Monday, June 10, 2013
PowerPoint on Race
PowerPoint on Race viewable on Slideshare.com
Friday, May 17, 2013
Post 3
The media, its not what it seams to be. Back in
the 80s, there was at least 50 “owners” now that number has come down to 6. The
six are; ime Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., CBS
Corporation and NBC Universal.
It is not the fact that there are not enough owners of the media in The
United States, it’s the fact that these 6 owners control what we the audience
see in terms of television show, radio shows and especially advertisement. They
basically have a lock and can control what we buy and can stir our interests
because they can advertise anything through commercials or even product
placement.
The same owner owns all TV stations and radio stations we listen and
watch regularly and we the audience I am sure most likely have never even realized
that. The fact that there is a single owner for most of the media is that they
have they have the power to brainwash us to have the same view as them.
As the new generation is growing up, they are realizing that most of
the news companies are not able to be trusted. For example, I know many people
who hate to watch Fox news or read a certain newspaper because they know that
the certain news group is bias against certain ideas. Basically at the end of
the day, like every American business, concept, theory, etc. it is all about
making money even if it isn’t the honest and moral way.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
How to Get Famous in Six Seconds
ME.
Still from my short film, Holly Rose (below). |
w h a t I ' m a l l a b o u t
My name is Rudy Mancuso, and I am a 21-year-old college student with a semester left to graduate. Hopefully. If I pass this class. I am currently majoring in Video Production and Music, and couldn't be happier doing so. My interests revolve around being an aspiring filmmaker, musician, and natural artisan; most prominently, I am a media-maker. Whether it be through short films, music videos, promos, comedic shorts, film scoring, composing, editing, recording, singing, or anything...I simply love to create.
I made this 90-second short about 7 months ago (2012), utilizing individuals and recourses from none other than the Rutgers Newark campus itself (including locations, narration, actors, etc.). It pretty much wraps up what I love to do in its 90 seconds. It's entitled, Holly Rose.
I've started my own independent production company about a year back, and have been pretty successful thus far. I plan to ultimately succeed in the independent filmmaking industry/music-production business, maybe by creatively combining both mediums within my work (as I attempted to do in Holly Rose).
VINE.
8 5 d a y s a g o , t h i s s t a r t e d
For those who don't know, Vine is a fairly new (1/13) Twitter-owned mobile application that gives users the ability to post looping 6-second videos clips. It's been often called the "Instagram of video". The app, as assumed, was quick to explode through mobile users across the globe (including numerous celebrities), within months. With the creative revival of stop-motion art, clever narrative shorts, comedic skits, and more, Vine began to (and continues to) offer a truly engaging, interesting, entertaining, and innovative "on-the-spot" social network app experience.
About three months ago, I naturally decided to download the app. I was instantly hooked as I found myself watching random users' video clips daily. It wasn't until a few weeks in, however, that I decided to make my first official "vine". It was a fairly effortless idea, where I simply put on a silly Spanish accent, and spun into different outfits. It can be seen by visiting the link placed in the subheading above (labeled "t h i s"). After that I made another. Then another. Then a few with my sweet Brazilian mother. Then some more. I progressively began getting "likes" on the videos; both from random users as well as friends who had also downloaded the app. It wasn't until I uploaded my "Lion King" video, however, that my phone began to explode. With one simple, idiotic idea, I received over 1,000 likes in about an hour. From then on, an abundance of "followers" tackled my app's account, and continued to grow exponentially.
The sort-of popular clips did not seem to impress me in any significant way, until the recognition went a step further. Before I knew it, celebrities (Simon Rex, Andy Milinokis, Riff Raff, Dane Cook, Bob Saget, Josh Peck, etc.), the creators of the app itself, and notable producers were noticing these six-second creations. Not only was I receiving tons of notifications, emails, and advertisement offers, but many other users began recreating my videos, ultimately triggering my own hashtag: #rudymancuso. There was even a YouTube video cerated in my honor, which can be seen here. Although I still didn't think much of the occurrences, and was even a little upset at the fact that I was receiving so much recognition for effortless videos (as opposed to my more work-oriented, legitimate work), I eventually began to perceive the sudden "vine-fame" with a newly-adopted marketing mindset.
