#needing the interactions and ideas and inspirations and warmth of others is human behaviour. it has happened since humanity began | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nnhostingreview · 6 years

Text

Hypothalamus – Role in Motivation and Behaviour

"Behaviour is ultimately the product of the brain, the most mysterious organ of them all." Ian Tattersall (from Becoming Human.Evolution and Human Uniqueness, 1998)

The question of why we are motivated to certain behaviours is perhaps one of the most fundamental in Psychology. Since Pavlov described conditioning in dogs in his famous 1927 paper, scientists have pondered the origins of motivations that drive us to action. For most of the early twentieth century, behaviourists like Watson & Skinner sought to explain behaviour in terms of external physical stimuli, suggesting that learned responses, hedonic reward and reinforcement were motives to elicit a particular behaviour. However, this does not tell the whole story. In the last few decades, the school of cognitive psychology has focused on additional mechanisms of motivation: our desires according to social and cultural factors having an influence on behaviour. Furthermore, recent advances in neuroimaging technology have allowed scientists an insight into the vast complexities and modular nature of specific brain regions. This research has shown that behaviours necessary for survival also have an inherent biological basis.

The biological trigger for inherent behaviours such as eating, drinking and temperature control can be traced to the hypothalamus, an area of the diencephalon. This article will explore the hypothalamic role in such motivated behaviours. It is important to note that a motivated behaviour resulting from internal hypothalamic stimuli is only one aspect of what is a complex and integrated response.

The hypothalamus links the autonomic nervous system to the endocrine system and serves many vital functions. It is the homeostatic 'control centre' of the body, maintaining a balanced internal environment by having specific regulatory areas for body temperature, body weight, osmotic balance and blood pressure. It can be categorised as having three main outputs: the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine system and motivated behavioural response. The central role of the hypothalamus in motivated behaviour was proposed as early as 1954 by Eliot Stellar who suggested that "the amount of motivated behaviour is a direct function of the amount of activity in certain excitatory centres of the hypothalamus" (p6). This postulation has inspired a wealth of subsequent research.

Much of this research has been in the field of thermoregulation. The body's ability to maintain a steady internal environment is of critical importance for survivalas many crucialbiochemical reactions will only function within a narrow temperature range. In 1961, Nakayama et al discovered thermosensitive neurons in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Subsequent research showed that stimulation of the hypothalamic region initiated humoral and visceromotor responses such as panting, shivering, sweating, vasodilation and vasoconstriction. However, somatic motor responses are also initiated by the lateral hypothalamus. It is much more effective to move around, rub your hands together or put on extra clothes if you are feeling cold. Similarly, if you are too warm you might remove some clothing or fan yourself to cool down. These motivated behaviours demonstrate that in contrast to a fixed stimulus response, motivated behaviour stimulated by the hypothalamus has a variable relationship between input and output. This interaction with our external environment may be a 'choice', however it is clear that the motivation to make these choices has a biological basis.

The mechanics of thermoregulation can be explained by what is sometimes referred to as 'drive states'. This is essentially a feedback loop that is initiated by an internal stimulus which requires an external response. Kendal (2000) defines drive states as "characterised by tension and discomfort due to a physiological need followed by relief when the need is satisfied". The process begins with the input. Temperature changes are picked up from peripheral surroundings by thermoreceptive neurons throughout body which sense both warmth and cold separately. An electrical signal (the input) is then sent to the brain. Any divergence from what is known as the 'set point' - in this case a temperature of approx 37° - will then be identified as an 'error signal' by interoceptive neurons in the periventricular region of the hypothalamus. Armed with these measurements and temperature signals being relayed from the blood, the hypothalamus then launches an appropriate error response. This includes motivating behaviour to make a physical adjustment, e.g. to move around or remove surplus clothing in an attempt to control your temperature.

This type of feedback system in the body is common. Other systems necessary for survival such as regulation of blood salt and water levels are regulated in a similar way. However, the processes that motivate us to eat is much more complex.

Humans have evolved an intricate physiological system to regulate food intake which encompasses a myriad of organs, hormones and bodily systems. Furthermore, a wealth of experimental research supports the idea that the hypothalamus plays a key role in this energy homeostasis by triggering feeding behaviours. Controlling energy balance is of crucial importance and eating is primarily to maintain fat stores in the event of food shortage. If fat cell reserves in the body are low, they release a hormone called leptin which is detected as an error signal by the periventricular region of the hypothalamus. This then stimulates the lateral hypothalamus to initiate the error response. In this case, we start to feel hungry which in turns initates the somatic motor response by motivating us to eat.

