Monday, March 31, 2008

The afterthought on civil disobedience a propos the March 19th actions

In the grand scheme of political unrest, I would consider many of the March 19th, 2008 events in reaction to the 5th anniversary to the Iraq war, to have been minimally effective. In fact, most acts of 'civil disobedience' in today's political stratum appear hold almost no bearing on the People's government. I think even the term 'civil disobedience' is a too bit gallant sounding for the rather obsequious protests of today's anti-war activists.
After reflecting on the Peace vigil that I attended, both during the class critique and personally, I'm glad that was the event I chose to attend. I feel that, although it was a less reactionary statement, it was more mournful and lamenting of the tragedies that have ensued as a result of military invasion and occupation in the Middle East. There is obviously little hope for we the people to influence our executive branch's policies concerning the war, for they have different interests in mind.
Perhaps had the inclement weather not been such a deterrent for the saddened majority of this country's anti war voices, the candle light vigil would have made a more effecting statement than splashing red paint across an unassuming MPD officer. 

Monday, March 24, 2008

5th Anniversary of the War; Peace Vigil in LaFayette Park



Washington D.C. is spattered with ambiguous titles such as this, but who's idea of 'International Development' are we working off? What is developing exactly?




Does he know? Do I know? Do you know?




Democracy will not devel0p overnight. We must look elsewhere. We must look inward.




Admire her synthetic concern for the issue. "Now, where do you believe this war is going?" -No, don't look at the camera, look directly at me. We don't want to be overly confrontational now.




This man, a religious zealot, was more than willing to give the talking head a little lesson in Biblical history. Now she understands.




Rock, paper, scissors...shoot. U.S. conflict resolution.




He knows the game. Hes got a brain.




Innocence is golden.




Just Justice Justifies




I'm Just wondering who can Justify imperialism and occupation in the 21st century.



Unfortunately, we the people cannot hold a candle to the superior strategies of the Bush administration... or can we?



Let's abandon this legacy.

Monday, March 17, 2008


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How Multimedia Has Changed the Face of Artistic Expression

As veterans of the 1990s and a courageous survivors of Y2K, our generation of electronic connoisseurs has been able to carve its own unique dimension in two-dimensional art. By replacing haggard paintbrushes with electronic drawing pads, 30-millimeter film rolls with digital memory chips, and hundreds of extras with identical computer generated people, we as artists have revolutionized the way creativity can be expressed. Instant gratification provided by high speed internet and nearly flawless computer programs is, in my opinion, the number one most influential aspect of this revolution. As we discussed in class concerning the tweaked Apple commercial into a Barak Obama spot, the simple manipulation of the image was able to invade the sphere of online political commentary almost instantaneously. Where notorious caricaturists used to mock their presidents outright in publications, often feeling the repercussions in the form of jail time, today anyone with photoshop and a steady hand can desecrate a political figurehead to their liking, and get away with it.
This is not to say that any integrity of formal two dimensional art has been diminished. In fact, I esteem the manual effort put into artwork, like prints, hand developed photographs, paintings, etc. much more than computer generated works. The emotional process and perfection of a piece of art is seriously degraded by the use of computers, that is, for everyone but the very first publisher of that image or code to a computer. Yet, this ability to infinitely diffuse a personal image on the Internet is difficult to criticize.
Regarding the social implications of digital media, I wholeheartedly respect the newly widespread availability of art to the many who may never get a chance to stroll through the Louvre or the Guggenheim. The proliferation of artistic forms via the Internet and electronics is the only way that the art world can keep up with our digitalizing society. Unfortunately for artists of this medium, there much anonymity and depreciation to face. Another scourge of the instant gratification craze is the fact that the viewers of digital media, especially on the Internet, are not forced to understand the motivation, context, idea, etc. of a piece, perhaps not even the name attributed. But the acceptance of these facts and many other apparencies of this developing type of digital art is but a reflection on the changing world we live in.