Western Spaghetti: A whole new way of making dinner

I was told about Western Spaghetti by a friend.  It caught my attention because of its interesting subject and cool freeze frame technique.  The movie clip shows a person making spaghetti but they use everyday objects as the ingredients.

This clip reminded me of the work we have been doing in Flash, only maybe a little more complex.  The artist was very good at choosing objects that would be recognized by a widely differing audience and incorporating them into the clip as ingredients.  In that sense the new media theme shows through because the artist borrows from everyday life to create something that is very fictional.  It is kind of interesting that the artist chose these objects that we can easily recognize because it seems like the video is poking fun at the importance we show for objects.  But why? They can't feed you.  I also liked that the artist did not hide the fact that this movie was made on a computer.  If you look at the arm and hand making the food it shifts around as if drawing attention to the digitally made quality of the movie.  This emphasizes not only what you can do on a computer but also the importance people today put on the computer.  Something like a home movie has turned into topic for distortion and artistic freedom.

This video is inspirational because it shows the vast possibilities you have to create something

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBjLW5_dGAM

The Happening happening?: Frozen Grand Central Station

I first saw the Frozen Grand Central Station video after a friend suggested it to me. The group, Improve Everywhere, has one mission to "cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places". In this specific video a group of about 200 people synchronized their watches then at 2:30 they froze for five minutes. Complete freedom was given as to choice of pose as long as it was realistic. As the group was frozen Charlie Todd, one of their publishers, went around with a hidden microphone to capture some on-lookers' reactions.

I mainly chose this, besides the fact that it is one of my favorite reality videos, because of the different connections one can make to new media. First of all, it is much like the last artist I wrote about where the audience is included in the process. With this situation there was a small specific group that initiated this project but then they recruited more people making it their project as well. I liked this idea of group ownership or art belonging to the people and not one person. Second of all, I like the different technology used to capture this scene. Most people identify that cameras were set up to videotape but then there were also microphones on the participants so that the viewers can hear different responses. I think that this is interesting because art is out there to create a response, to inspire people to question and think about different topics but those responses are not usually shared with a vast audience. This brings to light a new style, much like blogs, where people can "post" the first impression responses of viewers to art. Third of all, I saw a relation to the "cut and paste" quality of new media. With this project there is the original work, which would be the real time freezing, but then there is also the replication when a viewer opens the web page and how the video is played over and over again, entering households all over the world. Building on this idea, each copy of the video is slightly different, or at least the viewer's experience changes. Because the videos are so packed with stimuli, a person could focus on a different portion of video and see totally different views, people, reactions. In this sense this unchanging recording can actually grow.

I also liked how people can relate this to popular entertainment. Besides all the new reality television out there, this has a strong, but less frightening, relation to the plot of the Happening. In that movie the people freeze before.... (I guess you have to see the movie). Fortunately, this video came out months before M. Night Shyamalan's and so no real panic ensued.

This video is inspirational to me because it helps to encapsulate how vast new media is.

Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki's computer equipped umbrellas: not just for dancing in the rain

With the use of UMBRELLA.net participants using hand held computers attached to the shaft of the umbrella can form networks with other users in the area. When a user is connecting an LED shines red and when they are connected the LED is blue.
Scrolling through the list of provided artists, I was drawn to the interesting picture of the illuminated umbrellas and wanted to know more about it. Although this work is more about the technology behind it it can be related to new media as well. If there were numerous people with these in a crowd it would make an intriguing sight to see. The colors and luminosity would add some amount of aesthetic to a drab crowd. It also incorporates the new media art style the Happenings of the '60s and '70s just as Alan Kaprow did with his 18 Happenings in 6 Parts (1959) where the audience is involved in the artist's work.
This work is inspirational because with wide spread use it can include those who might not normally be interested in art works. It also emphasizes the participation of the audience, which allows the art to be a living changing thing. I also like the fact that it pokes fun at the world's growing desire to have computers everywhere and the purchase of ridiculous items.