Blog Prompt: The Carp and the Seagull
PLEASE ANSWER BY POSTING COMMENTS.
Discuss your reaction to "The Carp and the Seagull" by Evan Boehm. This site uses WebGL and will need to be viewed in Chrome:
http://www.greengoldenly.com/carpandseagull/video.html
Why do you think the artist has created work that relies on the viewer in order to move the narrative forward? In what way is this same inclination reflected in his video installation, "Looking At a Horse"?
https://vimeo.com/75345839
I found "The Carp and the Seagull" a little confusing, and super creepy. Maybe that's just because I'm terrified of both fish and birds... Anyway, I followed the instructions, but didn't seem to move the story forward. I still had to click on the next chapter number to get to the next page. I couldn't wake him up and it made me really sad for him! I really like that the story was different depending on which angle you were looking at the scene. Chapter 2 really made the jump with the happy yellow fish and the seagull hanging out by the boat, versus the other angle with the dementor looking thing looking like it was sucking out the soul of the man and the fish had turned into teal fish skeletons. Each chapter had a happy/light/yellow-based side as well as a scary/dark/teal-based one. I found Chapter 3 to be especially interesting because they used two of the most common dream types, the free-fall nightmare versus flying with grace and ease. This also effected me as the viewer/participant because I was clicking furiously trying to help him when he was in peril, but was more inclined to watch him while he was free and happy. While I'm still not sure I actually did it right since the story never moved forward on its own, I did enjoy the piece.
ReplyDeleteThe video for the installation "Looking at a Horse" actually spelled out the meaning of the piece, I guess because you can't actually read that meaning without being there in person. I think the point was similar to "The Carp and the Seagull" in that everyone views art completely differently, creating a really beautiful and fascinating way of looking into the human psyche.
The horse was very simple, and not very pretty or intriguing, until there were a lot of people in the room to see it, then it would become a mesmerizing creature that you couldn't look away from. In other words, the more time you spent with the piece, the more beautiful and meaningful it became. I found the same to be true with the fisherman story. As the story progressed, I cared what was going to happen to him, and by Chapter 3 I was content just watching him fly with the bird for a while. I think they were both trying to convey the importance of interacting and spending time with a piece, otherwise it will not mean anything to you and you won't gain anything from it.
"The Carp and the Seagull" was a confusing piece to comprehend. I enjoyed the layout, the four different chapters/pages organized the work well/ However, I did not understand what the "story" was. I enjoyed the fact that each viewpoint, or each side of the piece was different and portrayed a different "vibe." For example, the yellow fish and the bird made the vibe kind of happy and made it seem like normal day fishing. On the other hand, it looked like the bird had turned into some creature and the man was bowing down to it. I did not understand what exactly was going on but I did enjoy it because it is not like anything I have seen before.
ReplyDeleteThe "Looking at the Horse" I enjoyed a lot more only because it changed continuously as you watched it. I feel as though both pieces are up for interpretation when it comes to the meaning the artist is trying to portray. I really enjoyed the creativity of both pieces and it has opened me up to new forms of art I have never seen before.
This art piece was quite confusing and really deep to try and figure it out. I thought the idea of the grid look was cool and the interaction was nice. I also thought the colors of the things that came from interacting and cool. As far as the plot line I had no idea what was going on or what the point was that was being made. I really didn't like the voice overlay and the dark voice. The ending with the man shooting a bird with an arrow and the both of them exploding into cubic geometric things was cool. I think it is interesting because it if free to your own interpretation. Overall, it wasn't my favorite but it was kind of interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this interactive narrative. To me, the story was a warning about greed. It showed two different "worlds." In one world, we have this man who thinks that one little bird hunting is going to interfere with him fishing (we can also see that there seems to be many healthy fish). The other world is one that is desolate and tortured. As the man's frustration and greed take over, we see the other darker world affected by his actions. The man is then shown, in a dream, that both him and the seagull can coexist and even prosper from their relationship.
