End of the Line!!

     Ah, my last bittersweet blog entry. While i somewhat guiltily look forward to days of no homework ahead, I would be ungrateful not to use this post to appreciate what I just experienced. Interestingly, I surprised myself in this class. I began expecting to do only what I needed to pass, but as I submerged deeper into the curriculum I found myself caught up in it despite of myself. It allowed me to try on different personas. Instead of being someone who devotes herself entirely to the study of the violin, I realized I could be several someones at once. Now I am someone with a renewed appreciation of other arts, of math and science, of new media. I never thought of myself as a blogger, or someone technologically literate, but now I am those things too.

     In terms of technical skills, the increased amount of confidence I have in those areas is impressive. I feel so grateful to have been able to acquire these skills and now am much less intimidated to use them. Particularly, I feel my eyes were opened to the amount of cool things online I can take advantage of. I have no idea of the extent of material out there, but it is no longer a weird foreign world I will never discover. 

     Which brings me to my anticipated future. Although it would come as a surprise to me five weeks ago, I plan to continue exploring and enriching. Contemporary art, including new media is something that I always said I liked but didn't really know much about it. However, now with my renewed appreciation, I plan to use the rest of my summer to dive into exploration of new composers, musicians, visual artists, dancers and film makers. 

     I embedded my last video below, If anyone actually reads this blog, I hope you enjoy it and find as much inspiration as I have. 

framing/talking

Framing:

     For this project I explored a few options. I considered interviews with other artists, creating websites, making longer and more complex video mashups, etc. One thing I really wanted to play with was the idea of self discovery. For me, especially in the online class format, I'm really working with the concept of independence. The ability to figure things out on my own. I eventually decided that I most wanted to do something in the spirit of the class combining the academic and artistic, work and play. I wanted something that I could use professionally, not just academically, so I decided to create a website marketing my professional and musical skills. 

Talking:

     One of the most helpful things about today's work was the facebook discussion going on. It really allowed me to tune into what other people were saying/thought about the projects, become inspired by their ideas, and really solidify my own thoughts and ideas. Even though I didn't have any comments, being able to see what other people in the class were thinking and planning was really inspiring. 
Gathering:
     I began by gathering working professionals I know, and checking our their websites. One person I found was Brooks Whitehouse, professor of cello at UNCSA. His website, http://www.brookswhitehouse.com/, is a very good example. I found it artistic, professional, and easy to follow. Another person I discovered was Dmitri Shteinberg, http://dmitrishteinberg.com/schedule.php. Finally, I contacted my old violin teacher Matthew Chicurel by email to ask for tips on building a successful website. http://web.me.com/matthewchicurel/Matthew_Chicurel/About_Me.html
However, I'm still waiting to hear back from him. 
     Next, I googled some sites about creating a successful website, which I included in the links below. 
http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/create-successful-website.htm
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/pdf/MarketingTool.pdf

Finally, I searched for some free website building sites, included below. 
http://www.wix.com/
http://www.ucoz.com/
http://www.moonfruit.com/
https://sites.google.com/

Creating:
     I began today thinking I would just get started on my website. I ended up choosing wix.com as my host site because I had heard good things and I thought that a less known site (than google) might be a good thing. Basically how wix works is you choose the kind of site you plan to make, e.g. accounting firm, law firm, catering company, etc. and they present you with a bunch of templates to choose from. I of course selected "musician" but none of them looked professional or very original to me. After scrolling through literally pages and pages of templates (I eventually had to branch out into other occupations) I finally found one for models (insert joke about my vanity here). The thing about wix is that it's very straightforward and user friendly. It's easy to sit there and work and work and work and figure you may as well get another page done. Thus, 3 hours later, I had a headache, backache, and a nearly finished site. I left some tweaking and editing for tomorrow, and I may need to take some better pictures for it, but I seem to be in good shape on this assignment. And the website? while I wouldn't use it for all of my professional life, I think while I'm in school it's a pretty darn adequate site. I'm pretty happy with it, and I probably will use it for a few years at least. 
Creating, Part II
Today was an interesting day. Apart from a few tweaks and changes, My website was finished. However because of the nature of the project, it's never really finished. I will likely always be working on it as I update my bio, photos, etc. to reflect the changes and advances in my life. I would love to put in more photos, and I could take some this morning on my crappy digital camera, but I'd like to wait and include some professional headshots later down the road. I'd also like to have a good recording on the site, but that stuff can't be rushed and I really have all the time in the world to work on it. Interestingly, my project ended up exactly following my interview about my compositional process. I'm really never done with it. I will keep updating and improving, and eventually, create one that is even better. But the nice thing is that it's not a frustrating process, I even look forward to it. 
Reflecting


