arialy-FirstWordLastWord

I try to appreciate art of every form, but my preference leans towards last word art. I think it’s necessary for mediums to evolve and break new boundaries, but I often feel like I have a harder time relating to these works. I do however appreciate the expanding breadth of technology. I might just be more comfortable with works of art at new boundaries of technical abilities. 360 videos and VR headsets may have a certain initial novelty, but as long as there’s substance to the work, I don’t think novelty diminishes its artistic value. If it further excites its viewer, even better. When people saw Michelangelo’s statues, some may have even thought it was real. The fact that this was new for its audience doesn’t take away from the endless appreciation we have towards his work. Similarly for new technologies, though one may feel more excited by the mere medium of expression, there must be something substantial at the core of it.

arialy-LookingOutwards01

Gene Kogan is a New York based artist studying machine learning through sound and artworks. He dove into neural networks and the algorithms that allow them to act as artificial intelligence and their ability to create images. Through machine learning these networks can analyze images, handwriting, specific objects, and search for recurring themes and styles. These images often take on abstract and painterly forms naturally, but he also explores purposefully applying these algorithms to transform images and videos as a medium for creative expression. The ability for computers to almost autonomously create visuals that resemble painterly styles is quite stunning (whether it be abstract or combining the Starry Night and Mona Lisa. Kogan breaks down machine learning, such as the way neural networks operate, into simpler and easier to understand lectures for the mass audience. In addition to content he publishes online, he has taught classes at NYU, Bennington College, and SchoolOfMa. He has been a part of international open source projects and writes code for visual and sound performances.

http://www.genekogan.com/

Kelc-LookingOutwards01

Kyle McDonald

http://kylemcdonald.net/

Kyle McDonald is a programmer and artist from Brooklyn, NY, a frequent collaborator with similar creative Lauren McCarthy, and a resident at the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon. His work most often challenges, subverts and plays with new technologies and their existing conventions– much of his work provides a new fresh take in addressing online communication & social media, surveillance, and virtual reality. Kyle also describes himself as a public, process-oriented artist who’s work often explores glitches and reverses anything from personal identity to work habits. What I personally most identify with in his work is that the pieces on his website and presented during his lecture are very consistent yet very very broad in their aims. Some of his projects can be categorized as social experiments or commentary on the way technology influences our communication styles (i.e. Going Public, us+, Face Substitution Research) while many other of his projects just seem to be experimentation with new and developing technologies such as artificial intelligence and face/body tracking (DIY 3d scanning, Nandhopper, Shadowplay). As well what I found interesting about his performance was his anecdote of how he came across labelling himself as an “artist”; his entire portfolio of work seems to be very technically based and really experimental with different areas of new media, however he describes the aspect of his projects being interactive which place them more in a category of art than simply technical presentations. He does not speak a lot on what type of social commentary or discussion his pieces may spark, but rather objectively details how they work and how the idea came about. I generally admire Kyle not only for the versatility and wide variety in the projects he works on, but also the humbleness and detachment with which he speaks about his work.

Eyeo 2016 – Kyle McDonald from Eyeo Festival // INSTINT on Vimeo.

Takos-LookingOutwards01

Bio – Mimi Son is an artistic director, storyteller, and designer, with a masters in Digital Media Art and Design from CIID. Elliot Woods is an educator, technologist, and curator from the UK. Together they founded Kimchi and Chips, which is an “experimental art/ design/ technology studio based in Seoul”.

I thought the project Lunar Surface was very interesting – this work has a hanging cloth with light projected onto it where the cloth would intersect an imaginary moon – it adjusts the light based on the position of the cloth due to its swinging, and a long exposure picture shows the moon in its entirety. I liked the way that this particular work brings another dimension into a room without adding any physical matter, just light, but showing a whole structure regardless. They have a lot of works where projections of light form three-dimensional objects, and this isn’t something that I’ve seen before.

