Yield’s Tin Llama
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Monthly Archives: May 2015
Spellbound – Stream of Consciousness
“To paint with a finer brush”, that was something that my acting teacher constantly told us in class. Explore the minute detail in something small and seemingly insignificant, and make it huge for you. For example, imagine the feel of a blanket that you got when you were a child and see if that brings up any dormant emotions, or think about shaving cream on your skin and how your pours react to it, one could concentrate on the joint of their little finger and feel how it reacts with the surrounding tendons. Now, the lights are up and curtain is drawn so. . . walk on stage and perform!
There is infinite power in the stillness that is produced from heightened concentration in a performer, as the mind is still and blank, the eyes are therefore relaxed the breathing regulated and the person is ultimately calm. The senses are heightened, reactions became honest and the viewer is able to fill in the action void with their own take on what the character is thinking and will eventually do. In relation to the points addressed in Daniel’s lecture, dust seems small and insignificant, however, if one thinks about it, dust holds many things; fibres of fabric, microscopic organisms, flakes of skin, hair, tiny minerals… and if you keep thinking about it, what shape are they? Are they spherical, slate shape, crystal shape, spiky? The variations are immeasurable! So, according to my teacher, after several hours of this sort of heightened concentration, you are now unshakable in front of a camera or a large audience. Having witnessed and experienced this for myself, I have developed a new sensitively for the power of insignificant detritus.
The dust can make you sneeze, the dust can impel you to wipe it off the bookshelf once in a while, but it can also turn a performance inside out and back to front and leave viewers spellbound.
THE GRAF THING
In class, I was handed a sheet of paper and asked to plot points on a graph to represent how I have progressed throughout Media One.
The variables related to; media objects & stories, working independently with tools & equipment, critical thinking and our understanding of the blog.
As I had expected, each of these variables increased gradually and consistently, there were no dramatic spikes aside from a slight increase in my understanding of the blogs, chiefly developed from observing my peer’s work and Geoff Lemon’s – a journalist from The Guardian.
I am looking forward to developing my critical thinking as I progress throughout the degree.
The Graf Thing
The Blog Board
To Open…
To open… begin the lecture with a face melting mashup/remix. Imagine that!
Lecturer Dan shed some light on this week’s dense reading entitled The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin. Benjamin was active in the time of the Second World War and spent much of professional life escaping the Nazi’s. Walter was far from the office working academic archetype but rather a gentleman living the human history that he was writing about.
In this paper, Benjamin, of Goethe University Frankfurt, tries to describe the essence of an original piece of art as the aura. This can be applied to all forms of media provided they are able to be reproduced, which brings to light the question of how the aura is compromised upon an artefact’s reproduction.
In the lecture we drew parallels to films, like during the golden era of cinema in the 30’s where films were remade for sound. But bringing this questioning closer to the current day was the question of Instagram and, does the process of adding sexy filters heighten the aura of the original? My answer is yes… absolutely yes! Having worked with photography in a time when digital was still very much in the beta stage of its rollout… when only the super privileged had the opportunity to use digital photo formats, we would work our darnedest in the darkroom to produce an image that was not dissimilar to the effects that we use today on the #igers forum. The darkroom was a haloed place of quiet contemplation of your next move, next chemical and how you could improve on your previous effort. It resembled a confessional, a silent, calming space that smelt funny. This could be extended by Benjamin’s notion that art is based on ritual.
The darkroom
Class Feedback
Monday morning exploded into a fantastic debate around the symbiotic relationship between audiences, institutions and the dissemination of personal information that is deceptively immaterial. We were again asked to consider how much trust we place upon certain institutions to which, at a glance, would seem too much.
Once the dusk had settled, we had a chance to reveal how our P4 projects are progressing. Jarrod, Siobhan and Genna’s piece addressed media technology which is set in the form of a choose-your-own-adventure. For me, it had me thinking about how I engage with the media from when I wakeup and check my smart phone to when I leave for school or work. It also had me remembering my excitement as a child when I would immerse myself in these types of choose your own activities. This idea has an infinite amount of potential that could well weave its way around YouTube like the nucleation of ice crystals if it were to be done right.
In subsequent presentations, we were shown propaganda on ‘how to become the best media user possible’, this resembled early works by constructivist Alexander Rodchenko and the Soviet propaganda art of the 1920’s and the 1940’s.
