PHOTOGRAPHY: AN ART FORMPhotography is an avenue of visual communication and expressionism. It embodies unique aesthetic abilities and is able to reach the viewer in ways that no other art form can. In order to understand these qualities, it is essential to recognize the process of image making. When exposed to light the lens from a camera captures an image and a negative is imprinted on the light sensitive celluloid film strip within the camera. The image becomes visible in the development process by adding sodium thiosulfate to the film strip which is later used to create the prints during the printing process inside the dark room. Through this form of image making the main qualities of an image are usually permeated at the time of exposure. This inherit sense of authenticity is what initially distinguished photography from other mediums and where the popularized notion: “The camera does not lie” arouse from. This view of photography as a mechanical process due to its dependence on technology has dominated many discussions about its role in the arts, disclaiming the medium as a form of fine art and expressionism. As John Berger phrases in Understanding a Photograph “In twentieth‐century terms, photographs are records of things seen. Consider them no closer to works of art than cardiograms.” When photography was first invented its purpose was mainly to document and reflect existing realities. An image was attributed value depending on its indexicality. In earlier photography images strove to be indexical, rather than artistic or interpretive. This notion generally had to do with the affordances of the medium. “By their nature, photographs have little or no property value because they have no rarity value. The very principle of photography is that the resulting image is not unique, but on the contrary infinitely reproducible.”– John Berger. Berger’s theory and other popularized notions on photography are completely mistaken when trying to understand the principles of this medium. Even though the camera might limit the photographer’s capacities of capturing imaginary and fictional objects, a talented photographer is able to introduce creativity, innovation, and brilliance to their final compositions. An image can be altered by using different lenses and filters, or by modifying the cameras exposure, shutter speed, or aperture. The photographer even has control over contrast, highlights, shadows, and coloring. For example, the same image with high contrast lighting can evoke a totally different sensation and transmit a different message than that same image with low contrast of lighting. An image with high contrast may evoke a harsh, intense, and dramatic response, while the same image in low contrast may produce the opposite emotions. By mastering all these techniques, a photographer is able to compose a distinctive and unique image of even the most infinitely reproduced landmark, or able to completely alter the aesthetic of an object or creature. Below are two collections of images of the same architectural structure. I took each image from a different angle and perspective, proving the extend to which an image can change just by how it is framed. Shadow and lighting were also very important in making these images because it contributed to the complexity of the shot. These images were taken around 12 pm where a strong light casted a shadow onto the surface of the structure creating multiple geometrical shapes and forms which enhanced the composition. I colored the second series of images in black in white in order to demonstrate the change in subjectivity by just altering color.
Digital photography revolutionized photography as a practice and art form. Digital technology in image making arose in the late 1980’s and Adobe Photoshop, a software that allows for editing and adjusting digital images, was first released in 1990. Photoshop was initially seen as a replacement to the dark room, but allowed the editing process to go further than any photographer could imagine. The program allows the structure and contents of a digital image file to be completely manipulated and altered. “In a world of high technology, will you still believe in the truthfulness of a photograph? And does it matter?” –Misha Gordin states in his article Conceptual Photography. The creation of Photoshop forever changed the perception of photography and challenged the relationship between the photographer and the medium. As William J. Mitchell writes in his book The Reconfigured Eye “Today the very idea of photographic veracity is being radically challenged by the emerging technology of digital image manipulation.” The use of Photoshop calls into question the truthfulness behind images, and to what extent the rise of technically-altered photos depletes the credibility of photos used as documentation. However, what people fail to realize is that photography has always inherently had subjective elements. The photographer decides how to document or depict their subjects; every creative and technical decision is thought through and has purpose. Images are framed through someone’s perspective and intended to be viewed through the photographer’s eyes. Below is an example of how an image can be altered with Photoshop. The first image is the the original landscape shot, in the second image you can see how I enhanced the coloring by saturating specific colors, and in the third image I created a kaleidoscopic effect by reflecting the same image 4 times around its axis. Digital photography and post production software’s have allowed the medium to take on innovative affordances and created a new wave of photographic styles, enabling and facilitating the rise of abstract and conceptual photography. The post production process of image making can be as important as the actual capturing of the image given the extent to which an image can be modified. Typical