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October 21, 2009

Apples

It was somewhere in 2003 that I was asked by my Mom's friend to rip a couple hundred CDs to her laptop so she could put it on her iPod. Being completely business-minded since a young age I charged her per CD (at the time this was a skill not many kids my age had). I didn't know what an iPod was. Heck, nobody new. I hardly even knew Apple even did anything other than that Mac thing that so totally failed - and anyone who bought one was an idiot.

So there I was with this PC laptop and a boxed third generation iPod and a big stack of CDs to get onto it. As I un-boxed the iPod, you can't imagine the sort of immense 'wow' you get out of it. They don't package iPods like that anymore. It came in a medium-sized cube which folded out, and one was greeted with the 'Designed by Apple in California' on opening it. The type on the box was glossy silver. It came with a Firewire and USB cable, along with a dock, pouch, case and cloth.

I didn't know how to use it. It only took a few minutes to figure the thing out. The backlight to the four top buttons was red. I liked that. The hold key got me confused for a second (why isn't this darn thing working?!) but then you just click it back to white and it lights up on its own. You scroll around, you punch in the center. Hey these headphones came with it... hey this sounds pretty good! Oh shit this thing lasts 8 hours?! How many GB did you say? I don't even have that much music.... Oh wow the metal back is so shiny... and there's a silver Apple etched right in the middle of it... they muse use lasers to do that...

... Holy expletive who came up with this.

So I spent a few days transferring the music onto it and careful sneaking in a couple hours of listening time in between study breaks. Eventually, since it wasn't mine, I had to let it go but the fascination continued and I found myself on Apple.com a few times a week just reading about what they were up to with all this.

I don't remember how long it was till Mom gifted me one of these. 20 gigabytes. Carry all your music in your pocket. Before this I used to listen to music on my phone or carry around a little pocket radio (those were so popular, and when they started making them look like iPods you knew radio is dying). I was addicted to it. A little treasure. Always carried in the case. No keys in that pocket, ever.

Having an iPod in 2003 was very different from having an iPod in 2009 (wow, six years huh). I'm not talking about it being a status symbol. It wasn't just that. Sure, you had to be quite fortunate to have one, but there was more to it. iPods weren't popular at all. Especially in India. Not many people even knew what Apple was all about (me included). So this exciting new device came fresh without any background and could just stun people. If you had an iPod then, you were unique (and again, not only because your parents could afford it). There was something about it that said you knew what good design was all about. It was almost as if you knew Apple was going to take over the world at that point. And you had the first bits of it. The iPod wasn't a trend, it wasn't cool necessarily, it was what is was because of design and function. No other player could carry as much music. No other player was as thin, sleek and well thought out in doing so. As simple as that.

So there was something special in being part of the Apple culture at the time. Was it because it was so small? That's one of the reasons. Another reason is you had to be smart to have one. This is a time when (in my surrounding humanity) the knowledge on how to properly copy a CD wasn't very widespread (this also because most people didn't have CD burners). Sure the thing came with a manual, and everything you needed - but you just had to be a geek of sorts to really use it (this is how we started - with me getting the work of somebody who didn't have a clue about using it). You had to know how to obtain music (P2P was still quite new back then and CDs were expensive) then get it on the thing and then keep it there while knowing how to avoid breaking this delicate glossy godly creation. Not everyone knew it back then, and at age 13 in 2003. You were, essentially, part of the technological elite. And that was something. To this day I consider the 3rd gen iPod the best design Apple has produced for its iPod line.

Today's iPod has retained nothing of the sort. Now, I'm not saying this in a bad way. If iPods didn't become popular, Apple wouldn't have rejuvenated Mac - and the iPhone simply wouldn't exist today. So it was definitely a great thing to happen to the company. But along with this came popularity. Mass popularity. It wasn't because suddenly everyone knew how to use iPods i.e. they became geeky enough to evolve into the culture, its simply because the average-everyday-daily-Joe-Windows2000user people started buying it, and rattled their way around and somehow got it to work. Then it became cool. Then everyone had one. So it became a necessity. A requirement. Not a choice, a requirement (and how and why is another long story).

You know what was the requirement in 2003? Windows XP.