THE PLAN.
w h a t I c a n d o w i t h a l l o f t h i s
As I watched my number of followers grow at an exponential rate, I came to the conclusion that I may finally be able to utilize this "following" to my advantage. As a media-maker, I would be stupid not to throw my work at an already-established audience of almost 100,000 active users, many of which are important people in the entreatment, film, and music industry (which directly relates to my ultimate goal). So, I proceeded to do a test. I decided to link my fairly unpopular Vimeo page on my Vine profile. Before I knew it, videos of mine that had little to no views or likes, were in the thousands in no time (which, for Vimeo standards, is a considered a whole lot).
I truly began to realize what kind of content sells in today's day and age, and what sparks interest in today's media-driven world. It is almost ironic that after years of working hard to create original material, it's my crude, immature, six-second, Iphone-produced videos that get recognition by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Will the hype of the new app ultimately die out? Of course. Will my internet success lead to something more significant? Maybe. Am I going to rely on the popular app as a "pseudo-job"? Nope. Will I do what I can to get my original material out there, even if it means directing the Vine audience towards it? Absolutely.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Growing Pains
My video explores the intersection of race, sexuality, and masculinity among young gay men of color (specifically Blacks and Latinos living in urban areas). It is imperative to highlight the struggles of these men because gay men of color suffer in silence due to their invisibility in a white patriarchal society. Moreover, the white gay community is overwhelmingly represented while the Blacktino gay community is underrepresented not only in mainstream media but also within gay-generated culture as well. As a gay man of color, I feel very strongly about this topic because it is essentially autobiographical; my experiences growing up and the need for men like me to talk about our issues are the fuel behind this project.
The title of
this short documentary is Growing Pains, and it will highlight the experiences of
several different gay men of color. Jason, a gay Chicano from Los Angeles, CA;
Matthew, a genderqueer Latin@ from Weehawken, NJ; Karron, an African-American
gay male currently living in Providence, Rhode Island will be the primary focus
of the documentary. In addition to them, several other males will be speaking
about their experiences (including myself).
The main inspirations
for this documentary were a collection of poems by Essex Hemphill entitled Ceremonies, an anthology called For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide
When the Rainbow Still Isn’t Enough, and the independent documentary Paris is Burning. Hemphill is the voice of every gay boy from
the hood who’s ever dreamt of flying; his poetry is naked, raw, and honest and
unabashedly proud in it’s message of Black gay power. Boykin’s anthology tells the stories of
dozens of gay men who have been scarred by rape, religion, and repression. Lastly,
Paris is Burning is a living memory
of the ball scene of the late 80s and early 90s where gay men of color lived
out fairy tales for a night. These are all important aspects of gay culture unique to gay people of color that have contributed to the mainstream mosaic of
American media. Many scenes from Paris are included in the documentary to give historical context to queer identities.
The crux of this
documentary is to empower gay men of color to speak out about their lives, to
advance in the identity and expression of the urban gay experience, and to
demonstrate the lack of representation in the media. Although catered to gay
men of color, this documentary will be educate people of all creeds and colors.
I present to you a trailer of what I want my documentary to look like.
REFERENCES
Paris is Burning
For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Still Isn’t Enough
Ceremonies
CNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Semester Project
Singer-songwriter Tom Waits said it best: “Life’s so different than it is in your dreams...”
The struggle to find yourself and decide what kind of person you’re going to be is hard enough. In today’s fast track world it’s harder still--especially with a barrage of media attacking on all fronts: Including the world-wide web, advertisements, movie, t.v., radio, magazines, news, and mobile devices. It’s everywhere you look.
