I am primarily a digital artist, specifically working with illustration and video editing. I deal a lot with themes of technology and identity and the intersection of those themes, which generally manifests itself as Afrofuturism. In this course I hope to delve more into theories and writings regarding humans and the effects of technological advancements so that I can apply those learnings to my own artwork. I am very interested in learning more about “The Technohuman” as Afrofuturism often deals with human as technology/labour in the form of cyborgs and androids, and becoming more well-versed in the discourse regarding this subject will inform my own practice in the future.
“Cubism changed the nature of the relationship between the painted image and reality, and by so doing it expressed a new relationship between man and reality.”
“Although often employed far less accurately during the following centuries, the metaphorical model for the function of painting at this time was the mirror. Alberti cites Narcissus when he sees himself reflected in the water as the first painter. The mirror renders the appearances of nature and simultaneously delivers them into the hands of man. And this function is in itself a symbol of man’s position.”
“Cubism changed the nature of the relationship between the painted image and reality, and by so doing it expressed a new relationship between man and reality.”
“Although often employed far less accurately during the following centuries, the metaphorical model for the function of painting at this time was the mirror. Alberti cites Narcissus when he sees himself reflected in the water as the first painter. The mirror renders the appearances of nature and simultaneously delivers them into the hands of man. And this function is in itself a symbol of man’s position.”
– The human has no qualities other than to manipulate the qualities of what surrounds them, thus humans and technology have always been inextricable
– Technology seemed to evolve at more or less the same pace as man did, until “technological ruptures” started occurring more frequently
– These ruptures occurred in gaps of thousands of years, until the gaps shortened to hundreds of years, then shrunk down to dozens
– The exponential advancement of technology inherently cannot allow for stability
– Those who lived in the middle of those longer gaps believed that their world had never changed and never would
The Brain
– Humans are inherently a social species
– We instinctually impose humanity and its characteristics (i.e. emotion and relationships) on everything, even inanimate objects
– Social empathy is apparently something that we are born with, but to varying degrees
– (I feel like those with lower levels of empathy can still learn these skills to an extent, though, and the whole thing about medically/scientifically “curing” the brains of those on the autistic spectrum is unnecessary, if not unlikely)
– The human has no qualities other than to manipulate the qualities of what surrounds them, thus humans and technology have always been inextricable
– Technology seemed to evolve at more or less the same pace as man did, until “technological ruptures” started occurring more frequently
– These ruptures occurred in gaps of thousands of years, until the gaps shortened to hundreds of years, then shrunk down to dozens
– The exponential advancement of technology inherently cannot allow for stability
– Those who lived in the middle of those longer gaps believed that their world had never changed and never would
The Brain:
– Humans are inherently a social species
– We instinctually impose humanity and its characteristics (i.e. emotion and relationships) on everything, even inanimate objects
– Social empathy is apparently something that we are born with, but to varying degrees
– (I feel like those with lower levels of empathy can still learn these skills to an extent, though, and the whole thing about medically/scientifically “curing” the brains of those on the autistic spectrum is unnecessary, if not unlikely)
My work this week was inspired by the Bernard Steigler video, specifically his comments on fire and its relation to early humans. Fire, though often viewed as a symbol of destruction, can be traced back to the beginning of human evolution and thus can be seen instead as a symbol of creation. Human beings are unique in that they have virtually no natural tools of survival aside from their ability to harness the power of their environment. I find modern technology to be simply an evolution of fire, which had initially sparked the advancement of humans, so I wanted to find a way to aesthetically equate them. Thus this gif was born:
For my visual essay, I wanted to explore humans’ inherent desire for advancement through the medium of a survival game, where one begins with nothing but slowly yet exponentially learns to manipulate the environment to create tools which in turn create other tools to achieve some end. The majority of video games mirror and facilitate humans’ goal to “level up,” but in none is it so clear than in the survival genre, as it demonstrates the inextricability of the human-technology relationship in its most pure form.
I noticed recently that the act of people covering their webcams in fear of being spied on/hacked is becoming more and more common; it’s almost rarer to find a webcam uncovered than to find one covered. Though many use masking tape, I realized that many of them actually use Band-Aids, and the symbolism of “bandaging” an issue to cover it up and not actually solving it was palpable. (The issue in this case being government surveillance and a general lack of privacy.) In addition, it makes the notion that technology is an extension of the human quite literal.
For my final visual essay, I wanted to focus on the disparity between the positive potential applications technology can have in society and what we actually use these forms of technology for, specifically VR. Though VR can be used in a socially and scientifically important manner, the majority of people will always use it for things that are considered unimportant, namely entertainment.
I also wanted to comment slightly on the phenomenon of streaming, where people will “waste time watching other people waste time,” the most popular subsection of streaming being gaming.
I am primarily a digital artist, specifically working with illustration and video editing. I deal a lot with themes of technology and identity and the intersection of those themes, which generally manifests itself as Afrofuturism. In this course I hope to delve more into theories and writings regarding humans and the effects of technological advancements so that I can apply those learnings to my own artwork. I am very interested in learning more about “The Technohuman” as Afrofuturism often deals with human as technology/labour in the form of cyborgs and androids, and becoming more well-versed in the discourse regarding this subject will inform my own practice in the future.
