11 June 2009
Two examples of “visual art” imagery as selected by (semi-)democratic processes
Below are two examples of what visual art looks like as determined by democratic processes. One was determined through a simple Google image search on the term “visual art.” The result is an answer determined via algorithm-enhanced democratic process. The second was arrived at via an open call at the New York Times’ photojournalism blog, a more selective form of democratic process governed by human will and motivation. It was subject to light editing, and the limitation that all images needed to be created via Polaroid.
Click on the images below for more information.
Democracy is a process not an all-encompassing solution to all open questions. Yet, raised as we have been in an era of it’s seeming triumph — viz, American Idol, Barack Obama, the fall of the Soviet empire — the word carries with it all sorts of kneejerk positive implications. There are, however, no absolute goods (just as there are no absolute evils). In some sectors of life & expression, democracy should be considered an, at best, ambiguous tool. (Viz, again, American Idol.) History seems to have determined that democracy is the lesser evil process for making decisions about public affairs. Its use in determining aesthetic issues remains in doubt.
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Democracy, Essay, Ethics, Google, Internet Fads, New York Times, Photos, Visual Art
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2 June 2009
Baby baby send me an email (w/ 2 internet poems)
Click above for larger sized version.
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Concrete Poetry, Email, Found Images, Internet Fads, J-Shin, Love, music, T-Pain, Tila Tequila, Video
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1 April 2009
Media in the Age of Digital Media aka The Cloud, The Book, Shirky & Me
Eight years ago (!?!), while freelancing for an unusually open-minded alternative newspaper called LA Weekly, I started on what I imagined as a triumverate of stories about the death of old music media (vinyl, CDs, etc.) and the birth of…something else in the era of the Cloud. I’ll summarize them in more depth below but essentially, the first effort was about Art in the Era of Digital Media, and the second was about Business in the Era of Digital Media. The third article would have to be about Media in the Era of Digital Media, but I have yet to write it.
There are a number of reasons why.
First the positive perspective: I am pretty good with artists and often able to spot progressive musical memes early on; I have a pretty solid business head on my shoulders insofar as I am pragmatic, if not ahead of the curve, about money matters; I am not, however, much of a technology guy. My hope was that someone else more directly involved in high level thought about publishing might write that third article for me.
Now, the bad news: I haven’t found that person or that article quite yet. Rays of light, however, have begun to shine through. As the collapse of old media institutions becomes more and more apparent, more people in the content industries (journalism, academia, publishing) are making credible efforts at writing my theoretical piece — one that roughly explains how media creation and consumption will look in the future. After the jump, I summarize my pieces, then point toward three recent efforts by third parties to sketch out the future!
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Clay Shirky, Essay, Internet Fads, Music Business, Youth
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27 May 2008
On Weezer, the Numa Numa dance, and Internet Fame
I’m taking a temporary hiatus from this BLOG. No more teenage kicks for me. Well, at least for a couple weeks (or months) until I sort some stuff out.
In the meantime, I hope this compilation of internet snacks from Weezer’s new video “Pork & Beans” tides you over until my (inevitable?) return:
And if you’re wondering, just what “Pork & Beans” is about, let me take a go…
Posted by Alec Hanley Bemis
Tags: Internet Fads, Memes, Video, Weezer