2. I have always been hands on, with art, with film and in life. While I am not thrilled about having to take history classes there is this old saying: History is meant to be remembered and not repeated, or something along those lines.

In History of World Art we have looked at the works of the masters, many of which I have loved and all which should be respected, mostly because of the learned skill and innate to each artist aspect, such as use of light or color. But what of modern and contemporary art? Where do the values in those works lie, concept?

3. I have taken several 3000 and 4000 level courses, most in film studies. Last semester, I have taken ARTS 4002 (Drawing 4) and FILM 3104 (Introduction to Film Theory).

4. The best class I have taken in the last four years was FILM 2610, or Animation. This class is open to all majors and does not have prerequisites, so that art majors can also take the class. I liked it so much that I took the class twice.

The course is taught alternatively by Stacey Steers and Chris Pearce, both good teachers. Stacey is an artist while Chris is the technology expert. FILM 2610 introduces the art of classical and experimental animation; starting with hand drawn animation to stop-motion animation using sand or paint.

5. I have written at least 12 research papers in the last five years, all which included bibliography, or works cited. The length of the process was heavily dependent on the length, but also on the subject, so it’s a difficult question to answer. Most of the papers I have written requires printed sources and allowed only limited online citations.

6. The last paper I have written was the one which caused me the most trouble, took the longest and required the most effort, but was also the most challenging and allowed me to learn the most. I have titled the paper “What’s Essential Is Invisible to the Eye.” This paper was about ideology and pedagogy in The Little Prince (1974), a children’s musical.

In the paper I argue that mainstream Hollywood uses children films to indoctrinate the youth of the world with the ideas of patriarchal society and those of a capitalistic imperialism. I will never look at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the same.

7. Truthfully, I don’t read a lot books. Most of my reading is online and I watch a lot programs and films to learn and entertain myself. Last book I have REALLY read, meaning active reading, was Indie Producers Handbook : Creative Producing From A to Z by Myrl A. Schreibman.

This non-fiction book about the process and challenges of independent and mainstream production has been a real eye opener. There is an enormous gap between film production and the experimental production that the CU Film program promotes.

8. Main reason for me taking the Contemporary Art class is that I have a limited knowledge of the contemporary art.

9. Art is such a wide territory that almost all my interests can be included in this category. The only other interest I have is technology, mainly computers – inside and out. I am a certified computer technician, a job I performed for several years.

I enjoy learning new software and finding new uses for those I already know. In my opinion, computers are the artist’s ultimate tool. Especially in film and animation, the technology defies the laws that govern this world, and transcends the reality.

10. In the last few years I have created blogs for different classes. Their purpose was usually to display my work and their use was short lived. Last semester we started a new blog for the CU Filmmaking Club at www.cufilmmaking.blogspot.com, which we use to communicate club events and projects.

11. Cultural events… 2009 BFA Show in Dairy Art Center was the last show Jackie and I attended.

12. When I watch a movie I always ask myself how it was done, how it was framed, how it was lit, how was the story told, and then of course if/how I could do also create those images. One of the best places to learn what took place behind the scenes and how the images on screen where created is ICG Magazine (ICG – International Cinematographers Guide). FREE COPY of the magazine is available in ATLAS building on the 3^rd floor, and main articles can be read online at www.icgmagazine.com.

After seeing the 2009 version of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol I needed to know more. ICG Magazine wrote an extensive expose on the feature which can be read online by clicking here.

13. Intellectual horizon – that is a difficult question to both take seriously and to answer adequately.

“It’s the things left undone that will torment you.” – Unknown

This quote has stayed with me since I read it in a fortune cookie. I have taped the original to my computer monitor to serve as a remainder. I think anyone can relate to this but for me its message rings more than one bell, till I am deaf – to the countless excuses I make for myself why not to do something.

Part I

One of the more interesting aspects of the paper for me was mentioned on the very beginning and more thoroughly articulated towards the end, the flow of creative writing. This process easily translates to any creative activity. On the first page of this version, one of many, of Portrait of The VJ he quoted Ronald Sukenick (who?): “[...] “creative” writing is always improvisation – that’s what makes it creative [...] thinking is simultaneous with the moment of composition.”

I found out over the last two years that my best work is done in a moment of inspiration with little or no planning. Even if I fight a loosing fight to remain in the world of rationale and thought out purpose MY ART defies me. In the recent process of self discovery I have come to realization that there is a disconnect between my mind and my “heart.” If we agree that mind is equivalent to conscious choice or intent, and heart is representative of unconscious and emotional, then the intersecting would me unconscious but intentional and conscious emotional. The significance of being able to channel the unconscious intent and conscious emotion is that the resulting work is most universal. Any intent that is thoroughly conceptualized and thought out to the smallest detail is likely to be more personal and less universal saying more about the artist that the intended idea or message. But because that which reflects our emotions is individual to begin with to make it accessible needs to conceptualized.

