New Media...

While I am a student of Media, Society and the arts, I feel as though art always seems to escape me. Art in the classic sense has never really been something that has captured my attention or given me any special feelings inside when looking at it. Even when I am trained to think of some things as classic art, I still can't understand why people believe so and find them to be more often then not pretentious.

However, with New Media Art, I feel as though I finally understand some of it and can appreciate it much more than something by pollack or picasso. The lecture given to us last week made me realize even moreso how I can connect with New Media Art on a much better level than I can with classic art. I also feel as though with New Media Art, its a broader spectrum of things, so even if you don't appreciate one aspect, you may be able to appreciate another.

I found some of the experiments to be quite interesting. In one of my other classes we actually saw a movie with the two actors pretending to be members of an indigenous tribe. While in my other class I hadn't thought of that as art, I could see how in another context it can be looked at as performance art, and through the use of video, it becomes new Media Art. Another one of the experiments that caught my eye was done by Brooke Singer. The idea of studying people and how they react to having their information shown at the swipe of a card was interesting.

I think what fascinates me most about New Media Art is the idea that it doesnt need to be art in the typical sense. It doesn't have to be a beautiful or artistic photograph. It doesnt need to be some amazing theatre performance to be considered art. The ideas can range from photographs to experiments to interactive sharing (such as the dream message system).

I have continued to tell mysef to make trips to the Neuberger to check out the artwork there and to take advantage of something so close. My first trip was for this lecture, where I didn't get to do much looking, but I think in march when the Off the Grid exhibition comes around I may spend some more time there. I'm looking foward to seeing Loius Hock's work on illegal immigration (it's something that hits close to home as my boyfriend is here purely on a visa though him and his family came illegally), as well as Brett Blooms showing of prisoner inventions.

I feel as though Brett Blooms showing of these such things are a similiar idea to Duchomp's ready mades. Bloom is taking something that is already made, recreating it, and showing it to those outside of a prison cell. I find this similiar to Duchomps idea of taking something and placing it on display and calling it art for others to see.

Perhaps New Media art is a continuation or a spin off (in a very loose sense of these words) of the dadaist movement. These things are not our idea of classic art, some may even look and say these things are not art at all, however they are slowing gaining recognition, as did Dadaism. Perhaps today our New Media Art is the Dadaism for this generation. One day, perhaps in museums worldwide we'll see a lot more New Media Art placed on display or recognized as high Art.