Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
g07m0813
Somewhere between the late 1990’s and yesterday, the word ‘blog’ got inducted into the global language of the internet, understood by a majority of planet earths inhabitants. A fad, a necessary evil, a means to fame, a ranter’s delight, all of the aforementioned can be categorized alongside a description of what a blog is or rather hopes to be, because after all; “it’s easy, and it only takes a minute” (www.blogger.com) to create. And in an increasingly cyber based existence where speed need not come in the form of a narcotic to ensure addiction, the faster and easier it is to set yourself up on the internet, the faster you’ll be able to reach that high. A high that involves sharing ourselves with the rest of the world seated behind blinking cursors eagerly awaiting approval of cool-factor, a sentiment/disposition that echoes the incessant human need for acceptance and thirst for knowledge be it academic, voyeuristic or just plain useless.
The accessibility provided by what I regard as one of mankind’s greatest inventions after the automobile – the internet - has given individuals another sphere from which to function, free from the confines of social realities. Having a blog has become an extension of the average urban existence/being. And the constantly increasing numbers of fashion, style, culture and art blogs that run rampant in cyberspace are testament to that. Everyone knows where everyone else is partying, what they’re wearing, the latest art exhibition they’re attending or what global cause they’re supporting. The cult of celebrity is no longer a members only club – Andy Warhol’s prophetic musing: a very real truth. We can ALL have our fifteen minutes of fame and claim it too. It is this accessibility that highlights the fact that the world is getting smaller and we truly are living up to the now pre-millennium clichéd term of being a ‘global village’, so much so, Africa hasn’t been left behind this time around in a cloud of third world dust.
From Lagos to Cape Town, Africans are wired and just as technologically savvy as the average American. And more than just technologically aware, a combination of post colonial detritus and modern day repercussions of capitalism has resulted in the archetype 21st century African urbanite – the AFROPOLITAN or as Taiye Tuakli-Wosornu described it on www.theafrobeat.blogspot.com:
…the newest generation of African emigrants, coming soon or collected already at a law firm/chem lab/jazz lounge near you. You’ll know us by our funny blend of London fashion, New York jargon, African ethics, and academic successes. Some of us are ethnic mixes, e.g. Ghanaian and Canadian, Nigerian and Swiss; others merely cultural mutts: American accent, European affect, African ethos. Most of us are multilingual: in addition to English and a Romantic or two, we understand some indigenous tongue and speak a few urban vernaculars. There is at least one place on The African Continent to which we tie our sense of self: be it a nation-state (Ethiopia), a city (Ibadan), or an auntie’s kitchen. Then there’s the G8 city or two (or three) that we know like the backs of our hands, and the various institutions that know us for our famed focus. We are Afropolitans: not citizens, but Africans of the world.
- Hot Damn!!!: http://isaidhotdamn.blogspot.com/
-Negrita's Chronicles: http://inturire.blogspot.com/
-Africa. Visual_Media: http://forota.net/wordpress/
All three blogs explore their creators personal world view, while simultaneously outlining the creators ‘place’ in these worlds which span Johannesburg, Kigali and New York City. Visual culture is a common thread between the three blogs, urban art and photography especially. Music, fashion and alternative culture feature heavily too – subject matter that is catered toward the tastes and interests of the average Afropolitan to which they can relate and find out more about, whether they’re tuning in from Port Elizabeth or Singapore.
“Hot Damn!!!” is the project of Zee, a South African photographer who spends her time between Johannesburg and Cape Town. “Hot Damn!!!” is her visual diary shared with the world. From inspirational photographs articulating her visual style of the week to the latest album streaming out of her record player, Zee documents her existence and keeps both her immediate world of friends and the greater world of fellow bloggers posted, or as she puts it on http://isaidhotdamn.blogspot.com; “[she]expresses the direction that modern pop African culture is going”.
Her post, “I know this corner of the earth, it makes me smile” (2009: August 19th) illustrates her own photography, however in her text based comments about these photos she highlights an interesting thing about the cult of blog and how the fact that ‘everybody’s doing it’, also means NOT everybody is doing it ‘correctly’; “These two pics were taken in my grandmother's room. They're two of my favourite pics ever taken. I generally don't like the way photographs are compressed on blogspot, so to see the pics in all their glory check them out properly on www.75.co.za/zee”. The highlighted comment sheds light on the fact that while setting up a blog is easy and fashionably hip (especially in the creative circles), maximizing it to make sure you get the most out of it requires basic HTML knowledge. This questions the authenticity of a blog in regard to quality being transmitted. Having a blog has almost become a desperate attempt to show your bones and share your wares, regardless of what you have to show to begin with. Nonetheless another factor to consider in the above comment by Zee is the alternative internet based solution offered, illustrating the vast expanse of the internet in our lives, i.e. options, options, options - the 21st century disposition. A disposition that can only be a good thing for upcoming artists like Zee, to get there work out there and get noticed beyond their MySpace and Facebook page, despite the aesthetic quality of the actual blog.
A similar blog to “Hot Damn!!!” is “Negrita’s Chronicles…the random thoughts and scattered ramblings of a nomadic Afropolitan...”, only Negrita broadens the range of her African urban existence while keeping it grounded in Kigali a city most automatically associate with post apocalyptic warzone imagery. However, courtesy of blogs like Negrita’s the world can be re introduced to a country that is slowly healing from its wounds and asserting itself on the world map as metropolis no different from any other African city. Art happens, music flows, fashion works and life goes on. Ironically, Negrita’s musings and posts highlight a contradictory reality: if it wasn’t for Rwanda’s genocide that forced people like Negrita to flee their homeland and essentially banish them to a life of nomadic tendency, the Afropolitan would not exist and the rich culture that has come of this migrancy would be considerably less layered. The latter would consequently mean the current subject matter on blogs like “Negrita’s Chronicles” would be non-existent too. It’s interesting to note how the internet brings people together to help deal with atrocities like genocide and through blogs its survivors can channel positivity and celebrate the after effects that occurred in lifestyle and broadened their worlds.
