Extended body research: 'blue tooth?...blue molar' and 'the three eyed man.'

"blue tooth"

this new piece of technology has been recently exhibited at the Science museum in London and due to its simplicity and low cost installation, is said to be on the market shortly. Essentially this micro technology will turn your blue tooth device into a "blue molar" in which you will be able to internalize sound and receive calls through bone resonance. Imagine being able to hear your alarm clock without waking up your partner, or being able to walk around speaking non stop like a crazy person when really you are on an important business call with Donald Trump. The installation procedure is comparable to getting a filling which isn't too bad and lets face it, everyone loves laughing gas. My main concern with this product would be a sort of combination between Y2K, that Steven king movie Christine (where the possessed car comes to life), and that terrible M. Night Shayamalan movie, The happening, that no one saw. we would be living in a world where our teeth dictated our every move. The Hershey chocolate factory would be the fist to go. people would be squeezing tubes of toothpaste down their throats as if it was the elixer of life. main cause of death in this dental-driven future: spearmint overdose.

imagine this shit in your mouth. its on in 2012

 

camera man

    Another art project that I found to be equally as terrifying is the work of artist and photography professor at NYU,  Wafaa Bilal. By surgically implanting a camera into the back of his head which will take a picture every minute, Bilal has created a sort of commentary on how our privacy has been compromised by technology. Binal explains that with this new generation comes a level of comfort in having our picture taken unknowingly at any given time. These pictures are streamed live to an exhibit in Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar for the entire year that the camera is attached to his dome. I'm not sure if compromising my sleep for an entire year would be worth countless pictures of blank walls and pillows but I understand  the point that Bilal is making and I applaud the extent to which he has gone in order to exploit his surrounding to the fullest. However, I fear the day that overbearing mothers catch wind of this operation. There will be no hope for the hand in the cookie jar. 

Extended body: ibody

With Apple dominating the technological world with its sleek design and user-friendly interface, it is easy to see why most Americans own at least one product that Steve Jobs has blessed with his gift of outstanding marketing. Apple products have dominated technology in my life so much so that I dont even think twice when I ask myself the question 'where is my Apple USP cord so I can plug in my Apple iphone to my Apple macbook and update my itunes.' gross. So I have proposed a revolutionary idea that may be as useless yet as shinny and sleek as the ipad: the ibody. With this new body make-over you will never have to be away form any of your Apple products again because you will become one. Built-in speakers will be implanted in your head so that you can listed to itunes internally or play Beethoven's concerto no. 4 for the friends around you. A remote control on your right arm will quickly and efficiently monitor the volume of your speakers or can be synced to other electronics around you, such as your television or microwave oven for your own convenience. In your left forearm you will have access to a 3 USB ports so that you can share and store information such as reminders, as well as an ethernet jack just in case the 3G network you are currently standing in isn't loading pages at the speed of light. These will all operate from a large 9x7 inch touchscreen which also acts as a projector to show movies or simply project your screen onto a large surface for more work space. Hurry and get your body-update now because like most Apple products, it will be obsolete in 2 months!

Web Identity

Austin De'Rosa

     Sometimes I forget how easy it is to manipulate aspects of your identity online. By simply censoring and combing through the things you make public in your life, the friends you have online and the pictures you post, you could seem like an entirely different person. I completely understand how people can become addicted to social networking websites like second life because it give an otherwise shy and introverted person a chance to explore being social in a non threatening, non confrontational atmosphere. However, It is easy to see the dangers in social networking sites since a web identity can carry as much presence nowadays as our physical presence. Today there are more than 500 million active users on facebook, which is why it didn't surprise me when I received a friend request from my mother, cousin, aunt, uncle and many others who I thought were completely web illiterate. Although I didn't invite most of my family to snoop around my pictures, It makes me uneasy to think how virtually anyone can see my profile if they wanted to. My profile which I thought was as harmless as an email account now has become a window into my personal life for anyone who owns a computer. My profile is now on permanent lock-down via privacy settings.