I think that their work is presented very effectively. They create a unique atmosphere that enhances the work by providing an atmosphere that brings intrigue to the work but does not detract from it

http://www.kimchiandchips.com/

Eyeo 2014 – Mimi Son and Elliot Woods from Eyeo Festival // INSTINT on Vimeo.

Guodu-FirstWordLastWord

The first thing I thought of as I was reading this was the quote, “Amateurs borrow, professionals steal”. If the world was really judged solely by if it were “First Word Art” then we’d all be screwed, not everyone is Haydn or the flip side Beethoven in the music world, or Da Vinci in fine arts, or the Beatles in pop music, or Steve Jobs for Apple.

For me, I don’t consider myself even close to a creative genius, which I believe contributes to creating either First Word Art, or Last Word Art, one offs basically. But I definitely consider myself creative because I’ve always enjoyed drawing and playing music ever since I could remember. It began with learning classical piano, then taking art classes, then loving to draw anime (seriously), then switching to the Trombone, then learning Jazz Trombone, then taking my first graphic design classes, and now today, where I express myself through design style drawing and most of all photography. My interests are obviously not about mastery and delving deep into one area, but learning across instruments and ways to draw. I find that whenever I start with a blank canvas, whether it’s the beginning to a jazz improvisation or a new illustrator document, my first thought is thinking about all the work that has already been produced, especially the masters. Then I think, what can I offer? How can I still be novel? And the answer is usually through developing and honing a voice as well as understanding one’s world values. The latter is still a work in progress, but now being a third year design student and having so much more experience seeing what others have already done, I find that I’m “borrowing” less and less from others.

Another quote that First Word Art and Last Wort Art reminds me of is original work. Paul Rand, a famous graphic design who designed the IBM logo once said, “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” I think this quote is more relevant than ever now that the internet and social media provide a platform to share content and see each other’s lives. It’s becoming harder and harder to stand out when everyone is learning from each other and sometimes knocking off from other people’s styles on platforms like Instagram and Tumblr. Aside from all the plagiarism and copyright problems the internet has caused, I personally think the internet has allowed for people to find new outlets of expression and do innovative work. It does constantly feel like there is a lot of First Word Art being produced because people are getting so good at their hobbies and using new technology.

Overall I think what I’m trying to say is that I think the internet and technological advancements have shaped our culture to become more creative and collaborative. I think it’s such a wonderful thing to be able to google Beethoven and also hear about how a new kid, like Joey Alexander is the “next big thing”, even a reincarnation of past legends. We can constantly get inspiration and feedback from each other to product our best work. Some people are just better at thinking and design and drawing and painting with more innovative techniques and naturally produce First or Last Word Art. I think a lot of people might get caught up between being the first or last because they want to be acknowledged or remember. In the end, the truly great artists are just focusing on their work, and it’s really up to how his or her work affects people on an emotional level that allows his or her work to transcend beyond eras.

First Word / Last Word

I believe a very important part of the discussion regarding first word / last word art is accessibility. I feel this is especially relevant to our high-tech moment. Who is granted access to the tools to experiment with this art form? When tools / technology are only accessible to a small group of people, or a limited demographic, the concept of “first word art” has an equally narrow scope and cannot be described as a global statement regarding a new art form. The conversation takes place inside an echo chamber, speaking only to its reflection. Working to expand the availability and knowledge base of high tech tools, we may muddy the waters of “pure experimentation,” and increase the timeline of “first word artworks,” but we vastly increase the scope of the dialogue. New, broad investigations lead us to expressive breakthroughs that would not be heard or possible within a group limited to those who may predictably “claim” to be the innovators of the moment.

Personally, I aim to strike a balance between experimentation that pushes the boundaries of the tools available (for the excitement of this process and the headache that comes with it), and the communicative ability of these experimentations to effectively tell a story, convey a feeling, or express an idea.