“Negrita’s Chronicles”, not only re-presents Rwanda to the global audience, but also Africa as a whole. Her post, “inspired: celebrating Africa” (2009: March 6th) reiterates this well; “having had enough of 'images of starving children, stories of corrupt politicians, famines, etc,' they decided to embark on a road trip around Africa in an attempt to 'celebrate all that is beautiful on the continent from her peoples to her cultures, languages and religions... their mission is to: 'contribute to changing the negative image of Africa and encourage Africans and the world to begin to see the beauty in the continent [and to] promote a sense of identity and unity for Africa’s people.'”. The African art of storytelling lives on in a digital age, stories shared between the blogger and her subject matter and stories re-told by the blogger to her cyber audience.
Story telling is central in this blog whose descriptive sub header “Keeping track of African and Africa-related culture in the media (film, photography, television, and print)” sums up the bloggers claim to Afropolitan rank and file. “AFRICA. VISUAL_MEDIA” is the blog of Kamau Mucoki, whose biography resonates in his postings; “Kenyan, born in the bay area, currently living in New York City. IT project management pays the bills, but music from the African Diaspora and photography feed the soul”.
“AFRICA. VISUAL_MEDIA” lends itself to blog roll recognition with its comfortable aesthetic and generally original content and could very well be THE archetype Afropolitan blog. Kamau shares, re interprets and informs just like Zee and Negrita, but focuses more on the Afropolitan goings on in and around New York City while simultaneously celebrating the African culture that has influenced the photographers, artists, musicians and film makers featured on his blog. In an email interview with him this is what he had to say about the blog:
A little about my blog:
I started it roughly 4 years ago. For the first couple of years, it was offline only I had access to it. I used it to work out my reactions to links that I found about african photography. It was also a place for all the links that I came across on the web that I could go back to sometime. Why did I start it? As a photographer, I am exploring what is important to me as a way to figure out WHAT I would like to shoot (my point of view) ... to figure out what inspires me, what my obsessions are etc. Along the way, I starting uncovering so much about African culture (from the continent and the diaspora) that manifests itself in visual media (film, videos, photography, magazines) that I think should be shared with other people. That is the big reason I decided to make it public, so few of us are aware of the power of our culture and how its influences are so pervasive in Western culture. There are a number of other sites that are doing the same thing; the one that comes most immediately to mind is sci-cultura (http://sci-cultura.com/). That's site's author also blogs because it feeds the process of self-discovery about Africa's culture. Of late, I have been getting to meet other Africans/African-Americans who like me inhabit a cultural/mental space somewhere between Africa, its diaspora and America/Europe and who try to embrace all those places (there are various terms for people like us, Afropolitans, global citizens, third culture kids, etc., etc.)My process:
... is very organic. I have tried (unsuccessfully) to post regular updates to drive up the traffic to the site. But since this is such a personal site, I tend to post stuff only when the inspiration hits me, or I find something that fits the subject matter/themes that are consistent with the site's viewpoint. My sources of information are mostly from the web more from the art/culture sites vs politics), magazines and occasionally from events that I attend here in NYC. I try to focus on film, photography, videos, print media, with some music stuff thrown in. I try to keep the voice personal as much as possible and try to provide a little context/background when I can, although most of the time all I have time for is to post links.
His answer was a wonderful conclusion to my insight into the workings of the Afropolitan state of existence and global position. Kamau’s words illustrate the workings of the internet as a global tool of connection across cultures and borders. And through blogs, people can pick and choose what they prefer their reality to be. There are no limitations, being from Africa is no longer a fateful sentence to being disconnected from the “first world”. The world’s getting smaller but the internet just goes to prove how the world is also simultaneously getting a whole lot larger!
We’ll blame it on the cult of blog for now.
-end-
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Mikhael Subotzky around the world
By Samantha Claasen
g07c0523
Web 2.0 is very useful for its information sharing capabilities on the World Wide Web, and it is this very capability that allows bloggers to have discussions and share articles on the Web which can reach millions of people around the world. South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky, who has recently shot to fame with his photo stories on the inside of a prison and on the town of Beaufort West, owes much of his popularity to Web 2.0 and its effectiveness in spreading his name and work. This essay will look at how three different blogs from three different places report on photographer Mikhael Subotzky and the ways in which their reporting techniques and layout styles contrast one another.
The South African blog that was looked at was ArtThrob. ArtThrob claims to report on the “national art scene and the involvement of South African artists in the international art world”. The editor, Sue Williamson posted her article on Subotzky for ArtThrob entitled “Modus Operandi” in August 2007. The article begins by explaining the young artist’s rise to fame, his art background and his current projects. Some of his achievements are being invited to be a Magnum photographer, winning the 2007 City of Perpignan Young Photographer Award, the F25 Award for Concerned Photography and receiving a residency at Fabrica, Treviso. The list goes on. The article also dealt with trying to paint of picture of how Subotzky immerses himself into specific projects, staying with his subjects for months on end before producing a final photo essay product. The article is directly followed by Subotzky’s Curriculum Vitae of his exhibitions, competitions, grants and residences and collections.
Visually the blog is easy to read, with the article placed in the middle, on the left is a column of Subotzky’s photographs and on the right hand side is a column of links to other South African artists. The article was quite short and had sub-headings such as “Artist’s Statement” and “Next Up”. This also makes it easier to read and not too text heavy. It engages with Subotzky’s work purely as art and does not relate it to a photojournalism point of view at all. This blog’s article is less about critically analysing his photographs, and is more about promoting Subotzky and showcasing him as a South African artist to be proud of, and who has been acknowledged internationally for his work.
Mikhael Subotzky, Pasvang, Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison 2004.
The African blog looked at was the Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art which is an internet version of the print published Nka Journal which is released three times a year since 1994. This is a good example of print going digital. Nka states that “where no art history exists, critical journals and other related platforms are crucial to moulding its discourse and involve all the intellectual processes that such an undertaking implies”. Nka is edited by scholars on African art, Okwui Enwezor, Chika Okeke-Agulu and Salah M. Hassan. The article on Mikhael Subotzky posted on the Nka online journal was written by art critic Ivor Powell in April 2008. This article dealt with Subotzky’s photography a lot more critically as well as analytically.
