Disconnect

Stress

television origins

This website is absolutely awesome, extremely informative and interesting.
I must say, I have learned a lot just by browsing through here.
This is a museum in Canada dedicated to the preservation of the history of technology, specifically television and is open to the public for $6.
Televisions were a symbol of leisure activities in the 40s and 50s. The sets were expensive and massive and has evolved to an every day necessity. This museum takes people through the origin of the set and informs someone about this very powerful piece of culture that we now, take for granted. There are T.Vs in bathrooms, in car seats, airplanes, and the most obscure places. But who takes the time to think about where it all started?
Moses Znaimer is the executive producer and president of MZTV, a collector and advocate of Televison sets

on the website there is a TV timeline

^^this was "first revealed at the New York World Fair in 1939" - I think this looks much like an old jukebox.  . It's crazy to think the screen is so small compared to it's large oak body.

What I noticed flipping through the timeline was from the beginning each television screen was square, but is changed to a rounded design in the 1950s with the G2327 Garfield. 

In fact flipping through to the end of the timeline, this was the only television with a completely rounded screen. I understand how a rounded television would be difficult to view pictures on, however I think if this design was upgraded it could give a interesting feel to an audience. Rounded edges are more pleasing to me then rectangular edges. 

in 1937 the first projection television was made. I found this interesting Never realized how early the invention of a projection television was. 

In terms of design, the square television stayed the same, and the bodies changed. First from giant bottom heavy structures, to thinner ones with legs that would sit on a table. Each enhancement was a different design. No two designs were necessarily the same through the years.

The website has a whole section dedicated to the pioneers of television and their contributions. Such as Paul Nipkow, David Sarnoff, Philo Farnsworth, and Charles Jenkins. Each pioneer is recognized for their acts and improvements on television. I think this is a great historical section of the website and enjoyed I reading about each person.

The Worlds Fair in New York was the perfect place to reveal the television because it was a fair based on showing new consumer products. The public's beloved radio now had moving pictures they could follow on a screen and listen at the same time. This was a truly revolutionary idea. Television in the home was something everyone wanted to get their hands on.

With this new technology people were linked to the world in a way never before. News was broadcasted and not just heard, but seen by milions. Monumental events like presidential elections and Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon were shown in living rooms. The public came together to watch the television. Truly a revolutionary part of our history that is cherished from this website.

electronics alive // experimental skeleton

the presentation about experimental skeleton was really cool.
"    " was very passionate about the subject and talked about his contributions to the artist group
it was nice to hear from a local Tampa artist
the group of artists put a lot of thought and creativity into each of their works.

http://experimentalskeleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/post-metal-install.html
I distinctly remember this project from the lecture,
It was striking to me that an idea so simple, turned into something so awesome looking.

With a 100,000 pounds of sand, and some high powered fans, Post Metal Instal was born.
[   ] said the artist was most concerned with the razor edge line that was made from the sand falling into place.
I think it's a cool concept - bringing a sand dune into a basement of a building...

the blog is a great way for each artist to post their own ideas and photos of their works, or other works they have seen.
a great tool to report and get feedback on designs.

----

Experimental Skeleton project the wishing well.
This piece was meant to record wishes as part of the Tampa Booty Art Expo.
I found this piece to be very interesting. It is well made and has a soft pastel back drop that adds to the installation. I really like how the well is almost enclosed but the ceiling is left open to the sky.

flip book research

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/5U36sP/www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal

^ awesome inspiration for the flip book animation

I love the use of media in this animation. He draws on objects, his hands, he uses so many different kinds of drawing and ideas. I absolutely love this animation. The music is fantastic. The best part is the shot of his hand and moving it away there is a drawn outline under it. AWESOME

so many different scenes on this, i love how his hands are the tool to move and bend the shapes. very interesting and nicely done!

INCREDIBLE

I absolutely would love to come up with something like this. The interaction between artist and the art itself is amazing. He is truely a character in his own piece. He interacts with what he is making and that is the most incredible part of this animation.

really awesome idea, all on T-shirts.

really getting inspired for this project :)

1952-1971

In the 1950s a lot was going on.

-The first artificial telescope was launched > Sputnik. The first pictures, look at the stars from a floating object

-Rock and roll became popular 

-Jackson Pollock

-Dada- the idea of surrealism, the use of uncommercial objects telling a story, making a stance. 

-Pop art

-the hydrogen bomb was first tested in 1952

the 1950s were a flourishing time about pop culture, the new idea of COLOR television

convertibles, children's toys, refrigerators 

in the 1960s, the civil right movement gave African American rights. They could vote by 1965

HIPPIES !

in the 1960s hippies emerged.

Free loving, peace valuing, drug taking, lovers. 

color, skirts, long hair, fancy sunglasses, bellbottom jeans, music, sex, love, and freedom.

Neil Armstrong lands on the moon in 1969

Between 1950-1970 the Vietnam war was happening

in 1971 the clockwork orange was released.

This movie was really influential, the idea of freedom. The characters were free from government, social norms, their emotions were acted on no matter what. Nihilists. They didn't care about anything or anyone. Whatever they wanted to do, they did. 

I think this is a pivotal important point for beginning of the 1970s, 

America has evolved from, girls wearing long skirts and dresses to cover their skin, to becoming more risque- It seems like this movie took every social normality and threw it out the window. What mom and dad preach to children was abolished. For once the audience saw what it was like to follow your stream of conscious, to go deep into their unconscious and act on feeling. Straight feeling, and not about how it was effecting others. 

Rebellion.

much like the speak easies in the 20s. 

Except, this was public rebellion. 

the military would go to war, see a bunch of terrifying images and come back to the US with PTSD

and do drugs.

Drugs were so popular

mind altering substances.

art was psychedelic .

