http://www.inbflat.net by artist/composer Darren Solomon
http://thru-you.com by artist/musician Kutiman
Among other possible topics, think about ideas related to collaboration vs. appropriation.
Which site has more in common with "My Boyfriend Came Back from the War" and which has more in common with "I Know Where Your Cat Lives"? Why?
13 comments:
Both websites focused on the creativity of mixing video and music. They seemed to want to share a fair amount of talent and promote artists. The website by Solomon seemed to focus more on interaction with the specific user. The Kutiman website, however, seemed to emphasize the artists more. In comparison to "My Boyfriend Came Back from War" I think the sites had more of a goal of entertainment instead of conveying a social message. The site by Kutiman was similar in the lack of linear sequence because the number of videos on the screen and layout was continuously changing. Solomon's site, however, included the user interaction. "I Know Where Your Cat Lives" connects more to Kutiman's site since the videos are more likely found without the original artist putting in effort for it to be included. This idea connects to collaboration and appropriation because these videos are appropriation but could not be considered collaboration unless the original artists knew the video to be included before hand. Solomon's site discussed asking for video submissions which would be collaboration and the finished video appropriation.
I loved both of these websites. Both focused on mixing and editing different music together to create a masterpiece. The Solomon website was probably my favorite just because it was interactive and it blows my mind that clicking on all these different youtube clips randomly at different times created an etherial piece of music. The Kutiman website focused on different artists but was not interactive, more cut and dry. "My Boyfriend Came Back From War" and the Solomon website were both interesting in that they were interactive and both were websites that I have never come across before. They were creative and unique. "I know where your cat lives" and the Kutiman site were both creative as well but were both dealing with the people who posted the images or videos lack of consent. This ties into collaboration and appropriation because the artists of each video would have to agree to collaborate with the other artists. Solomon's website specifically stated that this was a collaborative effort and was based on user contributions. The content was appropriated correctly in this case.
The websites we looked at were very similar because they used a combination of different music videos to create a single song. The Solomon website was more of an interactive website because the song was dependent of whichever videos you clicked on to the play and the order to which you clicked on them. On the contrary, the Kuitman website was not very interactive because it was essentially a video created with a predetermined song based on how the artists put together the music videos. Although both the websites were cool and unique my favorite was the Solomon website because I had control of what was happening and being played as if I was the composer of all the people playing the instruments in the videos. The "My Boyfriend Came Back From War" website was most similar to the Solomon website because of the interactive aspects as both the song pattern and the story being told depended on what the viewer did on the website. In the case of the "I know where your cat lives" website, I think the most similar website would have to be the Kuitman website because of the lack of collaboration with the users of the original works. The Kuitman website particularly can be seen mostly as a use of appropriation because there was no collaboration within the people who actually made the videos and the people that put them together. Kuitman did not transform the original content of the videos but only combined them within other original untransformed works. Solomon used more of a collaborative approach where he used the contribution of user's music videos to create a collaborate and interactive music piece.
I really enjoyed both websites. The website "in b flat" was my favorite of the two because it was more user interactive in that the viewer was able to pick which instruments were played and at what times. I thought that this was a brilliant idea to combine various sounds from a number of different objects/instruments to create a rather enjoyable composition. I could imagine how difficult it would have been to find videos that were all in the same key and matched so well together. I feel that a website such as this one, where the viewer gets to interact with the art is engaging; the viewer is doing something so he/she is spending more time on that particular site. In a way you, the viewer, were creating the composition itself, or so it seemed. The "in b flat" website seemed to be more similar to "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War" in this way. Both sites are interactive, and neither exist without the viewer. For example, in "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War," the narrative does not exist unless the viewer clicks on the different links, revealing the next text/image. In Solomon's website, a composition is not made without the help of the viewer. I think that both videos can be compared to the "I Know Where Your Cat Lives" site in that these videos put together in a composition, show an unknown unity between humans, further promoting the idea of unawareness seen in the cat website. Kutiman's website is also interesting because it takes different youtube clips of various musicians and manipulates them to make a song. These videos were obviously taken from the internet but I think that what the artists create with them sets the videos in a different context.
Both websites were fascinating and I loved the concept of combining different talents to create one art piece. Thru you was more of a display of the remixed creation of the artist, while Bb 2.0 involved the viewer to create their own mix out of one collaborative art piece. I preferred Bb 2.0 because I thought it had more conceptual message behind it, and because it was more collaborative based. These artists submitted their videos and worked together under Solomon's guidance, and they created a beautiful piece about the combined knowledge of humanity. The video that captured me the most was the audio of the man speaking of how all our vast knowledge will be reduced and stored in an impossibly tiny space and that eventually humanity will know so much that we need to shed the useless knowledge. I thought these words were very powerful when paired with these videos of different instruments, different levels of knowledge and creativity, from electric guitars to making music with a gameboy. Many forms of human knowledge coming together in one website. This collaborative effort creates a haunting song that can be remixed and experimented with by the viewer. This different viewer experience reminds me of "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War" and it's interactive quality of moving around the page to create a story. Thru You is more appropriative, the artist gathered videos and remixed them to create his own songs and beats. While it is also an interesting combination of human knowledge, these videos were not posted for this intention, rather the artist has gathered and repurposed the videos. This project reminds me more of "I Know Where Your Cat Lives" for both sites used gathered web information to make their point and present web postings in a way not often considered. Both sites are fantastic at creating something new and interesting from the combined efforts of multiple people who separately contributed their talents.
