Project 3

Flash Project: The Pianist

Ch. 2 in Digital Art

When reading Ch. 2, I was drawn by the idea of installations, especially in the context of digital art. Installations aim at creating certain 'environments' that act as different worlds for the viewer to interact with. The work of Erwin Redl attracted me immediately. His installations create a space that would otherwise be unknown to its viewers. It's large scale creates awe within the tiny onlookers. In fact, the largeness of his pieces seem to engulf the viewers into this world. Though his pieces, such as Matrix IV are very simplistic in their design, the simplicity seems to add to the inherent idea behind his works - space. Matrix IV is a wall made up of LEDs that seem to tower above the onlookers. I can't help but look at it, with awe, and realize the importance of space.

In regard to this chapter, there are a lot of artists who are tackling digital installation/interactive art. A lot of the innovative artists can be found at this website. They take into account things like space, scale, placement, etc. I especially enjoyed  The Reactable. I'm unsure really how it works, but it is amazing.

Ch. 3 Reading Response

Greene starts off Chapter 3 by explaining that the Internet increased not only interaction between users, but also increased communication, information and in turn the global economy. This easy access to information created a new breed of people: hackers. Hackers have a "sinister" reputation of gaining information for selfish reasons, like exploiting secret documents or corrupting data. They are popularly depicted as kids who are up to no good, like in the movie Hackers. However, Greene clarifies that the people engaged in this type of hacking are actually called 'crackers.' This bad reputation was wrongly gained through several high-profile cases.

I find it interesting that there were artists, Dominguez's project SWARM, who thought that gaining such information through hacking was actually considered 'art.' I have trouble believing fully that these projects are in fact art. Perhaps hacking can lead to a certain amount of revolution, but I would not consider it to be art. I can recognize that hacking takes a certain amount of creativity and ingenuity, but cannot really be placed in a gallery setting for others to view and identify with.

Thoughts: The Flash Project

First of all, Flash is one crazy confusing program.  I'm not sure that I'll ever understand its full potential... at least not anytime soon.  Despite that fact, I am really enjoying delving further into the program for this project.  I have had experience in Flash prior to this project because of my classes in the TAM program here at CU.  I've made a game (nothing really fancy), a short movie with images, and a website. All pretty basic and took forever to complete.

For this project conceptually I am still struggling. I think I might want to make another movie with some digital images I've taken, but I am still unsure.  I would like to do something different from what I've done in the past. I know that the project is going to be focused more on form and color rather than ideas - more abstract and visually-based.

One thing I've noticed in my experience with Flash is that the internet has made learning the program very easy. If you at least have a general understanding of Flash (like movie clips, layers, keyframes, tweens, etc.), all you really have to do is google for tutorials on how to do everything else. Google and the internet truly help new and passionate designers excel in digital and web design.