Alexander Rodchenko (1924)
Later on, we were left entranced by Cate Klancy who is a compelling Fab-ricated character; she is carefree, beautiful and ultimately superficial with big dreams that are out of touch with the real world. Cate, or CK as she would like to be called, is a parody on how the public responds to ‘hype’, I truly believe that the class needs to know more about her so that we can turn a mirror on our own superficialities.
P4 Feedback
We presented our 2nd instalment to the class which focusses on evolving mediums. The feedback that resonated the most for me was related to our drafting process and how the steps involved in the podcast’s production need to be meticulously documented so that they can later be presented in our reflection. Again, the overall feedback was positive.
Institutions
12 May 2015 – Lectorial
In our enlightening lectorial, we explored what an institution comprises of. We established that; institutions are governed by expectations, they may have some kind of legal framework, cultural rules, rituals, symbols and community recognition.
After an enjoyable analysis of David Simon’s HBO drama The Wire, marriage came into focus as one of the most universal examples.
This got me thinking about my situation.
So, I’m engaged. I finally popped the question in 2014 after 10 years of being with my life partner. But, we’re not married yet… and we may never get married, the reason for this is that we plan to prioritise our spending on overseas travel, living expenses and our daughter’s education.
My grandmother is 93, she’s sharp as a tack, speaks her mind like she’s got nothing to lose and wouldn’t hesitate to offer you a bed if you were down and out, though she is old fashioned. She was born in the 20’s when institutions were a lot different, for example, women had only just been granted the right to vote!
Naturally, a bone of contention has grown between us as a result of our opposing ideals, it is mostly lacquered over with funny quips like “When are you getting married?” “Let me look at my watch!” etc. Through this light exchange, there is a mutual understanding that times have changed, however, it is hard to look away from the underlying hurt that ensues from our opinions on life. My Gran does not hold back from reminding me that illegitimate children born out of wedlock were shamed in her day, similarly, I am often expressing contemporary views about the world that, for her, may be regarded as offensive.
The ideals of certain institutions that have been forged in to our minds, seem to have become indelible; they have fastened themselves to the psyche as if they were a part of the human anatomy.
As an advocate of change, I find these interactions challenging, I find it hard to rise above my Gran’s antiquated views because the more we disagree, the more we seem to dig our heels in.
We have become obstinate, disillusioned and tired of the impositions that have been lugged on to us from our ever changing society.
To agree to disagree seems to be the best resolution but, really? Is this all we’ve got??
Wordle Is Now In the Lexicon
Today in class, we were required to report on our group’s P4 progress, we received very positive feedback giving us confidence that we were on track. One respondent commented on the sound spread of the podcast as it projected through the speakers and Jasmine said I had a nice voice for radio. Naw, shucks folks, I’m speechless.
One team presented their work which introduced me to a new word, wordle.
It is astonishing just how many words have landing into the ever-growing lexicon that owe their meanings to the constantly advancing digital era. These words have been tried and tested and eventually accepted as terms that are pertinent to our language and communication. Some examples being, the re-branding of the word spam, the annoying security step that is captcha, the quirky, cute and sometimes necessary ditty known as an emoticon – and many many more.
As I have become infatuated with mediums (this is our P4 element) , their uses and their malleable forms, this word wordle got me thinking about text as a malleable medium. Text has evolved in new ways that need to be acknowledged otherwise brilliant concepts like wordles will go undiscovered.
Wordle is now in the lexicon
Holy Cubist Cow!!! $US160,000,000
…And here’s me conceding to the warnings that a career in the arts will amount to a lifetime of financial destitution.
How wrong was I!
This beautiful and historic piece was just sold at Christie’s Auction House in Rockefeller Centre for a cool 160 million.
For me this solidifies the importance of art in society for not only the aesthetic reasons, but for cultural identity and, how Marshall MacLuhan put it, to help us overcome our anxieties of modern culture and the abstraction of technology.
Les femmes d’Alger (Version “O”). Oil on canvas. 44.7/8 x 57.5/8in. (114 x 146.4cm.) Painted on February 14, 1955. © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
There Will Be Books
The second floor of the Swanston Library is a treasure trove of books, articles, academic journals and films. Being a cinema studies student and self confessed nerd, this may be become my knew home for a while.
“Draaainnning!!!!”
Film Literature Quarterly
Group Appellation Update
Yield’s Tin Llama
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