Whether you realize it or not, the media plays a significant role in shaping who we are as a people and as individuals. It’s through our interactions with the media and with our family and friends that we build our personalities, beliefs, and ideals--even our identity and sense of self. While much of what goes into our inner cells is hard-wired before the age of seven, the rest is ultimately decided by what we choose to subscribe to. As Paul Simon put it: “The man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest...”
But even so, it’s easy to get overwhelmed--especially when you’re about to graduate college, step out into “the real world,” and carve yourself out a piece of territory. It’s a notoriously tough time for everybody, and we all get a little jaded.
For my semester project I’ve written a nearly 2,000 word poem touching on these themes of disillusionment and disenchantment that come with adolescence and the first early years of adulthood. To do this I’ve researched poets from the beat generation, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, as well as other notable poets like Charles Bukowski--who spoke on similar grounds in their work.
My message is simple: You should try to decide what kind of person you are and live by your own moral compass. Don’t let superficialities, majority opinion, or cunning manipulative tactics through media, or otherwise, dictate who you are.
Sources:
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl And Other Poems. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1956,1959.
Print.
Kerouac, Jack. On The Road. New York: Penguin Books, 1955, 1957.
Print.
Kerouac, Jack. Mexico City Blues. New York: Grove Press, 1959.
Print.
Bukowski, Charles. Love Is A Dog From Hell. New York: HarperCollins, 1977.
Print.
Bukowski, Charles. Factotum. New York: HarperCollins, 1975.
Print.
Cummings, E.E. Erotic Poems. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010.
Print.
Snarling With Flame
By Scott Nisley
For Fran Valdez
I
There was magic all around us in those days. Without fear of ridicule or judgement we roamed beneath the jeweled blue skies of our youth knowing the answers to life’s riddles--believing we were prophets among fools, seers among madmen...And though the candlelight of childhood has burned away and been swept clean with the ashes of time, you can still catch a glimpse of it on those hypo-manic days in Spring when the sun hangs low in the evening, as shadows gather darkness in the street, and light bounces off every window in town. You can almost see yourself down by the schoolyard kicking up dirt on the playgrounds of a past life--watching the familiar battles wage lost and won--a young girl’s shadow dancing in the sun. Were we so mad to think we knew what life was all about? Were we the fools all along? Fool enough to scale the rooftops undercover of Friday night darkness? Mad enough to tiptoe up the fire escapes--the iron cobwebs that seemed to hang on by a thread? Crazy enough to take off roaring down the parkway at a hundred and twenty to the sound of beating drums and wailing guitars in the improvisational night? Just like Kerouac and Cassidy before us, we had the long highway of life and all its promise stretched out in front of us--ablaze with fire! And we chased it across filthy madhouse New Jersey from the anonymous beer-soaked basements of New Brunswick to the ancient jukebox halls of Hoboken--even to the jagged salt-scarred rocks along the shores of Ocean Grove and Asbury Park--all the while our heads clouded by the fog of marijuana and the spark of an impossible dream...And maybe it was that dream that kept us going--that kept the fire alive. When did we lose sight of it? Was it was on that darkened stretch of midnight road when we finally rested our eyes and lost faith--when reality finally caught us sleeping at the wheel? Threw us harpooning into the belly of that massive sixteen-wheeler--spinning out screaming across the expanse into this life or the next? We lived through it, but somehow the magic was gone. Suddenly the friendships of old began to thin and dissipate with the smoke of passing years--eroding away like the forlorn beaches along the coast. And all the girlfriends we knew and loved so well--whose hearts had danced with ours behind a bedroom lock--began to fade away like the embers of a cigarette’s dying glow until they disappeared from memory.
