Summary: The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction | Introducing the Frankfurt School February 28, 2008 by ginal In his essay, “The Work of Art In The Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Walter Benjamin discusses a shift in perception and its affects in the wake of the advent of film and photography in the twentieth century. He writes of the sense changes within humanity’s entire mode of existence; the way we look and see the visual work of art has is different now and its consequences remain to be determined. Benjamin here attempts to mark something specific about the modern age; of the effects of modernity on the work of art in particular. The sense of the aura is lost on film and the reproducible image itself demonstrates a historical shift that we have to take account of even if when we don’t necessarily notice it. As Benjamin continues, a tension between new modes of perception and the aura arise. Key passages: “During long periods of history, the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity’s entire mode of existence. Like this: Like Loading...
A More Resilient Species “A playful brain is a more adaptive brain,” writes ethologist Sergio Pellis in The Playful Brain: Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience. In his studies, he found that play-deprived rats fared worse in stressful situations. In our own world filled with challenges ranging from cyber-warfare to infrastructure failure, could self-directed play be the best way to prepare ourselves to face them? In self-directed play, one structures and drives one’s own play. Self-directed play is experiential, voluntary, and guided by one’s curiosity. This is different from play that is guided by an adult or otherwise externally directed. A MacArthur Fellow told me that, when he was a teenager, his single mother would drop him off at an industrial supply store on Saturdays while she ran errands. Photo: Linda Stone. Play researchers’ findings indicate that self-directed play, for both children and adults, nourishes the human spirit and helps develop resilience, independence, and resourcefulness.
Why We Need More Small Ideas I'm always a little saddened when I see people who are unhappy with their jobs and spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for the next big idea to drop into their laps. Sometimes in conversations with these people, I find myself thinking of how thin the line really is between praying and whining, and how easy it is to cross. These people are thinking too large. They're trying to invent some new killer product or service, which, in many cases, they would be unprepared and unqualified to develop and deliver. This is the critical distinction between invention and innovation--two completely different, and basically unrelated, endeavors. By and large, no rocket science is required. The most striking thing about this process is, in many cases, not how different the new approach or solution might be but how similar it is. It’s not as easy as that sounds, but it’s a lot easier than you might expect. Let me give you a simple example. Now here’s where innovation comes into the picture.
From Google And Berg, A Superb Concept For Better Video Chatting In early 2011, the world was a slightly different place. Google+ and Google Hangouts weren’t out yet. And during this brief window of time, Google Creative Lab brought on creative studio Berg to work on a device--a physical product “encapsulating Google voice/video chat services.” They called it the Connection Box, or Connbox for short. The entire story, diligently documented on Berg’s site, is a prolonged glimpse into the logical process behind cutting-edge industrial design. Berg started by asking “what materials make up video.” Around this time, Berg began challenging video-conferencing convention. Finally, they began prototyping the Connbox itself in a series of prototypes. The shame is, the project was scrapped before Berg finished.
bbc.co.uk : BBC Languages – Free Online Lessons to Learn and Study with Walter Benjamin: Art, Aura and Authenticity How has capitalism affected our experiences of art and the media? In the third of his eight-part series on critical theorist Walter Benjamin, Andrew Robinson examines Benjamin's famous thesis that mechanical reproduction has transformed the arts, and explores what a 'political art' might look like. By Andrew Robinson (Source: thearcadesproject.tumblr.com) Perhaps Benjamin’s best-known work is ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’. This short piece provides a general history of changes in art in the modern age. In Marxist fashion, Benjamin sees the transformations of art as an effect of changes in the economic structure. The aura has disappeared in the modern age because art has become reproducible. The aura is an effect of a work of art being uniquely present in time and space. The traditional work of art is experienced mainly through distanced contemplation. Benjamin argues that distraction became an alternative to contemplation. Ritual is not necessarily reactionary.
