Digital games - But are they Art?

1) What is art? (What are some of the things that make art, art?)
-Refer to Adams

I've taken art classes, I've studied visual and aesthetic aspects of films, and I've studied "literary" art. And every single one of those subjects take on a different meaning of what "art" is. I can't exactly give a dictionary definition of art. I believe art is highly interpretive. I don't necessarily believe that art can be given a concrete definition. I believe everyone can have a different and their own definition of art.

To me, what art is, is purpose. I believe artists don't simply just "do," but rather create and have a view and meaning about their artwork. Art also must encompass aesthetic aspects. I would say art is a purposeful, crafted work with aesthetic.

I'm really open to the art field. I believe many things are a piece of art. A painting, a video game, even a computer I think is a work of art. There's a creator, and they have an end goal and purpose to the piece of art. It's rhythmic and technical put-together is a work of art to me, as it produces a working product that not only aids humans, but causes humans to think, challenge, create, and so much more.

My group and I agreed with Ernest Adams in the sense that art has to be "interactive, have content/a message, aesthetics, ideas, etc." (Adams) However, we also disagreed in his concrete answer. It's too black and white the way he puts limits on the video games as art. We believe that art is interpretive and can't have a clear definition, only to the one who is defining it.

Attached below is the YouTube link for my group's response; enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77eEFMkCu6o

To deepen my discussion further, I'll look at another definitions of art, not just Adam's. 

Leo Tolstoy, a highly famous philosopher, stated in an essay that "Art is beauty," (SAI). To further this, he said that art is "1) The individuality of the feeling transmitted. 2) It's clarity. and 3) The sincerity of the artist - ie, the the degree of force with which the artist feels the emotion he transmits," (SAI), 

I agree that art is beauty, or like I said, has an aesthetic. I don't think I can take any concrete object and say it has aesthetic. For example, I look at the white board in front of me right now in class and don't think that is art or has aesthetic. Sure, it's crafted, and has a purpose, and a "design" but not one that's art and that was contrived to be a piece of artwork.

He states that art is the individuality of the feeling transmitted. This I disagree with. I know that a lot of artwork transmits feelings, which is an aspect of art, not a definition, to me. Not all art to me transmits feelings. Like I said, a computer is a piece of art to me, but it doesn't transmit feelings. Art being clarity I also believe is an aspect, not a definition. Since I think so many objects and paintings and crafts and works of art as a whole are so differentiated, not all are clarity. Though I stated that art has purpose, sometimes it can be interpreted differently from the artist and the observer/user. To the user, it may not be as clear like to the artist and vice versa. And lastly, art is the sincerity of the artist I agree with to an extent. The sincerity to me is the meaning and purpose or emotion the artist wants to transmit or convey, but not every artwork may have an emotion. 

Now with using a philosopher's definition, my definition, and a scholar on digital games' definition, I want to focus on "are digital games art?" a little bit more. My answer is that yes, they are art. They (at least that I know of) have a purpose to the game, some sort of end goal, and they have aesthetics. They're digitally constructed and it takes a lot of effort to make them into a certain medium. No, not all may transmit emotion to the user or viewer, but does that not make it art? It was crafted and therefore to me is art. The fact that some games do comment on political or social issues or values like the game Postal gives it even more of a purpose, not just the shooting and the actual game, but the aim to make a satire of the events that went on. 

Works Cited:

"Art Essays: The Meaning of Art as Viewed by Various Philosophers." Society for Art of Imagination (SAI). Society for Art of Imagination, 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.artofimagination.org/Pages/ArtEss.html>.

Ernest W. Adams (2007) “Will Computer Games Ever Be a Legitimate Art Form?”. In Clarke and Mitchell (eds), Videogames and Art, 255-264.

Modern Times, Then and Now

1) How is new technology affecting the Charlie Chaplin character?
Technology is affecting the Charlie Chaplin character in a few ways. First of all, the new technology is making his character feel more powerful. He realizes after he goes crazy that the assembly line machine is so powerful and demanding, that when they turn it off, he turns it back on because he knows that they will run back and work on it instead of chasing him. So not only does the new technology make him more powerful in that sense, but it conveys the importance of the new technology itself. Secondly, the new technology affects his character in the sense that he is becoming more like a machine. His moves are quick, concise, and machine like. He even starts to do the wrench actions without working the assembly line. Lastly, the new technology is affecting the Charlie Chaplin character by making him more disobedient or in-tact in a sense. He doesn't listen to his boss or co-workers because he's preoccupied by the new technology and it changing him.

2) Is there any similarity between his experience with new technology and ours now?
There are a few similarities between Chaplin's experience with new technology and ours now. For example, the technology is very controlling of his life; he needs it for a job, similar to today as many need jobs with technology requirements. Also, it controls him because he goes crazy from the machine, and some people do in real life, or they imitate examples of technology. For example, his character chased the women around with the wrenches he used on the machine, likewise a mass killer killing from reenacting a video game. Lastly, the disobedience of his character to the boss/co-workers could be likewise children being so infatuated with new technology that they don't listen to their parents or teachers, etc.

3) Include a clip of the film in your post or screenshot

In figures one and two, we see Chaplin's character "going crazy" in a sense, or him becoming more like the machine and more disobedient.

In figure 3, we see Chaplin's character understanding the importance of new technology because he runs to turn it back on as he knows his co-workers will have to tend to the products on the machine and won't chase him.

Digital Media in my Life

1) What I hope to learn about digital media in this course is how it connects people,  how it is advancing and what it could possibly do for the future of technology or even jobs. I am interested in the present age of digital media and how to utilize it, but also how it will affect my future and my generation's future. We are in the defining decades of our lives and I realize that digital media plays a pivotal role in connections, jobs, etc.

2) Some kinds of digital media that are important in my life include the internet, which I use a lot for school, work, etc. Also important is email, as I use it everyday for updates on campus, use it to conduct interviews at work, talk to my peers, professors and more. Also important while abroad here in HK is the whatsapp application. I need it because my phone is on an international plan and I can talk freely through there to friends, so my phone bill won't be so high! I use youtube for entertainment like music. And I use apps such as instagram and twitter to post pictures, thoughts, and to connect with others. Lastly, Linkedin is important for professional work connections. Pros include connections to important people, ways to get information or directions, and ways to express myself. Cons include the time consumption of some of these digital media. For example, I could be on instagram for so long and forget about doing homework. Other cons include the problems of drama on social networking sites. Or the problem of posting a picture that could get you in trouble if a future employer saw it, etc. Misinterpretation through some digital media as well can also be a con.

3) This is a picture of me taken by my iPhone and using my Mac laptop to do this current post!