Exploring the way technology in the UK is changing social interaction.
The aim of this project is to create a body of work based upon newspaper articles, online documentaries and blogs that discuss some of the issues surrounding the development of modern technology. How is technology changing our lives and who benefits?
The aim of this project is to create a body of work based upon newspaper articles, online documentaries and blogs that discuss some of the issues surrounding the development of modern technology. How is technology changing our lives and who benefits?
"Disconnected"
This images is based upon an abstract depiction of the relationship between parents their children. Here, this relationship has been 'disconnected' by technology. The child is playing with a cord which has a duality between being an umbilical cord and also a computer connective wire. The cord is symbolic of the intimacy and connection between a parent and child, as it alludes to being as strong as the physical attachment of an umbilical cord. Importantly the baby is innocently and mindlessly playing with the wire which it has inadvertently 'unplugged' from its middle. This represents the idea that the child's early preoccupation with technology could start to impede upon its relationship with its parents who may not have grown up with technology, as demonstrated by the visual change in the cord from digital to hand-drawn. The baby also has static in its eyes to enhance the disconnected and awkward feel of the image. A polaroid-esque border enhances the divide between the technology such 'old fashioned' parents use in comparison to the digital child in order to show their emotional distance.
This images is based upon an abstract depiction of the relationship between parents their children. Here, this relationship has been 'disconnected' by technology. The child is playing with a cord which has a duality between being an umbilical cord and also a computer connective wire. The cord is symbolic of the intimacy and connection between a parent and child, as it alludes to being as strong as the physical attachment of an umbilical cord. Importantly the baby is innocently and mindlessly playing with the wire which it has inadvertently 'unplugged' from its middle. This represents the idea that the child's early preoccupation with technology could start to impede upon its relationship with its parents who may not have grown up with technology, as demonstrated by the visual change in the cord from digital to hand-drawn. The baby also has static in its eyes to enhance the disconnected and awkward feel of the image. A polaroid-esque border enhances the divide between the technology such 'old fashioned' parents use in comparison to the digital child in order to show their emotional distance.
"Digital Immigrant"
I cam across this term whilst looking into the potential division between generations caused by technology. The term essentially means that those who did not grow up with technology and have to learn about it from an outsiders perspective are digital immigrants. The younger generations who have grown up with emerging media have a more natural ability to adapt and use new technology and are therefore called digital natives. Its almost like living in a new country and having to learn the language and culture from an outsiders perspective.
In this image I looked at where this issue might have a large impact - the classroom. Teachers are becoming less influential as the children they teach often know more about technologies than they do. This leads to a lack of concentration and connections between the teacher and class. The teacher does use technology to the same extent and finds it hard to teach uninterested children, who can find out an answer on the internet in a minute anyway, and therefore can become isolated by it. The lack of technological prowess denies some teachers the full attention they need and the children in turn may not be warned about issues with having everything at your fingertips- such as not trusting everything you read.
I cam across this term whilst looking into the potential division between generations caused by technology. The term essentially means that those who did not grow up with technology and have to learn about it from an outsiders perspective are digital immigrants. The younger generations who have grown up with emerging media have a more natural ability to adapt and use new technology and are therefore called digital natives. Its almost like living in a new country and having to learn the language and culture from an outsiders perspective.
In this image I looked at where this issue might have a large impact - the classroom. Teachers are becoming less influential as the children they teach often know more about technologies than they do. This leads to a lack of concentration and connections between the teacher and class. The teacher does use technology to the same extent and finds it hard to teach uninterested children, who can find out an answer on the internet in a minute anyway, and therefore can become isolated by it. The lack of technological prowess denies some teachers the full attention they need and the children in turn may not be warned about issues with having everything at your fingertips- such as not trusting everything you read.
"The Cloud"
This image looks into the way of computing that involves the Cloud. The cloud computing system allows for faster internet connections, greater flexibility and the ability to connect almost anywhere. However it also allows companies that host the Cloud to pin point the location of its users.
In this image a man is on holiday in north east England with his children, but he is caught up in the cloud and his work in London which takes a greater precedence in his life. As soon as he is on the internet, no matter his location, he is at his office. The cloud is in the shape of the UK with a hand pin pointing his location - showing a potential conflict in power and privacy. Perhaps it is easier for him to connect to his work than his children.