Since the hypothalamus also controls metabolic rate by monitoring blood sugar levels, in theory we seem to have a similar feedback loop to temperature control. However in practice this is not a reality. The main difficulty in maintaining energy homeostasis is that motivation does not rise solely from internal biological influences. Cultural and social factors also play an important part in motivation about when, what and how often to eat. In western culture, social pressures to be thin can override the need to eat and in extreme cases like anorexia the drive state becomes reversed. The motivation is no longer to eat because they are hungry but is instead not to eat so they do feel hungry. This corruption of the reward system is well documented and is associated with delusions of body image, a concept which is also linked to the hypothalamus and the parietal lobe. Problems can also occur if an individual receives over stimulation to eat. The prevalence of obesity in today's society is testament to this fact.

Read more source : Hypothalamus – Role in Motivation and Behaviour

2 notes · View notes

shemakesmusic-uk · 4 years

Photo

youtube

Tomberlin has shared 'Wasted,' a lullaby-esque stunner about secrets that are hard to keep. Tomberlin engages in some clever wordplay as the song ambles along, each line bleeding into the next: “Can you tell the difference?/ I can tell the difference,” she sings. “Maybe you’re the difference/ Please don’t be indifferent/ I could make it different. "'Wasted’ was the most fun song to record. I brought the song with the guitar part and knew I wanted drums, but wasn’t sure what kind of beat I wanted,” Tomberlin said in a statement, continuing: "Alex played this drum beat for me and was all ‘kinda left field but maybe this would be cool.’ It took the song to a whole new level. Sad song or summer banger? You tell me. The video was made with the help of Busy Philipps (who directed) and Marc Silverstein (who shot it), who are more like family then friends at this point. I was quarantined with them and their girls in South Carolina and we came up with the idea and shot it in about 4 days on an iPhone." [via Stereogum]

youtube

With their debut EP Tell U set to land on October 30 via House Arrest, New Yorks’ Couch Prints - aka Jayanna Roberts, Brandon Tong, and Jacob Truax - have shared the video for the title track. “I wrote the first iteration of this track while living in Denver - I was working this job I hated and had this feeling that life was speeding by,” Brandon says of the new track. “I ended up moving to New York a few months later, and shortly after Jake came out from Paris to record some of the music we’d been collaborating on the past year. While he was [In Paris] he had worked on music with Jayanna, so he called her to come sing on the tracks. We showed her the tracks and immediately she was humming along and had this incredible tone and way of singing, so we started recording for ‘Tell U’ and finished it that night. With so many moving pieces coming together so serendipitously, the final song came to celebrate this feeling of transience and movement and leaving the past behind. When we gave the song to Mayachka for the music video, she took that wistful feeling and our experiences, and created a story about a supposed three-way love triangle between us - with all the romance and nostalgia of a 2000’s soap opera. It perfectly captured the melancholy and strangeness of our first year coming together.” [via DIY]

youtube

Setting her art rock-inspired single 'Battleship' against a stunning clip directed by Pete Majarich, the new one from Jordan Laser deserves all your attention. [via Happy Mag]

youtube

New Jersey-based artist PYNKIE releases lead single 'Personality' from her sophomore album #37 out October 16 via House Arrest. A self-proclaimed ode to divorce (more specifically Radice’s parents divorce), the track is as sharp and witty as you’d expect from PYNKIE. It possesses this off-kilter touch that we’ve seen her adopt since her self-released 2018 debut album neoteny. The track references specific interactions between PYNKIE’s parents as they fight over possessions in the messy divorce. Lines such as “Furniture, Furniture/Over my dead body” are sung with a delightfully naïve charm, effectively capturing the sometimes obliviousness or misunderstanding that children have when it comes to events of such grandeur. With its buoyant bassline, jangly guitars, stoic percussion and perfectly imperfect slacker vocals, 'Personality' is musically a raw joy to behold. It’s flawless in its mixture of the known and the unknown, expected and unexpected. Skilfully wrong-footing the listener by setting up expectations of direction and then changing at the last minute is something that PYNKIE excels at. Lo-fi ethics and embedded nostalgia have become a staple of her music. This 90s nostalgia also takes the main role in the accompanying Kelli McGuire-directed visuals. We see Radice with her hair in bunches, wearing chokers, double denim that’s been scrawled on in felt tip pen and jelly sandals. The lighting is soft yet colourful with a light fuzz that gives it a retro warmth to it, casting our minds back to childhood. With vibrant graphics breaking up the video, topped off with the karaoke-style lyrics at the bottom of the video, the effect is one of wistful fondness. With its combination of unadulterated playfulness, darker tones and gleefully childish sensibilities, 'Personality' speaks to a larger theme that will carry through the upcoming album #37. [via High Clouds]

youtube

No Joy releases the official music video for 'Dream Rats' from their album Motherhood which is out out. The video and track features frontperson and principal songwriter Jasamine White-Gluz’s sister, Alissa, of deathcore supergroup Arch Enemy. The video also features an amazing duck named Success who is somewhat of a local celebrity in Montreal. The White-Gluz sisters want to take this opportunity to spotlight the Le Nichoir Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre, a non-profit organization located in Hudson, Quebec. Their mission is to conserve wild birds as part of our natural heritage.

youtube

Actor and singer-songwriter Maya Hawke released album opener 'Generous Heart' as the final preview of her debut LP Blush, out now. A new interview with i-D reveals that 'Generous Heart' is one of Hawke's favourites from her record, and was created from a poem about love that she wrote as a senior in high school. Hawke also revealed the inspiration behind her debut album title to i-D, "I am a person who really struggles with embarrassment and shame, but it’s such a weird thing to talk about. There’s something embarrassing about even talking about being embarrassed. And the word blush, or blushing, to me is this sort of feminised take on embarrassment. Someone will be like, 'Oh it’s so cute, you’re blushing!' But on the inside, you’re dying. I liked the idea of taking this feminised word for shame, and making it the album title - because I struggle with both the feminisation of it, and the thing itself." She adds of the album, "Something that feels really important to me - and the record is sort of all about this - is how, even as you grow up and start to go through more 'adult' experiences, you’re still a kid. You’re still the same person that you always were. And so there’s the need to remember that throughline of your own humanity. I wanted to have those children’s voices to add a reminder of 'this might sound like a woman’s voice, but this whole childhood life is connected through all these stories'." [via Line Of Best Fit]

youtube

GRETA is making waves. The Copenhagen-based German musician - real name Greta Louise Schenk - has peppered 2020 with a string of superb singles, re-casting Nordic pop in a sci-fi gaze. Working towards her debut album, GRETA has been spending time in the studio with Farao, who has been producing those enormously imaginative sessions. New album Ardent Spring Part hits home on September 4, and it's led by the drifting future-facing pop of new single 'Again'. A gorgeous return, 'Again' is GRETA at her most defiant, an attempt to break out the cycles of behaviour that define us. She comments: "It's a song about the patterns we humans keep repeating even though we would like to break them. How we spend our entire life waiting for it to happen instead of living it." Stine Thorbøll directs the video, a tour de force of female Nordic talent that features the likes of Helena Heinesen Rebensdorff (Brimheim), Julie Christiansen (We are the way for the cosmos to know itself), Mary Jean Moore (MARY JEAN) and Luna Matz (Takykardia). GRETA explains... "The video for ‘Again’ is about a transition to something new and about preparing for that change. About being afraid of uncertainty, but finding strength in each other and oneself. It is about taking its place in the world. About strength and vulnerability. It is an invitation to be with everything you are and a promise that everything is more beautiful on the other side." Bold, and hugely imaginative, 'Again' seems to exist on its own terms, a defiantly independent piece of pop music. [via Clash]

youtube

Australian pop/R&B singer Clairy Browne is making her return to 2020 with her dance-worthy hit, 'Not The Only'. Drenched in glamour and extravagance, Browne has dropped an atmospheric tune with anthemic hooks and enthralling choruses. 'Not The Only' signals a new chapter for the artist as she breaks away from her kitsch retro-pop sound and explores a new neon-tinged soundscape. The songwriter is gearing up to release her next EP ANGEL later on this year and we’re curious to see what else she’s got in store for us. [via Wonderland]

