Brion Gysin

Brion Gysin grew up in a home of a single mother. His father died not too long after he was born in the war. Gysin was drawn to the art movement of surrealism and worked with it for sometime. However, he was kicked out by Andre Breton on the day of his first exhibition. He later went to join the cause and fight in the War. When the War ended he had his major break through producing the art of cut-ups by accident. He was cutting newspaper and found that when jumbled up the strips made interesting combinations of words. His method began to be used by many artists in the Beat generation. However, this wasn't his biggest contribution. That came with the production of the Dream Machine. The dream machine was in a sense a way to hallucinate without actually getting high. The Dream Machine became  to be what Gysin would be known for. The dream machine really change the context of art because it was meant to be viewed with closed eyes. It became less about beauty and looks and more about the experience itself.

Thoughts on Emak Bakia a film by Man Ray

Emak Bakia seems to be more of a way to explore what can be done with film than a film itself. Man Ray begins his film with his iconic photography put in motion. He used nails and salt which he placed on the film to create a positive image. These images in motion create a very confusing and almost trance like effect. However, this is not the whole film. The "scene" switches to one of a car and a woman. It seems as though he is playing with special effects within the film because the woman will all the sudden disappear and reappear. He is able to change her opacity until she is almost a ghost-like figure. He also plays with the speed of which actions are happening. This is seen with the banjo player and the girl dancing. Man Ray is exploring the differences between perceived reality and what is actually real. The most iconic is his use of a girl with eyes painted on her eyelids. In this way her eyes always appear to be open. In addition to this he is creating scenes and rewinding them so it is as if it has never even happened. His film is more like a playground for him. He is playing with the film to see how far he can push the medium. In my opinion when it is all put together, it doesn't really flow very well so there is a state of confusion. However, once I realized what he was actually trying to accomplish this flow was not really necessary. Although the film was showed as a completed work of art it was really an experimentation for Man Ray.

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech

Steve Jobs made a very inspiring speech at Stanford's 2005 Commencement. He used his life story to make a point to inspire others. Everyone has heard the saying "everything happens for a reason," but Steve Jobs took this to a new level. Even though situations may seem disastrous when they occur, eventually it will all make sense why it happened. According to Steve one can only "connect the dots when looking back." It seems as though this is due to all of the overwhelming emotions that come along with the realization that you have failed. You may have let someone down or just completely screwed up, but once the initial shock is gone you can focus on a new path. This path is normally one that you were meant to take in the first place. Steve Jobs also mentioned that one should not waste his time doing something he hates. He should think for himself and find something he is truly passionate in. This is the only way to true happiness. Also, once that passion is found, risk everything to keep it alive. Without that passion we are nothing. Steve ended his speech basically saying live everyday as if it was your last. I feel like Steve's advice is the way to true happiness. One must not regret their actions or get stuck in a rut because something went wrong. One must seize the day and do what inspires them. This is the only way to true happiness in life and a fulfilling future. The people that are remembered in history did not become historical figures by sitting around doing things that did not interest them. They were called crazy and they failed a time or two, but they kept trying and succeeded. That is what they are remembered for and that is why they are considered to be great. They followed their passions and didn't listen when others tried to bring them down. They were their own person and they believed in themselves.

grid art project

To create this piece I used a total of 2200 white pushpins. Unfortunately, I ran out and had to improvise by placing them to get the main parts of the photo. I bought all the pushpins I could find from three different Walmarts. Turns out everyone really likes these white pushpins. I used sharpie to color the tops of the pins. I feel that if i was able to get ahold of more pushpins the resolution of the picture would be better and the photo would come more to life in the recreation.  

Alan Turing

Alan Turing was a very influential part in the history of early computers. He went to Cambridge to study mathematics and it is from here he strived to make a machine that would be able to solve mathematical problems. He created a machine which he called the Turning Machine and would have looked similar to this modern day model.

The machine could compute just about any problem given to it by using binary symbols written on an infinite roll of paper. Turing claimed that any mathematical problem could be solved by the Turing machine. For the mathematical method to be effective it just needed to have a list of instructions that could be mindlessly followed by a clerk. 

Turing went on to create machines that were able to decode messages. These machines helped greatly during WWII. He was a key member of a team that built decoding machines based off of earlier blueprints. After the war Turing went on to create a concrete model of his Turing machine. He came up with a design for a digital computer that would have had the same memory capacity as the early Macintosh computers. He called his invention the ACE. However, it was never actually produced; instead a smaller version was created. He went on to help design one of the first commercially available computing machine. 