I'll readily say straight off that Thru You was my favorite of the two by a long shot. Whats being done on that site is similar to what i did for my Junior project, and after the hundreds of hours I poured into that project I kinda have a soft spot for the work and dedication it takes to make something like what we have here. I'm seeing a lot of people say that they greatly preferred Bb 2.0, but I really wasn't all that impressed by it. I get why everyone likes it though. For people who haven't really ever made music before, the feeling of putting instruments together in a coherent fashion is incredible. It's why I became a composer in the first place. But the concept of Bb 2.0 loses a lot of it's mystique and wonder when you can take 2 clips and know exactly why they fit together. To me it felt like i was making a song on the piano by playing only black keys at random, which totally works by the way, pentatonic scales are fun, but you don't really feel all that accomplished at the end. I would say that Bb 2.0 is closer to "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War" because it's not only interactive, but it changes based on your input. Thru You on the other hand, similar to "I Know Where Your Cat Lives is more of a composite of information.
I really like both site. Of the two, the one i especially liked was http://www.inbflat.net by artist/composer Darren Solomon.
It was the most interactive site which I guess makes it like the boyfriend site, but that isn't my actual opinion[assignments]. I thought it was incredible that I could go through and click all of those play buttons, at varying times, and there was always a strong melody playing... and most importantly I liked it. Most bands cant even do that, and that's their intention. It gives a sense of control. Like I became the composer. The other site was just as good and melodic, and the tune is even still stuck in my head, but it is less impressive because it was just one video compilation all cut and played when the artist set it up.
I thought both websites were extremely creative. Like everyone else has been saying “inbflat.net” is definitely more interactive. It lets the visitor of the website create the sound they want to hear, whereas thru-you.com is definitely more of a sit and experience video. I enjoyed both websites, but I did like the collaborative style of thru-you.com. I felt as though it was celebrating the idea that music can bring people together. Inbflat.net was more appropriation because they took a variety of videos that were created by others and complied them into a completely different piece of art. “My Boyfriend Came Back from the War” was interactive but it had a specific amount of windows that could be clicked on, which is why it reminded my more of thru-you.com. “I Know Where Your Cat Lives” has an endless amount of pictures of cats to click on which relates to inbflat.net because there are countless combinations to click on and create.
I really like the different interpretations of the remixing/editing side of art that these two sites used. I think the "In B Flat" sit was the one I enjoyed more just because it gave the user control over there experience with it. This was very similar to the "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War" it was very much a where do you want to click, what pieces do you want to see. The "Thru You" site was also very well done and I think it is a great display of how you can remix unrelated things to make art. I would've liked to see more interactivity with it though.
I thought both websites were awesome! I personally like the first one better because it focused on the music and allowed the viewer to have interaction with the piece. It also looked complex and fun! The second site had a similar composition idea which I found interesting but he had a much different approach to his listener and viewer. Instead of making it interactive he made a mash up, which had more complexity to it in the composition level but appeared easier on the surface. The first website was as interactive as the "My Boyfriend Came Back from the War" site but easier to follow and understand with clear instructions.
I thought both sites were great, but Bb 2.0 was my favorite. I understand and appreciate what a challenge it must have been to create the videos on Thru You, and the artist was able to pull it off with spectacular results. But there's just something about a piece that relies on the viewer to fully come together. The interactive qualities of Bb 2.0 make each experience unique, and leaves the viewer with the feeling that they had a hand in the creation of something beautiful. The idea of a collaboration that allows the user to choose which collaborators they want to hear is fascinating to me. Thru You is also very interesting. It's amazing, in my opinion, to see unrelated videos be brought together by an artist in a way that makes them emphasize and complement each other. Bb 2.0 seems more like "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War" because it is user-driven and each experience is unique. Thru You is more like "I Know Where Your Cat Lives" because it takes created pieces and combines them into a piece of its own.
Of the two sites, I think that ThruYou is closer to "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War." I say this because Thru You already has the song written out for you - just like the story was already there with "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War."What made it special is the way you interpreted the stories on the site. For example, if I played a mixed song, it was up to me to decided if I liked it, what I thought could change about it, if I thought it was smoothly put together, etc. With "My Boyfriend" it was my ability to create and interpret the story in whatever way I choose to. To me, the Bb 2.0 site was very similar to "I Know Where Your Cat Lives" because they seemed to have an endless amount of options. You can sort through all sorts of cats, picking and choosing your favorite. With Bb 2.0 you are able to pick and choose your favorite music selections - and take it a step further by playing them together to create your own music. In this sense, it is also like "My Boyfriend" because you are given the information, but the order you choose to receive it effects the way that you interpret it.
I liked both of the new sites, I'm a huge music guru, so these two where more fun for me. I felt Bb 2.0 was put together a little more seamlessly as it's simple design allowed you to focus on the music where Thru You's site was very different, and I found myself looking more at the background than the video - the harsh colors definitely taking away from the videos and making it unappealing to the eye.
I really enjoyed In B Flat, but both were very interesting and entertaining. In B Flat was much more interactive and user-oriented, whereas I saw ThruYou as more of a performance. In B Flat is more similar to "My Boyfriend Came Back From The War" in the sense that it can be a totally different experience each time you go to the website. ThruYou is more similar to "I Know Where Your Cat Lives" because the data was already there and compiled and there isn't much interaction to do in terms of changing the state of the webpage. In B Flat is more of a collaborative piece where each musician is playing a different part together, where ThruYou is more appropriation because each video is being sampled much like in electronic music, and the song is made up of the different samples.
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