In Manovich’s “Principles of New Media”, Manovich describes five Principles that make new media art. The five Principles are Numeric Representation, Modularity, Automation, Variability and Transcoding. The Principle that mostly stood out to me was Modularity. It stood out for me because in a way I’m currently focusing on using aspects such as “Images […], shapes and behaviors” in my project, which ultimately can be reduced to even smaller components. Projects that we have and are working on demonstrate the idea behind modularity, the fact that .psd files can only be read through Photoshop and how each project we do is made up of smaller pieces. The Idea behind modularity is that everything can be reduced to shapes sounds and even pixels. Additionally, for every item certain other items can read it. You wouldn’t use Microsoft word to open a movie file for example. It would be made to only play with certain programs. So for example the movie you may have downloaded can be reduced down to dozens of images creating a scene and even sound files giving it audio. Everything can be reduced to its most basic form; another example is how Internet web pages can be shrunk down to basic html code. To break it down even further there are scripts that have to run on nearly everything including programs that provide Internet service.

Everything can be broken down to its most basic elements. This is what Modularity focus on, being a key component to the more tech-thrived new media such as Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. Modularity is what new media art thrives on.

While reading “Digital Technologies as Tool”, I encountered a series of art styles that use modern day computer programs as a medium. By creating basic computerized shapes, colors, rotation and copying tools, as well as even computer viruses, artist are able to create new work that goes beyond the canvas. One artist that stood out, out of the countless mentioned was Chris Finely. Around this point of the text the author introduces more computerized artwork that deals with what I assume to be more of a Duchamp direction of artistic development. However, Chris Finely takes this one step further, he utilizes computer programs to morph, copy and shape his painting, as a digital artist would, while then using it as reference in which he paints onto a canvas. At first glance, his artwork “Goo Goo Pow Wow 2” has a very unique indescribable feel to it, having what I believe to be no real strict idea of what the subject of kind of painting it is. To the naked eye one can see it as a simple Photoshop mishap or a form of collage with shapes and different colors giving his work a feel of the digital, contemporary direction in which art is heading while at the same time keeping traditional canvas styles. He interestingly uses colors to closely mimic those of digital work. Doing this creates a traditional art piece while giving it a feel of the computer-generated elements we have access to today. Upon some small Internet research, Chris Finely has many of his works scattered around NYC art museums. He is also seen as one of the starters of digital art, with statements alluding to the fact that we will look back at his and many others work as the stepping-stone to digital media art.

Our task was an enlightening experience. I always had noticed a variety of numbers and symbols on most plastics cups, plastic utensils and plates however; I never bothered to really figure out what they were. Additionally, I never knew how many kinds of plastics existed. The names of plastics were crazy tongue twisters and all varied in danger level. It is alarming how long most of these plastics take to biodegrade, some can take up to 1milion years. In a way it will always be inside or on something. This can be very harmful to the sea and sea creatures. An alarming thing I noticed is how we don’t even think twice when it comes to when we are using it and when we are throwing it out. I use some form of plastic daily, if not hourly, its so alarming how environmentally unfriendly but essential this material is. I also found how much oil it takes to make this product to be very interesting. In a way plastic is really just chemically treated oil. Honestly I don’t feel like I found a single positive thing about plastic. It is terrible for the environment, it is so poisonous, and it can cause us as humans to be infertile, SCARY!! It makes me think what kind of alternatives can we really create. Maybe just make thinner cheaper glass? Or maybe metal alternatives (although on second thought, that sound sort of gross). It is almost as if we are going to be stuck with plastic since its probably the cheapest and safest to make, or at least that’s what I am told. As long as it is making someone money I am guessing we will never find an alternative, since everything is a business. Well there goes our planet and our species ha-ha.

Maybe it’s the recent documentaries on business gain over health that I’ve watched, but this truly makes me think of how we don’t study things that can arguably eliminate our entire species. Besides this, it alarms me on how BPA harms our species fertility, especially since were so overly exposed to it. From giving babies bottled milk to drinking from a red SOLO cup, we are exposed to it from birth. I understand how difficult it must be to create a better substitute, assuming there isn’t one already, but I think it’s definitely worth putting some money into researching. Maybe we as a society should start buying and carrying glass cups and bottles; it would help the environment but be immensely inconvenient.

For the most part, I can clearly begin to visualize the change media and technology has had upon our society. The part that really made me think was the educational portion. The educational structure has without a doubt changed. Besides the common use of computers and emails, media has really become prominent in many aspects of the college life. For instance, being in many classes with elderly professors that refuse to accept technology and media as a means of education, we really begin to see the contrast between them and the “new” us within academia. Searching words on your eBook rather then using indexes. Sparknoting/Cliffnoting chapters when in a rush, rather than skimming. TOneyping papers with near absolute spelling accuracy rather then whiting out with typewriters. Technology and Media has truly impacted us.

I chose a computer because it opens the world to new media-influenced changes. Studying using online flashcards, Reading with eBooks, and even writing about topics with many levels of aid at your fingertips (i.e. Spell check, Thesaurus). All this truly changes the 19^th and 20^th century style of teaching. 21^st century! What a time to be alive.

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