2010年12月2日 星期四

Presentation - Video Game: Are they art?

What is the definition of "Art"?

Accroding to Adams, he said that" literary arts: writing and drama, which are characterized by the presence of narrative. Film and television also belong to the literary arts. Then there are the fine arts: sculpture and painting, music and dance. There are also the decorative arts: wallpaper, fabrics and furnishings. Architecture is regarded by some as a form of art, and industrial design, is not really art so much as it is an aesthetic applied to utilitarian objects. The boundaries between art and non-art are not hard and fast; there is a grey area."


- literary arts: writing and drama; film and television
- fine arts: sculpture and painting, music and dance
- decorative arts: wallpaper, fabrics and furnishings
- form of art: Architecture
- industrial design: aesthetic applied to utilitarian objects


Art has an Aesthetic
-There must be variety of aesthetic for games and gameplay.
-Judging all elements of the gameplay itself according to the variety of aesthetic : is it smooth ?natural?

Art has content
-The videogames must has some message and content to say.
-It can have the capacity to express ideas.
-Not only provide fun.
-Game developers express something through gameplay


Art challenges the Viewer
-challenge the viewer to see and hear things in different way.
-Achieve a new kind of understanding.
-The game force the player to experience new ideas ,to see things in new way.

Art need critics

-Need critics to recognize artistic merit
-Critics brings discussion of the game context
-Critics also brings judgment, maturity, understanding, wisdom.


Case studies - Quake 4 U

-Created by Feng Meng bo
-Feng Meng bo is a China's leading new media artists
-He changed and modified the version of Quake 3 to create his own “Quake 4 U”
- Released in 2002
-It is a popular Internet game
-First person shooting game
- The plot of this game is talking about killing people or killed by other people.
- Feng Meng bo use his self-portrait into this game.

-This is a shooting game and make people exciting during the game.
-Although I have not try this game ,I try some similar game before, though that this kind of game make people relax and vent their emotion during the game. People will forget the real world at that moment
- It is quite interesting that Feng Meng bo use his self-portrait to be the character of this game. I never heard that before!
QUATE 4U IS A GAME OF Art


1. Exploration of formal and aesthetic possibilities eg perspective, line, colour, rhythm
-Quake 4U takes a perspective from slightly behind the character, allowing the player to control the direction in which the character looks and moves.
-The line and colur are sharp
-It contain music in the game

2. QUAKE 4U has content and make people feel something

-According to
-He inform the viewers on an ironic version of his self-portrait into the game.
-his self-portrait is a new languages on the creation of media. Not one use this character before. So that we can regards this game as an art.


4. Quake 4 U challenges the viewer:-According to Lucien King, The History And Culture Of Videogames (New York: Universe Publishing, 2002), 85
Lucien King stated, “Videogame character design is potentially a very deep and difficult art.”

-It is a unique figure that he is taking a video recorder and some weapon.
-using the self-portrait of artist as the character is rare in the digital games history.
-Thus, Feng Mengbo has challenged the viewers to see NEW things that have not been seen before ,that is introducing a new idea of forming character.


Video games=art?


Puzzle---Tetris
Without content, message,aesthetic……
Formulaic game
Without role in this game,players are pure mind, engaged in a purely symbolic struggle


Pong(1972)
 This game was modeled on simple physics: the way the ball bounced off the bat obeyed the basic law “angle of incidence equals angle of reflection”.
 

Although, there are some games that have been calculate as art(like those introduced by my
group mates)
Video game actually is an art from but not equal to art(just like photography)
Some video games are totally not related to art that they just simulating the reality, not only
character, but also the laws/some video games just show the science, the law……without
aesthetic or message




Therefore, video games are not necessary a work of art
But it could be an art form
Just like the nature of film, it can be both art or entertainment, or either one.


Technologised Bodies

Which artist’s work do you find the most interesting?

I think Stelarc’s work in the most interesting.

