Blog Post #6

So, what do you think? What is YOUR opinion? Respond to the article you read for Monday night: Nick Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google


You're on your own for this one...

Blog Post #5

Before you even read this article, respond to this question:

What is your definition of literacy? And not the dictionary's definition--YOUR definition.

Check out this article from The New York Times:

"Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html

What are your thoughts? What do you think? After reading the article, has your definition of literacy changed? Why or why not?

Blog Post #4

TED Sixth Sense Technologies

WOAH! This is unbelievable…

Make sure you watch the entire video (it’s approximately 9 minutes long)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUdDhWfpqxg

- What was your reaction to this—initially and after thinking about it for a moment?
- Has technology gone too far?
- What does this mean for our culture? Our society?
- What does this mean for YOU? Your children?
- How does this influence your view on technologies?
- Other thoughts?

Blog Post #3

Who are the Guerrilla Girls?

“We're a bunch of anonymous females who take the names of dead women artists as pseudonyms and appear in public wearing gorilla masks. We have produced posters, stickers, books, printed projects, and actions that expose sexism and racism in politics, the art world, film and the culture at large. We use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny. We wear gorilla masks to focus on the issues rather than our personalities. Dubbing ourselves the conscience of culture, we declare ourselves feminist counterparts to the mostly male tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Batman, and the Lone Ranger. The mystery surrounding our identities has attracted attention. We could be anyone; we are everywhere.”

Browse their official website: http://www.guerillagirls.com/

The New York Times’ Phoebe Hoban offers her perspective in a 2004 article: “ART; Masks Still in Place, but Firmly in the Mainstream”
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/04/theater/art-masks-still-in-place-but-firmly-in-the-mainstream.html?scp=1&sq=guerrilla%20girls&st=cse


Here is a video of the Guerrilla Girls at the Feminist Future Symposium, MoMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHVBZh5HBgc

Points to ponder:

What is your reaction to the Guerrilla Girls’ philosophy for making activist art?
Are they just a bunch of whiney feminists or is their activism producing a change?
What role does humor play in their work? How does it spin their message?
Do you think their work has made a difference? Why or why not?
Is their criticism of museums accurate?
What do you think? Other thoughts? Opinions?

Blog Post #2

In Jim Borgman's 1998 cartoon I Want to Be, he illustrates a young girl playing with her dolls. Her mom walks into the room and the young girl states, "I want to be thin like Ally McBeal, stacked liked Barbie and eternally young like a supermodel...now if you'll excuse me, I have to go vomit my happy meal."

Following is an intersting article from BBC News Magazine inquiring: What would a real life Barbie look like? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7920962.stm

Do you think it's fair to argue that objects like dolls strongly influence our notions of identity? Why or why not? (And don't limit your conversation to females - you've seen what Ken looks like, right?)

Our Body

As many of you may be aware, the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science is presently hosting the exhibit "Our Body: The Universe Within." http://www.ourbodytheuniversewithin.com/

Here is a link to a video on the Mary Brogan website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPVqM5MRaCo

Now, here are two more clips showing the exhibit:
This is from the Pittsburgh Tribune: "Famous forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht narrates a tour of the amazing "Bodies" exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center Sportsworks in Pittsburgh." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kJmypE1DGQ&NR=1

Here is a news blip from Orlando: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VUpjePNV6U

Let's have a conversation about this explicit and often hotly contested exhibit.

What are your thoughts? Would you want to visit this exhibit? Why? Have you already? What are your reactions to this? Is this art or is this science? Or is it both? What do you think? What other issues come up?