Tecera....

So I felt the need to share my ridiculous key experience today...

Upon returning to my apartment after mykonos, I came to realize I had misplaced my apartment and school building keys... shoot. Good thing I have 5 roommates. So today I went into the key place and told the woman I wanted 4 keys, one of each key copied. She replied by shaking her head yes and saying tecera, the greek word for 4. I replied nai, yes. This was easier than I expected. She asked if I wanted to wait, and her daughter translated it. I said yes and Kristen and I sat and waited. It was not till the woman and her daughter began to match up 4 SETS of keys that we realized they'd made 4 copies of the sets of keys. Uh..... at this point we didn't know what to do... She then informed me it'd be 56 euro. At this point I had to make a choice.

I still think I made the wrong one by simply paying and leaving, but how do I explain I don't want all the keys even though I said nai, tecera. So now I have 4 sets of keys, and can only hope my roommates all loose their keys and need to buy a copy off mine.

At the end of the day it's already happened and I can't change it, so all I can do is laugh it off... and hey it's a classic story of language misunderstanding. And hopefully a funny story for the blog. :) Peace and Love.

http://web65.rollins.edu/~srosen

click here for full version

This video is an interpretation of the party scene for a college kid. It is supposed to make the viewer somewhat uncomfortable. This is because i want viewers to physically and emotionally feel the aspects of partying. There is a juxtaposition between very loud noise and silence which is unnerving for viewers. There is also unidentifiable sound in some parts because it is supposed to be confusing. The shaky camera movements and weird lighting are all to make the viewer uneasy.

http://moreismore.free.fr/?m=20081

this is a video of "deadpan"

Steve Mcqueen

The artist I have chosen is Steve Mcqueen. He is a British artist born in 1969. He works in video, photography, and sculpture. After looking at examples of all three of his media, I can say that I enjoy his videos the best. Like many new media artists he explores the relationship between art and the viewer while also asking questions through his art.

The first piece being discussed is a video called “Dead Pan”(1997). In this video Mcqueen himself is standing with his back to the camera and the front of a house falls on him with the window hole perfectly placed so that he is unscathed. The piece is black and white; this gives it a sense of timelessness. It also appeals to me because of my affinity for black and white photography. The video has a photographic sense to it because of the quality of imagery and the perfect contrast. Many of the videos we have looked at in class have been blurry but this video is crisp which makes it easier to watch. The most interesting part of the video is that in the middle of it the shot changes and moves Mcqueen’s feet and shows what just happened from an entirely new perspective. I had to watch the video a few times to realize what was going on. It appears that we are looking at an entirely new set of events when in reality we are watching the same event take place from a different viewpoint.

The camera stays on the feet for a few seconds before the house drops. It is just long enough to make the audience wonder what is going on. It’s uncomfortable to stay on still frame for a long time in a video. The uncomfortable quality is very important to the video and it is a technique that many new media artists use. The video did not make me ask any questions but is more a fun thing to watch. It is generally projected on a large white wall and has an overwhelming and jarring effect because of the house falling. It is my favorite of the new media videos I have seen.

I chose to discuss a video piece by Mcqueen because I do not think his photographs are as strong. It is hard to tell what many of them are and they come across as random to me. His video works are successful because they focus on one thing such as a close-up of an eye in “Charlotte” or a house falling in “Deadpan”. His photographs are boring to me. The photograph “Current” was my least favorite. It has a good quality in that it makes the viewer try to figure out what it is of. Unfortunately it seems that that is the only good quality in the picture. I do not like photos that are only meant to make one ask questions and have to esthetic qualities. All in all his videos are very interesting and esthetically pleasing but his photos lack some important qualities.

Assignment #2 Nostalgia