Stelarc,(Stelios Arkadiou) is a Greek-Australian performance artist whose works focuses on extending the capabilities of human body.
Stelarc's idiosyncratic performances often involve robotics or other relatively modern technology integrated with his body somehow. In 25 different performances he has suspended himself in flesh hook suspension, often with one of his robotic inventions integrated. In another performance he allowed his body to be controlled remotely by electronic muscle stimulators connected to the internet. He has also performed with a robotic third arm, and a pneumatic spider-like six-legged walking machine which sits the user in the centre of the legs and allows them to control the machine through arm gestures. His works have been heralded for their abilities to embrace a wider audience, the best example of this was his allowance for the worldwide audience to log into the exhibition and thus access or control the electrodes his own body was hooked up to.

Why I think this work is most interested?
The man with three hears


Stelarc's work change the traditional concept of human bodies. As we may think our body may only replace by prosthetics arms or legs. Now we can replace them by wires, wheels or other materials. It encourages medicine improvements of human bodies and gives new approach for us to think of what is human body.

In the first sight to the documentary video of Stelare's work, it is only a kind of "shocking oriented" work. Indeed, it is really awful that the body become distorted in an unnatural way,
esp, he implanted a third ear into his arm, what is the big mean to do such thing?

However, after watched the video and having a deep thought, I understanding Stelare's motivation, he is reacting and inventing.
In his work we can have a reflection that how is technologies used, if human still have their free will?

I think his works are creative and thoughtful.
(Though they are awful and a bit not humane)


Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelarc

2010年11月11日 星期四

Gamer Revolution(CBC documentary,2007)

a) According to the film, what are some pros and cons of playing videogames for individuals and societies?
For individuals, it gives another platform for people to perform theirself. They can earn money and have great achievements by playing videogames as a career. Maybe those players can have more confidence by playing videogames as they can perform theirself through videogames and finish those missions that they can never do in the reality. I think this is fair to offer a chance for players to gain a sense of superiority that maybe effective to raise their confident in the real life. However, I said "it maybe". Those career players have to give up many other elements in their life to exchange their "achievements". And for individuals, it may leads players to addict in the games as they can only find those pleasure and sense of superiority in videogames. It may cause players try to avoid the reality that full of failure and dangerous.

For the societies, it shows videogames can bring training of soldier in the film. The army designed a game that related to the knowledge of military affairs.It can make people gain more information and understanding of military affairs.And it can encourage people to join the army.In the other side,videogame do bring negative influence to societies.For example,the addicted -teen- player who has been mentioned in the film,killed people with a gun in school. Videogames' themes always involved violent.It turns into an encouragement of violent as players have to win via using violent,like killing.

b) According the film, is there any evidence that digital games can encourage aggressive values and anti-social actions in the real world? Do you agree?
Yes, there are some evidence that digital games can encourage aggressive values and anti-social actions in the real world.
For example, there were some career-players introduced in the film. There work is playing computer game and their responsibilities are winning the games. This would make them isolated with the real world as their purpose of playing digital games is earning money and gaining achievements.Their life just have their jobs-playing games and barley nothing else.
Also, the film talks about some players killed people without reason. The only reason that can explain this is: games that they play express negative messages to them-people who kill other is hero and it is nothing to be violent.Therefore,some players murdered others to achieve success.
In the film, there was a game called "Postal" which experimented by laboratory.It showed that players who play it would have violent impulsion inside their brain. In this evidence, we can see that digital games contain elements which can bring aggressive message,feeling to players.

Certainly that I agree with this. People who are digital games players always addict to the games.They even don't have any feeling while they playing games.My brother is an great example! He just can't hear other's noise,even we just talk to him next after him. He just ignores any things that outside the game.Also,he tried to give up his study because of addiction of games.Therefore,I really agree about digital games encourage anti-social actions.

c) Should governments have the right to ban certain games? Why or why not?
Although I think some digital games bring negative affects, I think the government should not ban certain games.