youtube

In these dark and uncertain times, there’s no arguing that we need some relief, and fast. And one act giving us an instant burst of feel-good energy and sonic elation is MRCH with their glittering electronic number 'I Like You'. Drenched in optimism and bouncing into life with retro 80s-style synths, undulating rhythms and ethereal vocal hooks, the Phoenix-hailed duo – made up of Mickey and Jesse Pangburn – are lifting spirits with the synth-pop dance floor filler. The track is the first offering from their forthcoming new EP, out later this year – and has fans excited for their usual riveting live performances when life resumes. The visuals are a trippy retro throwback with the pair bopping and jamming, and making us miss a full throttle hedonistic night out. “Making songs is how we tell ourselves we aren’t alone, and hopefully how we tell other people they aren’t alone either,” explains Mickey. “Ironically, the hardest year for us has produced perhaps the cheeriest of MRCH songs, and absolutely one of our favourites.” [via Wonderland]

youtube

The artist Elohim has been an enigma since she first broke on the scene a half decade ago. She's since stepped out from behind the anonymous persona she originally crafted, and through her tender exploration of mental illness in her art, has reached millions of fans — proving true authenticity has no labels. The Los Angeles-based artist and producer was in the midst of her headlining Group Therapy Tour when the coronavirus pandemic hit, and like so many artists, she had to step back from performing live. But she quickly recalibrated and has been performing live from her home studio — and also working on the visuals for her single, 'I'm Lost.' The supremely trippy, Chase O'Black video captures the surreal experience of dissociating — something Elohim says she's been experiencing she was 7-years-old. "A lot of the art I create is speaking about these experiences (i.e. hallucinating)," Elohim tells NYLON. "'I'm Lost' examines this part of my brain, which is something difficult to put into words, so we decided to share this experience through surreality in the desert. Creating this new music filled my life with the most freeing moments, and making this video felt similar." Take a trip with Elohim to the California desert (and the infamous Slab City — an ideal setting for any artist on an inward journey) with the 'I'm Lost' video [via NYLON]

youtube

Australian pop extroverts Confidence Man return with new single 'First Class Bitch'. The band's extra-dimensional pop activities are the stuff of legend, with their lysergic live shows infused with glorious ear-worm melodies. New single 'First Class Bitch' injects some Confidence Man energy into this quarantine summer, and it's a dazzling return. The central hook is worthy of a Charli XCX project, with the neat, acid house leaning production tapping into the buoyancy of their famed live shows. Singer Janet Planet explains that the title 'First Class Bitch' actually has its origins in London. She comments... “I'd been thinking about this for a while now... It all started in London, when I saw a pair of socks with the words 'first class bitch' embroidered on them, hanging in a shop front window. I suddenly realised, I too was a first class bitch. I rushed back to the penthouse and penned this hit. Ever wondered what you hear when you die? This is it.” [via Clash]

#videos of the week #tomberlin #couch prints #jordan laser #pynkie #no joy #maya hawke #greta #clairy browne #mrch #elohim #confidence man

1 note · View note

alexrascanu · 6 years

Text

How to Reach Your Potential: An Interview with Rebecca Laramée

Rebecca Laramée (human resources leader, chair of the board of Future Sinai at Sinai Health System and performance manager at TEDxToronto) is taking part in the "How to Reach Your Potential" initiative, a series of 100 interviews with leaders who inspire Alex Rascanu and whose insights can help you reach your potential.

About Rebecca:

Rebecca Laramée’s passion for people and business has led her to help companies achieve their highest potential and profitable results through an approach that keeps “human” at the core of their business practices. Her breadth of experience has everything to do with people, including but not limited to: talent management, workforce planning, employee experience and retention, career management, accommodation, learning and development, coaching, HRM systems and analytics, policy development and compliance, corporate culture, and internal communications. Rebecca has held progressive leadership posts at government offices and a world-renowned teaching hospital and research centre.

Passionate about community building, Rebecca encourages others to live a life that is fully engaged and rewarding, and philanthropy plays a large role in that. As a young philanthropist, Rebecca has met some of the world’s most notable change makers and has worked alongside some of the most generous activists. After spending years supporting not-for-profits and starting her own, she decided to focus on building a culture of philanthropy among Millennials. Rebecca serves as Chair of Future Sinai within Sinai Health Foundation, which engages millennial professionals. In just over a year she has helped raise close to $500,000 and doubled the membership base.

Apart from her work across the Human Resources and talent ecosystems, Rebecca serves as Manager of Performance at TEDx Toronto and Manager of Partnerships at The Ultimate Health Podcast. In her free time, you can often find her in the far corners of the internet reading about human behaviour, researching new scientific discoveries, or brainstorming with startups on building game-changing talent and culture strategies.

