So, over the previous 2 weeks I did some research on Natalie Bookchin, a Los Angeles based new media artist. I was very impressed with all the work I experienced and quite glad to have recieved her as my assignment. All of the new media art I have encountered has been very interesting, especially Natalie Bookchin's. Her work is very expressive and has a definite point/topic that she introduces to you in a creative, interactive, and different way. The Intruder was one of my favorites because it's hectic net art that is also organized, refined, and informative. As the player, your participation results in the continuation of the story La Intrusa by Jorges Luis Borges, and although the work is a crazy internet game it is quite,erm...beautiful. The work is dynamic yet soft, it has the ability to get your attention, hold it, and eventually you understand and appreciate the work.

Natalie is without a doubt a profound new media artist with a vast understanding of our technological era. She understands the differences between our working past and our tech savvy present and announces that in her work. It's fascinating really, especially for me having the knowledge I have of computers then seeing work from Natalie, Mark Napier, Olia Lialina. I feel as though I have much to learn but glad that I have artists like these to open up the spectrum of what is considered art. I am becoming a great fan of conceptual art, the ideas make the art beautiful and interesting not just talent. Art is breaking more boundaries than ever before and becoming more involved, collaborative, and expressive. It's a nice feeling to know that there is artwork work that is "untouchable".

Come Together... Right Now.... Over Net Art.

I'm not sure if my brain can handle such an informative atom bomb. I mean this article was like an art history segment crammed into 6 pages. But really, I was impressed and gracious to now understand all this important historical information about new media art. It certainly gave me a lot of artists and art movements to look into.

I had always wondered why my professors used the term "starving artist" and I have a deeper understanding of that now. This article touches on the subject that painting and illustrating are "dead technologies" and things like gaming, film, and audio remixing are sweeping the artworld like a storm. It makes me wonder what happens now to all the artists who thrived off of painting and drawing? Well, since galleries and museums have opened their doors to new-media art I suppose they truely are starving artists.

To be honest, before reading this article I suppose my general understanding of art was only terms, fine artists, and my own experience. I could look at a piece of work and understand what it's composition is, what rhythm meant in a painting, why I disliked minimalists, who Picasso was and why I admired his work. I now I feel like a kid on the first day of school. Perhaps, it's not my fault since technically this new media art movement was happening in the untouchable land of cyberspace and I was busy admiring still-life paintings. Apparently, I have a lot to catch up on. So far, I've looked at some artists and their projects and googled a few things from the article. What I have gathered so far is something beyond what I could imagine. Artists are utilizing this vast, untouchable world of cyberspace to interconnect everything through their artwork and in turn relay their messages. They are utilizing the tools around them in different ways. Like Natalie Bookchin's "Mass Ornament" where she used clips from you tube and he expert timing and audio editing skills to create a digital work of art. Artwork that before could only be accessed by some in a gallery can now be witnessed by anyone with an internet connection. Not only can we witness this artwork but we can now experience artwork in a completely different way. Which is an idea bigger than itself. People can interact with the artwork, and appreciate it as something different. Something collaborative and exciting. Art is no longer staring at something on a wall, it's experiencing it, interacting with it, connecting to something untouchable. It's fascinating. Art has broken a boundary unlike ever before and here I am a student only to eager to understand and witness it all.

It makes me apprciate artists in a different way. We're not just weirdos who need to express our emotions. We are inventors, engineers, teachers, explorers, virtual pioneers on the cusp of a digital revolution.
We are creators.
We take what the world gives and create.

I also look at gaming in a new way too. These games were collaboratively created and designed by artists with a vast understanding of computers. How could anyone not appreciate that? So Kevin, I'm sorry that I yell at you for playing video games, I now see it as you experiencing a work of art and maybe Left for Dead will be on your birthday gift list... maybe.

The internet is scary exciting.

I am glad to have read the "Is google making us stupid?" article. The article gave me some insight into my own dealings with literature, because as a reader I have experienced some of the inability to concentrate and mind wandering Nicholas Carr writes about. I thought I had ADD, but actually the connection between internet distractions and concentration distractions began to make sense in that article.

While reading the article I thought about some of the artwork I've enjoyed over the last few years, and a lot of the art used today is very dynamic. I believe that is because artists have to work overtime to grab and hold a person's attention because our minds are over-stimulated while we surf the net that something needs to be incredibly attractive to interest us.

I cannot say whether I think use of the internet is good or bad for the future of people, but I do believe without a doubt that it has forever changed the way people work, play, and think. As the article explained, the expansions in technology in the past have worked towards progression. However, we may have already reached the brink of technological expansion and are now digging a hole for ourselves.

In my opinion, people, especially Americans, want everything to be bigger, better, and faster. Skyscrapers, lamborghini's, and the best movie graphics available. Our world has grown, quite literally and everyday people have ideas to go further. With the internet, information from humans may no longer be needed or wanted. If you wanted to know how the shrimp scampi at Liberatore's is you might find someone to ask who has been there and hope that they indeed ordered the shrimp scampi and that they have a review of it for you. Or, you could easily navigate to buzzd.com and find reviews from people who have been there and can tell you what is a tasty dish. Or better yet, go to Liberatores' website and look at pictures of the shrimp scampi all in a of couple clicks.

I think the internet is revolutionary. It's exciting and remarkably useful. However, I worry about interactions between humans and human wisdom slowly dwindling away. We no longer need to discuss life with eachother when we can do it over the internet. Even half of this class is completed without any human interaction. I don't even want to try and fathom artificial intelligence because it scares me. That could mean there might literally be no purpose for humans at all. I enjoy the internet and hope it can serve information to us without causing a drop in brain capacity. But, I do fear that I may not be able to keep up especially with trying to be a designer.