http://www.wix.com/mhirschf/miehirschfieldviolin


included here is the final product. I'm not sure how I feel about the pink (it is very pink) so I may change that if I feel inclined later on. In reflection, I feel very satisfied with it. I achieved everything I set out to do. I picked a useful and applicable project, learned several new skills, figured out several new tools on my own without getting frustrated, and produced something I'm proud of and can use practically. And actually, I had a lot of fun doing it. However, I'm looking forward to working on something more creative and less useful for the next project. I feel as though this was fun in the way educational documentaries are fun. And sometimes, you just want to watch cartoons. :)

Write reflectively about your video compositions. What was it like for you to create the first video remix composition? What was the process of making the second composition like for you? What is your own take on the importance (or not) of remix to new-media composition? If not remix, what would you think might qualify as a "signature genre" of the new-media era? What was this week in general like for you? Did you enjoy the work/play? Do you feel ready to frame and launch your own new-media projects starting next week? Also write prospectively about the kinds of projects we've touched on in the first three weeks of the course that you might like to expand on in weeks four and five. Write about prospective projects in three different categories: 1) projects related to learning how to do something with new-media that you think may have practical value to you in your profession, 2) projects that reflect topics or themes, related to new-media composition or composition in general or its variants in art areas, that you are simply curious about or interested in and would like to know more about, and 3) projects that involve creating new-media genres via combining/recombining/re-arranging new-media principles, and then composing artistic pieces in the genres you create. Embed both of your video compositions in your blog post, and refer to them in your text.


     Making the video compositions was an interesting experience. First of all, It was a lot easier technically than I expected. I originally imagined myself as mostly, if not completely technology inept, but with the easy-to-use (read: idiot-proof) macbook technology and some trial and error, I actually managed to figure stuff out out and make something I was at least mostly proud of. While I don't know if I can really call them remixes, in good conscience, it's at least a tribute to remixing. Remixes are undoubtedly an extremely important part of new media, and the most modern artistic expression. In the first video, I wanted to address the idea of fantasy and imagination, so I interspersed scenes of "reefer madness" (government-propogated fantasy), with an early version of Alice in Wonderland. My second video was what I imagined as snippets of my life and mind, or even the ways I was attracted to my environment. 
     I thought this week was a lot of fun. I'm a big fan of the longer projects, which allow me a couple of days to plan and contemplate them. They also give me more time to expand on ideas, or think better of them and come up with something else. I'd love to do more of those.I also love working in useful computer training. I'd be interested to do more remix-themed projects, working with both audio and moving image media. Some ideas for the future are taking video and audio mashups a step further. I would be interested in taking real songs and remixing them, as well as practicing video remixes. This could include creating videos addressing other themes besides a self portrait, such as ideas or topics that interest us. Other ideas include an interview with another person about their compositional/inspirational process and edit it into a video, as well as creating mashups mixing different medias. For example, to choose a poem, music, and videos and combine them into a composition. Finally, I'd like to create something that can be used as a working professional, such as a website.
     Both my videos are embedded below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. 

review of RIP: a Remix Manifesto

     We are definitely entering a new era of copyright and creative liberties. Gone are the days when what constitutes copyright are defined in black and white. Today, the rules are less defined and much more convoluted. However, the reasons behind the copyright controversy are still the same, and as timeless as ever. The question is whether the material in question is a respectful tribute to the original artist's work, or a pirating of their ideas for profit. As Jonathan Lethem says in The Ecstasy of Influence, artists have been quoting and borrowing unoriginal ideas for centuries. For example, Bob Dylan frequently quotes other artists, including Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Other examples include remixes, which wikipedia defines as "an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. Sometimes this term is also used for alterations of media or recreation other than song" Although they may not technically use original material, most would argue that the artist invested equal creativity and effort. The laws definitely need to change to accommodate new media and technology. 

