Digital Media Project

Additional Thoughts on Arts in the Digital Age

        The Digital age really has brought art to a new level. More tools and available for all kinds of arts, and art of all kinds can be spread rapidly to a wide audience. In a way, this may seem to devalue certain arts. For example, in the 1800's one could go to a Tchaikovsky Symphony and maybe hear it once in their lives, now someone can sit and listen to it over and over again. At the same time, new digital age technology may even be helping bring back ancient art forms that would never be heard by a modern audience. The ASTRA Project (Ancient Instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) is a project in which researchers are using advanced computer and modeling equipment to reconstruct the sounds of ancient instuments that today we only have broken remains of. Many musicians spend much time studying performance practice, that is playing a piece of music in the style it would have been played when it was written(for example, singers did not utilize vibrato in Renaissance sacred music). It seems that as technology moves towards the future, it may be connecting us with the past.

Is Digital Media Bad for Us?

       Many people have differing opinions on how we as individuals and as a society are being affected by the new "Digital Age". Marshall McLuhan seemed to believe with all that we gain from new technologies, we may risk losing some of our older functions. He saw new technologies as "extensions" of ourselves, and if we used the extensions to much it might result in "amputation". For example, one day maybe our use of automobiles will hender our ability to walk.
       The Digital Age has also brought about and unheard amount of connection between individuals and societies, meaning that information can be spread rapidly. This can be seen as a double edged sword. For example, their is a search engine called Forestle that seeks to reduce CO2 emissions and save the rainforests. The Internet has also brought about a whole new criminal enterprise. Albert Gonzales was a computer hacker who stole and resold more than 170 million credit card and ATM numbers.
       The Digital Age, in particular the internet, has also provided people with information that would have been otherwise impossible to obtain. For example, I learned about Albert Gonzales through Wikipedia, a wiki encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone.
       With increased connectivity between individuals and groups of individuals, good moral behavior can be spread as can the bad. I believe that in this new globalized connected world, it still comes down the the morals of the individiual more than ever so in history, because these can be spread and reach others like wildfire. An individual's ideas can now start world wide movement at the click of a mouse.

Tradition

       Traditions are customs and behaviors passed down through a society or group of people. Traditions are based on ideals and not on actual functions. For example, a Christmas tree does not serve any practical purpose but putting up a tree around Christmas time is a common tradition in America. Traditions sometimes seem to be in contrast with modern advances in technology.

Arts in the Digital Age

       With the arrival of the digital age, a whole plethora of new artistic ideas can be explored freely. With all of the new forms of media and communication, art can really blossom. New forms of art can before explored that would never have been possible without advanced technology, such as animation. The arts have also become available to a much wider audience. For example, a piece of music in 19th century was reserved for those who could afford to go to a venue at which it was performed, and once the piece was over, that experience was essentially done for the individual. Now, a person can go onto Rhapsody Mp3 player and have thirty free listens to almost any music they desire, or search Youtube for an orchestra concert. In many ways, the high availability of art in the new digital world may seem to devalue aritistic works. Art used to be a fleeting glimpse, now it can be a lasting stare. At the same time, more artists have a chance to make their art available. There may have been another Shakespeare in Elizabethan England who didn't have the resources at their disposal to make their works known. Today, people have a whole new set of tools to create works of art and a vastly increased number of ways to spread thier art. Maintaining clear ownership of one's art may be difficult in the digital age, but maybe ownership is not so important. Mozart died before finishing his famous Requiem, meaning a colleague composed a large portion of it, not changing the fact that it is still a magnificent piece of music.

Project Goal

       My goal is to learn more about traditional Dega music. Being a musician myself, I would very much like to learn more about this music. I would like to see how this music differs from the types of music I am exposed to everyday. Also, I would like to come to a better understanding about the role that the traditional Dega music plays in the lives of the Dega here in North Carolina. From what I have already learned through the video conference and other resources is that the younger members of the Dega community are rather uninterested in their traditional music. From what I have seen so far, the traditional music of the Dega seems mostly ceremonial or situational(for example, celebrations or funerals) and involves a wide range of instruments. It seems that the music is not harmonically complex, but there may be a lot to learn about the form of the music. I would like to personally work with members of the Dega community who know much about their traditional music. Ideally I could get in touch with Dega musicians who could give me a live performance of some of their music.
                                                                                                                                              


                                                                                                                                              Dega Music

Framing

       Framing seems to take place in the subconcious of our minds. In the videos "The Persuaders", advertising techniques are examined. In advertising, there seem to be two types of persuasion. Many advertisers are all about logos, that is appeal to a persons logic. Other advertisers perfer to utilize pathos, or an appeal to emotion. According to the videos, appealing to logic may be the most effective form of advertisement while appeal to emotion is more of an attempt at an art form. In Mcluhan's short on the "Global Village", he suggests that a successful communication with an audience involves have the audience feel involved with the advertisement. My interpretation of this is that maybe an emotional appeal in an advertisement is more affective than a logical one. In my personal experience, people are typically more motivated by emotion rather than logic.
       Advertisement is a form of communication, and if someone is to say emotional persuasion is more effective that logical persuasion, many forms of communication in the digital age (i.e facebook of email) may very ineffective. For example, many time text messages may be misinterpreted. Saying "haha" through a text message could mean a number of things, it could be sarcastic, ironic or it may be genuine glee. Without the subtleties that the human voice provides, such as pitch or tone or inflection, many statements may be dramatically misinterpretted.
       As a result, the internet, which seems to connect people more, may actually be causing communication breakdowns and rather further distancing our personal relationships. Since the Neolithic Revolution humans have been forced to live together and respect one another in genuine forms of communication. The coming of the digital age, and the failure of understandable and easily interpretted communication may actually break down society and moral behavior.
       Good thing I have this internent blog to write all of this on.