Check this shit out, similar to the kind of stuff we are looking into...

Detournement

Detournement is the use of pre-existing material recreated in a new context. There are 2 types of detournement: minor, where the original is not changed but is minor enough that the context is completely different, and deceptive, where the subject matter is taken in larger more significant pieces and significantly altered to fit a new context. I feel like detournement falls into the same category, as most others have said, as appropriation, also, satire, parody, and spoof. Essentially it is just taking from the past and reestablishing in the present.

So basically in a nutshell...

Détournement is a means of just improving/changing what we already have by using what already exists as a foundation and building upon it.
It's interesting to think that there is no completely "original" idea anymore. One idea that we may have in creating either a film or another style of art most likely has a basic idea that's been probably used in thousands of different ways. In a easier way of making sense of this idea, it's like being in a library, looking for something interesting to read. There are many different books, but they are all catagorized in genres, as in mystery, horror, comedy, romance, etc. Even though there are many different stories to tell, they have a basic structure that they all follow in order to be catagorized within a certain genre.
From what I'm getting from the article, I believe that this is similar to the way we should think about creating our own works of art. Never will there ever be a true-blue, never-before-seen, original idea. Though, it is up to us to change it with our ideas and creativity to make that same, basic thought turn into something that seems new and eye catching.

detournement

The reading this week was talking about appropriation but with a bigger word, and it is saying that any new works derived from the original are better and more relevant than the original. Now to this i dont agree only because the appropriated work was inspired or at least looked at and decided to be changed, which the artist spent a long time choosing. The post also goes on to mention what the appropriated art's goals and what they wish to achieve. Humor is one of the major themes of detournement, because it encompasses satire, which is used a lot in art especially contemporary art. Also is talks or the two types of detournement, deceptive and minor. In minor, an artist will just change a little of the main piece, and deceptive is when an artist will change a significant amount of information in the art to give it an entirely new meaning. detournment is a pretty new theme in art and is a good way to look at things and give them new meaning, still preserving the original as well.

Just Remembered This

I remembered this old video while I was reading Detounement. Nothing these days are really new, just things that have already happened.

The word of the day should be "CAPITULATE"

((this is a discursive theoretical text. in understanding it, it helped me most to apply the information to how i was planning on putting together appropriated material for our assignment))

The usefulness of this text in reference to our current project and our works as New Media artists is to underline the necessity for thoughtful reconfiguration of pre-existing material.
  The authors urge us to go beyond a "negation of a negation" (which yields no forward momentum), and realize that conscious and unconscious connections will be drawn between any two points that are presented.

from the series "Blackatcha" by Mark Steven Greenfield

"TOY WITH COLLECTIVE MEMORY!"

"REVEAL OUR TIRED IDEOLOGIES BASED IN MYTH AND PREJUDICE!"

they say.

These notions present challenges within themselves. They require recognition and understanding of collective memory, individual history, the powers of rule, class structure etc.

 1. How do you recreate a discordance of self within another?

a.) honesty b.) trust c.) comedy d.) whatever

Another interesting tidbit mentioned was how "comical effects are a result of contradictions within a condition whose existence is taken for granted."

Suffice to say, that sometimes when you're laughing, it's because you can't deal.

LAUGHS

video by the former film collective "everynone"

Also, the notion of "ultra détournment" or the everyday reconfiguration of gestures and words to mean alternate things is something I find fascinating. I especially am fond of this because it requires shared acknowledgement and appropriation of the term or gesture. 

"Pop Lock and Drop It" by Huey

This being due to the tendancy towards play (#gametheorybrah) and clothing being equally as playful in creating character or disguise is the bomb and is something I would like to further investigate with my artz.

 Thom Browne Fall 2014 RTW- Women

Thom Browne Fall 2014 RTW - Men

Detournement

Detournments is a technique that is easily recognized in propaganda and advertisements. It is the use or present or past artistic productions to create a new personal social environment. I think that this is a type of appropriation, and a phrase to combat the frustration in forming new ways of expression with the use of existing ideas or forms.  There are two main types of Detournments. Minor Detournments, which has little importance and derives all meaning from the new context in which it is being placed. Deceptive detournments come from a significant element, but recieves a nw scope from the new context. Then the text goes in to address the different rules that can be used to recognize and use detournments. Detournements were a tricky thing to understand from this reading, but looking at examples I found that the idea was easier to understand and I began to recognize it all around me. Like here in this coffee shop that I am currently typing this at. lol

also, this:

Detournement

The article starts with an interesting, straight-forward, art statement. He says that “every reasonable aware person of our time is aware of the obvious fact that art can no longer be justified as a superior activity, or even as a compensatory activity to which one might honorably devote oneself”. I think this very self-explanatory, and it explains the decency of art as career, and how this drag onto today.  That is the summary of my last 2 years in an art career.

He claims that ay things done today “depend on ideological formulations of a past society that has prolonged its death agony to the present”. I agree, things have changed, but there is a reason why “old-fashioned way” it is still used. His idea of taking old ideas into new works, it alters the idea’s meaning, and it usually best understood whatever idea, and references are essential in this. The easiest way to transmit a message is through laugh. Everybody likes to laugh, but there is the danger that people gives so much attention to the humor, that does not remember anything else, not even the main message. Usually, the best works are the ones which aim to the conscious or unconscious human brain, rather than an aesthetic work. Emotions and personal point of views help this conscious way. Since it is so personal, there are reasons and explanation, these works then to be the most appealing to and connects with the audience.  The risks in this way, that if a member does not agree even with a small part, the rest falls apart and does appeal.

It took me for surprise when he said that “life can never be too disorienting: detournement on this level would really spice it up”. I actually do not think that life can be disorienting, it can become as boring as overwhelming, however, we will always need something to “spice it up”.

Yay, dogs! =D

Detournement

Detournement is an interesting concept.  It relates to satire, but appropriates or hijacks an original source to subvert the original meaning within a new context, whereas satire is less direct using allusion to its source without re-purposing the actual source. The reading was a little difficult to piece through, because it used a lot of examples from sources that I am unfamiliar with. This is a little ironic because the point of understanding detournement relies on the fact that the audience is familiar with the original source material. An easy example to understand is the image of Mona Lisa being appropriated and altered (the text gives the example of Duchamp painting a moustache on Mona Lisa). The reading supports the notion that the possibilities of detournement are limitless; it's not merely an opposite game, where the meaning of something is changed to its antithesis. Instead, meanings are endless, resulting from every new context or juxtaposition that is formed around the source.

This notion led me to consider the use of internet memes. Although internet memes may be a low or novel example of illustrating detournement, I think that they still apply to the concept. With internet memes, the appropriated image becomes the context, which changes meaning according to the text overlaid. Oftentimes the use of the meme is subverted to the point where the nature of the meme is attacked for the way in which it operates.

kino-eye vs montage

I found amusingly interesting how a camera, the kino eye, becomes personificated and shows the reader it point of view. The author names this camera point of view as “kino eye”, which is “more perfect than human eye,” constantly improving, and is “free” from human immobility. He does not demand, but shares the idea to free the camera to what it known today, to experiment, to montage, to take it beyond, to have fun, enjoy it and edit it by pleasure, to show it with proudness, as the camera still lives, almost as an tribute to the video camera. I agree that this is similar to the futurist manifesto.

On the other hand, the second article is more about types and reactions of montages. The metric montage, based on the length of each piece. The rhythmic montage, which the union is a rhythm, a patter by the videos. Tonal montage, where the union of from the emotional tone throughout the video. Last but not least, overtonal montage, which is everything and beyond appeal. Again, this article reminds me of ethos, pathos and logos. It is a: create a pattern to the eye, combine them with a union of music and latter pattern, wrap it with emotional and personal touch, and make it last for the audience.

PD: I thought that this video was interesting :)

R-H-Y-T-H-M and _,.-''-.,_process

The subject of montage is subsumed by a larger discussion on collage and reconfiguring information. The process of capturing what is found to be {beautiful, ideal, true, etc}, destroying it, and reconstructing it is something I find very intriguing. This process serves as an opportunity to redefine and explore through "experience" as suggested in the heading quote by Goldini.
 This is why Eisenstein presents us with several methods of montage that have each emerged by addressing the effects/shortcomings of the former.

metrics => rhythmics => tonal principles => overtone

These are each distinguishable elements on a continuum of importance in montage.


Metric Montage : measurement > content

The simple relationships of measurement give clarity to the expression of relationships between parts.
 Eisenstien also mentions here  the capability of unification of film and audience through a "pulsation" which is noted when watching a flicker film. There seems to be scientific/mathematic force behind the momentum and experience of the piece.

Another nice mention in this segment is the sweet spot between simplicity and complexity.

simplicity {-------------|--------sweetspot---------|-------------}complexity

This is an interesting gauge to consider when trying to determine when a piece is done, or whether an idea has enough weight.

"I've Got Rhythm" - Charlie Parker/ arne3788

disjunct sense of measurement between montage and soundtrack

Rhythmic Montage: measurement = content

Film is defined by (the illusion of) movement. Movement is intrinsically related to rhythm.

What are separate/alternative rhythms found in everyday life>?
How can these be captured and (re)presented?
Is it most important to consider the specialist's perception of rhythm or the spectator's?
How great is the difference of rhythm between individuals ?

"Naturally" scene from Requiem for a Dream

synchronized visual and aural rhythm

Tonal Montage: emotional content ≥ all

Here, Eisenstien defines tone as a level of rhythm, where the central focus is on the emotional content of the montage that embraces all of its effects.

I found most interesting here, the notion of literally shifting tone with the influence of color

scene from "In the Mood for Love" directed by Kar Wai Wong

weep-worthy cinematography and editing.

Overtonal Montage: emotional coloring => physiological perception

Here, what is emphasized is the movement of the image directing the movement of the spectator.

Tuvan throat singing includes vocalizing an overriding tone that relates to a simultaneous tone

That's what makes it sound "boing-y"

Intellectual Montage: TBA

Very quickly, Eisenstien addressed the potential for development. One that addresses the class of the spectator (so important), but that which is addressed more clearly by Vertov in his desire to use irregularities to investigate phenomena, and a more abstract departure from previous strict representations. ("Jazz style", it's important here to recognize the influence of jazz during that time period, but also see it as an idea, rather than a genre locked in time. The benefit of this style of thinking is free-form that generates new ideas and possibilities)

"Shadow Theater" by Tigran Hamasyan

Film and montage

The first reading defines film, speaking as film, camera, and the movement in 3rd person "kino-eye". Film is an expression of the sensory exploration of our world. I really found this reading to be poetic and beautiful- inspiring the passion to create and explore film. There are lots of interesting perspectives that this reading confronts.
Films and videos are put together with a  series of montages that work moves through, creating the piece. Montage is a large part of editing. There are different types of montage that the second reading discusses that can be applied in editing frames. The first is Metric Montage. Metric Montage is determined by the absolute lengths of the pieces. Rhythmic Montage is about equally about the lengths and the content within the pieces. With rhythmic montage, it is movement that is within the frame that creates movement. Tonal Montage is similar to rhythmic montage but on a much wider sense. Tonal Montage strives for an light emotional connection- targeting ideas that the film insinuates. Overtonal montage is the collective of appeals, beyond that of tonal montage. Overtonal montage strives for a direct physiological perception. The final defined form of montage is Intellectual montage. Intellectual Montage is the highest form of conceptual montage, being a juxtaposition of the intellectual effects found in tones and overtones. This reading was inspiring with the defined theoretical knowledge about terms within video editing, whereas the first reading inspired me emotionally. In my opinion I think that a characteristic of good editing job has examples of all the different times of montage. Now that I have the definitions of the different types of montage in my knowledge I think that editing and the critiquing of video and sound pieces will improve.

my nose is snotty and im like damn

The first reading by Dertov is interesting, as it explores the idea that a camera lens has the potential to capture real life better than our own human eyes. The kino eye, is able to record scenes for future viewing, something only a machine such as that can do. The mechanical kino eye does not experience human limitations, but it still does need us to pilot it. Without the human vision, the kino eye will have no direction, merely being able to view things and document them... a human eye is needed to direct it towards a worthy vision.

The second reading just explains multiple types of montage, each created through different means of editing. Instead of just restating what each of them is, I'm going to post some examples when they come to mind *~(soon to be edited blog post)~*

To much at once

To be honest I was overwhelmed and forgot about the blog so I did not read the reading in depth like I wanted to. My fault no excuse. The first reading was difficult to read but I think it was saying how film changed and how the viewer of a film has changed. Both reading talk about montage. About putting the piece together and with the advance of technology editing will be different and better.

