SAMSTAG_28.02.2009_SEKTION IV_15-20 UHR
12_15:00 Remix[ing]. The Three Chonological Stages of Sampling
Eduardo Navas, Künstler und Medienwissenschaftler, University of California in San Diego (USA)
Sampling is the key element that makes the act of remixing possible. In order for Remix to take effect, an originating source must be sampled in part or as a whole. Sampling is often associated with music; however, this text will show that sampling has roots in mechanical reproduction, initially explored in visual culture with photography. A theory of sampling will be presented which consists of three stages: The first took place in the nineteenth century with the development of photography and film, along with sound recording. In this first stage, the world sampled itself. The second stage took place at the beginning of the twentieth century, once mechanical recording became conventionalized, and early forms of cutting and pasting were explored. This is the time of collage and photo-montage. And the third stage is found in new media in which the two previous stages are combined at a meta-level, giving users the option to cut or copy (the current most popular form of sampling) based on aesthetics, rather than limitations of media. This is not to say that new media does not have limitations, but exactly what these limitations may be is what will be entertained at greater length.The analysis of the three stages of sampling that inform Remix as discourse is framed by critical theory. A particular focus is placed on how the role of the author in contemporary media practice is being redefined in content production due to the tendency to share and collaborate. The theories on authorship by Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault are entertained in direct relation to the complexities that sampling has brought forth since it became ubiquitous in popular activities of global media, such as social networking and blogging.
Eduardo Navas
artist and researcher specializing in New Media and Contemporary Art. He has presented and lectured about his work and research in various places throughout the Americas and Europe. Navas collaborates with artists and institutions in various countries to organize events and develop new forms of publication. He has been a juror for Turbulence.org (Boston) in 2004, Rhizome.org (NYC) in 2006-07, as well as consultant for Creative Capital (NYC) in 2008. He is founder and was contributing editor of Net Art Review (2003-05), and is co-founder of newmediaFIX (2005 to present). Navas was gallery Coordinator at CALIT2, UC San Diego in 2008.
He has taught art and media theory at various colleges and universities in Southern California, and currently is Visiting Assistant Professor at Pennylvania State University, State College. Navas is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) in the Department of Art and Media History, Theory and Criticism at the University of California in San Diego. He currently researches the history of Remix to develop a theory and better understand the principles of remix culture.