Crowd-Crafting: Participatory Art of the 21st Century
I have mixed feelings about society's growing use of technology.
On one hand, I am pretty certain that everyone will become like the humans in WALL-EÂ within the next few decades. We will stare at a screen all day as a means of accomplishing even the smallest task and as a result, we will think we are more connected with the world while increasingly becoming more isolated from it. (And I readily admit that I realize how much of an active participant I am in this.)
One of the reasons why I'm and active participant of technology and social media is because I also realize the huge benefits of these resources. In this day and age, you can reconnect with a childhood friend, find your future spouse, or join groups of individuals who share similar interests with you all from the convenience of your home computer.Â
Most individuals have become pretty familiar with crowdsourcing and crowdfunding over the past few years, but now those who take advantage of technology and social media can also become participants of crowd-crafting. Crowd-crafting is ideal for creating art with the masses, for the masses. Case in point: ZeFrank and Mr. Norman.
ZeFrank is a musican and artist who develops an online series based on viewer requests. Recently, ZeFrank and DJ Mr. Norman began developing a new conceptual piece with the help of internet followers. Over the span of four months, ZeFrank invited 2,601 online individuals to serve as contributes to a musical composition and music video.
Using 786 contributors for percussion, 1,305 contributors to mix sounds into beats, 186 contributors to play instruments, 96 contributors to sing, and 247 contributors to perform choreography, he created the above piece.
Considering the fact that over 2,600 people contributed to the above finished product, I have to say that the song and music video are both pretty cohesive. The blended use of colors are cool and comforting and the slow blending and overlay of hundreds of choreographed movements remind me of blurred action photography samples.
So there you have it. Because of technology, thousands of people chose to stare at a screen featuring video footage that was initiated by ZeFrank. At the same time though, thousands of people became personally involved in the development of a piece of art that is now being shared and viewed by people like you and me.
