3 ms·

Aren't we over this visual effect yet? I renember a few years ago every hipster with a 5D was using this effect to give their work the affect of authenticity.

by l33tbro 11y ago

Aren't we over this visual effect yet? I renember a few years ago every hipster with a 5D was using this effect to give their work the affect of authenticity. It ma be interesting technically, but the overuse has made it far from beautiful or compelling.

erikpukinskis 11y ago
I don't think overuse is the limiter on beauty or compellingness. I think an artistic medium only has two requirements: 1) an output space that is vastly larger than could be exhaustively explored on human timescales 2) the proportion of the output space that can be quickly accessed by an artist can be increased through practice. Many glitches score poorly on one or both of these... Often additional practice with the glitch does not increase the artist's ability to address larger portions of the output space. A completely random glitch would be the worst case scenario there. But many glitches do fulfill both requirements, and there's no reason those couldn't be used to creat great art.
- pshc 11y ago
  That's a neat analysis of what makes an artistic medium interesting! Did you come up with that breakdown?
  - erikpukinskis 11y ago
    Yeah... I spent some time pondering why people respect the violin more than synthesizers.
- platz 11y ago
  I would say that a medium basically turns a limitation of that medium into an opportunity for expression through the artistic process, so the the output space doesn't have to be large... especially the more constraints that are applied. http://www.fastcompany.com/3027379/work-smart/the-psychology-of-limitations-how-and-why-constraints-can-make-you-more-creative http://www.fastcompany.com/3027379/work-smart/the-psychology...
  - erikpukinskis 11y ago
    What would be an example? It doesn't take much to get a huge output space. Even a single continuous variable plus time can provide effectively limitless possibilities. The only place you're really screwed is if every axis is discrete (like really basic MIDI instruments). But even then it only takes a few interactions to get something quite complex.
    - l33tbro 11y ago
      You talk like complexity for the sake of It equates to value. It is the synthesis of disparate elements into something gestalt that creates something interesting.
      - erikpukinskis 11y ago
        Sure... I'm just talking about the basic demands on the medium. There are many additional demands on the artist that have to be fulfilled for them to create great work.
- l33tbro 11y ago
  Well I don't share this reductionist view. Overuse entirely infringes upon beauty because the technique in question becomes progressively less vitalic and potent with people thoughtlessly employing it for the affect of authenticity.
  - erikpukinskis 11y ago
    Overuse only decreases the beauty of kitch, which never required any artistry in the first place. Real art requires artistry, which requires practice, which introduces divergence, which means you end up with different works. What you're thinking of is people slapping together the same junk over and over, but none of that is art. It might be done in a medium that has properties #1 and #2 so the medium is OK but the artist isn't practicing so the quality of the work is junk.
    - l33tbro 11y ago
      Well pop-art is calling, and would like a word about your first point. As for "real art", how does divergence stem from practice? There are plenty of great works, say a Rauchenberg or a Turrell, who's beauty comes not from the labor of practice, but from the alignment of concept, subject, and vision. Conversely, there are plenty of brilliant artists who fall-off after many years of practice - I think of Hockney's photo collages. My original point, which I stand by, is that the use VHS warbling is completely mined and tired. Should somebody come by and employ it in a radical way which communicates new meaning then great. But, for myself and many others, it makes me cringe a little inside.
      - erikpukinskis 11y ago
        Well, the medium for some artists isn't really the material, it's more purely conceptual. Of course all art spans both, but it's a question of proportion. Divergence stems from practice because when two people put thousands of hours into the same task, specifics of the individuals and their environment inevitably become calcified in their skills and process. That all said, I think we're on the same page. The stereotype you are applying to VHS art is not unfounded. I just generally hate stereotypes and I think they hold me back, so I try to question them as much as I can and use better ways of seeing when I can.

by l33tbro 11y ago

erikpukinskis 11y ago

I don't think overuse is the limiter on beauty or compellingness. I think an artistic medium only has two requirements: 1) an output space that is vastly larger than could be exhaustively explored on human timescales 2) the proportion of the output space that can be quickly accessed by an artist can be increased through practice. Many glitches score poorly on one or both of these... Often additional practice with the glitch does not increase the artist's ability to address larger portions of the output space. A completely random glitch would be the worst case scenario there. But many glitches do fulfill both requirements, and there's no reason those couldn't be used to creat great art.

pshc 11y ago
That's a neat analysis of what makes an artistic medium interesting! Did you come up with that breakdown?
- erikpukinskis 11y ago
  Yeah... I spent some time pondering why people respect the violin more than synthesizers.
platz 11y ago
I would say that a medium basically turns a limitation of that medium into an opportunity for expression through the artistic process, so the the output space doesn't have to be large... especially the more constraints that are applied. http://www.fastcompany.com/3027379/work-smart/the-psychology-of-limitations-how-and-why-constraints-can-make-you-more-creative http://www.fastcompany.com/3027379/work-smart/the-psychology...
- erikpukinskis 11y ago
  What would be an example? It doesn't take much to get a huge output space. Even a single continuous variable plus time can provide effectively limitless possibilities. The only place you're really screwed is if every axis is discrete (like really basic MIDI instruments). But even then it only takes a few interactions to get something quite complex.
  - l33tbro 11y ago
    You talk like complexity for the sake of It equates to value. It is the synthesis of disparate elements into something gestalt that creates something interesting.
    - erikpukinskis 11y ago
      Sure... I'm just talking about the basic demands on the medium. There are many additional demands on the artist that have to be fulfilled for them to create great work.
l33tbro 11y ago
Well I don't share this reductionist view. Overuse entirely infringes upon beauty because the technique in question becomes progressively less vitalic and potent with people thoughtlessly employing it for the affect of authenticity.
- erikpukinskis 11y ago
  Overuse only decreases the beauty of kitch, which never required any artistry in the first place. Real art requires artistry, which requires practice, which introduces divergence, which means you end up with different works. What you're thinking of is people slapping together the same junk over and over, but none of that is art. It might be done in a medium that has properties #1 and #2 so the medium is OK but the artist isn't practicing so the quality of the work is junk.
  - l33tbro 11y ago
    Well pop-art is calling, and would like a word about your first point. As for "real art", how does divergence stem from practice? There are plenty of great works, say a Rauchenberg or a Turrell, who's beauty comes not from the labor of practice, but from the alignment of concept, subject, and vision. Conversely, there are plenty of brilliant artists who fall-off after many years of practice - I think of Hockney's photo collages. My original point, which I stand by, is that the use VHS warbling is completely mined and tired. Should somebody come by and employ it in a radical way which communicates new meaning then great. But, for myself and many others, it makes me cringe a little inside.
    - erikpukinskis 11y ago
      Well, the medium for some artists isn't really the material, it's more purely conceptual. Of course all art spans both, but it's a question of proportion. Divergence stems from practice because when two people put thousands of hours into the same task, specifics of the individuals and their environment inevitably become calcified in their skills and process. That all said, I think we're on the same page. The stereotype you are applying to VHS art is not unfounded. I just generally hate stereotypes and I think they hold me back, so I try to question them as much as I can and use better ways of seeing when I can.