Matt Morgan

New Media Reader #3

mlmorg — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:20:21 +0000

A Cyborg Manifesto

Haraway’s text is an “intervention at the level of mythology, of the imagines identities and positions from which action can proceed
the cyborg is a socialist feminist mythology that is not founded on belief in an idyllic past
argument for pleasure in the confusion of boundaries and for responsibility in their construction

The GNU Manifesto

for a while, open source software was the norm – people at MIT created their own open source operating system and users could supply their own code to create new environments
in 1984 things changed and open source started becoming closed – Unix became closed by AT&T, for example
this forced users to beg the companies to add functionality
Stallman created GNU, a free open source operating system
free can survive, as many do, like Apache
Stallman has become an outright critic of companies redefining copyright as a private good rather than a public good
free software is on the rise but free information is declining

Using Computers

a stinging critique of artificial intelligence
there is a rigidity in computer programming and inexpressible subtleties in human cognition that will never allow computers to attain human-like intelligence
we should design computers as tools
away from machine understanding and towards machine support
Human communication has taken AI’s place on the center stage of computing

Two Selections by Brenda Laurel

the key to understanding computer interaction – to Brenda Laurel – is a book more than 2300 years old – the Poetics
the computer can be studied from a humanistic approach – using well-defined models established for other forms of art
computer interaction is seen as dramatic

Towards a New Classification of Tele-Information Services

this essay considers the social role of various digital media
“the basic technology employed does not determine the category of service a telecommunications system provides
software can fulfill the role of the service center at time and at times take the role of another individual
The Eliza/Doctor programs could be seen as conversational

Mythinformation

positive social change has to be advocated and fought for – therefore, positive social change wont come about as an inevitable result of the growing use of computers
the “computer revolution” is not really a social change
people are bereft of information – information is knowledge – knowledge is power – increasing access to information enhances democracy and equalizes social power
BUT the people must ACT
waiting for a revolution will not bring about a revolution

From Plans and Situated Actions

To Lucy Suchman, early AI attempts were misguided
human action – stories that some of us use to organize our actions
intelligibility understanding and interaction between people and machines must be seen as profoundly different from that between persons
primary intelligence concern is – the users own – the designers – the systems – or those of communicating users

Siren Shapes

Web hypertext is limited – the true hypertext concept still has potential
exploratory or constructive hypertext environments
constructive hypertext – those in the process of creation by the user/author
“a user can freely move back and forth between the roles of author and reader, between the experiences of contsruction and exploration”
exploratory hypertext – the ability for users to create annotations and links

The Work of Culture in the Age of Cybernetic Systems

Nichols discusses “a shift from a fetishization of the object to fetisization of the process of interaction, of simulation”
Interaction offers the feeling of freedom but this freedom is placed within the confines of a larger simulating system
For example, in The Sims friendship and happiness exist in direct relationship to ones house and possessions
simulation in war as well – “missile cam” images resembled a videogame

The Fantasy Beyond Control

Lynn Hershmans Lorna is considered the first interactive video art installation (1979-83)
Viewers watched Lorna as she watched television and could interact with her and make her do things
the language of cinema was reinvented for context of interaction
touch screen – touch the woman over her body as means of navigation
networked video interaction can also be realized at some point in the near future

Cardboard Computers

everyday users of new media should be able to design and create their own tools
today this ideal is not evident
design cannot be completed by the designer sitting alone, it must include users
Utopia – new media tools should be designed for the quality of work they produce

The Lessons of LucasFilms Habitat

people were shocked when a large, online MMORPG came online – “shocked to find that players enjoyed killing each other online
this primitive graphical environment “provided numerous lessons in online interaction and the shared experience of a simulated world”
computer mediated communications – MOOs, graphical virtual worlds, and chat spaces
networked systems that provide real-time communications along with a graphical respresentation of each user in a simulated space bring different dynamics of exchange to the forefront

Seeing and Writing

how typography and printing relate to the present movement of writing onto the computer screen
how new media influences our concepts of reading and writing
“remediation”
some aspects of writing on screen have carried over from print based – but other things, like resizing a screen to allow for more text area is completely revolutionary
Bolter’s ideas on the history of typography can help us understand and better explain the changes we see in new media reading and writing on the screen

You Say You Want a Revolution?

