Thursday, April 30, 2009

Chapter 9

In chapter 9, Scientific Looking, Looking at science emphasises on the way images affect a wide range of audiences and the way people perceive certain messages. The chapter grasps the development of scientific images and looking practices as it helps the ideas of cultural context. Also the chapter, talks about how culturally informed interpretation such as images influence our pop culture, art and the news. Michel Foucault's states, "we can analyze how the discourses of science, like all discourse, change over time, allowing for new subjects position to emerge and new ways of speaking about science to come into being" (pg 347). I feel like this term means that science does change over time, there are new inventions being created and new technologies need to invented.

The term Scientific looking does not happen in isolation from other cultural forms. The reading states that its vitally important that we as a society we see scientific images as importance to the productions and meaning of images in popular culture. Scientific images have a strong meaning. Ever since the creation of photography in the 19th century, media images and imaging have become a crucial aspect of history and the development of photography, film and digital media (pg 348). The come the rise of digital imaging, has created a entirely new aspect of imaging. Visualization has also risen to a new level in aspects such as digital display.
Leonardo was one of the most influential artist of his time. Throughout history he was an artist who used scientific methods in his works and become one of the greatest artist who used both science and art within his work.


The desire to look into and at part of practicing surgery become popular in the late 19th century. The example used in the reading , was the "Gross Clinic", by Thomas Eakins. Last year in my Art History class, this piece was in a part of the sections we learned about, in which we studied based on Realism , which become popular in the 19th century. The realism aspect of many paintings during this time brought about a new way of looking at pieces and being able to relate to them. As photography developed in the 19th century, so did the ability to see into the body through advanced technology. The X-ray provided a relationship between science and images. The interrelationships between art, science and popular consumption was extremely important during this time also. The desire to see art and science in one become something that was out of the ordinary. Scientific images have played a vital role as evidence in science and also with medicine. Photography, seems to be an important theme evolving through out this reading. Photography immediately was used a strong medium for expressing science and medicine ideas. These types of photos, were used to provide visual records of phenomena and experiments (pg 356). These types of images were used to document multiple disease and to record data.
The camera also came into context, having the ability to be used a aid for vision. It become an aspect to see the" unseen", to record the invisible aspects of the world. In the scientific world, Doctors, used photographs as a tool to examine physical representation, measurements (pg 350). The role of performance in medical study during this time showed evidence within photographs and drawings, such as French neurologist, Jean- Martin Charcot, who used this type of process. While looking at photographic studies, it was based on observation and measurement. Its states, that it will reflect the "truth" in these type of photographs, because its reflected by observation.
Science creates the ability promote images to be able to see the truth beyond the human eye and giving insight into the questions we all wonder about the body. Images help tell the meaning behind the body such as it can tell one about gender, ideology and disease through photographs. Ultrasound ,created another form of medical investigation. It provides a visual a window into the body which we can see the unknown. Being able to see the bodies interior started tension between the idea that truth is self -evident in the surface appearance of things (pg 369). In the past decades of the 20th century, the medicine world has evolved into great hopes and new technologies.
Science helped bring upon the rise of new technologies such as photographs to help individuals see what can truly be seen. Scientific images have cultural meaning and can influence people perceptions. Through the reading I have learned that the rise of the visual culture of science helps people understand the relationships between science and culture.


I really enjoyed this chapter. It was by far the most interesting and I really learned a lot. I liked how the chapter revolved around photography and the beginning origins of it and how it related the science field. I am an Art Minor and i am currently in a Basic Photography class, and I absolutely love it.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Journal #5, A day with out connections. Is it Possible?

After five days recording the media, I use most frequently, I decided that this would be a good journal entry to see if I could go a day without using any technologies or media sources. Lets see if I can do it!

Saturday you could write about the day, whether you really tried not to use the media, what broke you down, did the experiment make you think more abut what you were doing?)

This task for impossible for me. As you can see the entire week which I recorded all my media use, I used many of the tools almost religiously. I literaly tried not to use the media at all that day. I was not really in my dorm room at all saturday afternoon becasue I was participating in a girls football game from 1-5 in the afternoon. I thought that I could do this task becasue people used to be able to not use computures or pick up a cellphone when they wanted too. Know these tools are right at our fingure tips. After I came back from the game, I decided to stay away from the computer and hang out in my friends room. Its hard to stay away from media forms becasue there were surrouding my every move. Whether, I would turn around and there would be a tevlsion next to me, as my friends were watching or someone was listening to and I-POD on their dock.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Journal #4- My perspective on the media

I remember getting my first cell phone. It was after my eight grade graduation. I thought it was such a big deal that I got a something cool and new. I remember my dad having the very first cell phone which in a way resembled Zac Morris's telephone that he carried every where, From Save By the Bell. When I saw my dad cellphone, I always wanted one, and the day I got one on my 8th grade graduation, I thought I was very cool. I showed everyone who I knew the new little toy I just got. But as I grew up, the cell phone seem necessary, because it is. With out a cellphone, I don't know how I would communicate with people. Being at college and away from home, having a cell phone is a must. I need it to make call to my family, friends, and for important things that I do in my life. With out this form of media, or society would not know what to do. It is a much easier way to communicate, through text messaging or calling someone, it saves time.