perceptions of the use of postproduction image altering software’s; such as Photoshop may have negative connotations given the aged idea that an organic image has more value. Nonetheless mastering Photoshop is also an art and requires a lot of visual intelligence and creativity. How I edit my images is one of the most important parts of my creative process given that I take images thinking about the postproduction process. While shooting I make decisions about framing, lighting, pattern, and contrast depending on what my vision and conceptualized idea of the finished product is. In the series of images below you can see my visual thinking process while editing this image. The subject in my original shot was a small crater made by erosion in the rocks next to the ocean. Before taking this image I saw something interesting in the form of the rocks, I studied and observed the space intricately by taking numerous pictures from different angles and perspectives because I knew there was something interesting that could arise in the editing process. The original image is not that interesting or compelling, however it had potential to become something mystical. I wanted the final image to resemble some sort of galactic look and was interested in creating my own reality. Through Photoshop I am able to take the world around me and modify it in order to create my own version of nature, existentially, and livelihood. I am able to create definitions without words or explanations through this outlet that allows for vigorous aesthetic and conceptual exploration. An image that is Ambiguous beyond the artist’s intensions naturally leads the audience to discard such ambiguity, rather than continue to explore the unknown. Photography is a unique medium of art because it allows this exploration of depths that were not an object of artistic intension. A photograph is so intricate that there are always aspects subject to interpretation that were not a product of intension. “All too often, the photographer’s individual approach to image-making is hijacked by conventionally accepted photographic aesthetics; that is, how things “should” look.” – Lois Greenfield. Art has many forms and types, but it does not need to tap into the viewer’s experiences and pre conceptions. Rather a good abstract photographer is able to create non existing conceptions, and display a balance between the unknown and known in order to intrigue yet captivate the viewer. He is able to take creative risks and introduce new realms of vision through image making. As Salvador Dali states; “I strive to systematize confusion and discredit reality” So why do we judge photographs so harshly and not appreciate them for what they are but what we think they should be? The purpose of my photography is not to capture what is expected and conventional, but to revert expectations and break down all structured barrios in order to create art that confuses and stuns the viewer. For some reason there tends to be an expectation for photographs to tell a story or have some deep meaning. However, this does not need to be true, as Lois Greenfield wrote in Moments beneath the Threshold of Perception “I prefer that my photographs tap into the unconscious rather than tell a story.” Photography is a powerful medium that has the ability to make you question the reality in which you live in. The best photographers are able to create strong complex compositions out of simplicity and mundaneness. They see beyond what is presented to us on a daily basis and are able to look at their subject in a unique framework. As Misha Gordin writes in Conceptual Photography “Am I taking photographs of existing reality, or creating my own world, so real but nonexistent?” Photographers are essentially creating their own representations of what they see through their camera, in other words framing the world through their eyes. “Conceptual photography is a higher form of artistic expression, it employs the special talent of intuitive vision, by translating personal concepts into the language of photography.” –Misha Gordin. Photographers must have a certain level of creative intelligence and the ability to not only conceptualize but also turn their ideas into art. Through my works I aim to create visually complex images by utilizing the structures that surround my environment focusing on their symmetry and geometrical qualities. I combine basic elements and principals of design, such as linearity, primary colors, and repetition in hopes of producing an interesting piece that challenges, intrigues, and speaks to the viewer. The abstract quality in my images produce a sense of ambiguity and mystery, intended to provoke the viewer and incite them to question the world in which we live in and the space we consume. I Provide an alternative perspective onto mundane objects, and a reframed presentation of realities. Therefore, through my photographs I am able to create my own world, and invite the viewer to experience this world through my framed perspective. Works Cited:
All images by Dahlia Dreszer Gordin, Misha. "Conceptual Photography: Idea, Process, Truth." World Literature Today 87.2 (2013): 76. Web. Berger, John. "Understanding a Photograph." The Look of Things (1972): n. pag. Web. Mitchell, William J. The reconfigured eye: visual truth in the post-photographic era. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001. Print. Greenfield, Lois. "Moments Beneath the Threshold of Perception." World Literature Today 87.2 (2013): 38. Web.
