Google is Not the Gallery

As an advertising major, and an art minor, I am always invested in topics that bridge the gap between these two worlds. Of course, I was very excited to be doing a presentation for class on new media art and creativity. In researching for this project, I found a multitude of interesting trends on the rise.  From  video game imagery to speed-art videos, there is truly a wealth of creativity flourishing on the digital platform.  While I uphold the majority of new media art as brilliantly vivid, interesting, and innovative, there is one facet of it that I particularly disheartening.  Call me old-fashioned, but I am somewhat disturbed by the idea of online art galleries.  I know it is a convenient way to sell art and expanding one's market reach significantly, but I hate to see fine arts so commercialized.  I have always been worried about the technique and detail of drawing and painting being replaced by digital art.  It is true that both are excellent sources of self-expression, but I just hope that time can preserve the texture of gesso peaking through oil paint and the delicate lines of graphite.  That is not to say that online art galleries would be completely replacing fine art, especially because it is the selling of fine art online, as is done with apparel and books.  However, it is a step towards eliminating artistic interaction in the real world.  Art is something one cannot fully grasp online; one misses the immensity, proportion, textures and mood alive in a gallery.  I experienced this first hand when I went to the Art Institute of Chicago. My favorite artist is Edgar Degas, and I love his chalk pastel pieces especially. As I walked into the impressionist wing, I was completely blown away.  I had seen his drawings on the internet, but never had I been in the presence of a real Degas.  There is something so moving about seeing real art in the flesh; I hope the experience never disappears from the modern world.  Society needs the Blue Period just as much as they need the digital age.

Fun and Educational, In the Same Sentence!

It is no secret that my favorite game is Sims.  I love to make people, dress them up, ruin their lives, drown them in the pool... Needless to say, it is a world where I can do whatever I want without experiencing real-world consequences.  That being said, Sims is not without its drawbacks.  My biggest problem with Sims is that I get addicted to it so easily; throwing my social and academic calendars out the window to pick the perfect wallpaper for my virtual victorian-style home.  Today, I unearthed some information that could placate my addictive tendencies.  There is a new version of SimCity that is to be utilized as a learning tool. That's right.  It is an educational Sims game, called SimCityEDU.  I could play Sims, and learn at the same time, which makes me feel far more productive. Basically, teachers can upload lesson plans, and encourage students to play along with them.  Players are asked to build virtual cities, around which lessons in business, economy, geography, and other subjects are centered.  Produced by EA in coordination with GlassLab, SimCityEDU is specifically geared toward students studying in the STEM format, meaning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  GlassLab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to merging electronic and education companies for the edifaction of modern learning.  What I love about this idea is that it directly relates to the students of the millennial generation.  We primarily  understand and learn through technology, yet so often we are taught through old media vehicles.  By placing education in the context of gaming, I would argue that a student would be far more receptive to educative materials.  Students would not only learn better because their attention is more engaged, but learn more through the interactivity associated with human-computer technologies.  I really hope these methods can continue to be developed, especially for the sake of younger generations.  Play on Sim lovers!

From Neanderthal to Business-Chic

Today in my Comm class, Professor Yoo showed us a very fascinating website.  We talked about search engines today and in the past.  He gave us this link: 

This Way to the Time Machine!

It is a website that allows one to find earlier formats of websites from their inception until today.  We looked up my school's website, which looks drastically different today than it did in 1996.  I am amazed not only at how far technology has advanced since the 90's, but also at the evolutions of design.  The 1996 Loyola website is humble in its appearance, with one picture, a logo, and 8 basic links on the cover page.  Today, there is a slideshow cover photo, links at the top and bottom of the page, and far more detail.  While the design of our website presents much more information than that of the past, it does not clutter or overwhelm the page.  There is far more emphasis invested in creating an interesting and inviting website.  As an advertising and public relations major, I fully understand the necessity of constructing an interactive and engaging home page; it is a prospective costumer's first introduction to a product, idea, or service.  The 1996 version of Loyola's page very clearly represents the primordial attempts of web design.  Since then, many steps have been taken to transform paragraphs on word document into an engaging work of design.  I think it is important to note how essential modern design is in marketing to the millennial generation.  We respond best to updated formats because that is all we have ever known.  I would even argue that we expect advertising and digital signage to be formatted correctly and with thought because this treatment has been applied to all visual communications of the current age.  I hope that a dedication to design and artistry, customizable to individual and group interest can continue into the future as well.