NEW MEDIA READER PG 109-176

These further chapters of the new media reader continued to show how proto new media artists broke down static formal rules within their respective disciplines. I especially enjoyed Roy Ascott's peice on his work at the Ealing School of Art. Not only did the projects of the students sound totally fun, and a great way to force students to think creatively, but he vocalized something that I firmly believe in: that a contemporary artist must be firmly involved in many aspects of culture in order to be relevant. Our culture romanticizes the artist as a solitary introspective creature who is completely removed from society, but this is not viable in reality. I feel endless frustration towards my creative friends who self-consciously reject trash tv, or top forty hits, or celebrity gossip. I don't think this is just me trying to justify my guilty pleasures. These are essential parts of our cultural landscape that should be understood and commented on. Similarly, my anguish is directed towards people who say "I can't do anything with computers." and refuse to learn anything about them. It is such a huge oversight, and artists who ignore advancements in technology are missing the boat on an immense paradigm shift that should be manifest in the avant-garde.
Reading Raymond Queneau's "A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems" (did he do the math?) as a french and english speaker was interesting in thagt the translator of this work appeared to have been subscribing to Oulipo methods himself. The meanings of the lines in translation bore only tangential similarities to the original. Obviously the point was to convey method over meaning. It is interesting to see the way the translator had to strip the text down to the bare minimum of what needed to be communicated in order for the spirit of the original to come through. Also both author and translator were very impressive rhymers.