Funny, isn't it.

So Apple has become immensely popular, people flock to the 'Mac Store' (ugh, idiots), buy up their shiny new gear and profess their genius for choosing 'an Apple'. Why did they choose it? Heck they aren't entirely sure themselves. But they knew that they couldn't go PC. Isn't current requirement.

Then Apple started catering to the mass market. Oh yes, this is optional extra. So is this. Hey, new iPod! Hey look guys, time to upgrade your Macs to this one! Yeah isn't Steve Jobs your childhood hero?

And then every time Apple releases something new the whole world goes 'Oh my... honey, get the car' and dashes off to stand in line so they can get one on the very first day, use it to a quarter of its potential, and repeat the process within the very same year. Apple is my life!

Well, I'm portraying Apple as quite evil here. Far from. They still do make better computers than any other company. A better phone. Best portable music device. The people who deny it are doing it because - Apple consumers are now either a) Normal people who bought a Mac because they're ignorant or b) The ultimate fanboys. Neither of the groups give the culture a very good standing.

You know when I used to drool over new products Apple came out with? When I was sure the entire world wasn't behind me willing to stamp me down to get to it first. Now, I'm content with my Mac (and will be for years), don't plan on replacing my iPod for a long, long time (or my iPhone) and the new releases of iMacs yesterday just flew right by me.

Its impossible to get small-company Apple back. When they were generous enough to present us with the full package rather than have us buy additional bits which should've been in the box. What I'd like to see is companies bringing back that innovative charm to technology that won't have the masses swooning - because they won't understand it. Just like the first iPod.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

Filed under  //   apple   articles   geek   ideas   iphone   rant   tech  

Comments [2]

October 8, 2009

Modern Criticism

Artists have to deal with it day in and day out. Well, not really 'deal' with it, but require it. Sift through a splurge of reactions to find that one person who appears to make a little bit of sense.

For some reason we require a form of validation that what we're working on happens to be acceptable (or even better, appreciable) to someone other than oneself. Here's the cool part, most of the artists we recognize today didn't need that (Robert Frank being my favorite example). They just went along and worked on what they had to. 

When we ask someone for criticism we're putting them in a position of power. They are suddenly put on the pedestal and given the right to form a (hopefully unbiased) opinion on what they think about something. Part of the problem is, when someone is asked to be a critic, some people are put in this subconscious mindset that whatever they come up with has to be criticism. This is where most of the praise just withers away. To be given the title/power of 'critic' means that you obviously are regarded highly for your opinion by that person. Hence he/she expects something unique, useful and honest from you. Which means the 'critic' here, to keep up his/her won status, is going to consciously search for negatives to either balance out the positives or negate them altogether. Otherwise, what's a critic?

When I'm working on something I'm always asking people what they think. I listen to all of it. I accept around 13-17% of it. I act on about 1% of it. There are very few useful critics around. There may be several hundred good ones, but they probably aren't of much use. A large lot of people are unaware that this applies to most if not all artists and isn't just me being a narcissistic dick. For one its impossible to act on 99% of critical suggestions because 1) It doesn't fit with what the artist wants to convey and 2) Another critic already conflicted with your recommended course of action. 

So really what criticism is is a little fun game we artists play. We skip along asking what you think and throw it out until we reach somebody who can actually help more than just critique. We're a confused lot. Half the time we don't know what our own vision is and sometimes we rely on other people to figure it out and scratch at it. Sometimes we just need a nudge in another direction to get things going again. And sometimes playing the criticism game is the only way to get it.

By now most of you who have ever offered me advice or opinions are probably thinking 'Hey, WTF - well, this guy doesn't need to know what I think anymore' and its probably true (even though I'll still ask you and continue to play the game). Look at that sentence again, it centers around you, not me. Those are the sort of people who are out throwing opinions (and will do so when asked) at people for their own mood. I'd like the opinions that are centered around me, because it's my work and not yours - and if you treat it the other way around anything you have to say will be useless.

And that's modern criticism. And y'know what? Guilty as charged.

P.s. It goes without saying how much worse the people who can't be honest are. Even if your opinion could turn out useless don't hide it. Lying and saying you love it is worse than saying you hate it but you're not sure why.