II
Do you remember what it was like to fall in love? Do you remember those soft summer days--breaking free of youth’s sapling tree--and being carried by the wind, on the wings of infinity? Do you remember those warm summer nights that nearly stood still--for the first time discovering the ecstasy of flesh on flesh, of skin on skin, lips pressed to lover’s lips? The way her breasts, sweetly soft and immense with fruit, gently ached for the caress of rough hands, the moistened kiss of quickening tongue--as you paddled down her fleshly streams, her rivers of skin? How her anaconda legs would writhe and squeeze at the mouth of her darkened thicket jungle? And Inside!--Her midnight flower wet with dew, the sea to which all her rivers flowed? And your parched lips thirsting to drink from out that sea, did drink as two souls sewed together into the fabric of the hollow darkness--waiting only for that leap of fire, the exploding spark of inevitability...Was it all just illusion? Infatuation? A dream from which you had to awake? All those trembling nights drawing each other close and talking for hours within the calming flutter of a whisper and the cool of a lucid dream? They will try but the poets and writers and artists of this world will never find the words to truly capture that flash of serendipity in an orgasm. It is a transcendental feeling that can never be said in prose or verse. One must feel it for themselves. Feel that coiled spark of lightning--that earthquake shaking loose the tectonic plates of the soul--that pulsating stampede of furious ecstasy--perhaps it is the ultimate crossroads, that place where everything meets and parts. Where life and death, love and hate, creativity and waste share the same bed sheets for an hour’s time, or longer, on some frail and drunken night. The orgasm is the ultimate drug, the ultimate high, the ultimate release, and the eternal ache for which there is no cure. Only age, and time, and rust bring that cycle to a wane. And whether fueled by love of the absence of love, there is no other feeling like it.
III
For now this is a strange and desperate life and no one can help you through it. No one can help you cope. No one can help you find love or happiness, or free you from the chains of addiction and self-destruction that you cling to so tightly, sabotaging your own success. All the psychotherapy, self-help seminars, and AA meetings in the world, and you can still be a fuck-up—just another miserable twenty-something living off your parent’s income. Humping the infinite money card again and again for a pack of smokes and a bottle of booze as long as they put up with it. Don’t think, just drink. Let go for now. Let weary eyes rest cemented shut and sweet siren’s words entrance and hypnotize. Let it seep into your veins--bleed into the dead seas that wither aching for its divine enraptured kiss. How marvelous is the drink that kills ambition’s dream! Why fight it? Let it attack, let it saturate! Let it warp your brain, distort your thought, frighten and confront you--till the pale and shrunken face in the mirror staring back is no longer yourself, but a stranger. And those stranger’s eyes wild and mad with saltwater fear--and that stranger’s mouth foaming sick with laughter...there will be nothing left to take away. But there will always be another drink. When all the girlfriends, relatives, and confidants have given up and left you to drown sinking in self-pity, there will be another drink close within your grasp. And it will be like the warm comfort of a hand stretched across a cold hollow shoulder.
IV
We are all alone in this life. We are all quiet men leading lives of quiet desperation in the grime of a tavern till two A.M. and judgement day--staring behind flat, gray, swollen eyes. We are all jaded women living in jaded fear of every shadow and every creeping thing that moves in the night--of every prowling jaguar ready to pounce and rupture our precious flowers. We are all isolated and wired on caffeine--alienated from our husbands and wives, lovers and brothers, friends and daughters, and even from ourselves. We see only what we want to see, hear only what we want to hear, and ignore the rest. Like the bums on the street, we once brightly burned with promise, but left tossed to the curb to be forgotten. We are all burned out, spent, and decaying in the gutter like wet rags. Our schools teach us to be big fat winners, but never tell us about the losers, the depressed, the anxious, and the insecure. Never tell us about the weak and vulnerable--the eggshell souls--the empty shards of a life living day and night longing for love and companionship. All the beggars, thieves, and prostitutes in all the cities of the world hustling to make a buck on street corners, in alleyways, and whorehouses are no better, and no worse--no more right or wrong than the rest of us--just living one day at a time. And yet we’re told to shave our beards and dress in three-piece suits--wear makeup and high-heeled shoes--hide our true selves behind superficialities to fit mediocrity’s mold.