Learn more about Rebecca by visiting www.rebeccalaramee.com. Connect with her on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Alex: What is your life’s purpose?

Rebecca: To inspire others to live a life that is fully engaged, energizing, and rewarding more than ever by encouraging them to dream bigger, to be present, and to give their time, talents and treasures to the world around them.

To help others get to where they want to be by providing them with the tools and resources to do this that can be passed down for generations to come.

In return, I ask that they do the same for others.

Alex: What are the three things you’re most passionate about?

Rebecca: Philanthropy, building community, quality education, healthy living, and living a faith-filled life chasing after God-sized dreams (oops, that’s five…)

Alex: How do you stay healthy? What’s your main health-related goal?

Rebecca: I started thinking of my health in terms of health span versus lifespan, which is crucial and a game changer. Your lifespan could be anything up to 100 years, but living a life that is healthy is more important than living a life that is simply long. Your health also determines the health of your emotional and mental wellbeing.

With that in mind, staying healthy for me includes taking care of my physical, mental and emotional health. Besides eating healthy, practicing gratitude, and exercise, I make sure my morning and night routines are in line with my health goals. I get in at least 8 hours of sleep which means lights out at 9:30pm, so I can get an early start at 5:33am. The first thing I do is hydrate (drink a glass of water), pray, exercise and then go over my goals for the day. I really have to protect my mornings -- just recently I started keeping my phone on airplane mode until I leave the house. My nighttime routine is just as important, which includes stretches, reading and journaling, goal setting for the next day, and prayer.

Alex: How do you build wealth? What’s your main financial goal?

Rebecca: I've been fortunate enough to have only worked for companies that have the best-defined benefit (DB) pension plans and buy back plans in Canada. Its money I don't think about or see but I know is there. It allows your investment growth to be tax-free and transferable should I decide to withdraw it earlier.

Millennials tend to not think this far out, but I believe it's crucial for building long-term wealth and stability. Diversification by investing in different vehicles and categories and using forced savings. 10% of my weekly income automatically gets deposited into my tax-free savings account. I also invest money in myself and experiences that money can't buy. I want to build wealth that will allow me to give back much more to those around me.

Alex: How do you balance work and family life?

Rebecca: Blocking out time in my calendar. By doing this, I make sure that every interaction is intentional and meaningful, so that I can remain present.

Coming from a European background, family time around a meal is very important, so Sunday lunches are typically dedicated to family time.

Alex: How do you enjoy spending time with family and friends?

Rebecca: Being outdoors and doing something active, serving the community/others, learning something new or sharing new experiences together… or simply conversing over a cup of coffee.

Alex: What has been the most fulfilling role you’ve ever had, or the most fulfilling project you’ve been involved with so far?

Rebecca: The role that comes to mind is serving as Chair of Future Sinai because of my first-hand experience seeing how the funds raised had an impact on women and infants’ health, the long-term impact it has had on providing the best patient care and experience for those who need it most, and improving how they serve the life-long needs of people living with and rehabilitating from multiple, complex health conditions.

Project-wise, it would be the non-profit I started several years back, Cotton Words, because of the feedback I received from those attending the workshops and events. By creating spaces for others to thrive in, it created a space for them to feel safe and vulnerable. It left a personal impact on them by empowering them to share their stories. Something I didn't expect. Two of the guests ended up pursuing writing as a career, which was pretty neat that I got to play a small role in their journey.

You’re the Key Campaign I initiated for Guatemala also comes to mind as a fulfilling project; seeing the warmth and smiles on the children and teachers faces was priceless.

And TEDx for being a part of helping others tell their story and share their idea on an international platform. Personally, it has been one of the most challenging, inspiring, engaging, and fulfilling experiences, having learned so much from the amazing team and speakers who went on the journey with us.

Alex: What’s one career planning lesson that has made a significant difference in your life?

Rebecca: Two-fold.

1) Networking is your net worth. It's important to surround yourself with a network of people who are inspiring, creative, strategic, and innovative who are willing to answer your endless stream of questions along the way. The invaluable insight you will receive by asking questions and being surrounded by role models and mentors will be the greatest education and inspiration for yourself. I've learned the power of nurturing these relationships, keeping them warm, and always asking how you can help them - never expecting anything in return. I'm always in that mind frame of helping others with no strings attached. People can see that. Humbly said, I have never had to search for a job… It just shows the power of your connections.

