Prototype proposals
Media Archaeology in an art practice context
The last few weeks we have looked into Media Archaeology and acknowledging it as an art practice.
We have practically tinkered a media object and deconstructed and manipulated it, while becoming aware of it's rich history in both technological developments but also sociopolitical context and relevance. That being the case study of the Walkman and the mp3.
- How recorded music changed the way sound was experienced and to whom it was available.
- How the magnetic tape opened up the possibility to not only consume sound but also author sound creation.
- How the cassette tape format made it accessible for anyone to create and distribute as well as copy sound content.
- How the boombox portability took sounds to the streets and became a symbol of counterculture.
- How the walkman put the sounds from the streets into a highly portable and individualist form straight into our ears. In other words how the walkman made the streets silent again.
- How the mp3 format pioneered file size and thus became the prerequisite for file sharing in a massive scale and thus changed the whole music industry. How the mp3 format and its compression algorithm designed the way listen and decided what we hear and what we lose.
Prototype assignment
You will take the approach of the artist-archaeologist as a "t(h)inkerer" and use your "dead" media object to re-make, re-mix it in the context of one of the 3 directions
Thus the final prototype you build can be:
- A critical agent of protest
- A celebration (or warning) of what-could-be-to-come in the future
- Provide a new way of experiencing the familiar
You can decide to stick to the walkman or mp3 (or both) as an object (in order to not spend too much time deciding)Afterwards I will discuss with each group. You can also chose to deconstruct another "dead media object".
Today each group will choose their direction and brainstorm for 15 minutes their idea for a zombie media object. An object that you will prototype in the next two weeks and will present as a final outcome.
Then will present to the whole group and we will together discuss it.
Thursdays and Fridays I will be available to discuss with each group individually how they can go about their prototype.