Here's an idea, hologram pop stars
Freddie Mercury and Tupac Shakur are the heralds of a new art
movement.
A few weeks ago, rapper Tupac Shakur came back from the dead
and performed at Coachella as a hologram.
And if you're not a Tupac fan don't worry, because apparently
this is now a thing that we do.
Just last week, Queen's astrophysicist lead guitar
player Brian May announced that they
would be going on tour with a hologram
version of Freddie Mercury.
And It sounds like we're going to hologram Lisa Left Eye Lopes
and who knows what other pop stars we're going
to bring back from the dead.
I'm pretty sure that last one is still alive.
All right, so at first glance this seems like nostalgia.
Maybe the light rays and the foil screen
doohickeys that are mimicking our past pop stars, our idorus,
aren't a product of an obsession with nostalgia,
but an obsession with turning everything new,
everything digital, even the past.
OK, so if it's not nostalgia then what is it?
A couple weeks ago on the internets there
was a lot to talk about something called New Aesthetic.
There were a lot of people-- artists, bloggers,
actually mostly just artists and bloggers--
wanting to call this the newest movement in the art world.
And of course, just as many people
wanting to call it [BLEEP].
Internet fight!
New Aesthetic is essentially an art movement
that tries to ignore the past and imagine a new future based
only on the present.
And the through line of all of these works is technology.
As we view the world more and more
through the sometimes pixely, sometimes hyper accurate,
and occasionally not human at all lens of technology,
it only makes sense that that point of view
starts to find its way into our creative endeavors.
Are QR code decorated cakes New Aesthetic?
Probably.
What about this quilt made to look
like a section of Google Maps?
Seems like it.
Seeing a performance given by technologically resurrected
hologram pop star?
Definitely.
When new technologies don't reference old techniques, when
low tech craft meets high tech tools,
this is essentially New Aesthetic.
According to James Bridle, the man who coined New Aesthetic,
it's about separating itself from the past,
providing an alternative to nostalgia.
When you think about it, are you really seeing Tupac?
Left Eye's voice might be coming out of the speakers,
but is she really there, or is it
something completely different?
It might seem like nostalgia, but it's not.
Going to go see a hologram pop star
is an entirely new experience.
When you really consider it, hologram Tupac
is so much closer to Miku Hatsune
than he is to real Tupac.
It is essentially a piece of art that cannot be separated from
the technology used to create it, and that is New Aesthetic.
What do you guys think?
Are hologram pop stars nostalgia or New Aesthetic?
Let us know in the comments.
And if you subscribe I will love you forever.
There are some devoted Hello Kitty fans out there.
Let's see what you guys had to say.
shadowmanwkp was a little miffed that we didn't mention Miffy.
Sorry shadowman, but Miffy is a little creepy.
DaThings1 makes a really good point about the Hello Kitty
animated series maybe failing because Hello Kitty had
a mouth.
Also, Tara Strong mention.
We actually thought about logos, samos 123,
so we're glad that you mentioned it.
Thanks Tricia!
Tricia and I are bros in real life, so it's cool.
You know who has two thumbs and loves Hello Kitty?
Lots of guys, I'm sure.
Also me, also this guy.
Samy, Samy, keep at it, buddy.
Someday.
If there were a comic serif we would use it
but there's no, so.
Also, to everyone who has been saying
really nice things about us and the show in the comments
we appreciate it so much.
So thank you so much for being supportive and being awesome.
And one more thing, fragamacrunch.