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Assignment #5- Respond to chapter #3 in Digital Art By Christiana Paul
Question: What are the major themes in digital art and why?
As we know Digital art is a growing and ever changing world. It has opened up hundreds of possibilities that would have otherwise never been possible. In this world of wonderment there are several major underlying themes.  We use this technology to create them, and the are as follows; to create artificial life, artificial intelligence, Telepresence, telematics,telerobotics  body identity, databases, data visualization, mapping, text and narrative environments, gamming, tactile media, activism, and  hacktivism, technologies of the future, mobile and locative media, social networking and the next generation of virtual worlds. All of the above have been created through or improved through the use of our new digital technology.
Artificial life is something that we generally encounter on a regular basis. Now days out machines are extremely lively. In a sense through our artificial intelligence we have created some sort of artificial life. For many years there has been talk about creating machines that can walk and talk, but never before have we been so close to that being an actual possibility.  Now days we can latterly combine evolutionary systems into the virtual world and then blend with virtual and real world. It is possible that eventually computers may not only help us to understand the structure of different ideas but they may eventually even affect the ways that we think.
Telepresence is not only connected to the world of digital technologies, but it is part of all forms of telecommunication. Telcommunication has a long history that includes the use of the telegraph, telephone, fax, satellite TV and so forth. Artists now days can use these forms of communication for artistic means.  As an example in 1922 Moholy Naggy used the phone to order five painting, this went down in history as the first use of a telephone for artistic purposes. Although it is an only technology digital technology has helped to create unforeseen possibilities.  For example not we can create telematic projects through the Internet, as well as teleportation by moving light particles and much much more.
As a form of body identity digital art has allowed us to question how we see our selves in a virtual world as well as our physical space.  We can create different online identities, and create ourselves with out ever really creating a body.  We can create cyborgs, exoskeletons, perceptual bodies, and so forth. This allows us to leave our bodies behind and create a virtual self.
Our databases, data visualization, and mapping technologies have greatly expanded due to digital technologies. We can create speech software that would never other wise been possible as well as dynamic visualizations of data flow, maps that are accurate to a pinpoint and extremely detailed.
An extremely popular part of digital technology now day is gaming, it is an extremely large billion dollar enterprise.  It has actually become larger that filmmaking, which is an extremely large feat.  The revolution of gaming has taken over homes all over. The virtual world has   become extremely detailed and complex.
Tactile media, activism, and hacktivism, technologies of the future, mobile and locative media, social networking and the next generation of virtual worlds are also extremely large themes in digital media, however I am past two pages now and it is the end of the semester.  Thanks for the exciting semester Matt, sorry we missed you at the final take care!!!

Assignment #2- Respond to chapter one in Digital Art By Christiane Paul
Question: How does digital Art/new media relate to or impact different aspects of our western culture?
Digital technology has opened up a whole new world of vast opportunity.  With the use of computers not only can we create exciting new art forms, we can alter and modify other art mediums such as photography, film, painting, and so forth as well.  Some have said that due to the endless possibilities offered by digital technology, it will eventually take over, and other artistic mediums will be out of fashion.  This is not likely, but one thins is certain digital technology has helped to improve modern art and it is here to stay.
Digital art has improves so much over the year. Now days we can choose to make a work look obviously digitalized, however we can do spots of touch up or create entire pieces to such perfection that it can be difficult to tell if it is a photo a painting or digitally done or altered.  For instance in photography, we can create or alter a persons face.  This process makes is possible for us to pick out and enhance certain qualities of a persons face or entire body for that matter.  We can also use a process called morphing. An example of morphing would be Nancy Burson’s “Beauty Composition 1982. We can also use photos to create extreme or totally new landscapes.
When using digital art in a way that it is obvious can have a few different effects. For instance in Patricia Pinccinini’s “ Last Day of the Holidays,” 2001, we see a boy on a skateboard and a alien type creature who ahs been obviously placed in the photo. In this instance it is a familiar seen with an abstracted feeling. Along the same note digitally removing an object can have the same effect.  In Charles Cohen’s work we see a negative silhouetted figure of a female. Although we do not see the actual woman we still recognize the familiar shape.
Digital art can also manipulate naturalistic aspects of ones perception.  We can double objects change their color their size their location, the possibilities are endless.  We can create objects animals, humans and even entire worlds through the use of digital technology. It was not that long ago that the mere idea of today’s technology seemed like a foreign concept. Now the digital arts are a vast and ever changing and growing world.