It is because the people should have human right to play/develop the game, and I think the government have no permission to stop or avoid it. Also, it is so difficult to prove that playing video games is the main reason of causing violent crime (e.g. murdering), maybe it happens because of other reasons.

However, I think the government should set some limitations of playing certain games because it really affect the growth of children. For example, the government can set up the age limitation, to avoid the child play or be touch with those video games. To avoid the violate crime, the government also can have more promotion and education on public.

2010年11月10日 星期三

Is it reasonable to consider computer games as art?

1)How does Adams define art? Do you agree with his definition?
         According to the article, Adam defines art in different ways as follows:Firstly, he made classifications.---- Sort by it’s content: representational, expressional…--- Sort by art forms: paintings, sculptures… Literary art V.S. Fine art

He also believes that as a piece of art,it is important to deliver messages.I think Duchamp's fountain is a typical examples to this definition.

Furthermore, he makes an advanced definition on good art; he thinks that good art must last for eras, even though there are different perspectives to define art referring different periods.
It is crucial for a piece of good art (we usually call "masterpiece) passing through the challenges of times, or even spaces.

Overall, Adam has come across many ways of art-defending, those he covered is fairy agreed by the generals.

2. According to Adams, what is needed for videogames to be considered as art?

Adam thinks that to be an art, here are some features:
- Content to give people a new idea or messages
- Aesthetic qualities to give people sense of pleasure
- To make people feel things- to outweigh its consideration of utility and salability
- To do something that other art forms will do
- To have an artist who has received adequate public recognition
- to do something to persuade people to believe it is an art form Computer games is art as it creates new depiction of images, new meaning to us.

A work of art by Cory Arcangel


The original videogame: Super Mario


Features of the game:
-The clouds and the eyes-catching blue sky are came from the Mario Brothers
-Clouds slowly move from right to the left / left to right
-All the main characters in the Super Mario have been removed,
although they are the significant subject leading players to play the game
-The background music,which is supposed
to make player more filing into the game, is removed too
- The audience/players can only imagine they are playing the Super Mario videogame when looking at the slow motion of the clouds which illustrating you are moving in that digital world

Art or not?Why?

I think it can be called as an art.
Appearence:
There are some formal elements of being a art work. The forms, colors,composition is attractive, the image is still appealling after adjusted, like the nice contrast of the white and blue, although most of the character used to appear in the Super Mario is missing
Sustains:
It makes me think when I can JUST look at the moving clouds in such a slow motion. It is which could also allow me to have enough space and time to remind my memories and emotion when I am playing the Super Mario. This is the new idea and perspective for me to look at a videogame.


Cory Arcangel: Super-Mario Clouds, 2002
http://www.zunta.org/blog/archives/cloudsscroll.gif

Some other viewpoint on vediogames aesthetics or not :As Ernst Gom- rich asks in Art and Illusion:
'The rope hanging from the pulley- where does it lead?
How is the drawbridge tied up? What is the angle of the bannister near the lower edge?'
The artist used his illusionistic craft to create agnawing sense of uneasw in the viewer. In videogames so far, on the other hand, verything is fanastically, obsessively "ture" in three dimensions. There is no room for interesting fuzziness or spatial ambiguity.

2010年10月20日 星期三

Mouchette

http://www.mouchette.org/index.html




"In 1996, a Web site that purports to be the work of an adolescent girl appeared at http://mouchette.org/. Visitors to the site are greeted with a lurid close-up of a flower, its petals crawling with ants and flies, accompanied by a portrait of a sad-looking girl and the following text: "My name is Mouchette/I live in Amsterdam/I am nearly 13 years old/I am an artist." "

My impression of this webstie is embrassing and strange.No matter the web page design, the theme or the "message" that the artist wants to express are weird.It is barely possible that the artist was only 13 years-old.And  this reminds me that fake idenity is usual on Internet.

