Yesterday we pushed the technology we are using to conduct this experimental type of course to its limits. It was not without it flaws and drawbacks but aside from those it presented a wonderful chance to exchange ideas between individuals from across the globe.
In real-time, students and faculty from Nanyang Technical University's Art Design and Media Program (NTU ADM) shared in a discussion on ideas related to this class and your studies at the University of Maine.
The discussion was wide and free ranging framed at first by a simple question around narrative. A question that students and faculty at both NTU ADM and UMaine address to one degree or another in their work. The talk was not easy due to the technology but it was worth the effort. This particular iPod Cast will have some sound problems, as again, we pushed the technology to its limits. But what is preserved here is worth hearing. Please post your response.
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13 comments:
I went to the class this morning expecting the whole class to be there. At first I thought we were going to critique our 3600 image projects. I also thought that we might talk to an artist about their work. What I didn't think when I walked into the small room that day, was there would be another class in another country staring at me. This did not bother me what bothered me was that I had nothing to say. Part of it was I could not hear the comments of the other class, the other it was just to early for me to think correctly; plus I was late. Never the less like Raph said it wasn't a complete success but it was still beneficial.
I also was expecting some sort of critique of our 3600 image projects. However, interacting with another class that was so far away was quite interesting and fun. The topic of narrative was discussed on many levels and while the other class did most of the talking, a wide array of well thought out ideas were brought to attention. Near the end of the discussion, the idea of how film impacts narrative was brought up, thus I couldn't help but think it was a perfect time to show the 3600 image projects, to both classes to see what their responses would be. I just think it would be a fun exercise because as most new media students are used to, showing their projects only to the class their currently in gets rather old. Showing some projects to a completely new audience would provide some great feedback. Just my thoughts on the matter.
I watched the today’s lecture via pod cast. Like others have noted the discussion felt a little disjointed because of sounds quality but there were some thought provoking points brought up.
Can different types of media affect narrative? A photograph of a man versus a film of a mans life. A still image leaves it up to the viewer to have the imagination to wonder who this man is and how he spends his time. A film shows us how he spends his time, the type of person he is. I guess then it amount of information the media allows the viewer to know about the narrative. Obviously the photograph has a very limited narrative. Media can affect the level of interpretation.
Why do we tell stories or narratives? Storytelling can be a way to relate to peers, I have told stories in the past to receive feedback. And as child in a large family, I told wild stories to get attention, I think people tell narratives for a variety of reasons and can be just as challenging as the question, why do people create art/what is new media? Just kidding but really. As discussed in class, narratives are an inherent part of being human.
Obviously Maine is not very diverse so it's interesting to hear other people's perspectives from other areas of the globe. Some of the things I had never considered before. I like the format of this class because we actually get to see new media "inaction" as opposed to just creating projects of our own. I mean not everything is smooth, technology-wise, but we see where new media can bring us.
My take on narrative...
I think we have a compulsion to tell stories because we like to talk about ourselves. Isn't that essentially what we do in conversation?... we tell stories, and we like to listen to stories and relate to people with similar experiences as us. Distinguishing a narrative from something that isn't is like deciphering "what is art?". I really agree with the comment that every medium has its limitations and we try to mold our narrative to make sense within the medium. I think I do this with speach too, just trying to articulate my story in a funny way, a moving way... but it's rarely ever as good as I imagined it in my mind. To end my rant, I think both the narrative and the medium in which it is portrayed provide different interpretations for each person. For instance, art history, if you are not knowledgeable about the rich iconography of religious paintings you will not perceive the painting the same as a scholar would. But you will attempt to relate it based on your personal experiences with people and places and events, etc. What we don't know we try to internalize it through metaphor and personal experience. So yeah...
Lecture 3 Notes and Responses:
How does narrative function in the 21st century?
is it telling story in own perspective?
Does medium change your narrative?
-media has a drastic effect on story,
-1 to many (interaction can become part of the narrative)
Raph disagrees with all
- medium only changes how the viewer looks at it
-your ability to work with a tool is your ability to make a story?