Drugs can take away the pain and harsh realities of life, and put you in a place of paradise. A world of not caring, a dream that feels real. Colors are brighter, feelings are more intense, it's the idea of relaxation, intensity. soul searching.

A clockwork orange really emanated this idea.

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/

http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1950timeline.htm

Abel Gance - Napolean

Napolean is a pretty smart dude, I liked how he used his belt buckle as a mirror to see the enemy behind him, just a side note that was entertaining to watch :) The camera shots in the film vary from close up, medium, and wide angle. The audience gets the full effect of what is going on in the snowball fight, as the camera shows where they land. The story seems fast paced. There is a lot of action going on during the fight, and when guys are taken down in the snow.
This film uses incredible transitions.

This film explores transitons! Here Gance uses a crossfade technique to show the character over the background, which is quite interesting for this time.

He also uses an Vignette

The next portion is incredible, he uses fast cuts to create suspense and energy. The fast cuts are another use of transitions. 

He also uses photo montage, in this shot it is three different scenes but in others, it is one image cut into three different parts which is extremely interesting to see.

This camera angle gives the idea of motion, the horses are running towards the camera getting bigger and closer to the screen. Also it is interesting that the filming here is shot in high key, with a strong contrast.

Whereas, in this shot the woman looks like she is glowing. Her hair and face are blurred out to the background and the light is soft. She appears almost heavenly.

There are only a few examples here, but the film is full of amazing transitions which is a highly new idea for film at this time. 

Daft Punk head.

I need to make this.

SPLENDID INSTALLATIONS!

florentijn hofman
Amazing.

http://www.florentijnhofman.nl/dev/projects.php

The Stock Market Crash

The stock market crash of the 1920s was severely detrimental. Not only was the value of money decreased causing inflation, but people became homeless, jobless, and even more poor then ever. Business's, banks, and farming failed.
My personal thoughts on the Great Depression surround technology. Back then, the only way information was really transfered was word of mouth to the poor, newspapers and radios to people who owned them to the rich. I mean, it was pretty difficult to keep in touch with anything that was going on in the world back then. Yes, the stock market crashed and many people suffered. I kind of think of it like. It takes 8 minutes for the light of the sun to hit the Earth, but within that 8 minutes of wait time the Earth would be oblivious to the fact that the sun burned out 5 minutes ago. Make sense?
Back then, information was not readily available like it is today.
The Depression forced the world into crisis mode.
No one had the funds to pay for what was sold, and the ones that could; would buy less of what they wanted because they had a family to feed at home.
Tariffs were popular, ghettos were abundant, the gap between the rich and the poor was farther away then ever and the gap between the poor and the middle class was just the opposite.

The depression of 2008 is a lot of the same but different.
I remember once at work [at the Vet] getting a note in my mailbox that said we were not going to get 25 cent annual raises that year because of economic depression.
People couldn't afford to board their dogs when they went on vacation anymore.
Everyone was outraged.
and I think that was the start for me when I noticed that things were going into peril.
This time, everyone knew about what was going on. The stocks crashing were news events, people texted about it, the information spread like wildfire. The housing market collapsed and banks were greedy.
The awareness, in my opinion, probably made things worse. The more people knew the more people paniced. This time it's different though.
In 2008 we are stable enough to keep ourselves together, stop boarding our animals at the vet, stop going on vacation, take away the leisure activities was the first step. In the 1920s, there wasn't any of that. Leisure activities were only set aside for the rich to begin with. The 1920s brought about prohibition, rebellion, and promiscuity. When the market crashed it led to war.

Today, we are slowly bringing ourselves out of it, but it's not perfect. We face the imaginary threat of war based on prior expirences

We still aren't getting yearly raises at work.

Jazz. The melting pot of New Orleans

I chose a very well written paper about jazz music and its origins written by a jazz musician Billy Taylor. He explains jazz music is a form of personal expression, beyond the social norms. It pushes musical standards and allows for change. Jazz is a different language among artists. Jazz was originally improvisations and musicians would learn by trial and error of replicating others. 

African music was their foundation of freedom from work, and bad home life. It was the way to escape harsh life realities, motivate others, and enjoy life. Africans were sold as slaves to the United States and coming from multiple tribes music was their language of choice. According to this article, when African slaves reached the states they were not allowed to use their instrument of choice; the drum. This was difficult, but they formed a new language and kept their strong heritage and traditional melodies in tact.

 

The paper describes the initial root of jazz music was implemented in a group called spirituals. Spirituals are slaves who would sing about their dream of freedom. Using knowledge of drum rhythm, the spiritual music elaborated into musical elements of harmony and timbre. Spiritual was the combination of taking culture and improv and making melodies, harmonies, and truly the beginning of jazz.

Spirituals were sparked blues and ragtime. 

The article is very detailed and interesting. It goes on to explain the different types of jazz, such as hard bop, progressive, third stream, funky,  the strong musicians of these styles, and the evolution of the music itself.

Ending the paper was the most interesting part of the whole 13 page essay, 

"In true “melting pot” style, jazz has absorbed many diverse

elements; but it has developed its own concepts and traditions by fusing those elements

together in a manner which is unquestionably tied to the time and place of its origin. Jazz

is truly America’s classical music."

I really liked how this paper was focused purely on the music itself. Many other articles I read said that 'The origin of jazz music was in New Orleans' 'It was a melting pot' 'many different ethnicity's were involved'. Those articles were moreso focuses on the geographic location of jazz and the involvement of people making the music. But this article, explained how the music style itself changed. It went in depth of how the elements of music changed through each style.

 I had a deep appreciation for this article and would recommend anyone to read it

http://www.billytaylorjazz.com/Jazz.pdf