“Cubism changed the nature of the relationship between the painted image and reality, and by so doing it expressed a new relationship between man and reality.”
“Although often employed far less accurately during the following centuries, the metaphorical model for the function of painting at this time was the mirror. Alberti cites Narcissus when he sees himself reflected in the water as the first painter. The mirror renders the appearances of nature and simultaneously delivers them into the hands of man. And this function is in itself a symbol of man’s position.”
The Moment of Cubism:
“Cubism changed the nature of the relationship between the painted image and reality, and by so doing it expressed a new relationship between man and reality.”
“Although often employed far less accurately during the following centuries, the metaphorical model for the function of painting at this time was the mirror. Alberti cites Narcissus when he sees himself reflected in the water as the first painter. The mirror renders the appearances of nature and simultaneously delivers them into the hands of man. And this function is in itself a symbol of man’s position.”
Man & Technics
– The human has no qualities other than to manipulate the qualities of what surrounds them, thus humans and technology have always been inextricable
– Technology seemed to evolve at more or less the same pace as man did, until “technological ruptures” started occurring more frequently
– These ruptures occurred in gaps of thousands of years, until the gaps shortened to hundreds of years, then shrunk down to dozens
– The exponential advancement of technology inherently cannot allow for stability
– Those who lived in the middle of those longer gaps believed that their world had never changed and never would
The Brain
– Humans are inherently a social species
– We instinctually impose humanity and its characteristics (i.e. emotion and relationships) on everything, even inanimate objects
– Social empathy is apparently something that we are born with, but to varying degrees
– (I feel like those with lower levels of empathy can still learn these skills to an extent, though, and the whole thing about medically/scientifically “curing” the brains of those on the autistic spectrum is unnecessary, if not unlikely)
Man and Technics:
– The human has no qualities other than to manipulate the qualities of what surrounds them, thus humans and technology have always been inextricable
– Technology seemed to evolve at more or less the same pace as man did, until “technological ruptures” started occurring more frequently
– These ruptures occurred in gaps of thousands of years, until the gaps shortened to hundreds of years, then shrunk down to dozens
– The exponential advancement of technology inherently cannot allow for stability
– Those who lived in the middle of those longer gaps believed that their world had never changed and never would
The Brain:
– Humans are inherently a social species
– We instinctually impose humanity and its characteristics (i.e. emotion and relationships) on everything, even inanimate objects
– Social empathy is apparently something that we are born with, but to varying degrees
– (I feel like those with lower levels of empathy can still learn these skills to an extent, though, and the whole thing about medically/scientifically “curing” the brains of those on the autistic spectrum is unnecessary, if not unlikely)
My work this week was inspired by the Bernard Steigler video, specifically his comments on fire and its relation to early humans. Fire, though often viewed as a symbol of destruction, can be traced back to the beginning of human evolution and thus can be seen instead as a symbol of creation. Human beings are unique in that they have virtually no natural tools of survival aside from their ability to harness the power of their environment. I find modern technology to be simply an evolution of fire, which had initially sparked the advancement of humans, so I wanted to find a way to aesthetically equate them. Thus this gif was born:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/chzvbnfdxvk5dpe/binary-fire.gif?dl=0
For my visual essay, I wanted to explore humans’ inherent desire for advancement through the medium of a survival game, where one begins with nothing but slowly yet exponentially learns to manipulate the environment to create tools which in turn create other tools to achieve some end. The majority of video games mirror and facilitate humans’ goal to “level up,” but in none is it so clear than in the survival genre, as it demonstrates the inextricability of the human-technology relationship in its most pure form.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bk304whpnh50264/advancement.mp4?dl=0
Where is the human and where the technology in the game?
Where is you (Demi) in the game?
What is your relation to your avatar?
http://newhive.com/demimontes/the-human-and-technology
Visual essay 2.0
http://newhive.com/demimontes/the-human-and-technology
I noticed recently that the act of people covering their webcams in fear of being spied on/hacked is becoming more and more common; it’s almost rarer to find a webcam uncovered than to find one covered. Though many use masking tape, I realized that many of them actually use Band-Aids, and the symbolism of “bandaging” an issue to cover it up and not actually solving it was palpable. (The issue in this case being government surveillance and a general lack of privacy.) In addition, it makes the notion that technology is an extension of the human quite literal.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oesw6won24o4j2n/wound.png?dl=0
Final Visual Essay
For my final visual essay, I wanted to focus on the disparity between the positive potential applications technology can have in society and what we actually use these forms of technology for, specifically VR. Though VR can be used in a socially and scientifically important manner, the majority of people will always use it for things that are considered unimportant, namely entertainment.
https://vimeo.com/263541133
I also wanted to comment slightly on the phenomenon of streaming, where people will “waste time watching other people waste time,” the most popular subsection of streaming being gaming.