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The "Teach In" was about the truthfulness of the media in todays political climate. Several students presented their works regarding this subject. One group of students talked about fake news, what it is and how to detect it. They had done a project on this subject for their class "Children and The Media." They said they had interviewed a group of elementary students asking them what they understood about "Fake News." I found it interesting how they said that many children thought fake news was when the weather channel would be wrong at predicting the weather. They also talked about Facebook engagement levels during the election and the most popular articles during this time period. I was surprised to learn that the most popular stories were fake news. They gave us tips in order to identifying fake news. For example, pay attention to the domain and URL, it seems obvious but sometimes we forget to check. Something that I did not know was to do a reverse image search in order to figure out if the article is fake. I thought their presentation was very interesting and enlightening. Cinematheque Screening Response Jerusalem is Proud to Present by Nitzan Gilady Jerusalem is Proud to Present is an Israeli documentary by Nitzan Gilady about the 2006 World Pride Festival in Jerusalem. It does a good job at telling the story objectively by interviewing and following the lives of Israelis who were in favor and against the LGBT parade. Its main characters are members of the LGBT community and Rabbi Yehuda Levi, an orthodox rabbi that actively fights against the parade. I later learned during the Q&A part of the screening that the Rabbi was very pleased with the film even though the directors believes are clearly not in line with his. This just shows how successful the film was at depicting the characters as they see themselves. Something that Gilady admitted to being one of the biggest challenges in making documentaries. The documentary tracks the timeline of events leading up to the LGBT festival held in Jerusalem. This event created a lot of chaos and disagreement within Jerusalem because it is known to be “The Holy Land” and predominantly run by the ultra orthodox community. Hosting a pride parade in Jerusalem was seen as an act towards corrupting the city and its morals. The film gives us access to the lives of members of Open House, which is the organization that was in charge of planning the event. We are able to see how difficult their lives are made by the cities opposition to the event. Multiple members of the organization receive death threats, encounter assault, and were constantly being black mailed. The ultra orthodox community even organized an anti Pride Festival revolt, resulting in aggression throughout the city. After this particular event many members were scared and feared for the safety of their lives and the ones they loved. The film did a very good job at introducing the viewer to this fear and creating a connection to the characters by capturing their reactions and responses to these breakouts. Many scenes in the documentary took place in the Kneset (Israeli parliament) and showed how the representatives of the LGBT community were humiliated, laughed at, and not even allowed to speak when given the floor. The Mayer would even get up and leave the room whenever he would speak. It also tracked a woman from the right wing political party and her efforts to get signatures petitioning the dismissal of the parade. The film humanized the characters that were in favor of the parade by shooting in their homes and with their families. It gave the viewers an inside look into their lives and how much they had to suffer in order to express themselves. Contrasted to the scenes that depicted the opposition, which were usually in public areas or on the street. The documentary had a direct cinema style, by catching the most interesting things that happened but also tried to blend into the situation. Many shots were filmed from hidden spots or felt unstable and brusque. This camera usage reflected the context of the situation. Fore example one scene that demonstrates this is when one of the members of the right wing political party was speaking to another colleague about the situation and their intents to ban the parade. The women was making it seem as if they were very close to cancelling the parade, which naturally would make the viewer nervous and worried given how the film sets up the viewers expectations. The filming of this shot was shaky and the camera was placed between two columns as if the viewer were to be ease dropping on a very revealing conversation. The director also revealed to us that most of the times he did not have a camera crew behind him and was just shooting himself. He explained that this was due to how controversial the topic of the parade was and how dangerous it could be for him to be discovered filming the opposition. During the Q&A Gilady answered a lot of questions and spoke about his experience filming the documentary. When asked how he was able to get access to people from the opposition he explained that he used to be an actor and he had to grow his beard in order to blend in with the religious people of the city. He also talked about the situation in Jerusalem after the documentary was released and said that in 2010 the man who had stabbed one of the main characters in the film in a previous pride parade had been released from jail three weeks before another march and killed a 16 year old boy at the parade. The director also gave his advice on documentary making and said that it can get very unpredictable, and the story might develop into something else, he admitted that he had lost control of the plotline at one point but realized he had to allow the natural course of events to create the story. “I discovered when I was there, what this march meant for so many people that where being pushed aside and thinking they were the only ones in Jerusalem.”