I was tired of cats so here is a picture of a dog I want:)

Insert title here

The reading with Vertov was interesting. It brought about how powerful the mechanical eye could be in comparison to the human eye. With our eyes, our brain already extracts and throws away what is needed and what is needed. Though, with the mechanical eye, it doesn't have a "system" that enables it to pick and choose what it wants/needs to make something easy to understand. It absorbs everything; creating, honestly, a big jumble of information and confusion. With masses amounts of information, we are able to take out and keep in the things we want without the interference of our mind automatically doing it for us. This way, we are able to create whole new perspectives that wouldn't have been noticed before or thought of.
And this leads us to the next reading over montages.
With this ability, we are- like I said previously- able to create new ways of looking at a certain topic by mixing and mashing up different information put together in what we call montages. This style of film is able to express different types of emotions and scenes to create a different outlook on an objective that intrigues the human mind in a non literal sense.

Eye Spy with My Kino Eye...

A Whole Lot of Excessive Information.

In the Kino eye, Vertov tends so spend a lot of time dragging out different points and making them seem more complex than they actually seem. For instance, Vertov says at on point, " the eye submits to the will of the camera and is directed by it to those successive points of the action ( page 19)." After this, he gives two samples of what he means and expands even further, making it quite confusing. All in all, I think he was trying to get across that the kino eye is better than the human eye, and montage very much important to him.

Montage

When I first began reading Eisenstein, I thought that he was talking about music, giving us an analytical examination into how composers use montage to give movement, rhythm, contrast, and emotional drama to musical pieces.  Despite my initial error of context, I think there's an interesting relationship to consider between montage and music (symphonies in particular). Both music and film mediums are time based and so tempo and duration of sections are important to give a necessary structure. The major difference to me between the two, besides the obvious visual distinction, is that movie montage relies more on a collage process where parts are broken up and reassembled with cuts, while music is able to grow and swell more seamlessly without harsh cuts. This distinction is perhaps inherent in the constructive processes presented by each medium. Still, in the end, both mediums become linear experiences to the audience. It is interesting to consider the cut in film montage as a rhythmic element with the order of scene sequences becoming tonal elements. If we think abstractly enough, we should be able to consider different visual parts in film montage as melody or even high and low pitched notes.

I enjoyed the enthusiasm of Dziga Vertov's Kino Eye essay. It stands on the shoulders of the Futurism manifesto as embracing something new and progressive. It is easy to see that the camera lens is more sensitive and able than the human eye, which is something to be celebrated, explored and experimented with. Still, Vertov links his excitement of the camera to the human eye in his title Kino Eye, which I think is important. The ability of the camera to record in a similar way to how we naturally see gives it importance foremost as a tool for recording visual experience and phenomena.  We cannot do away with the eye, because this is our filter for viewing the world. The camera lens therefore adds a second filter, a second separation from direct experience. To use the camera for purely capturing the way we see seems foolish in this light, for how can we believe that the camera represents a natural experience of the world. It is a machine, a tool. Therefore, I agree that it should be exploited as such, to expand the ways in which reality is experienced beyond what is merely capable our own two eyes.