Filed under  //   art   articles   photography   random   rant  

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September 30, 2009

The Corporation

This is a movie you really should watch. There's a lot to be said about the topic, but instead of me ranting about it just sign up for a Netflix trial and get it.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

Filed under  //   ideas   movies   random   rant  

Comments [0]

September 29, 2009

The Contact Sheet Project

This is a photographic project I've been wanting to execute for quite a while actually. As my critique teacher made me notice it took all of 6 months for the lingering stagnating idea to become what you see now.

Check out the series here, though it isn't complete just yet, and will remain an ongoing passive project.

I also have done another mini-series this semester which I'll be putting up on my photoblog first before uploading it to my portfolio.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com



Filed under  //   art   college   photography   pictures  

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September 28, 2009

Joel, My Pasta Guy

For whatever reason I've ended up talking to a lot more people this year.

It has become routine that I get a pasta every alternate night from the cafe below my dorm. I used to get it made by the same guy every time last year and it was only a few weeks before I left for the summer that I got his name. Well, he left the job and this year I've found a new fellow who I meet nearly every day at 9 30. Every day we inch a little forward in conversation. His English isn't very good which is why I try and keep it simple small talk. Today I found him crouched under the counter holding a first-gen iPhone in his hand. Now that's a conversation starter for me. So we got talking and eventually he mentioned how he has no music on the thing. He can't afford an AT&T phone plan so using it as a phone is out. So I gladly offered to put some on to it for him, since he didn't have a computer - let alone an internet connection and a lot of music.

So for the second time so far this semester I took my laptop out, set up in the cafe, got the cables and started trying to figure out what sort of music he likes. He seemed to be in to metal and rock which were my speciality. He didn't know many artists names. He knew a few, so I gave him all I had from those he mentioned. He also mentioned an artist that I don't have which I'll procure eventually. So when I connected the iPhone it asked what I wanted to name it, so I finally got his name, which is Joel. And then dragged all that he wanted into a playlist and left it to sync (my lossless files meant it took an hour in the end). During this time I got to know him a little better.

The part which hit me right in the face is the guy is hardly a year older than me. He works from 10am to midnight, I think everyday. I obviously didn't ask him what he gets paid but I'm sure it isn't enough for the amount of work these guys put it (they're hardly ever idle). He said he wanted to learn English so he could take some courses at Baruch across the street "I want to improve my life man" - coming from a guy not much older than you working 14 hours a day isn't easy to hear. I know that a lot of the world is full of much worse than this. Wars, poverty, hunger, starvation... and there are so many people in far worse situations than he, but I don't have an income to help those more in need and worse still I haven't had many a chance to come face to face with them like I have with him. This probably hit me a lot more because I'm here, living in Manhattan, going to one of the best visual arts colleges on the planet, fully paid for by my mother and uncles - and this guy who works at the cafe downstairs, less than a year older than me, is going to make his life better all on his own.

I found out his birthday is October 27th (I hope I heard it right) so I can spare a bit to get him a decent pair of headphones and figure out a way I can help him learn better English other than just talking to him a bit more.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

Filed under  //   nyc  

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September 24, 2009

Muse/U2

I have this strange costly habit ; whichever band I see live I just have to buy a shirt. It ends up being a costly affair (just like the concerts themselves) but it has become an expensive tradition from the start. So I have my little collection of memoirs from some of the best shows I'll ever see - especially because a few of these bands may not be touring in the years to come, some of them are just getting old, physically - and I'm only going to be in New York for so long.

If you ever get the chance to see either of these bands live - GO. Both were fantastic live and U2 put on the most phenomenal show I've seen. The scale of their production is unprecedented. Their stage, the lighting, the 360 degree screen, I mean, no other band has created a concert experience quite like it, and U2 has managed it and turned it into something out of this world. There is nothing that can substitute actually being there and taking it in so its useless to go on about it. If you ever can, go for it, even if you aren't a U2 fan (I wasn't till last night)

Edit : I forgot to mention. I was originally row 40 behind the band. Was a good seat, but not the best by far. Luckily this couple got separated so I traded with one of them for a row 3 seat in front of the band towards the sides. Far far far better than my original seat because I could see the whole stadium (no Mezzanine hanging over my head since row 40 is all the way to the back).

