Essay Questions - Midterm
I will select 3 out of the 5 questions to be on the midterm.
1) Describe some of the ideas and issues of Futurism, Dada and Happenings, in relation to Lev Manovich's discussion of computer operations in Chapter Three of The Language of New Media. Specifically address Manovich's discussion of 'copy,' 'paste,' 'cut,' 'search,' 'composite,' 'transform,' and 'filter.' Give specific examples of how the computer operations facilitate a copy/paste culture of remix, as well as examples and historical context of Futurism, Dadaism, and Happenings dealing with similar issues.
2) Lev Manovich describes in Chapter One of The Language of New Media, how a computer is no longer just a calculator, control mechanism, or a communication device, but how the computer has become a media processor. He goes on to describe in a section called 'Principles of New Media' that once media is represented numerically and becomes digital, there are four more principles that shape the development of new media over time: modularity, automation, variability and transcoding. Describe and define each of the four trends, giving specific examples how they affect media production and networked communication.
3) In the 1945 essay entitled 'As We May Think', Vannevar Bush describes future technical possibilities, including specifically the Memex device, and his concept of 'Trails.' Describe Bush's vision, as he outlines it in the essay, and then discuss the impact of his ideas in relation to ideas in J. C. R. Licklider: 'Man-Computer Symbiosis', Douglas Engelbart: 'Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework', and Alan Kay: 'Personal Dynamic Media.'
4) Compare and contrast the ideas in Ivan Sutherland's essay 'Sketchpad: A Man-Machine Graphical Communication System' written in 1963 to some of the issues being explored in Pop Art, specifically Andy Warhol's silk screened images of soup cans, coke bottles, and disasters, as well as the use of chance in John Cage's compositions and Fluxus performance.
5) In the late 1960's and early 1970's artists began working directly with engineers and experimenting with computer software and technology as outlined in the essay 'Four Selections by Experiments in Art and Technology' by Billy Kluver, along with the essay 'From Software -- Information Technology: It's New Meanings for Art.' What is the significance of the work described in these exhibitions? Give specific examples. How do the ideas explored in these art works continue to be relevant to new media artists, as well as to the general development of technology today?