V
Most of us like to believe in a life after this one. A life with more answers than questions to keep us up at night. But as far as anyone knows, we only have one chance to get it right. One chance to walk through the fire and come out on the other side unscathed. Sometimes it feels as if we’ve stumbled around the same streets and sewers for an eternity. And sometimes it feels as if the battle has only just begun.Young or old, the choice remains the same: Either we grasp the reigns and start guiding our own destiny, or we fumble staggering like a shooting star--snarling with flame into perfect oblivion. This is not a rehearsal, not a rough draft, there are no second chances. This day, this hour, and this minute pass but once. And even at our best when we walk a little taller, the rest is up to the whims of wind and weather. All we can really hope for is to try to get it right. This may mean letting go the crutches that nearly hold us at our feet. It may mean falling down on the cold pavement of a strange town. It may mean standing alone in the face of laughter and ridicule. It may mean exposing a piece of your heart for another to see--or the fear squirming in the whites of our eyes. So much of our lives we spend lying in wait. Waiting for what? For the next drink, the next time we fall in love and share a salmon sunset of a kiss in tiny corner of the bedroom sky? The next sinking stone of a moon, and the next rising Phoenix of a sun? The next time darkness falls and we withdraw alone again into the abyss, to roam the restless streets of the mind--waiting? So much time waiting for sparks to strike, for rusted gears to spin. It’s in those fractured moments of pain and those trigger-happy moments of joy that we really live and breathe and know we are alive--as we wait for that fire to burn again.
Westfield, 2013
Women in Journalism
Women, today are still left behind men when it comes to journalism and many others industires. a gender bias still exists when people decide who they are going to listen to and read about in the newspaper. Bylines are still dominated by men, and woman are left in their shadows. Unless stories have to do with fashion or food, a womans name most likely won't appear as much as a mans name will.
Society today still picks men over women becuase they are the more dominate race and women are seen as the weaker sex. Do people still believe women belong inside the house being a house wife? Possibly. But, fortunately for us, there have been many women in journalism who have paved the way for up and coming female journalists. They have started at the very bottom and worked their way up to the top despite the rejection they got along the way. Competing side by side with men and still being able to be recognized for all of their acomplishments.
A group called Journalism & Women Symposium, also known as JAWS, was created with one soul purpose, “JAWS supports the professional empowerment and personal growth of women in journalism and works toward a more accurate portrayal of the whole society.”
http://www.jaws.org/about/
Women In Journalism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/25/why-did-women-do-so-well-in-2012-because-gender-bias-is-declining/
http://www.ted.com/talks/megan_kamerick_women_should_represent_women_in_media.html
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Sex in Advertisement
As an activist for smarter media and I deiced to go out and find out what people really think about sex in advertisement. I interviewed students at Rutgers University in Newark New Jersey. This is what they had to say.
The Goal of my project was to illustrate that there are multiple people that disagree with the kind of advertisements given to us by media. By showing people that tother feel the same way about sex in advertisement, they would feel inclined to take the next step and become active. Active in the sense of making their opinions herd, similar in the way I did. I would like my audience to go out and shoot the kind of advertisement they would like to see, to go out and interview people and to read. Unless we do something and push for change, we will forever be spoon feed that sex sells.
work in progress
Interview with Greta Larkins of FashGif
Tell me a little bit about your background in art, and how FashGif was created.
GL: FashGif began on a bit of whim just over 2 years ago after I made my first GIF and thought, "That was fun, I need to make more!" FashGif made sense because I work in fashion and I liked the consistency of animating runway images.
Tell me a little bit about what the GIF format represents to you, how is it different versus other mediums you've experimented with.
