are two things that I happen to like and I'm sure you all will too.

http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/24/more-unusual-art-from-everyday-materials-16-post-it-note-pranks-sculptures-and-murals/

Photographic resources

I use digital prints in much of my work, and I want professional quality prints. I order online.

My favorite resource is El-Co Color Labs. Digital C-Prints, won't fade, and with their "poster special" it is really cheap. You must order two prints, but they don't have to be the same paper, size, or image. Check them out here.

For a bit cheaper (and not as lasting), I have used IPrintfromHome for test images. They are quite cheap, but over time the prints will fade. They are here.

Spend a little bit of money on your work. Everyone will appreciate it, and I promise, you take your work more seriously when the materials demand it.

Return of Hova: Blueprint 3, the leak and controversies

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/09/01/jay-z-stays-calm-over-blueprint-3-leak-tells-fans-enjoy-it/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blueprint_3

http://www.theinsider.com/news/2781045_Jay_z_Blueprint_3_Album_Leak_9_11_Charity_Benefit_Concert_Jay_z_Rhapsody_Commercial_Video

The long awaited album "The Blueprint 3" by self-proclaimed "Greatest Rapper Alive" known most commonly by his stage name Jay-Z, leaked on August 31st, 9 days before its initial release and 4 days before its scheduled release.   The third installment in the Blueprint trilogy marks a monumental point in the history of hip-hop.  Jay-Z the near forty year old released his 11th solo studio album.  Most artists in hip-hop can only dream of such a career and few expect their own to last more than a decade.  

Critically and commercially successful thus far, there are always skeptics and attackers.  Such is the nature of the hip-hop game.  Younger and newer artists criticize Jay saying that he's too old or has sold out, when in fact the opposite is closer to the truth.  With a career spanning more than 23 years and the earlier years dwelling within the "Golden Age of Hip-hop" and new so called "diss tracks" such as "D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-tune)" a track criticizing the overuse of auto-tuning a singer's voice in newer hip-hop, Hova reiterates to the new comers and skeptics that he's still going strong.  In late May of this year Jay-Z told the press that he had bought the remainder of his contract with Def Jam Records.  In doing so he was able to attain more creative control and able to release the album under his own record label Roc Nation.

Pushing up the release date but going through with the scheduled concert Jay-Z will be performing a charity concert tomorrow in New York City.  All of the profits will go to New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund.

Once again, the release of this album is no short of significant.  The single "Run This Town" featuring Rihanna and Kanye West has been playing strong on radios and t.v. commercials and the album has been selling well.  Look for and enjoy the album in stores or online.

Claude Closky

First of all, in response to the previous post:



I had seen this guy, JK, before and it was interesting to compare it to Noah's picture everyday. JK used the same neutral background and basic lighting the whole time which let you focus on his face and the changes that occur everyday. I felt noah's got too distracting with the background changing.

Secondly, I stumbled upon the artist Claude Closky and I find him very interesting. His website is a maze of interesting things you can click on, interact with, think over, add to your computer, etc. One particularly humorous one was "welcome to my blog"

a few websites pertaining to him.
Closky's website
website i found him on
pdf article about him


A lot of his stuff comments on things we use everyday, and has a lot to do with technology. A lot of his work is very unique and simple but can make a statement.

2356 Days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B26asyGKDo


Here you'll see Noah. A man who takes a picture of himself everyday for 6 years.
January 11, 2000 - July 31, 2006.

This I found very similar to the work of Teching Hsieh, who, from 1979 - 1980, punched a card every hour out of the day.

Do you ever find yourself fascinated with challenges or do you ever have a curiousity of what it would be like to do the same thing over and over for a year or more? Do you ever think that you already do the same things over and over, perhaps since you were born?

What's the earth's everyday? Or the Solar systems everyday? What's the Moon and Venus doing? I've been watching them every night. I think it's Venus that's moving with the moon right now. They're always changing but following a cycle/everyday like ours, just alot bigger. And could we not be apart of their everyday cycle?

Hi from Multitouch Barcelona on Vimeo.

You ever feel like this? A neat representation of tasks that we do everyday and a computer...something that is becoming more and more human. Attached to us everyday, checking mail and getting updates. This piece also showcases touchscreen interaction. Which is something that they have in other projects if you explore the Multitouch Barcelona site.

Welcome to Intermedia II

Welcome to the blog for Intermedia II, Fall 2009.

Policies

Attendance is required. Students may be absent for any reason or no reason TWICE during the semester. Any absences beyond the second will result in a grade reduction, excepting extreme and documented circumstances to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. An unexplained habit of late arrival or early departure will also result in a grade reduction. Late creative projects and written work will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Student work completed in this course will be archived by the Intermedia program and the instructor and may be used for documentation, demonstration, and promotional purposes.

Grading

Grades will be awarded on an A to F scale, including plus and minus. Each project will receive a letter grade in addition to verbal critique in class. All students must meet with the instructor and teaching assistant at midterm to discuss progress in the course to date and to receive a midterm grade. Students are also welcome to contact the instructor at any time to learn how they are doing in the course. In this course, letter grades mean the following:

A+/ A / A- Superior accomplishment
B+/ B / B- Above average achievement
C+/ C / C- Average work
D+/ D/ D- Below average performance
F Failure to meet basic course requirements

Coursework

All students will complete the following coursework, with approximate grade weighting:

Creative Projects: 50% of final grade

Creative projects in Intermedia II are driven by theme, not medium. In other words, you will be asked find a solution to the assignment in the form and material of your choice while keeping in mind that some forms and materials may be more suited to certain thematic investigations than others. The themes to be explored in the course are as follows:

• The Everyday (10% of final grade)
• The Archive (20% of final grade)
• The Cinematic (20% of final grade)

Verbal Participation: 25%
Given the structure of the class, active participation in discussion and critique is vital. Students must share their thoughts generously, respectfully, and frequently in order to earn a top grade in the course.
Blog Research: 15%
Several students each week will be responsible for posting original research to the class blog. Exhibitions, projects, artists, essays, films, architecture, art reviews, books, magazines, websites--all are welcome additions to this online resource. Whatever the content, all posts must include some original text that introduces, summarizes, reviews, or explains why this particular piece of culture was singled out to be shared. Each student must post a minimum of three times, though more is encouraged. At least two of the minimum three posts should relate to the class’s current thematic unit. Students will sign up for their three weeks on the first day of class.

