The Home Stretch!

We are now finishing the last of the class presentations. The class has had the opportunity to learn about several interesting and talented artist ranging from Bill Viola, to Pamela Z and Char Davies. We have put an extensive amount of effort in getting to know the artist and prepare for our final examination as one artist will be selected to be written about. Many of the presentations were presented very well and most of the presenters had a clear understanding of their selected artist.

I thought I would include my thoughts on the class after this semester. It was a very interesting class and like no other class I have had in the past. It was very unique and exciting at times. We had the opportunity to get outside of the classroom to explore museums and actual displays/exhibits from what we were discussing in class. We had several in-depth conversations between classmates on how we perceived robots and the future of today's society. I also experienced my first "Live" online class where all the classmates logged in and we had a variety of discussions about virtual reality and 'Second Life' an free online application very similar to the 'Sims'. Overall, the class was a great success and I had enjoyed it very much.

Stelarc: A Futurist

Last week my partner and I were first to give presentations on our selected artist. We had chosen Stelarc and we found him to be very interesting to present to the class. We also chose to go first and thought we had a presentation that was worth more than what we were given for a grade. But we tried our best and we learned a lot from what we had researched. Stelarc is a futurist who believes that the human body will be or already is incapable of keeping up with today's society and technology. Stelarc (Stelios Arcadiou) has been known for many different exhibits and experiments. He has chosen to do several projects, one in particular that stands out is implementing a cell cultivated ear into his arm as he later plans to insert a microphone and use bluetooth technology to sync what the ear hears and can be played back to the internet in something like a live stream. He has also created certain other objects, like the third arm, and a prosthetic head which is considered one of my other favorites. The prosthetic head is an animation of the actual character speaking in real life, the animation will show the facial expressions and voice as if it were talking in reality. Stelarc has been known to present in many different parts of the world and has done many other projects that you ought to have a look at from his website.

Living in a Virtual World

It's been two weeks since my last post and I apologize for that, lately we've been discussing "Second Life" and the world of virtual reality. For those of you unfamiliar with "Second Life" it is very similar to the video game "The Sims" except everyone you see is real, there is a human being behind each animated character so it is very interesting to see how they respond and react to your own actions. We also had a virtual class meeting online using WebEx software which was also different and interesting as well, it was clearly noticeable that more students were comfortable speaking out online than in class. It is much easier to type something out than to say in class, however it was difficult to understand the conversation due to so many different opinions at the same time. But it was good to see what others had to say which we haven't heard from often in the classroom. However, with virtual reality it is tough to believe everything that is being said and happening, who knows what person is really sitting at that computer screen? Everything is either factual, or false information, it is a very difficult world to trust and we must wait at least a couple more years to gain more trust in our technology and the users as well.

Never Say Die...

I was trying to think about what to post this week, I wanted to relate to class topics, but again we were told we could post anything we'd like so I thought i'd take advantage of mentioning what a Game 4 the other night between the Celtics and the Lakers, the Celtics behind 24 points, an NBA record in the Finals pushed to come back and prove the Lakers wrong, it was incredible. No team in NBA history has managed to come back from behind that far. The Celtics really pushing to claim the NBA finals in Los Angeles which would be great for the Boston fans, and just have to say what a year it has been, the Patriots nearing an perfect season in football but losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl, previous to this year the Red Sox win their 2nd World Series title in 3 years, and the Bruins managing to hang on to the Canadiens until Game 7. Let's even recognize the New England Revolution (soccer) for making it to the championship as well. It has always been said that Boston sports are intense, fans, locals take the games very seriously, also we pay some of the highest ticket prices out of all other areas in the country because of our love for the Boston teams. Let's take Game 5 in Los Angeles this Sunday and prove the country where the best sports teams are made and represented!

Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Yesterday was a very educational and entertaining trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, located conveniently right across from Wentworth. We first started out going through Egyptian and Roman art and history and proceeded to view some painting from the Renaissance period. We were clearly able to understand the fact that Renaissance painters used much more detail and more realistic colors and perspective. I really enjoyed the room with the huge portrait and paintings (refer to the picture). These paintings are worth such great value, just thinking how it was so expensive then to produce and now as they still exist today.

Across the Atlantic and back!

I will now admit that I am a little behind and believe me this is not how I want to begin my senior semester, I just returned from a wedding I was in that took place in Dundrum, Ireland such a beautiful location. It was really amazing to experience different culture, society, and nature being over seas. The trip was unforgettable as we are able to visit many of the historic castles that still exist today for example the Rock of Cashel, and Bunratty Castle and several others, also natural landmarks such as the Cliffs of Moher, Aiewell Caves, the Burren National Park, and cities like Limerick, Tipperary, Cashel, and Kilkenny. It was just so breathtaking to really get a good sense of other locations in the world and very difficult to leave. To be there with my family just made it even more special than it already was. I wish to visit again someday, and have the chance to visit other locations in Ireland like Dublin, Cork, and Waterford. Did I forget to mention that we were able to witness the Heineken Cup between Munster and Toulouse, France?


Just think about what our 'Super Bowl' is like, we get so hyped up, get our jerseys, shirts, signs, and our chants, the papers filled with articles days before and after the game, you get the idea. Well this is the Super Bowl of Ireland, 80,000 fans taking their stand in Wales as the 2008 Heineken Cup rugby match took place. Munster is the southernmost of the four provinces that exist in Ireland and where we resided (the town of Dundrum) was part of this province. So we had the opportunity to get our own Munster jerseys on and root for the home team and let me just say it was probably the best game I've seen in quite some time. It was amazing! We all gathered at the pub located where the reception was held and cheered, screamed throughout the entire match. It was just one of the greatest moments in my life to be over in Ireland and to meet such fascinating locals, and I'll never forget it. I'll be dreaming of my next visit for quite some time now.

Day 2: Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? I am.

We viewed the film, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?" and let me say that it was pretty intense. Just can't imagine living a life like these two did. Just constant arguing and different opinions, it was driving me nuts. I was just waiting for someone to just shut up, seriously, just think before you say something and if you know it is going to cause a ruckus then don't bother saying it! Human relationships can be very tricky and could take a lot of effort, and like we discussed in class some people just enjoy the continuous arguments. Besides relationships, we discussed weather patterns which I found very interesting, and possibly preventing natural disasters in the future, and it just made me realize how much is going to be natural years from now? It just seems that technology is conquering all natural ways of life. Natural methods will be extinct at some point in the future and we will heavily rely on technology more than we do today. However, if we ever have the chance to prevent a natural disaster like the earthquake recently in China with the death toll still rising above 12,000, I would have no objections. I would only want our technology advancements to go so far versus our nature.

Day 1: Introduction to Class

So when I had first registered for the class I had originally expected to be signed up for Sociology, as it read in the registration sections "Special Topics - Sociology". Comes the first day of class I learn that I am now enrolled in Art and Technology, yes this was a surprise and I have not gained or had much experience with this subject in the past. I was nervous at first because I did not expect to be learning this kind of material, so I had asked others about the class and all I heard was nothing but positive feedback. "You will love that class..." "It is so fun, you will enjoy it, don't drop it, you should definitely stay..." Yadda, yadda. So hearing some good things I am looking forward to more classes and interested in some of the material we will be touching upon. This should be an interesting semester!