-your vocabulary defines how well you can tell your internal story
-its your skill that allows you to tell the story?
-its your ability to master a medium not the medium itself
artist work through accident and incident-
-what you encounter and succeed in what does and what doesn't work-work around things (don't say its a failure) find creative work around
I found this discussion very interesting, I've found in the New Media department that I don't always have the same abilities and skills in the programs as others, but I often rely on my creativity and trial and error for projects. I can think of many times when a final product was due to "happy" errors I made along the way, or projects that I had to use different techniques to achieve my final goal because of a lack of experience with a program. I enjoy this trail and error, because I believe it pushes me to work with what I have and allows my to be creative, and rely on that creativity rather then the program itself.
Norman Brisen-said viewer is engaged with interpreting the piece before they enter the piece
your ability to work with the medium limits the ability u have to express a story- u have to figure out the way to work around it which is the creative story
narrative function the way it did 10s of years ago? or does it even 5 years ago?
-narrative doesn't have to have an ending
--idea of time based image is actually very old (500 years old..)
Why do we need to tell a story??
why reveal what's internal the the external world.?
-storytelling
myths to define the people and their roles/class in the society that they have..?
------
find a rationalization for what were doing and saying
-things should be variable (in english speaking countries)
-other countries there is more room for metaphor and interpretation
English is more descriptive
romance language more open (less words in the language)
METAPHOR
-(mythology as an example)
room for larger interpretation
cause and effect
-science a way of negating true understanding
-about explain a process not he meaning of a process
some sort of wall between self and other- constant y trying to brake that down
-touch-senstaion transmission without language
and were trying to break out of that barrier
narrative
-just an image is only a fragment of a story------- (add the element of instruction, how to,
have to have experience, and memory of the experience and way to transfer it to give to someone (encode it)
curse of individual consciousness
---the need to make meaning of our lives (importance)
Another good statement that was made, is how we feel the need to make meaning of our lives and the feeling of importance. The world is big and we're miniscule in comparison to the larger picture, and we can make ourselves feel that we belong and are an aspect of the world through narrative. Over the years and with the possibilities of technology narrative has spread and mixed within our growing culture form the way way we speak and the ability to reach many audiences. I believe that narrative will always have the same effect through any medium of a way to teach and learn. It was pointed out that narrative needs an element of instruction, experience and memory of an experience, and then a way to transfer it to give to others. Whether the narrative is i series of drawings, spoken words, video images, the viewer is getting a message tat we can interrupt and take in and learn and store in our own memory to relate to future experiences.
-speaking stopping allowing you to reflect (tribes)
technology putting us back to a older formal way of speaking-where we stop and reflect
-Jump Cut-- (our mind could imagine what was there before it)
-the apostrophe of film--
DIALOG most important thing, its lacking in teaching... engagement is key, not just teaching
I listened to lecture via pod-cast because I could not participate b/c of my ichat version. I found benefits and disadvantages of viewing the lectures later. It allows me to stop and note on things said or to replay things I missed or didn't understand, but I do miss the ability to interact and participate, and I believe that interactivity is key whether it is in narrative of every day life, and in our generation we have lost forms of interaction but have adapted ways through technology to interact. It went from being person to person in real time, to computer to person in real time, to just viewing a video, without the ability to interact or feel part of the overall 'time.'
Overall I believe the lecture went well with the question answer outline, Its also interesting to hear others opinions from outside our school and especially the country. I feel with better sound quality the lectures could be even more interesting.
After reading the others post I had the same sort of reaction to yesterdays lecture. I as well original thought we were critiquing the 3600 image project and as well expected more of the class to be there. But, I am definitely glad I had the opportunity to be involved in one of the first face to face virtual classrooms. Its amazing that technology has enabled us to communicate though video in real time across the globe. It really blows my mind. It seemed as though the students in singapore had alot to say and talk about, at-least alot more then I did.... I had a hard time reacting to questions and comments though the video chat ( cause we have to quickly un-mute ourselves) and it was a little hard to hear sometimes. I hope the next time we do this I have al ot more to say and give. It was interesting hearing all of the singapore students reactions to narrative and I found alot of what they had to say very intriguing.
