Here is a video with gold pigment and alcohol and some acrylic fixative. The idea was that the alchohol would evaporate overnight leaving the fixed gold pigment in the place the wave form left it (another attempt at producing a physical drawing) THe end result did not turn out that well however there was slight evidence of the patterns made in certain parts.. if you look at the first seconds of this video though, the wave form seems pretty present so i thought it was pretty promising but it the actual product was not as hoped... maybe it just has to be the right day and needs to be tried again... also, when thinking about how to get rid of the tray sides, i was scared of cutting away at it for fear that the flakes would not be fixed enough and everything would fly off when snipped! Either or, its worth more explorations in the future.
 

Final Project Reflections:

I definitely became most interested in working with sound this semester as its so abstract as a material.  I think what attracts me most is that since I don't have much solid experience with using sound as an art material (i do play a little guitar and had taken a synthesizer course this semester which aided in my interest for sure) everything that i did with it was so amazing!  Im not sure what that means other then its a step back into what we talk about as a purest exploratory phase in my own creative development.  I believe too that through this, my painting practice will be greatly affected.  We will see what happens next I suppose!


For my final project, I used Sound, Drawing/Painting, and Environment as my parameters.

The project came out of working with sound and looking back at some previous artists I had researched.  I wanted to use find a way to "legitimize" sound as a physical material since it became clear that many people do not necessarily regard it as one.  I think its understood that sound has an energy or a physical push, commonly experienced by the vibrations heavy bass produces. So, i wanted to find a way to show that visually and in real time.

I knew water would work for well for this and when thinking about the project, whale sounds seemed like a perfect outlet for this. Using the same programs and deconstruction/reconstruction ideas, i developed this sound to set the "Environment"  I know this isnt really a "sound class" or so much an intensive studio class but its really meant to be listened to in stereo so headphones are most appropriate (also- in the end it didnt matter because i only bought one transducer for the project since i didnt know if it would really work!)




Moving forward, I researched different ways people turn things into speakers and most included different types of transducers pushed against the wood or material.  There are several ways to use recycled speakers too but there wasnt really any magic in it. I did try some of these things with metal rays and old speakers that I have (im a garbage picker!) and it really didn't vibrate the same way id hope.  So, looking further, I found something called "bass shakers" which "gamers" use by putting in their seats or i guess people who want to feel music coming through their chairs.  I really didnt know what it actually did besides vibrate (would there be sound coming out too? unsure)  but i was able to find one for $15 so i went for it and it was great! It produced sound, vibrated accordingly and was small and cheap!  SO, I strapped it on the back of a metal plate, put some water for vibrations, and made a little enclosure for the unit.  I had a mini desktop amp (which was also garbage!) and attached it to my mp3 player and played the soundscape.

The original plan too was to make "drawings" by placing paper directly above the waves (in colored water) and hopefully the wave would rise just enough to touch the paper.  This didnt work out at all as as soon as the wave touched the paper, it pulled it right down due to adhesion property.  I tried a board as well to circumvent this but it didnt really work out as it was way too hard to coordinate the paper or board to be just the righ hight (which ended up being about .5mm or so).  The wave itself seemed to be enough of a drawing for me in the end.

Anyhow, the whale sounds worked well in vibrating the water in different ways but it really got interesting when i used an analog synth to manipulate sounds in realtime.  This allowed me to see differences between sounds, volumes, pitch, etc and how they effected the wave formations.  Many surprises and just weird things happened: patterns were not necessarily dependent on pitch, low pitches didnt necessarily mean more wave activity, different sounds make different shapes and formations, etc...
In the end, the project seemed a perfect way to explain to students that sound is a physical material that can move things and be manipulated in very real ways.  Its also a great way to engage students in that really no matter what and no matter how many times you see it, its always beautiful and incredible!

Here are a few images and a some videos - its really a live performance thing but the pictures are kind of interesting...

sa itle

explorations with sound and color

(originally posted before i showed the project in class.  I was hoping this would be a "teaser" to anyone who may come across it.  not sure if anyone looked at it beforehand but would be interested what anyone thought it was if they did.)

sa                              itle

White Elephant (stop motion and cool project)

Birdscape

 Using an old movie I took from the the coast in Iceland, I removed the sounds of the wind and seagulls using quicktime.  Then, using Audacity and Sonosphere, i manipulated the sounds and repeated them on different tracks in different ways to make the soundscape...