Mark wrote about his process of writing and mentioned about the flow and revising the text end even then often leaving it as it was because it was “write” (and I did get the jock). The flow of the thought and expressing without interruption and reflection on the previous words, no second guessing or editing with afterthoughts – a straight progression forward. As I write this entry I am trying to apply that principle but I find it difficult not to think about previous words and think about what more do I want to say. For me the process has always been to mold the idea over and over in my head till the idea took on a solid state, or should I say stable form as the work still only exists as a virtual object in my mind. At that point I would be ready to proceed with “outputting,” or creating the actual work. Also I noticed that as often as not at the precisely that moment I loose the interest in the work. Previously to reading Mark’s article have always considered that the reason for that is that I am afraid that the reality will not match its virtual original in quality and expression, but now I am considering that maybe by creating the object in my head rather than with my hands I have excused its creative potential. I wonder if anyone had similar experience?

Part II

During discussion I brought up one of the points Mark made in his exploratory essay: “Artist is the medium is the message.” I don’t entirely agree with the statement even in the view of performance art and I don’t think it applies to other disciplines of art where the artist is solely represented by the work. At this time I think it would be interesting to compare the VJ to a video artist…

…

Too be continue… 

http://checklostandfound.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the inconvenience.  

VJ Rabbi narration

by Mark America

But what about the Unreal?

With out the Unreal,

there is no Real.

His Moving Visual Thinking

Performs a narrative function.

This function is to improvise

a digital dreamwork always in process.

To become a theory-to-be.

Ad nauseum.

Add nausea.

Add museum.

[add musing...]

VJ Persona is an i.d. entity

forever in search of meaning

[add musing...]

He uses his hyperimprovisationally constructed

fictional memory as source material.

[add musing...]

This proactively constructed fictional memory

is performed as digital flux persona.

Does it happen in realtime?

Unrealtime?

U n r e a l time?

Without unrealtime,

there is no realtime.

How about timeless time?

Just-in-time?

For what?

The important thing is

to annihilate the important thing.

The important thing is a feeling.

The important thing is Losing Sight of Yourself

so you can find yourself again.

The important thing is to use experience

as base for knowledge-invention.

The important thing is to remix

digital flux persona.

The important thing is

to outthink premeditation.

The important thing is to proactively

situate the artificial intelligentsia

in the networked space

of performative flows

so as to prompt wild mutations

of bodily lust

just within reach of collective unconscious…

…

…

…

…

…

The elliptical nomad,

VJ persona,

IN the images?

Are they bio-images?

Do these images actually think?

Do they hallucinate other images?

What I say “this is VJ Persona,

streaming my digital flux identity,”

who is the “I” and

who is the “my”?

Whose story is it?

Machinic story on

machinic time?

Machinema.

Machinema.

Machinema.

My Life As A First Person

Digital Flux Persona.

A VJ theory-to-be.

What You See Is What You Get.

What You See Is What You Get.

What You Get Is Simultaneously

Cinematic and Pixilated.

What You Transgress

Is Video Art.

What You Pint Back To

Is Video Art.

What You Refrain From Repeating

Is Video Art.

What You Do IS

Change The Way You See.

What What You Steer Clear of

Is Conceptual Art.

What You Reinvent

Is Beauty As A Subliminal Force In Consciousness.

What You Avoid

Is Theorizing Your Practice To Death.

…

Any thoughts?

First on mapping the digital domain, the virtual space within the game…

topical - topographic - topological

Wark wrote “In Civilization III, the transformation of space and time, from topic to topography to topology, is an effect of development of the lines with which to mark and manage it. (74)” I am primarily interested in his use of the word line, which uses frequently in reference to progressive understanding the space occupied by the game.

   He outlines the steps, or levels, 1 thru 3, and back again. I came to believe that he is referring to starting with an undefined space. Undefined because it is neither mapped nor assigned (socially understood). As the game progresses the space is first understood by its virtual geography, in case of Civilization III mainly elevations. The analog map of an actual Earth is wrapped around and extruded to give a sense of space. The innumerable number of lines connected to represent a space. That would be our first line, or lines, which on the 3D model and the 2D rendering of it outline and give shape to the topic.