GL: GIFs are instantly engaging, now that's not to say still images aren't but a still image has to be really powerful to grab your attention. Same goes with videos; you need a good recommendation or a bit of patience to sit through an advert and load time for a video. I guess GIFs sit somewhere between the two, plus the repetition really helps to strengthen a message.
What's your process in selecting the pictures and themes you choose?
GL: There's a number of elements I look for in an image, either a really bold outfit, a particularly popular/striking model or a controversial/highly praised collection. These elements helps to engage people and if an image happens to have all three, even better!
The Paco Rabanne obviously follows a different sense of style than Chalayan Fall 13.Are you just like "this is the one"?
GL: Yes, with many images I go, "oh yes that's it!" even from just looking at the thumbnails. Sometimes I'm very enamoured with a collection but that doesn't mean it lends itself to being animated. Other times I might stare at an image for some time before an idea drops into place. This is the great challenge with doing requests, I have to make an image work even if it wouldn't be my first choice. Sometimes this can have surprising results.
What I find very unique are where you demonstrate these sort of in process on screen commands, (photoshop, youtube, google maps) Explain to me why you chose to use those images?
GL: I guess that's my nod to Interent Art/Web Art. I'm not an Internet Artist per se but I do enjoy that type of work, that aesthetic. So here and there if I think it's appropriate I'll include elements of the Photoshop program etc. within the GIF.
Are these works more critical of technology? Are you in a state of transition - or just mixing it up?
GL: I think just mixing it up. Personally I'm not critical of technology, I think I have a healthy relationship with it - I can walk away from my screen, leave the house without my phone! On the other hand, I probably have a slight Internet addiction - I'm yet to touch on that in a GIF!
I noticed your most recent work and some others are indicative of the "sea punk" aesthetic, what do you think is the future of new media art?
GL: Again, I touch base on Seapunk here and there partly because it's so popular within the Tumblr community but there's also a tongue-in-cheek element to those GIFs. Personally I love a trend, especially a memorable one, it's a great way to look back on a decade or a time. I even have a few Seapunk pieces in my wardrobe! But I'm not Seapunk at all day-to-day, I'm very boring really. I call my style 'Grunge Nun' because it's very messy and covered up ha!
Do you think viral culture will play a big role in making these works of art more popular to the art community?
GL: I'm not sure how the art community perceives GIFs. The common view of art is that you can buy and sell it, now someone can pay me to make a GIF but they're only receiving a file, to display it at home or in a gallery you'd need an iPad, a screen etc. and I can't imagine many people having them at home! I guess it all goes into mixed media. I don't consider my GIFs art but I studied art at school and maybe look at artists with too much respect to ever consider myself one.
Are there any artists doing similar work who influence you? Do you have any copycats?
GL: There are! And they are vastly more talented! And I don't believe I have any copycats but to be honest, I don't mind if I do. The more the merrier. It's a fun medium so the more people producing the GIFs the more we can learn from each other. Some of my favourites: Mr. GIF, Dream Beam, Gifenchy, Monster Hub just to name a few.
Do you think these works will one day grow to exist in a gallery?
GL: Maybe! I actually really love animating images that aren't necessarily fashion based. Last year two of my animations were featured at Art Basel in Miami for the Moving the Still exhibition (Flats, Napier Street Fitzroy and Emoji in Motion) so I guess one day I'd like to explore animating something non-fashion for exhibition purposes.
What do you have planned next? I noticed 2012 was a very big year for you.
GL: Well I'm currently job hunting (when I'm not making GIFs I do product design) and hoping to travel in the next year or so. No major goals, happy to go with the flow for now, though I have a secret dream of doing a Prada Fantasy look book...!
Do you plan on creating work for more commercial purposes, cultural critique?
GL: Sure! Commercial or otherwise, I love taking on projects because I enjoy the challenge and thought process.
What were some of your initial reactions to the media exposure, it must have been exciting!
