Final Project: The CAMera On Effect

The CAMera On Effect

 subjectivity of perception

Improve Your Mental Health- Curated Exhibition

Improve Your Mental Health- The Brain and The Machine

Flashing lights: Quote regarding Bjorn's Installation and Burroughs

William S. Burroughs, expounding upon his thoughts in his book The Job, quotes from The Living Brain, by Gray Walter: "The rhythmic series of flashesappear to be breaking down some of the physiologic barriersbetween different regions of the brain"[12]. Burroughs points out that a consciousness-expanding experience can be induced by a flicker-that is, a rhythmic light flashing in the retina at the rate of 10 to 25 flashes per sec, which produces effects characteristic of consciousness-expanding drugs. (page 310)
--Oki, Keisuke. 1995. ""Brain Wave Rider": A Human-Machine Interface". Leonardo. 28 (4): 307-310.

Copyright?

 The virtual worlds pose a new problem with the way we think about copyright and intellectual rights.  “As new technologies have shifted the ability to make potentially infringing copies from the exclusive domain of expert technicians into the hands of the unskilled individual, copyright owners have repeatedly been confronted with the social fact that most individuals simply ignore copyright laws” (Jenson, 533).  It has been estimated that in ten years the Internet will come to look like a videogame with no text.  With this movement into virtual worlds, will copyright create a new digital form within cyberspace or will it be tear down the online playground of lawless citizens (Noveck)?

We simply ignore the law?   In 1813, Thomas Jefferson had written, “That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition.”  As I quote someone in my own writing, I must question the difference between what I am doing now versus using copyrighted video or music in a creative project.  As long as the creation of works from “already-made” material retains the essence and mark of its origin, I believe the work should not fall within copyright infringement. 

A good example of this would be amateur manga  (Japanese comics) culture in Japan also known as dōjinshi (roughly translated as “fan fiction”).  Many amateur artists in Japan form circles or collectives to create their own versions of commercialized manga.  “[This dōjinshi] is in a continual state of deletion and supplementation… the disappearance of one part is of no particular consequences… [as] it will be replaced… by other parts—other characters, other functions, other plots, and their extensions.  [These] supplementations are all quotations from other [dōjinshi] elements which are, in turn, quotations from manga” (Wilson, 222).  Although Japan is more culturally accepting of such activity of filtering and remixing materials within and outside of their culture, these individuals are still ignoring copyright in order to creatively build from original materials.  The freedom of these individuals to do so enables these amateurs to create a legitimate art form that in turn can be bought and sold in America legally.

Lawrence Lessig creates a major point with his article, “In Defense of Piracy” about the attitude of copyright laws and regulation in America.  Youtube, being his main example, of amateur activity in regards to copyright infringement shows the American viewpoint and societal control of “open source” and free culture—a system that supports and protectors creators by granting intellectual rights but allows the freedom of use to “follow-on creators” (Lessig, 2).  Anytime copyrighted material is uploaded onto Youtube that individual is influencing others that there is nothing wrong with disobeying law.   Eventually, Youtube will remove the materials and even discontinue the account of the individual with continuous disobedience, but cyberspace doesn’t limit the individual from creating another account and continuing to upload materials.  Additionally, there is nothing to stop other individuals from downloading the same infringing material to later upload them again through their accounts.  In the end, the current condition of copyright law proves to be futile in cyberspace.

To give an example of using copyrighted materials outside of the digital realm, Arturo Herrera, a Venezuelan artist, uses images from Disney coloring books to create collages that express the unconscious.  Regarding the topic of copyright and Disney, I was interested to find that using black and white images instead of colored images of Disney characters is allowed, but copyright infringement would occur with the use of Disney images in color.  This could be an explanation to why Herrera was allowed to use these images within his work. 

