Shanken pg 78-96

Shanken makes a statement that I would disagree with when he says that "...it has been argued that technologically reproduced art lacks the aura of an individually handcrafted original..." which he also finishes by saying that these types of works are "...demanding a reconsideration of the definition of art itself (78)."  This is probably a good reason why people are afraid to step out of their comfort zone when they create art, they may be afraid that someone would call their work unoriginal or even that it is not even art. I would argue that technologically reproduced art is indeed art because I believe art can come from any medium and just because it's created by electronic means shouldn't disqualify it as even being called art. Shanken first presents computer art by Ben Laposky's piece called Oscillation #4, which is a unique looking abstraction that I would consider art. A lot of work goes on in electronically based art pieces, it's not just as if the art piece can just spontaneously create itself, there needs to be an artists who comes up with the idea and then begins to execute it any way possible. Many of the same principles for creating art do apply for electronically based art as well, the only difference is one is in a digital space while the other is defined in terms of the space around us.

Shanken pg 54-78

I really like the statement that Shanken makes when he says that artists were "defying the traditional conception of art" as they utilized motion in their work (54). This to me is intriguing because instead of staying in a comfort zone, artists sometimes step out of their comfort to create impressive pieces of art, and stepping out of my comfort zone is something that I am trying to do as I progress as an aspiring artist. A great example of this is seen in Laszlo Moholy-Nagy's piece called Light-Space Modulator, which was a piece that brought together light and movement and was featured in his film called Motion Picture Black-Whute Grey in the 1930 (54). Aided by engineers and technicians, Moholy-Nagy was able to create his work, and by presenting the piece in his film, allowed the work to get some exposure by a public audience. Also, Shanken says that "Such works laid a significant foundation for subsequent developments in interactive art...", which goes to show that by doing something innovative can really impact the art community and inspire established and even upcoming artist to create art by unconventional means, which I think is great and definitely is something to keep in mind (54).

Light-Space Modulatot by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

Shanken 45-54

On page 45, Shanken discuses the introduction of VR or "virtual reality" and that artists such as Jaron Lanier, developed the piece called The Sound of One Hand. It really impresses me whenever something is made that wasn't exactly intended to be used for art becomes it's another medium for an artist to expand their craft and try something new. When an artist steps out of their element and tries a different medium helps them become more versatile, which is a good thing. As VR technology gets better, things like (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) or CAVE is basically a six sided room projecting a 3-D like environment and allows the person to be immersed in this virtual space, which is awesome. Shanken further discuses how art and technology are coming together when he says "the idea of joining art and technology seemed captivating", and he supports this by mentioning artists such as Cage, Rauschenberg and Paik (47). Art and technology joining together during the art creation process is something that I am very interested in and to create art with technology is fun.

Shanken pg 30-45

On page 30, Shanken discusses the early interactive artists that created works that involved people as the software. This kind of interaction is seen in the piece by Les Levine called Contact: A Cybernetic Sculpture where people that walked by were turned in to software information that would be projected via video. I think this way of making art is very interesting because people unknowingly are involved in the art making process and as an artists, you may never really know what your going to get until you see the work. On page 31 Shanken discusses Kelly Heaton's piece called Reflection Loop, and that fact that it's a bunch of little Furby dolls that react to a person nearby is impressive, I had no idea something like this could be done with Furby technology. These kinds of participatory art pieces are interesting because instead of the art piece being a standalone piece, it now becomes this piece that involves people's interactions..  

Shanken pg 15-30

On page 16, Shanken discusses how the transition from static art to electronic media really made an impact on how we see art that is in motion. By using new techniques very similar to cinematography, artists were able to create art pieces that had movement. For example, Eadweard Muybridge's piece entitled Woman Walking Downstairs was a series of images that captured movement and probably was very innovative during his time (Shanken 16). It must of been surprising to see animation for the first time during the time when it was invented, and not only would it affect cinematography, but even the art world. The process of creating art is so flexible when it comes to utilizing new mediums because art can be made with pretty much any invention that may not have been intended to be used for art. One example that is seen is when artists utilized different light sources as Shanken mentions them using "...neon, fluorescent and laser[s]..." being used to create art (16).

Shanken pg 1-15

The brief introduction of how technology has improved in the U.S. was really helpful in understanding Shanken's point about artists and how they are looking at new ways of creating art (14-15). As I further improve my skills with digital art, I really look back and see how past artists used different mediums to create works of art. The pieces of art that I want to create this semester will reflect my current skill set and the knowledge and experience I have gained with computer programs. Shanken makes some great statements about the new technology influencing new artists to create new art pieces, which I think is a great thing because art has a powerful impact on shaping culture and values (16).