Aisyah: Response to Foster's "Video and Intermedia"

     “Video, if one uses it as an extension of one’s self rather than as an extension of one’s notions of art, cannot avoid confronting problem areas in communication, information and meaning.” This quote was what stood out to me the most in this reading. At first, I found it hard to understand it – for me to draw a solid line between the extension of one’s self and the extension of one’s notion to art contradicted my beliefs of what art really is. I first interpreted the quote as, “if you use video as self-expression rather than convey a political message to your viewers, you will face a lot of problems.” I thought, well, isn’t conveying a political message a form of self-expression, anyway? But after having read the article again and again, I realize that I definitely had misinterpreted it. I believe that what Foster meant by “an extension of one’s notion to art” is when the individual is conscious or aware of a medium’s capabilities and possibilities, and trying to expand them from the conventional ways of using that medium. Having said that, “an extension of one’s self” would be when the individual is not conscious or aware of expanding the medium’s capabilities and possibilities, and is only interested in expressing/conveying a message (vlogging, for example).

     The main problem we face with using a medium as an extension of one’s self brings up a big question that Foster mentions later in the article: “but is it art?” This is a very common question that everyone asks all the time. What is art? What makes art? Where do we draw the line between what is art and what isn’t? I found a video that talks about this. At one point, the filmmaker says that one way art can be defined is that it is “the expression of creativity, imagination, or both.” However, this is a very broad definition, as expression of creativity and imagination could be anything, and it can easily overlap with an extension of one’s self.

     So how does this relate to the topic of intermedia? What I believe that Foster was trying to say is that intermedia is what bridges the gap between an idea and an art form. However, this is still a little confusing for me to grasp because of the ambiguity of what art is and what it is not.