Here are some photos from last night's show (U2 and Muse, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford at the Meadowlands, September 23rd 2009)

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com


Filed under  //   concert   music   nyc  

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August 30, 2009

My Bio-Discography

The Bio-Disc is really, quite a stupendous product.

                                                 
Click here to download:
My_Bio-Discography.zip (1476 KB)

There's nothing like it. What other device can make your cats jumpier, your hair softer, your vodka smoother, your veggies fresher, your sleep better, your car more fuel-efficient, heal Parkinson's disease, prevent jet-lag and make you the biggest dumbf**k on the planet.

This $300 piece of glass (feels like plastic, but fine, it's glass) claims to do all that and more by producing 'Beta Rhythm Resonance' (oh yes, that!) and 'Scalar Energy' using of course, nanotechnology (d'oh). And the secret to it's effectiveness? It 'restores the molecular structure of water', because obviously, there was something wrong with H2O in the first place.

In the pamphlet I've pictured above one can discover the many wonders of this amazing product. Do have a look. The last page is the best.

And then have a laugh at the thousands of people who bought it. Apparently the one aspect of your life this can't fix is extracting your brain back out of your ass.

You know, there's hardly any convincing required here. This thing is apparently made by fusing 13 types of 'technically engineered' minerals into the glass at 3000 degrees (Kelvin? Now that's convincing enough for most people). This is probably the only believable part of the entire thing because I'd assume if you mix some salt, tabasco and rat feces into the sand you make the glass with, you'd have fused some crap into it. 

I assure you there is no need for you to see, touch, taste, use or test this product to believe that it is a complete and utter lie. Just look at their websites.
http://www.biodisc-energy.com/
http://bioenergiseme.com/

After ranting on for countless paragraphs about it's amazing healing power they'll cite labs and sources that don't actually exist and then slap on some testimonials about people all over the world who benefited marvelously from a $300 piece of plastic (alright, alright - glass).

I hardly need to present my logical (like why is the entire medical community unaware of such a miraculous product?) or scientific (oh don't get me started) arguments here because anyone with a little common sense will know by looking at that pamphlet, that it is indeed, a scam.

But people still buy it. And use it. And then call me an absolute retard for not believing in it's magical powers (of course then prescribing me 3 liters of super-alpha-energized water per day). There's no point convincing them though, because people will hardly ever admit that the $300 piece of glass they just bought is made in China for $2 and has absolutely no capabilities except for making you a dumbf**k (which, mind you, not many products can do these days).

So the only thing I can say is, which f**king genius thought of this before I did.

Filed under  //   articles   funny  

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August 28, 2009

Semester of a Photographer

I've been asked many a time - what exactly do you do at college?

Since most (alright, all) of my friends have absolutely nothing to do with the arts it seems weird to them to study photography full time for four years. I mean, after all, anyone can take good pictures (right?)

Do I have exams? Do I have textbooks? Hell, what do you do all day?

Finger-paint.

But anyway, since I'm so sick of being asked what why and how I thought I'd outline a semester of work and then create an URL to this page and just slap it onto whoever asks next. And maybe it'd help anyone who plans on studying photography in the future.

This is the first year, so it's all about 'foundation' and basics. 

1. Photography Workshop

This Monday-morning 9AM class goes on till 3PM in the afternoon.

The first 3 hours are spent Darkrooming. In the first semester, it was B&W and the second, color. When working with film and light-sensitive paper, it can take up to an hour and a half to make a perfect print. I don't want to explain the entire process in the darkroom, just know that it does, it's a lot of work and takes a lot of skill to get it done right. Just imagine making a photograph without any digital intervention and you have enough of an idea on how complex it must be. 

The next three hours are spent in critique. 

The bulk of this class is spent outside the classroom or the darkroom. It's coming up with a project and executing it. Working on a new segment of it every week. It requires a lot of thinking and a lot of time. Especially since I had to travel far and wide to do my project (sometimes three hours each way). So just creating work for this class takes up a good few days of the week (and if it doesn't turn out right it has to be done all over again). And then printing it before critique. I usually bring in ten prints, and those can't be made in the three hours before class.