- Nitzan Gilady Many dominant discussions on photography disclaim the medium as a form of fine art and expressionism. As John Berger phrases in Understanding a Photograph “In twentieth‐century terms, photographs are records of things seen. Consider them no closer to works of art than cardiograms.” When photography was first invented its purpose was mainly to document and recreate existing realities. An image was attributed value depending on its indexicality. This notion generally had to do with the affordances of the medium. Film photography uses celluloid filmstrips that are light sensitive and used to record the environment. “By their nature, photographs have little or no property value because they have no rarity value. The very principle of photography is that the resulting image is not unique, but on the contrary infinitely reproducible.”– John Berger. With digital technology that relationship between the photograph and the medium has been challenged in many ways, we do not see digital images as recordings anymore. As William J. Mitchell writes in his book The Reconfigured Eye “Today the very idea of photographic veracity is being radically challenged by the emerging technology of digital image manipulation.” I would like to challenge these discussions and provide an alternative outlook onto photography as a medium of self-expression and art. Photography is an artistic medium and not necessarily just a medium through which one can document and represent realities. A photograph can be as abstract and unrepresentative as a painting. However, many like to believe that a picture automatically depicts the subject it is representing in its whole, and if it does not we are quick to judge the image and discard it instead of trying to appreciate and understand it. “All too often, the photographer’s individual approach to image-making is hijacked by conventionally accepted photographic aesthetics; that is, how things “should” look.” – Lois Greeenfield. Art has many forms and types, but it does not need to be a depiction of reality. So why do we judge photographs so harshly and not appreciate them for what they are but what we think they should be? “I strive to systematize confusion and discredit reality.” – Salvador Dalí The purpose of my photography is not to capture what is expected and conventional, but to revert expectations and break down all structured barrios in order to create art that confuses and stuns the viewer. For some reason there is an immediate expectation for photographs to tell a story or have some deep meaning. However, this does not need to be true, as Lois Greenfield wrote in Moments beneath the Threshold of Perception “I prefer that my photographs tap into the unconscious rather than tell a story.” Photography is a powerful medium that has the ability to make you question the reality in which you live in. The best photographers are able to create strong complex compositions out of simplicity and mundaneness. They see beyond what is presented to us on a daily basis and are able to look at their subject in a unique framework. As Misha Gordin writes in Conceptual Photography “Am I taking photographs of existing reality, or creating my own world, so real but nonexistent?” Photographers are essentially creating their own representations of what they see through their camera, in other words framing the world through their eyes. “Conceptual photography is a higher form of artistic expression, it employs the special talent of intuitive vision, by translating personal concepts into the language of photography.” –Misha Gordin. Photographers must have a certain level of creative intelligence and the ability to not only conceptualize but also turn their ideas into art. The use of digital photography has also enabled the notion of abstractism given the nature of the medium. Digital tools such as Photoshop enable the artist to tamper with the image in numerous ways, either to enhance it, alter it, or create a whole new type of image. “In a world of high technology, will you still believe in the truthfulness of a photograph? And does it matter?” –Gordin. The post production process of image making can be as important as the actual capturing of the image given the extent to which an image can be modified. Typical perceptions of the use of postproduction image altering software’s; such as Photoshop may have negative connotations given the idea that an organic image has more value. Nonetheless mastering Photoshop is also an art and requires a lot of visual intelligence and creativity. How I edit my images is one of the most important parts of my creative process given that I take images thinking about the postproduction process. I may alter the framing or the lighting when taking a picture depending on how I envision the edits. Digital photo technology has completely altered the art of photography and it should not be studied and understood as the same type of art. Nonetheless many people still judge an image based on how organic and true to the subject it is. The images above depict how my finalized website looks. I wanted my website to be fun and exciting as well as representative of my personality. I am very proud of all my blog posts for this class, especially because I have been able to write about topics that are interesting and relevant to what to my career. My blog has allowed me to express my ideas and given me an outlet to communicate fluidly. My website also includes a page called Media Gallery where I display some of my professional as well as personal artistic work. I feature a gallery of digital collages where I display different types of pieces I have created on Photoshop utilizing my photography. I also include promo videos I have created for my internship at Cartoon Network. I have had trouble designing my website exactly how I envision it given the restrictions of Weebly, but I have tried to make it as interactive and engaging as possible. Netflix revolutionized the television industry and has become one of the most innovative companies over the past decade. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph first founded Netflix in 1997. The company initially began as a DVD rental service where you were able to pay a monthly subscription fee and rent as many DVDS as you wanted. It took Blockbuster out of business and forever changed the way we watch and consume entertainment. Netflix soon realized that the tendency was to transfer onto digital and released the Netflix online platform in 2007 while still maintaining the DVD rental service. In 2010 the company made its streaming international and by 2016 Netflix online platform reached over 190 countries. Netflix’s platform originally revolved around its quantity and had a larger variety of content than any of its competitors. However its content lacked in quality and newness, it usually only featured older movies and TV shows. Nonetheless, it only charged $9.99 a month so viewers deemed it worthwhile and Netflix quickly gained popularity. “Netflix and Chill”, a phrase that we are all so familiar with was first coined in 2009 by a twitter user referring to the act of watching the online service. The euphoria of the phrase gained power mid 2014 and the company kept gaining more and more popularity and market value. Other leaders of the industry such as Fox, Turner, Warner Bros, and The Walt Disney Company realized they had to keep up with this new digital tendency of online streaming and created their own non-linear streaming platforms as well. Nonetheless, Netflix had already gained most control of the market given its rapid rise in popularity and user subscription. However, when companies such as HBO, CBS, FOX, Amazon Prime, and HULU began releasing their services and featuring their own original content, Netflix saw a potential threat. Netflix quickly realized that in order to survive it had to focus on creating original series. This generated a whole new experience for the consumer. Netflix would release episodes of a season all at once instead of having the viewer wait each week for the episode premier, creating the “Bing Watching” phenomenon. Some of their first and most popular Netflix original series were; House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Narcos, and Black Mirror. Their shift towards content production rattled its competitors and led the whole industry to move towards the same direction. Recently, YouTube launched “YouTube TV”, following the industry trend of relying on original content. Amazon also has its own original series and TV service platform. At this point the race for market value is predominantly dependent on original content creation. I predict that soon enough Facebook will also produce its own content and television service. In What is Web 2.0 Tim O’ Reilly talks about some of the big companies that formed part of the Web 2.0, such as, Google, Amazon, and eBay, and how they served as platforms enabling an online participatory culture which facilitated the massive flow of information. What drove their success was their ability to process huge amounts of data and keep their users constantly and actively engaged with their platform and with each other. This participatory culture has led to a saturation of content and user activity on the web, and these companies no longer need to focus on this aspect of their business as much as before. The era of Internet virility has reached its peak, and even though there still exists a massive flow of information and users constantly creating, sharing, liking, posting, following, etc. it has become much harder to organically reach fandom. Therefore it makes natural sense that the next move for companies such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, Amazon, and Snapchat is to focus on creating their own original content. I worked for HBO last summer and one of the main concerns of the corporation was the rapid rise of Netflix. Even though HBO had already developed their non-linear platform HBO GO and HBO Now they feared the ever growing innovative company. One of the reasons why companies such as HBO had such difficulty keeping up with Netflix was because their whole business model and corporate structure was centered around cable and linear television depending on revenue coming in from Ads placed on programing. Therefore they were always a year or two behind Netflix’s innovations, given their lack of capacities and business structure. In 2014 Turner Broadcasting cut its total workforce by about 10%, leading to 14,000 people being laid off. They over went a complete corporate restructuring, replacing many directives. They claimed it was for budgeting purposes, but in my opinion they saw the need to keep up with the new tendencies in the media industry that Netflix had originated and the only way to do so was to completely restructure their business. I have first hand seen these changes, working at HBO and currently in Cartoon Network. Even though media corporations know that the industry is leading towards digital their business model still is dependent on on-air programing, there is still a huge demand for cable television and it is a primary source of income for the industry. At HBO I worked in the On Air Networks department where I had to create promotional videos for TV shows and movies that would air on linear television. I also gained experience in their creative, out of home, and digital marketing departments, and most of our efforts and projects where in line with the programing schedule. For example, in out of home marketing we would work with PR agencies to create launch events for different TV show campaigns. Digital marketing, consisted mostly on Internet add placement, as well as maintaining the social media platforms. In Creative Marketing I had the chance to be part of the ideation and conceptualization process of the marketing campaigns of different TV shows. In Cartoon Network, I currently work with games marketing, social media, and YouTube. So I have been able to get more