Lesson Plan:
Through the cutting and piecing together a sound, using a single recorded sound from nature,students will learn that sound, much like traditional materials, can be manipulated to create new sounds and sound progressions (soundscapes).
deeper learning: deconstruction/reconstruction

Richard David James
I chose Richard D. James, most commonly known under Aphex Twin, as an artist who uses sound in interesting ways.  Although can be considered more of a musician and composer over a "sound artist" as we've spoken about in class (favorites of mine: certainly John Cage and Liz Phillips and who i discovered the first week of class, Finnbogi Petursson), I think what he did and does to electronic music is incredible.  I've never been into dance music really but he opens up the genre of constant beats with new ways of organizing the rhythms and crazy textures.  He also addresses "ambient music" in similar ways.  In all of this, he was kind of a contemporary pioneer in electronic music really taking control and creating a whole new format.
I was also interested to see that in one of his works in the early 00's, a pretty rare ep, he released a track with mostly high pitch noises that could be decoded to form an image using the correct software which made me think of when I was working with the picture and sound.  This was the clearest image I could find of it:

He also worked closely with Chris Cunningham for a number years making music videos/films with his music, and both art forms equally feed on each other.  Here's an example:

During Experiment

Post Experiment

Ricardo Rivera - Video Mapper

I chose Ricardo Rivera as I enjoyed reading about his early endeavors in video mapping.  When first experimenting, he writes that he used an old school overhead projector with adobe programs such as photoshop and after effects to achieve his video textures.  

What I enjoy most about his work is when he plays with simple textures of surfaces.  He makes solid form such as concrete walls appear to be fabric or liquid.  This approach is most interesting to me as it goes beyond simply putting videos on odd surfaces but is a direct way to manipulate the perception of the surface itself.

This was the end 10 sec. video I made during the video mapping seminar.
Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the original files and so of course was not able to reproduce the mapping screenshots.

The seminar was actually extremely valuable and has given me many ideas for my final project for this class. Im curious on what exactly will pan out from it but just knowing that videos, like pictures, can be manipulated and arranged so easily with these programs was worth the time put in.

Issues:
lack of preparation: would have been better if the seminar instructor told us what to look for and gave us examples before the seminar itself (what pictures, what videos, what ideas to think about, etc.)

I also felt the instructor expected us all to be super "new media" engaged... as in we all had thorough background in using programs like the ones discussed.  I think she was easily frustrated with our inabilities which didnt go over so well.

using my ipad and imovie, i was able to produce this simple stop motion animation.  Although not very clean and not very well executed, it definitely helped me understand how these are made and really, that they could be made at all and pretty simply in a classroom setting.  It just takes time

Stop motion animation  can be an exciting tool in classroom applications as it can bring the children's artworks to life.  Im sure every child would really be into this... i certainly loved it!

(i chose this russian cartoon as my inspiration for this animation project.)

Heres another inspirational video, probably the most beautiful video i've ever seen:
Hedgehog in the fog by Yuriy Norshteyn



the way Norshteyn uses glass plates and reading further, using very thin papers to produce the fog is just perfectly beautiful... He achieve this very sincere depth of feeling through the material as well as the movement and coordination.  What also interests me about the video as well as many russian cartoons of the time is how they can be equally moving for adults even though they at first appear as made for children.  The mature themes used to tell stories come through in a very honest manner that can be adapted to all ages.  Its nice that they were made keeping children in mind, which in turn references their openness with children without being in any way condescending.


Svankmajer

Svankmajer is another video maker who uses stop motion however he often combines with live characters.  By combining the two worlds, a third surreal world develops.    The videos often have "dark" undertones and reference surrealism in attitudes and dimensions.  He uses angles often to develop infinite spaces which i found really interesting but to point out single moments and characteristics is really difficult as his work spans in so many different directions.   He uses sound as a predominant tool in setting the atmosphere (very little verbal dialogue if any) and often the speeds of which things are animated is changed according to the current moods ( i hadnt really seen much of that before in such a purposeful way) .  Youtube is a great resource for his videos but Im interested now in the "full featured' ones which i can only see snippits of.

Scanography Sets

Set 1: plastic, mayo, ink
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/fdtnq99p

Set 2: plastic, paper, foil
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/ftp56ffi

Set 3: glass, sage, smoke, light
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/fdxp0jjk

Set 4: sweaters - (tester)
http://www.flipsnack.com/jjs2233/fdh9y33j


Lesson Plan:
Through making a scanograph of a natural material, using a scanner with a laptop in the park, children will learn that nature has intricate details that can come to view when looked at in a different way.

