Eadweard Muybridge

He was an English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and in motion-picture projection.

He immigrated to the United States as a young man but remained obscure until 1868, when his large photographs of Yosemite Valley, California, made him world famous. Muybridge is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion in 1877 and 1878, which used multiple cameras to capture motion in stop-action photographs, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip used in cinematography.

In his earlier years in San Francisco, Muybridge had become known for his landscape photography, particularly of the Yosemite Valley. He also photographed the Tlingit people in Alaska, and was commissioned by the United States Army to photograph the Modoc War in 1873. In 1874 he shot and killed Major Harry Larkyns, his wife's lover, and was acquitted in a jury trial on the grounds of justifiable homicide.[2] He travelled for more than a year in Central America on a photographic expedition in 1875.

In the 1880s, Muybridge entered a very productive period at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, producing over 100,000 images of animals and humans in motion, capturing what the human eye could not distinguish as separate movements. He spent much of his later years giving public lectures and demonstrations of his photography and early motion picture sequences. He also edited and published compilations of his work, which greatly influenced visual artists and the developing fields of scientific and industrial photography.

——http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge 

The blast theory

         Blast Theory is renowned internationally as one of the most adventurous artists' groups using interactive media, creating groundbreaking new forms of performance and interactive art that mixes audiences across the internet, live performance and digital broadcasting. 

          The group has made major innovations in its use of technology, in its working methods, and in its business model. The uses of locative media and mixed reality in works such as Can You See Me Now? (2001) and I Like Frank (2004) have had wide impact. The group recognises that true innovation requires significant risks and it continues to be agile and highly responsive to new ideas and opportunities. Its BAFTA nomination for Technological and Social Innovation is an example of the success of that model. 
         The artists remain fascinated with how technology, especially mobile devices, creates new cultural spaces in which the work is customised and personalised for each participant and what the implications of this shift might be for artistic practice. 

 

CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?

         Can You See Me Now? is a game that happens simultaneously online and on the streets. Players from anywhere in the world can play online in a virtual city against members of Blast Theory. Tracked by satellites, Blast Theory's runners appear online next to your player on a map of the city. On the streets, handheld computers showing the positions of online players guide the runners in tracking you down.

         With up to 20 people playing online at a time, players can exchange tactics and send messages to Blast Theory. An audio stream from Blast Theory's walkie talkies allowed you to eavesdrop on your pursuers: getting lost, cold and out of breath on the streets of the city.

 all above from  http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/


After the further introduction of the blast theory in the tutorial class, I understand more about the amazing group. I think their games are not only just for fun, but also trying to use and combine some new technology. What`s more, I am impressed by their efforts to connecting the relationship between the strangers, which is born of their love for the city and their belief to the natural friendliness.

And there is another latest work done by the Blast Theory in last year.

http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/work_jog_shuttler.html

 

 

 

 

 

Time passed, but the main idea of the Blast Theory doesn`t change. They used CRT TVs and VHS tapes. I don`t think this kind of things are as new as the GPRS used in their former works. However, this work is as interesting as the old one. This makes me amazing: oh, I can`t imagine that ordinary things can be used in such a creative way!

  

 

New Babylon (Constant Nieuwenhuys)

      As we know, architecture is another form of art. Maybe I am not quite familiar with the anti-capitalist theory, but I am amazed that the modern design of the building and the ideal regional planning. I think the advanced idea of unlimited structures can still be learnt.

     In his design, we can know about his pursuing of generating a city in which people share both work and live together and the social goal is Self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction. However,I don`t think it is quite realizable because the completely fairness is hard to achieve due to the weakness of the humanity.

    After all, it is still a very meaningful try.

Thanks for your looking my blog!

Fluxus performance & characteristics

want to see our project?
Please click here~


***the open event***
 1.staring at the people passing by with smile
 2.a boy put up a girl`s colth
 3.go to a restaurant and only ask for a cup of wate

 

*List 5 characteristics of the Fluxus：

1.crazy: They can do something that seems strange to us.

2.free: They will do anything they like to do.

3.break the rule: Their movement may out of the commen norms.

4.interesting: Of course they will do things they think interesting.

5.show to the public: It is also an interesting part to see the reflection of audience.

the Situationist International and the Lettrist International

 

       The SI began as a group called The Lettrist International, which was a collection of artists and drop - outs living in Paris during The 1950 s. The Lettrists belonged to that long French tradition of epater la bourgeoisie - to shock and provoke and unsettle The bourgeoisie - that is, they wanted to reject The banalities of bourgeois life and celebrate instead all their wildest and most profane impulses. They wanted to find new and experimental ways of living and of being.

