Alright here goes the first of my week of postings for 511:
With the discussions on immersion and what seemed to be a debate over "content" (the psychological discourse between the viewer and the work) vs "medium" (the technology), it seemed fitting to discuss this in the context of all new media, rather than just our program's primary research areas of video games and VR. The medium in which we choose to express our work may not be doing all of the legwork of conveying our message to the user, but it definitely informs how the content of the work is portrayed to our audience. Content is always actualized in some medium, even if it's just a verbal or written description, and it's our choice as the artist what technology we use to embody our content. The content is what will psychologically immerse the audience in the artwork, but the medium in which the content is realized facilitates this immersion.
So why is the technology that we use important to the artwork and immersion that it provides? It is because the media embodiment of the content of our work speaks toward the message we are trying to get across.
As Marshall MacLuhan put it, "The medium is the message" and this is the uniting theme between all works of new media. It is the realization that the content of an artwork cannot be separated from some sort of medium in which it is expressed, so the medium itself should be used to help carry your message across.
So why are VR, video games, bio art, robotic and cybernetic artwork all grouped together under the field of new media? Because there is this shared understanding that the medium itself is being crafted to function hand in hand with the content of the artwork to get across the artist's message.
So the following is the first of my five 511 posts discussing interesting niche's of new media that use the content of their medium to further serve the messages they're trying to express...first up:
BioArt
With bioengineering and biotechnology becoming more and more prevalent in our society today, many ethical questions regarding these research fields have come to the foreground.
Many artists have embraced biotech as their medium of choice, this artform being coined BioArt. Whether it is used its as a means of activism to speak out against current biotech practices, as a means of questioning wider social issues, or simply as a new field for artistic experimentation, BioArt artists embrace biotech tools and methodologies for use in creating art.
Eduardo Kac ("http://www.ekac.org/")
"GFP Bunny/Alba"
("http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor")
His best known piece, the GFP (Green Flourescent Protein) Bunny named Alba is a rabbit that was genetically altered to produce a protein found in jellyfish. The result: A glowing flourescent rabbit.
Tissue Culture & Art Project ("http://www.tca.uwa.edu.au/")
This group experiments with the growth of tissue cultures to address various social and ethical issues. For instance "Victimless Leather" is an artwork in which a tiny stitchless jacket was grown from living tissue culture.
Orlan ("http://www.orlan.net/")
Had a series of unorthodox cosmetic surgeries done on herself in her "self-hybridations" in order to question the norms of the western conception of beauty.
Critical Art Ensemble ("http://www.critical-art.net/biotech/index.html")
Have done works that test for and question the distribution of genetically modified foods in the American market.
Biotech Hobbyist ("http://www.nyu.edu/projects/xdesign/biotechhobbyist/")
A project aimed at encouraging the public in tinkering with biotech sciences.