experience with digital marketing and content creation. While being here I have realized that original content, innovation, newness, and excitement is what drives our subscriptions and viewer engagement. The ability to keep up with technology use it appropriately for social media marketing is key. Even though Cartoon Network does an amazing job with promoting its brand through social and is updated with all the trends of the industry, it is not a trend creator. Netflix has been a trend creator and a company that perfectly represents innovation, technology, and brilliance. The way it was able to over take the market and completely change the game for all other competitors is something I consider we should be analyzing more and learning from. Not only did Netflix create a new technology and digital habit but it resulted in all other media corporations following their path. Sources: Gershon, Livia. "Will The Fall of Cable Mean Darker TV?" J Store Daily . JStore, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. Musser, John, and Tim O'Reilly. Web 2.0: principles and best practices. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Radar, 2007. Print. My research topic will be exploring digital photography as an artistic medium.I will be evaluating photography as a way to vigorously explore the world and an avenue to express visual thinking. I am interested in photography’s nonrealistic qualities, and how it serves as a representation of the artist’s intuitive vision instead of an accurate depiction of the real world. The production of altered realities is a phenomenon in photography that allows artists to express their unique world of visions. A photograph can be as abstract and unrepresentative as a painting. However, we tend to believe that a photograph accurately depicts the subject it is representing, and if it does not we are quick to judge the photograph and discredit it instead of trying to appreciate and understand it. “Am I taking photographs of existing reality, or creating my own world, so real but nonexistent?”- Misha Gordin. Photographers are essentially creating their own representations of what they see through their camera
“In a world of high technology, will you still believe in the truthfulness of a photograph? And does it matter?” “All too often, the photographer’s individual approach to image-making is hijacked by conventionally accepted photographic aesthetics; that is, how things “should” look.” –Lois Greeenfield. I created two collages of alternative Facebook logos. The first collage includes several landscapes and sceneries of different locations I have photographed and placed behind the Facebook logo. The images include, beaches, lakes, skies, mountains, city lights, clouds, buildings, forests, waterfalls, and gardens. The collage has a total of 20 images, five rows and four columns. The second collage consists of sixteen images of faces I have photographed from people of different ages, nationalities, ethnicities and cultures. I cropped these images so that only one eye were visible and placed them behind the Facebook logo as if they are trying to peep through the corners of the iconic blue “F.” I created these montages using Adobe Photoshop, I downloaded an image of the Facebook logo from the web and copied it onto Photoshop placing the logo on top of one of my images and then cropped each image to create the finalized logo. I was inspired to create these collages by the personalized documentary series “Do Not Track” which talks about how we are being tracked by several digital platforms. The mini series explains just how little online privacy we have and how closely we are being monitored and tracked by the web. It is even able to reveal personal character traits based on our social media usage and Internet activity. We live in an era that if we choose to participate from the Internet culture and engage with technology we no longer have much power over our privacy. Many people are not aware the extent to which they are being monitored. I am not trying to make a commentary about if it is ethical or not that we are being tracked because I believe that we are just evolving towards a more open internet sharing economy and people are caring less and less about their privacy. Therefore we should focus on the future of this social media culture and how we decide to interact with it. In Participating in The Always-On Lifestyle Danah Boyd argues “Being always-on and living a public life through social media may complicate our lives in new ways, but participating can also enrich the tapestry of life.” It is important to be very aware about what we post and share. In The Political Economy of Facebook Christian Fucks argues that “Facebook should reveal what data the platform stores about its users, and users should be protected from Facebook’s economic exploitation of their data.” It is important to know that there is no such thing as online privacy and anything you put up online is essentially out there and accessible. Companies are monetizing of off our data and the amount of information they have about us should become public and more transparent. Our participatory culture pressures us to share, create and disseminate content, which has been very beneficial because it has enabled people to connect with each other and has unified communities. Nonetheless as audiences and consumers of these online services we should be able to know what exactly is being done with our information and data. If people are aware and accepting of what Facebook and other social platforms do with our data then I do not see any issue. However, the way these companies go about collecting data may be misleading and not clear as to what is on the backend of the system. My series of images serve to display that wherever you might go, no matter where in the globe, your every move is being tracked and stored. Similarly, no