Remix Culture Artifact
To view the original post “Remix Culture,” click here.
Objective
- Become acquainted with copyright as a historic, cultural and economic paradigm and its value and pertinence to creative works.
- Examine their own and others values and paradigms of ownership and authorship of cultural media.
- Explore the changing nature of copyright in the context of “Remix Culture”
Reflection
In the post “Remix Culture,” I analyzed several artifacts of remix culture and their relationship to Lawrence Lessig’s ideas of RO and RW culture. Lessig’s big picture argument is that our current culture surrounding copyright laws inhibit creativity. Lessig gives a TED talk descriptively titled, “Laws that choke creativity.” In his talk he describes the RO culture as a “Culture where creativity was consumed but the consumer is not a creator. A culture which is top-down, owned, where the vocal chords of the millions have been lost.” By examining several remixed parts of culture like Danger Mouse’s Grey album I was able to achieve the course objectives of: become acquainted with copyright as a historic, cultural and economic paradigm and its value and pertinence to creative works and also, explore the changing nature of copyright in the context of “Remix Culture.”
In a later post, Remixing with Google, I was able to create my own remixed image and strive to understand whether or not I can consider it a work of art. As with previous artifacts, it’s important I return to what art is and the role it plays. Looking back to Ellen Dissanayake and my post “What Is Art For?” I can strive to find remix cultures place in the art world.
Postmodern seems to closely resemble the remixed art that is apparent in our culture today. Dissanayake describes postmodernism as, “…challenging the aura of exclusiveness and religiosity of the museum, art is created on the street, in remote deserts, or found in humble or trivial objects and materials” (p. 20). Re-mixed art is accessible to anyone who can use the internet and is a widespread movement that challenges the traditional ideals just as postmodernism does. One example of remixed art that’s pushing against tradition is the image above by Gary Andrew Clarke. Altogether, exploring the ideas of copyright, remixing, and culture helped to achieve the course goals listed above.
Future Directions
This unit brought awareness to the repercussions of remix culture and copyright law. I learned about how copyright laws can inhibit artistic creativity and the shifts that are occurring in our culture. In the future I will take more notice of the cultural changes and how remixing reflects these changes.
Lessig, L. (2008). Comparing Cultures. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy (pp. 84-116). New York: Penguin Press.
Lessig, L. (2007). Laws that choke creativity. At TED2007. Monterey, California. Accessed March 17, 2015.
Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26).