How to become a (wo)man
A man is not born or made. A man is performed for the camera for a Bar Mitzvah YouTube mash up.
Can we hire these guys…?
Caddisfly larvae build protective cases using materials found around lakes, streams, ponds and rivers. But French artist Hubert Duprat puts these moth-like insects to work in ‘Caddis’, supplying them with gold leaf and precious stones instead of gravel, twigs or small pieces of shells. The result is one-part science experiment, one-part performance piece, one-part living sculpture and one-part copyright violation. Duprat… Read more →
Week Wrap Up
1. I saw two shows this week. Parson’s “The Public Private” was by far the best. “The Public Private will be the first New York exhibition of contemporary art to explore the impact of social media and new technologies on the relationship between the public and private realm.” It’s the first time many have been presented in the US. The show is meaty and… Read more →
Copying or Appropriation?
Worthwhile art show alert: 6 Months of Copying
Creative Collaborations
Video art + collaboration + appropriation = Amazing
Self Portraits
Did you know that the most popular videos on YouTube for 2012 were made by professionals, not users? The crappy, weird and funny videos uploaded by typical users that once made the site famous aren’t as popular as they once were. Is power of the user over? Has the “democratization” of content creation ended? This ad campaign for the Cape Times takes… Read more →
Best Culture Jamming Found on the Subway
Can I buy these in bulk and just start running amuck on the subway? Created for the Manhattan bound L platform at the Lorimer stop, it’s the best possible addition to the intergenerational eyesore of the summer, “That’s My Boy” featuring Adam Sadler and Andy Samberg. Here’s more of only my favorites by Jilly Ballistic: Technology. Street Art. Sarcasm. What could be… Read more →
Fashion’s Free Culture
Johanna Blakey and I spent this week at Tribeca Film Fest where I was once again reminded of her amazing TED Talk on Fashion and Copyright. In it she argues that the fashion industry has no copyright protections yet it remains one of the most creative and profitable industries. In fact, the more copyright protections an industry has, the less innovate… Read more →
Remix: A Queer Act p. 2
The following essay, posted here in its entirety, was originally published in the Spring 2012 issue of Transformative Works and Cultures. Here I argue that remix is a queer act and caution that, as the entertainment industry begins to add queer characters to mainstream texts, the available subtext that remix works depend on is threatened. The curated video selection is available here. Appropriation… Read more →
Remix Gems: Hillary Texts.
In only 6 days, these remixed images made by Hillary fans have gone viral, getting coverage in the NYTimes and from Chelsea Clinton herself. The meme started last week at a DC gay bar by communication specialists Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe. A week later, Hill met with them and thanked them profusely for boosting her image with young voters free of charge and then quickly… Read more →
