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This artwork is based on Google’s Tay Bot, which went rogue and became a neo-nazi, analyzing what twitter users inputted to create its own “knowledge.” It was a source of controversy, as it was banned at the Beijing Biennale for being too explicit a commentary on surveillance and data analysis.

The artist, Zach Blas, gave a memorable talk here at Cornell last year, partly because barely anyone laughed at what I thought was a very funny presentation.

After the talk, I spoke with the artist, Zach Blas, who said that he encountered similar reactions in other North American lectures, as opposed to the European audience’s sense of humour he is used to. He then introduced me to Hito Steyerl for the first time, as well as a few other artists who use humour to explore their often sobering subject-matter. If nothing else, I would love to make sure I find ways to channel humour, whether others find it funny or not, in my artwork.

12/1

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You know, I was really excited to get find I had received my first “note” on this blog. This was huge! I was finally receiving attention! 

It was great until I clicked on the account that came up and found that it was one of THESE. I wonder how many spambots are out there, peddling sex and scandalous content. I really like when people use AI’s and programs for art, but I wonder if there could be some way to use these bots to reflect on the presence of the internet or something like that. Perhaps track same/similar bots and make a satirical short film by likening them to well-traveled adventurers, thus bringing the privilege of international travel to the common group. That idea is missing a bit of “kick,” but I’d love to hear more ideas about how to use social media bots for art.

12/1

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Learning and practicing photoshop and illustrator in class has already lent itself quite well to my other classes. For my printmaking projects, I have been able to create designs to silkscreen and matrixes from which to base complex three-dimensional lithographs. Over the break, I spent a great deal of time scanning film negatives, breaking them up, fixing blemishes in each individual frame, and rearranging all 360+ images in a new digital contact sheet format. It took a hefty deal of time, but I’m confident I’m on the way toward a successful and original final facilitated by the use of digital processes. 

12/1

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I only got Spotify earlier this year. No idea why I waited this long. But the access to the songs that I thought were BANGERS when I was 15 as well as classic recordings by the greatest of the great classical musicians (and everything in-between) is pretty darn fantastic. I’m curious to see how long Spotify will survive, considering the ever-increasing proliferation of music. Just seeing the services like Amazon and Apple Music copying its model (though I suppose they all follow in Knapster’s footsteps) makes me wonder what will happen, whether some will cancel others out.

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Digital art is “very much looking at the materiality of data,” according to this video by the British Council Arts. What was curious to me was that so many of the installations focused on mimicking or interacting with the visitors, creating a play between viewer and artwork. What was shown in the video are positive or at least awe-inspiring creations. I’m curious if there are more negative versions using similar immediate camera-based learning technologies, for instance, ones that display the naked vulnerability of constant data monitoring. Perhaps it’s impossible to communicate the degree to which data is used for nefarious purposes, or how we are under surveillance in the moment. However, I think that retrospective reflection is still extremely important, though less flashy than the incredible face of digital art shown in the video. I hope my installation for the final project is at least thought-provoking, though it won’t have the immediate captivating effect of, for instance, the bird-people pictured in the thumbnail. My goal is to manufacture something that’s at least slightly unnerving.

11/25

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Film Update Week 3

That’s a wrap on my part in the film! This Sunday, I woke up at 6 AM to rob a bank! The crew of five drove down to Ithaca at daybreak and filmed in a car outside the Community Bank of Ithaca, with permission of course. It was quite illuminating to have to work around the early-morning commotion, as we positioned ourselves inside and outside the car to achieve different audio qualities. Thankfully, I was clothed for this part of the shoot, though I did vomit for the third time in the film. This has been an extremely rewarding experience, and I’m greatly looking forward to seeing the final project on December 13th!

11/25

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Digital Media (there’s a correlation to another class I’m taking but this doesn’t need further context because I can’t give it any)

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I’m curious to see how this is received in class. I’m fairly sure it will be a failure if the viewer doesn’t concentrate on the English subtitles. I wonder how I managed to let myself create such a fast-paced video when I have always reacted negatively to the “bang-bang” flashy format that doesn’t allow the viewer to focus on any one frame. I hope that effect works for the better during the robot-read passage and doesn’t detract too much from the calmer Japanese tanka-poetry sections. I won’t share further concerns at the moment. However, I’ve certainly discovered that creating something “out-of-character” (or in a newly discovered manner?) certainly stimulates a lot of conjecture and self-criticism.

10/18

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Update: The Film

Filmed one more session. The last time naked for the film. This week, I was confronted with the question, “what about your art do you believe in?” as a general consideration to keep in mind about what one creates. I suppose that what brought me to this film was how much the director believed in his script, more so a personal connection to its contents. Of course I’m interested in simulation theory and this concentrated and purely comedic approach to the topic. However, I’m not sure I signed up for anything more than the experience. I’m sure the final product will be extremely satisfying. But (and I’m serious) just getting to bond with a number of seniors in the PMA department by performing in front of them in as vulnerable a state possible has been gratifying enough. Really looking forward to the showing on December 13th. Next weekend, I get to go down to the City of Ithaca and rob a bank (with a permit to do so, of course). Filmmaking is pretty darn awesome.