This image looks into the way of computing that involves the Cloud. The cloud computing system allows for faster internet connections, greater flexibility and the ability to connect almost anywhere. However it also allows companies that host the Cloud to pin point the location of its users.
In this image a man is on holiday in north east England with his children, but he is caught up in the cloud and his work in London which takes a greater precedence in his life. As soon as he is on the internet, no matter his location, he is at his office. The cloud is in the shape of the UK with a hand pin pointing his location - showing a potential conflict in power and privacy. Perhaps it is easier for him to connect to his work than his children.
"Twitter is following you"
This is a more playful image which still has a undercurrent of menace. The image is in a longer format to give a sense of space and perhaps in the final format the viewers would need to scroll up or down to see the whole thing - which may be more of a challenge for 'digital immigrants' thus adding to the point of my work. Ideally I would have liked to show all of these pieces on a touchscreen but I can't afford to make one (found some excellent tutorials to make some infra red multi touch screens, so I was rather disappointed to not be able to give it a go) and while an Ipad would be great, tis also rather dear. Light boxes maybe? Scrolling paper...?
Anyway, the colours and composition allude a sense of isolation. The older person is leaning away from the Twitter bird which is looking/following him, depicting the nervousness around technology that some older people experience. The birds at the top hint further to the notion that Twitter has 'gone over his head' as he no longer understands it and therefore feels intimidated. The chirruping is in the form of wireless symbols to reinforce the connection between twitter technology and the birds. They are creepy and yet have an air of likability and animation showing two contrasting opinions on the business.
This is a more playful image which still has a undercurrent of menace. The image is in a longer format to give a sense of space and perhaps in the final format the viewers would need to scroll up or down to see the whole thing - which may be more of a challenge for 'digital immigrants' thus adding to the point of my work. Ideally I would have liked to show all of these pieces on a touchscreen but I can't afford to make one (found some excellent tutorials to make some infra red multi touch screens, so I was rather disappointed to not be able to give it a go) and while an Ipad would be great, tis also rather dear. Light boxes maybe? Scrolling paper...?
Anyway, the colours and composition allude a sense of isolation. The older person is leaning away from the Twitter bird which is looking/following him, depicting the nervousness around technology that some older people experience. The birds at the top hint further to the notion that Twitter has 'gone over his head' as he no longer understands it and therefore feels intimidated. The chirruping is in the form of wireless symbols to reinforce the connection between twitter technology and the birds. They are creepy and yet have an air of likability and animation showing two contrasting opinions on the business.
"Loneliness is a TV screen"
One of the statistics I came across in a news article about the fact that millions of older people in the UK consider the TV their main company. Which is a very sad thought in my opinion.
In this image the days in the month are filled with tv screens to show the repetition and boredom present in this lifestyle. The old person is watching the TV screens and crossing off the days they represent until their family comes to visit. Many do not get to see their families more than once a month giving a sense of isolation. The blue tones shows a lack of human warmth and loneliness. Older people tend to feel trapped in their homes which is hinted at by the lines surrounding the character, the condensed, rigid composition and overall box-like shape of the image. The TV's are old, clunky and outdated which illustrates their inadequacy as a communication tool and highlights the age gap when it comes to technology. They also only show in b&w in order to contrast the long awaited, brief but vibrant visits by loved ones.
One of the statistics I came across in a news article about the fact that millions of older people in the UK consider the TV their main company. Which is a very sad thought in my opinion.
In this image the days in the month are filled with tv screens to show the repetition and boredom present in this lifestyle. The old person is watching the TV screens and crossing off the days they represent until their family comes to visit. Many do not get to see their families more than once a month giving a sense of isolation. The blue tones shows a lack of human warmth and loneliness. Older people tend to feel trapped in their homes which is hinted at by the lines surrounding the character, the condensed, rigid composition and overall box-like shape of the image. The TV's are old, clunky and outdated which illustrates their inadequacy as a communication tool and highlights the age gap when it comes to technology. They also only show in b&w in order to contrast the long awaited, brief but vibrant visits by loved ones.
