This quote from Manovich’s 4th principle, variability, “A new media object is not something fixed once and for all, but something that can exist in different, potentially infinite versions.” (p. 36) stood out to me as it shows the stark difference between traditional and new media. Traditional media is something static that can’t be changed once printed like books or newspapers whereas, new media like websites can be modified whenever based on user interactions. 

An example of variability can be seen in social media platforms that tailor what posts you see based on the content you’ve previously interacted with, customizing your algorithm daily and affecting the way we consume and interact with information. It is also important to point out how variability depends on the media objects within the database, if the media object is hard to scale, not loading quickly, updated, etc. will all affect its usability. While with traditional media like newspapers what you see is what you get, and there are rarely errors/issues in how the information or media is portrayed to you. All these elements that make new media interactive and personalized can also affect user experience negatively.

Lesson 17: See As Much As You Can

This passage stood out to me as I recently went to an art gallery and took an interest in Lorna Simpson’s, Earth & Sky, an exhibition that showcased massive paintings of minerals in motion alike to mimicking the movement of bullets. From afar the paintings of these minerals are impressively large and were so detailed yet when stepping closer you could see the different strokes and mediums used to achieve this. Due to the scale of the paintings, it was hard for me to imagine how Simpson was able to figure how to execute such detail on a large canvas since the closer you got to it the more it looked like random paint and texture.

I agree with how Saltz’s says artists “steal” and take inspiration from other artists because everyone has their own art style and flare. Taking elements of other peoples work and seeing how it could apply to yours to make it better means that you’re always open to learning and improving your craft. By experimenting and seeing what works to portray your unique vision you are also pushing the boundaries of your creativity. Additionally, he ends off by saying “Great art is often the enemy of the good; it doesn’t leave you enough room to steal.” To me this means that some artist’s are so good they are put on a pedestal and their style can’t be replicated to the same popularity.