Creativity in the Remix (2011)

Creativity in the Remix
Nelson Zagalo, CECS/engageLab, University of Minho
The Culture of Remix
2nd International Graduate Conference in Communication and Culture
Lisbon, 13-14 October, 2011

the ones who do
video
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

…we learn by direct imitation
Marco Iacoboni,(2008), The Mirror Neuron Revolution: Explaining What Makes Humans Social, in Scientific American
“The way mirror neuronslikely let us understand others is by providing some kind of inner imitation of the actions of other people, which in turn leads us to “simulate” the intentions and emotions associated with those actions.” [1]
Mirror neurons absorb culture directly, teach us socialization, open the realm of a common world view through observation and imitation.

…the “inevitability of technology”
Kelly, K., (2010), “WhatTechnologyWants”, New York, Penguin Group
“Alexander Bell and Elisha Gray both applied to patent the telephone on the same day, February 14, 1876. “
“The electric telegraph was reinvented by Joseph Henry, Samuel Morse, William Cooke, Charles Wheatstone, and Karl Steinheil. ”
“The Frenchman Louis Daguerre is famous for inventing photography, but three others (NicephoreNiepce, Hercules Florence, and William Henry Fox Talbot) also independently came upon the same process. “

…creative coincidences
Armageddon (1998)
By Michael Bay, TouchstonePictures
Deep Impact (1998)
By Mimi Leder, Paramount Pictures

AntZ (1998)
Eric Darnell, Dreamworks
A Bug‘s Life (1998)
John Lasseter, Pixar

4 films, same subject (virtual worlds), in less than a year,
between 1998 and 1999

3 films, same subject (Coco Chanel life), in 9 months,
between 2008 and 2009

A play from 1998
A film from 1998

Jonathan Mak (October, 2011)
Chris Thornley (May, 2011)

…infinite demand
video
[4]
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI,
XII, XIII, XIV, XV
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX
+ XXX seasons
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
I, II, III, IV, V, VI
I, II, III, IV, V, +…
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII
IX, X, XI

…infinite demand
Thousandsofhoursofnewcontent are produceddailyintheworld to feed:
Movietheatres,
Opera,
Theatre,
Dance,
Television,
Radio,
Books,
Comics,
Videogames,
Musicconcerts,
Standup shows,
Circusspectales,
Etc, etc,

…infinite demand
Neverbeforehumanityhasproducedsuchammountofcontent.

…remix process
HumanMirroring
produces
REMIX
respondsto
explainsthe
responsable for
infinite demand
Inevitability of technology
creative coincidences

…nothing is original
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it.”
Jim Jarmusch, (2004),
“Golden Rules“, in MovieMaker,

…we can
“Good artists copy,
Great artists steal.”
Pablo Picasso

…how do you steal?
"Creativity isn't magic, It happens by applying ordinary tools of thought to existing materials."
KirbyFerguson, www.everythingisaremix.info

…how do we create
We play,
We brainstorm, [a]
We play,
We experiment, [b]
We play,
We mix, [c]
We play,
We remix [d]
We do [e]

…we brainstorm
No goals
No purposes
Mind roam free
Play with ideas

…we experiment
No goals
No purposes
Do roam free
Play with your hands

…we mix
No goals
No purposes
Add/sub roam free
Play with mixing
photographer: Rene Maltete
slide: Austin Kleon

…we remix
video
Video for campaign ”ComeBack To Life” (2011)

…we do
video
“Rolling in the beats”, (2011) by Chris Evans-Roberts

…to conclude
Remix is what our culture is, which is strongly supported by human communication made of the exteriorization of our thoughts.
Trying to stop this natural human process through the enforcement of Copyright laws, is wrong, and don’t serve Creativity at all, neither the progress of our species.
But serves mostly the profit of the ones who don’t do.
“for a technology company, going on offense with software patents seems like an act of desperation, relying on the courts instead of the marketplace.”
Jonathan I. Schwartz, ex-CEO of Sun Microsystems

…
video

references
[1] Marco Iacoboni,(2008), The Mirror Neuron Revolution: Explaining What Makes Humans Social, in Scientific American
[2] Kelly, K., (2010), “WhatTechnologyWants”, New York, Penguin Group
[3] Everything is a Remix, KirbyFerguson, www.everythingisaremix.info
[4] Versions (2010), by Oliver Laric, http://oliverlaric.com/
[5] Austin Kleon, (2011), How to Steal Like an Artist, http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

The Culture of Remix2nd International Graduate Conference in Communication and Culture Lisbon, 13-14 October, 2011
Nelson Zagalo, nzagalo@ics.uminho.pt
H. http://nelsonzagalo.googlepages.com
B. http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com
F. http://www.facebook.com/nelsonzagalo

Creativity in the Remix (2011)

by Nelson Zagalo

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