2) Putting a dollar value on your time. What is the value of your time worth? When you think in these terms, you will realize that it's best to be a master of a few areas rather than a jack of all trades. Focus on what you are really good at, what makes you stand out amongst the rest -- and give the things you aren't good at to those who are.

Alex: What would you like your legacy to be?

Rebecca: To be a quiet one that people rarely talk about. Secretly leaving a deep impact in the lives of the poorest citizens, helping the impoverished to become self-sufficient, and to bring quality education to girls without access to it. That my legacy will be the dreams that I inspire in others, along with my bold prayers that will come to pass in the generations after me.

Alex: Thank you, Rebecca, for taking part in this interview! Thank you for being so open and for sharing your insights!

Did you find one or more of Rebecca's thoughts helpful? Are there any ideas or resources that came to mind as you read the interview?

Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below, and consider sharing the interview with a friend via social media or email.

Also, consider checking out the How to Reach Your Potential interviews with Trina Boos, Hamza Khan, James Tjan, Vlad Rascanu, Drew Dudley, Alexandru Holicov, Andrew Mizzoni, Christa Dickenson, Louise Adongo, Sarah Chaudhery, Jake Nicolle, Andy McIlwain and Busola Akin-Olawore. Thank you.

#interview #purpose #potential #legacy #heath #wealth #career planning #reachyourpotential #humanresources

0 notes

hopefulphantomwonderland-blog · 7 years

Text

New Post has been published on Pagedesignweb

New Post has been published on http://pagedesignweb.com/the-role-of-vision-in-business/

The Role of Vision in Business

What is man or woman without sight? And I don’t mean sight with the eyes but a much stronger kind of sight – I mean vision.

If you really look at the human condition you will see that it is in the realm of the senses that we spend much time. We want to eat, we want to drink, we desire, we respond to stimuli around us – all of which are prompted by reactions with our senses for the most part.

This is all well and good, and indeed our senses – taste, touch, smell and sight are responsible for enjoyable things in our lives. How great it is to savour a delicious kind of food like an amazing tropical fruit, to enjoy a drink so tasty or to feel the sun’s warmth on a glowing summer’s day. How pleasurable to look at a sparkling ocean and to hear music being played. The sound of a grand piano, the pull from our middles of a violincello.

But really, these are the more basic of the human functions we have. Senses work only in conjunction with stimuli and if we are not careful, Pavlov’s Dog can begin to best express our behaviours – conditioned and reflex. Unthought-out and rote. Reactive rather than inspired.

Business demands more than senses – more than just a relationship between external stimuli and our senses. Business demands something from the realm of higher human behaviour. It demands that faculty which lifts us above the mundane, demands the faculty which breaks through all ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and ‘maybe’s’. It forces from us a relationship with this faculty and says – “stay with me if you want to do well” – that faculty – is vision.

Vision is so important that it can’t be understated.

We all love business – business is something excellent, it brings interaction with others, it brings exchange in terms of money. It can be demanding, it can be tiring, but like a tether of light and pulling us along – it is our vision, and our relationship to vision that determines, in many ways, how well we do.

The vision that we have in business is the same skill, the same type of focus that great men and women have had and developed all through their lives. Greatness in business and greatness in life have no separation.

Great people possess great vision – it is forged by the master craftsman of their will-power in the furnace of their minds. And great businesses require vision too.

So we really must nurture vision – every day we must return to the image we have created of our business and it’s role. In a way, it is our businesses which create our worlds. Vision doesn’t talk in shades of grey – it is always bright, strong and golden.

So your vision for your business could have been to establish a world-wide company – a network of trade, spanning the continents. Or your vision may be to create a product that brings more peace to the world. You may have set out to utilise technology to make people’s lives better, or simply because you love technology so much that you just intrinsically know that you have no choice but to mould it into the most amazing shapes you can. Your vision may simply be to create a business which brings you and your family wealth and wellbeing – all of these visions are worthy. Strive on always with your vision. Take time, everyday to refresh it. Your own mind is the strongest tool you have – vision one of its great powers.