       The Lettrists were most famous for their elaborate stunts and pranks - one example of which would be when one of their number snuck into Notre Dame cathedral during Easter High Mass in 1950, stole a priest 's outfit and went up to The main pulpit where he started giving a sermon on how God is Dead. When The congregation eventually realised what was going on, they chased him down and, The legend goes, if a policeman hadn' t intervened he would 've been lynched.

        There are loads of examples of Lettrist pranks like this - but in 1957 the so - called left - wing of the group realised that its activities needed more structure, more focus. This left - wing split off and formed the Situationist International, which was founded as a way of formulating these types of nihilistic gestures of defiance into a more systematic and ordered programme of assault upon life and culture under capitalism.

from: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~estevao/itp104/project_SI/about.html 

Blindfold photography

       On 29,sep，two of my friends(Liu Qiao & Ouyangdenian) and I went to Mong Kok to do our homework. We tried to take photos with a plastic bag on our head so that we could not see anything, which could make our photo seems more random.

       Actually I wanted to focus on the photos I took at first, but as soon as I put the plastic bag on my head, I found that I no longer pay attention to my job, I just felt quite afraid because I saw nothing. I can only heard trumpet from car and the wind blowing from the road.

       As for the images we made, I found that most of them looks good because they showed the busy of the daily life in city. Some of them also amazing! For example, I caught my shadow in the window in a shop, and a bunch of sunlight shooting between two buildings. In some pictures, I can see people`s eyes looking at me in wonder. I have to admit that our performance may be quite strange for the other people. Anyway, this experience gave me a different point of view towards photography, art and the word around us. 

Surrealism & Dada

        After the class as well as searching for the internet, I have known many things about Dada and Surrealism.

For some historical reason, people in the World War One are all quite hurt and they had some wound on their mind more or less. These may lead to the Dada artists proposed that everything should be destroyed, even people and history. I don`t think it is a rational opinion which is another kind of Nihilism, but I can understand these people under that background. They are anguished and need to create a new meaning for their lives.

After the World War One, many Dada artists turned Surrealism. They paint with fantasy and drifted from the real world. The color is pure and bright, such as Salvador Dalí`s work: The Persistence of Memory (1931). We can see from some typical works that the Surrealism also had absorbed some element of romanticism and symbolism.

Thoughts after today’s SM1701

      In today`s class, we learned about Dada and The Merzbau and so on. Kurt Schwitters`s art The Merzbau impressed me a lot. Schwitters himself has described it as his life's work. In the bulding,the ceilings and walls were covered with three dimensional shapes and filed with a variety of objects. Actually , I don`t think it looks beautiful,but it conveys a feeling of war, which causes people thinking. Maybe that is the reason that it become famous,noy just because it`s creative shape of building.

   Then I start thinking about the title of our course­­——CONTEMPORARY & NEW MEDIA ART. Which work can be one of this ? I think the artist should be creative enough to create a new style or a new form to express the art. What`s more, the work should convey an idea to the viewers. A surprise and a deep thought are enough to make a work succeed, and it may be a little difficult to achieve.

An eye on Winter Pool by Robert Rauschenberg

        

        This is one of Robert Rauschenberg's Combine painting. This style breaks the limit of tranditional painting which only with a kinds of material. What`s more, it use many common things in our daily life such as fabric, wood, metal, sandpaper, tape, printed paper, printed reproductions, handheld bellows,  ladder, canvases.  The wooden ladder bridges the gap between the two pictures , just like inviting the viewer to climb into the colorful art world which fulls of imagenation. So I think this work reflects his idea” work in the gap between art and life perfectly.

As for the painting on the wall, it closes to our life and is energetic though it is in the shape of rectangle. The unequal size of the two painting also show a casual life attitude and they are beautiful enough just by themselves.

My First SM1701 Class

       The name of this class is Contemporary & New Media Art. Before the class, my general idea of this is funny, new and interesting art. However, I found some work is very difficult to understand which need us to search for the history, politics and the author.

       I think this class will lead me to a new world art which I have never thought of I will try to understand them carefully. As an artist, he should learn as much as possible about the art history and the excellent work. So this class will be my first step on my road of art. Good luck!