Copyright

In the reading “Copyrights and Copywrongs” the author mentions how copyrights, which were once meant to protect someone’s “intellectual property” are now actually becoming so constraining that they stifle creativity.  In this new age of digital media, appropriation (clearly, one of my favorite topics) is becoming an increasingly significant expressive technique.  The only problem with this is that under current copyright law, there is no acknowledgment of “appropriation,” only “copyright infringement”.  It seems to me that its quite a shame that we are not allowing artists and others to elaborate on ideas that others have created before them.  What is learning and advancement, and culture as a whole, but building upon the knowledge and work  of those before you?  I don’t think there’s anyone who would agree that starting from scratch every time is a good idea.

As a side note, here’s an example of appropriation at its finest: a band called Animal Collective have managed to secure for themselves (legally, of course) the first ever licensed sample of the Grateful Dead’s music.  Listen to it, I bet you can’t even tell where GD ends and AC begins.  It’s another testament to the kinds of creativity that we’re stifling  with these restrictions.  Luckily, these guys had the means to pull it off.

Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky

You Are Here.

The “You Are Here” reading made me realize things about maps that I had never thought of before.  Typically, maps are thought of as something that are static and difinitive.  There are a number of things we expect of a map of the United States, or anywhere else: that it be to scale, represent things that are actually there, etc.  We don’t ever think that a map is out of date immediately after it is published.  The world is an ever-changing place, and it has characteristics that you will never be able to capture in a static image.

For example, John Fulford’s map of his childhood walk to school was neither definitive nor static.  First,  it was drawn from his memory, which could be incorrect.  Second, it also shows changes that his daughters have made to indicate things that are no longer there, or new since he was a child.  In this way, the map represents two different truths, and can not be definitive.

In addition to John’s map, which you can see above, you can check out a number of other cool maps, of both the traditional and nontraditional varieties, here.