gearINmovement // gearsINmovoment // gearsINmotion

   I really wanted to explore the moving parts and changes of media in the last few decades. Because of that, I decided to create a soundtrack for this movie on Ableton, I used a variety of sounds from various libraries in my hard drive to create what is essentially a 1-minute noise track infused with media liquid.  

My Ableton Channel Rack for this track
    For that though, I had to really delve into the idea of movement, honing on forward movement as one of my primary themes. I wanted to support some of the ideas that McLuhan puts forth in the book. Here, his seemingly Marxist-attached ideas flourish by asserting that our use of media has been far too focused on the weathering idea of labor exploitation. 

    By introducing the soundtrack as a continuous movement of the background, I was able to create a contrast between humankind and our peculiar attachment to the past. Nostalgia is a blinding beauty. Our ability to remember, and in some cases now, "relive", moments is certainly beautiful, but in some ways, it's also terrifyingly dangerous. 

What if we get stuck? What if our new is only our severe attachment to the old?

    The videos and images in the video are meant to portray that attachment to the old. In my personal experience, I tend to hold onto moments. I hold them dear to my heart. They're my moments. When I went out shooting with my friend, I made it a task to capture moments. Some of these are simply moments that made my brain feel good, and others are experiments, and others are proper shots I was trying. Regardless, in these fleeting moments, because of the nature of rapid media, there remains a hint of history and futurism. 

    The internet makes it possible for many to navigate the past, but it also makes it possible to connect with the future. The grand effects of the internet have yet to be discovered. One of the most beautiful effects it has is it's ability to open up our range of discovery. We have the ability to find amazing art that no one has ever heard. Today, websites that help you widen your "taste" exist, and we can turn "nobodies" from the 80s into the next viral internet sensations. 

If my ideas get to outlive me through the vast network of the internet, and someone in 100 years finds it,  I've completed my job.  

 "...electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system." says McLuhan, and I completely agree. Since the explosion of rapid media, we have become "genetically" attached to the internet. Because of this, I also believe we must acknowledge the damage that technology has caused since the explosion. Systematic racism and white supremacy have silently destroyed thousands of communities with its tethered attachment to mass surveillance. Evil systems infiltrate the world to dominate and maintain their current status quo. How do we as new media artists battle that? We post. 

    Your "digital footprint" as an artist should be a long line that helps you transport yourself within your different realms. Keep archiving, but also, you have to make sure that you're mindful of your current sociopolitical contexts. 

Don't be an asshole, some stories are simply not for YOU to tell.