The Synaptic Stimuli is conducted by Michael Chichi. Covering several artistic themes that orientate around The Transmissions of Consciousness and States of Being. This was one of those sites. The kind that gets the thought process moving. Considering human condition in association with phenomenology equating an contemplation of being. The visual pleasure of looking and become consumed by the expression.

I was inspired and energized with the vast array of projects and artist pooled together. Personally attracted to the electronic elements of a particular artist featured. I found the installations of Tatsuo Miyajima to be insightful. The installations are elegant addressing the theme of technology as fetish or “A technology fetish is an idea fetish.”

To see more visit Synaptic Stimuli
http://synapticstimuli.com/tech-fetish/

This is an interesting interaction with the environment and observation technology. While recording visual data from various cams the resulting visualization is a compile of time-lapsed images from a single location. Last is a clock that is a record of its own history. Like a familiar analogue clock, it has a second hand, a minute hand and an hour hand. The hands are arranged in concentric circles, the outermost circle being seconds, the middle circle is minutes, and the innermost circle hours. Each of the hands of Last are made from a slice of live video feed. As the hands rotate around the face of the clock they leave a trace of what has been happening in front of the camera. Once Last has been running for 12 hours, you end up with an easy-to read mandala of archived time.

detail image 08:42:08 Eugene USA

The Last clock was created by:

Jussi Ängeslevä & Ross Cooper ©2001-2004

Site Link: http://www.lastclock.co.uk/

This artist caught my attention last year during studio. I find his work to be economically produced with energetic results. Matthew McCaslin is an American artist working in New York. He works in sculpture and installation by repurposing and melding familiar house hold electronics. The assembly of construction material incorporated into electronic fine art is ingenious.

This piece is Titled: Exit 2008 Electrical exit signs, flexible conduit, electrical wiring 104×72x3″

Roland Barthes covers many concerns regarding the photographed image and the many myths behind them. He goes into great depth and detail regarding the element of the sign and how it is synonymous with photography. He gives several examples that highlight the contributing elements and emotions that images adhere to. These investigations have a profound historical reference and mystical interaction between subject and photograph.

As Barthes observers the photograph he comprises a few main categories that mediate the relationship of the photographic process. Barthes concludes that photography can be the object of three practices, to do, to undergo, to look. The operator is the photographer and the camera. The spectator is all whom perceive and acknowledge or glance at pictures. Finally the person or thing targeted, the referent that Barthes calls the spectrum of photograph. He states that this is related to the spectacle and is recycled back to the death or return of the dead.

He continues to address the complex issue of the realness of the photograph by including the persona one becomes during a portrait. Barthes elaborates on the social mechanisms that contributes to this behavior. Furthermore he includes the photographic process and equipment braces, keyhole, sounds as transformers. Barthes then incorporates these states of being among other pictures and acknowledges his emotional and cultural rational.

When Barthes further contemplates his interest and attention derived from viewing photographs he established two categories. The first of the two he concludes as a state of his personal conditioning. He uses the Latin word stadium to label this average effect from photographs. This address the formal tastes and styles acquired by the individual participants. The second is also labeled with a Latin word that gains the viewer attention invasively punctum or punctuate. This accidental aspect pierces the surface getting under the skin.

With these fundamental themes outlined in photography Barthes continues to explore the truths of the image. This becomes evident with his relation and alienation of his own personal pictures. As one can conclude he thought of his portraits as dreading the process and stealing away his identity with false representation. Then as he reminisces through the photographs of his deceased mother we are invited into a crusade for truth. He struggles for an image that may portray her aura through his experience. He finally encounters such an image surprisingly of her at a very young age pure and full of innocence. This image sign acts as a simulacrum pointing to many emotional and phenomenological perception that satisfies his search.

D.T.O.

A lot of the content we have been discussing in class about Convergent Technologies, maps out the future of media. Another school that has been researching these concepts is MIT and they have developed several projects regarding convergence. I came across this link a while back and decided to revisit some of their projects due to our class topics.

