OUCA501 - Cybernetics

Howard Gossage's "Cybernetics 101; Advertising Module"
...in which everything to do with advertising and the consumer should be like an information loops. There should be constant communication where feedback is given back and forth by the consumer to the advertiser.

Jeff Goodby;(on Gossage) "I think he wanted to use media to connect with people and hear what they had to say and to tell them things, and to have a conversation with them instead of talk at them."(pg.61)

Example of cybernetics:
Spar - Mumbai, India;
Spar placed artificial clams on a beach to interact with consumers. When the clams are opened, the audience can read a text inside saying: "Looking for seafood? Spars seafood festival".



Bibliography:
Harrison, S. (Author) Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man (2012) AdWorld Press.

Murano, G. (2009) Another 16 Creative Ads in Unusual Places [Online] http://www.oddee.com/item_96672.aspx

OUCA501 - Panopticism

Panopticism
- Michel Foucault
(Visual Culture - Evans & Hall)

Part (a):

1. What is the major effect of the Panopticon?
Essentially to sustain a role of power through the idea of being constantly under surveillance; "Hence the major effect of the Panopticon; to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility, that assures the automatic functioning of power."(pg.65) 


2. How does the architecture [institution] create and sustain a power relation independent of the person who exercises it?
The watching tower in the middle of the Panopticon allows the observer to watch but to never be seen. It's unverifiable as to whether they are always watching or not. The observer has no identity causing a "...disindividualised" power. "Unverifiable: the inmate must never know whether he is being looked at...in the central tower, one sees everything without ever being seen."(pg.65)

3. In what way is the Panopticon efficient?
By causing individuals to believe that they are constantly being watched, you begin to place them in a state of mind where they begin to watch themselves - they begin to monitor their own behaviour. This is effective in not having to use excess force or punishment which we use within many of our institutions currently; "...no more bars, no more chains, no more heavy locks...he who is subjected...to visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power...he becomes the principle of his own subjection...perpetual victory that avoids any physical confrontation and which is always decided in advance."(pg.66)

4. How does the Panopticism do the work of a naturalist [scientist]?
It can be applied to other institutions - schools, hospitals, work offices etc. in which natural scientists can observe the differences in behavioural patterns between individuals; "It makes it possible to draw up differences, among patients...to observe the symptoms of each individual...schoolchildren...to observe performances...to distinguish 'laziness and stubbornness'...workers...possible to note the aptitudes of each worker...to calculate their wages."(pg.66)

5. In what ways was the Panopticon a laboratory?
"...it could be used as a machine to carry out experiments..."(pg.67) on how individuals would behave if told different views or theories. Example - using "different systems of thought; making certain children believe that two and two do not make four or that the moon is a cheese..." and placing them together at a later date to watch their discussions. (In terms of psychological experimentation, however, this may be seen as highly unethical.)

6. List the conditions in which Panopticism strengthens power?
"It does this in several ways...can reduce the number of those who exercise it, while increasing the number of those on whom it is exercised...possible to intervene at any moment...the constant pressure acts even before the offences, mistakes or crimes have been committed...[although] it never intervenes...without any physical instrument other than architecture and geometry, it acts directly on individuals; it gives 'power of mind over mind'...more intense; it assures its own economy...its efficacity by its...continuous functioning...automatic mechanisms...'a great and new instrument of government...great strength it is capable of giving to any institution..."(pg.68)

7. According to Julius, how is the Panoptic principle particularly useful in a society made of private individuals and the state?
It could be applied incredibly quickly in today's society as we are already individualised and separated. In an "...ever growing influence of state..." we are already under intense surveillance; "Our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance..."(pg.69)

8. Also according to Julius, rather than suppress the individual, what effect does the panoptic principle have?
"...it is not that the beautiful totality of the individual is amputated, repressed, altered by our social order, it is rather that the individual is carefully fabricated in it...we are part of it's mechanism."(pg.70). We will essentially begin to conform, much like the way we conform to the power of social media - it is consensual to join, but may be harder to leave as we put more and more information about ourselves on to it (Panopticon - we are being constantly watched, in this case, by our online 'friends'.)

Part (b):
Do you think social media increases the tendency for the exercise of power through surveillance? 

Social media, such as Facebook, may be one of the biggest culprits at exercising power through surveillance. Using this for profit by selling individuals information to other companies (this is known as 'big data'), software is essentially beginning to watch over people. As stated in question 8 (above), it is consensual to create a 'profile', but your permission is not necessarily needed to gather more information (there is even an option available to users to ask other individuals questions about their personal details e.g. where you originally lived, what school you attended etc. if it is not already available on their 'profile'.)

This has not been unnoticed, however, by many.
An example of this can be found by Brighton art group 'Blast Theory' who have created an app entitled "Karen". "Karen" is a fictional character that is described as "...a life coach and she is friendly. Too friendly." She psychologically profiles you as you play.


Why have they created "Karen"?:

"We’re always looking at where technology is going, and what that might mean for culture and storytelling. At the moment we are really fascinated with big data, and particularly how governments and large companies such as Facebook are collecting data on us secretly and using it without our consent. We feel it's our job as artists to pose questions about these trend. Karen pushes the boundaries of artistic apps and uses data in a way that is playful, open and fun." (Blast Theory - kickstarter.com)

Bibliography:

Evans, J. Halls, S (editors) Visual Culture: The Reader (1999) Sage Publications Ltd.

Blast Theory (2014) Karen - An App That Psychologically Profile You as You Play [Online] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1320191398/karen-an-app-that-psychologically-profiles-you-as?ref=nav_search

OUCA501 - Creative Rhetorics/The Creative affordances of technology

What is creativity?

"Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. If you have ideas, but don’t act on them, you are imaginative but not creative." (creativeartwork.com)

"The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination." (dictionary.com)

Creative Rhetoric: The Creative affordances of technology
"If creativity is not inherent in human mental powers and is, in fact, social and
situational, then technological developments may well be linked to advances in
the creativity of individual users. This rhetoric covers a range of positions, from
those who applaud all technology as inherently improving, to those who
welcome it cautiously and see creativity as residing in an, as yet,
undertheorised relationship between contexts, users and applications"
(The Rhetorics of Creativity: A Review of the Literature. pg.71)

Screenshot of Nuji.com

A perfect example of this can be found by 2011's Emerging Talent Awards winner Vincent Thome (London) who created the site Nuji.com in which you can "...tag your favourite products in the offline world on your mobile by scanning the product barcode or simply taking a picture of it - or you can bookmark it at Nuji (in just one click). It identifies the products, helps you remember them and allows you to share and recommend the products you have found with your friends." (campaignlive.co.uk)

One of the most impressive digital/technological campaigns are for Apple Inc. In particular, the iPod Touch silhouette advertisements (as shown to the right) created in 2002. This campaign is one of the most memorable for it's links to both art and growths in digital technology (in terms of Apple products and digital media). Apple's advertisements fully embrace the idea of technological development and use it as a means of communication for the masses. As well as identifying us all as individuals (multiple songs and people were used in various versions of this particular campaign), it also seems to acknowledge how both music and technology can bring us all together.

Bibliography:
Anon (2014) What is Creativity? [Online] http://www.creativityatwork.com/2014/02/17/what-is-creativity/

Anon (N.D) Define Creativity [Online] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/creativity

Banaji, S., Burn, A. and Buckingham, D. (2006) The Rhetorics of Creativity: A Review of the Literature. Creative Partnerships Arts Council England [Online] http://www.creative-partnerships.com/literaturereviews

Harris, D. (2011) Emerging Talent Awards: The Winners [Online] http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1095809/