NMA 2050: Nansi Matua

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-baV-oZgz8&feature=youtu.be

My work explores the idea of perception versus reality and how outside influences can shape our perception of reality at any given moment. We all see the world in a way that is shaped by our own experiences, so some thoughts and feelings that may seem real to us are not necessarily thought or felt by others. Perception often clouds our reality and causes us to feel as though our problems are insurmountable. We must find a way to understand that situations can be interpreted in a variety of ways and accepting a different lens can help us build empathy.

My artwork represents the specific feelings that get in the way of perceiving reality as it is happening. It serves to create a way for others to better understand and relate to emotions that sometimes seem inexplicable. My work unveils the thoughts that shape a certain perception that often gets in the way of progress. Expressing my personal perception through new media is a way to better relate to others and to expand my ability to continuously process reality. I will continue to explore this concept and grow as an artist with future works.

For my final project, I will be creating an animation that will serve as a video interpretation of a song. I will be using the skills I learned in Photoshop and audacity to help represent the songs meaning.

RiP: A Remix Manifesto broke down the issues with current copyright law in a way that revealed the harm it has inflicted on today’s content creators and consumers. I always knew that there were stringent rules and regulations when it came to intellectual property but the severity of the negative impact it has was brought to light in this film. The way past music has influenced artists such as Muddy Waters shows how copyright laws hinder creativity in the music industry. Although Muddy Waters is attributed to having created what we now know as blues music, even he was influenced by the past. That is why it is so important to have access to the past in order to create a future.

This movie changed my view on what intellectual property is and how over labeling things as intellectual property is oppressive to evolution. This was especially apparent in the bio-medical engineering field. I was shocked to learn how difficult it is to get around patents for medical information even when engineers are trying to solve urgent medical problems. Without these patents the medical field would be much more advanced and be able to save countless lives. This is a serious issue that should not be controlled by big business patents.

The criminalization of people who were using Napster was a part of history that proves that the legal system was only interested in appeasing the massive companies that own a majority of the entertainment industry. When Girl Talk’s process of creating his mash ups was shown, it gave me an inside look at the creative effort it takes to make remixes. Although other artists musics clips are being used, Girl Talk is completely using his own  creative sensibilities and technical knowledge to create a new track. Remixes are art and art should be something that we can all create and build upon without legal limits.

The free flow of information is crucial in creating a collaborative society whose combined work contributes to innovation and advances.  What countries such as Brazil are allowing for when they encourage sharing is a sense of community and the betterment of the lives of their citizens. By distributing AIDS medication to their people without regards to international trade laws with the US, Brazil realizes the importance of putting well-being above harmful laws and the emphasis on profit. Their culture is being dictated by their people as opposed to corporations, remixing music from around the world to create their own culture.

http://bfpa.dreamhosters.com/nma2050/nansi/

I agree with Russolo when he says “But our ears far from being satisfied, keep asking for bigger acoustic sensations. However musical sound is too restricted in the variety and quality of its tones…We must break at all cost from this restrictive circle of pure sounds and conquer the infinite variety of noise-sounds.” As music has developed over the years, there has been an increasingly large number of songs with similar chord progressions which sometimes makes them hard to distinguish from one another. The only way to be innovative in music is to explore the unknown and try to incorporate sounds that have never been used before. “This revolution of music is paralleled by the increasing proliferation of machinery sharing in human labor.” Technology is ever evolving and can allows us to produce music that would have been beyond earlier artists imagination. Using noises is a way to expand the ways in which artists express themselves and how listeners relate to music.

Many people have often steered away from musicians in the “noise” genre because they find it unpleasant and abrasive. While I have been guilty of writing off particular artists because of this reason, I do respect the innovative nature of incorporating noise. I chose to listen to the EP “ Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do” by Sigur Rós because I am familiar with a couple of their songs and always found their music unique and entrancing.  When I started listening to the music I was reminded of the line from Russolo’s The Art of Noises :  “To convince you of the surprising variety of noises, I will mention thunder, wind, cascades, rivers, streams, leaves, a horse trotting away…” Many of the noises through this EP are the sounds of nature which made it enjoyable and unpredictable. I really enjoyed this EP and will explore Sigur Rós’ back catalog in order to find out what other kind of noises they incorporate into their music.

http://www.ubu.com/sound/sigur.html

This manifesto paints hackers as a community of people whose ultimate goal is to lobby for the free flow of information as a vessel for creation.The author describes hackers as those who use information to create new worlds. I agree with the description of a hacker as someone whose creation contributes to the knowledge and well-being of the public. The idea that the hackers do not own the worlds that they create is a way to think of hacking as a service. It allows for hackers to be seen in a positive light as opposed to the usual negative connotation that the word “hacker” holds. I agree with the author when he says that hackers must have new information available to them in order to create new information.I found the section on education to be an interesting standpoint. The idea of information being available to all is something I agree will lead to an overall more informed and proactive society. I like the idea that hacker knowledge, in its practice, is a “ gift of the result to a network of peers.” The hackers view themselves as a community who believe knowledge should be shared. Education has become increasingly limited to those with the means to access it and it does not necessarily guarantee the consumer will acquire knowledge.

“The immaterial nature of information means that the possession by one of information need not deprive another of it.”

This quote allows me to understand the point of view of the author in the debate of what information should be considered and protected as intellectual property. This debate is complex and many people have various opinions but the authors take on information is radical but can be persuasive. Although, it can be argued that the “immateriality” of information is not a valid reason for it to be freely flowing without any restrictions, some might agree with that take on it. Overall, the author does not see hacking as an issue of legality or theft but as a form of expression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQaHfnFHjI&feature=youtu.be

“The animated film enables the filmmaker to be more expressive and thus more subversive than is readily acknowledged. Almost consciously,animators in being aware that they, and their works, are marginalized and/or consigned to innocent, inappropriate or accidental audience, use this apparently unguarded space to create films with surface pleasures and hidden depths.”

When I read this quote I immediately thought of multiple animated series that I recently started watching. A lot of the comedy series’ I had been watching did not match up to the level of subversion that animated series were bringing to the table. Bob’s Burgers is a show that I enjoy watching that often has hilariously entertaining scripts and tackles social issues in a way that is unthreatening and eye opening. An episode that has stuck with me is “An Incident Thanksgiving Proposal.” In this episode the main character, Bob, a cook who owns a burger restaurant, goes to the supermarket to buy a Turkey for Thanksgiving and strikes up conversation with the butcher. After a series of mishaps, Bob is forced to return to the Butcher multiple times for multiple turkey’s.  The butcher misinterprets this and assumes that Bob was trying to hit on him and used the turkeys as a way to return to the shop.

Instead of getting defensive about the accusation that Bob was flirting with the butcher, Bob was worried about the butcher thinking he was incapable of cooking a turkey properly. This show constantly takes unexpected turns in order to indirectly expose issues that people are faced with in reality. Bob’s concern with being seen as an inadequate chef, allowed him to totally dismiss the butchers inference. This scene is a different way to look at the issue of defense mechanisms used by straight males to avoid being perceived as feminine or flamboyant. Instead of taking the obvious route and having Bob feel threatened by the implication that he is attracted to the butcher, Bob feels comfortable enough to disregard it. This is an example of a way that Bob’s Burgers maintains it’s “surface pleasures” all while incorporating “hidden depths.”