By using a scanner, which is essentially a set focus camera with a huge lens? children can deeper appreciate nature using new media technology by scanning leaves, flowers, earth, stone, mud, insects feathers, etc...  As we move more toward new technologies, we should perhaps use them to further appreciate nature so both the electronic, digital realm can inform the physical world and vice versa

Scanography:  Creating digital art using a scanner to capture the image

Joseph Sheer
Using the scanner, Joseph Sheer creates images of individual moths and butterflies.  He does so in the vein of cataloguing - for the most part keeping them individual so they are of and about the single subject.  Although not so elaborate, what appeals to me is the specific connection between science and art.  The images examine the various physical characteristics of countless species in a minimal format - accentuating their natural beauty in an artistic way.  In this he creates a simple but strong bridge between science and art which is easily accessible and open to anyone through books and shows and therefore exhibiting and reexploring that solid connection which has really always been.
   

coloradia pandora davisi male

coloradia pandora davisi female

Janet Dwyer
Janet Dwyer scans natural objects, mostly flowers and plants, and then makes arrangements out fo the parts to establish a narrative.  She uses simple juxtapositions to make different flower shapes behave in different ways. For example, the flower petal or bud can stand in for a foot  or simply a symbol of softness, etc.  In the second example, she defines the flower part as a hand by displaying a doll hand in the picture - you are then forced to recognize the similar shaped yellow flower as hands themselves.

TC Pool - Memory/Future

(original route was to show visually show the memory)

Picture

This is the picture I took last class for our upcoming project(s).  It's taken in the old pool at TC.  I chose this picture in particular as it had a nice range of geometric shapes to work with as well as a beautiful color scheme.

Daniel Schwarz

I came across Daniel Schwarz through a link on Rhizome.org.  He is what I would consider a "New Media" artist, using various technologies for his work.  As far photography is concerned, he made a series of desolate landscapes made from satellite views through Google Maps.  He lays two images from the same site during different weather patterns adjacent to one another resulting in a brief description of time and change for the given area.

He also makes these really nice videos projecting two dimensional geometric forms in motion onto three dimensional geometric forms.  It's an interesting play between worlds that creates really beautiful moving landscapes.

(stills from Vanish)

(still from Piece of Paper)

Photography

James Welling

James Welling uses a variety of different techniques to achieve these really beautiful photographs while mostly sticking to the standard, two-dimensional photography format.  What particularly stood out for me was how in many cases, he revisits old photography techniques (such as photograms and filters) in his work but the result is quite contemporary in design and material.  Below are a few examples of some of his photographs of the Glass House.  It is worth mentioning that there are very little "after effects" or digital editing done to these.  He uses various filters in the actual picture taking process to accentuate different colors and pushing shadow and reflections in really beautiful ways.  Welling also talks very intently about these photographs being metaphors for the experience of the site which lends a great overview of the work.

(examples from Glass House series)

(example from Photograms series)

(examples from Flowers series)

Painting to Digital Painting

(above is an example of a finished painting)

(this is an attempt to follow the same "rules" of transparencies, non unique parts, etc common in my painting practice using digital paint program.  Both the image and the approach in the program was much more clear, the conversion to jpeg seemed to have lost some of the nuances.  The end result either way however was that the program seemed more useful for sketching my idea (as far as color choices, frequency, range, etc)  rather than a finished product.  

Ipad painting

Ipad painting

eEtiquette snippets:

10:1
Turn off your phone in airplanes, hospitals, and particle accelerators to avoid disrupting heavy-duty electronic equipment.
Here is a rule that I'm not sure why everyone does not follow.  It seems pretty clear that if just by turning your phone off, you can completely eliminate even that very slight chance of interfering with equipment that is responsible for keeping yourself and more importantly everyone around you alive, you should do it.  Still somehow people like to get away with not doing it because they think they know better.  I'm sure most people are guilty of this,  I definitely am and mostly because I remember reading that cellphones most likely do not interfere in any way with aircraft equipment, however, Is it really worth the risk?  I even overheard a passenger on my last flight talk to her friend about how she was still able to text her friend while mid-ascent and was going to try as we were beginning to descend for landing. What do we gain by getting away with that?  Bragging rights?

15:4
Start a video conference with warm chitchat. Set the conversation scene with a short 360º pan shot.
This particular rule I just found interesting just because it's something I wouldn't immediately think of (mostly because I rarely video conference) but it makes complete sense.  The warm chitchat I think is a given however the 360 pan shot is a great way to make the situation more comfortable.  By sharing each other's immediate environment, you create an understood mutual environment which will probably promote a more productive conversation.

24:4.
Flashing a mobile phone screen in a cinema can be louder than any ring tone.
This entry I'm particularly sensitive to as I see it at movies as well as theatre productions.  Last time I could remember was at a ballet in St. Petersburg which was totally irregular for me but unfortunately the only seats that were available were in a small box top row behind a small family.  Being that this was probably the only time I would experience anything like this, the fact that I had a 6" wide crevice between heads did not bother me... Of course, the two teenage girls in front of me were not at all interested and instead of watching they were actively texting and facebooking during the entire performance.   The mother did not say a word either.  Maria and I wanted to kill them.

I also wanted to mention too that there were far easier ways to build a fire.