“by placing the new medium against others, and considering how it might function in the extreme, certain assumptions previously taken for granted were upset”
the hypertext does not replace the book – it’s more likely a replacement for TV
but not every aspect of hypertext has been rosy:
Most of the population read information off of big media company sites such as Yahoo, CNN, and MSNBC
although individuals can find more sources of information, most do not even try
“the open and dynamic docuverse that hypertext was supposed to bring can’t be sensed in the pullulation of possibilities today, even on a Linux computer that is forking like mad

The End of Books

allowing students to write on the computer furthered the end of books
the ability to collaberate on the authorship of hypertext systems meant that students more easily wrote more well-versed papers
“the Golden Age of literary hypertext has ended, this heavily textual era of innovation in the form has given way to the WWW”
“perhaps the next way to stimulate students into literary creativity using the computer will involve something more novel than link-and-node hypertext”

Time Frames

McCloud has explained how the comic format works – what its underlying structures and techniques are
comics = sequential art – and as old as the ancient Egyptians
McCloud wrote a comic about comics
“new forms do indeed have certain conventions and rules – if the form being studied is considered with care – these rules can be determined..and thus can improve the practice of their art”

New Media Reader #2

mlmorg — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:20:15 +0000

Theater of the Oppressed

Augusto Boal – works in interactive performance
military government forced him out of Brazil because of his works about oppressed people
was later elected office in Brazil and used his performance techniques to further the legislative process
idea of “embodiment”
embodiment in terms of interactivity and making the groups and audiences work together to create performance and understand each entity more clearly
Invisible Theatre

Soft Architecture Machines

“structures for human activity” – architecture, human computer interaction
virtual reality first seen in architecture where a person could see what a building would eventually look like
Negroponte thought up software that would be more intuitive and understand the needs and desires of the user
The user would have understanding control over the computer, instead of the computer doing what it willed and only expert computer programmers understanding what was going on

Computer Power and Human Reason

computers have always been looked at as worrisome things – many believe computers could one day take over the world
Weizenbaum created a chatterbot that was able to seem almost human, a psychiatrist that would answer and ask questions depending on what data it was given
Weizenbaum looked at this carefully and almost disdain because “computer applications either ought not to be undertaken at all or if they are contemplated, should be approached with the utmost caution”
During this time in the 60s people were afraid that human interaction with computers could become too human and humans could not realize what they were actually interacting with – a scary concept for those afraid that computers could take over

Responsive Environments

new media often takes the user into other artistic and technological fields, ie literary arts and architecture
Krueger created some virtual reality environments and was accepted by the computer science field
His artistic endeavors, however, were not accepted
Many see art and computer science connected and don’t see why “as of 1971 no art department had its own computer
Krueger sees both art and technology connected and thinks the two should be connected in the future…there should not be one department of art and one department of computer science, but rather a collective department where people can interact with both

Personal Dynamic Media

The Dynabook
Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg looked at computers not as tools for businessmen and engineers but all citizens
They understood the need for a notebook computer
They highlighted how the computer of the future would be used…as a daily, notebook, addressbook, all-in-one device for all citizens
It was after the Dynabook vision, the Alta personal computer, and then the Star system that created a whirlwind of computers and started the personal computer revolution of the 1980s

A Thousand Plateaus

Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari
rhizomatic text
“long live the multiple”
challengers the reader to reconsider “dualisms”
“we must find a way to write, to act, to be engaged in life without believing in the self-similar self, without believing in easy dualisms”

Mindstorms

the home computer era – the 1980s
computer driven home video game consoles – but also new ways to learn
Papert developed idea of “constructionism”
constructionism “looks more closely at the idea of mental construction
LOGO – allowed children to take control of the computer and learn mathematics through the experience of the computers mathematical concepts
many things have come about that take on this contructionism idea
ie, Lego robot kits built by MIT that challenge kids to create and then use mathematical/computer programming knowledge to make the robots do things

Put-That-There

Multimodal interfaces – combine speech and gesture input
a computer interface more like spoken conversation
these were all ideas developed in Bolt’s essay Put-That-There
two-dimensional screens to create a three-dimensional virtual space
“if the average computer interface was to become based on orality rather than literacy, the upset could almost be as profound as the shift from seeing the computer as a number cruncher to seeing it as a manipulator of written language

Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive

Xanadu is the archetypal dream of a hypermedia network
in other words, all that we do (read, write, etc.) will be to and from a world-spanning computer network
an ultimate archive of everyone and anyones things…you can work on any public document
but what company will operate this network?
our information is so much more valuable than any other utility company and can be misused and abused
“micropayment” – but we should instead more towards a networked/online version of a library – something that anyone of any income level can contribute to

Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space

new types of video installations and environments
Bill Viola – 70 millimeter video art – “the lyrical in art”
Viola’s work “relates to the Aspen project or commercial interactive video as poetry relates to an instruction manual or brochure

The Endless Chain

Old and new seem to be integrating into a common theme
instead of the internet as being a liberating and individual empowering medium, we have seen more and more “old media” companies adapting easily to keeping their grasp on society
Bagdikian – predictions of increasing media concentration and narrowness
media companies, like ISP’s are throttling the internet and not allowing a empowerment by the people, they are unable to use their own public servers, or show the world what they would like, the Internet has become an almost big business media controlled entity

Direct Manipulation

direct manipulation – instead of using a command language to control a computer, data is processed in a graphically representational way – immediate visual feedback
graphical user interface – ie, video game interfaces but used for all computer interfaces
direct manipulation systems show only the essential aspects
Google search, OS X’s command line – for example – are not graphical interfaces but rather just text input

Video Games and Computer Holding Power

video games were a telling way in which children encountered the computer
the computer enables people to enact personae that are difference from the ones they use in non-computing (ie Second Life)
it is an object that enters our individual and social lives
role-playing on MUDs allows play with aspects of the self
action-oriented games, programmers say, can be enhanced with good stories

Museum of Moving Image

mlmorg — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:50:46 +0000

The Museum of Moving Image was really illuminating and fun. I loved how the museum started with the very first types of “video,” like flip books, and then went on to more complex ideas, like overdubbing audio. I also learned a lot that I had not know before, like how there much be a “period of rest” for your eyes between images or else we don’t see the “moving image.” I also thought it was great that the museum was so hands on because it really got me to understand the concepts of video more clearly.

Web Comics

mlmorg — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:40:50 +0000

The Web Comics documentary was really cool. Every knows about comics, and comics bombard us all the time (movies, the newspaper, etc.) yet we all don’t really know anything about them (their history, etc.). I think this documentary really illuminated a lot about comics I didn’t know before. I think it’s very interesting that at first comics were rarely censored, and then there was an era of “cleanliness” where comics had to conform to set standards. Then MAD created a magazine, that was unable to be censored and thus bringing about another era of un-censored comics.

Since then I think comics have really diversified. Some are the usual daily-life comedies, while others are comic at all, but rather just touching stories. Looking at web comics now, I think many newspaper comics are starting to put their pieces online as more and more people have RSS feeds that constantly update with new posts/news, etc. So, web comics are perfect for that application. One web comic I subscribe to online is kxcd. This site is extremely popular among computer people (like myself) because it specializes in computer science/technology humor. It is a web comic that truly caters to the technology crowd in its comedy and the way it is presented (through RSS feeds and over the internet).

Eric Rosenthal

mlmorg — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:19:22 +0000

Eric Rosenthal’s lecture was really illuminating and I liked him a lot. I think the way he structured his talk was great because he gave an overview of how the eye works, how many people believe it works, and how he has created his own theory. I agree very much with his own theory about the eye as I have always been skeptical about “photons” and I think his theory fits well into ideas about the eye and what the cones and rods do. At the same time, however, his “wave theory of light” can also have problems in the science world because if light were waves like sound, why does light not travel around corners as sound does?

But overall I agreed with his theory and I thought his ideas about how the cones are more like towers that pick up a broad spectrum of waves are very interesting and the way he incorporated that into his “full spectrum imaging device” was quite revolutionary. If it’s true that his device can attain the full spectrum of light just as our eyes do then I would be very very interested in it. I can’t wait to see what happens once his patents are filed and his company is able to market the device. I know it might be well over 10 years before any consumer could ever see such a device, I think it’s amazing that such devices have been invented.

I was also very interested in his idea (and his friends idea) about compressing of images and how JPEG and MPEG (which I’ve always despised) are really horrible compression systems and don’t compress the images as our eyes compress them. I will also be very excited to hear about his compression system that supposedly achieves a 300:1 compression ratio without any real loss of quality. Overall, I loved Eric’s lecture and look forward to hearing about his technologies, even though they may be far away in the distant future for consumers.