Unfortunately for Turing, it became known that he was gay. During his life it was illegal to be homosexual in Britain. When it was found that he was gay he was horribly persecuted. He was forced to go through hormone therapy and committed suicide not long after. He was a great mind that contributed greatly to the world of computers and technology. In fact many of the computers that were to be built after his death were based off of his Turing machines. He was persecuted by his own country he strived to save for an act that was then considered taboo. 

War of the Worlds radio broadcast

Orson Welles radio broadcast, War of the Worlds, was met with such shock and panic that the next day he had to make a public apology. The fact that Welles used the radio to produce his show aided in the panic that it ensued. The listeners had to use their imagination directed by the very detailed voices of the actors. As far as the listeners knew the show was just a news broadcast. This idea came from the fact that the show began as informative news about new discoveries on Mars and Earth as well. However, not far into the show disaster occurred. The staged disaster was so convincing that people really thought the world was ending and aliens were attacking. Suddenly the news broadcast was interrupted by descriptions of seemingly unplanned events that even the news announcer had trouble explaining. This was also intertwined with screaming by the crowds surrounding the "events." The absence of video for real proof of the situations occurring made it all the more possible for the events to be true. For all the listeners knew just outside their doorstep could be a meteor holding an alien planning to destroy their livelihood. The incredibly detailed descriptions that went along with the horror made it seem all the more real. In today's modern society, or even after the introduction of the television, such a show would not be able to strike such a widespread fear in viewers. With video people began to use less and less of their imagination to interact with shows. This was not true for the radio era. The people's active imaginations is what really stirred the terror in reaction to Welles broadcast. Such an event would not be possible to produce any more. Welles' broadcast was really a pivotal moment in technological history.

A Small Invention With a Large Impact

In today's world of electronics we would be completely lost without the battery. Batteries run just about every valuable object we own from cell phones to computers. It is hard to imagine that the idea for a battery was being put to the test as early as 2500 BCE. These ancient batteries were no more than clay pots with iron rods surrounded by a copper tube and filled with vinegar.

Multiple pots would be connected together to create a powerful enough charge to complete tasks such as gold plating silver. Unfortunately, this early blueprint for the battery was lost and such an item was not thought of again until the 1700's. Many brilliant minds worked together over the years to produce a battery capable of producing enough power to run new products. It is Alessandro Volta whom we credit with producing the blueprints for the modern battery in the 1800's. In honor of his discovery, the batteries power is expressed in volts. 

Of course as with any invention it can be improved upon and it was discovered that Volta's battery was not capable of producing a charge for long periods of time. Eventually mercury was added to batteries to create a greater reaction. This element did not last too long after the discovery of mercury's harmful tendencies. It was Samuel Ruben who invented the battery we know today as the Duracell battery. 

Flip book animation

A Clockwork Orange and the use of Nadsat

A Clockwork Orange is a deeply disturbing yet inspirational film based off of a novel. The author, Anthony Burgess, even went as far as to create a new language for the characters in his novel called Nadsat. It is controversial as to why Burgess went through the trouble to make up a new language for his characters. The reader and/or viewer must make a conscious effort to understand the language to fully comprehend the action taking place. Usually such an addition would be seen as a hassle and turn potential customers away. However, Burgess's addition of the new language in the context of the plot is a brilliant way to get across the message intended.

Burgess wanted a way to alienate the main characters of his story especially the leader of the gang, Alex. The use of a strange made up language did just that to the viewers and readers. Since it took some getting used to, the audience would feel alienated from the characters until the language became more familiar. This alienation goes in hand with what the gang would have felt from the society they lived in. Their choice was to be the scum of the community and they enjoyed every minute of it. With in their group the boys were gods, but to everyone else they chose the path extreme opposite to the social norm. To regular people the boy's actions were the most horrifying and wrong; society cast them out for this reason. The language barrier Burgess creates emphasizes this idea.

What Burgess expected was the audience to be familiar with the new terms toward the end of the movie. By this time the plot has moved along and Alex has been introduced to government correction practices. He has had his spirit taken from him. He no longer has a choice to do bad or good. After being subjected to the harsh program Alex can only do what society deems as correct. Alex is no longer and individual, but a puppet.

Society can no longer alienate him because he can do no wrong now. He is the poster child for the treatment therapy to cure people from being able to chose to do wrong. In this way Burgess created a way to end the alienation. The audience is more familiar with the vernacular as well as Alex as a person. I believe the main reason to create a new language for the story was to allow the audience to become more one with the characters. Throughout the story line the audience learns more and more and eventually Burgess's ideas of choice making an individual get clearer.