Creativity Summary 10

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 7.2

Distribution, Ethics and the Politics of Engagement

            This article opens by talking about diversity of culture and how that influences digital storywork. Context is a fundamental aspect when it comes to understanding someone else’s story. We are the product of our environment/culture, and these things are inseparable from our artistic mindset.

Concepts:

-       “First Voice”, or the idea that people should speak for themselves and not be spoken for by others

-       Conscientization, or the process of developing a critical awareness of one’s social reality through reflection

-       Ethics must be taken into account, such as the retelling of other stories or events that are not your own

-       Story telling can be used as a coping mechanism

-       Two types of practicioners: media professionals and hybrid media educators/social workers

Example:

            Zahid’s Story  is referenced to illustrate the author’s point about dignity and the way in which we respond to the stories of others. Even incomplete stories can present a powerful message to the audience and be a powerful form of expression for the artist. Context and culture, again, are important to understanding a story like Zahid’s.

Position:

            The author makes important points about the ethics of storytelling when it comes to things like privacy, slander, copywriting, etc. People, especially students, sometimes forget that these things must be taken into consideration before, during and after the making of a digital story. I think that the example of the teacher who made a story about a child being abused was handled appropriately; it was not her child nor her story, and it could cause a lot of damage if a copy of the story some how ended up on the internet or in a place where the child or child’s family could see it. But making it for the purpose of being deleted after is a different case, because it was a coping mechanism for the teacher.

Crerativity Summary 9

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 7.1

Designing in Digital:

Working with Digital, Audio and Video

            This article examines what it means to have good design in a digital story. Mimicking digital stories that one find’s interesting plays into this idea. The author talks about the importance of not falling into “cliché” methods of illustrating a point, but to do what is not blatantly obvious.

Concepts:

-       Form should support the content; making choices that make sense

-       Creating “graphic interest” for the audience

-       Concept of the frame

-       Visual Pacing; pausing to signify reflection or decision making

-       “seeing” the story through implicit use of image

Example:

            Camaro Boy by Rob is an example of a digital story completed in one of the author’s workshops. It centers around two ordinary photographs, yet illustrates the feeling of wandering and finding one’s place in the world. The script for the digital story is included, in which the artist speaks in first person about the photos.  This, accompanied by an assortment of images, shows the evolution of life over time.

Position:

            I agree with the author when he talks about strategy and method being fundamental in influencing our decision making. There are several aspects of digital storytelling to consider both separately and as a whole. The method needs to support the idea behind the story in order to produce a cohesive whole.

Question:

- Mimicking what we like as a method is no doubt an effective strategy, but when is the line crossed between mimicking and copying? How much can we mimic before it becomes plagiarizing?

Creativity Summary 8

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 6.2.

Ethics in Visual Research

            This article asks the vital question: in a world rife with social rights awareness and the profusion of legislation, is it really a good idea to ignore or downplay ethics? The author focuses on two main issues concerning visual research: acting with integrity and respecting the rights of others. Contextual issues and using the internet are important topics as well.

Concepts:

-       Three basic considerations: the rights of the participants, researcher’s safe working environment and carefully planned research operation that does not breech the standards of justice.

-        Conflicts of interest can be a problem

-       Context is important. Information can be gathered directly or indirectly.

-       Internet = blurred space between public and private

-       Surveillance creeping and lurking; webcam layer on Google Maps

Example:

            The reference made to Google maps really struck me because I never would have considered that to be an unethical program, but in several cases it has violated people’s privacy and disregarded the fact that they have not consented to having their image put on the internet. It exemplifies how tricky the internet is to deal with ethically, because it represents a space that is neither private nor public, so the same rules that apply to each are difficult to follow online.

Position:

            The article was informative and pointed out some information that I perhaps would have looked passed while conducting visual research.  It is important to find a way of representing information in a way that does not violate sensitivity or anonymity. Conflicts of interest should also be taken into consideration so that the participant and/or artist are not put into compromising situations.   

Question:

-       Is there a case, such as Google maps, in which the greater good overrides the ethical objections of a few?

Creativity Summary 7

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 6.1

Doing and Disseminating Visual Research:

Visual Arts-Based Approaches

           

 This article takes a look at different forms of visual research and the ways in which art-based approaches can support it. It uses three art forms – installation art, film and video art – as models for these approaches. These mediums allow for multiple perspectives and opportunities for specific understandings to present themselves to the viewer.

Concepts:

-       Providing opportunities for relational understandings

-       Theorizing art practice as research

-       “Artistic Research” expressing experimental knowledge instead of expert knowledge

-       Different methodological approaches for using the arts in educational research

Example:

            I enjoyed the example of Willie Doherty’s art installation piece titled Same Difference, because it worked well in illustrating the author’s point about generating empathetic understanding in the viewer. It allows the viewer to experience a taste of something they have not experienced first hand. The physical space that the viewer occupies while viewing the installation is a representation of their multiple vantage point position.

Position:

            I found this article helpful because I’ve always had a harder time connecting with digital media, but now I have a better vocabulary for describing what it is I see when viewing a video piece. I think the author was successful in communicating the similarities between visual research and the art making process by showing us examples such as Presentation Sisters by Tacita Dean and Same Difference by Willie Doherty.  The learning that takes place while viewing works like these turns them into tools for visual research on any abstract idea.