When the Apple company came out with the IPOD, the way of music changed for ever. I remember getting my first IPOD, for Christmas. It was the pink ipod mini and i loved it. I uploaded all my music that I wanted, and I remember listening to U2's, Vertigo song, with my head phones in and my mini in my hand and I felt like I was on top of the world. The ipod, changed my life. Right now at this very minute I'm staying at my computer screen and listening to my I-tunes. I live for music, it is part of my life. I use my ipod, when I walk to class, go to the gym, when I'm doing art projects, or just laying around. I need it. The apple company, has changed society. Their many products have introduced a new way of technology and I think that there is much more to come!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Postmodernism, Indie Media and Popular Culture

Chapter 8, Postmodernism, Indie Media and Popular culture, was a reading that interested me. I enjoyed this reading because I left that it had aspects to which I could relate too based on the time many of these forms were taken place during.
Entering into the postmodern era of the Twenth century, media lost sight of what is real. Postmodern has multiple aspects such as society, identity and style. We are not living in a postmodern world. We are living in a place where we are surrounded by virtual technologies that has lead to an era of globalization (309). Our society has practiced "global Looking", which is understanding virtual media messages. The concepts of post modernity,postmodern society, and postmodern style are important aspects of this chapter. It talks about how all three of these concepts intersect with one another and also intertwine with modernity and modernism.
The idea of postmodernism began in the 1980's, by the attempt to understand the changing concepts of human subjects and the effects that globalization, postindustrialization,computerization and communication helped create worldviews of what society is perceived to be (pg310).
The reading began to discuss the difficulties of identity the origins of postmodernism. There was much discussion about whether postmodernism is a period, a set of style or a set of politics and ideologies (pg 311). Theorists used the tern postmodern to describe the post war, as a “cultural logic of late capitalism”. This phrase came to term by critic Fredric Jameson. Postmodernism, has been taught to be characterized as a response to the conditions of late modernity and then later linked stages of capitalism. It’s not just the style that is postmodernism it also links to changes in the social and economic conditions that help produce these styles. The changes that included the demise of the nation-state and the dissolution of national sovereignty is, Postmodernism. Thinker, David Harvey, expressed postmodernism as an economic and a cultural of flexible accumulation. Aspects of these theories have been around since the early 20th century and in the early 21st century.

Addressing the Post Modern Subject -
Postmodernism and postmodern styles are new kinds of human subjects. This style comes in forms of culture, art, literature, architecture, and advertising. These styles today, are are huge part of our media world. Now through these forms one can see how they create a mold to constitute new kinds of postmodern style. (pg. 316). In the 1990’s animated films began to grow in popularity, which dramatically shifted in style. Movies, such as Snow White and the popular television series, Sesame Street began to arouse many target audiences.

Reflexivity and Postmodern Identity
The reading states, that it is an important factor to make viewed aware of the means of production by incorporating individuals into the content of the product, was an important factor of modernism. This era brought on a new perspective of using strategies used by artist as a form of political critiques (322). Postmodernism, began to take art as a modern concept of reflexivity. The pop culture during this time, led postmodern artist to create work in a more abstract context. A photographer, Cindy Sherman is a good example of how artists took on this new perspective. Her works were a response to an era of feminist films. She wanted to challenge the view by showing the idea of, the “male gaze”. This ties into how men look at women as an object.

Some primary issues with ideas of postmodernism are the shifting of modernism and to which it created a new era. It began a new way of thinking and a new way of creating art. Like talked about in the beginning of the chapter, “we don’t live in a world of postmodernism but rather in a world of tension of modernity and post modernity are active and present (pg 343). From this perspective we are able to embrace many visions with the ideas from modern, postmodern and global and postindustrial approaches all in one.

Journal Entry #3

This is going to be My Media Journal, kept from Monday - Friday. I am going to write down all the media tools that I use with in these next five days. The reasoning for this is to show, how much I use media. Then after friday, on saturday, Im going to try to not use any type of media for a day and see how it goes!

Monday
1. Morning-First thing, when I woke up -Went right to the computer
2. I lost my cell phone in the couch in the A.M- Felt lost with out it, even for a short period of time.
3. ipod- for the gym

3. Afternoon- class - need my camera for photography
4.Night- Computer, Cellphone, Televsion

Tuesday
1. Morning- Get Woken up by cell phone alarm,
2. listen to ipod on dock, while getting ready
3. Worked with computures during class-used internet also.

4. Afternoon-checked email
5. checked my cellphone
6. charging my ipod



Wednesday
Morning- Computer- to check emails
2. ipod for gym
3. TV. at the gym
4. Cell phone to call my sister for her birthday

Afternoon-
5. Camera- for class
6. cell phone-all night
7.ipod-again
8. TV at night

Thursday
Morning-
1. Computer, check emails
2.Ipod for gym and Tv at the gym also
3. on computer again before lunch

Afternoon
4. computer before class
5. listening to i-tunes while doing work
6. have my cellphone right next too me

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Journal Entry #2

http://foxweb.marist.edu/users/kdvsq/dm/





This is a website, I created, in one of my classes. I used multiple programs including, Photo shop,Illustrator, Indesign, Flash, Dream weaver and more. I hope that this can count as a journal entire.

Windows Mask

http://jordankosinski1-zplhe.posterous.com/my-first-blog-post-6663