GL: Yeah it's always exciting when you get any sort of press or response, definitely exciting and surprising. Still is! Any recognition is nice, show's people are engaging with the site.
What do you do in your spare time when you aren't creating or researching future work?
GL: I do ballroom dancing, drink a lot of coffee, listen to a lot of music and hang out with friends. I should be cleaning my room... it's eternally messy...!
Wait a second… were you a child actor? What was that like?
GL: Aha! You've done your research! I was, between 16 and about 21. I think. It was awesome, really great fun, I mean everyday is different and exciting, you can't beat it. Unfortunately it's a very tough industry and I wasn't a brilliant actor so I ultimately gave it up. I learnt a lot though and once in a blue moon I miss it. I often joke I'll become a talkshow host one day. Ha ha! We'll see!
Greta Larkins is a production designer based out of Australia, Larkin's work has been featured at Art Basel and has been commissioned by major brands like Calvin Klein and Kenzo.
View more of Greta's work on Tumblr.
Tell me a little bit about your background in art, and how FashGif was created.
GL: FashGif began on a bit of whim just over 2 years ago after I made my first GIF and thought, "That was fun, I need to make more!" FashGif made sense because I work in fashion and I liked the consistency of animating runway images.
Tell me a little bit about what the GIF format represents to you, how is it different versus other mediums you've experimented with.
GL: GIFs are instantly engaging, now that's not to say still images aren't but a still image has to be really powerful to grab your attention. Same goes with videos; you need a good recommendation or a bit of patience to sit through an advert and load time for a video. I guess GIFs sit somewhere between the two, plus the repetition really helps to strengthen a message.
What's your process in selecting the pictures and themes you choose?
GL: There's a number of elements I look for in an image, either a really bold outfit, a particularly popular/striking model or a controversial/highly praised collection. These elements helps to engage people and if an image happens to have all three, even better!
The Paco Rabanne obviously follows a different sense of style than Chalayan Fall 13.Are you just like "this is the one"?
GL: Yes, with many images I go, "oh yes that's it!" even from just looking at the thumbnails. Sometimes I'm very enamoured with a collection but that doesn't mean it lends itself to being animated. Other times I might stare at an image for some time before an idea drops into place. This is the great challenge with doing requests, I have to make an image work even if it wouldn't be my first choice. Sometimes this can have surprising results.
What I find very unique are where you demonstrate these sort of in process on screen commands, (photoshop, youtube, google maps) Explain to me why you chose to use those images?
GL: I guess that's my nod to Interent Art/Web Art. I'm not an Internet Artist per se but I do enjoy that type of work, that aesthetic. So here and there if I think it's appropriate I'll include elements of the Photoshop program etc. within the GIF.
Are these works more critical of technology? Are you in a state of transition - or just mixing it up?
GL: I think just mixing it up. Personally I'm not critical of technology, I think I have a healthy relationship with it - I can walk away from my screen, leave the house without my phone! On the other hand, I probably have a slight Internet addiction - I'm yet to touch on that in a GIF!
I noticed your most recent work and some others are indicative of the "sea punk" aesthetic, what do you think is the future of new media art?
GL: Again, I touch base on Seapunk here and there partly because it's so popular within the Tumblr community but there's also a tongue-in-cheek element to those GIFs. Personally I love a trend, especially a memorable one, it's a great way to look back on a decade or a time. I even have a few Seapunk pieces in my wardrobe! But I'm not Seapunk at all day-to-day, I'm very boring really. I call my style 'Grunge Nun' because it's very messy and covered up ha!
Do you think viral culture will play a big role in making these works of art more popular to the art community?
GL: I'm not sure how the art community perceives GIFs. The common view of art is that you can buy and sell it, now someone can pay me to make a GIF but they're only receiving a file, to display it at home or in a gallery you'd need an iPad, a screen etc. and I can't imagine many people having them at home! I guess it all goes into mixed media. I don't consider my GIFs art but I studied art at school and maybe look at artists with too much respect to ever consider myself one.