The most simple way is with a clear water bottle:  Just fill it up and use it as a magnifying glass against dark paper (dark absorbs the energy much more efficiently).  On a sunny day, this can take as little as 2 minutes.  The main issue obviously is that it needs to be done during the day so its not completely practical.

The other quick way involved using a 9V battery and some steel wool to essentially make sparks to catch on some kindle of some kind.  This too seemed pretty easy but because it involved batteries, I let that idea go for this particular project.

Thinking about technology and the on/off assignment, I  let go of the iPhone and internet as well as all other electronics for a short period for the last two nights.  During the week I had been thinking about what the number one thing I would need when these things were gone.   What would I need if ALL technology was to fail?  It quickly became clear (and I have actually thought about this quite some bit over the last couple years but never did anything about it because i love gadgets so much!)  that I needed to know one of the most basic of all survival skills: How to build a fire.

My project was to go out and find things in the garbage that I could use to build a fire with the exception of any readymade firemaking devices like lighters, matches, etc.  Now, I did have some insight as I said that I have thought about this before and have researched different ways online to do so but I thought this was a perfect opportunity to execute what I had found.  So, looking for what i thought to be suitable objects (wood, strings, etc) was incredibly easy in an urban environment becuase of constant construction and cheap manufacturing so it was really how to choose the objects and what i could carry easily.  I had to try many variations to finally settle on what worked best.
I settled with a pine board ("fire plank"), a towel hanger and shoe string (bow), and a broomstick (spindle).  I would then use some aluminum foil for a ember catcher and some shredded papers and wood from carving the pieces for the firestarter.  Unfortunately after these two nights I failed to successfully raise a fire.... HOWEVER - I did create enough friction to develop smoke which means I'm really close.

I will continue to blog about this as time passes.  There is no doubt that this can be done.

Over the past week I have been thinking about technology and how it affects my everyday life - which of course seems to be a common thread in this crazy tech-filled time.  The first thought and most integral piece of technology that I use every single day is certainly my cell phone.  Up until recently I've had a second hand iphone limited to wifi (not really that limited at all actually!) but a couple months back, I contacted T-mobile for a low end data plan so I can now use the phone anywhere I go with internet via 3G.  Monday, I took note of how I used it throughout my regular rituals.

~6:00am : Wake up to an alarm on the iPhone - check weather and email
~6:20am : Upload news/articles for train ride to work
~6:45am : Read articles using the app "Pulse" that I had downloaded earlier (so i can continue when i                    go underground).
~3:00pm : reupload current news/articles for train ride.
~3:30pm : while walking to train i got directions to a gallery event for this upcoming friday.
~9:00pm : used phone to email classmates with our collective phone numbers and emails
~9:15pm : reupload current news/articles for train ride.
~10:00pm : played "Dots" on train
~12:00pm : set alarm for next morning

All of this in addition to periodically checking and receiving phone calls and text messages.

It is clear that just this one piece of technology greatly affects my everyday life - mostly positive through organization and ease of information .

Rhizome

Rhizome is an organization that supports a wide range of new media artwork.  Because new media work can be entirely accessible by the average person with a computer, they have a vast online database of a variety of different types of images, .html, games, etc that can be found on their website (what is somewhat a gallery) Rhizome.org.  If features a collection of different projects that were uploaded by members of the group and can be downloaded and experienced instantly.  The website also offers scheduled community projects and exhibitions, both online and live, and serves as a kind of base for contemporary digital art.  Rhizome also is now affiliated with The New Museum.

(image from Petursson's work : Conversations, 2001)

For my media artist, I chose Finnbogi Petursson.  Petursson's work involves primarily the manipulation and exhibition of sound in various ways and techniques.    What particularly interested me about his work is how he involves sound in ways to both compliment and enforce a physical presence. Many times a strong visual aspect is actually created by the sound in some way through various means.  Within his work there seems to be no separation between physical, nonphysical and conceptual media; in fact, all characteristics are interdependent and integral to one another.

Although I'm still not 100% clear about what constitutes "new media,"  Petursson uses what i consider to be nontraditional media such as sound, video, etc in a very formal, minimalistic way.  Further, he employs "new" technologies such as radio broadcasts and streaming recording techniques to develop concepts of time, communication, and memory.

My name is Joseph Sossi.  This is my first blog started in my first class, New Media, New Forms.  I am currently enrolled in the Masters in Art and Art Education with Initial Certification program at Teacher's College.  I received my BFA from SUNY Purchase with a concentration in painting.  Since then, I have been active as a painter and currently work out of my small studio in Brooklyn.  Although I have friends who are working with new media in one form or another, I have very limited experience with using new technologies in art.  My only real experience is with simple tasks with GIMP and Inkscape though even then, the work wasn't itself part of the art but in some way as support to my paintings or pictures.  I am super excited to learn about new media and how we can use these new resources as materials for projects and learning.