Whereas ArtThrob praised Subotzky’s rise in the art world, Nka’s article regarded it with a more weary perspective, saying that it is “wise to be sceptical of such fairytale success... [because] the burden of recognition can weigh heavily and very dead indeed once the spin stops spinning”. However, the article did go on to praise Subotzky’s talent as an artist and his achievements, but it do not do so by merely providing a list of his achievements, Powell critically engaged with Subotzky’s work and used specific individual photographs for an in depth analysis. This is something that the ArtThrob article did not do, but that made the Nka article more text-heavy.
The Nka article written by Powell gives a lot of historical background to photojournalism in South Africa, from apartheid to present day. Therefore, this article is not only based on analysis, but brings in historical theory too, in order to see the bigger picture, the bigger frame of reference to Subotzky’s work. In Powell’s article he argues that photojournalism in the classic tradition of being responsible for recording of history is more layered than that in the South African context. He says that Subotzky’s practice as a photographer is deeply rooted in the “spiritual history of photogprahy and journalism in the context of the South African psychodrama.”
With regards to using in depth analysis to discuss Subotzky’s work, Powell uses Subotzky’s degree portfolio ‘Die Vier Hoeke’ on Cape Town’s Pollsmoor Prison, as an example of the “uncompromising and palpable rectilinearity that both binds and oppresses the images on an entirely formal level”. Powell says that the heavily weighing straight lines in most of these photographs have the effect of both “formally and actually confining and limiting the action and/or movement of the protagonists”. This is a clear demonstration of how the article on Nka engaged more with Subotzky’s art than the ArtThrob article did. The Nka layout is also a lot easier to read, it is more simplified than ArtThrob and not as clustered with images and text.
Mikhael Subotzky, Cell 33, E Section, Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison 2005.
The international blog that was looked at for the purpose of this essay was Conscientious. Conscientious is a weblog about fine-art photography which was created by Jorg Colberg. His article on Subotzky is the most recent of the three; it was posted on the 18th February, 2009 and entitled “A Conversation with Mikhael Subotzky”. It is an actual interview that Colberg had with Subotzky. Formally, Colberg’s blog is a three page interview with Subotzky’s photographs in between some of the paragraphs. The article is on most of the left hand side of the page and there are two columns of links on the right hand side of the page. Showing the photographs in this way is better than how they appeared on the ArtThrob blog; they were quite small and it was difficult to see detail. On this blog they were larger and actually embedded in the article, therefore they demanded more attention.
What makes Colberg’s blog and his article on Subotzky in particular so different from the other two is that it is an interview with Subotzky himself. Instead of doing a sort of promotional pat-on-the back list of his achievements or an analysis of a selection of some of his photographs, Colberg looks at Subotzky’s works as a whole and questions his motives as a photographer and the South African context within which Subotzky is working. Colberg’s questions to Subotzky came from a non-South African point of view, which made his interview very different from the articles by Sue Williamson and Ivor Powell. Colberg takes an outsiders view by saying: “from the outside - and far away – it seems like South Africa had such a bright moment of hope when apartheid was dismantled and when Nelson Mandela was elected president, and so much has gone wrong since then, for whatever reason.” Colberg asks a few questions about Subotzky’s relation to South Africa, like asking him how he places his work in the context of other photography form South Africa, and the somewhat difficult question of “how would you put photography from South Africa in a larger African context”.
One of the questions Colberg poses to Subotzky is whether he sees it as his responsibility to record what is “going on” in South Africa today. Subotzky replies that he does not believe that photographers can effectively take responsibility for such things. He feels that they have the power to bear witness and he sees the responsibility as a responsibility to oneself, to try to make one “as conscious as possible”. Comparing Colberg’s interview to Powell’s article on Nka, one realises the difference between how Powell has interpreted Subotzky’s art and how Subotzky explains it himself. This is a good example of how the analyser or viewer makes the art mean what it means for them, derived from a basis of their own background, interests and knowledge. Perhaps this is where the ArtThrob blog post of Sue Williamson’s article on Subotzky comes handy, because it is an almost neutral account of his works and achievements, it does not give too much insight into Subotzky or his works, and in so-doing leaves the viewer’s mind largely uninfluenced and therefore clear for their own interpretation of his work. It is not to say that in-depth analysis is not useful here, Powell’s article related Subotzky’s work to South Africa as a whole as well as zooming in and focusing on the formal qualities and their effects on the interpretation of the images.
On the whole, these three different blogs from three different places were not similar in their layout style or their way of reporting. This is a good thing for now one has three diverse views on Mikhael Subotzky and his work, from a list of his achievements and a formal analysis of his photographs to a direct interview with him. Web 2.0 has been one of the tools that has helped Subotzky gain acknowledgement from countries outside of South Africa, by peoples’ ability to harness the sharing of information that is so integral to Web 2.0 and its effectiveness in reaching and connecting people all around the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. ArtThrob
2. Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art
3. Conscientious
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Reporting Ways & Styles on Zimbabwean Politics
This essay looks to investigate the ways and styles of reporting based on the political environment in Zimbabwe and their intentions. It will look at three websites/blogs, basically The ZimDaily- which is internationally based in United Kingdom, New Zimbabwe- based in Zimbabwe and BlogCatalog.com- from South Africa. These websites/blogs make use of Web 2.0 latest add on social networking on their homepages. I will also give a short brief history of web 2.0.
Assessing web 2.0 interactive learning simulations, has made it possible to realise that the art field does not end on the canvas but goes beyond the shelter like the wind. Just as the art of conversation grabs the words and quickly the meaning is transformed into different truths and lies depending with the readers’ initial idea and reaction.
The term Web 2.0 is a technical jargon that was born from Web 1.0 and the main difference in-between the two is that Web 2.0 provides interactive learning and opens up participation of the reader into the main stream of interest and allows one to get lost and get back on point unlike the web 1.0 which did not give much user participation/engagement into the weaving of websites and discussions. In other words, web 2.0 is web-sites that gain from the involvement of its users.
The web 1.0 had a single flow of ‘read only’ information most of the times and internet connections were very slow unlike today where the information is dispersed around with more options like forums, chats and other add-ons coming into existence with the revolutionary ‘semantic’ web2.0. By 1996, the read only web had about forty five million global users with about 250 000 web-sites. Compare that to the semantic web, up to date, it has about one billion users with more than 120 million web-sites. About one tenth size of the published content is user generated compared to the four fifths published-user generated content of 2009.
The ZimDaily website is structured in a more unique and friendly framework as on each and every story, a reader can make a comment about the article. The webpage is user friendly; the pictures are bright, colourful and energetic with reference to their subjects. On the homepage you are greeted with funny cartoons before you go to the main stories. This News website though it may be based internationally in United Kingdom, it seems to be catering for the Zimbabweans who are based internationally and are familiar with the names because for someone who does not know the person(s), they would not get to the full depth of a cartoon or story easily. Those who comment in Shona or Ndebele- which are two major languages in Zimbabwe, restrict other english readers from accessing their comments as no translation is provided by the website. The ZimDaily practices its reporting style in an advocating way as it clearly shows it has an agenda of making almost all politicians who have gone into the deal with the devil ‘Mugabe’ (the formation of the Interim Government of Zanu PF and Movement for Democratic Change).
The website advances its own objectives of hatred as the writers show a point of view and gather evidence or facts in order to make the point strong and clear that the person is what he/she claims to be. For example the heading Jonathan Moyo- A Political Prostitute and Mercenary has strong words used which open up the flood gets of hatred, name calling and destructive behavioural comments. The comments are said that they would be screened off if they are based on obscenity, vulgar, tribalistic and racist grounds but that isn’t the actual story on the ground. On these blog comments, users or readers leave their rude and racist comments in Shona or Ndebele. Either there is no screening process or the enforcing is not being dealt with. The reason for this I think is because the site is itself practicing double standards as the reporter gives the strongest case by all means in support of his/her view point by concentrating on the wounds. The people who comment use anonymous names and people lie their identity as I did on the 31st and the 32nd comment on Moyo’s article. It also gets one to think, are these really other readers who are genuinely commenting in this way or is it the same people posting the stories that are commenting afterwards? Interesting.
If you compare that to the NewZimbabwe blog, which is based in Zimbabwe, you have politicians like Professor Jonathan Moyo who are also bloggers on it. You find that the bloggers try to justify their actions or counter other websites/blogs arguments like ZimDaily by giving their own side of the story. Similarly, these two blogs share the same kind of advocacy and humanistic reporting where the story is entered through one person’s eyes. The blog mainly has an opposing agenda on attacking the so-called ‘West yet at the same time it practices hate speech and personal political attacks on the opposition party members of MDC and other individual opponents or anyone who stands in the old regimes’ road (Zanu PF way).
The blog especially the one posted by Jonathan Moyo entitled Biti: Seeking Sympathy from the Devil seeks to kind of reflect a kind of In-depth/Investigative report that is based on many sources, public resources and constant rechecks yet it is an advocating report when you examine the content that it has his agenda to advance his objectives as he tries to say everything he says is correct. The blog seems to be aimed at de-campaigning the opposition MDC. The comments that are coming from the readers are difficult to take into consideration because the people who run the blogs are in Zimbabwe and the issue of your security and safety under the current President and Zanu PF party makes contributors to the blog comments weary if it is found out whom they are.
Freedom is very limited as the comments are also screened but who screens is the issue, whether it’s the blogger or weblog owners. The procedure is not clear which is unlike the ZimDaily one where your comment immediately goes onto the blog page. The common feature is that all comments are posted below all articles. The NewZimbabwe blog does not unveil who locally started or caused the chaos from the start or who was involved in the most high level corruption that has brought the country to a standstill but the blog focuses on mud slinging opposition politics and works against any form of support the opposition gets from member countries that the former ruling party declared enemies. It is not surprising to hear, if I may propose another theory brought about by victimisation and torture in Zimbabwe, that the government can be behind the construction of these two blogs but it is definite the NewZimbabwe blog, government forces are involved because both are too naïve and ignorant.
When one compares the last two blogging sites/websites to the South African based site blogcatalogog.com, we find the home page is more user friendly and welcoming than any of the other two I have previously mentioned. In other words This site feels like a social space unlike the other two of ZimDaily and NewZimbabwe when you analyse the design layout. It gives room for anyone who visits the site to run through and get going with other sections that may not be of interest to one because the sites pages seek to demand attention from the lookers because it is very attractive.
The site is very open as discussions determine the directions the argument or story goes with lots of twists and turns that there is always constant reminding that there is need to rebuild the country not focus on adding salt to the wounds. This site uses not precisely but close to an In-depth/ Investigative journalism where it takes time by rechecking its facts with the public unlike the ZimDaily and NewZimbabwe blogs. The way the news and writing up on the discussion board is based in a more in-depth/Investigative reporting being found in the public sphere where it is easy to have the information decentralised. The reporting stands to take an objective style where as the blog members goal is to show no bias though it may just fall of objective perfection, but at least the style appeals to a broader audience. For example, if we look at the recent posts, one post under the group discussions; Africa-Awareness, Activism and Discovery which talks about Zimbabwean politics, it asks for people to play their part in changing Zimbabwe to head in a better way! In the same stylistic reporting, new journalism is practiced as the three websites paint their own versions of the truth with the aid of photo journalism and humanistic approach as the stories are negotiated through a one person avenue.
The three sites demonstrate the results coming from the un-filtering and filtering of comments like the advantages of quick feedback and openness to all readers can also backfire when you have the wrong people commenting and lying about their being and the story because of fear of being identified as who they are. Some of the photographs used in the photojournalism are not really necessary and most of these stories are not told in many parts as is the failure to realise the probability of each of them ending up in one viewing avenue.