I think thi is great how we are pushing technology to the edge s and in a few years I can only imagine what will be available to us to make these experiences more effective and easier.
While i have a class that conflicts with this one, and am not in the same country i was unable to attend the "filming" of this discussion. With that said it was very interesting to see two classrooms from different countries on the same screen. Some of the idea's raised were also very interesting. The most interesting being the idea that each medium has its limitations and that is why we continue to look for newer and more interesting ways of getting across our idea's or narratives. If I had been able to participate in this discussion i would have said that my opinion of narrative is that of a story being told through a medium. If its a painting, a photograph, a film it doesn't matter each has its own way of telling a narrative/story.
I wasn't exactly on top of my game yesterday morning. It felt like most of what I had to say during the discussion was intended to fill the awkward silence that would be there otherwise. I did most of my heavy thinking later that morning when I jotted some thoughts and questions down. The order's not exactly logical, but personally, it helps me start to understand how people understand things.
"Narrative does not give "meaning," only order and familiarity to the events in our life. Is it an illusion that "meaning" and "order" are the same thing?
Is there such a thing as "meaning" beyond "order?"
To me, life is linear and time-based, like the narratives we create and consume. Is this because of exposure to narrative media from a young age, or does narrative truly match the way we live our lives? Conditioning or Instinct? The idea of time-based narrative is so ingrained in my understanding of life that its nearly impossible to divorce myself from this perception. Perhaps this is the same issue as with language. I can understand a message in spanish (for example) once my brain has translated its meaning into english, but without complete immersion in the other language, I am incapable of thinking in spanish Similarly, my brain must translate non-narrative media into a familiar, digestable form before I can comprehend it. Like a native english speaker may never be able to think in spanish, i may never be able to conceptualize life in the linear, narrative terms that i've been thinking in for 20 years.
During the lecture itself I was not really bothered by the sound quality because, well, they found a microphone, and that made it a bit easier to understand. What I did get out of this experiment was how entirely possible it would be to have a discussion with people many miles away. While it turned more into a question and answer for their class and us sort of looking in, if we had some set questions that we wanted to ask of them and questions that they wanted to ask us it could have been more interactive.
Overall I thought that it went well. It was interesting to hear that the ideas of people in Singapore (or at least this school) with regards to media studies is very similar to our own. It made the discussion much easier to understand because these were topics that we have covered and analyzed before but put into a new sort of context.
The points raised during the lecture were very interesting. Particularly the question of whether the method by which you view media affects how you perceive it. I think that is definitely true. Also that the viewer is engaged with seeing work before they even arrive at the location. I never thought of it in that manner before, but I can see it now. I look at art a lot different if it is in a gallery or at home in a book. Our preconceptions can have a great deal of influence on how we look at things.
I have often said that humanity is basically self centered,and that is reflected by Jess's comments about narrative at its roots being stories about ourselves. We like to hear about things that we find familiar.
It was nice to see that even students from other countries clam up just like us, although I'm not sure about perpetuating the idea that American students are a bunch of booze hounds.
Oh yeah this was when we were talking to the other class in the Philippines. That was a rough discussion I felt like it was our time to shine and show our knowledge . Sadly I think we did not shine. We were all kind of tired that morning. Despite that it was an interesting conversation. Jess mentions the diversity of Maine and I think that is an interesting fact; not that their class was much more diverse. We were given a chance to take down barriers and discuss our field of study with a like minded group. This is the glory that new media has afforded us. Whats more is what we did with it. I did not contribute all I could to that conversation and I wish I had. We were given a chance to see what people were doing on the other side and I felt it was a little one sided.
Kat's Post briefly mentioned our "need" for storytelling. More than anything else, what i took away from this lecture/discussion was that our means of expression are not to be taken for granted. At some point in the discussion, one of us suggested that it was natural for us to want to express ourselves. One of the people in the singapore classroom challenged this, suggesting that expression through media is a learned behavior. That moment has significantly changed the way I think about art (and human behavior in general).
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