Blog.LitStudios.com - Inspiration

Reality Augmented?

nospam@example.com (Alpay Kasal) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:44:11 -0500

or is Augmented Creativity a better title for the post? check out the dopeness here... Worth1000.com is where I found a Photoshop competition in which people showed their skills off by adding graffiti to classic works of art... and it looks better than it sounds, doesn't it?

Why I like this stuff.

Firstly, I'm a huge fan of the unexpected, it drives my work and my own art. I believe it leaves a lasting impression with the observer/viewer/user and can become more than the intended experience when you're getting people to say holycrap. Which is precisely what I said when I saw these images.

Secondly, I used to be a graf artist, Eno One is the moniker. I've since flipped it into "new media" (what a boring and abused term) and more recently into an obsession with using color, shape, and tech to engage us human animals. I smile at every piece in this competition partly for the nostalgia of what I used to be part of here on the planet of Brooklyn, and also because of the total whimsy - using Photoshop to wreck shop, and get it done with such juxxed themes. fun fun fun.

If you like the five I have here, please visit the link above to see all the contest entries. I'd also like to point out that some people have been combining old and young pieces way before this contest, and without the aid of photoshop. First to come to mind is one of my inspirations, Ewok One. He redesigned his site and I cannot find the point of my linkage but he'd take old landscape paintings (the kind you might buy at one of those starving artists' blowouts) and put one of his characters behind a tree, maybe a hunter wearing a bunny suit. Similar kind of contrast, similar kind of reuse and abuse. Another that comes to mind is Banksy, walking into a museum with framed artwork and a drill under the coat of his over-the-top costume and installing his pieces along with a placard. He's also pulled off other stunts that I think can be counted as graffiti even if no paint was used. Finally, all the classic graf artists (Lee, Dondi, Futura2000 just to name a few) who have done gallery shows, going from the old late night creep in tunnels and trainyards to Pearl Paint to buy stretched canvas. I bet they didn't even expect that one in their 1st days.

When I get a little time to myself, I plan to add one of my own to these images. Inspiration begetting the misuse of Photoshop, it's the graphics artists' cycle of life.

QR codes are all around me

nospam@example.com (Alpay Kasal) — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:13:34 -0400

I have been into QR codes ever since I first learned of them a few years ago. They are a simple and tangible way of looking at some higher level HCI concepts. In short, we all grew up with 1 dimensional barcodes adorning all the products we've ever purchased. Sci-Fi occasionally tattoos it to the back of bald human slaves' heads. They have always been a seamless part of my life, and yours. QRcodes are an interesting upgrade to the shabby old barcode. With something this new always comes a tiny bit of revolution, I've been paying attention to interesting misuses of the technology. I enjoy when art and the world of marketing hijacks technology for it's own uses. Some useful links below. Read on...

Continue reading "QR codes are all around me"

Lightpainting

nospam@example.com (Alpay Kasal) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:24:16 -0400

Lightpainting, a method of creating persistent designs in photography by moving lightsources around in a camera's field of view while it's shutter is left open, and in these photos, it seems the shutter was left WIDE open. I've always been mesmerized by this photo effect, why wouldn't everyone with a digital camera try it? Just imagine what the old timers in the not-so-distant days of film development had to go through to create this effect.

I came across these images while perusing www.notcot.org which led me to www.lapp-pro.de.

I appreciated when Sprint busted out those ads using this method. They were done well, and I started to see similar experiments hit the web afterwards. The Search term "light painting" currently returns 5,520 results on YouTube.

So folks, go grab a flashlight or anything with a lit LED on it (even the seemingly invisible infrared led in your television's remote control, most ccd sensors can see it perfectly) and look for shutter speed settings in your digi - increase the value and start moving your lightsource around... You'll be trying to spell your name afloat in mid-air in no time.

Stephen Hawking fanclub president here

nospam@example.com (Alpay Kasal) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:13:00 -0400

My favorite wheelchaired physicist, and yours. I found this image of a Lego Stephen Hawking while perusing the interwebs. This little guy makes me happy so I'm sharing it here...

here's a quote from a text in which he is speaking about life on other planets:

"...primitive life is relatively common, but that intelligent life is very rare. Some would say it has yet to occur on Earth.”

-Stephen Hawking

Welcome!

nospam@example.com (Alpay Kasal) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:36:20 -0400

Welcome! My name is Alpay Kasal. Inventor. h4X0r. modder. tweaker. Video Artist. My projects sometimes involve very tech concepts, sometimes very... not. I'm also somewhat of a creative, a designer & video artist who does installation work and staging, utilizing hacker/modder skills when possible. I plan to showcase some such efforts right here.

Why'd I start the blog? My website has been a work in progress forever. seriously, forever. I seem to blaze through client projects well enough but, as some creative types might tell you, your own identity can be a tough one to deliver. Maybe the website is always a work in progress because we ourselves are always works in progress, how cerebral. The blog though, it's a form of publishing that is meant to be "unfinished", always fluxing forward. I like that. so here we go, word up.

oh, and a quick addendum: you will see embed codes and associated links whenever applicable. I am big on using the arpanet for it's intended purpose - the spread, warehousing, and redundancy of information, time to get your link on. In the language of buzzwords, we're democratizing content.

www.LitStudios.com