Arturo Herrera
"Untitled"
1997-1998
Mixed media collage on paper, 12 x 9 inches

As Lessig stated, the world we live in is essentially build upon free culture.  To restrict the rights of individuals to freely analyze and interrupt materials, we are not only limiting our expression, but are also stifling our ability to be creative.  The creative works of amateurs are just as important for creativity to flourish in society as it is for professionals.  Dōjinshi serves as an example of the building of creativity and professionals through amateur works and expression.  Herrera’s work exhibits how using “ready-made” materials are powerful tools for creating new work and analyzing culture.  Reform of copyright needs to allow the freedom of the free culture we live in; otherwise the lawless attitude of citizens will continue to grow and influence society. 

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"Books: Lessig: Free Culture". 2004. Business Week. 16.

Jensen, Christopher. 2003. "NOTE - THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME: COPYRIGHT, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIAL NORMS". Stanford Law Review. 56 (2): 531.

Litman, Jessica. 2001. Digital copyright: protecting intellectual property on the Internet.

Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books.

Noveck, B. S. (January 01, 2005). INTRODUCTION: THE STATE OF PLAY. New York Law School Law Review, 49, 1, 1.

Wilson, Brent. 2003. "Of Diagrams and Rhizomes: Visual Culture, Contemporary Art, and the Impossibility of Mapping the Content of Art Education". Studies in Art Education. 44 (3): 214-229.

Upcoming Events of possible interest....

November 11, 2010, Denver, CO at 7:00PM Shutter Shift
Panel Discussion on Contemporary Photography with Albert Chong and others.

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Friday, November 19, 3 p.m., CAS Speaker Series Event: "The Prehistory of Soft Power: Godzilla, Cheese, and the American Consumption of Japan," a lecture by William Tsutsui, Professor of Japanese History and Dean of Humanities and Science at Southern Methodist University. Humanities 1B90.

Today, manga, anime, fashion, food and other forms of popular culture have created the image of "cool Japan" internationally.  But Japanese "soft power"—the global appeal exerted by culture rather than the threat exerted by force—is a relatively recent development. This lecture will explore the reception of Japanese pop products abroad in the decades before Japan was cool.  Focusing on the editing and dubbing of Japanese films and television shows for American audiences, it will also reveal how Japan has regularly been framed as a laughable, cheesy, and inferior place in the American imagination since World War II.

Rhythm Science

Figure 1. The Remix Cycle must begin through a complex creation of multi-consciousness. 

A forensic investigation of sound as a vector of coded language.

Margaret Crane and Jon Winet

Introduction to General Hospital, 1996.

“A kind of do-it-yourself soap opera looping through the infinite void of electronic space,” General Hospital, a virtual mental hospital, occupies public space to analyze how mental health is accepted and represented in 20th century American society (Harris).  The creators, Margaret Crane and Jon Winet, went into their art residency at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) Pair Program to confront the diminishing support and lack of awareness for mental health programs through a satirical augmented reality.  Having an optimistic view of technology, Crane and Winet explore the use of technology to shape and evolve the collective psychology of society through 1) cyberception and 2) critically analyzing aspects of urban life through language.   

New York, America and The Globe, 2004.

"Artists and scientists tend to be similar types of people... They are interested in finding truth -- whatever that is...” (Gold).  Previously, Margaret Crane and Jon Winet had been working collaboratively for over ten years before being recommended to the Xerox’s PARC artist residency.  The goal of the company was to pair artists and scientist to solve societal problems by using technology.  Previously, Margaret Crane and Jon Winet had dealt with the issues surrounding political elections in their art, which is still an overall theme of both their collaborative and individual work seen today.  An example would be the 2004 America and the Globe where multiple sites where created to follow the election campaign and analyze America’s political culture.  They have learned to skillfully occupy online space by providing information about an issue.  Then, they influence their audience to be aware of each other by analyzing and adding to that information within that space.  Their use of technology to “[communicate, share, and collaborate]” as well as “[to transfer thoughts and transcend our limitations]” points to their ability to create what Ascott referred to as cyberception*.  Associational lineage within their work from one idea and image to the next mimics the mind and allows this convergence of the language and visual representation.  Thus, each experience of the audience and society becomes unique and that aspect is captured and reframed back within the work to form a new perception. 