Besides, I feel embrassed while surfing this web page. It disturbs me to have a deeper and deeper look even I was alone.

Online identity

1)I have 6 or more online identities,such as facebook,hotmail,xanga......
2)And some of those online identities' would contain some fake personal data and information of mine.And I think those online identities can show characters that different to my "in person" identities,for example I am quite emotional in daily life,but when I use my online identities,I can control my mood,as I don't need to react immediately,I can wait and think then just react emotionally.It brings different character to me.

3)It can bring us bravery to express our own viewpoint,as sometimes we may afraid to talk about our feeling towards some people,situations or issues happened in our daily life.Also,it is convenient for us to communicate to others because not eveyone use the same server with me.There are many different severs that people can construct online identities,so we can communicate with people all over the world easily through different severs.

4)Maybe it is easy to expose our personal data online,or even stolen by someome.It will be dangerous for our safty!Or it may bring kind of incomvenient to us as we may forget and mess up our use IDs in different severs that will lead us to lose some important accounts~

2010年10月7日 星期四

Do video-sharing sites enhance or worsen creative culture?

In my view point, video-sharing sites enhance creative culture.

It is no doubt that information is approachable.People can use different way to express their feeling,statement,creation......It is convenient to do these things though Internet. Also, it is easy to film video nowadays as we can do this in camera or mobile phone.

Since there are many video-sharing sites appeared, and it is easy to have an account of those services. People are willing to share their videos on the Internet.

Because people can easily make video and watch video on Internet, this encourage people to commit this activity. People want to stand out in the numerous videos on those video-sharing sites. They want their video can become the most popular one on Internet. It leads a competition. It can enchance creative culture.

"It almost seems like there are no external boundaries for the creativity of the community...", Roman Marek mentioned. I totally agree with him. It calms that there are no boundaries to stop those creative activities.

Video-sharing sites also provide  communication palform to the public. Users can comment on others' video. It helps to bring improvement to all users. And it encourage users to communicate with other and share their opinion or ideas

2010年10月6日 星期三

"Bus Uncle"

1How many viewers are estimated to have watched the youtube video?

There are more than two millions viewers have watched this video on youtube. And the viewers were not only form Hong Kong, but also foreigners over the world. Many viewers shared this video so that it spread on internet quickly.


2. How would you rate the video?

a) Is it of high quality in technical terms? Is it interesting aesthetically eg camera angles, use of light, the narrative, and so on?
I don't think that this is a video with high quality in technical terms. The camera man only tried to record the issue, but not film something aesthetically. No matter the camera angle,use of light,sound,narrtive......were not plan before. The camera man just use a mobile phone to captuere the issue. We can see the frame is raw, the quality is low. Therefore, it is totally not aesthetic.


b) Does it raise interesting socio-cultural issues? 
Yes, of cause it did. This video reveals the social problem in Hong Kong. People are stressful, like what the Bus Uncle said in the video, that is "I have pressure. You have pressure too." It is really what Hong Kong people want to yell out too.
The public noticed this issue and paid attention on this. Everyone use the sologn of Bus Uncle: "Not yet resolved". It brings funny and relaxing feeling to the public. This issue might be a bad experience to the two men in the video, but the video brings happiness to the public. Everyone talks about this and laugh on this. What a tough "pressure"!^^

3. Do you think it deserved the attention that it received from the internet community?
Yes, it deserved. The video shows the reality of Hong Kong society. It can remind Hong Kong people not to be angry easily. And they have to reduce their pressure and enjoy their life. If not, they will become the other hitted "Bus Uncle" all over the world on Internet.

2010年10月5日 星期二

Mission To Earth

1)Using "Mission to Earth" as an example, note what is new or different about digital cinema compared to traditional film making? Consider the story and appearance of the film.

"Mission to Earth" is an example of digital cinema.It tells a story of a girl by a totally new way comparing the narrative method of traditional film making.

