Stacey's Final Writing Assignment

Firstly I found this assignment to be a very unique and a great way to introduce us to technology in a manner unknown to most of us. In today’s society technology is becoming a huge and vital element of our everyday activities. We are continuously advancing and finding new and more efficient ways of living our life. In one of our lectures we spoke of artificial intelligence and the ability for machines to one day rule over us. This idea might seem farfetched to some, but when looking at how far we have come over the many years it is not so unlikely to think that we could progress to that point. A person would find it extremely difficult to live in this life without the use of some sort of technology. It has therefore already begun to control humankind and leave us at its utmost mercy.

Technology has infiltrated every corner of our life from our everyday activities to even the realm of the art world. Many people have only seen art through the traditional manner of a canvas, paint, or a pencil. However, it is important especially in today’s world to embrace the idea of technology as another way to express ones artistic abilities. In class we spoke of telematic art which is the interaction among the human mind and artificial systems of intelligence and perception. This revolutionary form of art helps to truly connect our creativity with our progressing society. It has also brought about so many new and diverse ways to express ones imagination and originality. Through our situational tours, we have learnt various concepts such as integration which describes the combining of artistic forms and technology into a hybrid form of expression. We successfully used our cameras and our blog presentations to artistically describe and articulate our perspective on an area of our choice. Through the use of narativity, we were able to in addition to our photos express ourselves through our words. I, however, found the idea of immersion to be the most exciting aspect of this project. It was stimulating to enter into a three dimensional environment and become aware of every detail that made up our experience.

Overall this project presented to me a new and exciting way to create art. Technology very much allowed us to manipulate our experiences and create a new process of showing others our artistic abilities.

Daniella's Final Writing Assignment

I had never viewed technology as something so artistic and representative. Now I do. In this course I have learned, not only the different aspects in which technology relates to our everyday lives, but how it has even become an extension of ourselves. Telematics is described as the interaction between human beings and artificial intelligence, and there are examples everywhere we seek; from using your car for transformation, to calling someone on your cell phone, even when brushing your teeth with an electronic brush. Technology is all around us, and it is interesting to see how to some people it serves just as a commodity, but to other people technology represents a way of communication, and mystical and artistical element. We managed to experience this by ourselves in engaging in a project that combined the technicalities of technology, but the imagination and creativity of an artist. When constructing this art piece, some of the terms used in this field of study were revealed and encouraged to keep in mind. Words like Hypermedia and Immersion are just some of the many words used by specialist. The invention of these words shows us the extents and impact that this phenomenon has had. The truth is that there are few educated enough to call themselves scholars of multimedia. Most of humanity never experience curiosity as to what constitutes it, they just take it for granted. But what happens what those objects, when our own creations start developing intelligence on their own? Will people start noticing them? This is a question that we addressed in our discussions, analyzing some of the most influential Sci-Fi movies like Blade Runner and 2001: Space Odyssey. These movies show us the other side of the story, the side in which computers become so advanced that they overrule all of humanity and we become slaves of our own creations. Even though this ideas may seem absurd, as they occur in fantasy settings and millions of years into the future. But can this be happening now? Many people are slaved to their cell phones, to Internet, to television. These are only the first steps in the road toward a conclusion very much like the movies. I feel that this course was very beneficial because it opened a window to a world that is unfamiliar and unknown, and it broadens our horizons and our definition of the term art; a definition that now includes multimedia as one of its elements.

In Search of a Culture

China Town-
Usually thought of as a representation of a single culture. A culture rich in belief's, customs, and legends. The first step onto these escalators initiates our attempt to discover this spectacular community and the Chinese existence.



A gateway that introduces us to a part of this remarkable civilization. An artwork describing a rich and extensive culture. A sign of a thriving society present despite the integration of cultures that have combined to create the melting pot of America.



A symbol almost missed on the dirty street below. What a simple depiction of a dragon yet again providing a connection between the area and the culture residing within.



While proceeding forward a familiar sign comes into vision. CVS? A chain convenience store in a unique Chinese neighborhood? How could that possible represent this culture? On the brink of sheer confusion, any fears were stifled by the Chinese lettering accompanying the bold English words.



Turning a corner, the tour comes to yet another sudden halt. A bustling crowd enters and leaves an appealing Mexican grill. Tasty burritos, crispy tortilla chips, mouth watering quesadilla's. An endless list comes to mind. Not really the delicious Chinese cuisine one might usually think of......



Hunger soon hits and the time comes to find a restaurant to experience this one of a kind ethnicity. With much anticipation we look to our left to find Vapiano- Pizza, pasta, and all the Italian food one could imagine...



How exciting! An Irish pub! A culture known for its great drinking, its fabulous Irish stew, Dublin Coddle, and potato bread. A definite stop on this expedition!!



The German Cultural center is yet another building that captures our attention. What a great place to learn about the German traditions through a free and informative gallery.
Suspicion, however, starts to set in....



Looking up toward the sun, a vision of beautiful architecture glimmers in the corner of our eyes .Exquisite detail in every corner. A sense of a past emanates from its old weathered brick, but what kind of history does this represent?



A sign in the right direction? Could this lead us to our original search? With much curiosity and the desperate need to discover a piece of China, we take on this path.



Leaving the area, the memories of this tour seem somewhat skewed. An attempt to discover a single culture led to a tour of variety of ethnicity's. Can we consider Chinatown to be what its name depicts? Are we being deceived? It has become not a place to search out the wonders the Chinese existence, but rather a site to experience the multicultural aspect of America

Location

For our project we have decided to take a situational tour of Chinatown in Washington D.C. We feel that this has a lot of elements that can work and improve our narrative. The fact that all the signs and neons are written in chinese transport you to another place. this location spesifically adresses the element of ideology. When people think of Chinatown they think of a dirty, smelly and chaotic place, it represents bargains and low prices, as well as low quality. The Chinatown in DC is totally different. It is extremely clean and full of upscale restaurants and stores, which contradicts what is usually thought of Chinatown. Another aspect the the ideology is that Chinatown is supposed to be a place where chinese people live, just like a regular neighbornhood. The difference is that in DC it is more of a turist attraction, for there aren't even true chinese restaurants. Another element that could be adresses is that of the routine. We are going on a Sunday afternoon, when people supossedly break out of the week routine and do something fun, but what happens when this "non-routine" becomes a routine itself? this is another aspect that we are going to adress.
This is the location that we are going to focus on: