Tag: film

Blog #1, “Orson Whales”

Blog #1, “Orson Whales”

Tim Hubbard

Representational meaning:

As I watched the work for a second time, the representational meanings seemed to become clearer, even without a large contextual base of knowledge about “Moby Dick.” Of course there are elements from Moby Dick which can be seen and understood as representational meanings within the piece, such as an exhibition of death and revenge.

Additionally, the piece serves as somewhat of a literal example of how art can come to life. Using a base of the actual pages from Moby Dick, the artist superimposes drawings which seem to bring the text to life in a literal way.

As the title would suggest, Orson Welles plays a key role within the piece. As we continue to hear him speak, the artist also gives us a few bits from Orson’s films like Citizen Kane and F for Fake, as well as, the drawn word “Rosebud.” I would like to think that the artist gives tribute to Orson through these bits considering I perceived most of them to be random.

Evocative meaning:

Immediately, I gathered the supreme idea of creation by witnessing forms of media, such as text, film, music, drawing, and spoken word, all combined to form a new type of media. This work serves as a good introduction to “new media” by blatantly utilizing many media forms and transcending the ordinary and sometimes bland way we receive art and/or media. This meaning seems totally isolated from the specific subject material (like Moby Dick), yet still uses it to showcase the total freedom of creation within all forms of media.

By giving us pieces from a variety of media sources which are all related in some way, the viewer can extract his/her own meaning based upon the context in which they watched the piece. For me, it seemed as if the piece was suggesting the all forms of art created by anyone anytime are all the same. By that I mean all art is related regardless of how it is categorized or perceived. It suggests that boundaries cannot exist within art and because of that, all art flows together.

“Orson Whales”: A Chaotic Amalgamation

Collectively, “Orson Whales”, “Jabber”, and “Firefly” are all pieces that can be considered to be forms of “new media”. However, the application of the term “new media” changes with each piece.

“Orson Whales” is a compilation of film, text, audio, and art. When combined, these various artistic mediums create a sort of performance art that is wildly unique. Technology allows them to coexist with one another, and therefore stimulate both the auditory and visual senses. Together, these several types of media extract a multi-sensory reaction from the audience (something that neither illustration nor text can do alone).

This chaotic amalgamation also illustrates the dynamic relationship between representational meaning and evocative meaning. On its own, the representational meaning of the text “Moby Dick” is obvious. The book is easily read on the surface level as a story about a whale. However when Orson Wells’ voice, Led Zeppelin’s lyrics, and Alex Itin’s art are all projected across the visual image of the text, the evocative meaning of the work becomes slightly more difficult to read. The book alone can be analyzed page by page; but analyzing the text, the song, the voiceover, and the art suddenly becomes an unmanageable task put forth by the “new media” compilation piece. Though the representational meaning of the text remains the same (as it has since its inception), the evocative meaning suddenly changes with the inclusion of multiple other interpretations. “Orson Whales” isn’t Orson Wells’ interpretation of the text, nor is it Led Zeppelin’s. Rather, “Orson Whales” is Alex Itin’s own reading of the renowned tale.

By using outside sources to help narrate his vision, Alex Itin brings into question the notion of artistic integrity. Who truly gets the credit? The piece in its present form could not exist without the contributions of Led Zeppelin, Orson Wells, or Herman Melville. Alone, Alex Itin’s illustrations would not be so easily recognizable as a visual reading of “Moby Dick”. Just as “Orson Whales” relies on the interactive relationship between multiple artists, so too do most other forms of “new media”. “New media” depends on the interaction of several different perspectives simply because it has transformed into a means of universal communication in a technological world.