The last post ... of this year.

Ragefaces... That little meme that seems to get around the internet and whether or not you know were it came from you have probably seen it. Not only have you seen it, but you have probably made your own rage face when you were angry at something. In sort a rage face is expression you make when your mad but the rage faces have expanded in to many expressions like joy or ignorance. They are the poorly drawn MSPaint expressions of the users behind the computers.

Example:


Do these rage faces deserve artistic merit? Probably, they are a pure form of expression that is easy accessible to any one on the internet. Thought the constant argument, due to the accessibility, if something is art.. That is an argument for another time.

These faces have gone all over the internet over the past few years and has even spawn a community and pop-clothing. The community is www.reddit.com/r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuu and it has spawned thousands of comics and more than a few new faces. The clothing is, depending on your point of view is good or bad, but comes from HotTopic. So Ragefaces have moved in to mainstream, which begs the question, does this make it more or less a legitimate art form? Probably, in the same way that graffiti is art, but even that is just now becoming more recognized.

To end, its a fun comedic form and deserves to be more recognized, and this is my last blog of this year .... sry if im half-assing it but I want some turkey lulz.

Stats to spread prostate awareness

-Make t-shirts

-arm bands "save the dicks"

-Viral videos (with cats)

-Personal stories (guys with cancer talk dicks)

-a photo essay of the impact of prostate cancer

-"kick prostate cancer in the prostate"

Review a digital art object or collection: Anon

Here is a link to the work in question. Though i clam the name of the artist is Anon, that is just short for anonymous, meaning anyone could have created it. This picture was found in a picture dump called wallbase.net. It, as far as i could find, is an original work of art most probably created because of a fan who based it off their favorite anime series. What makes this particular peace digital rather than normal art is that it was most likely created in Photoshop.

As artistic pieces go this one is up for just as much interpretation as any other. The fact that is it digital doesn't change the nature of the art, but can contribute to the meaning of what it represents. This particular piece is of a guy in a trench coat standing on the precipice of darkness and light. Is the man praying? Does this image represent the inner monologue of all men who are seeking to define their place in the world? These question and answers are up for interpretation and argument depending on how the viewer interprets the action in the image, but i would say yes this does represent the monologue of man and the the fact that he appears to be prying speaks to his seeking a higher influence on his actions whether good or bad.

The argument between the nature of digital media and physical media is just that; the physical object in the 'real' world. Though, the goal of art isn't to portray a physical object but to project the meaning of the art on to the view making a 'hard copy' unnecessary. The stigma that digital art isn't art springs from its lack of physical body though the views on whether something is art or not is a purely subjective view that younger and younger generations have been expanding every generation.

(not sure if that was in the correct format .. i think it was a little spotty too)




(thought this was funny)

Image's and creative commons.

The creative commons is an interesting concept where users are free to share and 'remix' media items and for this blog i will specifically focus on images. This image for instance:




This image is a remix of a classic work of art and a wooden doll. The creative commons creates an creative tool for artist to get feed back on there work. The artist arn't restricted to feedback but many end up working together to create new original works of art.

Back to the work of art. The question is: "How would Edvard Munch feel about his work portrayed?" The natural reaction would probably be humor that would transition in to a certain kind of wonder. Personally i would think he would be amazed with the progress that other artist have made due to the impact of his art. To some extent it is the recognition of the artistic process and with this the artist is bolster to an even higher status. As they say "Copying is the highest form of flattery."

The image above is has the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic licence. By this version you are free to share and remix this image but are restricted to: attributing the image to the creator, non-commercial meaning you cant sell it, and must share alike. There are a wide variety of choices for this creative commons licencing but all of them are geared towards being more open.



Edit: the links to the original artwork for some reason arnt showing so heres a direct link http://www.flickr.com/photos/aldoaldoz/2489998092/

4chan War on the MPAA, RIAA, ... exc

For a long time now the RIAA, MPAA, and other such adjacencies have long been at war with different torrenting sites such as Demonoid and the PirateBay. The reason behind there war is fairly strait forward and i wont be going in to too much. As it seems though not only are the institutions at war but the followers and users of the PirateBay and Demonoid, who have been silent supporters up until recently, when the MPAA highered a Indian based software firm to ddos attack the PirateBay.(Link)

The direct attack by the MPAA caused a rather domino effect of outrage from users of the PirateBay which caused the anonymous mass that is 4chan to ddos attack the MPAA, RIAA, and other sites keeping them down for more than 14 hours. This has been the first direct attack by both users and companies for and against pirating.

This week more attacks are planed by anonymous and these dont only include there websites. During the last raids on the RIAA a few anons had done more than ddos the website, they had stolen the personal information of employees. This time they published this personal information and encourage anons to pull pranks on them.

Things have just got real. These attacks could make people pay more attention the the plight of the pirates and could help make the MPAA back off.

thanks,
Isaac




other good links:

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2010/09/19/4chan-takes-mpaa-riaa-aiplex-wins/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/20/4chan_ddos_mpaa_riaa/

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/09/20/4chan-launches-ddos-attack-against-mpaa-riaa-and-bpi/