11/18

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The existence of this video sealed the deal and convinced me that we live in the Matrix: even taking into consideration the “American” sense of humor 16 years ago, there’s no way that a huge media corporation put such a huge effort into a video with such a disparity in funny to unfunny jokes. There are just enough funny moments to warrant it believable, but so many ones that fall flat that I can’t help but wish I belonged to another reality.

10/11

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I hadn’t realized that Giacometti and Cezanne, two of my favorite artists, are considered “existentialist” artists. But it makes a lot of sense: they often focused on unglorified human subjects simply existing in their time, “living” with no purpose or ideology beyond the setting or action portrayed (exemplified by the two examples in this article, Walking Man I and The Card Players). I’d like to drift toward the depiction of “neutral” but inherently powerful subject matter: a push away from the conceptuality that seems to have me in its pull.

11/10 

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This weekend, I began shooting a 20-minute film in which I play a simulation named Bo (for Baudrillard) who “dies” in his fake world and appears in an empty dark room. There, it is revealed that his purpose of existence is to test adult diapers for a corporation by being stimulated/programmed to be a perfect test subject in the absence of a focus group. I will keep you updated on this project. I appear fully nude for a few shots for the effect of vulnerability/nihilist dark comedic purposes. I just find it extremely funny that I’m now putting aside schoolwork in order to create an existentialist art-film, considering the overwhelming existential dread I experienced earlier this semester thanks to a number of my classes.

11/10

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Mind, 12″ x 24″, stone and plate lithograph/woodblock.

My printmaking final project from the first semester here. It incorporates imagery from Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil, which left a great impression on me that semester, a scene from Fantasia, one of the few movies from my childhood that I remember distinctly, and Japanese patterns embroidered into a curtain from home. The frames I chose from Marker’s film are from a passage in which he distorts imagery of Kamikaze pilots flying toward their targets, putting their atrocities in colorful abstraction in a neutralizing but ultimately critical depiction. Voiced over by letters that showed the pilots’ brainwashing, the forms in the frames seem to match the tones of the lines. These potentially troublesome images appeal to me as turbulent and powerful thoughts, contrasted with the tranquil central image of the bridge that was set to the music of Schubert’s Ave Maria, an extremely beautiful and comforting piece. Framed by the familiar pattern, the images resemble a reel of film and a Japanese tapestry, a balanced reflection on the state and contents of my mind after a semester of college.

11/1 

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Inspired by a number of visual essays I studied the first semester of college, this short film utilizes the music of blind composers, rhythmic cutting of personal and borrowed imagery, photomontage, and references to a number of films to share a personal reflection. I was very proud of this project, especially because I made it in place of my final essay for a writing class (it took way longer than it would have taken to write an essay, but at least I had fun staring at the computer screen!). However, I regret that I was unable to capture the greatest voice-over audio, as I recorded it with little awareness of audio technicality. Hope you enjoy!

10/30

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What Walter Murch meant by Hitchcock’s Rope giving the impression “of a complete lack of editing” was that the majority of the edits are unhidden “hard cuts.” However, they do flow naturally, as if a character were entering onstage in a play or the focus is shifted within a room without jumping forward in time.

10/30

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I rewatched Grave of the Fireflies recently in order to find imagery to incorporate into a lithograph I am working on. The print mirrors some thematic elements within the film, and I hope my project conveys even the slightest bit of devastating beauty this film does.

If there’s one thing my classmates have learned about me this fall, it’s that I don’t like popular anime. Growing up with an exposure to classic Japanese art and culture that my grandmother (semi-)teasingly says makes me more Japanese than my fully Japanese cousins, I was discontented that the only deep knowledge and interest of Japanese culture my American friends had was in contemporary anime. I stay clear of the dramatically cartoonish TV series because their catchiness only seems good for temporary entertainment.

However, Studio Ghibli is an outlier. I visited an exhibit on the worlds they create, featuring giant architectural models and original watercolor stills from many films. Through poetic storytelling and powerful imagery, their films reflect on fantastical and devastating topics. I’m willing to give newer anime a chance, considering some of my peers’ obsessions (I’ve discovered that anime is extremely prevalent across institutes of higher education), but I don’t think it’s possible to replicate the pure quality of classic Ghibli films. I’m still not sure when or why I decided these films are the exception to my anti-anime crusade, but I think they truly hold a subtle quality that I more easily equate with Japanese art.

https://jw-webmagazine.com/studio-ghibli-architecture-in-animation-exhibition-30dd74a3ba44/

10/27