Post #22 — Lecture — Bio Art and Artificial Intellegence.

Bio-art is an art form that utilizes natural bacteria to create a photograph of something. Strangely enough, as disgusted as this sounds, it actually works to an interesting degree: scientists take collections of bacteria, thin and careful tools, and then use those tools to paint thin layers of bacteria. These layers are later stored in warm rooms to preserve their image, kind of like how a student can tell a story to keep their public image in check, now that I think about it. Artificial Intelligence is another story that I find far more interesting, though. Programmable code that can hear a person's voice and respond as if they were a sentient being? Yes, please! But, at the same time, it is rather intimidating to think that they could take over the world if we make them smart enough to do so, thinking we can just "play God" and not expect anything bad to come of it. Sophia the Robot, for instance, is an extremely complicated AI who acts and speaks as human as she is programmed, which is not too far off from actual human movement and thought, which is rather spooky, if you ask me.

DISCUSSION:

Post #23 – PANEL DISCUSSION

 1.   The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1504, who was not really motivated when he created his artwork. The dimensions are 2’ 6” x 1, 9”, and this work is a two-dimensional oil painting. Sophia the Robot, however, is an advanced AI developed by David Hanson in 2016-17.

2.   The main question we are trying to answers is "Why are we trying to recreate humanity?" Since we are all afraid of death, we try to recreate ourselves so that we may live on somehow. 

3.   When creating the Leonardo da Vinci created his "Mona Lisa," he never anticipated that it would become as popular as it is in the present. David Hanson, on the other hand, had the highest hopes that his creation would represent the good in humanity, and it certainly achieved those hopes, if not exceeded. If anything, Sophia herself is like a modernized Mona Lisa that can walk, talk, and think.

4.   Yes, they both, absolutely, qualify as art. Sure, the forms they take differ extremely, but they qualify because they have both inspired and influenced their respective communities.

5.   Mona Lisa was, practically, a form of abstract art in her era. Now, in the present, the art style he uses is more common in the present, but back then, with all of the religious hyper-realistic artworks of men, it was very unique among them. Meanwhile, Sophia is a more common art form, but she has a unique gimmick to her: the complexity of her response engine and thought processing. Another idea is Mona Lisa’s metaphorical evolution—how she has become an icon that is constantly referenced in today’s media—and Sophia’s physical evolution with the numerous upgrades that are being built and programmed into her body.

6.   Overall, these two art forms can make people think of how we are always trying to recreate ourselves due to our fear of eventual and inevitable death. We are afraid of the future, and these artworks should qualify as potential recreations of the human body.

DISCUSSION:

Both Sophia and Mona Lisa are female icons who have achieve their popularity through their influences on society. However, their respective rises to popularity--their evolution--came differently: Mona Lisa evolved metaphorically into an icon after the "happening" that was her theft, and Sophia immediately become a popular AI when she was displayed for the first time, and has continued to physically evolve with upgrades since then. It was only after Mona Lisa was stolen that she would achieve her fame.

DISCUSSION 2:

Mona Lisa is a two-dimensional work that was practically "abstract art" at the time when she was first painted in 1504. Sophia is a three-dimensional complex AI capable of comprehending human speech and replying as if she herself were a human. Sure, we may have "Alexas" for that, but her response engine is far more advanced, which makes her stand out as if she were also a form of abstract art.

DISCUSSION 3:

In a way, Mona Lisa can be seen as a "meme," which is also, technically, a form of "internet art," as they can be crafted from anything and posted/fund online. The reason this is possible is due to her constant representation in various forms of electronic media and parody artworks. However, Mona Lisa breaks the typical rule of memes "living and dying" (basically, they are popular for a time until they are no longer relevant and/or mass-produced by users online) and remains relevant to this day.

Post #15 — Reading and GRQs — Thompson and Bordwell -- Film and Video History // Kate Horsfield -- Busting the Tube

1.)    Hans Richter, Richter

2.)    Walter Ruttman

3.)    René Clair

4.)    Germaine Dulac

5.)    Cinema Pur

6.)    City Symphony

7.)    "Vertical"

8.)    

Post #20 — Lecture — Computational Media and Digital Art

Internet art is a format of art in which users would formulate works of art by using computers as mediums. It is also  For example, Rafaël Rozendaal created websites for people to interact with. He also made these sites public, so that they would not be kept private. Post-internet art is the style of art that comes after—and expands upon—internet art. Creative coding is a type of computer programming used to create visual art and designs. Santiago Echeverry is a prominent figure who uses this coding to create his videos. One of these videos—called “SHAMANS”—features multiple figures dancing to the rhythm of the music Echeverry created via computer. Projection mapping is a technique that uses digital projectors on a surface to create the illusion of movement. Some commercials of present times use projection mapping to create advertisements for companies. Several effects are tested before the end result is released. You can create moving human faces, project horses on buildings, and even make moving skyscrapers.

DISCUSSION: