After reading this week's Lankshear and Knoble:(2008) Ch1: DIY Media, I decided to tackle a review of a You Tube Video that has made the rounds lately on Facebook, Pintrest and other media websites. For this critique I will be looking at media grammar, story and voice/creativity.
The video is a Turkish medium called Ebru, or painting on water. The piece is completed by Ebru pro Garip Ay. Though it is not exclusively posted as a DIY, there is a world of buzz around the idea that anyone could attempt this process.
The Media Grammar
The small excerpt given below the video is concise and give a little information, offers 2 websites to look into the artist, and then also sites to see more art and design. Looking at the job of You Tube to inform, and spark interest in the media, I would say that it has done it's job, I looked further in into the art of Ebru, and the artist. The wording, context and phasing are all appropriate for a variety of viewers, the language though simple is not overly simple, but could be read by a a beginning reader.
The Story
The story is short and could use far more background, to help people understand the art of Ebru, but does leave the part of participation to the viewer, which according to Lankshear and Knobel, is exactly what they should have done. The video is paired nicely with Ludwig Van Beethoven's - Moonlight Sonata, and the comments below offer a range from amazing to thoughts on the life of Van Gogh.
Voice and Creativity
The work itself is incredible creative, the video itself , not so much. Though the video is well dubbed and produced, but on the whole is not very creative. There could have been a title in a Turkish font, or a little back story on the art of Ebru. The work itself does resemble the famous work by Van Gogh, and it is fascinating that Ay then turn the work into a portrait of Van Gogh without changing the water. But when pairing the two there are dramatic differences, and should there be? After comparing the two, Ay had really created a sort of 're-mix' of the famous painting, not an image of the famed 1889 Starry Night.
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| Garip Ay Starry Night, Ebru 2016 |
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| Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night, Acrylic 1889 |
The video is a perfect example of how new technology and media can be synthesized with old techniques and tools to promote visual aesthetics. The difference between the two, no one tried to copy or emulate Van Gogh in his time, he was/is a Master, whereas today the digital age has really made nearly everything accessible.
https://narrateannotate.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/lk2008ch1.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1eS3ChsQAM
http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889
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