  I really enjoyed creating an entirely new web persona because it gave me a chance to explore aspects of my life simply by taking some pictures and setting up a profile. My identity was Austin De' Rosa, the flaming Macy's makeup counter super-star who moved to the big apple to explore life outside Redding California. Although I used certain aspects of my life to create Austin, I wanted to create an identity that represented parts of me that I might be afraid to show. Though me and Austin are both gay males, Austin never has to hide from his sexuality, where ever he goes people automatically know that he watches sex and the city with his "girl friends" and listens to Lady GaGa. I, on the other hand, am out but struggle with making my sexual preference apparent since most everyone assumes that I'm straight. This is why I thought it might be good for me to explore being able to live the stereotypical gay life style. Although it was fun to dress up and do a photo shoot as a different person, it was also astonishing to see how easily I could project this aspect of me in the Internet realm. Also, I was under the impression that for our final class with Liz we were supposed to dress up as our persona. It was apparent that I was the only one who had this impression when I showed up for class, however, making my way to school from Powell station in jean hot pants and a tray full of sprinkle cup-cakes was a experience in itself. I was surprised to find that people were much nicer to me than usual. Maybe it was because I seem much less threatening...or maybe because everyone wants a token gay friend in San Francisco. Either way, SF truly is the place to be whoever you want with minimal judgement. This assignment has thought me to explore parts of myself that I am still uncomfortable with and let my inner weirdo shine though.

Unheard of...

this is the best thing that has ever happened to anyone who doesn't have a CD player in their car and has to listen to that catchy crap on the radio. you're welcome :)

unhear it

"You Were a Landscape In My Dream" a mountian conquest in Google Earth.

Mountian Conquest Movie

...The title might sound a little dramatic, but don't let it throw you, its from an Of Montreal song. One of the most incredible aspect of Google Earth is the ability to visit the highest peaks to the lowest points in the sea with no more effort than typing your desires coordinates into a search bar. Both of these places might not be rendered more than blurry geometric figures, but the idea of creating a pseudo-realistic world in which you can fly between continents in a matter of second leaves one with a sense of power, almost as if in a lucid dream state. This is why, for my project, I propose to use my dream ( and most everyone elses' dream) of flying and couple it with visiting the highest peaks I have ever been, stopping by to see the view, in a matter of minutes, much like a real dream. This dream will start from my bed in the small town of Truckee California, fly through downtown and up into the sierra Nevada Mountain range I know so well. From here my tour becomes a little more fantastic as I stop by The Italian Alps, Mt. Vesuvius and finally the Rif mountain range in the small town of Chefchaouen in Morocco, supplying a view from Google earth and a picture that I have taken from each one of these mountain ranges. These are all mountains that I have already visited so my ties to them are clear. With help from Google I will attempt to make alllll my dreams come true. 

Art inspired by google earth/ maps

google maps art progect

http://www.streetwithaview.com/

Pittsburgh based street artists Ben Kinsley and Robin Hewlett use google maps to create a world of their own. In may, Kinsley and Hewlett teamed up with google by staging unexplainable and wild scenes that would then be photographed by the google maps van and put on display for anyone who googles Sampsonia street, Pittsburgh. By photographing scenes such as two 17th century swordsmen in battle, or an escape from a window using knotted bedsheets, Kinsley and Hewlett attempt to make people "...question the notion of reality in something that we perceive as a factual representation of our world." this piece was inspired by the random moments of real life that seem mundane until they are isolated by google maps, such as being able to read your name on a wall or someone breaking into a car.

I think this project is very cleaver because it uses new media and pairs it up with installation art and created a piece that is reliant on technology but, in my opinion, maintains the hand-made feel of a painting or installation. I also like this piece because it is the concept that is most important by introducing the idea of making people question their trust in technology as well as reality; the execution seems like the easiest part of this project leaving the idea behind it the main focus.