matter who you are and how hard you try to protect your privacy there is no way to really escape the data collectors. I see my collages also serving as educational material for younger students who are entering this social media era. We have reached the point where elementary and middle schools should be brining to attention the importance of being cautious online. I intend my images to serve as a wake up call and get peoples attention. They are very provocative and intrigue the viewer to question its meaning and produce discussion and conversation. The eyes behind the Facebook logo evokes a creepy uncomfortable sensation as if someone is watching you without you knowing. It is meant to represent how social media is everywhere, especially Facebook and how it holds a central part of our lives and we cannot really escape it so we better learn how to interact with it responsibly. 11 panes by Gerhard Richter is exhibited at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The piece displays a freestanding three-dimensional construction of glass. The mirror reflects the environment and engages space, drawing the viewer in and evoking the audience to participate with the work. Richter creates a spatial relation between the viewer and the object, having the spectator play a crucial role in the artwork and essentially be part of the exhibition. Richter designs a space that allows the spectators to interact with their own reflections in relation to reality. In doing so, many visual phenomena’s concerning individuals’ self-reflections and imagery arise. In 11 panes we see how Richter’s attempts to question the conventional roles of painting and photography and the inherent ideas regarding the representation of reality. He alludes to perception and utilizes the power of mirrored reflections in order to force viewers to confront themselves while interpreting the artwork. Observing how people engaged and responded to the piece was very interesting, and through photography I was able to capture these interactions and concentrated in analyzing the differences in reactions depending on age and gender. I was able to observe children in the midst of the ‘mirror stage’; a transitional phase in which infants both recognized and identify themselves as individual bodies. I found it fascinating to watch how infants reacted to their own image as art. During my observation, I was also intrigued by the difference between how men observed themselves and how women observed themselves. Men accepted their appearances while women tended to mold their bodies and pose in order to be satisfied with their own reflections. When couples approached the piece, the way they interacted with each other also changed. Some would give each other a kiss, pose, or get close to one another intending to appear as art, externalizing their internalization of their own perception of a framed painting. Henry Jenkins describes the Web 2.0 as a service-based platform predominantly composed of user-generated content where intelligence is shared and user data has monetizable value. I will be talking about Facebook, one of the most prominent platforms that arose from the Web 2.0, and its incredible influence and reach that has revolutionized our generation. I will be sharing the impact it has had on my personal life as well as its impact on businesses and advertising. From the day I first created my account, Facebook has always been an influential part of my life. Especially coming from Panama, Facebook has allowed me to easily connect with other parts of the world and maintain long distance friendships. I even met my college roommate and best friend through Facebook. Creating images, documenting memories, and connecting with people have always played a central role in my life. From a young age I remember getting together with friends dressing up and making funny videos and pictures. In any social event I was always the one with the camera taking pictures of everyone and everything, many times in excessive amounts. Both my grandmothers are photographers, so cameras and pictures always surrounded me, and I came to learn the value and power Images hold. When I first heard about a new platform called Facebook, where you were able to create, upload, and share pictures with friends I could not have been more excited. I first created my account in 2007 when I was 10 years old, and immediately became a very active user. I remember uploading albums for every single event and relying heavily on the “tag” feature in order to easily share and engage with friends. It was all so new and exciting. These were the earlier stages of Facebook before there existed the certain Facebook culture we have today. No one really knew the rules of the game yet or how powerful Facebook would become. Facebook quickly became a central part of my day-to-day life, and in hindsight I can say that it had a huge influence on my childhood development and character building. It allowed me to expand my realm of connections, dive deeper into photography, and I began to emulate the fast past nature of its platform. Not everything from Facebook was a positive experience, growing up a lot of drama arouse from my heavy use of Facebook. I remember several instances in middle school where friends would get upset at me for uploading pictures of them without their consent or pictures where they thought they looked bad. It got to a point where sometimes I felt marginalized within my friend group because I was much more interested in the world of Facebook than they were. They saw my use of Facebook as an obsession and my constant uploading of images as annoying. Looking back, I think I recognized something valuable in Facebook that many others did not stop to appreciate. Maybe it was because my school in Panama did not embrace technology or creativity, teachers would lecture the dangers of social media instead