"Media Addiction"
I found an article called 'continuous media "snacking" - bite sized entertainment for an attention-deficit age' on Albertmohler.com and I loved the metaphors they used. It really caught my visual eye and I had enormous fun coming up with this idea. The article itself had a negative tone concerning children losing the ability to concentrate for more than 2 minutes and other gloomy predictions which I, personally, think is fairly unlikely. The point intrigued me however and I understood the opinion, so I decided to make something more humorous but also with a note of guilt or mindlessness about it.
This young lad is addicted to internet cookies! The mouth Iphone app is on a rather crazy setting showing the ravenous aspect of consumerism as he gorges on various bite size media snacks. Guilty pleasure/caught red handed notion comes into this as he is feasting from a cookie jar - something usually reserved for treats, (and symbolic of disobeying rules and stealing to a lesser extent) plus if you eat the whole jar, well, that is just excessive!
But very tasty.
I found an article called 'continuous media "snacking" - bite sized entertainment for an attention-deficit age' on Albertmohler.com and I loved the metaphors they used. It really caught my visual eye and I had enormous fun coming up with this idea. The article itself had a negative tone concerning children losing the ability to concentrate for more than 2 minutes and other gloomy predictions which I, personally, think is fairly unlikely. The point intrigued me however and I understood the opinion, so I decided to make something more humorous but also with a note of guilt or mindlessness about it.
This young lad is addicted to internet cookies! The mouth Iphone app is on a rather crazy setting showing the ravenous aspect of consumerism as he gorges on various bite size media snacks. Guilty pleasure/caught red handed notion comes into this as he is feasting from a cookie jar - something usually reserved for treats, (and symbolic of disobeying rules and stealing to a lesser extent) plus if you eat the whole jar, well, that is just excessive!
But very tasty.
"Harvard from Home"
Another article from BBC News discussed the potential of future generations going to Harvard from their bedroom due to the introduction of online courses and lectures being posted on the internet. The article was rather excited by the prospect of different nations and people from poorer backgrounds having access to such a great degree whilst giving them the best lectures specific to them every single time. Learning can become a wider social imperative this way. Education as a brand such as the banner and rep of Harvard will be challenged and opened up by such global access and the choices made by students could spell the end of 'the tyranny of the education brand'.
Will there be a time when Harvard is empty and where students are separate in their bedrooms listening to the best in their field instead of the third best in a dwindling classroom?
Another article from BBC News discussed the potential of future generations going to Harvard from their bedroom due to the introduction of online courses and lectures being posted on the internet. The article was rather excited by the prospect of different nations and people from poorer backgrounds having access to such a great degree whilst giving them the best lectures specific to them every single time. Learning can become a wider social imperative this way. Education as a brand such as the banner and rep of Harvard will be challenged and opened up by such global access and the choices made by students could spell the end of 'the tyranny of the education brand'.
Will there be a time when Harvard is empty and where students are separate in their bedrooms listening to the best in their field instead of the third best in a dwindling classroom?
"Sell Yourself"
This piece I created after a stumbled upon Peopleperhour.com. Renting a person for how ever long you needed, no more and no less. Fascinating and hideously economic. However it is also rather competitive and you really have to sell yourself to get noticed. This got me thinking about being a perfect 10 so I decided to combine the two ideas of peopleperhour.com and selling yourself to paint a rather cynical and perhaps controversial picture of the demands of trying to get a job nowadays where someone on the internet could be faster and cheaper than you.
This piece I created after a stumbled upon Peopleperhour.com. Renting a person for how ever long you needed, no more and no less. Fascinating and hideously economic. However it is also rather competitive and you really have to sell yourself to get noticed. This got me thinking about being a perfect 10 so I decided to combine the two ideas of peopleperhour.com and selling yourself to paint a rather cynical and perhaps controversial picture of the demands of trying to get a job nowadays where someone on the internet could be faster and cheaper than you.