Therefore in conclusion, I find it easier for one to be drawn to these social blogs/webs because they look more user friendly than the NewZimbabwe and Zimdaily websites but all websites do indeed benefit from the acknowledgement of user participation as the sites grow from the introduction of Web 2.0.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Power of Successful Blogging
The Power of Successful Blogging
The phenomenon of the ‘World Wide Web’, perhaps more commonly known as the ‘Internet,’ was developed by Tim Berners-Lee. His vision for the World Wide Web was that it would be a device for gathering and creating access to a mass of information through virtual human interaction and collaboration. Web 2.0 is a stage of development towards Berners-Lee’s ultimate gaol. There are various ‘systems’ that have developed simultaneously with Web 2.0 one of which is Rich Site Summary (RSS). RSS is a format designed to help regular internet users to narrow down information intake to sites that specifically interest them. You will find RSS feeds on more and more sites nowadays, as people are becoming more aware of its benefits. The development of Folksonomy, also known as collaborative tagging, social indexing or social tagging, is a kind-of bookmarking of sites which has become a collaborative way of annotating and categorizing information. Blogging is another system that stems from Web 2.0. It involves the notion of the production of self-published information. The benefits of blogging are broadening and increasing numbers of people are becoming aware its capacities. It can be accessed by millions of people all over the world at virtually no cost. My essay focuses on the blogging with particular reference to four different blogs created by visual artists as a mechanism of self-promotion. Wikis, another interesting system of the internet, is similar to Blogging, in the sense that anyone can create a hub of information and, like blogging, it can be updated and changed so that it doesn't become outmoded in its design, content and style. See http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/cms/xstandard/Web2.0_OVerview.pdf for further information with regards to the power of Web 2.0
Now that all the banal, predictable information has been covered and condensed into one boring introductory paragraph, let’s have a look at what this essay is really about: artists that blog and why? Blogs have become the newsstands of the internet world. In the ‘blogosphere,’ one can find just about anything from up-to-date news coverage, the latest celebrity gossip, sports commentary, fashion/styling tips, political propaganda to ‘how to tie your shoelaces in thirty-seven different ways!!. Different blogs will be analysed and looked at according to their content and style with relation to how they have made use of blogging for networking to benefit themselves. I am also interested in the context of the g with regards to ‘origins’, whether it is South African, African or International. Here, the international ‘blog-artist’ of concern is the infamous Damien Hirst, who is also a part of the well established Young British Artists, (The YBA’s with the other parts including, Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin). Hirst is an example of someone who has used blogging to his advantage. A South African example of a successful blog space, is that of Avant Car Guard, a trio of young men from Johannesburg who work collaboratively towards one goal. Concerning an African blog, i will navigate two examples. Jepchumba, a Nigerian artist living overseas is a digital wiz and is also responsible for the creation of the site called African Digital Art Network. This network is where one will find a link to both her own blog as well as that of Kenneth Shofela Coker.
Damien Hirst is said to be the richest living artist of our time. If it has anything to do with his blog it would be understandable as his blog truly fantastic. It is the most virtually interactive blog that will be discussed in this essay. Here one can fill in a poll based on what you think of the artists work. When viewing the statistics, it was interesting to note that the majority of people who answered the question, “What do you think about my art?” chose the option, “I’ll answer you if you pay me.” If one is in the mood for a bit of online shopping, this is also a possibility on Hirst’s blog. There is the option of purchasing ‘the cheapest art in the world!’ which are postcards titled, “For the Love of Paris Forever,” (a photoshopped version of his famous Diamond Skull that was worth 50 million pounds) and “For the Love Of Paris,” an altered iconic image, with the letters ‘You got to love art!’ placed diagonally across the whole image. This is a play on the whole notion of copyrighting images, except it is ironic in Hirst’s context, as the slogan, which he uses often, is placed there on purpose. Hirst’s sense of humour never fails, which is evident here in his little online shop, as he has provided art to buy for ‘the rich,’ and ‘the poor.’ The exact same postcards are shown below each title. While the cheap art only costs 1, 5 euro, the expensive art which is exactly the same as the cheap art, costs 1, 000 000 Euros!! Then for the real Hirst fans, one can purchase an item of “You Got Love Art!” clothing. The clothes come in various styles of t-shirts, hoodies and even boxers and thongs. Like any other blog, one can decide to follow Hirst’s blog, and therefore will receive news on his latest updates. Hirst’s most recent posts, are titled photographs, with rather bizarre descriptions below them. The photographs are part of a series titled, “White Plastic Windowsill."
'For the Love of Paris Forever'
The classic thong, for only 6, 50 pounds.
The two African blogs were found on a site called Global Voices Online, which provided a link to the site called African Digital Art Network. This site, created an artist of the diaspora, Nigerian Jepchumba, is where one will find a link to her own blog as well Kenneth Sofela Coker. Jepchumba’s blog is actually called Afrodigi Studio, which a space where she posts all her work for her fans to view. She works with digital and new media, graphic design, audio/video production, 3D/2D animation. With this range of skills under her belt, it seems only right that Jepchumba would choose the Internet as a platform for self promotion and an ideal place to receive recognition. On Afrodigi Studio, you are offered the option of looking at all of Jepchumba’s artwork, under the genres of videos, web design, artwork and graphic design. There is also the option of contacting the artist, whether it is simply just to communicate with or if want to hire her as she offers a whole range of web services such as; print and web design, audio/visual production and digital media consultation.
An example of Jepchumba's work.
A platform for promotion
what an mission to put this up online. the one problem i have with the internet is you have to be invited onto a blog like this and trying to find the person responsible for that took a few days to track down. none the less rather late then never i suppose.
Web 2.0 has revolutionized the way in which we, as the digital generation, communicate today and it is hard to escape. The internet, created by Sir Berners-Lee, has developed in a way in which we can send messages almost with in a split second and can share information without much hassle. In just over decade the world’s knowledge is just a click of a button away, figuratively speaking. In these up and coming times people are adapting to the ways of faster communication and ways of promoting themselves. Most people that frequent the internet would be familiar with social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and most instant messaging programs, all of which are available due to Web 2.0 and all of which have changed the way in which we communicate. More time is now spent looking at a screen talking to people then actually talking to the person face to face. Despite the repercussions it holds for personal relationships and social skills these communication tools can be greatly beneficial as the bridge between countries is getting increasingly smaller and as said knowledge is more accessible to more people. In relation to the art world, the World Wide Web can be a major asset and be used to an artist’s advantage. Some artists even use the web as their canvas to their art works and purely by the amount of views that their site has received have become known for their works.