The frame of the film is divided into several sectors.Different sectors show different images, for example, a sector of repetitive patterns and lines and another sector is about the story of the girl.Sometimes, the patterns are quite abstract that represent the mental states of the girl.
The music of the film is harmonious, calm, peaceful and smooth.
Basically, there is a voiceover telling the story.And the tone of the voiceover is quite flat that just like the radio boardcast.But this can also gives audiences a sense of isolation, alienation and loneliness towards the girl.
The special composition of the frame encourage audiences to be an active viewers.Viewers need to focus on several different images or sectors.Also, they need to use their imagination ,creativity and sensation in linking up the relation between different sectors.
For the viewers of traditional cinema, the easy understaning of the films' plots are always taken for granted.To some extent, this film gives more space for viewers to think and have different interpretations.
Also, this film uses a very new and innovative way to present a story, more like drawing.
It breaks the limitation of traditional film making.

2) What other art forms does this film remind me of?
It reminds me of painting.The sectors include some colour forms to build composition.It is similar to a canon of painting-Piet Mondrian's Composition ll in Red, Blue and Yellow.The colour-squres just look like those in "Mission to Earth".

2010年9月30日 星期四

Analog photography and digital photography

1) What are some photographic effects that can be achieved using digital or analog (darkroom, film, lights etc) technology?
Light changing is one of the photographic effects that can be achieved by both digital and analog  technology.With digital technology,we can change the brightness by computer,and we can just tune the "ISO" and check which standard of "ISO" is most suitable light that we aim to catch in photo.With analog technology,we can change the shutter to adjust the standard of light that photo shows.

Also,we can change colour both by the two technologies.We can use colour filter on digital and traditional camera to make photos change to different tones and colours.

2) What are some photographic techniques that can only be done using digital technology?
Preview photos is one of the photographic techniques that can onlu be done by digital technology.We can check the effect of photos taken by ourself.We have chance to ajust the photo if we find the effect is not perfect.It attracts more people to start shooting photo as it becomes much more cheaper without the necessary of using film to take photo.They can try what they want by using digital camera.

There is lots of photographic techniques that can only done by digital technology.Here's some examples!


this special technology makes the landscape looks like model~~~!

lomography effect?!
this effect is the "noise" effect ~


why the last two can only done by digital technology??
Because they pretend to be film photos!!!!XDDD
The uniqueness is:people don't need to buy so many different types of cameras to acheive different effect!
SAVE MONEY!!!





 
3)  What is the difference between analog photography and digital photography?
There are certainly quite a lot of differences in terms of their output format and physical appearence.

Regarding the format, digital photography is presented in a digital format which can be saved in a memory card.Scene is captured in the digital photography by using the digital as a kind of electronic way.
After the light has reach the sensor, a digital memory can be formed.

But the traditional one is saved in a film format. Light is allowed to be caught on the film. After a chemical reaction has taken place, the form of the target can be recorded.

Regarding the appearence, a digital photography can present a total different depiction from the reality once a specific adjustment has been set before taking photos. Also, we can get a various texture of photograph as it is comparatively free for us to choose a special kind of paper(like a rough one, semi-transparent one, coloured one) on which we are going to print the photograph.

However, the traditional photography can only present a relatively realistic scenery including the lighting, the color, the mood. Refered to the chemical reaction I mentioned prior, we can only make the photos onto some particular photo papers. For that reason, we may sometimes get a less variety of traditional photography. 

2010年9月8日 星期三

Wikipedia or encyclopaedia

I would choose Wikipedia to remain in existence worldwide.I think Wikipedia is a challenge against the traditional information,knowledge or source platform.Its appearance is much more different with the encyclopaedia.It found by the public.The source in Wilipeadia mostly offered by the volunteers.Everyone can give source to Wikipeadia.The standard of freedom of Wikipeadia is higher than encyclopaedia.The constrain of recording source is less than encyclopaedia.We don't need to only depend the authorities.We can obtain the knowledge from the public.It can save us time and money because we don't need to hire the authorities,pulishers,the retailers to produce Wikipedia.Also,we don't need to bare the risks of publishing a book.Due to this,people will be willing to put their knowledge in Wikipedia and public can use Wikipedia freely,they don't need to spend any money.It can let human remain more money,resource and time to do more of the world.

