ORLAN Revisited: Disembodied Virtual Hybrid Beauty

I argued in 2000 that the French artist ORLAN may have moved away from her Reincarnation performances toward her Self-Hybridizations because she thought that in the latter she would be more transparently obvious in meaning and less frequently misunderstood. I may have overstated the ability of audiences to comprehend, however. In this essay I argue that the virtual beauty that ORLAN unfolds in her ongoing series Self-Hybridizations is not a real or actual beauty but rather a fake beauty, causally disembodied, based on the effects she intends to create from an imaginative use of combined hybrid imagery. Subverting the familiar philosophical notions of aesthetic distance and aesthetic appreciation, hers is not a monstrous beauty (as some feminist art theorists contend) but rather a fake beauty that still has aesthetic features worth assessing. I suggest the possibility of generational differences in understandings of the term 'feminist', i.e., shifts in meaning from early feminist theory of the 1970s to ever-evolving, twenty-first century notions of the term, all of which add to the confusion. As I negotiate this terrain, I hope to steer both critics and viewers more directly to the words of the artist herself, "I have tried to make my Self-Hybridations as 'human' as possible, like mutant beings, but I still did not think that the confusion could be possible.

Capstone 2014 Art and Art History Senior Projects

It gives us great pleasure to introduce the Gettysburg College Art and Art History senior Capstone projects for 2014. These projects serve as the culmination of the Studio Art and Art History majors. They are as rich and varied as the students themselves and exemplify the commitment the Department of Art and Art History places on creativity and scholarship in a liberal arts education. [excerpt] This booklet profiles Art Senior Projects by Bailey K. Beardsley, Lisa R. Del Padre, Tobi C. Goss, Rebecca A. Grill, Anna B. Heck, Japh-O\u27Mar A. Hickson, Danielle T. Janela, Lauren E. Kauffman, Megan P. Quigg, Justin Rosa, Angela M. Schmidt, Erin E. Slattery, and Caroline E. Volz. This booklet profiles Art History Senior Projects by Niki Erdner, Emily A. Francisco, Rose C. Kell, Katherine G. Kiernan, Tara K. Lacy, Shelby A. Leeds, and Molly E. Reynolds

Photo filter apps: understanding analogue nostalgia in the new media ecology

As digital media have become more pervasive and entrenched in our daily routines, a nostalgic countertrend has increasingly valued the physical and tactile nature of the analogue image. In the past few years, technologically obsolete devices, such as lo-fi cameras and vinyl records, have not faded out of sight completely but are instead experiencing a comeback. At the same time, digital media capitalise on the nostalgia for the analogue and fetishise the retro aesthetics of old technologies. This article explores the emergence of photo filter and effect applications which allow users to modify digital photos, adding signifiers of age such as washed-out colours, scratches and torn borders. It is argued that these new technologies, with programs such as Instagram, Hipstamatic and Camera 360, bring back the illusory physicality of picture-taking through digital skeuomorphism. Drawing on media archaeology practice, this article interrogates the limits of the retro sensibility and the fetishisation of the past in the context of digital media, in particular by focusing on the case study of the start-up Instagram. This photo filter application neither merely stresses the twilight nature of photography nor represents the straightforward digital evolution of previous analogue features. Rather, it responds to the necessity to feel connected to the past by clear and valued signs of age, mimicking a perceived sense of loss. Faced with the persistent hipster culture and the newness of digital media, photo filter apps create comfortable memories, ageing pictures and adding personal value. As such, it will be argued that this phenomenon of nostalgia for analogue photography can be linked to the concepts of ritual and totem. By providing a critical history of Instagram as a photo-sharing social network, this article aims to explain new directions in the rapidly changing system of connective media

El arte y los nuevos medios en Italia Title: Art and New Media in Italy

Maria Grazia Mattei (1950-), Italian expert in new communications technology, founder of MGM Digital Communication, with remarks by artist Fabrizio Plessi.Abstract: Maria Grazia Mattei (1950 -), experta italiana en la nueva tecnología de las comunicaciones, fundadora de MGM Digital Communication, con notas del artista Fabrizio Plessi.Culture & Arts, Cultural Center Encuentros Nro. 45 Maria Grazia Mattei Art and New Media in Italy

Assessment of plastics in the National Trust: a case study at Mr Straw's House

The National Trust is a charity that cares for over 300 publically accessible historic buildings and their contents across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There have been few previous studies on preservation of plastics within National Trust collections, which form a significant part of the more modern collections of objects. This paper describes the design of an assessment system which was successfully trialled at Mr Straws House, a National Trust property in Worksop, UK. This system can now be used for future plastic surveys at other National Trust properties. In addition, the survey gave valuable information about the state of the collection, demonstrating that the plastics that are deteriorating are those that are known to be vulnerable, namely cellulose nitrate/acetate, PVC and rubber. Verifying this knowledge of the most vulnerable plastics enables us to recommend to properties across National Trust that these types should be seen as a priority for correct storage and in-depth recording

Social Media, Selfie Culture and Art Museums: Shifting Behavior in Art Museum Visitors

Smartphone users have a new habit of taking selfies then posting to Instagram or Facebook which will then be liked and commented on by their friends. This selfie culture influences the visitors of fine arts exhibitions and museums driving the urge to take a selfie in front of the work on display. Taking a selfie in front of a work of art seems to show the self-expression and self-identity of the performer. Selfie photos have similarities with self-portrait paintings by famous painters from the Reneisance era to the present. Selfie culture has influenced the behavior of millennials in appreciating works of art. Some applications that support selfie culture have been developed and gives smartphone users the opportunity to use it to create new interpretations of images. This article discusses the shift in exhibit behavior at the fine arts museum which is shown through photos uploaded on social media. Keywords: social media, selfies, art museu

A Documentation and Analysis of Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program (SATF): The First Decade 2000-2010

Based on documents, interviews, and site visits, reviews the design and impact of a program to boost teaching and learning quality at public arts high schools by supporting teachers' artistic and professional development. Lists issues for consideration

Photography as a New Medium Visual Arts: Family Photo is a Contemporary Art Expression

Photography is one of the most amazing inventions in human civilization. In the domain of fine art in the Era of Modernism, photography can be said to function as a ' steward ' of the art of painting which indeed plays an important role at that time. At that moment photography helps to make the painting look more realistic and proportional. At that time, the technology of photography cannot reach out and assist the process of creation of a work of art-in the style of Expressionism, cubicism, and abstract. In the Era of Postmodernism, photography occupies important positions in the domain of fine art, with the advent of Pop Art ' style ', which is pioneered by Andy Warhol. The progress of photography is more improving after the Postmodern artists do 'appropriation', 'unmasking', 'inmasking', and 'diartistic'. Here the artist is also becoming a photographer at the same time. In the Era of contemporary art, Art cannot escape the presence of digital photography. With the advances in technology and digital printing, causing shortages of photography on modernism can be covered, nowadays, the result of photos can be printed in a variety of mediums such as canvas, acrylic, plastic, metal, etc., including additional texture can be presented as desired by the artists. Family photos are artifacts and documentation of the cultural history of a family trip with all its dynamics. In this study will be assessed a family photo based on the theory of contemporary photography from Charlotte Cotton. Keywords: Photography, Modernism, Postmodernism, Contemporary, Family Photo

Leave blank (2009/2010)

Leave blank (2009/2010