Worst messages ever

as promised, here is part 2 of friday's assignment

What do you think is happening to creativity in the current/new-media era? Are there forms or genres that you think people 100 or so years from now will look back on and identify as "art of the 21st century," much as we might look back on and recognize art of the 16th, 19th, or even 20th century? If so, what ARE those forms or genres? What century would you place yourself and/or your conservatory training in, in terms of the work you most identify with, or the work that your training identifies as important? Do you feel there is anything original about current/new-media art? 

     I don't think there's any question that creativity and art exists in new media. However I feel we are as of yet unable to judge what will be lasting, fine art, and what will be labeled insignificant. Just as in past centuries, artists today are people living their lives, trying to fulfill their passions and support themselves and their families. And just like past centuries, contemporary artists face both criticism and acclaim. There will certainly be great art from the 21st century, and it's very likely that much of it will be some form of new media, but just as Van Gogh struggled to support himself amongst overwhelming criticism, we may not recognize it for what it is when we see it. I think one possibility is that people of the future will appreciate our most commonplace household objects. Just as we exhibit old bibles, dishes, and costumes in museums, future generations might display our computers, ipods, blogs, social media, and tv programs as great works of art. Basically, however, if we are creating fine art, it may go unappreciated in our time, so I suppose the point is not to create art to last for generations, but to fulfill its current day purpose and message. 

a flaw in the plan.

     I ran into some technical difficulties today. Because my apartment in Winston-Salem doesn't have internet, I generally take my computer to Camino coffee. This becomes problematic recording due to the people talking, coffee grinder, and various other loud noises. Furthermore, since I assumed we would use today to listen and reflect on yesterday's recordings, I wasn't able to record ahead of time like we did with the previous assignment, and because I rode my bike over, I can't go back to record and come back (without dying of exhaustion). In a way, however, I did still have to do some composition. I needed to find a way to do the assignment, or rather, some sort of compromise that my surroundings allowed. I ended up composing the messages, which you can find below if you are so inclined. Also included below is a convenient link to the AT&T voice generator, which if one is motivated to, all one needs to do is copy and paste the text into the generator. Sorry for the extra effort, if you feel you'd get the idea by just reading the messages, I definitely won't hold it against you. The actual audacity recording will be available monday in a secondary blog post. 

1) "........hello? is someone there? hi sweetie it's your grandma, I called because I just don't understand this new-fangled phone and was wondering if you knew how to leave messages, I keep waiting for the beep but I never heard it. I was also wondering if you'd seen grandpa, and if you did, if he knows where I put my hearing aid. love you sweetie, I guess you're not there so I'll call you back later...."
 *beep*
2)" omg did u see what meghan was wearing today she looks like she harpooned a bear and wiggled into its hide also i have news guess who likes youuuuu call me backkkkkkkkkkk"
 *beep*
3) hi honey it's mom, I was just wondering if you should stop and pick some things up on your way home call me back. you need some underwear from the mall, the extra elastic kind because I swear you stretch them out every time. and some groceries, but nothing with white flour because I know it makes you constipated. thanks honey, bye
 *beep*
4) hi it's mom again, I hope my message didn't  embarrass you in front of your friends, or your date. you do have dates right? and friends, do you have friends?  I was watching the view and they said that this can be a time of difficult transition in your life, so its ok if you don't have dates or friends, you don't need to be embarrassed about it if you don't. feel free to call me back if you'd like to talk. ok bye!
 *beep*