Here's an idea, PBS Idea Channel is TED Talks from the fringe
Now that the Idea Channel has gone weekly it is time to catch up (and if you haven't before, subscribe.) Hosted with great wit by Mike Rugnetta and produced by Kornhaber Brown, each one of their short videos presents things we knew from an interesting perspective to consider, or introduces something you didn't know existed (bronies, really.) Their content is that particular blend of art, culture, technology and that something extra that I love and that is why I am declaring them the TED Talks from the fringe of creativity. Take a look at these recent episodes and you'll be hooked.
Is Twitter the Newest Form of Literature?
Everyone is familiar with Twitter, the uber-popular micro-blogging site, which limits the user to 140 characters. The tweet is perfect for sharing your favorite links and updating the world about your life, but it might also be the newest literary form! While many think that art requires unbridled freedom, constraints often inspire the greatest creativity. And this massively constrained communication, which has remarkable similarities to the Haiku, has inspired creativity worthy of the name "literature."
For the past 200 years, the gallery has been the home of new and cutting-edge art, a place where the art community can come together and share new ideas. But in this episode, we ask: is the web browser replacing the gallery as the best place to view amazing, cutting-edge art?!? In the era of the internet, you can view remarkable art from the comfort of your laptop. Accessible to virtually everyone, web art does away with the physical limitations of the gallery and makes impossibly cool art a part of our daily lives!
Some of the best things to be found on the internet are music mashups! It's a strangely pleasing experience to listen to totally unrelated artists commingling on the same music track. Mashups are awesome because they break genre expectations, which makes us think: why have genres at all? Nowadays there's so much cross-pollination in music and art, creating more and more sub-genres, that the larger genre categories are becoming a useless relic.
Nail Art is all over the internetz, and suddenly it is a THING. The crazier the nail art, the more we marvel at the technique and time that went into it. But is there an artistic message behind these little cuticle canvases? Nail Art may seem superficial and trivial, but its fleeting nature allows it to be a purely free expression, and it's pretty to boot. Nail art makes us wonder if anything, given enough creativity, can be a canvas for artistic expression.
If you haven't had a chance to play with Microsoft's Kinect, you're missing out on some great video games and some amazing art! The Kinect is a crazy awesome piece of XBox 360 hardware that maps your physical movements onto any screen. Artists of all stripes have embraced the Kinect - using the gesture recognition technology to create some pretty amazing interactive artworks and insanely impressive visuals. These works wouldn't have existed without this amazing piece of technology, making the corporate giant Microsoft the 21st century's incarnation of Lorzeno de Medici.
How Did Sherlock Holmes Pave the Way for 50 Shades of Grey?
You've probably heard of the risque novel "50 Shades of Grey" since it's now the best selling paperback of all time. But you may not know that it's Twilight fan fiction! It seems shocking that a fan fiction novel has become so popular, but 50 Shades isn't the first book to break through the fan community boundaries into mainstream culture. Over 100 years ago, Sherlock Holmes' popularity created a profusion of well received fan fiction. It allowed authors from amateur to professional to explore the world originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and pave the way for other future fan fiction canons, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and yes, 50 Shades of Grey.
Consider this Mike Rugnetta interview by The National Film Society a post extra:
Previously on the Idea Channel:
What are bronies, and are they changing the definition of masculinity?
PBS Idea Channel: Are Hologram Tupac And Hologram Freddie Mercury Nostalgia Or New Aesthetic?
Superflat Epic Minimalism And Hello Kitty
Is Instagram The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Photography?
Is “Texts From Hillary” Art?
Authenticity In Pop Music: Computer Generated Miku Hatsune vs. Marketing Generated Lana Del Rey
Super Mario Brothers Is The World’s Greatest Piece Of Surrealist Art