Catlu – LookingOutwards01

Rajat Bhatnagar’s Website:

About

Rajat Bhatnagar is an interactive and sound artist based in New York. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he became interested in sound at a young age, listening to weird late night programs on the 94.1 KPFA radio station. Eventually he got his BA from U.C. Berkeley and an MS from the University of Pennsylvania.
Many of Bhatnagar’s projects caught my interest, and his lecture in particular because I have played the clarinet for 8 years now, and have come to really appreciate the amazing ability to make sound. I’ve always thought that sound, or the lack of it, adds crucial points to any experience, and that incorporating sound into art very much enhances it. In one commissioned project, Bhatnagar set up a light sensor to capture and interpret sound from the wavering of the smoke of burning incense. The sound produced was calming and in perfect harmony with the imagery of the burning incense, creating an intense and compact quiet, meditative environment. I am interested in environments and their ability to provoke certain reactions in people. Another of Bhatnagar’s projects involved the experience of creating an instrument, and the relationship of that to the sound it produced. Every February, every year, each day he would make a new, small handheld instrument. Many of these were surprisingly successful, and Bhatnagar found hundreds of unique ways to produce sound from his environment over the course of almost 10 years. I admire his dedication to fully exploring sound in every way, and his willingness to learn new techniques such as 3D printing and laser cutting in order to further his exploration of sound.
Overall his lecture was very interesting, more about just relaying his experiences with sound art than anything else. The important message he left behind was to really experiment. To push and not be afraid of producing something that sounded bad. As a speaker, he could be smoother. What shone through in the end was his sense of fun and exploration. You could hear the excitement in his voice as he talked about his projects, and that in itself was wonderful.

kadoin-FirstWordLastWord

What’s inspiring often has the quality of pushing the limits of the norms, but mainly, it’s about the work’s ability to engage people emotionally, beyond the novelty. I’m glad CMU has artistic based programming classes because in general code is pretty far from the first artistic medium people think of, but the amazingly creative and beautiful things people can do with it is almost overwhelming. The rate at which the forefront of technology and new media is also increasing so fast, it’s hard to keep up. I’m very excited about all the “first word art” being made with new technologies but I also think it needs to not get too swept up in all the excitement what’s most important when it comes down to it, isn’t doing something beyond what’s been done before, but doing something with meaning that you put your heart and soul into. Those are the things I would be able to be proud of and hopefully leave lasting impressions on others as well.

Kelc-FirstWordLastWord

From my understanding, the writer of this article defines first word art to be novel, groundbreaking, and the beginning of a conversation. For example, Jackson Pollock could be considered a first-word artist for pioneering the abstract expressionist movement. Last word art, on the other hand, provides a new perspective on a conversation that has already been in existence; It challenges, explores, and builds off of conventions already set in place. Duchamp and participants in the dAdA art movement could be considered first-word artists, as they challenged the idea of just what could be considered artwork and the current state of the art sphere.
I believe almost all technological novel inventions play off of old ideas– in a way both first and last word art. For example, it is often brought up why Apple is such renowned company. First, they took an invention already in existence (a desktop computer) and decided to incorporate the idea of play/fun into it. They took a functional item and adjusted the design, the interface, made it more user-friendly, and created a more fluid system for use. Rather than attempting to come up with an entirely new tool (which they later did, basically pioneering the invention smartphone and the tablet) they took an already existing item and challenged the rules and conventions that had already been in place for it. Remaining on the topic of the Macintosh, Macbook and iPhone, these technologies shaped culture socially, economically, and politically. It created a new common experience amongst an entire generation, an experience that is occasionally lost to older generations. It coined a new commodity which through its functionality reels the buyer into continually purchasing the “newer model”. It created new forms of activism and news reception among the public. At the same time, the iPhone and its features very much cater to its users needs, so as cultural staples shift and society evolves, the technology keeps up with what is “new and upcoming”. I would consider myself to be most interested in technology that reworks and revisits rules and conventions that have already been set in place– “last word art”. That in itself keeps it “in with the times” and keeps the conversation surrounding it relevant.

