One of the reasons that the virtual can be interpreted as ethereal and perplexing is because of the fact that the virtual depends on mixing physical matters and ecologies with platforms (i.e. computers, iPhones, Blackberries) that can combine bits and pieces of information, data, photographs, texts and numbers to create an environment accessible to others. Through the virtual world of the internet and Facebook chat I can talk to my friends back home in New York and laugh about the fact that I live in the future because it is already Wednesday in Sydney and it is still Tuesday in New York. The virtual world of the internet serves as an environment where my friends and I can meet and converse even though we’re miles away in different time zones.
The creation of the virtual world however tells a great deal about human nature and how we want to organize information and communication. The development of the virtual comes to be because of the need and want to not only communicate with others but also share information and organize information. Director Lars von Trier tries to take the chaos of ants and simulate their chaos remotely by having actors act in certain ways whenever lights flashed in the rooms they were placed in The World Clock. Director Trier tries to have “control over chaos” by telling others how to act but in reality Trier simply creates a virtual world, a simulation of the real world instead of finding meaning in reality and what is in front of him.[1] The lack of “control over chaos” drives Trier to create a place where he can organize what he finds to be meaningful information but ultimately Trier does not have full control of the actors and how they will perform.Again, he can only rely on what is real.
Perhaps Trier enjoys the fact that he has some control over the actors even though he is dependent on the ants nest. Even though he is aware of the lack of control he has over chaos, he tries to deal with this mentality and in order to solve his chaotic problem Trier has to accept a layer of unawareness. It is only then that one can come to terms with the virtual, reality, and everything in between.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Ecologies. Mixings in the Makings.
I think it's easiest for me to think of ecologies as separate environments that have various branches that come together and intermix with each other to form other ecologies and environments. According to the Neil Postman, “an environment is, after all, a complex message system which imposes on human beings certain ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.”[1]
The painting above is actually a bunch of layers of different acrylic colors all mixing and meshing to create a background of color to create an ecology of emotion. I would like to believe that this background creation was born from my mindless thinking and blaring headphones. Simply letting loose. And then once I was aware of this looseness, I went ahead and created another layer that gave my painting an image and a meaning. Everything builds upon itself to create these environments.
I created a layer that used parts of my natural environment (i.e. the chair the man is sitting on) and my memory ( i.e. the lake-like scenery) intertwined with my state of mind. These two layers come together to create one painting, that belongs in a series of 10 paintings, which belong in a series of abstract works. Maybe one day a doctor that's trying to create a welcoming environment will buy it and perhaps a patient may gaze at it and forget altogether why they were even at the doctor's office in the first place. Because let’s face it, our environments affect our emotions and our emotions and passions are responsible for the drive that we need to overcome all obstacles.
[1] Media Ecology Association (2009) ‘What is Media Ecology,’ <http://www.media-ecology.org/media_ecology/>
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
McLuhan: A Medium and Our Messages
One cannot deny that McLuhan's "the medium is the message" famous quotation reflects upon the myriad of technological advances that have developed within the last 100 years. Today, these technological advances have made it possible for people to view interviews of McLuhan over the interwebs, making him a message within the medium.[1]
Although the clips about mediums and messages mention that technologies are connecting the world and make it, in the words of McLuhan "a unit", because of these technologies such as the computer and the interwebs there are now virtual worlds from IMVU to SecondLife and so much more. The present and tangible world is much more accessible while the virtual world divides and replicates continuously. For example, about three hours ago I decided to create a new blog and so that now I can share information with someone else.
These mediums and technologies are constantly sending messages and acting as messages themselves to serve as windows into us. We choose what we would like to show and have control of our actions and what we care to share. We can choose to post pictures on Facebook or we can choose to not write that mean comment on our friend’s wall. We’ve developed our mediums and messages. We just need to learn to moderate ourselves and make the correct choices.
Although the clips about mediums and messages mention that technologies are connecting the world and make it, in the words of McLuhan "a unit", because of these technologies such as the computer and the interwebs there are now virtual worlds from IMVU to SecondLife and so much more. The present and tangible world is much more accessible while the virtual world divides and replicates continuously. For example, about three hours ago I decided to create a new blog and so that now I can share information with someone else.
These mediums and technologies are constantly sending messages and acting as messages themselves to serve as windows into us. We choose what we would like to show and have control of our actions and what we care to share. We can choose to post pictures on Facebook or we can choose to not write that mean comment on our friend’s wall. We’ve developed our mediums and messages. We just need to learn to moderate ourselves and make the correct choices.
[1] CBC (2011) “Marshall McLuhan, the Man and his Message,” CBC Digital Archives, <http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/media/topics/342/>
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