Question:

-       What are some examples of visual research taking place in other types of art media, such as sculpture or ceramics?

Creativity Summay 6

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 5.2

Co-Creative Media Summary

            This article shines a light on the concept of co-creative media as a theoretical frame for digital storytelling as an action research platform. Using this frame allows one to investigate our participatory media culture. The author problematizes the concepts of participatory media and co-creative media, comparing them to other forms of social media.

Concepts:

-       Co-creative media provides a tool for understanding participatory media

-       Digital storytelling facilitates social participation in the community

-       Four types of institutions tend to host digital storytelling programs (educational, community, cultural and miscellaneous others like public broadcasters or consultancies)

 

Example:

            The Finding a Voice example worked well to illustrate the journalist style of storytelling. It proved that people of all ages are capable of using digital media to record and retell a story to the world, even if some supervision or scaffolding is needed. This style aids the narrative, allowing the artist to come across as articulately as possible, instead of a more abstracted version that would be open to interpretation.

Position:

            The author’s examples and explanations of the subject matter cover a vast array of possibilities for learning with digital media. I agree that storytelling is vital in art and any other community because it keeps our history alive and our experiences known. However, I still worry that tangible art may fall by the wayside if our obsession with technology is not kept in check. I would prefer to see digital technology used to aid our understanding of other mediums as well, instead of solely used to create its own art products.

Questions:

-       In what ways does participatory media aide in our understanding of other subjects?

-       Could similar effects be achieved in other forms of digital media (photography, blogging, streamed performance art)?

Creativity Suammy 5

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary 5.1

Art Education Technology: Digital Storytelling Summary

            This article illustrates how new technology is making way for a broader definition of art. As art teachers, it is essential that we keep up with changes in culture, society and community by incorporating technology-based projects into our curriculums. This will better prepare students to think creatively in all career fields, be them artistic or not. It allows them to consider several different aspects of visual culture in the age of computer technology.

Concepts:

-       7 aspects to creating a digital story (topic, script, storyboard, production, image preparation, evaluation and critique)

-       Everything must be integrated and work cohesively in order to be successful

-       Art teachers typically will have a computer lab at their disposal; art resources underfunded

-       The application of digital storytelling to art education is an interdisciplinary project

Example:

            The example explaining the story created by the class was useful in illustrating how pivotal art education is for children. It also exemplified the idea that the art itself can be used for advocacy and further education about a subject, instead of simply the product of learning the software.

Position:

            The author’s position is effective and articulated well through the use of examples and instructions. Details of the fame work for a digital story are analyzed and broken down in order to provide a support system for a hypothetical project. However, I feel that the author has gone too far in blurring the line between art and simple powerpoint presentation. A lot more goes into a film/video/animation than the example shows on pg.21.

Questions:

-       How should we incorporate digital media into an art curriculum without turning it into a computer science class?

-       In a world so full of computer screens and cell phones, is there merit in thinking that perhaps art class should be one of the last remaining tactile, hands-on, physically creative experience?

Creativity Summary 3

Kelsey Best

Digital Creativity

Summary #3

Understanding Digital-Synthesized Photographs

Through Theories of Knowledge

Summary

         The article begins by comparing digital photography to traditional film, clamining that more time is spent fixing photos in photoshop than capturing the perfect picture. Though some tradition is perhaps lost in transition, photoshop allows artist to convey messages that would not have been possible using older methods. Contemporary architectural theorist Mark Gelernter believes that combining this with a strong education is vital, because one’s intention and ideas are formulated in knowledge. Another key to artistic photography is defining reality, and deciding what notion of it should appear in the photographs.

         Tom Bamberger is a contemporary photographer living in Wisconsin. Using the panorama style photo to depict altered landscapes. By copying a section of something, he can seamlessly attach the duplicates so as to create a perfect scene. Science plays an important role in this style of art, as does geometry and knowledge of technology. In this work he speaks of Darwinism and how science is the best explanation we have for the phenomenon of life.

         Another key to photography is asking what truth you should find there. For Tom Bamberger, the answer is still unfound. He is astutely aware that photographs cannot always capture the truth of what he is seeing, as he attests in an anecdote about trying to photograph the sunlight. For him, the more beautiful is, the more truthful it is. This lead him to his current method for working, with the aim to beautify nature in order to show its truth. His goal is to show the world more clearly and bring joy to others in the process.

         However, he does not feel that his work is a failure if the audience fails to grasp the concept. He invites people to create their own meaning from the work based on the simple act of seeing it. To him, reality is what you want it to be, so forcing his reality onto others may not serve them when they try to decipher a meaning in his work. Those who make art typically have some sort of problem or question in regards to their own realities, and Bamberger’s work is the result of his quest for truth.

         The article sums up by reminding us that beauty is a particular kind of form that people gravitate towards. Everyone loves beautiful things, it’s just the things that change from person to person. Brilliant formal quality is something that Bamberger finds beautiful, as illustrated by his work. However, photoshop is not the only tool that photography students should be learning. The best tool is the frame of mind. Learning to see alternate views of reality is the most important aspect, while photoshop is there to help make it happen.