Road to Remix

::::::Stage One:::::::

When you think of a remix your mind tends to go to the newest viral video on YouTube or that latest techno song combining your two favorite artists. But at the root of it all, what is a remix?

I ask such a question because I find myself asking it now. I have been tasked with creating a remix from virtually anything I want and I struggle with the concept because I don't really feel that I, as an artist, am creating something that is possessive. 

Art for me tends to be possessive - if I make something, I call it mine. In the instance of creating a remix though can I stamp the finished product with my digital signature and possess the new creation as my own? Welcome to the perpetual war of copyright supporters and the digital pirates that steal their booty.

All of that aside, I am still making a remix and I am still thinking through the pre-production process in forming a new work of art out of something preexisting. So for those of you who are bored and intrigued or if you're my professor who's grading this (hi Tracy!) here are my current thoughts/narrowed results:

1. Avoiding YouTube :::::::::
While no doubt the largest and most accessible video database on the interwebs, the vast majority of videos on YouTube are not art and (much to Duchamp's chagrin) I tend to think that if it didn't start as art it wont end up being art.

2. Content of the Remix :::::::::

I am a huge fan of satire. I think the results of poking fun at politics is by far the most rewarding feeling when it comes to my work because people go absolutely mindless when their particular viewpoints are showcased in a not-so-fashionable light. That being said, I am aiming to remix something political.

3. First Thoughts :::::::::

The first fruits of my mind tend to be the most radical. Hence my first creative ideas tend to be the ones that I keep to myself due to the possibilities of offending someone or kicking up unnecessary dust. My first thought when thinking about a political remix involves making a 'commercial' that contains sliced up clips of past and current American political leaders edited to be jointly saying the Communist Manifesto by Carl Marx.If you asked me why I wouldn't be able to produce a good answer except for that it would make people uncomfortable and instantaneously opinionated. My second thought would be to write a paragraph for a political campaign commercial and, in a similar fashion to my previous idea, cut up clips from presidential speeches to say my paragraph that would contain harsh opinions of puppets and corrupts. 

That's all I got as of Oct. 4th

I'll keep this updated as my "road to remix" develops further. Until then, enjoy my current favorite remix on YouTube here.

Your friendly Neighborhood Giant,

~Alan