Martynab



Martyna Banaszkiewicz Double majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology

Experience with computers/software: Basic

Experience with art: I can draw but besides that I dont have much experience with art

Something interesting: I was born and raised in Poland and this is my 6th year in college











MASKING

In-Class Excercise

Heaven and Hell

Hard work

City and Mountains

Pollution

Umbrellas

__ “After Effects or the Velvet Revolution” Article Response __ Since I was born in the late 80s in a country where the digital technology was somehow underdeveloped, throughout my life I had a chance to experience the revolution of digital media while growing up. I remember when I first saw a video game that was 2D and I was completely amazed and now the technology progresses so quickly that I feel that children today do not get to appreciate these improvements as much because it is just too common and expected. The developments of digital advances have especially been improving in the recent years and will continue to do so. Digital technology contributed in countless ways to various fields of study and work, as well as by making peoples’ individual lives easier each day. Some examples of these digital art inventions are things such as the GPS, various forms of media entertainment from video games to movies, and various digital technologies used by the military and other government organizations. Additionally, majority of people around us have cell phones, which are not only used to make phone calls and text messaging but we are also able to play video games, take long videos, watch movies, use the navigation system, and do all sorts of other things that 20 years ago people would not even dream of. The graphics and motion effects we currently have in video games are unbelievable and we are constantly coming up with something better. The graphics in video games are extremely detailed thus making the characters look and act almost as authentic as a real life person would, for instance, the speed of the movement of the character such as walking, running, breathing and even eye blinking is extremely precise. Furthermore, simple effects such as being able to zoom in and out in the video game is something so typical now while some years ago it was unheard of. Another great example is the GPS system that people use on daily basis. Not too long ago people had to use paper maps as a form of direction finding from one place to another. Today, we are able to use the GPS as navigation while we drive or walk that even steers us in the right direction when we get lost. We are also able to zoom in (so that we can see a little car on the map that represents our vehicle) and zoom out (far to the point that we can see the whole country). Moreover, internet websites such as Google Maps in recent years added another feature to the directions, which provides us with the ability to see our destination from a street view. This allows us not only to view the desired destination as if we were standing right next to it, but also to adjust the position, location, and direction from which we want to look at the scene. When it comes to current, job related digital art technologies, I personally don’t know much about, however I know that in my field (criminal justice) there are many ways in which digital inventions contributed to great accomplishments. One example is a program that is able to capture a face of a subject from a recording and then compare it to all the pictures of faces that it has saved in the system to find an accurate match. Another example would be a program that allows researchers to conduct experiments that they would not be able to conduct on actual people due to ethical concerns. This program is similar to a video game, but it actually allows the researchers to see, for example, how an average person (based on previously entered statistics and data) when exposed to a certain stimulus would react. There are many other programs that due to the current digital motion effects and graphics are used in various fields of work and study to allow us to do things that we were never able to do before and that open doors to next technological inventions that will most certainly blow our minds in the coming years.





__** What makes Augmented Space Special? **__ ‘Augmented space’, a term coined by Lev Manovich in his article, //The Poetics of Augmented Space//, describes the fusion of multimedia and physical space. Augmented space is special as it describes how humans interact with multimedia on a daily basis. It is especially important in the 21st century as multimedia and technology play an increasingly important role in the way humans process and interact with data. Manovich describes augmented space as, “the physical space overlaid with dynamically changing information. This information is likely to be in multimedia form and is often localized for each user” (Manovich, p. 220). Manovich focuses on the technological application of surveillance, cellspace, and computer displays in describing the role of augmented space in society. In addition to commercial and technological applications, augmented space also has ‘artistic’ applications, specifically in architecture. These artistic considerations affect the way users interact with augmented space. It also affects the way architects and artists incorporate technology into their designs. As Manovich states, “They [technological applications] make physical space into a data- space: extracting data from it (surveillance) or augmenting it with data (cell-space, computer displays)” (Manocich, p.222). The importance of this interaction makes augmented space special in a society centered on technology and data. The article gives the reader a broad look into not only the definition of augmented space, but also on its use both commercially and artistically. Citing specific examples such as the design of the Prada building in New York, and the Jewish Museum Berlin designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind, Manovich gives the ready a clear understanding of how architects and artists design with augmented space in mind. For instance, the Prada store uses electronic displays to convey to the visitor both the artistry of Prada clothing as well as a tool for pushing the Prada brand. By doing so, Reed Kram, the designer of the electronic display, is able to promote the Prada brand to its costumers through data and information, while simultaneously creating a beautiful electronic display. The term for this application given in the article is ‘brandscaping’. Manovich argues that augmented space plays a critical role in contemporary architecture as art and technology join forces both for commercial and cultural applications. Multimedia students can learn a lot from Manovich’s article //The Poetics of Augmented Space// as it gives the reader a fresh approach to dealing with humans and data. As multimedia plays a pivotal role in advertising, understanding augmented space and the way humans interact with technology, has important ramifications in the success of the product. Companies that understand the nuances of augmented space and its applications are more likely to experience success in the market since they will be better equipped to relay their ‘data’ to the consumers. It is for these reasons that make augmented space special. Although augmented space has played an important role in the way humans interact with physical space for centuries, it has an even more profound effect now with the dominance of technology and media.