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• 1 media/DADA; Cut With the Surgeons Scalpel-min.jpg 2022-04-24T12:58:04-07:00 Cutting up the Dadaists 22 Exploring My Image Project visual_path 2022-05-02T23:59:54-07:00 My favorite of all the Dada works was “Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany” by Hannah Höch. Drawing inspiration from this, I knew I wanted to use an assortment of images to critique a part of our society, and so I first started by considering who embodies the modern bourgeois. I took the most “bougie” person many would think of, Kim Kardashian. I then cut her up, per Dada-style, to comment on such celebritie's fake nature and materialism and in turn critique the unsatisfaction we put on ourselves from such idolization.
  
  There is more of a political critique of the money and power at play in some corners, as well as the signifier “copy past” (upper right). This specifically is aimed to comment on the replicability of such a figure, similar to Andy Warhol's “Marilyn Diptych,” (often considered a Neo-Dadaist himself), as he comments on how Marilyn Monroe was a product made for society, and one that can be continually remade, seen in the case of Kim's family raising to fame. I used more “loud-mouthed” aspects, like a bloody font, which I found to go well with the critique on the effect that such a figure has when society sees her as an idol (people are willing to literally cut themselves). The greater aim of this collage was to replecate the Dadaist method of using the form of creation, cutting, in the nature of the argument. Overall, these aspects culminate to make a social and political statement that ideologically and structurally embodies the work of the Dadaists.
  
  Click on image to see more of its parts.
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Both image projects do well in proposing a critique to some part of society, but in moving forward with exploring the Languages of Digital Media, my Video Remix serves to incorporate Gunther Kress's argument (1999), that “in times of sweeping technological change, critique is not a prime academic activity; critique is still necessary, but scholars must do more than simply act as critics.” 

  While choosing a more playful tone, this Digital Argument has a clear call to action. Similar to both the work of the Dadaists and the Vertical Cinema Manifesto (which this video primarily draws inspiration from) is that while the tone is playful, the piece can still do serious work, both in drawing attention to a major issue and presenting an argument of what the viewer should change in their behavior. Like the Vertical Cinema Manifesto, the topic used (in this case, food photos) serves as a mechanism to talk about larger social problems (this time materialism and social media), and uses the tone to retain attention and effectively communicate the creator's argument.
  
  
   

  Kress, Gunther. 1999. "English at the Crossroads: Rethinking Curricula of
  Communication in the Context of a Turn to the Visual." In Passion, Pedagogies, and
  21st Century Technologies, edited by Cynthia Selfe and Gail Hawisher, 66–88. Logan:
  Utah Valley State Press.

• 1 2022-04-20T17:01:20-07:00 Concept 17 plain 2022-05-02T23:50:16-07:00
  The controlling idea for my video was to make a remix of the Vertical Cinema Manifesto, where I use the form of, in my case, the photo to critique the societal values we place on food, and establish a clear alternate narrative. This is a anti-consumerism and anti-social-media-façade, pro-authenticity, pro-relationships and nutrition argument. It uses the structure and aesthetic setup of the "original" that it draws inspiration from for a creative remix arguing for a change in our choices when posting on social media. It hopes to call attention to the viewer's values and habits and convince them to change their habits if they too have "cubic food photo syndrome."
  
  This remix took a variety of sources from the intro's 2001 Space Odyssey's opening scene, some of the most famous paintings of food, to footage from John Berger's Ways of Seeing. The remix of this variety of sources provides background and brief exploration of the history of food and its role in society, setting up for the satirical comments on modern technology and our use of food. The use of familiar tropes like a black and white montage to the violin of "Sad Romance," along with lively aspects like the narrator interjecting during his own speech contribute to the playful and fast video as it runs to its argument. The subsequent transition of the video to the light-hearted montage using the energy of Ça plane pour moi, showcases the positive possibilities with change, where it can glorify its argument for vertical food photos. The video understands its limits in producing die hard way way to change the culture, but it provides a useful opportunity for those viewing to reflect on their use of food and social media and argues for the person to hold themselves accountable to the superficiality and consumerism that plagues our culture. In this way, the video effectively remixes the Vertical Cinema Manifesto it's inspired from by using the form to argue a larger theme in light of some need for change, and uses the tone to reach a larger audience than what might be possible if it was done more formally.