This is my documentary project about the Montagnard Dega people of Vietnam. My topic was art and their main form of artwork are textiles that use the technique backstrap weaving here is my Video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxd17owL6BU
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Digital Media is it bad for us?
Ironically, within the Media there is alot of talk on whether or not the digital revolution (computers, Iphones, ipods) harms our intelligence as a species. Several critics say that it causes several aspects of human interaction and public safety to be put at risk.
The major concern opponents have deals with privacy and safety that goes along with it. Social networking sites such as Facebook and myspace may allow total strangers to view anyones private information publicly if the settings are not adjusted. This causes great issue when people begin to get stalked by completely anonymous users who are looking for a variety of things (identity theft). However the privacy issue doesn't stop there. WikiLeaks is a public website that shares classified government documents with the public. This can cause potential harm to government operations that require secrecy in certain fields. Obviously this poses a threat to public safety.
Another concern with the digital age is that people will no longer interact face to face with each other. Groups of people now gather via the internet and communicate through chat or video. The public concern is that these people will forget how to interact in the real world. This also has a potential to harm emotional and psychological growth within a person. With people spending more and more time on the internet one might call it an addiction. These people that are "addicted" may become emotionally stunted or psychologically damaged to the point where they eventually won't know how to communicate with the rest of the world.
With a wealth of information that is gathered at lightning speed, one can only question whether or not we are retaining all of it as we would with a book. Now with the world only a click away a research paper becomes near obsolete and the need to retain information becomes useless. This further leads to us as a people modifying our behavior. No longer do we need to know how to build our own shelter or cook our own food, the issue being we as a society are becoming lazier and lazier.
All of these concerns are valid however I believe that we as a people are better than that. We adapt to and incorporate these technologies as we need them. Even if the first few generations have trouble eventually as a species will adapt the ways of the old and the new to create an even more perfect society.
The major concern opponents have deals with privacy and safety that goes along with it. Social networking sites such as Facebook and myspace may allow total strangers to view anyones private information publicly if the settings are not adjusted. This causes great issue when people begin to get stalked by completely anonymous users who are looking for a variety of things (identity theft). However the privacy issue doesn't stop there. WikiLeaks is a public website that shares classified government documents with the public. This can cause potential harm to government operations that require secrecy in certain fields. Obviously this poses a threat to public safety.
Another concern with the digital age is that people will no longer interact face to face with each other. Groups of people now gather via the internet and communicate through chat or video. The public concern is that these people will forget how to interact in the real world. This also has a potential to harm emotional and psychological growth within a person. With people spending more and more time on the internet one might call it an addiction. These people that are "addicted" may become emotionally stunted or psychologically damaged to the point where they eventually won't know how to communicate with the rest of the world.
With a wealth of information that is gathered at lightning speed, one can only question whether or not we are retaining all of it as we would with a book. Now with the world only a click away a research paper becomes near obsolete and the need to retain information becomes useless. This further leads to us as a people modifying our behavior. No longer do we need to know how to build our own shelter or cook our own food, the issue being we as a society are becoming lazier and lazier.
All of these concerns are valid however I believe that we as a people are better than that. We adapt to and incorporate these technologies as we need them. Even if the first few generations have trouble eventually as a species will adapt the ways of the old and the new to create an even more perfect society.
Digital Media and how it changes everything.
Digital Media is consistently integrated and incorporated into the world in new and unique ways every single day. Every medium of art has been affected by it in some fashion or another. Every facet of society has been affected by it in some fashion or another. Therefore we as people should learn to interact with this new media. My digital Media Professor Bob King explains why we should study digital media. He talks about how we have moved from the bronze age to the iron age and now are in the digital age and thus we need to know how to use or at least begin to understand the importance of technology.
Others just try to define digital media. Lev Manovich and Jonathan Lethem try to define in their articles "How media became New" and "The ecstasy of influence" respectively. They touch on some interesting topics such as "what defines New Media" and "how it effects our society and our art". They argue that no portion of our society is no longer untouched by New or Digital Media.
Artists such as Girl Talk redefine what copyright and creative influence mean. The band Girl Talk take samples from other artists music and combine them to make wholly original works while at the same time using their influence. This has gotten Girl Talk in significant legal trouble by using other artists creations without permission. However author Lawrence Lessig provides ample evidence that Girl Talk is not the first artist to define this new notion of Copyright. John Phillip Sousa also took portions of others music and used it to enhance his own.