The topic which I find interesting and I wish to address in this essay/blog is that artists can now use the internet as a tool for promoting themselves and their works. They can expose themselves to the world at a low or no cost at all. Not only can they promote them selves via the web pages but can also find other sites that are looking to promote and broadcast up and coming artists. For an artist that wants to discover what the market would be for their works, this could be a very exciting prospect. There is a huge scope for individuals, which are unsure of how to start and build a name in the art world, by using the tools given by Web 2.0. By just creating a website or setting up a blog page, any one from around the world that comes across the web site will be exposed to that artists work. By looking at three different blogs from around the world, namely South African, African and international blogs respectively, I wish to explore and discuss the different ways in Web 2.0, and mainly the use of blogging could be used to promote or encourage the promotion of local artists.
The ways in which people blog is not necessarily dependent on to their location in the world but rather the reason for the blog. When looking at the ways in which people promote their local artists around the world depends on what aspect of promotion they are trying to achieve. A blog which wanted to raise awareness to a certain artist would post pictures and detailed information about the person in question whereas an organisation which is looking for local artists to promote would approach the blog in a different way which I will address a little later. It would be a major assumption to say that an American, for example would blog in a different way to a South African, although some people do blog in different formats and styles, but isn’t that personal preference and style? What would that have to do with where you live around the world..
Firstly I will look at the South African blog, Brand South Africa Blog. It deals with the promotion of a hat/helmet known as the Makaraba which is common in South African sports supporters’ attire. The main contributing factor of the blog is a YouTube clip taken from Business News 2010 CNBC which explains the whole concept and creation process of the supporter’s helmet. These helmets are constructed from normal everyday construction helmets and are transformed into, what some might view as works of art, which could be worn and later kept as a collector’s item. Each one is hand crafted and unique and originally decorated in the fashion of the different soccer teams, now branching into the national market and incorporating different sports, teams and countries. This blog aims to bring awareness to this product due to the up and coming 2010 Fifa World Cup held in
The African blog that I have chosen to look at and discuss, African Art Online Blog, promotes the local artist in a different light to that of the South African. It addresses not only one but a few artists from around
And finally the last of the blogs which I looked at is an individual’s blog from
Comparing all three blogs above shows the different approaches to which one could go about promoting artists on the web, or even the different types of formats for blogs. In the case of the international blog it wouldn’t be necessary to add links to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and such sites as the focus is more on the up and coming artist in the community unlike the South African blog which consisted mainly of links, video clips and photos from other sites. In the South African blog this was the appropriate approach in relation to the market in which the product is directed. Its positive attributes would be that one wouldn’t have to read the article but rather just watch a 5 minute clip which explained the product entirely. To the lazy viewer this is ideal. These different approaches are directed to the public which would read or view them in a way which would best put across the message and appeal to the directed market. The ways in which one wants to advertise their art is now entirely up to them with great help from the internet.
Essay
The first blog that I will be looking at is entitled African Painters, which gives write ups about several artists from all over Africa, including South Africa, conversationally it discusses their lives and works giving informative blurbs about them in a way that is approachable. It includes artists worth their salts, artists of interest. Its own abstract of the blog is as follows:
Here is a blog about contemporary art on and off the continent of Africa. To push forward the concept of African cultural development I have created this blog but more importantly than that it's a place where we can blow-off steam and discuss the impossible task of defining a continent.
This blog archives back to May 2007, beginning with seven entries, in other words seven artists were first looked at. The blog is in no way narrow minded; it covers artists from all over Africa, in all the art genres, from drawing to sculpture, as well as including a look at fashion on the African continent. Designers as well as artists are given a chance to showcase their work on this blog. The works chosen to put on this blog are both unique and distinctly African, showcasing our distinctive African Heritage. “African Painters” the pseudonym that the writer of this blog has adopted , discusses, in a very approachable style the chosen artists work, talking about style, history, inspiration, medium, as well as making use of appropriate and interesting quotes to give each discussion that much more substance. The blog even looks at our own Jane Alexander, one of South Africa’s most prominent artists, a forerunner really. Artists from as far up as Egypt are given recognition as well, making this blog very cosmopolitan in terms of the African continent.
The next blog that I will be looking at is entitled Arcy Art Original Oil Paintings, originally a look at the work of Rudi Carstens, it has now branched out to look at the work of artists from all around South Africa. It describes itself as: Information on South African art and artist as well as the original oil paintings of South African artist Rudi Carstens. A very simple straight forward blog, that showcases the original artworks of South Africans, and gives large recognition to Carstens. The blog was last updated in 2008, which is a whole year more up-to-date than the African Painters Blog. However this in no way discredits either of these blogs. The blog began in January 2007, and has been frequently updated until September 2008. The blog provides background information, as well as discussing the artists works, their commissions, who they have painted for, as well as the conventional; style, medium and so on. The blog covers art genres from religious painting to wildlife painting, giving the reader a complete coverage, making one feel as though one has gained something of great significance, culturally, from reading the blog. Although all the posts are rather brief, they are thorough in their coverage of the essentials. There are also fewer posts on this particular blog as compared with the African Painters Blog. Again as in the African blog, the writer goes by the pseudonym, of the title of the blog, in this case Arcy Art Original Oil Paintings is the author. By keeping this blog brief and to the point, and by discussing artists that readers would find interesting this author has created a small jem.
The last blog that I chose to look at, an international blog, entitled Contemporary International Artists and Art Works, takes a broad look at artists from all over the globe, giving blurbs, like all of the above about these artists, basically discussing contemporary art in our world today. This blog’s archives date back as far as late 2006, and it is the only one of the three that I have chosen that is up to date, as in September 2009, meaning that all the work shown and discussed is relevant in todays day and age, and is still widely accessible. The blog showcases art work from as far abroad as India, as well as the traditional west and also Eastern Europe. The work shown and written about is of a completely unique nature, aptly falling into and characterizing the contemporary genre. Some of the work is the type where one has to look that much deeper in order to find the desired meaning, or not even the desired meaning, just a meaning that would satisfy the reader, however this is this blogs most wonderful point, and it is in this that I have found it to be the favorite of my chosen three blogs. The works are so different that one cannot help but appreciate them, the more one reads and sees the work featured on this blog, the more one wishes to see, and to carry on. The fact that it is so long and extensive is in no way daunting, as it might be for the African blog I discussed. If one appreciates art in its truest form, one cannot help but read on. I would say that the best part of this blog is the amount of Eastern work it shows. In South Africa, we rarely see such art, being that we are mostly exposed to Western art, along with our own South African art as well as African art. Learning about art, or anything really from the East is a refreshing new outlook on the way we see the world, as generally the West has given us certain preconceived ideas about the East, by mystecising it and attaching certain prejudices to it that we have come to accept as the truth, even though these ideas are so far removed from what the East actually is. (Edward Said’s theory on Orientalism).