Zarard-LookingOutwards01

Eyeo 2016 – Gene Kogan from Eyeo Festival // INSTINT on Vimeo

http://www.genekogan.com/

So I looked at a lecture by Gene Kogan. He is an artist that looks at generative systems and software as fuel for creativity. What intrigued me is that he’s writing a book called Machine Learning for Artists. Seeing that I’m finding it difficult to figure out how to merge ML and art, his lecture seemed like the way to go.

This piece is called Deepdream prototypes , it uses Google’s inceptionism code and artificial neural networks. in his own words, “The code accepts images as inputs and iteratively evolves the pixel values towards some coherent resemblance to the image classes it knows, producing wild images of “pig-snails,” “camel-birds,” “dog-fish,” and the famous “puppy slugs,” among many other categories.” I really liked it’s piece because it requires a sort of technical mastery with ML techniques as well as an aesthetic sense to produce the kinds of images you want to create. In my opinion it also lies in the uncanny valley because the resulting pieces resemble human art so much that it’s very awkward seeing the computational modification.

My favorite quote: He compared style transfers with machine learning to “Like if you rewrote the book of Genesis, Edgar Allen Poe style”

cambu-FirstWordLastWord

The question poised my Mr. Naimark is one that goes beyond the World of Art. In fact, I’ve found the parallel question in design is, more often than not, answered with a bias towards the Last Word. Famously, Paul Rand said: “Don’t try to be original. Just try to be good.” 

While new paradigms and designs that buck traditional patterns (Apple 3D Touch, Rap Music in the 80s, The Yale Graphic Style, etc.) are very often scrutinized (even maybe unfairly so) I do not personally believe there’s a choice to be made between the First and Last Word. As Naimark mentions, the latter can not exist without the former. That said, I think it would be honest to speak truthfully about the generally poor craft and quality of First Word items while also being critical of the wrote-ness and lack of innovation present in Last Word works.

It’s a convention in many places where critique is practiced (I’ve experienced it here at the School of Design and working in industry) that the question is first asked “What type of feedback is desired? [and will be delivered] — though I don’t believe permission should have to be granted for critique to be given, I do think it’s an astute question to ask oneself before giving the feedback. Because if we can master our consciousness and context awareness, we may just be able to see the value the First Word can bring while appreciating the level of mastery the Last Word has achieved.

Zarard-FirstWordLastWord

I am personally interested in last word art, specifically that which stands the test of time. I consider experimentation to be important but to me it feels like JUST the beginning, and lacking of more mastery. While new technology is allowing constant experimentation and a never-ending feeling of “newness”, It is still slow to be accepted into established and more prestigious museums (MOMA, Guggenheim, Louvre). This is because the works are so new and experimental, that they don’t evoke the same feeling of completeness like when you look at a Jackson Pollock piece. Part of the reason why the sense of completeness isn’t their because we as a culture are still shaping and defining what it means to make quality pieces that lie in the intersection of Art and Technology. Although some may argue that technology is essentially an ephemeral medium anyways that doesn’t require a piece to stand the test of time, I would argue that the digital footprint we leave is more thorough and permanent than ever before, and that in the age of data where everything is recorded and stored… our art might last forever … and maybe that means it should have the last word.

kadoin-Looking Outwards-01

 

This short film, Interim Camp, by the new media studio Field, explores an entirely computer generated landscape made in Processing. The terrain is shifty and constantly vibrating, almost like the rocky planet is some sort of giant living organism.

I was first drawn to this piece because some of the stills generated by the program looked fascinating and with the shifting surreal colors, the planet looked totally alien. It reminded me of a video game I had played called MirrorMoon, a low poly puzzle game I played through it mostly for the visuals. This being just a video I was left wishing that it was more interactive and allowed me to explore the world more on my own sense it gave off such an exploratory impression.

In some of the studio’s more recent work, they have added a great deal of interactivity. Most similar to Interim Camp though, is an interactive piece called City of Drones where the user can navigate through an infinite cityscape.