One major component that allowed for the collection of this material was a newsgroup and forum created within the 1996 General Hospital project called alt.society.mental-health.  Here anyone from mental health professionals to individuals wishing to research side effects of antipsychotics could come together and add their presence and information to the space.  This is why the Internet is an important medium for Crane and Winet to embrace. “[All… activity amounts to a largely unscripted 24-hour improvisation… [which serves to gain] insight into our culture.  [It is thoses who are left out that are]… heavily [affected by the] edited mainstream media” (LeFarge, 213). Crane and Winet’s use of the Internet can similarly be identified with Umberto Boccioni’s idea of synthetic continuity where human movement within space is infinite.  With the focus of space and perception, this is how works such as General Hospital positively incorporate technology into the virtual setting of urban life and analyze culture.  

Clinical Depression Screening Test, The Typhoon Ride, General Hospital, 1996.

To further analyze, General Hospital, the hyperlinked images and text not only give an alternative “space” for individuals to learn about mental health, it begins to create a poetic nature through language.  Limited by HTML encoding and technology of the later 1990’s, the interactivity of the site was purposely left simple and conceptually complex with themes of brain and technology function placed together.  With language discussing the history and experience of the mental health system, such as discussing Freud and mental health surveys, the language becomes very concrete.  Linking the language loosely, it allows for associating to occur.  By referencing popular culture with the title, they are able to filter and analyze how their audience is psychologically affected by what they refer to as three different forms of information provided for mental health awareness: 1) mental institutions, 2) romanticized versions of that institutions through media, and 3) their institution in virtual reality.  Then through forums, such as alt.source.mental-health, the audience is able to access and add their opinions and experiences on mental health.  Through the collective flow of language, Crane and Winet’s General Hospital changes the way American society occupies a public space and builds upon creating consciousness beyond our world.  Thus, creating a platform for society to critique the culture surrounding societal issues. 

Another example of their work that incorporates data, societies, and space is entitled, Monument from 2002.  In this project, they researched and collected data from interviews and mapping the inner-city from industrialized area of Newcastle, England over a one year period and recreated the place in a virtually space with hypertext.  As the project came together, both the negative and positive psychological affects on the area’s culture from industrialization were reflected through the collective consciousness of the community.

Margaret Crane and Jon Winet positively use technology to address social issues and the psychological affect of those issues on the collective conscious of their culture and society.  Through the power of politics, the collaborative team addresses the Internet as public space and uses it as a tool to transcend and evolve the function of the mind within a virtual space.  General Hospital stands as a powerful example of their ability to use that space through the simple means of hypertext.  Crane and Winet unfold the history of societies and record the affect of events and real life within that society. 

* A new form of awareness that converges conceptual and perceptual processes (Ascott).


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LINKS: 
General Hospital 

List of Exhibitions and Information

Beyond Interface

Related Artists:
JEVBRATT (Information)


Ascott, Roy. 2000. Art, technology, consciousness mind@large. Bristol, UK: Intellect. 
http://www.netlibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=71082.


LaFarge, Antoinette, and Robert Allen. 2005. "Media Commedia: "The Roman Forum Project". Leonardo. 38 (3): 213-218.

Feeser, Andrea, and Margaret Crane. 1997. "An Online General Hospital:

Constructing an Experience and Representation of Mental Health". Leonardo. 30

(5): 355.

Gold, R. PAIR: an experiment in using technology as a common language between artists and scientists. International Society of Electronic Art; 1996 September 9; Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Harris, Craig. 1999. Art and innovation the Xerox PARC artist-in-residence

program. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. http://www.netlibrary.com/urlapi.asp?

action=summary&v=1&bookid=39958.