Even as we get older and things change all around us – vision remains constant – as long as we make it strong within us all the time. So do not worry, on those days where an important staff member quits, when the amazing product you’ve just got onto the market doesn’t perform as well as you expected. When your tax bill is higher than you thought and when cash flow problems seem like a big hurdle – they aren’t. Make your vision stronger and obstacles will fall away and your business, and all of your life, will grow strong and radiate life’s excellence throughout.

Whatever your business is – try and nurture your vision – when days seem tough it is often vision that will provide fresh ideas and inspiration. People always talk about business plans – great. But you need the whole thing in your mind before any of that. You don’t have to have every tiny detail but forge for yourself an image of excellence of what you want your company to be – it could be that you want to reach a certain goal this year with the business, it could be that you need to break into new markets, perhaps overseas, it could be that you need to grow your team and just get exactly the right people in place. Make your vision strong for it will outlive you. Never give up on your vision and it will never give up on you. Remember, in your vision is integrity and well-being – it is the highest of human faculties – make your business the highest it can be – it is within your ability to do so. Strive on and achieve. Light your vision and let it light you.

0 notes

nofomoartworld · 7 years

Text

GAMERZ: Digital tech ‘degenerated’ by craft and kludge

Trailer for the 12th edition of the GAMERZ festival

I’ve attended a fair number of editions of the GAMERZ festival over the years. The event seems to have found a formula that works, developed a personality of its own while always bringing to light new artists, perspectives and ideas that surprise me. Some of the performances are a bit mad and frenzied, a bit raw and totally at odds with the sleek and efficient aesthetics and atmosphere of many other media art festivals. And that’s why GAMERZ remains one of my favourite art appointment of the year.

Under its laid-back guise, GAMERZ is also sharp and subversive. It uses games, interactions and sounds as vehicles to observe a society re-shaped by technology and a technology challenged by artists and hackers.

Tapetronic aka Alexis Malbert performance at GAMERZ. Photo by Luce Moreau

Yann Leguay, Stück für Stöcke

This year, the festival was organized around two fairly different themes. Simulated Universe, curated by Ewen Chardronnet and D. Générer, curated by Quentin Destieu.

Today, I’m going to focus on D. Générer, an exhibition and series of performances that explored the aesthetic peculiar to the kind of “digital” artworks that is guided by craft, kludge and a rowdy DIY spirit. These works are (de)generated by the touch of the human hand. They don’t have the efficient and polished aesthetic of design products, but they have soul, vigor and warmth.

“Researchers an theoreticians have already demonstrated the role of art & science-inspired aesthetics in the service of innovation and industry,” Destieu writes. “But they tend to underestimate the alternative and subversive aesthetic potential of these artistic forms, reducing them to default prototyping. Contrary to American historian Fred Turner’s dearest « makers » movement, in which innovating prototypes are to be eventually re-designed to be mass-made and sold, artists claim a different end to their works.”

Each work selected for the show champions an ‘alternative’ aesthetic that values the glitches of the process and the imperfection of technology. Perhaps even more interestingly, these works present themselves as a kind of anti-Apple squad, they open up their guts and show the mechanisms that brings them to life. By doing so, they suggest that there is an alternative to our passive-impassive consumer attitude and that now has come the time to reconnect with the objects that surround us (no matter how high-tech or low-tech they are) and make them our own:

A quick look at some of the artworks:

youtube

Yann Leguay, Arnaud Rivière and Jérôme Fino, DIRECT OUT. Sound experiments in the streets of Mulhouse (France) during the Météo music festival

youtube

Arnaud Rivière, DIRECT OUT

Direct Out takes sound creation and sound distribution outside of the concert halls, galleries and other traditional venues for music. The artists behind the work, Yann Leguay, Arnaud Rivière and Jérôme Fino, DIYed their own instruments by repurposing existing gadgets and materials. They then walked around the city looking for street furniture, trees and objects that would make their autonomous modules beep, buzz and resonate. By hooking up onto existing infrastructure, the small devices adopt a parasitic behaviour but they do so while remaining low-key and unobtrusive. They never not attempt to compete with the existing soundscape. Instead, they quietly capture and reveal the untapped energy and confidential vibrations of the urban environment.

If you read french, poptronic has a great write-up of the work.

salle

youtube

Yann Leguay, Stück für Stöcke

With Stück für Stöcke, Yann Leguay replaced with a piece of wood the tablets and phones held by game players in youtube videos. All that remains is the player’s finger gestures. The removal of the usual visual references reminds us of that interfaces are of little use without our own movements. Something that has always been clear to a tech industry obsessed with identifying every single gesture that can be patented and monetized.

youtube

Tapetronic aka Alexis Malbert, Scratchette demo 2016

Tapetronic aka Alexis Malbert, Scratchette. Photo by Luce Moreau

Scratchettes! The kind of work that cheers me up!