Scratch Documentary

mlmorg — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:02:50 +0000

I had already seen the Scratch documentary but it was definitely worth another look. I think the documentary looks deeply into the life of turntablists and their story from days on the street playing to a dancing crowd to famous DJ’s that work with even more famous MC’s. I think the documentary is a great watch and has great music and is about a subject that not many people know about. I think DJing is a true art and you must be very talented to accomplish what many of the DJs in the documentary were able to do and I think the documentary portrays that very well and gives a great rounded picture of how DJing came to be.

Bill Viola

mlmorg — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:59:34 +0000

The Bill Viola documentary was really interesting to watch. I personally loved his “Greeting” piece and I liked how the documentary talked about the process he went through to create the piece. I really liked how it first mentioned the painting the “Greeting” was based off of and how he was really inspired by the piece and wanted to do his own interpretation. The way he made the painting really come alive by videotaping it and using a really fast frame-per-second camera to achieve the beautiful slow motion was very interesting and has inspired me to think about recreating scenes with video. At the same time I liked how Bill Viola captured an almost ominous feeling with the “Greeting,” something that isn’t really present in the painting but came across perfectly and very realistically in the video.

Ingo Maurer

mlmorg — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:29:56 +0000

The Ingo Maurer exhibit was really great. I have never been to the Cooper-Hewitt museum but really loved it. The building in and of itself is very unique, old, and interesting. When we were walking up the stairs and the guide told us to pay attention to the paintings, I noticed how perfect of a transition the staircase was: from the downstairs – quaint and historic architecture – to the upstairs – modern and unique – I thought the talking Carnegie’s helped make that juxtaposition very seamless.

Walking through the exhibit I noticed how funny Ingo Maurer was. Lots of his trinkets and pieces were quite hilarious and reminded me of old restaurant diner’s that find all old antique, almost uncanny, pieces and put them in one big room to really give the place new character.

I was also very impressed with his lighting techniques and pieces. It’s nice to see an artist not only use the actual piece as the visual stimuli but the lighting of the piece to also act upon the piece to make it even more stimulating. His chandelier’s and lamps were most impressive really showed his ability to combine art and uniqueness with household lighting – sort of like how other artists have used household items, like chairs, to create a unique art chair.

Overall, Ingo Maurer seemed like a very interesting and unique character and I really loved a lot of his pieces. I thought he took into account almost every possible facet of the viewer’s experience when he put together this exhibition and I really look forward to seeing more of his stuff in the future at other museums.

Documentaries

mlmorg — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:18:18 +0000

Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik seemed like a very interesting character and his work was very inspirational for me. I love the idea of video installations that incorporate multiple monitors and are not just interesting videos themselves, but they have been edited and time-lapsed and altered to make the presentation of them even more interesting. I also liked hearing about Paik’s life and how he had started his career as a musician but later began exploring video because he felt his ideas in music were not translated as well as they were through the video medium. I thought his work really did hit me at a subconscious level and was not just a bunch of fluttering images on screens but actually made you think about what he was trying to say with the pieces.

McLuhan’s Wake
I’ve also thought Marshall McLuhan to be a very interesting and bright person and I thought this documentary shed an interesting light on his life. The way the video moved and transitioned was interesting, with animations etc., and furthered the idea of a mysterious and imaginary man with great ideas. I think I have been most affected by his work The Medium is the Message and I think this video really brought to light some of those ideas that he talked about. But it was also nice to hear about his own personal life and how he would become very immersed in his work and block out everything else. I think most creative artists feel the same way in that respect.

William S. Burroughs Documentary
I don’t know a lot about William S. Burroughs and of what I do know I find very hard to understand. I think that is why through much of this documentary I was at a loss of what to think and couldn’t really connect with the video as much as I would have liked.

Dan Blank’s “Shadowplay”

mlmorg — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:10:56 +0000

Dan Blank’s movie “Shadowplay” was a sad and poignant look at the bombing of Hiroshima. The storyline itself was very moving and served as a perfect platform to create a short work. His creative use of the “shadows” from Hiroshima as becoming characters was unbelieveable. Not only that, but his use of animation, art, and music helped to create a wonderful piece. I was amazed at how well it was all done and I think he is a very creative and talented person that can really capture and move the viewer’s attention on a particular subject.

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