   By embracing the fantasy and accepting the image as new world when venturing in to the wide and unspoiled territories of this new world the gamer will learn constrains build in to the space, such as where he can go, where he can build, where he should build for his people to prosper, and so on. All those limitations are the next set of lines Wark is talking about, guidelines. As such the space of the game most resembles the real world, as it has a set of unbreakable principles not alike the physics of the real world and socio-economics of western civilization.

   A subset of guidelines are straight lines which are not subject to evaluation, either by gamer or game itself, those can represent real limits or thresholds within the game. Those are unique to the game and the space it occupies as far as they are set, preprogrammed, and when reached they set of an equally predictable reaction. Many people would argue that in the real analog life nothing is set in stone, but in the digital life if you choose to play the game, rather than the gamespace, all things are predetermined. Only similarity to life, exists when you play for the first time, and as such you are unaware of the games logic, or topology. The next time you play the same game in the same space the player already has the mental map including all relevant rules and knowledge of all rewards.

   Yet gamers play the same game over and over again… Wark said, that they mentally if not physically, skip levels 1 and 2 and approach the game knowing its topology. This time they can re-narrate the previous gameplay. DO the things right the first time, get higher score, or do the things they did get to the first time, or just loiter around since their curiosity as to the story and its rewards has already been satisfied and now they can challenge the game space itself. I guess it does sound appealing, too re-author the past or just explore. But with so many games out there after mapping the game once, I think it would be more exiting to move to a fresh new territory.

American made anime.

I need anime not only as a source of high quality moving image, elegant and sensually satisfying plots without the vulgar and simplistic humor that most American cartoons like Simpsons or Futurama thrive on, but I often need the inspiration and the melodrama of  normal-person-against-the-whole-world. In my opinion, Anime does this better than Hollywood.

Anime is engaging because of its treatment of the characters. Another example of licensed anime, meaning one which you can find on Netflix or in Blockbuster, is Death Note, a supernatural, horror, criminal drama. Not only is it one of the best quality animation but the story has unexpected twists and turns which keep you guessing till the very end.

Speaking of where to obtain FREE anime, so called fansubs – anime televised on Japanese Television, and instantly picked up and placed online for fellow fans to subtitle into different languages, the website I have been using is AnimeTake.com.

www.animetake.com

They have all the newest and some of the best series around. The downloads are free, don’t require membership and they are provided through Direct download (fast and available just by clicking on the link). I am currently enjoying recent anime titled Bonen no Xamdou (Xam’d: Lost Memories), great graphics and nice story, check it out!

(To be cont.)

When Chris Crawford in Chapter two of The Art of Computer Game Design mentions exercise as one of the reasons why people play games most likely has not considered actual physical exercise. I think when he describes the players who indulge in athletic as oppose to mental exercise was talking about hand-eye coordination, reaction time and taste for adrenaline rush while sitting or standing in front of the game.

Alongside the criticism of violence negatively influencing the minds of youth the opponents of games argue that video games have a negative players health. I think that anything used in excess has a potential to be harmful and gamers spend countless hours, even days, in front of their screen (television or a monitor) letting their avatar (representation of themselves in the game) do all the physical exercise. They run, lift, fight and then run some more. With this much activity it’s no wonder that most of the game characters are attractive and posses ideal proportions. But what of the players? Are games harmful to health?

Until recently I would have to agree with the accusations that while brain receives a lot of stimulation for the most part the body of the player remains passive. Or does it? Recently I have seen an advertisement for a new game. I thought this is a great idea; go to check it out for yourself

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/16/wii.fit/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

Who is this game meant for? Are we seeing a turn in a new direction in game design, away from art and towards commercialism and practicality? 

“r” is for reverence,

“r” is for revelation,

“r” is for reason,

“r” is for resolution,

“r” in a digital language means to exist.

And if you miss it will you be shocked when you read the maxims of Wark’s Gamer Theory which is as far removed from game theory, as is the player from a designer.

McKenzie Wark is the prophet of the new generation and his text reads like a bible for those emerging from the Cave to gain an understanding of the world they occupy by outside experience so when of age they shall take their rightful place as the creators of their own destiny, and displace the despots who till now have held back the creation of the new world, a pure and perfect gamespace.

In the world of gamers I am a pagan, ignorant and tainted by the rational of my reality. I understand little of Wark’s preaching but it speaks to me who is a dreamer, the me who still remembers how to be a child, to need nothing and want everything, even the world itself. I can hear her giggle with mirth and warmth I have forgotten when she plans on a journey, a treasure hunt to find the Cave and the “savages” who dwell there. She wants to bear her soul, paint her flesh and by the eternal fires join their wild dance and set her mind free…