During this reading, I found a passage that stands out to me because it just shows how art is being reformed and reproduced time and time again. The passage begins by saying, “In principle a work of art has always been reproducible” (Benjamin, 218). There was a time where this was not entirely possible due to limited resources, but some works of art in ancient times were still found in our day and age. 

The passage continues,
“Mechanical reproduction of a work of art, however, represents something new…The Greeks knew only two procedures of technically reproducing works of art: founding and stamping. Bronzes, terra cottas, and coins were the only art works which they could produce in quantity. All others were unique and could not be mechanically reproduced. With the woodcut graphic art became mechanically reproducible for the first time, long before script became reproducible by print. The enormous changes which printing, the mechanical reproduction of writing, has brought about in literature are a familiar story. However, within the phenomenon which we are here examining from the perspective of world history, print is merely a special, though particularly important, case.” (Benjamin, 218-219)

This passage stood out to me because humans were able to figure out a way to make their stories heard and to make sure the next generations would remember their history. It’s fascinating to see that we can find artwork from the past where they only had natural resources to make their forms of art. This is the reason why Walter Benjamin stated that print was important. It allows us to see the timeline of our world in various ways. Now, technology has progressed and changed where our work will always be here forever. We create these tools to help us create bigger and better things, using what we already had in the past. We take what was in the past and improve it or make it into something of our own. That is what art is all about. As we see our technology advance, so does art.

You know…it’s not possible, but it’s a need. Not a want…A NEED! Wouldn’t it be great to somehow create something that can fix this problem and probably give us sanity? A tool to just make cats, dogs, and all other pets (that we’re legally allowed to have) randomly appear out of nowhere…to keep them forever? Wouldn’t it be great if we can just give them endless food without having to purchase it from this economy (inflation!). This tool would be great…or maybe it can transfer us to a world of just pets. That would be nice.

You: Is this really a problem that needs a tool? Sounds stupid.
Me: One, not stupid. Two, yes it needs a tool and it’s a serious problem! I swear!

Pet Dress Up!

It’s interesting how new media can change our views and beliefs. The way these views and beliefs expand onto others through new media, and how quickly people’s perspectives can change is fascinating. Social media, especially, influences people to change something about themselves. This is how trends get started, where it may be good or bad, they spread like wildfire. I can’t count how many times I’ve been influenced to purchase something I don’t need because of social media. Besides social media, news anchors also shape how people view politics. Some news anchors are biased, which can create a negative or positive impact on our society. Before technology, information would spread through in-person communication. Now things are digital and more accessible, therefore, makes information spread faster. In McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage, I noticed on page 48 that the left side has a repeating phrase, “Printing, a ditto device.” I feel as though this is talking about us as people. Since new media influences people to believe or do something, we all start to become the similar with no unique identity. I find this interesting when I tie it back to social media. Everyone is moving to NYC, going to these expensive coffee shops, getting their nails done, taking Ubers instead of public transit, and it seems unrealistic for a native New Yorker who cannot afford these things. These influencers on social media tend to glamorize certain lifestyles, which makes people want to be exactly like them. It is especially why Gen Alpha girls are doing their skincare exactly like these adult influencers, even though they do not need these products at all and may ruin their skin. However, new media also helps us be aware of our world and current events, so we’re never out of the loop. It brings people together and develops communities. Overall, this reading was definitely intriguing. 

Studying session…but got interrupted?

The first animation I watched was the South Park one called “The Spirit of Christmas” (1995). I love watching South Park because I find the show hilarious, and I also find the animation style very unique. I believe they used stop-motion animation and cutouts to create their show. I like it because their artstyle is not highly detailed, but the show is still entertaining. The animation mainly uses solid colors and simple shapes. The second animation I saw was “Mothlight” by Stan Brakhage. Honestly, I didn’t know what was happening when I first watched it. I kept thinking I saw a bunch of bugs on the screen and leaves, and my eyes were hurting while watching. Probably not the best idea to watch this animation at night. The third animation I watched was “#MeToon” by Samantha Bee. I loved this animation because of its clever way of incorporating what the speakers were saying and making a creative display of their words. It reminds me of an animator I watch on Youtube called JaidenAnimations. Her style is similar to this, except she doesn’t show her face in the videos. The final animation I watched was “Hertzfeldt on Blu-Ray”. Even though this was optional, I found this intriguing to watch because he used both drawings and real life elements to create this surreal world. It’s almost as if I was going through different dimensions. I thought the combination of real world aspects and drawings were really interesting.Overall, these different types of animations show me that animation can be simple or detailed. As long as it all has meaning to it.

Part I:

While reading “The Art of Noises” by Luigi Russolo, I realized that music can come from anywhere. I feel that when you restrict art to a limited amount of material, it blocks the expansion of creativity. Inspiration for art can come from a variety of sources, whether in music, paintings, sculptures, etc. In terms of music, the sounds can be a variety of things. For example, you can use the sound of a glass breaking as an element to your music. Today, we see musicians grab audios from tv shows, movies, nature, and everyday things. As long as you have a creative mind for combining different sounds, that’s all that matters. 

Part II:

The artist I chose is Joan La Barbara and everything I heard was her making sounds from her mouth. For example, she creates hissing noises or says words/phrases like “holy.” The sounds are usually random and sometimes she would just repeat things such as “dadada.” I find this intriguing because, from what I learned in “The Art of Noises” by Luigi Russolo, the elements of sounds in music can come from anywhere. It’s how you structure all those elements together to create music. That being said, this artist has an interesting way of creating these different noises to form her music. Additionally, I have thought about sound as art before because of music. I love listening to music and try my best to hear the details because I love the process of making music. While I have never made music myself, I have always wanted to try and even played around with GarageBand in the past, though I am no expert. All in all, understanding that sound can be art truly expands the range of creativity you can explore.

Is it a growl? Is it a roar? What could it possibly be? Humans weren’t even alive to hear this. I assume it’s loud and causes ringing in the ear. They could for sure eat us! I have never seen these creatures before. In fact, none of us have, but only in museums. The flying ones probably screech as loud as they can. The ones on the ground probably have a deep, scary growl. Jurassic Park had a good interpretation of their voices, but I wonder how their real voices were like.

Art is from littlemandyart.