Reading Response
No More Teacher's Dirty Looks
The reading describes the school system as a very restricting place, which takes away the freedom for a student to grow in his or her own way. The author argues that by adding computers into the school system, the students would be able to explore their interest and save them from inhuman teachers. He believes those students are forced into being taught in a very mechanical matter.
This reading relates to how I feel about my experience in school. I feel that the class structure I had experienced were a little to constricting and shatters my self-confidence. In the reading, Nelson description of education might be a little extreme, but I feel that it had some truth. I think the way classes were taught did inhibit me from learning because of stress and anxiety. In my opinion, a class that structured around lectures made learning harder, and it feels like a teacher is just pour so much information into a student’s mind. I believe a class that was structured around a student working on activities, which will apply what they have learned, makes it more enjoyable and easier to absorb the knowledge.
Another point in the reading that I agree is sometimes I think the school system is afraid of a new technique of teaching. They know that their current way of teaching works well enough but they seem more unwilling to allow changes. I feel that teachers should be more open to changing the way they teach students, because all students do not have the same learning style. It would be good if teachers were able to remember that not all students work the same way and it would be a good idea to somehow work different learning styles into their class.
I think the reading is very strong and I agree with most of the author’s points. However, I do not know if computers are the answer to the problem, because in my experience the Internet can be good but evil at the same time. A student can find information faster and easily with a computer, however social media and online entertainment can distract a student. Besides getting the student to learn more and grow, they might be too absorb in something else and forget about reality.
The work of art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
The reading is about how technology affects the value of artwork. It is split into fifteen different sections. The section I chose is the fifth section, which talks about how the original value of the artwork has changed by being publicly displayed. This is similar to a brief discussion in Intro to Art History. In the class, we discussed how the value of certain famous work changed as technology advances, and gives us ability to access artwork easier and faster. There were people who agree that some certain famous work is not anymore special than the copies, such as the Mona Lisa. This does not mean that the original is unimportant, it just that it does not give us the impact it use to give.
I agree that the artwork’s value has changed a bit due to technology giving us more ability to show case artwork. I think we have disrespected the hidden artwork by publically displaying it, and by making profit off of the exhibition. The value of the artwork now is to make profit. However, I also believe that by being able to show people these “hidden” artwork can help keep a culture alive. By showing these types of artwork out in the public, it teaches us more about a certain culture’s history. In a way, it now helps us keep remembering the people of the past.
I think section five had good points and I agree with all of them. However, I also believe that being able exhibit artwork also give us more knowledge of the past.
Substrate
So for the reading assignment, I chose to do the section on Substrate. I chose this topic because I’m not great at expressing myself through words, so I thought it would be interesting to see what people do without using words. The basic idea I got from looking at the links is nothing and nothingness. It showed me different ways to represent nothing, and what nothing can do for the viewer and the artist. The main idea the reading was trying to prove is that nothing does have something.
One of the ideas they talked about with nothingness is sound. In the Nothing: A user’s Manual, it says that in an empty space “is alive with something to which we were simply not paying sufficient attention.” If I really focus on the sounds in an empty quiet room, I can hear faint white noise sounds like your blood rushing in the ears, and your breathing. This idea kind of relates to the Language Removal Service website because it has a similar idea of nothing. The people recording have no words and sometime you do not hear their voice, but you can hear them through the recording. It’s the sound of them breathing and the sounds of their lips moving. You are kind of hearing nothing but you are also listing to a recording of people. The idea of nothing is very odd because there is always something. Another example of nothing that the reading had was the Volume by Luigi Amato. This piece of work is just a book that is just about the physical traits of the book and the modes of fruition. It is a book that in a different way shows nothing but has something. The book in a way has not value and if you just look at it, it looks boring and useless. However, as you interact with the book you see the pages changes and see information about the book. It plays on the idea nothing is something.
I think the reading was interesting and it plays around the idea of nothing. It gave me interesting ideas of what I could do to represent nothing through visual and audio medium. However, I thought some of the readings were very difficult to go through and some of the ideas of some of the work went over my head, such as Lecture on Nothing and © 1968.
© 1968
Lecture on Nothing
Language Removal Service
Volume
Nothing: A User's Manual
Reading Response #4
The reading talks about two different projections the author has done on two different types of structures. He did projections on public buildings and memorial site, but this projection goal was to challenge their function or reveal the truth. The idea of the reading was to give us an idea about why he chose these structures and why he felt he need to challenge their purpose.
The conversation about the use of these structures reminded me of the Architecture unit in Introduction to Art History. We talked about the contents of different types of structures, and how the environment also part of the meaning. Also the last time I took advance digital art, the location was an important part of the project. The site will tie in the projections so we have to treat it as part of the art. In both personal experiences, I learned the importance of location, and to know the meaning of the structure.
Through out the reading the author personify the structures, which became confusing with the additional idea of “The Father”. I think “The Father” is the government since they have the control of these buildings and they control the social norm. This reading delves in the politics by talking about how the structures embody the political ideas. The reading was a little hard to understand but I got some ideas of what the author is talking about. I think the personifications in the reading made it hard for me to fully understand the content.