of the opportunities it withheld. Nonetheless, I appreciated Facebook’s platform, not only as a user but I understood the power it had and the movement it was creating. Today, most of my childhood friends are grateful for my use of Facebook and constant documentation because I am the only one who has images of our experiences and memories. My Facebook profile clearly tells the story of my life, any important event, accomplishment, or experience appears somewhere within my profile. You can see the evolution of my life and how I grew up and changed throughout the years by simply looking at my profile pictures. For all of these reasons I have build a sentimental connection towards Facebook and the role it has played throughout my life. In Where The Web 2.0 Went Wrong Henry Jenkins argues “Web 2.0 companies seek to integrate the social and economic in ways that make it hard to distinguish between them.” Facebook’s value now a day not only comes from it’s social features and its ability to connect people but the path it has paved for the future of advertising and a new era of internet marketing. This industry has immense value and as Danah Boyd states in Participating in the Always-On Lifestyle, “We are moving away from an industrial economy and into an information based one, and knowing how to get information is more important than memorizing it.” Facebook handles an immense amount of bulk data and has given businesses the opportunity to connect with their target audience by selling user information. Facebook argues that targeted advertisement is also beneficial for the consumer because they can now see personalized ads that are relevant and meaningful. However, do users really know the extents of information that is being released to advertisers about them? Should Facebook be more transparent? Or are we responsible for the information we put online? These are all questions that don’t really have answers and frankly I don’t think the answers even matter to the average Facebook user. Our participatory culture has become such a central part of our lifestyle that modifying our routines and habits will be very hard. Users are sharing more private information than ever before, and anyone in the advertisement industry knows that targeted ads are the future of marketing. So until there exists a greater demand and concern about privacy that conduces the market to find a way to monetize from this need, not much will change. Facebook’s move towards incorporating ads was gradual and I think it is important to learn from its historical timeline and when each update was launched. Facebook could not have had the same success if this process was not measured because its ads could of easily come across as un-organic and ruin Facebook’s original concept and user experience. Nonetheless, they were able to create huge value from advertisers and not only maintain but increase their user engagement levels. When pages first launched it was different from how we see it now. Each page on Facebook had a “Become a Fan” button instead of a “Like” button, which allowed you to see your friend’s interactions with these brands. In “What is Web 2.0” Tim O’Reilly argues that the main thing that most of the greatest companies of the Web 2.0 have in common is their reliance on organic marketing. This was Facebook’s way of creating an organic flow of word of mouth advertising. In 2008 Facebook released “Engagement Adds.” This led to a revolution in advertising by brining businesses closer to their audience. An ad appeared on Facebook’s right-hand column when viewed on a desktop. Facebook later allowed users to comment, share, and like the ads, which created notifications in their newsfeed continuing the concept of producing an organic hype. In 2009 Facebook released targeted advertising, which enabled businesses to reach their target audiences by filtering gender, age, location, education level, and relationship status. In 2012 Facebook allowed ads to be placed in News Feeds, instead of on the right margin but only for users who were already connected with the page. By the end of 2012 Facebook ads appeared on any users newsfeed, even if that user was not connected to the brand. That same year Facebook released “Custom Audiences”, which enabled advertisers to input bulk data collected outside of Facebook, such as phone numbers and emails in order to target their customers through Facebook. In 2013 Facebook released “Partner Categories,” allowing ads to be driven by users activities outside of Facebook. For example, companies could use information from third-party data providers who could provide costumers shopping activities. In 2014, Facebook acquired Instagram, which gave advertisers another venue for reaching their audiences. In 2015, Facebook came out with “360 Video”, a more immersive and interactive viewing experience. Following this video trend the next year they released “Facebook Live Video.” This was a huge move towards video instead of photo. “By 2020, 75% of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video.”-Facebook Q3 2016 Earnings Report. Facebook Live allowed advertisers and users to broadcast in real time through their mobile devices. Facebook is the largest social media platform and one of the most influential companies in tech and leaders of the industry. I think this company’s potential for growth and expansion is incredible and holds great power and influence. We see and hear about Facebook in our daily lives and is penetrated in almost everything aspect of our surroundings. I think that the next step for Facebook now is original content and video. I am very excited to see where this company will be headed in the next couple years and even more excited to be able to work for them this summer. |
AuthorI am from Panama and a sophomore at Emory University. I am passionate about photography and media making. Archives |