All of the above three blogs showcase their wares in the best possible way they, as the authors know how. Each of them show contemporary art of all styles, and all genres within contemporary art. Blogging in itself, as can be gathered from the above is a wonderful way of getting ones work, as the artist, out into the open, letting the world see ones work, and along with the writing shows the public how exactly to appreciate the work for what it is. Blogging is an amazing way to shares oneself as well as ones passion for the world, as well as other things and people, i.e. artists and art. It has in essence opened up a whole new world for the modern artist, shedding new light on art that was never there before. Artists and art appreciators alike can now share their work and passion for one of the greatest achievements of mankind, from the beginning of time, to this very day. With blogging, the art world now seems infinite.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Soap Boxes and African punters.
Kelly Berold is actually a friend of mine. This is partly why I chose to explore her blog. She is a UCT film and media graduate and has started her own blog as a platform for her work as well as to advertise her services in the photography and media industry. She has posted quite a few of her photos onto the blog and has given a brief and personalised statement about each different ‘project’. The tone of her blog is informal and colloquial, which is refreshing as a few other blogs that I have perused, have left me bewildered and lost at times with the amount of pretentious art ‘lingo’ being slung around a small and insignificant corner of the cyber world. Berold is not one of the contemporary art heavy-weights (yet), which probably contributes to her unassuming approach to her blog. Her site has colourful text and her photos incorporate lots of colour. It is fun and quirky- reminiscent of Cape Town’s hidden secrets. The talented little jewels-in-the-making, the students that will take on the world. Kelly’s blog is relatively new so she has not made many posts, however, she has still managed to showcase her vast range of talents as well as a professional veneer.
The ‘African Painters’ blog is big. When I say big, I mean there are a lot of posts. There is also a big variety of topics. They all stick to one central theme- Africa. There are mini-biographies on various artists such as Ingrid Mwangi and Eria Sane Nsubuga; ‘New Talent’ biographies on Kossi Ankude, Krisito Assangni and Anagossi Gratien; and quite a few posts reserved for synopses for a host of Alex La Guma’s books: “A Walk in the Night”, “Time of the Butcherbird”, and “In the Fog of the Season's End’. The range of topics is glorious. From Diaspora to African fashion design, it is all pretty much covered. No-one can leave out the subject of politics when it comes to a previously colonised country, and this blog does not disprove that opinion. Representations of ‘blackness’ and ‘Islam’s black slaves’ are just two examples. This blog is definitely more formal and there is a lot of descriptions and art analysis. It is a huge African blog that deals with the age old question, ‘But what does it MEAN?’. To some, that is perfectly acceptable. They have no problem being told what to think. I personally feel that one should make one’s mind up for oneself.
The ‘African Painters’ blog in no way shares the light-hearted feeling that one experiences when looking at the ‘Kelly Berold Photography’ blog. It is all very serious and not really about the promotion of people’s art. ‘African Painters’ is more about promoting other people’s opinions on artworks that they themselves did not make. There is almost a ‘hero-worship’ feeling to it- the bloggers sitting behind their PCs, firing word-bullets with their witty and intensely intellectual statements. There are quotations and articles attached to the posts on the ‘African Painters’ blog, whereas ‘Kelly Berold Photography’ does not have either. The former deals with a whole host of artists and issues, whilst the latter deals with only one person. Kelly’s blog was written by herself as were all the posts. The ‘African Painters’ blog has posts from various and different people.
Both blogs deal with art in different ways and have shown me what is out there in terms of locally as well as in the greater part of Africa. My exploration so far has enhanced my respect for blogs and people who go through the time and effort to set them up. It really is a great way to promote yourself (as in the case of ‘Kelly Berold Photography’) or to learn about new artists (‘African Painters’), as well as expressing your opinion to people other than your long-suffering friends, who have undoubtedly heard it all before.
The international blog, entitled ‘New Art’ is (as far as I can tell) a blog started by a Polish blogger called ‘vvoi’. It deals with mostly Polish art, as well as architecture, exhibitions, music and politics. It is written in the first person and is quite informal. There is an impressive post about Maurizio Cattelan versus Francesca Woodman. A mini expose about copying or ‘referencing’ other people’s artworks for your own. Beautifully clear and interesting photos have been put up to accompany various texts as well as to show the reader a bit about art that we might not know already. Mostly, the blog is focussed on ‘vvoi’s’ opinions and rants. The blog has been running since the year 2000 and is definitely the ‘oldest’ blog I have looked at. There are plenty of posts and comments- mainly from friends or acquaintances of the blogger.
This is an excellent example of what blogging can do. It can not only be a forum for discussion of contentious issues, but it can be used for social networking as well. One’s work or totally random thoughts can be read by others. The result of which is endlessly exciting: job opportunities, etc. It shows how an individual amongst billions of other people, can be heard- can be given a platform. An anonymous and become known.
‘New Art’ offers exactly what it says: art. Any form of creative thinking. In this way, it is the same as the other two blogs discussed previously. It differs in that it is not formal and ‘stiff’ like the ‘African Painters’ blog. It is, in the term of the colloquial, ‘chilled’. It does, however, discuss work that (to my mind) is not focussed on that much- Eastern European and African. Both sectors are really upping the ante as far as exposure and talent is concerned, and blogs like these certainly help with this regard. It also differs from ‘Kelly Berold Photography’ as it is not focussed on a certain individual- nor is it the author’s intention to promote his own work. It’s more a discussion board, which Kelly’s blog is not. It is a well-organised blog and quite easy to access- which, let’s face it, is the most intimidating part of joining the cyber-world. There is nothing worse than sitting in front of a blog and thinking, ‘what is going on here?!’.