Since 1999, Tapetronic aka Alexis Malbert has been subverting, dissecting and transforming audio tapes, tape-recorders and other ‘old school’ devices into nifty little music machines. His instruments are as bizarre and charming as a ‘turntable’ for cassette tapes, a music sex toy vibrator or a Walkman on wheels. It’s about hacking, creating new sounds with old ones, but also about giving new life and purposes to bits and pieces of metal and plastic that could otherwise have been discarded:

“We’re not obliged to stay abreast with the new developments that big industries thrust on us,” he told Motherboard. “We can transform what already exists so that we can live a new experience.”

Tapetronic DJing his tape settings during GAMERZ. The most important part of his noisemaking art is not so much the K7 itself but the magnetic fields that can be scratched like vinyl:

Tapetronic aka Alexis Malbert performance at GAMERZ. Photo by Luce Moreau

I think i need to warn you about what comes next. It’s Windows 93 and it’s wild!

Windows 93 at GAMERZ festival. Photo by Luce Moreau

Artists Jankenpopp and Zombectro‘s spoof project imagines what could have happened if Microsoft hadn’t skipped a step between Windows 3.X and Windows 95.

The Moss and Roy of French art made a rather convincing parody of an early version of Windows, complete with a 8-bit version of Solitaire called Solitude, silly silly keyboard music, a cat explorer, songs for potatoes, a bit of always on trend GIFs, and icons you’re not sure you should be clicking on.

The speed is not what i would call optimal and as i wrote above, it’s proper bonkers. But also very clever and hilarious, even if you’re everything but a geek and you might not get all the references and innuendos

For the GAMERZ festival, the artists gave a 3rd dimension to their hallucinating pixelated online world and turned it into an installation that takes the form of ’90s cyber-café. It was interesting to watch people sit down and play with the operating system. What i found most curious was that it seemed to appeal to children, teenagers and middle age guys. Some stayed there for the nostalgia factor, others might have been attracted by the (intentional) dysfunctions refreshingly at odds with everything that is meant to make today’s mainstream ‘user experience’ seamless and pleasant.

Benjamin Gaulon, ReFunct Modular. Photo by Luce Moreau for GAMERZ

Refunct Modular is a wall-mounted version of Benjamin Gaulon’s ReFunct Media project. It uses a set of modules, each one connecting to the next using custom made connectors, they share power (5 and 12v), audio signal, video signal and spare lines for misc connections.

The sculpture hacks and repurposes discarded electronic devices, both digital and analogue, combining them into a complex chain of interconnected elements. The possible configurations and appearances of the final sculptures seem to be limited only the artist’s impulses and imagination.

ReFunct Modular doesn’t pretend to be an answer to the questions raised by e-waste, planned obsolescence and lack of sustainable design strategies. Rather, as an installation it experiments and explores unchallenged possibilities of ‘obsolete’ electronic and digital media technologies and our relationship with technologies and consumption.

Benjamin Gaulon, KindleGlitched*. Photo by Luce Moreau for GAMERZ

KindleGlitched* is a work that explores the (so far grossly neglected) aesthetics of Planned Obsolescence. The work is a series of glitched kindles donated, found or bought on eBay. They have stopped working and would have ended up on a dump somewhere in Ghana if the artist hadn’t seen their singular beauty, signed them and sold them on Amazon as an insolent gesture of Retail Poisoning.

vimeo

Reso-nance Numérique, Chimères Orchestra at GAMERZ festival

Reso-nance Numérique, Chimères Orchestra. Photo by Luce Moreau

Chimères Orchestra are drummer-robots that hook onto urban structures. The metallic creatures play with the sonic capabilities of the built environment by drumming onto them with their little legs. The work is playful but also a bit mysterious and worrying. The creatures live above your head, dance with a mind that seems to be their own and seem to combine traditional percussion with coding mechanic with surprising ease. If simple machines can already exploit our architectures and music traditions now, imagine how robots will surpass and humble human creativity in the near future!

from We Make Money Not Art http://ift.tt/2kdleZo via IFTTT

#IFTTT #We Make Money Not Art

0 notes