About | Remix Defined | The Book | Texts | Projects | Travels/Exhibits | Remixes/Lists| Twitter

Archive by December, 2017

The Elements of Selectivity: After-thoughts on Originality and Remix.

Selectivity_Diagram

Figure 1: Diagram showing the tautological process of meaning creation.

Download PDF

The following are edited notes, which can be considered a theoretical mashup from a number of presentations which took place during the Fall of 2017, specifically on October 10 at the Arts & Design Research Incubator (ADRI), Penn State, on October 11 at The University of Caldas in Manizales Colombia, on November 1 at The University of Bern, Bern Switzerland, and as a lecture at Karen Keifer-Boyd’s graduate seminar class at Penn State on November 8. I was fortunate to have received ample feedback on what I presented, which led to the current set of notes I now share. I want to thank everyone who made my presentations possible, during what turned out to be a very busy, but intellectually fruitful period in 2017. In the lectures, I was able to explore the relation of the elements of selectivity (modify, add, delete) in relation to the cultural state of meta, which is the stage in which we create cultural value, and the different forms of remix. These notes, as is the case with much of my writing, are in the process of making their way in remixed fashion to different publications. In effect, the section titled, “The Elements of Meta” is already part of the closing chapter in my book Art, Media Design, and Postproduction: Open Guidelines on Appropriation and Remix (Routledge, 2018).

Challenges of Remix

When we think of remixing, most likely it is remixing byway of material sampling that comes to mind (taking a piece of an actual music recording). But remix principles are also at play in terms of cultural citation (making reference to an idea, or a style, story, etc). The difference between these two forms of recycling content and concepts can be noticed when examining the forms of the medley and the megamix. The medley is usually performed by a band, while a megamix is composed in the studio usually by a DJ producer, who understands how to manipulate breaks on the turntables.

When considering this difference and evaluating how sampling functions in the megamix (which is basically an extended mashup of many songs), it becomes evident that a remix in the strict sense of its foundational definition has to be materially grounded on a citation that can be quantified, in other words, measured because a remix is based on samples. While a sample is quantifiable, a cultural reference (citation) is not, and may not even be noticed by an audience, thus making the material performed appear original. Due to the ability to trace samples back to their sources, given that they are recordings, DJ producers quickly ran into trouble with copyright law: a lawyer could play a sample from a Hip Hop song, in direct juxtaposition with the source of the sample and prove on material grounds that the sample was an act of plagiarism.

[…]

Download PDF

Book: Keywords in Remix Studies Now Available

512cgXIHXAL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_

Cover concept by Eduardo Navas, Owen Gallagher and xtine burrough
Cover image: DJHughman

xtine burrough, Owen Gallagher, I are  very happy to share the news that Keywords in Remix Studies is now available. It was released on November 28, 2017 in both hard copy, paperback as well as ebook.  We thank our colleagues who contributed rigorous chapters to a second anthology on remix studies.  We hope the remix community finds the book of interest as a contribution to the ongoing reevaluation of remix as a creative and critical form of cultural production. The book is available among major sellers. The easiest way to buy it is on Amazon or directly from Routledge. Below is the abstract plus the table of contents.

Keywords in Remix Studies consists of twenty-four chapters authored by researchers who share interests in remix studies and remix culture throughout the arts and humanities. The essays reflect on the critical, historical and theoretical lineage of remix to the technological production that makes contemporary forms of communication and creativity possible. Remix enjoys international attention as it continues to become a paradigm of reference across many disciplines, due in part to its interdisciplinary nature as an unexpectedly fragmented approach and method useful in various fields to expand specific research interests. The focus on a specific keyword for each essay enables contributors to expose culture and society’s inconclusive relation with the creative process, and questions assumptions about authorship, plagiarism and originality. Keywords in Remix Studies is a resource for scholars, including researchers, practitioners, lecturers and students, interested in some or all aspects of remix studies. It can be a reference manual and introductory resource, as well as a teaching tool across the humanities and social sciences.

 

Introduction
Eduardo Navas, Owen Gallagher, xtine burrough

1 Appropriation
Authored in Collaboration with Contributors

2 Archive
Richard Rinehart

3 Authorship
John Vallier

4 Bricolage
Annette N. Markham

5 Collaborative
Aram Sinnreich

6 Consumerism
Pau Figueres

7 Copyright/Fair Use
Patricia Aufderheide

8 Cut-up
Janneke Adema

9 Creativity
xtine burrough and Frank Dufour

10 Deconstruction
David J. Gunkel

11 DIY Culture
Akane Kanai

12 Fan Culture
Joshua Wille

13 Feminism
Karen Keifer-Boyd and Christine Liao

14 Intellectual Property
Nate Harrison

15 Jazz
T Storm Heter

16 Location
Dahlia Borsche, translated by Jill Denton

17 Mashup
Nate Harrison and Eduardo Navas

18 Memes
Authored in Collaboration with Contributors

19 Parody
Mark Nunes

20 Participatory Politics
Henry Jenkins and Thomas J Billard, with Samantha Close, Yomna Elsayed, Michelle C. Forelle, Rogelio Lopez, and Emilia Yang

21 Remix
Eduardo Navas

22 Sampling
Owen Gallagher

23 Transformative
Francesca Coppa and Rebecca Tushnet

24 Versioning
Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky

Current Projects


 

 

    Books

     


    Remix Theory | is an online resource by Eduardo Navas. To learn more about it read the about page.

    Logo design by Ludmil Trenkov

    http://www.mentalhealthupdate.com/