This is a photograph of Me

During the past two weeks, we had to read three articles and one which was a poem during any spare time we had. The poem we read was called "This is a Photograph of Me" by Margaret Atwood.
The poem is very short and it talks about a old photograph and the details such as how it seems all smeared and hard to see at first but when you look deep into the photo there is a branch and a house. In the background there is a lake and some hills.
But then all the sudden there is a heart beat in you when it tells you the photograph was taken the day when the character drowned. The reason why their is a sudden heart beat because you didn't know at first their is a person involved directly in the poem and plus you wonder what happened to the person that drowned due to the fact that it was so unexpected. Later in the poem, the story teller introduces facts about her in the picture and how she is hard to see in the picture.
After reading this poem, my reaction was how did the author add so much details in such a small poem.
This poem relates to the real world how old photos that were taken get faded during the years but twenty yeas later when you re-look at the photo again, many memories come rushing back to you again even through you can only see some parts of the picture.
This poem also relates to class because in media arts, we look at many photos and each photo we take must contain at least some kind of feeling in it. Overall this photo taught a lot about how examining photos can contain small objects that contain big lively contents.

Synthetic Existence

During the READ program, our class had been asked to read a article from AD BUSTERS called "Synthetic Existence" by Gwyn Wahlmann. The article explains about how the character believes that the world is getting less dependent on nature and more on technology. It explains how she believes that soon we will use avatars. She is saying this due to the fact that already people are happy to go through plastic surgeries and creating false identities when we go on the Internet. Also people spend most of their life now online doing shopping, work, socializing and soon there will be a demand for avatars to function in the real world for us. This avatar will do whatever you want such as live in your dream house, dream age, dream clothes, not getting sick or dieing, no limits or punishments and live a life not depending on the environment.
Then soon after this demand, people will demand for themselves to get inside the avatar world and experience what their avatars go through and soon all our true identifications will fade.
From reading this article, it connects with a program called "imvu" which is a social/3D network where you can chat with people all over the world and have fun in animated scenes. Not only that but you can do whatever you want with other people and live your dream life at no cost.
This also connects to my media art's class because in media arts we type up blogs where we can talk about our lives but the person reading the blog on the other side does not know weather we really went through all these series of events and if we're telling the truth.
Overall, from reading this article, I believe that this article is very true and the avatar world has already been here for more then expected.

Graffiti and the Law (Toronto)

The law of graffiti in Toronto is "One or more letters, symbols, figures, etching, scratching, stains, or other markings that disfigure or deface a structure or thing however made or otherwise allixed on the structure or thing but for greater certainly does not include a art moral."
If graffiti is found on city-owned buildings, overpasses, bridges and public parks then the city will remove it. They will also remove graffiti in 24 hours if it's hate or gang-related. All other graffiti will often get removed within 72 hours to prevent further proliferation.
It is not sure on how much you will get fined on graffiti but depends on where and how visible it is but if graffiti is found on the Toronto transit, it is recorded that you will get charged $115.00. Consequences include jail times, fines, poses risk to community, increases risk of disrespect and enjoyment of community life, increases sense of disrespect for private property and brings down property value.
In conclusion through graffiti may be fun it has many negatives and risks lives of other people around you.

Woman and Graffiti

Woman had to go through a lot of challenges to do graffiti. In the early century woman were just as into writing as male were but sadly they did not get recognized. A bit later woman got into aerosol art but the environment in working there was very dangerous and the air was flowing with insults for woman.
Later on in the middle century, there was challenging and dangerous work such as woman started to disguise as men in subway stations at night and do graffiti but when found out of their disguise, they got harassed by men and police officers. There was also men who carried around weapons. Woman who do graffiti usually got recognized when there art is inside. Also woman make sure their graffiti is bright, loud, rare and often naked so it would stand out of the men's graffiti.
Graffiti researchers often were found in restrooms where woman were free and safe to do graffiti.
In the world today, woman feel more balanced as male to do graffiti and fewer complications but still some woman may disagree.

Grafitti is Art!

The definition of graffiti is a drawing or inscription made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public. Meaning to people that images/drawings are art, graffiti is the same thing.
To many people graffiti would not be defined as art but why?
There are several reasons to why graffiti should be considered as art and not a crime but the top three arguments are more people see graffiti more then indoor arts, grafitti shows unknown people's artistic side and lastly graffiti can also be defined in the category of folk art.
Firstly, more people can see art than it being outside. Such random people of any status can just view the art on their way of their life without paying such a high cost to see a painting. Plus it tells you that you don't have to go to a certain place to see art, you have it right near you. Not only this but when artist paint indoors, the forget about the other world around them. Also, the same people are the ones that always see the painting if it were to be inside. It gives the area character and holds excitment from the colours everywhere.
Secondly, art shows people's hidden artistic side to the people around them. Usually art gallery's only buy famous painter's paintings but graffiti lets people do art not depending on your number of experiences and your wealth. People can express their mood and what they are thinking through the forms of graffiti and plus it lets people know about a person without actually seeing them sometimes.
Thirdly, graffiti can also be a form of folk art where art originates the people of a nation or religion usually reflecting on traditions of everyday. Graffiti lets people know the type of society we are living in, so in a hundred years from seeing graffiti the people of the future can figure out the past as in now.
In conclusion graffiti is art because it expressed ideas in a artistic form and the art is out in the open not like non-criminal paintings which are in a closed location.

The Long Long Article Made Into A Short Short Article...

Hey, Everyone!
Sorry, about the late update but for the past two weeks we've been busy with all sorts of crazy activities.
So, other then that, I want to talk about this really long article we have to read during the READ program whenever we have Media Arts.
This article is named "Foot Prints" by Will Richardson who is a geeky father of two children and who is worried whether or not his children will be searched on google and also explains how technologies are taking over young children's lives. Its shows how when you talk about something online, people from all over the world can see it. He also argues over how children don't know how to use the Internet well and may be getting into trouble. The article also talks about how students should be nomadic, flexible. Mobile learners who depend on their ability to connect with people and their resources.
Out of the whole thing, what was the main point of this article, you may ask.
The main point of this article is how children should learn about safety on the Internet then go on the Internet. For an example if you don't teach children about Internet safety, its just like teachers sitting at the back of the school bus holding onto life while children steer without even being taught.
So pretty much, that's what the whole article was about.
To me, I thought the author wasted a lot of time just typing this whole article up because just to give one message across he gives so much unnecessary information out that its hard to understand what he is really telling us.
Hope you learned a lot from my shorter version of the article. Hope to write soon!

Why Media Arts?

In the middle of last year, we had to chose our courses, and I already chose all my courses before they even let us chose. But then I spotted the course Media Arts'10 and found the name interesting, so I decided to take the course while dropping one course I already chose ages before. Plus, whenever I walk past the media arts room, the apple computers amaze me because lots of don't schools have this course. Also whenever I mention we have this course to my friends in other schools they look at my like I go to the best school ever.

So those are the following reasons why I decided to take Media Arts'10.