BLOG PROMPT TWO: Appropriation and Collaboration
In B Flat (2011) by Darren Solomon and Thru-You (2009) by Kutiman
PLEASE ANSWER BY POSTING COMMENTS.
From A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art, "Appropriation in art is the use of pre-existing objects or images ... To appropriate means to adopt, borrow, recycle or sample aspects of (or the entire form of) human-made visual culture."
Collaboration is when more than one person intentionally work together to create a work of art.
Interact with In B Flat and watch at least one song from Thru-You (I recommend "Mother of All Funk Chords"). Briefly describe these art projects in terms of appropriation and/or collaboration.
In B Flat by artist/composer Darren Solomon: http://www.inbflat.net
THRU-YOU | Kutiman Mixes Youtube by artist/musician Kutiman: http://thru-you.com
The video/videos, In B Flat (sorry, I don't know how to make the title italicized here) is an example of collaboration. All of the participants included in the website posted their own videos with "In Bb" in the title. Each individual is apart of the whole-which is an interesting use of modern technology to create art. The THRU-YOU series is an example of appropriation because it is a combination of multiple different videos to create a new video with new meaning. None of the publishers of the original videos did so with the intention of being sampled in this type of music mixture they are now apart of.
ReplyDeleteTHRU-YOU is a appropriation of different instruments and vocals all uses to create a new full musical experience. The videos were not necessarily created to be used in this manner, but the artist spliced then together to create something new. In B Flat is a collaboration of different musicians who all came together to make one music piece. Each participant made their video with the intention that it be used for this project.
ReplyDeleteIn B Flat is a collaborative project, as the artist who put together the videos did so with a call for submissions based on a set of guidelines. Therefore, everyone involved knew they were contributing to a larger whole. By contrast, Thru-You is a clear-cut example of appropriation, as the artist sampled several other YouTube videos without asking permission from their original creators. That said, much like In B Flat, he created new songs almost entirely from snippets of these videos.
ReplyDeleteSo IN B FLAT fits the description of a collaboration, because the people involve intentionally submitted their videos knowing it was for the project, and the intention of their videos was to be a part of it. It is intended to be listened with two or more parts of the project in order to create a unique sound. THRU-YOU, however, is appropriation, because they took sources from other videos that were not linked to their project or were not intended to be mashed up with other videos and music. This project is also not as interactive, because there is set musical remixes already made. However, it does achieve the same affect last IN B FLAT because its parts by themselves are much, but when paired with others they can create something pretty catchy
ReplyDeleteThe B Flat project focused more on the aspect of collaboration as many artists submitted their work into a single space where the site visitor could basically create a new song based on what videos were clicked. Each piece stood alone in this case; however, they also intentionally worked each of their own pieces cohesively together. Thus, when the site visitor would select each video in the timing they choose, the final result would still sound pleasing to the ear.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, the Thru-You project focused more on the aspect of appropriation as a single artist, Kutiman, took many youtube videos together to make a single music video. Kutiman sliced each piece of footage and audio from the original works to create a new piece of music. The original artists did not have the original intent to be a part of the larger project and as long as the remixer gives proper credit, I think this is really cool. I've seen an artist do something to this degree but with a video game as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCKRI_3q13Q&list=PLI-qZC_2Y4Gjrj3c1ycMOLbI_0EJBhXXO
Both were inspirational and brought people from all over the world together through the language of music which bypasses normal language barriers. The new type of music the projects brought forth were inspirational and creative. I hope to see more of these projects down the road.
The videos in Bb is a great example of a collaboration. All of the people submitted their videos knowing it would be part of the project. They were meant to work together to create a unique sound by playing them all or some or one at random times. I had fun with this one. Thru-you is different because these artists did not intentionally put these videos out to be a part of one video. Instead, the creator used their videos to mash them all together to create a new unique sound. It is a clear example of appropriation.
ReplyDeleteIn B Flat is a collaboration of multiple people inputting some video for the creation of a larger work. Everyone involved acted willingly and it can be argued that In B Flat is the work of many artists. But when looking at Thru-you, even though it involves creations of many people, it can be appropriately deemed the work of one person. The videos used for the work were of course made by other people, but for completely different purposes. Many of the videos seem to be tutorials actually, but when remixed were able to make a tune. And what makes the project more interesting is that these videos were demonstrated to have a use that went beyond their original creators intent, showing a value to others that the creators may not have foreseen.
ReplyDeleteIn the collaboration "In B Flat," we see multiple artists intentionally collaborating together to construct a piece that remarkably works together even when played asynchronously. As others have mentioned, the artists have knowingly contributed to this project. I found it most interesting that despite the differences in video quality and settings, the audio remained nearly consistent throughout, even when played at different times. Most titles also contain the phrase "Bb," indicative of the key in which they are played/spoken, and also for the artists to associate themselves with the collaboration.
ReplyDeleteProject "Thru-You" really pushes the mind in recognizing patterns in rhythm and key within music. I have long admired works like this, and decided to do a little research. Since this compilation of music through appropriation of public videos is in fact composing, I have no hesitation in deeming Ophir Kutiel (Kutiman) a talented composer. Kutiel has the ability to see beyond what most would write off as a simple riff or drum session and morph them into beautifully crafted songs. My favorite of the collection is number 6, "Wait for Me." Each of these songs has a joyful unpredictability that keeps this listener/viewer engaged both audibly and visually. One article I touched upon how remarkable it was these artists should be so perfectly in sync with each other without ever having met each other or knowing how their music is being used.
"Thru-You" is an example of an appropriation because its collection of already-existing works to create new music. It wasn't an original work as much as a "frankensteined" work (if that makes sense). The creator was like Dr. Frankenstein taking already existing pieces to create new life, or in this instance new music whereas the "In B Flat" project was a collaboration because multiple artists purposefully came together to create the project instead of someone "stealing" (not being able to think of a better word for it) pieces of other work to make something else.
ReplyDelete[i]In B Flat[/i] is a project that is more of an collaboration than appropriation. Each artist uploaded a video of them playing a certain instrument. Though the project is made by piecing the works of several artists each playing their own parts, all of the artists are well aware of this project and intentionally play their instruments for the sake of them being played together. The audio is consistent and wholesome throughout, regardless of which video you play first and which video you choose to pause in the process. A single video by itself is flat and repetitive, but together, they made this musical project complex and whole.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand Project [i]Thru-You[/i] is a product of appropriation. Though the songs were pieced together in a similar way like [i] In B Flat [/i], each artists presented were not aware of this project as a whole. The videos were made in different times, each intended to stand on its own and gave its own message. The artist cut and assembles these videos in order to convey a new song, a new message.
Ignore the tags [i][/i], I'm attempting to make the project titles italic, it failed.
Delete"In B Flat" is an example of collaboration because each individual entered a video with the intentions of being included in the project. Each person submitted their video following the guidelines that were put in place to become part of the project. They artists involved in this were playing various instruments with the intention of those sounds being used with other videos.
ReplyDelete"Thru-You" is an example of appropriation because it combines numerous videos that were already uploaded on Youtube. The artists in the clips did not upload the videos with the intention of it being used with other artists. The videos alone were just one artist playing an instrument and talking/ singing, but all together it made a full song.
I think that with the work Thru-You the Mother of All Funk Chords, which, by the way, is the funkiest thing I’ve listened to this week is most certainly an appropriation. In this case, I find it quite fascinating that what we see is that this sample borrowing comes to form the culture of music in which people share their skills. Being someone who utilizes these platforms it is quite fascinating to see this community be recreated into a work of art! Finally, project B Flat is most currently a collaboration as the artists have come together to generate the work as one. It must have taken a lot of work to collaborate and edit this work on the scale that it is.
ReplyDeleteProject B Flat took many artist to collaborate and create a large scale project. Each having a roll to produce a song that lines up perfectly. Each having to play in a key in which they can sound alike and in sync. However, in Thru-You we have artist collaborating not knowing they will be part of a larger scale project. Still it has the same affect with all the artist sounding good with one another. The editing and mixing also plays a roll when the song plays through out.
ReplyDeleteIn B Flat
ReplyDeleteThis project combines YouTube videos of musicians playing in the key of B flat. Solomon uses appropriation by reusing existing content. It's also a form of collaboration because the performers contribute to the overall piece, even if they didn’t work together directly.
Thru-You
Kutiman mixes clips from YouTube to create new songs. This is appropriation because he takes pre-existing videos and reorganizes them. It's also a kind of collaboration since the original video creators unknowingly play a part in making the final songs.