ReplyDeleteI think that by involving the viewer in the storytelling it feels as if the viewer is directly manipulating the world. The viewer is forced to make the man swat at the bird, so in a way it also made me feel some guilt. As the viewer, I felt morally tied to the story. Also, the severely abstracted form of the man lets viewers identify more since it's a vague representation and not a specific human form. I think both the Seagull and Horse stories share a common theme. By viewers interacting with the pieces, they become a part of it and also project themselves onto the pieces.
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ReplyDeleteI liked both of these pieces quite a lot. The first piece is very interesting to me because of the sleek, modern look and feel of it. It has almost a mechanical, 3D look to it that captures the viewers eye. There are so many different ways to move around and view the art pieces that it really keeps me entertained. The point of this interaction between the viewer and art is to connect the art to the viewers more. By allowing the viewer to navigate through the site, they feel very connected to it and can pull their own meaning from it. The video describes this concept as well, explaining that through this technique, people can choose what they take away from the art.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't entirely sure of the message the artist was trying to send in the first site. I liked it but didn't at the same time, and I thought the images were dark but powerful. I couldn't understand the audio fully and I think that would have made a big impact. I think the artist chose to have the site progress based on the viewer causes the viewer to become more engaged and also be involved with the art. There is a very powerful message and I think the viewer gets a better understanding of that when they are involved and can experience something. The horse was easier to understand but yet it addressed the concept of art in a very powerful and complex way. Each site has the viewer as a crucial part of their art and it is interesting to see the different ways they approached it. It was fascinating to see the images change and how the horse evolved so both sites were really interesting and well done.
ReplyDeleteAs a piece, I thought the carp and the seagull was very dynamic in the way it was embodied. The many elements of the work could simply all be put into one image, but the author likely chose that the work should rely on the viewer for the perspective of a piece. In this way the piece is similar to is horse installation in that it relies on the perspective of the viewer for its dimensional artistic value. Both of these pieces seem very clearly influenced by the internet as it even states in the horse piece that the more people view it, the more beautiful the piece is. This notion that art's notion of worth comes from the viewer strays far from classic artists, for instance Michelangelo who said he saw the statue in the marble and carved to set it free. This same notion of the piece being derived from the viewer's perspective is clear in the carp and the seagull as it can be turned and interacted with differently at different points. The fact that the user clicks to progress the piece just shows that even video games can influence modern art. This trend seems to be quite promising in combination with new technologies like virtual reality as art can be experienced in an entirely different way.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I liked the artist's geometric style. It gave a blueprint type of feeling, which goes well with the piece since it is flexible and the plan changes based on the viewer's actions. I found it really cool when the image transformed into sort of a dark realm when I moved the atmosphere around. I think the artist created this in order to ensure that his viewers really focused on his work. It is always fun for the viewer to be involved, and it's interesting to see how different people react to the same thing. In 'Looking At A Horse', the artist further explained the reasoning behind his choices in The Carp and the Seagull. It's about how the art is viewed, how much time is spent looking at it, interacting with it. In both of these works, the more that you experiment with and experience the art, the more that you get out of it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interaction aspect and the style that was used to create the artwork, but it was really confusing to understand. If it wasn't for the prompts, I wouldn't know what to do/ where to go to next. I think the narrator allowing the user to "control" the story gives an element of uniqueness to the viewer, since they are the ones clicking through and controlling the motions.
ReplyDeleteI was not able to view "The Carp and the Seagull" on my computer. I tried different browsers and computers, but it was frozen on Chapter 1. However, I enjoyed the piece "Looking at a Horse." I think that the artist's concept was an important thing to look at. Every artist should take into consideration the experiences and the background of their audience. I think the artist was encouraging the viewer to interact with the piece to stimulate new experiences. The design and progression of the horse was beautiful to watch. However, the text was distracting and kept repeating itself. I wish the text would have either been more helpful or not present in the piece.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't understand this piece at all, partly because I couldn't understand the narrator's voice. It would have been helpful to have subtitles or the words written out somewhere. I also didn't think clicking on anything moved the narrative forward, but maybe I was just missing out on something. I also don't think it was super obvious what to click on or what was happening. I do however like the graphics; I think the visual quality was an interesting way to represent it. Just wish I could have known was was going on.
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