People have a certain way on explaining how they look at art, and there can be media that influences how one experience this. Butler and Grusin talk about two categories on where these experiences can be categorized. The first of the two is Immediacy where it is the more realistic and one angled perception is taken. It is a very straightforward take of the image for example, photographs that are just taken in the moment. Now the other main category is Hypermediacy is where the media highlights realism for more intense experience. An example of this would be a person playing a video game that is set in World War Two where they know its not real, but provides on knowing many different angles of what happened in reality.
When Butler and Grusin use virtual reality references to help drive the Immediacy and Hypermediacy the terms they use can get misguided. The way they are describing how we view this perception on viewing art comes along with new terms to name it as. In their explanation there are some new terms they put that I feel I can not grasp the whole meaning they are putting out. Because I will cross it with an already present meaning that I know so the point they make is lost to me. Besides this point Butler and Grusin really brought out their point on how we perceive art in either Immediacy and Hypermediacy.
An article from Mediated Memories uses these two categories when comparing the physical and virtual space of a museum. A twist that is taken is how they use the same virtual image, but displayed in a window or full screen to show different degrees of immersion. The point the author is making is the object itself making the point of either being Immediacy or Hypermediacy. However, the author makes the clear point that these two categories reinforce each other when displaying this museum since Immediacy and Hypermediacy can as well go hand in hand. A point to make across of these two branches is how twisting perception can be separated points or entwined together.
You hit on a key point when you say "Immediacy and Hypermediacy go hand in hand." That is a really crucial part of remediation theory as Bolter (not Butler) and Grusin explain it. You also correctly summarize the basic concepts of immediacy and hypermediacy in your first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I had trouble understanding what you were trying to say with the article you linked to in your last paragraph. I am not sure what you mean by "A point to make across of these two branches is how twisting perception can be separated points or entwined together." The remediation article is really complicated, but instead of giving an example of another article at the end, you could give an example of a media object. For example, a science fiction movie is immediate because it tries to create a realistic narrative and immerse the viewer in the fantastical world, whatever it might be. But, science fiction movies are also hypermediate because they draw attention to their special effects and the viewer begins to wonder... how did they do that? how did they create that scene? how is this possible? when/if viewers wonder that, they are becoming aware of the medium of film and they are taken out of the immersive narrative/fantasy. So, basically the alternation between these two feelings is at the heart of all visual representations. The example of science fiction movie would show that.
oh, and don't link to an article that is behind a firewall. when someone reads your blog and clicks the link, they can't get to the article unless they are affiliated with UTD. What you COULD do is link to the book's homepage (the book is also titled Remediation) on the MIT Press web site. Or just don't include a link at all.
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