Overall Digital Media will continue to change our world and challenge a number of other laws and even define its own. But this is just how the world evolves.
Others just try to define digital media. Lev Manovich and Jonathan Lethem try to define in their articles "How media became New" and "The ecstasy of influence" respectively. They touch on some interesting topics such as "what defines New Media" and "how it effects our society and our art". They argue that no portion of our society is no longer untouched by New or Digital Media.
Artists such as Girl Talk redefine what copyright and creative influence mean. The band Girl Talk take samples from other artists music and combine them to make wholly original works while at the same time using their influence. This has gotten Girl Talk in significant legal trouble by using other artists creations without permission. However author Lawrence Lessig provides ample evidence that Girl Talk is not the first artist to define this new notion of Copyright. John Phillip Sousa also took portions of others music and used it to enhance his own.
Overall Digital Media will continue to change our world and challenge a number of other laws and even define its own. But this is just how the world evolves.
Frame of Mind
People often are confronted by everyday obstacles that they normally know how to overcome. However once in a great while we are presented with a new piece of information that is nearly impossible to incorporate into our brains. This is where framing comes in. Framing is the way which we normally view each piece of information. For example if someone is giving a lecture and its hard to understand what they are talking about, you can reframe your mind so you are just listening to background noise that will give you a base of knowledge until you are able to seek further help on understanding the material. Another example would be when you are watching television you only perceive the audio and video information. Once again though you can reframe your mind to understand that television is just a series of electronic signals.
This all adds up to how we perceive everything around us. In the documentary "The persuaders" Advertisers are shown trying to nail down what exactly makes a successful product and how to take an unsuccessful product and turn it into a profitable one just by changing peoples perceptions of it. An example would be "Song Air" a brand new airline that opened in 2006 and closed in 2009. The idea for song air would be that it catered to women flyers and their particular needs. However the amount of saturation and ambiguous advertising led the majority of the public to confusion and as a result they folded.
Another example of framing comes from Marshall McLuhan. He explains in a lecture he gave a johns hopkins university that "Americans use the automobile for privacy" thus stipulating that Americans go outside to be alone and go home to be social. Most people, myself included, would never think of it that way but it's very true. When we go to work we often drive there alone in a quiet space just thinking to ourselves. But we come home to our friends and family. Very interesting perspective.
Reframing your mind about any scenario can make your daily activities more inviting, it's all about how to reframe your mind, which you'll have to figure out for yourself.
This all adds up to how we perceive everything around us. In the documentary "The persuaders" Advertisers are shown trying to nail down what exactly makes a successful product and how to take an unsuccessful product and turn it into a profitable one just by changing peoples perceptions of it. An example would be "Song Air" a brand new airline that opened in 2006 and closed in 2009. The idea for song air would be that it catered to women flyers and their particular needs. However the amount of saturation and ambiguous advertising led the majority of the public to confusion and as a result they folded.
Another example of framing comes from Marshall McLuhan. He explains in a lecture he gave a johns hopkins university that "Americans use the automobile for privacy" thus stipulating that Americans go outside to be alone and go home to be social. Most people, myself included, would never think of it that way but it's very true. When we go to work we often drive there alone in a quiet space just thinking to ourselves. But we come home to our friends and family. Very interesting perspective.
Reframing your mind about any scenario can make your daily activities more inviting, it's all about how to reframe your mind, which you'll have to figure out for yourself.
Video Remix Traditional vs. Contemporary
In a quest to further study the links between the past and the present I have made a video remix illustrating these similarities. I took two things that I personally have a deep interest in and combined them. Those are Death metal and Tribal music. Many people tend to shun Death metal and couldn't possibly see how it is related to tribal music. However death metal to me is an expression of ones self in the most primal fashion. Releasing all rage and frustration and ultimately catharsis. It brings back to our most barbaric roots only the same way tribal music can. For many tribal music holds the same connotations death metal holds for me. It allows them to release their true primal nature.
So I combined both of these aspects in a video. The audio contains three layers. The first is the math metal band Meshuggah's song I. The second is an indonesian tribes monkey ritual called kecak. The third is african djembe player's playing a traditional rythem.