Methods of Montage

      In Methods of Montage, Sergei Eisenstein, the eminent Russian film pioneer, describes the montage techniques which he invented in Russia during and after the revolution of the 1917. In the text, Eisenstein investigates the way in which these techniques create both the rhythmic quality, and the intellectual transitions within his films.
      He begins by explaining how the Metric Montage is used in his films, and how it differs from conventional editing. Metric Montage, instead of being solely concerned with editing footage in a chronological fashion, is instead used to impose a rhythm onto the edited materials through "mechanical acceleration by shortening," thereby lending a certain "tension" to the piece.
     Next Eisenstein explains how Rhythmic Montage is used. In rhythmic montage, the visual contents of the scene, as well as the length of the piece, become the primary considerations in determining how to arrange the material. The length of the scenes is decided upon based on the action which unfolds during the scene, and the scenes which have been edited in this way are then arranged together based upon how well the unfolding action meshes in an aesthetic and rhythmic way.
      In Tonal Montage, the emotional content of the pieces of film dictate their arrangement within the montage. The movement within the montage scene is determined by the "characteristic emotional sound of the piece," instead of by purely aesthetic considerations. If a "gloomier" mood within the film is required, Tonal Montage would be used to transition from scenes with brighter light and colors, to darker and more muted scenes.
     Finally, Eisenstein goes on to explain what he means by Intellectual Montage. In this form of montage, the aesthetic and chronological considerations of the other forms of montage are replaced by ideas concerning the transition from one intellectual stance to another in the mind of the viewer. Intellectual Montage, as described here by Eisenstein, can be more clearly linked to the propagandistic goals of the early Soviet Union than the other forms of montage, something which is exemplified in the second-to-last paragraph of his essay, where he writes: "Building a completely new form of cinematography–the realization of revolution in the general history of culture; building a synthesis of science, art, and class militancy."
      While I enjoyed reading about techniques of montage as they were described by their de facto inventor, I was less intrigued by the ideological undercurrents added to the text by Eisenstein. While his belief in the superiority of communism over capitalist "democracy" is not a problem for me as such, his support of the Soviet Union after 1922, in what can be described as a public relations position, does not seem particularly conscionable to me.

http://vimeo.com/85107599 cool little video i thought some people might find interesting

Video and the Conceptual Long List of Names

     There isn't much to say about this particular reading. It does a good job of defining performance as an art form and as a central theme of a lot of video art. It also does a good job of listing a very large amount of artists and some of their work. These artists were mostly known for using performance in artistic video. There were a lot of artists to take in and I would have to go through the reading a few more times, slowly and with breaks, to fully grasp each artist the article lists, a daunting task. Overall, it is safe to assume I got the point that performance, and the body, is crucial to not only video art, but in all new medias.

Need to start learning artist name

What I enjoyed most about this reading is that it gave a lot of video artist names. Im excited to spend one day just looking them up! This reading though was interesting in making you think about videos you watch. Most do focus on people and body. I think they should too because we can relate and the body is so interesting in all the different things we can do with it. Even if it creepy like Vito Acconci video we watched in class.

Touch My Body - Mariah Carey

The reading deals a lot with many different artists and their approaches to incorporating the "body" into their work. Sometimes this is explained to be purely a part of the creation of these pieces of art, while in other descriptions it is described more as an actual active component in the actual piece, and even sometimes both. Most of the passage is a little too list-y, just naming artists and their works for a brief moment without expanding too far into a huge underlying conceptual ideas, but I think it gets a little more intriguing when it gets towards the video art/new media works. It gives more examples of the artist being a 'performer' or viewers of the works being 'performers'. I generally enjoy video art/ new media works that include either the artist physically performing or the audience having a participatory role. It brings an aspect of humanity to the forefront, giving the concept itself more of a physical presence. The role of the body is very important as it can break the boundary between artist&work as well as artist&viewer if done effectively. With these boundaries lifted, those in viewing role of the work can experience the concept more effectively and have a better grasp over what is being conveyed.

Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

This reading was rather banal.  There isn't much analysis or creative insight going on here; just a catalog of artists and their contribution to the medium of film and the moving image.  I found it frustrating that still frames coupled with text attempt to reveal the impact of a visual artwork based in time.  As the readers of this insufficient informational format, we are expected to understand the artworks discussed by filling in the blanks, knowing fully that an experience of the artwork as a moving image would satisfy our curiosity so much more so.  This is an interesting observation, considering we are so at ease with the idea of single images and text for learning about static art mediums like painting or sculpture.  And still, the impact of viewing a painting or sculpture in person compared to its photo reproduction is so much more rewarding and complex an experience.  One could argue that sculpture isn't static at all, but requires the element of time imposed by the viewer's interaction of movement and viewing in the round.  It must be due to our age of the internet that we are so unsettled by reading a history text on video, because it has become so easy for us to view moving images.  It is strange to think that this wasn't the case even fifteen years ago.  In this context, it is amazing to think of artists investing so much energy into a medium that was difficult to disseminate to a large audience during their time.  It seems ever more necessary during their time considering TV and movies were being devoured by the masses and being controlled by corporations.  It makes sense why many artists used the medium of film/video as a sociopolitical activist/reactionary platform.