Also,since Wikipedia is an open-to-all knowledge platform,the public are more willing to share their knowledge for contributing the data and knowledge base.The contributors of Wikipedia can be anyone,this can enhance the categories of the knowledge base.Everyone can enter the knowledge that they know well and understand mostly.I believe that there must be many aspects of knowledge that won't known by authorities.Some knowledge would only circulate in folk even there are no authority comprehend.Therefore, it is a very important element to make the knowledge base become more all rounded.And this must be one of the crucial reason that make Wikipedia becomes so popular.

Besides,the rule of Wikipedia produce an updated knowledge platform.Since Wikipedia can be contribute by anyone in anytime,the newst and most up-dated information and knowledge can be uploaded on Wikipedia.Issues that just happen can be record on Wikipedia immediately.For example,Liu Xiaobo,the human rights activist,won the Nobel Peace Prize on 8 October 2010.The news has been already published on Wikipedia few days later.



Therefore,it makes the knowledge,information and news become updated.Unlike encyclopaedia that can't edited or published anytime.The process of publishing encyclopaedia is much more complicated.So,encyclopaedia can't acheive high-speed's knowledge to offer users.Oppositely,Wikipedia can reach this point.Public can keep in touch with the newest knowledge by using Wikipedia.

Some may argue that Wikipedia's writers are not authority but encyclopaedia is written by authorities.However,there is an important point I want to raise: authorities don't know everything that sometimes only the common people understand.In addition,there are not many authorities.How can they record all the knowledge over the world?And Wikipedia allow any classes form the world to participate the contribution of it's knowledge base.It improves the cover of the discussion of different aspects' knowledge.Not only the traditional categories of knowledge being recorded,lots of different kinds of knowledge will be enrolled as well.

Last but not least,due to Wikipedia's freedom and open,it offers a opportunity for the people,that have different opinions on different fields of knowledge,to reconsider and think about if there own recognized knowledge is right.It can encourage public to research more about the accuracy of the knowledge.I think it also can let people become more active rather than passive that just recieve the information form authorities without thinking and critique.

Therefore,I think Wikipedia is a cool knowledge base which gives the public a whole new system of knowledge share.It helps to keep knowledge updated and encourages users to criticize more of the knowledge.

Reflection of new technologies

1.The benefits of new technologies shown in "Modern Times" are convininent, money saving and life standard rising.And I think the boss of the factory gains most from these technologies,he can hire less workers while his business can mainly depended on technologies.

2.The main character-the worker,effeceted by the technologies.For example, he just likes a robort after worhing with the machine for a long time.He becomes crazy and nonsense as he keep doing the same action.He forced by the technologies to do something that he may not want indeed.Also,the worker is quite neurotic that he lose control of himself and he repeats the same action when meeting something similar with the accessories in the factory.And I think it will not be a good experience to control by technologies,so I believe the worker won't feel happy.

3.I always addict on surfing the Internet that i would lost my mind sometimes.I may forget the time and my works.Also,I feel exhausted after using computer for long time,maybe sometimes I usually feel headache after using computer.And I will become lazy and aimless.I just keep surfing Internet and watching films on computer.Sometimes,I felt depressed but I just loose control of myself.Therefore,I think it's better for me to reduce the time and the aim of using computer.

2010年9月1日 星期三

HELLO!HELLO!!

Hey guyssss~I am Eunice who is a Visual Studies major students.
Really happy and excited about this new semester's begining!
Hope all of you can also enjoy the new start~~
Feel free to chat with me when you want!^^