-
Technology on its own just isn’t as fun. It needs art. To some extent, I do agree with the following… The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people. ~Karl Marx Artists are extremely USEFUL people.
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
[Traditional Art enters the room] Dorothy (DS): Hey Traditional!! I’m glad you could make it. I really wanted you to meet my friend, Digital. I know you’ve heard a lot about her. She’s amazing! Just like you! Traditional: I don’t know about this. I’ve heard a lot about Digital. She moves way too fast. I mean, all those connections. Who knows where all those wires have been?! Are you sure this is a good idea? I’m okay with all the…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
Art writer, Christopher Knight wrote an entry for his Los Angeles Times blog, Culture Monster, about artist Trevor Paglen last September. His work has been unforgettable since then. Chronicles of satellites and planes doing reconnaissance work in the night sky play an intriguing yet integral part in our collective understanding of our (militaristic) history. Paglen’s work is allegorical and shows how modern technology can affect our understanding of topics such as politics, economics, and the act of seeing. I find myself much more engaged with history than ever before through his illuminating (pun intended)…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
Since my mind has been on Surveillance Art the past few days, I couldn’t help but write about it (again). Specifically, my interest lie in the legal aspects and ramifications surrounding this particular art form and its effects on citizens. Aside from issues of safety and privacy, footage of any kind becomes art when you modify what it. With so much altering of anything these days (i.e., photos, audio, film footage, etc.); what is believable, verifiable, or trustworthy? Last year, I did a Shotgun Review…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
It takes a lot to make me uneasy. A couple months ago, I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) and heard a story about Mattel’s Video Girl Barbie, which piqued my interest considering the doll prompted an FBI warning. You can listen to the Morning Edition story here. It made me incredibly uneasy because innocent play seems strange all of sudden. Technology not only moves us faster into a higher and more sophisticated level of surveillance, it almost dictates…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
Everyone uses Google, well, almost everyone… I know I use Google (as a search engine, my e-mail, etc.) so it was amazing to see their latest addition to the Google applications – Art Project! Granted, I’d much rather see the musuems of the world in person but if I can’t spend the money to go to Madrid, Paris, or London, I can pay AP a visit and see what is on exhibit! I’ll have to explore and ruminate about this…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
On my way to work, I was thinking how I’ve been writing about artists that would, categorically, put themselves on opposite ends of the art spectrum. Craft and Technology. Both types of artists may feel marginalized from the main stream art world. Yet, both have certainly found their way into art museums and galleries by using craft or technology as a means of conveying ideas. For instance, take a look at Stephanie Syjuco’s, The Counterfeit Crochet Project, which examines globalization.…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
The Office Marilyn Monroe [sic] Film by Tim Roseborough, Courtesy of the Artist Lately, it’s been ridiculously cold but I know my west coast, home-grown California tuchus hasn’t experienced real cold weather. Yes, my east coast friends, I know this Bay Area weather is nothing. Someone please remind me to not say “Geez, it’s awfully cold out” in the presence of an east coaster who has a far different idea of what cold means! I figured, in such extreme weather (please remember,…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
-
This past year has been filled with pleasant surprises in the arts, in particular, New Media Art. One of the co-founders, Tim Roseborough, of the UpgradeSF node is a New Media artist I’ve been paying a lot of attention to lately. Not only am I intrigued by digital and multi-media art, I’m enthralled by the ways in which new media artists must engage their viewer on a level of thought that looks at technology as a means to convey something…
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
¶¶¶¶¶
writer | artist | scholar
Dorothy R. Santos, Ph.D. 