Video and the Conceptual Body

There was a lot of information of artists and critics crammed into this reading and I think my brain is a little on overload. This reading goes through the 20th century with many of the people and ideas of art that has brought us to the present situation that we are facing with art. Several people had to come before us in art history, approaching and thinking about art in a radical manner. These people have created and defined the way we think about art. Art has the ability to be anything, but because it it everything, it is nothing. Although this reading could be seen and understood as a source for inspiration and historical information to developing artists, I think that it is a really intimidating to look at what has come before you in art history. Because we have knowledge of the past, we are inherently compared to it.

Who's Concept of What Body?

  What I found most useful about the content of this reading was the re-affirmation of the use of new media to engage the public. When work is presented in a gallery, it is, in a sense, for the people. That video installation (intermedia experimentation) adjusts the role of the viewer to "co-conspirator" and challenges the notion of "viewer as passive consumer of sensations" holds very strong resonance for me in my interest for viewer/user participation.
 
   Furthermore, I believe the greatest value within this reading was the multiple forms of presentation with respect to video. A consideration of space and experimentation has been prevalent  within the history of this art form and that is certainly inspiring ( particularly the works of Peter Sarkasian ).
 
  To discuss the "why" involved with video and the conceptual body, would be somewhat redundant considering our past readings on preserving and presenting the self and notions of the future.

What  I wish to address is not necessarily the content of this reading, but how this content is presented.

  Being that it is essentially an art historical text, I find it interesting that there seems to be a lack of consideration for it's content. Presenting a book on video art is akin to printing out a picture of food when you're hungry (see here). I would prefer a re-imagining of image/video presentation that had a more fluid relationship between source material and discussion. If only there was a book with video capabilities..

Whoop, There it is

 To briefly voice my other main qualm, the bias presented racially and sexually in this material is not as forward thinking as some of the material that it addresses. While I do appreciate the thoroughness of inclusion of women video/performance artists, It seems that generally when I study art history the categorization of "woman" or "black" collects a group of artists together in opposition towards the supposed norm. The structure of the text loosely reads: mostly white male artists > mostly white female artists > experimentation > black male artists. While inclusion appreciated, there is a sense of exclusion by their representation as "other". I believe there is a certain amount of awareness and creativity that should be demanded in the presentation of texts, so as not to perpetuate the biases that art history has fallen accustom to. 

"In the aftermath of World War II, two countries deeply involved with the destruction that occurred during the war became the breeding ground for radical new forms of Performance and media: Japan, which had attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Nazi-occupied Austria."

WHOA WHOA WHOA, HISTORICAL CONTEXT NECESSARY

I have much that I could say about the blatant nationalism in that statement, and the glazing over of the suffering of individuals with histories deeply connected to trauma and instability. But I'm exhausted and might comment on that later.

Instead, I'll be more positive and insert links that I responded to:

Gillian Wearing: 2 into 1

Pipilotti Rist: Ever Is Over All

Joan Jonas: Vertical Roll

And I couldn't make it link, but Dan Graham's "Present Continuous Past" is pretty sweet too

Human + idea + video

What is art without experimentation? Many have challenged the concept and idea of what it art, what does it take to be art, and what deserves to be art. The birth of video art and performing art is no exception. The boom of portable film opened door to many people, Nam June Paik being one of them. The common influence of daily objects opened doors… and critics. For many, video became a whole new branch, an extension for their artwork, or just an interesting toy. Many people started to take video art seriously, but then again, some did not. Some people tried to make a bold difference between video and performance art, and experimental theater and film. For some artists, the gallery space became like a playground, teasing among the artist itself who was going to make it challenge it.

I think that challenge has made what we are today: a modern mess. We have that kind of technology more than available: photo cameras, video cameras, editing programs, user-friendly stuff, and beyond. As young artists, we are not only challenging art itself, but society, pushing the limits of technology and what is “normal”. I think it is interesting this idea of “serious playfulness”, as a serious and thoughtful art piece which at the same time it is fun it is usually done by distorting the notions of perception. But does art end when the viewer becomes part of the piece? Or when it comes too personal or biased? Art describing events, such as WW2, tend to be strong, unwanted, and challenged by many other point of view. The line between disturbing, borrowed, or new, becomes harder and strongly challenge each year.

PD: I like this idea and this is the first time I'm adding a .gif to anything I have posted xD