Keiko Sono: Art in General

Whose Is This?

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 08:34:39 GMT

The 4/23 entry in Blaugustine reminded me of my long unsolved mystery. Last fall I received this image in a forwarded email with the following text: While we're on the subject of football... Nancy READ BELOW BEFORE YOU OPEN ATTACHMENT !!!!!!!!!!! What happens when you have 1) nothing to do 2) a sharp knife 3) a large lime 4) a patient cat 5) too much tequila 6) and it's football season? Now, I never never forward email, but I found this image hard to resist and forwarded it to a friend. She immediately responded and said that she just received a mail from Japan with the same image claiming that this picture was taken at a friend's party. Then I found out this has been circulating around the world... Does anyone know the origin of this? I find this kind of phenomenon fascinating. While I strongly adhere to the code of ethics regarding artists' rights, and believe that artists should fully be compensated for any damage incurred by infringement of copyrights, or when someone makes a huge profit by copying another artist's work (as in Jeff Koon's String of Puppies case), I cannot help being intrigued by the idea of an image acquiring life of its own and circumnavigating the world, spawning countless stories along the way. I am not sure if this is damaging to the artist. If anything, it would be advantageous to him/her especially if she is a professional artist. Imagine Natalie's juxtaposed cartoons beginning to pop up everywhere. Since she has a highly recognizable style, people will take notice, and begin to wonder who the real artist is. Most people will only use one or two images that are fitting in a certain context. And if someone tries to rip off a large volume of her works and pretends to be the artis herself, it would be an easy lawsuit for Natalie. So, after a while, when she comes out with a book or a show and is seen by those who had been wondering about the origin of the cartoons, she is more likely to benefit from such exposure. Even when the artist is not professional - for example, if I find out that the creator of the above photo has a blog, I would definitely check it out. Of course it would be a loss for me and the artist if the origin is forever lost, but then, the idea of such an endearing (and silly) image floating in the digital stratosphere like a lost baloon is so compelling that I would not mind it if that happens to my picture. This is in no way a justification for Vampyroni or Black Dock who lifted Natalie's cartoons without posting credits, nor encouragement for anyone to do so. I am thankful as a fellow artist that Natalie put a spotlight on such misconducts. Situations would be different for writers. Since there is no degradation in the output quality for texts on the web, writing would be more difficult to prove its authorship. Still, if, for example, someone misused Dick's poems and if it comes to a lawsuit, he would have an army of fellow bloggers as witnesses, and his blog itself would be a strong case of evidence. So in the end, it is the integrity of the work itself that will protect the artist, and turns a bad situation to a winning opportunity - I hope.

g-g-g-generation

Thu, 15 Apr 2004 05:10:41 GMT

Here is a reason for anyone over 25 to get depressed. wrecked.nu (21-year-old designer Gabe Rubin's personal site) He is one of the younger designers introduced in a book I just started reading, Cynthia Baron's Designing A Digital Portfolio. Having accessed several of the websites in the book, I'm beginning to see the definitive divide (I guess this was her intention)in the digital visual sensibility between two generations. There are the slick, controlled, predictable and very wealthy designers and artists, and the younger, self-sufficient, pleasure-seeking, truly experimental generation with lots of free time. The previous books I have been reading by Robin Williams now belong clearly to the old school. Gail's friend told her that until last year, the majority of her students at NYU submitted traditional presentations, while this year, most of the sophomores preferred digital presentations. Perhaps this will be a year when we will look back as the year the digital exceeded the print. Martin and I have always been saying that the next generation gap must be contingent on a new instrument or technology, like rock was instigated by the invention of an electric guitar. This could be it. The iLife generation. Below is a screen shot of my desktop. Insert is Rubin's welcome desktop picture for a free download.

Heloise Gold at the Deep Listening Space

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 07:02:48 GMT

2/29/2004 Went to see Heloise Gold's dance performance at Deep Listening Space. I feel very enriched and humbled. When I first walked in, there was a free form (I think) percussion performance in progress. A woman (I think) in about mid 50's, with frizzy hair hanging all over her face and dark glasses, looking like shorter and grayer Joey Ramones, was banging on the drum set like there is no tomorrow. If this was in New York and I was ten years younger, I would've rolled my eyes and walked out. But tonight, I was so happy I started to giggle. There were about ten people in the audience, most of whom being big earth mothers in the 60's and above, intent with either eyes closed or a drilling gaze. Wow. It was like coming home. I may be naive, but that was what I imagined New York to be like in the '60s or '70s. When I first arrived in New York in 1987, the art scene was so so uptight. There always seemed to be a silent code you had to follow wherever you went. Or maybe it was my age. Maybe it's that I'm finally old enough not to be embarrassed easily. It wasn't that the performance was so great, but that didn't matter. The fact that the artist was performing, and the audience was listening, that was good enough to make me want to cry. On the waterfront of Kingston, to boot. This was a part of the closing reception for the show that was up. I hung around for an hour before the dance (during which my NYU classmate from 15 years ago recognized me which is another thing that transported me to the younger time). Heloise's performance was divided into three distinct parts. She is a petite woman in the 50's (again!) with a very warm smile. The second piece, DreamBirds, combined dance movement, vocal effects and digital sounds that each on its own resembled so remarkably that of birds, but together composed a flowing art work. It was obvious she had spent much much time fine-tuning each element, and it was also obvious she was not making big bucks doing that. And she was obviously very happy. There you have it. That is the place I'm entering, and she made me realize I have a long way to go, and that there is no reason what so ever to pity myself. I like that. The third piece, Nourishment, was performed with her eyes closed with a blind partner, with Pauline Oliveros playing the accordion with her eyes also closed. She invited us to open and close our eyes as we please. It was a perfect way to end the perfect night. Pauline is the founder of the Pauline Oliveros Foundation and Deep Listening Space. A stocky woman with shining silver hair and a firm yet accessible expression, she reminds me of Bob Blackburn. Yes, there is still hope in art, and therefore in the world.