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Project #1 Lost Leadership

Vote Obama

lost-leadership

Vote Obama

Assignment #3- Respond to Chapter Two in Digital Art By Christiane Paul pg 67-138

Q: What is the difference between using digital technologies as a tool verses a medium?

The world as we know it, is growing and changing fast. New technology has opened up a vast whole new and exciting world of possibilities. One of the tools that is taking us to new and exciting heights is digital technology. There are so many different and stimulating ways in which we can use this new advanced technology. One of the more simple and common ways it is used is for daily activities such as surfing the World Wide Web (WWW) or exchanging e-mails. These are two examples of ways that digital technology has helped to connect and bring people all over the globe closer together. However, a whole other world exists beyond these simple uses. Digital art is a new and quickly expanding art form that has taken the world by storm.

Digital art as a medium has so many different uses, and can take on a wide variety of different forms. It can be used as instillation, film, video, animation, software, and so many more art forms. However, often times it is not so easily categorized since many times it will be a combination of two or more of these styles to create one work. For instance, one piece may comprise a physical insulation with sound and internet components. “The digital mediums’ distinguishing features certainly constitute a distinct form of aesthetics: it is interactive, participatory, dynamic, and customizable, to name just a few of its key characteristics (Christane Paul page 67).”

One of the exciting and distinguishing characteristics of digital art is its capability to allow the viewer to interact with the piece. Take for instance Jeffery Shaw’s, The Distributed City, 1998. This project is constructed in a virtual world that is based off maps of actual cities. Only this city is created from three-dimensional letters and the viewer is offered the chance to navigate themselves through the city on a bicycle. The bicycle in reality is stationary, but the work stimulates reality since you can pedal and steer your way through using movable handlebars. Another example of an interactive digital work of art is Luc Courchesne’s, The Visitor- Living By Numbers, 2001. In this work, the viewer is able to adjust a movable dome to fit their height and allow their head to be comfortably submerged in the dome. Once inside, the viewer takes on the role of a traveling visitor who is making a journey across the countryside. The Visitor will go through a series of encounters with local people and be allowed to make different decisions such as staying with or leaving different inhabitants. It is almost like a virtual video game. These are just two example of the extraordinary way that digital art is being used, not to mention the advanced special effects that are now being applied to video art.

As a tool, digital technology has greatly advanced and helped change the ways people share and communicate. The World Wide Web has created a massive information center. You can go online and look up and research just about anything that you could ever want to know. It is an expansive networking resource, and with the use of tools such as web cams, it is possible for us to see and communicate with someone on the other side of the world instantly. We can view thousands of different browsers, and even check what is going on in the news.

Digital technology is still fairly new in the scheme of things, and it has already expanded so much. There is no doubt in my mind that we have only begun to scratch the surface of what this new media has to offer us as a tool and as an artistic medium.

Peta adn.

In my mind there are a few characteristics that an ad must contain in order to be successful. First of all and most important, it need to have something that is going to grab the viewers attention. If it does not have that eye catching quality no one is going to stop and take their time to see what the ad is saying. Second of all the content needs to be displayed in a fun or interesting  way. Also bright colors or shocking  images always seem to help.

For example this ad for Peda makes a point not to cover up or make light of the reality of the cost of a fur coat. This is truly a grotesque and sad image. Fur coats are beautiful, and it is easy to over look where they come from, but this ad helps to remind us that for such a beautiful creation there is a loss of life.

This ad is pretty dark over all. The background is black and the woman’s clothing is black. Due to this fact your attention is really drawn in to the main message which is the dead fox. The skinless fox is bright red and catches your eye immediately. The black also creates a feeling of sadness or mourning, which only intensifies the ads content.

This kind of ad is hard to ignore, you do not necessarily want to look, but it is so shocking that you can not help but look.  You first see the woman, and fox and then as you look at it longer your eye drifts down to the message which reads “here is the rest of your fur coat.” Over all I would say that it has a strong impact and is very successful.