YouTube videos: Sure, they're popular. But are they art?

The technology section of the LA Times released a very interesting post recently. It explains how the Guggenheim is going to open an exhibit of contemporary art featuring YouTube videos as its attraction. I found this interesting because I would have never assumed that YouTube videos were "art". I am a big fan of YouTube, I spend lots of time mindlessly surfing through random videos and laughing at the funny stuff people do, but do I consider them art? Probably not. 

The article explains the reason for the exhibit. "Since the 1970s, video has been an established medium," stated the chief curator at the museum. It went on to tell that as a medium people are expressing work on it as an outlet of art. This doesn't mean that all YouTube videos are art- there are requirements to be considered. Especially for this exhibit. To make sure that the pieces for the exhibit were considered “art” the Guggenheim opened to submissions. But they had to meet these requirements:

“1) Inner cohesion. "The piece stands alone as a work." The submissions ranged from 25 seconds to 9 minutes, 21 seconds.

2) Originality. "Most of us have a sense about things that look too derivative, meaning things that are so clearly influenced by something else." Unless the references to other work are deliberate, curators look for videos that are fresh, either in the concept or the aesthetic.

3) Meaning and resonance. "We're looking for things with a message, it can be political or social. There are also videos with personal statements, which is equally valid."

4) Videos that represent the unique nature of the medium. "The videos we saw really look at the DNA of the medium. The sheer abundance of online video and use of it by both the art community and everybody else makes it different. You don’t have to take it seriously, because it’s not all good. But it’s relevant."

5) Aesthetics. "We look for things that are both poetic, universal and personalizable. (We’re) not going to say something is art or not art. We can say whether it’s good or not."

With those type of requirements I feel that changes the meaning of YouTube videos. These requirements make the videos posted works of art and not just fun mindless videos people upload just for kicks. When watching the videos that the article paired with itself my mind instantly changed. YouTube can be used for art and I look forward to seeing the upcoming exhibit. 

Here is one of the videos that will be featured:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmR0V6s3NKk&feature=player_embedded#!

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/09/youtube-videos-at-the-guggenheim-museum-online-videos-as-art.html

Facebook Bill of Rights

http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/07/facebook-bill-of-rights/

It is interesting to read just how influential Facebook is. Although it is not the most visited website, it is up there as one of the most popular websites online and more importantly one of the websites that users care about the most. Especially on a college campus, it would be rare to find a group of students who do not have a page or even who have not checked their page within the last day. The article I found hi-lights how many people use the social website and how all of the technology surrounding us  has us currently living in a digital country rather than a geopolitical one. Because of those thoughts the article then goes on to argue that because this website is so powerful and influential the users of the site should have some sort of protection.

I have a Facebook page and I agree with this article. I would not want my account to be hacked, or publicly exposed to those I do not want seeing it. The article discusses privacy settings and how  a "master password" could allow employees to access pretty much anything on your page. Granted, Facebook is a free site and users voluntarily sign up- but I agree with the article that if a user marks something as private it should stay that way.

I can see the pros to strangers being able to access information on the Facebook website, though. At my internship this summer I worked a little bit in advertising and social media and I learned how valuable the information posted on Facebook can be. Rather than putting an ad out into the internet and hoping that someone surfing will notice it and the ad will apply to them, Facebook "likes and interests" help a company directly target an audience. By accessing that information a market can be successful for both buyers and sellers.

This article was a valuable find to me because it applies directly to my life and brings up interesting points on online privacy as well as how digital our world is becoming. I agree with the article, protection should be given to the users, but a compromise should be found for the benefit of advertisers. I feel online issues are ones that are going to need to be around for quite some time, but hopefully they will be properly addressed so that online sites (such as Facebook) are able to grow and thrive into a large part of our future.