Artist Research 1

This semester, we have discussed a range of issues concerning the field of new media. We have discussed how the digital age has changed to role of the artist and the audience as well as the classifications of the art object. We have discussed the meaning of originality and the effect of commodification on american art. We have discussed how emerging technology has changed the effects of advertising.

Alexis Lloyd is a successful practicing artist from Brooklyn, New York. She has had "clients such as FOX, Columbia University, American Express, The New York Historical Society, PBS, and others," she currently works for the New York TImes in their research and development department. She defines her job title as a "creative technologist" and references Naomi's Klein's No Logo article about culture jamming as an important influence over her work. She has a BA from Vassar College where here senior thesis, titled "comMODIFIED" addressed remixing and satirizing advertising. She moved on to receive an MFA in Design and Technology and has worked as a multimedia artist/designer for 12 years.

I found Alexis Lloyd from her page on Rhizome but she has her own website where more information about her art is also available. One digital piece that caught my eye was an exploration of advertising's influence on the urban landscape, called Adscape. I was drawn to the fact that the advertising did not contain any cigarette advertising. This piece has meaning to me because it made me realize the power that cigarette advertising has had on me, even several decades after cigarette commercials had been banned from television. I was blown away by the influence that "the marlboro man" had over me in my adolescence.

Including Adscape, Rhizome has four digital artworks by Naomi Klein, all of which, in my opinion have a foundation in a similar type of analysis; evaluation of art in the in modern capitalist framework.

Adscape

Google Image Search: The First Amendment

MyWashington Square

The Ad Generator

The second artist who I have found to be pertinent to the discussion of art in the digital age is SBTRKT, a DJ who makes electronic dance music using computer driven editing software and digital synthesizers, while appropriating samples from pop culture. SBTRKT, pronounced "subtract," remains anonymous by wearing a mask at every performance. Despite the fact that no real narrative can be contracted in the audiences mind, SBTRKT gaining popularity in the EDM scene. This concept indicates a breakdown of the traditional art narrative, and expresses the accessibility of production and distribution as a result of emerging technologies.

I discovered SBTRKT through sharing music with my friends. We independently explore music through websites like beatport.com and share our interests when we get together. This represents a critical change in the musical world, because artists no longer need to seek nation television broadcast or a successful record company to produce their work. He also offers an interesting take on the discussion of culture jamming, as well as appropriation and intellectual property. After hearing SBTRKT, I found this article in SPIN magazine which is available online. It offers some insight that I would not have had from listening and aligns his work more with the topics we have been discussing rather than just pop entertainment.

I googled some other images of SBTRKT, and in line with the subject of appropriation, I didn't feel it necessary to cite these, although I might have to change that....