How does technology mediate the artistic experience?

On the whole, I believe that technology impacts art in a relatively ambiguous way. I don’t mean to say that it has no impact whatsoever, but that it has an impact similar to the impact of any other medium. When we draw, we are limited by our materials, such as newsprint and charcoal. It’s hard to capture color, for example, if you only have black charcoal. In the same way, technology places limitations on the experience of making art. Taking photographs, we are limited by our cameras and lenses. It’s very challenging to capture the full scope of what the eye can see with a camera. Obviously, all forms of media has limitations.
Those limitations are the less important part of art though; what matters is what you can do, not what you cannot do, with a certain medium. In this area, technology has some unique impact. I believe that in this project, technology gave me greater flexibility. I’m able to take two-hundred photos a lot faster than I can draw two-hundred scenes, and even though all two-hundred photos don’t come out well, I’m given a lot of choice in how to present my experience. That choice ties in with the choices technology allows you to make after the fact, including editing and enhancing photography. I think the flexibility of these post-capture changes is one of technology’s strong points. Then, of course, we are able to post and share art with whoever we want, anywhere, instantly.

February on the Mall

over the flags,
solidarity standing,
among ideas and arguments

fruits of progress
briefly stationed
in the shadows of flags

an american sacrifice,
preservers of liberty
entrusted?

looking up,
handsome stones
and dead soldiers

powerful words
unweathered,
by heroes

a reflective peace
between memories;
its in the movies

fading light shines
barren trees exposes
left to memories

so close.
america,
a sometime idea

for the taking.
enormous columns,
and rome?

silence observes;
a monument
and a man

the roaring above,
moments apart,
could keep time

Day 2: From Wagner to Virtual Reality

Why does the convergence of many mediums in the form of a "Total Artwork" have to mean the devaluation of individual mediums?

I disagree with the notion that as a result of multimedia convergence, the value of an individual medium, or its comparative ability to have the evocative effects of art, is at all lessened. While I don't discount the power of multimedia, I think that separate mediums are just as qualified forms of art. Some forms of art have more profound effects on an individual than other, and for some, I think a multimedia experience can be overpowering and confusing.

Situational Tour Location

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My choice of location for the situational tour is the national mall. Not only is the mall probably the most photographic part of the city, but it is the best fit for the four keywords for this project: ritual, ideology, security, authority. The ritualistic and ideological aspects of the mall include are its memorials and monuments, respectively. Security is indicated by visible security measures on the mall. Authority is plentiful, on one end with the Capitol, and on the side with the White House, authority is clearly present on the national mall.

Day 1: Traditional vs. New Media

One of the most powerful elements of new media is the ability of the artists to replicate, modify, combine, and extend previous works to create new works. It is power, to be sure, but is it a greater benefit or detriment?

There are plenty of clear benefits: it makes creating new work much easier, allowing artists to adapt and change previous solutions to their message. For example, a multimedia artist could combine different photographic elements to create a completely fictional photograph.

That fiction is the source of the detrimental implications of new media. In a society that is extraordinarily dependent on visual imagery, the ability to create a photo-realistic image that is completely fictional could have disastrous effects.

Artists have always been able to create fiction; imagination is an essential element to art. When that fiction involves re-imagining the world in such a realistic manner, though, could it be dangerous?

This post is a response to a prompt available on the class syllabus.