Google Bible Earth

Australia's own James Dive is a different kinda of "Jesus-freak" as he uses google earth in order to recreate 3D models of biblical scenes. From Noah and the arc to the parting of the Red Sea and finally the crucifixion of Christ, Dive wanted to show events that may or may not have happened seem concrete when seen through the lens of technology. Dive also plays with our trust in satellite technology and wants us not to trust everything we see in a birds eye view, or what Dive in this case refers to as a "God's eye view." By mastering this new medium, Dive pieces together these biblical scene through actual images seen on google earth, for example, using images from parts of the Niagara Falls, various deserts, and the Red Sea in order to recreate the Moses scene. Dive even went as far as leaning secrets of the medium such as depth through shadows and colors schemes depending on the season to make this piece even more realistic

I really enjoyed this work because is makes google earth seem like just as much as a legitimate medium as acrylic paints or clay. It provides depth to a program that many people never thought possible. Also, I think it is very interesting how artist are now able to communicate controversial ideas though new media technology enforcing the idea that these new devices are not only here to help find direction but to make us think a little harder about how we perceive the world around us. Google earth is here to stay. might as well make it interesting.

Hyper-realism

The most incredible paintings ive ever seen.

....This just ruined my day.


Hyper-realism

VooDoo Child

This is a picture of a painting of mine before I got a chance to finish it. Its acrylic on a skate deck...I was listening to a lot of Jimi Hendrix

Community art event #1- Pixar Exhibit at the Okland Museum

After wondering though the Oakland museum and catching up on history lessons from the gold rush which didn't linger much longer than a flash of fools gold in a pan, let alone longer than 5th grade summer vacation, I found the Pixar exhibit to be much more relevant to my life. It was really nice to be able to see the progression of each individual character with every new drawing and how many sketches it took to get the perfect fit. It was kinda discouraging however thinking how none of these amazing drawings, paintings, models, sculptures, etc. are never even seen unless in a special exhibition in a museum. Also, an interview with one of the main animators for the film Finding Nemo, revealed that these films are 90% computer simulation and 10% animation...this pissed me off a little bit because it seems as though the human touch is becoming less and less apparent in new media, especially since I wish to persue a lucritive career in classic animation. I might have to give that one second thought. These are some picture I took of some of the amazing concept designs for different pixar characters. These pictures also led to me being asked to leave the museum...it was worth it.

                                           Monsters INC

                                          Finding Nemo

This next one was possible the coolest thing ive ever seen...atleast in the exhibit. They used the principals   from early cinema devices such as the praxinoscope where multiple images are placed in sequence on a wheel and then reflected through a mirror so that when you spin it the images meld and create the illusion of movement.

 Pixar, however, takes this concept one step further and creates a sequence of models on a large disk so when it spins at a high speed, and with the help of a strobe light, the forms come to life in a spectacular of overlapping images and characters. pretty sweet.

Ape School

flash animation at its finest 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96fg9N00QX0

Cyborgs in America

Ray kurzweil talks about becoming a robot...but not the kinda robot you feel like when your at work. like a real robot. 


http://www.newsweek.com/2009/05/16/i-robot.html

Designboom

you could spend your day on this site

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/search.php?search=

Sol Lewitt

22. The artist cannot imagine his art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete.

Inspiration comes to me in many forms. An awkward situation on the bus or at work could resonate into an idea or concept which, at the instant of realization, seems so clear and perfect in my head. However, once I touch pencil to paper, the idea becomes much harder to communicate what I see through my mind's eye. Lack of skill or loss of memory fade the original image until all I am left with is a multitude of scribbles and unfinished iterations. Though this process of tuning these images into a cohesive piece is important in creating the final product, my final piece has become so distant from what I first imagined that the original feeling becomes convoluted and hard to recall. Even this final product is simply a highly rendered sketch, another step in the processes of finding that original emotion.  Although I am sure that I can imagine the final piece in its most organic form from the moment of inspiration, the process of portraying this image into the this realm is almost an art form in itself.