Here's some first semester work :

       
Click here to download:
Semester_of_a_Photographer_tag.zip (1283 KB)

And some second semester work - the last two (see the full series here).

2. Foundation Symposium

This was the second Monday course I had from 6PM - 9PM. 

This course was divided into six (I think?) parts. Each part covered a different topic. Examples were career prospect introductions and industry standards, video, photographs as art objects etc.

I ended up creating a lot of fun stuff in this course.

In Video :

And working with text (see the full series here) :

I put in more than the required effort for this class so ended up spending quite a bit of free time working on javascripts/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js?1251442053" type="text/javascript"> next week's project.

3. History of Photography

I really liked this course even though it has the word 'history' in it. It was a pretty thorough two-semester long introduction to how photography got going and how it's evolved into current-day what-it-is. We got to see a lot of amazing work this class, that was education in itself. And on a field trip we got to see real photographs from the 1840s.

There was a textbook. So there was studying and exams. Two exams (mid-term and final) along with a few papers and a creative project. So it was quite a bit of work but fun work. A bit of mugging for the exam but after all it is history so it's excusable. 

Was my only class on Tuesday from Noon to 3.

4. Literature

Hah, this was all reading and writing. We read some particularly strange things such as Candide and Whitman and Rumi (I liked none) but the professor was an ecstatic jumpy fellow. And we looked at a bit of art and did a bit of thinking so it was all good.

His essays were really challenging so that was what made this course for me. Relating art and literature to current events and things like that. Pretty complex stuff. Especially that really long research paper at the end of it.

5. Digital Imaging (second semester only) :

This class was basics of Photoshop. Being self-taught in most of it already I didn't learn much here, but I did pick up a few neat tricks and was forced to work in ways I wouldn't have normally. There were no tests or exams, instead weekly assignments, which for me, culminated in some (personally rewarding) and excellent work. Examples below. 

   
Click here to download:
0Semester_of_a_Photographer_tag.zip (775 KB)

6. Intro Photo (first semester only) :

This was a course to make sure that we know everything that we should before going on to advanced things like studio. Explaining the basics of photography and dejumbling things like ASA and what film is made of and how the darkroom chemicals work.

This course also had an awesome professor who would bring in amazing cameras and show us how to use them. Like Mamiya's and Hassy's - even a view camera. So it was a lot to learn and there were only two tests which were fairly simple for me. 

--

So with all the courses, work and my additional travel, concerts and such it became a good time. The next two semesters are going to be a big step up from the past year. I have studio, and two difficult humanities courses along with the usual. And work and gym. 

So I hope that sufficiently illustrates what being a full-time photography student is like. All the classes above were three hours, by the way. So I'd have a straight 9-9 day sometimes with a few hours in between for a nap. 

And for those who didn't know jack about my work you got a nice taste of it up there.

(I study at the School of Visual Arts. It's my second year this fall)

Filed under  //   art   articles   college   photography  

Comments [5]

August 11, 2009

Chinese Collusions?

From Break India, says Chinese Think Tank,

“...China in its own interest and the progress of whole Asia, should join forces with different nationalities like Assamese, Tamils, and Kashmiris and support the latter in establishing independent nation-states of their own, out of India,” the article said. 

The ardent hope has been sought to be justified by using the rhetoric of change. “Only after India has been broken up into 20-30 pieces will there be any real reform or social change in the country,” stressed the article meant for Chinese audience. 


But it already is - they're called states.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

Comments [2]

May 31, 2009

Comparisons, Analysis

Well, you haven't been hearing much from me have you.

 I've been tweeting once a day, skipping e-mails and not doing much at all in general, not bothering about all the complexities that have shown through on this blog in the past few months.

 It's because when you're back home it all changes back again. I don't need everyone to know what I'm upto because most of them are now a phone call (or a short drive) away. There's no ranting because I have lots of other interesting and fun things to do other than complain and think about things.

 Goodbye.

 Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

Filed under  //   india   nyc   travel  

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