Check out the link http://cms.mit.edu/research/projects.php I found all of these projects that have similar ideas. Convergence media the future of media development, virtual environments, mobile technologies, social networking and interaction. I found that the emerging patterns of cross combining entertainment, advertising, brands and consumers with virtual and social experimental media to be the main theme. I think all of the projects are relative although the Center for Future Civic Media attracted my attention along with the Digital Humanities project.

Cheers,
D.T.O.

First off I can’t believe that Adobe CS5 is already on the shelf. The price tag is any from 599 up to 2,599 for the full Suite. Any how the knowledge of HTML is free to those who have learned it. The latest major revision is underway and is considered to be mobile device friendly. This link is an April 2010 vocabulary of the working Draft.

http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/Overview.html

Jean Claude Christo, Valley Curtain, Rifle, CO, 1970-72-

These two artist are amazing the amount of effort to get a project up and running is an art form itself. Unfortunately a few months ago Jean Caude passed at the age of 74. Although the expected Arkansas River project is still under way this demonstrates their dedication and resilience. I have been marveled be their works since childhood and hope to be able to see this project completed and in person.

This is an example of a time and site specific work of art that alters ones perception of the common place. The art form expresses the vision and ideas of the artist that could not be fully realized in theory. The final artworks needs to be experienced to gain full appreciation. Their installations provide a new way of seeing landscapes and other forms.

October of 2008 An exhibition of Christo and Jeanne Claude’s personal prints and photographs where hosted at The Center for Visual Art “CVA”. I was very fortunate to have seen this exhibition and become more aquatinted the the two artist work. The CVA displayed the show with great detail outlining the cumulative development behind the art. Each piece was grouped according to date and labeled with reference numbers tied to additional information. This exhibition gave insight to the complex planning and proposals that make the installations possible. The overall presentation was immaculate with a variety of models, diagrams, blue prints, and video documentation.

Many aspects of art history and theory culminate together in the course of defining these installations. Their progressive contemporary artworks question the fiber which art is threaded from. The process Christo and Jeanne Claude use to construct proposed installations are individual works themselves. I felt privileged to have witnessed the actual conceptual models and illustrations.

Since I was in high school Christo and Jeanne Claude’s work has been influential. I fondly recall a video documentary on the piece Running Fence and it’s flawless beauty. The art seemed so different that my perception would be forever changed. The interaction with the environment and management of the production crew assembling the work captivated me.

Christo and Jeanne Claude incorporate many artistic skills from traditional illustration to environmental planning. The individuality of each piece is amazing utilizing several traditional skills. One may find a personal connection regarding the location or objects used in the installations. The artwork in the show demonstrated Christos attention to detail as he drafts up a project. His designs incorporate mathematical scales and geographical surveys as blue prints for visual conception.

Despite the tragic loss of Jeanne Claude, the two artist made an obligation to their work and the show must go on. The current Over the River proposition has been in the works for sometime and will take place in southern Colorado’s Arkansas River region. This will be a magnificent achievement, the triumph of blood sweet and tears.

D.T.O.

http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/

This is another one of those industry things. It just happens to be here in Colorado June 6-9 
A good career Networking opportunity. They also host a Creative Freelance panel. This is one for the grant writing guru. Maybe their is some poor student ticket discount???

http://www.howconference.com

This image has an unique dynamic light color and glow effect. The light source is generated from inside the elevator creating a contained closed feeling. The overall illumination creates a vignette that focuses the light on the elevator shaft and the boy. The outer edges are dark and lurer to a mysterious uncertainty. The black cats are the darkest silhouetted figures from the fore ground to the back. The cats lead the viewer threw the image with an ominous yet playful mannerism. Contrast between the elevator light and the cats bring the image to life attracting the eyes movement. Overall the main illumination is soft and ties the image together.

This is a tutorial in two parts that I’ve been working on. This quicktime is part 1 and runs about 2 min. I plan on creating a series of tutorials that sync together several hands on and software techniques. These will primarily focus on 4 major applications, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Final Cut Pro.

PART #1

PART #2

2010 D.T.O.