How To Tell If You're Creative (Hint: You Might Be A Bit Of A Jerk) Forget Myers-Briggs. A study out of BI Norwegian Business School has determined the signposts of a "creative" personality. Conducted by Professor Øyvind L. There are seven elements of a creative personality, so if you’re thinking about quitting your job as a lawyer or stock analyst to go on tour with your band or finally write that novel, you might want to consider the list below. You’re Creative If: Your Mind Has an Associative Orientation. You Hunger for Originality. You’re Highly Motivated. You’re Ambitious. You’re Flexible. You’re Emotionally Volatile. You’re a Pain in the Butt. Creativity Training Martinsen says that our personalities become fixed around the age of 25 or 30; if you’re inherently creative, you should know it--and display at least some of the seven tendencies-- by then. Environment can have a particularly strong influence on a person’s creative prowess. [Images Flickr users: Andy, Theilr, Patrick Denker, and Omer Wazir]
4 Ways To Amplify Your Creativity The holidays are over, the weather is lousy, and we’re sober again. We made all kinds of New Year’s promises, but the big one that will change our careers, if not our lives, is the promise to ourselves to become more creative. In my new book, Creative Intelligence, I show that creativity is learned behavior that gets better with training--like sports. You can make creativity routine and a regular part of your life. That’s true for big companies as well as small startups, corporate managers as well as entrepreneurs. The huge national policy storm brewing over “dwindling innovation” and an “innovation shortfall” also gives creativity an even greater agency. So here are four specific ways to lead a more creative life and boost your creative capacities. 1. Nearly every creative entrepreneur, artist, musician, engineer, sports players, designer, and scientist works with one, two, or a handful of trusted people, often in a small space. So you need to engage with creative people. 2. 3. 4.
A scientific guide to saying "no": How to avoid temptation and distraction 2K Flares Filament.io 2K Flares × Learning how to say no is one of the most useful skills you can develop I found, especially when it comes to living a more productive and healthy life. Saying no to unnecessary commitments can give you the time you need to recover and rejuvenate. Saying no to daily distractions can give you the space you need to focus on what is important to you. And saying no to temptation can help you stay on track and achieve your health goals. In fact not being able to say no, is one of the most biggest downfalls that successful entrepreneurs claim as their own key mistakes. But how do we actually get past the urgencies of everyday life and avoid distraction, so that we can focus the things that are really important to us? It seems like a big task, I wholeheartedly agree. How to Say No: Research Reveals the Best Way In a research study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, 120 students were split into two different groups. Here’s what happened:
How to Win Friends and Influence People Six Ways To Make People Like You Become genuinely interested in other people.Smile. Remember that a man's name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in the English language. Be a good listener. Twelve Ways Of Winning People To Your Way Of Thinking The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. Nine Ways To Change People Without Giving Offense Or Arousing Resentment Begin with praise and honest appreciation. Fourteen Rules For Making Your Home Life Easier Don't nag. Notes Criticism is futile because it puts a man on the defensive, and usually makes him strive to justify himself. When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important. Almost Everybody Wants... Health and the preservation of life. “Every man is my superior in some way. It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. Why prove to a man he is wrong? Kids
UX & UE | About Interaction The field of Interaction Design is relatively new compared to other well-established fields like maths or physics. Although quantitative research in the field has made it more science-like, we can hardly say it is pure science. Experiments in science should be reproducible and theorems in science can be strictly proved, but this is hardly realised in user research. IxD – An unmatured field Another manifestation of an new or un-matured field is that people use different terms to refer to the same thing. Usability and User Experience If you were asked to give the aim of Interaction Design (or whatever you call it). Usability is an older term compared to user experience. The Goals Whenever we design a user interface by following interaction design methodologies, we must fulfil a set of usability goals and another set of user experience goals. (1)Usability Goals What are the usability goals? Jokob Nielsen, a Danish usability consultant, is a big name in usability. 1. e.g. 2. e.g. 3. e.g. e.g.