"The Search Giant"
This piece came out of the knowledge that information can be tracked and people can be found through the internet. I wanted to make it have a creepy and paranoid feel to it whilst communicating the idea and connecting the man to being followed on the internet. The spider analogy comes from the ideas that almost everyone has one in their homes (google/internet), you can become stuck in the world wide web, the predatory nature of some giant corporations, can be perceived as an ominous presence, the fact that they are useful but potentially dangerous as a spider in the center of a web knows exactly where the 'flies' are - alluding to a notion of being tracked and finally spiders don't blink and have many eyes in which the word google is reflected.
This piece came out of the knowledge that information can be tracked and people can be found through the internet. I wanted to make it have a creepy and paranoid feel to it whilst communicating the idea and connecting the man to being followed on the internet. The spider analogy comes from the ideas that almost everyone has one in their homes (google/internet), you can become stuck in the world wide web, the predatory nature of some giant corporations, can be perceived as an ominous presence, the fact that they are useful but potentially dangerous as a spider in the center of a web knows exactly where the 'flies' are - alluding to a notion of being tracked and finally spiders don't blink and have many eyes in which the word google is reflected.
"Forget me not"
This is a piece about forgetting about print media in an age of new gadgetry. Libraries could now be leasing out digital versions of books which have either a set number of days connected to them before they become unreadable or locked. The libraries will have to also renew their books when they expire which is how the publishers could make their money.
The plant made out of newspaper on the left is a forget-me-not which is either on the verge of drowning in the downpour of digital rain or being revived by it. The man on the right is reading from an Ipad instead of a newspaper as traditionally seen at bus stops. The colour connects the two media, one an evolution of the other. The plant gives life, pleasure, variety and is something that needs to be nurtured by us in order to let it remain. We just need to take the time to do so while we wait for the next change.
This is a piece about forgetting about print media in an age of new gadgetry. Libraries could now be leasing out digital versions of books which have either a set number of days connected to them before they become unreadable or locked. The libraries will have to also renew their books when they expire which is how the publishers could make their money.
The plant made out of newspaper on the left is a forget-me-not which is either on the verge of drowning in the downpour of digital rain or being revived by it. The man on the right is reading from an Ipad instead of a newspaper as traditionally seen at bus stops. The colour connects the two media, one an evolution of the other. The plant gives life, pleasure, variety and is something that needs to be nurtured by us in order to let it remain. We just need to take the time to do so while we wait for the next change.
"Writing"
A more personalised piece showing the development of writing as a tangible media into something digital and I have left it more open to interpretation.
A more personalised piece showing the development of writing as a tangible media into something digital and I have left it more open to interpretation.
"Ads with Eyes"
I have been reading about computers that can scan your face when you walk into a building or shopping centre and analyze it to determine your age, your mood and then (although this is in development) deduce what kind of advert would be best suited to your tastes and thus be more effective as a campaign.
The man is rather harried, stressed and disjointed so the camera decides a holiday or at least a coffee round the corner would be best. Attempting play more with the format and composition so its not always an 'A4' image and is more non literal, so that it doesn't become boring in the longterm...
I have been reading about computers that can scan your face when you walk into a building or shopping centre and analyze it to determine your age, your mood and then (although this is in development) deduce what kind of advert would be best suited to your tastes and thus be more effective as a campaign.
The man is rather harried, stressed and disjointed so the camera decides a holiday or at least a coffee round the corner would be best. Attempting play more with the format and composition so its not always an 'A4' image and is more non literal, so that it doesn't become boring in the longterm...
"EyePhone"
I heard on the radio a week ago that there is a file on Iphones+Ipad's that track your location and updates when synced to a computer. I did some research and the basic fear is if someone steals your mobile they could find out exactly where you have been using a simple computer program. This could lead to stalking, blackmail and jealous spouses following you, for example. The actual technology is a bit intimidating which is shown through the composition and the pins literally marking out the places where the man has walked.
I heard on the radio a week ago that there is a file on Iphones+Ipad's that track your location and updates when synced to a computer. I did some research and the basic fear is if someone steals your mobile they could find out exactly where you have been using a simple computer program. This could lead to stalking, blackmail and jealous spouses following you, for example. The actual technology is a bit intimidating which is shown through the composition and the pins literally marking out the places where the man has walked.