In-class Activities and Professional Development: 10%

Periodic in-class activities will reinforce course themes, reflect on the readings, or provide an opportunity to build technical and problem-solving skills. In addition, all students will write an artist’s statement. These exercises will graded and are collectively worth 10% of your semester grade. No make up work will be offered.

In addition to the above requirements, all students must participate in Open House and submit a digital portfolio of their creative projects during finals week. Failure to participate in Open House or submit a portfolio will result automatically in a failing grade in the course.

Texts & Materials

There is no required text for this course; readings will be distributed as photocopies, pdfs, and web links as assigned.

There is a $30 course fee to cover the cost of maintenance for lab software and a limited range of equipment available for checkout from the Intermedia Equipment Pool. Students are expected to acquire any additional supplies their work requires.

Experimentation with different materials is encouraged, but students must exercise good judgement. Due to the communal space of the Studio Arts Building, the use of solvents, spray paint or any fume producing chemical is prohibited. Guns, blood, bodily fluids, live animals, smoke, fire, alcohol, and broken television tubes (which contain lead) are absolutely prohibited. Be aware of the toxicity of your materials and consult with the instructor in advance if you are uncertain about the safety of a material.

Expectations

As an intermediate level course, Intermedia II is designed to bridge between the form-specific assignments of Intermedia I (e.g. sound, video, performance) and the self-initiated projects of the BFA degree. While still offered guidance as to theme and exposed to a wide range of contemporary practice, students have much more latitude to develop their own formal and conceptual concerns. This structure demands that everyone - students and instructor alike - be exceptionally resourceful, cooperative, respectful, and well-prepared while also willing to take intellectual and creative risks. Students are expected to make a serious, sustained commitment to individual and group research, discussion, and production over the course of the entire semester. Because instructional staff cannot anticipate the technical needs of everyone in the class, students must show an exceptional level of initiative to acquire the skills and materials they need to develop their practice. Much as artists in the so-called real world must beg, borrow and barter, students may find themselves relying on the skills and connections of their friends and should educate themselves about resources available on campus and in the community, As per CLAS guidelines, coursework should demand about twelve hours of attention outside of class meeting times.

For our part, the instructional staff will introduce contemporary concepts, connect students with resources, and provide access to and instruction for general media art technologies. We expect to be consistently challenged to expand our knowledge and deepen our understanding of contemporary and media art over the course of the semester. We pledge to personalize each student’s experience of the course by forwarding information, articles, and announcements, returning email within 24 hours (excepting weekends), and meeting with students outside of class and office hours when necessary for discussion and technical assistance.

Course Structure

This course is planned around three themes in contemporary art that are explored through both studio and seminar work. In general, the Tuesday class meeting will be spent in seminar pursuits: discussing readings, viewing artworks, and exploring concepts. Thursday class meetings will often have a studio or lab component and be led by the teaching assistant. Critiques will take place on both days.

There will be three creative assignments offered this semester, corresponding to the following three themes: The Everyday, The Archive, and The Cinematic. All students are required to complete at least two of the three assignments and may substitute a self-initiated project for either of the first two projects, if desired. All students will bring three projects to completion for critique, and all students must complete the Archive project.

Reading and research are important parts of contemporary artistic practice; students are expected not merely to do ALL the assigned reading but to be actively engaged in original, independent and supplemental research. The class blog is a forum for demonstrating and sharing this research; time will be scheduled each week to present projects, exhibitions, texts and artists first posted to the blog.

From time to time, there will be in-class activities to teach skills or reinforce course themes. These in-class activities will be graded. Full participation is expected, and no make-up opportunities will be provided to those who may have been absent for any reason.

Course & Instructor Information

01J:091:001: Intermedia II
1719 Studio Arts
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12:30-3:20 PM
Instructor: Sarah Kanouse
1642 Studio Arts
319-384-0992 (email preferred)
Mondays, 12:00-3:00 PM and by appointment
sarah-kanouse@uiowa.edu

Teaching Assistant: Katie Hargrave
Office TBA
Office hours by appointment
kathryn-hargrave@uiowa.edu

DEO: John Scott
School of Art & Art History
Seashore Hall, 6th Floor
The administrative home of this course is the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Goals and Objectives

• Explore major themes in contemporary art through reading critical texts, viewing significant artworks, and creating original projects.
• Understand and employ research in the production of creative work.
• Enhance the capacity to critically examine and discuss one’s own work and that of others.
• Demonstrate the technical facility and craft mastery necessary to successfully communicate concept.
• Build the conceptual, aesthetic, organizational and technical skills necessary for a self-directed creative practice.

Course Description

This course is designed to help students build a self-directed studio practice in intermedia, time-based media, and the digital arts. Major themes in contemporary creative practice are explored through readings, viewings, and the creation of original projects. Students will broaden and deepen conceptual and technology skills introduced in Intermedia I and increase the scale, ambition, and finish of their creative works. Enrollment in this course is encouraged for students who plan to apply for the BFA degree with an emphasis in Intermedia.