RE: When Programmers Design Web Pages ...

[Nora von Gerichten <wlg -at- pacificcoast -dot- net>]

"No, it's not you. It's really bad. The colors are awful. It's ugly. Hard to
imagine that a designer created it."

This is an art school.  There is an entire tract of art that WANTS bad, 
ugly, awful colours, no aesthetics, etc.  This web site tells lots and lots 
about what kind of art student they want.  LA is the capital of kitsch, bad 
taste, etc.  It is very much what I can imagine coming from an LA art 
school.  Like I wrote in a post earlier, Andy Worhal would be proud.

I think it is ugly, horrid, etc.  Most likely, they want to offend, 
repulse, and/or get a conversation going with this web site, even if it is 
negative, or especially because it is negative.  To that end, they have 
achieved their goal and Techwrlers will be tittering endlessly 
tomorrow/today about what poor programmers they are.

I would have no trouble, with a few very select images, standing in front 
of an undergrad art class and extemporaneously discussing this web site as 
being a natural continuum of the Dada art movement in Zurich between WWI & 
WWII, moving through the international neo-Dadism of the 60s and onto  the 
21st century.  After all it has a solid tradition of 70 years or so.  I 
could conclude with a nice rap up of how the role of artist in society is 
that of critic.  The web site is confusing, disorienting, etc, as is much 
of the web, society, globalization, etc.  The web site is itself a piece of 
art that reflects the culture, time, and place of its creation.  No 
different from any other piece of art throughout civilization.

Kenneth Clarke (the sewing thread magnum) did a BBC film, 
Civilization.  John Burger did a retort, also on BBC, The Ways of 
Seeing.  Check out the contrast.  That is what this web site is about.

So as everyone talks about what horrid programmers the web designers are, 
remember, it will make the statement that TW know nothing about art, 
aesthetics, or the history thereof.  TWs will be themselves making a 
romantic, biased, and uneducated reflection of the sub-culture that they 
are representative of.

This web site must either be a drunken/drugged fiasco or an art 
piece.  Both reflect the US culture, as it was created within the US 
society.  Criticisms can be turned against anyone making them by merely 
saying you do not want to see your own culture as it is seen by others.

That is sort of hard put, but, as I wrote, I would have no trouble with 
giving an excellent 3 hour lecture on what a good piece of art the web site 
is.  If the intent of the web site is to impart information, it is still a 
reflection of the culture that created it and as such can be considered 
"found art".


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