My exploration into the scary world of blogs has come to an end. I have read and researched three different blogs- one South African, one African and one international- thus satisfying my essay instructions as well as attempting to conquer my fears of technology. All three these blogs are different in their own ways, but the most prominent difference is the tone used in them, respectively. Going from personal and colloquial, to almost militant in the promotion of African art and the ‘de-colonising issue’, to the laid-back atmosphere of Eastern Europe (who have just cause to lament the fate of their countries, but do not do so).
I do not know if this experiment of mine has changed the way I feel about blogs. On the one hand, it is an amazing tool that can and should be utilized to the fullest extent by those of us who are too poor to hold exhibitions or do not have the connections. And then there are those of us who are studying in the middle of nowhere in the Eastern Cape. On the other, it opens you up to, at times, quite nasty and unnecessary criticism from people you do not know. Also, if you are just too lazy, blogging will not make your life any easier.
To me, blogging is the cyber-age’s answer to standing on a soapbox in Hyde Park, straining to be heard over the jeers of the people whose brains you are trying to infiltrate with your own propaganda.
Liesl Brenzel AHV3
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Newspapers and blogging
The lecture series You are the Power: The Impact of Web 2.0 couldn’t have come at a better time for me. As a journalism and an art history student and just after this lecture series ended, Highway Africa, one of the biggest journalism conferences in Africa, happened in Grahamstown. The theme for this year’s conference was “Reporting Africa 2010: Development and Democracy” and the key focus was on information and communication technologies (ICTs). Therefore an interesting parallel was drawn between my two subjects: their future and how the Web can help to advance them.
Because of the parallel that was drawn between these two subjects, I decided to focus my essay on newspapers and how blogging can work to enhance them and allow them to reach a bigger audience. For both subjects, blogging allows readers/followers to critically engage with the content being presented to them and with each other. They create new platforms on which to view work and readers can comment on other people’s blogs or create their own platform on which to express their views. Blogs make use of the Web technology known as Web 2.0. This refers to web based on communities that allows its viewers to interact with one another and change the content that is found on the website. In other words, people can own and control the data/media that is on the site.
While the internet is proving to be a threat to the traditional print media, it is helping the art world to grow and become more accessible to the general public rather than keeping it as an elitist subject. The print world has had to adopt New Media into its vocabulary because of the dying nature of print and blogs are one key component to doing this. Nearly all newspapers now days have a blogging outlet for its readers. This means that readers can comment on the daily articles, contribute to the newspaper or read what is going on electronically and thus, you don’t have to be situated in the same area as a newspaper that you would like to read just as you no longer have to have access to a specific gallery if you would like to see a specific work of art.
I chose well known South African, African and international newspapers that have blogging sections to them, namely South Africa’s The Mail & Guardian, Kenya’s The Standard and The USA’s The New York Times. I thought that it would be interesting to see how different countries/continents handled the same concept of blogging and how successful/unsuccessful I find each of their blogs by examining their content, contributors and the user-friendliness of the blogs.
In my opinion, The Mail and Guardian blog – Thought Leader – is extremely successful. The website is easy to navigate and there is a lot of content on it. Thought Leader makes use of opinion and analysis by M&G writers, contributors and by anyone who has interesting, intellectual things to say. Anyone can become a blogger on this site however, people are screened therefore one cannot automatically become one. The site is screened by the M&G editorial team, therefore all of the content is of an extremely high standard. Well known people from the media and other walks of life are bloggers for M&G. Some of these names include Rhodes’ own Guy Berger, head of the School of Journalism, the artist Anthea Buys and politician Patricia de Lille.
Thought Leader breaks its content down well for the reader. There are tabs for the days featured posts, most read and comments. One can also view the different blog entries through specific searches like looking at the most popular entries, the contributors from A-Z, subjects from A-Z or by subject (art, media, sport etc.). While the tone of writing on these blogs is academic, it is not over the readers head and therefore almost anyone can read and enjoy the entries. As there are so many contributors (at least 100), readers can find at least one if not more bloggers that they can identify with or who’s ideas they like or wish to keep track of.
Kenya’s newspaper The Standard has a page that you can visit that has blogs on it, however I feel that it needs a bit more work until it is up to the same standard as Thought Leader. The Standard is not very user friendly at all. Once you have clicked on the ‘blog’ tab at the top of the website, you reach a page that only has five links on it. There are only four regular contributors to the blog, three work for the newspaper namely Rose Nzioka, Kipkirui K'Telwa and Stephen Ndegwa, and the final blog is the Editor's Choice.
The blogs are not broken down into topics or any other sorting mechanism besides who wrote them. One cannot view previous blog entries unless you click on the person’ name and a list of their previous blogs pops up on the side. While most blogs have a little blurb about the person writing it, The Standard’s blog does not. Beyond telling the reader what the person’s position is within the newspaper, there is no more information. While this extra information is not crucial, it is nice for readers to try and connect or find some common interest with the writer themselves.
With all of these criticisms being noted, one must compliment them on the excellent quality and high standard of the blog entries. While they mostly deal with content from the newspaper, they are thought provoking, interesting and they challenge the reader. They are not simply comments on the stories but analysis and intellectual opinions. Although the blog is not very user-friendly, once you get used to it the content makes up for it.
I was expecting great things from The New York Times blog however I was sold short. While there are a lot of different beats covered (arts beat, at war, media decoder…), they are seemingly jumbled and it is hard to search through them for an article that you are interested in because they aren’t listed in any particular order like with Thought Leader. However, under each section are a number of different articles written by multiple authors. These are interesting because they’re all varying lengths and there are often a few that cover the same topic by different contributors which allows for different opinions and analysis. This means that one doesn’t have to trawl through countless blogs to find a few that are on the same topic, they can simply click on the topic they’re after and there will be different views presented to them.
Each blogger does not necessarily write a new entry every day however there are always at least a couple of new entries on varying topics. The New York Times blog has an extremely wide base of topics, some to do with news content and others that are just for fun. The second critique that I have of the blog is if you click on the wrong article that isn’t linked to the blog then it will take you to another section of the website for example, World news. When you click on ‘blog’ on the home page, a new window or tab does not open up but the homepage changes to the blog page. This shows that the blogs are not a separate website as with thought leader but are simply an extension of the site. They do not have their own identity that they can stand on such as a quirkly little name or a catch phrase.