Overall the video is okay I wish I had more time to properly sync the two however it was a difficult process just to get it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7si-0-TnPHs
So I combined both of these aspects in a video. The audio contains three layers. The first is the math metal band Meshuggah's song I. The second is an indonesian tribes monkey ritual called kecak. The third is african djembe player's playing a traditional rythem.
Overall the video is okay I wish I had more time to properly sync the two however it was a difficult process just to get it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7si-0-TnPHs
Monday, April 18, 2011
Montagnard Dega Art
The Montagnard Dega people of Vietnam have a rich cultural background as well as several interesting perspectives on the world around them. From an artist's standpoint I would naturally want to learn more about their art and what it means to their culture.
From what I have learned is that the Montagnard's use and create art primarily as tools or to serve some utilitarian purpose. The main form of this are the back-strap weaves that the women make. Long shall like pieces of cloth with bright colors and an endless sea of line and form. They use these for every purpose imaginable (Babies, sacks, dresses, ect.). They also have a tendency to use animal bones and skin to make decorative art for their houses.
Here is a diagram depicting my interest in art and the Dega people.
I definitely still need to learn about what they consider fine art or even if there is such a concept in their culture. Do they do any paintings? Or sculpture? If not what is their main source of creativity.
I would love to speak to an Artist of their people and see what kind of cultural background can be unearthed.
From what I have learned is that the Montagnard's use and create art primarily as tools or to serve some utilitarian purpose. The main form of this are the back-strap weaves that the women make. Long shall like pieces of cloth with bright colors and an endless sea of line and form. They use these for every purpose imaginable (Babies, sacks, dresses, ect.). They also have a tendency to use animal bones and skin to make decorative art for their houses.
Here is a diagram depicting my interest in art and the Dega people.
I would love to speak to an Artist of their people and see what kind of cultural background can be unearthed.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Me Myself and I(ntroductions)
Hello to all who read,
My name is Adam Weiner. I was born and raised just outside Baltimore, Maryland in an area called Lutherville. I am nineteen years old and I have one older brother named Andrew who is twenty-three and married to my sister in law Mollie.
My parents both work two jobs. My mother is a doctor and works with a company called EHR and is also Cheif of Medicine at Bayata Hospital in Columbia Maryland. My father is an actuary with PSA and also a brass smith. He primarily fixes brass instruments and is a french horn pro being only 1 of 21 in the entire world. My family is several generations American, my ancestors coming over in 1641 on my fathers side and 1722 on my mothers side.
I am a painter and a filmmaker, having studied both for a number of years. Although I am a freshmen at University of North Carolina School of the Arts I went to a magnet art high school, Carver Center for Arts and Technology for four years. There I developed and honed my skills as a painter and a filmmaker. Several of my paintings explore concepts of isolation and psychological damage. When I was 18 I won a national art competition called YOUNG ARTS in visual art.
This painting was one of the pieces in my young arts portfolio. Migraines (with socks).
And this is an image of me.
This is me in poland, my home land.
This is a collage image of me consisting of photos of painting and music.
Hope you enjoy the blog! :)
My name is Adam Weiner. I was born and raised just outside Baltimore, Maryland in an area called Lutherville. I am nineteen years old and I have one older brother named Andrew who is twenty-three and married to my sister in law Mollie.
My parents both work two jobs. My mother is a doctor and works with a company called EHR and is also Cheif of Medicine at Bayata Hospital in Columbia Maryland. My father is an actuary with PSA and also a brass smith. He primarily fixes brass instruments and is a french horn pro being only 1 of 21 in the entire world. My family is several generations American, my ancestors coming over in 1641 on my fathers side and 1722 on my mothers side.
I am a painter and a filmmaker, having studied both for a number of years. Although I am a freshmen at University of North Carolina School of the Arts I went to a magnet art high school, Carver Center for Arts and Technology for four years. There I developed and honed my skills as a painter and a filmmaker. Several of my paintings explore concepts of isolation and psychological damage. When I was 18 I won a national art competition called YOUNG ARTS in visual art.
This painting was one of the pieces in my young arts portfolio. Migraines (with socks).
And this is an image of me.
This is me in poland, my home land.
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