Are there any artists doing similar work who influence you? Do you have any copycats?
GL: There are! And they are vastly more talented! And I don't believe I have any copycats but to be honest, I don't mind if I do. The more the merrier. It's a fun medium so the more people producing the GIFs the more we can learn from each other. Some of my favourites: Mr. GIF, Dream Beam, Gifenchy, Monster Hub just to name a few.
Do you think these works will one day grow to exist in a gallery?
GL: Maybe! I actually really love animating images that aren't necessarily fashion based. Last year two of my animations were featured at Art Basel in Miami for the Moving the Still exhibition (Flats, Napier Street Fitzroy and Emoji in Motion) so I guess one day I'd like to explore animating something non-fashion for exhibition purposes.
What do you have planned next? I noticed 2012 was a very big year for you.
GL: Well I'm currently job hunting (when I'm not making GIFs I do product design) and hoping to travel in the next year or so. No major goals, happy to go with the flow for now, though I have a secret dream of doing a Prada Fantasy look book...!
Do you plan on creating work for more commercial purposes, cultural critique?
GL: Sure! Commercial or otherwise, I love taking on projects because I enjoy the challenge and thought process.
What were some of your initial reactions to the media exposure, it must have been exciting!
GL: Yeah it's always exciting when you get any sort of press or response, definitely exciting and surprising. Still is! Any recognition is nice, show's people are engaging with the site.
What do you do in your spare time when you aren't creating or researching future work?
GL: I do ballroom dancing, drink a lot of coffee, listen to a lot of music and hang out with friends. I should be cleaning my room... it's eternally messy...!
Wait a second… were you a child actor? What was that like?
GL: Aha! You've done your research! I was, between 16 and about 21. I think. It was awesome, really great fun, I mean everyday is different and exciting, you can't beat it. Unfortunately it's a very tough industry and I wasn't a brilliant actor so I ultimately gave it up. I learnt a lot though and once in a blue moon I miss it. I often joke I'll become a talkshow host one day. Ha ha! We'll see!
Greta Larkins is a production designer based out of Australia, Larkin's work has been featured at Art Basel and has been commissioned by major brands like Calvin Klein and Kenzo.
View more of Greta's work on Tumblr.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Disability and the Media
For my semester project, I examined the ways in which people with disabilities are portrayed in the media. My discoveries were both shocking yet informative. I put together a mash up video to show different clips from select movies and tv shows to show how we are being affected by these ideologies. I referenced the book Disability and the Media by Charles A Riley II. Within my findings, I found an informative Ted talk from a woman who is disabled herself and her own struggles. I left the video a little bit short of 10 mins so that I can take questions about the topic.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Semester Project: Effects of Ads To Young Women
For my semester project, I made a 6-minute film that depicts the effect of media to young women.
Synopsis: Two young women of two different cultures face the same problem. An American girl who worries about her body size and a Korean girl who does not like her facial features.
Purpose: To raise awareness of the negative effects of media especially the ads to young women and to lessen the stress that young women receive from ads.
*IU - a South Korean singer. She was ranked #19 on "The 23rd Annual Independent Critics List of the 100 Most Beautiful Faces."
Sources:
Kim, Youna. Women and the Media in Asia: The Precarious Self. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012
Kitch, Carolyn. The Girl on the Magazine Cover: The Origins of Visual Stereotypes in American Mass Media. The University of North Carolina Press, 2000
Korean High School
Plastic Surgery
The K-Pop Effect
Cause and Effect: How the Media You Consume Can Change Your Life
Body Image Dissatisfaction and Eating Disturbance
Korean Body Image vs American Body Image
Cosmetic Surgery: Cure or Curse?
Plastic Surgery in Korea: To Do or Taboo?
Pretty in Plastic: K-Pop and Korea’s Plastic Surgery Boom
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